Thursday, May 30, 2013

MyAnswers: Acer Aspire 5315 wireless doesn't connect to internet. Displays local only.

The following MyAnswers solution 2359 is now available:
Acer Aspire 5315 running Vista connects to network but not the internet. The wireless connection displays local only.

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Kelvin Eldridge
MyAnswers
(An Online Connections service.)

MyAnswers: Windows Vista password recovery for lost password

The following MyAnswers solution 2358 is now available:
Windows Vista password recovery was required recently. A client gave me a machine to clean up but didn't provide the password. Here's how I recovered the password.

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Kelvin Eldridge
MyAnswers
(An Online Connections service.)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Alert: Appliances Online Receipt Order #92032737

I've received four emails with the subject 'Appliances Online  Receipt  Order#' sent to different email address. The body of the message is designed to trick people they've received a receipt from Appliances Online.

The email is a fake and contains an attachment with the filename 'Appliances Online – Receipt.zip' which contains the program with the filename 'Appliances Online - Receipt .pdf.exe'. Since the default for Windows is not to display the filename extension it is easy for people to think this is a PDF and not a program. I recommend that people turn on the option to display filename extensions which makes these malware emails easier to detect.

You should delete these emails.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Better Schools ads and National Plan for Better Schools ads appearing on TV

I noticed Better Schools ads (National Plan for Better Schools) appearing on TV and the internet. If you’d like to find out more information on this initiative you can find the Better Schools site easily using the Search Australia search engine on JustLocal.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

Doncaster East Car Insurance, Home Insurance

Welcome to MayLin Finance and Insurance Services who can now be found on the Doncaster East (www.JustLocal.com.au/3109) page of JustLocal. Maylin Finance & Insurance Services offers the following services:

 

Life Insurance

Financial Planning

Home & Contents Cover

Income Protection

Wealth Accumulation Car Insurance

Business Expense Cover

Superannuation Advice

Liability Cover

Mortgage Protection

Retirement Planning Commercial Business

Critical Illness Insurance

Estate Planning

Truck Insurance

Spouse Cover

Pension Entitlements

Transit Cover

Partnership Insurance

Transition To Retirement

Travel Insurance

 

Other Services

Buy Sell Agreements/Insurance

Home Loans

Vehicle Finance

Commercial Lending

Construction Loans

Negative Gearing Advice

Consolidation Of Debt Advice

 

Kelvin Eldridge

www.JustLocal.com.au

 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Alert: Sarah has recommended me contact you

I thought the email I just received was a good example of social engineering as a scam of some type. The email had the subject ‘Sarah has recommended me contact you’ and then the body of the message starts with ‘Hey there!  Our mutual friend Sarah told me that you are interested in increasing your savings.’ The aim is to slip past a person’s defences by referring to a mutual friend Sarah.

We all appreciate it when a friend thinks of us and also when they try to help us.

The email of course is a fake. I checked and the email was sent from Taiwan and if you check the link it has a .ru domain which is a Russian domain.

Social engineering is creating emails in a form which will get past your defences by tricking you by using our behaviour against us. You should treat all unexpected emails, even those you may think come from your friends with suspicion. Scammers unfortunately, are very good at what they do.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

Favourite or favorite?

If you open up your internet browser in Australia you could be forgiven for thinking the Australian spelling is favorite. Software developed overseas and particularly software developed in America uses the American spelling which is favorite, but in Australia the spelling we use is favourite. The influence of American spelling on Australians is fairly obvious but sometimes it isn’t so obvious.

To confuse things even more, in Australian we can spell many words in two or more different ways, such as organised and organized, or focussed and focused. For those who are interested in using the preference Australian English spelling I have a site which brings together all the tools I’ve developed for Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer 10 users. The site is www.Australia-Dictionary.com.au.

When spelling really matters, use the preferred Australian English spelling.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

MyAnswers: How to uninstall Norton Internet Security when the uninstall appears to freeze.

