Varnes Computers Blog - Technical Advice

How to Spot a Scam Email or Phishing Attack

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:52:58 -0500

All too often, people come to me with horror stories of how their email, craigslist account, bank account, etc has been hacked by someone, and they have lost control.

Truthfully, it is extremely rare that an account is actually "hacked" in the conventional sense of the word. What is vastly more likely is that the account was "phished," meaning that they victim was lead to a logon page that looked almost exactly identical to the page they were accustomed to, and they input their username and password on this page. As soon as that happens, it takes the automated programs moments to take control of your account on the real site that the phishing site was meant to imitate.

So... now you know the threat. Let's go over a few easy ways to keep yourself from being victimized by phishers:

The single most common way that a phisher will get access to your stuff is by sending you an email claiming that urgent information is required, because you are either a victim of, or suspect of fraud. Many time, they will spoof an email address of the actual sender, so it may appear to come from a legitimate address. Many common email subject lines are:
"ACH Transfer Declined"
"IRS Transfer Declined"
"Your Craigslist account has been suspended."
etc.

Many times, they will ask you to reply to the email with your username and password. I'll put this as subtly as I can: NEVER EMAIL ANY SERVICE PROVIDER YOUR PASSWORD, EVER! THEY WILL NEVER ASK FOR IT BY EMAIL IF THEY ARE LEGITIMATE.... excuse me... Sorry for the caps, but that bit is really important.

If they do not ask you for your password, you will likely be give a link, taking you to the login page. This is where it gets tricky, because some legitimate companies will ask you to do this as well. If you are sent to a login page, look closely for the following:
The URL in the top bar of the page should match exactly the website you are trying to log into... ie: If you are trying to log into www.chase.com, and the URL bar says www.mychase1.com, it is a fraud, and you need to back out of that page as quickly as possible.
The green https: (secure) indicator at the top left of the address bar is a good indicator that you are safe.

Free Software Tool to Fix Dead Pixels on Your Monitor

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:18:43 -0500

If you are like me, a dead pixel on a monitor is like a thorn in your side. Sure... You can still use your computer fine with the dead pixel, but it's constantly there, taunting you with its mere existence. Highly annoying.

Sometimes a pixel is truly dead, and nothing shy of replacing the components will save it. However, sometimes it is simply stuck, and some nice folks have developed a free software program to help release a stuck pixel on your screen. It may not fix all issues, but hey... It is free, so why not give it a whirl.

It works by triggering rapid flashes to the area of the screen that is affected, and in many circumstances, this can cause the dead pixel to resume normal operation.

Check it out, and download it from their website here.

My Wireless Keyboard and Mouse arrived without the Little USB Receiver!

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:16:22 -0500

It's possible they forgot to ship it, but it is much more likely that it is attached, in a clever and discrete way to the bottom of the mouse.

Convert a PDF to an Excel Spreadsheet

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:57:21 -0500

If you are looking for a cheap, easy way to convert a single PDF into an excel, or .xls spreadsheet, check these guys out. It's a web based service, so you have to upload your file to their server, but it returns a pretty goof best guess of the delimited file to your email address. Probably better tools out there for heavy users, but for the occasional use, this does the trick.

http://www.pdftoexcelconverter.net/

How to use your iPhone, or Android smartphone to Remote Control Your Computer

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:47:02 -0500

Many business people run into that dreaded moment, where they are travelling, or out of the office, and realize they neglected to send that vital email, or update a vital report.

logmein has created software designed to get a person out of just this pinch. logmein is a great quality provider of remote access service, both free and paid, and we at Varnes Computers have used their products in many different fashions over the years with excellent results.

The quality of cell phone remote control provided is adequate, but not fantastic. The interface is a little screwy, and navigation is slow. It will not replace a laptop or tablet entirely, but it is excellent for taking care of that "one forgotten little thing."

Although their paid versions are more robust, basic access of your computer on your cell phone can be done for free. Just take a look at the steps below.

Go to logmein.com, and sign up for a logmein free account. Add the computer that you would like to access through your phone, and install the software.

If the program does not offer to do so automatically, set your computer to never hibernate by going to Control Panel>Power Options>Current Profile

Once the computer is set up, go to your smartphone's market, and download the free logmein app (there are paid versions, which are more robust, but the free app will work in an emerency.)

Log in on the application, and test the connection to your computer, and that is all you need.

How to restrict access to an IIS7 Based Website by IP Address

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:57:36 -0500

If you want to control who can access your Windows IIS webpage by the IP address of the connecting client, this can be done very easily.

Once the page has been created and set up within IIS, go to

Start>Administrative Tools> IIS (Internet Information Services) Manager.

Expand the server in the left column, and click on the web page that you would like to restrict. From there, go to the center pane, and locate "IP Address and Domain Restrictions."

From here it is a simple matter of customizing the selection to your liking. Using either the add allow, or add deny entry buttons, you can set your preferences regarding specific IP addresses. Overall allow and deny settings are located under "Edit Feature Settings."

Microsoft Dynamics RMS Point Of Sale Journal - Automation Error Disconnected from Client

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:28:41 -0500

If your are seeing an Automation Error in Microsoft Dynamics RMS Point of sale when you attempt to view the Journal through either Store Operations Point of Sale, or Store Operations manager, the error may very well be related to the default printer within the windows installation.

If you have a Zebra label printer set as the default windows printer, this can be the source of the issue. Try setting the default printer to a standard printer, or any non label printer.

Web Browsers will not work, but the internet is connected

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:46:03 -0500

In the cases of many malware infestations, the malicious software will change settings to make it appear that your computer is more damaged than it actually is.

