Tech Help and Discussions

I have a dev server with Windows 2008R2 as OS. I keep it updated with latest patches and fixes Microsoft releases. It's only use is for data backup, testing web apps and software updates before I update live sites. The other day I logged into the server to rotate the backups to the NAS as I always do. When I was at the log in screen I noticed a new user called admin which I didn't create. After I logged in I noticed Winrar was installed. I never install any software on any server that other than what is needed to run websites and on this server I also have Visual Studio installed for development. Red flags went up. I uninstalled Winrar, removed the admin user and isola…

• 13 replies
• 1.3k views
• 2 followers

AWS replied August 3, 201410 yr

Facebook Inc said service to the world's largest online social network was fully restored on Friday, following a widespread outage that affected users in multiple countries. "Earlier this morning, some people had trouble accessing Facebook for a short time. We quickly investigated and have fully restored service for everyone. We’re sorry for the inconvenience," Facebook said in an emailed statement. Facebook, which has 1.32 billion monthly users, is still investigating the incident, but all signs suggest a "technical" failure rather than any suspicious activity, said a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the probe is private. Some visi…

• 4 replies
• 925 views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied August 3, 201410 yr

Beginning Friday, August 1st, it is once again legal to unshackle your carrier-locked cell phone in the United States. President Obama on Friday signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act into law, thus giving cell phone users the legal right to unlock their handsets. Smartphones are often sold locked by wireless carriers in the U.S., meaning that the devices can only operate on the contracted carrier’s network despite being technically compatible with other networks. This new law will make unlocking those cell phones for use on other networks via a third party legal once again after an amendment to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act made it il…

• 2 replies
• 731 views
• 1 follower

allheart55 Cindy E replied August 2, 201410 yr

So sinister, you won't even know it's there Ah, the USB. The framework holding our digital lives together. The one we can always rely on. And no matter how many times we pull you out without ejecting first, you still work anyway. USB, we love you. But the USB could also become a weapon of mass digital destruction. According to Wired, security researchers have reverse engineered the firmware that controls basic USB functions. But even worse, they've written a piece of malware called BadUSB that can be put onto a USB and "completely take over a PC, invisibly alter files installed from the memory stick, or even redirect the user's internet traffic." That doesn't sound…

• 2 replies
• 1.3k views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied August 2, 201410 yr

Microsoft has tried to push standards with its mobile Internet Explorer browser, but unfortunately the wider web largely develops specifically for the webkit rendering engine and the iPhone. That’s left a lot of mobile websites not rendering properly in Internet Explorer mobile, and a frustrating user experience. Twitter and a number of Google web sites do not render correctly in Windows Phone, but Microsoft thinks it has an answer. With the upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, Microsoft is tweaking its mobile browser to better support sites that were designed for an iPhone. The approach means Microsoft is adding non-standard web platform features, but the result is a…

• 3 replies
• 1.1k views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 31, 201410 yr

This seems to be the best price around and I am not sure how super it is, but it is an item we all need if we are working on computers. I have a compressor to blow air but here is the cleanup and I have been looking for it below $100 for a long time..... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IAOR/ref=pe_58750_121754600_em_1p_5_ti

• 3 replies
• 982 views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 31, 201410 yr

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=8945533&sku=KNY-102368829&SRCCODE=WEM4182BY&cm_mmc=email-_-Main-_-WEM4182-_-tigeremail4182&utm_source=EML&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=WEM4182&cm_lm=rich@pcman1.com Here we go again, PNY Optima Series 240GB Solid State Drive - 2.5" Form Factor SSD, SATA III, 60,000 iOPS Read - SSD7SC240GOPT-RB then Rebate makes it $89.99

• • 
• 18 replies
• 1.7k views
• 1 follower

allheart55 Cindy E replied July 31, 201410 yr

Hello everyone... I'm trying to migrate files from a Windows SBS 2000 server to a Windows 2003 SBS R2 new server. The data drive is alone so I should be able to just copy ALL the data from one drive to the other using Winwows Explorer. Both target and destination drives are NTFS. I am using the standard Windows Explorer, click-dragging folders from the old data drive to the new 2003 Server's Hard Disk. Everything works as expected except that every once in a while I get a message like "The filename you specified is invalid or too long". and then the copying stops. This usually happens in folders that are nested 3 to 5 levels "deep" ore more in the folder…

