AVG 8.5 Free Version Best on my system

Pcworld has a released there top free Antivirus software picks.     Now let’s be clear on this, I am an a average user, and have tested these products out on my own laptop plus others and here is what I find.

According to Pcworld, Avira Antivir Personal is the top pick and claims to block 98.9 percent of samples:

Such less-than-friendly default behaviors make Avira AntiVir Personal a better choice for tech-savvy users who know how to muck about in the settings. If you’re willing to put up with a somewhat clumsy interface and the recurring pop-up ads, in return you’ll enjoy top-notch, free protection against malware. It’s not a bad trade-off by any means.

[Via Pcworld : Avira Antivir Personal Antivirus]

Now with Pcworld saying it isn’t a bad trade-off to have the Pop-ups and the default behaviors of this program, it doesn’t make me want to use this program since I am a gamer and the pop-ups would interfere with playing online games, not to mention if your not that tech savy person you’d have a lot of head scratching to  figure out this program.

What Laptop is good For gaming?

I been thinking of getting a new laptop but would like to get one that is good for gaming.   The system I have right now is an Aspire Series 5610z and Yes it a good system.

The current system of this is:

Acer Aspire 5610Z
Intel Pentium dual core 1.6Ghz (533Mhz, 1Mb L2 Cache)
15.4 WXGA CrystalBrite
Intel Grahics Media Accelerator 950
1GB DDR2
120GB HDD
DVD Duper Multilayer burner
802.11b/g
bluetooth
Vista Home Premium

Now I want to consider getting another laptop but don’t know which would be good for gaming.  I know it will have Vista.  I actually like the O/S.  Although people don’t.   Here is what I want from my readers.  I want to know which system you suggest for gaming, and need as much detail as possilbe I would like to buy this from Amazon but if Amazon, so please give me links to the amazon page.   I am wanting to play some current games on this from last year but this system is not able to do some of the games.  So leave a comment and tell me which ones you suggest.

Tools for Virus Removal : The ones I like to use!

In this post I want to talk about virus removal tools that I like to use when I need to remove a virus.   Some thing to consider when using these tools are:

• Is it a Rootkit?
• Is it Spyware?
• Is it a Virus?
• Is it a Trojan?
• Is it a Worm?

Each of these have to be dealt with differently because each requires something different.  Like rootkits if you have one installed and know that it is a rootkit you only options are to download some rootkit removers like:

• Sopho’s Anti-rootkit remover –  This is good for those more known viruses and can remove several types of rootkits.   This isn’t the only one I use, but it is a part of group that does the rootkit removing for me.
• Microsoft Rootkit Revealer –  This is good for proving there is a rootkit.  I’ve not seen it not detect a rootkit.  Most of the time when I find a rootkit from the other rootkit revealers this one actually dos better with information.
• Panda Anti-Rootkit Remover — This one is another one I use when the other ones can’t remove it.  Each one does remove certain rootkit differently and works better than the other.

PS3 launches “HOME” so you don’t have to go anywhere for the Holidays!

Sony, Launches “Home” today and according to the Washington Post and I’ll quote:

PS3 owners will be able to download and check out the new service starting tomorrow. Home is free to Web-connected owners of the game console, though users may opt to spend money to spiff up their avatars and virtual apartments.

[via Washington Post]

It looks very much like it will be a success with the users.   This should make it a lot easier to meet people and discuss what they are playing.   It looks like they are trying this in BETA and should out of beta in a couple of months.  Sony should start offering service for everyone  as they roll out it to all parts of the world.   It will take time for it to get to all the pople so please be patient.

Google let your work from home with Task Lists!!

As the day go by we have all have tasks, and that means we have to keep a way to remember them.  Google decided to add that to there Google Mail.  Pcworld said it the right way:

If keeping Gmail open all the time just wasn’t enough, Google gave us one more reason to stay glued to our computer screens. The Labs Team have released yesterday a new feature for Gmail – Tasks – basically a To-Do list manager. But besides the usual task list bonanza, the new feature can also associate emails with tasks and create multiple to-do lists.

