Significant Decline in Spam-Have You Noticed?

"In October Commtouch reported an 18% drop in global spam levels (comparing September and October). This was largely attributed to the closure of Spamit around the end of September. Spamit is the organization allegedly behind a fair percentage of the worlds pharmacy spam. Analysis of the spam trends to date reveals a further drop in the amounts of spam sent during Q4 2010. December's daily average was around 30% less than September's. The average spam level for the quarter was 83% down from 88% in Q3 2010. The beginning of December saw a low of nearly 74%."

Start the New Year right- Linux in 2011?

The majority of the computing world "grows up" on Windows, of course, since Microsoft's operating system still holds by far the largest share of the market. Not everyone stays there, however.
Growing numbers, in fact, are switching to Linux every day, and for good reasons. How do you know when it's time to switch to Linux? Here are just a few (mostly) serious signs.
1. You're Tired of Paying for Software

You wake up one day and realize you're tired of paying for an operating system that's more bogged down with bugs than most alpha builds are. What, exactly, are you paying for here? Then, of course, there's also all the antivirus software you have to buy to keep it running. With Linux, on the other hand, countless developers around the world are working around the clock to keep the 100 percent free operating system at the head of its class.
2. You're Tired of Upgrading Hardware
If you find yourself upgrading perfectly good hardware just because resource-hungry Windows demands it, you might be using the wrong operating system.
3. You're Tired of Malware

Your older hardware probably still is fundamentally pretty good; too bad there's all that malware dragging it down. Thanks for sharing that love, Windows! Note to Microsoft: a stronger permissions system would have been a lot better, just FYI.
4. You've Seen One Too Many Patch Tuesdays

You've experienced your share of Patch Tuesday repair efforts, and they aren't getting any more fun. In fact, they're getting worse. It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't know how long the bugs had been there, flapping in the breeze, before they finally got fixed.
5. You Don't Have the Time

Who among us doesn't enjoy spending hours at a time scanning for viruses and spyware and defragmenting? Well, probably all of us don't enjoy that, actually. Then, too, there's all that unplanned downtime. Don't we have other things to do?
6. You Like Speed

If Windows' boot speed were faster, when would you make your coffee? Right. Sadly, that argument doesn't quite cut it anymore.
7. You Like Sharing

Your business associate in Berlin tried to send you an .ODP file--based on the international standard file format--but PowerPoint wouldn't read it properly. So much for interoperability.
8. You Don't Actually Love Internet Explorer

It's no accident Internet Explorer's market share is slipping, and vulnerabilities are a big part of it. Then, too, there's the monoculture effect making it all worse.
9. You Want to Be in Control

It's no longer fun waiting to see when Microsoft will fix bugs, or what new features it will come out with. You're ready to start driving changes like that yourself.
10. You're One of a Kind

Though it can be altered in very small, superficial ways, Windows can't hold a candle to Linux when it comes to customizability. Are you just another face in the crowd? Of course not, and Linux recognizes that.
Is Linux perfect? Certainly not. But it is a lot better than Windows in so many ways. Isn't it time for you to finally make the switch?
Follow Katherine Noyes on Twitter: @Noyesk.

4000 Hits on the Blog!

Today at the end of 2010 marks the 4000th hit on Tekkie G's....
Keep telling others about it and I will try to keep posting the good stuff as I have time!

Weather Warning Two Feet Of Snow!!!

Just a little humor along your way today!

Malwarebytes won't start due to infections.....

If this is your problem go into Program Files and rename the mbam.exe file to something else...this will "trick" the virus/spyware into thinking it is not a spyware deletion program....then it should start for you...

Now you should Create a New Restore Point to prevent possible reinfection from an old one. Some of the malware you picked up could have been saved in System Restore. Since this is a protected directory your tools cannot access to delete these files, they sometimes can reinfect your system if you accidentally use an old restore point. Setting a new restore point AFTER cleaning your system will help prevent this and enable your computer to "roll-back" to a clean working state.

