If you loved the 80’s like I did, you will love this! Amazon is selling the entire Brian Adams, Reckless Album for 99 cents! That’s right, the entire album for the price of one song. Not sure how long it will be out there, so be quick. It’s not like they will run out of inventory!
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
Dave over at The Home Server Show has produced another fantastic podcast for the Home Server user. This week, he and John (Diehard) cover an updated add-in as well as the most current news and notes for all things WHS. You will want to check this out.
You will also want to know that I was #2 in the “first feed” category (you know what that is if you listen to the show.) I’m sure Dave will mention it on show #33, coming soon.
Remember, I search (and listen to podcasts) so you don’t have to!
From http://redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?editorialsid=2617 Click to read.
Many of you have already seen this type of scam or had it happen to you personally. A window pops up telling you that your computer is in danger of being infected and you need to buy “AntiVirus 2009” to get rid of it.
These pop-ups can trick you into buying unneeded software, steal personal data and passwords, and block updates and access to anti-virus Web sites. Welcome to the wonderful world of rogue security software, also known as scareware.
Scareware can attack you from anywhere (home or office) and at any time to any family member or co-worker. The article linked above gives a good run down on the problem and some of the solutions. Here are my recommendations.
Amazingly enough, all of this is FREE! So why are you still waiting?
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
At least in Nebraska!
It seems like in years past, I have always had to use some software to file both my federal and state taxes. I would shell out between $30 to $50 for the software and it would cover one federal form and one free e-file fee. Then it would ask if I want it to file the state at the same time, always for a fee between $10 and $20, depending on the company. Of course, I was in the thick of it, so I would say, why not, and pay the fee! Last year, I covered my 2 sons forms as well and ended up shelling out $15 each for the federal and $45 for all three state returns. It’s costing me sometimes more than $100 just to pay taxes! It should not have to be that way!
So while filing my oldest son’s taxes tonight, I found out that Nebraska has an easy and well designed internet solution that allows most to file there state return (once the federal is done) in about 10 minutes. Best of all, it’s completely FREE! That’s right, I said FREE!
You can also score a deal on H&R Block’s Tax Cut software from Amazon.com’s download service. Right now it’s $18.99 and you download it directly to your PC. You don’t even have to leave your house! Best of all, you can file up to 5, yes FIVE federal returns for FREE. Pretty sweet if you ask me.
— UPDATED January 24th – Just came back from Wal-Mart and you can purchase the software there too for $14.88! —
So if you live in Nebraska (and even if you don’t) you can get up to 5 returns done for under $20 (Now $15). You ready to start?
Here is what you will need:
1. The TaxCut software. You can get it here. Note: Most online tax sites will allow you to complete and print the federal forms for free. If you don’t want to pay for the software, you can always print and mail the federal return. That way, you would never spend a dime. Of course, it takes weeks to get your money back if you file for a refund.
2. All your tax documents. Some come late so make sure you have them all!
3. NebFile PIN (for those of us in Nebraska) Check your state tax site. They may have something similar. If they do, let me know and I will update this post.
4. Your checking or savings account routing number for direct deposit (for a refund) or a credit card if you owe.
Working with the Federal Return…
Download and install the TaxCut software (or purchase it at your favorite retail store). This is a fairly strait forward operation that most of us should be able to do without technical help. If you have ever purchased anything online, this should be a snap.
It will ask to install the Amazon Installer. Let it. Download the TaxCut software. If you have trouble, get your teenager to help.
It will give you a Key Code for the software. Print it now.
Go to the folder C:\Program Files\TaxCut08\Setup. Double click the TaxCut 2008 installer file. The installer program will start. Follow the on-screen prompts. Choose the defaults.
As an added bonus, it also comes with a program called Deduction Pro as well. It helps you make the most of your deductions on your federal return. Install that if you want to try it.
Complete your federal return using TaxCut. I could consume an entire post on this alone. Use the online help if necessary. I found it very easy to use and laid out well. I’d love your feedback.
