Technical Support Network - A blog to discuss computers and technical issues.

Daniel Branconnier's Blog (29)

Alert: XPAntivirus 2009 - Rogue/Trojan Virus***

I work as a freelance computer technician and I've come across a variant of the XPAntivirus 2009 rogue/trojan downloader virus on several of my clients' computers. This new virus is challenging to remove but I've found an effective freeware tool that helps to eliminate it. Malwarebytes Antimalware Tool can remove some of the toughest spyware. It removed several viruses and spyware/malware programs that SuperAntispyware, NOD32 and TrendMicro PC-Cillin cou… Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on August 30, 2008 at 9:06am — No Comments

Scriblink - Online Whiteboard

I came across this very useful website that is basically an online whiteboard which allows you to share and collaborate diagrams and drawings with others via email. It's almost like an online Paintbrush program. Check it out. Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on July 31, 2008 at 12:58pm — No Comments

www.techsupportforum.com - Yet another great site for technical support :-)

Find answers to your computer related problems at the techsupport forum. Visit: TechSupportForum
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Added by Daniel Branconnier on July 30, 2008 at 2:09pm — No Comments

ZoneAlarm detects Microsoft Patch (Automatic Update) as a threat and disables Internet access...

On Tuesday, July 8th 2008, Microsoft released an Automatic Update (patch). Those using Zone Alarm for their firewall were immediately unable to access the Internet because Zone Alarm identified the update as a threat and changed the 'Internet Zone Level' to 'High' instead of 'Medium'. Users had to manually change the 'Zone Level' back to 'Medium'. This is a common occurence with Zone Alarm. I do not recommend using Zone Alarm for your Firewall. Even Vista's built in firewall is better. In… Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on July 12, 2008 at 11:18pm — No Comments

Floating grounds caused by breaking the ground plug from the power cord

Here's a situation that I've encountered numerous times. I'm called to fix someone's computer and when I touch the computer's case/tower, I can feel an alternating current probably in the range of 50 to 60 volts. When I go to check the computer's power cord, I see that they broke off the ground prong to make it fit into an extension cord. Let's analyze what this does: 1.) The computer's power supply no longer has a ground thus creating a 'floating ground' in the PC's case and grounding through… Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on June 28, 2008 at 5:02pm — No Comments

An Excellent Blog article about 'what programs never to install on your computer.'

Read it here: http://www.dashes.com/anil/2006/08/the-windows-app.html
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Added by Daniel Branconnier on April 25, 2008 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Tip Of The Day * Hot Tip *

Here's a useful tip to create a shortcut that you can use in Windows XP to clear memory. I haven't tested this yet on Vista, but I assume that it should work on Vista. 1. Right click on an empty spot on your desktop and select New - Shortcut. 2. Type %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks in the box. 3. Click Next. 4. Give your shortcut a nice name like “Clear Memory”. 5. Click Finish and you’re done. Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on April 13, 2008 at 10:13am — No Comments

News: New URL coming soon.... www.go2tech.ca

Soon, you'll be able to access our website via our new URL: www.go2tech.ca I will advise when it's ready. Regards. Daniel Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on April 7, 2008 at 9:53am — No Comments

Browsing the Internet in privacy via Proxify.

Using Privoxy, you can browse the Internet in privacy. Now websites won't discover info. about you or use tracking cookies. For more information, visit: http://www.proxify.com They offer unlimited access for a very minimal fee. You can use the free webproxy but it will block out certain sites. Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on April 2, 2008 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Fasterfox Extension

Boost the performance of Firefox with Fasterfox plugin, more info here: http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/ Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on March 14, 2008 at 1:54pm — No Comments

Internet Explorer 8 beta 1 now available.

Here's the link for Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1. Even though I dislike Internet Explorer, this one appears to be somewhat promising. It's worth checking out. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ie8/getitnow.mspx Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on March 6, 2008 at 12:27pm — No Comments

Rate and read reviews about your ISP at DSL reports

Shopping around for an ISP? Check out DSL reports to read reviews before making a choice. Visit: http://www.dslreports.com Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on February 26, 2008 at 8:26pm — No Comments

Service Pack 3 for XP, now available.

I've installed SP 3 on 2 of my systems at home and I must say, they installed flawlessly and seem to work quite well. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=75ed934c-8423-4386-ad98-36b124a720aa&displaylang=en Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on February 25, 2008 at 6:54pm — No Comments

Understanding DHCP

DHCP, like BOOTP runs over UDP, utilizing ports 67 and 68 Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on February 24, 2008 at 11:53am — No Comments

5 Gigabytes of Free Online Storage from Microsoft!!! :-)

Visit http://skydrive.live.com to obtain 5 Gb of free online storage! This is fantastic! Thank you Microsoft! Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on February 23, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Although the purpose of this site is to provide you with relevant forums to help resolve computer pr…

Although the purpose of this site is to provide you with relevant forums to help resolve computer problems, I found a website that offers professional technical support via phone and via remote desktop for a minimal fee. For more info, visit:

http://www.yourtechonline.com/how_we_help.php

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Added by Daniel Branconnier on February 6, 2008 at 10:39am — No Comments

Tip Of The Way - Increase the shutdown speed in Windows XP (for advanced users)

IMPROVE XP SHUTDOWN SPEED

This tweak reduces the time XP waits before automatically closing any running programs when you give it the command to shutdown.

Go to Start then select Run
Type ‘Regedit’ and click ok
Find ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\’
Select ‘WaitToKillAppTimeout’
Right click and select ‘Modify’
Change the value to ‘1000′
Click ‘OK’
Now select ‘HungAppTimeout’
Right click and select ‘Modify’
Change the value

… Continue

Added by Daniel Branconnier on February 3, 2008 at 9:59am — No Comments

freewebsubmission.com - Submit your website to several search engines for free!!

You've just created your website, now what? Submit it for free to several search engines by using the freewebsubmission.com tool.

http://www.freewebsubmission.com

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Added by Daniel Branconnier on January 29, 2008 at 7:45am — No Comments

This guy makes Linux a reality.

Linux is a viable desktop operating system for millions of people worldwide. Technically it is better than XP from the standpoint of stability and security. I'm tired of viruses, spyware and problems from new-users experimenting by installing dangerous programs (LimeWire, Bearshare and those free 3D screensavers).

Check out how Helios Solutions teaches others about the Linux alternative here:

http://www.fixedbylinux.com/

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Added by Daniel Branconnier on January 23, 2008 at 6:12pm — No Comments