Malware Alert … DNS Changer Could Kill Your Internet Access

“DNS Changer” has infected millions of computers worldwide. It’s possible this malware is residing you your computer right now.

The Bad News

DNS Changer is a Trojan that was designed to hijack your Internet access and redirect your requests for websites to other sites. These sites would present you with advertising, rather than the Web page you were looking for.

Even more of a threat, it would also disable antivirus software and prevent your computer from being updated.

The Good News

This treat was detected by the FBI last year. The culprits behind DNS Changer were arrested, and the malicious servers were seized. Surrogate servers were set up to replace the malicious ones.

The Bad Guys Have Been Shut Down, But …

The problem is, if your computer has already been infected, your domain requests are still going through these surrogate servers. Come July of this year, the FBI will shut down these servers, effectively killing Internet access for all infected computers. So, it’s important to determine if you are infected and clean the Trojan from your computer before the deadline.

It’s easy to determine if you are infected. Just go to www.dns-ok.us. This Website will immediately give you feedback on whether you have the problem, or not. If you are infected, you will get instructions on what to do next.

Deadline: July 9, 2012

That’s the day the FBI will shut down these temporary servers. If you are infected and you don’t correct the problem before then, your ability to access the Internet will cease, and it will be a lot harder to fix the problem. *** FAIR WARNING ***

Get Ready for Blazing Fast WiFi

WiFi as we know it is about to become obsolete. It’s been a good ride, but it will be blown out of the water with the new standard, known as 802.11ac.

The current standard (802.11n) can stream at speeds over 100 Mbps at close range, but that falls off rapidly with distance and obstacles within the home or office. This means that WiFi sometimes just isn’t good enough for high bandwidth applications, like streaming TV. These applications sometimes require going to Powerline Network Adapters to deliver a wired connection over household wiring. But the new standard in WiFi is reported to outstrip even direct cable connection in terms of speed.

The new protocol is expected to hit the streets sometime in the last half of 2012. To take advantage of it, you will need a new router. OK, routers don’t cost too much. But then you’ll need a new laptop with the 802.11ac chipset that can send and receive in the new standard. Want to take advantage of the new speed to stream video to your TV? Now you need a new smart television or other streaming TV receiver that can work with the new standard.

Hmm? It’s starting to get expensive, huh? But that’s the way it is with technology. When it advances, we get new performance and capabilities, and we open our pocket books to be able to use it.

Printer Ink Costs … How They Stack Up for Different Printers

Which Printer Delivers the Best Ink Economy?

Ever wonder what you spend per page for printer ink? You probably know it’s a big number, but how big is it?.

Do different printers provide better ink economy? The answer to that one is a definite, YES.

I ran across a very enlightening article on the subject (read it here). To summarize…

One of the more popular printers is the HP Photosmart 5510. I’ll use that one as a benchmark. Average ink costs for this printer is 11.4 cents per page.

Kodak advertises low ink consumption, and it appears to be true. The Kodak Hero 3.1 runs about 9.5 cents per page.

I have two printers in my office. The Canon Pixma is 13.8 cents per page … OUCH! But my Epson Artisan 835 delivers an impressive 9.2 cents per page ink cost, even better than the Kodak.

Should You Buy Standard or High Yield Cartridges?

High yield ink cartridges deliver better ink economy the the standard smaller sizes. But that could be false economy, depending on you much you use your printer.

If you use you printer regularly, the higher yield cartridges are the way to go. But if you use it rarely, high yield cartridges may dry up before you use them, resulting in higher cost per page than standard cartridges.

Big Names and Big Bucks Vying to Buy Hulu

Oh my gosh!

What happens when companies with names like Google, Yahoo, Amazon and Dish Network all start competing to buy the same company?

The numbers get VERY BIG … VERY FAST!

It is reported that these same companies are competing to purchase the streaming TV company Hulu. Most of the bids for Hulu are coming in the range of 1.5 to 2 billion dollars. But Google has promised to do whatever it takes to snatch up Hulu and its content license agreements.

It’s not even clear that Hulu will sell. But the figures being tossed its way have to make them sit up and take notice … and SMILE … a LOT!

Amazon Adds 3,000 New Titles to Prime Instant Video

Amazon announced today that it was adding 3,000 new titles to its Prime Instant Video collection, bringing the total size of the Prime library to 17,000 titles. Members of Amazon Prime can stream an unlimited number of programs from this library at no additional charge beyond their annual Prime subscription rate.

Quoting from the Amazon Website:

We’ve struck a deal with Discovery Networks to bring some of the highest quality, non-fiction, informative and entertaining content about the world to our Amazon Prime customers. Rolling out over the next few weeks are TV shows from Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, and Science.

Sad Day for Netflix

Netflix lost all the Starz Play movies and TV shows today. It’s been coming for months, the result of failed contract negotiations between Netflix and Starz. But now that it’s here, I feel like I lost a friend.

On the personal side, I’m a big fan of westerns. Two classic old western series, Gunsmoke and Wagon Train, made up a large part of my Netflix watching. They were owned by Starz. So they’re gone now.

Probably more significant to most Netflix viewers, all the Starz Disney films are history. Toy Story 3, Scarface, Young Frankenstein — all in all a very large part of what used to be available on Netflix has vanished.

Last year, Netflix made a serious of policy and public relations gaffes that ended up losing them countless subscribers. Well not countless — if you can count to 800,000 in one month. Now they’ve lost a valuable source of content, which gives customers another reason to hightail it.

Netflix will hopefully fill the gap with other quality content. But as of today, they are less of a value than they were yesterday.

Amazon Kindle Color Screen Rumor

Rumor has it that the ubiquitous Kindle will soon have a color screen. I’m not talking about the Kindle Fire tablet, which has been color since its introduction. The rumor says that color is coming to the classical E-ink Kindle display.

The advantage of the E-ink display is that it can be read outside in the bright sun. The Fire and other color tablet displays are too reflective to be easily seen in a bright environment.

The rumor has it that the new color Kindle will be introduced in March, so we won’t have to wait too long to find out if it’s true.

Netflix Gets a New Competitor … Sort Of

A series of potential competitors for Netflix have surfaced recently. Each of these offers an add-on Internet TV option to their existing traditional cable or satellite TV businesses. The intent is obvious … to slow the bleeding of customers off to the much lower cost Internet options like Netflix. Quoting from “Today @ PCWorld”:

“My problem with all these services from pay TV providers is that, unlike Netflix, they have little incentive to change the status quo. Their goal is to retain subscribers, so their strategy is simple: Undercut Netflix as a cable supplement.”

Read the original report on the blog, “Today @ PCWorld” here:
Comcast Steampix Joins Attack on Netflix .

Tools Toys and Technology

About the Tools You Use and the Toys That Make Life Interesting

Category Archives: Tech News