Not that anybody *really* cares, but, Microsoft technician restored my computer's ability to download AND install updates successfully. Woot! Basically, the one update I was having trouble with had to do with the .Net Framework(s). Shawn had me uninstall that, and then reinstalling 2 critical updates, then get others from the Microsoft Updates site. My faith in technology has been restored :-)
Saturday, July 31
Thursday, July 29
Scanning for viruses and trojans
Been wondering where my online presence has been? Well, as it turns out I had a virus named "Virus: Win32/Alureon.H". It was found by the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool program, It only "partially" repaired the infection and suggested I run a full-system antivirus scan after a restart, which I did using Avast (free) antivirus. It found nothing, said the PC was clean, so I ran another scan with the Window's program and it said my computer still had remnants of the Alureon.H virus. Downloaded the " Norton Power Tool ", ran a scan. The results were that some other 'virus/malware' (command & RegCureSetup RW[1] dot exe) had been found and fixed. Ran the Window's program again w/ the results of "Win32/Alureon.H" *still* existing. heavy sigh. Uninstalled Avast and downloaded/installed the (free) AVG 9 program and did a full scan with that, which found, you guessed it...NOTHING. Just to be safe I ran yet another hour long scan with the WMSRT tool and it claimed I still had at least some partial Alureon.H files somewhere. This morning I downloaded and installed yet another free antivirus program called " Kasperky Antivirus 2010 " (trial version). Plus, I did a search on the Kasperky site for "Win32/Alureon.H" and found no information on it at all. *shrug* The computer is being "deep" scanned with that as we speak, but it just completed. It found and deleted a virus named Trojan-GameThief.Win32.Magania.dkjf . Why is Windows the only program finding remnants of the virus Alureon.h? Aliases for the same virus? Anyway, consequently I have not been to Facebook or Twitter since yesterday afternoon because the scanning really slows down my computer. I think I got virus from downloading/installing "Adaware Pro" whose link I found and followed from the Lavasoft site :-( Speaking of new-to-me programs, I downloaded, installed, and ran the Ad-Aware Antivirus Security software earlier this month, but it didn't have an email scanner, so I uninstalled it. Installed AVG9.0 but thought at the time that it slowed the computer down too much. Maybe that wasn't what caused the slow-down? This all (scanning) started yesterday in the early afternoon after I tried and failed to get Windows Updates. Microsoft has contacted and assisted me. I can now download updates! Unfortunately, the latest one won't install. Anyway.... that's all the exciting news I've got. You?
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FYI - If you think you might have a virus that's causing problems you can download a mini scanner from Kasperky*.
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*Download the file TDSSKiller.zip from the following link and save it on the Desktop.
http://support.kaspersky.com/downloads/utils/tdsskiller.zip
2. Double click TDSSKiller.zip to unzip the file.
3. Double click TDSSKiller.exe to scan the system.
4. Wait for the scan and disinfection process to complete.
Please Note: The third-party product discussed here is manufactured by a company that is independent of Microsoft. We make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.
Tuesday, July 27
Spidey pics
Haven't been able to think of anything particularly interesting to say for a while. I think it's because I read other people's blogs and think, "Wow, they're always doing something", whereas we don't. We drive to gas stations and grocery stores. 'Nuff said. Any hoots, we have a spider that builds her bug catcher every night on our porch. I took these last night. Apologies for the lack of quality.
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(click 2 enlarge)
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(click to biggen)
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(clik to enlarge)
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I *tried* to make the spider appear closer to it's natural color, but was not successful.
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http://ramblemans.blogspot.com
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Saturday, July 24
Good to back because
Noticed earlier today that my 'puter was doing funky things, like opening a web site and attempting to start a download when I opened my browsers (either IE8 or Chrome), which I didn't let it do. After trying to unsuccessfully re-install Ad-Aware a few times, I decided to run the Windows Malicious Software Removal program , but it stopped scanning for some unknown reason. Sigh. Ran a 'full system scan' using my antivirus program which found 1 "infected file" and deleted it. Unfortunately the deleted file re-installed itself. Downloaded Spybot1.6.2 and ran another 'FSS' and SB removed the "Microsoft.Windows.AppFirewallBypass" trojan. This apparently happened when I downloaded, installed, and ran a 'registry cleaner/fixer' that I couldn't use because the "free trial" started only after giving them a credit/debit card number. I don't think so. I thought it was a trusted site and therefore download because it was a link on Ad-Aware's web site.
Here's what Spybot says about it:
Threat: Security
Description:
"This is being flagged whenever an application is configured to accept incoming connections through the Windows Firewall. Most applications do not need to accept incoming connections like servers do."
