"Good, Free Antivirus" question

Question from a reader:

Is there a good, free antivirus software I can download? I have the Verizon security suite, but I'm quite sure it's not catching everything. Barring that, what's the best way to clean the viral crap off my computer?

Are we talking about a program that runs all the time and tries to catch virii before they get installed, or one that removes them after?

For prevention, Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast seem to be the best free options.

Whatever VZ is using is probably pretty good too. None of them are perfect...paid or free.

For removal I would use more than one scanner to remove virii. Eset.com has a free online scanner. MalwareBytes offers a free scanner that you download and install.

In all post-infection cases, you want to make sure that the scanners are not identifying false-positives. Set them to notify but not clean (or delete or quarantine). That's why we use multiple scanners. If they agree that a file contains a threat, then we quarantine (remove...delete) it.

If you are talking general computer cleaning, CCleaner is good but it will help you remove things that you really didn't want removed. WinDirStat will show you what is taking up all the space on your hard drive.

Update on Fake Alert Virus Infections

Seems like everyone I know has been getting hit by this malware. Sophos reports that there are over a half million variations of this attack! Thus far, Malwarebytes and Combofix have been successful in removing it, followed by scan with multiple anti-virus programs using their free online scanners. I've had to boot the computers into Safe Mode (press and hold F8 while the computer boots up and choose Safe Mode with Networking) in order to be able to even run Malwarebytes but it works. Also, rebooting into Safe Mode has re-enabled the previously installed anti-virus programs to be able to run as well, such as Microsoft Security Essentials. MSE was also able to remove the fake alert virus in Safe Mode.

Combofix, while effective, just removes things and makes changes without asking you. It removed my custom Hosts file, which I then had to replace.

Fake Alert Attack and possible prevention

Computer was attacked TWICE today by Fake Alert virus while searching for pictures of art from Mali.

The first time, I clicked the X on the box that popped up to tell me that I supposedly had a virus. I got virus files in my computer this way.

The second time I just used the Task Manager to kill the browser without clicking anywhere in the browser window. No virus files made it into my computer.

It was interesting to have it happen to me. I've removed several of these infestations from client computers this year and I thought they were being infected because they weren't savvy enough to avoid the attack. But, it doesn't matter if you are tech savvy or not. I was using Chrome, had Flash and Java updated, and I have Windows patched. You just have to click on an unlucky link.

My advice is Don't Click on ANYTHING after the first fake alert pops up! Use the task manager (ctrl+shift+escape) to end the browser process without touching(clicking in) the browser window.

Confusing Analytics Duplicate Profile Instructions

So this looks confusing to me. The first paragraph mentions that we might not want to affect the data in our main profile, and the second paragraph says that the tracking code is identical and data will be imported simultaneously into both profiles.

in reference to: How do I create a duplicate profile in my account? - Analytics Help (view on Google Sidewiki)

Building Trust With Web Design 101

A link is a promise, the text of the link tells the user what they are being promised.

Palm 755p reboots whenever I access a memo, part three.

Alright, so the Palm 755p started rebooting whenever I accessed a particular memo. Different idea this time. Instead of deleting MemosDB-PMem from the internal memory space and then restoring all my memos, I just fixed the one memo that was busted.
I did a regular hotsync first.

1. I copied the contents of the memo from the Palm Desktop into a temp Notepad document. I deleted all the trailing spaces at the end of the memo in Notepad.
2. I deleted the memo from the Palm Desktop.
3. I performed a hotsync, Hotsync settings: Memos - Desktop overwrites handheld. This removed the corrupted memo from the palm. In the hotsync settings I only enabled Memos, in order to save time. 
4. Then, I copied the contents of the memo from my temp Notepad document, pasted into a new Memo in the Palm Desktop. Another hotsync, (set to Synchronize, or Desktop overwrites handheld), and the memo is back on the Palm. Now I can access the Memo and the Palm doesn't reboot.
5. Don't forget to return your sync settings to synchronize Palm and desktop, and to re-enable all the apps that you want synced.

This is by far the easiest way to recover from the problem where your Palm restarts whenever you access a memo.

Palm 755p reboots every time I access memos

I've had this one before, and last time I just re-installed the VZ updater for the Palm 755p.

But the Updater is a major process that requires a cable. Palm has not seen fit to release drivers that allow us to connect our 755p's to Vista 64bit using a USB cable.

So, what other options do we have, Scotty?

I dialed the Palm System Error Log number #*#377# and found that MemoMain.c was at fault, but I didn't know if the Memo database was corrupt or if the Memopad program was hosed.

