Well,

It has come to that – Apple let slip iTether – another tethering app, into their store and the world exploded . iTether allows tethering off of your iPhone data plan via a USB cable, which is what a lot of people need. It does this without complicated proxy servers like HandyLight, another tethering app that concealed a key combo that enabled tethering. For those lucky enough to snag iTether from the iTunes App store for $14.99 – congratulations. For the ones that failed to do so in the 12 or so hours the app was live before it got pulled – sorry. Look for a friend who got it and ask them if they can provide (temporarily) their iTunes username and password so that you can get it as well. Once you have iTether on your phone you will need to download Tether-iPhone.dmg (attached zipped here) and Tether-iPhone.exe (attached zipped here) as the server load is huge.

Enjoy iTether, as I am, the $14.99 are nothing for me as it allows a very convenient way to access the Internet when I’m in a pinch. Before iTether I would have to set up a network off of my MBP, connect the iPhone to it, change MBP to static IP, enable proxy on it, fire up the HandyLight app, enter the key combo and finally be able to surf the Internet waves. One word of advice for all:

Once you set up the connection (on my Mac it shows a Bluetooth PAN) change your DNS servers from the default ones to Google’s DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4). You don’t want your queries served by anything other than Google.

Enjoy iTether once again.

P.S. Oh, and yes, I’m using it right now

Hello again to all,

Here’s a quick way for all my fellow Keller Williams agents/techies who, just like me, have converted to Mac. Now, I am not saying it will work for ALL printers, but if your office is using Brother, Epson, Gestetner, HP, Infotec, Kyocera, Lanier, NRG, Ricoh, Samsung, Savin and others chances are these steps WILL allow you to print in your KW office. Here’s a list with all supported printers at this time. A word of caution. THESE SETTINGS ARE CONFIRMED TO BE WORKING IN AN OFFICE ENVIRONMENT THAT UTILIZES PRINT CODE ENFORCEMENT. NOT ALL PRINTERS ARE SUPPORTED.
So, here’s what you need:
1. Download PXLMono-1.9 and install it. This is a Disk Image so it will automatically get mounted and open a window. Double-click on the package and follow the installation instructions. From that window install the PXLMono.
2. Download Foomatic-rip-4.0.6.230 and install it the same way as step one.
3. Download GhostScript-8.71 and install it the same way as step one.
4. Download Change User Codes archive onto your mac. It has a readme file into it and a Command Script (Huge thanks to Matt Broughton for writing this script).

Step 4 is needed to change your print code (the defaults for this installation are 1001, 1002, 1003) to what your print code is in the respective KW office, IF you are using print code enforcement.

So, once you have installed the files from steps 1, 2 and 3 and then downloaded the file from step 4 it’s time to add the printers to your mac.

Here are the steps to add the printers:
1. When logged to your office (wireless) network, click on System Preferences on your dock (the icon with the gears)
2. Click on Print & Fax.
3. Click on the + sign in the bottom left corner.
4. Click on IP in the top left corner, between Fax and Windows.
5. For Protocol select HP Jetdirect – Socket.
6. In the Address field enter the IP address of the printer you are trying to add (ask you IT guy for that). For the offices that I service send me an email and I will reply with the additional settings.
7. in the Name field change the IP address with something that you will remember – ex. Color printer or BW printer.
8. MOST IMPORTANT: under Print Using make sure the driver that is selected ends with PXL. If it is something else, use the drop-down menu and change it. If there is no other driver then you won’t be able to install that printer.
9. When you click Add the next step will ask you what additional features the particular printer has, e.g. Finishers, additional trays, etc. Again, your IT guy should be able to tell you. If he can’t, he should be able to check for you, if he does not know how… well, don’t want to bad-mouth him/her then
10. Once the printer is added, find where you downloaded the file from Step 4 at the very beginning of this post and double-click it. You should simply follow the prompts but here’s a reduced version of it – it will ask you to enter your Administrator password, enter it. (if there is no Administrator password simply hit Enter) It will then ask you which added printer you would like to change the codes to. Select the corresponding number. Then select which code you would like to change, it should be 1001. Now enter your office print code and hit Enter. Confirm once or twice the Y/N prompts and you should be good to go. Test printing.

