Google has finally revealed its plans for Gmail and Google Apps to stop working with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9.

The internet ads and search giant said it has stopped all testing and engineering work to make Gmail and Apps work with IE9.

Microsoft’s customers will start receiving notifications in the next few weeks that IE9 is an unsupported browser and telling them to upgrade to a “modern” browser.

Google is killing IE9 in line with its policy announced in June 2011 for its apps and services to only work with the current and prior major releases of browsers.

The policy applies to IE, Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari.

IE9’s being cut loose because Microsoft released IE11 in October, meaning Google will now only make sure its apps work with IE11 and IE10.

Google is late in announcing the change, as reported by The Reg here.

When IE10 was approaching last year, with the imminent release of Windows 8, Google prepped users a month in advance to say its support for IE8 would end.

Google had refused say what its plans were for IE9 support, telling The Reg days before the release of IE11: “Google does not pre-announce these things, but we inform users of changes in good time”.

There was no word from Google on why it is late announcing the end of IE9 support.

The decision has broad implications for Microsoft users. IE9 is the browser for Windows Vista up to Service Pack 2 and works with Windows 7 on the client.

IE10 does not work with Widows Vista, so holdouts will need to move to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. Windows 7 users will need to ensure they have installed the operating system’s latest service pack, SP1.

Windows 7 users do have the further get-out of installing IE11 that shipped with Windows 8.1, but they need Service Pack 1 installed first.

But with the web littered with reports that IE11 is not working properly with Gmail, Windows customers should be concerned. Google has given them one less browser to fall back on, with IE10 now the only alternative to IE11 .

Attention Skype Users!

Quick heads up for all you Skype users!

A new trojan horse spreading through Skype is causing havoc among home & business PC's.  Once on the infected PC, the trojan begins BitMining for BitCoints (a virtual & untraceable currency that is gaining popularity).  Potential victims are encouraged to install a file that is included with messages like "this my favourite picture of you". If the malicious file is installed, one of its features is to turn the machine into a Bitcoin mining slave.

A hacker controlling 100,000 of these trojans can easily make over $270,000 a day with current bitcoin prices.

If you use Skype and your computer seems to be running slow lately, open up your task manager and see if any program is using 50-99% of your CPU.   If so, you may be infected and should do a boot-time scan with your Avast Anti-Virus (You are using Avast aren't you?).  If this does not remove the infection, or if you'd rather not mess with it yourself, please contact me for a remote or on-site support session.

-Matt

The most important tweak for your Microsoft Server running Exchange 2010.

In Microsoft's infinite wisdom, they decided to have the Exchange software hoard every free speck of RAM on it's host system in an effort to minimize pagefile use and speed up end-user experience.  The result in reality is a system that struggles to keep up with just about any application, including the mail system itself.  The fix is fast and fairly simple for those with some decent IT knowledge.

To determine how much RAM to let Exchange play with, an easy formula I use is 66% of total system RAM for multi-role servers, and 75% total RAM for servers dedicated to the mailbox role.

1) Start the server's ADSI editor
2) Navigate to Configuration > Services > Microsoft Exchange > <Organization Name> > Administrative Groups > <Administrative Group> > Servers > <Server Name> > InformationStore
3) Right-click InformationStore, and edit msExchESEParamCacheSizeMax. Set it it to the number of pages to maximize the Database Cache to. (Pages = M x 32768) Where "M" is the number of GB's of RAM you want to set aside for Exchange.
4) (only necessary in Exchange SP1 which you SHOULD be using!) edit the msExchESEparamCacheSizeMin parameter and set it to 256.
5) Restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service for the change to become effective.

Why Java is junk, and how to uninstall it.

BEZALU SECURITY ALERT: Attention all computer users (this includes you too Mac fans)
Due to recent outbreaks in Java based malware/viruses. It is HIGHLY recommended to disable/remove Java from your system. The majority of virus writers have moved to exploiting Java security vulnerabilities. This is due to them being able to infect Windows, Macs, and Linux systems all with one exploit. Java was behind over half a million macs becoming infected with the flashback virus last year. Some security sites are recommending disabling Java, but I recommend uninstalling it completely just to be safe. If you actually need it for something like an online meeting through your company, it only takes a few minutes to download and reinstall it from java.com.

