The Computer Wiz

2011-10-22T16:15:00.002+01:00

This tutorial will help you create an iCloud account on your iOS 5 device.

Tap the Settings icon from your springboard. And navigate to Mail, Contacts, Calendars
Select Add Account…
Select iCloud
Tap Get a free Apple ID
Enter the details
By default, it would select the Use my current email address ?
You need to select Get a free iCloud email address, so that the ? mark comes appears next to it. This will allow you to enter the details with @me.com
After entering the name, and other details in the boxes, tap Next
Accept the Agreement, tap Agree
Viola, You just created a iCloud account. And you are good to go ahead and use it! Enjoy iOS 5!

Happy 25th Anniversary Microsoft Windows

2010-11-22T15:43:00.003Z

Yup, time really does fly and today, 20th November 2010 is the 25th anniversary of the launch of Windows 1.0. This was Microsoft’s first stab at a multi-tasking graphical user interface and had four versions. 1.02 was released in May the following year with the final version 1.04 coming out in April 1987.

The GUI, because it wasn’t an operating system at that time, ran on top of MS DOS and didn’t come to the mainstream public’s attention until the release of Windows 3 in May 1990.

Windows 1 was officially unveiled on November 10th 1983 when it was known as “Interface Manager” and it was competing head on with the most popular GUI at the time, GEM.

It’s interesting to note, because Microsoft would never be able to get away with this these days, that some early versions of Windows 1 came bundled with Office apps Word and Excel, presumably to help boost sales.

Clearly the main reason why Windows 1 wasn’t a success was the release of the Apple Macintosh the year before, with a high profile Orwellian advertising campaign.

Windows 1 offered very limited multi-tasking and didn’t include features such as being able to overlay one window on another. Instead, Windows could only be run side-by-side. Layered windows did not appear until Windows 2.

Supplied programs included the Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard viewer, Click, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal and Write and it’s surprising just how many of those programs have survived to this day.

Anyway, a very happy anniversary Windows from Windows7News and looking back, it surprising how much of the main interface elements in Windows 1 are still used by Windows 7 and will continue to be used for many years to come.

How To Scan For Viruses From AutoPlay Dialog

2010-11-15T08:19:00.001Z

I’m sure most of you find yourself constantly plugging in various flash drives into your PC which aren’t necessarily yours, unknown to you there could be viruseslurking on them ready to infect your PC the second you plug them in. At the moment there’s no quick and easy way to scan these drives when you plug them in, but this little trick below will sort that out for you.

You need Microsoft Security Essentials to do this so make sure you have it installed. Now just a quick note, this will involve installing a little script and changing things in the registry, so if you’re not comfortable with that, maybe it’s best you steer clear of this.

1. Firstly download this mseautoplay.zip file and unzip it.

2. There will be 3 files in it, you want to copy the msescan.vbs file into your Windows directory which is located in Local Disc (C:) / Windows

3. This next step will require you to double click on the mseautoplay.reg file which is in the folder that you downloaded. A warning box will pop up asking if you want to add this to your registry, click yes to this. You will then get a confirmation message after it’s been added, again hit ok

4. Now next time you pop in a thumb drive or in fact any other form of removablestorage, you will get a new option in the autoplay dialog that pops up, allowing you to scan the file with Microsoft Security Essentials.

If this is an option you find yourself doing often, you can even go into the control panel default options for Autoplay and set it as the default action everytime you plug in an external drive.

Heads up to How to geek for putting this together

Create A Shortcut To Quickly Lock Your Desktop

2010-10-09T20:17:00.000+01:00

This method of creating a shortcut to lock your desktop not only works in Windows 7, but also in Windows Vista and Windows XP

I’m sure most of you lock yourdesktop regularly, every I leave the room I’ve just gotten into the habit of locking my PC. It’s quick and easy to do and it takes less than a second then to unlock it again. However in many workplaces you are actually required to lock down your PC anytime you walk away from your PC to prevent any prying eyes from seeing what they shouldn’t.

So let’s get to it, how do we make a shortcut to lock the desktop apart from using (Win + L) ?

Right Click on a blank area of your desktop and select New
Go ahead and make a new Shortcut
Now in the field that appears you need to type in this rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Then hit Next
You will then need to enter the name for your shortcut, so for this example we’ll call it “Lockdown”
Hit Finish and you’re done

Now you can leave the shortcut on your desktop, or what I did was drag it into my taskbar so all I have to do is click it once and it instantly locks my desktop. You can even change the icon for it to a lock or something if you wish.

source: http://www.windows7news.com/2010/10/09/create-shortcut-quickly-lock-desktop/

How To Easily Customize Your Welcome Screen

2010-09-21T08:08:00.000+01:00

Personally I don’t really care too much what my welcome screen is when I log onto Windows, the standard Windows 7 one suits me just fine. But I know there is lots of you guys who like to customize your machines to the max and give them that personal touch. Up until now it hasn’t been that easy to change your log on screen wallpaper.
I was going to publish a guide on how to do it before, but it involved a lot of registry hacks and I didn’t think you’d fancy going through all that just to change your log on wallpaper. So know I’ve found a much easier solution for you.
Logon Screen is a great little program that you can download for free from here. It integrates right into Windows and it so easy to use. You simply install it, then you can browse for the picture that you’d like to swap in and then you can add a couple of advanced options. Simple things like enabling or disabling the shut down button, show who last logged on and even showing a message to users before they log on.
This program could come in quite handy indeed since it does more than just changing your log on background.
So if you’re one of these users who loves to customize their pc to the max, this is for you, or even if you want to add some of those additional features to the start menu.

source: http://www.windows7news.com/2010/09/20/easily-customize-screen/

Is Your Computer Ready for IE9?

