Geek Speak Archive

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Let’s make a movie

 

It’s that time of year again.   Graduations, vacations and lots of weddings mean you’ll want to capture and display those memories for posterity.  This week’s question comes from a reader who wanted to make a slide show or video of her son’s memories to be played at his graduation party.  She wanted software readily available and easy to use, and free would be good. There are many choices available depending on whether you are Mac or PC and what you are already doing with your pictures; but I recommended using Windows Live Move Maker (WLMM) which is free for the download to anyone using Windows 7 or Vista with Service Pack 2.

Choosing the software might be the easiest part of this project since its use is fairly intuitive; but planning and setting up for the project is crucial as it makes for a smooth execution. Here are some tips to make the project easy.

First make yourself a workspace.  I recommend creating a folder like”Graduation”.  Inside that folder make a folder for Pictures, one for Music (if you choose to add some), another for WLMM Project files and one for versions of the final Video.  You’ll be making different versions of the project and keep them in an editable form so that you can add, subtract and rearrange pics, add music, add titles and make timing adjustments to perfect the finished product.  Once you have a product you like, you’ll convert the project files to a video and most likely after you play it a few times, you’ll make another with still more adjustments.

Next select your pictures.  This may be one of the hardest parts.  You have 2000 pics and you must get it down to a number that will make an interesting but not boring presentation.  My rule of thumb is shoot for 100 to 150 pics; you’ll want to display them for maybe 3 seconds each and 150 will run for about 7 and a half minutes which is probably enough for even your closest friends and relatives.  You can make a longer version for yourself.  After you make your selection, resize them smaller.   You don’t need a 12 megapixel pic to make a good video, especially to show on a laptop screen

Now choose your music clips, in some kind of MP3 form and remember you want to play enough of each clip to keep from sounding choppy.  Three or four clips are plenty in a project of this size.  Remember           that if you buy copyrighted music you may only share it from your PC with your friends.  Add your pictures to the project and rearrange them as you like; it’s easy to preview your creation at any time.  Choose transitions, timing and animations if you like.  Add titles where needed; credits if you want.  Get all this stuff set, before you start adding music clips.  The beginning and ending of music tracks is one of the most difficult tasks of the project.  If your work is interrupted at any point, just save the project as a “project” and you can pick it back up later.  Now add your music and adjust the audio and video tracks so that they are synced.  If it doesn’t match exactly, just fade the music out at the ends of scenes so it won’t disrupt your audience.

Once you have everything synced; then save it in the format you want to use.  You can choose, Burn to DVD, Use on My Computer, Email or even Play on a Mobile Device.

Make some memories and make a movie and till next week, send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

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Web Mail

 

                Last week I hope I convinced most of you Win XP holdouts to at least consider transitioning to Windows 7sometime this year.  Maybe I should tiptoe around this next issue, but I feel I must talk to you about one more change, real soon.  I did try to nudge you on this one back in November of 2010, but now I want to openly endorse adopting Web Mail and letting POP Mail fade away.

Basically the difference is that Web Mail keeps your mail on a server and you read it from your PC through a Web browser.  With POP mail you access mail on a remote server and then download it to your PC.  Control freaks like me usually like POP because the downloaded emails are under our control as are the contact files or address book which reside on our PCs.  The old MS mail client Outlook Express is a good example of a POP mail.  Thunderbird still makes this process available in a free download from Mozilla.  (If you can’t wean yourself away from OE, download Thunderbird).

I suggested to you over a year ago that Web Mail offers one advantage that is really convenient;  that of accessing your mail and contacts from any PC, anywhere.  Since that column, more advantages have arisen.  The ease of synchronizing mail between your PC and your mobile devices is another consideration.  You can also sync across platforms more easily (Mac and Windows work better together).

The other change is that Web Mail programs have grown up, improved and added more features that make them more complete like your   old POP mail clients.

So who do you choose among the myriad Web Mail clients available?  The big three are Yahoo, Live Hotmail and Gmail.  Apple has recently entered the fray with their iCloud Mail.

If you are already using a Bellsouth or ATT mail account, it is using the Yahoo Mail server and it is easy to transition to the att.yahoo Web Mail site.  Ditch OE or Win Live Mail if you are using them and move onto Yahoo’s mail server.

If you are already using a Hotmail account and don’t like change, stick with it.  Get out of Win Live mail and move to the Web.

But if you are shopping for a Web based mail client, choose Gmail which to my mind has gradually grown since its introduction into the best overall Web mail service.  They give you plenty of free mail storage space.  Their ads are unobtrusive (not so with Yahoo).  They allow easy synching of contacts with mobile devices.  The user interface is friendly and quite readable.  They make it easy for you to group messages by Label in storage.  There are a few quirky things about the service, but they are constantly making improvements.

