There are countless movies, TV shows, books, etc. warning us about the danger of the killer asteroid that will someday hit the earth and destroy every living thing including us. Some depict horrendous scenes of fire engulfing the planet, boiling away the oceans and turning the surface of the earth into a molten bubbling mass.
Not all of these scary scripts are the same, but nearly all indicate gloom and doom for the human race.
There are times when I wonder, 'maybe this wouldn't be a bad thing'.
One of the things that make me wonder are terrorist attrocities. How can they justify killing of innocents? They claim it is because their supreme being tells them to kill, but I don't believe that. The terrorists are destroying the airline industry in bits and bites at a time.
Another thing that makes me wonder is how greed has nearly destroyed our country's financial well being and ruined so many lives. People are still losing their jobs, their homes and their health care due to pure greed.
Corporations send jobs to other countries due to greed. Never mind more people here are unemployed when those jobs leave. It's the bottom line. Greed.
Big pharma is a major player in greed. Paying big bucks to convince people to 'Ask your doctor' and paying kickbacks to the doctors so they can sell higher and higher priced drugs that have side effects that can and probably will kill countless folks over the years. (I think I may start rooting for that asteroid!)
It is pretty obvious the Lobbyists own most of Congress. (Look at the good things for consumers that get voted down because the Lobbyists tell the congressional members if they want support come election day, they better vote no.)
False statements like "Health care for every one will cost too much money and ration it for everyone." Guess what, health care is already rationed. If you can't pay, you get no care and you die. It seems to me like it's a case of "I got mine, to hell with you." Some of the more vicious of the statements about health care for everyone were saying when you get old, you get put to sleep. Maybe not in just those terms, but that is what came across to a lot of folks.
Yep, those are just a few of the things that make me think maybe the asteroid will be all for the best.
Rant over for now,
Martha
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Social Networks and Some Other Services Are Getting Too Social For Me
There is Google's Gmail and Buzz.
Google made this 'Buzz' automatic. They didn't ask me, they just turned it on. As a result I decided to turn it off, but before that I deleted all of the email addresses in my Gmail accounts. (I have more than one) Now I download the emails to my computer. I am seriously thinking of deleting my Gmail accounts and just using my ISP or my domains for email.
Facebook keeps adding changes. Facebook keeps making changes.
I looked at my privacy settings. They had to be changed again! I am seriously thinking about deleting my Facebook account. Who knows what they will do next?
Now it's Microsoft and Hotmail.
Years ago I got a Microsoft Passport as it is needed sometimes to get content from Microsoft. Fortunately, there is nothing in my profile and I intend to keep it that way. I left Hotmail about 6 years ago, so hopefully that is now defunct.
Nothing concerning privacy really seems to matter to the 'big boys' (Microsoft, Google and Facebook). Usually they make changes available to users, but it is 'after the deed is done', so in the meantime private information is exposed to the world.
I think I may have to forget the Internet and go back to socializing face to face.
Martha
Google made this 'Buzz' automatic. They didn't ask me, they just turned it on. As a result I decided to turn it off, but before that I deleted all of the email addresses in my Gmail accounts. (I have more than one) Now I download the emails to my computer. I am seriously thinking of deleting my Gmail accounts and just using my ISP or my domains for email.
Facebook keeps adding changes. Facebook keeps making changes.
I looked at my privacy settings. They had to be changed again! I am seriously thinking about deleting my Facebook account. Who knows what they will do next?
Now it's Microsoft and Hotmail.
Years ago I got a Microsoft Passport as it is needed sometimes to get content from Microsoft. Fortunately, there is nothing in my profile and I intend to keep it that way. I left Hotmail about 6 years ago, so hopefully that is now defunct.
Nothing concerning privacy really seems to matter to the 'big boys' (Microsoft, Google and Facebook). Usually they make changes available to users, but it is 'after the deed is done', so in the meantime private information is exposed to the world.
I think I may have to forget the Internet and go back to socializing face to face.
Martha
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Free Speech? A Sad Day!
The Supreme Court is now saying it is OK to torture animals.
The Court says "banning the videos is an unconstitutional violation of free speech".
Well they said it is OK to show videos of animals being tortured. In my book it's the same thing.
The only member of the Court to vote against this despicable practice was Justice Samuel Alito. Too bad the rest of the members of the Court don't seem to think it's wrong. I hope they don't decide to ban the child porn laws.