Now on to the State…
In Nebraska, the NebFile (click here) system allows Nebraska resident taxpayers to file their state income tax return FREE over the Internet. It does require that you have a Nebraska Department of Revenue or NebFile PIN (it would have been mailed to you in early January 2009 if you filed electronically last year) that came on a blue post card or tax booklet in the mail. If you tossed it by mistake, the site will ask you a few questions to recover it. Have your drivers license and Social Security number handy.
NebFile is not tax preparation software, but it will do simple calculations and table look-ups for you. The NebFile system allows you to file a short form, Form 1040NS, or a long form, 1040N, with some limitations. This solution should work for most people in Nebraska.
To get started, click on the NebFile (1040N or 1040NS) Online Filing link.
There is some good info on this page. Take a second to read it. Once you are ready, click on “Click Here to Begin.”
Enter the primary SSN and PIN and Login Now. If you lost your PIN, you can recover it here.
Follow the instructions and in 10 minutes you will have completed return. My son and I messed with an online federal form for almost an hour. It was nice to whip through this!
So there you go. Another way to save money during these tough times. Don’t pay the extra $$$ for the state edition of your tax preparation software here in Nebraska. Print the return and do it FREE.
Love to hear your money saving tips using technology. Leave a comment here at the blog.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
The latest edition of the Home Server Show Podcast is available. It’s full of great info on the recent cuts at Microsoft, five things we wouldn’t really miss and what’s coming soon to the Windows Home Server! You don’t want to miss it.
You can get the podcast on iTunes or right here!
Dave does a great job on the podcast. Give it a listen.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
A new Windows worm, known as Downadup, is running free globally and F-Secure has estimated that within the last 2 weeks, it has infected well over 8 million PCs. The numbers only continues to grow.
The good news for you is that it mostly affects business PCs and not home users. Microsoft released a patch to fix this issue back in October but many corporate IT departments have been slow to apply patches in house. If you have your automatic update feature turned on in Windows and have been receiving and installing regular updates, you should be fine. You might want to check the last time you ran a virus scan. If it’s longer than a week, run it now.
The bad news is that most of us have a PC at work as well. Check with your IT folks to determine if they have the right patches on your work computer. While the worm is fairly harmless at the moment, it could easily be changed to harvest personal and private info about you or your organization. If they don’t believe you, I have left some links that will help you out! You might want to take a second to read them as well.
Speaking to the BBC, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant with anti-virus firm Sophos, said the outbreak was of a scale they had not seen for some time.
"Microsoft did a good job of updating people’s home computers, but the virus continues to infect business who have ignored the patch update.
"A shortage of IT staff during the holiday break didn’t help and rolling out a patch over a large number of computers isn’t easy.
"What’s more, if your users are using weak passwords – 12345, QWERTY, etc – then the virus can crack them in short order," he added.
"But as the virus can be spread with USB memory sticks, even having the Windows patch won’t keep you safe. You need anti-virus software for that."
Cheers!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7832652.stm
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
I came across a posting over at zerosource.org that peeked my interest. It is new security tool called Malwarebytes (available from http://www.malwarebytes.org/) that according to the site:
“can identify and remove malicious software from your computer. When your computer becomes infected, Malwarebytes can provide the needed assistance to remove the infection and restore the machine back to optimum performance.”
This hit my radar because I got a call from a friend a couple months back who was having problems with the Microsoft AntiVirus 2009 malware. Malware, a portmanteau from the words malicious and software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent.
This particular one is installed and advertised through the use of misleading web sites that attempt to make you think your computer is infected with a variety of malware. Once installed,it will scan your computer and list a variety of fake infections that can’t be removed unless you first purchase the software. These infections are fake, though, and only being shown to scare you into purchasing the software.
So if you have seen this on your computer before or you are having some system performance problems, it might be a good idea to download this tool and run it on your PC, just to be safe. It’s free for the download as well as future updates. I have tested it on both my Windows Vista and Windows 7 beta boxes without any issues. The scan took under 5 minutes for the quick scan and an hour and 22 minutes for a full scan on my PC.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
I posted last week how Burger King has endorsed an application that rewarded Facebook members with a free Whopper if they defriended 10 Facebook friends. It seems that Facebook has shut that site down due to what they are calling “privacy concerns.” The official Facebook response sounded like this.
