The anti-virus software of AVG has an update and it addresses many stability bugs.

One of the bugs is that the software crashes when scanning a malformed UPX compressed executable file. Another bug is about a traffic-spewing behaviour on LinkScanner which overinflates a site’s visitor statistics. This affects sites that rank high in search engine results pages. Therefore, when this bug occur, it uses a ton of bandwidth on a site’s server according to the article.

Approximately 30 flaws were fixed in the update and the update changed the engine of the software which means that it is not a typical update since it just did not add new malware definitions.

Source: The Register

Users of the Windows Vista operating system can download a PDF or XPS file to learn tips on how to improve the performance of their operating system.

One of the tips is using a USB stick as an additional cache for the computer and defragging a hard drive. Another tip tells the reader that they should use standby mode rather than shutting down their computer.

Desktop graphics play a factor too and Microsoft says that users should disable visual effects to increase performance.

The article at Heise Online notes that system RAM is a performance issue. Vista’s minimum requirement is between 512 MB to 1 GB. Several organizations are getting good results with 2 GB according to Microsoft’s document.

Source: Heise Online

The Crucial System Scanner is a freeware tool that scans your computer for what type and how much RAM it currently has in it and what your options are for installing more RAM.

Although the makers of this tool intended for it to be used to so you can buy the right type of RAM in their brand (Crucial). Its a really handy way to find out what type of RAM a certain motherboard can take. This tool can be an absolute godsend with laptop motherboards than tend to be a little sensitive to what type of RAM they can take.
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According to a report that was posted at Information Week, most of the business customers of HP downgrade their computers from Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system to Windows XP.

Chris Flores, who is the official blogger of Microsoft Vista, said that over 180 million Vista licenses were sold. Information Week notes that this news raises questions about the sales claims of the Vista operating system since businesses cannot buy just a Windows XP system without buying a license for Windows Vista.

Dell and other computer makers are also shipping these “downgraded” systems.

Windows XP was officially retired by Microsoft last month.

Source: Information Week

The other day I misdiagnosed a computer problem. It rarely happens to me but it does happen. I was working on a computer inside a large residential building that frequently call me as new residents move in and find they are unable to connect to the buildings free internet. This is what happened and this is how I dealt with a misdiagnosis.
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A tool has been made which takes advantage of a web browser flaw. The flaw is about getting the user’s web browser history which shows which websites did a user went to.

The tool guesses which gender the user is based on the data. The article that was posted at The Register notes that the result shows 74 percent of the guesses are male users.

The author of the article notes to the reader that this is reminder how easy it is for webmasters to track someone’s browsing history.

Source: The Register

Ars Technica has posted an article which is a guide on how to install and run the Ubuntu operating system (OS) on an Eee PC. The installation starts with downloading an image file of the OS which is specifically designed to run on an Eee PC.

The user needs to boot the Eee PC from the SD card as part of the installation. During this process, he or she needs to hold the Escape key during startup. A screen will show up and then the user needs to choose the USB option according to the article.

Once a user has completed the installation steps, he or she can customize the settings in the OS to optimize battery life and boot speed.

Source: Ars Technica

Last week, I held a small survey asking us technicians what hardware brands we like based on quality vs price to get an idea on what other computer technicians are selling to their clients. Here are the results.
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A new free tool in a beta version has been released by Microsoft.  It is a calendar synchronization software which is a part of the latest beta version of Outlook Connector. The version number is 12.1.

Paul Thurott, a blogger, said in an entry,”Very, very interesting. Given the mess Apple has made of MobileMe, this is very good timing, and it looks like Microsoft finally has a complete answer to Google’s Gmail/Google Calendar/Gmail Contacts sync.”

This software works with Outlook 2003 and 2007 versions.

Source: COMPUTERWORLD

Sophos has posted a blog entry on their website that Customs-based messages are being sent out by the same people who sent UPS spam.

The author of the article included a paragraph from the spam. It says, “We have received a parcel for you, sent from France on July 9. Please fill out the customs declaration attached to this message and send it to us by mail or fax. The address and the fax number are at the bottom of the declaration form.”

There is a zip file attachment and it is a Trojan. It is detected as Mal/Spy-A according to the blog entry.

Source: Sophos