Al Lustie's Tips and Tricks

All the information we are getting tells us that we have little or no privacy.  I recently began working with duckduckgo.com which is a search engine that does not give up it's information to anyone.  Thus, for the moment at least, you can search with an expectation of privacy.

Give it a try.  They have add-ons for the major browsers.  Click on the link above, and type in a search.  If you type a question, it will try to give you an answer.  No kidding.  Try "Where is Vaughn, WA" or  "Who is the mayor of Seattle, WA?"

Results.  Fast.  Type your own name in.  or, "Who is my name?"

What do you think of it?  Leave a comment below and let us know.

I have had to learn about Cryptolocker, a very nasty form of malware that attcks Windows computers.  Let me give you some information about it.

Try going to:  http://blog.malwarebytes.org/intelligence/2013/10/cryptolocker-ransomware-what-you-need-to-know/

to learn a LOT about it.  It will not tell you how to prevent it.  It will not gell you how to fix your files when they have been encrypted.  It will tell you the following, if you read it carefully:

If you get it, 

1. unplug your computer from the electric outlet
2. unplug your computer from the Internet unless it is connected by WiFi
3. if connected by WiFi, you may want to unplug your router
4. call for help from your competent anti-malware tech

An ounce of prevention is worth everything you can do later.  Here is what you must be doing now:

• Back up your files every day.  If you work for someone else, maybe several times a day.  
•   (see this link for information on backing up files:  http://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/sorting-out-the-revolution-in-pc-backups-part-2/
• Every few days, back up to an Internet site such as Carbonite, or put critical files on a DVD disk where they cannot be encrypted or distorted.  Especially if they are client files with client information!
• When you leave your computers, close your browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) and close your email client.

Now, you may be finding this hard to read, hard to conceptualize, and you may be thinking, "I don't want to know this stuff, I just want to use my computer."  I understand.

You may not want to know that when you drive a car you can kill people, or kill yourself.

The reality does not change whether we want it to or not.  Take care.  Take precautions.  Become a safe computer and a safe driver.

Leave a comment if you have more to share.  Thanks.

I got a call from my friend.  (Actually, I have more than one friend, but the caller is a friend.)  He had come home from doing errands to find a message on his Windows screen.  It told him that his files had been encrypted and if he wanted to access them he needed to pay $400 within two days.

The malware is called "Cryptolocker" and one web site estimates that it infects 1,000,000 computers per month.  It is really, really, nasty.  It is extortion.  It is an electronic variant on the protection rackets found in poorer sections of major urban areas.  Did I mention that it is really, really nasty?

The second part of why it is nasty is that when you pay, not all your files may be unencrypted.  It is really, really, really nasty.

I was wondering what people think the punishment should be for the authors and distributors of this really, really, really nasty malware.  What do you think?

Imprisonment for twenty-five years at great cost to the taxpayers?  Execution?  Cutting off the coder's hands?  Removing their vocal cords?  Being locked in stocks, set on a flatbed and taken to the front doors of businesses which have been hit by this attack so they can pelt stuff at the perpetrator?

What do you think?  Leave your comment and let us know.

Oh, and BE SURE you are backing up your data at least daily.  The only remedy is to scour your hard disk, reinstall programs, and recover your data from an uninfected source.

For a variety of reasons I learn new software nearly every month.  I'll bet you have new software to learn from time to time as well.  If nothing else, there is that pesky "update" that changes where things are located.  Chrome, Firefox, Google mail,  Internet Explorer and various utilities are all examples of "new", sort-of.  Here are some tips I think will help.

First, look.  Look carefully at the screen.  See what visual clues you can find.
  In the midst of looking, look for specific things.  For instance, in a mail program, look for the "SEND" icon or button.  Look for the "REPLY" icon or button.  Look for the "DELETE" icon or button.  These things may not be where they used to be, but you can find a lot of them.  LOOK>
Second, click the HELP item on the menu, or press the F1 key.  You may have to enter the Search screen to narrow down what you are searching for (like the Delete command) but the help function is one of the best places to provide clues.
Third, look online.  I use Google search, or DuckDuck (which is a search engine that does not track your searches).  I just looked up "Add one clip to another in iMovie" and found pages of tutorials, comments and even videos.

I find it very important to believe that you can learn.  I tutor and teach hundreds of people, and I have never found one who could not learn.  YOU can learn.  Give it a go.

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let us know.