This is a little rant I'm afraid. I know it's basically my fault BUT!!!!!

Sometimes when at clients premises, I have to use a series of rescue/installation discs to resolve an issue.

Sometimes, it can take quite a few hours to sort out the multiple problems people allow to accumulate on their computer before seeking professional help. A lot of which is helped along by the 'bar room fixers' who know absolutely sod all in real terms about much at all.

They don't know what the real problem is because they've not seen it and clients rarely know how to describe the problem fully anyway - not that there's anything wrong with that, I don't expect it.

The client then goes and mis-follows the wrong advice they've been given and make an even bigger dogs breakfast of the whole thing and after they've totally screwed their computer, they call me.

Now to the point of my rant.

After I've spent hours sorting out the cock-up, I put my things back in my bag (or so I think) and head off home. Some days, or even weeks, later I open my bag looking for the discs to find that I've accidentally left at my clients.

The annoying thing is the client, who now has a full set of service and recovery discs that I've paid for, and doesn't have a clue in hell how to use them, hasn't had the decency to ring me and let me know I've left them. This has happened every time I've done it.

I now have to go through the time and expense of getting a new set of dics together.

ONE THING YOU GET FROM ME IS HONESTY, IF YOU CAN'T RETURN THE FAVOUR THEN YOU DON'T DESERVE THE SERVICES I OFFER.

​I will work out where I left them and that person will have a heavy bill next time they call me!

It just goes to show, there's a lot of really dishonest immigrants out there.

How the mighty fall.

Bitcoins, the on-line currency that was recently worth over $500 per coin has suddenly disappeared - along with all its' investors money. Oooppppssssss.

They've deleted all their Tweets from Twitter and their CEO resigned on Sunday.

It would appear that Bitcoins has 'lost' 744.408 of its' users bitcoins worth almost $360 million. Seems they didn't foresee the way their system could be used for fraud and put a halt on all withdrawals earlier this month but by the time they'd stopped all trading on Monday, the bitcoin value had plummeted to just $130 - ouch.


Full story here.


There are other implications to this as anybody who now gets infected with the Cryptolocker virus might have a problem getting their files back as the villains behind it were using the anonymity bitcoins offered to ply their trade.

So what happens now is anybodies guess as I'm not aware of any other on-line payment system they can hide behind for more than a couple of days without being found out. Long term, that's a good thing but for the short term, many people will be up the creek without a paddle. Don't let it be you.


Don't have nightmares - back-up your data - stay safe.

I bet you didn't know that, did you! I wonder how many of you out there have been doing your on-line banking using some Android App, or other in blissful ignorance.

Me? Never! Android is the most targeted mobile operating system on the market - just like Windows is the most targeted operating system on PCs.

Ahhh, you reply, I've got my anti-virus program in place to protect me!

That is good, says I but the way this works by-passes your anti-virus programs protection system.

The best of it is, this vulnerability was discovered some 4 years ago in Android 1.6 (Donut) and has been carried over into every version since.

Basically, the flaw exposed in the Application Packages (APK) allows a hacker to add malicious code into an already signed App without changing the Apps signature so the App still reads as genuine and safe.

It is effectively like giving the hackers the keys to your device. They can steal all your data, accounts, passwords and run any App on your phone without your knowledge.

Google were notified of this vulnerability in February (which begs the question why were they kept in the dark for so long) and have reworked the Google Play store so it rejects any Apps that are vulnerable to the flaw. Any infected Apps already on your phone will no longer get updates from Google Play Store.

What this means for you is that any App you downloaded before this month COULD (not IS) be infected. The only ways to ensure your phone has no infected Apps is to download and install your Android operating system from the Android archives (only for experienced users) or uninstall all your Apps and reset your phone to factory defaults (assuming this hasn't been infected).

How do I keep myself from being infected?

Keep away from those 3rd party app providers - only download from a trusted source - make sure you've got that in your settings be careful of emails and don't plug in any USB device from your friends (this also means don't plug your USB device into a friends phone). Basically the same advice you give to anyone with a computer.

Don't have nightmares folks!

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I'm getting more and more clients calling me because their Yahoo email is being compromised.

You need to ask yourselves why. Your account becomes compromised because you have used a password that's totally insecure.

What do I mean by that?     You are using a name or a word that is in the dictionary! Makes things dead easy to crack.

What should you do?        Get your password changed NOW, before it gets hacked. Your password should appear to be a random set of numbers AND letters (both upper and lower case). Don't just use a word and replace letters with numbers (people often use the number 4 to represent the letter A) because that's as bad.

The people trying to get into your account have already got your email address from someone else who has had their account hacked so they're now after yours. If you know anyone who's had their account hacked then you need to change your password now.