A sad day for animals and animal lovers every where.
Martha
The Court says "banning the videos is an unconstitutional violation of free speech".
Well they said it is OK to show videos of animals being tortured. In my book it's the same thing.
The only member of the Court to vote against this despicable practice was Justice Samuel Alito. Too bad the rest of the members of the Court don't seem to think it's wrong. I hope they don't decide to ban the child porn laws.
A sad day for animals and animal lovers every where.
Martha
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Is that all there is?
Mary is now friends with...................
John is now friends with........................
Harry became a fan of.........................
Jane became a fan of.........................
Mary and Jane are now friends.
So enough of that! Facebook Lite!!!
Then Facebook Lite won't let me sign in. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Who needs Facebook!
Martha
John is now friends with........................
Harry became a fan of.........................
Jane became a fan of.........................
Mary and Jane are now friends.
So enough of that! Facebook Lite!!!
Then Facebook Lite won't let me sign in. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Who needs Facebook!
Martha
Friday, April 09, 2010
Facebook Friends
Why is it so important to so many folks to have hundreds of friends on Facebook?
By far the majority of these folks don't have a clue who all of the 'friends' really are and I suspect they don't care. They just say 'OK' and 'befriend' anyone who asks.
Case in point.
I think that pretty much says it all.
Martha
By far the majority of these folks don't have a clue who all of the 'friends' really are and I suspect they don't care. They just say 'OK' and 'befriend' anyone who asks.
Case in point.
I think that pretty much says it all.
Martha
Monday, April 05, 2010
Online Order Deception
With the advent of the Internet, soon came the ability to shop online. Sites like Amazon.com became the darlings of online ordering. (Amazon is one of my favorites!) Online ordering became a major way to get goods delivered to a customer's home with little effort. (Except maybe when it came time to pay the bill.)
But unfortunately, sometimes unscrupulous merchants try to boost their bottom line by using practices that while maybe are not illegal, but are certainly shady.
One way customers are sucked in to a shady practice is the promise of a rebate for shipping. Notice this is NOT the same as an order code for free shipping that many reputable sites offer.
Most customers are intent on what they want to order and fail to read all fine print on the site where they will order. Sometimes the fine print is in a much lighter shade and is located below the 'Order Now' button. An example of this is on this site: Plaque Attack
Notice the Free Shipping logo at the top of the page has a small wording, After Rebate. Now scroll to the bottom of the page and in a box with light gray text, read the Offer Details. In order to get the free shipping, the customer is signing up for a 'free trial' of the 'Insider's Club'. Curious, I went to the site FreeShipping.com mentioned in the order details and nowhere could I find what the price would be after the free trial ends.
So now what happens? Customers sign up to join to get the free shipping. What they may not realize and most don't, after the 'free trial' they will be billed a monthly fee and nowhere does it say what that fee will be until it's too late. Then when they get their credit card statement or bank statement they learn the awful truth. (Never ever use a debit card to order online!) Trying to get this unwanted service canceled and a return on their money can be a very frustrating experience, sometimes almost impossible.
Unfortunately there a lot of sites like this. Just check out the posts on the Complaints Board.
There are so many deceptive practices on the Internet. A lot of them are pure scams, but the sites like the one above cover their you know whats by putting disclaimers or confusing wording on their sites so when the customers dispute the charges they can claim the customer was notified in advance. So while these sites are not actually illegal, they are in cahoots with sites that are certainly out to scam the customer.
But unfortunately, sometimes unscrupulous merchants try to boost their bottom line by using practices that while maybe are not illegal, but are certainly shady.
One way customers are sucked in to a shady practice is the promise of a rebate for shipping. Notice this is NOT the same as an order code for free shipping that many reputable sites offer.
Most customers are intent on what they want to order and fail to read all fine print on the site where they will order. Sometimes the fine print is in a much lighter shade and is located below the 'Order Now' button. An example of this is on this site: Plaque Attack
Notice the Free Shipping logo at the top of the page has a small wording, After Rebate. Now scroll to the bottom of the page and in a box with light gray text, read the Offer Details. In order to get the free shipping, the customer is signing up for a 'free trial' of the 'Insider's Club'. Curious, I went to the site FreeShipping.com mentioned in the order details and nowhere could I find what the price would be after the free trial ends.
