Just a few short years ago, Twitter was being used by the same people who are now becoming addicted to Foursquare. Yet, many people online are sputtering about how Foursquare is some passing fad, and will quickly fade into nothingness. We’re not so sure that’s true.

What is Foursquare? It’s a website that helps you mark your location anytime you go somewhere. You earn points for doing checkins, and can earn badges as well. For example, if you check in from any one place often enough, you’ll become known as the “mayor” of that location.

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After 15 years as a Windows power user, and current Windows 7 user, a colleague at What the Tech has accepted the challenge of his roomate to give up his Windows notebook cold turkey, and use a similarly equipped Macbook for 30 days. He’ll be blogging about his experience daily. It should be an interesting read, and of special interest to anyone who’s ever considered switching from Windows to OSX.

Link: The Macbook Experience at WhatTheTech.com

Think back to the last time you took your poor failing (or failed) computer to your nearest G.O.D. (Geek On Duty…I just made that up and I hope it sticks). What was the first question that came out of his/her mouth? Was it “Do you have a recent backup”?  I bet you a coke that your answer was “uh…no…should I?”. And the answer is YES you should. Most computer users consider their data to be critical to their existence. Their music, family pictures, that doctoral thesis you’ve been working on for every waking moment of the last year of your life. But the Internet is filled with horror stories of ill-timed power outages, cats with an uncanny ability to find the delete key on the keyboard, and other similar tales of catastrophe. If this information is so critical to your digital life then why aren’t you taking the steps to make sure that when (that’s right, when, not if) your beloved computer decides to take a vacation (or a permanent trip to the beyond) it can be restored without tears or massive expense?

There are countless backup methods available. Some free, some not so much. Some manual and (many more now than before) completely automated. These methods range from simple self written batch files with a well placed xcopy command to massive applications that sync data to multiple locations across the planet and ensure that there are no duplicate files. Whatever method you use to back up your data, the most important thing is that it’s backed up. So what are you waiting for? Get your data safe!

GFI software was founded in 1992 and has been offering various network and content security products to small/medium sized businesses ever since (one of their most well known products is GFI Languard, which is great). Their newest product is GFI Backup 2009 – Home Edition. With Backup 2009 – Home Edition GFI has attempted to make home backup as easy as turning on your computer. Let’s see how they did with that lofty goal.

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The most popular forum in our message boards is Virus, Spyware and Trojan Removal. After we’ve helped someone remove one or more infection from their system, the most popular question is, “How can I keep it from happening again”?

One of our experts has authored a post, Preventing Malware and Safe Computing. It’s a wealth of knowledge, and people are often referred to it.

Today, I came across Diane Wilson’s comment at Ed Bott’s blog. I like it. Concise, no-nonsense advice. I  agree with most everything. It mostly mirrors my philosophy, and current configuration:

1. Stay behind a router. NAS is a great filter for many attacks.
2. Use a firewall. Windows firewall works well enough.
3. Keep your OS up to date, not just in updates, but in versions. I’m already running Win 7 RC as my primary system at home, and I’ll be on Win 7 for good as soon as it goes RTM. Remember (or learn) that security must be pro-active, and that Vista and Win7 took huge steps in this direction. Address space randomization. Array and string range-checking to limit buffer overruns. And more.
4. UAC. Live with it. It’s your friend.
5. 64-bit. Required driver signing is your friend.
6. IE protected mode.
7. Data Execution Protection, turned on for everything. No exceptions.
8. Windows Defender.
9. Oh, one more thing. Anti-virus software.

I think the first suggestion contains a typo. It refers to a NAS, or Network Attached Storage. While they have become inexpensive, and easy to configure. They offer limited security protection. However, they can help protect your data. Most likely she meant NAT, or Network Address Translation. NAT hides your system’s IP address behind another IP (the router’s). Another advantage to a wireless router is that almost all of them now contain a hardware firewall.

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It appears Conficker’s long feared payload is nothing more than another rogue antispyware removal application that attempts to dupe people into purchasing it. Don’t buy Spyware Protect 2009, remove it. Read our Spyware Protect 2009 removal guide.

Having followed the activities of Eastern European online cyber crime for several years, there is one thing we are certain about — these criminals are motivated by one thing: money.

How was Downad/Conficker helping them meet their goals? It wasn’t. A very large botnet of compromised computers doesn’t make money if it justs “sits there” doing nothing.

So now we saw — as described above — that the Downad/Conficker botnet has awakened, and perhaps their desire to monetizing their efforts is becoming more clear.

In the latest activity, we see infected Downad.KK/Conficker.C nodes pulling down new Waledac binaries (perhaps for spamming, as Waledac has been known to do)from a fast-flux domain infrastructure, but also now it is also installing Fake/Rogue AntiVirus  (AV) malware, too. See screenshot below:

Spyware Protect 2009

Source: http://blog.trendmicro.com/downadconficker-watch-new-variant-in-the-mix/

Some Windows 7 Beta users are reporting crashes when running Windows Update, or installing third party applications (i.e. Java, Flash, and other MSI-based installers). The third-party Windows .msi installer, or Windows Explorer will crash. Microsoft has identified this may be related to a configuration change in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) client. If you’ve experienced Windows Update or installer crashes with the Windows 7 beta, try the fix below. If you haven’t experienced Windows Update or installer crashes crashes, there’s no need for the fix. Future installations of Windows 7 after the initial beta will not be affected.

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If you’ve ever tried to lookup the location of an IP address, check the status of DNS propagation, or wanted to check the health of your DNS or mail server,  you’re probably familiar with DNSstuff.com. It used to be an incredibly useful site – when it was free. While DNSstuff.com does still offer a selection of free tools, full access has now reached $79/year! While no free site offers every tool available on dnsstuff.com, here are 10 free sites that offer a good selection of alternatives.

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Is there a Windows Update icon in the system tray by your clock that you’ve been ignoring? You know, the one that says, “New updates ready to install”. This would be a good time to stop ignoring it, and make sure your system is fully updated. At a very minimum, install the update appropriate to your version of Windows identified in this Microsoft Security Bulletin. All versions of Windows are affected, from Windows 2000 right through Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (even the Windows 7 beta).

Why the alarm and concern? There are widespread reports of malware infections (Conficker.B or Downadup) that exploit a recently discovered vulnerability in the Windows Server service (SVCHOST.EXE). You can become infected by simply the act of being connected to a network, the internet, or sharing a removable drive. No action required. Scary stuff.

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ERD Commander is a very useful tool that Microsoft acquired with it’s purchase of Winternals. It’s especially useful for computers that aren’t able to boot into Windows, or even safe mode. ERD (Emergency Repair Disk) allows access to Windows restore points, file recovery, crash analysis, hotfix uninstall, and other low level operating system tasks, all in a very familiar Windows interface. It also provides network and internet access, as well as a web browser.

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Change can be a great thing. We’ve all heard fascinating tales of people who shed half their weight.  But change can also be treacherous and destructive. A peek into history books would reveal us tales of great empires falling apart, leaving nothing but dust behind. Doubtless however, change is powerful.

Symantec’s history over the last few years seems to match the second definition. The huge security company, which just a few years ago has been the biggest and doubtless the most influencing security software developer around, witnessed a steep downfall in sales. The security giant, whose products were once installed in almost every new computer, was taunted by the Revolution of the Internet. Faster download speeds made it easier to find alternatives – some of which were free; so did online reviews and comparisons, which were available to everyone: not only in geeky computer magazines.

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