2010-09-12T11:56:00.000+01:00

If you haven’t already joined the Windows 7 train, then you’d better hurry because desktop computing is leaving the station without you. By that I mean Microsoft and probably other software manufacturers will begin writing software that will no longer run on machines running anything earlier than Windows Vista. We’ve already seen the trend forming in two of Microsoft’s current popular software titles: Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 and the upcoming release of Internet Explorer 9. Neither of which will be compatible with Windows XP.

Legacy, while one of Microsoft’s strengths, is also one of Microsoft’s greatest weaknesses. The need to support old hardware and software has kept Microsoft from making huge leaps in innovation that many clamour for. Say what you will about Windows, but one thing most PC users know is that Windows works with almost anything, no matter how old and poorly written it is or has become. In Windows Vista, this came to a head. In Windows 7, Microsoft pushed virtualization as a means to use out of date or legacy software in a virtual environment.

It seems as if Microsoft is making a statement by dropping compatibility for their new versions of Essentials and Internet Explorer: upgrade or fade away. Sure, many users can and will get along fine without using Essentials or IE9, but the writing is on the wall and it looks like this isn’t an exception, but more the rule in future versions of Microsoft software. Eventually, Microsoft will have to drop compatibility for older Windows versions and with the wide adoption of Windows 7, it looks like this may be the time. If you haven’t already upgraded, and why haven’t you, now is as good a time as any to do so.

Speaking of Internet Explorer 9, the beta unveil is just 5 days away. I’ve started seeing internet adverts claiming that IE9 is essentially the ‘greatest thing since sliced bread.’ We’ll see about that, but considering IE9 is a refresh and isn’t just lipstick on a pig, I think we may be in store for something worth checking out.

source: http://www.windows7news.com/2010/09/10/computer-ready-ie9/

You Can Do More With Windows 7′s Calculator Than You Might Think

2010-09-08T13:58:00.000+01:00

I’m sure most of you have used the Windows 7 Calculator for the odd sum that you need to quickly add up, but it turns out this calculator is much improved on previous versions of Windows. There’s a whole bunch of other features thrown in there which you mightn’t know about at first.

Here’s a couple of them;

Calculate Dates

How many times have you needed to work out how many days, months and even years between one date or another? While it may be easy enough to give it a rough guess, you can actually do this accurately in Windows 7 with the built in Date Calculator feature.

Just fire up your calculator and then go to View -> Date Calculation or you can hit Ctrl-U on your keyboard. You will then be able to easily calculate the differences between two dates, or add/subtract days to a specific date.

Unit Conversion

Another useful feature that’s been built into the calculator is a unit converter. This comes in very handy for me and I wish I knew about it sooner as I’m always trying to convert distances and weights.

To access this go to your calculator and then View -> Unit Conversion or you can also get there with Ctrl-U. You can now convert away to your hearts content with a variety of units available including angles, area,energy,time,velocity, mass as well as many more. There’s no currency conversion however since that would require constant updating to keep in line with the currency exchange rate.

Work Out Your Fuel Consumption

Yes there’s even a feature for working out your (mpg) or (L/100 km). When you’re in the calculator, go to View->Worksheets and then choose which one you want. While most cars come with this feature built in, I suppose it could be handy, it’s pretty cool that it comes as a standard feature though.

There’s also a host of other different calculator modes such as Scientific, Programmer and Statistics for those of you how need to use them

So there’s a couple of little tips for you about the calculator that you may not have known about

source: http://www.windows7news.com/2010/09/07/windows-7s-calculator/

How To Boot Windows 7 Silently

2010-08-30T09:01:00.000+01:00

Now before any of you think I’m being too technical here and going over the top about disabling the Windows 7 Start Up Sound, I’m not. Most of you are probably getting ready now to dart down to the comments and tell me that i’m a bit thick if I can’t figure out that all I have to do is turn off my volume on my speakers.

Well that’s not always the case, for example how many times have you forgotten to turn off your speakers and you’ve left them up on full blast after chilling out to some of your favorite tunes last night, and you’re booting up your PC at 7am, I’m sure your wife and kids will be well impressed with you for waking them up so early. Or what if you’re on a laptop? There’s very few laptopsthat let you adjust the volume until the laptop is actually powered on and ready to go as the drivers and programs for adjusting them haven’t all be loaded fully.

So now that you can see why I’ve written this post, let’s continue.

1. Firstly go to Control Panel -> Sound

2. Then select the Sounds tab

3. You should see a check box that says “Play Windows Start Up Sound” now all you have to do is deselect it and click Apply

Now that’s fairly simple and straightforward isn’t it, I bet you didn’t think it would be that easy!