So now what happens? Customers sign up to join to get the free shipping. What they may not realize and most don't, after the 'free trial' they will be billed a monthly fee and nowhere does it say what that fee will be until it's too late. Then when they get their credit card statement or bank statement they learn the awful truth. (Never ever use a debit card to order online!) Trying to get this unwanted service canceled and a return on their money can be a very frustrating experience, sometimes almost impossible.
Unfortunately there a lot of sites like this. Just check out the posts on the Complaints Board.
There are so many deceptive practices on the Internet. A lot of them are pure scams, but the sites like the one above cover their you know whats by putting disclaimers or confusing wording on their sites so when the customers dispute the charges they can claim the customer was notified in advance. So while these sites are not actually illegal, they are in cahoots with sites that are certainly out to scam the customer.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Welcome to the world of NO Privacy!
Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and who knows how many more social networks are out there.
Very soon we will be able to see just what you post on Twitter! Yahoo! and Twitter give wings to your social world.
OK, that's what Twitter is about, but what about the secure way you set up your Facebook? Facebook Pages Now Part Of Google’s Real-Time Results.
Is it only a matter of time before your Gmail messages show up in searches? It could be if you didn't turn Buzz off!
I hope my ISP doesn't decide to be a social network!
Martha
Very soon we will be able to see just what you post on Twitter! Yahoo! and Twitter give wings to your social world.
OK, that's what Twitter is about, but what about the secure way you set up your Facebook? Facebook Pages Now Part Of Google’s Real-Time Results.
Is it only a matter of time before your Gmail messages show up in searches? It could be if you didn't turn Buzz off!
I hope my ISP doesn't decide to be a social network!
Martha
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Internet and Trust?
What a contradiction! The Internet has taught me not to trust anything!
I learned a long time ago not to trust stuff in email, especially from strangers. Spam loaded my inbox and I quickly learned not to open it but to just delete it unopened. It's a good thing too because it wasn't long before email came bearing unwelcome stuff besides folks just trying to sell me something. Virus was first, then Trojans, worms, phishes, etc., ack! Email became dangerous!
As if that wasn't enough, so called trustworthy sites began to put stuff on our computers to spy on us. My favorite tax program put spyware on our computers! I will never use anything by that company again! Although they apologized, the trust I had in them is now gone.
I found out a music company did more or less the same thing! They put a dangerous application called a rootkit on computers when a music CD was played on a computer. A rootkit is very hard to detect. That company also makes computers and how can we trust that those computers are not 'infected'?
I suspect those companies learned their lesson and probably won't try such tactics again, but I am suspicious. I tend to remember "fool me once, shame
on you. Fool me twice, shame on me".
Since companies don't want to lose customers, they generally will not try stuff like that again. But there are other things that can 'bite' us if we don't beware.
Some 'free' downloads are not free if you don't watch out when you install programs. When I installed my pdf reader (not that piggy Adobe), there
was an option to also install the Ask toolbar. The box was already checked to install it, so if I hadn't learned a long time ago to actually read what's
going to happen during the install I would have ended up with an unwanted toolbar. Other downloads have done the same with the Google toolbar.
Now Gmail has lost my trust with this thing called 'Buzz'. I like Gmail, for email. Just email and nothing more. I don't want my email to be a social network.
I saw someone on TV talking about Buzz and how she likes it. She can share so much like links and photos. The first thing that came to mind was 'wow, a new way for scammers and phishers to suck people in to getting spyware, worms, trojans and the like, as if there isn't enough of this already'.
I turned Buzz off in my Gmail and I am going to go one step further. I am going to remove all email contacts as well. Who knows what Gmail may try
next?
I learned a long time ago not to trust stuff in email, especially from strangers. Spam loaded my inbox and I quickly learned not to open it but to just delete it unopened. It's a good thing too because it wasn't long before email came bearing unwelcome stuff besides folks just trying to sell me something. Virus was first, then Trojans, worms, phishes, etc., ack! Email became dangerous!
As if that wasn't enough, so called trustworthy sites began to put stuff on our computers to spy on us. My favorite tax program put spyware on our computers! I will never use anything by that company again! Although they apologized, the trust I had in them is now gone.
I found out a music company did more or less the same thing! They put a dangerous application called a rootkit on computers when a music CD was played on a computer. A rootkit is very hard to detect. That company also makes computers and how can we trust that those computers are not 'infected'?
