If you are a windows user, you may want to download the ThinkPoint removal tool and have it on hand. You can get it here: http://ldw.me/lp. Once ThinkPoint is on your computer it will block your access to the internet making it hard to find help.

If you find you have been infected, reboot your computer and as soon as you see the first ThinkPoint screen hit control-alt-delete (important to do this before clicking on anything related to ThinkPoint). Click on the processes tab and look for a process called “Hotfix.exe” stop that process and your ThinkPoint window should go away. Now run the ThinkPoint removal tool to remove the program.

Remember, there are some safety tips to make it less likely that you will have to deal with malware such as this, and if you do have an easier time regaining control of your computer.

1. Keep your antivirus software up-to-date. We use Avira and NOD32.
2. Browse safer using Firefox or Chrome, Internet Explorer is the most likely to be vulnerable. Keep your browser up-to-date.
3. Be wary of “free” stuff, especially things like screensavers, games and sites that are full of advertising. If in doubt, ask us or your trusted tech support person first.
4. If you feel you have been infected, do not try and put off fixing it. The longer malware is on your computer the more damage can be done and the harder it can be to remove. Unplug your computer from the network if you are in a workplace where your computer may infect others, shut down your computer and contact us, or your tech support person immediately for advice.
5. Back up your data! Either on an external disk or with an online service such as Mozy.com. Sometime removal of malware will require re-installing your operating system which may involve losing your data.
6. If you are using Windows as an operating system, create a second user account without administrator privileges (Limited User) and use that as your primary login. Only use the administrative login if you need to install software. This will prevent most malware from installing itself on your pc.
7. Consider switching to a Linux operating system. Windows is the most vulnerable to malware, Mac is far less likely, and with Linux you can feel completely safe. Contact us if you would like us to assess your ability to switch by visiting AskUsForHelp.org.

To use the Nautilus image converter simply go to the command line and install by typing “sudo aptitude install nautilus-image-converter”, no quotations. Once installed restart nautilus by using the command “nautilus -q”.  Now you can simply right click on any image and have the option to resize or rotate it in the drop down menu.

For Gimp users there is a plugin called David’s Batch Processor.   It can be downloaded for linux or Windows here or installed as part of the “gimp-plugin-registry” using Synaptic package manager.   This plugin allows many more options than the Nautilus option including batch resize.

For more information on image optimization or if you prefer an online solutions to image resizing please refer to this blog.

Enjoy!

Many years ago I first tried Linux on some old PCs that were donated.  It was fun, and as a hobbyist, I enjoyed the challenge of getting everything to work; to be honest, however, I seldom succeeded.  Then, quite a few years later, I took another look and found much progress.  Unfortunately, my desire for Linux to become widely used was unrealistic as it still required a person with good technical savvy and acumen – or at least a certain amount of confidence – to install and use Linux.  News spread about how growing amounts of people, especially corporations, were finding how much more stable and secure Linux was; this occurred around the same time that people were becoming increasingly disappointed and disenchanted with Microsoft after its release of Windows Vista.

While serving in New Orleans, I met others who were not only experimenting with Linux, but were using it as their primary operating system.  Meanwhile, my dissatisfaction with Windows was exacerbating, particularly due to constant worry about whether or not I was protected enough against viruses and spyware.  In fact, my protection was eating up all my resource, yet I still didn’t feel secure.

So, I took the leap of faith and switched over to Linux, hoping that it would enable me to accomplish all that I needed to do.  I did mess around with dual boot (utilizing both Windows XP and various Linux distributions on the same machine), and I still had my share of challenges getting everything to work, but before long I was proudly promoting the benefits of Open Source* with my computer running Debian Linux.  During my time in New Orleans, we tried many different distributions, especially in the computer labs which we were establishing. With donated computers, it was a way around the expensive license fees required if we were to install legitimate versions of Windows.  Linux was very stable, very easy to use once installed, and a great way to introduce others to Open Source. We found that Ubuntu and Xubuntu were the most uncomplicated for end users to operate, and in effort to better understand and help them, I switched to Ubuntu on my own laptop.

After leaving New Orleans, I offered that laptop to J, which is part of the reason that he got excited about computers and now is pursuing a career in web design.  So this journey uncovers another great reason to use Linux:  it gives more of a hands-on experience, which may lead to discovery of  previously unknown natural talents.

We have both just upgraded our systems to Ubuntu Lucid Lynx, and I must say that it is now certainly more advantageous to use Ubuntu than it is to use Windows:  easier to install, safer and more secure, and a heck of a lot more fun as there is no limit to the amount of customization you can do.

So with the attractive price tag of FREE, why doesn’t everybody switch?  If you still find that you have programs that need to be run in Windows, you may have to tinker with Wine (a Windows emulator that allows you to run programs in Linux) VirtualBox, (creating a virtual version of Windows that runs inside Linux), or using dual boot (utilizing both operating systems side-by-side so that one can choose which to use upon start-up).  All of these options add a level of complexity that some may wish to avoid.  Some may feel like they have more support if using Windows, but often that support comes at the tradeoff of a high price tag.  Now that so many people are using Linux, the support abounds, and there are hundreds of forums, many of which are very “newbie” friendly.  I think the primary reason more people haven’t yet switched is because they have never tried and are thwarted by fear of the unknown.

Is it time for you to make the move to Open Source Linux?  We highly recommend Ubuntu Lucid Lynx.

for the first timer if you have a newer machine, although there are a lot of other distributions from which to choose.  If you are ready to make the move but are unsure of yourself, we would be happy to offer any advice and welcome any questions.  Please just let us know.

*Open Source is a concept of sharing intellectual properties without concern for compensation. Lowthian Design Works uses many open source applications, including this blog, published in WordPress, and open source content management system.

Thanks Amy Tyson for proofreading this post.

That is, until my last trip to a certain blue-and-yellow box store. I was looking for headphones, but somehow I landed me in the phone section, talking at length with an enthusiastic saleslady about Android, its apps and how much she loves her new Droid. And now… I kind of love it too. I left with a pamphlet about Android, no headphones, and a dilemma: to upgrade, or not to upgrade?

I admit, before this I felt kind of smug in being one of the few Americans without a wireless plan—a tiny elite not glued to a dumb phone with a horrible ring tone. But now, I am seriously considering the lifestyle change. I have a job that requires more phone time, but I don’t absolutely, positively need a new phone. Yet consider Android: an open source mobile operating system, highly compatible with Google and all of its goodies, movies, music and games. Enough apps for anyone’s needs, plus the capacity to make your own. And you can even make phone calls with it! Whether or not I do end up with one, I am glad to see Android OS on the market.

As for me, I am still stuck between wants and needs. Usually when I am having these internal battles, the compulsion goes away with time, so I am going to wait for this to settle before running out and signing up. But in the meantime, I would welcome feedback on this little situation from anyone who reads this. I could use some help in deciding what to do…

If you have ever put in a DVD and found it stopping and starting it was probably because your player was trying to use resources (processor and RAM) that were not available. I try to use light weight programs so I don’t run into this problem.

My favorite is VLC Media Player . Download and install it and check all the boxes during the setup to let it take care of playing as many different media types as it can handle.

If you like a better looking interface, you can download skins for it, take a look at some of the screenshots to see how nice it can look.

In future tips I’ll let you know about other “lite” versions of software that you can use.

Peace,
geoffrey/pax