The television has a lot in common with the computer. Both were invented by British men with three names; and both video devices were hailed as learning tools, but marketed for entertainment. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for learning from your computer.
1. Listen when your computer talks to you.
The average person only utilizes 30% of his computer's features. Savvy users listen to books, training programs and podcasts on the computer or portable device. Podcasts are sound files that are usually available at no charge.
2. Meet a mentor online.
Video tutorials and training programs can be infinitely more effective than books. My upcoming Role Model Selling training video will help sellers adapt successful communication techniques including tone, pitch, pace and other nuances much better than any sales book.
3. Use YouTube to learn, not just laugh.
Like TV, invented by John Logie Baird in the 1920s, the computer is used more for entertaining than teaching. There are educational videos available at this popular site, but most of YouTube's offerings are entertainment-based.
4. YouTube can be used to help others.
Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 with the hope that people would share ideas online. Everyone I know has intellectual property that can help others. I'm teaching folks to use sites like YouTube to post educational videos.
5. Create your own instructional videos.
The Flip video camera, available at Best Buy for around $150, is the size of a candy bar and simple to use. Create your own instructional video or record customer testimonials of your offerings to post on the Web.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Computer Security - Protect Yourself Against Malware
Malware is a generic term that is used to describe software that is designed to insinuate itself into your system without your knowledge or consent. This includes viruses, worms, root kits, Trojan horses, spyware and adware. I'm not going to define for you here in this space each of these save to say that once there, this destructive software is able to cause all kinds of damage. It can cause the mild irritation of the occasional popups, more sinister problems such as hiding important files and utilities, (thereby preventing you from easily removing them) all the way to wiping out your hard drive or destroying hardware.
I'm sure you've heard the expression 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' It is far easier to prevent these insidious infections that to cure them. Protecting oneself against malware is important because at the very least it slows down productivity in the workplace. At worst, it can destroy equipment, requiring extensive repairs and/or replacement which are even more damaging to your bottom line. I'll share an example from my own experience.
I bought a computer early on in my career and was using a popular antivirus product.
One day I was online and my machine started to run slow, so I tried all of the normal fixes such as clearing the temp files and defragmenting the hard drive, etc. This did not help it run any better. I ran a virus scan and found many instances of malware. After attempting to clean the system, it actually failed to boot. Turns out there were bad sectors on the hard drive. I replaced the hard drive but still was unable to get the system up. After checking every conceivable component, I found that my memory was also bad and was unable to upgrade the BIOS. As you can well guess, I ended up buying a new machine. A cynical person might say that it was not my antivirus software's fault and the machine was probably bad to begin with. I will concede that there is always an outside chance of that, but given that this all happened immediately following the infection and my subscription was far from being up for renewal, I will always contend that it was the result of this product's failure to do its job. Today it is considered a quality product but I will never recommend it based on that experience.
One of the most important things that you can do to protect yourself is to stay current with your windows updates. Many malicious programs are designed to exploit security vulnerabilities and send themselves without the user's knowledge. Here are a few other tips:
* Don't click on any email attachments from sources you are not 100% sure of. Even if you are confident in its source, scan it before opening it.
* Don't open any files received via instant messenger without scanning them first and verifying from the person who sent it that they actually did.
* Stay away from peer to peer file sharing networks. Those networks are flooded with all manner of malware and it only takes one false click to infect your machine.
You should install an antivirus solution and keep it up to date as well. There are many products out there that are capable of protecting your machine from these malicious attacks, some freeware and some retail. I'm not going to promote or denounce any product but rather implore you to shop around and do your own research or contact an IT professional for guidance.
I'm sure you've heard the expression 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' It is far easier to prevent these insidious infections that to cure them. Protecting oneself against malware is important because at the very least it slows down productivity in the workplace. At worst, it can destroy equipment, requiring extensive repairs and/or replacement which are even more damaging to your bottom line. I'll share an example from my own experience.
I bought a computer early on in my career and was using a popular antivirus product.
One day I was online and my machine started to run slow, so I tried all of the normal fixes such as clearing the temp files and defragmenting the hard drive, etc. This did not help it run any better. I ran a virus scan and found many instances of malware. After attempting to clean the system, it actually failed to boot. Turns out there were bad sectors on the hard drive. I replaced the hard drive but still was unable to get the system up. After checking every conceivable component, I found that my memory was also bad and was unable to upgrade the BIOS. As you can well guess, I ended up buying a new machine. A cynical person might say that it was not my antivirus software's fault and the machine was probably bad to begin with. I will concede that there is always an outside chance of that, but given that this all happened immediately following the infection and my subscription was far from being up for renewal, I will always contend that it was the result of this product's failure to do its job. Today it is considered a quality product but I will never recommend it based on that experience.
One of the most important things that you can do to protect yourself is to stay current with your windows updates. Many malicious programs are designed to exploit security vulnerabilities and send themselves without the user's knowledge. Here are a few other tips:
* Don't click on any email attachments from sources you are not 100% sure of. Even if you are confident in its source, scan it before opening it.
