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About two months ago, I got my first Facebook phishing email. It asked me to click a link so that I can change my Facebook password. You know, for my ‘security’.

Well, this one was an immediate red flag to me for the following reasons:

1)   I’m not an active Facebook member at all and the email address that was used to send me the message was an account I was SURE I had not used for opening a Facebook account.

2)   The message style of the email was very unprofessional. It said this:

Dear user of facebook,

Because of the measures taken to provide safety to our clients, your password has been changed. You can find your new password in attached document.

Thanks,
Your Facebook.

First of all, “Dear user of facebook”? Come on.

Plus, the fact that the word facebook was not properly written (Facebook) was another red flag.

3)   Attachments are major red flags too. Even if it was only a link to change the password I would not immediately click it. So an attachment, something for me to download on my PC, is definitely a red flag.

It didn’t take long for my doubts to be proven true. Tons of articles online soon appeared stating that Facebook password reset confirmation emails were a fake. Good thing I didn’t download the attachment and have malicious software invade my PC!

If you get this email or other phishing messages, here are a few more of those ‘red flags’ you should be aware of.

• If you are asked to provide passwords, personal information, or credit card details, be weary.
• If you are addressed as “dear user” instead of “dear [your name]”. With the latter, it at least signifies that some time ago you may have signed up for their product or service (because they have your real name).
• If the email is poorly written with many grammar errors, it’s probably a phishing email. This is because professional organizations will almost always take the time to craft professional looking messages to their users / subscribers.

As a way to AVOID getting phishing emails, ensure that your antivirus software is always updated. Most of the time, these malicious emails will have a word or two in them that will trigger your antivirus program to issue a warning message about the email or move the message altogether to your Junk or SPAM folder.

Make sure your firewall is always turned on too!

Like your car, your computer makes a variety of sounds that indicate both normal operation and impending failure. Knowing the difference can help you make smart decisions about when to call a professional, and can even make diagnosis go faster.

Good Sound: Whirring Periodocally

When your hard drive is working, it will make a low whirring noise. Hard drives consist of one or more round platters that spin and a reader arm that moves across the surface of the disks. The motion of the disks will make some noise at start up and whenever you’re opening a large file or program.

Bad Sound: Ticking

While “ticking time bomb” might sound cliche, that’s exactly what a ticking computer is. Ticking is often caused by a misaligned reader arm or hard disk platter. Even a slight problem with either can cause the arm to come into contact with the delicate surface as it turns, causing permanent damage and eventual data loss.

Good Sound: Humming

The single greatest threat to your computer is heat. That’s why laptops and desktops employ a number of fans to draw heat away from delicate components. All these fans should make a soft humming sound for the entire time your computer is on. A suspicious silence could mean that the fans are not working and your system is at risk.

Bad Sound: Rattling or Grinding

Most hardware failure happens silently, but luckily fans are not so quiet on their way out. A rattling, grinding, or even a ticking sound could indicate a fan on it’s last legs. Replacing fans before they fail can save your expensive hardware from heat damage, so it’s important to get these sounds checked out right away. Sometimes a rattle or a tick can be caused by a foreign object getting caught in a fan, making it a very easy fix.

Good Sound: One Beep

New bios standards require that all systems issue a single “all clear” beep before starting the operating system. While this standard does not go into effect for a while, some systems have done this as a default since the mid 90’s. If your computer has always made a single beep at start up, it’s probably an “all clear” beep and nothing to worry about. If your system has never done this, that’s fine too.

Bad Sound: Beep Codes

If your machine is making multiple beep sound at start up, that’s another matter entirely. Beep codes are your computers only way to notify you of hardware failure if the operating system will not boot, and as a result manufacturers have developed complicated systems of beeps and lights to describe different problems. Multiple beeps, beeps with different lengths, and beeps with different tones all mean that your computer is trying to warn you about something. Even if you computer still seems to be working fine, beep codes need to be taken seriously. Your Geek Choice tech can interpret what your computer has to say, which can mean the difference between a quick fix and total system failure.

If you’re using Microsoft Outlook as your email client and you engage in email communication a lot then you may wake up one day and find that Outlook is performing very S-L-O-W-L-Y. This is especially true if you do not split your emails into different PST files.