The following MyAnswers solution 2357 is now available:
When removing Norton Internet Security from a Windows Vista machine the uninstall went for a long time and didn't finish. The uninstall appeared to have frozen.

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Kelvin Eldridge
MyAnswers
(An Online Connections service.)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

LED downlights Melbourne - Aldi specials

Aldi are having a special on LED lights starting on Saturday the 18th of May. I recently did a comparison between the ALDI and Bunning downlights and more specifically the GU10.

Using the Energy Cost Calculator I was able to show that whilst the downlights are more expensive they do pay for themselves. If you’re buying a downlight, a bayonet, or a screw LED light do a quick calculation and see how long it takes for the LED light to pay for itself.

For example I have three downlights in the ensuite. Originally these were 50W but I reduced them to 35W lights. I’d say they are on for around 2 hours a day. I replaced them with LED lights (not from Aldi) for around $10 each. Using the Energy Cost Calculator I can see how much I can save using the LED lights. I enter three lights at 50W (or 35W) which gives a total of 150W for 2 hours a day. The replacement LED lights are 5W and since there are three, I enter a total of 15W. The cost was around $10 each and again since there are three the total cost was $30. The following link shows the payback from replacing the lights is around 14 months (21 months for replacing 35W halogen lights) so it really doesn’t take long to recover the purchase price. Once you recover the purchase price the saving comes straight off the electricity bill.

Take the time to do the calculation and you can work out which lights to replace to give you the greatest savings. For me the hardest thing is to stop using perfectly good lights which still work and replacing them with something I now have to buy. But once you figure out the new low energy lights pay for themselves and then cut your electricity bill it makes sense to replace them as soon as possible.

At the end of the day that’s money in your pocket rather than the electricity company.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

Friday, May 17, 2013

Alert: Microsoft to unveil free Windows 8.1 update on 26 June.

Tonight I read a news article on International Business Times headlined as ‘Microsoft to unveil free Windows 8.1 update on 26 June’. I would suggest that Windows users not get too excited as the release is a preview release and I would recommend that people stick with their current version until the final release is made public. Unfortunately for the public and Microsoft I suspect that will be closer to the end of the year.

Microsoft really have had a bad run in terms of timing and Windows 8.1 is another example. When Windows 8 was released the low power Haswell processor from Intel was reportedly still a few months away and expected around January 2013, according to the press reports I was reading in early 2012. That would have been just in time for Microsoft’s Windows Surface Pro tablet. Haswell didn’t make it in time and thus the low power chip which is desirable for tablets is now due mid 2013. Microsoft’s updated operating system Windows 8.1 won’t reach the general public until closer to the end of the year.

Now is not a good time to purchase a new computer but once the Haswell processor and Windows 8.1 are both available at the end of the year, at last Microsoft’s platform will come together. Will that be too late for Microsoft. I don’t think so. In the past I’ve watched the market and a 2-3 year window of opportunity by other players hasn’t seemed to make much difference. In fact Microsoft has had the advantage that everyone is purchasing a portable device at the moment and extending the life of their PC. Those ageing PCs however will need to be replaced and that plays to Microsoft’s advantage. Haswell plus Windows 8.1, plus smaller form factors for tablets all coming together at the end of the year, is good for Microsoft and Windows users.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

MyAnswers: Opening PDF document now displays section at right with Export PDF, Create PDF and Send Files. How to close.

The following MyAnswers solution 2355 is now available:
When I open a PDF document there is now a large section at the right which has Export PDF, Create PDF, Send Files. This just appeared. How to I get rid of it?

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Kelvin Eldridge
MyAnswers
(An Online Connections service.)

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Aldi Foot Switch Power Point

I noticed on Saturday the 18th of May Aldi are selling a foot switch power point for $9.99. This is similar to the foot switch I previously sold for $19.95. If the quality is good these foot switches are very good at saving money on your electricity bill. By using the Electricity Cost Calculator you can work out the payback of turning off your entertainment system using a foot switch and you’ll find it will only be a matter of months.