Another option you have though is to change the start up sound all together, or any of the other ones that you see there in that list.

Source: http://www.windows7news.com/2010/08/29/boot-windows-7-silently/

How To Configure The Default Library Save Location

2010-08-24T15:53:00.000+01:00

Libraries have been one of the new features in the Windows 7 operating system that have seen lots of praise from the community. Libraries basically are virtual folders that display data from one or multiple folders. There are libraries for music, pictures, videos and general files by default, with options to add custom libraries as well.

The nature of a library makes it behave different when it comes to saving files in it. We already mentioned that libraries can contain data of multiple folders, and it does not seem directly obvious in which folder new data is stored.

This short guide details how to configure the default save location for libraries in Windows 7.

Open up Windows Explorer, right-click on one of the libraries in the left sidebar and select Properties from the menu.

library save location

This opens a new window with information about the selected library. Among the information are all library locations currently configured with options to add or remove folders from it, the type of library, and whether the library should be displayed in the navigation pane.

A checkmark next to a library location indicates that this library is the default save location for files that are saved in the library folder.

To change that, simply highlight another library folder and click the Set save location button.

New files saved in the library folder are now automatically stored in the selected folder.

source: http://www.windows7news.com/2010/08/24/configure-default-library-save-location/

Facebook 'dislike' scam warning

2010-08-17T09:11:00.001+01:00

The application asks for permission to access a user's profile

Facebook users are being targeted in a scam that offers them a chance to install a "dislike" button.

The scam tricks users into allowing a rogue application to access their profile page, which then posts spam messages.

It also attempts to lure people into completing an online survey, for which the scammers are paid money.

The social network already offers a "like" button that allows people to rate other user's comments and posts.

Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos said it was the latest in a series of "survey scams" that included links to a video purporting to show an anaconda vomiting up a hippo.

"One thing we commonly see is that the message starts 'OMG, shocking video'," he said.

"And they appear to come from your Facebook friend, giving it a ringing endorsement."

Unknown apps

The dislike button scam prompts people to download an application with the message: "Download the official DISLIKE button now."

When users click on the link it prompts them to install a rogue application, which does not function as a dislike button.

Once a user has given it permission to access their profile, it updates the user's page with a link and a message: "I just got the dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!!"

“Start Quote

We always encourage people to not click on links that appear suspicious - even if posted from a friend”

Facebook spokesperson

"Many people are giving permission for completely unknown apps," Mr Cluley told BBC News.

The surveys appear to be from genuine companies, he said.

"As far as we can tell, they appear to be legitimate," he said. "It could be that the firms are not policing their affiliates properly."

The scam finally points users towards a Firefox add-on that installs a "dislike" button.

Mr Cluley said the add-on also appears to be legitimate.

Ron Sharpp, CEO of FaceMod, the maker of the add-on, told BBC News that his company was "in no way affiliated with the online scams".

He said the firm had been sent "several support e-mails" asking about the surveys.

"In response, we've taken efforts to remind our users that those are not official posts and warning users not to download any version of our add-on from an alternate source," he said.

In addition, the company has issued a warning via its Facebook page.

A spokesperson for Facebook said it also regularly warns users about rogue applications.

"We always encourage people to not click on links that appear suspicious - even if posted from a friend," a spokesperson said.

The site has a "very quick process in place" to make sure that links and rogue applications were taken down quickly, they added.

"They can report any posts to us. We can make sure that we take down any application or all of the links across Facebook."

But Mr Cluley said that although Facebook could respond quickly, it should police the development of rogue applications more closely.

"Anyone can write a Facebook app - these scams are constantly springing up," he said.

source, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10987725

IE 9 Beta – Minus XP

2010-08-17T09:07:00.000+01:00

Internet Explorer has reached it’s 15th birthday. The next generation version of Microsoft’s Internet browser will be available for users to try out on September 15. That is everyone except those people still clinging to Windows XP. Because that group, Microsoft has determined, will be shut out of the latest software.

Microsoft believes that somewhere around 68% of Windows users are still running the two-generations-old version of the operating system (remember Vista?). The estimate is that many of those are corporate customers that can’t afford a large-scale upgrade (not just in software, but also in hardware). There are also a number of individuals who simply are not ready to make the transfer or don’t need to or are possibly confused with the upgrade process. Still others may still need convincing that their existing software will continue to run on Windows 7.

Many still recall hearing about how when the upgrade to Vista occurred, the printers no longer worked, even if the drivers were available. Specially designed software that ran just fine on XP, fell flat on Vista. So many are thinking that upgrade is not viable.

But now we are talking about the new version of Microsoft’s Web browser, which has been going through developers in a preview build for the last few months.

The challenge to Microsoft is clear. Internet Explorer, which was once so dominate that it handled more than 90% of the country’s Web browsing, has seen it’s market share diminish by various other browser alternatives. These include, Google chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari and Opera. One of the reasons that Internet Explorer lost it mojo was that it was technically deficient compared to others. They were faster, could handle more videos, could download faster, and had new approaches to web surfing.

But Microsoft has also been luring users back with increased functionality and a stronger relationship with Web content developers. If they weren’t listening before, they are now.