I suspect those companies learned their lesson and probably won't try such tactics again, but I am suspicious. I tend to remember "fool me once, shame
on you. Fool me twice, shame on me".
Since companies don't want to lose customers, they generally will not try stuff like that again. But there are other things that can 'bite' us if we don't beware.
Some 'free' downloads are not free if you don't watch out when you install programs. When I installed my pdf reader (not that piggy Adobe), there
was an option to also install the Ask toolbar. The box was already checked to install it, so if I hadn't learned a long time ago to actually read what's
going to happen during the install I would have ended up with an unwanted toolbar. Other downloads have done the same with the Google toolbar.
Now Gmail has lost my trust with this thing called 'Buzz'. I like Gmail, for email. Just email and nothing more. I don't want my email to be a social network.
I saw someone on TV talking about Buzz and how she likes it. She can share so much like links and photos. The first thing that came to mind was 'wow, a new way for scammers and phishers to suck people in to getting spyware, worms, trojans and the like, as if there isn't enough of this already'.
I turned Buzz off in my Gmail and I am going to go one step further. I am going to remove all email contacts as well. Who knows what Gmail may try
next?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Social Networking or is it Social Silliness?
After much soul searching and deliberation, some time back I finally decided to join Facebook. (And no I didn't give up my email password!) At first it seemed to be ok until my cohorts in common decided to join some of the games that Facebook seems to think we need. Everyday someone is planting something, cleaning something or finding something, all while playing in one of these Facebook apps.
One of the most annoying is the notice that someone commented on something someone else posted. Why on earth is that necessary? I really don't need to know about all those comments that are not very informative.
I finally found something I can become a fan of, it's 'I dont care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!!'
I know I am perhaps a party pooper here and if some folks get enjoyment from all of the silliness, I guess that's okay, but I just can't see myself farming online or cleaning fish tanks!
Martha
One of the most annoying is the notice that someone commented on something someone else posted. Why on earth is that necessary? I really don't need to know about all those comments that are not very informative.
I finally found something I can become a fan of, it's 'I dont care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!!'
I know I am perhaps a party pooper here and if some folks get enjoyment from all of the silliness, I guess that's okay, but I just can't see myself farming online or cleaning fish tanks!
Martha
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Change Your Email Password!
When you joined Facebook, (or ANY other social network site) did you give them the password to your email? Why for heaven's sake did you do that? Did you actually want Facebook to send an invitation to your bank? Did you want them to send an invitation to anyone and everyone in your address book? (And remember, some email programs will save every email address for anyone you ever sent an email including replies.)
Oh, you didn't know they would do that? What exactly did you think would happen when they said 'Find friends using your email account?' Did you think they would know exactly who your friends are and wouldn't send invites to anyone you didn't want to receive an invitation? Really, did you think that?
I suspect you didn't think at all, you just blindly followed and gave them your password. For shame! Don't you know you shouldn't give your email password to anyone? Even your ISP won't ask you for your email password! Your bank, your credit card company, Paypal, etc., none of these will ask you for your email password, so why on earth would you give a stranger your password?
Oh, you say, Facebook isn't a stranger. Really? Do you know who lurks behind the site that is asking for this information? I bet you don't!
If you did fall for that 'Find friends using your email account' and now that everyone in your address book has been spammed at least once, all those
folks that didn't join you on Facebook are going to spammed again to remind them of the 'invitation' to join you. This fact makes me wonder about the
validity of the blurb below the box to enter your password. You know, the one that says 'we won't store your password'. Then how do they manage to send out 'reminder' spam?
I would guess it's because your password is still there. I would remove it if I were you. Then you should go to where ever your email is hosted and change the password for your email account. And for goodness sake, don't ever give away your email password again! Ever!
Martha
Oh, you didn't know they would do that? What exactly did you think would happen when they said 'Find friends using your email account?' Did you think they would know exactly who your friends are and wouldn't send invites to anyone you didn't want to receive an invitation? Really, did you think that?
I suspect you didn't think at all, you just blindly followed and gave them your password. For shame! Don't you know you shouldn't give your email password to anyone? Even your ISP won't ask you for your email password! Your bank, your credit card company, Paypal, etc., none of these will ask you for your email password, so why on earth would you give a stranger your password?