These switches are good if the power point is less accessible such as behind a cabinet. With the cost of electricians you may even find using a foot switch to turn devices on and off regularly is cheaper than replacing the wall switch.

Based on my experience I’d suggest the foot switch is a very good buy if the Aldi product is a reasonable quality. I have found some foot switches can last for years whereas some last between 1-2 years. At least at this cost the foot switch should pay for itself if used on a daily basis where standby power is being consumed by entertainment devices.

 

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

Friday, May 10, 2013

Alert: Kim Swartz - Work at home - Wanna Learn how to make money online?

I’ve been receiving a number of spam emails. When I checked one and cross referenced the photo I found the link for the one I received was from a person in India whereas the photo was used on another site for a person in Texas.

These are faked and I suspect the whole system is designed to get people to sign up to a training scam. Pay $97 for an account and then continue to pay for additional training. You should bin these emails as the only person likely to make money is the spammer and not you. Spammers using faked sites are best to be avoided.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

MyAnswers: When does support for Internet Explorer 8 end when run on Windows XP? Is it the same time as Windows XP?

The following MyAnswers solution 2352 is now available:
When does support for Internet Explorer 8 end? We all know that Windows XP support ends in April 2014, but what about Internet Explorer 8. The major exposure to users using Windows XP is when connected to the internet and that is when using email or their browser. If IE8 is not end-of-life and support continues then end-of-life for Windows XP may be much less of an exposure. Microsoft’s massive scare campaign to force people to upgrade may need additional information for people to make good decisions.

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Kelvin Eldridge
MyAnswers
(An Online Connections service.)

Child care benefit (rebate, assistance).)

Based on ads now appearing on TV and on the internet the government has ramped up promotion of their Child Care Assistance program.

 

Over the years I’ve heard a number of women complaining about friends who stay at home and put their children in child care so they can have the day off so to speak. It is hard to see that if a mum decides to look after their child rather than go to work they get no financial assistance, whereas if a mum goes works two days a week (15 hours) they can receive 50% financial assistance for the three days they’re not at work and have time to themselves. It is easy to see why people complain about being taxed when their hard earned money is then given to someone else to take time off. Most people would understand if you need to work then child care assistance helps, but when you’re not working should you be asking others to pay for your child care. Some may suggest the government benefit should only be payable on the days people work. It may even be suggested this doesn’t assist those who work less hours and need assistance during the hours when they’re working, but hopefully the government has that covered.

It really boils down to what the government has in mind and since most of us don’t have any control over what the government does, all we can do is to accept what they do. It is just a system and it isn’t perfect. In fact no one will ever agree with what is perfect as everyone’s opinion differs.

Over the years I’ve seen too many people being too proud to accept government assistance. When I was retrenched years ago I was too proud to accept government assistance and in hindsight it would have made things easier for myself and my family. If there is government assistance available to you then perhaps it is time to consider being open to receive it. If others receive government assistance that is our system and we shouldn’t judge them. If the system is wrong or too generous then in time it will be adjusted.

You can find the government assistance using Google by search for terms such as child care assistance, child care, child care rebate, child care benefit, or search for Human Services to find the Human Services site, which I think is the new name for the umbrella which covers Centrelink.    

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Apple 50 billion app download competition

I noticed Apple is holding a 50 billion app download competition. The person who downloads the 50 billionth app will win USD$10,000 Apple iTune gift voucher. The next 50 will win USD$500 gift vouchers if I’ve read the competition rules correctly. Be careful however as you can only enter 25 times per person in a given day. Time permitting I’ll put together prediction as to roughly the time the 50 billionth app will be download. Customers are welcome to ask me when I expect that to be.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

Search Australia new features including searching using your choice of Google, Bing or Yahoo, quick access to a JustLocal postcode page and check if you're using the preferred Australian English spelling.

