Computer Mechanics, Computer Repairs Perth Western Australia

Computer Mechanics Security

  • Spam Assassin

    A programming error in Spam Assassin, the email spam filter, is causing unnecessary false positives. Users will need to update their rules here. Source.
    Sun, 03 Jan 2010

  • Facebook settings

    Do you have your Facebook security settings right? Check out the advice from software security company Sophos.
    Sun, 03 Jan 2010

  • Reputable, not safe

    Here's an example of how you can get caught using legitimate web sites. The article describes how one of Microsoft's Office web sites was used by criminals to infiltrate computers of people searching for info on Microsoft's web site. If you clicked on the virus scanner presented after visiting the Microsoft page you would almost certainly have an infected computer, because the malevolent code is new and not yet in Anti-virus product databases. Source.
    Sun, 10 Jan 2010

  • Corrupted files?

    F-Secure reports on a trojan virus which encrypts your documents, then suggests you download a program to fix the 'corrupted' files. Surprise, surprise; it only fixes one of them but the premium version promises to fix the lot! The fake program is called Data Doctor 2010. Keep your virus protection up to date and be suspicious of any unfamiliar error messages. 
    Sun, 10 Jan 2010

  • ATM Skimmer

    Would you recognise such a device on an ATM? Brian Krebs has some pictures of a pretty one. Dastardly. There are more photos if you follow the link at the bottom of the story.
    Thu, 21 Jan 2010

  • New AVAST

    AVAST, the free antivirus program we currently recommend has just upgraded to a new version. They also make a pay-for version designed for people who do online banking or have sensitive data on their PC. If you do online banking with a security token you are already operating at a high level of security there.
    Thu, 21 Jan 2010

  • Scott Brown

    So the guy who won the Massachusetts by-election once posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine. If you get an email purporting to show you those photos, do your very best to resist, as the anti-virus scan that the email offers (instead of the pics) will lead to false information and a possible waste of your hard-earned money. Source1. Source2. 
    Sat, 23 Jan 2010

  • Windows patch

    An emergency patch is available from Microsoft to address a security problem with all versions of Internet Explorer. According to security expert Brian Krebs, the hole is sufficiently serious you might want to get the update manually, rather than waiting for the automatic upgrade that Windows rolls out over a few days.
    Sat, 23 Jan 2010

  • Facebook security

    Sean from F-Secure cautions against relying on Facebook security options when it comes to photo sharing, pointing out that a worm could easily collect the 'share publicly' link on any compromised accounts. General rule: don't upload to social media sites if it could cause you serious embarrassment.
    Sat, 23 Jan 2010

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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