The easiest and safest way to do this is:

• Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and click "System Restore".
• Choose the radio button marked "Create a Restore Point" on the first screen then click "Next". Give the R.P. a name, then click "Create". The new point will be stamped with the current date and time. Keep a log of this so you can find it easily should you need to use System Restore.
• Then use Disk Cleanup to remove all but the most recently created Restore Point.
• Go to Start > Run and type: Cleanmgr
• Click "Ok"
• Disk Cleanup will scan your files for several minutes, then open.
• Click the "More Options" Tab.
• Click the "Clean up" button under System Restore.
• Click Ok. You will be prompted with "Are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point?"
• Click Yes, then click Ok.
• Click Yes again when prompted with "Are you sure you want to perform these actions?"
• Disk Cleanup will remove the files and close automatically.

Homegroup Issues..still having them?

Remember:
All Windows 7 computers must have same WORKGROUP name
Must have boxes ticked that you want to share.
Must have File Sharing and Printer Sharing turned on.
And......then turn off all computers...unplug modem and router and reboot
all from start again...modem first till lights all flash...then router....then computers....
You should be networked.

Total Lunar Eclipse 12-20-2010

Gmail’s Free Calling -A Real Deal!

Gmail’s Free Calling Extended Through 2011

Back in August Google announced free phone calls from their GMail phone client for the rest of 2010. Today they’ve announced the free calling will be extended through out all of 2011–free phone calls in the US and Canada all year long.
If you’re not already using Gmail’s voice and video chat, grab a copy of the extension here to get started. All users in the US and Canada can call anywhere within the two countries for free or enjoy low international rates when calling other countries.
Free Calling in Gmail Extended Through 2011 [The Official Gmail Blog]

More Win 7 Network Problems Solved

If you have done everything you can think of to get the Homegroup going here is a couple more to do....

Make sure these services are set to automatic....here's how


Windows 7 Services In order for the HomeGroup networking feature to be working, there are certain Windows services that need to be enabled and running. If you used a program to disable services or manually disabled them, it may be causing the problem.
The services that need to be turned on are listed below:

• DNS Client
• Function Discovery Provider Host
• Function Discovery Resource Publication
• Peer Networking Grouping
• HomeGroup Provider
• HomeGroup Listener
• SSDP Discovery
• UPnP Device Host

You can turn on the services by clicking on Start and typing in “services” and then clicking on Services.

In the Services dialog, double-click on the service and make sure the Startup type is set to Automatic and click Start to turn on the service.

Fix Picture- Free Online Picture Editor-Check It Out!

HERE

FixPicture.Org is a FREE online website utility for digital camera owners.

It's the fastest way to resize and convert your pictures and images.
You can apply rotation, and some effects like greyscale, sepia, blur, ...

Santa Claws - Enjoy!

ADBLOCK PLUS.....Regain control of your internet!

Tired of annoying ads on your webpages--install this gem into Firefox as an add on and you will have
less to deal with...it is simply amazing....here is the scoop right from the AdBlock Page:

Adblock Plus: Save your time and traffic

Annoyed by adverts? Troubled by tracking? Bothered by banners? Install Adblock Plus now to regain control of the internet and change the way that you view the web. You can also choose from over forty filter subscriptions to automatically configure the add-on for purposes ranging from removing online advertising to blocking all known malware domains.

"Adblock Plus in just over 1 Minute" screencast kindly provided by ProCasts.co.uk
Watch in high quality (Ogg video)
Watch on YouTube
iPhone version

Last Pass acquires XMarks

In our efforts to bring you expanded, go-anywhere access to your data, we're excited to announce that LastPass has acquired Xmarks! It's a great opportunity that not only ensures the survival of the Xmarks add-on, but will also enhance our mission to provide the best data-syncing tools out there.

Xmarks, formerly known as Foxmarks, provides the world’s leading browser add-on for cross-browser bookmark sync that has successfully grown to over 4.5 million users syncing more than 1 billion bookmarks across 5 million computers. Xmarks has become an integral part of the browsing experience for millions of users, and you can rest assured that we will continue to expand the service in the coming months. (Courtesty of the Last Pass gang!)

Get it....use it.....and never hafta remember a password again!

Giggle with the Goats-Happy Holidays!

The Reason for the Season

How to make photo calendars for free for Christmas!

HP let's you do it on their website...

you can add photos from your computer-upload them to the site and create wonderful
calendars and then print them-either by the month at a time or the whole set of 12 all ready to wrap and give...

very fun site-be sure and check on "free" when you get there and it will give you the templates available....

