The forums are still available at a new domain: http://www.spywareinfoforum.com

Looking for spywareinfo.com and getting a GoDaddy parking page? Or, looking for the forums at forums.spywareinfo.com and getting a 404 error? You’re not alone. Try the new domain name, and you’ll find the old forum we’ve come to respect and admire. Why the change? Mike Healan the founder of the site has not been heard from in many months, and the spywareinfo.com name appears to have expired. However, the good people running the spyware removal forums didn’t want to let such a valuable resource die, so they planned ahead and registered a new name, spywareinfoforum.com. The change was actually made a couple of months ago, so most search engine results should point to the new domain. However, there are thousands of links from other sites to spywareinfo.com, and who knows how many bookmarks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Overall Rating:

Networks are getting larger and larger every day. Between company mergers and normal expansion some corporate environments are getting down right massive. With more computers in a system you have to contend with larger levels of interaction to make sure that all of those computers are running well, configured properly, and are actually physically in your building. Add to that the overhead associated with making sure that all the software in your environment is accurately accounted for, licensed, and approved through company policy and you’ve got an administrative headache that would make even the most efficient multi-tasker go off the deep end. With the increase in complexity we have seen an increase in “Asset management and tracking” software availability. These packages range from the complex (and expensive) to the relatively simple (and often completely free).

One of the packages that falls into the later category is Lansweeper. Lansweeper is a hardware and software inventory package that can be installed on any Windows machine that is also running Microsoft SQL Server or SQL Express. It has the ability to scan and display hardware information, software information, windows information, user information, configuration information, and any custom registry locations that you desire. They have two packages, one of them is an advertisement free fully functional freeware version and the other is a paid “Pro” version with certain added features (such as active scanning and Active Directory integration). Due to the current economic environment I chose to install the freeware version on my system to do some asset tracking.
Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s world of digital cameras, what’s more frustrating than running out of  memory card space when you’re out taking pictures?  It’s the worst feeling in the world to get somewhere and realize that you forgot to empty the memory card.  I’ve done it, and everyone I know has done something similar.

The Photo Safe could be the answer to the woes of millions of digital photography enthusiasts.  If this little device works as advertised, I know it will change the way I do things, and it may for you as well.

The Photo Safe is not the only device of its kind.  The DigitalFoci device has competition from Epson, Wolverine, and a few other manufacturers.  If given the opportunity, I’ll compare them with the DigitalFoci.  However, from initial glance, they all appear to offer about the same things, but at significantly varying price ranges.  The 80Gb models range from the DigitalFoci at $130 to some very spendy units at almost $300!

Read the rest of this entry »

On several occasions I’ve had the chance to talk directly with Pat Moorhead, Vice President of Marketing at AMD. He is a very genuine, and honest person. He’s the kind of person you’d like to have as a next-door neighbor. How many marketing people can you say that about?

Recently, he was asked his opinions about netbooks. What is a netbook? The Asus Eee was probably the first to claim this new category. These $300-500 notebooks occupy a category previously dominated by small and light $2,500 notebooks. These minimal 9-10” systems are mostly geared to access the Internet. However, they have serious compromises. Pat argues that while netbook prices have gone up, notebook prices have come down. Battery life of the netbooks also fails to meet expectations, as well as no optical drive, small screen, and very small or no hard drive. What do you think about Pat’s comments, and about netbooks?

Google is expected to release their own version of a web browser today, titled Google Chrome. Chrome is an open source web browser, introduced with a comic book.

Mozilla’s Firefox is funded almost exclusively by Google through a deal that runs through 2011. This agreement defaults Google as Firefox’s homepage, and search. While Mozilla ought to be worried, Google Chrome is an assault on the entire browser market. With 60% of the search market share, Google has plenty of opportunity to promote its own browser. This places not only Firefox, but also Internet Explorer, Opera, and other browsers in it’s crosshairs.

This surprise announcement, has also lead many to wonder if Google might also have its sights set on a bigger target. A Google operating system. Maybe Chrome is Google’s operating system?

