Computer Mechanics, Computer Repairs Perth Western Australia

Computer Mechanics Security

  • One password?

    We've seen stats that say that 40% of users have one password they use on all their sites. Here's a study that says it's more like 90%. Don't make it so easy for the crims. Make sure your email password is different to the banking ones and the web site ones. Better still; there are tools like Password Safe and Roboform.

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    Tue, 06 Oct 2009

  • Microsoft's newie

    Microsoft Security Essentials is a new anti-virus and anti-malware product. It's free, it doesn't hog your computer resources and it performs well. So go get it baby.
    Wed, 07 Oct 2009
  • Adobe PDF issue

    A critical and unpatched vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader, reported by Mashable. If you want to be more secure in the period leading up to the patch, you can turn off JavaScript:

    Open Acrobat or Reader, go Edit, Preferences, select JavaScript and UNTICK Enable Acrobat JavaScript. Also, remember that a PDF file is no safer than any other file and don't let your anti-virus lapse!

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    Sun, 11 Oct 2009

  • McDonalds' EFTPOS scam

    Here is a link to the Sunday Times story, in case you missed it. We note that some people are blaming the Hamburglar.
    Sun, 11 Oct 2009

  • Notification

    If you own a web site, you've likely received spam titled "Microsoft Outlook Notification". It asks you to re-configure your Outlook and invites you to launch the setup file. If you were to be gullible enough to fall for this, you would soon discover on your PC one of these fake Anti-Virus programs which tells you have viruses and tries to extort payment for the viral removal product.
    Sat, 17 Oct 2009

  • Free Airline Tickets?

    Alas, no. Another email scam. Don't click that link, Eugene.
    Sat, 24 Oct 2009

  • Windows 7 spam

    No surprises here. There's email spam around promising discounts and special offers on Windows 7. Don't get sucked in. Source.
    Sat, 24 Oct 2009

  • Facebook Spam 2

    A deluge of spam purporting to come from Facebook. It doesn't of course. No, they're not changing their login system and they haven't re-set your password. If you run the file in those emails you will  download malicious files and become part of the Bredolab botnet. Also, DO NOT click on Confirm as a Friend emails unless you know the name of that person. This is a very likely attack vector. Carry on, Corporal.
    Fri, 30 Oct 2009

  • Gaining your trust

    A good short article from the Internet Storm Center describing common ways hackers sneak into computer systems. Sending people or giving people infected CDs and USB sticks for example. Worth a read if you think you already know everything.
    Fri, 30 Oct 2009

  • Blackberries

    The Washington Post covers security issues on Blackberries, pointing out that the greatest risk is physical security. A stolen or found Blackberry can be infected with an application that forwards your texts or voice to another person. Corporate users can configure their server to remotely wipe contents if the unit is lost.
    Fri, 30 Oct 2009

  • From the IT Dept?

    Owners of web sites might receive spam like the one we just got. It urged us to install a patch and appeared to come from techadmin@ computermechanics.com.au - in other words it was pretending to be our own IT department. Not likely to fool us but more convincing if you work in a very large organisation and commonly get mail from the IT guys. If in doubt, verify before clicking.
    Fri, 30 Oct 2009

  • Fake Conficker emails

    Those fake Conficker emails purporting to come from Microsoft, warning you about the Conficker Worm, they're fake. Source.
    Fri, 30 Oct 2009

Help Desk

Tips and Tricks

Mon, 06 Sep 2010

Infographics

I love this stuff. If you're interested in how to present information with great visuals, visit Infosthetics; it's the best aggregation of infographics EVAR.
Mon, 06 Sep 2010

End of Yellow Pages

If you never use your Yellow Pages or White Pages because you're always using this thing you're using now, you can go here and tell Telstra/Sensis to please not deliver those door stops.
Wed, 01 Sep 2010

Google Priority Inbox

Google's doing that thing they do again; improving their products. Gmail is introducing Priority Inbox, giving you the ability to automatically prioritise your email based on which emails you've previously read and/or replied to. If you need a web based email account, Gmail is the go.
Tue, 31 Aug 2010

The Arc Touch mouse

The rumoured new Microsoft Arc Touch mouse. Looks very sexy but not yet released. Funny comment on that blog: "I too have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of yet to be released hardware."
Tue, 31 Aug 2010

Pretty desktops

Smashing Magazine invites designers to contribute monthly calendar designs that people can use as desktops on their PCs. Lots of elegant choices for September, though many designers seem confused about what season it is. Includes a number of Ramadan desktops for our Islamic readers.
Sat, 28 Aug 2010

MS Office GAME

Ribbon Hero is the Microsoft game that sneakily trains you in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Do challenges, compete, share on Facebook. No, we don't know why you'd want to share it on Facebook. But then we're not big on Farmville either. Versions of Officer earlier than 2007 won't handle it. You'll have to Read the Manual.
Tue, 24 Aug 2010

Laptop bags

Engadget U.S. reviews a range of the cheap and the fabulous laptop bags - in Australia, you can get Kata bags and the LowePro CompuPrimus at Quality Camera. The Case Logic Slimline ships from Deals Rebate but the Timbuk2 bags aren't available locally.  
Tue, 24 Aug 2010

3D laptop

Gamers! 1600 bucks gets you the latest in 3D laptopery. The Toshiba Satellite A665 comes with NVidia Active LCD Shutter Glasses. See, I don't even know what that is but it sounds SO GREAT.
Tue, 24 Aug 2010

Cheap eBook

The Laser eBook lets you listen to music while reading your eBook, is colour and has video. But it doesn't have wi-fi; you have to download your books to a PC first. $150. Cheap. Via The Australian. More.
Sun, 15 Aug 2010

Best Windows laptops

Electric Pig journos chose the Dell Studio 15, the HP Envy 15 (15 is big this year), the Samsung Q430 & 320 and the ASUS EeePC1201N as the best value laptops on the market. They're a UK site but all those models are available in Australia. You'll need to check the local prices of course.
Sun, 15 Aug 2010

Hacking into mobiles

An American security guy has demonstrated how he can intercept mobile calls on the GSM mobile phone network using relatively cheap hardware. Scary stuff since that network is the world's most popular and is predominant in Australia. Newer network technologies (3G) are not vulnerable. *Going back to pen and ink*.
Sun, 15 Aug 2010

Biz card transcription

Networkers of the world, pay attention. Here's how it works. You take photos of the business cards you collect at the conference/function, then send them to CardMunch. They have people transcribe the contents (guaranteeing accuracy) into a web based address book you then sync with your phone. Time saver, much. Via Mashable.
Wed, 28 Jul 2010

Upgrade essentials

Here's what you need to know about upgrading from Vista to Windows 7. Actually, you don't need to know all of this, pick the relevant bits. But FIRST, this applies to everyone: back up before you upgrade. If you don't know how, call us because things can and do go wrong during upgrades.

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Mon, 26 Jul 2010

Review Asus EeePC

Engadget do the best reviews. Here is their thorough look at the new ASUS netbooks. Having used an iPad for a month or so now I'm can tell you the web browsing experience falls well short of a netbook.
Mon, 26 Jul 2010

Searching in Outlook

Most of us know that you can click on a column heading in Outlook to sort the column into alphabeti order. Do you ever used the Advanced Find option? Click on Find, then Options, then Advanced.

 

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