It would seem that they've had all the rich pickings from hotmail and are now starting to target Yahoo more and more.

Basically, once they've got your email address, they have a computer constantly filling in different passwords in the hope they'll get yours. The first things they try are words from the dictionaries (all languages), names, mis-spellings, letter replacements and so on. This is why it should appear to be a random set of numbers and letters.

Please don't try the argument that you can't remember something like that because you don't have to remember it. Another massive don't is let you browser remember it for you. When you enter passwords, you get a prompt asking to remember your password - don't do it because they can easily get them from there.

Your password should look something like this - F5to0%2fmYgZW - the longer the better. I would recommend at least 12 characters.

Another nono with your passwords is use the same one for everything you log in to on the internet because as soon as they've got it, they're into everything you have. Use a different password for each website - email, facebook, twitter .......

Whilst it appears handy to link all your social networking together so you only make one post and it propagates across all your accounts, do you really want someone to have access to everything you own without your permission and make posts on your behalf!

Get a book to record your passwords and keep it at the side of your computer. Don't be tempted to create a document on the pc and keep them there. That's as bad as asking your browser to save them.

Not only will they start spamming from your account, they will delete all your contacts once they have taken them. They will change the settings in your email account and forward all emails to their account, so get into your email account now and familiarise yourself with all the settings, where you can change your password, where the mail forwarding and all the other controls are. That way you can keep ahead of the cyber criminals.

Just because your account hasn't been hacked yet, it's just a matter of time for 80% of you so act now and protect yourself!

Hello everybody.

Please be advised that we are starting to get booked up for April, so if you think your PC has a problem, or you're considering taking up one of our other services then please contact us now or we may not be able to get you sorted before we go.

You might even miss out on our FREE telephone install offer available for this month only if you don't get in now! Check our Special Offer page for more details.

Please don't leave it until the last minute and miss out.

Well all you Skype users out there, now you are the new target for the hackers.

Why is it that everything Microsoft lay their hands on becomes a security nightmare in no time at all. Seems that Skype has become very leaky these days. It's a good job they don't make buckets or wellington boots.

More about this, and other Skype fiascos can be read on the Infoworld website here.

Did you know Skype is one of the most blacklisted apps on the market. What does this mean? It's so bad that many school kid hackers can manipulate it to reveal just about anything about you.

It could be argued that Skype has had security issues for years, maybe so but that isn't a good enough reason to accept such sloppiness from a company like Microsoft who are FORCING you to use it in preference of Messenger to the extent of withdrawing Messenger altogether.

Messenger was bad but Skype is a lot worse which begs the question. Whose side are Microsoft on; yours or the hackers?

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Just a quick post to let everyone know we will not be taking calls from 5th May 2013 until 21st May 2013 inclusive as we will be on holiday. We will be open for calls again on the 22nd May.

We are having a well earned break, not having done so for over 2 years. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We will, of course, still be monitoring our telephone networks and will be in a position to remedy any problems should there be any.

Please forgive the repetition of this article but it seems people read it then ignore it because I'm still getting calls from people who should know better.

The Microsoft scam is where you receive an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft, or some firm or other and they may even say they're Microsoft certified or working with Microsoft. THIS IS A LIE! They will go on to say something like your pc is sending them error reports and is about to have a major breakdown and they need to sort it out for you (for your credit card details). Check they're talking about a Windows pc.

One line of defence is to ask them which pc they're referring to as you have 3 running, ask them for the IP address of the one they want to inspect.. Even if they give you an IP address (they generally fall within a certain range but can vary by brand) tell them none of yours has that address. After you've got them tied up with that line you could then tell them that your pc is running Linux Ubuntu, not Windows so they must be wrong.

They are only calling because most people run Windows. 

They might even say they got your phone number from your pc registration but if you brought it from the UK, they didn't - did they!?!?!?!?!?

The best advice I can give anyone getting one f these calls is to tell them your phone isn't near the pc and can they call back on your mobile. Once they've called you on your mobile, just tell them you're going to your pc now and put the phone down somewhere but don't hang up. Leave them hanging on the line clocking up a nice bill.

Please use your intelligence, who is going to ring you up to tell you your pc is about to break down? I don't know of anyone because nobody really knows when your pc is going to break but if you want to pay me €180, I'll sort it out for you just like they will!

Microsoft will never ring you so don't be taken in by Kevin calling from India - he's a liar.

Remember, do not give your details to anyone who cold calls you for ANYTHING, it's probably a scam.

All brand names and registered trade marks mentioned in this article are the property of their respective owners.

It appears a new piece of malware has surfaced that steals passwords from computers running MAC OSX and Linux called Wirenet. 1. Read the full article here.

Article courtesy of PC Advisor magazine.