Overall, I pick Gmail. Try it and till next week, send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

See GeekSpeak by Jim Hall at http://hallsts.com  where you may comment directly on my blog

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

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Fourth Anniversary

 

This week marks the fourth anniversary of my first column in the Albany Journal and I thank you readers for your support.  As I look back, let me renew my promise in that first column.  I resolved to help ordinary readers understand enough geek talk to use technology to make life easier and more enjoyable.  I promised to give you enough information but not overload you with jargon and complicated language.  It has been a challenge at times; some of your questions are about complicated subjects; but I’ll stand by my pledge to keep things as simple as possible (and expect you to let me know when I fall short).

Looking back there have been many significant changes in the tools of technology since that first column.  Miniaturization, mobility and synchronization have driven change so that the hardware we use today is very different.  The advent and maturation of 3G and WiFi have made portability and mobility available on more devices to more people and changes in the near future auger even greater change.  4G will become a reality rather than just a sales gimmick and the next standards for WiFi will significantly improve wireless traffic.

Synchronization has been in the mind of users for some time and recent advances in cloud storage and cooperation among some software and hardware vendors are beginning to pay off.  You would expect to be able to synchronize like devices, but we are seeing some progress in cross platform coordination.  Gee, Microsoft, Android and Apple devices talking to one another?  Who would have thunk just 5 years ago?

There are also some stark changes in the questions I get; but amazingly there are still two that rank near the top. “How can I speed up my computer?” leads the all time list.   A close second is “How do I get that blanket-blank malware off my computer and keep it off?”  Coming in a close third is “Which updates should I accept and how do I know when to say no?”  This question is being driven by the knowledge that more and more infections are coming from installed softwares other than the Operating System or the Mail Client.

One of the things I have learned from your questions and comments is that most people want to use technology and gadgets in ways that are uniquely useful to them.  They are not looking for intrusions and complications.  I’ll renew my commitment to bringing you solutions and recommendations that help you to manage your gadgets and have a little fun in the process.

Some of you have asked what happened to my old Website.  I simply got tired of maintaining it. It was working me instead of vice versa.  This week I am starting a new blog to take its place and it’s called GeekSpeak by Jim Hall.  Please take a look at it: http://hallsts.com and I especially welcome your comments and suggestions while I am building the site.  By the way I will also display recent issues of this column on the site in pdf format.

Thanks again readers and till next week, send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

 

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Poor Jud is daid

“Poor Jud is daid…

Poor Jud Fry is daid…

All gather round his coffin now and cry.…

He had a heart of gold.…

And he wasn’t very old.…

Oh why did sich a feller have to die?”

 
My apologies to the writers of “Oklahoma”!  I was reminded of this poignant and comical eulogy when I read the latest news about the eminent demise of Windows XP back on April 9th of this year.

Windows XP launched in 2001 shortly after the short lived and much maligned Win ME and it has enjoyed an enormously successful run.  Many XP users refused to adopt the now discredited Win Vista which succeeded it.  Most are glad they held out for the much better Win Seven that followed.  MS finally stopped selling retail versions of XP in 2008 and now says that it will stop all support of the workhorse OS in April of 2014.  That means no more security updates which will effectively kill the OS for Internet users.  The Office Suite that pioneered along with WIN XP, Office XP (later updated slightly to Office 2003) will all be moth balled at the same time.

So what’s the hurry you ask?  Well listen to this argument from an MS spokeswoman:”  Windows XP and Office 2003 were great software releases for their time, but the technology environment has shifted. Technology continues to evolve and so do people’s needs and expectations. Modern users demand technologies that fit their personal work style and allow them to stay productive anywhere anytime, while businesses have an ever increasing need to protect data and ensure security, compliance and manageability. It is in a company’s – and its employees’ – best interest to take advantage of the modern Windows and Office software that is designed with these needs in mind.”  Win 7 is superior and you just don’t want to miss the features that make it better than XP.

You’ve got two years to make this transition, but don’t wait till the last minute; do it now.  Go ahead and get yourself a new Win 7 PC and a new monitor as well if you’re still using an old 15 to 17 inch model.  There have been major improvements in monitor technologies that will brighten up and clarify your desktop experience.  Consider also; this might be the time to move to a laptop and gain some portability along with space on your actual desktop.

Couldn’t resist one more verse from the Oklahoma eulogy:

 

“He looks like he’s asleep.…

It’s a shame that he won’t keep.…

But it’s summer and we’re runnin’ out a’ ice”

Poooor XP!  Poooor XP!

