Be aware that, for some older versions of Windows, support will cease this year. As always, help and support will be available across the various technical support forums but the official Microsoft support will disappear.
Windows versions affected are:
Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server (launched in 2000) - support ceases on July 13, 2010.
Windows XP (no Service Packs) and Windows XP SP2 - support ceases on July 13, 2010.
Windows Vista (no Service Packs) - support ceases on April 13, 2010.
For Windows XP and Windows Vista, support remains provided these operating systems are upgraded to the latest Service Pack (which, from a security point of view, should be done as a matter of course). These Service Packs can be downloaded free from the Microsoft site:
Windows XP SP3
Windows Vista SP2
If you require assistance installing Service Packs you are more than welcome to ask at SpywareHammer or TechSupportForum where the volunteers will be happy to run through the process with you.
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Thursday 4 March 2010
Firefox 3.6 bug - Security Tokens
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=518732
There is a reported bug in Firefox 3.6 that can cause problems when previewing or posting a message to a forum. It is not specific to any one type of board software. The bug causes an error message pertaining to an invalid or missing security token to be displayed.
A workaround is to press the Back button in Firefox, refresh the page and then preview/post again (though this can lead to the text of the message being deleted).
Reverting to v3.5.7 cures the problem.
It would be wise to backup Firefox settings using MozBackup before reverting to an earlier version.
Older versions of Firefox
There is a reported bug in Firefox 3.6 that can cause problems when previewing or posting a message to a forum. It is not specific to any one type of board software. The bug causes an error message pertaining to an invalid or missing security token to be displayed.
A workaround is to press the Back button in Firefox, refresh the page and then preview/post again (though this can lead to the text of the message being deleted).
Reverting to v3.5.7 cures the problem.
It would be wise to backup Firefox settings using MozBackup before reverting to an earlier version.
Older versions of Firefox
Wednesday 3 February 2010
The End for Windows 7 RC
For anyone still running Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate), it's Make Your Mind Up time.
From 1st March up to 1st June, Windows 7 RC will shut down every 2 hours. Apart from the risk of losing your work (no - it isn't saved prior to shutdown) it makes backing up and disk imaging rather tricky.
From 1st of June you will also lose your wallpaper and, more importantly, access to Windows Updates.
So, will you revert to your old Vista or XP setup? Or bite the bullet and go for a full copy of Windows 7?
My recommendation is to back up while you can do so conveniently and go for the full Win 7 installation on a clean machine. I have never regretted it and enjoy the increased performance over my old XP setup and a better experience all round.
Make your mind up - time is ticking!
From 1st March up to 1st June, Windows 7 RC will shut down every 2 hours. Apart from the risk of losing your work (no - it isn't saved prior to shutdown) it makes backing up and disk imaging rather tricky.
From 1st of June you will also lose your wallpaper and, more importantly, access to Windows Updates.
So, will you revert to your old Vista or XP setup? Or bite the bullet and go for a full copy of Windows 7?
My recommendation is to back up while you can do so conveniently and go for the full Win 7 installation on a clean machine. I have never regretted it and enjoy the increased performance over my old XP setup and a better experience all round.
Make your mind up - time is ticking!
Friday 28 August 2009
IE8 and Ask! Toolbar
An unusual problem has recently surfaced for which IE8 has taken (incorrectly) the blame.
The symptoms are that a system will run quite happily until the next reboot. Or rather the next non-reboot. The problem is that boot.ini file has been deleted. It turns out that a combination of the Ask! toolbar and IE8 can cause this file to be deleted.
So a user boots normally and installs the toolbar (perhaps inadvertently - it is included with the installation of many programs nowadays with the default setting being opt-in). System running fine. Then the Ask! updater kicks in and removes the file. Next reboot, no boot.ini, so no HAL.dll (invoked by boot.ini) and you are stuffed.
The solution is to boot from a Windows installation disk to the Recovery Console, run the command bootcfg /rebuild to rebuild boot.ini. Then boot up normally. At this point boot.ini will have been deleted again. Remove IE8 from Add/Remove Programs and uninstall the Ask! toolbar. Boot from the CD and run that command again to rebuild boot.ini, then re-install IE8.
From then on your system should boot normally every time.
And never install that toolbar again!
The symptoms are that a system will run quite happily until the next reboot. Or rather the next non-reboot. The problem is that boot.ini file has been deleted. It turns out that a combination of the Ask! toolbar and IE8 can cause this file to be deleted.
So a user boots normally and installs the toolbar (perhaps inadvertently - it is included with the installation of many programs nowadays with the default setting being opt-in). System running fine. Then the Ask! updater kicks in and removes the file. Next reboot, no boot.ini, so no HAL.dll (invoked by boot.ini) and you are stuffed.
The solution is to boot from a Windows installation disk to the Recovery Console, run the command bootcfg /rebuild to rebuild boot.ini. Then boot up normally. At this point boot.ini will have been deleted again. Remove IE8 from Add/Remove Programs and uninstall the Ask! toolbar. Boot from the CD and run that command again to rebuild boot.ini, then re-install IE8.
From then on your system should boot normally every time.
And never install that toolbar again!
Thursday 13 August 2009
Macrium Reflect
I was looking round for a decent disk imaging program and, on the recomendation of a fellow Microsoft MVP, I took a look at Macrium Reflect.
