Ahhh yes January. Time for New Years resolutions, weight loss commercials, and exercise equipment. It’s also a reminder of what we have been too relaxed about in our lives, and what we need to reclaim for next year.

The end of 2008 is quickly approaching. There’s a great deal of blogs displaying their New Years reflections and 2009 wish lists. For me, I have never been one to make a New Years resolution; it seems pointless to promise to do something that will not be. Instead, New Years is a time to be more organized. Out with the old, and in with the new. I am a computer geek chick, for those of you who are unfamiliar with me. The beginning of the New Year is a time for a fresh start (on my computer).

Whether you’re a Mac or a PC owner:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I just love that saying. It has saved my butt many times over.

Isn’t it funny how we spend more time caring for our car, than we spend on preventative maintenance for our computer? Most individuals spend at least 8 hours a day on their computers and tend to take for granted it will always startup without any technical issues. Let’s start the New Year by giving a little TLC to our friend, “The Computer.”

Organization of files

Clear off that desktop. Come on, I can see the mess from here. How many times have we quickly downloaded something from the Internet and plunked it on our desktop? How many times have we copied something from a USB stick and dragged it onto our desktop? The list goes on, and on. So, your personal challenge is to dispose of the unneeded files on your desktop, and create a new “STUFF” folder for everything else you don’t want to deal with - for now. Or better yet, choose a specific day and sort through EVERYTHING 110% and move things into their rightful place (ie: new folder, recycle bin, external hard drive).

Backup-Backup-Backup!!!

Or else you may regret it sooner than later. Backup frequently and regularly. Backing-up computer files is a task most people dread completing. If you’re like me, I tell myself “I will do it later.” Although, “later” never comes around here much. So, January is when things are put into perspective and “later” is recognized as “right now.”

Uninstall

Now is a great time to uninstall those games your kids put on your computer that’s occupying prime hard drive real estate and causing it to slow down (especially if your a PC user). Also, uninstall any programs you no longer use, have not used, disliked once you installed them, and have no future plans of utilizing. Don’t be afraid - uninstall those unwanted programs.

Virus/Malware

Once you’ve organized, backed-up, and uninstalled unnecessary programs; I would highly recommend running a virus/malware scan on your PC computer. Refer to my prior post “Make Your PC Run Faster,” for tips, software recommendations, and web sites.

Not for the Light Hearted

This isn’t for everyone. I once read an article years ago which suggested formatting your PC and reinstall your operating system. Starting fresh each year is a great way to start fresh and get the bugs out. Without getting to technical, this is a very complex job. Not only because of the reinstallation of the operating system, but because of the reinstallation of all the files that were backed-up. Restoring music into iTunes is what I dread most. I find myself praying to the iTunes Gods. This is not for the simple hearted, however it is my preference and New Year practice.

If you are contemplating this route, make sure you have all of your recovery discs prior to completing this task. More and more companies are hiding a partition on PC hard drives, which contain everything needed for this task. Unfortunately, step-by-step instructions are beyond the scope of this post. Due to the various types of computers, it would be virtually impossible for me to address each individual circumstance completely.

What is on “YOUR” Computer?

Drop a comment and let me know what your preventative maintenance habits are for your PC/Mac. Please share with others what programs you tend to use & what works for you. I do realize the PC has more virus/malware software available than the Mac (we all know why, shhhh “big brother” is watching), however we would be very interested in knowing what you enjoy running on your computer. Through the sharing of information, we can all help each other.

Happy New Year

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope everyone finds time to give their trusted friend, “The Computer” a whole bunch of TLC this holiday.

Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for sharing!

Happy Holiday’s

Tags: Computing, Mac, OS, Operating System, PC by Chris Hebert
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On Thursday, December 11, 2008, Microsoft reported a “Limited Exploitation” of Internet Explorer. All versions of IE were vulnerable to attacks and exploits. The current threat infects the users computer, then attempts to steal passwords from the compromised computer.

Vulnerability Increases

It was reported by Microsoft Malware Protection Center, roughly only 0.2% of users in the world could be exposed to any type of website involving exploits that contain any vulnerability. However, as of Saturday, December 13, 2008, only two days later - the increase had escalated to over 50% in reports.

Where It All Began

The attacks were started from legitimate web sites to include exploits. In Taiwan, a popular search engine was unfortunately hosting the exploit. Later in Hong Kong, Microsoft discovered a website which contained the exploit. The site contained various content, including adult entertainment. Visitors of these sites were exploited with trojans detected as “Trojan:Win32/VB.IQ.dr” and “Trojan:Win32/VB.IQ.”

