Assorted News 24 – Microsoft’s Free Antivirus.
In this edition:
Quick Update
Microsoft’s Free Antivirus
Price Reduction on Wireless Broadband
Lightning reminder
Microsoft’s Free Antivirus.
As of yesterday, Microsoft has released a new free AntiVirus program for all genuine windows users. Initial testing by myself and the media seem to be giving it reasonable results.
In my opinion it’s good enough for most people.
What it doesn’t include is a firewall, but Windows has one built in, and most broadband modems have one built in as well so for the majority of people this is not a concern at all.
So, if your Norton, Trend, CA, McAfee or other antivirus product is up for renewal and they want money from you; you can probably get the free no-nagging one from Microsoft instead. You can get it by clicking here: –> http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
If for some reason Microsoft claims your computer does not have a legal copy of windows – which often happens on computers that have been wiped and reloaded at some point in their lives – the next best free scanner at this stage still appears to be Avast – free from http://www.avast.com/
Price Reduction on Wireless (Mobile) Broadband.
Exetel Wireless broadband modems (as you might have seen on TV under the “Exetel Country Broadband” brand) have come down again to just $95. If you want mobile internet access that works wherever an Optus mobile works, with prices starting at $5 a month plus usage; give me a call for more info and a demo.
For October only I’m doing a free on-site installation (excluding parts) for up to 1 hour and within 10km of Guyra, Armidale or Black Mountain.
Lightning Reminder:
On the assumption that we’ll actually get a traditional non-dust storm again in the near future, here’s a quick reminder about how to prevent your computer being blown up in a storm.
The single most useful thing you can do is to unplug the phone line from your computer or modem, as most storm damage comes via the phone line. Any gadget that has both power and phone provides a path for lightning, which is why fax machines are usually the first to go.
Of course, it’s not always possible to be home to unplug things, so the next-best option is to buy a power board or adapter that has a phone line filter built in. These will save your equipment most of the time, often sacrificing themselves in the process. For example, http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4ac4156805a7baf8273fc0a87e0106ed/Product/View/M7800
As a side note, computers using wireless access to the Internet are mostly immune to storms; although if you plan on using a laptop in a storm, it’s probably a good idea to disconnect the power cord and use battery just to be on the safe side. Cordless phones are also almost completely safe to use in a storm, but the base station could still get fried.
Well, that’s gotta be one of the shortest newsletters ever 🙂 Have a great long weekend! I’ll be busy doing an electric bicycle conversion…
Cheers, Mike.
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