Entries by Bob Appleby (1525)

Thursday
Apr082010

Example: Exploiting a typical Windows Domain network

If you ever wondered about the way someone can exploit a network, Brian Fine found a nice explanation of one method that can be used to gain access to your systems. It is interesting to note that it all starts by visiting a “Trusted Site” that contains the initial code to give the initial access to the remote user. The original source for this information came from the SANS security web site. This article is full of information about many Top Cyber Security Risks and if this is your cup of tea then it is a good read.

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Wednesday
Apr072010

Do you need another reason to backup your data?

Brian Fine one of our in-house support technicians reported today, but this virus seems to have been around since at least Dec 2008. So it isn’t exactly new but its delivery is. It seems to have found the WIN Antivirus (virus) trojan and is now using it to jump onto your machine although we are not positive this is the case.

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Wednesday
Apr072010

Wormy attack could spread via PDF

A Network World post discusses a demonstration of how a worm could be launched by opening a PDF document. Make sure that you are using a current version of your Adobe, FoxIt readers to help protect yourself against this exploit. While the fixes don’t prevent the exploit, they will at least warn you that the code is about to be run and you have the option to cancel it.

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Tuesday
Apr062010

Windows Server 2000 Reaches End of Support in July

Now is the time to start thinking about replacing that outdated Windows 2000 Server. July marks the date for support services of this version of Windows Server to be discontinued. Current Server Operating Systems offer so much more flexibility and function and you need the security that is part of the newer server opsys’s.

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Tuesday
Apr062010

New Version of WIN Antivirus (virus)

Watch Out for Shelly!

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Tuesday
Apr062010

Toshiba M780 Tablet Notebook

If you are like me and want just about everything, including the kitchen sink, in one device The Toshiba Portégé® M780 Tablet PC may be just the thing for you.Most tablet PC’s that I have worked with in the past seem to have a sluggishness in their response to the stylus.

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Saturday
Apr032010

Spring is here and if you are like us you are excited about soaking up the Sun and enjoying the out of doors…

So, I did my outside chores today, (believe it or not one of them was splitting wood) and then I spent the last part of the afternoon enjoying the little bit of sun that was left over and playing with my gadgets. I took my netbook, Kindle and iPhone out doors with me to enjoy the late afternoon sun, and started to work with them. The first thing that I noticed was the readability of the screens. The Kindle I have to give a thumbs up because it looked better out in the sun then when I am sitting on the couch.The netbook, well, I could see it when I squinted, but who wants to squint.

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Saturday
Apr032010

Camtasia Studio 7 – Audio Redirect

With the release of Camtasia Studio 7 there are quite a few features that will make you video capture more streamlined. One of these features is the ability to capture audio directly from your system's speaker output as well as the video. I used to accomplish this by plugging my speaker output back into my microphone input. Now it can be handled with a simple on screen click

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Saturday
Apr032010

ATI’s Eyefinity Video Card Line – Radeon HD 5000

Great interview on Tekzilla with Loyd Case discussing the Radeon HD 5000 series cards that provides a new multi-display technology known as Eyefinity. Create your own JumboTron in your home using this product from ATI. Available in 3 port or 6 port cards the Radeon HD 5000 series supports DirectX 11

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Friday
Apr022010

News about the Microsoft Office 2010 Release

The grand celebration for the release of Microsoft Office 2010 will be held in New York City on May 12th, coinciding with The release of SharePoint 2010 as well.

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Wednesday
Mar312010

WePad? Is it everything the iPad isn’t?

The WePad is an 11.6 inch tablet computer that is similar to the iPad but based on the Android operating system. It is not yet available but is scheduled for initial release in Germany (Created by the German company Neofonie), in the May 2010 timeframe. So why is this new entry so interesting? Well…

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Tuesday
Mar302010

Camtasia Studio Version 7 Released!