Search Australia was added to JustLocal to give those who wish to search a search engine which focuses on Australian sites and removes many of the directories which have now taken over the internet. I’m pretty happy that if I search for ‘fish and chips’ in a local suburb, if the business has a web presence I can now see their page. Of course many small businesses don’t have a web presence which doesn’t help them or their customers. I’ve shown a number of local businesses how a site I’ve put on the internet for them can generate hundreds of leads a month but in the end they don’t seem to care.

The worst example of not providing up-to-date information is when I went into a fish and chip shop in Doncaster Road. After placing the order via telephone the order was some 15% dearer. Every customer was complaining because like me they were ordering from an out-of-date menu and the business decided to increase their prices without letting them know. Had the business put their menu on the internet I would have known before I ordered and so potentially could everyone else. I’ve never used the business again so an out-of-date menu can and does lose businesses customers. A single page site assists hundreds of customers a year and is easily paid for by a single repeat customer. Small business can’t see if they don’t provide the tools people need they’ll go elsewhere and the bigger companies ARE providing online menus.

But I digress. The real purpose of this post is to let users of JustLocal know of three new features I’ve added to Search Australia, the search engine available on every JustLocal page and also available as an Add-in to Internet Explorer. If you add a single letter at the start of the search phrase you can select your preferred search engine, go to a JustLocal postcode page, or find out if you’re using the preferred Australian English spelling for a word.

1. Type in g, b, or y and go directly to Google, Bing or Yahoo. If you add a space and then your search query (such as ‘g fish and chips templestowe’) you’ll get search results for local fish and chips shops without all the directories. That is hopefully if they have a site you’ll get the actual business’ site.

2. Type in j and you’ll go to JustLocal. Type in j followed by a space and a postcode (such as ‘j 3106’) and you’ll go to the JustLocal postcode page. That’s a pretty convenient method to go direct to your local JustLocal postcode page. Keep in mind if your area isn’t covered you’ll get a place holder page with generic ads. As soon as a business or person in your area takes up the mantle to promote JustLocal in your area the generic page will be replaced with local information.

3. Type in w followed by a word and you’ll go direct to the Word Check page to check if you are using the preferred Australian English spelling for a word. You do need a password to see the answer. All clients of mine are provided with the password. In fact if you use Search Australia from JustLocal and type in ‘dictionary’, you’ll have access to Word Check for a while. A thank you for trying out Search Australia.

On top of removing dozens of directories now cluttering search results when using Google (not Bing or Yahoo) and the ability to enter a single word or couple of words to go to the top searched for sites by millions of users, these new features should make Search Australian even more useful. Clients are welcome to request the list of top site search terms. I don’t currently publish the terms on the internet because of the work involved collating the list so please feel free to ask for a copy to assist you in your searches.

Don’t forget, the most convenient way to use Search Australia is to use the link to add Search Australia as your default search engine in Internet Explorer. Then you can perform a search direct from the address bar in Internet Explorer. If everyone in Australia used Search Australia (heaven forbid as my server wouldn’t hold up to it) if could potentially save many hundreds of millions of searches when people are looking for major Australian companies, a TV guide and even the weather. Search engines want you to end up on their page to make money from advertising. I want you to get quickly to the site you want to get to.

For me the real test of whether or not something I’ve developed is worthwhile is whether I use it myself or not. Search Australia is my preferred search tool. It doesn’t stop me from using Google, and in fact if I want to use Google I simply enter the letter ‘g’ and I go direct to Google. I can quickly decide which search engine I’d prefer and not be stuck with just one. With one or two words I access most of the popular sites such as ANZ, eBay, Gumtree, Freeview (TV guide) etc., so it makes sense to use Search Australia rather than end up hunting through Google results that have become so cluttered. I hope you find Search Australia useful too.

 

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Alert: Please log off Google services such as Gmail and YouTube when using my sites.

Disturbingly I’m now seeing up to 50 per cent of people reaching my sites who may be logged on to a Google service and so could be tracked at the individual level.

