Personal Geek

You can do anything at ZomboCom!

Because now and then we need some silly.

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The timing couldn’t be worse. This vulnerability in Windows XP Help and Support Center has been cracked wide open by hackers, but Microsoft just issued their security updates for the month, so you will have to wait til next month for them to repair it.

Thankfully, Microsoft has posted a quick and easy fix at their support web site. All you have to do is go there and press a button. It looks just like that –>

Here is where you can fix your XP system: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2219475

And here is where you can read the techno-babble about the problem: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2219475.mspx

So if you’re using Windows XP, go now and get the fix. Don’t make me come down there!

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My friend Byron wrote an excellent article about spam, specifically when it comes from an individual you know or a company you do business with. At first you think it’s legitimate. It’s from your bank or ISP or whatever.

But if the email has links, or wants you to log in to your account, or requires any action whatsoever, be warned: This email is probably a fake. Byron breaks it all down and teaches how you discern whether it’s good or evil. Go read Byron’s article, then you can teach all your friends and they might give you some cookies (ya, that’s a hint).

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Everyone should download Firefox 3.6 to get the latest & greatest.

It’s faster, safer, and less prone to crash. And all the really Cool Kids are doing it.

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Millions of people are suffering in Haiti from the earthquake. Please give what you can to Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/en/ or Mercy Corps http://www.mercycorps.org/.

Thank you.

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I love Windows 7 to pieces but one thing I couldn’t do with 7 that I could do with XP is put a folder shortcut in the Taskbar. Then I could access my Downloads folder without having to go to my desktop or start menu. In XP I could open the folder with just one click in the Taskbar. I was very sad that I couldn’t figure out how to do this with Windows 7. But now, thanks to Windows Weekly, there’s a way.

• Find the folder you want and right-click it.
• Select Create shortcut.
• Right-click on that shortcut and select Properties.
• In the Properties window, locate the Target field. It will show you the path of the folder: C:\Users\Janet\Desktop\Downloads.
• Type the word explorer at the beginning of the field so it looks like this:
  explorer C:\Users\Janet\Desktop\Downloads. Make sure there is a space between explorer and the rest of the target.
• Hit Apply. The Target field will now look like this:
  C:\Windows\explorer.exe C:\Users\Janet\Desktop\Downloads.

There’s just one thing. The icon for your new folder shortcut is that generic file folder icon. So let’s find one we like that sets it apart from the rest.

• In the Shorcut Properties window, hit the Change icon button.
• Scroll to an icon you like and double-click it.
• Hit OK.

Now for the best part.

• Find the shortcut you just made and right-click it again.
• Select Pin to Taskbar.
• You can drag it around in the Taskbar to put it where you want. Yay!

I feel so much better now.
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Some people don’t care much about having a public presence on the Internet so they might not care that Facebook is trying to improve privacy. I like to keep my Facebook private so when they announced a major privacy change, I looked at it right away. I couldn’t help it, actually, because they have a pop-up window that invites you to go through a settings wizard.

The wizard is really pretty useless. You can set each item to “Everyone” or “Old Settings”. It does not tell you what those old settings are but I chose old settings for everything anyway.

Facebook Privacy

After you go through the wizard, go to Settings → Privacy Settings and click on each category to check because even though my previous settings were for friends only, some of them had been reset to everyone. Suddenly, without my permission or knowledge, everyone could see my photos, and yours too! Do yourself a favor and take a quick look and make sure your privacy settings are exactly how you want them, then you can relax and go back to playing Farmville.

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Why do you need Microsoft Security Essentials? It’s a free antivirus program, it’s easy to set up, it runs quietly in the background, and it works really well! Sure, those other free antivirus programs work, but they can take up a lot of memory, invade your web browser with pesky toolbars, or slow down your computer.

MSE uses less memory than AVG and it won’t install those browser toolbars that drive me insane. Too many add-ons in your browser slow down the Internet. Sure, you can elect to install AVG without the toolbar and the link scan and the this and the that, but with MSE you don’t even have to worry about that stuff.

My experience with Microsoft Security Essentials has been free of those problems, and when I was cruising around the web yesterday and picked up a virus, MSE told me right away with a pop-up notification. I performed a quick scan and the virus was eliminated.  Just like that.

This is the easiest antivirus program I’ve ever seen. It updates automatically and scheduling automatic scans is easy. You can choose quick, full, or custom scan. And look at the interface: It’s clean, uncluttered, and simple.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Requirements: Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3); Windows Vista (Gold, Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2); Windows 7 (Awesome).

Learn more and download Microsoft Security Essentials today. But before you install MSE, uninstall whatever antivirus program you have running currently. They won’t get along and I hate it when they fight.

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I’m starting from scratch with my new web design, but I’ll be adding lots of content soon. I’ll be sharing information about computers and the Internet to make them easier & safer to use, and more fun to play with.

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