How to restore and backup your Timesheet date on the Android OS!

Timesheet Pro: $2.50Backing it up!

I talked about 3 Different Timesheets but I still recommend TimeSheet Pro from Google Play store.  I’ve had nothing but success but I have had one or two problems along the way with this app.  I wanted to discuss this and possibly help people keep their important time information from being lost.   

Before we begin though there are a few things you need to make sure you have a way to backup your times.  You will need to register for a Dropbox account (Again, I get no money for the link other than the possiblity to get 16gb of space on dropbox).  I have yet to figure out how to use it with Google Drive but I am hoping the maker of the app has it planned in the comming weeks! :) It would be so much easier for me since I already have enough space on my Google Drive to keep it safe!

How to Back it up!

Right Now you will need to have your Dropbox account registered and download the Dropbox app.   You will then need to Authorize Dropbox.  You can get to that by going into your settings menu.   The easiest way I can do it by using the Menu button and then select More and then Settings.   Once their you should then go to the Backup menu and that is menu should look like the picture.   

If you want to have two different backup locations such as the cloud and and external SDcard.   You will need to enter the SDcard location.  It can be several ways like:

/storage/external_SD/(folder)

/mnt/sdcard/_ExternalSD/(folder)

/mnt/sdcard/external_sd/(folder)

/mnt/sdcard/(folder)

These are just a few but if you need help figuring out the name of the location of your SD Card, you can use something like Astro File Manager!  I use this all the time when start using a new phone or tablet.

Now since you have setup both your dropbox and ou sd locations.  You will need to test it out if this is your first time, if not you will just have to go to next step.  

Restoring your Information!

Now since you have setup the dropbox.   You will now need to restore the information that you have lost.   If you did not do this in the first place your data probably wasn’t backup and this will be useless but if you did this in the beginning to prevent that then please continue!

You will need to find the location that you have the newest backup of your data, either the external sd card or Dropbox.  You can use Astro File manager to know which dmp file was created the lastest.   Once you’ve found it, you will need to make a copy of the file.  This way if something while restoring you can still have a copy.   

The dmp file should start of with:

(year)(month)(date)_numbers_numbers.dmp

Even I do not know what the numbers mean but you can find the date that is needed to back up and copy to either the cloud or copy from the cloud.   Once you have made a backup of that file.   You will then need to rename the file to “automatic.dmp” and copy it to the location on the sdcard that you’ve told the program were to backup to.  I found this to be the easiest way.  You can however just use the file that is created but I like to keep it from being deleted or used.  

If you have setup the paths the right way and copy the files to the right directory you will see something like this when you click restore on your phone or tablet.   Each time you need to restore, you should follow these directions that way it makes it so much easier and simplier.  If you decided to use the automatic.dmp file, you will have a selection to select the automatic file.   Either way, once your restored your back to where you have left off.  

If I have helped you with this app please consider sharing it and also use my Amazon link whenever you want to buy something from Amazon.  This helps me keep doing the things I love.  A small commission is given to me everytime you use this link to buy products or services from Amazon and you pay nothing more for using it!

Dark Side of Adsense

As many of you know, I've wrote a blog postabout Adsense for Begginers.  I wrote this to try to make people see that Adsense isn't all that bad.  I wanted to expand on this and talk about the Dark Side of Adsense.

AdSense is an advertisement application run by Google. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text, image, and more recently, video advertisements on their websites. These advertisements are administered by Google and generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis. Google beta tested a cost-per-action service, but discontinued it in October 2008 in favor of a DoubleClick offering (also owned by Google)

[Via Wikipedia]

Now we know that Google uses what we like to call a Per Click payment plan, that is to say on occasion you get paid for ratio of page views.  It can be 0.05$ or more, I don't know how they figure it out but I do know there is more to this than what you see behind the Adsense.

[ad#ad2-right]I went on a journey to find out about Adsense and I stumbled across this post about Adsense Fraud.  I wanted to add to this by talking about why people are would do this even more.

I might not know a lot, but I do know that with the Recession still going on and people are trying to find ways around making money.  Some people have went to the Darkside of the money making idea.