For instance IE9 will bring to the table include support for HTML5, which has been controversial, and a new Javascript engine known as “Chakra.” It is still anyone’s guess what the browser will actually look like, though, is anyone’s guess. It is assumed that Microsoft will reduce the clutter than was in IE8 and give the new browser a fresher, more robust, and simpler interface. At least that is the theory. We won’t know what it will look like for sure until the beta goes live next month for Vista and Windows 7 users.

source, http://www.windows7news.com/2010/08/16/9-beta-xp/

Find Out What Windows Error Codes Mean

2010-08-13T00:04:00.000+01:00

I’m sure you’ve all experienced it at some stage or another. You’re just quietly working away on yourPC and all is well, suddenly you get the cringing error sound and then a window pops up with a great big red X. In the window is a whole bunch of numbers and letters, an error code.

Generally the only way to figure out what these mean is to head on over to Google and do a search for them, but there’s an easier way. The Windows Error Code Lookup Tool (also known as ErrMsg) is a handy little program developed just to help you with that problem.

You can download this portable program from here, then you just have to run it and you will be able to enter your error code. It should then translate all those0×80070570 into English for you and let you know what it actually means to human beings.

It works on both 32bit and 64 bot versions of Windows 7 as well as previous versions of Windows.

That’s one option, but there’s another little program as well, a bit more advanced but does pretty much the same job. WELT (Windows Error Lookup Tool) will also allow you to lookup those error codes, but it also allows you to add notes so next time you get that error code you can keep track of what applications are causing it.

It offers 3 categories of error codes which are Win32/HRESULTS, NTSTATUS and STOP Errors. You have to enter the error code and then select the category and hit enter. This option is probably more for advanced users as most users wont know what the different categories are.

You can download WELT here

How To Fix Corrupt Or Unavailable User Profiles

2010-08-12T23:54:00.002+01:00

Now this isn’t a problem I encounter to often, but sometimes when you have several accounts on the one machine, trouble can occur with the various different profiles and they may become corrupt. It could be as a result of somebody deleting an important file, a virus or malwareinfection or a system crash, not to mention the mysterious “it was perfectly fine when I used it” answer that you can get from little brothers and sisters.

Anyway enough of the blame game, how can you actually fix a corrupt profile? Well thankfully you don’t have to go digging through the registry and trying to restore from back ups etc… there’s a handy little program floating around called Reprofiler, and they might just save the day for you.

If you’re experiencing errors such as Windows no longer recognizing the profile that belongs to a certain user (it creates a new empty profile when you log on and continues to use it instead of your old one) or if you simply can’t log on at all then you need to give this a go.

You need to log onto another user account and run Reprofiler. Simply select a user account and you will be able to see the user name, domain, SID and profile path. It will then notify you as to whether or not it’s logged on or not and gives you the option to log it off before you perform any actions on it.

Then you will be able to use detach to disconnect a profile from a data folder or assign to re-attach. If you’re getting a message when you log in that Windows was unable to load your profile due to some form of error, ReProfiler’s assign button could very well provide an automated fix for you, with very little input on your behalf.

source: http://www.windows7news.com/2010/07/30/fix-corrupt-unavailable-user-profiles/

Click here to download it

2010-08-05T01:46:00.001+01:00

Why does broadband speed vary so much?

By Jane WakefieldTechnology reporter

The actual speeds of UK broadband services are still falling short of those advertised Ofcom has found

If you are a night owl who enjoys surfing between the hours of 4am and 6am and are fortunate enough to live on top of a telephone exchange then you are probably very happy with your broadband speeds.

But the majority of people in the UK are not getting the broadband services they signed up for, according to a comprehensive speed report by regulator Ofcom.

So what are the factors that determine how slow your fast service will actually be?The survey found that for DSL services advertised as being "up to" 20Mbps, only 2% of customers got speeds in the range of 14-20Mbps. Of the others, 32% were getting a 8-14Mbps service and 65%, 8Mbps or less.

Line length

With DSL services which run on the old copper wire telephone network (basically any service other than Virgin Media) the signal strength of a line is determined ultimately by physics.

"If you stand and shout at someone from 50 metres you will be heard better than from 100 metres," said Sebastien Lahtinen, co-founder of broadband news site ThinkBroadband.

It means that one of the biggest factors for those signed up to DSL packages is how far they live from a telephone exchange.

Ofcom estimates that the average "as-the-crow-flies" distance between user and the telephone exchange in their survey was 2.4km (1.49 miles) but anyone getting out their measuring sticks be warned: the physical distance you live from the exchange does not necessarily equate to the length of your telephone line.

"Telephone wires don't necessarily follow the obvious path and line distance may be significantly longer," said Mr Lahtinen.

So for instance in the Isle of Dogs, where a straight line from homes to exchange is 3km (1.8 miles), the line distance is actually 7km (4.3 miles).

Rush-hour

Another factor determining how fast your broadband speed will be is the time of day you surf. At peak times of the day there will be more people using the service which will make it slower for everyone.

For customers of Virgin Media's cable service, this rush-hour network congestion is the biggest factor.

"Differences between actual and advertised speeds on cable is almost entirely due to congestion because the cable that goes down the street is shared by everyone on it," said Ian Fogg, a senior analyst with research firm Forrester.

