Softsound - CircleWebWorks

08/21/2021

Be aware of this scam.

If you post things for sale online (like on FB Marketplace or similar) be aware of the following.

You post something for sale online including your own phone number in the listing for questions.

You get a text from someone asking to prove you are a real person by sending them a six digit authorization code they will send you.

DON'T DO IT.

This could very likely be someone attempting to gain unauthorized access to one of your accounts by tricking you into sending them the auth code. ONLY YOU should ever use authorization codes, and you should never provide them to someone else.

07/09/2021

Windows Users - Install Updates Immediately

"Microsoft is urging Windows users to immediately install an update after security researchers found a serious vulnerability in the operating system.

The security flaw, known as PrintNightmare, affects the Windows Print Spooler service. Researchers at cybersecurity company Sangfor accidentally published a how-to guide for exploiting it."

Microsoft is urging Windows users to immediately install an update after security researchers found a serious vulnerability in the operating system.

10/02/2020

Great in-depth article about how attackers get your passwords. The moral of the story? Be careful about what you click on, what network you are on when you manually enter a password, never reuse them, update them at least every six months, and always - always - always use long, random passwords.

Studies have shown that two factor authentication prevents 99% of attacks. Enable it on everything important!

A few weeks ago, we reviewed some of the worst website hacks we’ve ever seen. Every one of them started with poor password choices and escalated into a disastrous event for the site owner. Strong passwords and good password hygiene are often the first line of defense. On September 29, 2020, the Wo...

09/29/2020

Finally found a little time to update the website. Links to many of the websites I've created, and some of the graphic work too.

Le Isaac Weaver of CircleWebWorks personally creates and manages websites and other internet tech for a select group of clients.

10/11/2013

Cool new thing computer display technology. I just had to share...
Watch out if you're at work, the ad on the page makes noise.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2024879/displair-gives-you-a-touchscreen-out-of-thin-air.html?%23tk.out_mod?=obnetwork

Displair uses air flow and two microns of water drops to create an interactive display.

05/17/2013

If you haven't seen this, you should. It was recorded IN SPACE by Chris Hadfield (using Cakewalk Sonar recording software I might add). IN SPACE.

http://youtu.be/KaOC9danxNo

A revised version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. With thanks to Emm Gryner, Jo...

04/05/2013

The most awesome invention for those of us over 50, ever.

It's a bluetooth sticker you can put on your keys (or whatever) to help you locate them via your smart phone.

Now if they just make one small enough to work with reading glasses maybe we can all stop buying 10 pairs.

Now that's a productive use of technology.

http://www.sticknfind.com/

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04/05/2013

Automatic Internet Explorer 10 upgrades are causing compatibility issues with some websites. (I'm not expecting issues with any of my client websites -- but problems are being reported especially with websites hosting software applications).

Should you experience an unusual problem with a website you frequent after upgrading to IE 10 try clicking your ALT and T keys together to bring up the tools drop down menu. Make sure you have a check mark next to Compatibility View.

02/02/2013

Microsoft Office 365. Fairly new offering by Microsoft. What is it? It's a yearly subscription program that allows you to download and install Word, Excel, Outlook, One Note, Power Point, Publisher and Access on up to 5 computers (including Macs! - though keep in mind that Access, Publisher and One Note are Windows only). You'll have the latest version of all those, all the time. No more buying upgrades. It'll cost you $100 a year.

Does this make sense to you? It just might. Think back on your purchases and see what you are spending purchasing and upgrading Office products per year. Look at how many times you've had to buy the same software just to legally run it on on different computers you own.

For me, it's a no-brainer. I've been running Adobe Open Office for quite some time on many of my machines, to save money, but I've had to buy Access and Publisher anyway. I've been having some compatibility issues with Open Office, and for $100 a year to get the full Office suite, it makes sense. Will it for you? Maybe.

Am I excited that I now have to admit to myself that I have been paying and will continue to have to pay Microsoft $100 every year for their productivity apps? Nope. But sometimes you have to be realistic.

This is the direction software is moving. The days of buying one disk for one computer are fading away.

Along the same lines, Adobe Creative Suite users can now subscribe and get the latest versions of every application for $50 a month (Dreamweaver, Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc...). $600 a year sounds like a lot, unless you use their apps and have to buy the expensive upgrades all the time). So for some of us, just like with Office, it sounds like a pretty good deal.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/Office-365-Home-Premium/productID.259179900/categoryID.61301100/list.true

Get outstanding value with a 4 year subscription to Office 365 Home Premium.

01/13/2013

I think you all know I don't bother any of you with really technical stuff usually, but this is important, and pretty darn technical, so try to stick with me. It's important you read this and understand it.

If you use Java on your system you will need to be informed about a vulnerability in your browser's Java functionality. At this time this only applies to Java used in conjunction with your browser or the internet, not Java used locally on your machine. Here's an article about it (below). You should read this article! Anti-Virus software won't protect you from these potential problems.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57563671/new-malware-exploiting-java-7-in-windows-unix-systems/

Minimally, you should disable Java functionality in all of your browsers. Here's an article about how to do that:
http://krebsonsecurity.com/how-to-unplug-java-from-the-browser/

Note! JavaScript is not the same as Java. JavaScript is fine, and if you disable it a lot of things on the web will stop working correctly.

It's also being recommended that you remove Java from your Windows machine entirely. First make sure you don't rely on any software that makes use of it to be able to function.

How do you know this? If you have a Java updater popping up with any frequency you have Java installed and it's probably because some of your software uses it.

The main app I know of that uses Java is Apache Open Office.

If you use Apache Open Office as a substitute for Microsoft Office, you may think that Java is involved in the complete functioning of that program, but it is not necessarily the case. Users of Apache Open Office (and I'm one of them) are only using Java if they use the Open Office "Base" Database Software. The Calc and Writer apps only use Java for specialized functions you probably don't use. So you can probably safely uninstall Java entirely and these applications will continue to function. Here's an article about that: http://www.openoffice.org/download/common/java.html .

You uninstall Java from the control panel in Windows, just like you uninstall any application. Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Uninstall a program .

For additional information just google "Java" or "How to remove Java."

Additionally this could potentially be a pretty big deal for businesses, as many of them rely heavily on custom apps coded in Java. This situation is likely to continue to develop in interesting ways over the next few days.

CircleWebWorks clients should let me know if they have questions.

Mal/JavaJar-B is a cross-platform exploit of a new zero-day vulnerability in the latest Java runtimes

01/03/2013

How fun! Commander takes you on a tour of the space station. Fascinating!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=doN4t5NKW-k #!

In her final days as Commander of the International Space Station, Sunita Williams of NASA recorded an extensive tour of the orbital laboratory and downlinke...

12/19/2012

So, the good news is that users do still have power to wake up companies that try to go too far.

The bad news is the the co-founder of Instagram basically says something like "No... No.... we didn't mean that at all. That's just what it said. That's not what we MEANT."

Sigh. I wonder how long it will take them to realize there's a lot more to be gained by saying, "We made a mistake."

http://tinyurl.com/cvhs9r7

NEW YORK—Instagram sought to calm a growing furor among its more than 7 million users by saying it would clarify a new, controversial privacy policy. The policy would have given the popular Facebook-owned service the ability to profit from and control images posted through the popular photo-sharing ...