CrexTechs Blog

What is this RSS feed thingy and why do I want to use it??

pam — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:31:11 +0000

According to Wikipedia, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndiation.

How can something that is supposed to be "really simple" be so befuddling?

I know that RSS is used to feed information to users from sites that update regularly, like blogs, without the user having to go to each individual site.

One can get updates through email, which is what I usually do and an option we offer on this blog. We use Feedburner's email subscription service. Clicking on the link on the bottom of the left column takes you to the Feedburner subscription screen where you input your email address and then type in those funny letters to insure that a real human is signing up. To further insure the security of your email, you receive a confirmation email from Feedburner. Once you click the link in the confirmation email, you are signed up and will automatically get CrexTechs blog updates. How easy could it be!! The down side is that this update comes to you usually the next day. RSS promises much more timely updates.

We also offer RSS through a link on the page (right column under Links). While I maintain this blog, it has never been clear to me how RSS works. And what one has to do to subscribe via RSS. I recently wrote to our Web Guru, Bryan, who set up this blog as well as our website, to ask him how RSS works.

Here is my email to Bryan:

Hi Bryan, I am writing a blog posting about RSS feeds--trying to understand how this works, so I thought I'd write about it. I went to our blog to click the link for the RSS and got code. I was expecting an RSS subscription screen. Am I just dense and don't get how this works or is the code not supposed to be showing up?

From Bryan:

What happens when you click that button is totally dependent on how your computer is set up. (When I hit the RSS button in my browser on the CrexTechs blog it automatically opens in my "feed reader.") RSS is just an .xml file ("code") that has the most recent updates in a standard format that "readers" like Google Reader or NetNewsWire use for updates.

Most browsers these days pull links out and put it in the menu bar, but the link is also buried at the bottom of every page of the blog in the footer information. You'd take that link (or any one like it on the web) and copy and paste it into whatever reader you use to subscribe.

Some sites use a service like FeedBurner to provide a page with more options like this one for Red Rock, but that's a third party thing and can actually make it trickier to figure out how to subscribe if you don't happen to be using one of the readers they support.

Does that help?

Thanks Bryan, it sort of helps, I think. So I have to cut the link and paste it into a reader that I choose. Not sure where I find the reader but when I figure that out, I'll add an addendum to this post!! It's just reassuring at this point to know that you know--it is so good to have a Web Guru!

Sunbelt Security (VIPRE) promoting ClearCloud

pam — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:07:12 +0000

This came to us directly from the Sunbelt Security Newletter. We are passing it along to you as we are now using ClearCloud and think you should too!!

One bit of warning: If you save attachment files to the temp file, ClearCloud will delete these so be sure to do SaveAs and save to a different location like your desktop, MyDocuments or Downloads.

SunbeltSecurityNewsVol. 3, #77 - August 25, 2010 - Issue #77

Sunshine under the ClearCloud

The concept behind ClearCloud is to give you access to a safer World Wide Web. It is a free service that checks every website address your computer is trying to access, whether you're browsing the internet, clicking a link in an email, or a program "under the hood" trying to communicate with servers for information or updates.

ClearCloud prevents you from being able to access known bad websites, sites that will download malicious files to your computer. Even better, ClearCloud prevents you from being able to access malicious websites that you may not even know your computer is trying to access - and it prevents potentially nasty programs from "phoning home" and secretly communicating between your computer and cybercriminals.

It is important to note that many programs legitimately phone home to get software updates. Microsoft Windows and Adobe Reader are two common programs that will check for current updates. ClearCloud knows the websites accessed by over a million safe programs and provides free passage to these sites. The difference is that ClearCloud knows which websites are malicious (a growing phenomenon).

ClearCloud is part of the DNS network, and has access to every URL in the world. You can think of DNS as the "phonebook of the internet," translating the name of the website into an IP addresses-the "phone number," which your browser uses to find the website. Just as you save phone numbers in your cell phone by the names of friends and associates, DNS holds tens of millions of web site names with the correct IP address.

When you type in the URL in your browser and click "Go" or "Enter" your browser sends the URL to ClearCloud. ClearCloud looks it up in a table, checks it against the list of bad websites, and if it passes, sends back the numeric IP address so your browser knows where to go to get the web page - all in milliseconds. If ClearCloud discovers that it's a bad URL, it sends back the IP address of our webpage that informs you about the malicious site. Chances are the site you're trying to go to will attempt to install a malicious program on your computer or fraudulently obtain money from you. If you think a particular site should not be in our database, please report it to our Blocked Site at Sunbelt Security.

If a site you want to visit is blocked by ClearCloud, you can submit the site to ClearCloud and we'll investigate if it belongs on the list or not. If the web site is no longer malicious, we'll remove it from our database. We're looking for Beta testers to install and use this utility to enable ClearCloud and report their results. With this utility, anyone can enable ClearCloud on their computer at the touch of a button, even those who are not familiar with the inner workings of Windows.