According to Ofcom, actual speeds at peak times for those using Virgin's 20Mbps service tended to be closer to 15.7Mbps.

At peak time someone using its 50Mbps service may see speeds fall to around 35Mbps. By contrast those able to stay awake until 4am will enjoy speeds close to the maximum - at 45Mbps.

New cabinets

For DSL providers, congestion is also an issue with some providers performing better than others.

While O2 does relatively well at peak times, others such as Orange and PlusNet are below average, according to Ofcom's figures.

“Start Quote

"If you are on 100Mbps it doesn't really matter if you only get 50Mbps because that is still going to be enough for what you need”

Sebastian LahtinenCo-founder ThinkBroadband

"It's down to the nuts and blots of how a provider runs it network. Put in layman's terms it is about how big the pipes are between the ISP's network and other points on the net," said Mr Fogg.

Next-generation services, in the form of Fibre-to-the-Cabinet, which BT is rolling out to around two-thirds of homes in the UK could improve things.

Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) replaces copper wiring between the telephone exchange and the green cabinets that house the wires at street level with faster fibre optic cables. The rest of the connection, between the green cabinet and the home would be provided by the latest generation of broadband telephone line (DSL), known as VDSL2.

"FTTC will dramatically improve the line length issue and a key factor in this will be the number of new street cabinets they build. This will depend on the level of investment they put in it," said Mr Fogg.

As speeds get faster, the distance between advertised and actual speeds will become less of an issue, thinks Mr Lahtinen.

"If you are on 100Mbps it doesn't really matter if you only get 50Mbps because that is still going to be enough for what you need," he said. Congestion on the network and the internet will still be an issue but other factors will become more important.

As more and more people use so-called cloud computing to store their data in the network, upload speeds will become increasingly crucial.

"Upload speeds haven't been the focus of Ofcom's research but they go up to around 2.5Mbps which could be a problem if you have a lot of photos to upload," said Mr Lahtinen.

As speeds get faster, more focus will be put on the quality of a connection as people demand the best performance from voice and video services, he said.

Some factors determining the speed of your connection are closer to home, such as the wiring in a customer's house and the speed of their computer.

BT offers some practical help when it comes to wiring problems, with a device known as a broadband accelerator available free to BT Retail customers.

Formerly known as the iPlate, the broadband accelerator is a device which can be fitted into a main telephone socket to filter out interference. To date BT has sent over 140,000 accelerators to customers.

It shows there are things that individuals can do to improve their speeds but the bigger picture is that broadband speeds in the UK remain in the slow lane.

"Speeds have changed very little and for the UK to enjoy dramatic improvements there needs to be investment in fibre," said Mr Fogg.

As that investment gets under way, people lucky enough to be near a spanking new green box may have cause for celebration but broadband in the short-term remains something of a postcode lottery.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10774406

Infected XP owners left unpatched

2010-04-19T10:01:00.005+01:00

Only those running Windows XP have been left without a patch

Some of the latest security updates for Windows XP will not be installed on machines infected with a rootkit virus.

A rootkit is sneaky malware that buries itself deep inside the Windows operating system to avoid detection.

Microsoft said it had taken the action because similar updates issued in February made machines infected with the Alureon rootkit crash endlessly.

The latest updates can spot if a system is compromised by the Alureon rootkit and halt installation.

Find and fix

The latest batch of updates for Windows was released on 16 April and some of them fix vulnerabilities in the core, or kernel, of Windows. This is the same place that rootkits try to take up residence.

When Alureon is present it monitors net traffic and plucks out user names, passwords and credit card numbers. It also gives attackers a back door into infected machines.

The virus first appeared in 2008 and has been spread via discussion forums, hacked websites and bogus pay-per-click affiliate schemes.

FREE ANTI-ROOTKIT TOOLS

AVG

Avira

F-Secure - Blacklight

McAfee

Panda

Sophos

Trend Micro

Notes for the security patch explained which "abnormal conditions" would prevent XP users applying the updates.

"These abnormal conditions on a system could be the result of an infection with a computer virus that modifies some operating system files, which renders the infected computer incompatible with the kernel update," read the statement.

By not applying the patch, Microsoft hopes to avoid a repeat of events in February which left many people struggling to get their computer working again.

Microsoft also wants to avoid a situation in which people become wary of updates because they provoke a crash.

It is not yet clear how many people have been left without the updates.

Microsoft urged those who are infected to ensure their machine is cleaned of the rootkit. It recommended using its malware removal tool or using rootkit detectors from other security companies.

Many modern security packages have them built in and will find rootkits when a machine is scanned.

iPad Sales Estimated to Have Already Surpassed 500,000

2010-04-07T21:55:00.001+01:00

Advertising firm Chitika earlier this week rolled out a running tally calculating the number of iPads accessing the Internet via the device's Safari browser based on unique hits to its network of advertisements. According to current tallies, over 500,000 iPads have now been sold.