WINDOWS USERS,
You can uninstall it just like any other piece of software under "Control Panel > Uninstall a program". Remove anything under "Java" or "Java Update" or "Java Runtime". Restart the PC.

MAC/OSX USERS,
Click on the Finder icon located in your dock
Click on Applications tab on the sidebar
In the Search box enter JavaAppletPlugin.plugin
This will find the JavaAppletPlugin.plugin file
Right click on JavaAppletPlugin.plugin and select Move to Trash

LINUX USERS,
Open Terminal Window
Log in as the super user
Type: rm /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so
You will be prompted to remove symbolic link:
rm: /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libnpjp2.so ?
Type: Y

How To Fix Error 80072EFD On Small Business Server 2008

How To Fix Error 80072EFD On Small Business Server 2008

Microsoft Security Essentials

While I don't have time for a full post,  I just wanted to remind anyone visiting today that I only recommend Microsoft Security Essentials for older computers running XP and Vista computers with less than 2GB RAM.  I recommend a combination of Avast! & MalwareBytes installed together, with each set to ignore each others processes, and either pay for MalwareBytes to get the automatic scans, or use my scripts to have it run weekly.

~Matt

Fake Reviews

Just to prove you can't trust anything on the Internet these days,  there is a surge of companies that offer (for a small fee) to spam google, yelp, and other sites with fake positive reviews.  They cater to companies that have garnered a bad reputation from dissatisfied customers, and post so many fake positive reviews about the company, that most people surfing the net would never come across the negative comments.  This is so much as a rant, as a warning to all you internet review searchers.  Take everything you see on the web with a grain of salt.

Home Networking - Wireless-N vs. CAT5e vs. CAT6

With Internet Service Providers cranking up the speeds available to home users, and home media servers becoming more popular, it's starting to become more important in what kind of networking you use at home.   Otherwise you may be paying for speeds you can't even achieve with your hardware.


First off, if you are still using a Wireless G router (54mbps), and have anything better than DSL, it's a pretty safe bet that your wireless device Internet speeds are being held back by your wireless router.  With that being said, prices of Wireless-N type routers have dropped to under $30, so there's really no reason not to upgrade considering you probably pay over $50 a month for your Internet.  Also, while looking over the results, remember that ISP's like Comcast & Verizon are offering internet speeds now of over 150mbps!

I decided to bench test a lower priced wireless-N router, versus hardwired networking connections via a gigabit switch with both CAT5e and CAT6 cabling.  Here is my very non-scientific setup...

Equipment:
Wireless N Router: D-Link DIR-615 w/ newest stock firmware.
Gigabit Switch: Trendnet GreenNet 8-Port
ISP: Comcast 10mbps constant, 36mbps boost
Cabling: CAT5e 350Mhz Rated & CAT6 550Mhz Rated (CCI Bulk with self crimped connectors, used shielded connectors on CAT6) Cables cut to 30 foot lengths.
Hardware: Two i7-920 Desktops with 6GB RAM & Realtek PCI-E Gigabit network controllers. Jumbo frames set to 9K.

Methods:
Used LanBench opensource network speed testing software to take hard drive speeds out of the equation as much as possible.  Ran five 30-second tests of receiving, and sending 100MB packets over 2 connections.
Out of the five tests, I took the average of the top 3 scores.
 

Results (ALL SPEEDS IN MEGABITS PER SECOND UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE)
D-Link Wireless N Router via WIRELESS (Open view, about 10 feet away from router)
Send: 50.47
Receive: 64.16

D-Link Wireless N Router via WIRED CAT5e (100mbps ports on router)
Send: 60.86
Receive: 93.4

Trendnet Gigabit Switch WIRED via CAT5e (1000mbps full duplex ports)
Send: 886.73
Receive: 939.44

Trendnet Gigabit Switch WIRED via CAT6 (1000mbps full duplex ports)
Send: 890.42
Receive: 945.54

Conclusion
The performance of wireless was all over the place during the tests.  For comparison, I tested a Netgear WNDR3700 wireless N router and did achieve better results, but it also costs 5 times as much.  Overall I don't see wireless as a complete solution.  It's great to have for smart phones, and laptops.  But having a desktop running on a wireless connection just doesn't seem logical.  I know some have issues with location, and that's why they invented PowerLine networking (google it). As for CAT5e vs CAT6,  unless you want to future proof your home network for many many years to come, or the need to have a few 200+ foot runs of cable in your mansion, it just doesn't make sense to pay 50% more in cabling and connectors for CAT6 at this time. 

