The Trouble With “Trial Versions”

You’ve entered into a local big box retailer planning to purchase a new desktop computer. A salesperson greets you and shows you a particular model that would be “perfect” for your needs. It’s got a fast processor, lots of RAM and comes equipped with Microsoft Word and Norton’s Anti-Virus … or does it?

A closer inspection of the sticker beside the computer reveals that it does indeed have a fast process and lots of RAM; however, the versions of Microsoft Word and Norton’s Anti-Virus are merely 30-day trial versions. At the end of the trial period, you’ll either be permitted to use a crippled version of the software or cut off all together. Despite the situation you find yourself in, you will likely be constantly pestered to buy the full version of the product. You decide to keep shopping.

Sadly, the scenario I’ve just described happens a lot without the closer inspection of the sticker. Many times a new computer owner won’t discover they’ve got a “trial version” until after setting the computer up in their home. It’s a problem that really needs addressing at the retail level.

When shopping for a new PC and need a particular program, be sure to ask questions. It’s also good to examine the sticker closely before making the purchase.

If you’ve already been bitten by the “trial version” problem, below you’ll find a list of free/low-cost alternatives for various types of programs.

1. Open Office
• Quality suite of office programs that has a word processor, spreadsheet maker, and much more. You can actually work on the same document within Open Office and Microsoft Office if you save in the Office file formats.

2. AVG Anti-Virus
• AVG has both a paid and free version of their anti-virus. If you’re a home user, there’s no need to buy the full version unless you want a few of the extra features. You’ll never be asked to pay a subscription fee.

3. Microsoft Security Essentials
• A free anti-virus/anti-spyware tool from Microsoft that is surprisingly robust. Both this and the aforementioned AVG offer a strong level of protection that will tax your system much less than Norton’s Anti-virus.

4. Paint.Net
• Paint.Net is an easy-to-use photo editor that offers multiple layer editing and lots of color tools. It’s not as complex as Photoshop, but it also isn’t $600.

5. Audacity
• A two-track audio editor perfect for those wishing to dip their feet into the pool of podcasting. While it’s great for beginners, veteran audio people will likely get a little frustrated with its lack of features.

If you have any other suggestions for free alternatives to expensive programs, please share them in the comments. Thanks.

NOTE: Some computer ship “Starter” versions of Microsoft Word and Excel 2010 (no download available). These aren’t trials, but stripped down, ad-supported editions of the full programs. I’ve had lots of experience with Microsoft Word Starter 2010 and have ran into no problems whatsoever. The only annoyance is that a small advertisement appears in a toolbar in the lower right-hand side.

Filed under: Advice

Typosquatting Defined

Typosquatting is the act of purchasing a domain close to an existing one (i.e. Ebbay.com in lieu of Ebay.com) and linking it to a page of advertisements and links. The people that perform this act hope to lure folks that frequently make typos to their site and earn revenue from the aforementioned advertisements and links. These type of pages can contain malicious software, however, there usually just attempts to earn revenue.

If you’re ever presented with a page full of useless links instead of what you were looking for when trying to visit a new site, be sure to double check your address.

Filed under: Advice, Tech Term

Chuck Norris Malware Sweeping Across the Web

If you use default manufacturer login and passwords for your computer equipment, be warned. There’s a nasty bit of malware circulating across the internet called “Chuck Norris” taking advantage of folks who never adopt unique passwords for their routers and DSL modems. The malware, dubbed Chuck Norris due to a comment relating to the actor appearing within the code, attempts to guess default modem/router passwords when it comes in contact with your computer. Should it be successful, it will add your computer to something called a botnet, which is a network of infected computers the person responsible for the malware could command to do his or her bidding.

So, if your administrator login is ADMIN and your password is PASSWORD, be sure to change them while you can. Make them something unusual and memorable!

