Triona's Tech Tips

Many people are experiencing difficulty exercising their Windows XP downgrade options on new machines.

Since the June 30 cutoff date, Microsoft no longer ships Windows XP on new machines. If you want to run Windows XP, you must obtain a Windows Vista machine with “downgrade” option – which usually involves installing Windows XP from an included set of CDs.

However, there seems to be trouble with this process. I have experienced downgrades that did not include a valid Windows XP serial number, as described on this blog concerning HP dx2450 microtower PCs. In this instance, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that HP does not have the correct driver software for this model on their web site. Other PC manufacturers and models are also affected by poorly executed downgrades.

Before purchasing a computer with “downgrade to Windows XP” option, check with your vendor to find out the details. You may be in for a bigger headache than dealing with Vista.

Tech Tips readers may be interested in my latest article, “Emergency Computer Problem-Solving,” available on the Cary Grove Chamber Of Commerce web site.

We all know that sinking feeling, when the computer does something it shouldn’t. Maybe it’s a blank screen greeting your day, or an error message during a deadline. Many people don’t know that there are easy ways to fix computer problems if you know the expert tricks.

See the article for more detail, and look for my Chamber-sponsored class, Blogs For Business, coming in October.

[This article is reprinted from the February 2007 issue of Triona's Tech Tips. I continue to see many zombied computers on my daily rounds, so be sure to keep your antivirus and other protections updated. See the sidebar (below right) for Windows and Mac security options.]

It seems a strange time of year to think about monsters, but there could be a zombie lurking right in front of you. Your computer is a prime target in the botnet wars, waged by criminals making money at your expense.

Zombies are compromised computers, organized into so-called botnets and offered to the highest bidder. Advertising, spam, spyware–most of it comes from zombied computers, their owners blissfully unaware. Security experts estimate there are up to 3.5 million zombies active worldwide, and at least 250,000 are added daily. Fifty percent of the targets are home computers, and new attack variants are up 536% from last year (according to Ciphertrust). The statistics alone are scary.

If that weren’t enough, it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad. I almost flipped the first time I saw one of those commercials on TV, offering to “stop computer viruses”. It was from a company that has been known to distribute spyware! How is the average consumer supposed to know whom to trust? It’s hard enough for an IT pro like me to keep up.

So let me tell you how you can protect yourself and your computers from this nightmare. The best defense is prevention. Once your computer is infected, the only sure way to disinfect it is to reinstall from scratch. The standard safety rules apply: use a firewall, and keep your protection software up-to-date. As I’ve mentioned, you should avoid opening attachments from people you don’t know, or that you’re not expecting. You’ll want to curb your enthusiasm for e-cards and those cute PowerPoint presentations that make the rounds on any given holiday.

Know who makes the software and services you use. Symantec and McAfee may have their quirks, but they’re not going to install spyware on your computer. (Or if they do, a la the Sony BMG fiasco a while back, people are sure to find out!) Just because a company has a slick website or a special offer, does not make its product reliable. You should know that there are some nefarious companies out there masquerading as their legitimate counterparts, down to copying the same logos and color scheme. They sometimes use Web addresses that are misspelled versions of the true address. This happens with banks, too, and it’s called phishing, a term you’ve probably heard. Such ploys can be very convincing. When in doubt, you are always wise to type your destination manually, instead of clicking a link.

Please be careful when using public network connections, such as WiFi hotspots or Internet-cafe computers. Your data could easily be captured in transit. I would particularly avoid using a credit card number on any public system. There are programs called keyloggers that record every key you type, and they’re waiting for such juicy morsels. Your own computer could be infected with a keylogger, too, if you wind up with one of the nastier spyware versions out there.

How do you know if you’re faced with a zombie? The most common symptoms are slow performance, and tons of pop-up ads. If this sounds familiar, it’s time to update your software and run some scans. Zombies can be notoriously difficult to destroy, so you may need to call upon a professional exterminator like yours truly to be fully rid of them.

When’s the last time you had good service from a large-scale computer store or Internet provider? I’m beginning to wonder, because I’ve witnessed an increasing lack of quality from both.

There’s a particular reseller – I’ll call them Charlie’s Dynamite Wares – which used to be terrific. They stocked just about every part and had fantastic customer service. But slowly, the quality of service began to degrade. It started with a change in sales rep. My dynamite dude was promoted, and I ended up with some joe I’d never worked with before. The first few orders had tiny flaws, nothing major but not the usual top-notch service. But when minor errors became major hassles for my customers, I drew the line.

One client received three brand-new laptops, all with broken wireless out of the box. Another customer went through four print servers that wouldn’t work with his printer, despite our giving the sales rep the exact model. My own orders went wrong, too. I had to physically go to the store to look at one particular part to make sure it was correct – turns out it wasn’t, and I had to wait a half hour while they found the right one. Changing reps made no difference; the entire concept of customer service has been redefined.

So, too, with some Internet service providers. Sneaky fees, unreliable connections and nonexistent tech support equals unhappy customers. Worse, many people have no cost-effective alternatives for high-speed Internet.

Interestingly, it’s my home users and small businesses who are having the most trouble. The big companies, who pay extra for SLAs (service-level agreements), are still getting good service. It’s the little people left in the lurch, the ones who don’t have the cash for a dedicated rep or special support.

On the other hand, there’s my local mom-and-pop shop. The owners are friendly, knowledgeable, and quick to fix anything that goes awry. It doesn’t matter if the part I’m ordering is for a gigantic company or my neighbor’s grandma. Have these larger companies forgotten that all customers are worthy of quality service?

Remember days gone by, when you couldn’t share a simple word processing file without it looking odd on the recipient’s printer? Then along came Adobe Acrobat, a program that turns any kind of file into a PDF (named for its file extension, .PDF). Now we can send documents anywhere, and know they will look exactly the same as they did on our own screens. But PDFs are sometimes too large to handle. How can we reduce the size of PDF files?

Many people prefer free or inexpensive PDF programs to the bona fide but somewhat expensive Adobe product. These cheaper alternatives don’t do much to compress the size of the files they create. Similarly, older versions of Acrobat (notably version 6) have a tendency to create bloated PDFs. If you use PDFs often and are concerned about storage space, be sure to use the latest version of Acrobat (version 9 at this time of writing).

The biggest increase in PDF file sizes comes from images and fonts, so try to keep both at a minimum. You can also use Acrobat’s built-in tools to shrink PDF files. In Acrobat (Windows or Mac), go to Document, Reduce File Size. Choose your preferred compatibility (Acrobat 7 or later is fine) and click OK.

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A recent Microsoft patch has major conflicts with ZoneAlarm security software. After the Microsoft patch is installed (automatically for many), your Internet connection may not work.

If you use ZoneAlarm with Windows XP, the conflicting patch is MS08-037 from the July batch of updates, which shows up in your Add/Remove Programs as Windows XP Security Update KB951748.

ZoneAlarm has workarounds for those in this situation until Microsoft releases a corrected version of the patch.

If you run any kind of web server, you are probably familiar with the recent attacks on SQL databases. Help is on the way in the form of a new tool from Microsoft and HP, which you can use to test your Web site for vulnerabilities.

Common SQL attacks involve directing unsuspecting PCs (often owned by home users) at malicious Web sites. These sites infect the PCs with code that infects other web servers, and the vicious cycle repeats.

If you host your web services and are unsure if this affects you, contact your Internet provider. Consumers can help by keeping their web browsers up to date, and being aware of the prevalence of phony sites.