PHx-Web Technical Blog

Most new computers come with a trial version of an Anti Virus Software.  Usually Norton or Mc Afee – both are resource hungry and expensive once your trial comes to an end.

Here is our advice on the software to install to keep your system safe and secure,

Antivirus :- Free AVG http://free.avg.com/gb-en/226187 The best Free antivirus we have come across.  We use it on all our ‘Test Bed’ machines (Machines we use to solve / repair / recover client machines)  and it hasnt yet let us get infected.

Anti Malware :-  Malwarebytes http://www.malwarebytes.org/ (the free version)  Run once a week to protect against malware infections

One additional piece of software we would recommend is K9 http://www1.k9webprotection.com If you have under 16′s using a computer K9 will help protect your youngsters from visiting sites which they shouldn’t be. Various different levels of sites can be blocked out, with lots of parental controls and logging are available.

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We have heard stories of customers receiving calls Microsoft / Windows / Some random Support agency claiming they have detected you have problems with your computer or your computers are infect with a virus.

I personally have never received one of these calls, that was until last week To help people out in understanding how these con-men try and work their way in to your system I took some notes while stringing the friendly Indian ‘Support’ guy along.

In the below transcript my comments are in green marked as [phx] and [C2F] will be the comments of my scam caller.  The caller does spout a lot of incorrect information about the system to frighten you in to thinking he needs your help.  I will explain with comments in red as we go through what the windows functions he talks about are for and how to really ensure you have no viruses.

[C2F] Good morning Mr Phillips I am calling because we have discovered a lot of virus infections on Computers in the Hereford area.

[phx] Oh really, how can I tell if I’m one of them ?

[C2F]What computer are you using ?

[phx] Windows Xp

[C2F] Ok well there is a chance you are infected.  Can click the start button and then right click on ‘My Computer’ and press ‘Manage’.  Please Click the Event Viewer link .  Do you know what the Windows logs are?

[phx]No i have never seen them before… I lied I use the Windows event logs pretty much every time I repair a computer.

[C2F]OK well the Windows logs record information about all the viruses you have on your computer.  Actually the Windows Log store information about the computer when it boots up and when it shuts down. It also stores information about crashes and programs which report errors.

[C2F] Do You see any red exclamation marks ?

[phx] Yes a few

[C2F]More than 10 or Less than 10

[phx]More than 10 I lied again, there were no red exclamation marks.

[C2F]These are errors on your system, do you know what they mean

[phx]No

[C2F]These Red errors mean you have many online infections on your system that have affected your computer.  I had to stop myself from laughing here,  it is not uncommon to see some errors listed in the Windows Log,  Programs when they crash will log the even in the Event log etc So seeing Errors here does not mean you have an infection or Virus.

[phx] Oh No !!!

[C2F]Does it take a long time for your computer to boot up ?

[phx]Yeah I guess it does take a little longer than it should do.

[C2F]That’s all down to these online infections and your computer could crash down in a mater of days.  Some Viruses can cause the computer to boot slower but most computers  are so full of ‘junk’ and unused programs and start up items this is the reason for the slow boot and can be fixed by a clean out.

[phx]Oh so how do we get rid of them ?

[C2F]Well your pretty badly infected, lets have a look at how badly they have taken over your computer.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete Key.  Do you know what this does He’s constantly testing my knowledge to see how far he can push his lies.

[phx]No i’ve never seen this before I seem to be telling a lot of lies here, but its all in the name of research!!

[C2F] The is will tell us how much of your computer the virus is using.  Click on the performance tab, what percentage of CPU usage is being used?

[phx]70%

[C2F]{sharp intake of breath} Oh thats bad  70% of your computer is infected This figure actually represents how hard your computer is working.  When playing a game this figure maybe close to 100%, when you have just booted your computer this figure would be closer to 0%.

[phx]OH NO !!!

[C2F] Dont worry, we can  help you, please open your web browser and go to www.click2fixs.com.  At this point this guy wanted me to download some remote tool from his website.  I can only assume he was then going to infect my system and try stealing my passwords.

[phx]At this point i have to inform you i am an IT consultant, I know exactly what the Windows Logs do and the Task manager.  I think what you are doing here is highly illegal…

[C2F]{silence}

[phx]Do you have anything to say ?

[C2F]{Phone Goes Dead}

So a few tips to remember:

• Microsoft aren’t going to call you, unless you called them first.
• If you haven’t called anyone to help you with your computer,  don’t let any one try and convince you you have a problem
• If you think you have a problem call a company you trust to help you out.

Please pass this on to anyone who may find it useful.  Older people may find this scam convincing and be so worried they allow these con men to hack into their computers  .

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We have seen an up surge recently in Facebook pages getting hacked or User Profiles to send rouge messages.

Messages are sent to entire contact lists pretending to be from a genuine user trying to get you to click on a link. Messages like “OMG is this you in the photo” or “cant believe its u in the vid Alistair! u should be ashamed of urself! http://apps.facebook.com/superxmas/” are used to then try and infect more user accounts.

If you receive any messages like these then do not click on any of the links they contain.

So what can you do to protect your self ?

