File Conversion Made Free & Easy
By John F | June 11, 2008
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Have you ever wanted to convert one type of file to another? If I had to answer that question, I would say no, but if I think a little longer about it, then I would have to actually answer yes. There have been quite a number of times where I have had to convert a file to another format and finding decent free software has been a lengthy task.
The most common file conversions are WAV -> MP3, Word.doc -> PDF, AVI -> FLV and BMP -> JPEG. There are many more files out there that can be converted to another that I haven’t got the time or space to enter into. Suffice to say, lots of different file formats create opportunity/problems for all of us.
Well, worry no more [about file conversions at least!] I have come across a really useful free website that will offer to convert nearly all of the major file formats available, and loads more obscure file formats. The main headings of formats are; document formats, image formats, music formats, video formats and compressed formats.
The file conversion website is called Zamzar, and can even offer to download videos from online social video sites such as YouTube, Google Video Metacafe etc.
I have used it a few times and the free service offers conversions up to 100MB for free. You can sign up for a free account which speeds up the free conversions a bit. Zamzar is a nice little site that saves downloading conversion software.
Topics: Other Computer Usefulness | 1 Comment »
Threatfire Adds to Your Virus Defences
By John F | June 8, 2008
I have recently downloaded and installed another anti-virus program to my computer. So now I have two anti-virus programs running side by side. Threatfire [from PC Tools - who make Spyware Doctor] works slightly differently from other anti-virus programs.
Blurb from the Threatfire website: “ThreatFire is dramatically different to traditional antivirus software. Normal antivirus products usually need to have first identified and seen a threat before they can provide adequate protection against it. The protection is then provided via a signature or fingerprint update, which must first be written by an antivirus researcher. This creates a large window of time where threats are undetected and can therefore infect your PC even when you have antivirus software installed.”
In the two days since I installed it Threatfire has detected 6 suspicious activities and blocked 2 Malware threats. Not spectacular, but all the same, something that Avast [which have also installed] didn’t detect.
It also does not hog much computer resources, it just sits there in the background monitoring what it supposed to and just gets on with it.
As I have only used it for 2 days, I’m not going to suggest you download it straight away as I’m going to give it a week before I totally recommend it. However, if you do want to investigate Threatfire and download it, the link is here.
Topics: Computer Security Usefulness | 1 Comment »
Keyboard Forever
By John F | June 4, 2008
My computer is a hybrid. I mean that in that I built it myself, for less than half the cost of a new one. I built it about 3 years ago, and apart from upgrading to 1GB of RAM and adding in a 500GB hard disk it has done me proud for those 3 years.
The case, motherboard, processor and TFT screen cost me less than £270 [about $530]. I didn’t need a hard drive as at the time I had an 80GB that was doing me fine.
Also what I didn’t need was a keyboard. Ahh, my trusty keyboard. I’m still using my keyboard from my first pc computer I purchased back in early 1998, from PC World [wash my mouth out for uttering PC World].
Yes they screwed me on the “computer warranty” I never used, but I’m still using the keyboard 10 years later. That may have negated the extra £150 [$300] they stung me for on the warranty I never really wanted, but got “pursuaded” into taking.
So, I think the last laugh is with me and my 10-year-old keyboard. I am extremely happy that my keyboard still lives on a decade after being chosen by me for my first pc computer.
Have you got any old parts still being used on your hybrid computer? If so, let me know.
Topics: Other Computer Usefulness | 1 Comment »
Remove That Trojan Infection Now!
By John F | May 30, 2008
Before attempting to remove a Trojan infection, you should first understand how a Trojan is able to infiltrate your computer and what damage it can do. Trojan’s aren’t true viruses, as they don’t replicate themselves. A Trojan is malware.
Malware is software that is designed to infiltrate or damage your computer without your knowledge, which is similar to spyware, adware, and viruses also. A Trojan is a stealthy and sneaky program that exists to cause damage to you and your computer.
Some examples of what Trojan’s are programmed to do are:
- Erasing or overwriting data on your computer.
- Allowing remote access to your computer.
- Spreading other malware, such as viruses.
- Setting up networks of other computers in order to launch DDoS [Distributed Denial of Service Attack] or send spam.
- Spying on your computer and silently reporting data such as browsing habits to sender of the Trojan.
- Logging keystrokes to steal information such as passwords, credit card and bank account details.
