Archive for category Nerd Stuff

Paypal Email Crashes Outlook

Posted by Christopher in Nerd Stuff, Work Stuff on October 15, 2011

A few days ago my Outlook 2007 would lockup once and a while. Thinking it was a PST issue, I rebuilt it, move to a backup computer but the issue continued.

After many hours of research and I was able to identify the issue and a solution. Google didnt have anything on the issue so I wanted to share it. —UPDATE- There is a bit of data on the Paypal forum now–

If Outlook, Incredimail or other email client crashes when you try to open or preview a Paypal email, (issue started 10-12-2011) the problem is the tracking pixel inserted into the HTML email. You can view these emails in text format or put a entry in your HOSTS file to avoid having Paypal track your email.

HOST File Fix for Paypal Crashing Outlook;

Run Notepad.exe as an administrator
Open the file HOSTS at this location – C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Add the line below to the end of the file
127.0.0.1 102.112.2o7.net (just copy and paste it as the one of the zeros is actually a “O”)
Save the file
Enjoy a crash free Outlook experience for now

Paypal has a history of rolling out half backed solutions and taking months to resolve the issues caused. I expect this to be a irritating issue for many people and that it takes months to resolve.

crash, hosts file, nerd, outlook, Paypal, tracking pixel

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Should I Change My Password?

Posted by Christopher in Nerd Stuff on June 24, 2011

Should I change my password?

If you have asked yourself this question, you are ahead of the curve. Many people think of a password like a key that you make and keep forever. The only issue is, if we are talking a key (email or account password) then the lock is available to everyone in the world. This is why you have to have a good password.

The real bummer is that even if you create and safely store a password, other people (ie; Sony, PBS, Fox.com, Gawker, and others) may have had their databases hacked and have shared your password (with them ) with hackers.

These hacks are talked about all the time in the news and lately, I find myself tuning them out. That was before I found this website;

https://shouldichangemypassword.com/

When I ran one of my old email addresses, I found that Lifehacker, back in December had their databases hacked. If I had used the same password on any other accounts…the hackers would now have a copy of my key.

Rule; 1 – Dont use the same password for any account. If you want to know why….reread the above post.

If you are wondering how long your password should be….reread this post HERE.

More Data— If you are wondering how this website knows that my email and password (used with the company that was hacked) had been exposed; These databases are hacked, sold, shared and eventually make their way on to the internet for free. This website checks your email address with these lists.

global, password, security

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Setting up a New Company

Posted by Christopher in Home Stuff, Nerd Stuff, Work Stuff on May 25, 2011

My parents exposed me early to self employment. Working with them, (cleaning office buildings) I learned allot about all the many soft skills needed to be/run a company. From billing, scheduling, client communication to the actual work involved…it takes a ton effort to keep it all afloat.

Tamara had a recent idea for cool product; A Tissue Box cover idea. After running a product test pilot at Etsy, it seemed that the market existed. The real key came about when we found a custom fabric supplier.

While Tamara worked on the actual item design and production, I started on a website that incorporated a order, fulfillment and shipping method. In the past, we had used a full blown website (www.SockMonkey.net) to receive and process orders but the effort involved is dumbfounding. This time I tried a WordPress based theme that had some basic Content Management Database (PHP 5.0) built in.

After 36 hours of work I came up with www.Snotty-Bots.com. We had liked the name SnotBots but SnotBot is a PrOn site…. so we adapted to Snotty to avoid any issues.

We used a great graphic designer Tyler Tinsley and he came up with a super logo design. We also used Frank to help us with some product design and marketing advice. Both have helped us in the past with some other designs.

In the future we hope to get official licensing from an unnamed company but that is a bit further than we have ever explored.

Have you started a company and how do you keep it afloat?

company, Nerd Stuff, Work

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Windows Update fix – Fake Anti-Virus

Posted by Christopher in Nerd Stuff on May 19, 2011

A client of mine got one of the very common Fake Anti-Virus trojans. You know the one, where a pop up box, that looks like a Windows security window, frightens you with all these virus and privacy alerts. These fake AV malware are called “Extortion-ware” as they want you to pay to remove the newly discovered virus’. Not that paying will do anything but cause you identity and credit card issues in the future.

If you have ever tried to fight one of these trojans you know that if you are successful, the virus uses an exit strategy of breaking parts of Windows on it’s way out. This is what happened to us.

The error we had after we removed the virus was that Windows Update could not be activated. After using my google-fu for 30 minutes I called Bobby from 2PCGuy.com, as he is a pro at fighting virus.

Here are the solutions that worked for us.

This fix from MS seemed to do a thorough job of reactivating numerous .dll . This one worked for our problem. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

Here is another fix for Error number: 0×80070424

Quick tip on how not to get this increasingly common virus. Dont click any link in an email and get NoScript for Firefox.

Nerd Stuff, Virus, windows update

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