Archive for August, 2007

OTT-Lite

Published at August 30, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

I’ve been having problems at home with my 2405 Dell monitor. I have been noticing myself having to squint after a short period of time while being on the computer. This lead me to believe that I did not have adequate lighting. I do have a kitchen light that shines at an angle; however, the light is quite harsh and not meant for this type of activity.

In the past, I’ve looked at the OTT-Lites at Office Depot. I went to Office Depot and picked up the activity light. It’s about 4′ high and gives just enough lighting for my entire computer desk area. I think one more on the other side would be beneficial.

I’ve noticed that I no longer start to squint immediately after a few minutes of reading on the computer. I also notice that I’m able to finish an article a lot easier. For some reason, perhaps due to the lighting situation, I could never really finish an article. I’d be quick to close it out and just go on to something else. I’m also learning to blink a lot more as well lol. My eyes have progressively gotten worse since I was in high school.

Perhaps LASIK is in store for me?

Anyhow, I just want to say if you’re looking for a new light, try the OTT-Lites. They are amazing and worth every penny.

Want to see an Apple iPhone get blended into shreds?

Published at August 26, 2007 in Random. 1 Comment

Willitblend.com takes an Apple iPhone and blends it in a Blendtec blender. Unbelievable. Very hilarious video.

When computer parts go bad – BUT IT’S BRAND NEW!

Published at August 24, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

I apologize in advance but this is just a tiny rant of mine. Listen, when you have a new computer, a new electronic device, etc. there is always the possibility, even if it’s brand new, that it will go bad. Why? There’s no good reason why other than the quality of the product or perhaps it was just an error from the factory. These things, unfortunately, happen. There is nothing you can do and it’s just the luck of the draw.

You can, however, lessen your chances of receiving a bunk product. You can do a little research, and make a sound decision by investing (spending a lot of money) on a higher end laptop or electronic item. Now I’m not saying that just because it’s a high priced item it won’t fail, that’s not the case either. I’m saying, do some research, stay away from crap products that have horrible reviews and please, just please, don’t be surprised if you happen to buy something and within a few months, it dies. These things happen. Look at life for instance. Nothing is guaranteed. You could die tomorrow, I could die tomorrow, the world could conceivably end tomorrow as well. NOTHING is certain well, except death.

Extra PCs lying around

Published at August 24, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

I am finally making use of my extra Dell PC that I had lying around. I installed XP Pro onto it and also installed VMWare Workstation. I just installed Ubuntu last night and plan on installing a lot more virtual machines.

I really want to get up to date with Windows Server and how to break/configure/fix the OS. There’s no future in just fixing PCs all day long, that’s my honest opinion. Eventually you have to evolve or fall off and find some other mediocre job. I plan to do the former and get up to date with whatever network topologies I need to. That being said, I really want to take the Network+ exam. The only bad thing is it’s quite the penny. Maybe I should set a goal of taking and passing it by the year’s end.

There are a lot of changes coming up to my work schedule so I don’t know if that’s even possible but if it is, I’ll be sure to at least attempt it.

Nothing much going on at the shop, just the normal spyware/virus removal. I highly recommend not opening any attachments from anyone that claims to be either a greeting card or an e-mail stating that you signed up for a user name and password. Those are making the rounds right now and are pretty nasty.

SecurityZone.org now open for business

Published at August 22, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

I would like to direct everyone’s attention over to a new website ran by a friend of mine. His name is Steven and he is a part-time contributor to RF although he rarely has time, it seems, to contribute at all lol.

In any case, his new website, SecurityZone.org, which entails anything and everything security related, is now open for business. I recommend you head on over if you’re interested in finding out more about security exploits or computer sec. in general.

I present to you, SecurityZone.org.

Vista Blunder

Published at August 21, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

I’m working on a computer that has Vista installed. I need to transfer the data off of the hard drive so that I can reinstall Windows XP. I attempted to click on the Documents and Settings folder and was greeted by an access denied error. After doing some research and trying to even take control/ownership of the Docs and Settings folder (which by the way will not work), I figured out that there is a folder called Users in the C: directory. The Docs and Settings is just a POINTER to that folder. The Docs and Settings folder does not hold anything in it other than a direct forwarding to the Users folder. Anyhow, that is my retarded mistake of the week.