Importance of Jumbo Frames
For curiosity sake, I attempted the wired gigabit tests with Jumbo Frames set to disabled, and performance took a complete nosedive.  What just got me nearly 950 Mbps, dropped to under 270Mbps, simply by changing that one setting in the NIC card.  The important part of this being, Gigabit cards are set to have jumbo frames disabled by default since some older hardware can't handle it, and enabling them may actually hurt performance.  But it's a simple check in the manual or the website of the manufacturer to find out.

Malware Alert: Whitney Houston Autopsy Virus

A Facebook message, claiming to link to a video of Whitney Houston’s autopsy, takes the user to a page with an embedded YouTube video. When you try to play it, a message comes up saying that Adobe Flash needs to be updated, eventually leading users to a suspicious survey site. The video scam has become viral.

My recommended anti-viruses

I'll keep this short and sweet.  I get asked constantly what I recommend for Anti-Virus software.  For the home user, you can't beat this combo, it's $25 total, uses very little memory (RAM), and is what I use personally.

1st: Avast! Anti-Virus (Free Edition) This has been competing head to head with AVG for years, but has one huge edge that a lot of reviewers fail to mention.  The inclusion of a boot-time scan.  9/10 People don't think of making a boot CD until it's too late.  But with Avast!, you simply select a boot-time scan and hit restart, preventing almost all viruses from avoiding the Avast axe.
PRO TIP: After installing, go into the main GUI window and under "Summary" be sure to turn on "Gaming/Silent Mode" to "Permanent", this will prevent the Avast lady screaming your Avast virus database has been updated at 2am over your computer speakers.

2nd: MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.  The current reigning champ for destroying the new trend of malware.  For $25 you get a lifetime subscription, and automatic scanning.  If $25 is out of your price range, there is a free version available, but you better remember to manually scan on at least a weekly basis.

With Avast! searching for the old school virii and trojans, while MalwareBytes looks out for the new threats, I have yet to have one returning customer that had a system crippling virus.

~Matt

Severe Malware Alert 1/21/12 - Be wary of fake Adobe updates & PDF's.

In the past few days I've seen a pattern of infected PC's with the same symptoms.  After doing some digging on the last few machines and asking the owners a few questions, I've confirmed that there has been a very wide spread virus hitting your mailboxes and favorite websites this week.  It is either disguised as an Adobe program update (Flash, Distiller, Acrobat Reader) or is an attached exe on an e-mail with a PDF logo so you think you're simply opening a PDF, (e.g. ESTORNO5540452C.PDF.exe).

To avoid this type of infection,
1) NEVER click a window saying you need to update program xyz, even if it looks legit.  To update that program, you can open it up yourself and have it check for updates directly, usually under the "File" or "Help" menus.  Or go to their website and download the new version.

2) NEVER open an .exe file from ANYONE. Also even if it may look like a word or PDF file because of the icon, it still may be an exe.  Always check the end of the name.

Other than that, keep your Anti-Virus up to date, your Anti-Malware up to date, and your Windows up to date.

~Matthew

25 "Worst Passwords" Of 2011 Revealed

If you see your password below, STOP!
Do not finish reading this post and immediately go change your password — before you forget. You will probably make changes in several places since passwords tend to be reused for multiple accounts.
Here are two lists, the first compiled by SplashData:

1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

Last year, Imperva looked at 32 million passwords stolen from RockYou, a hacked website, and released its own Top 10 “worst” list:

1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123

If you’ve gotten this far and don’t see any of your passwords, that’s good news. But, note that complex passwords combining letters and numbers, such as passw0rd (with the “o” replaced by a zero) are starting to get onto the 2011 list. abc123 is a mixed password that showed up on both lists.
Last year, Imperva provided a list of password best practices, created by NASA to help its users protect their rocket science, they include:

• It should contain at least eight characters
• It should contain a mix of four different types of characters – upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters such as !@#$%^&*,;” If there is only one letter or special character, it should not be either the first or last character in the password.
• It should not be a name, a slang word, or any word in the dictionary. It should not include any part of your name or your e-mail address.

