Category Archives: Technology Maintenance
FLASH: If you’re using Java, update it
As we’ve noted in previous posts on this blog (see Java-based Malware and Anti-Virus, Is it Needed for the Mac?), Java has been and continues to be a gateway for malware to enter your system regardless of OS. If you’re running Java, there is a serious flaw that could compromise your system. This flaw is only …
Windows 8 compatibility
Now that Microsoft’s new Windows 8 has released, a few comments about compatibility. I’m making a couple assumptions here. You’ll be upgrading one or more PCs from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Note: Upgrading PCs from Windows XP to Windows 8 isn’t supported, nor a particularly good idea. Alternatively, you could be adding new hardware …
Mountain Lion – MacOS 10.8 has released — Time to upgrade??
The original July 26th post has been updated. See the updated material below. Greg Well, if you are a Mac head, you’ll be thrilled to know that Apple has released the latest version of their MacOS, Mountain Lion or MacOS 10.8. It’s what I’d classify as a “minor” release, which means that it doesn’t include significant new …
Help!! Is there anyone out there???
I’m sure that you’ve been frustrated when you’ve called a call center for support on some product or service, only to find it’s been offshored, outsourced and the voice on the other line is clearly reading from a script: Hi, this is “David”, how can I help you today? (You) I’m having issues with USB …
Don’t get too close to the “flame” …
There has been a particularly nasty bit of malware roaming around the net for a while, but just surfaced within the past couple weeks. It’s in the form of malware that masquerades as a legitimate Microsoft update, but the “update” really is spyware, that can do anything while on your computer including reading your key …
Tech Tidbit: Spring cleaning old electronics (aka: crap)
My wife sent me a really interesting article from the Wall Street Journal today, which is in the theme of: “We really need to clean out the old crap in the house”. What to do with the “old” electronics in the house, particularly computers, iPods and phones? At last count, we have 2 desktops, 1 …
Data safety: Backups
OK, now for the topic that most folks treat like going to the dentist: Backups. You almost certainly have several types of data who’s loss would at worst be devastating and at best be time-consuming and a pain to recover. However, my guess is that you also are not currently safeguarding this data adequately …
Tech Tidbit: Fixing poor scanner images
A couple weeks ago I started noticing that when I scanned using the Automatic Document Feeder on my scanner ( HP OfficeJet Pro 8500), I was getting disappointing page quality, with a vertical line through the page. It looked something like this: My first reaction? Remembering other scanner issues I’ve had over years, I assumed …