I considered doing a hard reset, but instead I used the advice in this post: Treo 755p - suddenly resets when I try to open Memo, which was to delete "MemosDB-PMem" from the Internal memory space using the free FileZ Palm app.

It worked. Memos accessible, no rebooting. Vista 64bit to 755p connection problem workaround.

But it was late, and I skipped a step, which made a mess for me. I didn't set the Hotsync conduit for Memos to "Desktop overwrites handheld".

I lost all of my Memo categories and all my hundreds of Memos got dumped into one big pile on the 755p and the Desktop. Oh sheet! What a mess.

Now, I am not certain that if I had set the Hotsync to "Desktop overwrites handheld" that it wouldn't still have messed everything up, but it seems like it woulda helped.

Windows updates disable my Wifi

I have an Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN wireless card in my Laptop.

I just downloaded a big batch of Windows updates and when my computer rebooted I couldn't connect to the network. My Wifi card was disabled in the Device Manager.

What the heck is up with that? This is exactly why I hate applying Windows updates to my computers. They very frequently cause problems. But you need to get them to help protect your computer from security threats.

Luckily, and by pure chance, I had downloaded fresh drivers from the Intel site recently. So I ran the setup and my wireless came back.

One time I ran Windows update and it ruined Office. Which in turn ruined IE and Outlook. One of the Office files had gotten corrupted....ahh...this is one of those things I should have blogged about right after it happened.

I couldn't find my stupid office CD's to re-install. (Move several times, change computers, put your software in various boxes in storage, this is what happens) None of my friends or contacts had the same version of Office; I needed retail, they had business. So in order to get my computer back I ended up going to the torrent sites.

Computers suck. How is your avg person supposed to be able to deal with this kind of problem without paying for hours of tech support, or getting another retail copy?

sufficiently advanced stupidity

While doing research on Google Apps for domains, I came across this repartee in a comment thread:

Evil?

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity" ... or something equally non-evil.
Steve McLeod
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
@Steve McLeod

True, but sufficiently advanced stupidity is indistinguishable from malice.
Giles
Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Gave me a chuckle.

Original post: Joel on Software: Don't ever use Google Apps for anything important

Best Spam Comment Evar

I got this comment the other day:

Hey! I think about these things all the time for example if you bought land do you own it all the way to the core of the Earth? If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is it naked or homeless? Why is bread square but most sandvich meat round? I liked your site it gave me some more things to think about!

The commenter linked to some haxxor site in Russia...but, I give points for the use of actual funny, even if it was recycled.

Wordpress Flickr Manager Broken? Possible fix for you

Hey, I am remembering to write this one down right after I solved the problem. Aren't you proud of me?

So, open source software is great. All those free apps, and free doodads you can run on your website! Shopping carts, project management sites, wordpress plugins...Yay!

Except when they break and the developer has stopped working on them.

Wordpress is a great piece of open source software, but I have seen two of the plugins I rely upon for clients go unsupported in the past year.

The latest one is the Wordpress Flickr Manager(WFM), which makes it easy for people to post their own pictures on their sites without having to ftp them and figure out what the URL is for the image. (Note: Wordpress has a native image uploader now, but the Wordpress Flickr Manager still has some advantages. One, it has a built in Lightbox javascript pop-up image display; Two: if the site owner will add tags and a link to the proper blog page in the image descr. on flickr, it becomes another source of traffic for the blog/site.)

WFM hasn't been updated for the latest versions of Wordpress, so the built in Lightbox function isn't working anymore. You can still insert Flickr pictures, but the Lightbox effect doesn't work, and you can't upload pictures via the plugin.

However there are fixes!

First of all, you need to edit some files in the plugin's folder. I don't have to tell you to use a text editor like Window's Notepad, or Notepad++ (Free Code Editor), do I?

In order to fix the Lightbox not working issue, edit wfm-lightbox.php and wfm-hs.php and remove the @ characters from the file. (2 in each file). Those php files are in the /js folder inside the plugin's folder. This solution was found here: Plugin Broken With WP2.8.

In order to fix the upload issue, comment out line 139 in FlickrCore.php like this

Change this:
echo 'Content-Type: ' . mime_content_type($filename) . "\r\n";

Into this:
// echo 'Content-Type: ' . mime_content_type($filename) . "\r\n";

This 'solution' was found here: Uploads don't work local. I have no way of knowing what commenting out that line really does, so use at your own risk.

 

Replacing RAM in Inspiron 2600/2650

My Girlfriend's computer died.

It was sad.

We cried.

Then I started troubleshooting. It would sort of boot up....ahhh, I can't remember. I need to write these darn blog posts right after the incident.

Anyhow, I thought maybe bad RAM. I used the <God Voice>Ultimate Boot CD</God Voice> to do a memtest and yeah, bad RAM.