In a blog post, Chitika research Dan Ruby notes that the company's numbers have been registering significantly lower than official and estimated sales numbers, a phenomenon Ruby has attributed to some users not accessing the Internet. For example, by midday Monday, Chitika had registered nearly 270,000 iPads on its network, while Apple had already announced "over 300,000" iPads sold on Saturday with more sales obviously rolling in Sunday and early Monday. We've even heard that Apple may have sold over 750,000 iPads already.

How to Enable Flash Support in Google Chrome in Ubuntu

2010-03-11T21:21:00.001Z

The Chromium team has released an alpha unstable version of the Google Chrome for Linux and Mac platform. Those who are keen to try out Google Chrome in their Ubuntu machine, but are not willing to run it under wine, you can now grab the deb file and install it in your system.

One of the limitation of Google Chrome in Linux is that it does not support flash. If you intend to use it to watch your favorite YouTube channel, then you are out of luck. Luckily, there is a little trick that you can use to overcome this limitation. If you have installed the Adobe Flash player for your Firefox browser, you can now use the same player to run flash script in Google Chrome.

Installation

If you have not installed Google Chrome (unstable), go to the Chromium dev channel and grab the respective deb file for your system (32-bit and 64-bit). Double click on the deb file to start the installation. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.

Check for Adobe Flash player

If you have previously installed the Adobe Flash Player in your system, you should be able to find the libflashplayer.so file in the /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer directory. However, if you have installed the Flash player via the ubuntu-restricted-extra package, the libflashplayer.so will be located at the /usr/lib/adobe-flashplugin directory instead.

To find out where your libflashplayer.so is located, you might want to do a search in Nautilus.

If you have not installed Flash Player, run the command in your terminal to install it:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer

Installing the Flash plugin

Create a plugins folder in the Google Chrome directory

sudo mkdir /opt/google/chrome/plugins

Copy the libflashplayer.so file to the plugins folder.

sudo cp /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so /opt/google/chrome/plugins

Note: change the source path if your libflashplayer.so file is not located at other location.

Editing the Application menu

Right click at the Application menubar and select “Edit Menus”

Scroll down to find “Internet” on the left pane and select Google Chrome on the right. Click on the Properties button on the right side.

In the Command field, change the command to

/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome --enable-plugins %U

Save and close all the windows.

The flash player should be working in your Google Chrome now.

Hard drive evolution could hit Microsoft XP users

2010-03-09T12:14:00.001Z

Windows 7 is one of few operating systems that are "4K aware"

Hard drives are about to undergo one of the biggest format shifts in 30 years.

By early 2011 all hard drives will use an "advanced format" that changes how they go about saving the data people store on them.

The move to the advanced format will make it easier for hard drive makers to produce bigger drives that use less power and are more reliable.

However, it might mean problems for Windows XP users who swap an old drive for one using the changed format.

Error codes

Since the days of the venerable DOS operating system, the space on a hard drive has been formatted into blocks 512 bytes in size.

The 512 byte sector became standardised thanks to IBM which used it on floppy disks.

While 512 bytes was useful when hard drives were only a few megabytes in size, it makes less sense when drives can hold a terabyte (1000 gigabytes), or more of data.

The 512 byte format dates from the days of the floppy

"The technology has changed but that fundamental building block of formatting has not," said David Burks, a product marketing manager for storage firm Seagate.

This fine resolution on hard drives is causing a problem, he said, because of the wasted space associated with each tiny block.

Each 512 byte sector has a marker showing where it begins and an area dedicated to storing error correction codes. In addition a tiny gap has to be left between each sector. In large drives this wasted space where data cannot be stored can take up a significant proportion of the drive.

Moving to an advanced format of 4K sectors means about eight times less wasted space but will allow drives to devote twice as much space per block to error correction.

"You can get yourself into a corner where you cannot squeeze much more onto the disk," said Steve Perkins, a technical consultant for Western Digital.

This shift also allows manufacturers to make more efficient use of the real estate on a hard drive.

"We can put more data on the disk," he said. "It's about 7-11% more efficient as a format."

By Mark Ward
technology correspondent, BBC News. read more

20 Essential FREE Apps for your Mac

2010-01-30T13:01:00.001Z

Skype - Multi-platform VOIP software enabling FREE Face-to-Face communication across the Internet.
MSN Messenger for Mac - Connect with your contacts on MSN and Live Messenger accounts.
Virtualbox - A Virtual Machine which allows you to have Windows installed on your Mac within a VM without having to reboot as in bootcamp.
Time Out - This handy little App will help you take breaks away from the computer during prolonged sessions.
Handbreak - Convert most video CODECS across all platforms, ideal for converting DVD footage to be playable within iMove, iTunes or even Apple TV.
AppCleaner - Uninstall Apps from your Mac with ease.
Caffeine - Stop your Mac going to Screensaver or Sleep when it’s busy carrying out your orders.
Disk Inventory X - See what’s taking up all the space on your HardDrive in an easy-to-read graphical display.
Dropbox - Share files across all your computer in sync, truly cross-compatible with Linux, Windows and Mac as well as iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
Fluid - Create full-blown-apps out of websites, i.e. Facebook or eBay could have their own icons on the doc to be launched directly without having to load Safari first.
Free Solitaire 3D - Missing Solitaire from Windows? this little app should fill the void.
Google Chrome - The new browser from Google, it’s pretty quick.
KeePass X - Keep all your passwords safe and to hand in this cross platform compatible app.
Poladroid 9.6 - Remember the old Polaroid cameras that used to magically print out your photos minutes after shooting out of thin air? this fun little app replicates that process on your mac from your existing photos.
SimplyBurns - A great, simple little app for carrying out most burning tasks with CD’s and DVD’s.
StuffIt 12 - A Winzip style Zip compression tool creates ZIP files compatible with Windows.
TweetDeck - Keep in touch with all you Social Networking including Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In all in one easy to use interface.
Vuze - Great BitTorrent client.
Adobe Reader - Read PDF Files, multi-platform.
Growl - Custom Desktop Alerts for your Mac.