• • 
• 9 replies
• 1.9k views

AWS replied July 30, 201410 yr

Microsoft attempted something different and daring with Windows 8. It introduced a whole new interface and means of interaction with your PC that was identical to a smartphone or tablet. It threw out the “Start” menu and mouse-driven interface people had used for decades in favor of a touch-driven interface with tiles, some of which received active information updates. And people hated it. “They tried to get their entire audience to jump from a UI [user interface] they were comfortable with to a brand new one with a serious learning curve,” California-based Creative Strategies tech analyst and president Tim Bajarin said. “Had they done a more transitionary product, …

• 4 replies
• 1k views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 30, 201410 yr

Not to be outdone now Kingston 240 gb Ssd at an outrageous price : Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S37A/240G 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) and free shipping..... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820721108&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL072914&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL072914-_-EMC-072914-Index-_-SSD-_-20721108-L0D

• 2 replies
• 771 views

Rich-M replied July 29, 201410 yr

Anything Sprint tries to do, T-Mobile is determined to try to do better. T-Mobile on Monday unveiled a new family plan that will cost $100 per month for four separate lines and offer a total of 10GB of LTE data, or 2.5GB per line. In contrast, Sprint’s most comparable “Framily” plan costs $160 per month and offers a mere 4GB of data total, or 1GB per line. You can get an unlimited-data Sprint “Framily” plan, of course, but it will cost a total of $240 per month since the unlimited option costs an extra $20 per line. The T-Mobile plan also looks pretty good when compared to similar plans from AT&T and Verizon — both of those carriers will give you 10GB of data total…

• 6 replies
• 957 views
• 1 follower

allheart55 Cindy E replied July 29, 201410 yr

The best Psu at the best price. Use code EMCYTZG778 to take it to $99.99 and then rebate for $20. Seasonic SS-660XP2 ATX 12V/EPS 12V, 660W, 80 PLUS PLATINUM Full Modular certified Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-151-121&nm_mc=EMC-GD072814&cm_mmc=EMC-GD072814-_-index-_-Item-_-17-151-121

• 5 replies
• 1.1k views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 29, 201410 yr

Several users reported problems on this thread: Update v2014.07.26.09 Entire System32 Quarantined? MBAM state: Appears to have affected "only" Pro users. The update which caused this was v2014.07.26.09.

• 12 replies
• 1.5k views
• 1 follower

allheart55 Cindy E replied July 28, 201410 yr

Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S37A/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD). That is like a hard drive price.....WOW! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-721-107&nm_mc=EMCPP-DAILY_072014&cm_mmc=EMCPP-DAILY_072014-_-index-_-content-_-item&et_cid=9848&et_rid=2567240

• 1 reply
• 695 views

AWS replied July 28, 201410 yr

Hi I have a laptop I watch DVD's on it sometimes like when I am on a trip or sometimes here at home. I use windows 7 and usually use the VLC player but it keeps crashing just watching DVD's. I live in a really hot area and we don't use much AC here in Louisiana my home. My husband has a PC but it's in the shop, so we have been watching DVD's on the laptop with his monitor but the whole thing keeps crashing. Could the hot temperatures be doing that? I am not sure so if someone can help me figure this out I would be elated. I tried another forum but they told me to take the laptop to a shop? Maybe I need to invest in a good air conditioning window unit to keep the temperatu…

• 4 replies
• 1.4k views
• 1 follower

AdrianaK replied July 26, 201410 yr

One trick you may or may not have picked up about Gmail is that you can add in periods anywhere in the front part of your address and it makes no difference whatsoever: john.smith@gmail.com works just the same as johnsmith@gmail.com. What's more, you can add a plus sign and any word before the @ sign (e.g. johnsmith+hello@gmail.com) and messages will still reach you. If these tweaks make no difference, then why use them? One major reason: filters. Here are a few ways you can make use of the feature to bring order to the chaos of your inbox. Signing up for newsletters The next time you sign up for a newsletter, app or website, use an address like johnsmith+news@gmail.co…

