Watch out for YouTube scams

There is a lot of dodgy stuff on the internet and you have to be aware of all the scams that can take place. Billions of emails are sent around the world every day and a large percentage of them are spam. These junk emails either directly or indirectly try to sell you stuff you don't need or that is useless or fake, or they try to infect your computer with spyware, viruses or other malicious software.

Spam filters mostly block these unwanted email messages, but they are never 100% effective and sometimes a few messages get through. Here is one that got through my spam filters:

This email claims to be from YouTube and it says that my video has been approved. There is a link to click and everything looks OK, but don't be deceived. Clicking any of the links could take you to a site that installs malware or rips you off and empties you bank balance.

I knew this was a scam because I've not posted any videos on YouTube recently (among other things), but to show you what happens I clicked the link. This would be a stupid thing to do in Windows, but I booted up a Linux distro in VirtualBox and clicked it in there. That's about as safe as you can get. Firstly, 99.9999% of malware doesn't work in Linux and secondly, I'm not sure it could get out of the virtual machine even if it did infect it. Here's what happened:

Instead of going to YouTube it took me to a site selling viagra and other drugs. I declined to buy any of the products on offer. An online store that gets you to visit by tricking you into clicking a link in a fake YouTube email isn't exactly reputable. Who know what would happen if I gave it my credit card details.

Clicking links in email messages like this can just as easily install malware if you are using Windows, so watch out for scams. Never click links in emails, even from reputable companies, unless you are absolutely sure they are OK. In this case the recommended action would be to type www.youtube.com into the browser's address box and log in to YouTube and see what the status of the videos were. You don't need to click links.

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Download Windows 8

Microsoft Windows 8 is here at last, well in beta form anyway. It isn't due to go on sale until the summer. In the meantime you can download and run the beta for free. Go here and click the Get it Now button. This takes you to the download page and there's a large Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview button. Don't click it! Instead, click the link below labelled ISO format, which takes you to a page where you can download a DVD image of Windows 8.

A .iso image is basically the contents of a DVD (CD images are possible too), saved as a file. There are several advantages to downloading the .iso file and one is that you can burn it to a DVD with free DVD/CD burning software and install it on multiple PCs without having to download it each time. If you ever need to reinstall Windows 8 on your PC because it has gone wrong or you have messed it up, it is easier to do this from the DVD rather than download it all over again.

The 32-bit version of Windows 8 is significantly smaller than the 64-bit version, 2.5Gb vs 3.3Gb. It also needs less disk space and memory, so if you want a lightweight version of the OS because of limited hardware then go for the 32-bit version. If you have a new-ish PC with lots of disk space, RAM and processing power then the 64-bit version is the one to go for.

I grabbed the .iso file because I wanted to run Windows 8 in a virtual machine. Using VirtualBox you can install and run Windows 8 in a window on the desktop of your normal Windows installation. You don't need to back up your PC, reformat the disk or change anything on your PC, you just run VirtualBox, choose the option to create a new virtual machine, select Windows 8 from the menu and so on. You don't even need to burn the .iso file to a DVD because you can tell VirtualBox to boot Windows 8 directly from the .iso file.

After creating the Windows 8 virtual machine, but before you start it, select it and go to settings. Go to Storage, and click the disk icon on the right. Select Choose a virtual CD/DVD file, select the .iso file you downloaded and that's it. VirtualBox will boot up from the .iso file and you can install Windows 8 into the virtual machine.

Is Windows 8 any good? It is interesting to look at previous Windows releases...

• Windows 98 - good
• Windows ME - poor
• Windows XP - good
• Windows Vista - poor
• Windows 7 - good
• Windows 8 - ????

Can you see a pattern here? If Windows 8 follows the pattern of previous releases then it will be poorly received and we'll have to wait for Windows 9 to see the next great operating system from Microsoft.

The problem with Windows 8 is the interface and partly it is just too different from previous versions of Windows, but worse is that it is non-intuitive. Give people any previous version of Windows and they will be able to find their way around, run programs, and so on. Give them Windows 8 and they will be lost.

The new Start screen with its metro interface that is reminiscent of a Windows phone is hard to use until you learn all the tricks and techniques required. The problem is that it just isn't obvious how to use it and you need someone to tell you what to do. I've been using Windows since 1990 - that's 22 years - and I'm lost in Windows 8. I'm scratching my head wondering how to do simple things, things I do without thinking in previous versions of Windows.

