Tech Tips [Cash Register Malware Spreads + The Suitcase That Can’t Get Lost + Tablets Vs. PCs] 11-07-14

WorldStart Tech Tips 2014-11-07 Having trouble viewing parts or all of the newsletter? View the entire newsletter here! In The News 11-07-14 Backoff Malware Spreads The Backoff Malware that's infected cash registers at companies like Jimmy John's, P.F. Changs, Dairy Queen and Home Depot is spreading and putting customer credit and bank information at risk. According to security company Damballa, infections increased 57% between August and September. The company says the scary part is that the Backoff bug wasn't discovered until it had already bypassed prevention controls means to keep networks safe and that nothing seems to be stopping this infection. Damballa advises companies to consider themselves in a continuous state of security breach and act accordingly. What can you do? Pay cash whenever possible and keep a close eye on your bank statement. Microsoft Ends Free Music Streaming Microsoft is killing the free version of the Xbox Music streaming service on December 1. The service offered unlimited streaming for 6 months and then a 10 hour per month limit on the music. Microsoft says it's turning its attention to the $10 a month Xbox Music Pass. The Queen Tweets The Queen of England is now Tweeting. She sent the tweet on the @BritishMonarchy account. Her Royal Highness composed the folowing tweet on a tablet in front of a crowd and signed it Elizabeth R. The Queen was also an early adopter of e-mail, sending her first message in the late 1970s. ~ Cynthia Click here to rate this tip | Printer friendly version Know your health in 8 seconds flat! It's 8:15 in the morning, and the bus comes in 2 minutes. You're rushing the kids out the door, but Billy is SURE he's sick. So you hunt for the thermometer, find it, and pop it under his tongue. You wait. And wait. And wait. Finally. It reads 98.6. Out the door Billy goes... but so does the bus that he just missed. Seconds matter and nobody likes having a themometer stuck in their mouth for any longer than they have to! After all, if you're sick... you're probably feeling pretty uncomfortable! Now you don't have to exacerbate that by keeping a thermometer in your mouth all day long! And get this, with the Fever InSight display, the thermometer color codes your fever so you can instantly tell how severe it is. A normal temperature shows green, a slight fever is yellow, and a high fever shows as red! If you walk into a doctor's office or a hospital and they take out one of these exact thermometers, you shouldn't be surprised! They're that reliable! Cleanup is easy, too. You HAVE to have a thermometer. A fever is a serious health issue if left unchecked, so make sure you can find out if you or a loved one has one immediately. There are a LOT of ordinary thermometers out there... and only one Vicks Speedreader. But they ALL cost about the same... so why pay the same for an inferior thermometer? This one is just $9.97 and it has WAY more features and power than any you'd pick up anywhere else. Grab one today, before they're gone! http://store.worldstart.com/product/10052 PS - This sale ends Saturday ! Mel from Newburgh, NY writes: My question is, I have Windows XP Pro and the other day I accidentally dragged an important document from my desktop into my Prefetch folder. How can I get this document back? Windows won't let me open, delete or move it back to my desktop. When I try to open it, a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in it comes up and say's Access to C:\Windows\Prefetch\HOWTOS~1.RTF was denied. I'm the only user and I don't have a password to get into my computer, so I must have administrator rights. You've discovered one of the interesting design choices Microsoft made with Windows XP that worked from the assumption that users don't know what they are doing and shouldn't be trusted with their own operating system. For instance, by default, XP hides system folders and files from the user, and some files aren't immediately accessible even if you are logged in with a supposedly administrative account. The Prefetch folder is one of those areas Windows doesn't want you messing around with. The operating system automatically places files in this folder as it keeps track of what programs you immediately open when the computer turns – say your firewall, anti-virus, chat program, etc. The operating system uses the files in that folder to speed up the startup process whenever you power on your computer. You absolutely can move files out of your Prefetch folder if you put something there by mistake, there's just a couple of hoops to jump through first to gain ownership of the file. Pull up the "My Computer" window from the Start menu and open the "Tools" menu at the top of the screen, then click "Folder Options." Navigate over to the "View" tab and scroll to the bottom of the "Advanced Settings" area. Remove the check mark from the "Use simple file sharing (Recommended)" box and click "OK." Open up the Prefetch folder, right-click the file you need to use, and select the "Properties" option. Navigate to the tab labeled "Security" (if you didn't turn off the simple file sharing option before, this tab will not appear on the screen). Click the "Advanced" button at the bottom of the window. Click the tab labeled "Owner," then click the "Administrators" option in the list and choose "OK" to return to the previous window. Click the "Add" button at the right side of the middle bar in the window. Type "Administrator" (without the quotation marks) in the text box and click "OK." Assuming you are logged into the administrator account, you have now successfully wrestled control of the file away from Windows (who knew it could be so difficult to access your own files?). Close the window and you should now be able to move your file out of the Prefetch folder. In the event you continue to receive an error message, restart the computer in Safe Mode and attempt to move it again. To launch Safe Mode, tap the "F8" key repeatedly while the computer boots up until a text menu appears on the screen, then highlight the "Safe Mode" entry and tap Enter. After moving the file, restart the computer again to exit Safe Mode. ~Ty Arthur Click here to rate this tip | Printer