Read the rest of this entry »

CastleCops.com has long hosted a number of databases essential for malware removal. These databases consist of information on components of wanted / potentially unwanted programs. They are especially useful when looking up suspicious entries in HijackThis logs. However, CastleCops has suffered from DDoS attacks and slow performance. Recently, its founder accepted a job with Microsoft, and the site has been unavailable for many days at a time. It’s future is uncertain.

Enter Systemlookup.com, a new home for these community contributed databases, hosted by Javacool. Javacool is the author of SpywareBlaster and other helpful tools. Systemlookup.com has an attractive, clean design, is very fast, and advertising free. While it’s still a work in progress, and new features are planned, it’s very useful.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the completion of our recent Home Data Backup Series, I found that many of the alternatives had the same downfall. They still relied on the user having to physically take the chosen backup media to a safe place for storage. While this could be as simple as taking a drive to a fireproof safe in the same office, it still took an extra step that really did not have to be necessary. It also limited access to the data. To combat this, I decided to “customize” my NewerTech miniStack NAS to make it fireproof. Throughout this article I’ll affectionately refer to this project as “The Tank”.

I have to start with a disclaimer. This unit has not been tested in an actual fire and this article will make no claims as to the amount of fire and heat this creation can stand. During the course of this article I am going to break the warranty on a few pieces of equipment. Follow these directions at your own risk. The author of this article and GeeksToGo.com assume no liability for those who choose to follow these directions.

Read the rest of this entry »

The first thing that comes to mind upon hearing the word spam, for most people, is an email advertising certain enhancements to the male body, not the cheap pork brand – which is actually the source of the word. This is not surprising: in 2006, 40% of all e-mails sent – 12 billion per day – were classified as spam emails, and that figure continues to grow constantly as spam vendors evolve and develop their spamming practices.

Many people have had their personal email boxes completely flooded with spam emails - but just how massive is this phenomenon is in real life, for a real person? What websites send the most spam? How do your actions influence the amount of spam sent? Finding answers to these is just the purpose of the recent McAfee research, the results of which have been posted last June. McAfee took spam surveys on a whole new level. 50 volunteers from around the world have been given a computer and email accounts and participated in this research, creatively named Spammed Persistently All Month (SPAM). They have been asked to submit their email addresses to as many websites as possible, including ‘get rich quick’ plans, ‘work from home’ websites, ad clicking websites, and free giveaways: iPods, vacations, etc., and similar.

Read the rest of this entry »

A while back I had the opportunity to review the Corsair TX750W Power supply.  I found it to be of exceptional quality, but it was a bit tough to install cleanly because of the multitude of cables snaking their way out the back of the unit.  It was difficult to find places to tuck them away where they were out of  sight.  To quote myself from my closing remarks in that review:

If Corsair were to offer this power supply as a modular unit to limit the tangle of leads to deal with when it’s installed, it would be nearly perfect.

Well now I’ve been given the opportunity to review one of Corsair’s new modular power supplies and it’s got a tough act to follow.  The HX620W claims many of the same attributes of it’s bigger cousin, it’s powerful, efficient, quiet, cool, customizable, and it’s dual GPU ready.

Read the rest of this entry »

Many Yahoo Mail users report been getting a Google search results page that continuously pops up when trying to check their Yahoomail. The page title contains http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?..

Since the first result on the search page is often for a topic in the malware removal forum of this site, some people even think we’re somehow responsible. While we’re not yet sure why these users are being redirected, we can tell you how to fix it.

• Download Trend Micro’s HijackThis
• Close your browser and Install HijackThis
• Open HijackThis, Select Do a system scan only button
• In the results, find this line:

O2 - BHO: Browser Address Error Redirector - {CA6319C0-31B7-401E-A518-A07C3DB8F777} - c:\windows\system32\BAE.dll

• Tick the checkbox next to that line, and select the Fix Checked button (DO NOT select any other lines without assistance).
• Restart your browser and navigate to Yahoomail. You should now be able to access it.

If you have any questions, or need further assistance, please read our malware cleaning guide.