One of the most common targets of this software is your proxy server settings. If your network and sharing center shows that you are connected to the internet, but you are unable to access any pages in internet explorer, try checking your proxy settings.

Go to

Internet Options>Connections>Advanced

If the use proxy server box is checked, un-check it and try again. The odds are good it will solve the issue and allow you to update your anti-malware software.

Ubuntu 11.04 freezes on start up

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:07:38 -0500

If your installation of Ubuntu 11.04 freezes on start up, a helpful thing to do is check the system time in the CMOS, for some reason, it seems to cause some of these problems.

All Files Gone Malware - Easy fixes

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:11:25 -0400

If you have been affected by a malware infestation that leaves all of your files missing and inaccessible, this can be a super easy fix.

First, download and scan with an anti-malware utility.

Next, go to My computer, and then your main drive (c:), and hit Organize (tools in Windows XP)
Go to Folder and search options
Select View
Under hidden files and folders, choose: "Show hidden files and folders."
The contents of your C drive should now be visible.
Right click each folder, and un-check hidden. If prompted, elect to un-hide sub folders and files as well.

The most important folders to un-hide are:

Users (Windows Vista and 7)
Documents and Settings (XP)
Windows
Program Files
Program Files (86)

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Microsoft Dynamics RMS Manager - The Object Invoked has Disconnected

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:09:15 -0400

If your Microsoft Dynamics RMS is producing an error when you attempt to print a normal document from a workstation that also prints labels"

Go into devices and printers, and make sure the default printer is not the label printer.

New Hard Drive Does not Show Up As Disk - Easy Fixes

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:39:38 -0400

If you are a first time do it yourself person, and you install a new hard disk into a computer. It will not show up immediately as an available drive in Windows. All you have to do to make it available is initialize the disk.

To to this, simply follow the below steps:

Open the start menu and hover your mouse over my computer.
Right click, and select "Manage" or "Manage My Computer"
On the menu that will appear to the left, choose "Disk Management"

The computer management tool is highly useful, and easy to get to.

Under disk management, you should now be able to see the disk, except the status bar will be black, and the info pane to the left should say "not initialized." Right click on the info pane and choose initialize. A few simple options may pop up, and the only important thing to remember is that if you are reading this, odds are about 99% that you should choose "MBR Disk"

After that, right click, on the main disk area, to the right of the area you just clicked on, and choose "New Simple Volume." Format the disk as NTFS, and make sure the "perform quick format" box is checked. Give it a name, and that is all there is to it. When the format completes, the disk should be visible under "My Computer."

Please do not hesitate to comment, or message us if you have any questions!

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Outlook Will not Send From My Hotel Room - Easy Fixes

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:09:00 -0400

If you have Microsoft Outlook, or any alternative email client, such as Thunderbird, and you have trouble sending from a hotel's free internet connection, you may want to check your ports. The most common reason for this problem is that the hotel firewall is blocking port 25, which is the most common send port for email clients that are running with no encryption.

The easiest solution to this in Outlook 2010, is to go to File, account settings, and then highlight your account and select change.

Under the account settings tab, go to "more settings" and select advanced.

What you are looking for is your outgoing port information. It should be the second line near the top of the page. If this is set to 25, you will probably need to change it in order to get your email to send properly. You may need to consult with your email provider to find acceptable alternate ports, but common outgoing ports are 465 and 587, so it does not hurt to give either of those a try. Once you have changed the port number, hit okay, and click on "test account settings"

If it works, you are all set!

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.exe files ask "open with application?" Windows Vista Fix

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:40:00 -0400

Sometimes, after a malware attack in particular, windows vista may not allow the opening of any programs. Instead of opening, clicking on a program will cause a window to pop up asking which application you would like to open the program with.

Basically, the problem here is that your Windows registry has become corrupted, and needs to have a few entries repaired. There is a fairly simple, and quite reliable fix to this that we will go over. This fix does involve making changes to the registry, however it does not require any prior skill in doing so. Users are highly suggested to back up their computers if at all possible before applying this fix.

Because manually editing the registry is a pain, and can damage your computer, we are instead going to create a nifty little file to do this for us.

Step 1: Open notepad by simply typing notepad into the windows search bar under the start menu, or by going to Programs>Accessories

Step 2: Paste the following registry keys and information into notepad. It is very important that this be exact.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithList]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithProgids]
"exefile"=hex(0):

Step 3: Choose save as, and name the file exefix.reg (the .reg is the really important part here.)

Go to the file you just created, and double click it. A warning window should pop up, asking if you are sure. Click yes, and watch your problems dissipate. You may need to re-start your computer after in order for the fix to take full effect.

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Serendipity Cannot Install HTML Nugget - Cannot write to directory - Easy Fix aplus.net

nospam@example.com (Andrew Varnes) — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:19:00 -0400

If you are trying to manipulate Serendipity plugins using the admin control panel, and you get an error that informs you that Serendipity cannot write to the directory, then there may be one of two very simple fixes that will work for you. This problem is reported especially frequently by users who host their pages through aplus.net, and use the built in control panel to install their blogs.

The first and most common cause of this seems to be that a plugins directory is not created by default when the blog is installed. So open up your ftp client, and check it out. Open up the main directory of your installed blog and take a look at the folders. You should be looking at archives, uploads, templates, and templates_c as the sub folders of this directory. If plugins is not listed as a folder here, it needs to be created. Simply create a new folder here with the name "plugins" and then try to manipulate your add-on again. Chances are, your problem is totally solved!

If you are using a more advanced installation, you may need to make sure that the plugins folder has .php user write access, which can also be done through the ftp client.

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