Windows XP End of Support is on April 8th, 2014. Click Here to learn more.

Don’t show this message again

Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP, and it’s about to let every XP user know. On Saturday March 8th, and then the 8th of every month after, XP users will see the popup window shown above (unless they tick don’t show again). Many users may mistake this warning for a fake security alert, often used to trick people into installing malware. But this one is legitimate. Any computer connecting to Windows Update will display it. Most enterprise computers won’t, as they don’t get updates directly from Windows Update.

There are two more patch Tuesday’s left for XP, and then Windows Update will no longer offer updates for what may be the most successful operating system of all time. Many experts are predicting a spike in XP related malware as vulnerabilities go unpatched. Amazingly, XP still has a 29% market share. Not sure if you have XP? There’s a website for that: http://amirunningxp.com/

There is no direct upgrade from XP to Windows 7 or 8. However, Laplink has a free migration tool called PCmover Express that will help transfer files, settings, and profiles. If you want to also transfer programs, there’s a special offer on the professional version ($23.95).

Are you still running Windows XP? Will you be upgrading? What are you going to upgrade to?

A recent zero-day exploit in Internet Explorer affecting IE 6, 7, 8 & 9 (not 10) requires action on your part. You could stop using IE and use an alternate browser. An even better idea, install the free security tool, Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET). Deploying EMET will help to prevent a malicious website from successfully exploiting issues like in Security Advisory 2757760. EMET in action is unobtrusive and should not affect the Web browsing experience.

1. Download EMET Setup.msi to desktop, download folder or other convenient location.

2. Double click EMET Setup.msi to run

3. Read the welcome screen and click Next

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Much has been written about the lack of a Start button in Windows 8, but if you’re a power user you may find the lack of start menu items like My Computer and Control Panel just as troubling.

Type Windows key + X (or mouse to lower left hot corner and right click) for the following menu:

Here is the list of options:

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You know exactly who I’m talking about, don’t you? Fanboys are those people who swear that one manufacturer or another is better than everyone else. They will argue until they are blue in the face, claiming that nothing can possibly come close to being as good as their beloved company and its products. I have witnessed some ludicrous statements in my time coming from fanboys, but none as bad as the one directed at me on Wednesday – from an Apple fanboy!

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The rumors late last year have now proven to be true: certain businesses can now purchase Rental Rights copies of various editions of both Windows and Office. Windows and Office licenses don’t allow the software to be rented, leased or outsourced to a third person or party. Therefore, many organizations that rent/lease desktop computers are not compliant with licensing requirements. Places in violation would include businesses such as Internet cafes, hotel or airport Internet kiosks, and even stores such as Rent A Center. This is where Rental Rights comes into play. It’s a way for these types of organizations to obtain a waiver of these licensing restrictions, by purchasing a one-time license transaction… which is valid for the life of the machine.

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Earlier this evening I was working on a few blog posts for my boss, minding my own business. I was in what I jokingly refer to as my zone. When I’m writing, it’s actually hard to distract me. You have to yell at me, or poke me repeatedly. I’ve gotten quite good at blocking things out when I’m writing. I’ve had to do that being a work-at-home Mom. It’s not easy to get anything done if you hear every sound coming out of your teenager’s bedroom!

As I sat there writing, my zone was shattered by the yells from my daughter. She was screaming for me to “Hurry! Help me!”. Thinking for sure something horrible had happened, I nearly killed myself getting out of my chair and into her room. I crossed the doorway to see her pointing at her laptop with a completely horrified look on her face. I look down, knowing already what I would see, and sighed heavily. You guessed it… popups… of the adult variety. Great. Just lovely!

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Considering turning off UAC on your Windows Vista computer? You might want to think again.

UAC is Microsoft’s User Account Control. It’s a sometimes nagging interface that can help to protect your computer. It has specific rules on what an administrator can and cannot do. When UAC is turned on, the software on your computer is running without administrative permissions. If you or your computer attempts to perform an action that requires administrative privileges, UAC pops up a window asking if you want to elevate to administrator so the action can be completed.

The good – if left on, UAC can be an extremely effective defense against many infections. Most recently proven in a paper by AV-Test.org when they tried to infect a Windows Vista test system with rootkits. Rootkits are the nastiest of infections that work by installing a system driver that hides other infections as they steal your information or ruin your operating system. With UAC turned on, AV-Test couldn’t get any of the rootkits to install. In order to install the rootkits, they had to disable UAC.

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