friendly version Do you have a question for us? Ask it here! Smart Suitcase Could End Lost Luggage A new suitcase promises to change travel in a big way. The Bluesmart carry-on can be controlled by an app on your Smartphone. Using your phone, you can lock and unlock the suitcase. Plus, weigh your suitcase before traveling to avoid being charged for an overweight bag. There's also a built-in battery to allow you to charge your electronic devices while traveling. The makers say there's enough power to charge your... Go to WorldStart to learn more! Tablets, Laptops & iPads: What's The Difference? William from Las Vegas writes: What is the difference between 1. Ipad 2. laptop 3. tablet 4. Ipad air Let's start off with the differences between a laptop and a tablet. A laptop or notebook computer is a portable fully functional PC or Mac that comes with an attached keyboard and runs full versions of the Windows or OS operating system. These devices can be used on or offline. They may or may not offer a touchscreen. A netbook is a smaller Windows device, that also comes with an attached keyboard that is designed for accessing the Internet. A Chromebook is a device designed for accessing the Internet using the Google Chrome operating system. It functions using Apps from Google and needs to be online for optimum use. A Chromebook also has a built-in keyboard. A tablet is a device that functions using a touch screen. You may have the option to... Head on over to WorldStart to learn more! Friday Funnies Cartoon used with permission. For stories, jokes, quotes and cartoons every day, sign up for our Just for Grins newsletter. Gapminder This is a really cool site that lets you look at statistical data from all over the world. To get started click Gapmider World, and it will load the data application. I would start by clicking the How to Use button so you can watch the tutorial video. The video runs two and a half minutes long. If you want more help figuring out how to use the application you can also download the .PDF guide with the link on the left side of the page. What I really love about this application for looking at world statistical data is that you can really customize what data you are looking at. On the right side of the app, you can select what countries you'd like to look at as well as set population controls. Then generate the chart and map for just the data you want. The other thing I like are all the resources that are available for teachers under Downloads. You'll find both handouts and lesson plans. The video section is also fairly awesome! http://www.gapminder.org/ ~Amanda Click here to rate this tip | Printer friendly version Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share? Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com Hey everyone, Steve here and I just discovered what has to be one of the easiest, yet most powerful photo programs on the planet! Sure, there's the expensive competitors that the pros use - but the truth is they're hard to learn and you need about $600 just to get started! We found it! And it's gonna BLOW YOU AWAY! It's Media Expressions Platinum and it's one of the most powerful, easy to use photo and video programs I've ever had the pleasure of using! This easy-to-use software makes organizing, editing, and sharing your photos or videos easy and fun! Here's a quick overview: First off, this features an amazing photo organizer that, in my opinion, is worth WAY MORE than the cost of the software! Not only does it make it easy to sort and organize your photos, it also allow you rate and tag 'em! And the tagging is REALLY sweet! First off, you can manually tag the images with either a preset tag (like Landscapes, Parties, etc) OR you can create your own tag (like 2014 Florida Vacation). Then just run a quick search for the tag to see all the images that include it! How cool is that? No endless searches trying to find that particular picture or group of pictures! Oh, but it's even BETTER than that! This can also do SmartTagging! The software uses face recognition to help you QUICKLY tag all your photos based on the people in them! For example, let's say you have a family of 4 and just came back from vacation. Once you have the photos in the program, simply select them all and then run Auto Face Tagging. The software will scan all the faces in the photos and bring up a screen so you can name each individual it discovered. Oh, and once it learns a face, it's all automatic. It'll only ask if it's not sure who it is! The way this works is so fast you can literally have hundreds of photos tagged with names in a matter of a couple minutes! Then, next time you're searching for photos of a particular family member, you can simply type their name in the search... And EVERY photo in your catalog / folder that's tagged with their name will come up! AMAZING! This is just fantastic! If you're looking for a photo editor you don't need to go to school for three years to learn (or pay $600 for), then this has you covered! it's a fantastic combination of easy to use tools and amazing results! There's actually quite a few components to it, and there's no way to really do this justice with this short write up, but let me give you the highlight show at least. The main editor allows you to do all the stuff you'd expect - you can crop, straighten, remove red eye, rotate, adjust contrast, brightness, saturation, hue, sharpen, adjust color, blur the background, touch up blemishes, clone, lighten / darken / blur / smudge / sharpen selected areas, paint, and MORE! But that's really just the beginning. This also has a pretty amazing feature called "Face Beautify" that's nothing short of amazing for retouching! Using face recognition technology, this allows you to make a selection of automatic adjustments to the face that will blow your mind. In minutes you can remove blemishes, red eye, whited / repair teeth, brighten eyes, smooth the skin, add some tan, and more. Just amazing! Personal Example: I used several of the editing features to fix the image below. I quickly fixed the color and contrast and added some blur to the background. Then I ran though the Face Beautify to take out blemishes, soften the skin, whiten the teeth and lighten the eyes. Then I wrapped it up with a frame - all in less