WyzGuys Tech Talk

So as it turns out, this year Microsoft Windows turns 25.  Windows 1.0 was launched in November 20, 1985, and was the first Windows operating system to feature a graphical user interface, and required the use a mouse.  Until then it had all been DOS PCs, or terminals connected to mainframes, and everything was done with keyboard commands using the Function, Alt, and Ctrl keys.  The Mac OS had been released a year earlier.

My first experience with a personal computer ...

There are 500 million people on Facebook, and nearly all are sharing the small details of their lives with little thought to privacy or security.  For those of you have begun to wonder just how much is too much, here are a few tips for lowering your profile and increasing your privacy on Facebook.

1 – Facebook Places.  Do you really want EVERYONE on the Internet to know where you are at any given moment?  Well that is the default setting ...

If you have ever opened your browser, and found that the familiar home page (Google, Comcast, MSN, etc.) that is usually displayed has been changed, then it is likely that your home page was “hijacked.”  Usually your home page has been replaced by some questionable web site that provides links to software, service, websites, or products that you have no interest in.  You may also have difficulty navigating to your regular web sites, or to security sites for your anti-virus ...

Sophos, a world leading security software developer, has just released the first free security solution for the Apple Mac platform.  As the malware writers begin to take a bigger interest in the apple platforms like the iPhone and iPad, it makes sense to have something installed to protect your computer from malware threats.  Download from Sophos.

I had a question in a class I was teaching that I thought deserved an answer.  We were discussing the beautiful rotating desktop backgrounds that come with Windows 7, and someone wanted to know if there is a way to use your own images.  After a little sleuthing on my part, I found out that it is very easy to add your own backgrounds to Windows 7.

First minimize all your open applications by clicking on the little bar on the ...

Maybe you didn’t know it, but some computer viruses are spread via USB flash drive, also known as USB Keys.  You get one when you plug your flash drive into an infected machine.  Then when you plug it back into your regular computer, PRESTO!  You just transferred the virus.

Rick Broida of PC World magazine posted an interesting story about this lately, and recommended SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner as a good security solution.  You simply download and copy ...

Monday September 27th marked the twelfth year of Google’s existence as the king of web search.  I am struck by the fact that it has “only” been twelve years, to me it seems like Google has been around forever, like water.  What DID we all do before Google?

Well of course in 1998 there was not much of an Internet to index, and we were all using web portals such as AOL, Comserve (anyone?), MSN, and Yahoo.  Then Google came along ...

Sometimes it seems like it takes forever for your computer to shut down.  If, in fact, it really DOES take forever to shut down, this registry tweak will speed up the process by shortening the interval that Windows waits for services and programs to close themselves before force-closing them.

Start regedit from the Search box on the Start Menu, and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControl.   Find the WaitToKillServiceTimeout key in the right column, double click on it to edit and change the interval ...

This from PC World:  Malware writers are turning to SPAM to distribute their software exploits.  Please read the PC world article at the above link for more details.

The mail contains an HTML attachment with a JavaScript component that, when clicked on by an email reader, can send you to web sites selling everything from pharmacy prescription medications to fake anti-virus programs.  Often these programs install a backdoor Trojan so your machine can be accessed from the web without ...