GIT IT HERE

Patty Cake Cats-Just for fun today

Have fun, take a break and enjoy the kitties

CLICK HERE

Recover data from a browser crash-here's how

One of the most annoying things about the Web is its uncanny ability to stop working right after you have spent five or more minutes filling out a long form with contact information and other data.
It never fails—you go to apply for a job, so you enter your entire resume and a glowing cover letter in a long data form, hit the send button and hold your breath as the little progress bar slowly moves the right…only to grace you with the page cannot be found error.

For Firefox and Chrome users, this common occurrence need not ruin your day. A miraculous add-on, aptly called Lazarus, can recover all form data with a simple right click.

Ok, so it’s not exactly a rising-from-the-tomb-after-being-dead-four-days kind of miracle, but Lazarus does auto-save all data typed into Web forms when it is installed in a compatible browser. Once installed, it sits on the right of the address bar, patiently waiting for a form to crash.

When you lose data from a form, you can go back to the form, right click in the data boxes, and choose from several of Lazarus’ autosaves from that particular form. In our test, we wrote in a form, backspaced one word and right-clicked in the form. Lazarus gives us the option to restore the word we backspaced:

In Firefox, the program works flawlessly. At one point, we even unplugged our router after filling in a form, then hit the submit button. Of course, the page timed out. To make sure Lazarus worked as described, we then restarted the computer. When we reconnected to the internet and navigated back to the form, the data was easily recovered with Lazarus.
The Chrome version of Lazarus is still in Beta testing. It works well with data forms, but it would not work to recover any of the residual dropdown menus or selection boxes. Hopefully these will work when the program emerges from Beta.
Lazarus for Firefox is available from Interclue’s Web site. Lazarus for Chrome is available from the Chrome Extensions Page. There are no plans to launch an add-on for Internet Explorer in the near future.

Google Flight Tracker

Using Google To Track A U.S. Flight
You can use Google to check the status of a U.S. flight by typing the name of the airline followed by the flight number. For example, to see the status for United Airlines flight 134 search for "United 134."

On the resulting page click on the fboweb.com link and you'll see a flight tracker with your flight info.

Heres' the flight tracking info you'll get (using flight United 134):

FlightID: UAL134 (Commercial Jet)
Status: ARRIVED
Owner: UNITED AIR LINES INC.
Radio Call: UNITED
Type: B772 (Boeing Company Model 777-200)
Origin Apt: SFO SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL
Dest Apt: ORD CHICAGO O'HARE INTL
Departed: 11:24 AM PDT (1824Z)
Original ETA: 04:37 PM CDT (2137Z)
Actual Arrival Time: 04:47 P

You can also use Google to see delays and weather conditions at a particular airport by typing the airport's three letter code followed by the word "airport." For example, San Francisco International Airport updates can be found by searching for "sfo airport."

Kernel? What is it?

Have you ever heard this term?  Well, it is becoming more prominent nowadays when there are many developers writing new "kernels" for the systems.  Simply put it is the "front-end" of all operating system types.
Without it nothing will start.  Hence in type a kernel of grain or plant seed-without it the plant will not begin or grow.....here's the technical explanation:

The kernel is the essential center of a computer operating system, the core that provides basic services for all other parts of the operating system. A synonym is nucleus. A kernel can be contrasted with a shell, the outermost part of an operating system that interacts with user commands. Kernel and shell are terms used more frequently in Unix operating systems than in IBM mainframe or Microsoft Windows systems.
Typically, a kernel (or any comparable center of an operating system) includes an interrupt handler that handles all requests or completed I/O operations that compete for the kernel's services, a scheduler that determines which programs share the kernel's processing time in what order, and a supervisor that actually gives use of the computer to each process when it is scheduled. A kernel may also include a manager of the operating system's address spaces in memory or storage, sharing these among all components and other users of the kernel's services. A kernel's services are requested by other parts of the operating system or by application programs through a specified set of program interfaces sometimes known as system calls.
Because the code that makes up the kernel is needed continuously, it is usually loaded into computer storage in an area that is protected so that it will not be overlaid with other less frequently used parts of the operating system.
The kernel is not to be confused with the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS).
Some kernels have been developed independently for use in any operating system that wants to use it. A well-known example is the Mach kernel, developed at Carnegie-Mellon University, and currently used in a version of the Linux operating system for Apple's PowerMac computers.

Happy Holidays To All Tekkie G Bloggers!