What do you love, yes, what do you love?

Google has recently release a new tool called What do you love which you can find at http://www.wdyl.com/. The question I have is I wonder what are the first things that come to peoples' minds if they were to search for one thing when they test Google's new tool.

For me I live in Templestowe. I love things local which of course is what JustLocal is all about. So my first search was Templestowe to see what would appear. I was please to see my blogs appear.

For the second search I was a bit more reluctant. It was my own name. You never know what you are going to see when you search your name. Perhaps there's something exciting, perhaps there's something you'd prefer not to see *laugh*. In any case it is a bit of fun.

Give Google's new tool a go and perhaps if you have time, write a comment and let me know what you love.

Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/

PS. I did find this tool locked up my browser on one occasion.

Windows Vista SP1 no longer supported. Should you buy Windows 7?

One marketing strategy I’ve seen from Microsoft tends to confuse people and it happens every time a service pack reaches the end of its support life. I saw this a while ago with Windows XP and when I read the news item, it really made me feel that Windows XP support was ending. It wasn’t. It was only for those with an older service pack. The following is a section from the Microsoft blog.

I wanted to remind folks that as of today July 12th, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is no longer supported. We recommend folks look at upgrading to Windows 7... Read More

As we can see there is a recommendation to get people to move to Windows 7 and thus a sale for Microsoft. But there is no need for any purchase. Simply upgrade to Service Pack 2.

If you don’t need to upgrade to Windows 7 there really isn’t much point. Simply upgrade your computer, whether it be Windows XP or Vista to the latest Service Pack. For those using Windows XP don’t get concerned. Windows XP reportedly will continue to be supported until 2014. By this time your computer will be nearly another three years older and Windows 8 will have well and truly arrived, perhaps even Windows 9. There isn’t anything wrong in skipping operating systems. If your computer is working for you and upgrading to later operating system doesn’t give you anything more, then why spend the money. In addition the money spent buying an upgrade, because they really are quite expensive, can go a long way towards part paying for the cost of new system complete with the latest operating system.

During my time supporting clients I’ve rarely upgraded clients’ operating systems to a different version. In fact can only think of at most about three-five computers so the clients machines were all on Windows XP and that’s out of many hundreds of computers. The computer usually reaches end-of-life before the operating system.

There are good business reasons to upgrade, such as having all users on the same operating system, and some good reasons not to upgrade, such as costly peripherals (printers, scanners, cameras, etc.) not working. So make sure if you upgrade that you’re doing it for the right reason rather than Microsoft’s posts which aren’t really explaining all the options a user has.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Alert: Apple iPhone, iPad, Touch PDF exploit

I just read the following article about how Apple is rushing to patch and exploit which malware writers can use and deliver via a PDF, either via a site or email, and moments later received a suspicious email, which was an obvious fake using Google as the sender.

http://m.theage.com.au/technology/security/hackers-expose-flaw-in-apple-ipad-iphone-software-20110707-1h3e1.html

That was a gentle prod and I felt I should let my customers know about the exploit.

If you're using an iOS device, until Apple has patched their software and you have installed the update, you should take extreme care opening PDFs from people or sites you don't know.

Because it requires quite an effort to update iOS devices, I've seen quite a few devices which aren't being updated. The effort is the updates don't go direct to the device but via a computer. Devices such as the Touch or even and iPhone can go for months without being connected to a computer and updated.

I've found in the past with the iTunes gift voucher malware, a large percentage and a very large number of Apple users (significantly greater than the market share for the devices) took action as a result of the email malware.

Because Apple products feel more like a device than a computer a false sense of security can be created.

Take extreme care with PDFs if you are using an iOS device from Apple. that is an iPad, iPhone or Touch device.


Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Alert: Facebook Support has sent you a message

This morning I received three different messages to three different email addresses I use with the subject Facebook Support has sent you a message.  If you receive these emails you should immediately delete them as they are not from Facebook. Both the link and the Submit button will send you to a site which is not a Facebook site.

