Computer Mechanics Help Desk

The washable keyboard

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:28:35 +0800

Coming to a store near you. The HP washable keyboard. Can see this being very useful in a laptop but keyboards for PCs are pretty cheap... Not in market yet but close.

Zero Day Firefox

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:11:58 +0800

The Register reports on a Zero Day Exploit for Firefox circulating in the wild. Translation: some programming code is available on the Net that allows people to hide software on a web site that infects your PC without you or Firefox knowing anything about it.

Bluescreen?

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:05:21 +0800

Got a bluescreen problem? If your PC is running Windows XP and starts crashing with the ol' big blue screen with nuthin' on it - time to check it for rootkits. Microsoft confirms that unexpected re-booting may result from the Aulureon Rootkit. Get thee to a Computer Mechanic promptly or call 9325 1196 to arrange a visit. More info.

Microsoft Team

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:55:05 +0800

And Facebook Team. Both spam email messages have links which carry a trojan virus payload. The Microsoft one warns you about the Conficker Virus. Though it actually delivers the Bredolab trojan virus. Obviously some administrative error... Source.

Profile will be locked

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:50:17 +0800

Spam email advises: "Your profile will be locked in response to a complaint received by the Administration". The email offers a link by which you can refute the complaint. And compromise your computer security.

Laptop cooler

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:18:51 +0800

The reason the industry stopped calling their products laptops was the realisation that putting the things on your laps was potentially harmful. Belkin have just launched a laptop cooler - no, not just a cushion - it has a fan in it. Also it has an 'AirFlow Wing'. Buzzwords aside, it's probably a sensible thing if you actually use one on your lap.

Win 7 laptop batteries

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:13:24 +0800

Windows 7 has battery performance monitoring software that has been alarming laptop users who thought the messages about their batteries being flat/dying were a bug. Not the case, says Microsoft. If you get the warning message MS says your battery is indeed a dud and the software is working fine. Source.

Google Buzz

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:29:32 +0800

Well that didn't take long. A privacy concern about Google Buzz, which allows people to see who you chat/email the most. Frankly, we don't regard that as the Da Vinci code but some people get excited about that sort of thing.

New box: good reasons

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:57:15 +0800

Increasing evidence that newer Windows machines - those running 64 bit processors - are more secure than older systems. Far less rootkit intrusions on the newer hardware.

Designer netbook

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:45:28 +0800

The Seashell - the ASUS EeePC 1008P - reviewed here by engadget. It's cheap and it looks really pretty but "like the HP Envy and Dell Adamo it suffers from performance issues at the expense of better design". For battery life and performance reasons, engadget prefer the EeePC 1201N.

Laptop cases

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:39:39 +0800

Recycle your fave old tee shirt into a laptop sleeve. Hello Rewind does this for US$49 + postage and proceeds go to victims of sex trafficking. Source.

Sharing iPhone photos

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:59:43 +0800

If you're uploading photos, iPhone photos in particular, be aware that information about where you were when you took that photo may be discoverable. This applies especially if you are uploading photos to a Twitter service like Twitpic. In some cases, GPS information (including which direction the phone was facing) may be encoded in the photo itself. More info here.

Insecure passwords

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:44:19 +0800

You know already that 12345 is not a secure password, right? Neither is any normal dictionary word or name because the crooks have software that tries all those. When RockYou.com got hacked, it allowed researchers to look at thousands of insecure passwords. ZDNet write about what an insecure password looks like...

IE6 defunct

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:15:21 +0800

Google has declared it will no longer support Internet Explorer 6 and Microsoft has endorsed this, urging users to upgrade to the more secure IE8. In the words of one Microsoft exec: 'friends don't let friends use IE6'.

Browser privacy

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:15:58 +0800

In case you're interested in how unique (and therefore how trackable) your browsing profile is, check it out here. You might get a surprise (we did). Here is a page explaining how to minimise your trackability. Source.