Filed under: Advice

Pop-Up Advertisements Disguised as Windows Messages

If you’ve ever encountered a pop-up similar to the one shown in the image above on your computer, don’t worry. This is merely a clever attempt to sell you on a product disguised as a legitimate warning from Microsoft Windows. If you were to click OK you’d be whisked away to some site offering you an amazing deal on a product you must have. In the case of the example below, it would be for Personal Antivirus.

Phrasing is key in determining the legitimacy of messages like these. The biggest clue is the mention of the product, Personal Antivirus in the case of our example. A Windows warning message will never say “You’ve got Spyware, You need Program X to get rid of it”. Also, a real Windows message wouldn’t be as vague as the one pictured here. The opening sentence’s inclusion of “your computer has various types of adware and viruses” is another big clue that the message is false.

Should you ever see anything like this display on your computer, I highly suggest ending it by hitting CTL+ALT+DEL , selecting Internet Explorer/Firefox (whatever browser you were using last), and the end task in lieu of merely clicking X. Should the pop-up have came from someone with a nefarious agenda, clicking anywhere on it could take you to a site with actual spyware or viruses on it. That’s a worst case scenario, though. They’re usually just trying to sell you something. To be safe, stick to the CTL+ALT+DEL method for getting rid of them.

Filed under: Advice

Microsoft Issues Patch For IE Vulnerability

The flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer I mentioned a few days ago has now been patched. If you have automatic updates notified you should have already received a notification of this. To verify if you’ve got the patch, visit the Windows Update site and it will show you the updates and patches you’ve yet to install.

Filed under: Advice

New Vulnerability Found in Internet Explorer

Microsoft is encouraging users of their Internet Explorer web browser to switch to one of their rivals today as a new vulnerability has been found in the program. The flaw allows for hackers to take over a computer that has visited an infected site regardless of whether or not they’ve downloaded an executable file. Reportedly, the hacking community is mainly using this IE flaw to steal computer game security keys but it has potential to be more dangerous than that. According to Trend Micro, a popular Anti Virus company, around 10,000 sites have already been infected.

Switching to one of the rival browsers temporarily is the best thing to do at this time. Eventually Microsoft will fix the problem via a Windows Update but they’ve yet to schedule one. Also, as I often encourage you to do in my classes, make sure you primarily use your computer as a limited user. A virus or exploit acquired as a limited user can do less damage than one picked up while logged in as an administrator.

To verify if you’re an administrator in Windows XP/Vista, do the following:
1. Click Start, then Control Panel.
2. From the next screen select User Account.
3. If you’re in Windows XP, the next screen that displays will have each account currently registered on the computer at the bottom. Each account will have Limited User or Computer Administrator underneath it. In Vista, the screen will only display the account you’re logged in as.

To create a new user account, do the following:
Windows Vista
1. From the User Accounts screen, click Manage Another Account.
2. Select Create a New Account at the next screen.
3. The following screen will allow you to select the account type. You’ll want Standard User.

Windows XP
1. From the User Accounts screen, select Create a New Account.
2. After that, you’ll be prompted to enter a name for the account.
3. The third screen will ask what type of account you wish to create. Select Limited User.

It looks as though there is no way to completely guarantee your safety from this new exploit aside from switching browsers. Running as a limited user is suggested by most tech industry professionals, though. I typically suggest that users keep two accounts – one administrator and one limited user – and run mostly as a limited user. When something needs to be installed, simply switch to the admin and do what needs to be done.

I also wish to stress applying the latest patches and updates from Microsoft. As annoying as Windows Update can be, in cases such as this one they help immensely.

Filed under: Advice, How to

BlueCoat’s K9 Web Protection

Those interested in applying a web content filter to their home computer should check out BlueCoat’s K9 Web Protection. It is a tool I’ve used myself for several months now and I couldn’t be more pleased with it. Best of all, it’s completely free for home use.