* Don't open any files received via instant messenger without scanning them first and verifying from the person who sent it that they actually did.
* Stay away from peer to peer file sharing networks. Those networks are flooded with all manner of malware and it only takes one false click to infect your machine.
You should install an antivirus solution and keep it up to date as well. There are many products out there that are capable of protecting your machine from these malicious attacks, some freeware and some retail. I'm not going to promote or denounce any product but rather implore you to shop around and do your own research or contact an IT professional for guidance.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Warning! Spyware Detected on Your Computer! - Or is It? - A Cruel Hoax and the Real Danger Revealed
If you've seen a message on your computer saying something like "Warning! You're in danger!", "Windows has detected spyware infection!" or "Your computer might be infected with spyware or adware !!!" then you could be the next target for a sting.
These messages are produced by malware (more specifically a trojan) that installs itself on your computer and then tries to scare you into buying fake anti-spyware and PC cleaners. No windows process or software from a legitimate vendor gives you a warning message and then tries to push you into buying a particular product.
The recommended products are either useless fakes or just install further malware and advertisements - but they try and get real money from you along the way.
So just to recap, this malware installs itself on your PC, nags you with fake warnings to buy a worthless piece of software that does nothing or further compromises the security of your PC (for example, some of this malware reduces the security of Internet Explorer by changing the settings and disables the windows task manager, so you can't shut down rogue processes).
Well, now you know that these warnings are fake, you know you shouldn't buy the software.
Unfortunately, the malware that generates the warnings is very persistent, intrusive and difficult to get rid of. In some cases, it will produce a fake Blue Screen Of Death (usually a screensaver) or change the desktop background to a big, ugly warning and then disable Desktop Settings, so you can't remove the warning. So what should you do?
You should realise that it will take some persistence to get rid of the malware but step by step you can reclaim your computer.
While you are looking at how to remove the trojan, malware or adware, you should take some steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. A lot of this type of malware made use of weaknesses in Sun's Java Runtime Environment (most especially version 1.5), so make sure your Java is up to date.
The next most popular route is through flaws in the Windows OS, now I know you've heard this before, but please make sure you download and apply Microsoft's critical updates.
Another, less orthodox route, is a fake codec for a video. Ever tried to open a video file in Windows Media Player and have it say it doesn't understand the format and do you want to download a codec that can play the file? Unfortunately, that facility was open to abuse and there were a lot of fake files put out with the sole purpose of tricking a user into downloading a fake codec that was really just malware. Of course, the fake video file would be named something like "Angelina Jolie - nude movie". Something that a lot of people would really want to see and be willing to go through the trouble of getting a codec for. Of course, when they get the codec, they're stuck with nasty malware and a clip of pure garbage.
To remove the spyware, you will need a good spyware remover - I recommend you avoid any of the following as they have all been associated with being promoted via malware or are regarded as being fakes - AdawareDelete, AdwareBazooka, AdwareSheriff, AlfaCleaner, Amaena, Antivirus Pro, BreakSpyware, CurePcSolution, DriveCleaner 2006, ErrorSafe, ExpertAntivirus, PerfectCleaner, SpyAway, SpyCut, SystemDoctor, SystemStable,WinAntiVirus, and Winfixer.
For a step by step guide to spyware removal, and a discussion of spyware tools please visit my Squidoo Lens, featured below.
After removing the spyware, use CCleaner from Piriform to clear up any mess left behind. I suggest you hunt around on their site for the portable version.
If you find that you still can't perform certain normal actions like access the task manager or change your desktop settings, then I suggest that you use the fixpolicies tool written by Bill Castner at malwareremoval.com.
After that, I hope that you will keep safe by updating critical system components, as recommended above and make sure you have an up to date browser and firewall.
These messages are produced by malware (more specifically a trojan) that installs itself on your computer and then tries to scare you into buying fake anti-spyware and PC cleaners. No windows process or software from a legitimate vendor gives you a warning message and then tries to push you into buying a particular product.
The recommended products are either useless fakes or just install further malware and advertisements - but they try and get real money from you along the way.
So just to recap, this malware installs itself on your PC, nags you with fake warnings to buy a worthless piece of software that does nothing or further compromises the security of your PC (for example, some of this malware reduces the security of Internet Explorer by changing the settings and disables the windows task manager, so you can't shut down rogue processes).
Well, now you know that these warnings are fake, you know you shouldn't buy the software.
Unfortunately, the malware that generates the warnings is very persistent, intrusive and difficult to get rid of. In some cases, it will produce a fake Blue Screen Of Death (usually a screensaver) or change the desktop background to a big, ugly warning and then disable Desktop Settings, so you can't remove the warning. So what should you do?
You should realise that it will take some persistence to get rid of the malware but step by step you can reclaim your computer.
While you are looking at how to remove the trojan, malware or adware, you should take some steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. A lot of this type of malware made use of weaknesses in Sun's Java Runtime Environment (most especially version 1.5), so make sure your Java is up to date.
