Do you know that there is no Google Toolbar for Firefox

Just so you know, if you have one, it is bogus and you have an infection of malware of some sort.  Just for your information.

What is my computer worth?

You can call a tech person like me or check out the current bidding on Ebay to get a good idea of what your used computer/laptop is worth.  Heads up, you will probably be disappointed.  For a more nuetral assessment, try www.gadgetvalue.com.  This site is quite simply, enter the information about your computer ( or gadget, it does more than computers), and it will tell you how much it is worth.  Keep in mind, what it is worth, which is different from what you can sell it for.  Try this before calling me...

Sometimes that Malware infection isn't your fault

The vast majority of sites that push malware on their visitors are legitimate online services that have been hacked as opposed to those hosted by attackers for the purposes of distributing malicious software, Google security researchers said Tuesday.

The data, included for the first time as part of the safe browsing section of Google's regular transparency report, further challenges the myth that malware attacks happen only on disreputable sites, such as those that peddle porn, illicit software ("warez"), and similar content. For instance, on June 9 only 3,891 of the sites Google blocked as part of its Safe Browsing program were dedicated malware sites, while the remaining 39,247 sites that were filtered offered legitimate services that had been compromised.

In all, Google blocks about 10,000 sites per day as part of the program, which is designed to help people using Firefox, Chrome, and other participating browsers to steer clear of phishing scams and drive-by malware attacks. The program is also designed to inform webmasters of infections hitting their site and to take steps to fix the problems. In all, the Safe Browsing program helps protect about 1 billion people per day.

The new data helps flesh out anecdotal evidence that for years has suggested that many of the sites used to infect end-user computers are run by mom-and-pop webmasters, and in some cases large companies. The operator of a software developer website that compromised computers belonging to Apple, Facebook, and other companies, for instance, had no idea it had been booby-trapped by attackers. In the past few months, tens of thousands of sites—including those operated by The Los Angeles Times, Seagate, and other reputable companies—have come under the spell of an exploitation toolkit known as Darkleech.

The addition of malware and phishing data to the transparency report has other useful intelligence for security researchers, including a breakdown of the ISP networks most responsible for distributing malware.

Microsoft finally listening to consumers and what we want

First it will be the return of the start menu with Windows Blue and now relaxing the ridiculous installation requirements of Office 2013.  Microsoft today backpedaled from a sweeping change in its licensing for retail copies of Office 2013, saying that customers now have the right to move the software from one machine to another.

"We received customer feedback that they wanted this flexibility, and we thought this was reasonable, just and fair," said Jevon Fark, senior marketing manager with the Office team, in an interview Tuesday. "We will honor these new terms starting this morning."

The revised policy lets customers who purchased a retail copy of Office 2013 -- the $140 Home & Student, $220 Home & Business or $400 Professional editions -- reassign the license to another PC they own or control.

That's a change from the end-user licensing agreement (EULA) that debuted with Office 2013: Out the gate, the "perpetual" licenses sold at retail -- those paid for once, with rights to use them forever -- were permanently tied to the first PC they were installed on.

Under the now-defunct licensing terms, customers were not allowed to delete Office 2013 on one machine, then install it on another, even if that second PC was a replacement for the first, which may have been lost, stolen, damaged or simply outworn its usefulness. The only exception was if a computer had conked out while under warranty.

Walmart to start selling Chromebooks

I have a sense of Deja Vu with Chromebooks.  A few years ago we went through this with Netbooks.  I did not get it, why anyone would want to spend money on an undersized, underpowered laptop.  Roll a few years later and here we are again, this time netbooks are now called chromebooks.  As I see, only worse, at least netbooks had storage capabilities and did not require an internet connection to be useful, Chromebooks need both an internet connection to be functional at all.  

Walmart has begun selling the Chromebook in 2,800 of its approximately 4,600 U.S. stores, expanding the reach of this still-on-the-margins platform.

Staples will also be selling the Chromebook in 1,500 stores, Google said on Monday.

Chromebook has long been available on Amazon, among other online retailers, and the $249 Samsung Chromebook has been its laptop category best-seller for months.

Chromebook is also sold in Best Buy stores and in the coming months will also be available Office Depot, Office Max, Fry's and others, Google said on Monday.

Chromebook is now officially just about everywhere, and that will help educate users about the platform.

But using a Chromebook can be a jolt for a new user. Just about everything is browser-based and runs the cloud. Even a simple tool such as Notepad on Windows is not available, natively, on the Chrome OS.

But there are apps that provide Notepad-like functionality, and will save content in the cloud. Users will work with Google Apps tools, its spreadsheets and docs, and an expanding universe of cloud-based tools.

If you believe that PCs of the future will be entirely cloud-based, then Chromebook may be offering its users an inside track in operating in this new world.

Windows 8 and Best Buy, a marriage made in......

You get the point, what pairing could be worse?  An operating system people hate being in featured in a store people hate to shop.  Only Microsoft could come up with this one.

The theme of Microsoft’s latest ads is “Windows Everywhere”—and if you visit a Best Buy store in the near future, you’ll certainly understand why.

Best Buy will be partnering with the software giant to add stores-within-a-store to 500 selected locations within the United States, plus another 100 more within Future Shop and Best Buy locations in Canada. And the size will be in your face as well: 1,500 square feet to 2,200 square feet, on par with the size of the homes into which those PCs will be installed.

Inside each “store” will be a mixture of Microsoft devices: Windows-based tablets and PCs, Windows Phones, Microsoft Office, the Xbox console, and more. Microsoft said that each space will also include examples of how Windows services straddle those devices, and showcase the latest ultramobile Windows-based PCs, both from third parties as well as its own Surface. The Best Buy stores will be installed from late June through September.

The idea is to put Windows back in front of shoppers’ faces in time for the preview and eventual (re)launch of Windows, with Windows 8.1. Microsoft is rolling out the preview release of Windows 8.1, sometimes known as “Windows Blue,” on June 26, at its BUILD conference in San Francisco. But it’s also been on a media blitz of sorts, spacing out the new features of Windows 8.1 in a bid to attract media attention, launching ads, and generally promising to meet nonplussed consumers halfway.