Repeat the steps to add more printers and change their print codes the same way. Again, some printers will not be available. These instructions are generally for use with Ricoh, Savin, Gestetner and Lanier BW and Color MFPs. Ask your IT guy for the IP addresses of these machines and for the additional Accessories that they have, e.g. Finishers, Additional Trays, Puncher, etc.

Hope this helps all you guys.

Hello people,

Yonko here. With all the buzz around holidays and the upcoming April Fools’ Day, this seems like a very good time to punch a few lines about this Conficker menace virus and how to protect yourself from it. If you haven’t heard about Conficker then you should educate yourself. Conficker is one of the worst viruses to date. It spreads by exploiting unpatched computers. It comes in three known variants – Conficker.A, Conficker.B, Conficker.C. Each version of Conficker features a “new and improved” set of tools to make your dream-come-true vacation in the Caribbean a nightmare. As an example, version C has the ability to disseminate itself through thumb drives (a.k.a. flash drives, a.k.a. where’s my can-never-find-it-thingamagic).

Now, I can write all day about how Conficker can spread and infect, but what I really want to tell you about is How To Protect Yourself From it. Right now there are two options: you either have Conficker on you machine, effectively turning it into a drone, or you don’t… and you are a happy camper.

One way to find out is to attempt to run a Windows Update by going to Start, All Programs and then Windows Update. Find and install all available updates and you “should” be okay. As with any anti-virus vs. virus battle it’s all a matter of catching up to one another.

So, make sure your computers are up-to-date and Conficker would be just another funny name on the news reel for you.

Now, if you do have it, you would probably know it immediately. Windows update would probably not run. And your access to well-known and respected anti-virus websites like AVG, Symantec, McAfee,Kaspersky etc would be restricted or blocked. Microsoft has released a special patch to address this vulnerability in its, otherwise solid as a 10-foot steel blast door, Windows operating system. You can find it here and make sure you select the right operating system at the bottom of the page, then download the file and install it.

In the event that you have it, call for help. Even I cannot tell you the extent of damage this thing can cause.

To Protect Yourself and Your Computer from Conficker or any other modern virus keep your anti-virus software updated, same goes for your computer.

I use ZoneAlarm as my antivirus/antispyware but it might be too much for you. My recommendation is AVG as it is less likely to stump you with questions you don’t know the answer to.

Have fun and stay safe. You know how to find me

Hello KW Agents,

Yonko Ganchev here.

Please be aware of this scam that you might have received in your mailbox. Under any circumstances are you to submit any confidential information to this person. A huge Thank You goes out to Liz Wellman and Felicia Leyva-Adams for sending me that email. KW Support is fully aware of this scam, evidenced by their response:

And here is the actual email, the spelling mistakes have been preserved:

From: EIRCOM UPGRADING TEAM [mary...@eircom.net]

Send: Thursday, March 19, 2009 12:14 PM

Subject: Dear Webmail.KW.com Account Owner

Dear Kw.com Account Owner,

This message is from Kw.com mail admin messaging center to all Kw.com mail account owners.  We are currently updating our database and e-mail account center. We are canceling  unused Kw.com e-mail account to create more space for new accounts.

To prevent your account from closing you will have to update it below to know it’s status as a currently used account.

CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL IDENTITY BELOW

Kw.com Email Username:

Kw.com Email Password:

Date of Birth:

country:

The above information  should be directed to Customer service e-mail bellow

EMAIL:    eirc...@live.com

Warning!!! Any account owner that refuses to update his/her account within Three days of this update notification will loose his/her account permanently.

Thank you for using Eircom.net mail

Support Team

Warning Code: ID67565434

————————-

Find the home of your dreams  with eircom net property Sign up for email alerts now http://www.eircom.net/propertyalerts

Again, please do not submit any information to this email address. This is a SCAM.

Your Tech guy,

Yonko

Hello again,

Yonko here. Here is another classic scam, this one looks even more legitimate than the PayPal scam. Very elaborate I would say. Yet, it remains a scam. A huge Thank you goes out to Sheri Arispe for forwarding that email to me. Here’s a picture of the email:

Bank Of America Phishing Scam

Moreover the Subject Line of the email stated: Your Bank of America account may have been accessed from an unauthorized computer! Also the email is obscured under Bank Of America, whereas it actually is coming from ixm...@accounts.net. Hm, Bank of America email address???? Not!

