[CCC News] Assorted News 32 - You thought I was gone? :)

[Michael Kean]

*In this edition:
*
/An assortment of news, nothing too serious./

*Assorted News:
*    AlternativeTo - find alternatives for programs you like.
     Bundled Crap - it affects us all.
     Time to Get Rid of Java?
     How to recognise a fake virus warning.
     Block Those Ads :)
     Tips for buying a new laptop.
     New plans again at Exetel.

*General Ramblings:
*Bunnings for Lunch?
     Why I use the NECU
     Three way VoIP calling
     Turn your Nokia mobile into a wireless router.

*Entertainment:
*    Bluebirdy Blues.
     The Skype Wall?
     Weekend Woodies.

*
*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
AlternativeTo - Find alternatives to the programs you like.**

*This tip is particularly handy for tinkering types who like to try out 
new programs.

If you've ever gone looking on Google for something like "dvd copier" or 
"convert wav to mp3" or some other thing you think must exist, odds are 
you'll be given the same answers repeatedly, but the websites that you 
go to will instead try to give you everything else that you don't want 
including registry cleaners (which are all snake oil by the way) and 
driver updaters. In short, it's a complete disaster that Google seems to 
have no interest in dealing with.

Instead, there's a great site called AlternativeTo. 
http://alternativeto.net/

As an example, if you type in "DVD ripper" (which is any program that 
stores a copy of a DVD on your computer) you'll first get a number of 
programs that seem to be DVD rippers. Click on one of them and you'll be 
given a list in descending order of popularity for all the DVD ripping 
programs that are known to exist.

The trick to this site is knowing that the program you click on then 
appears at the top of the list, and you need to read the area in black 
to find out all about that program. It doesn't tell you which are free 
and which are commercial, but at least it helps keep you clear of the 
fake pages that Google gives you which only exist to make money for the 
page authors.

*Bundled Crap - it affects us all...

*Many companies that provide free programs on the Internet have a nasty 
habit of trying to trick you into installing things you don't need. The 
biggest culprit at the moment would have to be Adobe Flash, with Java a 
likely second. When installing updates from these companies, watch 
carefully so you can untick these unwanted extras. (Example at 
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/515/cpsid_51559.html )

Things that commonly hitch a ride are
OpenOffice, Yahoo Toolbar, Ask.com Toolbar, Google Toolbar, Google 
Chrome, McAfee Security Scan, Norton Security Scan.

If you do accidentally end up with one of these things and you don't 
want it, you can remove it from your computer via the Control Panel section.

By the way, the reason you should keep Flash and Java up to date is 
because the majority of 'viruses' written at the moment use faults 
inside these two programs to take over your computer - usually but not 
always via poisoned advertisements.

*Time to Get Rid of Java?

*Java appears to be becoming a dying technology. It is now rarely used. 
The only programs I regularly see that use Java (not to be confused with 
the more popular JavaScript) are Limewire (now defunct), FrostWire (its 
open-source freebie equivalent) and the ATO's E-Commerce site. Oh, and 
if you use OpenOffice you need to keep it.

If I read http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-271.txt correctly, Microsoft has 
encountered more than six million computers infected so far this quarter 
by virsues that use Java to get into the computer.

So, if you're not using it, it might be time to get rid of it. It's in 
Start --> Control Panel --> Add/ Remove programs or Uninstall a program. 
You might have several copies too by the way.

If you do need it, just make sure you run the updates every time one is 
offered.

If you get rid of it, then find you need it again, most programs that 
need it will automatically go and fetch it again.

*How to recognise a fake Virus warning...

*Here is an example of a fake virus warning.

http://i.imgur.com/EJaOY.png

What it actually is, is just a picture on a web page, designed to look 
like a legitimate warning from Windows.

If you were to actually click on the "Remove" button, your computer 
would then download a 'virus' - or technically a fake antivirus program 
which will then incessantly nag you to buy it, and most likely prevent 
you from opening any programs on the computer.