The next most popular route is through flaws in the Windows OS, now I know you've heard this before, but please make sure you download and apply Microsoft's critical updates.
Another, less orthodox route, is a fake codec for a video. Ever tried to open a video file in Windows Media Player and have it say it doesn't understand the format and do you want to download a codec that can play the file? Unfortunately, that facility was open to abuse and there were a lot of fake files put out with the sole purpose of tricking a user into downloading a fake codec that was really just malware. Of course, the fake video file would be named something like "Angelina Jolie - nude movie". Something that a lot of people would really want to see and be willing to go through the trouble of getting a codec for. Of course, when they get the codec, they're stuck with nasty malware and a clip of pure garbage.
To remove the spyware, you will need a good spyware remover - I recommend you avoid any of the following as they have all been associated with being promoted via malware or are regarded as being fakes - AdawareDelete, AdwareBazooka, AdwareSheriff, AlfaCleaner, Amaena, Antivirus Pro, BreakSpyware, CurePcSolution, DriveCleaner 2006, ErrorSafe, ExpertAntivirus, PerfectCleaner, SpyAway, SpyCut, SystemDoctor, SystemStable,WinAntiVirus, and Winfixer.
For a step by step guide to spyware removal, and a discussion of spyware tools please visit my Squidoo Lens, featured below.
After removing the spyware, use CCleaner from Piriform to clear up any mess left behind. I suggest you hunt around on their site for the portable version.
If you find that you still can't perform certain normal actions like access the task manager or change your desktop settings, then I suggest that you use the fixpolicies tool written by Bill Castner at malwareremoval.com.
After that, I hope that you will keep safe by updating critical system components, as recommended above and make sure you have an up to date browser and firewall.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Computer Software Developers - Get the Right Software For Your Business
When you want some software developed for your business what is the first thing you do? Of course look around you for the best developers who can do the job for you. But I would say that is not what you should be doing, instead there is a much easier way to go about it which will save you lot of time and get your business up and running much earlier than you expected.
The technology behind software has developed so much that gone are the days you will have to find programmers or software specialist with whom you will have to sit around for month s day in and out charting and chalking out features to develop software instilling your plans and ideas into it. Now everything you require for your business comes in a platter without dropping a sweat. Well you may have ideas which no software developers or companies have thought of, I do not want to offend you, what I am getting at is that there are software solution for ninety percent of businesses that are being run today.
So when you are looking for computer software developers first ascertain whether you can get a system already developed just to install and run your business. If you have a good business mind but are not that computer savvy or up to date with developments in the field you need not necessarily know of all those new and new daily happenings in the software industry. You may even get taken for a ride by those who may sense this weak point of yours. They may just be selling you an already well developed system under the guise that they have personally developed the particular software system for your unique need and charge you a huge fee.
Fist thing you may do if you want help from computer software developers is to do a simple search on Google for all software systems that are available to your particular brand of business, get some in depth knowledge on what they can do to your business and then look for software developers that can provide you software systems that are customizable to your particular needs and ideas. Most developers can help you find the exact system you want with any special or particular features embedded or customized into the software as requested by you.
Selecting the software developers are not so easy these days because you find any number of them vying for your attention flouting the best quality system that money can buy. So selecting the best computer software developers is going to be a more of a dilemma than getting you the exact software for your needs. The best way to go about it would be to ask around and choose the ones your friends recommend or those who have enough experience in the field with proven results. I for one can recommend the developers stated below they are very affordable too but it is for you to make the final choice. Good luck.
The technology behind software has developed so much that gone are the days you will have to find programmers or software specialist with whom you will have to sit around for month s day in and out charting and chalking out features to develop software instilling your plans and ideas into it. Now everything you require for your business comes in a platter without dropping a sweat. Well you may have ideas which no software developers or companies have thought of, I do not want to offend you, what I am getting at is that there are software solution for ninety percent of businesses that are being run today.
So when you are looking for computer software developers first ascertain whether you can get a system already developed just to install and run your business. If you have a good business mind but are not that computer savvy or up to date with developments in the field you need not necessarily know of all those new and new daily happenings in the software industry. You may even get taken for a ride by those who may sense this weak point of yours. They may just be selling you an already well developed system under the guise that they have personally developed the particular software system for your unique need and charge you a huge fee.
Fist thing you may do if you want help from computer software developers is to do a simple search on Google for all software systems that are available to your particular brand of business, get some in depth knowledge on what they can do to your business and then look for software developers that can provide you software systems that are customizable to your particular needs and ideas. Most developers can help you find the exact system you want with any special or particular features embedded or customized into the software as requested by you.
Selecting the software developers are not so easy these days because you find any number of them vying for your attention flouting the best quality system that money can buy. So selecting the best computer software developers is going to be a more of a dilemma than getting you the exact software for your needs. The best way to go about it would be to ask around and choose the ones your friends recommend or those who have enough experience in the field with proven results. I for one can recommend the developers stated below they are very affordable too but it is for you to make the final choice. Good luck.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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