I'll quickly figure it out because I'm a geek and I'm used to learning new software, sometimes with strange interfaces, but not everyone is like me. Some people will just take one look at Windows 8 and ask to be put back to Windows 7, or they'll stick with XP. (Like a lot of people, I'm still running XP on one of my PCs and will continue to do so until the hardware dies.)

I can't see companies upgrading all their PCs to Windows 8 because employees will not be able to use their PC without spending hours or days on a training course. It would be chaos if everyone turned up to work to find Windows 8 on their PC.

Of course, we'll all get used to Windows 8's way of working, but I suspect that it we won't love it until Windows 9 is released, which will fix all the faults like Windows 7 fixed Vista. Windows 7 is Vista with just a few tweaks and underneath it is pretty much the same. Windows 9 will be Windows 8 with a few tweaks, but they will make all the difference. I can't wait.

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Take your time and avoid problems

Computers are multitasking devices that can do several things at once. For example, you can download files, play music and edit a document all at the same time. Just imagine how much more awkward it would be if you could only do one task at a time and you had to wait until one had finished before you started another.

Sometimes though, it is actually a good idea to do this and to limit the number of tasks that the computer has to do. Trying to do too much at once can be counter productive. The computer gets bogged down and everything gets slower. It may also cause problems.

Sometimes you don't know that the computer is getting bogged down and all you see is that it is very slow for some reason. You wonder why the computer isn't working very well today and you click something again or try to do some other task, which simply adds to the workload and makes the computer even slower. It doesn't help.

If you have ever tried to write software that can perform two or more tasks at once you will have an idea of how hard it is. Does one task rely on the other? How do you prevent the user from starting the other task before the current one is finished? Do you need to wait for the results of one task before proceeding to the next? And so on. I've done a little programming and I can tell you it's hard. It must be extremely hard with an operating system that performs countless functions and consists of millions of lines of programming.

I wonder whether the programmers always get it right and in some circumstances I sit back, wait and give my computer time to do whatever task it is doing. A good example of this is is with operating system updates.

You download the latest service pack, patch or update to the OS and then restart the system. When you get back to the desktop it is tempting to start clicking on things to quickly get back to work, such as starting a web browser, word processor, email or whatever.

This is not a good idea and the speed at which the desktop appears is misleading. It is displayed early in the boot process to give the impression that the computer starts quickly, but really it is only part of the way through all the tasks it has to perform. After an OS update it often has a lot of tasks to perform after the first boot and it is best to wait until the system has settled down and done all that it needs to do before you start using the computer. It can sometimes take five minutes or more.

How do you know that the computer is busy, apart from it slowing down? On the Apple Mac I use an old program called Menu Meters. It is not the best utility of its type and iStat Menus has more features, but Menu Meters is simpler and uses fewer resources, which is better for my ageing MacBook that's struggling to run the latest software.

Both of these programs add items to the menu bar at the top of the screen on the Mac and they display processor activity, disk activity, upload and download speeds and so on. Take a look at the screen shot as I was shutting down one day. The red and green triangles show that the disk was being read and written to and the CPU bars (two because it's dual-core), are right up near the top.

Clearly OS X was very busy performing some housekeeping task. I could have clicked Shut Down to force the Mac to power off, but I waited until the disk and processor activity stopped before clicking it. Was it necessary to wait? I don't know, but I do wonder why some people always have lots of
problems with their computer and whether this sort of thing has anything to do with it. I reckon that a little patience pays off. Just wait until it has finished whatever it is doing.

There are utilities for Windows that perform a similar task and on Vista and 7 it is useful to install some desktop gadgets. There are some good ones to choose from and I like the gadgets at AddGadget.com. There are some great ones, such as All CPU Meter, Network Meter, and Drives Meter. Another one to try is System Monitor at Build A Gadget.

 

Menu Meters and desktop gadgets can explain why your computer has slowed down to a crawl and it is may be busy performing some essential housekeeping task, but it could also mean that a program has a bug or has crashed, or is poorly written too. Load a few web pages with Flash content and watch the CPU meter rise, particularly on the Mac. When CPU and disk activity rises when it shouldn't, such as after several hours working on your computer, it may be time for a reboot.

These gadgets are a bit technical, but I am convinced that keeping an eye on the system and giving it time to finish tasks before starting another pays off with greater reliability and fewer problems. It is interesting to watch these meters go crazy when you boot up first thing in a morning or after an OS update. You may be surprised at the amount of activity that goes on and I think it's best to let it finish.