[Via Pcworld]

So how do you get that to work.  Pcworld has a great resource for people to find out how to get it to work.   Just think it gives you one more reason to work from home.   Google actually did something quite nice when it comes to mail.   It can even convert email into tasks.  If you know of any good uses of this little feature leave a comment.

trojan.zlob removal tricks!!

Aliases:
Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Zlob.qyl (Kaspersky)
Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Zlob.qzs (Kaspersky)
Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Zlob.qzn (Kaspersky)
Trojan.Zlob.CPP (BitDefender)
Puper (McAfee)
SystemDefender (Symantec)

Trojan:Win32/Zlob.G is a component of Win32/Zlob that downloads rogue security programs, adware, and additional Win32/Zlob components.

[Via Windows Live OneCare]

This one just popped up today on my radar it seems to be a very low threat on everyone’s radar according to my sources say “Trojan.Zlob.G is a Trojan horse that may download and execute remote files and redirect the Internet Explorer home page and search page.”  So to remove this little Trojan you would want to download one an Anti-virus and firewall.   Once you install the software the program should fix the problem for you.   This one seems to be really easy to fix.   So Please read my post on how to better protect your self if you want to prevent this in the future.

Did the Xbox Experience break netflix on Demand activation?

According to Google Trends people are trying to activate there Xbox Experience with Netflix.  This could be a problem for Netflix, I just tried and they are extremely slow in response.   I am willing to guess that later on tonight the Netflix will go down when everyone comes home from work and tries the new Xbox Experience with Netflix.   I’ve heard of problems with activating the Netflix on the Xbox 360, this will become 10 times as bad tonight when people want to hook up and try out this new service from Netflix.   Microsoft should of released this one day at a time for each time zone.   Some blogs talking about the problems that might come along with the update are:

• Columbia Tribune
• The Standard
• Joystiq
• Venture Beat

Although this is just a few that talks about the experience and Netflix problems there are going to be more tonight when people start to come home from work wanting this service.   I would bet over 100$ it will probably go down because to many request to sign up!! I hope they have the IT guys ready for this tonight or it will be a long night!!

A good free VPN Client — OpenVPN & more

I’ve been doing some research on what might be good to use in case, I was away from my home network.  I was thinking how safe am I at Starbucks or other places that I might doing my web.  So I did a little looking around to see which one I liked and I came to the conclusions that only one I need right now is:

The nice thing about this was the simple installation of the software and how easy it was to set it up. This service is in beta but seems to be really well done with regards to the end users. When you install this software and want to connect it uses the OpenVPN software with there configurations. OpenVPN, is a open sourced SSL VPN solution and is free to use. The way this this free is of Ad Supported banners. Now it is cheaper than paying monthly for a VPN service. The ones I’ve found so far are these few:

• OpenVPN (FREE)(*advertisement)(Linux, and Windows)
• Always VPN (Prepay) (5 GB to 80 GB limit) (Linux, Mac and Windows)*Out of Beta
  
• Hotspot Shield (FREE) (*advertisement) (Windows) (3 gig Cap)
  

Today everyone is doing there homework! Links to Election Day Results

Yep, You see it just like I do. People are studying to vote. People have been doing this from the time they went to school. It never fails the day before. To see who wins the election you might check out these links:

• Election Day through Associate Press Results
• MSNBC  Results Widget
• AOL Election Toolbar
• NYT SMS Results
• iDashboards

Now I won’t tell you who to vote for but I will tell you  that today we will be making History in more ways then one.  Whoever we pick will be historic, a black president or a Lady VP.  You decide go Vote and Here are some links to find out where you can vote at:

• Google Voting Info
• CNN Voter Hotline

These should help you go and vote. Now go and vote and remember to think about who you will vote for.

Alien Ware Extreme Gaming Notebook M17 17 Inch

Looks like they are out of stock on this Laptop but they do have Alienware M17x-2857DSB 17-Inch Laptop (Black) which looks to be an upgraded version of this one!!!

