Do I.T. Yourself

I had just recently purchased a Buffalo external hard drive with 250GB capacity, to hold the photos I’ve been taking with my new Nikon D60 camera. But since the space was there I figured I’d use it for storing my other non-office files as well. That is, until I tried copying a file that was 5GB in size.

I was stumped when Windows told me the disk I was copying into did not have enough space for the 5GB file, which was strange because there was over 200GB left in the drive. A quick search through the Buffalo forums revealed that the drive—connected via the USB port—was formatted in FAT and therefore had the 4GB file size limit. The thing to do was to format the drive into NTSC. Doing this would limit file access to the drive by only Windows XP/Vista systems, but that was what I had anyway. But how could I do that when Windows only lets you format USB drives in FAT?

GetUSB.info taught me how. The illustrated step-by-step on how to format any USB drive as NTFS can be found on THIS PAGE. So if you ever have the same problem as I did, head on down there now.

BUT—and this is a very big but—what if you already have files in the USB drive and you don’t want to erase all that is there by re-formatting? You can convert FAT to NTFS directly by following this guide on Microsoft TechNET. However it requires entering commands into a DOS/command prompt window, so if you’re not comfortable with that, you’re better off finding a computer with enough space to hold what you have on your external USB drive, copy everything off, and do the format as suggested by GetUSB.info.

Happy formatting!

At first glance it looks just like the real ebay site. But a quick look at the URL in the address bar will tell you that this is NOT ebay.

The link says http://www.grandzawiyah.com/state.wa/signin.htm?213rjceirjqexr98rdlkmsanchfrinvc58ucrdjkxnerimjgtmxkjnzmhrugt45ncoirehviuhtrckm45x and you end up here if you happen to have received the spoofed ebay email.

My client got theirs from email address eBay Member: quickshipelectronics [mailto:lindbergjh@hotmail.com] and as usual I checked the URLs embedded in the email. While on the surface the URLs say http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130258573190 the actual destination is http://www.shamick.com/SWF?item=130258573190 which leads you to the URL of the site in the screenshot above.

However, www.shamick.com and www.grandzawiyah.com appear to be legitimate domains and websites — but people with malicious intent may have hijacked a subfolder on their hosting service where the redirect from shamick.com/swf has been placed to lead to the fake ebay landing page above.

So a CAVEAT to all. Check the actual links before you click on them, especially if you know you shouldn’t be getting emails from services you have not signed for. Mouse over the link and then check if the URL that appears in your status bar matches the link and is the actual URL of the service.

A friend introduced me to the CoolIris (formerly known as Piclens) plugin for Firefox and like a giddy nit I downloaded it and plugged it into my spanking new Firefox 3.0.1 installation on this spanking new laptop.

Turned out it was one of the culprits that, with Norton 360 installed, caused programs to turn into zombies in Task Manager after I had closed them. Imagine having five instances of Firefox lined up in the Task Manager Processes list each consuming a minimum of 50,000K and you’ll feel the chill. Add to that other instances of programs that you have already closed, still sitting in Task Manager as running programs, eating up resources that they should have spit out a few seconds after they were closed. Feel your spine tingling now? Mine did, even with 2GB of RAM on this Intel Centrino vPro.

Googling around gave me two solutions. Disable the CoolIris plugin and unregister buShell.dll which is part of Norton 360′s backup component.

For a few minutes I couldn’t uninstall CoolIris through the Addons window in Firefox. Every click on Disable or Uninstall and Restart Firefox I made ended up with the plugin still there and enabled. I had to go into my Firefox Profile folder and delete the darned folders just to get rid of it.

But after the buShell.dll unregistration and the removal of CoolIris, I must report all is well on this installation. According to my research the same effect is caused by the Skype plugin for Firefox as well so if anyone out there is experiencing the problems stated above, look into both CoolIris and the Skype plugin on your Firefox browser.

Having just signed up with PayPal I have been paying close attention to emails I receive whenever I modify details on my account.

While I was scouring my Gmail Spam folders for emails that may have been inadvertently caught, I found one that should be a great concern to other PayPal users like me. It’s an email message that looks exactly like official correspondence from PayPal, but on closer scrutiny proves to be a phishing scam.

Phishing is a form of Internet fraud that aims to steal valuable information such as credit cards, social security numbers, user IDs and passwords and the like.

This particular email apparently from PayPal aroused suspicion as soon as I saw it.

• Reason #1: I did not register for PayPal with my gmail account.
• Reason #2: The link URL’s that show on my browser’s status bar tell me that the links embedded in this email are NOT authentic PayPal links, but were made to appear like they are.

Read the rest of this entry »

TechRepublic has always been a good resource for computers and networking. I was going to quote their 10 dumb things users do that mess up their computers article, but when I clicked on their 10 things category I found something even more useful:
10 things IT pros should do when a relationship ends

#1: Change your passwords at work, if possible

You may feel confident that you never disclosed a password to your Former Significant Other (FOSO, for now). However, being mistaken in your trust can damage your career and possibly cost you your job.

#2: Repair any security breaches you have created

If you have any reason to think that an angry FOSO could gain access to other people’s data, you need to take immediate action.

#3: Change privileges on appropriate programs and systems

If your ex has administrator status on your system, remote access, etc., consider whether that status is still appropriate.

#4: Change passwords on your personal accounts

Okay, okay, it’s obvious. However, simple precautions are all too easy to forget when it’s your own personal heart that’s breaking. Think of all your password-protected places and change them. If you have an online business, be sure to secure access to that account immediately.

#5: Be careful about your communications on company computers

The office is not a prudent place to expose your innermost feelings, especially in writing. Keep in mind that your employer probably has access to all files on an office computer.

#6: Resist the temptation to harm your ex’s system or data

Erasing a critical file, formatting a hard drive, or introducing a clever virus may seem like a satisfying action when you are burning with rage and jealousy. However, all of these are bad ideas.

#7: Resolve any business issues between the two of you

If you and your FOSO worked together, especially if you have an IT consulting firm, the two of you need to straighten out any business matters, including any corporate or partnership matters.

#8: Retrieve your personal information

If your ex has any of your personal files on his or her computer, try to get permission to retrieve or delete them. At the least, ask your FOSO to erase the data.

#9: Refrain from online nastiness

Online communications can last far longer than the rage that spawned them. Venting your most intimate emotions in writing can be a bad idea, especially on the Web.

#10: Resolve any financial issues between the two of you

Longtime couples usually have some financial entanglement. You may need to split everyday stuff, like furniture, DVDs, and china. You should divide and close any joint accounts.

#11: Make appropriate changes to protect your assets

Finally, take appropriate action to protect your own assets. Change the locks on your doors. Change the PIN on your debit and credit cards. Don’t forget to cancel any joint credit cards or lines of credit, unless you and your ex have worked out a different solution.

Taking care of all these details will leave you little time to mope. When it’s all done, you can settle back with the bonbons, the Scotch, or the late night movie. Better luck next time.

excerpt from TechRepublic