Microsoft extends XBOX 360 warranty… just in time

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Last week, Microsoft announced that they are taking a $1 billion charge in order to extend the warranty on all XBOX 360 consoles. Seemed like a nice thing to do considering all of the problems. Of course, I wasn’t very concerned with the announcement because I had already been through my own XBOX 360 replacement hell (having had 2 XBOX 360s die in the first year).

This morning, I suddenly began to care a lot more about the new extended warranty program.

As I was drinking my morning coffee and checking RSS feeds, I read that MSFT and Red Octane released 3 new downloadable tracks for “Guitar Hero II.” After slinging my coffee cup and laptop aside, I ran downstairs, paid my $6.25 and downloaded the new tracks. I figured I could squeeze in a few songs before heading into the office.

After working through 3/4 of “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” by Judas Priest, the console completely froze up. I had to power the console down and restart. During the boot screen, the console froze again. After cycling the power one more time, I got back into Guitar Hero II and the rocking commenced… until about 1/3 of the way through the song. The console froze again. After cycling the power, I got the dreaded 3 red lights on the front of the console.

I immediately got on the phone and called 1-800-4-My-XBOX. That’s when I encountered the super-chipper automated assistant Max who was thrilled to be helping me with my problem. Unfortunately after about 3 minutes of saying (and repeating) the voice prompts and removing the 360’s hard drive, Max realized that he couldn’t help me with my problem. He told me to say “Agent” in order to connect with a customer service rep. After saying “Agent,” Max informed me that I would need to call back during normal business hours (I called at 8:35 am EST and the call center opens at 9 am EST). Nice! Guess Max didn’t think to mention that a little bit earlier in the call?

After waiting for the call center to open, I finally got a hold of customer service. Because I was calling about my third failed console, they said they were going to escalate my issue. Other than waiting while the rep, who was very polite, spoke to her manager for a second, it was just like the other calls I made to them.

The rep ran through the basic questions to make sure I was using the console in the proper way and then said that I was eligible for a free repair. Because this would be my fourth console in less than 2 years, I asked if there wasn’t some sort of upgrade that I could get, to an Elite perhaps, to prevent from having to call them back in 8 months and get another console.

What the rep said next, if true, is pretty amazing. She told me that, while inconvenient now, getting my console repaired was actually better than getting a new console from the store. She claims that MSFT has figured out the problem with the 360 and the repair they do now makes it like “a 2007 model” console. Couldn’t believe she was saying that; however, I wouldn’t spend a penny on an XBOX 360 right now just on the off-chance that it is true (and given the fact that I will on my 4th one).

After thinking my problem was solved, I got more interesting (and upsetting) news. Instead of getting the pre-paid shipping box overnighted to me and then getting my repaired console in 10 business days (as they did on the other two repairs), I was told that the shipping box would arrive in 3-5 business days and that my console would be gone for… 4 to 6 weeks!!! I couldn’t believe it. I even asked her if she meant days (since my issue was “escalated”). Unfortunately, she did say “weeks.” She also added that they have been flooded with dead consoles since the announcement on July 5th of the new warranty program.

So, I’ll be spending more time playing the Wii for the next 4-6 weeks. I will also be considering picking up “Guitar Hero III” for the Wii this fall instead of for the XBOX 360.

Shawn Morton, TechRepublic

10 ways to avoid viruses and spyware

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Oh, the deck is stacked. Don’t think for a minute it’s not. As a technology professional responsible for securing office networks, workstations, and servers from viruses, spyware, adware, Trojans, and other malware infections, I can tell you that the situation is only getting worse.

A Computer Economics report showed that annual worldwide malware expenses increased by $10 billion (to $13 billion) over a recent 10-year span. Google Research suggests that one in every 10 Web sites is infected with “drive-by” malware. In June 2009, the Windows Secrets e-newsletter reported that such seemingly safe Web sites as Coldwell Banker.com, Variety.com, and even Tennis.com were exposing Internet Explorer visitors to the Gumblar exploit, which threatens to compromise visitors’ systems in order to propagate.

IT professionals must encourage their users to follow several security practices to minimize virus, spyware, and malware exposure. But many computer techs are too busy to spread the word, or they don’t have the time to build an appropriate memo or handout.

With that in mind, here’s a handy reference list of 10 steps end users can adopt to avoid infection (including when using home systems to read and send work e-mail, create, edit, and distribute documents and spreadsheets, access the corporate VPN, and perform other office tasks). Post this list on your Intranet, distribute it in an e-mail, or download the PDF version and pass it along to end users. Just be sure the word gets out. Otherwise, you’re likely to find yourself losing precious time cleaning and repairing infected systems or entire networks.

