Vista To release Service Pack 2 in April 2009

[ad#digg-right] Some sources are reporting that Vista SP2 will be out in April.   According to Engadget they claim TechARP is a bunch of Malaysian Kids that like to boast about how they broke the Vista SP1 and XP SP3 release schedules to the world.  They claim though that Vista Release candidate is to be out around February.Microsoft has indicated that this SP3 will include Windows Search 4, Bluetooth 2.1 wireless support, faster resume from sleep when a wireless connection has been broken and support for Blu-ray.   I personally think it will include some of Windows 7 features to better get people accustomed to Windows 7 when they come out.

[ad#ad2-left]Although this is speculation and no hard evidence I think it has some merit due to the fact that Microsoft has admitted in the past that Vista was a big Letdown.  I don’t think they can any more to damage than they have already done.   If anything Windows 7 will be a easy Success if they pull it off in the right way!!!  Although with WIndows 7 be leaked online there is no telling what will happen. I am sure what ever happens will be interesting to say the least!!!

Stop botnets in its tracks With a Firewall!

According to PC World and I’ll quote:

According to FireEye chief scientist Stuart Staniford, detection rates are so poor that, on average, only around 40 percent of security software can detect binaries during the period of greatest infectivity and danger, namely the first few days after a particular variant starts being used by botnet builders.

[via PC World]

[ad#ad2-left]Now let’s talk about this, having been seeing recent surges of people getting infected.  I’ve come to the conclusion that companies like AVG and other Anti-Virus companies are keeping up.   Now true if all you have is an Anti-virus and nothing else that greatly increases your likely hood of getting a virus.

In a recent virus storm, We have people finding my site because of a Good Firewall.   No if he didn’t have anything but Windows firewall then it would of gotten through and you would not of known about it.  So let’s talk about how to prevent botnet attacks.   This is relatively easy and if you follow some common rules.   You to could be less likely to be infected.  I will say this most people don’t do these common tips and they should do them.

[ad#digg-right]So what should you do to help prevent from getting a Virus or Malware.  This is really simple, you want to find an Anti-virus Software that you like, and Firewall that you like also.  You’ll also want to download the tools to better help you in case you do get infected.  Some of these tools I recommend are Hijackthis, Spybot Search and Destroy, Hitman Pro, and Ad-aware 2007 Edition (FREE).  Then Go buy a Sandisk USB memory Stick and put those on there for later use!!  You will always want to keep a backup of those just in case you get infected.

[ad#ad2-right]Make sure you update Windows regularly.  Having seen this time and time again, if you don’t keep windows updated then you lose the battle.  If you have a system that needs updating, I suggest downloading the Clone to Autopatcher.  This little program will download the files needed to update your system without having to be online.  Although, you can have windows update automatically every month but that might not update the recommended updates only the ones that are hot.  It doesn’t matter which way you prefer to update, as long as you do to update regularly, Like every 2nd Tuesday of the Month.

One last tip you should also keep your Firewall and Anti-virus updated.  There is a little program that will do that, it’s call AppSnap.  If you follow all these recommendations you will greatly reduce your chances of getting a virus on your system.

Taking back Program Controls : For the Beginners!

Graph of typical Operating System placement on...
Image via Wikipedia

So, let’s face it, this is one of the most annoying problems there are with programs.   Programs that you think are shut down but are actually still active in the Taskmanager.  So I figured I’d talk about some of the most common fixes for these problems.    Now as you know there can be any number of programs or glitches as they say, causing the problems.  So let’s talk about the why, shall we.

Most of the time programs don’t quit because they are waiting for some kind of response from the system or the System is waiting for the program to close by itself.  It could also be a problem with a Virus or Root kit?  How do you fix it?

Fixing the problem is somewhat just trial and Error.  It isn’t always the hardest thing to do but sometimes people overlook the easiest solutions.   So here are some easy ones:

  • Check to see if one of the Microsoft updates are causing the problem —  Sometimes you might not realize it, but having installed an update can cause problems like KB951748.  That one caused a major Headache for Zonealarm.  So it is wise to check each months updates when you start seeing problems, sometimes it could of been happening for a while but it can sometimes cause troubles.
  • Do a Hijackthis scan — Just in case it is virus this will tell you what programs might be the virus.  You will need to go Analyze the logs so go HijackThis Log Analysis Site 1 and HijackThis Log Analysis Site 2. Check the logs to see what viruses might be on your system.   Just Remember that if you delete something important to your system you will have to install the Operating System.
  • Boot into Safe Mode and Clean out your Prefetch Directory — Yes that is right, if you boot into Safe Mode and clean the cache you sometimes help fix problems.  You see most programs loaded in cache sometimes get corrupt and might cause problems.
  • Uninstall any programs that you think might problem —  This one is easily overlook because most people don’t realize that a program is loading up with your knowledge and might cause a variety of problems.  You can also check the Msconfig for that programs that might not need to be loaded up when you start windows.

These are just a few ways to fix the problem and I think if you do this most of your problems will go away.  There are of course other solutions depending on your system configuration.   As with any changes to your system, please talk to your computer care specialist if you have any questions.