Computer News Articles

How Do I Know If My PC Is Infected With Spyware or Adware

By Buzz Scott

Many people that are new to the Internet world are nervous about the potential of viruses, Spyware or Adware that can harm their computer, affect performance or make their very private information public to others.

Spyware programs can do a number of damaging things to your personal computer. Spyware infects your pc and hides in the background and can do many nasty things to the performance of your system. It can also do harmful things to you such as send out your personal information, your every keystroke and photo that resides on your hard drive, watch your surfing habits and shopping habits and annoy you with annoying pop-ups filled with advertisements and even pornography.

If you are experiencing any unusual changes in your computer's performance or have any unusual new pop-ups, changes to your toolbars or new icons on your desktop, you should run a system scan to find out if you have Spyware. Products exist on the market to help you combat this problem. Be sure to install software that you know is credible. Downloading freeware can often result in further Spyware existing on your computer. Spyware, Adware and Malware companies frequently fool users into sending pop-ups telling them that there's a problem with their computer and this in fact is further spyware. These errors can open your system up to future further problems by fooling people into thinking they're downloading fixes when really further spyware is being downloaded.

Watch your system's performance and at the sign of any unusual activity, realize that you are probably infected. Do something as soon as possible to protect your privacy. These programs don't discriminate and can launch themselves when you or your family members sit in front of the computer. Pornographic pop-ups can turn up whether it's an adult or a child using the computer. Protect your pc.

Antivirus alone isn't enough to combat this problem. Spyware sneaks into your system via executable files that you don't need to do anything to launch. They can sneak in as attachments that you download or by many other means. They're harmful and annoying but you can protect your computer and your privacy with the right software. This software needs to have an auto update for spyware definitions as new spyware definitions are being added daily. So a spyware removal program is a great compliment to your existing anti-virus software.

Total Innovations, Inc. specializes in developing award winning software programs designed to solve computer users needs. The spyware removal software, http://www.emailspy.com & http://www.folderhider.com are a few of the most recent. See full details at: http://www.spyblaster.com

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Microsoft Delivers Hotmail Upgrade

Microsoft has has begun a months-long process of migrating users to a major upgrade of its Hotmail Web mail service.

Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service

Microsoft Corp. has closed the public testing period for Windows Live Hotmail and has begun a months-long process of migrating users to this major upgrade of its Hotmail Web mail service, the company will announce Monday. (To read a hands-on review of the new Microsoft Hotmail, check out our Today@PCWorld Blog: Microsoft Launches New Hotmail.)

Windows Live Hotmail, dubbed as the biggest Hotmail upgrade since the Web mail service's debut in 1996, has been tested by about 20 million users since Microsoft first allowed people outside the company to try it out in mid-2005, said Brooke Richardson, Microsoft group product manager for the popular e-mail site.

"It is safer, faster and has more features than Hotmail. It's definitely an advance for our current customers," she said. Windows Live Hotmail has a brand new code foundation which will let Microsoft add improvements quickly, something that had become a challenge with Hotmail's decade-old code base, she said. "It's a much more stable foundation for us to innovate," she said.

A major challenge for Microsoft will be to convince long-time Hotmail users that the upgraded version is worth switching to, said Van Baker, a Gartner Inc. analyst. "Consumers get accustomed to things they use on a daily basis, like their e-mail service," he said. "When you make changes, sometimes it's a challenging transition for consumers."

Microsoft will not autocratically move users to the new version. For now, Microsoft will give Hotmail users the option to continue using the old version if they don't want to switch to the upgraded version. However, at some point, everyone will be unilaterally migrated over to Windows Live Hotmail, she said.

New users will be automatically signed up for Windows Live Hotmail but, like any user of the new service, they will get to choose from two user interfaces: a "classic" layout that closely resembles the old Hotmail; or the new interface, which was designed to look like Microsoft's Outlook e-mail and calendaring desktop application, she said.