Pretty convincing, yes? And it is, however, upon scrutiny the actual website that the link in the email will take you to is:

http://24-171-24-196.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com/online (DO NOT FOLLOW), which eventually terminates into http://96.38.230.38/member/ (DO NOT FOLLOW). And that particular address…? What do we find out about it is that it has been reported as a malicious one. How do I know? I use Firefox and it stopped my attempts to open the website by displaying this picture:

Firefox saved the day from web forgery

So, please, please, please always check where a link would take you before clicking on it.

Thanks,

Yonko

www.HomeOfficeTechSupport.com

Hello again people,

Yonko here. Just had this pop up in my mailbox today, a second time in two days. Classic spam/phishing email. In essence it looks very legitimate, unfortunately it’s not. Here’s the email:

Subject was:  PayPal Notification, and the sender was covered to look like Support.

Dear PayPal Member,

We recently have determined that different computers have logged onto
your PayPal account, and multiple password failures were present before
the logins. We now need you to re-confirm your account information to us.
If this is not completed by March 11, 2009, we will be forced to suspend
your account indefinitely, as it may have been used for fraudulent purposes.
We thank you for your cooperation in this manner. To confirm your Account
records click on the following link:

http://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-submit&dispatch=588

Thank you for your patience in this matter.
PayPal Customer Service.
Please do not reply to this e-mail as this is only a notification.

1999-2009 PayPal. All rights reserved.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Scanned with Copfilter Version 0.84beta3a (ProxSMTP 1.6)
AntiVirus: ClamAV 0.91.2/9095 – Wed Mar 11 17:20:07 2009
by Markus Madlener @ http://www.copfilter.org

Sure looks relatively okay. Trust me it’s not. The address that this link points you to is:

http://211.147.211.100:8085/webscr/webscr/login.htm?cmd=_login-run?CMD=Login

Here are the flags:

1. PayPal does not send messages like this.

2. PayPal always works with secure websites. The Link does not start with httpS:// but with http:// which means it is not secure. It does not point to the PayPal website. It points to some unknown server – 211.147.211.100.

3. For those of you that were present in my Security, Firewalls and Anti-Virus/Spyware class you know that a link may appear to be legitimate but you need simply place you mouse over it to see where it would take you. In this case, somewhere to a server in China, downloading who knows what.

Stay away from messages like this one. No bank or financial institution would just “lose” your information, they make money off of you so it is in their BEST interest to keep that information safe and secure even from yourself.

Your helping hand in trying times,

Yonko

www.HomeOfficeTechSupport.com

Hello again people,

Today I will share this video tutorial on how you can Defragment your computer’s hard drive. Now, this being my very, very first video I have probably created a mess of everything. I was testing the software, so I didn’t quite know what I was doing. Nevertheless, I give that to you in the final version of what I considered it to be “good enough”. I don’t like going back and fixing stuff just so it is absolutely perfect. I am a neat freak but I do want you to know that, after all, I am a person too and I am allowed to make mistakes.

I chose the topic of defragmentation simply because I happened to work on a client’s computer today, and that thing was S.L.O.W. So as usual I started with the normal questions: Do you need to have 4 toolbars in your Internet Explorer? How about them 15 types of instant messengers, and that Picasa, Kodak, Adobe and I don’t know what else photo management software running at the same time? The answers were: errr, don’t know what these are, need that, don’t need that. Normal, okay. Defragmentation time come… and I froze. That client’s hard drive was sooooooo fragmented I had no clue how it was still running.
So, what exactly is defragmentation and fragmentation. Why is it important, why do we need to worry about it? Here’s a veeery bad example. Imagine you gotta work with buckets of water. Place 20 of those buckets in a straight line. Now fill the first 7, one after the other. Now fill 3 more. Now fill 5 more, then the other 5. So what do we have. 7-3-5-5. Imagine these are files with different sizes. Now empty the 7 and the first 5. You now have 7Empty-3Full-5Empty-5Full. This is where you are thinking – He’s lost it! What a nutter! Moron, etc!