Now we know that Adsense calculates your Pageviews with you click ratio or your Rate of Return.  I know Google has a very good Algorithm to use with figuring out what ads to place for each site.  You see I've recently gotten a lot of traffic to my site and all of the sudden my Ads I have on my site are more colorful.

I know Google might not admit it but I suspect they have several levels of tiers for ads.  I would only assume that if  a site has more pageviews, it would mean there is a more cost to put ads on the site.  Now we all know that Ad Space is valuable because the Ad helps drive traffic to the sites that  user or users are interested in.

Why people would want to go to the Darkside of Adsense is no mystery.  It all involves Money, We've heard it before and we will always hears this online.  Someone is making a fortune off of advertising a month.  It will be a big sum of money some have even boosted about it, 500$, 1000$. or more.

Making money is always going to be a long term goal, and anyone who you ask will say they worked for that money.  You can never really make money without working, it's something that everyone has to learn.  You earn it every time you cut the grass or every time you go into work.  It takes three things:

1. Time -- is a component of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects. Time has been a major subject of religion, philosophy, and science, but defining time in a non-controversial manner applicable to all fields of study has consistently eluded the greatest scholars


2. Work -- is a measure of the work done by human beings. It is conventionally contrasted with such other factors of production as land and capital. There are theories which have created a concept called human capital (referring to the skills that workers possess, not necessarily their actual work), although there are also counter posing macro-economic system theories that think human capital is a contradiction in terms


3. Support --  is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings.

[ad#cricket-right-ez]It takes Time, yes I do mean this.  You can't build a big website over night.  It takes several different things to make your website good.  The design is one, the name is another, and lastly it's your personality that determines the way people will react when they come upon your site.  I've learn that the hard way,  when I first started blogging, I never got any major page views.  Then I went into working on my blog.

When I say work, I mean work.  You need to find where your best at and exploit it.  I don't mean exploit it illegally but I do mean use it to bring out your website.  Like mine, I have been working hard at research finding website others would very rarely come across.    I also want to be able to teach people about blogging and instruct them in the proper way to blog.  I have made mistakes in my time and I can bet I will make mistakes in the future, so I always say that is always going to be a works in progress.

The final thing is Support, if you don't have support from your returning readers you will never be able to advance in pageviews.  I mean that if your readers don't recommend this to other people then no one will find out what your really like.  It all depends on the readers, they are who you are writing to and trying to make a connection.

I know I went on a Tanjent and I made this a rather long post, but I hope this helps you understand about Adsense and blogging.  These two actually have a great deal in common.  They both need those  Three steps to succeed.   It all depends on how much you want you accomplish.

Malicious Spammers target Bank of America

I've saw two different security firms talking about Bank of America and I wanted to share with you:

Picture from F-secure

[ad#cricket-right-ez]The two sites are F-secure and Pandalabs who are talking about Bank of America and how they try to get you to install malware.  With Adobe having just sent out the new updates last month it looks like spammers are using this to get people to install Malware.

It is also been known to be floating around in Facebook this spam.  So if you get a link going to a site you don't know about to see a video and it says you need a codec or the Adobe update you should turn right around and leave site. You should always type in the url of Your Bank and not go there through links.

From what they are saying it monitors Network traffic and Steals ICQ, POP3, and IMAP passwords.  If you find network traffic going to Hong Kong IP, then it is time to check to make sure all your Virus definitions are up to date and you've installed an Anti-virus and Firewall.  I would encourage  users to report it to Phishtank so that any other unsuspecting user or person going to that site will be warned.

I hate Snopes Spam

As you know Snopes is used to find out about urban Legend and Rumors:

I received a Virus alert from my RSS feed about Email virus warning.  It even adds a Snope URL.  The Author just copies and pasted the virus warning into the blog without even going to Snopes.
[ad#ad2-right]

According to Snopes and I'll quote:
Although the Postcard virus is real, it isn't a "BIG VIRUS COMING" (it's already been around in multiple forms for a long time now), it will not "burn the whole hard disc" of your computer, CNN didn't classify it as the "worst virus" ever, and it doesn't arrive in messages bearing a subject line of 'Invitation.'