Later this month, Microsoft will release a free software for linking Windows Live Hotmail with Outlook, a capability the company previously charged for. With Microsoft Office Outlook Connector for MSN, users of the Web mail service will be able to access their account from Outlook, along with e-mail, contacts and folder synchronization for free. In the future, Microsoft will release a desktop client for Windows Live Hotmail called Windows Live Mail. Windows Live Mail will be the successor to Outlook Express and Windows Mail on Windows Vista.

But all these different names, brands and components leave Microsoft with a fragmented story in the Web mail market that could lead to consumer confusion, Gartner's Baker said. "Another big challenge is to manage this message," he said.

In terms of security improvements, each e-mail message carries a "safety bar" which indicates whether the message came from a known, unknown or potentially fraudulent sender. Spam protection has also been enhanced. Windows Live Hotmail also has a mobile version so that its estimated 280 million users can access the service from cell phones and handheld devices with a Web browser.

Fox Interactive Nears Deal to Buy Photobucket

By BRAD STONE

SAN FRANCISCO, May 7 — Photobucket, a four-year-old, rapidly growing Web company, is in advanced talks to be acquired by Fox Interactive Media, a division of the News Corporation, a person briefed on the negotiations said Monday.

Photobucket allows its users to store photos and videos and then easily drop them into their pages on prominent sites like Facebook, eBay and particularly MySpace, which is also owned by the News Corporation.

The deal is not yet complete, but the parties have ironed out major issues and are focusing on finer points, according to this person, who said the price could be as high as $300 million. The person asked not to be further identified because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Representatives of MySpace, Fox Interactive Media and Photobucket all declined to comment.

News of the discussions was first reported earlier Monday on a Silicon Valley blog, Valleywag. Photobucket said last month that it had hired Lehman Brothers to explore a possible sale of the company.

Photobucket, which has offices in Denver and San Francisco, has catapulted over older sites to become the largest and fastest-growing photo-sharing service on the Web. Unlike rival photo sites such as Kodak Gallery, Shutterfly and Flickr, which is owned by Yahoo, Photobucket positioned itself as a tool for people using sites like MySpace, rather than a place to get prints made or to interact with other photographers.

The company has had the kind of booming growth that make larger media companies envious. A year ago, it said it had 14 million members. On its Web site on Monday, Photobucket cited 41 million users.

The site is free for basic use, but charges $25 a year for a premium subscription that includes extra storage space and the ability to store videos more than five minutes long. It also displays advertisements to users when they manage their accounts.

The company already has a symbiotic, if sensitive, relationship with MySpace. According to the research firm Hitwise, for the week ended Saturday, 60 percent of Photobucket traffic came from MySpace users who had placed their photos and videos on Photobucket. It was also the third-largest destination for people leaving MySpace, after Google and Yahoo.

“There’s clearly a synergy between these two sites,” says Bill Tancer, general manager of global research at Hitwise.

That close relationship has made MySpace uncomfortable in the past.

Last month, MySpace blocked slide shows and videos stored on Photobucket, saying the company was violating its terms of service by embedding its own advertisements in the media files. After a week of discussions, the two companies resolved their differences and MySpace removed the block.

Records hit by NHS computer error

Source: PA News

Hundreds of inaccurate patient records have been created every day due to a fault on the controversial new NHS computer system, it has been claimed.

The problem affects patients in Greater Manchester who have hospital appointments booked via the online system.

NHS Connecting for Health, which is overseeing the £12.4 billion upgrade of the patient records system, stressed the fault would have no impact on patient care.

An article in Computer Weekly magazine revealed the problem arose after computer experts installed a software upgrade.

This caused the computer to automatically create a new blank patient record without checking if one already exists raising fears doctors may be presented with the wrong information.

A spokesman for NHS Connecting for Health said the problem was expected to be fixed in the next few weeks.

He said: "Although comprehensive testing is undertaken prior to the upgrades taking place, it is not unusual for these kinds of upgrades to identify teething problems in the early stages following implementation.

"We estimate that around 400 duplicate patient records might have been created each day. However, the system is being continually monitored throughout each day and where a duplicate is identified data is being merged to form one single record for each patient."