In this case two of the three emails ended up at a site Canadian Family Pharmacy with ads promoting Cialis and Viagra. Given the sites are possibly short term disposable sites you shouldn't trust the sites in any case.

My advice is if you ever receive an email to an online service you use such as Facebook, Twitter, bank sites, etc., don't use the link in the email. Go to the site by open your browser enter go to the site like you normally would. That way you reduce the chance of being tricked by phishing attempts. Also there is a potential the link may take you to a malicious site which might end up infecting your computer. Another great reason for not clicking on a link in the emails.

What I thought was interesting with the three emails is the links in each email was for different web site. This just goes to show that in the one spam attempt the spammers are now using multiple sites. If one gets closed down quickly (in this case one site didn't work) they've increased their chances of their spam mail out working.

The tip I really want to get across to people is if you receive an email with a link, even if it is from an organisation you know, don't use the link. Open your browser and go to the site using the site address. Phishing attacks are so clever in how real they look and it is very easy to be tricked into revealing your account details. If you know someone who is perhaps not as good with computers as yourself, pass the tip on to assist them.

Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.onlineconnections.com.au/
http://www.justlocal.com.au/

Thank you to Anthony Osborne for contributing to JustLocal Rowville

When I first designed JustLocal I was at a stage in my life where I found I could help a couple of dozen businesses with my consulting skills but for me that wasn't enough. I wanted to find a way to share my skills with a much larger number of people. JustLocal was the result and is designed to enable me to help thousands of people.

I don't work in the same way as others. I don't build a business to employ people and create a typical business structure. I believe in empowering a people. To work with others in a cooperative manner for the benefit of the team. My motto is friends helping friends and I believe when we help each other we all grow.

Anthony Osborne, whom I met whilst running for the last state election, contacted me for assistance with an internet presence. We both ran as independents and what impressed me about Anthony was he was proactive and persistent. Now whilst JustLocal is about helping businesses and comes from a business perspective, Anthony came from a different direction which was to help his local community to be informed about council news, local news and events in the local area. The structure of JustLocal is set up so one or more people in a local area can use JustLocal to assist their community. By helping Anthony to achieve his goal of helping the local community I also achieve my goal of helping others and for me that is what JustLocal is about.

I'd like to welcome Anthony to the JustLocal virtual team and am excited for what the future will hold, how JustLocal with the help of Anthony, keep the local community informed and  to strengthen the local community.

You can read posts by Anthony on the 3178 blog (http://justlocal3178.blogspot.com/) and you can also find the blog on the 3178 JustLocal postcode page (www.JustLocal.com.au/3178) which covers Rowville and Lysterfield.

Thank you Anthony for your time, effort and support.

Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/  

Alert: Firefox release cycle may be a exposure for users.

I read the following article about Mozilla Firefox 4 being end-of-life. Whilst quick release updates are understandable, not providing support for the users of previous versions of the browser and potentially exposing them is a real concern.

Mozilla has openly admitted it's focusing on consumers at the expense of businesses, after accelerating the release cycle of Firefox... Read More

As I understand by the articles I’ve read, once Mozilla makes a version of Firefox end-of-life it is no longer supported. If not being supported means there won’t be any security updates that could be a concern. I for one don’t know exactly what “no longer supported” really means, but I get a feeling it may mean no more work it done on the release. If that is the case I’d consider that to be a major problem.

Right now just 8% (according to my logs) of Firefox users are using Firefox 5. Since Firefox 4 has now been made end-of-life, that means around 49% of Firefox users (according to my logs) won’t receive security updates and that’s potentially an exposure for many people and that’s a concern.

I once read there were approximately 300 million Firefox users. If as the article states there are 2 million people downloading Firefox a day, if there are nearly half the users using Firefox 4, that means it would take three months to in theory to fully roll everyone over to Firefox 5. That is a long time to run with unpatched software in this age where a major focus of hackers is to infect web sites to infect unsuspecting users’ computers.

Yes, Firefox users can easily update to the latest version of Firefox, but the reality is many don’t for whatever reason and those people should not be exposed.