Just Google these Apps they're all very popular and really easy to find.

Apple's iPad to 'kickstart' tablet market

2010-01-29T12:43:00.005Z

Industry watchers say Apple's long-awaited iPad tablet could reverse the fortunes of the tablet PC industry.

Microsoft introduced a tablet computer in 2001, but it failed to catch on.

However, advances in touchscreens and wireless technology mean that the market could now be right for products such as the iPad, analysts said.

Tablets have been around for a long time and tablets have failed for a long time. This is a winning product," said analyst Van Baker of Gartner Research.

I was nervous when they first started talking about this and thought it would be nothing more than a giant iPhone.

It's hard to argue against. I can use it in the living room, the classroom, for light work and at the coffee shop," Mr Baker told BBC News.

read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8484395.stm

iPad, the next big thing?

2010-01-28T22:47:00.000Z

If the iPhone's anything to go by hold on to your hats! Apples attention to UI (user interface) design is second to none as proven by the iPhone user experience and more recently the breakthrough touch sensative Magic Mouse; with this innovation in mind I'm sure that the interface will fit like a glove.

Personally a main selling point for me is a cost effective, lightweight and highly portable connection to my online world for a small fraction of the price of a Macbook Air, as well as sync with MobileMe.

Important: THIS IS NOT A LAPTOP!!!

Don't buy an iPad as a laptop replacement if you need to carryout any more than basic web-centric tasks.

Me personally? I'm going for the WiFi model. I'll post a further update when I get my hands on one.

For now you can find out more at http://www.apple.com/ipad

Apple Magic Mouse

2010-01-13T16:21:00.002Z

Just got my hands on the new Magic Mouse from Apple today... Firstly I'd like to say this will be a positive review as I've found very simple work-arounds for many of the negative comments which have been posted since it's release. Let's tackle those negatives first.

Eats Batteries a simple solution for this one two rechargeable batteries with a charger off eBay for £4.99
Only basic touch features, no third or fourth buttons this issue I'm sure will be fixed by apple at sometime in the near future, for the time-being there's a great freeware solution available at http://magicprefs.com/, I use this solution myself, but don't go too mad on touch configurations as too many gestures can get in the way of fluent use.
Profile too low I disagree, for me personally the ergonomics of the magic mouse work just fine.

Initially I wasn't sure about giving up my beloved Mighty Mouse but I've got to say the upgrade to the Magic Mouse has been well worth it although the price at £55 was a little hard to stomach.

Conclusion: If you're on a Mac... Go get one!!!

2010-01-06T22:58:00.002Z

Where do old computers go to die?

I'm often asked how and where to dispose of old computers once they've reached the end of their useful lives, when disposing of your computer or even if you're thinking of donating it to a charitable organisation it's important to insure none of your personal data is left on the machine. Although there are certain software applications available designed to wipe hardrives of all data, I would recommend removing the harddrive(s) and retaining it it for safe keeping or even to destroy it to prevent future data access, pretty much everything else in the computer is safe to handover without fear of identity theft.

Remember there are many harmful chemicals in computers which can have a serious effect on the environment therefore it is much better to upgrade your old computer if possible or to donate it to charity, friend or even another family member. There are schemes setup to donate or swap old computer equipment to new homes which is a great way to recycle your old PC.

For more information on reusing and disposing of computer equipment please see http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Wasteandrecycling/DG_069060

Google Chrome for Mac

2009-12-08T20:48:00.000Z

Google Chrome for Mac is now officially out in beta and is a fair alternative to Safari or Firefox. I've been running the developer version of Crome for some weeks now and I've found it to be a very rapid browser with an intuative layout. To get your hands on Chrome for Mac just Google it.

Still using AVG Antivirus software? STOP!!!

2009-12-05T15:44:00.005Z

Over the past few months I've found myself fixing virus-riddled machines which have had AVG Antivirus installed on them, it doesn't seem to matter if it's the free or paid versions, all I can say is for some reason AVG keeps letting the nasties through. My advice would be to uninstall AVG NOW and replace it with Microsoft Security Essentials which like AVG is FREE and you have the peace of mind that its' written by the same company who built Windows in the first place.

To summarise my experience so far has led me to believe that Microsoft have got this one right! Everything I've thrown at SE has been handled with ease. It stays out of the way, doesn't hog system resources, and provides a good level of protection from common viruses and malware.

Microsoft Office 2010 Beta

2009-12-04T23:39:00.003Z

Microsoft Office 2010 Beta is now out for you to take for a test drive @ http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx

let me know your thoughts. I'll be testing 2010 with Windows 7, I'll post my findings.

