Category: Software

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WiFi Finder Software for Windows

inSSIDer: Wi-Fi network scanner is free open source software for finding WiFi networks from a Windows XP or Vista computer. It is great for testing wireless network signal strengths, doing WiFi security checks for open access points, and determining what might be a good free channel to choose for your WiFi to have less interference.

Typically people have used software called NetStumbler. Unfortunately NetStumbler hasn’t been updated lately. Thankfully the folks at MetaGeek decided to make and give us inSSIDer for free.

The term inSSIDer is a play on words, with “SSID” being the term for the name of a WiFi network. If you need to find or analyze WiFi signals, inSIDDer is a great free tool.

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Antivirus XP 2008 Is Bogus

A recent Sterling, Virginia customer got hit by a fake warning that her computer had been infected by a virus. But it was just a pop-up browser window that, when clicked, actually installed malware on her computer. To add insult to injury, the malware installed is called Antivirus XP 2008. So you think it’s there to help you when in fact it IS the infection.

Antivirus XP 2008 shows a list of files that it claims are infected on your computer. See that the icons used are the same as those used by Windows. If you register the “anti-virus” software in an attempt to fix your computer, the bad guys will have your credit card information.

On other computers, I have seen Antivirus XP 2008 installed on the Windows Desktop background so that your wallpaper background always gave you a warning.

This has become a common computer problem. It is an easy scam to fall for because it looks very close to a real Windows warning.

This is an effective social engineering scam because people are scared of viruses and have grown accustomed to following any computer-generated prompts to remove them.

For this particular computer, I booted into Windows Safe mode and ran Malwarebyte’s Anti-malware program which is free for a couple of weeks use. Luckily the infection could be removed. In some cases, the malware can actually take over all administrator rights to the computer and rewrite the operating system to the extent that the only real alternative is to save your personal files and reinstall Windows.

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Screen Capure Software for PC and Mac

Capturing a screen or part of a screen is often useful. People capture screen images to:

  • email someone a computer problem or error noticed on the screen
  • capture an image from a web page
  • save that amazing game score you got so you can remember it forever
  • capture something from an application so that others who do not have the application can view it
  • create a tutorial

There are several ways to capture a screen image.

PC Screen Capture

The only built-in screen capture function in Windows is the PrintScreen button.  After you hit PrintScreen, you need to paste the clipboard image of the entire screen into an application such as MS Word. This is clunky and does not produce an image file that you can easily edit.

ScreenHunter 5 is image capture software which comes in Pro, Plus, and Free versions. For most image capturing needs, the free version is all you need (see screen capture of ScreenHunter 5 captured using ScreenHunter 5). It can capture a rectangular area, an active window, or the full screen to a gif picture.

The best print capture software for Windows is SnagIt. It has all the options you could need, but it does cost $49.95.

Mac Screen Capture

Mac OS X has great screen capturing built-in.

  • To capture the entire screen, press Command+Shift+3.
  • To capture part of a screen, press Command+Shift+4. This will give you a draggable crosshair to select a rectangular section.

This Macworld Screen Capture article has a video that demonstrates how to better control your Mac screen capture with the shift, option, and space keys.