News and Notes
by Cate Eales
Appeared January 21, 2010 on castanet.net
Is your Acer Aspire on fire? The Olympic Torch is! You
need to update your Adobe and your AVG. Finally, don’t get caught in the
Haitian earthquake email scams.
Olympic Torch Relay
The Olympic Torch relay will come through Kelowna January 25 – 26. You can
see the entire route across Canada, and zero in on the points that
interest you on the
Olympic Torch Relay Interactive Map. A good site for viewing videos
from BC is the
BC Tourism site, here.
The City of Kelowna has a page on their website about the Torch,
here.
You’ll find more information about the route, the times for the
celebrations, and a link to a PDF template for making your own torch.
There is a
Kelowna Torch Relay Facebook page here, and you can
Follow the
Flame on Twitter, here.
Acer Aspire Recall
Acer is voluntarily recalling some models of their Aspire laptop series.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
issued an advisory, here.
The problem is that some units might overheat and pose a safety threat.
Affected are some AS3410, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG
models.
(click to enlarge graphci)
Not all models and not every unit of affected models are
being recalled. To see if your computer is recalled,
visit the Acer page here, or phone toll-free, (866) 695-223. That
number works from Canada, too.
AVG Free 8.5 No Longer Supported
Support for AVG Free 8.5 Antivirus ended on December 1, 2009. If you still
have AVG 8.5 on your computer, you are not protected from malicious
software and viruses. I’ve visited several people in the past few weeks
whose computers were under attack from malware after their antivirus
expired. (“Malware” stands for “Malicious Software.”)
You can upgrade to
AVG Free 9.0
here. I don’t recommend AVG if you don’t have much RAM, because it
slows everything down while it scans. Alternatives are the free version of
Avira or the
increasingly popular
Microsoft Security Essentials, also free. Some people like the free
security software offered by Shaw and Telus. If that works for you, great,
but I have never been impressed with either program. Of course, there are
also plenty of antivirus + antispyware programs you can pay for, too!
See this previous column for
more information.
Adobe Reader Updates
Adobe has identified security vulnerability in older versions of Adobe
Reader. (Adobe Reader is what many people use to view PDF files.) If you
use Adobe Reader, make sure it’s up to date.
The details are here.
If you don’t know what version you’re running, or you don’t know whether
you have Adobe Reader at all, visit Secunia, run the online scan, and be
guided by the results. If Secunia wants you to update a program, it will
provide you with a safe link to the update.
The scanner is here.
Haitian Earthquake Scams
Sadly, there are already email, Facebook, Twitter, and phone solicitation
scams in play, preying on those who would like to help the people in
Haiti. Everyone from
Symantec to the
FBI has issued warnings about emails trying to trick people into
parting with either their money or their bank account and credit card
information, or both. Add me to the list of those who think this is
despicable.
If you want to help, experts suggest you stick with community
organizations you are already familiar with, or with reputable
organizations like the Red Cross. You should never respond to an email
appeal by providing personal and/or financial details. In fact, you should
never respond to an appeal like that at all! As they used to say on Hill
Street Blues, “Let’s
be careful out there.”
Links
Olympic Torch Relay Interactive Map
http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/olympic-torch-relay/olympic-torch-relay-interactive-map/
Torch Relay in BC
http://www5.hellobc.com/2010-torch-relay/default.aspx
City of Kelowna Olympic Torch Relay site
http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page2261.aspx
Make Your Own Torch (PDF)
http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/PDFs//Sport%20and%20Recreation/Olympic/Olympic%20Flame%20cutout.pdf
Kelowna Torch Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelowna-Torch-Relay-Relais-de-la-flamme/79266342830?v=wall#/pages/Kelowna-Torch-Relay-Relais-de-la-flamme/79266342830?v=wall
Follow the Flame on Twitter
http://twitter.com/Followtheflame
Recall Notice from USCPSC
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10103.html
Acer affected units
https://customercare.acer-euro.com/customercare/AcerUpdate.aspx?CID=CA&LID=ENG&IType=JM31
AVG Free antivirus
http://free.avg.com/ww-en/homepage
Avira Free
http://www.free-av.com/
Microsoft Security Essentials
http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/
SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/
Malwarebytes
http://malwarebytes.org
Understanding the Rule of Holes
http://rlis.com/columns/column229.htm
Security updates available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-02.html
Secunia Software Inspector
http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/online/
Haiti Scams are spreading (Calgary Sun)
http://www.calgarysun.com/news/haiti/2010/01/14/12467886.html
Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud Alert
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel10/earthquake011310.htm
Hey, Let’s Be Careful Out There
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2QApwtE8zQ
Computer Care Kelowna
http://computercarekelowna.com
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives
http://rlis.com/column.htm
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http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618
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--
Do you need help with your computer? I'm here to help you and your home or
business computer get along!
Cate Eales runs Computer Care Kelowna, a mobile service helping home users
and businesses get along with their computers. To arrange an appointment
phone her at 250-764-7043. Cate also welcomes your comments and
suggestions. Send email to
help@computercarekelowna.com.
You can read previous
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©
Cate Eales 2009 – All Rights Reserved
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