[Via Snopes]

Now as you can tell the link described in the blog post was "http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp". If you went there, you'd have seen this as a not really true and some parts of this might be but that part about burning your Hard drive or even consider the Worst virus isn't true.

Some things you need to consider before forwarding anything is:

• Is it completely True?


• Is it Legitimate?  (True blown warning about something like a product recall  or something important like that)


• Does it Say to Forward? (if so it is probably not wise)


• is it from a Friend (If so you might want to remind the friend nicely that it isn't nice to send spam)

If you follow some of these suggestions you'll be making the Internet a far better place for everyone.  Remember if you don't know, it's time to learn.  if you do know, it is time to teach.  These are the fundamental aspects of using the internet the right way.  Also if it is a fake virus warning you should tell them to get a Free Anti-virus and Firewall to better protect them.  Also  remind them that if they keep their system updated then they shouldn't be too worried.  Remember only you can prevent a Computer Virus and it's up to you keep your system up to date.

Facebook Goes Phishing again

In one of my Previous articles about the Koobface Worm, I talked about the way they were infecting the systems and what you need not do.

It seems that Trend Micro has seen an even more rise in people downloading the WORM_KOOBFACE.AZ and Seems to be on the RISE. This is all done with a Social engineering and Has had some attempts before with this little worm on Facebook.

[ad#ad2-right]After your Infected with this new Variant, it searches for cookies and Sends out a message to people from:
* facebook.com
* hi5.com
* friendster.com
* myyearbook.com
* myspace.com
* bebo.com
* tagged.com
* netlog.com
* fubar.com
* livejournal.com

This seems to be a social engineering Nightmare for these websites and as yet are unsure what else it does but it says the same thing it did before by saying "This is a Video of You on the Street." Which is bogus but none the less people click and think they have to download a codec or update their Flash. Social Engineering is on the rise and will be taken seriously. You should read the full report from Trend on what it does but you also should have an anti-virus and Firewall installed to prevent this from happening in the first place. The only true way of preventing this is not to be fooled, you should NEVER Download from a site you don't know or trust. See all the Facebook articles for more information.

TINYURL being used by scammers and hackers -- How to prevent it!!

With Phishing attempts going on with the TINYURL redirect website, I thought I would show you how you could prevent from going to a site you don't want. Tinyurl.com has a great little feature, although it is a feature based on your cookies. It however will help prevent you from going to a site that you don't know anything that about. It's called the Preview Feature, and is available to any user who wants to use it.



As you can see if you enable it and you go to a click on a tinyurl, you will see this:

http://tinyurl.com/6t7ukk



[ad#ad2-right]As you can see, if you click any TINYURL links you will automatically be told where that link is redirecting you to. This however only works with there being a cookie left behind in your system to let tell Tinyurl that is has to show the link first. So if you clean your cookies out from time to time, you will need to enable it every time after you clean the browser cookies. This will help prevent you from being phished because you will be able to tell if it is the right site in the first place. If not then you don't have to visit that site. This should be enabled on all Short URL Sites, I hope they make it a mandatory for any site that redirects. This would help stop phishing and scammers because they can't hide behind unknown url. Only time will tell though, these sites are always going to have problems but this would solve so many problems.

PolyMorphic Win32:Vitro Most Viraulent Virus

This seems to be an virus that is getting some people hit hard.   I wanted to blog about this because of the nature of Virus and Trojans.   I have read reports that this might be from Online Movies, and I have to say this is one reason why you must stay away from certain online movies.  I am going to take a guess that this virus requires a special CODEC, and you downloaded it and installed it.  It Could also be the update the Adobe Flash player idea to but still results in getting the Virus.

As I said before you take a risk when you go to sites you don't trust or know anything about.   You also should know that if you need a "SPECIAL" codec, you should just go on to another site.  These sites that claim they need this special codec means only one thing they want to install something without your Knowledge.

So what is this Virus:

The Virut family of viruses uses polymorphism to hide from all anti-virus protection, it infects executable files. File infection makes it very hard to repair a system that has been infected. W32/Vitro injects code in running processes and hooks the following functions in ntdll.dll which transfers control to the virus every time any of these function calls are made.