1. Change your Facebook password regularly. (Any passwords should be changed on a monthly basis, to protect your security)
2. Make sure you have an up to date Anti Virus software. (set to run a scan EVERY day) I can recommend the free AVG version.
3. Run a spyware tool like malware bytes at least once a week.
4. Be very careful when clicking links on Facebook, especially those on pages which want you to verify you are human by filling out surveys.
5. Use Google Chrome browser as it has built in Phishing and Malware protection.
6. If using Public machine, Make sure you LOG OUT after you finish!!!

If you have any suspicion your machine is infected with a virus DO NOT sing into any Web based email, banking, social network, your details maybe sent to the virus maker.

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Microsoft Outlook 2000 opens and then closes almost instantly. Some time on the second or third attempt outlook stays open.

This issue is most likely to be caused by iTunes 10.

iTunes 10 tries to sync your iTunes with outlook contacts and notes. This works successfully with newer versions however causes the above symptoms with outlook 2000.

Solution:

iTunes will sync with Microsoft Outlook 2003, Microsoft Outlook 2007, or Microsoft Outlook 2010. If you use Microsoft Outlook 2000, you can resolve this issue by renaming the “OutlookChangeNotifierAddIn.dll” file. This file can be renamed however you choose, and is found in the following default location depending on your operating system:

■Windows XP, Windows Vista (32-bit) or Windows 7 (32-bit):
■C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\OutlookChangeNotifierAddIn.dll
■Windows Vista (64-bit) or Windows 7 (64-bit):
■C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\OutlookChangeNotifierAddIn.dll
If you install Microsoft Outlook 2003, Microsoft Outlook 2007, or Microsoft Outlook 2010 after renaming this file, you may need to reinstall iTunes 10 before being able to sync Contacts, Calendars, email account information, or Notes.

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Error Message: Using the paintshop photo project creator you cannot view any folders or files in the media viewer. Only the Desktop and My Computer are shown. This list does not expand and show the rest of the files on your computer

Program: Corel Paintshop Photo Pro x3
OS: Windows 7
Other Info:
Solution: Having spoke to Corel support there are only a few instances of this problem. There solution usually is to remove the Outlook key in the regestry under Windows > Explorer > Desktop >Namespace.

This didnt work for my situation, a full install of the Operating system and then to install the corel package straight away before installing anything else.

This has solved the problem.

There was probably some incompatibility with software already installed on the machine. In this case extras were blackberry software and orange internet anywhere software.

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Error Message: Another application has the switch identities or identity login dialog showing. Choose one identity in that dialog before launching this application again.
Program: Microsoft Office 2007
OS: Windows XP
Other Info: Message Shows up when Outlook 2007 is automatically started when windows boots using MSconfig. The Error message shows up straight after outlook loads, once you click ok outlook functions as normal.

Solution: This problem started occurring after a windows update had installed windows desktop search. Desktop search was indexing all the files on the computer. Remove Windows Desktop and the problem goes away. As my client has no use for desktop search this was an acceptable solution.

It is not clear if this issue goes away once windows desktop search finishes its initial index. Maybe somebody could post if they have any success.

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All information included in this article is likely to get you into hot water with your employer or school if caught, however we get asked this question often, and so here is the answer:

Are the any ways to get around blocked sites?

The answer to this question is simple, you need to be able to get past the rules your company have put in place using a proxy server. The ones listed below are some of the hundreds that are available.

• http://www.slicksurfer.com/
• http://www.proxy4free.com/
• http://www.publicproxyservers.com
• http://nntime.com/
• http://www.campusclown.info

If none of these are any use, ( if they are tell your IT Department we can do a better job than they can ) try google for a ‘free proxy server’

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So i had a Hewlet Packard printer come in today with the following error on the screen

C4EB8401

So I ran the usual diagnostics:

Turn power off, then on again – Same Error number C4EB8401

Having spoken to a HP Support ‘Guru’ There are the steps we have taken to try and rectify the issue.

• First we need to initialize the printer hardware with the help of below power cycle steps.
• Verify that the unit is switched on. Disconnect the USB/Ethernet cable from the All-in-One and also disconnect power cable from All-in-One and also from wall outlet.
• Wait 30 seconds.
• Plug in the power cable to All-in-One and also to wall outlet.
• Now turn On the printer and check the functionality.

if the above does not rectify it ( and lets face it, it wont)

Reset the All-in-One to the factory default settings by using these instructions:

1. Unplug the power cable from printer when the printer is powered on.
2. Press and hold OK and HELP buttons while plugging in the power cord.
3. Now turn On the printer.

Maybe you are now sucessfull in fixing your problem …. i wasnt.

After much persuasion this guy from HP told me this error message was due to the print cartridge cradle packing up.

So the printer is basically knakered ….. I have tried to source a replacement cradle… the cheapest i can find is £40 .

Then i found that you can buy a new brand new printer (same model) for £30.00 from argos.

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Some information i would like to share with the world:

If you have a HP Photosmart Wireless B109 / B109n-z and are trying to connect it with an Orange Live Box you may be experiencing the following error:

Mac address filtering may be enabled on your wireless router This can prevent your HP printer from connecting to your wireless network

After spending a while chasing the red hearing of mac filtering on the Live box i pressed the Number 1 button on the back of the live box, this enter the box into pairing mode for 10 minutes during this time you should retry the HP Connection steps and this time it will work without the MAC Error.

So in summary:

If you get the above message. Press the Number One Button on your Orange Live Box and retry the set up .

Hope it saves you all some time.

Official HP Drivers and infomation page Here

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