Category: Windows

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Control Web Pop-Ups

Recently I helped someone with a computer that had out-of-control pop-ups appearing in the web browser. This typically happens when malicious software is installed or automatically added to a computer with other software.

To fix this problem, you need to set up your web browser and computer so that it’s settings don’t allow for these ads to show up. Here are some steps to follow:

  1. If you are on a PC, go to Add or Remove Programs (go to Start and type Add or)  and remove anything that was installed when this activity started. Typically this is software that sounds like Adware. It might have the word “Click” in it or it might be labeled as a download accelerator.
  2. If you are on a PC, turn on your Firewall (go to Start and type Firewall).
  3. In your browser, go into settings or options and change the homepage to something safe. Typically a hijacked browser will be sent to an ad page or search page where they make money on your searches. Instead, set your homepage to your favorite search engine (google, yahoo, etc) or a new page that you frequent.
  4. In your browser, go into Extensions and disable and remove any extensions that you do not use. This is where malicious programs will often operate to load up lots of ads.
  5. Run anti-virus software if you are on a PC. I like the free but very good Microsoft Security Essentials in you have Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. Windows 8 should have built-in protection, as do Macs.

There are paid anti-virus programs such as Kapersky which will look for malware or adware that can cause this issue. Consider this only if you can’t control the issue on your own. Typically, this isn’t necessary if you take the above steps.

If your browser does not have these problems and the sites you visit just have a lot of pop-ups, consider adding an anti-pop-up extension to your browser. There are several good options.

If you are still having problems within your browser, you can also install another browser. On a PC today, I think Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox are pretty good. In the past, IE was terrible, but they’ve improved a lot with some competition.

 

 

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After Windows XP

Given that Microsoft is no longer providing security patches to Windows XP, many users have a choice on what to do with these old computers:

1) Upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8. Download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft to see if your computer can run Windows 7. If it does, you can consider this option.

2) Get a new computer. Most companies upgrade computers every 4-5 years. If you’re running Windows XP, your computer is at least this old. Therefore, money spent on upgrading the computer might be better spent on a new computer that will have all new and improved components. Hard drives eventually die so it is possible that there may not be much life left in the computer.

3) Just keep running XP.  While some security analysts are afraid of unknown future attacks that could be coming to XP, other security experts say that this is vastly overblown. The majority of attacks lately have been against applications (Java, Flash, Acrobat) that run on the operating system, not the operating system itself. Take some precautions with this approach. Make sure Windows Firewall is enabled. Run anti-virus software. Because Microsoft isn’t patching Internet Explorer on XP, use a non-IE browser such as Firefox or Chrome. Think about what you use the computer for. If your job depends on the computer, continuing to use XP is more risky than if you are just using it as a kids play computer.

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Retire Your Windows XP Computer

It’s almost time to retire your Windows XP computer. On April 8, Microsoft will stop patching Windows XP with security updates. This means that it could be insecure computer when connected to the Internet.

XP has lived a good life. But if you’re still running it on an old computer, consider upgrading. Now you have more choices than ever. You could get a PC (with Windows 7 or 8), a Mac, an iPad, or a Chromebook. Or, if you  want to save some money, you could install Linux on your existing Windows XP computer for a fast secure web browsing computer.

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Sync iPhone with Windows

Many people have an iPhone or iPad as well as a Windows computer. While there are ways to sync an iOS device with Outlook or Windows Mail for contacts and calendar, the syncing never displays things the same way as it does on the iPhone or iPad.

iCloud Web Access

The easiest way to give people access to their information is to use iCloud. Use the icloud.com website to give them access to things in the same way it look on their iOS devices.

Create Web Links on the Desktop

Then drag the the weblinks for the specific App to the desktop. (This is usually the icon to the left of the URL and can be dragged to the desktop.)  They’re formatted in the following way:

https://www.icloud.com/#contacts
https://www.icloud.com/#calendar
https://www.icloud.com/#notes
https://www.icloud.com/#reminders
https://www.icloud.com/#iwork

I like to rename the links from “iCloud Contacts” to just just “Contacts”.

Find New Icons

I also like to make the icons look like the Apple icons. You can use any icons you want, but these are my favorite. I download the Multi-Res ICO versions if available. Download them to somewhere that you won’t later delete. I put them in c:\Windows\icons\

Contacts http://findicons.com/icon/131428/address_book?id=131561
Calendar http://findicons.com/icon/19547/calendar?id=19559
Notes http://findicons.com/icon/19548/notes?id=19560
Reminders http://www.iconfinder.com/icondetails/126628/114/reminders_icon
iWork http://www.iconarchive.com/show/colorflow-icons-by-xazac/iWork-08-icon.html
Mail (for @icloud.com email) http://www.iconarchive.com/show/iphone-icons-by-judge/mail-icon.html
iCloud http://www.iconspedia.com/icon/cloud-silver-icon-38589.html

This set of icons is overall good if you want to make an iPhone user feel at home on Windows:
http://www.iconarchive.com/show/iphone-icons-by-judge.html

Change the Web Links to the New Icons

To change the icon:

  1. Right click on the link icon on your desktop
  2. Choose the Web Document tab at the top
  3. Choose Properties
  4. Click Change Icon…
  5. Click Browse… and find the .ico file that you downloaded
  6. Open
  7. OK
  8. Apply
  9. OK

Then you can have a Windows desktop that looks like this. If you check off “Keep me signed in” when you login to iCloud, then you have a quick and simple setup that will be comfortable for iPhone or iPad users.

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Upgrading Windows HD

I recently upgraded a client’s computer from an old spinning hard drive to an SSD (solid state drive) to make the machine much faster. A simple disk clone did not work for Windows 7 to make the disk bootable. To make Windows 7 boot properly, the SID (Security Identifier) had to be updated. This is done easily using Paragon Partition Manager by just checking off the option to change the SID after performing the disk copy.