* NtCreateFile
* NtCreateProcess
* NtCreateProcessEx
* NtOpenFile
* NtQueryInformationProcess

[via Avast Forums]

After you get this very bad Virus you are done for.  You would need to install the Operating system from backups or even start a new.   This seems to be building this week and there isn't much you can do once your infected.  I do recommend a good Anti-virus and Firewall but that wouldn't fix the problem right now.  You will need to pull your backups out and start the process.  I suggest a complete wipe and then do the Restoring the backups.  This little virus likes to infect any .EXE it can so just restoring the Windows Directory will not help.  Remember only you can prevent from getting infected.

Tech Journalist breaks the silence -- Journalist got Pwned!!

It was another ordinary day for this tech journalist. He had just waken up from his lovely dreams and hadn't realized that he was being baited with Phish. Yes that is correct he actually gave out his password to an Phish site and didn't know it.

I have to admit that he didn't hide it, in fact he decided to post about how he got Pwned and what happened.

The Face Of A Facebook Phishing Scam
[Click Picture to see the full story]

[ad#ad2-right]As you can see the site : Facebookcom.awardspace.com is a phishing site and should never give out your information to third parties.   Some things to remember if you get an email with a link sometimes won't send you to the real link.  This can be easily done just like blogging.  You don't know where you will end up when you click an email link.   One thing to remember is if in doubt log into facebook the old fashion way and see for yourself.

You could be the next person to have your Identity taken away from you.  So what should you do to prevent this type of phishing attacks, assume any email you get from Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Any other Social Sites to be a possible phish email.   These are always going to be a problem for these sites.  The spammers want access to be able to spam your friends and family with links, or to make you look foolish.  This is the reason they do it for Money or just for laughs.

One thing to remember is having a strong password will make it that much harder for you to be phished because if you can't remember it you will be more careful.  I will keep preaching this having a good Firewall and Anti-virus will also prevent you from getting viruses from these type of phishing attacks.  It will also make it much more harder to go to sites that smell like Phish.  Remember only you can keep your identity a secret.

Viacom might be going to HULU

According to some of the news post people are worried about Viacom leaving Time Warner. Now Here's where Viacom might be going digital. What do I mean Digital, I am talking about going to HULU. If Viacom doesn't sign a deal with Time Warner, that would leave a space ope for someone else like Hulu.

So Viacom isn't happy with Time Warner, or They want to go IPTV. Some of the Headlines I'm seeing are:

[ad#tim-right-free-cell-1]
• Time Warner Cable Loses Viacom: MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central To Go Dark


• Dispute Between Time Warner and Viacom May Affect Cable Shows


• Viacom could pull MTV off Time Warner Cable


• Viacom And Time Warner Cable Play Chicken; Programmer To Pull Networks Over Fee Dispute

These are just a few that I am seeing pop up around the internet.  So what does that mean to the internet user?  Well On one of there show's like Dora the Explorer on Nickelodeon will begin to stream some of the shows previews on Dec 29, 2009 for it's next show.  When you go to Nickelodeon Site you get this:



[ad#ad2-right]Although this just means they want as much money as possible this does give Hulu the chance to start streaming this type of content easier and probably be able to sign a contract with them without much of a fuss. After all Viacom wants to make money some how. So what can you do to get them to go to Hulu. Email Hulu and tell them and tell them you want Viacom to come to Hulu. If this happens so many things will happen with regards to online media.

Disaster preparation 101 -- Data backup

In this one I will talk about Disaster, it happens to all of us from time to time. A fire, a earthquake, a stolen laptop or any number of ways. So what happens to your data, is it stored on the laptop? Is it important very sensitive data? Could you get fired if you lost that data?

