Online Computer Tips Monthly Newsletter - June 2009
Latest Virus/Security Alerts:
Phishing Scam Targets YouTube Partners
Some YouTube partners are being hit with e-mails that look like they are coming from Google or YouTube that attempt to trick them into replying with their login credentials and other personal information.
The YouTube partner was told that there was some kind of problem with his or her account, either with videos that purportedly contained copyrighted material, hate speech/bullying, or other issues that violate YouTube's terms of service. These e-mails urged partners to respond with their username, password, e-mail address and date of birth.
Official statement from YouTube:
“We are aware of recent phishing emails where users posing as Google or YouTube support have tried to obtain the login credentials of our partners. Security is a top concern at YouTube and action has been taken against these users and we are taking steps to prevent potential future occurrences. YouTube will never send an unsolicited message asking for your password or other sensitive information by email or through a link."
May's Poll Results:
Do you play video games on your computer?
- 42%
No
Tip of the Month:
How to change your Internet Explorer toolbar buttons and menu
You may have noticed that there are buttons/icons on your IE toolbar that come in handy and then there are some that you never use at all. There may also be some features that you would like to have a button for.
Internet Explorer allows you to customize the toolbar and add or remove buttons that you want or don't need. This allows you to have a more streamlined and less cluttered toolbar which makes it easier to do your web browsing.
To customize the toolbar simply right click on a blank spot on the toolbar and choose Customize Command Bar and choose Add or Remove Commands. The wording for this option may vary depending on what version of IE you are running. Now you will see that you can add or remove buttons from the toolbar as well as add separators to keep things even more organized. Once you are finished click on Close and your toolbar will be customized to suit your needs.
Another option is to right click on the toolbar and check Menu from the list which will give you the text menus such as File and Edit which are not turned on by default in some versions of Internet Explorer.
Hot Product of the Month: Kindle 6" Wireless Reading Device
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Large Selection: Over 285,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available
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Important Windows and Office patches:
Microsoft updates Windows and Office products
Microsoft released 10 updates to various versions of Windows, Microsoft Office, and a cumulative update to Internet Explorer. The company patched a total of 31 vulnerabilities in the update, with some being highly exploitable.
The most serious one is the update for Internet Explorer, MS09-019: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer. This update addresses a critical vulnerability on every client version of Windows. Eight separate vulnerabilities are patched in this update.
There are 6 updates for Microsoft Windows:
MS09-018: Vulnerabilities in Active Directory Could Allow Remote Code Execution
MS09-022: Vulnerabilities in Windows Print Spooler Could Allow Remote Code Execution
MS09-025: Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege
MS09-026: Vulnerability in RPC Could Allow Elevation of Privilege
MS09-020: Vulnerabilities in Internet Information Services (IIS) Could Allow Elevation of Privilege
MS09-023: Vulnerability in Windows Search Could Allow Information Disclosure
Separate vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word, MS09-027 and Excel, MS09-021 Could Allow Remote Code Execution and is rated critical for Word and Excel 2000 and important for a wide variety of Word/Excel products including the Mac versions.
Be sure that your computers are all up to date and that you are using Microsoft Update to get the most current updates.
Check out how PCs and Macs compare in this head to head battle between the two rivals.
Readers Question of the Month:
How to clean out a dusty computer
Tammy writes in with a hardware question
Q. I was moving my computer the other day and noticed a bunch of dust around the vent in the back where the fan blows. I assume its really dusty inside and want to clean it out. How would I go about doing that without ruining something?
A. To properly clean the inside of your computer you should shut it down and unplug the cables from the back. Then take it outside and take the cover off so you can see the components. Then use some compressed air in a can and blow out the dust holding the can upright. Make sure not to let the condensed liquid that comes out if you hold the can at too much of an angle get on anything. Make sure to blow out the fans as well. Do not use any liquids or rags on the electronics. Also don’t use a vacuum to try and suck out the dust or anything too high powered like an air compressor to blow it out.
Bing, which is the third iteration of Microsoft Search, includes a number of helpful search features. However, we do not believe that the launch of Bing will result in a sustainable material shift in search market share for a number of reasons: None of Bing's features are highly differentiated; Google has a meaningful library of proprietary data, particularly in Maps, which would likely take Microsoft several years to replicate; Google has an estimated 8 times more search traffic than Bing, which gives the company an advantage in improving the relevancy of results; Google has a larger advertiser base, allowing it to deliver better targeted ads; Google is outspending Microsoft's online business in research and development; and the previous marketing initiatives of Microsoft Search fizzled after an initial bump in traffic.
Bing is a solid product, but it doesn't have any features that would trigger users to change search habits. Google's approach has been to streamline the user experience with a minimalist interface that delivers the most relevant results for a query as quickly as possible. We believe the greater the search traffic, the better the search results. We estimate that Google has around 8 times more search traffic than Bing in the U.S. We think Google generates more than 20 times more queries than Bing globally.
Historically, search launches and relaunches by Microsoft have fizzled after an initial bump in traffic. MSN Search was launched in 2005 with an ad campaign in the tens of millions of dollars. The marketing effort boosted search traffic, but volume returned to previous levels shortly after the campaign ended.