1: Install quality antivirus

Many computer users believe free antivirus applications, such as those included with an Internet service provider’s bundled service offering, are sufficient to protect a computer from virus or spyware infection. However, such free anti-malware programs typically don’t provide adequate protection from the ever-growing list of threats.

Instead, all Windows users should install professional, business-grade antivirus software on their PCs. Pro-grade antivirus programs update more frequently throughout the day (thereby providing timely protection against fast-emerging vulnerabilities), protect against a wider range of threats (such as rootkits), and enable additional protective features (such as custom scans).

2: Install real-time anti-spyware protection

Many computer users mistakenly believe that a single antivirus program with integrated spyware protection provides sufficient safeguards from adware and spyware. Others think free anti-spyware applications, combined with an antivirus utility, deliver capable protection from the skyrocketing number of spyware threats.

Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. Most free anti-spyware programs do not provide real-time, or active, protection from adware, Trojan, and other spyware infections. While many free programs can detect spyware threats once they’ve infected a system, typically professional (or fully paid and licensed) anti-spyware programs are required to prevent infections and fully remove those infections already present.

3: Keep anti-malware applications current

Antivirus and anti-spyware programs require regular signature and database updates. Without these critical updates, anti-malware programs are unable to protect PCs from the latest threats.

In early 2009, antivirus provider AVG released statistics revealing that a lot of serious computer threats are secretive and fast-moving. Many of these infections are short-lived, but they’re estimated to infect as many as 100,000 to 300,000 new Web sites a day.

Computer users must keep their antivirus and anti-spyware applications up to date. All Windows users must take measures to prevent license expiration, thereby ensuring that their anti-malware programs stay current and continue providing protection against the most recent threats. Those threats now spread with alarming speed, thanks to the popularity of such social media sites as Twitter, Facebook, and My Space.

4: Perform daily scans

Occasionally, virus and spyware threats escape a system’s active protective engines and infect a system. The sheer number and volume of potential and new threats make it inevitable that particularly inventive infections will outsmart security software. In other cases, users may inadvertently instruct anti-malware software to allow a virus or spyware program to run.

Regardless of the infection source, enabling complete, daily scans of a system’s entire hard drive adds another layer of protection. These daily scans can be invaluable in detecting, isolating, and removing infections that initially escape security software’s attention.

5: Disable autorun

Many viruses work by attaching themselves to a drive and automatically installing themselves on any other media connected to the system. As a result, connecting any network drives, external hard disks, or even thumb drives to a system can result in the automatic propagation of such threats.

Computer users can disable the Windows autorun feature by following Microsoft’s recommendations, which differ by operating system. Microsoft Knowledge Base articles 967715 and 967940 are frequently referenced for this purpose.

6: Disable image previews in Outlook

Simply receiving an infected Outlook e-mail message, one in which graphics code is used to enable the virus’ execution, can result in a virus infection. Prevent against automatic infection by disabling image previews in Outlook.

By default, newer versions of Microsoft Outlook do not automatically display images. But if you or another user has changed the default security settings, you can switch them back (using Outlook 2007) by going to Tools | Trust Center, highlighting the Automatic Download option, and selecting Don’t Download Pictures Automatically In HTML E-Mail Messages Or RSS.

7: Don’t click on email links or attachments

It’s a mantra most every Windows user has heard repeatedly: Don’t click on email links or attachments. Yet users frequently fail to heed the warning.

Whether distracted, trustful of friends or colleagues they know, or simply fooled by a crafty email message, many users forget to be wary of links and attachments included within email messages, regardless of the source. Simply clicking on an email link or attachment can, within minutes, corrupt Windows, infect other machines, and destroy critical data.

Users should never click on email attachments without at least first scanning them for viruses using a business-class anti-malware application. As for clicking on links, users should access Web sites by opening a browser and manually navigating to the sites in question.

8: Surf smart

Many business-class anti-malware applications include browser plug-ins that help protect against drive-by infections, phishing attacks (in which pages purport to serve one function when in fact they try to steal personal, financial, or other sensitive information), and similar exploits. Still others provide “link protection,” in which Web links are checked against databases of known-bad pages.

Whenever possible, these preventive features should be deployed and enabled. Unless the plug-ins interfere with normal Web browsing, users should leave them enabled. The same is true for automatic pop-up blockers, such as are included in Internet Explorer 8, Google’s toolbar, and other popular browser toolbars.