[ad#ad2-right]These are all questions you must ask yourself when you have laptop. How do you backup your data or even do you have a backup? Having seen this with my own clients, I must wonder if there are people out there who just don't care. I had a client the other day who gotten a virus and this was a really mean virus. Deleted some very important files when you tried to clean the virus out. She called me in a panic because she couldn't load up windows? I asked if she had any backups, she said "what's a backup" . So I sat there discussing this with the client for over 20 minutes. Finally she started to understand, she said she had the OEM Backup DVD but nothing else. She also said she needed help with getting data off the computer. I told her that I would be able to come the next day and I was lucky the virus didn't do anything else to her data. We were able to retrieve the data from her system. That is where I start my rant , Why would anyone not have backup of there most important data?

So How do you backup your data? This is controversial and somewhat depends on how much people want to spend to keep there data safe and not loose pictures or music. There are several ways to do it, each way has it's pitfalls or short comings and requires a little more effort:

Kinds of Backup

Hard Medium - DVD, CD, External Hard drive

• Wikipedia's List of DVD backup Software -- This is good for beginners who want to explore how to backup options.


• Free Hard Disk Backups and Restore Software -- Gives you a list of great free backups and restore software to help you backup your system.


• GoodSync Backup --  This isn't free but helps you backup your software to an external drive and makes sure you have the most current files on your system.


• Some other Backup Software -- This is a variety of good backup software from Amazon.

Although,  The hard medium is usually used that doesn't mean you can have a backup other than hard.   Here are some ways to back up on the internet.

Internet Medium:

• Jungle Disk -- Provides online storage through the Amazon s3 service.   Only pay for what you use.   It works well with most Operating system.  I've used it on Vista so it is really nice.


• Carbonite Online backup --Another good Online storage.


• Some Other Online backup -- Here a list from Amazon to better help you find the type of software that you might need.

These are just a few options, if you want to look for other you can.  The important thing to do is BACKUP because if you need some data that gets wiped or destroyed.  You will be kicking yourself for not backing up.

Western Digital To Shed 2,500 people from the workforce!

I saw this on Engadget and had to talk about this.    If you are getting Laid off.   This will be over shortly,  I am sure of it!!!

[ad#ad2-right]Just in time for the holidays, it's Tickle Me Layoffs. Western Digital is cutting loose 5% of its workforce -- that's 2,500 more people who'll be staying home against their will. Hey Nintendo, why are you so happy?

[Via Engadget]

This is sad just before the holidays people will have to stay home and worry about the coming year.   I hope they get some help with the government.   Where is the second check that we are supposed to get?

IE vulnerability in the Wild

Well this was bound to happen, hackers found this vulnerability and is using it for their own purposes.  [ad#ad2-right]It seems they put a virus on your system.  Microsoft has issued an Recommendation and to check out Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-055.

"What we've seen from the exploit so far is it stealing game passwords, but it's inevitable that it will be adapted by criminals," he said. "It's just a question of modifying the payload the trojan installs."

Said Mr Ferguson: "If users can find an alternative browser, then that's good mitigation against the threat."

[Via BBC News]

[ad#ad2-left]I personally like to recommend a program that will do a better job at security and that is Firefox,  I also suggest people use the Thunderbird and not Microsoft mail program.  This will greatly reduce your likely hood of getting a virus or Trojan.   Most of the time hackers like to find new ways to infection to get into your system.  If you want to preven having a virus in the future, I'd recommend going to my Malware Resource and check out a good firewall and anti-virus.   This will prevent you from getting some of the viruses and other types of malware.

Tools for Virus Removal : The ones I like to use!

In this post I want to talk about virus removal tools that I like to use when I need to remove a virus.   Some thing to consider when using these tools are:

• Is it a Rootkit?


• Is it Spyware?


• Is it a Virus?


• Is it a Trojan?


• Is it a Worm?

Each of these have to be dealt with differently because each requires something different.  Like rootkits if you have one installed and know that it is a rootkit you only options are to download some rootkit removers like:

• Sopho's Anti-rootkit remover --  This is good for those more known viruses and can remove several types of rootkits.   This isn't the only one I use, but it is a part of group that does the rootkit removing for me.


• Microsoft Rootkit Revealer --  This is good for proving there is a rootkit.  I've not seen it not detect a rootkit.  Most of the time when I find a rootkit from the other rootkit revealers this one actually dos better with information.