Oh, you say, Facebook isn't a stranger. Really? Do you know who lurks behind the site that is asking for this information? I bet you don't!
If you did fall for that 'Find friends using your email account' and now that everyone in your address book has been spammed at least once, all those
folks that didn't join you on Facebook are going to spammed again to remind them of the 'invitation' to join you. This fact makes me wonder about the
validity of the blurb below the box to enter your password. You know, the one that says 'we won't store your password'. Then how do they manage to send out 'reminder' spam?
I would guess it's because your password is still there. I would remove it if I were you. Then you should go to where ever your email is hosted and change the password for your email account. And for goodness sake, don't ever give away your email password again! Ever!
Martha
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Goodbye Firefox For Now
Why Firefox is no longer my default browser. I still use Firefox (I really need some of those extensions) but all of those 'Firefox cannot find the server' messages when going to websites finally just made me decide to make Opera default. Opera finds those sites just fine.
Sometimes I had to press the Retry button 3 times to get to what I know is a valid site.
At first I thought it was just my computer, but then I tried on other computers and it is the same. Then I found I am not the only one with this problem.
I looked on the Moilla forum for answers and all I got was 'you must have spyware', it's your firewall' or some such nonsense. Sorry, I think it's a bug in Firefox that somehow is overlooked by all of those folks that contribute. Too many people are experiencing this problem. (Some from as far back as 2005) If it is a security thing, why doesn't it happen for all sites?
Even some Linux users have this problem.
You know what? Opera is faster and renders pages much better.
Martha
Sometimes I had to press the Retry button 3 times to get to what I know is a valid site.
At first I thought it was just my computer, but then I tried on other computers and it is the same. Then I found I am not the only one with this problem.
I looked on the Moilla forum for answers and all I got was 'you must have spyware', it's your firewall' or some such nonsense. Sorry, I think it's a bug in Firefox that somehow is overlooked by all of those folks that contribute. Too many people are experiencing this problem. (Some from as far back as 2005) If it is a security thing, why doesn't it happen for all sites?
Even some Linux users have this problem.
You know what? Opera is faster and renders pages much better.
Martha
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Updating Word Press
I just hate updating Word Press!
The newer versions of WP are supposed to have this automatic update feature, but it never works for me. Once upon a time there was a plugin for automatic update and that worked pretty well for awhile, but then it stopped working and the fun? began for me.
First I try to get it to automatically backup. It goes as far as downloading the new version and then it just stops. No more, nada. (I keep hoping, but it just won't work) At least I don't have to update my database version every time!
I backup the site, verify the backup, de-activate the plugins and download the new version. Then I have to hunt for the instructions because I have this memory problem and follow the instructions all the while hoping it will work and I won't have to use that backup. So far I haven't had to use the backup, but you never know.
Then I have to remember to re-activate my plugins, check every thing to make sure all is ok and say a silent prayer.
So if anyone has an idea why that automatic thing doesn't work, please let me know!
Martha
The newer versions of WP are supposed to have this automatic update feature, but it never works for me. Once upon a time there was a plugin for automatic update and that worked pretty well for awhile, but then it stopped working and the fun? began for me.
First I try to get it to automatically backup. It goes as far as downloading the new version and then it just stops. No more, nada. (I keep hoping, but it just won't work) At least I don't have to update my database version every time!
I backup the site, verify the backup, de-activate the plugins and download the new version. Then I have to hunt for the instructions because I have this memory problem and follow the instructions all the while hoping it will work and I won't have to use that backup. So far I haven't had to use the backup, but you never know.
Then I have to remember to re-activate my plugins, check every thing to make sure all is ok and say a silent prayer.
So if anyone has an idea why that automatic thing doesn't work, please let me know!
Martha
What happened to Global Warning?
In case you are sitting on a sunny beach somewhere and you haven't read any news, just about everywhere in the US is covered by an arctic blast and most of us here in the Texas and other southern states are freezing our you-know-whats off.
I read it's darn cold in Europe as well.
I haven't felt this cold in many a year! It's just downright cold and there are no other words for it. I want this arctic blast to go back to the Arctic.
It's really hard for me to think we have global warning when the weather is like this!
When it's this cold I want to do is stay at home where it is reasonably warm. But then my little dog wants to go for a walk and so my parka that hasn't been used in a long time comes out of the closet and away we go.