Regardless, users should never enter user account, personal, financial, or other sensitive information on any Web page at which they haven’t manually arrived. They should instead open a Web browser, enter the address of the page they need to reach, and enter their information that way, instead of clicking on a hyperlink and assuming the link has directed them to the proper URL. Hyperlinks contained within an e-mail message often redirect users to fraudulent, fake, or unauthorized Web sites. By entering Web addresses manually, users can help ensure that they arrive at the actual page they intend.

But even manual entry isn’t foolproof. Hence the justification for step 10: Deploy DNS protection. More on that in a moment.

9: Use a hardware-based firewall

Technology professionals and others argue the benefits of software- versus hardware-based firewalls. Often, users encounter trouble trying to share printers, access network resources, and perform other tasks when deploying third-party software-based firewalls. As a result, I’ve seen many cases where firewalls have simply been disabled altogether.

But a reliable firewall is indispensable, as it protects computers from a wide variety of exploits, malicious network traffic, viruses, worms, and other vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, by itself, the software-based firewall included with Windows isn’t sufficient to protect systems from the myriad robotic attacks affecting all Internet-connected systems. For this reason, all PCs connected to the Internet should be secured behind a capable hardware-based firewall.

10: Deploy DNS protection

Internet access introduces a wide variety of security risks. Among the most disconcerting may be drive-by infections, in which users only need to visit a compromised Web page to infect their own PCs (and potentially begin infecting those of customers, colleagues, and other staff).

Another worry is Web sites that distribute infected programs, applications, and Trojan files. Still another threat exists in the form of poisoned DNS attacks, whereby a compromised DNS server directs you to an unauthorized Web server. These compromised DNS servers are typically your ISP’s systems, which usually translate friendly URLs such as yahoo.com to numeric IP addresses like 69.147.114.224.

Users can protect themselves from all these threats by changing the way their computers process DNS services. While a computer professional may be required to implement the switch, OpenDNS offers free DNS services to protect users against common phishing, spyware, and other Web-based hazards.

Erik Eckel, TechRepublic

Is It Spyware?

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 There’s no question that vocabulary is a problem in the antispyware business. The word spyware, which strictly speaking refers to programs that monitor user activity by logging keystrokes, sites visited, or other personal data, has come to encompass threats that don’t fall within those parameters. Adware, a class of software that delivers ads to users, is often subsumed into the spyware category, and the programs developed to fight spyware took on adware as well—in large part because the antivirus companies initially tended to ignore both. Further confusing the issue, antispyware programs also often tackle cookies, dialers, Trojan horses, and downloaders.
Each antispyware company has put forth definitions and standards indicating the types of programs it identifies and the actions it takes to deal with them. But such “proprietary” definitions have gotten companies in trouble, as in July when Microsoft reclassified several notorious adware programs to a less severe designation, asserting that its definitions required it. Under the new “low” threat rating for Claria’s GAIN, the recommended action would be to ignore the software rather than remove it. Microsoft’s published definitions aren’t detailed enough for third parties to verify or refute its claims, but users derided the reclassification.

To avoid such issues, the Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC, www.antispywarecoalition.org ), a consortium of software companies and outside parties, has presented definitions and supporting documents at www.antispywarecoalition.org/definitions.pdf.

This isn’t the first attempt to define spyware. An earlier industry consortium effort called COAST fell apart after it admitted an adware vendor. Almost all the same antispyware companies are part of ASC, but no adware companies are included yet.

So far, it’s hard to see what the ASC documents accomplish. Sunbelt Software stayed away from ASC because it argues that adware vendors have the most to gain from consistent definitions. The authors of adware and spyware are innovative and fast-moving, and they spend as much time trying to fool antispyware programs as they do trying to fool users. Giving them consistent definitions would help them work within the loopholes in those definitions.

Moreover, there’s a lot more to writing antispyware than just defining terms. Which threats, for example, should merit a default action of Remove? What language in end-user license agreements is proper? What information needs to be disclosed during installation? These are some of the important and difficult decisions in the antispyware business, and the ASC documents don’t address them at all.

The other potentially important ASC document describes a dispute resolution process for vendors who don’t like the way they’ve been classified. This process, however, also seems likely to be more useful to spyware vendors. And potential legal liability may dilute the way software is classified. For instance, faced with vendors who objected to having their products described as spyware or adware, the Internet security company McAfee created the term PUP (potentially unwanted program) to describe programs that aren’t exactly malware, but which users may download inadvertently and would probably avoid if they realized what was happening. Symantec entered the antispyware arena using a definition process that sounds more like a 12-step program.

