Tiplet expert tips & tech support

April 17, 2009

Are There Simple, Free Tools for Checking My PC’s Status and Health?

by Gabe Goldberg

In order to renew my car’s registration, I recently needed to have its pollution emissions tested. Since this was the first time my 2007 Honda had this check, I found it interesting that instead of using a tailpipe probe as was done with my previous (1989) auto, the mechanic simply connected his equipment to the car’s diagnostic port and read out a few numbers.

Considering how complex it is to maintain Windows computers – needing to worry about operating system patches, application updates, security settings, and many more issues — it would be nice to have a simple and automatic process for checking security, patches, reliability, performance, and everything else that matters.
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April 14, 2009

How to Keep Your Computer Secure and Private

Filed under: privacy & security — Tags: , , , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by David Hakala

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say. Many people fail to take the time to secure their computers against malware, only to lose many days struggling to eradicate viruses, Trojans, pop-up ad servers, and other vicious things from their computers. The irreplaceable data they lose hurts even more. The best cure for infection is to avoid getting it in the first place. But don’t go overboard with automated protection, and don’t rely on it alone.
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April 12, 2009

What Are Windows XP Service Packs?

by David Hakala

Microsoft releases “critical” updates to Windows every month. Those are fixes for bugs that should be fixed immediately, such as security holes in the operating system or things that can make your computer crash. Much less often Microsoft releases very large “service packs” that fix a whole lot of non-critical and critical bugs in one installation. Service packs also include new features and improvements to existing, unflawed features.
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April 11, 2009

Free Antivirus Download Options

Filed under: privacy & security — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 8:00 am

by David Hakala

Even though there are dozens of free antivirus programs just waiting to download, many people don’t install or use these vital protections. They have all kinds of excuses. What’s yours?
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April 10, 2009

How to Connect Your Laptop to a Wireless Network

Filed under: Internet,privacy & security — Tags: , , — admin @ 5:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

One of the best things about having a laptop is having the ability to mobilize your computing. Instead of being tied down to your desk in your home or office, you can work anywhere there is an accessible wireless access point, such as your favorite coffee shop, the library, or the airport. However, unless you’re already familiar with the procedure for getting online at one of these wireless access providers, it can be a little bit confusing. So here’s what to do once you’ve arrived at the coffee shop and unpacked your laptop.
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April 8, 2009

Free Virus Scan Offers May Not Be Safe

Filed under: privacy & security — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

Quite often, you will see an ad on a Web page, in a pop-up window, or off to the right of Google search results offering a “free virus scan.” A virus scan is good, and a free one is better, isn’t it? Not necessarily.
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April 6, 2009

How to Stop Secretmaker HOSTS file change attempt Alerts

Filed under: privacy & security,Windows — Tags: , , — admin @ 1:00 pm

by David Hakala

Q: I use Windows XP Home Edition. Via Secretmaker I keep on getting the message, “A HOSTS file change attempt has been watched on your computer, we advise you to reject it as normally no changes are necessary.” I thus click on reject and the message is removed, only for it to return some 3-4 minutes later. This has been going on for several days. Apart from clicking on accept, which I gather is not wise, or uninstalling Secret Maker, is there anything else I can do to prevent the message reappearing? — Victor

Yes, Victor: you can find out what is trying to change your HOSTS file and put an end to it. I highly recommend that you do so ASAP, because it’s probably meaning to do you harm.
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April 4, 2009

How Do You Make a Password Protected Zip File?

by Tina Gasperson

Q: How do you make a password protected zip file? — BPG

It used to be much more difficult to create, extract, and password protect zip files, but since Microsoft integrated file compression and archival abilities into Windows, it’s really just a click or two to get password protected zip files.
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Dealing with the Error: rundll32.exe is not a valid win32 application

by David Hakala

Q: How do I fix the error: rundll32.exe is not a valid win32 application? — Ashok

This error message is a sure sign that your computer is infected with malware of some kind. Something has replaced the valid rundll32.exe file with an identically named file that does who knows what. Whatever did it is probably hiding somewhere else on your machine, waiting to do it again if you simply replace rundll32.exe with a clean copy from your Windows installation CD.
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April 3, 2009

What You Should Know About the Conficker Virus

by Tina Gasperson

You’ve probably already heard about Conficker, the April Fool’s Day virus that was purported to take control of infected computers on that day in 2009. Experts say that the virus didn’t act in as widespread a manner as first thought, but the virus is still out there and may even be circulating in a mutated variety, so don’t let your guard down yet.
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April 2, 2009

How Can I Avoid Putting Electronic Garbage in Landfills?

by Gabe Goldberg

Aside from not wanting to clutter landfills with electronic garbage — that’s where solid waste ends up, you know, it doesn’t vanish when loaded in the collection truck — it’s increasingly discouraged or illegal to dispose of our once-precious twinkly gadgets in the normal household waste stream. This is for multiple reasons: Landfills are a limited resource and are often overloaded; electronics will linger forever, never biodegrading; and (worst of all) bad stuff such as chemicals and metals in the mess will leach out and pollute the area.
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