Following that advice, of course, means you’ll create a password that will be impossible, unless you try a trick credited to security guru Bruce Schneier: Turn a sentence into a password.
For example, “Now I lay me down to sleep” might become nilmDOWN2s, a 10-character password that won’t be found in any dictionary.
Can’t remember that password? Schneier says it’s OK to write it down and put it in your wallet, or better yet keep a hint in your wallet. Just don’t also include a list of the sites and services that password works with. Try to use a different password on every service, but if you can’t do that, at least develop a set of passwords that you use at different sites.
Someday, we will use authentication schemes, perhaps biometrics, that don’t require so much jumping through hoops to protect our data. But, in the meantime, passwords are all most of us have, so they ought to be strong enough to do the job.

Is your WiFi secure? Odds are not in your favor.

  Over the past decade we have seen large advancements in WiFi security, yet there are still a large amount of computer users that aren't taking advantage of these necessary changes. Also contrary to some belief, companies such as cable providers who set up the hardware, do not secure it for you.  As a courtesy to my clients, I always check their wireless network setup to make sure it's secure, and I would say approximately one out of every three networks are easily accessed by intruders.  Possibly more disturbing than that, is nearly 100% of the time, someone within range has either a network with no security, or easily bypassed methods such as "WEP" or "MAC Address Filtering".   So I'd thought I'd share with you why and how to properly secure your wireless network.  If you are afraid to take this task on by yourself, I do offer remote support and house calls within 30 miles of White Lake, MI.

Two Steps To Determine If Your Wireless Network Is Secure (Windows 7)

1. Check the encryption method: Left-click the wireless connection icon near your computers clock on the taskbar, it looks like signal bars on a cell phone, then right click on the wireless network you're connected to, select "Properties".  If "Encryption Type" is anything other than "AES", you do not have a secure wireless network.
2. Check password strength: On the same window, check the box that says "Show Characters", Windows may pop up a window to authorize the change.  The password must be over 20 characters in length, and contain both numbers, letters and some special characters such as commas, parenthesis, periods, etc..., if it does not, you do not have a secure wireless network.

Why should you be concerned about having a secure network?

  I know some of you may be thinking, "I trust my neighbors", or "I  don't have anything anyone wants anyway". Well I have one word for you, "Wardriving".  If you haven't heard of it, people actually drive around towns, looking for unsecured networks.  Once they have access, they can do a number of malicious activities such as

• Copying and/or deleting shared files from your hard drive, photos, resumes, personal information, internet history.
• Intercepting your passwords as you log into your online accounts (facebook, banks, e-mail)
• Stealing bandwidth which in turn, slows down your internet.
• Using your internet for illegal activities such as downloading pirated music and movies, which you could be held responsible for.

"My brother/friend/salesman/says my current setup is fine".
I've heard a few people insist their networks were safe, so I was happy to demonstrate how they were misinformed.  The important thing here is that you don't need to know much about computers to crack these methods, there are programs out there that automate nearly the entire process!  These are some standard scenarios with the type of security, and how soon an amateur hacker can gain access.

• Open Network (No Security): ~5 Seconds
• Mac Filtering:  add 15 Seconds to all methods
• WEP 64-Bit: 60 seconds or less
• WEP 128-Bit: 20 seconds to 5 minutes
• WPA (TKIP): 15 to 20 minutes (Pro Hacker) | 7-12 Hours (amateur via bruteforce) 
• WPA2 Personal: Very secure network, no records of outside hackers being able to crack when passwords are strong.

So how do you make sure you're secure?
It all comes down to two things, using WPA2(AES) encryption to prevent the code crackers, and a 20+ character strong password/key to prevent the bruteforce hackers.  Check your routers manual to make sure it supports WPA2 with AES, if it doesn't, it's time to upgrade.