Folk’s, it’s summer and time to inter our good and trusty old friend, Win XP.  RIP!  

 

Till next week, send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

 

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Speed up, slow down!

 

               “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning” is an old palliative that General Practitioners used to prescribe for minor health maladies.  Perhaps an equally useful one for computer techs might be “Shut it down and call me if a restart doesn’t help”.  It is amazing how many minor operational problems are solved just by rebooting and starting over; not just with PCs, but modems, routers, TV sets, coffee makers and other electronic devices.

By my estimate one third of Internet connection problems are helped by a simple reboot of all the devices involved.  Remember your Internet pathway starts with a service provider (ISP) with some kind of modem usually connected to a phone line, cable or satellite.  From there it can either connect directly to your PC or go to a router which splits the connection so that you can connect multiple devices; either by cable or WiFi.   In some networks the modem/router function is combined into one piece of hardware.  Simply shutting everything down and restarting in this order will often reconnect everything: modem, router, PC and other devices.

On the Microsoft Windows tips for slow computers page, they recommend that you restart your computer about once a week.  “Restarting a PC is a good way to clear out its memory and ensure that any errant processes and services that started running get shut down.

Restarting closes all the software running on your PC—not only the programs you see running on the taskbar, but also dozens of services that might have been started by various programs and never stopped. Restarting can fix mysterious performance problems when the exact cause is hard to pinpoint.  The more things you have open and the longer you keep them running, the greater the chances your PC will bog down and eventually run low on memory.”

So shut down to reconnect  …and to speed up.  It’s kind of like clearing your mind before you renew and retackle a project.  Your computers random access memory (RAM) is like the thinking part of your brain, it can only handle so many things at a time.

While we’re on the subject of RAM, Microsoft claims that Windows Seven will run on 1 gigabyte of Memory, “but it runs better with 2 GB. For optimal performance, boost that to 3 GB or more.”  I’ll stick by my earlier recommendations ;( 2 GB min) get 4 GB for most applications and spring for 6 or 8 if you can.  Adding RAM is one hardware upgrade that many users can do themselves.  Simply go to crucial.com and let them help you select the correct kind of memory modules for your PC as well as the suggested amount.  As an example, 2 GB of memory for the PC that I am writing this column on would only cost $40.  If I wasn’t so cheap I would have already bought that RAM.

Reboot yourself and till next week, send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

 

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Big Mac Attack!

 

It was bound to happen sooner or later and that time has apparently come.  Headlines from CNET News last week read “Botnet Goes on Mac Attack”!  Veteran (and maybe smug) Mac users often say that they don’t need ant-virus software on their Computers because Macs don’t get malware.  PC users know they are vulnerable and generally follow safe practices to minimize infections.  As more and more users have adopted the Mac OS; the bad guys have taken notice and realize that there are IDs to be stolen and computers to be taken over in the Mac World as well as the Windows World.

Last week’s story was about the so-called Flashback Trojan which by some estimates has infected 600,000 Macs globally.  The intent of the malware is to steal passwords from victims and thereby gain access to personal information.  This malware was first identified back in September of 2011 disguised as an Adobe Flash Player plug-in.   It has morphed of late to using Java Scripting as its entry point.

I know I promised readers that I would not use too much geeky language, but I am trying to get across that malware often comes in through back doors, little programs and snippets of programs that are used by your browsers to render images, videos and text files so that you can read them or see them in the way the web publisher wants you to see them.

These little programs include Flash Player, Java, Adobe Reader and others and since they can be exploited (even if your OS is patched up to date) we have to keep them updated as well.  It’s another layer of protection that we need to keep safe in Cyberspace.

It will be interesting to see how Apple reacts to increasing attacks on the Mac OS.  They have already issued a patch for the Java vulnerability as well as instructions for removing the infection if you have it.

Meantime what should we do?  Firstly for Mac users, keep your OS and other installed programs updated.  Apple makes it real easy for you.  Simply go to the Apple on your menu bar and look for Software Update to check for new software.  Secondly, it’s time to install an anti-virus program.  I recommend ClamWin for Mac Systems; have been using it for over a year now and it does not seem to slow down my Mac.

Windows readers should continue to keep your OS updated (you know the drill, every second Tuesday of the month, or on auto).  Keep your AV software updated and run regular scans.  To keep track of all your other programs, run a program like Secunia’s PSI, then update all the vulnerable programs the PSI scan finds.   One caution about Java updates, if you have older versions installed, it’s probably better to uninstall them before you add the  latest one.  Elect to have future updates done automatically and you might save yourself one minor headache.  This is kind of like the War on Terror; it is seemingly never ending.