Probably the biggest giveaway to watch out for is that this fake warning 
does not bear the name of your antivirus program. If you have Avast for 
example, any message warning of a virus would bear the Avast logo. 
Similarly, a Microsoft Security Essentials or Norton / Trend window 
would bear the name of that program. It's also very unlikely you'd 
suddenly get ten different viruses at once :)

Anyway, how could you avoid getting this type of bogus warning in the 
first place.... read on...

*Block Those Ads :)

*When I set up a new computer for a customer, I almost always put 
"Mozilla Firefox" on it. Why? Well, because it can be easily customised.

Once of the customisations available is a feature called "AdBlock Plus". 
This blocks almost all advertisements on all webpages.

As mentioned earlier, many viruses come through malicious advertisements 
- either advertisements that take advantage of a fault in the computer 
to get in - or play a trick by popping up a fake 'you've got blah blah 
viruses click here to remove' message.

By blocking these ads, you also block that risk. (For added security, 
you can run FlashBlock as well, or for really high security run NoScript 
as well.)

Of course, by blocking ads you are denying a small amount of money to 
the website you visit; so if it's a site you trust you can disable it 
for that site. For those of you on expensive Satellite connections, it 
saves you a fair bit on downloads too :)

You can get firefox at http://getfirefox.com/ and once installed click 
Tools - Add-Ons, Get Add-Ons and search for AdBlock Plus. When Firefox 
restarts select the English ad blocking list subscription and you're done.

*Tips for buying a new laptop.

*This is a question I get asked every week. Generally speaking, for 
those of you that just do basic accounting work and use the Internet, 
there's not much need to buy a particularly expensive laptop. Also, as 
far as brands go it's hard to really pick one over the others these days 
for reliability.

My general advice is to duck in to Harvey Norman, RetraVision and Dick 
Smith to see what's there. See what appeals to you design-wise. The 
general tips are to look for at least dual core processors, or the i3, 
i5, i7 range. Hard drive at least 320G and RAM at least 2G. You might 
also care about things like whether it has a webcam built in, how heavy 
it is and what the battery life is like. Whether or not it includes 
Microsoft Office (Word and Excel, etc) might also matter to you.

One handy resource for comparing multiple laptops at once is 
http://apcmag.com/notebookhunter/index.htm

Oh, and if you want an Apple - that's OK too. Provided you don't need to 
run any Windows-only programs. (Accounting programs in particular are a 
concern here.) It is possible to run Windows on an Apple with some 
fiddling. Some printers may not work on Apple computers.

*New Plans again at Exetel.

*Once again, Exetel has played with their plans a bit, so it might be 
worth having a look to see what plan you're on now and what you could be 
getting for the same price. For example with ADSL, $38 a month will now 
get 50GB a month, or $53 will now get you an unlimited downloads plan - 
both at 1500kbps, but only if you change from your existing plan. They 
also have some new wireless plans at $30 for 3GB or $45 for 5GB, and a 
more reasonable $20 per GB over. More details:  
http://www.exetel.com.au/a_plan_pricing_new.php and 
http://www.exetel.com.au/residential-hspa-pricing.php

Telstra's wireless plans are still fairly good too - see 
http://go.bigpond.com/wireless/?ref=Net-Head-Int-Plans-Wireless


------------------------------------------------------------------------

***Bunnings for Lunch?

*It's funny talking to customers about the recent appearance of Bunnings 
in town. Some love it, some hate it. Some never leave Guyra :)

In my opinion, it's just more competition; so it doesn't really worry 
me. They have some stuff I can't get elsewhere.