Symantec reports a heavy targeting in china. Generally, an overwhelming amount of attacks are threatening Asian countries. Vulnerability is due to many users whom are working with pirated versions of Microsoft software, and cannot access any security updates.

If you are currently using Internet Explorer, please be aware it is highly vulnerable to attacks. Please follow the link provided, in order to update your current versions security.

IE Security Update

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-078 - Critical Internet Explorer Security Update (960714)

Removal - If Infected

Symantec recommends “Disabling System Restore” on versions Windows Me/XP temporarily. If your computer has been comprimised, the virus, worm, or Trojan can reinfect your computer with the backed up “System Restore.”  Windows does not allow any antivirus program to modify System Restore, therefore threats will continue to infect your files again, even after you have cleaned your computer.

Tags: Blogging, Computing, Network Security, Operating System, PC, Virus by Chris Hebert
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I love trying to repair something I have never been challenged with before. The only fear is the possibility of not being able to fix the issue after I play around and break it further. Let me explain this. A computer geek has to not only diagnose the issue, but has to use trial and error often in order to fix the situation.  Given that explaination, I would like to share what recently happened to my husbands PC computer.

Backup Blackberry

While driving home one night I mentioned to my husband, “you should probably backup your Blackberry contact information onto your computer in case something ever happens to your phone.” Just like most individuals, his entire personal & business contact list is inside this little piece of metal. Nothing is wrote down anywhere, and he has never used the software that came with the phone to back it up.

He agreed I was right (rarely happens). After he found the USB connection and the CD which came with the Blackberry phone, he then proceeded to install everything on his own. Outlook was his method of choice on his PC, to sync (backup) his contact list with.

Not only did he backup his Blackberry contact list, but he decided to clean house on his computer desktop. He started throwing as much as possible into his “Recycle Bin.” I am sharing this information with you because the result of what happens next cannot be precisely explained. I am uncertain if the installation of the Blackberry software (my guess) caused the problem, or the vast amount of mixed matched files/icons he disposed of caused the issue.

Delete Everything but the Kitchen Sink

After dragging everything but the kitchen sink into his “Recycle Bin,” he then tried to open a MS Word document and received an error message; “Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and will open in Safe Mode.” There was no alternative to opening MS Word, other than in “Safe Mode.” No matter what I tried to do/not do - MS Word was not starting up other than in Safe Mode!

My first reaction was for him to try and shut off the computer and turn it back on. This did nothing. During my research on the Internet, I found (or didn’t find) out there is not a great deal of supporting material to help fix this error within MS Word. What I did find, I would like to share with you in hopes it will save you more time in fixing the issue than what I had to spend fixing it.

What? Word in Safe Mode…

First off, I learned through others comments - the installation and reinstallation of MS Office will not fix the problem (which was something as a last resort, I was willing to try). Therefore, I didn’t wast my time trying this option. I did however try to “Restore” his computer to an earlier time. This did nothing except put back the ugly icons on his desk which were in the Recycle Bin.

Second, I found a website which recommended backing up the registry and navagativing deep in the Registry, where Word’s Registry key lives. The website suggested to delete a certain folder. I love to live on the seat of my pants - so guess what… I did this one, and I hate to tell you this, but I didn’t work.

Third, further research on the subject mearly explained a hiccup in MS Word’s hidden “Normal.dot” file.  The “Normal.dot” file can become corrupt for unknown reasons.

To Technical ~ Dumb it down please…

The least “geeky” way for me to explain this phenomia would be this: MS Word uses the hidden file “Normal.dot” to create blank documents. It is a Global Template which Word uses when it starts. If ”Normal.dot” becomes a corrupt file - you’ll receive the wonderful error message “Microsoft Word has encountered a problem and will open in Safe Mode.” Not only will you receive this message, but “Safe Mode”  is the only option for MS Word to startup in.

Quick Fix

Delete the hidden file “Normal.dot” which is corrupt, and upon the restart of MS Word, it will create a new file because it cannot locate the old one.

1. Select My Computer -> Tools ->  Folder Options -> View -> UNCHECK “Hide Protected Operating System Files” (close Folder Options window)
2. Select Start -> Search -> All Files/Folders 
3. Select More Advanced Options -> make sure “Search hidden files and subfolders” IS checked
4. Type normal.dot in the search box -> select Search

Once the “Normal.dot” appears in the search results window, delete the file. As stated earlier, Word will recreate this file upon startup. There may also be a file “~Normal.dot” as well. I deleted both files just to make sure, and the issue was resolved. You choose…

Start MS Word. Just a note, you may or may not have to re-enter your name/initials upon restart of the program, in a pop-up box. If so, enter the appropriate information and enjoy MS Word without having to work within “Safe Mode.”