I know, I know it sounds ridiculous, trying to compare computer files and water buckets. But that’s my example. The buckets are the storage on your hard drive and the water in them is the size of various files. So having said that, 7Empty-3Ffull-5Empty-5Full. Now try and pour 4 buckets at the beginning, you are okay. You now have 4Full-3Empty-3Full-5Empty-5Full. Now try and pour 5 more buckets. Ooops, you will have to do 3 buckets and 2 more in the other available spot, where the original 5 were. So we have 4Full-3Full (out of 5)-3Full-2Full(2 out of 5)-3Empty-5Full. We had to split our 5 into a 3 and a 2. Or, we had to “fragment” the process. First pour 3 then add 2 more.

And that’s exactly what happens with computer hard drives. Some files are too big for certain spots so they span (or fragment) to wherever possible. So one file can really be in a lot of places. Now, those twenty buckets, if you had to fill them up, I’d say you’d be upset to carry water back and forth between the different buckets in the line. Same thing with the hard drive. It has to find all the pieces of a file, and since you hard disk is spinning the read/write head jumps all over the place. And that takes time. Sure, milliseconds you say, but those can quickly add up and sooner or later you will notice a delay. Sometimes so big it actually results in catastrophic crashes of the hard drive, with data loss, etc.
Now, what defragmentation does is quite simple. It takes almost all of those “fragmented” files, puts them at the end of the hard disk and then one by one, re-writes them to it. This way, all of the file pieces are together.

Thank you reading and watching the video, hope to see you soon.

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my, humble at the moment, first attempt at blogging. It took me quite some time to sit down and finally start a blog. “What’s the big deal?” – you say. “Everyone has a blog these days.” Well, apparently not. I did not have one, although I had helped a few people start their own. I even posted for them for awhile. But never really got into one myself… Until now. I looked everywhere trying to find a suitable platform, trying to figure out all the things involved in starting a blog. I really did want to make it as perfect as possible. Sorry, that’s my nature. That’s how I’ve been raised – if you start doing something, better do it right. Otherwise, don’t do it at all.

And so, here I am. This is my first blog, ever. I am using WordPress, hosted on GoDaddy.com, using the Thesis theme by DIYThemes. Did purchase it (ouch), but I believe it has a lot of potential to be developed. Please be patient with me as I have just installed everything. Literally 2 hours ago. I scrapped all the settings, reloaded the entire MySQL database on GoDaddy and gave myself and the blog a fresh start. I already feel much better. I don’t have to go through a ton of menus (well, I do, but there a lot help files) and I don’t really have to know CSS or HTML (helps, though). I can “read” it… if that’s something you can imagine, but can’t implement it.

Aaaanyway… so what’s this blog going to be about? Well, I have always had a hobby – computers, electronics, cell phones, practically anythig that you can consider in the electronics and computer department. I am way more inclined towards computers, as I make my living supporting a few of Keller Williams offices – you know, the Real Estate company.

That actually became one of the main reasons for this blog. I wanted to help not just one person at a time, but many. I could not see a better way of doing that, other than starting a blog that would include video tutorials, help files, various tips and tricks that would aid my agents tackle their IT issues and come on top. And you think people should know basic stuff – don’t tilt your computer too much, don’t bang it against the side of the desk. You know, basic!

Truth is – they don’t! Most of them, that is. Don’t get me wrong, I love helping people. Otherwise, I would not be doing what I am doing. Most common thing I have encountered – “Can I ask you a stupid question?”. What do I do? I smile and reply – “There are no stupid questions, there are only questions we know the answer to, and others we do not. So ask away.”

No, really, think about it. Cause if you believe someone asking “Do I have a wireless switch on my laptop?” is a stupid thing then let me ask you this: “How’s your quantum physics these days?” Mine sucks, but I’m willing to learn. Bad example? Not really. Any subject could very well be in that spot. If you don’t know something – ask. We were born with no knowledge of the world and we have been asking questions our entire lives. So… spare me the “Well, that really is a stupid question.”-type of speech.

I think that’s enough for a first post, it’s too late anyway, so… off to bed, shower, mouth wash and teeth-brushing… and not necessarily in that order.

Stay tuned, folks. I have LOTS of things to tweak here, please be patient.

All good,

Yonko