To find out more about ClearCloud, visit
http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/NK7DJ1/100824-clearclouds

To download the utility directly, go to the Setup page,
http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/NK7DJ1/100824-clearcloudsetup
.
Be sure to post anything you find on the ClearCloud Support forum,forums.ClearCloudDNS.com
Get the security you need for safe and reliable internet surfing with ClearCloud. It is very simple to set up yet really increases your security level - become a ClearCloud beta tester.

Are you a blogger? You could be!

pam — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:14:12 +0000

Plenty of people are discovering blogging as a great way to have a website without the cost of having a website. Whether you feel passionately about an issue you want to rant about on the net or you want to post your family history research, your poetry or your latest travel journal and pictures, or you make hand tooled leather purses that you'd like to sell, blogging could be for you. And you can do it cheaply, if not for free, on any one of numerous blogging sites (Google free blogging sites).

We developed this blog (because we feel passionately about computing!!) using WordPress software, and host it on our own server. There are plenty of blogging sites out there that will host your blog for no charge using their easy-to-learn blog publishing tools that allow almost anyone to create and easily maintain a blog. You can even send blog posts via email, Facebook and Twitter!!

My favorite free blog site is Blogger. I have created blogs on Blogger for a number of writer friends who want to post stories or chapters of their books. Some (the lucky few who are published) use their blogs to keep fans posted on where they are doing readings and book signings.

I created and maintain a blog for my local garden club on Blogger. We post meeting minutes, pictures of events, a roster of officers, a listing of upcoming meetings and links of interest to gardeners. We also post recipes and links for member endeavors. Check us out at

http://burnettgardenclub.blogspot.com/

I helped my friend Mary with her blog on Blogger. She makes homemade soaps and is able to use her blog as her web presence which includes linking to PayPal's shopping cart program. Checkout her blog at

http://www.logcabinsoaps.net/

Now I have learned that you can make a book out of your blog postings! I think this is a fantastic idea especially for people who use their blog to post family stories and pictures. Just think of the great coffee table book you could make of you blog posting about your travels through Europe!! Here are a few links to companies that provide this service (we do not have experience with these companies so can't recommend any of them specifically):

http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook

http://blog2print.sharedbook.com

With CrexTechs' custom Mini-courses you too can learn to blog in no time!! Call or email for details.

Malwarebytes saves the day!

pam — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:56:21 +0000

Sunbelt Software's Vipre Anti-virus program is our anti-virus software of choice but don't be fooled, one anti-virus program is never enough. Vipre recommends, and we concur, that you should also run an anti-malware program such as Malwarebytes at least once a week and whenever your machine starts behaving oddly.

We worked on a machine this week that had its ability to run programs knocked out. When ever we tried to open Vipre or Malwarebytes to run a scan, the programs would not run. Other types of files were not affected, only "executable" files including all our internet browsers. These program files end with the extension .exe --this extention tells the computer that this is a program that needs to execute. A quick Google search let us know that this was probably an e-mail worm call Sircam.

We were able to finessed the machine into opening and running Malwarebyte. The worm causing the problem was found along with other malware. We ran Vipre to be sure we got everything and all the bad stuff was gone. Malwarebytes saves the day!!

You might ask, if Malwarebytes saved the day, why use Vipre at all? The answer is that Vipre is a great sentry program that scans efficiently and unobtrusively in the background as you use your computer and can run a deep scan of your machine when you are not using it. Both programs are good but overlap is what we want to keep our machines "clean." There is so much bad stuff out there that no one program can be expected to do it all, as much as we'd like it to.

I run Vipre daily though my machine is almost always "clean." But I have recently started going to potentially troublesome sites like Facebook and Yahoo Games --just got into playing Bejeweled which requires Internet Explorer (a favorite target of the cyber bad guys). I have noticed that Vipre is starting to find stuff to clean up on my machine. I have to admit that I do not run Malwarebytes as often as I should. I resolve today to start running it weekly.

You can get Malwarebytes (freeware and payware versions are available) at http://www.malwarebytes.org/

5 things I never knew my cell phone could do!!!

pam — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:33:32 +0000

I recently received a forwarded email from a friend with a subject line that instructed me to print out and place in your car. Thinking that this might be something I should know about, I opened the email (I have lots of virus protection so I took a chance) and read about 5 things I never knew my cell phone could do. I was a bit skeptical and so I did what I always do when I get these forwarded emails offering some bit of crucial information, political insight, or tear-jerker story. I checked it out on Snopes.com.

If you have never used Snopes.com, I suggest that the next such forwarded email you receive, you copy the subject line and paste it into Google. One of the first sites that should come up on your search will be Snopes.com.

Snopes will give you the text of the email or a variation of the email, tell you the date it first hit the web and what is know about the origin. Then each point the email makes will be covered as to accuracy.

I emailed my friend after I read what Snopes had to say and I sent her the link. She thanked me as she always does when I send her the Snopes link. One day she will check out Snopes first to be sure she is not only sending her friends accurate information but relying on accurate information herself.

Snopes also lets you look up items that have circulated on the web by category.

Check out what Snopes had to say about this particular email.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/cellphones.asp

Regaining control of your Hotmail account

pam — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:15:58 +0000

We just helped a woman regain control over her Hotmail account. Needless to say, she was delighted. Can you imagine loosing control of your email account to a hacker who can rifle through your emails to learn what bank accounts, credit accounts, eBay accounts, PayPal accounts, etc you use and attempt to hack those, or use your contacts as marks for future phishing expeditions.