Think of PST files as ‘file cabinets’. Sure, you can use folders to separate your email messages, calendar events,  notes and so on but those folders still belong to, say, one file cabinet, and if the cabinet gets too full, Outlook performs slowly. And not only that; Outlook may crash and you lose all your important messages (and their attachments!).

The simplest thing to do to protect your email messages in Outlook is to store them in different ‘file cabinets’ (PST files). Here are the steps to do just that.

Note: The following steps are done using Outlook 2007. Steps may vary slightly depending on the Outlook version you’re using. You may also want to backup your existing PST file first before you attempt the steps below.

1. Open Outlook. Click the File menu and then click Outlook Data File.



2. Select Office Outlook Personal Folders File and then click OK.
3. Decide where you want to the new file to be located (e.g., My Documents) and then on the File name field type a name for the new PST file.
4. Click OK.
5. In the Create Microsoft Personal Folders menu, type a Name for the new PST file and then click OK. (At this point, you can even apply a password to the PST file so that no one can access it by you. Good option to have if you’re not the only one using your PC.)

After you create this new PST file, it will be placed under All Mail Items below your current Inbox. Just start dragging email messages (or whole message folders) into this new ‘file cabinet’ and you’re done!

Sun Systems released an uncharacteristic emergency update today after a vital security flaw was discovered by a Google researcher last week. While the release notes don’t specifically mention the flaw, Java 6 Update 20 does correct the security hole.

The vulnerability in question is a “drive-by download” flaw, which allows websites to download files onto your computer just by visiting the site. This means that viruses, spyware, and malware could be downloaded and installed on your system without so much as a click from you. Such holes in security often bypass important safety features in anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software.

Upgrading to Java 6 Update 20 is fast, free, and highly recommended. Several websites have already been created to take advantage of this flaw, and as long as you are using the older version of Java you are vulnerable.

To download the new version of Java, visit http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp and click the download button for JRE. Java Run Environment is the software required to run Java applications on your computer. The JRE button is located below the button to download JDK, which you do not need unless you are a developer of Java applets. You then can choose either the online or offline installer. After you start running the installer, you will be asked if you would like to install the Yahoo or Bing toolbar as well. This product is not necessary to run Java and isn’t recommended for most users, so make sure to uncheck that box before you proceed with the installation process unless it’s something you’re particularly interested in having on your browser.

If that seems a little complicated to you, or if you want to get your system checked out to make sure you haven’t already become a victim of one of these drive-by downloads, you can make an appointment with a Geek Choice technician today. We can clean out any malware on your system, get the new version of Java installed, and even check for important security patches for other programs that you may have missed.

Have an iPad and Carbonite online backup service from Geek Choice? Now you can access the files you’ve backed up from your desktop on your iPad with the free Carbonite app.

Carbonite keeps secure copies of your files on their servers in case of hardware failure or other data loss. It’s completely automated and secure, and could save you thousands in data recovery costs. The new iPad app adds the ability to access your backed up files from anywhere in the world with your iPad. Your Geek Choice tech can help you purchase and configure Carbonite service for your laptop or desktop computer to make sure all of your files are protected and available on the go.

I’ve felt the sting of lost data before, so when I found out that Geek Choice was offering Carbonite off-site data backup services I knew it was time to start backing up my data properly. Like many people I’ve promised myself over and over that I would start keeping backups of my data on flash drives or floppy disks, but I never kept up with the hassle of backing up every time I changed a file.With Carbonite, though, my data is safe even if my resolve wavers.

Carbonite is completely automated backup software. It runs in the background as I do my work. I’ve had it running for a while now and I haven’t had to even think about it since the initial backup finished. It just works. I can see it’s working with the small green and orange dots next to my files, showing me what’s backed up and what’s not. The thing that’s really got me impressed is the speed. While copying over folders full of images and other information, I can watch the green dots catch up with my progress in a matter of minutes.

Off-site backup is always the safest option for your data if you can manage it. I know that no matter what happens to my computer, my local network, or even my home that my data will be safe. Now I can have that piece of mind without trying to set up my own off-site backup or paying a fortune. And now that Geek Choice offers this great service, you can have it installed on your home computer or your entire business network by an expert technician. Safe, easy, and setup by a Geek you can trust – what more could you ask for in a data backup solution?