- Phishing for bank or other account details, which can be used for criminal activities
- Installing a backdoor on a computer system, so your computer can be used without your knowledge or permission
- Collecting e-mail addresses and using them for spamming activities
- Deactivating or interfering with anti-virus and firewall programs
How Did A Trojan Infect Your Computer?
A Trojan is able to gain access to your computer because it pretended to be an innocent or helpful program, or because you downloaded movies, music or software illegally. Once the Trojan is activated, normally by you clicking on it thinking it’s a useful program, it will start the job it was programmed to do.
It will do this silently in the background without your knowledge and so will often only interfere a little with your computer, choosing to do their dirty work while your machine is idle. Computers that are left on and connected to the internet while you are asleep, at work or school are favourite targets.
Removing a Trojan can be tricky as they hide themselves in the computers registry files and manual deletion is not advised. Trojans can also disguise themselves as software your computer in reality needs, you could accidentally delete an essential program or system registry entry. This could result in your computer not being able to boot up.
Signs You May Have a Trojan
If you notice any of the following then you could have a Trojan infection:
- When you’re not using the computer for Internet access your computer modem or router is whirring away, or the lights are flashing on/off like a Christmas lights display
- Your Internet connection speed has constantly slowed to a crawl
- Your anti-virus and/or anti-spyware have been deactivated.
- Strange icons appearing on your desktop
- Your computer start up speed has reduced alarmingly
- You could have a cup of coffe in the time it takes to open up a file
Prevention
Be careful when opening files and especially email attachments from people you do and do not know. If in doubt, do not open the file. Using CD’s, USB drives and more likely downloading the Trojan, are the most common ways of your computer becoming infected.
Try not to download movie, music or software files that you know are meant to be paid for. Most of all files that are downloaded this way contain Trojans. If other people use your computer educate them too. Ensure they have user profiles, and that they have restricted profiles if necessary.
Cure
If you find that you have a Trojan, then ensure you run your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. They should be able to remove them. If the Trojan is stubborn, then boot your computer into safe-mode and run the anti-virus and anti-spyware, this should remove the culprit.
If this doesn’t remove the offending Trojan, then maybe invest in a stronger anti-virus and or anti-spyware program. A good anti-virus/spyware program should be able to remove a Trojan program from your computer. If you have a really nasty trojan that is difficult to remove then there are specific trojan removal programs available.
Recently the Vundo trojan infected my computer. I couldn’t shift it, but after a simple search engine query, I downloaded a free and handy program to remove this specific pest. A scan in safe mode and a re-boot, and it was gone.
Any questions or feedback are welcolmed on this blog post or any any of my previous posts.
Topics: Other Computer Usefulness | 5 Comments »
Being Sick Is Punishment Enough
By John F | May 28, 2008
I haven’t felt well at all the past week. I’ve had varying degrees of dizzyness and fuzzy headed feeling along with a constant headache. I’m also finding it really hard to stare at a computer screen for over 30 minutes. My blog posts reflect this and rather than post sub-standard posts I’ll only post when I am feeling better.
Yes, mum if you are reading this, I have been to the doctors.
If anybody has any questions or specific computer related problems or questions you may want to ask then please feel free to leave a comment.
Topics: Other Usefulness | No Comments »
Upgrade to XP Service Pack 3 Was a Good One
By John F | May 25, 2008
I have successfully upgraded to XP Service Pack 3. It took me about 50 minutes to upgrade, including the downloading of the service pack and the rebooting required. So far, I have had no ill effects from the upgrade.
I haven’t noticed an increase in speed [some people had reported a 10% increase in speed - I haven't]. My computer still runs at its normal speed, no faster or no slower than when I had XP service pack 2.
There have been many reports of the upgrade to XP service pack 3 going as smoothly as a train wreck. Blue screens of death have emerged, registry keys’ being obliterated and constant computer re-boots. To those people, you have my sympathy, but if I’m being honest/harsh, I don’t care as my XP upgrade to SP3 went very well indeed.
If you haven’t upgraded as yet, then please ensure you read my previous post of what you should do before you upgrade to service pack 3.
Topics: Computer Security Usefulness, Other Computer Usefulness | No Comments »
Windows Sysinternals Is a Useful Collection of Utilities
By John F | May 23, 2008
I came across this handy Microsoft [shock, horror!] utilities website recently and thought it was very handy indeed.
There are many handy tools available from checking your internal system clock, monitoring DLL files in real-time [that has been at the top of my list of things to monitor, sort of, well ok not really, but I could if I wanted to..] to checking your computer for rootkit-based malware.
