Introducing Windows 8

http://youtu.be/aebfjzdLxJA

Hard Disk Update

The situation regarding the Thailand floods remains in a state of constant change. But it is not all bad news we are pleased to say – we do have some stocks of external drives and any price changes here have only been moderate. Even so, the market is far from being normalised. As you’ll already know, availability of internal disk drives in particular has been affected and prices have been pushed up to reduce demand. Vendors have taken urgent action to try to lessen the impact for the channel and for end-user customers. Some have switched production to lower capacities such as 250GB and 500GB, which require only one disk platter, so that they can produce as many drives as possible, others are simply trying to manage their available inventory as best they can.
You can be assured that everything that can be done to make the situation as manageable as possible, is being done.

Windows 7 overtakes XP to become the most widely used OS

Windows 7

Windows 7 has passed Windows XP global usage for the first time since its release in October 2009.

Windows 7 now accounts for 40.21% of all global desktop operating system usage across the world. Windows XP usage slipped to 38.64% in the month of October according to StatCounter. The drop in XP usage has been consistent since Windows 7′s launch but October marks the first time that Windows 7 has passed Windows XP usage, an important milestone for Microsoft after two years of Windows 7 sales.

Windows 7 quickly rose to popularity following positive reaction from early beta copies of the operating system. Released in October 2009, the operating system has received praise from consumers, businesses and the media. In November 2009, Windows 7 managed to surpass Apple’s Snow Leopard market share in just two weeks. In early February 2010 it was revealed that Windows 7 had reached 10% market share in just three months. Windows 7 also passed Vista usage in July 2010, just 10 months after its release.

Windows 7 celebrated its first birthday after selling over 240 million licenses in the first year of sales. Gartner believes that 42% of all PCs worldwide will run Windows 7 by the end of the year. The company’s research also indicates that 94% of new PCs will ship with Windows 7 in 2011. By the end of 2011, nearly 635 million new PCs worldwide are expected to be shipped with Windows 7. Microsoft recently revealed that it has shipped over 450 million licences of Windows 7. The figures are a testament to the popularity of Microsoft’s latest operating system. Despite the impressive stats, Microsoft is pushing ahead towards Windows 8. The company unveiled its “reimagined” Windows 8 last month. The new interface features a Start Screen with identical styling to the company’s Windows Phone software. Microsoft is planning to allow application developers to create Metro style apps that interact with the Start Screen and operating system. Microsoft’s unique approach will also provide rich and easy integration across applications for developers. Microsoft is expected to make Windows 8 available on ARM and Intel based tablets in mid-2012.

Top 5 operating systems from Oct 2009 to Oct 2011 - StatCounter

How to pick the Web browser that's right for you

The browser displays each web page on screen but you don’t have to stick with the traditional options of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer on a PC or Apple’s Safari for Macs. You can now choose from one of the five main browsers below. Each is a free download, so you could even try them all and see which suits your surfing needs the best.

INTERNET EXPLORER

What is it? Version 9 was created by Microsoft to work with its newest Windows 7 operating system but it will run on the older Vista systems too.

Best for? Newbie PC users, simple surfers, non-technical types.

Is it secure? IE9 alerts you to fake or unsafe websites typed into the address bar while its Tracking Protection service lets you list which sites can monitor your browsing habits.

What’s good? With a simple uncluttered layout and a big Back button – often the most used control – version 9 is the fastest IE yet. Only single pages ever crash, not the whole browser and websites can be opened directly from the Windows taskbar. It copes well with graphic-heavy pages and some sites are specially optimised to look the best through it.

What’s bad? Less customisable than rivals, it has fewer add-ons, which, for example, can link to social networks and websites to automatically feed in information and make regular tasks quicker. 

Rating: 4/5

Download Internet Explorer here


SAFARI

What is it? Apple’s default browser on Macs and iPhone and iPad devices, it is available for Windows too.

Best for? Mac security, news junkies, Apple OS X Lion users

Is it secure? Built-in technology prevents pop-ups, hacking and the theft of your personal information. Cookies – small bits of software monitoring your surfing habits – are blocked by default.

What’s good? Thumbnails of your 24 most-visited sites and images of bookmarked pages are handy. A beautifully streamlined Reader mode shows text and pictures without advert clutter while a Reading List saves links to view later. Users of Apple’s latest OS X Lion operating system can automatically open pages from their previous session, get full screen browsing and use multi-touch gesture controls such as pinch and zoom, just like on an iPad or iPhone.

What’s bad? Can be sluggish, not as good as rivals for PC use.

Rating: 4/5 Mac OS X Lion
            3/5 Mac OS X Snow Leopard
            2.5/5 Windows PC

Download Safari here


CHROME

What is it? Created by Google, it works on a PC or Mac and integrates simply with many of their services such as Gmail.

Best for? Searching, speed and simplicity

Is it secure? Clear messaging warns of fake websites while an Incognito mode stops your browsing history being recorded.

