Technology Views By A Geek

I recently wrote about the error 0×800703e3 when you try to run Windows Update.

What I forgot to say is that a very common reason for this error
is that you may be trying to run Windows Update using Internet Explorer version 5.

Windows Update does not longer support Internet Explorer 5, so first you have to install IE6. You can download it from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/downloads/default.mspx

Then restart your computer and try running Windows Update again. It should work fine now.

Another common issue I have to deal with, often.

To fix it:

Go to Start > Run > type in

regedit
Click OK
Navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\WindowsUpdate\Setup

by clicking the plus signs. Then click the plus sign next to the Setup
folder.
Click on the ServiceStartup folder.
In the right frame, these should be the only entries you see

Name - (Default)
Type - REG_SZ
Value - (not set)

If there are any other Names listed besides (Default), then right click
them, and choose Delete.
Close the registry editor by clicking all of the minus signs all the way
back to My Computer. Exit the registry editor.

Restart your system

This is a common question I get for lot of people every day. Outlook and Outlook Express by default block some attachment types that could be a virus.

You want control over what files you can receive in e-mail. After all, you bought Outlook to do this and many of you claim “I know what I’m doing!” I would like to share my perspective with you on this issue and explain why Outlook is designed the way it is. I doubt this will change the way you feel about the design, but I feel I owe you an explanation of why we did what we did.

As you know, when Outlook 97 first came on the market, the Internet seemed like a relatively safe place and sending attachments in e-mail seemed like a great idea. Then reality hit us hard beginning in March of 1999, when the Melissa virus struck followed by the ILOVEYOU virus. These were the fastest-spreading viruses ever seen and forced a number of large companies to shut down their e-mail systems, costing them thousands of dollars. They also affected many of you. In order to spread, these attacks relied heavily on fooling people that the e-mail was coming from someone familiar, and even many computer experts fell victim and became infected. It’s no secret that hackers like to attack the largest target, and the largest target is Microsoft Outlook. Currently, there are more than 300 million people using Outlook worldwide. The industry and our customers looked to us to provide protection against this sort of epidemic.

Outlook does not block documents such as .xls, .doc, .ppt, and .txt files. These are the files most people use to get work done. However, keep in mind that these files can contain macros that have the potential to spread viruses. So whenever these come to your Inbox, be sure to save and scan them first with a third-party antivirus program. And be sure to follow the recommended directions to protect your PC.

You can always rename the blocked file to include a temporary file type that is not on the list of blocked file types. For example, you might rename program.exe to program.exe_ok, and then attach the file to the e-mail message. You can include instructions in the message for the recipient to save the file with the correct name, program.exe. The key point to remember here is that you should only open files that you expected from someone.

Today I had to deal with a very strange issue on my Microsoft Office installation. Every document I was trying to open was crashing Word, Excel and Powerpoint. I tried to reinstall Office, by removing all left-over files and registry entries but this did not help.

Finally it turned out to be a printer problem! After uninstalling a network printer from my Control Panel, Office started working fine again. It appears that MS Office queries all installed printers when opening documents and if a printer driver is crashed, then Office crashed too.

Strange things happen sometimes with computers.

After a year and a half since the first announcement, the much-anticipated Google Health has been released at Google Factory Tour of Search. “Patients need to be able to better coordinate and manage their own health information. We believe that patients should control and own their own health information, and should be able to do so easily,” said Adam Bosworth in November 2006.

SYMPTOMS
After you upgrade a computer that uses a processor other than an Intel processor to Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), you may receive the following error message after you restart the computer:
A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer…

I had this issue but after following the instructions of this article everything is back to normal! I hope this helps lot of people too.

Yes — they’re at it again. Please for the love of all that is sacred, let somebody buy something… quick. From the horse’s mouth;

“In light of developments since the withdrawal of the Microsoft proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft announced that it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business. Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo!”

Source: Microsoft and Yahoo restart talks

ok… so, the story continues… let’s see what happens next

I was looking today for the drivers for my Philips SP610NC web camera.

Finally at found them here:

For Windows XP:
http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/s/spc610nc_00/spc610nc_00_dxp_eng.exe

For Windows Vista:
http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/s/spc610nc_00/spc610nc_00_dwv_eng.exe

I hope this helps everyone looking for the same drivers!

Unbelievable stories… what people exist on the Internet today?
ok, I don’t want to sound dramatic and I don’t mean that everybody is bad. But as in real life, the same on Internet, you must always be careful with strangers…

Read the story:

These stories are becoming more common as Internet companies operate under the laws of many counties.

In February A Moroccan man was arrested for pretending to be the Moroccan king’s younger brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, on Facebook. Facebook complied with Morrocca information requests about the man, leading to his arrest. The man was granted a royal pardon after his sentencing, and was out of jail by mid March.

Today we’re hearing of another arrest, this time in India. 22-year-old IT professional Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid. His crime was writing in an orkut community named “I hate Sonia Gandhi.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Gandhi is a prominent politician in India.

Vaid was charged under section 292 of Indian Penal Code and section 67 of the Information TVechnology Act because he created a profile and then posted content in vulgar language about Sonia Gandhi in the community.

During investigations, the cyber crime cell of Pune police communicated with Google (which owns Orkut) seeking details about the who formed this forum and circulated the obscene content. It was known that the vulgar message about Sonia Gandhi was circulated through an email address – Rahulvaidindia@gmail.com . The owner of the email id Rahul Vaid was traced, using information supplied by Google, to Chakarpur in Gurgaon city of Haryana.

Read the full story: Google Assists In Arrest Of Indian Man

Via Symbian-Guru and topVD news

It’s been a solid tick since the North American N95, also referred to as the N95-3, received a software update. For those clamoring for a little love from Nokia’s dev team, listen up: an administrator over at the outfit’s forums has admitted that the Software Update crew has a new version in the works. We’re told that they’ve heard the demands for a fresh release, and they’re toiling away in order to bring it to N95-3 owners by early June. Unfortunately, we’re not told what new features we can expect, and even worse, “early June” seems like eons away, doesn’t it?