To their credit Microsoft do have some handy programs and sites tucked away that they don’t seem to really shout about. I found this site the normal way, recommended by somebody else via a forum who said take a look at this handy website.
There are loads of good utilities on this website that I’m sure you could find something of use to speed up, protect or just make your computer feel a little bit better about itself.
Topics: Computer Health Usefulness, Computer Privacy Usefulness, Computer Security Usefulness, Free Software Usefulness | No Comments »
Another Free Program To Block Phorm
By John F | May 21, 2008
Another tool to block Phorm has been released for Windows computers. It’s called AntiPhorm Lite. The spiel from the website states:
“AntiPhorm Lite runs independently and silently in the background of your PC. It connects to the web and intelligently simulates natural surfing behaviour across thousands of customizable topics. This creates a background noise of false information disguising and inverting your own interests.”
We believe our technology is indistinguishable from that of a typical user engaging the Internet. To support this claim we have introduced a preview mode that works with any of your preferred browsers, and together with a detailed reporting system and a host of custom options each AntiPhormLite will appear unique.”
This program seems genuine and to serve a purpose, however using a program like this will take up resources on your computer [even though their FAQ says otherwise] and seems somewhat counter-productive. The jumbled up phrase “stable door, close, horse, bolted” springs to mind.
I suppose it will work to a certain extent, however the only 100% surefire way to combat Phorm is to opt-out when and if your ISP starts using Phorm, or to move to an ISP that does not sign up to PHORM. On a positive note their adverts for their AntiPhorm Lite program are quite good. See above for the cool Jedi advert.
No news on my ISP [Virgin Media] as yet. I wait with apprehension as to what they decide. After hearing that BT will reportedly earn up to $170 million from using Phorm, I am somewhat resigned to Virgin Media signing up and putting some kind of ‘positive’ spin as to why Phorm is the best thing since paperclips for all their customers.
Topics: Computer Privacy Usefulness | No Comments »
Hold On A Minute Before You Upgrade To Windows XP Service Pack 3
By John F | May 17, 2008
Before you download and install Windows XP Service Pack 3, take a deep breath, think of a tranquil place in your mind and read on. Installing XP SP3 isn’t as easy as actually downloading it and installing it on your computer! No, that would just be too easy…
You may or may not have read about some people who upgraded having no issues when installing XP service pack 3, and some people having absolute nightmares? Whether you have or not, there are a few checks you should follow before downloading and installing the XP SP3 beast.
The second thing you should do is check out Microsoft’s “Steps to take before you install Windows XP Service Pack 3” page. It’s a useful set of directions to ensure a hassle-free experience. It covers such areas such as fast user switching, administrator rights, error messages and disk space issue you might come across.
For your first point of call I would strongly suggest visiting this page, which is the XP SP3 release notes. The release notes covers aspects such as how to opbtain XP service pack 3, problems that are fixed, hard disk requirements and application compatibility in Windows XP SP3.
One key area that jumps out is that if you have installed IE7 or IE8 before installing SP3 then you will have to remove SP3 to uninstall IE7/8. That could cause a few people problems.
The entire install file is 343MB, and could take a while depending on your Internet connection [maybe Microsoft should upload it as a torrent file..?]. What a pain if you’re on dial-up. If you are on dial-up, hello back there in 1999. The millennium bug thing was just a big fat hoax.
It’s 343MB as the service pack includes all XP updates, ever! The best way to upgrade is to install service pack 3 from Windows Update. That way, you will only download the files that your computer needs. To install XP Service Pack 3, well you have to follow the yellow brick road.
Good luck when installing SP3. I haven’t upgraded as yet, despite writing the above, I’m going to wait a little bit longer to upgrade. Please leave any comments on how you get on upgrading. When I upgrade I’ll post back here, if it makes interesting reading.
Topics: Computer Health Usefulness | 2 Comments »
Easily End That File Extension Mystery
By John F | May 15, 2008
Have you ever seen the image below when trying to open a file on your computer?
I have, many times. If you do come across a file with an extension that your computer doesn’t know how to open, then a handy website; http://www.dotwhat.net/ can help and advise.
You can choose to use the Windows built-in web service to find the mysterious file extension, but chances are that you won’t be successful. Using the website above will enable you to find out those weird and wonderful file extensions that some people use now and again.
Dotwhat.net uses a huge database of file extension information, mainly Microsoft Windows (Including Windows Vista), Apple Macintosh and Linux operating systems. I find it useful every now and again. I hope you do too.
Topics: Other Computer Usefulness | No Comments »