Someone called me earlier, because she had a big virus warning on her screen. This was actually a hoax (a web page trying to install malware), so it's useful to be aware of it, so that you know what to recognise ( Read more... )

"Hey, witch doctor, give us the magic words!"
(The Cartoons)

One of my servers has an SSL certificate from GoDaddy. More specifically, this is a UCC certificate, so it can have up to 5 domain names. I originally registered 3 names, and I recently needed to add a 4th. The good news is that GoDaddy let you specify extra names through their web ( Read more... )

More Saturday night tech support for friends... Someone phoned me because she was trying to watch 4od (Channel4 on demand), but she couldn't get past the age restriction screen.

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I recently upgraded my computer, so I now have various spare parts left over. In an attempt to declutter my flat, these are all up for grabs, i.e. free to anyone who wants them. (If nobody claims items by Friday evening then I'll offer them on Freecycle or eBay.) In most cases I don't have the original boxes, and some of these are too heavy to post ( Read more... )

I recently upgraded my desktop PC - this involved cannibalising bits from a dead one, and buying a few new components. Unfortunately, something's not quite working: the CPU fan gets power from the motherboard, but the BIOS isn't getting any signal back, so it thinks that the fan is running at 0 rpm and the CPU temperature is 0ºC. So, either there's ( Read more... )

I recently looked at a computer where Internet Explorer kept crashing, and it turned out that a particular add-on was responsible. If you have a similar problem, these steps may help you to solve it.

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In January, someone at Google discovered a bug in Windows that had been there for 17 years. (This was reported at The Register, among other places.) Microsoft have now released a patch, as described in Security Bulletin MS10-015, so it's no longer a problem. However, I think that the details are interesting, particularly if you intend to move to 64 ( Read more... )

In part 1 of my LUA series, I mentioned a virus that modified the HOSTS file on a PC. This meant that each time someone tried to connect to their banking website, they actually went to a fake website instead, even though they'd typed in the correct URL. This could also be a problem if your DNS server gets compromised, or if someone reconfigures ( Read more... )

I've been using Windows 7 at work for the last six months, and I think it's about time I upgrade to it at home as well. (Following karne_k's advice, I'm going to buy a new motherboard and salvage parts from the thrice-cursed Scaleo, so that's a good time to re-install the OS.) Since we use Microsoft volume licencing at work, I can use the Employee ( Read more... )

Microsoft recently released Ribbon Hero. This is an add-in for Office 2007 and Office 2010, and the idea is to earn points by completing challenges (e.g. formatting a table). In the process, you'll become familiar with the new user interface ( Read more... )