There are several levels of security you can set. Their preset levels tend to be a little too constrictive but they’ve thankfully provided custom settings. You can tell it you want to block out adult/mature content, hate speech, illegal/questionable activity, and a variety of other topics just by clicking a few boxes. You may also enter in keywords you wish to block. Don’t want guests who use your computer to install a specific program? Simply type it in to the keyword blocking section, apply it, and save. Now access to the site that hosts that particular program will be denied.

The major negative aspect of the program is the same with every web content filter. It’s not an exact science. There are words and phrases that have both good and bad meanings which means a filter will sometimes block something that is harmless. If that ever happens K9 Web Protection provides a blank to enter your administrator password on the page it displays when something is blocked and allows you to unblock a specific site permanently.

This program does require a minimal amount of set-up after installing. Right away, you’ll be given a strict level of security and will be unable to browse very many websites before logging in to K9 and tweaking the settings. I’d recommend doing that immediately after installing the program.

To download the program or read more about it visit BlueCoat’s official website by clicking here.

Filed under: Advice, Free File

Uploading, Downloading …

Everyone making use of the internet will download something. Even if you’re not going after songs, videos, or some other sort of media to burn to disc, each time you visit a website technically counts as a download. With the advent of broadband the speed of downloading has grown quite fast. That increase, however, has been slightly less significant when it comes to uploading.

What’s an upload, you ask? Well, it’s the exact opposite of a download. Anything you send to the web for display such as pictures or video has to be uploaded to a web server somewhere in the world. If you’ve done this before then you know that sometimes the process takes quite a bit longer than downloading.

Internet service providers (ISP) have a preset speed for uploads and downloads. There are typically several tiers of service they offer in which that speed varies. ATT, for example, offers a small business package with an “up to” 6.0mbps (megabits per second) downstream and an “up to” 412kbps (1 megabit = 1024 kb) upstream. The level of difference between the two is quite drastic and I believe many get so excited at the thought of quick downloads that they fail to notice the upload speed is written in kilobits. One assumes the speed difference is due to uploading being much more taxing on them than downloading.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your internet connection I suggest paying a visit to BroadBandReports.com which has reviews from real users of assorted internet services. Lots of good information may be gleaned from the site.

Filed under: Advice, Useful Sites

Windows Vista Shadow Copy

I recently discovered the Shadow Copy feature of Window’s Vista through an article in PC World Magazine. It works in conjunction with Windows System Restore to allow users to easily recover files they have accidentally deleted. It works absolutely wonderfully but, sadly, it is only available in Windows Vista Business and Ultimate. Users of the other versions must download another program to access the feature.

If you happen to have the two versions of Vista that include this feature, here is how you use it:

1. Almost every part of Windows is in a folder, including the desktop (in your user account area there is a Desktop folder). Find the folder which contains the file you deleted and right click it.
2. Now, in the menu that appears, you should see “Restore to Previous Version”. If that does not appear here then select properties and then the “Restore to Previous Version” tab.
3. A list then appears with random dates. Click on one and select Open and you’ll see the contents of that folder on that particular date. If you wish to restore the file simply drag and drop it on your desktop. To restore the whole folder to this particular date, select restore while the date is selected.

Those interested in this feature that have the other versions of Windows Vista should check out ShadowExplorer. It’s a bit more cumbersome, but, it’ll give you similar features in Home and Home Premium.

Filed under: Advice

Trouble Installing Windows XP SP3? Try Network Install.

I’ve had more than one person mention to me that they’ve had trouble installing Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. While the Service Pack itself is safe, it’s quite a large download which can be fairly cumbersome to get via Windows Update. Those who have had trouble may want to try downloading the Service Pack 3 Network Install.

The network install versions of Microsoft’s Service Packs are released for people who are responsible for multiple computers. It’s a single file that can be put on a CD or USB Drive and installed on any computer running Windows XP. It’s much easier to install this way and should eliminate any problems you may be having.

Click Here to Download Windows XP Service Pack 3 Network Install

If any readers of this blog have had any trouble installing Service Pack 3, feel free to comment on this post and let me know. I’ll try to help as much as possible.

Filed under: Advice