Monster Patch day tomorrow for Windows Users

Patch Tuesday is approaching, and for users of Microsoft's software it's going to be a monster.

In all, 57 separate security flaws are waiting to be fixed.

Perhaps the biggest concern will be related to the security holes in Internet Explorer.

According to Microsoft, every single version of Internet Explorer - from version 6 to version 10 - needs to be patched, as they are vulnerable to exploitation by drive-by attacks.

That means that simply visiting a boobytrapped webpage could silently infect your computer with malware - hijacking your PC for a hacker's own ends.

According to an advisory from the software giant, five of the 12 security updates have been given Microsoft's highest severity rating of "critical".

The worry will be, of course, that malicious hackers will examine the patches released by Microsoft and attempt to release exploit code to take advantage of vulnerable computers shortly afterwards.

The longer you take to update the security patches on your computer, the greater potential risk you could find yourself in.

It's Tax time and time for the tax scams.....use common sense

In short, the IRS will not be contacting you by email concerning your income taxes,....nope....never.

A malware campaign has been spammed out widely, seemingly taking advantage of an important date in the US tax system's calendar.

January 31st is the deadline for US employers to deliver the W-2 form to all of their workers, used to help calculate the total wages earned by an individual during the course of the year.

So, how might you respond if you received an email like this today?

Subject: FW: 2010 and 2011 Tax Documents; Accountant's Letter

Message body:
I forward this file to you for review. Please open and view it.
Attached are Individual Income Tax Returns and W-2s for 2010 and 2011, plus an accountant's letter.

This email message may include single or multiple file attachments of varying types.
It has been MIME encoded for Internet e-mail transmission.

Attached to it is a ZIP file, whose filename will vary depending on the recipient. For instance, if the email is sent to chris@example.com, the zip file will be called chris.zip.

Inside the ZIP file, is an executable file: "Individual Income Tax Returns.exe"

Sophos products detect this file as the Troj/Agent-ZWM backdoor Trojan horse, designed to infected your Windows computer and allow remote hackers to commandeer it for their own purposes.

If you thought fines for submitting a late tax return were bad enough, imagine how much worse things could be if a malicious hacker is trawling through your private documents, stealing your passwords, and accessing your online accounts without your knowledge.

Always be suspicious of unsolicited email attachments, and think before you click.

Java....we have a problem

It seems that Java updates more than I go to the bathroom.  It's an endless array of updates and an endless attempt to install the Ask Toolbar.  I'm just wondering if I am alone with being sick of it.  If you are going to update so much, please stop hoisting toolbars on us.  That would be the fair way to deal with all of us since you insist on updating every commercial break.  What can you do?  Not much for now.

Use Google for your preliminary Tech support....please

There is a saying that I like to pass on to customers.  "No, I don't know everything about computers, I'm just a computer guy with a great ability to use Google".  What this means is that for most problems, tech guys do not have an immediate answer.  We can't, there is too much going on in technology to be on top of everything.  What we do know how to do is Google.  For instance, when a recent customer called me in regards to his touch pad not working on his newly reformatted computer.  I had no idea of what the problem was over the phone.  I had a clue, but that definitive answer was not coming until I did some research (hint, when your tech guy does research, we are really googling tech forums).  And guess what, when you know how to google, you find out that pressing FN and F7 results in disabling your touchpad on an Acer Aspire 5610.  When you do it again, you turn it back on.  So the lesson we have here is when you have a problem, google it.  Chances are somebody else has taken it to the web.  Save me the call and the time and try yourself!

Keep informed when Terms of Service changes

You know those lengthy terms-of-service (TOS) agreements everybody ignores when installing a piece of software or registering for a new Web service?

Turns out, they're kind of important, especially for those concerned about privacy (and these days, who isn't?).

For example, you may recall that back in December, Instagram caused a huge kerfuffle when it made changes to its privacy policy, which were outlined in an updated TOS.

That made national news, but not all such changes get that kind of attention. So how can you keep tabs on your favorite online services to make sure they're not slipping undesirable updates past you?

Try the Docracy Terms of Service Tracker. True to its name, this site monitors the TOS agreements and privacy policies for nearly a thousand Web services.

In just the past two days, for example, Docracy shared TOS changes for Comcast.net, Ebay, Fitbit, and Yahoo.

Before you get too riled up, many of the changes were little more than grammatical modifications: a comma added here, a word added there, and so on. But obviously if you use any of the services tracked by Docracy, it's a good idea to at least peek at any changes to make sure there's nothing major.

And just so you don't have to remember to visit the site on a regular basis, Docracy offers an RSS feed so you can monitor the latest changes in your favorite RSS reader.

Need help with Office 2013?, Microsoft is here to help...for free

Microsoft wants to help you get started using the new suite.....No really....no fee either....go figure.

Specifically, the company just unveiled a collection of Office 2013 Quick Start Guides, printable sheets packed with tips, shortcuts, screenshots, and other useful suite stuff.

There are nine guides in all, one each for Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Visio, and Word.

What's included? The Word guide, for example, starts with a big screenshot of the interface and callouts that highlight various important areas: file management, Ribbon tabs, view and zoom controls, and so on.

From there you'll learn "What's new on the Ribbon," how to sign into your Office account, where to locate various popular functions, and my personal favorite: "How to work with people who don't yet have Word 2013." (Very optimistic, Microsoft!)

The guides are provided in PDF format, so you can view them in your browser and/or print hard copies to keep desk-side. Needless to say, they're all free.

This is a great little resource for anyone making the move to Office 2013.  I'm just not sure if I am one of those individuals, definitely not on the prescription option.