Internet Video Converter download and reviews from SnapFiles.

Good for converting Blackberry videos, and a lot more.  It even has a rotate feature that I will try out next.

Apple accused of ripping off student’s iPhone app rejected a year before

I love their products, but they are apparently “less than honorable” as a company.  It’s not just this one incident.  For years, their factories have been accused of being among the world’s worst polluters.

Good site showing free software for Windows:

http://www.opensourcewindows.org/

Of course, there’s always download.com and many others.

Open Source Human Resource Management Software.  FYI in case you’re looking for such, even though we hate the term “human resource.”  Ironically, it’s dehumanizing.  :)

via Human Resource Management Software (HRMS) – OrangeHRM.

Beware of this scam.  Don’t bother trying to get them to help you unlock your pc:
http://rt.com/Sci_Tech/2010-08-31/hackers-gang-russian-bust.html.  The fix is to download, UPDATE, and run Malwarebytes.

CNET has created a fantastic new service called Tech Tracker that I wish I’d come up with. It tracks and keeps up to date all of the software on your computer!  Mac or Windows!  The only catch is that you have to create an account on their site and give them your email address. Hopefully it’s worth it. Here’s the link:

http://www.cnet.com/techtracker

One thing it got wrong, I just noticed, was that it thought I had Office 2007 installed.  It must have found remnants of a trial installation that has long ago expired.  Anyway, otherwise it looks very useful.

UPDATE:  It doesn’t really keep anything up to date, it simply tells you what’s out of date, leaving you to do the update yourself.  At least they give you the link.

Fantastic online app here. It does what I’ve done before (not a working copy), but they do it better. I’m not jealous. I’m not a programmer, really, I’m an “implementer/integrator.” Yeah, that’s it. Oh yeah, here’s the link: http://ninite.com/

PROBLEM (several customers):
PC runs way too slowly.
SOLUTION:
Set to Manual or Disabled unnecessary background services; cleaned up unnecessary temp files; uninstalled unnecessary programs; installed and ran MalwareBytes; and, most importantly, added more RAM.

PROBLEM (several customers):
Infected with fake “Windows Security” virus/malware alert.
SOLUTION:
From another computer, download the latest copy of MalwareBytes; boot infected computer in Safe Mode; End Task on any suspicious tasks; install MalwareBytes and run a scan.

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PROBLEM:
One PC in the office can’t print to the network printer, even though it can access the Internet.
SOLUTION:
That PC was on the wrong network.  Connected it to the proper network, and everything was fine.

PROBLEM:
Nobody can print to the network printer.  The printer itself is working fine otherwise and connected to the network correctly.
SOLUTION:
The printer’s IP address had changed.  Set the printer’s address to be “static,” updated the PCs’ settings for that printer definition, and everyone was printing again.


PROBLEM:
MBR Rootkit infection on HP netbook with no CD/DVD drive.
SOLUTION:
“Restore” to factory settings didn’t help because that was infected, too.  Had to download and create a new bootable restoration USB stick.

PROBLEM:
After setting an old domain’s email address to auto-forward to the new domain’s email address, the client could no longer send or receive email from Outlook.  They were told how to reconfigure Outlook’s settings, but they never did.
SOLUTION:
Reconfigured Outlook’s email user/password settings, and email was flowing again.

PROBLEM:
After a power outage, the PC can no longer access the Internet, even though the Vonage system (which uses the Internet connection) is fine.
SOLUTION:
Reset the router, and they were online and receiving email again.

PROBLEM:
After customer “foolishly” sent PC to another, competing PC repair shop to “wipe” the hard drive and reinstall Windows, the PC’s fan is now blowing constantly and loudly.  Also, an error at every startup mentions a problem with the floppy drive.
SOLUTION:
Reset the BIOS/Setup to factory specs and told the stupid computer that it didn’t HAVE a floppy drive, so stop looking for one.  :)

PROBLEM:
Infected with virus that Norton detects but never kills, even after being fully updated.
SOLUTION:
Uninstall Norton; install, update and run scans with free versions of AVG and MalwareBytes.  Even after all that, the main user’s profile was messed up (icons wouldn’t work, etc., but all other users were fine).  Created new profile for main user and copied only necessary files from old profile.  Everything was fine after that for all users.

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If you ever receive a bunch of “undeliverable email” notices in your email box for messages that you never sent, your email address is probably being “spoofed.”  Those messages are not really coming from you; probably not even from your mail server.  They’re just “bouncing back” to you because that’s the return address that’s been faked on the original email.  There’s not much you can do, unfortunately, other than change your email address.  That’s pretty drastic, but if it keeps happening, it’s an option.  Here’s a link I sent to someone just yesterday on some of the most popular free webmail systems:  http://email.about.com/od/freeemailreviews/tp/free_email.htm

That bogus “your pc is infected” warning seems to be going around again. BEFORE you get it, do the following:

• Download and run ATF-Cleaner (no installation required) to first clean out all the junk files sitting on your computer that will slow down the next programs listed.
• Download and install other browsers besides Internet Explorer.  We recommend Firefox, Chrome, Safari or Opera.  I don’t know if this will help with the above-mentioned problem, but it helps when something targets Internet Explorer specifically.
• Install an antivirus or at least make sure it’s up to date.  We recommend:  AVG, Kaspersky, Microsoft Security Essentials, ESET and, recently, Sunbelt Vipre.  McAfee and Norton are better than nothing, but not much. 
• Install an anti-malware or at least make sure it’s up to date.  We recommend: MalwareBytes, SuperAntiSpyware, Microsoft Security Essentials and aSquared.

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