• 1 reply
• 1.2k views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 26, 201410 yr

Ryan Block and his wife Veronica Belmont would like to cancel Comcast. Why? It’s none of our business. And it’s none of Comcast’s business. Or so you’d think. Comcast seems to disagree. Listen as the Comcast retention guy refuses to cancel their account without an explanation, going as far as to suggest that if Ryan doesn’t want to provide said explanation, he can go to a Comcast store to cancel. We’ve transcribed just a few highlights below, but if you have headphones and a punching bag handy, you might want to listen to the recording. It’s the only way you’ll get the full effect. According to Mr. Block’s description on Soundcloud, the recording begins about 10 …

• 10 replies
• 1.8k views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 26, 201410 yr

This started out as a simple "my printer won't work after I changed from Verizon DSL to Comcast" Something told me not to take this call but I decided to. After an hour of trying new printer cables and drivers on an 7 year old Dell All-in-One where I knew the cartridges were dying also, I sold her a new printer, a Brother MFC J470 to be delivered the next day. I knew the 7 year old computer was slow but I was there to get the printer to work. When I arrive the next day I note that the printer software won't fully install as at the point where it should see the printer it cannot. I tried copying the file to the hard drive and installing from there, just downloading th…

• 7 replies
• 1.2k views
• 1 follower

allheart55 Cindy E replied July 26, 201410 yr

(Douglas Muth) It’s pretty great when your customer complaint over social media receives a swift, decisive response from the target company. What is not so great is when that response is to boot you and your elementary-school-age children off a plane before takeoff because you complained about a specific employee’s actions over Twitter. That’s what a Minnesota man says happened to him during a flight on Southwest. The basic facts of what happened are that the dad in this family has earned “A-List” boarding status, but his kids haven’t, so the entire family wasn’t allowed to board early together. The man threatened to complain on Twitter, then he did tweet about it.…

• 4 replies
• 998 views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 26, 201410 yr

As we learned from a recent study, Verizon has been remarkably efficient at convincing unlimited wireless data plan holders to switch to newer, more profitable data plans. According to market research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, just 22% of Verizon’s mobile subscribers were still on unlimited data plans as of the end of the second quarter. That still leaves millions of people with unlimited plans though, and we have bad news for all of them: According to a new report, all Verizon Wireless subscribers with unlimited data plans will be subject to throttling beginning October 1st. Verizon’s “Network Optimization” policy, which says that the company may i…

• 2 replies
• 1.2k views
• 1 follower

Rich-M replied July 26, 201410 yr

During his talk at HOPE/X Jonathan Zdziarski detailed several undocumented services (with names like 'lockdownd,' 'pcapd,' 'mobile.file_relay,' and 'house_arrest') that run in the background on over 600 million iOS devices. The HOPE conference started in 1994 and bills itself as "one of the most creative and diverse hacker events in the world." Zdziarski, better known as the hacker "NerveGas" in the iPhone development community, worked as dev-team member on many of the early iOS jailbreaks and is the author of five iOS-related O’Reilly books including "Hacking and Securing iOS Applications." In December 2013, an NSA program dubbed DROPOUTJEEP was reveled by secur…

• 3 replies
• 1.2k views

IceMan37 replied July 24, 201410 yr

Is Microsoft building a single version of Windows that will run on phones, tablets, PCs, and gaming consoles? Nope. Here's a refresher on what's really happening. Microsoft executives have struggled to explain for the past year or more where the company is going with Windows. Thanks to a passing comment yesterday by CEO Satya Nadella during Microsoft's fiscal fourth quarter earnings call, the struggle is continuing. We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes," Nadella told press and analysts listening to the call. Wow! One Windows OS running on phone, tablet, P…

• 1 reply
• 772 views
• 1 follower

AWS replied July 23, 201410 yr

Use code EMCPCHH28 at checkout for $14.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135305&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL072214&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL072214-_-EMC-072214-Index-_-CDDVDBurners-_-27135305-L0E ASUS DVD-Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24F1ST again this is a backup the truck as I build with these....

• 1 reply
• 814 views
• 1 follower

allheart55 Cindy E replied July 23, 201410 yr