We are a big fan of all of TechSmith’s products, some that cost money and others that free. If you are serious about providing company demo videos, or video tutorials Camtasia Studio is the perfect product for you. Camtasia Studio is a powerful screen recording and editing package that allows you to produce stunning videos of our video projects. You can easily record onscreen activity in front of an audience or from your desk, capture PowerPoint presentations, webcam video, audio and much more. You can then share your videos at any screen size instantly to YouTube, Screencast.com, your webpage or blog, and portable devices like the iPhone.

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Tuesday
Mar302010

Windows 7 (Professional) - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Always great with their reviews, this one provides a solid comparison between XP, Vista and Windows7.

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Saturday
Mar272010

Listingly Web App that allows you to share Lists

imageimage While I was getting ready to go out and do our weekly grocery shopping this morning I started transferring my written paper shopping list on my TODO list on my iPhone I started talking to my lovely wife about what I was doing.

Now, if anyone knows Kathy she is very much a list person. She loves lists. and when she commented on whether she had a Todo or list program on her iPhone it got me to thinking that it would be nice to have an application that we could share the information back and forth on our iPhones that we would also have access from a web browser as well. This is my big thing, I want to have all of my data where and when I can get at it from most any device I sit down with or touch.

So I sat down and began the search for the golden chalice. listingly is what I finally decided on. I failed to find anything that was a web based app and had a standard iPhone app as well but I was pleasantly surprised how well listingly works through Safari.

Once you have signed yourself up you will want to edit or add your own lists to your account. This has to be done using your computer but once you have your list setup and shared you can easily add items, subtract items and manage your list from either the iPhone or your computer screen. You will use your computer for setting up your lists primarily, and your iPhone for working with the lists.

Your account comes predefined with three lists, grocery, wish list and to do list. It uses your first name to define the owner of the list so the wish list is named in my case, Bobs Wishlist. This is something that you will want to make sure that you put on your list in case you share the list with someone, it will make it easier for them to know where the list originated. When creating a list you will choose a name, pick one of four types of lists:

  • Grocery (Smart List) – This type of list allows the site to remember items that can be added back into the list over and over again as your need for them recurs. It will also help you build your list by auto suggesting items based on what you are typing. You can also categorize by adding a comma and entering a term for your categorization. For my grocery list I used the aisle names to group the grocery items together to make it easier to get all the items from the same area.
  • Free Style List – use this list item for just general lists. You can still categorize the list the same way as listed above. And as in all the lists you are able to add a note to your list item to give yourself more info about the listed item.
  • Wish List
  • To Do List – has an extra field for you to add a due date for each item.

To add button on your iPhone to go directly to your lists, press the plus symbol at the bottom of the screen (image #1), then press the button for Add to Home Screen (image #2), name your new icon (image #3) and position it on your iPhone where you would like it to show up (image #4).

IMG_0357 IMG_0358 IMG_0359 IMG_0360

This is a shareware product and if you find that you are using it and want to help with the continued programming and possibly new features, you should consider helping the cause by donating some money to the author.

Good luck with this, and have fun!

Monday
Mar222010

Do you have a stack of vinyl you need to convert to digital?

Here’s your chance to do it cost effectively. Buy.com has a special on today for $49.99 with free shipping for the  Innovative Technology ITUT-201 USB Turntable. Here are the specs from their site:

Encode your Vinyl Albums to MP3's. The USB Turntable takes your favorite vinyl records and seamlessly converts them to MP3 digital format. Enjoy your music on your laptop or iPod, wherever you go! Easy to record with and use on any computer.image

  • Records Vinyl to PC via USB connection
  • 3-Speed Turntable (33, 45, 78 rpm)
  • One-Touch Play / Stop Control

Features

  • Records Turntable to PC via USB cable
  • 3-Speed Turntable (33 1/3, 45, 78 rpm)
  • Ceramic Pick-up
  • One-Touch Play / Stop Control
  • Built-in Equilizer
  • RCA Line-out for Audio Amplifier
  • USB connection to enable Recording with PC
  • Transparent Dust Cover
  • Audacity Audio Editor and Recording Software
  • Turntable supports all version of Win 95, 98, 2000, XP and Vista as wells as MAC
  • In the Box:
  • Turntable
  • 45 rpm adapter
  • CD software
  • USB Cable
  • Instructional booklet
Sunday
Mar212010

Looking forward to the May release of the Ceton InfiniTV 4 quad-tuner card.