Dell Dimension desktop CD/DVD drives

Published at August 20, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

I have noticed that Dell Dimension DVD/CD drives often times go bad if you don’t use them. Or perhaps even with use they just tend to go bad. I have had over 20+ Dell Dimensions ranging from the 2400 to the 3000 to the 8000 and what have you and almost all of them always have two drives and for some odd reason or another both drives die. I cannot boot from a CD using either. I go and put in a new optical drive and sure enough I can boot just fine.

It’s very strange and I wonder if it’s just crappy drives to begin with or if it is something else. I believe I have, in the past, tried hooking the two drives up to an external enclosure. I do not believe I had any luck with using the drives that way either. Kind of sucks as both drive eventually just go bad on their own.

Work is hectic

Published at August 20, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

Work is hectic, things are turning around, many computers coming through. Great but stressful. Hopefully more fixes on the way. Other than that, not much else going on other than work work work. Oh I started one online class. I have to buy my books on the 22nd. Wish me luck!

RSS feed update – Now full feed!

Published at August 11, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

I changed the setting for the RSS feed. I didn’t know that it was set to just show snippets of my posts. I have now changed it to show the entire post! I am sorry about that as I hate RSS feeds that are just summaries. I truly apologize and I hope that this will help you guys out in any way, shape or form.

Keep Yourself Protected!

Published at August 8, 2007 in Random. 0 Comments

KEEP YOURSELF PROTECTED!

ALWAYS do your Windows Updates (Every second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft releases security updates for flaws in their operating systems).

ALWAYS have some type of active and valid antivirus protection on your computer. Many times people let their subscription lapse and in doing so no longer receive the most up to date protection definitions. This means that you’re susceptible to being infected by a recently created or updated virus.

NEVER open e-mail attachments from people you do not know. ALSO even though the attachment does come from someone you know, always be suspicious. If this person has not told you prior to receiving this attachment that they planned on sending you one, be cautious! Often times viruses will take over computers and in doing so will utilize the address book which YOUR e-mail is probably on!

STAY AWAY from hacks, cheats, cracks – these are packed with viruses and are bad news!

BE HESITANT of all warnings that occur during a pop-up window. Real software manufacturers such as Microsoft, Adobe, and all others will never send you a pop-up window with information such as your computer is in immediate danger if you do not download this file or program! — DO a little research via Google.com if you see a pop-up window with a program name such as WinAntiVirusPro (the first few results normally will tell you whether a program is legitimate or fraudulent. As you can see when you type WinAntiVirusPro into Google, the first few results indicate it is a fraudulent antivirus program.

SOCIAL NETWORK USERS (MySpace, Face Book, Friendster, etc.) be aware of people’s homepage indicating you MUST download this software in order to view this video. This is how the hackers get you! They trick you into downloading a file when in reality it’s actually a virus! I personally NEVER download anything off of Myspace. It just is not worth the risk!

ALWAYS USE COMMON SENSE 1.0!!! If it seems fishy to you, don’t risk it, just close it out and forget about it!

There are many ways that you can be infected with a virus/spyware. If you have outdated software such as AOL Instant Messenger version 5.5 or Yahoo Messenger version 2.6 and so forth and so on, you’re open to the many bugs that can be exploited.

Some of the most common programs on your computer that should be checked for updates are: Apple iTunes and QuickTime (http://www.apple.com), Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash (http://www.adobe.com), AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, (http://www.aim.com, http://messenger.yahoo.com), Java (http://www.java.com), last but not least, Windows! Again the second Tuesday of every month Microsoft releases several patches that fix holes and bugs in the Windows operating systems.

Last but not least, here are a few free antivirus programs to use (TAKE NOTE, never use more than ONE antivirus program on your machine at any given time. If you have more than one, the two will conflict with your computer and in doing so will cause your computer to slow down significantly.) Running two antispyware programs is fine.