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Avast! 7 - renew or replace your security software?

When you buy security software, such as an anti virus program, you subscribe to virus definition updates. You may also get program updates too. The big question is whether you should continue your subscription when it runs out or whether you should buy new security software. Which is best?

I must confess that I don't have any hard data on this, but I am willing to bet that a brand new anti virus program or other security software will beat an old one when it comes to detecting and removing malware. There may not be much difference between this year's and last year's program, but I certainly wouldn't use a program that is more than a year old.

I prefer to buy a new anti virus/spyware program each year rather than renew my subscription on the grounds that the latest technology and techniques for dealing with malware have to be better than last year's or the year before. Not only should the detection and removal be better, you usually get a better interface and more features too. The price isn't much different because discounts on security software are common. No-one pays the list price do they? Shop around!

This leads me on to Avast! 7, which is a brand new version of the anti virus/spyware software and security suite. There are three versions, Free Antivirus, Pro Antivirus and Internet Security. You can see the differences here and they range from basic to comprehensive security. The one you choose depends a lot on your technical knowledge and experience and whether people use your computer who are less knowledgable about security than you. You might want the complete security offered by Internet Security for a child's computer, but if you're a techie type you might prefer the freebie that's lean, straightforward and doesn't get in your way.

Avast! 7 features streaming updates, so that the program's malware definitions are more up to date than previously. Presumably this means that there are smaller and more frequent updates. Sometimes viruses spread very quickly and in a day or two they can infect thousands or millions of computers. (Actually, this tends to be old ones with out of date software and old versions of Windows with Windows Update turned off.)

Avast! 7 has a new File Reputation (FileRep) feature and this is community driven. If you try to run a program it is checked with an online database to see if it is OK. If lots of people have it and no problems are known then it will run OK, if it is unknown then you are warned. You can choose to run it anyway and flag it as safe if you know it's OK and this means you won't see warnings in the future when you run the program.

It has improved sandboxing and this means that a program or web browser is isolated from the rest of the system so it can't infect your PC or files. WebRep has been improved too and this checks websites and URLs you visit. It protects against known bad websites and against phishing.

I let Avast! 6 upgrade itself to Avast! 7 on an XP computer and on restarting it hung on the welcome login screen. After powering off and restarting it seems to be OK though. I think it is safer to download the new version manually, then uninstall the old one and install the new one afterwards. Avast! 7 seems to be pretty good and it is well worth upgrading.

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Chrome to get Do Not Track privacy

Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer already have Do Not Track, Opera has just got it in an experimental build and now Google has announced that Chrome is to get it too. What is it?

Many companies want to track your activities on the internet. For example, websites want to know which pages you visit and this is fair enough. They want to know which pages are popular and which aren't. They can then change the pages that aren't popular and give you more of the ones that are.

The problem is that third parties also want to track you, such as online advertisers. They have ways of tracking which websites you visit as you browse the web and they keep logs of everything you do. It is this activity that many people object to and they don't want advertisers spying on their activities, knowing everything they do, everything they see, what their favourite websites are and so on. It is this third party tracking that Do Not Track targets.

A web browser that incorporates Do Not Track sends a message to the web server each time it accesses one to tell it that you don't want to be tracked by third parties. Unfortunately, this is just a polite request and currently there is no way that it can be enforced, but it is respected by reputable websites and advertisers and the number of supporters is growing.

It will take a long time to get to 100% acceptance of Do Not Track and for everyone to stick to it, but progress is definitely being made. Chrome will be the last browser to add it and it is isn't too surprising that Google has been dragging its heels because it relies so heavily on advertising and tracking people's use of the the internet. The company has come under pressure to add the feature partly from the general public, but also partly from changes to the law, or proposed changes. See The White House is pushing for new privacy codes of conduct.

While you are waiting for Google to add Do Not Track to Chrome, you can enable it in Firefox. Click the Firefox button in the top left corner and then Options. Click Privacy in the toolbar and then tick the box Tell websites I do not want to be tracked. In Internet Explorer click the gear icon in the top right corner and select Manage add-ons. Select Tracking Protection and then click Get a Tracking Protection list online. Choose one of the lists, such as Fanboy or EasyList.

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Gatekeeper in OS X will trash your apps

Gatekeeper is the new technology coming in OS X Mountain Lion on the Apple Mac that aims to improve security by restricting what you can install. In an earlier blog I expressed my concerns about this new feature and wondered whether in the future we will have to jailbreak our Macs just as iOS users do in order to install the software we want to use.

