DNSChanger - Are You Affected?

These organisations
are co-ordinating
efforts in Oz

Are you affected by the DNSChanger malware?

An estimated 4 million users worldwide are.

DNSChanger is a piece of malware which redirected people's internet connection through certain servers, directing them to fraudulent websites and opening them up to various nefarious activities. Last year the FBI tracked down the cyber-criminals responsible, and shut down their operation.

However many users were still having their internet connections directed through the servers. The FBI maintained the servers to prevent these users being cut off, but on July 9th they will be shut down. After that date any user still being routed through them will find that they can probably no longer connect to the internet.

Users need to check that their machines are not affected.

The Australian Government has set up a website so that you can check the statues of your machine:

http://dns-ok.gov.au/If your machine is affected you should follow any instructions given. The site also has a number of useful links giving more background on the DNSChanger. Removal of the malware is quite tricky and you should contact your preferred computer maintenance people to deal with it.

(Note: Some computers may show clean, but actually be affected. This is because some ISPs have taken steps to reroute their users away from the malicious servers. At this stage I am not sure what the long-term effect of this is.)

NBN Futures Expo - 27th/28th March 2012

Today and Wednesday (27th and 28th March 2012) is the NBN Futures Expo in Kiama. This is a chance for everyone, whether they are a business owner or just an interested home computer user, to find out more about the capabilities of this exciting project.

Our area is lucky in that parts of it are getting this high-speed network ahead of the rest of the country, so it's worth going along to the Expo to see what advantages it can offer.

We went along this morning, and chatted to a range of businesses and exhibitors, ranging from telecoms providers to teams from the University who are working on interesting technologies for such things as virtual meetings which will really benefit from a faster. more reliable, internet provision.

The Expo also includes a wide range of seminars and speakers.

You can find out more about the Expo HERE

We're excited about the National Broadband Network. How about you?

And, because nothing really happens unless there are pictures, here they are:

Exhibitors

More Exhibitors.
And can you see half of AB Computer Training?

Ready To Record

Networking In The Sunshine

Keeping It Clean

You may not have thought that computers have much to do with housework—those boring chores that need to be done to keep your household running smoothly, but computers have their own set of household chores that are essential if your machine is to work properly. They have to be cleaned: keyboards, screens, monitors and mice may lose their functionality if they are not cleaned from time to time.

If your laptop, monitor etc. came with any cleaning instructions then it is advisable to use these, but the following general techniques should be applicable to most set-ups.

Keyboards: Do you sit with a cup of coffee at your computer? Ever eat the occasional biscuit? Then chances are your keyboard will be full of crumbs and other unmentionable debris. Ideally of course, you should never eat or drink while operating a computer, but we all do it. Keys may lose their sensitivity or become “sticky” because of  particles of food, hair and beard that are trapped beneath them. The surface and sides of keys will accumulate grease and grime from continual contact with working fingers.

• First of all make sure your keyboard is disconnected or if it is part of a laptop, that the computer is off
• Pick it up and turn it upside down and give it a gentle shake to knock out loose crumbs.
• Use a can of compressed air to blow out more firmly trapped debris or suck it out with a vacuum cleaner.
• Use a cotton bud dampened with a cleaning fluid such as isopropyl alcohol  to clean the sides of the keys.
• Use a micro fibre cloth dampened with cleaning fluid to clean the tops of the keys. Take care not to damage the lettering.
• Use a dry cloth to wipe over the surface.

N.B. It is possible to remove the keys from some keyboards (not usually laptops) so that you can clean more thoroughly but this is a much more involved procedure.

Screens and monitors:

• Make sure the computer is off or the monitor is disconnected from the power.
• Use a micro fibre cloth to remove dust.
• Dampen the cloth with LCD screen cleaning fluid to remove stubborn marks. 

Mouse: If your mouse pointer jumps around the screen or sticks in one place it could be a sign that your mouse needs cleaning. The procedure will depend on whether it is a ball mouse or an optical mouse.

Ball mouse:

• Disconnect the mouse from the computer.
• Unscrew the ring on the bottom of the mouse. The ball will come out.
• Clean the ball with a tissue and some cleaning fluid.
• Inside the mouse there are three contact points for the ball. These can be cleaned gently with a cotton bud or a finger nail.
• Reassemble the mouse.

Optical mouse -

• Switch off or disconnect the mouse.
• Find the LED and lens on the underside.
• Clean with a cotton bud dampened with suitable cleaning fluid.
• Dry with a dry cotton bud.
• Allow the mouse to dry thoroughly before reactivating it. 

