Here are two international directories that show free public wi-fi (wireless internet) access locations courtesy of ABC News and the Wi-Fi Free Spot website.
Here also is a local-to-Metro Birmingham list from the Internet Professionals Society of Alabama.
Be sure you know how to protect yourself at wireless hotspots. If you’re not sure about how to do this or have questions about securing your computer or wireless connection, contact us!
Takashi Katsuki writes on the Symantec Security Response weblog:
Recently we came across an interesting Trojan sample… What makes it interesting is that the author has obviously taken great pains to make it appear legitimate.
The trojan shows up on your PC in the form of a “Microsoft Piracy Control” screen. If you decline to activate Windows, your computer shuts down. All other functions (like the Task Manager) are locked out.
If you choose to “activate”, a new screen appears which asks for all sorts of personal and financial information.
This Trojan teaches us all a good lesson - Trust No One. This is the slogan from the TV show The X-Files, and very much applies when it comes to protecting your personal information.
Excellent advise indeed. If you need help removing trojans, viruses, or other malware from your PC, or if you have questions about securing your PC or network, contact us! We’d be happy to be of assistance.
Here’s a handy tool for keeping many popular freeware programs up-to-date:
The Update Checker will scan your computer for installed software, check the versions and then send this information to filehippo.com to see if there are any newer releases. These are then neatly displayed in your browser for you to download.
The Update Checker will not send any personal information back to filehippo.com. The only information collected is a list of programs and their versions, along with the operating system details to help with processing. Additionally none of this is linked to your IP address and the logs are deleted after processing.
The application does not require installation and may be run directly from the desktop or download folder.
As the quote from their site states, either save it to the desktop and run it, or run it right from the download. Most of the new versions of the updated programs it finds can be installed right over top of the older versions, meaning that you shouldn’t have to uninstall the older versions first. Each piece of software is different, though, so check wth the software maker to be absolutely certain.
And, as always, we’d be happy to help you with any software installation or update questions or needs you have. Contact us if we can be of assistance!
Doing some research? Here are links to 50 great free online libraries.