How her Hotmail account got hacked in the first place is an important consideration. Running effective anti-virus and anti-malware software is an important front line defense against having any of your accounts hacked. Using a router with a firewall is also important (if you use dial up, this is not an option). But equally as important are some small things you can do.

Set your password to something with a combination of letters, numbers, capitals and symbols. Don't use whole words that can be easily guessed. And change your password every few months. And, don't use the same password for multiple accounts!!
Have an alternate email account as part of your primary account and keep a record of what that is. You can reset your password using your alternate account, but be sure the password on that account is also a combo of letters and symbols.
Use the security questions. The more questions you use the better but don't use any that could be easily guesses at.
Don't leave your email account open while you are browsing. Log out and log back in. It's a hassle but can keep your account safe. Also, reopen your log-in screen even if it is sitting there waiting for you to log back in. See our post on tabnabbing.
If you receive an email that appears to be from your provider asking you to take some action, don't follow any links to your account that ask for user ID or password. This goes for any account. If you get such an email, go to the account by your usual method. If you can't find where to take the action, Google the subject line from the email to see if it is a scam.

To regain control of a Hotmail account, act fast. Go to the link below. The first link will try to verify you though your old password and security questions. If that fails they will direct you to the next link.

https://windowslivehelp.com/solution.aspx?solutionid=6ea0c7b3-1473-4176-b03f-145b951dcb41

https://windowslivehelp.com/PasswordReset.aspx

If you continue to have difficulty, give us a call.

At CrexTechs – Show-me-how classes!!

pam — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:00:48 +0000

CrexTechs now offers one-on-one, learn-at-your-own-pace, mini-classes on a variety of topics.

Learn how to create a PowerPoint presentation for family photos or for business presentations
track your personal or small business expenses on an Excel spread sheet
Sell on eBay, auction or buy now styles.
Set up a PayPal account for online buying and selling
Set up a blog on Blogger that you can use as a personal or business website.
Or just get comfortable with your computer.

Most courses will get you comfortable with the subject matter in an hour or two. Cheat sheets will help you remember what was covered!!

At our shop, in your home, at your office, or at the local coffee shop.

Rates:

$35.00 per hour at our shop
$45.00 per hour at other locations
$25.00 for the second hour concurrent with the first hour.

If you don't see what you want to learn listed here, request a mini-course with an email to info@crextechs.com

Vipre Warnings – Threat Level Elevated

pam — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:31:20 +0000

Here are some warnings straight from Vipre:

iPod users take note: A large number of Apple ITunes accounts were compromised over the weekend (possibly by phishing) by a rogue developer who used them to purchase his own application. Users concerned about becoming victimized can change their ITunes passwords and removed their credit card info from the account.

Chrome Users: Google has released Chrome version 5.0.375.99 for Linux, Mac and Windows to patch a number of vulnerabilities, four of which are considered high priority.

Adobe: has advised users of Adobe Reader to update to version 9.3.3 to fix critical vulnerabilities could cause Reader to crash allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. Adobe security bulletin here:

http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/NK7DJ1/100707-Security-Bulletin

Opera: Recent update to 10.54.

Firefox: Make sure you update to the latest version 3.6.6.

Danger Zone Topics

Be on the lookout for these threatening searches and spams:

World Cup, Justin Bieber and Eminem's (fictitious) death video.

Stay on top of all the real-time threats:

http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/NK7DJ1/100707-SunbeltLabs

For Sale at CrexTechs – Refurb Dell tower running Windows7!! $399.00!!! SOLD!!

pam — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:56:18 +0000

This refurb machine is now running Windows7 and has dual 2.8 Ghz Pentium D processors with 16 kb primary cache, 1024 secondary cache,1 gig RAM and a 250 gig hard drive (Seagate barracuda!)

You can't loose at this fabulous price! $399.00

SOLD!!

At CrexTechs – Video, film, photo and slide transfer services at CrexTechs

pam — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:26:00 +0000

Slides, prints, negatives, video tapes, 8mm, super 8 and 16mm film will discolor, break or crumble with age, or can be lost, or perish in a fire.

At CrexTechs you can preserver your precious image on DVD! Once digitized you will be able to:

Easily post images online
share copies of your family photos with friends family via DVD or email
Safely store copies of your DVDs in fireproof safe, bank deposit box or online.

Image Transfer Pricing

VHS or DV >>> DVD $25.00 per cassette, 1 hour recording, $35.00 for up to 2 hours (with editing and titling $45.00/hour custom pricing)
Slides >>> DVD .65 per slide, with color editing $1.00 per slide (minimum $25.00)
Picture scanning .40 per picture with editing and cropping .75 per picture (minimum $25.00)
Other projects custom priced

All prices can be adjusted for customization. Tell us what you want to do and we will work out a price.

Pack up those photos, slides and videos and bring them on in. Tell us what you want and Vaughn, our media wizard, will work his magic.

How to find us link