Other than that, I haven't been socially active today, other than responding to 1 email, or two, and reading 3 people's blogs. Did get the inside of the toilet bowl cleaned though. Didn't get the living room vacuumed yet. Wanted to do it on Wednesday. Wasn't able to get motivated enough to interrupt everyone's computer worlds with noise. Right now would probably be a good time. Just so you don't think I've done nothing else today, you should know that my daughter's bicycle has been oiled and adjusted. *smile* Now, although I've got time and my computer back, I'm kind of tired of sitting in front of the monitor. It is Sunday Saturday though, so evening on-onlineness on line-ness isn't a must. Facebook? Maybe later. Vacuuming... probably.
Sunday, July 18
Sales, fixes, graduations and parties
Earlier this week my wife painted this sign and I put it up at the front of the driveway. So far, no takers on anything. We've still got hope though. Every time Rain sees a car drive passed she says, "Buy a pie". She knows they can't hear her from the porch, but she's hoping to plant subliminal messages that'll make them eventually come back. LOL
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Last week, or maybe the week before that, I noticed our hose was getting 'bubbles' on it, so I duct taped the crap out of it. So far, no bubbles have broken and it still works to spray any wasps that try to start a nest somewhere on the porch roof. Been noticing the last several days that the wasps flying around the porch are not stopping to build. Perhaps 'the message' saying, "We don't want your nests on the porch" is working. LOL
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Yesterday was my daughter's LAST day at Cosmetology College. Yep, she graduated. Now all we've got to do is submit her paperwork to the powers that be and wait for her temporary license so she can work at A Cut 2 Dye 4 in Buffalo, MO. With the temp license she'll also get a date to take the State Board tests (written & practical). The practical is done by her doing some cutting, coloring, a manicure, etc. to show the judges she actually knows how to cut, style hair and do nail work. After that they'll send her an official license and she'll be good to go! We are VERY proud of her! She's the first one of our immediate family to have a degree. AWESOME!
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Also yesterday, was our family friend's daughter's birthday. They had a birthday/pool party at the city pool. Lots of people showed-up and enjoyed the water, food, drink (tea and water), and company. The life guards were especially happy because our friends are the only ones who have food and drinks when they reserve the pool. LOL. Yes, my wife, son, and me all got sun burns. Not bad ones, but burns nonetheless.
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Today's agenda: Drive to Springfield, MO and stop at The Next Generation 2's grand opening celebration and buy a raffle ticket that wins the $500 dollar's worth of tattoos. Oh, and eat a little of the food they're having and drink some of whatever drinks they're providing. Don't know if the food and drinks are free or not, but we're hoping they are at least very inexpensive.
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http://ramblemans.blogspot.com
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P.S. I update my blog post about our previously slow DSL connection speed. In short, it's fixed. WOOT!
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Monday, July 12
Computer not letting me be social
Update: The problem was with our modem. The technician replaced the modem and we started getting the 1.5. Mbps we are supposed to for our DSL connection. I'm thinking now that the modem was never quite right as we rarely, if ever, really got the 1.5 in the 2 years we've had it. Now we can actually watch videos on-line without having to buffer them for long periods before playing them. It's awesome!
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As you know, our DSL speed has been sucking lately. Just checked our speed on the test site called BransonSpeedTest.com and SpeakEasy...we're running around 600 kbps. I've got a 'work ticket' on file and a tech/repairman is coming tomorrow morning. Since on-line anything was crawling due to our connection speed (or lack there of) I decided to get an online spyware/virus scan done. The result was found and fixed (hopefully). It found a trojan named "RogueAV CLNAV4". While the scan was going I decided that I might as well have an Anti Spyware program already installed so next time I want to check for spyware/malware, I won't have to go online. I chose "Ad-Aware" as my new anti spyware program and found out that Ad-Aware (free) is now also Antivirus AND Antispware. Any hoots, I've been scanning and therefore not on-line for several hours. No spyware or virus' were found. And all because of slow connection speed (as low as 300 kbps) earlier.
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Facebook was too slow before starting any scans. Tried playing on Frontierville but it was frustrating to click on something and then wait 30 seconds for whatever icon I clicked on to actually do anything :-(
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Hopefully tomorrow the technician can renew our DSL back at least close to the 1.5 Mbps we pay for and my day will be more productive.
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Sunday, July 11
Word of the day - Spurts
| The reason I mention that particular word is because it came to me while I sitting out on the porch. Had been mowing for about an hour in 90 degree (F) and I was HOT. It occurred to me that the "way" I get as much done as I do is because I do it in "Spurts" (usually 30 minutes). Probably should NOT have rode around on the mower for so long knowing that I was over heating. Me being me though... Once I get started doing something, I don't like to stop, in fear that I won't be able to get going again. Wasn't on the porch, sitting for long (10 minutes) since I wasn't cooling off as fast as I would've liked. So I came inside to cool off in the air conditioned room that's right around 75 (F). Figured while I was in here that I might as well write something. It's now been almost 15-20 minutes (forgot to look at the clock), a little water has been drank, and I'm a little cooler. Like everyone else, once I'm overheated, the energy may or may not come back to me today. However, it's looking like it might rain, so it's an equal ratio of sun:clouds:breeze, therefore a bit cooler feeling at least. Want to get some of the ugly tall grass cut down to size. Thinking I'm not going to go for much longer though, although it's only 12:39 PM. | ||
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Friday, July 9
It was a good hair day. Job interview. Graduation.
