Our clients tell us all the time...“Arg! I didn’t know that!”  Technology and computers change so fast, it’s hard to keep up.  Tech Talk is intended to be a resource for you - the readers. We want you to find the information in each edition so valuable that you forward this email to your colleagues, friends and family. If there is ever a topic that you would like to see included in Tech Talk - we want to hear from you! ABC Computing is always looking for ways to empower our clients when it comes to their computers.  As much as you do, we want your computing experience to be easy—for you to get what you want to get done, done!  In Tech Talk, we’ll pass along tips, tricks and info that will make you say “oooooooooooooo!  I didn’t know that!”  We get that all the time.

If you want even more information from ABC - check out out newly updated website www.abccomputing.org. Our Resources page includes useful information that you will want to know about and our Services page will tell you about all the ways we take the best care of your computers.

ABC Tech Tips
— New ways to do old jobs and save time

You’d be surprised how quickly you can edit your documents and emails using simple key strokes to accomplish the most common computer commands without your hands ever leaving your keyboard.

Copy—Ctrl+c	Bold—Ctrl+b	Undo—Ctrl+z	Select All - Ctrl+a
Paste—Ctrl+v	Italicize—Ctrl+I	Redo—Ctrl+y	New document - Ctrl+n
Cut—Ctrl+x	Underline—Ctrl+u	Print—Ctrl+p

 

Tech News You Need to Know
— Hot topics in technology trends and news

Big Mac Attack!

In December, Apple released a technical note making the suggestion that Macintosh users should get and use anti-virus software to protect their systems.  Interestingly enough, the technical article was removed within 24 hours of gaining media attention.

Users have long felt safe using their Macs without anti-virus protection because there has never been a very large scale incidence of computer virus or malware infection across the platform. However it just might be that, as with any good thing—the safety Mac users have always enjoyed could be coming to an end.  As Macs increase their market share, cybercriminals are beginning to become more interested in what Mac users keep on their computers and are beginning to spend time trying to find a way to get to it.

It sounds a bit like a cliché, mostly because it is, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Whether you’re a Mac or a PC user— if we told you that $50 could protect you from hours and hours of panic, lost data and costly repairs—wouldn’t you pay it?  Computer platform opinions aside—antivirus is a cost effective defense against possible worst case scenarios that loom out in cyber space.  Surf safe. To read more, click here.

Androids Among Us

If you have talked to Ray recently, he's probably tried to show you his Android. It's black, it's shiny and it does all kinds of nifty tricks. I am, of course, talking about his new G1 Android Phone, a.k.a. "The Google Phone". It looks kind of like an iPhone because of it's large touch screen and colorful graphics but that's about where it ends. If Ray gets started, he'll tell you how the Android platform is great for the future of mobile devices because of it's OPEN SOURCE code.

As near as I can tell after our many talks about the phone, this "open source code" means that any software developer can get the code to develop and release features to download and use. This is different from Apple because iPhone features only come from Apple software developers and only with Apple approval do the features ever make it to market. This means that some cool features might just never be available for the iPhone.

Ray's Android does do some pretty neat tricks, like barcode scanning. If you find an item you like in any store, Ray's nifty phone can read the barcode and tell you if and where else you can buy it - the cheapest! Here's another trick...want to call your insurance company and talk to a REAL LIVE PERSON? Ray downloaded onto his Android, a database of how to bypass the phone tree of 1,000's of companies to get to a real person.

It sounds like the applications are limited only by imagination. Ray's pretty sure that the future of relying more on your phone than ever before is here. That's all great... but does it fold laundry? To read more, click here.

Cybercriminals Target Social Networking Sites

But did you know that cybercriminals are now using these sites to send spam and infect your computer with viruses that can gain access to sensitive personal information on your computer?! Now that users are more wise to the dangers of opening suspicious email attachments that can unleash these infections, cybercriminals have now turned to these popular sites to execute the same malicious intentions. In November 2008, Facebook won a $873M judgment against a Canadian resident accused of sending more than 4 million malicious messages using fake member profiles. It then reported the virus Koobface had intensified on Facebook and spread to MySpace.

Users can no longer assume that they only surf to safe sites because they don't visit "bad websites". Websites that most people consider unsafe include pornography, gambling and file sharing sites but cybercriminals are getting wise to the every-day-Joe's web surfing habits and finding more creative ways to compromise your computer and get to your information. Users must be aware of these dangers and take precautions to protect themselves. Always use anti-virus software, keep it up to date and don't accept invitations or comments from strangers posing as new "friends" on line. To read more, click here.

What's Next?

Got a question? Next issue we will include section of Readers Questions and Answers. This newsletter is for you, so tell us what you want to know! Click here to submit a question for our next edition.

ABC Picks & Pans!
— Recommendations and warnings about today's computer technology

Pick!
— Check out web bargains from electronics to home/garden to clothes!

Shopping online is a huge convenience; you can look for the same items at several different stores and never leave your driveway.  But you can also spend hours scouring those websites and neglecting your work...uh...chores!  Enter...www.dealnews.com  Dealnews searches for popular sale items and verifies that each deal is valid at the lowest total price they could find from a reputable retailer. Then and only then do they post it for you!  Next time you need to buy a new memory card for your camera… a new camera...or a new clock?!  Check out dealnews first—it’s a good bet you’ll find a great price and confidence you wouldn’t have found better yourself! 

Pan!
— Steer clear of peer to peer (p2p) file sharing that bust open security gates

LimeWire is a free peer-to-peer file sharing (p2p) client used most often to share or obtain music and video files.  Users are enticed by the availability of free music or video files and must download the LimeWire proprietary software to do it.  The problems is, generally speaking, there are a number of risks associated with using file sharing software.  With many p2p clients, it's not always clear which files are being shared and some may contain personal information such as credit card or social security numbers.  Some file-sharing software comes bundled with malware such as spyware, viruses, adware, or otherwise privacy-invasive software.  Often this unwanted software can be very difficult to eliminate without professional intervention.

 

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