Then I downloaded the free edition. What an eye opener! It has a very clear user interface, is simple to use and I imaged a 35GB partition in 22 minutes. Any imaging or backup operations can be saved to a .xml file so it becomes a one-click operation to repeat the backup.
There is also the option to create a Linux-basd recovery disk should my system fail to boot, whereby I can restore the whole partition and quickly get back to work. Brilliant!
I will be upgrading soon to the full paid-for version as this allows incremental backups - the way I prefer to work. And at £19.99 this has got to be a bargain.
Download it, use it, back your data up. Remember that time when you really wished you had a recent backup? No excuses now!
Then I downloaded the free edition. What an eye opener! It has a very clear user interface, is simple to use and I imaged a 35GB partition in 22 minutes. Any imaging or backup operations can be saved to a .xml file so it becomes a one-click operation to repeat the backup.
There is also the option to create a Linux-basd recovery disk should my system fail to boot, whereby I can restore the whole partition and quickly get back to work. Brilliant!
I will be upgrading soon to the full paid-for version as this allows incremental backups - the way I prefer to work. And at £19.99 this has got to be a bargain.
Download it, use it, back your data up. Remember that time when you really wished you had a recent backup? No excuses now!
Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 Scanner
I just upgraded my scanner. The old one, A Microtek Scanmaker 4600, was about the size of four house bricks and made a noise like the gears were formed out of the aforementioned bricks. It was born around the time of Windows 98. But it produced very good results.
However, time to upgrade, I thought. I love doing photo restoration work and the Epson Perfection range of scanners are highly recommended for this sort of thing. However, the decent ones were way above my budget at the time and so I investigated the Canon LiDE range, eventually deciding on the 200 model.
So off to my favourite online store, ebuyer to find it going for just over £60. Now, if you've never used ebuyer.com then I really do recommend you give them a try, not just for their prices but also for their service. While I was placing my order at around 6.00 pm on 12th August I noticed a little box telling me there was only something like 1 hour 32 minutes to order for delivery on 13th August. "Oh yeah" I thought, and ignored it. Sure enough the next day at 9.30 am my scanner arrived, Unbelievable!
Anyway, the Canon is a totally different beast from the Microtek. For a start it is barely 1.5" high, hardly bigger than an A4 sheet and doesn't need a power supply as it takes it's power requirements from the USB port. So it was driver disk in, reboot when done, connect USB cable. And that was it. No fuss. No errors. Done.
I haven't fully tested it out yet but initial impressions are smooth, quiet, fast and the results for 300 dpi colour scans are truly excellent. And that's without playing with the advanced options such as Descreening, Dust & Scratch Reduction, Sharpening, different Colour Profiles and so on.
I really thought I was happy with the old Microtek, but I've got to admit the Canon is in another league.
However, time to upgrade, I thought. I love doing photo restoration work and the Epson Perfection range of scanners are highly recommended for this sort of thing. However, the decent ones were way above my budget at the time and so I investigated the Canon LiDE range, eventually deciding on the 200 model.
So off to my favourite online store, ebuyer to find it going for just over £60. Now, if you've never used ebuyer.com then I really do recommend you give them a try, not just for their prices but also for their service. While I was placing my order at around 6.00 pm on 12th August I noticed a little box telling me there was only something like 1 hour 32 minutes to order for delivery on 13th August. "Oh yeah" I thought, and ignored it. Sure enough the next day at 9.30 am my scanner arrived, Unbelievable!
Anyway, the Canon is a totally different beast from the Microtek. For a start it is barely 1.5" high, hardly bigger than an A4 sheet and doesn't need a power supply as it takes it's power requirements from the USB port. So it was driver disk in, reboot when done, connect USB cable. And that was it. No fuss. No errors. Done.
I haven't fully tested it out yet but initial impressions are smooth, quiet, fast and the results for 300 dpi colour scans are truly excellent. And that's without playing with the advanced options such as Descreening, Dust & Scratch Reduction, Sharpening, different Colour Profiles and so on.
I really thought I was happy with the old Microtek, but I've got to admit the Canon is in another league.
Wednesday 5 August 2009
BEWARE! Fake 'Microsoft Update'
The past couple of days I have been receiving email purporting to be from Microsoft regarding a critical update for Outlook and Outlook Express - KB910721. THIS IS A SCAM.
KB910721 is actually a genuine Windows update to fix a problem with Outlook, but remember that Microsoft will NEVER alert users to updates via email. If you follow the link in the mesage you will download the trojan Troj/Spy-CU onto your system which will compromise your system security and can steal your private data.
If you are ever unsure then go to the genuine Microsoft Update site (using Internet Explorer) and get your system scanned for relevant updates.
More reading on this scam: http://www.sophos.com/blogs/sophoslabs/v/post/4889
KB910721 is actually a genuine Windows update to fix a problem with Outlook, but remember that Microsoft will NEVER alert users to updates via email. If you follow the link in the mesage you will download the trojan Troj/Spy-CU onto your system which will compromise your system security and can steal your private data.
If you are ever unsure then go to the genuine Microsoft Update site (using Internet Explorer) and get your system scanned for relevant updates.
More reading on this scam: http://www.sophos.com/blogs/sophoslabs/v/post/4889
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