| Although it felt busier than it really was. Mostly because after I dropped rain off at Angelica's school, the only thing I had to do was figure out a way to kill 2 or 3 hours. And they're not easy to find! Lol. Anyway, went to McD's, bought a large dollar cola and played on DD's laptop and the free WI-fi. I was only there about an hour because not only was the lunch crowd starting to get there, my skin was getting cold. Since I don't like on-line mail (Centurytel), I didn't read any. Went to Facebook, but didn't do anything because I just wasn't in the mood. Probably because at that point I was really cold. Went back to the school to see how the hair coloring was going (she had foils on her hair when I got there). It turned-out a really nice auburn color with faint highlights. Drove home (30 minutes), played on the computer and went back and picked up the girl from school a few hours later. Tomorrow DD has an interview at 'A Cut 2 Dye For' in Buffalo, which is about 45 minutes in the opposite direction of the school we'll be picking her up from, then taking her back, and picking her up again (we'll just spend an hour in Lebanon instead of coming home first) before coming home. There's gunna be LOTS of driving. Thank god for air-conditioning in the car! Will only have to take DD to and from school tomorrow and then 4 or 5 days next week. She GRADUATES almost at the end of next week! | ||
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Thursday, July 8
Socialization
| And when say the word, "socialization", I am NOT referring to home education. I'm merely speaking about how we've been going, and going, and going for the last week and a half. We've been to Springfield, MO and drove around. Been to a couple of Wal-Mart Super Centers (1 in Sprngfld, 1 in Lebanon), and even went to the mall (again in Sprngfld.). Then last evening we had one of our family's best friend & her brood over for a really nice visit. Unfortunately her DH didn't come with her, so I didn't get any "man" bonding. That's fine though, really, because I've actually gotten along with women better for a long time now. We adults talked about whatever came to mind, the teens (14-ish) young men (1 ours, 1 hers) played a Wii Video game, while her two girls wondered around trying to find things to do since 'the boys' were monopolizing the Wii. Like I said, a lot of good socialization happened. Hadn't visited, really visited with her for a couple of years. Now we're going to want to do it again before 2 more years pass. Yep, we're addicted to friendship! | ||
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Monday, July 5
Our holiday weekend
| Not much to say really. Didn't get to see any "expert" fireworks displays in person, though we did watch the one from Boston that was televised. We saw a few strays that people were shooting from their yards that were pretty, albeit small, as we drove passed. Thought about shooting some bottle-rockets off but didn't because it's been SO dry lately. Today we went to Springfield to buy a piece of equipment for our daughter. Swung by the mall for a bite to eat. Then we stopped by the "Eko" apartments to see if we could take a look at a 2-bedroom that was for rent. Unfortunately the office manager was out of the office and we didn't feel like waiting 45 minutes for someone to come to the office. They looked nice enough. Will be looking at others that're similar but less expensive for when we sell the house and land. No hurry as of yet though. Oh, and I changed the look of my home blog page. Added a banner picture and changed the background. Check it out and let me know what you think. | ||
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Thursday, July 1
Gettin' things done!
Ordinarily I'm a procrastinator. For the last few days anyway, that hasn't been the case. Oh, I'm not getting tons of things done, just the things that would eventually need to be done during that day. For instance, when we get home after delivering Daughter to school, I get my Wii Body Test done first thing. If it's shave and/or shower day, both get done first thing... Before getting on the computer. Today I was motivated, so after the aforementioned stuff was done, I did the dishes so Wife (and I) wouldn't have to look at dirty dishes and worry about when they would get done. Besides, it's almost the 4th of July so I figured that was as good of a reason as any to be extra nice since she does the dishes 98.5% of the time. Before you yell at me for not doing them more often, I am generally the one that does the laundry, vacuuming, litter box cleaning & refilling. Granted, the refilling only gets done once a month, but still. Today I even got a couple of plants watered and tended, so there. *smile* Since the weather hasn't been very rainy, that means the grass isn't getting watered very much (we've had short sprinkles), thus it doesn't need mowing. Though it has been a couple of weeks and there are a few areas that the grass is higher than others, it's not 'overgrown' enough to run and jump on the riding mower any time soon. Probably next week sometime I'll do some grass cutting... If I feel like it. Which I most likely will. I like mowing.
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The last few days, and probably a few more this week, have been absolutely gorgeous. Temperatures in the 80's (F), slightly breezy so cooling off happens pretty quickly if you start sweating for whatever reason.
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Speaking of 'The Fourth', we'll more than likely be going to The Long Lane Fireworks show on Sunday evening to watch pretty exploding things in the sky. May do some people watching as well. If we meet anyone we know, we'll probably talk to them even. *smile*
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Good morning! And I sincerely hope the rest of your day is AWESOME!
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