Till next week, send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

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Great Zeus! It’s a Botnet!

 

Last week’s announcement of the disruption of the Zeus botnet system by Microsoft sounds like good news at first glance, but as you read more closely; you realize the complexity and sophistication of  modern cybercrime operations and wonder if we’ll ever be really safe from them.

This excerpt from their press release gives an idea of the complexity of the cyber-enemy:

“In its most complex effort to disrupt botnets to date, Microsoft Corp., in collaboration with the financial services industry — including the Financial Services – Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association — as well as Kyrus Tech Inc., announced it has successfully executed a coordinated global action against some of the most notorious cybercrime operations that fuel online fraud and identity theft. With this legal and technical action, a number of the most harmful botnets using the Zeus family of malware worldwide have been disrupted in an unprecedented, proactive cross-industry action against this cybercriminal organization.” The use of the word “disrupted” is telling and relevant to me.

The Zeus Family is used worldwide to steal identities and subsequently monies in a number of ways and by some estimates may have surpassed the hundred million range and be nearing a half billion.  The most recent raids by U. S. Marshalls centered on servers in Scranton, PA and Lombard, Ill.  This is the first time that the RICO act has been used to try to include all the participants in this type of criminal enterprise.  Google “Zeus botnet” to get the whole incredible story about this ongoing investigation and prosecution.  It will open your eyes.

The other interesting point about current botnets that I want to make is that they are becoming more discreet.  In the past we have been conditioned to think that a rogue takeover of our Pc would show some symptoms like slowdowns, pop-ups and the like. The more sophisticated ones don’t want you to know that you’ve been taken over so that they can do their dirty work in the background, un-noticed and unchecked.  That’s all the more reason to keep your systems and softwares updated and to run regular scans with anti-malware programs.

One other caution I’ll mention is that whenever you are suspicious about a message or pop-up, don’t click on it and get off the Internet as quickly as you can.  Close your browser, shut down your PC and reboot to see if the message reappears.  If it does, get help from someone you trust before the infection gets worse.  As I was writing this column, my wife had a pop-up appear on her laptop while she was viewing an email from a relative; luckily she called me as soon as it appeared and she avoided any serious infection.

Till next week, stay safe and send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

 

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Psst! We’re being watched!

 

               Privacy appears to be kind of a “personal thing” and some of my readers are more upset than others about the recent policy changes at Google.  To be fair, it’s not just Google but the whole prying Internet experience that gives some the creeps.  As I said last week, one way to look at the loss of privacy is as a cost/benefit proposition.  You have to decide for yourself if the service offered or the convenience afforded is worth the incremental loss in privacy on a situation by situation basis.

What’s the big deal about tracking my web surfing you may ask?  Such data mining (as it’s called) can   reveal a startling amount of personal information about you, such as your personal shopping preferences, family circumstances, political leanings, medical conditions, and much more.  These are the tamer tidbits; what if you have an interest in an unpopular subject or some other pursuit that you don’t want to share with all?

How can you express your displeasure with Google’s new privacy policies?  One way might be to stop using their flagship enterprise for a while and see if decreased traffic gets their attention.  I’m talking about not using the world’s number one search engine for a period, namely Google.  The venerable and ubiquitous Google search engine is their pride and joy and namesake.  It’s at the heart of their brand.  Mind you, I’m not trying to start a boycott, just answering your question about how to voice your displeasure.

Naturally you’ll want a substitute search engine and I’ll suggest a couple.  One that continues to make a splash on tech news sites is called DuckDuckGo, started by Gabriel Weinberg.  This little, would be giant killer has grown to the point of receiving about a million visits per day.  Startpage by ixquick is another site that is on the leading edge of this privacy issue. They make this claim on their Home Page, “ Startpage, and its sister search engine Ixquick, are the only third-party certified search engines in the world that do not record your IP address or track your searches.”  If that gives you comfort, give them a try.

Privacy is a very important and complicated issue and should not be taken lightly.  The ultimate invasion of privacy as in identity theft can be a life changing experience and take years and lots of money to recover. Remember that you are exposed not just while web surfing, but whenever you are on a social network like Facebook or Twitter.  Whenever data about you is being collected and stored, in whatever venue; there is risk that your data can be leaked by incompetence, by accident or purposely stolen.

If you want more information or have other questions, start with sites like privacy rights.org or worldprivacyforum.org.  Dare I say Google them?  Find their websites with whatever degree of privacy you deem appropriate.  Till next week, be alert and send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

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Hiding from Google!

