Well it’s back apparently and is able to get around most malware protection. Prior versions had pretty much been dealt with by Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool as well as most antivirus vendors which detect a broad range of bugs instead of just viruses. This new release so far has infected a good half dozen machines that we have seen and all of these were all protected against the prior versions. The nice thing I guess is it’s pretty easy to spot that a machine is infected and what it’s infected with:

They are not shy about saying what has taken control of your machine so PLEASE do not click the link to purchasing Antivirus 2009!

Removal takes a bit of work and knowledge of Windows Safe Mode as well as how Windows loads programs at Boot. We of course suggest you contact your IT provider as it is possible your machine needs more in depth cleaning since if you got infected with one piece of Malware (Spyware/Adware) there may be more hiding on your system.

Meaning no disrespect to the poster of this ad in Craigslist however I want to ask would you have somebody who claims to be a PC Tech come work on your computer who uses a GMail account?

PC repair and Service

Have an old PC thats running slow or may not be working at all? Then contact me and let me know. I do repairs and service on almost all brands. From re-installing windows, to virus control, to full rebuilds. Don’t throw out a good PC when you can get it running like new. I can come to you or pick-up for repair. Servicing Lexington, Salisbury and parts of Winston. My prices beat those other Geeks and their entire squad.
email me at bxxxbatman@gmail.com
Brad

I’m sorry but part of being a professional is having that business card and in today’s world your email is your business card. Considering you can register a domain for around $10 and get cheap or even free hosting from say Microsoft is it “professional” to use GMail as your primary form of contact?

So Brad I applaud you in taking the initiative in going out on your own but at least in my opinion you need to rethink a few things such as your email hosting provider and probably your email address, Mr. Batman.

If you have turned on the TV any time recently you may have seen a scrolling banner across a number of channels warning you that Time Warner was cutting some 18 channels from your local cable channel list and for you to call a number to voice your concern. If your wondering what this is all about it boils down to money. Viacom which owns the rights to things like SpongeBob want some $39 million in new fees from Time Warner and to date Time Warner has refused. Viacom has step up and said they will pull the plug at midnight tonight if a deal is not reached.

Now before you go thinking this is all Time Warner’s fault remember that any increase in fees they pay will result in higher fees paid by it’s subscribers. As more and more people move to the Internet for their entertainment the almightily advertising dollar is moving from Comedy Central to sites like Hulu. Viacom may ask for $39 million today to cover their shrinking revenues but will it end there?

FedEx announced on Friday that the new Hub at PTIA will not open this coming summer as planned but rather in the Fall of 2009 with far fewer employees that originally planned. Current plans are to move the 160 employees from the current PTIA facility over to the new hub in the summer with an additional 200 employees being hired sometime in the fall.

There is a great post over on Alerding Castor on the use of PowerPoint or rather the misuse of PowerPoint in a presentation. Other than the use of sound I cannot agree more considering the number of PowerPoint’s I have had to sit through. It amazes me to this day that any tech company considers the use of PowerPoint as “high tech” as it’s just a step above the overhead projector we all remember from High School. Adding transitions, sound and to many words does not change the fact a PowerPoint should do nothing more than highlight what the speaker is reviewing.

The key points he outlines in his post are:

• No more than six words on a slide.
• No cheesy images. Use professional stock photo images.
• No dissolves, spins or other transitions.
• Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound effects that are built in to the program.
• Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides. They don’t work without you there.

Looks like somebody was able to hack one of our message post and insert some foreign Flash code over the past week. Sorry but I did not notice it until yesterday so once I cleaned up the website I decided to go ahead and do a full upgrade of the system. Everything looks good to me but if you find anything not functioning please let us know.

The Richter Scales are back and this time it’s not Bubble 2.0 but a “joyous” Christmas carol:

In case you missed my weekend post Staples is offering QuickBooks Pro for FREE today!

If the link is broken it’s