I thought I’d flag this for those using Firefox that they should at least determine their exposure.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Office 365 now live in Australia

I decided to start reviewing Office 365 for both current and future clients. Interestingly, during the beta period Office 365 was being promoted as $6 a month for the Office 365 for professionals and small business, but now that it has been released, it is $7.90 a month in Australia. I decided to check the pricing in other countries and found the following:

Australia - $7.90 AUD
United States - $6 USD
Canada - $7 CAD
New Zealand - $9.25 NZD
Great Britain - £4 GBP

It is interesting to see the different pricing, but really in the end, it is all about what the product does for you and whether it is value for money or not for you.

I found setting up Office 365 was a bit cumbersome and may be beyond many users. If people take it easy and spend the time to learn then they’ll get there, but it isn’t as easy as setting up a Gmail or Hotmail account for example.

For those thinking you’ll get Microsoft Office 2010 type functionality and speed on the internet you really need to think again. You’ll get reduced functionality and slower speeds. But keep in mind this is not desktop software and there may be additional functionality that assists you in your business. For example having access to your documents and files from anywhere in the world without carrying around everything with you may be just what you need. Only you know what you need.

For me I’m looking at my needs and the needs of clients and will review Office 365 against people’s needs. The first step however is to review Office 365 to find out what it does do and what it doesn’t do. As I review various aspects of Office 365 I hope to share my experiences via the MyAnswers service (www.MyAnswers.biz). I’ve already identified a number of issues for myself. It is too early to tell if they are show stoppers, or whether it simply means a different way to work.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Google updates their search site both for Desktop and mobile users

I read in the press Google were updating their main search page and today I noticed the changes in presentation.  One change I’d suggest clients to avoid is the prompt to make Google search your home page. This appears at the top of the search results. I’m constantly surprised that many people do not realise browsers contain a search field (for example Internet Explorer has to search field at the top right) and you can set that search field to your favourite site engine. The search field is always present.

Those that have set their default page to Google search should think about setting their start page as blank. When I show this to people they are amazed at how fast their browser starts and they can get to the site they want to go to. Many people have the NineMSN page as their default page. They often say I can’t remove it, but once they realise every time they open their browser during the day the NineMSN page has to open first they realise starting with a blank screen is much more productive. Adding a button to their toolbar for NineMSN enables them to check the news when they want. As yourself one question. How many times a day do you open your browser and for most people it is many times a day. How often do you want to read the page you’ve made your home page. Usually the answer is around once a day. So it makes sense to set your home page to blank so your browser opens briskly.

For me the main visual change is the black row across the top. As to the main Google page I rarely use it as I always search using the search field in the browser to open Google search results. I also have a number of other search engines I regularly access (Word Check, IP address checker, JustLocal) which are all immediately available.

TIP of the day: Set your browser start page to blank. You’ll enjoy the new found speed you haven’t seen for a while.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
www.JustLocal.com.au

Google PowerMeter is now dead.

I noticed the following post by Google with regards to their Google PowerMeter service. This is an online service which enables people to provide their raw data from a device attached to their electricity system and obtain reports on their usage. At some point large companies like Google have to determine whether or not a service is commercially viable and if it isn’t, they need to close it down.

As there are a number of products on the market advertising as being compatible with Google PowerMeter as a selling point, you should be aware this service will cease on September 16, 2011.

Google PowerMeter (retiring September 16, 2011). ... Read More

Having graphs of your usage is a good technique in getting a graphical representation of your usage which can make it easier to see trends in power usage. In the sample graphs I’ve seen you can clearly see the morning and night time peaks. You can see where the refrigerator turns on and off and you can see the always on background use of which quite a bit of the background power usage is from standby devices. Knowing how your power is being used helps you determine strategies to reduce your power.

I didn’t have access to graphical tools so I used the stated wattage used for devices such as light fittings and then measured the power usage using a power meter. By using the Energy Cost Calculator I was then able to determine an indicative figure for electricity usage for appliances. The end result with a fairly small change in our family’s behaviour we reduced our power usage to around half. It really was very easy to do.