 

                There always seems to be tension between preserving our privacy and getting the services we want and have come to expect in the information age.  What do we have to give up to get what we want?  We also want services to be free if possible.  We have come to expect a certain amount of free stuff on the Internet, but somewhere in the back of our minds we suspect it’s not completely free; maybe we have to accept a little advertising to make it happen.

This week’s question is about the new privacy policies that Google just put into place on all its various platforms.  This space is too small to list all the things that Google owns, but start with their search engine, add Chrome, Picasa, Google Docs, YouTube, Gmail, Google calendar, Picasa, Android for Mobile, and the list goes on.  Prior to now, each of the services that you used from Google kept its own profile on you and had its own disclosure agreement with you (yes you probably didn’t read it, but it was offered).  The big change is that now all of your Google gadgets and services will come under one set of policies and one user profile.

What’s this whole thing really about?  Targeted advertising is the short answer!  Is targeted advertising evil?  How about annoying?  Think about it in the old days.  I went to the local grocery store which had its own meat market and a real butcher behind the counter.  I’m pushing my cart past the meat counter and the butcher yells out:”hey I just got in some fresh lamb and I know you like a nice rack of lamb for Easter”.  That’s targeted advertising on a personal and small scale.  Fast forward to the info age and as I am shopping on the web (or just surfing) I stop and look at a pair of Brand X running shoes, size 13.  All that information is captured and can be shared in a number of ways, not just locally, but globally.  My info data base never goes away, it only gets bigger. Next thing I know, I’m getting ads from running shoe vendors, large size shoe vendors , running apparel makers, energy bar makers and anything else that relates to the original item I showed interest in.  If I’m not careful my email inbox will fill up with stuff and overwhelm my real mail.

Can I use Google’s free services and not give up my personal info?  I don’t think so!  But I need to manage how much stuff they have and how they use it …as well as I can.  My advice to you is first pick the Google services that you really use, eliminate the others and try to defend your turf on the ones you keep.  For me, I have to have Gmail, iGoogle and Google Calendar and there are some services I can get along without.

Next go to your Google accounts Dashboard and take time to look through each category and manage it as well as they allow .  Easy way to get to the Dashboard is to just” Google” it and sign in with your Google password.  See how ubiquitous Google is; the word has come to mean “search for”.

Be aware of your privacy exposure , try to control it as best you can; and till next week, send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

 

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Credit to the big dawg

 

                Most of my readers know that I am a big advocate of free software (free as doesn’t cost anything, period).  I have recommended many free downloads from this space, but today I want to direct you to an unsuspected source for some great freeware.  The software giant that we all love to hate also has some great free software to be used on any valid MS Windows System.  Even if you hate paying Microsoft for their Windows OS and their ubiquitous MS office, give them credit for having some very useful freebies and you can be assured that anything downloaded from one of their sites is malware free.  As a matter of fact MS offers so many freebies that I can only include the security ones in this column.

Let me start with what I think is their crown jewel, Microsoft Security Essentials.  They describe MSE as the anti-annoying, anti-expensive, anti-virus program and the program lives up to the hype.  It’s one of the best for detection rates and yet doesn’t slow your system down like some of the paid solutions.  MSE has a very friendly user interface and it handles scheduled scans and updates virtually automatically.  You don’t get a lot of pop-ups asking you to buy something and you will feel more secure in your surfing.

If you suspect a malware attack, MS offers the free Microsoft Safety Scanner that will scan your system and remove viruses, spyware and viruses while working with your existing AV software.   Please be aware that the MS Safety Scanner is not the same as Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool which is updated every second Tuesday and offered as part of the monthly Windows Update package.  That tool checks your computer for specific, prevalent malware and removes it if found.  Note that the MS Safety Scanner expires 10 days after download so that you are forced to run an up to date version of the scanner.

The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is a bit of a geeky tool, but it is still useful to check your computer for missed security updates and security misconfigurations.  I still like the free Secunia OSI scanner for checking updates if you’re not comfortable with the MBSA.

If you use Windows Live Mail or already have a Windows Live ID, you may want to consider Windows Live Safety which can help you monitor kids computer activities and filter the websites, games and programs they can access.  It is not a substitute for parental supervision, but you can use it as one of your tools.

And lastly, there is a customized version of Internet Explorer 9.0 that works directly with The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the UK (CEOP Centre).  You can upgrade your IE 9 browser and it makes the CEOP tools available.  CEOP is billed as a one stop shop for Internet safety.  You may want to start at their website and read about what they offer and also check the reference links there.

Till next week, be safe and send your questions to:

geekspeak@mchsi.com

 

 

jimhallWritten by Jim Hall. Email your questions to geekspeak@mchsi.com . You can find Jim online at HallsTrainingSolutions.com

 

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