• Panda Anti-Rootkit Remover -- This one is another one I use when the other ones can't remove it.  Each one does remove certain rootkit differently and works better than the other.


• Aries Rootkit Remover from Lavasoft -- This is good for those really tough rootkits but have some great benefits for removing some of the really tough rootkits.

These are the ones that work well with me when it comes to removing the rootkits.  I've not had one of these to remove a rootkit but that depends on how you deal with the virus in the first place.  Now for Anti-spyware and Anti-Virus software here are some of the tools that I suggest:

• Hijackthis -- Run it, and when you get the LOG file you will want to go to HijackThis Log Analysis Site 1 and HijackThis Log Analysis Site 2, and see what it says.  This is the best software because it will scan all of the registry and tells you like a wiki what might it be.


• MSCONFIG -- Sometimes it is hidden but if you check through the MSCONFIG for any files that might not need to load. Also check the services tab and see if there is any services that may not be needed.


• Pctools Antivirus Free Software -- This is a free software so what can I say.


• AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 7.5.503 -- This is another free one that can remove viruses really easily. Download this and you don't have to worry to much.


• Avast Home Edition -- AVG does better than this one but people seem to like this so I have to add this for people who like this better than the others.


• Clamwin Free Anti-virus -- This is a good one because this is open sourced and easily can help detect so many viruses. This is good for those people who like open sourced.

These are just  the ones that I like to recommend that does pretty good on removing the viruses but there are others that I recommend on my Malware Resources that people have recommend to me but I haven't tried them out yet.    Some of the Spyware and Adware removal and here are some of my favorites:

• SuperAntispyware -- Easily remove pests such as WinFixer, SpyAxe, SpyFalcon, and thousands more! Repair broken Internet Connections, Desktops, Registry Editing and more with our unique Repair System.


• Malwarebytes — can provide the needed assistance to remove the infection and restore the machine back to optimum performance.


• Ad-Aware — This is a very good tool to get rid of some of the most annoying little viruses that try to fool you that you have a virus.


• Windows Security Trojan Scanner — a Free online scanner to let you see if you might have a Trojan.


• SmitFraudFix — A great little program to get rid of those Desktop hijacks, those programs that take over your browser or other file system.

If your current antimalware software let an infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of SUPERAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes License to protect your computer in the future. SUPERAntiSpyware Professional or Malwarebytes License features highly advanced Real-Time Protection to ensure protection from installation or re-installation of potential threats as you surf the Internet (Both are trusted Vendors by CCSS Forums).

These are just a few that I like to use when it comes to fighting those virus programs and the people behind the virus programs.   If you consider how hard it is sometimes to recognize a virus, you can see the problem with some of the programs they can sometimes  say a file is a virus and delete it and the next thing you know it won't boot into Windows.  This is what needs to be considered whenever you see a warning on your system so you must be careful when you remove files.  You should always have backups that is what I always recommend because the likely hood of something terrible happening to your data.  You should come up with a way to back up your system every week like a sunday back or even a Monday while your at work backup.

Signs of a Computer Infection!

So I was thinking this morning what I missed and I totally missed on how you might be able to tell if you have a computer virus. It does me no good to talk about a virus if you don't know you're infected. I was thinking of the times I had a client who had trouble but wasn't what I thought.

So How do you know?

Some people would say it depends on factors but here are what I call clues that make me suspect a virus:[ad#ad2-right]

1. Slow or Sluggish computers --  Here is what I know if the computer is really slowing down and have a dual core or quad core.  If you are running a system and sees a lot of hard drive activity even when the computer is idle then it might be a virus or it could be a program doing what it is supposed to be doing.  So this is somewhat of an indication but not always.


2. Slow internet connection on the computer or on the network -- Due to the fact that most people have a router that is connected to all the computers and if you internet connection on all your systems are slower than normal then you could have a virus.  I use Speed Test website to help determine this.


3. Corrupt files or Missing files --  Sometimes you have a text documents or files that are missing and you have to pay to get them back.   It's an old scheme and usually once your files have been encrypted you can't get them unencrypted.  So this is why I added this one also because it varies from virus to virus.