He added: "Prior to the application of the permanent fix, an interim solution has been put in place to identify the duplicate records and correct them. This has now been put in place with the full agreement of those organisations affected and will have minimal impact on the users of the system and no impact on the delivery of patient care."

Among the places affected by the problem are the University Hospital of South Manchester Foundation Trust and PCT Clinical Assessment Centres in Greater Manchester.

How to avoid getting your information stolen via wireless connections

Ed Dickson

Yesterday, I wrote about how the FBI is warning us that personal details can be stolen (i-jacked) when using public computers. This occurs using crimeware, previously installed on a public computer, logs the keys you are stroking and sends the information (electronically) to criminals.

It can be dangerous to look at any of your online financial information on these (public access) machines.

When writing about this phenomenon, I remembered that even using your personal computer at a public place with a wireless connection can expose a person's personal and sometimes, financial details.

Just the other day, Martin Bosworth, over at Consumer Affairs, wrote an excellent piece covering this danger, where he stated:

Sending unencrypted information over any unfamiliar network can turn your computer into an open book -- with pages full of your personal information.

Many of these connections are appear to be legitimate connections because they are spoofed (camouflaged to appear as if they are a trusted connection).

Spoofing a connection, or site isn't very hard to do. They simply copy and transpose pictures and statements (words) from legitimate sites to their own. The Artists Against website has a portal, where you can see fake websites that are up and running on the Internet, here.

Martin's article contains some excellent tips on how to navigate the murky waters of public hot spots, safely.

They can be viewed, here.

Interestingly enough, wireless technology, isn't only used to compromise individuals. In the recent TJX data breach, where some are saying 200 million records were stolen since 2003, reports are saying the data was stolen, using wireless technology.

It's being reported that this was accomplished from a car with a laptop. Driving around with a laptop, using other people's wireless connections, is sometimes referred to as "war-driving," which is my new word for the day.

Joseph Pereira (Wall Street Journal) wrote about this (courtesy of the Northwest Florida Daily News), here.

Principal Guilty in Microsoft Piracy Case

by The Associated Press

A court Monday found the principal of a village school guilty of using bootleg Microsoft software and ordered him to pay a fine of about $195 in a case that was cast by Russian media as a battle between a humble educator and an international corporation.

The trial of Alexander Ponosov, who was charged with violating intellectual property rights by using classroom computers with pirated versions of the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software installed, has attracted wide attention.

Russian officials frequently allege that foreign governments, including the U.S., are meddling in Russia's internal affairs, and Russian media reports have portrayed the case as that of a Western corporation bringing its power to bear on one man -- in this case, a principal who also teaches history and earns $360 a month.

Microsoft, however, has said repeatedly it has nothing to do with the charges, which were brought by Russian prosecutors in the Ural Mountains region where Ponosov's school is located.

The case "was initiated by Russian authorities under Russian law," the company said in an e-mailed statement after the verdict. "Microsoft neither initiated nor has any plans to bring any action against Mr. Ponosov."

Prosecutor Natalya Kurdoyakova said in televised remarks that Ponosov knew he was violating the law "and illegally used these programs in computer classes."

Ponosov has maintained his innocence, saying that the computers at the school came with the software already installed.

"I had no idea it wasn't licensed," Ponosov told The Associated Press by telephone. He said that he planned to file an appeal.

"Prosecutors made a lot of mistakes starting from the moment they checked the computers," he said.

Ponosov was found guilty of causing $10,000 in damage to the company, RIA-Novosti quoted judge Valentina Tiunova as saying.

In February, the court in the Vereshchaginsky district of the Perm region threw out the case, saying Ponosov's actions were "insignificant" and presented no danger to society. Both Ponosov and prosecutors vowed to appeal in hopes of forcing a clear decision, with Ponosov saying he wanted a full acquittal.

In March, the regional court ordered Ponosov to stand trial a second time.

Despite government pledges to crack down on Russia's rampant piracy, the country remains the No. 2 producer of bootlegged software, movies and music after China.