than 5 minutes! But that's not all! This also gives you a power pack of color toning, filters, and special effects! Turn your picture into an oil painting with the press of a button! Make it B&W or Sepia toned! Add an amazing film grain texture! There's way more options than I have time for, but you get the idea - you can really let your creativity run wild! And there's STILL more - just wait till you see all the custom frames you can add to your images! Just amazing - from cute and fun to elegant, it's all covered! You can even add some fun clipart and do all kind of tricks with text! Just wait till you try it! Of course, once you're done editing your photos, you'll want to share them with the world, and this has it all built in. From e-mail to Facebook, to Flickr, you're covered! A simple click of the Share or Upload button and in minutes you're showing off your photos to all your friends and family! Even create slide shows you can watch on your TV, phone, tablet, etc!! Oh, and we can't forget prints! This is, by far, one of the best photo printing programs I've ever seen! You can print a single image on a page, or if you have multiple pics to print, you can group them together on a single sheet of paper to save money! It's ingenious! Speaking of printing, with all the cool frames, effect, and text options, this is an ideal program for scrapbooking too! Oh - and what about making sure your images are safe? This even has built in CD burning software, making archiving and backing up your photos a breeze! With DVD authoring options, you can take home videos to the next level! We're talking professional quality movie making right from your computer! Not only that, but you can even mix in still photographs with your videos to create the ultimate combination! Nobody will believe you made something like this by yourself! But once they see the custom title and credits screen Media Expressions Platinum lets you make... they'll know! Whew - OK, that's the highlight show. And we've really only JUST scratched the surface of what this can do. I wish I could spend a couple hours sitting next to you showing this off, but you get the idea. There's just so much more to this software, but it would takes pages and pages to go over it all. Now I know what you're thinking - this has GOT to be expensive right? Well, not so much! We got a pretty amazing deal not this - but it's a limited quantity and once it's gone, that's it - we won't have any more - at least we won't have any more at this price! Speaking of which - This retails for a very reasonable $30, but we have it for an unbelievable $6.97! http://store.worldstart.com/product/7896 PS - Again, this is the ultimate photo editing software - it's great at organizing, tagging, editing, special effects, sharing, and more - but it is a VERY limited quantity item, so you ARE going to have to HURRY! ~Steve November Desktop Wallpaper Is Ready The featured desktop wallpaper for November is all set and ready to go. Check out the featured images below and stop by the site - hundreds to choose from. Note, this month, things are a little different. I have three normal featured wallpaper images, but for November I also added three verticals for use on vertically oriented devices (phones, tablets, etc). These verticals can be accessed directly via their main image pages (the "...more" link) or you can find them scattered under the featured images in the wallpaper section. Just navigate with your tablet or phone to the link below and follow the prompts like you would for regular computer wallpaper. All can be found here and are 100% free: http://www.backcountrygallery.com/wallpaper/ Oh, and if you enjoy these images, please tell your friends! Nose To Nose This was captured shortly after I drove into Yellowstone from Gardiner. Normally, expectations tend to be low as you make the 5 mile or so drive from Gardiner to Mammoth, but today would prove an exception to that rule. As I drove along, admiring the freshly fallen snow, I rounded a corner and spotted a group of elk congregating in an area known as the "Chinese Gardens". I wasted no time maneuvering …(More) Big Sable Lighthouse Finally got it! This shot was literally 2 years, 5 hikes, and two separate trips in the making – but I was finally – finally - able to pull it off June 2012! Grant and I had been to Ludington State Park the year before and stayed several days in an attempt to get a good shot of the Big Sable Lighthouse – and we failed. ...(More) Sleeping Bear Stormy Sunset Talk about a last chance! We had been trying for three days to get something – anything – at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It doesn't seem to be a great morning location, so that left us with just three chances – one for each evening we were there. The first evening saw a sunset that was blocked by clouds, the second was ...(More) Verticals Black Bear On Alert I really love this black bear! We'd seen him (I think it's a him) a few times in the Cade's Cove area of Smoky Mountain National Park and he never disappointed us. Working with him does require a bit of a "soft touch" since he's always a bit more nervous then most of the other bears in that area. It sure doesn't take much to force...(More) Owlet Peeking Through The Grass I love – absolutely LOVE – Burrowing Owls! I don't know that I've ever come across a more photogenic bird. They are amazingly expressive with a dash of cute on the side. This little guy had emerged from his..(More) Rainbow Falls, Watkins Glen YES! Finally got it! The first time I saw this waterfall, I was floored. You come around a corner and at first you just see the "auxiliary" falls on the left. Then in the course of just a few excited steps the rest of this amazing scene seems to materialize right in front of you! As the bridge and three tiered falls comes into view, you're literally...(More) For these and other great selections of desktop wallpaper, head to: http://www.backcountrygallery.com/wallpaper/ As always, the wallpaper is 100% free, so enjoy! PS - I also want to thank all the people who helped support the wallpaper with a voluntary contribution over the last few months. Your support helps to keep the wallpaper comin' every month! THANK YOU! ~Steve

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