Weak Interface
When the computer people meet the other side

Your typical “computer person”  if they have 5 minutes in the industry or 5 years, ends up being first line tech support for their family, friends, and even friends of friends.  That is if they let it get there.  Unfortunately this can be a “damned if you do damned if you don’t situation”.  If I say no I am mean because I can help but won’t if I say yes I am working for free for a long time.  Niether is fair to me but that’s how it gets seen.Now because of the diversity of my friends I will reply, “Hey can I have hours of free legal advice?”  or “You’re a dentist I’ll trade you the perfect smile for a virus free machine.”  That usually gets folks to an understanding of what they are asking.So before you ask anyone for computer help remember they are doing you a hug favor….There’s a who thread on it at Reddit- http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/ards1/why_i_dont_fix_computers_for_free_and_you_can_too/Read through that it’s TOO TRUE!Until next time.

Be careful what kind of security you use…

 So I usually write about industry events but today it’s about you.  This is a personal warning for you, not a company, or your job, YOU.

Have you heard of the Conficker worm?  It started sometime in 2008 and persists today.  The reason you need to be aware is because of how it spread initially.  It was bundled in fake security software.  You would be at some website or using some software, email, etc and a message would popup that you have a virus and should download this free software to get rid of it. 

So thinking, “Hey it’s free and will help…” You download it.  Only there was no virus. Now there is you just downloaded it.  Now it will make every effort to block actual antivirus software from removing it.

I must admit it’s insidiously clever to have a virus masquerade as antivirus software.  Unfortunately the user will suffer for not checking on the software.  In this case you don’t necessarily need an expert to review the software before you install it. 

I advise before you install anything on your computer and I do me anything, from Microsoft products to shareware, a quick web search will give you some insight into whether it’s a good idea or not.  The few minutes it might take is worth it to protect yourself.  Somewhere an expert has reviewed the software and likely blogged about it.

There have always been scam artists and thieves.  Online they can reach more people, farther and faster than ever before.  Be careful out there.

Until next time.

BTW one of my New Year’s resolutions is to blog more, at least once a week.  So stay tuned….