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Brian Krebs reports on the rise in bogus electronic greeting cards

In his post on Not-So-Friendly Greeting Cards, Brian Krebs of the Washington Post calls out the rise of fake online greeting cards that can install keystroke loggers on to your computer, rather than delivering what you thought to be an innocent e-card from a long lost aunt.



“You might want to think twice before opening that e-greeting card sent to you via e-mail. Cyber crooks have recently been blasting out millions of fake online greeting cards in the hope that recipients will click on the included links and infect their computers with password-stealing viruses.

“Previous e-greeting card scams harbored their viral payload in an infected e-mail attachment, but fraudsters now are simply embedding links in the fake card messages. Anyone who clicks on such a link without the benefit of the most recent security updates for their Web browser is likely to have their PC silently whacked with an invasive keystroke-logging program.


“… It is sad that the state of e-mail security has come to this, but Microsoft Windows users would be well-advised to simply delete any e-greeting cards that land in their inboxes.”


For more info, see the Wiki link on the Storm Worm, and here on Symantec’s site.


Also, here’s the link if the embedded links above don’t work: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/07/notsofriendly_greeting_cards_1.html


And see my past note on how there’s no immunity from security vulnerabilities.


More info:



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Your questions: How do I run Windows XP compatible applications on Windows Vista?

I extracted this from a comment on a previous post, and a question I receieved this weekend from a neighbour:



“I upgraded to Vista, but found that some of my applications I used on Windows XP don’t work… How do I run Windows XP compatible applications on Windows Vista?”


With Windows Vista, there may be problems running some older versions of applications, but you can set the compatibility mode for many applications.


“If a program written for an earlier version of Windows doesn’t run correctly, use the Program Compatibility Wizard to change the compatibility settings for the program.” (See “Make older programs run in this version of Windows” on the Windows Help and How To site for more details.)


To Run the Program Compatibility Wizard…



  1. Open the Program Compatibility Wizard by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Programs, and then clicking Use an older program with this version of Windows.


  2. Follow the instructions in the wizard. 

Setting the Compatibility mode to Windows XP (for apps you ran successfully under that OS) runs the program using the settings from Windows XP. I’ve had good success with this with most of the applications I have on Vista at home, even with kid’s games running from CD (which seem to be some of the most challenging). 


As noted on the Program Compatibility Wizard page:







Do not use the Program Compatibility Wizard on older antivirus programs, disk utilities, or other system programs because it might cause data loss or create a security risk.


In these cases, visit your vendor’s site for more details on application compatibility with Windows Vista.


To change settings for a program manually, use the individual program’s Compatibility tab: find the application’s .exe and then right click on the icon. Next, select the Properties and click on the Compatibility tab.


There’s a helpful page on the How-To-Geek’s site on using Windows Vista Compatibility Mode – see the Geek’s site for more helpful tips, a great general tech help site.


Also see…


  • What is program compatibility?
  • Program Compatibility Assistant: frequently asked questions

    • Tags: Windows Vista, customer support, Windows Vista tips 

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    ABC News reports on the dark side of customer service

    An interesting article on ABC News’ website, Call Center Confessions, in which customer service agents discuss the ups and downs of providing Customer Service, “from death threats to fetish callers.”

    “The angry customers who cursed at her were bad enough, and the fetish perverts who called late at night to ask what type of shoes she was wearing freaked her out.

    “But the death threats really sent Tina Parcell over the edge.

    “Parcell was working as a customer service representative for MCI when an irate customer “threatened to slit my throat if I didn’t get his name off the do-not-call list.”

    “After she hung up on him, Parcell realized that the caller had her first name, last name and location, and that he only lived an hour away from her. She immediately told her manager, took a break to compose herself and warned her family members.”

    Eek. And I thought the emails and posts I get were tough.

    Also of interest…

    Tags: ABC News, customer service, customer support

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    Kevin Turner: “make it habitual to take care of customers”

    Of interest… Kevin Turner is featured in a CNET News article from Ina Fried…

    What are some of the things on your road map for the year? What are your main priorities right now?

    Turner: I’m working hard on making sure we’re winning customers, and that includes share, it includes Linux, it includes making sure that we’re bringing value to the marketplace for customers. I’m making sure that we just make it habitual to take care of customers, that we really step up our game, that I really rally the partners to help us step up our game because they represent us. The customers vote by what they buy. Being a trusted adviser is a more and more important thing in a decision-making process for an IT person. I want us to keep stepping up the customer satisfaction and the partner satisfaction that we’re driving.

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    Connecting an HP scanner with Windows Vista is much easier than with Windows XP

    This evening I came home and decided to go through the chore of attaching my old scanners and printers to my family Windows Vista machine. I was ready to bid adieu to the family for the rest of the evening and resolve myself to the home office until dark.


    A previous quick trip to the HP web site noted that drivers were available for my MFP at the office, an Officejet 6110, and I found in place the old somewhat long-winded instructions (download and install drivers, attaching the USB cable at a particular time, but not while the peripheral is on, and after the USB cable is connected to the PC…), a very simple instruction: 



    “The driver solution for this product is included in your Windows Vista operating system and is already on your computer. There is no need to download anything. Follow the steps below to quickly and easily get your product working with Windows Vista.”

    Huh? I told the kids to head on outside with our friend’s dog without me… it seems this is a simple process…

    Installing the printer driver

  • Verify that the printer is turned on.


  • Connect the Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable to the printer and to the computer.


  • A Your devices are ready to use window might display on the screen. If the window displays and does not close automatically, close the window.


  • Print a test page to verify that the printer is working correctly.





      • And it was just that simple, complete in a matter of a few minutes. Installing the drivers for my laser printer at home was almost as easy (but Brother’s drivers weren’t as easily discovered by Vista as HP product drivers). 


      HP driver installation in Vista


      Surely, the installation procedure for the Scanjet 4670 document scanner would be more convoluted than that… and I’d booked the time off to handle investigating the hardware configuration, rolling back drivers and setting some arcane switches only accessible via the command line. You get the picture.


      But throwing caution to the wind and walking the tightrope without a net (so to speak), I went ahead and connected the scanner directly to the USB port and what do you know…


      It worked. All I did was plug in a cable and it worked. In Windows XP, it took the better part of 15 or 20 minutes when I first brought home the scanner… but now, with Windows Vista, I was scanning in less than five minutes. Once again, HP jumped through hoops for me as their customer.


      There is a disclaimer on the HP site…



      “This is the minimum driver required for basic WIA functionality. This driver enables scanning with the Windows Photo Gallery on Windows Vista or the Scanner and Camera Wizard on Windows XP. Scanning can also be done with a variety of 3rd party scanner enabled applications.


      “You might find that some features are no longer available when using this basic driver. We are sorry to inform you that a full feature driver for Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition will not be available for your HP product in the future. You can upgrade to an HP product that is fully compatible with Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition if additional features are necessary.”


      Well, I haven’t run into any major issue or limitation. So far so good, the scanner works like a charm.


      Kudos to HP and the Windows Vista team. Following the investment of a few minutes after dinner, all’s well that ends well.


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