• Windows Vista® Home Premium (32- and 64-bit)(default)
• Windows Vista® Ultimate (32- and 64-bit)
• Intel® Core™2 Duo Or Quad and Extreme Processors (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
  Intel® PM45 + ICH9M-E Chipset up to 4 GB
  ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 (Also Comes with CrossfireX Enabled)
• Dual Harddrive In Raid 0 Config or you can have a single hard drive
  1. 5400 RPM – Up to 1TB (2 x 500GB)
  1. 7200 RPM – Up to 640GB (2 x 320GB)

So I saw this and had to tell people this is a sweet laptop for people who like to go and play games in a large group. You would be able to play for hours on end, all you would need is an power cord. I would love one of these to try out.  If you want to go check it out or buy it. Here’s the Alienware M17x-2857DSB 17-Inch Laptop (Black).

Find Other Alienware Products

Toshiba Rolls out the Mobile Gaming Laptop!

o Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate (SP1, 64-bit7 version) (default)
o Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit version)
* Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor1 QX9300* 4096MB PC38500 DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM3
* 128GB Serial ATA SSD3
* 320GB (7200 RPM) Serial ATA HDD3
* DVD SuperMulti (+/- double layer) with Labelflash drive
* NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS graphics with NVIDIA SLI technology 512MBx2, GDDR3 discrete graphics memory
* Atheros 802.11 b/g/n wireless-LAN

This looking so sweet, to get the full picture check out the Toshiba Gaming website : Qosmio: X305 Let me know if anyone wants to buy me one!! I wouldn’t mind one these myself!!

Is Hulu the “salad course”?

As I’ve been watching Hulu the last few months.  I’ve come to think that Hulu isn’t offering us the viewers the chance of a full course meals.  They seem to like to stop after the first 2-3 seasons on most of the shows.    I recently contacted Hulu about the Naruto episodes and here’s what they had to say about it:

Thanks for the email. On background, sometime in the coming weeks, Hulu
will get the remaining episodes of Naruto Season 1, and we'll also get
episodes from Season 2-3 in the future as well. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
Brandon Boone

So why does Hulu do this? I have a theory and this is one that most people will agree on. My theory is that the distributors are trying to entice us into buying the rest of the seasons from someplace, like Amazon or Itunes. Now I am going to have to say this is really stupid way of business and will sooner or later create even more of a demand to download these shows illegally. In the past people have always looked for the cheap way to watch there favorite shows.

Are you asking to be scammed?

As we go further into the economic death, we are faced with the most undesirable aspect of the human culture.  That is to say, scammers are going to use the chance to find people to scam.  I don’t say this lightly because scammers have become more cunning and dubious through the years.  They are actually using the internet as well as most companies.  They are going to sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and other hiring sites to get people to apply for jobs.

<<See Previous Post – Nationwide Marketing Scam

Having said that, I recently had a problem with being tried to be scammed.  I applied to a job posted on Careerbuilder and that is how they got a hold of my home address.  I did not think about the security problems associated with applying for jobs on line, until recently.

As you can see that is how they got a hold of my information and have made myself vulnerable to scams and also, other potential problems.  I am talking about Theft ID and also spam.  Although spam is to be expected with anything we do online.  I’ve come to the conclusion that we will always have to deal with spam.   I wanted to talk about how to be careful when you apply for online jobs and  put your information out on the internet.  I’ve started taking some steps to prevent this from happening again.

Scam ALERT: NATIONWIDE MARKETING!!

*Update* Seems to be that they’ve went and changed to another name.  They are now using  Excel Marketing, and I plan on keeping people updated.   Read the comments to find out about what people have said!!!

Hi all,

Just got this nice little letter from Nationwide Marketing.  This was sent snail mail, or Postal mail.   I came home today to find I got mail from 30 Centurian Drive/Markham, ON L3R 8B9 Canada.   I opened it up and find a check from Nationwide Marketing.   it’s the old routine, they want you to cash the check send them $3,500 and you keep the rest.  The fake check that I know is faked, I call the bank in question.   It says you have to do a 2 hour evaluation training and get paid training for 200$ per Hour.   The fake check was for $3,990.00 and $3,500 was supposed to be sent through a Wal-mart Money Gram.   The so called position was Customer Service Evaluator (Rep ID#: KB0C0608).     I am supposed to call 1-905-598-1519 I received this assignment to validate the enclosed payment.Thank goodness I did a little searching and found out this was a scam.