Martha
I read it's darn cold in Europe as well.
I haven't felt this cold in many a year! It's just downright cold and there are no other words for it. I want this arctic blast to go back to the Arctic.
It's really hard for me to think we have global warning when the weather is like this!
When it's this cold I want to do is stay at home where it is reasonably warm. But then my little dog wants to go for a walk and so my parka that hasn't been used in a long time comes out of the closet and away we go.
Martha
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Well, that was fun, NOT!
Word Press has a new version and so I decided to upgrade. Everything seemed to go fine until I reached the last step, upgrading the database. This new version requires MySQL 4.1.2 or greater (old requirement was 4.0) Now a techie I am not. So I hop to my host's control panel and start searching for how to upgrade my WP database.
Greek! It might as well be Greek, 'cause I don't understand this stuff.
I call the help line for my host and get a very helpful person who is trying his best to help me, but he must be in another country, because I just can't understand what he is telling me. Finally I mange to get most of what he is saying. I create a new database and start the export from the old database to the new database, but the in the last step I get an error and there I am lost. So the nice tech tells me he will send me an email with instructions on how to fix the error and now I wait for the email. (I know he knew I would never understand the verbal instructions!)
Sure enough, the email comes through with the instructions. Fortunately for me my programmer son is home and I turn this over to him. He fixes the database and now the export from the old database to the new database goes through with no errors.
So now all I had to do was update the config file and now I have the new version up and running.
I did learn something, but I hope I don't have to do this again for awhile!
Martha
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Secunia
I use Secunia to test my computer for insecure applications. I had a question about something so joined their online forum to see if there was an answer there. I went through the usual hoopla when joining a forum and at last got to the Congratulations screen telling me to 'login using the form' below.
Except there was no form below. (In Firefox, my default browser) So I reloaded the screen. Nope, no form. On a hunch I opened IE and loaded the same screen. Yep, there was the form.
Now while this is normal for some websites, the funny thing is, Secunia reports that Internet Explorer (both regular and 64 bit) are insecure and there is no fix!
Now since they know IE is insecure, wouldn't you think their page would work in another browser like Firefox?!!!! (But it did work in Opera!)
Martha
Except there was no form below. (In Firefox, my default browser) So I reloaded the screen. Nope, no form. On a hunch I opened IE and loaded the same screen. Yep, there was the form.
Now while this is normal for some websites, the funny thing is, Secunia reports that Internet Explorer (both regular and 64 bit) are insecure and there is no fix!
Now since they know IE is insecure, wouldn't you think their page would work in another browser like Firefox?!!!! (But it did work in Opera!)
Martha
Friday, November 13, 2009
Upgrading WordPress
It's that time again, upgrade your WordPress blog. I don't know why the automatic upgrade doesn't work for me any more, but it doesn't so I had to do the manual upgrade. Again.
I just panic until the upgrade is completed. What if it doesn't work? What if I have to do everything all over again!!! While I don't post to this blog as often as I should, I still want to keep it!
From one upgrade to the next, I go through the 'try and try again to do the automatic thing' and then after about four tries I give in and do the manual upgrade.
Keeps me on my toes! Literally!
Martha
I just panic until the upgrade is completed. What if it doesn't work? What if I have to do everything all over again!!! While I don't post to this blog as often as I should, I still want to keep it!
From one upgrade to the next, I go through the 'try and try again to do the automatic thing' and then after about four tries I give in and do the manual upgrade.
Keeps me on my toes! Literally!
Martha
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Microsoft Office Visio Viewer 2007
This program is not installed on my computer, yet Windows update showed I needed update KB973709 which is an update for Microsoft Office Visio Viewer 2007.
Thinking that it might be related to another MS Office product I selected all the Office updates to install and all of the Office updates failed. I tried several times and the updates always failed. So I downloaded each of the updates and installed them manually. All installed except the KB973709, the Visio Viewer update. A search for the Visio Viewer confirmed it is not installed on my computer.
While searching for each update I found numerous entries for the failure of updates to install and they were all the same updates as the failures were for me.
Microsoft must have goofed on this update!
Fortunately I never install the Office updates when I install the Windows updates. I always install the Windows updates first. After they have installed and rebooted the system, I then go for the Office updates. The Windows updates installed just fine.
