Archive for January, 2009
In this Two Minute Miracles, Geek Squad Agents Daniel Campbell and Gerald “Chip” Underwood will define the “geektionary” term malware, and what kind of forms it can take.
It can be a frustrating work day in this fast-paced, always-on, Internet-ready world when a key piece of technology fails. Especially when that technology is your email server. But imagine how much more stressful it is when your email address ends in “whitehouse.gov”.
According to the CNET, the incoming team at the White House found their usual high-tech work habits halted due to an email server outage that lasted almost 24 hours. Uh oh.
With the proliferation of netbooks over the last year, more and more consumers are carrying portable computers with them. While technology has gotten more portable (and affordable), battery life still, unfortunately, remains an issue. In this Two Minute Miracles video, Geek Squad Agents Ish Matos and Nicole Conway will provide some quick tips for getting more juice out of your laptop battery.
In this Two Minute Miracles video, Andrew Leech and Joel Medrano provide tips for keeping your kids safe online, using the acronym TRUST (T – Talk, R – Restrict Access, U – Utilize Programs, S – Settings, T – Take Charge).
I experienced one of the worst feelings a computer owner can have last week. I sat down in front of my main computer and powered the system on. Like most people, I never really pay attention to the boot up process and involve myself with other things until I hear those familiar Microsoft Windows startup chimes. Except this time, there were no chimes. And no familiar Windows desktop waiting for me. Instead, I had a screen with white text informing me that my system could not find a startup disk. “Uh-oh,” I thought, “that’s not good.” I discovered that my Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1 terabyte hard drive was no longer being detected by the system.
A Microsoft operating system vulnerability has led to the worm infection of 1.1 million computers in a 24 hour period. This figure, which is a remarkable rise in infection rates given the time frame, brings the total estimate of world-wide infections up to the 3.5 million mark.
The security flaw that this worm uses to propagate itself was discovered back in October 2008. Microsoft issued a “patch” in order to fix this system issue the last week of October as well. It was considered an “out of cycle” or “emergency” update for the Windows operating system due to the danger of the security exploit, which includes allowing the worm to execute code on your computer. Affected systems include: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003/2008 and Windows Vista (all Vista versions).
If you are one of the many who suddenly found their PS2 keyboard and mouse stopped working after downloading from Optional Updates an IdeaCom HID PS/2 Touchscreen driver for Windows XP or Vista, you may think different.
Passwords keep our precious data and information safe and secure online, making it more important than ever to ensure your passwords remain known only to you. In this Two Minute Miracles video, Geek Squad Agents Daniel Campbell and Gerald “Chip” Underwood provide password tips, including things to avoid and ways to make your password even more secure.
Wednesday night I attended a fancy soiree at Twin Cities Public Television (TPT), celebrating the launch of Make Television.
For regular readers of the blog, Make Television is no new thing to you. As the brainchild of Make Magazine, this new program brings DIY (Do It Yourself) projects to the television in a way only MacGyver (or the A-Team!) has done before — but with a twist: it shows you how to build them yourselves, at home, out of everyday ordinary items lying around the house.
In this “Two Minute Miracle” video, Agent Hymans shows you the basics of a wireless network including the necessary parts and types of wireless networks.
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