"We encourage creativity from developers and brands using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications follow users’ expectations of privacy. This application facilitated activity that ran counter to user privacy by notifying people when a user removes a friend. We have reached out to the developer with suggested solutions. In the meantime, we are taking the necessary steps to assure the trust users have established on Facebook is maintained."
So if you missed out on your free Whopper, you should have acted faster. Defriending people on Facebook is serious business and it should not be taken lightly.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
A geek like Jim, right? Come on, you were thinking it!
You have most likely heard all the hype around Microsoft’s newest OS release, Windows 7. It is technically in what the computer industry calls “beta”, which really means they want the public to help them test it. (Almost every Google product is in beta!) Microsoft released Windows 7 for public beta last Friday and it has been one of the most popular downloads since Firefox 3 last year. So popular in fact, the servers Microsoft used to host the download were quickly overloaded and they had to shut things down for a day in order to add more servers. Things are fixed now and if you want to try it for yourself, I would encourage you to try. Make it a weekend project. You can do it!
Here is what you will need to check BEFORE you start.
1. A PC that is running Windows XP SP3 (what I used for this demo and most people have) or Windows Vista Ultimate. (Sorry Vista Premium and Home users, this way will not work on your system). The PC also needs DVD player installed.
2. A DVD burner and a blank DVD or two. Do NOT get this confused with a CD burner. Two different things. You will also need a program on your PC that can burn an .iso image to the DVD.
3. A fast internet connection.
To Begin:
Download (to the desktop so you can find it) the 32 bit version of the beta. It is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx. This page has a lot of good info and help. PLEASE make sure you read the entire post. It’s going to ask you for a Windows Live Account to start the download. I have instructions on how to get this here.
Now burn (or record, it’s not really on fire) the file you downloaded to a blank DVD. To do this, double click on the file. If a program on your PC appears and offers to help you do this, follow its lead. If your PC says it doesn’t have a program to do this, Google “how to burn and iso image to dvd” and start reading. I did say a weekend project, right?
Once the DVD is burned, download (again, to the desktop) the 32 bit version Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. The link is here. Make sure you read the entire post here as well. (Boy, you are really getting an education!) Run the install and take all the defaults. Here is where it starts to get fun.
Open Virtual PC by selecting Start – Programs – Microsoft Virtual PC. Select New and next. Then select Create a New Virtual Machine and next. Name it whatever you want and select next. Under Operating System, select Windows Vista, then next. Use recommended RAM and next. Select a new virtual disk and next and next. Select Finish to put it all in place.
What you have just done is create an environment that can host another operating system without changing the current one you are running. You are getting quite geeky at this point. Now you are ready to load Windows 7 beta.
Insert the Windows 7 beta DVD you created into the DVD player and double click on the new virtual PC you have created. If all goes well, it will look like your PC is rebooting in a window. It should ask if you want to boot from the DVD (and you do) and then it will walk you thru the setup. Too many setups to go over here. Just work it.
At the end of the setup (and that could take a while) you may have to configure a few things. Most likely, you will have to set a screen resolution, select a network card and maybe something else. All these can be found under Edit – Settings in the toolbar for Virtual PC. See it as a learning experience.
I would love to hear how you did and your questions. Leave me a post or drop me line. If you are in the Omaha area, you might even be able to bribe me with cookies! Have fun with it and learn something new.
One more tech note. Windows XP is a 32 bit OS. I tried loading the 64 bit version of Windows 7 virtually on top of that, and of course, it would not work. You need a 64 bit host OS in order to run a 64 bit hosted OS.
Remember, I search so you don’t have to!
I had a Windows 7 PC up and running the other day at the house, but I just finally got one running on my laptop. It took a couple days to iron out a few problems. I used Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 running on top of Windows XP SP 3 (maybe to technical for some of you) to get the job done. I of course loaded the entire Live Essentials tools set and am now blogging from it. Just wanted to let you know!
Remember, I search (and test Windows 7 Beta) so you don’t have to!
Average Stuff from the Average Guy 