If any of your your security or Windows Update software isn't functioning properly, or if you can't reach security-related web sites, you might want to read into the Conficker/Downadup worm; it's a nasty one. If you're not showing any problems, you may want to disable Windows File Sharing (or leave it on at your own risk if certain programs need it).

You know it's bad when the NY Times writes a lengthy article about it. But the attention is warranted:

( Blah, blah, blah. )

Computer security researchers expect that within days or weeks the bot-herder who controls the programs will send out commands to force the botnet [possibly including your computer] to perform some as yet unknown illegal activity.

Several computer security firms said that although Conficker appeared to have been written from scratch, it had parallels to the work of a suspected Eastern European criminal gang that has profited by sending programs known as "scareware" to personal computers that seem to warn users of an infection and ask for credit card numbers to pay for bogus antivirus software that actually further infects their computer.

Microsoft has released a security update for it, so check Windows Update and install your updates! You should also update your antivirus software and run a full system scan.

If you're already infected and your antivirus software won't run, check Microsoft's (lengthy) support page about it.

I love the enV2 already. I had had the phone for maybe 10 hours before I had uploaded my first custom ringtones. It's actually very easy once the sound clips are ringtone-ready, but the ones that aren't require some software. Luckily, I have free software that does everything I need.

WARNING: I have the LG enV2 (LG VX9100) for Verizon Wireless. I don't know how this may apply to other phones on other networks, as I am not an expert, so don't try this at home if you don't know what you're doing.

Update 3/23/2009: I have confirmed that this process works for a variety of LG phones on the Verizon network that use MP3 ringtones and MicroSD memory cards. I have also successfully sent the tones to other phones on other networks, but with less consistent success.

Step 1: Prepare the sound clip.
First thing's first: get the (legally obtained) music ready. There are three requirements:
    File type: MP3
    File size: less than 500 KB
    Duration: less than 30 seconds

I recommend a 128 Kbps MP3, because a 30-second MP3 encoded at 128 Kbps is right at 500 KB. If you want higher quality, your clip will have to be shorter to meet the 500 KB limit. But you don't need that quality for the puny speakers on a cell phone.

( MP3 Trimming Trickery... )

Step 2: Send the sound clip to your phone.
Your phone may not work exactly like mine, so just follow along and see if your phone behaves in a similar manner.

( Step by step, day by day... )

I have a game called Snood. (There are several Snood games here, but I just have Snood for Windows. It's fun. Much better than FreeCell!) Upon first installing it, Catie and I played it a few times, and we set a list of high scores. But upon restarting the computer and playing again, no new high scores could be saved.

I threw an occasional tantrum about it for weeks, but tonight I got to the bottom of it: Windows Vista protects the preferences file, because it is stored in the Snood folder under Program Files on the hard drive. (And Windows Vista is very protective of the Program Files folder, so it won't let just any program save to it, and Snood is not on the VIP list.)

Luckily, Snood allows you to change where that file is saved in its "Game Preferences" menu, and it will write a new preferences file in the location you choose when you close the program. Vista has a "saved games" folder under each user's default folder, so that's where I told Snood to save its preferences file. Presto! I can save my settings now, and it remembers them!

(Alternatively, you can change the permissions or security settings on that file or folder, allowing Windows Vista to save changes to it. The instructions to do this are out there. Programs designed with Vista in mind have already done this for you.)

I only write this here because it should work for pretty much any program with a protected settings file, as long as the program allows you to change that file's location.

An instructor where I work has Powerpoint presentations with hyperlinks, mostly to local files like AVI or WMV videos, or occasionally PDF documents. At home and in her office, the links behave as expected: Windows opens the linked file as if someone had clicked on it from an Explorer window.

On the classroom computer, however, we first get a warning message about potentially harmful information asking for confirmation to proceed. After clicking "OK", we get:

Error:
No program is registered to open this file.

She has Office 2003 at home and it works. She has Office 2007 in her office and it works. She has Office 2007 in the classroom and it does not work. The computer is much older, so there's no telling what tiny little bit of configuration is causing this problem, but it's nothing to do with file associations or missing programs, because everything needed to run the files is installed and functioning properly. They just won't open from a link in a Powerpoint presentation.

Any ideas?

(Keep in mind that this is a classroom computer, and ditching this and/or that Microsoft product might be your knee-jerk suggestion, it isn't feasible.)

I don't have an iPod and haven't used an iPod. I have barely used iTunes on my own, so my exposure to the hardware or software is very limited. However, my sister has a dilemma, and I'm putting my tech-savvy friends to the test to help her. Here goes:

I had a bunch of mp3 files on my hard drive, and I imported them into my iTunes. So I then had them in two locations. So when I needed to free up space on my hard drive, I deleted the original files, knowing that I still had them duplicated in my iTunes library. Unfortunately, I evidently should've converted them to AAC first, because now they won't play and I'm getting a message that says the files are lost.

So what I need to know is how to recover them (I've emptied my Recycle Bin). And/or, how does one restore one's computer to a previous day/time, and, would that restore the lost files? I've done it before, but I can't figure out how to now.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Also, for all you iTunes aficionados: because I don't want to wipe out anything that's currently on my iPod that's no longer on my computer, how do I change the settings from sync to manual without first plugging in my iPod and erasing stuff?? Is there no other way to change the settings BEFORE plugging my iPod into my computer? And/or is there a way to get music from my iPod BACK onto my computer?

Thanks for any and all help anyone could offer!

What is the easiest and most cost-effective way to transfer video from VHS to DVD if I don't have the equipment to do it myself?