When lunch time comes around, I'm usually to be found grabbing a quick 
pie at the North Hill bakery or the Guyra bakery. However, thereafter 
it's usually time to, ahem, spring a leak somewhere. Guyra is well 
catered for in terms of toilets for travellers; but Armidale is far less 
so. As a result, depending on the day I sometimes sacrifice a little on 
the pie quality for the convenience of a generic plastic-wrapped 
reheated Bunnings pie followed by a Bunnings Dunny. (The public ones 
that is, not the ones that are waiting for a new home.)

I guess this is one of the reasons Maccas does so well - people know 
they're going to be able to eat and leak. Bakeries rarely do. I don't 
mind the occasional Maccas meal, but since the food there is so cheap, I 
worry about what conditions the donor animals lived in before becoming 
my Quarter Pounder - that information is not printed on the placements. 
Admittedly, a Bunnings Pie might also have come from a battery cow so 
perhaps that's a slight double-standard on my part...

*Why I use the NECU?

*.. or whatever they're called these days.

There were two things that first made me change to them years ago. Bank 
fees, and opening hours. I get very frustrated when I go to any retailer 
and they're 'closed for lunch.' Surely lunch time is often the only time 
people have free to go to these places in the first place?

However more recently I was saved by another default feature of their 
accounts.

With traditional banks, each account is a distinct entity, and if it 
gets overdrawn you generally get whacked some nasty fees. However, with 
the NECU you have one master account and many sub-accounts. If you 
overdraw the master, it can automatically raid the sub-accounts.

Earlier this week I was slack and didn't check the balance at the end of 
the month in the master account. Sure enough, Exetel's direct debits hit 
it and it goes overdrawn. About 10 transactions automatically came out 
of the tax reserve sub-account rather than whacking me for big 'failed 
transaction' fees. I don't know for sure, but that probably saved me 
about $300 or more had I been with a different bank.

I suspect this feature might be optional at banks as well, but haven't 
looked. I should give the CBA credit for supplying me with a Merchant 
Facility  many years ago that I still use today, and the NAB for the 
first home loan before it moved over to the CBA.

*Three Way VoIP calling.

*For those of you using Exetel VoIP still, just thought I'd let you know 
that it's possible to make three way calls with this service if your 
modem supports it. (All Billions / Open Networks ones do I believe.) In 
my case this is handy if needing to speak to Telstra and an account 
holder simultaneously. 
http://auzzie.net/cccblog//index.php?title=how_to_make_conference_calls_on_open_824&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 
has more details.

These calls are at the usual VoIP rate, so for 20 cents you can talk to 
two people in Australia for as long as you like.

*Turn your Nokia Mobile into a Wireless Router.

*If you have a reasonably capable Nokia mobile - for example the E51 or 
something more recent that has WiFi built in, there's a free program you 
can load onto it that will turn it into a wireless router. (Note, some 
modern fancy phones like the iPhone, some Android phones, etc, also have 
this capability built in.)

What does that mean?

It means you can stick your phone somewhere that it gets reception, 
press a couple of buttons, and then get online within about 20 metres of 
it using your Laptop. No wires needed.

This could be really handy in the following situations:

1 - You're on Satellite, and it's a cloudy day. Your Internet won't 
connect. Your phone only works in the window, and you need to send some 
emails.

2 - You're in the car and want to look up something on the 'net.

3 - You're on wireless broadband at the edge of reception and it's 
having a bad day. Your phone gets reception in the window or in the car.

4 - You're somewhere that has no internet at all, but your phone works.

(Note: Mobile phones generally have stronger antennas built in than 
those inside USB sticks.)

You might even already have some free downloads on your plan and not 
know it. To check, press the "Telstra" or "My Place" button on your 
phone, go to "My Account" and "Data Usage" to see how many MB you have.

A big warning however - these plans still have super-high excess usage 
fees on them, so you need to be careful not to go over the limit. They 
will SMS you when you get close however so it's not extremely dangerous.

The pricing for doing this (if it's not included on your plan) is at 
http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/browsing_packs.html

One good bit of news is that there is no contract on doing this, so you 
can arrange for a browsing pack before going away and cancel it when you 
get back, etc.