So what do the ASC documents do for the poor end-user? Not a whole lot, it seems to us. Formalized definitions are more likely to constrain legitimate software than to limit the activities of spyware and adware vendors. In addition to relying on an antispyware vendor’s software and its judgments about the threat landscape, you should continue to cast a wary eye and be alert for signs that may indicate programs you’d prefer to avoid.

Larry Seltzer, PCMag

Intel Core i7-975 Extreme

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Core i7-975 ExtremeSpecs: Socket LGA-1366; Core clock: 3.33GHz; 32KB data/instruction cache per core; L2 cache: 256KB per core; L3 cache: 8MB shared; 130W TDP.Test system specs: Motherboard: Asus Rampage II Extreme; Memory: 6GB Corsair DDR3-1600; Graphics: Zotac GeForce GTX 260 Core 216; HDD: 300GB WD VelociRaptor

Intel has held the performance crown for more than three years—ever since the launch of its Core 2 microarchitecture. It goes without saying that the company doesn’t need to introduce a new flagship just to one-up itself. And yet Intel is yanking the cover from a fresh Core i7 CPU: the 975 Extreme.

Although it runs a scant 133MHz faster than its predecessor, we’re hardly able to complain, as this processor costs just as much as the one it replaces. As with the 965 Extreme, Intel’s latest iteration boasts four cores armed with Hyper-Threading. Its QuickPath Interconnect operates at 6.4 GT/s. And the processor’s triple-channel integrated memory controller supports up to DDR3-1066 speeds (officially). Of course, most motherboards expose additional multipliers to push RAM significantly faster, and we were able to get our test platform cruising at DDR3-2133 as part of our overclocking gauntlet. The processor itself topped out at 4.12GHz via a 31X multiplier, standard 133MHz BCLK, and 1.38V.

Performance using those overclocked settings is naturally unrivaled. Even at stock settings, however, our benchmark results are impressive. As we’d expect given Core i7’s established track record in A/V software, DivX and Xvid encoding is lightning-fast. And because WinRAR is optimized to take advantage of threading, it’s able to compress our test archive using all eight of Core i7’s logical cores.

At the end of the day, we appreciate a 3.33GHz processor at the same price as Intel’s former flagship. But at $999, “value” is most definitely a relative term. The 2.66GHz Core i7-920 is still an undeniable favorite. After all, most of the samples we’ve seen are good for 4GHz, so long as you’re willing to overclock. Without question, that’s the route we’d take in building a brand new Core i7-based machine

Paul Cross, ComputerPowerUser

Clear DNS Cache

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Windows XP/Vista store the DNS information of Web sites you’ve visited, to reach those sites faster each time you access them. The cache sometimes gets corrupted or stores a lot of unusable data, and that leads to slower Internet response times. To clear the cache, go to the command prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns. The command purges the DNS cache and restores your Internet access speed.

Mario Morejon, PCMag

Give Your Laptop Battery a Longer Lease on Life

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Does your laptop spend more time on your desk than your lap? If so, you’re probably causing your battery to wear out much sooner than it needs to.

See, it’s a sad (and expensive) fact of life: You’re lucky to get 18-24 months from a battery before it loses a good chunk of its charge capacity (meaning it no longer powers your laptop for as long as it used to).

And you’re accelerating this unfortunate timeframe if you leave your laptop plugged in 24/7, which is common for most folks who work at a desk. Because the battery rarely (if ever) gets a chance to discharge, it loses its capacity to hold a charge.

The simple solution: Pull the battery out of the laptop and leave it out when you’re deskbound. Most laptops can run on straight AC power, so there’s no need for the battery. And it’s easy enough to pop back in when you hit the road (though obviously you’ll want to make sure it’s charged, so plan ahead a bit).

It’s a hassle, sure, but consider the price of a replacement battery: usually $100 or more. What’s more, old, discarded batteries wreak havoc on landfills. Sooner or later, they’ll leak acid into the ground. So it’s in your best interests to keep your battery as long as possible, and to keep it from dying a premature death.

Rick Broida, PCWorld

Make Outlook Automatically Spell-Check Your E-mail

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I’m kind of a spelling snob. I take pains to make sure I spell everything correctly, so it bugs me a little bit when I receive mail that contains spelling mistakes.