Microsoft investigates Windows 7 'screen of death'

2009-12-01T14:25:00.000Z

Windows 7 was released in October

Microsoft has confirmed that it is investigating a problem described as the "black screen of death", which affects its latest operating system.

The error means that users of Windows 7 see a totally black screen after logging on to the system.

The firm said it was looking into reports that suggest its latest security update, released on Tuesday 25 November, cause the problem.

Reports suggest the problem also affects Vista, XP and other systems.

Software firm Prevx, which has issued a fix for the problem, says "millions" of people may be affected.

"Users have resorted to reloading Windows as a last ditch effort to fix the problem," the firm's David Kennerley wrote in a blog post.

"We hope we can help a good many of you avoid the need to reload."

continue reading this item @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8388253.stm

Microsoft UK Education Windows7 - Home - Ultimate Steal

2009-11-17T08:52:00.002Z

Are you a student or teacher based in the UK? Good news! you can take advantage of Microsoft's Ultimate Steal, windows 7 for just £30 and Office 2007 for just £38.95! All you need to do is enter your college or university email address to see if you qualify. The UK Ultimate Steal website is @ http://www.microsoft.com/uk/education/studentoffer/

New PC to encourage older users

2009-11-11T10:36:00.002Z

A new computer aimed at people aged over 60 who are unfamiliar with PCs and the internet has been unveiled.

The simplified desktop - called SimplicITy - has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks such as e-mail and chat.

The computer comes pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie Singleton

More than 6 million people over the age of 65 have never used the internet, according to government figures.

Read full story @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8352606.stm

Thinking of upgrading to Windows7 ???

2009-10-21T11:23:00.006+01:00

If you're thinking of upgrading to Windows 7 when it's released tomorrow you might want to consider downloading Microsoft's Windows 7 upgrade advisor beforehand to get a heads-up of any hardware or software compatibility issues you may be facing, this quick download could save a major headache. It's FREE!!! Follow this link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=1b544e90-7659-4bd9-9e51-2497c146af15 to download directly from Microsoft.

My thoughts: The performance of Windows7 is reported to be significantly greater than Windows Vista, if you like the Microsoft way of doing things it's certainly worth a punt...

Millions tricked by 'scareware'

2009-10-19T19:56:00.004+01:00

The scam is difficult for police and other agencies to target

Online criminals are making millions of pounds by convincing computer users to download fake anti-virus software, internet security experts claim.

Symantec says more than 40 million people have fallen victim to the "scareware" scam in the past 12 months.

The download is usually harmful and criminals can sometimes use it to get the victim's credit card details.

Scam hits more e-mail accounts - READ THIS!!!

2009-10-06T20:01:00.002+01:00

The scale of a phishing attack originally thought to be directed at Hotmail may be larger than previously thought.

BBC News has seen a list of more than 20,000 more names and passwords that have been posted online.

Read on @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8292299.stm

courtesy of news.bbc.co.uk By Jonathan Fildes, Technology reporter

FREE Antivirus from Microsoft???

2009-10-06T16:12:00.006+01:00

Microsoft Security Essentials... Following on from my recent post on choosing the right Anti Virus software Microsoft have effectively made their OneCare product FREE to Genuine XP, Vista and 7 PC's packaged up as Microsoft Security Essentials. The application is available to download at http://www.microsoft.com/Security_essentials/ where you'll also find an instructional video guiding you through the installation process.

My first impressions are that the software looks well presented with a good interface, it seams quite simple and easy to use, as yet the effectiveness of the software is unknown compared to established brands such as Norton, McAfee and AVG. I have the application running on a virtual machine and I'll keep you posted of any developments.

Conclusion: If your AV software's coming up for renewal it's definitely worth considering especially in this current financial climate but be warned the competition are stating "You get what you pay for!", whatever... I'm gonna give it a shot.

YouTube Page

2009-10-02T20:25:00.003+01:00

The Computer Wiz has a brand new YouTube page @ http://www.youtube.com/user/cpwizcouk where I will be uploading my own screen casts showing tips and tricks on Mac and PC, take a look and subscribe to get updated when new movies are uploaded.

Antivirus Software

2009-10-02T00:27:00.008+01:00

Free or Paid? You get what you pay for! The question you have to ask is do I want to pay for repair bills and possibly loose data or do I want to save the cash in the long term and invest change out of £40 - £50 now.

AVG is a common free AV application with a paid option, if funds are tight some AV is better that no AV although if you can I would suggest looking at the Norton 2010 products by Symantec.

AVG Website, Symantec Norton 2010 Website

Upgrade to Snow Leopard on the Mac?

2009-10-02T00:22:00.005+01:00

Upgrade to Snow Leopard on the Mac? To start this question is a bit of a no-brainer through cost alone! As many have already reported this is an "under the hood" upgrade with subtle feature enhancements. My judgement would be to go for it.

The Computer Wiz Blog

2009-10-01T22:53:00.003+01:00

Welcome to my brand new Blog for The Computer Wiz. This is where we're going to discuss news and views on new and upcoming tech in the world of personal and business computing... Stay tuned.