4. Programs don't work like they used to --  This is also a very common association with a virus because virus makers don't have time to test it out on a variety.   Most of the time if you get a call that a program is no longer working tat would be the first thing I'd look at, if not check to see what other programs have been installed lately.


5. In some cases more files are the Hard drive --  This can be a indication of a virus because the virus might be using the system to host files or other such illegal activity.   Although this is happening less and less it can still be a possibility and should be checked out.   I like to use a graphical tree size program to determine if that is the truth.


6. Pop ups or Browser redirects -- this is a common thing along the way.  It's always the same and saying something like "you have a virus" or "You unprotected and you might have a virus".  The theme here is to scare the user into buying there product that does not do anything.   It sometimes even looks like a real anti-virus program or spyware program but in truth it is just a scam.  In some cases it will send you to a site because it keeps wanting you to buy the product.


7. DNS Changes on you -- Some hackers like to have you go through there server so they can watch everything you do online.  They are wanting to get the sensitive information of bank account, and other important accounts.  This is really the ones that need to get off your system asap.

[ad#ad2-left]These are the signs I've seen in the past that would indicate a virus but as with any problem.  You will need to check for all the possibilities.   It is always going to be an issue with people because most people don't know about the signs, now you do and you can now be a better computer user.  It is you who can only fight viruses by knowing all the possible system and only you can defeat a virus.  In the next article I will talk about the tools to help you find and defeat a virus.   This will be a big blog post because I have so much to teach and explain.   If you like these post by all means leave a comment and help spread the word.

Cricket Wireless Broadband Card -- How to get better speed!

After buying the card last month,  I did a quick review about the broadband card. I wanted to talk about the speed problems that I had when I first used the modem.  Here is how to possibly getting better speeds when you use your card.   First off, you will need to disconnect from the internet and go to your quicklink mobile application:

You will click on “Tools”  and then hit ‘Activation’.   If you have it fail on your the first time you should reboot your system then try to do the activation after reboot that should fix the activation problem.
As you can see after I did the activation of the modem, my speed went way up from the last review.  I thought I should talk about how you could possibly fix this.  I called tech support over this to get a better speed.  

This is where I learned about the activation.  If you move or go to another City or travel to far, you will need to tell the modem that there is a new tower closer to you.   It seemed to of really boosted my performance when I go to places on the internet.   So if you come up with some cool tips or tricks to help others by all means leave a comment. After this problem is fixed and the speed seems to be coming more and more, I’d like to recommend everyone who reads this article to go buy the A600. It is really a fast little modem and more reliable to boot. My other review was incomplete because of the speed problems I had but now it is fixed and I am really happy!!!

What is a Virus and Why do I have one

After seeing more and more the updates coming from the net.  I wanted to talk about what a Computer Virus or Trojan is and how you get it.   So how did  you could of gotten a Virus in the first place.   So here are some information to consider:

The vulnerability of operating systems to viruses

So what does that mean to you?  Most of the times when you get a virus you have a vulnerability in some place in your Operating system and it is either something that has not be known by Microsoft, Apple, and Linux or is know as a Zero-day Exploit. [ad#ad2-right]

A zero-day (or zero-hour) attack or threat is a computer threat that tries to exploit unknown, undisclosed or patchfree computer application vulnerabilities. The term Zero Day is also used to describe unknown or Zero day viruses.

[Via Wikipedia]

This is one of the most used because if it is an unknown exploit by the Operating System creators then they have a longer to us the exploit.  Most of the time hackers like to use this because that means there is a possibility of finding even more vectors to infect other systems.  You see if they can get on one system they can then find ways to get on other systems.

In the Old days, you'd ask

How Did I Get This Virus, Anyway?

You get a virus when you copy infected files to your computer, then activate the code inside by running the infected application or opening an infected document. How you copy the infected files is irrelevant: Viruses don't care if you get them as an e-mail attachment, a download, or via a shared floppy disk, though e-mail attachments are the most prevalent (and easiest) mode of transport.