Gatekeeper is coming in Mountain Lion, but it is actually already here in Lion. It just isn't turned on. You can enable it and see what it is like. Well, I don't like it and the reason is that it will trash your apps.

As you can see from the screen shot, Gatekeeper will tell you to move apps it doesn't recognise to the Trash. Perfectly good apps. Great apps. Apps you will love. Well, you would love if it actually allowed you to run them.

If you are running OS X Lion on your Mac and want to see Gatekeeper in action then go to the Utilities folder and run Terminal. At the command prompt enter:

sudo spctl --enable

Quit Terminal and restart your Mac. Now download an application from the internet and try to run it. Gatekeeper will allow you to run recognised apps, so you need to find an unrecognised one. Searching for freeware for the Mac, I came across MiniUsage. Download it, install it and then try to run it. You will get the same message as displayed above. OS X will tell you to move it to the Trash. The severe warning that it may damage your computer is enough to frighten most users who will quickly do the recommended action and trash this dangerous app.

It's not dangerous. It won't damage your Mac. It's a great app and I think it's really cool. OK, it's a bit of a geek tool, but then I'm a geek and I love it. I recommend you try it.

This is why Gatekeeper sucks. There are lots of great apps out there that aren't recognised by Gatekeeper and there is a danger that they will quickly disappear when OS X Mountain Lion comes out.

It is bad enough that Apple makes billions of dollars and wants to make even more by making all apps only available from the Mac App Store from which it takes a large cut of developers' profits. Worse is that it could also spell the end for independent developers like the author of MiniUsage, which by the way is donation-ware - the author asks you to donate to the American Red Cross. Not only will the author lose out, so will the American Red Cross. Nice one Apple.

If you want to turn off Gatekeeper on OS X Lion then replace the --enable with --disable:


sudo spctl --disable

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Will you have to jailbreak your Apple Mac?

If you have an iOS device like an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you will be well aware that the only source of apps is Apple's App Store. It is not possible to download apps from elsewhere and install them. Unless, of course, you jailbreak it. This is risky and Apple doesn't like it. You could turn a perfectly good device into a lump of lifeless plastic, glass and metal. Will we soon be forced to jailbreak our Apple iMacs and MacBooks in order to install software? I predict that we will.

When the Mac App Store was launched it was a simple and convenient place to find, buy and download software for the Mac. At the time I wondered whether Apple was heading down the iOS route and whether one day only software from the Mac App Store could be downloaded and installed in OS X. It seems that we have taken one step closer to that reality With OS X Mountain Lion.

Mountain Lion was only announced yesterday and only to developers, so details are sketchy to say the least. The OS won't be available to the general public until some time this summer, so it will be a while before we all get our hands on it.

One detail from the announcement worried me. It was a new security feature and you can choose between the following three options for downloading and installing apps for your Mac:

• Mac App Store
• Mac App Store and approved developers
• Anywhere

The default setting is the second one and this means that by default you won't be able to install software from just anywhere, only from the Mac App Store and whatever developers Apple approves.

In OS X Mountain Lion this is not enforced and from what I've read so far, it looks like you can easily change it. However, there are two reasons to be worried. The first is that some people never change the default settings on their Macs. They will find that they can't install certain apps that they discover on the internet and this will directly affect developers. Their market and their sales will shrink and only those people that change the default setting will be able to install their software.

The second worry is that in a future version of OS X, perhaps the one after Mountain Lion, the last option will be dropped. "It will increase security and stability," Apple will claim, because only Mac App Store and approved developers will be allowed to install software on your Mac. You won't be able to install software from other sources.

I think that the final step in Apple's long term plan is to then drop the second option too, leaving the Mac App Store as the only source of software for the Mac. This will come in the version of OS X after the one after Mountain Lion. Apple will then completely control the software market for the Mac, just as it does with iOS. No-one will be allowed to sell any software unless it is through the Mac App Store.

This has tremendous advantages for Apple, of course, such as the roughly one third cut of all the profits it will get for all the software sold for all Macs. Just think how much money it will make. Developers will lose out though and they will find that they can't create Mac software unless they are willing to share their revenue with Apple. Some will not want to on principle, but others may find that it is not profitable because it costs money to be in the App Store.

When we get to the point where only applications from the Mac App Store can be installed on the Mac, will we then need to jailbreak it in order to install those great tools, utilities and applications that are not available in the store?

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