("BAD RAM! Get back under the trailer!" )

Luckily I just happened to have a spare module hanging around. I got my jewelers screwdrivers and started taking plastic bits off the bottom of the laptop. And Lo! There was only one RAM stick accessible by this route. WTF? And, it wasn't the RAM that I needed to replace. ARGH! Where the heck did they put the other RAM, and what kind of muttonhead engineer would put it in a place where you can't easily get to it?

I unscrewed all the rest of the screws on the bottom of the laptop, and then, when the bottom didn't come off easily, I paused.

1. This was not going to be easy to take apart. Laptops can be a real pain to get apart, and back together again. Like, 4 layers and little plastic snap tabs, and tiny hidden screws pain.
2. Upgradeable parts are usually easy to get to.

Even though it is against the Man Code to read directions, I have learned through painful experience that it is usually faster to follow directions than to try to strike off into the wilderness of little plastic snap tabs.

So, I found this site: How to disassemble a Dell Inspiron 2650. This guy is SOO awesome for going to the trouble to post all the pics of the Inspiron 2650 disassembly procedure. I just wanna click all over his Google ads. But he doesn't have any

Turns out that the RAM module was pretty easy to get to. I just had to lift out the keyboard which was actually fewer screws than those that hold the bottom plate on.

The new RAM is playing nicely with the old RAM and the old computer is humming along nicely on its mission of email and web browsing.

Palm 755p Error Log

Dial #*#377# to see the Palm 755p Error Log. Helps with troubleshooting spontaneous restarting of the palm device. My palm started rebooting when I accessed a certain item in the Memos. Then this problem got worse, and it started rebooting when I accessed ANY Memos. I see on teh intarwebs that people experience this sort of problem with restarting from corrupted txt messages, corrupt downloads like ringtones, or email attachments.

I am trying to update the vzw software using the desktop updater that verizon provides for the Treo 755p.

Update: the updater, and restore via hotsync worked. Now I just need to get the phone reprogrammed or see if I can get *228 to work.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset verdict: 1.92 million?!?

Heh heh, like they will ever see that money. It's ridiculous. If I were in her position I would just laugh. What are they going to do? They can't take her car, they can't keep her from renting a house. They can garnish 25% of her wages. They will never see more than a few thousand dollars of this award and the obvious overkill in the award just makes them look horrible in the public eye. I wish the entire music industry would fail, big bank style, and publish zero new albums next year. This would be of great benefit to our society, as then people would go listen to live music, or, land sakes, make their own music at home.

Problems with Vista 64bit

Problem number 1: there is no 64 bit version of Adobe Flash to use in 64bit IE. Solution? Use Firefox. Why the heck are you using IE anyhow? Problem number 2: Verizon and Palm do not make drivers for 64 bit windows for the 755p Treo. So you can not hotsync via USB cord, nor can you use VZ access manager to connect to the internet. Solution? Use USBmodem. Problem number 3: Not sure if this is a 64bit problem, but, I used Microsoft Update to get a selection of security updates, and after I was done, Windows had changed my update settings to 'update automatically'. I noticed this because the tray icon for windows update was there this morning. "Downloading updates," it said. "No, you are not," I said. I never use automatic updates, because Microsoft patches are not known for their stability, and MS often tries to slip in a new program or two when you update, like WGA or IE 8. Solution? Turn off updates. Change update settings to 'Never Check for Updates.' This means that you have to keep track of which updates are reliable on your own. I use AskWoody to get the scoop on which updates to skip for awhile. I also have a good antivirus program and I use Firefox instead of IE. Always get the updates for Windows Defender, Malicious Software Removal Tool, and Junk Mail Filters for Outlook (if you use Outlook). Problem number 4: My Razer Diamondback 3G mouse doesn't do center-click. It doesn't show up in the mouse control panel applet. There is no way to adjust it's settings except with the 3G driver applet, and it doesn't list center-click as an option. This is a problem for me, as I center-click links all the time to open them in a new tab. Solution? I discovered by trial and error, that 'Universal scroll' in the 3G applet works as center-click, instead of providing a scroll.

My chat session with Dell sales

Horrible salesmanship. Neither agent greeted me. Neither tried to see what they needed to do to close the sale, or offered to take my order. Neither had a sense of humor. They both missed questions in my text and didn't answer them. Neither said goodbye-have a nice day when our session ended. I am literally sitting here with my credit card in hand and their doofus agents couldn't close the sale. Their sole effort to sell me was to paste a system in front of me. They didn't even extol the virtues of these systems or explain why they thought these systems suited my needs.