In order for Windows update to keep nagging me to install this update I had to hide it. In the future I will check out those updates more carefully before installing them. This 'goof' cost me a lot of frustration and time.
Martha
Thinking that it might be related to another MS Office product I selected all the Office updates to install and all of the Office updates failed. I tried several times and the updates always failed. So I downloaded each of the updates and installed them manually. All installed except the KB973709, the Visio Viewer update. A search for the Visio Viewer confirmed it is not installed on my computer.
While searching for each update I found numerous entries for the failure of updates to install and they were all the same updates as the failures were for me.
Microsoft must have goofed on this update!
Fortunately I never install the Office updates when I install the Windows updates. I always install the Windows updates first. After they have installed and rebooted the system, I then go for the Office updates. The Windows updates installed just fine.
In order for Windows update to keep nagging me to install this update I had to hide it. In the future I will check out those updates more carefully before installing them. This 'goof' cost me a lot of frustration and time.
Martha
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Scareware!
For safer surfing, better use Firefox with NoScript installed.
I have read numerous emails from folks that get one of these scareware alerts. Most of them are wanting to know how to remove it as their security protect doesn't help.
Today I experienced first hand one of these 'fake alert' scareware/malwares. I like to read the comics online and have a few sites bookmarked. As soon as I clicked on one of them the 'fun' began.
My browser opened full screen (which is an annoyance) and then I got the alert telling me 'your computer is infected!' It appeared to be scanning something, however I know it wasn't scanning my computer. These malware writers really know how to scare folks. The alert looked real and if I hadn't known about these scammy 'alerts', I might have been hooked into buying thus infecting my computer with more spyware!
Firefox had opened a new tab from a site, isoft-online. (I would not go there if I were you!) The alert was there, all but screaming at me. I could not close the tab and I could not close Firefox. My ESET flashed that a threat had been quarantined, but I still could not close Firefox.
I brought up the Task Manager and closed Firefox. When I reopened Firefox there it was again. Task Manager again closed it. The next time I opened Firefox it asked me if I wanted to restore the previous session and of course I clicked 'no'.
Lesson learned, install NoScript on Firefox.
To test, I went back to the infected site. Something tried to load besides the site, but was unsuccessful. I am still going to update my spyware programs and run indepth scans, just to be sure there are no infections.
I checked the quarantine logs to see what was blocked and it was listed as 'NSIS/TrojanDownloader.FakeAlert.C trojan. You just can't be too careful on the Internet these days.
Martha
I have read numerous emails from folks that get one of these scareware alerts. Most of them are wanting to know how to remove it as their security protect doesn't help.
Today I experienced first hand one of these 'fake alert' scareware/malwares. I like to read the comics online and have a few sites bookmarked. As soon as I clicked on one of them the 'fun' began.
My browser opened full screen (which is an annoyance) and then I got the alert telling me 'your computer is infected!' It appeared to be scanning something, however I know it wasn't scanning my computer. These malware writers really know how to scare folks. The alert looked real and if I hadn't known about these scammy 'alerts', I might have been hooked into buying thus infecting my computer with more spyware!
Firefox had opened a new tab from a site, isoft-online. (I would not go there if I were you!) The alert was there, all but screaming at me. I could not close the tab and I could not close Firefox. My ESET flashed that a threat had been quarantined, but I still could not close Firefox.
I brought up the Task Manager and closed Firefox. When I reopened Firefox there it was again. Task Manager again closed it. The next time I opened Firefox it asked me if I wanted to restore the previous session and of course I clicked 'no'.
Lesson learned, install NoScript on Firefox.
To test, I went back to the infected site. Something tried to load besides the site, but was unsuccessful. I am still going to update my spyware programs and run indepth scans, just to be sure there are no infections.
I checked the quarantine logs to see what was blocked and it was listed as 'NSIS/TrojanDownloader.FakeAlert.C trojan. You just can't be too careful on the Internet these days.
Martha
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Spoofed Calls
We changed our phone number recently to 'unlisted'. Unfortunately for us, the new number once belonged to some folks who didn't pay their bills. For some of the calls we've manged to convince the callers that the debts don't belong to us and they have stopped calling.
One type of call I really hate are the jerks that give you the option to 'Opt out', but you have to listen to the entire call to get the option to press '2' or another number to opt out. Those calls ensure that I will never under any circumstances use their product/service or whatever they are trying to sell.