The information which I have provided serves as a diary for my future reference in case of a similar situation. If you benefit from my research, please leave a comment.

Tags: OS, Operating System, PC by Chris Hebert
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I am sure other PC users have fallen into my footsteps before. Late one evening I decided to clean up unused programs on my PC. I hastily decided to cancel my “uninstall” choice before it was finished. Bad move!

Programs installed on a PC contain  ”.dll” files (dynamically linked library; a library linked to an executable program). Without getting to geeky, lets just say they can be unfriendly if uninstalled incorrectly.

Incomplete “Uninstall”

After I cancelled the “uninstall” program choice, I noticed the selected program no longer existed within my “Add/Remove” program listing. Therefore I was 100% positive my selected program had been successfully uninstalled, even though I cancelled the process before it was complete. I then decided to call it a night and shut off my computer (something I don’t usually do).

When I started my computer the next morning, I received the following error message:

Windows cannot find ‘C:\Program’ make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again

I quickly returned to my “Add/Remove Programs” listing to verify my uninstall from the prior evening. Sure enough, the program was not listed. This meant the program did not exist any longer on my PC. Well, this is partially true. Unfortunately for me there were some little buggers lurking around somewhere which Windows did not like.

How to Fix PC Error and Clean Registry

After much research on my error message, I ran across a wonderful program. “CCleaner” is a freeware program which removes unused files from your system. It contains a registry cleaner and will remove tracks from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera. In addition, this wonderful free program can create a registry back-up before cleaning it.

During my online research, I ran across an individual making reference to the product name. The “Crap Cleaner.” I am unsure if this is the name intended for the product, but I can swear by its performance.

The product takes less than a minute to complete. CCleaner contains NO SPYWARE or ADWARE!

CCleaner Saves the Day!

Another feature of CCleaner is its ability to be used as a privacy tool because, CCleaner erases all Internet History from your machine. Although this is a wonderful feature, and deleting our Internet History should be a common practice; do not forget, any passwords which were saved in your history will no longer be available to you once this program is used. You will have to re-enter previously saved passwords, and/or login information to websites which you may have chosen to “Remember Me” from previous login’s. This is a small price to pay when your computer is spitting error messages at you. Trust me.

PC Runs Faster

After installing and running the program, I rebooted my computer (a common practice after an install/uninstall). Upon restarting my computer, the error message had been corrected and has never reappeared.

www.cnet.com

www.cnet.com is one of my favorite secure download sites. If you wish to try this product, search “CCleaner” on your own, and enjoy a faster running PC. Quite possibly an error free one as well.

Tags: Computing, Network Security, Operating System, PC by Chris Hebert
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Technology is always moving faster than most of us can keep up to. Many have been forced into purchasing Microsoft Vista on our new machines, but miss the look and feel of Windows XP. Here you will find a few tweeks that can make you relax and feel at home with your new computer. Soon you will be buzzing around again like an old pro.

First off, where is the START button?

Vista has replaced “Start” with their lovely logo. As pretty as it is, once selected your brought into a whole new wold of panic. Everything has a new look and organization. If you are comfortable with the organization within the “Start” structure, skip to the next tip. If your missing the feel and convenience of the classic Window’s XP “Start” menu, follow these steps.

1. Right click the Windows Logo (”Start”)
2. Properties
3. Classic Start Menu
4. OK

Test drive your classic “Start” menu. Ahh, now doesn’t that feel better?

Where is “My Computer”

Another issued I discovered and did not care for in Vista, was having to locate where the accessibility to desktop icons I use frequently had been moved to. If your like me, I utilize “My Computer, Network, Control Panel” and others on my desktop for easy access. Here is how we can put them back for you.

1. Right click any vacant area on your desktop
2. Personalize
3. Change Desktop Icons (upper left)
4. Select a check mark for the options of “Computer, User’s Files, Network, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel”
5. OK

How to Change Vista Shut Down Power Buttons

The default setting for Window’s Vista power button is Sleep. This can catch you off guard if you own a laptop and believe you are shutting it off for the first time, to then return and it is still running. Don’t worry, this can be configured easily within the Power Settings.

1. Open Control Panel
2. Power Options
3. Change Plan Settings
4. Change Advanced Power Settings
5. Scroll down to “Power buttons and lid”
6. Locate ”Power buttons action”
7. Select Setting: “Shut down” (drop down list)
8. Locate ”Start menu power button”
9. Select Setting: “Shut down” (drop down list)

Back to Peace

Like every new release of Windows, the icons are prettier, they are always in different locations, and the names change. However, with these quick shortcuts we can bring you back to peace with your new operating system. Have fun and enjoy!

Tags: Operating System, PC by Chris Hebert
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