Well, okay, I cheat a little: I use Outlook 2007′s spell-checker to give my outbound mail the once-over before sending. You can do likewise, without having to remember to click the Spelling button every time, by tweaking Outlook’s checker. Here’s how:

1. Click Tools, Options.

2. Click the Spelling tab.

3. Tick the box marked Always check spelling before sending.

4. Click OK.

That’s it! Now, when you click Send, Outlook’s spell-checker will immediately appear, giving you a chance to fix those “Hey, Rick, you are so stoopid” kinds of mistakes.

Of course, by default, Outlook uses squiggly red lines to indicate misspellings as you type, but I know many folks who prefer to just bang away at the keys and then fix the mistakes at the end. Me, I don’t make speling mistakes, so I don’t really need either feature.

Rick Broida, PCworld

Windows Genuine Could be a Real Advantage

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No reader question, this time. Just a rant.

We all hate Windows Genuine Advantage. Not only is it a hassle that might accuse you of stealing something you legitimately bought, but its very name adds insult to annoyance. It’s obviously an advantage to no one but Microsoft.

But with a simple change in policy, the folks in Redmond could use it to eliminate a far more serious problem: The difficulty in obtaining an actual copy of Windows to go with your legally-purchased license.

If Windows came with your computer, you probably have no way to restore it beyond a complete reformat. If you lost the restore discs that came with your PC, or altered your partition table and thereby rendered your restore partition unbootable, you can’t even do that. And you almost certainly don’t have the options and utilities that come with a genuine Windows CD or DVD.

And why not? Because Microsoft acts as if giving away Windows discs is the same as giving away licenses to run Windows. And yet the company must know that’s not true. Otherwise, Microsoft wouldn’t make you go through the activation process, or keep hitting you with Windows Genuine Annoyances. It’s the product key–that long number you have to enter when you install Windows–that defines and proves your purchase of the operating system.

So why can’t Microsoft simply give the disc away. Make it downloadable as an .iso file. Charge $5 to mail a physical disc to those who don’t like long downloads. Make it known that anyone can give the disc to anyone else.

I’m not suggesting that Microsoft give away Windows. You’d still need a unique product key to activate it, and you would get that project key either by paying Microsoft or buying a PC with Windows pre-installed (all such computers already come with a product key sticker). Or you’d already have the product key, but still need a product to install.

This could work just fine with XP, Vista, and (when it ships) Windows 7. Microsoft doesn’t even have to keep selling XP to freely give away the discs; I know plenty of people who “own” XP but need a way to install it.

A great many commercial programs, perhaps a majority of them, are now sold this way. You download the program, install it, try a limited version, then pay for a key that will unlock the full version. They used to call this shareware or demoware. Now its just the way software is sold.

Microsoft: Are you listening?

Lincoln Spector, PCWorld

Hidden iTunes: The Five Best Keyboard Shortcuts

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Regular Hassle-Free PC (HFPC) readers know that I love keyboard shortcuts. Not, not love: lurve. (Quick trivia quiz: Name the movie in which that word was coined.) So today let’s talk about the five best ways to zip around iTunes without ever taking your hands off the ol’ QWERTY.

  • Ctrl-N: Create a new playlist
  • Ctrl-Up Arrow/Ctrl-Down Arrow: Raises and lowers the volume, respectively.
  • Ctrl-Left Arrow/Ctrl-Right Arrow: Skip back a song and skip ahead a song, respectively.
  • Ctrl-Shift-H: Takes you directly to the iTunes Store home page.
  • Space Bar: Play/pause the current song. (In other words, hit Space once to pause the song, again to resume, and so on.)

Rick Broida, PCWorld

Find Duplicate Songs

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There are plenty of good programs for finding duplicate files–based on file name, size, and checksums–but finding duplicate songs can be trickier. After all, if you have the same recording in .mp3 and .m4a formats, you’ve got duplicate songs that are not duplicate files.

So you need to search by metadata–the extra information that defines the contents of a file. Specifically, you need a program that can matches songs with the same title and by the same artist (because Smash Mouth’s “I’m a Believer” is not a duplicate of the Monkees’ original.)

You’ll also have to remember that no list of duplicate songs generated by software will be perfect. A program may not realize that Beatles and The Beatles are the same group. Nor can it always differentiate between the original studio recording and the live concert version. (I’ve known Dead Heads with probably ten versions of “Brokedown Palace.”)

But the right program can give you reasonably accurate lists to work through. Here are three I can recommend:

iTunes: Well, no, I wouldn’t recommend you download and install iTunes just for this purpose, but if you’re already using it, you’ve got a pretty good search tool. Just select File • Show Duplicates. If you have the same song as an .mp3 and a .m4a, iTunes will list both, but it won’t find any .wma versions.

Lincoln Spector, PCWorld