Whilst I don’t think it is necessary to have an online service such as Google PowerMeter, I do think it is handy to have a tool which can show you your usage over time visually. In any case, Google PowerMeter will certainly not be an option in the near future.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Add Word Check as a search engine to Internet Explorer.

On the Australian English dictionary page you can now find the link to add Word Check as a search engine to Internet Explorer. What that means is if you want to check a word to see if you’re using the preferred Australian English spelling, to find a list of suggestions if you can’t quite spell a word correctly, or want to check the meaning of a word, you can simply use the search field built into Internet Explorer.

The search engine is free to install and can be found on the following page.

http://www.justlocal.com.au/clients/oooau

You will still need a password to use Word Check. The password is provided free to clients of Online Connections, JustLocal, those purchasing the Outlook Express spellcheck add-in, those purchasing the Microsoft Exclude file for Office, and those subscribing to Word Check.

 

To use the Word Check search engine type in the word you want to check and then select Word Check from the list of available search engines using the arrow to the right of the search field.

Enjoy.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
JustLocal (An Online Connections service.)

MyAnswers: Micro sim to sim adaptor.

The following MyAnswers solution 2107 is now available:

Micro sim to sim adaptor purchased for $10 in Melbourne.

Click here to obtain the solution.

Click here for related solutions.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz

Alert: YouTube sent you a message: Unique Offer

I received an email this morning with the subject YouTube sent you a message: Unique Offer and noticed a couple coming through so decided to check one out. These emails should be deleted. They aren’t from YouTube. If you check the links you’ll see all links lead a site with no connection to YouTube. For those interested the email I received came from Germany.

Kelvin Eldridge 
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

 

Microsoft Office 365 Beta - Australia - unable to create account

I’ve been watching Microsoft’s Office 365 for a while with the view of reviewing the service for my clients. What hasn’t quite sat right is the beta is not available for Australia. It states it is available for Australia but when you go to sign up you can’t select Australia.

I then read the following in the community blog.

Office 365 will not be available to Australia until GA (General Availability) and at that point it will only be available through Telstra, our Australian Partner.... Read More

 

If Microsoft are doing a special deal so the service is only available through Telstra they will lose a lot of business in Australia. I didn’t provide BPOS to clients as I felt in my previous dealings with Telstra both as a business and individually, the level of service I require for my clients wasn’t acceptable.

Sadly if it is true that Microsoft is only going to offer Office 365 in Australia using Telstra as their partner, it will make it very hard for me to recommend the service. I can understand that Telstra brings a huge customer base to Microsoft, but I feel Microsoft is being short-sighted by not providing the service in the same way as they are providing it to the many countries and regions listed. Our neighbour New Zealand is being provided with the ability to sign up to the beta.

If you’re in Australia and are thinking of signing up for Office 365 then wait for a while and see what Microsoft decides to do. For me if Microsoft don’t provide the service direct it will put me in a situation where I probably won’t be able to recommend the service because of my previous experience with support issues. At a minimum I will need to perform extensive testing and a lengthy trial period before considering Office 365 for clients.

My suggestion to clients is be patient and wait and see what happens.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Anthony Osborne Rowville and Lysterfield contributor

I'd like to welcome and thank Anthony Osborne for joining JustLocal as a contributor. Anthony will be post articles relating to council news, local news and local events in the Rowville and Lysterfield area. You can read his articles on the blog from either of the 3178 or 3156 postcode pages.

Anthony stood as an independent in the 2010 Victorian State election and has recently been nominated for the Pride of Australia medal. Congratulations Anthony.

Thank you Anthony for your support. I look forward to seeing the Rowville and Lysterfield through your eyes and sharing your experiences.

Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/

Alert: A reminder to watch out for blog spam

What is blog spam?

Blog spam is when others use a blog to promote themselves. They post a comment which in some way links back to their site. It is fairly easy to spot because the comment is usually generic and doesn’t specifically relate to the post. Often it will be a compliment. For example today I received this comment on my blog.