What’s good? A minimalist design does away with confusing boxes and buttons. Google Search suggests web addresses as you type them. Web pages can be automatically translated to your default language while Bookmarks and settings will sync with any other computer you use Chrome on.

What’s bad? Potentially the least secure, it’s already been updated to version 11 to fix flaws and tweak features.

Rating: 4/5

Download Chrome here


FIREFOX

What is it? Made for PC, Mac, Android and iPhone by Mozilla.

Best for? Techies, geeks, lovers of customisation

Is it secure? Parental Controls are designed to work alongside the ones in Windows 7 and it will alert you to fake websites from a list updated 48 times a day.

What’s good? Easy to personalise, you can select keywords to give fast access to favoured sites. Groups store similar pages you view often and the Awesome Bar scans your history to suggest websites as you start typing them. This has the most add-ons and extensions of any browser with plenty of timesaving software to download.

What’s bad? Design and functionality can suit PC users better.

Rating: 4/5 PC
            3/5 Mac

Download Firefox 5 here


OPERA

What is it? Versions for PC, Mac, mobile phones and tablets.

Best for? Mobile use and slow connections

Is it secure? Private browsing deletes your history when the tab or window is closed. Coloured labels clearly show how safe a website is.

What’s good? For computers, the Turbo Boost feature speeds up browsing on slow connections but for mobile users, Opera is a must. It provides fast and uncluttered surfing and could save you money, by compressing the amount of data used to show information.

What’s bad? Unfairly perceived as a lesser option but it does have the fewest add-ons available.

Rating: 3.5/5 PC
             4/5 Mac
             5/5 Mobile

Download for your desktop here.
Download for your mobile here.


FINAL WORD
If you want a browser that's easy to use but still has plenty of scope for extras, you can't go wrong with Chrome for a PC or Mac. But if you're using OS X Lion, like the one million people who downloaded it in its first 24 hours on sale, have an extra window open too and go on Safari.

Watch out for fake virus alerts

 

Rogue security software, also known as "scareware," is software that appears to be beneficial from a security perspective but provides limited or no security, generates erroneous or misleading alerts, or attempts to lure users into participating in fraudulent transactions.

How does rogue security software get on my computer?

Rogue security software designers create legitimate looking pop-up windows that advertise security update software. These windows might appear on your screen while you surf the web.

The "updates" or "alerts" in the pop-up windows call for you to take some sort of action, such as clicking to install the software, accept recommended updates, or remove unwanted viruses or spyware. When you click, the rogue security software downloads to your computer.

Rogue security software might also appear in the list of search results when you are searching for trustworthy antispyware software, so it is important to protect your computer.

What does rogue security software do?

Rogue security software might report a virus, even though your computer is actually clean. The software might also fail to report viruses when your computer is infected. Inversely, sometimes, when you download rogue security software, it will install a virus or other malicious software on your computer so that the software has something to detect.

Some rogue security software might also:

• Lure you into a fraudulent transaction (for example, upgrading to a non-existent paid version of a program).

• Use social engineering to steal your personal information.

• Install malware that can go undetected as it steals your data.

• Launch pop-up windows with false or misleading alerts.

• Slow your computer or corrupt files.

• Disable Windows updates or disable updates to legitimate antivirus software.

• Prevent you from visiting antivirus vendor websites.

Rogue security software might also attempt to spoof the Microsoft security update process. Here's an example of rogue security software that's disguised as a Microsoft alert but that doesn't come from Microsoft.

Example of a warning from a rogue security program known as AntivirusXP.

Here is the legitimate Microsoft Windows Security Center:

Screenshot of legitimate Microsoft Windows Security Center.

To help protect yourself from rogue security software:

• Install a firewall and keep it turned on.

• Use automatic updating to keep your operating system and software up to date.

• Install antivirus and antispyware software and keep it updated.

• If your antivirus software does not include antispyware software, you should install a separate antispyware program and keep it updated.

• Use caution when you click links in email or on social networking websites.

• Use a standard user account instead of an administrator account.

• Familiarize yourself with common phishing scams.

1 out of 3 users with up-to-date antivirus software are still infected with malware

 

research shows that 32% of users with up-to-date antivirus software installed on their computers are actually infected with malware.

The survey was conducted between January 1st and March 31st 2011 with 489,469 users who scanned their computer . While nearly two thirds of users (320,279) had an up-to-date antivirus program installed, some 169,190 users had not. Of even greater concern was that 101,498 (32%) of those with the latest antivirus software were found to be infected with malware.

 “Our research shows that traditional antivirus software cannot keep up with cyber criminals. Despite all their efforts, it is often days or even weeks before some suppliers of antivirus programs release a solution to a new threat.”
“We also found that not all programs detect the same threats, so the only way for users to be really sure would be to combine multiple anti-malware programs on their PCs.” 

Two key conclusions have been drawn from the findings:

• It is not enough to assume a PC is protected just because antivirus software is installed. Users should scan their PC regularly using a different vendor to gain a second opinion.
• Although most antivirus programs are able to detect sophisticated threats, not all are able to remove them completely.

Vista Support is Ending!