InfiniTV CardOne of the roadblocks you may have run into when trying to use your PC as a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) has been getting digital content directly into your PC without having to use external digital convertor devices. Prior to this new product from Ceton you had to purchase four single tuner cards and rent r separate CableCARDS from your local cable provider. This could easily cost upwards of $1000 to purchase the tuner cards and an additonal cost of $96 - $288/year for the CableCARD rental.

With the Ceton InfiniTV 4 tuner card you pay $399 for the tuner and $2-$6/month for the CableCARD rental. 

Ceton states that it will work with any US Cable System to receive all SD and HD digital cable channels without needing a separate set-top box. So with all that said, this product looks like a great addition to your Media Center to take it up another notch. More on this product once it is released.

Saturday
Mar202010

Will the iPad become the Ultimate eBook device?

imageThe iPad will have its own built-in application for access to books purchased from the ibookstore and in the interface four actions to your library is interesting as well as you can see with the image displayed at the right.  You will have the basic features that you find in the Kindle in the nook, and you get the added bonus of being able to use the iPhone applications that give you access to these two sites as well as other epub applications that are available.  No other device at this moment other than your computer has this capability. So if you are really looking for a new eBook reader the iPad is giving you a reason to take a much closer look at what it can offer you.

Saturday
Mar202010

XP Mode for All!

imageWell not quite true, you must have Windows 7 professional, Ultimate or Enterprise, but the requirement that you have  hardware Virtualization Technology built into your computer is not necessary anymore.  Microsoft announced on Thursday that it is updating XP Mode in Windows 7 to no longer require the use of hardware virtualization technology.  If your PC does have hardware virtualization technology, such as Intel VT or AMD-V, XP Mode will still use it, and you won't need the update.

You can download the updated version of the software from Microsoft's Web site—the 32-bit version is here, the 64-bit version is here. You must pass windows validation for this update to work on your machine.

Saturday
Mar132010

Posterous – Blogging through email and text messages…

image

If you were looking for in these simple and quick method of creating posts on the fly, Posterous could be a great program for you to use.  You have the ability to connect multiple accounts to this site so that your posts or automatically shared with other online sources.  In this test, I have linked twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and my BobsTechTalk Blog. Will these sites get updated automatically as on a post new entries into the Posterous blog site.  Now here is the interesting part.  You are able to easily add entries by either emailing your message to the site, Texting to this site, or making a web entry to the site itself.

imageThe site is very simplistic, so don't expect a lot of extra capabilities.  I have not tried live writer as of yet to see whether it could post directly to this site, so that will be something that I will try as time permits.  If you send a video or attach photos to your e-mail when sending it to the site, it will be posted with the pictures, and will update the picture galleries and the sites that can accept pictures from you.  You have the ability to add connections too many different sites and I am sure they will be continuing to add more as time goes on.  So if you want a quick way to post a single entry two multiple sites in one fell swoop, this might be one quick and easy method of doing so.

But me know what you think of this program.  I'd be interested in how many if you are using it or if you find it useful.

Saturday
Mar132010

Posterous Also Has A Web Form To Post Messages From

You were also able to post messages through a web form from the Posterous website.  It makes it very easy to post a message correctly without having to worry about what e-mail you're sending the message from. It has a simple airfare use without a lot of extra capabilities, and if you are only needing to send a simple message then this should work just fine.

What I don't see, is the ability to insert images easily or videos.  I do put a lot of rich information into my posts so this will probably not work for me in a day and day out usage.  However, if you need quick documentation of things that you were doing, or status updates that misapplication should work just fine.

Posted via web from bobstechtalk's posterous