But the worst offenders are the 'robo' calls, especially the robo calls using spoofed phone numbers! These perps belong to the same class of email scammers that fill our inboxes with spam!
I keep getting calls from folks trying to get me to lower my interest rate on my credit cards. I just need to 'press 1 now to speak to a representative'.These calls are filling my answer machine so I decided to see if I could 'opt out and answered a call. The robot went through
the spiel and I patiently waited for the call to get to an option for opting out. However I waited in vain! Instead the annoying person repeated three times 'Press 1 now!, each time getting louder and more annoying.
I decided to call the number displayed on the caller ID and was greeted with the message 'your call cannot be completed as dialed'. So what is going on? Is this really a legitimate call for me to lower my interest rate? Nope, it is a scam. They will try to sucker me into paying for some scammy service that doesn't really exist or they just want my credit card details so they can steal them and rack up a lot of fraudulent charges.
So from now on when the phone rings if I don't recognize the number, the answer machine will just get busy. Or maybe I'll just turn the sucker off!
Martha
One type of call I really hate are the jerks that give you the option to 'Opt out', but you have to listen to the entire call to get the option to press '2' or another number to opt out. Those calls ensure that I will never under any circumstances use their product/service or whatever they are trying to sell.
But the worst offenders are the 'robo' calls, especially the robo calls using spoofed phone numbers! These perps belong to the same class of email scammers that fill our inboxes with spam!
I keep getting calls from folks trying to get me to lower my interest rate on my credit cards. I just need to 'press 1 now to speak to a representative'.These calls are filling my answer machine so I decided to see if I could 'opt out and answered a call. The robot went through
the spiel and I patiently waited for the call to get to an option for opting out. However I waited in vain! Instead the annoying person repeated three times 'Press 1 now!, each time getting louder and more annoying.
I decided to call the number displayed on the caller ID and was greeted with the message 'your call cannot be completed as dialed'. So what is going on? Is this really a legitimate call for me to lower my interest rate? Nope, it is a scam. They will try to sucker me into paying for some scammy service that doesn't really exist or they just want my credit card details so they can steal them and rack up a lot of fraudulent charges.
So from now on when the phone rings if I don't recognize the number, the answer machine will just get busy. Or maybe I'll just turn the sucker off!
Martha
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Copycat Names
Computers can be confusing even for some of us that have used them a long time and think we know what we are doing. To add to the confusion for a lot of folks is the 'naming' of programs and processes.
Microsoft really confused folks by giving their email programs such similar names, Outlook (part of their Office suite) and Outlook Express which came with Windows 95 up through Windows XP. Tech support long ago learned to ask if their email problems are for OE or MS Outlook in Office.
There is the 'Messenger' as well. There is the regular Messenger, the instant messenger application and then there's the Windows Messenger Service (which the hackers found all too soon and used it to spam users even when not in email).
Microsoft is not the only culprit giving stuff almost the same names. There's Windows Media Player (comes with Windows) and Media Player Classic (not a Microsoft program). Guess the program author couldn't think of something unique.
There are a lot of stuff out there with similar names and the bad guys take advantage of this copycat name thing. They make really bad programs that sound like a good program and get folks to install them on their computers. Sometimes these programs are touted as being free, but usually there is a charge. These nasties do two things, first they take your money and then they spy on you.
You just can't be too careful out there on the wild and wooly web and never take a name at face value!
Martha
Microsoft really confused folks by giving their email programs such similar names, Outlook (part of their Office suite) and Outlook Express which came with Windows 95 up through Windows XP. Tech support long ago learned to ask if their email problems are for OE or MS Outlook in Office.
There is the 'Messenger' as well. There is the regular Messenger, the instant messenger application and then there's the Windows Messenger Service (which the hackers found all too soon and used it to spam users even when not in email).
Microsoft is not the only culprit giving stuff almost the same names. There's Windows Media Player (comes with Windows) and Media Player Classic (not a Microsoft program). Guess the program author couldn't think of something unique.
There are a lot of stuff out there with similar names and the bad guys take advantage of this copycat name thing. They make really bad programs that sound like a good program and get folks to install them on their computers. Sometimes these programs are touted as being free, but usually there is a charge. These nasties do two things, first they take your money and then they spy on you.
You just can't be too careful out there on the wild and wooly web and never take a name at face value!
Martha
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