In April, the Bush administration put Russia, China and 10 other nations on a "priority watch list," which will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions if the administration decides to bring trade cases before the World Trade Organization.

The designation was made in an annual report the administration is required to provide to Congress each year that highlights the problems U.S. companies are facing around the world with copyright piracy. The report said that the United States will be closely watching to see how Russia fulfills the commitments it made to upgrading copyright protection as part of a U.S.-Russia accord reached last year which was seen as a key milestone in Russian efforts to join the WTO.

10 Things We Hate About Apple

It's high time we unloaded on the high-and-mighty Mac maker.
Narasu Rebbapragada and Alan Stafford, PC World

The company formerly known as Apple Computer and now called simply Apple, Inc. is unique in many ways--including in its ability to drive even folks who admire it positively batty. It makes great products (usually), yet its secretiveness about them borders on paranoia, and its adoring fans can be incredibly irritating. Of course, its fans have to put up with some irritations, too: Simply being a member of the club still means you must endure unending jabs from the other side of the socio-political-techno aisle. But do they have to wear their suffering as a badge of honor?

Today, we--that's us, Narasu and Alan, veteran Mac users both--are going to get some stuff off our chests. We've enumerated ten things we hate about Apple (or its followers, or simply about the experience of using its products). But in the interest of fair play (not to be confused with FairPlay, Apple's DRM technology) we're also publishing another list--Ten Things We Love About Apple.

Use the Comment link at the end of this article to add your own gripes about Apple--or to defend it.

And so, with protective helmets in place, off we go:

1: Free Speech, Anyone?
Even if you're no Apple fan, this particular issue might not rise to the top of your own personal gripe list--but hey, we're journalists. So sue us.

Er, that's probably not the right turn of phrase to use, considering that in December 2004, Apple filed a lawsuit against the AppleInsider, O'Grady's PowerPage, and Think Secret Web sites for posting information about upcoming technologies that Apple had shared with outsiders under nondisclosure agreements. In the case of O'Grady, the news was of a FireWire interface for GarageBand. In the words of O'Grady himself: "yawn."

Apple pressured the sites to reveal their sources, and even worse, pressured the sites' ISPs. In May 2006, a California court said no way, ruling that online journalists enjoy the same First Amendment rights as "legitimate" offline journalists. Seems silly in today's world, doesn't it? Recently, the court ordered Apple to pay the sites' legal fees--about $700,000.

2. More Secretive Than Homeland Security
Those feds are secretive, but they're no match for Apple reps' infuriating stock answer: "We don't comment on future product plans." Being an Apple adherent means never knowing for sure if the shiny new MacBook or iPod you just bought is about to be rendered obsolete by a Steve Jobs keynote.

Of course, Apple is merely the most famous secretive Silicon Valley company, not the only hush-mouthed one. And tight lips make for explosive buzz when the company does decide to drop a bombshell. But contrast Apple's secrecy with Microsoft's lack thereof--Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and company love to talk about their company's upcoming products, and they still get their fair share of buzz. Even though many of those plans have a tendency to not actually come true.

3. Ain't Too Proud to Blame
When Apple shipped iPods containing a worm last year, instead of issuing a humble mea culpa, Apple took a swipe at Microsoft, saying, "As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it." As you can imagine, that didn't fly with security experts. How about an apology to the folks who were unlucky enough to buy the infected iPods, period?

4. iHate iAnything
Apple first floated the idea of product names with a leading lowercase letter in 1994 with eWorld, an ill-conceived online service that went belly-up after a year and a half. But when it introduced the original iMac in 1998, it hit on a phenomenal success--and prompted hundreds of third-party manufacturers to follow with sickeningly cute Bondi Blue products with names that also began with a lowercase "i." Now dozens of Apple and third-party product names begins with "i." Their manufacturers are all jumping on the bandwagon, hoping that a single letter will sway us to buy their stuff. Meanwhile, you can't even start sentences with the products' names.

Is it any wonder that we're inclined to like Apple TV in part because it turned out not to be iTV? Or that we're kind of sorry that Apple was able to strike a deal with Cisco to share the name iPhone?