There is no better place to get the different tips about the computer business than from techies who are out there in the field. As I have mentioned in the past, the Technibble forums are a wealth of information where technicians (including already experienced ones) can learn from one another. Here are some of my favorite forum threads.
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An update has been posted on The Register about the Angelina virus which exists in some laptops that comes with a pre-installed Windows Vista Home Premium operating system.

Benjamin Verduign of Bullgard had contacted the site and told them that signature files for the specific virus is no longer present in its anti-virus software because it had laid dormant for so long.

The company had provided a “tailor-made” fix for this virus.

Veruign said, “This is not so much a wake-up call but more a reminder” when he was asked whether old viruses would make a comeback.

Source: The Register

Consumers now days are getting smarter as they learn that it pays to shop around. Many customers will go between many stores looking for the best quality and the best price before they make a purchase. You can take advantage of this by always making your business one that they checkout before they make the major purchase. Heres how.
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Sophos has posted a new blog entry yesterday about an old boot sector virus called Angelina. This virus has been reported that it is affecting laptops that are being sold in Germany last week in Aldi stores.

It was first found in 1994. This kind of virus spreads by infecting an area of the disk that is used to start the operating system of Windows according to Sophos.

Another detail about the virus is that its authors relied on people who may accidentally leave floppy disks in their PCs when they switched them off.

This virus comes with machines that have Windows Vista on them and it is a mystery why this case happened.

Source: Sophos

Users who are using Microsoft’s MSN Messenger will be forced to upgrade to the Windows Live Messenger 8.1 if they want to continue on using the software. This applies to MSN Messenger versions 6.2, 7.0, and 7.5. It also applies to Live Messenger 8.0.

According to the report by COMPUTERWORLD, there will be a dialogue which will say, “A newer version is available. You must install the newer version in order to continue. Would you like to do this now?” when a user tries to log in.

This mandatory upgrade is required because there is a vulnerability in the older program.

Source: COMPUTERWORLD

The other week we asked our readers whether they thought advertising via bluetooth was smart or shady and we got some great responses last time. This week we’ll ask whether wardriving advertising is smart or shady.

So what is wardriving?
Wardriving is the process of going for a drive though your neighborhood with wireless gear and seeking out unsecured wireless networks.

So how would a computer business owner turn this into some money? Read on.
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Various websites has reported today that Microsoft is patching the computers of Windows users without their permission. This news is based on a newsletter which reported this process.

“If Microsoft can change things on your PC, after you’ve set it up to only take changes when you want them, that gives people a lot of fear for what might happen to their PCs,” said Brian Livingston who is the newsletter’s editorial director.

Scott Dunn who is the Windows Secrets associate editor said, “These files are by no means viruses, and Microsoft appears to have no malicious intent in patching them. However, writing files to a user’s PC without notice … is behavior that’s usually associated with hacker Web sites. The question being raised in discussion forums is, ‘Why is Microsoft operating in this way?’ ”

Source: Seattlepi

Back in the day I used to do a fair bit web development for clients. I know many computer businesses here also offer web development services along side their core business of computer repairs. Web Development can be quite profitable if done right but there are many traps that a developer can fall into that can result in both parties “getting burned”. In this article I’ll talk about a few of my own experiences and show you some tips to get it done right.
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The Register has posted an article about a security bug that exists in Apple’s QuickTime software. It uses Mozilla’s Firefox internet browser to install backdoors and other malware. Both Windows and Mac operating systems are affected by this flaw.

On its own, the QuickTime issue is less critical,” said Petko D. Petkov who is a researcher. “Firefox is not vulnerable either. But when put together, they create a very dangerous combination.”

He had not tested the flaw on a Mac machine but he is confident that the flaw can also be exploited on Mac operating systems.

Source: The Register

This one was recommended by ninjaman001 on our forums; Runscanner is a free stand alone utility which scans your system for all running programs and autostart locations. You can use Runscanner to detect autostart programs, spyware, adware, homepage hijackers, unverified drivers and other problems. This program is like Autoruns, Hijack This!, Killbox, Process Explorer and the HijackThis.de analysis site combined. The creators have taken the best features of each program and turned them into one utility. Well worth checking out.
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