For the Nokias, the free /program is at http://joiku.com/ - or you can 
install it on your phone directly by going to www.joikuspot.com/light 
with your mobile's web browser. (You can buy a fancy version as well, 
but in rural areas it's probably not necessary.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Bluebirdy Blues?*

Modern cars use computers to control the motor. Mine doesn't. Instead it 
uses a funny arrangement of levers, sprays, wires, pumps and holes to 
get the juice in it to make it go. A couple of weeks ago it decided that 
it would try to save fuel by stalling whenever I stopped. A Guyra 
mechanic had a look for me but sadly only made it worse so sometimes it 
would die, and other times without warning it'd try to take off again. 
Predictable I can handle, unpredictable not so much :)

Anyway, so it went to an Armidale mechanic who tamed it again somewhat - 
not quite perfect but better than it was before it went to the Guyra 
mechanic.

Modern Mechanics are not the same as old ones. Modern mechanics have the 
luxury of computers that tell them why the car won't go :) It's getting 
harder to find mechanics who fully understand the older style - 
particularly when it comes to the 'fancy' ones like this; so I've had to 
teach myself just what all the bits are for on the ol' bugger. One handy 
resource has been 
http://www.tpub.com/content/armyordnance/Od16207/index.htm which 
explains what most of the weird add-on bits are.

Of course, some of you wonder why I persist with an older vehicle? The 
main reason is because it sat in a shed for 8 years, and had a new motor 
not long before that; so in my mind at least it should still have some 
useful life in it. (Unfortunately rubber ages irrespective of use, 
which  is bad news for vacuum-driven thinggies.)

Of course, rego's nearly due now, and it failed a safety check because 
of a small transmission leak, and amusingly also because the drivers 
side door hinges are worn out. (I guess my sticker "pull door towards 
you to open" stuck above the handle as a courtesy to the mechanic might 
have given that away.) I have ordered new hinges for it (since there are 
none left in Guyra / Armidale wreckers) and am getting the very last 
original door hinge to come off the production line. A new TVV is on its 
way too so I can get the scavenger tank working again.

Anyway, so I'm back on the road again - hopefully for another year. If 
you know anyone who specialises in dual-throat carbies with Hot Idle 
Compensators, EGR, Positive Crank Case Ventilation, Fast Idle cams, dual 
ignitions and a BCDD, let me know :)

*The Skype Wall?

*Here's an idea that would have been Sci-Fi years ago. It would now be 
possible to set up a projector (or big TV) and a webcam in two premises 
and have a skype video conference open between them. Imagine for example 
that you and your family had to be split up for a few months. You could 
pick a wall in each house and use it to link to a wall in the other. You 
could meet up at brekkie time for example, or just glance over in the 
afternoon for a chat. In these days of relatively cheap unlimited 
Internet plans it is a possibility :)

***Weekend Woodies!

*The Weekend Woodies is not yet available as a traditional PodCast, but 
you can listen to the last week's episode at 
http://www.abc.net.au/sydney/programs/702_weekends/ - if you don't know 
what it is, it's a comedy radio show for DIY renovators who call in with 
assorted questions.

--

Well that's it for another newsletter :) Thanks for reading :)
Cheers, Mike.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Old Editions
*You can find old editions of this newsletter on  the CCC Blog. 
http://auzzie.net/cccblog/

You can also subscribe or unsubscribe at 
http://auzzie.net/mailman/listinfo/ccc-news_auzzie.net
*
*
------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- 
Cool Country Consulting & Auzzie Internet
http://www.auzzie.net/ccc
MSN: michael at auzzie.net
Tel: 02 6775 0239
Fax: 02 8212 9582
Mob: 0427 644 825
Skype: cccons
Yahoo: lispbourke
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://auzzie.net/pipermail/ccc-news_auzzie.net/attachments/20101120/85495ac4/attachment.html>