Monday, February 26, 2007

CounterSpy - don't let it expire

Important -2 weeks ago, I announced here that the new version of CounterSpy is now available. I know many of you downloaded it for the free 15-day trial. This is the program that I use and recommend for detection and removal of spyware. If you took advantage of the free trial, you are now almost out of time - be sure to purchase it for $19.95 so that it will continue to update and protect you for the next year (following years are only $9.95 per year).

Right-click on the CounterSpy icon in the lower right corner of the screen (the system tray) and choose "Open CounterSpy". In the program window, click File - Activate CounterSpy. Then just follow the instructions for activation.

Are you looking for someone?


Certainly one thing the internet has done is connect people from all over the world. We now have communication like never before. It is hard to imagine the amount of data that is exchanged every hour across the globe.

One way to use that to our advantage is to find people. I'm not talking about people that are fugitives from justice or anything like that (although that is a good use of technology). I mean people with whom you have lost contact over the years. High school or college friends, former co-workers from ten or twenty years ago - wouldn't you like to know what they are doing now? There is a website that is devoted to that purpose - it is called Long Time Lost.

The concept is simple - it is based on the fact that most people, at some time, will go on Google and do a vanity search. That means that they will just go there and type in their own name to see what comes up (come on, you know you have done it!). What you need to do is go to the Long Time Lost website, create a free account, and put in the name of the person you are looking for. When that person does the search for their own name on Google, the website pops up and tells them that you are trying to contact them. Nifty!

If you want, you can also just go to the site and type in your name, to see if anyone has registered to look for you. I did that, and one result came up. It said that someone named Annette Thomas Hart was looking for Brandon Scott Johnson. The reason given: "son". That was a little mysterious! Even though I was not the one being searched for, it made me wonder what the story was behind that entry.

Give it a try - it is completely free.

Video - not hilarious, but amusing...

Monday, February 19, 2007

I don't hibernate and neither does my computer

Guess what - your computer does not need to sleep.

There are different levels of "slumbering" for your computer. You can use a screen saver, which just means that the screen changes to different pictures after a period of no keyboard activity. Then there is "hibernation" - this is where your computer's hard drive first takes a picture of everything that is happening at the moment (open programs, unsaved documents, etc.), then the hard drive actually shuts down. This is a deeper level of sleep than the screen saver provides.

I don't use either one. It's really just a personal preference, I guess - but you really don't have to have your computer go to any level of sleep if you don't want to. And if you are getting tight on hard drive space, you definitely don't want to use the hibernation mode. Hibernation uses part of your hard drive to store the "picture" of all the activity before it hits the sack. Problems could arise if you don't have enough hard drive space to accommodate that function.

Update - received this email question: "When the "hibernate" mode for a laptop is activated, the hard drive saves information and shuts down, the screen goes blank, etc. However, is it still drawing power from the laptop's battery? Could we end up with a problem whereby the laptop is put into "hibernation" mode and then the battery is drained until it goes flat and the laptop can't start up anymore?"

Actually the opposite is true - hibernation would save the battery power. Hibernation stores the data temporarily on your hard drive while the computer is powered down. In fact, you could change the battery during hibernation and not lose any data.

Here's a video of a prank that I am definitely going to do sometime:

Friday, February 16, 2007

Shivering in Florida!

I had to laugh when I read this local headline on the internet and thought about our friends and relatives who are still in the frozen state of Maine. Please keep us in your thoughts, as we suffer through temperatures that only reach the upper 50s this weekend!

Monday, February 12, 2007

The new CounterSpy is here!


I have been using and recommending CounterSpy for quite some time. In my opinion, it is the best anti-spyware program available, and it is very reasonably priced. You can try it free for two weeks. Then, if you want to keep it, just pay $19.95 for the first year and $9.95 per year after that. Spyware is a bigger problem than viruses now, so I would not be without it.

And now - CounterSpy version 2 is available! It is faster than the previous version. Probably has some other improvements as well, but the speed is the biggest thing for me.

If you already use CounterSpy, you can upgrade to the new version for free. Just click here and download it, then install it.

If you do not yet have CounterSpy, give it a try. It will probably find all kinds of bad stuff on your computer that should not be there. Just click here to download it, then install it.

UPDATE: Sunbelt Software, the maker of CounterSpy, has just issued this notice: Definitions 497 (released Friday evening) includes a file trace that is causing an unusual type of false detection for Trojan.Gromozon. I'm characterizing this detection as "unusual," because nothing is being removed. In effect, you're seeing a "phantom" detection on a non-existent file that's being caused by an unusual interaction between a file trace in our database and a little-known aspect of the Windows file system (DOS reserved file names). Windows is telling CounterSpy that the file is on the drive when in fact it isn't.

Put very simply: the file isn't there, the Trojan.Gromozon isn't there, and your boxes are not at risk. This will be corrected in the next update to CounterSpy's definitions.

So, the point is...just update CounterSpy and the problem is solved.



Video: Cheerleader bloopers (some of these look painful!)

Monday, February 5, 2007

Make a photo book


I just discovered a website called Tabblo. If you are into photography, or just like taking pictures to create memories, you might find it interesting.

Tabblo does some things that other online photo sites do, such as allowing you to upload and share your photos with other people. This is a free service and there is no advertising or upload limitations.

They also offer other services, such as the one shown in the image here. You can make your own hardcover photo book, measuring 4 x 4 or 9 1/2 by 8. These are not free, but they are affordable ($10 or $30, for up to 40 pages). This is a fantastic gift idea.

You can also make posters and postcards. This site is worth a visit.

Click here to check out Tabblo.

Video: Isn't it nice when you find a great parking spot?