I use Google’s blogger, Analytics and sometimes Google advertising on my sites. If you are logged on to a Google service your activities can be linked to you as an individual. What you are doing on the internet can thus potentially be tracked to you as an individual.

What people don’t know is when you visit a site which has advertising on it, that advertising is often provided by Google. Many sites use Google’s Analytics software to record statistics for their sites. As you move from site to site your activities can potentially be recorded as an individual.

As you read the major daily news sites, as you search for information, when you go to many sites on the internet your activities can be tracked to you as an individual. In addition it is also possible your location is being tracked without your knowledge because often the internet address you use to access the internet is known to be in a certain area.

It is up to each person to decide whether this matters to them or not. If it does matter to you then consider logging out of all Google services (and potentially other services). When you are logged on to services you can be tracked individually and a profile of you and your activities can be created. Some of this information can potentially end up in the wrong hands. The most obvious outcome is you’ll be directly marketed to and could end up paying more for products and services.

We can’t stop the government and companies collecting information, but most people aren’t aware that their activities on the internet can be tracked to them individually. Because more than 90% of Australians use Google for searching, if they are logged on to Google services (my logs are indicating up to 50% of people may be logged onto a Google service when they reach my sites) then your activities across the internet may be being recorded.

Log off online services as soon as you are finished with them. Don’t keep services such as Gmail and YouTube logged on and running in the background. This doesn’t just apply to Google. Any service that you are logged in and has software they’ve created installed on another site could be doing the same. The type of services that come to mind are social networking services. Where a site you visit displays a button from a social networking service you don’t know what that code does and neither do I. The code could be tracking you. By logging off you reduce some of your online activities being tracked.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

Online Connections

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.

 

Friday, May 03, 2013

Alert: Voupons Mothers Day deal ideas - Voupons using spam to promote themselves.

I received an email from Voupons today and I've never heard of or dealt with the business. It was addressed to a public email address I use on the internet but don't give out to people. I often wonder where these companies get the email addresses from but I do suspect the email address has been harvested and companies then purchase email address lists to promote themselves. They don't really care what they have to do to generate business.

My approach is if an Australian business resorts to spamming people for business then they aren't the type of business I want to deal with. Don't encourage these businesses by dealing with them. There are plenty of good business that respect consumers and don't spam. Pick one of them instead.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Alert: Theresa Andrews - Victoria Single Mom Makes $89,844/Yr in Her Spare Time on The Computer Without Selling Anything.

In a post a while ago I wrote about a Melbourne 'mom' who made income working from home which was a scam. An email received today by someone I know looked suspicous and had the same format.

Here is a link to my earlier post.

http://justlocal.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/alert-melbourne-mom-woman-making-earns.html

The recent email arrived with a single link (http: //www dot bridgetek dot com/site/jlarl.html) and another link in the subject which obviously didn't work. The link takes people to a site titled 'Finance Reports' and is designed to look like a CBC news daily site doing an interview on a successful home based business. The site is well presented but fake and possibly running on a hacked site.

I opened the link using a secure environment so you shouldn't do this on your normal computer. This is how scammers trick people into visiting a site and infecting their computer. In this case I suspect the aim is to scam gullible people or possibly gather their personal and credit card details.

How do you know the site is a scam?

Unfortunately I couldn't find any sites on the internet that indicated this was a scam, most likely because it is a new scam, or at least a variation on an old scam. In this case I took the photo from the site of Theresa Andrews and did an image search. The page had Theresa Andrews as being from Templestowe.

As a result of the image search I also found other pictures which were the same picture. A woman holding a baby. This time the person's name was Melissa Johnson who was from various places such as Mountain View California, Chicago and other places. A further search showed the photo was from the iStockPhoto site (http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-4413753-mother-and-son.php). You can't get much more of a fake than that. I found the clue where the picture came from in a Facebook account which had the photo which is obviously a fake Facebook account.

If you receive a similar link contact the person you received it from. There is a good chance their email account (in this case Hotmail) has been hacked and they would probably appreciate knowing.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 901 703 for computer support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.