I really like your article very much,its very informative.Thanks for the nice article.Keep posting.:)

Apart from the poor punctuation there is nothing obvious about this comment that would indicate it is anything but a compliment. It was posted by anonymous so from an owner of a blog you wouldn’t even think there was a link to anywhere. The problem is if you accept this comment it does contain a link to the advertisers site and you may potentially expose your readers to malware or even some scam.

Bloggers who leave their blogs open and accept this type of comment automatically are a concern. They may even end up harming their regular readers or those who search and end their site.

If you own a blog don’t accept blog spam. Don’t just accept a compliment because it feels good. It is usually just a trick to get past your defences. I receive quite a few of these every week and a search of the internet shows this technique has been used for many years to provide sites back to sites which are somewhere dubious. I couldn’t even guess how many millions of this type of comment has made its way onto the internet over the years.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au

Alert: Notification from Microsoft Outlook - Please read.

I just received an email with the subject Notification from Microsoft Outlook - Please read.

The email has an attachment setup.htm.

This email appears to be a phishing attempt. You should delete the email.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
www.JustLocal.com.au (An Online Connections service.)

iPhone passcodes. Is yours one of the top 10 most common passcodes?

I read this article and thought it was worth sharing with others to help them improve their security. If you’re using one of the top 10 passcodes then perhaps it’s time to pick a new passcode. Before reading the article see if you can work out what you think the patterns are in the passcodes.

1234, 0000, 2580, 1111, 5555, 5683, 0852, 2222, 1212, 1998

It turns out that of 204,508 passcodes collected by an Apple iPhone app that 15% or around one in six people use one of these passcodes.

There are two lessons that can be learnt from this. The first is how easy it could be for people with nefarious intent to break into a person’s iPhone. Actually think of it another way. All a person need do is to try to break into 6-7 iPhones and he’ll most likely find one they can. They don’t necessarily have to break into a particular iPhone to achieve the result of hacking into an iPhone. The second lesson is how easy it is for a developer of an app to collect information that you have no idea what they are doing with it. Yes this information is anonymous, but collected information often reveals patterns about people’s behaviour and often we wouldn’t even know that what we do is a very common pattern. If others know we’re likely to behave in a certain way that can be used for good, or it can also be used for not so good purposes.

Bad purposes doesn’t even really have to be bad in the normal sense of bad. It could be like the GPS data being used by authorities to determine better locations to place speed cameras which could be used to increase revenue. That’s not considered bad usage unless of course you’re the one who ends up getting fined.

How are your photos being used? How is your location information being used? How is what you search for being used? How is your voice being used? How is your “Like” information being used? I for one would never have expected anyone would have collected passcode information and sent that information outside of the application and device. Perhaps there’s a good reason. (Apple has since pulled the app.)

This is certainly food for thought. At a minimum check the passcodes and make sure you’re not using one of the top ten, or for that matter a year, which are also quite common. Whilst we are all so very different, it is amazing how we are often all so similar.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au  

MyAnswers: What anti-virus program do you use?

The following MyAnswers solution 2102 is now available:

What anti-virus program do you use?

Click here to obtain the solution.

Click here for related solutions.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz

MyAnswers: Top likes and dislikes of Apple iPad 2

The following MyAnswers solution 2101 is now available:

I decided to start documenting my top likes and dislikes of Apple iPad 2. There are some great features, but also many limitations that for some that might kill off the iPad 2 as a choice for them.

Click here to obtain the solution.

Click here for related solutions.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz

Alert: CUT Your AdWords Costs and INCREASE AdWords Sales!

I've received three emails to three different email addresses for this email from "The Adwords Guru" as they call themselves.

Had it only been one email I would have simply deleted the email, but when I receive three I decided to investigate. The emails appear to be coming from Spain with the domain registered in the US.

I would suggest deleting these emails. If you receive unsolicited emails I would highly recommend not responding. Contact a reputable company that someone has recommended to you, or that you have researched yourself.

Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/