Eternal Silence is a Kick Ass HL2 Mod

Eternal Silence is a kick ass mod.

It's a space and shipboard combat game.

Each match starts out with both teams boarding ships to go bomb the other side's defensive corvettes, and defending their own corvettes. When one team succeeds in blowing up all three of the other team's corvettes, then the game mode changes, and the successful attackers invade the enemy capship and attempt to capture all the subsystems on the enemy's capship. This phase is timed, and when the timer runs out, new corvettes spawn in and the capship attack phase is over until all the corvettes are gone again. The timer can be stopped, though, if the attackers capture one of the capships subsystems. As long as the invaders hold one of the subsystems, the timer is stopped, and they can spawn there in that subsystem room on the enemy capship. They can also fly a multiseat gunship into the enemy capship hangar and spawn in the gunship, then jump out into the enemy capship's hangar area.

There are several different classes of ships and classes of soldiers, as you would expect.

I had some problems with frame rate, and locked up movement with echoing sound when I first started playing, but I cranked my video settings down a notch and I haven't had any freezing, echoing or lagging since. The game has crashed out to windows (Vista) a couple of times on me. (but it was way past my bedtime anyhow...)

I have had a lot of fun playing this game, and in the few days that I have played it, I have been on teams that used communication and teamwork about 50% of the time, which I think is an awesome ratio for a pub game.

It would be a great game if it had resource gathering, an upgrade system and a commander mode. But it's still fun with the simple gameplay it has now. It still offers a lot of possible tactical gambits, and strategies. Games can go back and forth for awhile, generating considerable drama and impassioned combat, although the continual bombardment of the capships does bring the match to an inexorable end. It is more than fun enough to keep me up late, flying the unfriendly skies.

Chinese Character Problems in Zen Cart

I needed to put some links with Chinese, Thai and Japanese characters in a header on a Zen Cart home page. I had a hard time finding the place in the templates and php files where I needed to specify the utf-8 character encoding.

Eventually I stumbled on the /includes/languages/your-template/english.php file which is where the magic happens.

// charset for web pages and emails
define('CHARSET', 'utf-8');

is the way you need to make it. If you don't, then your character set will be wrong, since Zen Cart installs with iso-8859-1 by default, and you'll get nonsense characters instead of Chinese.

I don't know why I couldn't find this file...it's the obvious place to look. I guess I had the wrong english.php file open...

I also ran into a great forum post on the Zen Cart forums. A user named Incouto provides a good explanation of character sets, collation in mysql and in the php query controller.

Phone eats my photos

And Blogger eats blog postings...

Let me see if I can reconstitute this post.

My Razor v3m ate some of my cell phone pics tonight. I was transferring pics to my microSD card when the phone decided to erase all but two of the pictures on the card. And no, I did not accidentally choose to erase the card. Otherwise it would have gotten the two that it left behind, eh?

So I went looking for some free file recovery apps to see what I could get back.

Softperfect File Recovery is a tiny download and doesn't require an install. It quickly recovered 36 images and three .3g2 files. It didn't recover all the images and some of the images it did recover were corrupted. The .3g2 files wouldn't play.

PC Inspector File Recovery requires install. It had the same results. 36 files recovered, same corrupted files, .3g2 files won't play.

So I guess the missing/corrupted images are not gonna come back.

The PC Inspector app also has a find lost files option where it scans the media cluster by cluster, and that found a long ago deleted xls file. So you may be able to get some extra stuff back using that method.

This is the second time I have lost the contents of a microSD card. The first time, the card sprang out of it's socket and just happened to land right under the wheel of my chair. So when I turned to look for it....'crunch'.

That one: my fault. This time: yer pissin me off Motorola.

Google vs Facebook? I don't think so.

Just finished reading this article on the internal economy of Facebook. Mostly it is about Facebook's growth struggles and how recent changes in layout have hurt the businesses of lots of Facebook App Developers. But one small part was about Facebook's place in the larger web ecosystem.

The Article maintained that Facebook aims to be the OS of the Web, "making the web fundamentally social across all sites and applications." In this, it competes with Google.

"Google says the modern day operating system, or at least the starting off point on the Web, starts with search. Facebook believes it starts with people connected via social networking." ~Developers Struggle Amid Fragile Facebook Economy

This reminds me of my thinking about the web ca. 1995. There is a basic truism about the internet. People get on the net to get stuff done or to mess around. Save time or waste time. I think maybe 'search' is weighted towards saving time, and web 2.0/social apps are weighted toward the waste time end. So, Google and Facebook aren't even in the same market. Folks aren't going to get on Google to check in with their friends and they aren't going to use Facebook to find a grant for their non-profit or to search for a part number.