Blogging

Diaries used to be your own private record of your thoughts and doings. A record of your life kept for your own amusement and enlightenment. Keeping a diary tends to brew thoughts of ladies in lace and lavender writing about the men who set their hearts aflutter.

Of course, there are always those who have written diaries in the form of autobiographies—politicians, sportsmen etc, and then made them public and gained a great deal of money in the process.

Believe it or not there are people who are making money out of online diaries or blogs (short for web log). Some blogs are so popular that publishers have got hold of them and printed them on old-fashioned paper and you can now buy them at your local branch of Angus and Robertson.

It must be said that some blogs are highly amusing or can give insight into the minds and lives of the writers.

Many companies now have blogs which they use to promote their products, or to write articles of interest to their clients. Indeed this blog is an example of that. Politicians, media stars and even governments use blogs as a means of informing and swaying public opinion.

A blog is basically a website used to give regular updates. It may be mainly text but can contain photos, video and music.

So how do you go about setting up a blog? Well, there are a number of sites which will host your blog such as Blogger, (which is, in fact, part of Google). It costs you nothing and is very easy to set up. All you have to do is remember to update the content from time to time. Of course, if you want to have lots of readers then you will need to publicise it by telling people about it and getting other blogs and websites to link to it. You reciprocate by putting links to other blogs and websites on your blog.

Blogs are part of the worldwide web and regularly get trawled by search engines, so you could find a blog amongst your Google search results or you could find strangers coming across your blog if you have some interesting content.

Blogging can be a lot of fun and of course, Facebook and Twitter are themselves specialist blog sites. 

Should you need help setting up a blog or joining Facebook or Twitter then we will be able to sort you out. Of course, you do need the internet, but it does not cost anything to belong to Facebook, Twitter or to run a blog.

What Is A Network?

Once, networks were the realm of computer buffs and businesses -- most home-users either didn't need, or couldn't afford, more than one computer. But now, in addition to using computers for e-mail, people use them for schoolwork, shopping, instant messaging, downloading music and videos, organising photos, home publishing and playing games. For many households, one computer is simply no longer enough to go around. And when you have multiple computers, a home network often becomes a necessity rather than a technical toy.

A network is simply a method of allowing computers, and other devices, to communicate with one another. If you have two or more computers in your home, a network can let them share such things as:

• Files and documents. 
• An internet connection. 
• Printers and scanners. 
• Stereos and game systems. 

Imagine being able to sit with your laptop in the garden writing that letter, knowing that when you hit the 'Print’ button it will be able to use the network to send it to the printer in your study. And then you can call your neighbour across to show them photos that are actually stored on the PC tucked away in your basement.

There are different network types, which use different hardware, but they all have the same essential
components: 

• More than one computer.
• Hardware (such as a router) and
• Software (either built in to the operating system or as a separate application) to coordinate the exchange of information.
• A path for the information to follow from one computer to another. This path could be links by 
• cables, or wireless, or even a mixture of both.

Most modern laptops automatically have wireless capability built into them, so they can communicate with a wireless router if you have one. Other types of PC may require the purchase of a relatively cheap wireless dongle to perform the same task. Printers and game consoles also often have a built-in wireless capability. 

The setting up of a network is not beyond the ability of the average home user, as much of it can be automated. However if you need help there are plenty of outfits who will give advice and come out and set up your network for you.

Once your network is established AB Computer Training can help you make full use of it— transferring documents and photos between machines, sharing music and printing to a common printer. One internet
account can be shared by all the family—so no more squabbling between those researching homework and those researching Ebay purchases.

On The Wireless

We got a text today asking Catherine 'Is that you on the radio?'


Well, yes, it was.


This morning we went along to ABC Illawarra's open day, and got a tour of the studios in Victoria Street. They asked for two volunteers to appear on air, and Catherine seized the opportunity. So, whilst the Breakfast Show host Peter Riley told us about how the studios operated, Catherine and another visitor met, and were briefly interviewed live on air by, Nick Rheinberger.


Afterwards we learned about ABC Open, a project to collect ordinary people's stories through various forms of media. 


Finally the CWA provided us with coffee and biscuits.


I was surprised at how small the whole set-up was, but it works very well, and is run by a dedicated and friendly team to provide an excellent local service.


We took photos.

Outside The Studios
Alan Leaning To The Left

Peter Riley
Our Alarm Clock

Catherine And Liz Being Interviewed

Posing With Nick Rheinberger

Facebook Timeline For Pages

Facebook is changing again. Cue wailing and gnashing of teeth. Cue people threatening to leave never to return again. Cue people forgetting what the old site looked like two weeks after the change.