[via PcWorld] (Dated Oct 13, 2000 11:00 pm)

That was before hackers wanted to infect for more personal gains.   There is a list of things that hackers want to get when they Infect a system and it is usually very few things.   In the Old days they wanted the fame but now they want money and to take control over the internet.  They usually want to infect for Money or to have computers become botnets.  Now We aren't talking about the Movie, I Robot.   Once a system becomes a bot it doesn't think for itself but follows a line of command from the Command and Control center.  So lets say we have  several hundred bots on one net, and the hacker blacked mailed a server saying if they didn't pay up they'd get DoS attacked.  With enough bots going to one site at one time can slow or even bring down a site, that is how A hacker sometimes uses a virus or trojan to get into a system.

Viruses & Trojans try to Avoid detection

So you have a virus, it wouldn't do a virus any good to be detected right after getting onto a system.   More and more, viruses are trying to avoid being seen and heard.  Most hackers who program are wanting to infect more than one system so they have to make really sure that you don't find out your infected.    So with that said there are several ways  and I won't try to explain them because I think the link talks about it better than I could.   It however will give people something to think about.


In the next few days there will be another post on How you will be able to figure out if you have a virus.  I had to talk about this first so people could understand how to figure out if you have in the next post.  So stay tuned for more

PS3 launches "HOME" so you don't have to go anywhere for the Holidays!

Sony, Launches "Home" today and according to the Washington Post and I'll quote:

PS3 owners will be able to download and check out the new service starting tomorrow. Home is free to Web-connected owners of the game console, though users may opt to spend money to spiff up their avatars and virtual apartments.

[via Washington Post]

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It looks very much like it will be a success with the users.   This should make it a lot easier to meet people and discuss what they are playing.   It looks like they are trying this in BETA and should out of beta in a couple of months.  Sony should start offering service for everyone  as they roll out it to all parts of the world.   It will take time for it to get to all the pople so please be patient.

Xbox Zune? or A Zune Phone?

Could Microsoft be planning to talk about the Zune.   Some blogs are talking about how this will be talked about in next month at CES.  According to some posts and I'll quote:

The Tech Trader Daily column earlier this week on Barron's reports that Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry predicts Microsoft will reveal a Zune phone next month at CES. Chowdry expects that much like Apple's iPhone the device will combine music player capabilities with, he says, "some motion enhancement features."

[Via 1UP]

Although this is a theory, and I can see this happening due to the fact that Microsoft has always like to tie together there products.    So what makes this even more tangible is the fact that Microsoft hinted about this in the past:

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Dated Dec 20, 2006

Xbox European boss Chris Lewis has admitted for the first time that Microsoft is considering games content for the recently released portable multimedia player Zune.

[via Gamasutra]

As you can see Microsoft did hint this and probably will be fact sooner or later.   Some sources are claiming they have this already in the works but it's still a rumor.   I'll let you decide for yourself.

NPR Laysoff 85 people

This is really a sad day for people,  According to NPR themselves they are laying off 64 position and 21 other positions.   I'll quote:


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Companywide, NPR is laying off 64 people and eliminating 21 other positions that are currently vacant. NPR News will still have more than 800 employees on staff, including about 300 journalists.


[Via NPR]

This is another Layoff that people don't want to hear about but will.   NPR isn't laying off a lot of people but they have been doing the news for quite some time.   I feel bad for all the people that are getting laid off and had to tell people about this little development.  If you like what you see, I've got some great tips and tricks for people looking to get hired.

Google let your work from home with Task Lists!!

As the day go by we have all have tasks, and that means we have to keep a way to remember them.  Google decided to add that to there Google Mail.  Pcworld said it the right way:

[ad#ad2-left]If keeping Gmail open all the time just wasn't enough, Google gave us one more reason to stay glued to our computer screens. The Labs Team have released yesterday a new feature for Gmail - Tasks - basically a To-Do list manager. But besides the usual task list bonanza, the new feature can also associate emails with tasks and create multiple to-do lists.

[Via Pcworld]

[ad#ad2-right]So how do you get that to work.  Pcworld has a great resource for people to find out how to get it to work.   Just think it gives you one more reason to work from home.   Google actually did something quite nice when it comes to mail.   It can even convert email into tasks.  If you know of any good uses of this little feature leave a comment.