One on One Computer Consultants (www.1on1cc.com)
December 2006 eNewsletter

New Computer Technologies and General Information

New Laptop Discounts

Circuit City has joined Wal-Mart and Staples policy of lowering prices on laptop computers. All three are selling or planning to sell Compaq laptops with large rebates and special offers. Circuit City has joined with Internet Phone Company, Vonage, and plan to offer Compaq laptops (with Intel processors) for around $99.00. Of course, you’ll have to sign up for 12 months of Vonage service. Wal-Mart and Staples have come out with Compaq laptops (with AMD processors, not my favorite) for under $400.00. It’s been rumored that Best Buy has got a special deal with Toshiba laptops, so you might be seeing some upcoming holiday deals, but they probably won’t meet the Compaq prices because, quite frankly, Toshiba makes a better product. Remember the old saying, “You get what you pay for”. The computer manufacturers have to be cutting corners somewhere to offer these rock-bottom prices.

Virus/Spyware/Spam Warning  & Updates

Wireless Broadcom Chipset Vulnerable to Attack

Computer code that could let an attacker hijack Windows PCs via a Wi-Fi connection was published on the Internet. The vulnerability can be exploited over a Wi-Fi network only and not over the Internet. The code exploits the security vulnerability in a driver from chipmaker Broadcom. Computer users can check if they have the vulnerable driver by searching for it on their system. The driver filename is: BCMWL5.SYS. Any version of that file below 4.100.15.5 is vulnerable. You should check with your computer manufacturer for a newer version of the driver file and install it on your computer. Linksys has released an updated version of the file included for the WPC300N wireless card. From everything I’ve read, the file in this driver will work with the Broadcom chipset. You’ll have to download, extract all the files, and then replace the older version of the file on your computer. Tip: Rename your current BCMWL5.SYS file to BCMWL5.OLD before copying the new driver file to the location of the old driver file. This way, you can make sure the new driver file will work with your wireless network card.

Never click on a web link in an email message

One of the latest tricks in email messages is a deliberate misleading web page link. This seems to be a practice of credit fraud (Phishing) perpetrators and marketing companies. You might think that you will be directed to the web link shown, but you’ll be taken to a different web page where you’ll be asked to enter information. The safest method to use to check the web page link would be to copy the Internet address and paste it into your web browser’s address bar.

"Free" Software Downloads

FastStone Image Resizer

Now, you can take your group of photos (images) and use bulk commands to resize, rename, crop, rotate, add text, and more. FastStone Image Resizer does a lot more than just resize graphic images and with their other “freeware” image programs you can have an Image Editor, Screen Capture Program, Create Slide Shows, and more. Go to: http://www.faststone.org/

AusLogics Disk Defragmenter

The Disk Defragmenter that comes with Windows XP just takes too long as far as I’m concerned. AusLogics offers a free program that doesn’t have a lot of “bells and whistles”, but that’s probably why it doesn’t take such a long time to complete the task. There’s no registration required, but they will try to promote their other software products. Go to: http://www.auslogics.com/

Tips & Tricks

Increase Windows XP Performance

Most computer applications are fighting for available resources. Many of those valuable resources are used by manipulating computer video graphics. This can be especially detrimental when you’re talking about laptops or computers with video adapters built into the motherboard. One of the easiest ways to improve your computer’s performance is to eliminate “Visual Effects”. Do you really need to “slide open boxes”? To change your Visual Effects, right-click on “My Computer”, left-click on “Properties”, and select the “Advanced” tab. In the “Performance” category, click on the “Settings” button and select “Adjust for Best Performance”. You can always go back and customize your selections.

Black Friday Ads

This web site scans ads from major retailers and posts them on the Internet. The items are presented in an alphabetical listing with prices (when available). Items are rated and you can click on any item to add it to your shopping list.
Go to: http://bfads.net/h30187.www3.hp.com/index.jsp

HP Learning Center

Hewlett-Packard, the maker of computer printers, digital cameras, and computers, offers free (registration required) computer-related classes through their Learning Center . Categories include, Software & Technology, Business Skills, In-House Marketing, and even Real Estate. Classes range from Basic, to Intermediate, to Advanced. You can download the course manuals (you’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader for most of them) and you can review the course at your own pace.
Go to: http://h30187.www3.hp.com/