At the end of March 2012 Facebook will be switching all Pages (the things you 'Like', as opposed to people who you add as 'Friends') over to the new Timeline format. In the meantime you can preview how your page will look, but after the 30th March you will have no choice.

So what will the changes be?

Well, if your personal profile has switched to the timeline, then you will have an idea of what the new layout for your business or special interest will look like - they are very similar, with a large banner across teh top of the page, and a timeline of events and posts running down from that.

What else do you get?

There is now a facility to receive private message; people who like your page can send them to you, but you can't send messages to them. You can, however, reply to those you receive. This is good, as it prevents posts getting lost on the wall so that you never respond to them.

You can also pin posts to your timeline for up to a week. This means that they will stay at the top of the page, and not get pushed down by subsequent posts; useful if you want important announcements to remain visible for several days.

A tab at the top of the page gives you access to your 'Admin Panel' which allows you access to page activity, messages and other data. You can also use this to manage posts on your timeline.

The 'About' page has a much neater and more professional layout; excellent if your page is for a business.

As with your personal timeline you can now include a large banner image across the top of your page. This allows you to make a strong visual impression, but there are some serious restrictions on what you can include in that image. For instance the image cannot include text such as URLs or email addresses, invites to 'Like' or 'Share' the page or, indeed, any other call to action. It cannot contain information on pricing.

Pages will also no longer allow their owners to direct visitors to a particular tab on their page; you will always arrive on the profile page. This will tend to devalue custom-designed welcome pages, although some of  these can be made more visible at the top of the page. It's not quite the same, though.

Indeed all links to your photos and other apps are going to be at the top of  the page and more visible, which is nice.

Posts from fans, as opposed to page admins, will have less emphasis. So if the bulk of the traffic is from the page's fans, as opposed to the people who run it, the new layout is going to throw things out a little.

We have switched the AB Computer Training page over to preview the changes, and will publish it over the next few days, so you can see how the new layout works. You can preview changes to your pages HERE - click 'Turn On Preview' next to the page you want to try; it won't publish it to your fans until you click 'Publish', so you can set things up the way you want them first.

As with all Facebook changes this will take some getting used to and, if your are a business, you will find that it will require some changes in the way you use the site and interact with fans of your page. But it's not the end of the world, and, as Facebook is free, it still offers excellent value for money as a promotional tool - you get what you pay for, and more.

Update - We have switched our page over to the new format so that you can get a taste of what it is like. See it HERE.

More Books!

Wollongong has never been good for bookshops - we're not sure why, although Australia's book pricing agreements can't help - so it's nice to see some good news with regard to books in this city:

Perey's Books To Sell Recent Releases

Anyone who hasn't popped into Perey's Books is missing a treat, and with expanded opening hours (and possibly coffee and cakes) it will only get better.

Excel - Do You Have A Use For A Spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet was originally a large piece of paper used to record financial information. Today it refers to an electronic version of the same thing. The page is divided up into columns and rows which you can use to record figures, words or formulae.

Formulae could be as simple as adding up a column of figures—automatically. That is, if any of the figures in the column change, the total is recalculated. Or it could be as complicated as recalculating your mortgage repayments based on the current interest rate. 

Although the main uses of spreadsheets are in a business environment, there is no reason not to use them in the home environment—especially as all Microsoft Office Suites include Excel, which is just such a spreadsheet.

But what do you do with a spreadsheet if you have one?

You could use it for managing your household budget, to keep track of different types of expenditure and income—either on a weekly or monthly basis.

You could use it to record details and expenditures for a wedding or holiday.

A spreadsheet could also be used to create a contact list of names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays etc. The beauty of a spreadsheet is its ability to manipulate the information. So it would be possible to sort out all the people in your contacts with a birthday this month and print out their names and addresses ready for sending cards.

You could even use one to record the performance of your favourite sports teams.

Anything which requires lists can be done on a spreadsheet. Perhaps you want to catalogue your music or DVD collection. Or even use a spreadsheet as a design tool for practical projects where the cells can be used to draw out your design.

In the inset picture you can see pretty graphics—and yes of course, once you have information in your spreadsheet you can convert it into colourful charts and graphs if it suits your purpose.

How do you start? There are templates which can be downloaded for free from the internet. For instance, you could download a Weekly Meal Planner for when you start your diet to lose the consequences of all those mince pies and chocolates you ate over the holidays! There are also on line tutorials and, of course, your friendly neighbourhood computer coaching  company can provide you with lessons, either as a general course or one with specific aims in mind.

You may have thought you had no use for a spreadsheet but perhaps, now, it could be the bit of kit you’re looking for?