Computer Info – January 30, 2002

 

This Week’s Program

            How many of you have a website?  What software did you use to create it – what problems have you encountered – any comments you would like to share with the group?  Bring in your website address and maybe we could have a look at them.  Other discussions will deal with subjects in the handout.

 

More on Drugs

Discount Prescription Center (Tel-Drug Inc.)

            They have free shipping and handling

                        http://www.discountprescriptioncenter.com/

Pfizer

            If you are a senior and your income is $18,000 a year or less, then you can sign up for their program where you pay only $15.00 per 30 day prescription supply of a Pfizer drug – you get a card that you present at the drugstore.

                        http://www.pfizer.com/pfizerinc/about/sharecard/sharecard.html

 

Clark Howard has links to Stop Ad Popup Windows

Clark Howard has links to stopping popup windows (ads)

            http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2002/01/22.html - popup

 

Exploding Cd’s ?????

            A member of the group reported last week about a cd that exploded while in his computer’s cd drive.  I decided to check on the internet and I found others who had reported this happening.

            It seems that it is possible for this to happen in high-speed drives (those at 48x or greater).with cd’s that have very small cracks in them. 

            When we say explode --- that’s what we mean.  It breaks apart into very small fragments that can even be projected forcibly out of the computer.

            In the case of the person in our group,  pieces flew everywhere.  He then shook the remaining pieces out of the computer --- and, amazingly enough, the computer and the drive stilled worked.

 

Virus Research Sites

IDGNet Security and Antivirus

            http://www.idg.net/content/channel_content/sec_theme.html

Kaspersky Anti-Virus News

            http://www.kaspersky.com/news.asp

Network Associates McAfee Virus Information Library

            http://vil.nai.com/vil/default.asp

Panda Security

            http://www.pandasecurity.com/

Symantec Security Response

            http://www.sarc.com/

Trend Micro

            http://www.antivirus.com/

 

Hoax Research Sites

McAfee

            http://www.mcafee.com/and check their Virus Information Library which lists about 80 current hoaxes.

Symantec

            http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html– lists about 130 hoaxes

About

            http://antivirus.about.com/

F-Secure

            http://www.datafellows.com/virus-info/hoax

Vmyths

            http://vmyths.com/

Truth or Fiction

            http://www.truthorfiction.com/

Urban Legends And Folklore

            http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/

Urban Legends Research Centr

            http://www.ulrc.com.au/

Snopes

            http://www.snopes2.com/

AFU (alt.folklore.urban) & Urban Legends Archive

            http://www.urbanlegends.com/

 

V.92 Modem

            We have been seeing quite a few V.92 modems at the stores lately.  Modems that use the V.92 standard are better than those that use the older v.90 standard.  V.92 modems connect to the Internet more quickly and can upload data faster.  However, you won’t benefit from these advantages if your ISP doesn’t support the V.92 standard.  If you have a V.92 modem and your current ISP doesn’t support V.92, check with other ISPs in your area to see if they do.

 

Removing MSN Messenger from Windows XP

            Microsoft has made it almost impossible to uninstall MSN Messenger – but it can be done.

            Open MY COMPUTER and click OPTIONS from the TOOLS menu.  click the VIEW tab and uncheck the HIDE PROTECTED OPERATING SYSTEM FILES checkbox.  click OK and open the C:\WINDOWS\INF directory.  Double-click the SYSOC.INF file and find the line that reads  “msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,ocEntry,msmsgs,inf,hide,7” and remove the word “hide” but leave both commas  (msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,ocEntry,msmsgs,inf,,7).  Save the file and open ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS in the CONTROL PANEL.  Click ADD/REMOVE WINDOWS COMPONENTS.  Remove the check mark next to MSN MESSENGER and click OK.

 

Why You Want to Buy the Best Computer You Can

(Excerpt from a Gateway newsletter)

            I've learned over the years that it pays to buy the biggest, baddest computer you can afford, because what seems like overkill today is merely average tomorrow. Just when you think you have all the computing power you could ever need, a new application comes along that maxes out your PC's capacity.

            Perhaps, then, you'll understand why I've found the last  year or so in the computer industry to be incredibly boring. Lately, it seems as though most creative engineering has gone into consolidation-making existing technologies cheaper and more accessible. But all that is about to change. For the first time in a long time, we're seeing signs of innovation in high-performance PCs, and 2002 promises to be a tremendous year for those with the performance habit.

            Doesn’t it seem like something Wes has been saying??