If you’re a user of Google’s internet browser Chrome, their arguable answer to Mozilla’s Firefox (offering much of the same functionality and performance that places these two competing browser’s well ahead of Microsoft’s stagnant Internet Explorer), there’s a good chance you also use Gmail.

With Chrome now supporting extensions, a long overdue addition to its impressive features, we have a new extension that augments your Gmail experience. Called Better Gmail for Chrome, this is an unofficial extension that renders your use of the popular email service a bit more manageable.

After its installation, you’re ready to begin taking advantage of it. To access the extension’s features, click on the wrench and select Extensions -> Better Gmail Options. Looking at the list of options, simply click on those you’d like to toggle for activation. An upcoming update that includes support for POP3 Email is said to be on the horizon.

Those of us in the Geek Choice office have no real preference between Chrome and Firefox, finding both to be far preferable to Internet Explorer. If you have a favorite extension to use with either browser, feel free to share it with us!

Better Gmail for Chrome can be retrieved here.

Junk mail is the bane of any household, particularly catalogs from companies hawking products for which you have zero interest. Many of us, when arriving home from work, hate the daily ritual of filtering unwanted junk from the mail that we’re actually interested in reading.

Initially unveiled as just a beta, Catalog Choice is now an official registry that allows you to cut down on the clutter filling up your mailbox.

It’s completely free and easy to use, supported by more than 1,000 merchants complying with the requests made through this service.

After the registration process has been completed, you can browse their directory for any catalogs that have found their way to your mailbox. You can either put a halt to their delivery altogether or make it so the frequency with which they’re sent to your residence diminishes considerably. Once your choices have been made, Catalog Choice will contact the companies and inform them of your preference.

Be forewarned: It can take up to 12 weeks before you notice your changes.

If you’re like me, you look forward to a mailbox containing only that which is relevant, absent the unnecessary solicitations. For those of you who tire of finding your mailbox invaded by catalogs you almost immediately toss in the garbage bin, this service is a perfect means of putting an end to the unwanted junk.

Visit Catalog Choice here

If you’re a frequent patron of Amazon’s awesome online market, you’re probably aware that free basic shipping is available after spending $25 or more.  With the plentiful bounty to be gained from using Amazon, it’s likely that you’re someone who frequently makes small purchases that see your total just missing that $25 threshold, resulting in you incurring an additional $5 to $10 for shipping (depending on size and weight of what you’ve purchased).

FillerItemFinder is helpful tool that takes the remaining balance before you reach $25 and offers suggestions to fill that quota. The list it provides is impressively long, from cheap books to discounted DVDs. It allows you to filter the list, giving you the option of choosing just entertainment, even paring that down to a specific type of entertainment.

Once you’ve settled on an item, you can simply add it to your cart and check out.

You can visit FilterItemFinder here. Happy shopping!

It’s 2010 and the Winter Olympics have arrived, giving spectators an opportunity to watch countries compete in a wide range of winter-based events, from cross country skiing to bobsledding.

Not all of us are able to catch the events from the comfort of our couches, leaving some of us to make do with the streaming services available on the internet. For those of you looking to catch specific events on the internet, there are a number of options giving you the opportunity to stay on top of the festivities.

Before deciding which service you’ll use to track the events, you’ll want to settle on those competitions you’re looking to watch. A variety of events are occurring concurrently throughout each day of the Olympics.   For a schedule listing the start times of those events you’re looking to follow, visit the official website, where you’ll also find the results as they filter in.

After determining those events you want to watch, your next order of business is deciding on the service that’ll stream it to you. Most of the events are streamed right on the same site on which you reviewed the schedule. From there, you’re directed to televised broadcasts streaming from a number of countries.

If your sole interest is participation in these games by American athletes, NBC has a great resource that provides not only live streaming but a listing of all local stations that deliver coverage of the events. Entering your zipcode and the name of your cable/satellite provider will result in a list of local stations televising the games. Looking at the list of television stations, you can also check on those that are offering live streams on the internet.

While those are the official sites from which to get your Winter Olympics fix, you can also take a look at the two options below, both of which compiling an assortment of sites that are covering the events.

• Vancouver Olympics
• Olympics Online

There are other resources available, which a quick Google inquiry will point you towards, but these are the best ones I’ve been able to unearth.  No matter who you’re rooting for, enjoy the games and celebrate the spirit of friendly competition!