Internet on Sonia Cuff

Making the sale before you�ve met the client � why your social presence matters.

Tue, 25 Jul 2017 04:23:18 +0000

I�ve been daydreaming about replacing my home theatre speakers, since our ageing amplifier died. The sleek, silver Sony box was impressive in its day but that was over 18 years ago. Now we�ve got all the wireless and internet connected things, I�m spoilt for choice. I�ve done some online research but I�m not a detailed, melancholic personality type. An instore demonstration of the Bose and Sonos systems has me convinced that Sonos is the way to go. But I�m still unsure about handing over that amount of money right now for some nicer sounds. Ultimately, my purchasing transaction is likely to be handled by someone in a retail store � hopefully someone who treats us better than the last guy we dealt with.

Hands up if you need a Smartphone Pledge!

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 07:23:53 +0000

Over the last few days, a few articles have come my way (including one I wrote myself) about smartphone addiction and the impact of our �always connected� society. My favourite so far has been this fromm Joe Kraus at Google Ventures:�http://joekraus.com/were-creating-a-culture-of-distraction

Hi, my name is Sonia and I�m addicted to my smartphone. Except it�s not my phone itself per se, it�s that feeling of knowing what is going on right now and what my internet friends are talking about. I�ve reverted to my teenage self and I don�t want to miss out, on anything, even for an hour.

BigPond ADSL ? Your ADSL Service Cancellation Notice email

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:50:09 +0000

Disturbing email doing the rounds over the long Easter weekend in Australia, pretending to be from BigPond. I?m blogging about this in the hope that you?ll find this entry?if you receive that email and Google it first.? It?s a scam, and a very clever one.

First the details: sender address?ebilling@bt.com?(that?s your first alarm bell-bt.com is not a bigpond or telstra domain name)

Subject: Your ADSL Service Cancellation Notice?(second alarm bell ? I am not and have never been a BigPond ADSL customer)

Issues with security update patch for IE7 WinXP KB2416400?

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:01:13 +0000

Our friends at the Kaseya NOC have decided not to rollout out a Microsoft security patch just released for Internet Explorere 7 machines (on Windows XP).� They�ve seen some issues once it�s been installed and there are a few blog sites with people reporting problems.� Suggest hold off installing this one for a while until it�s sorted:

�Post: We have noticed that after applying the patch KB2416400 (MS10-090), when browsing a particular site, all links stop working following clicking a link to open a java script pop-up window. Hitting F-5 to reload the page restores functionality of the links. So to avoid this miss-functionality we have denied this patch from all Virtual Manage machines.

Attention!!!! All your personal files were encrypted with a strong algorythm RSA-1024 �

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:31:28 +0000

.. and you can�t get an access to them without making of what we need!

Read �How to decrypt� txt-file on your desktop for details

Just do it as fast as you can!

Remember: Don�t try to tell someone about this message if you want to get your files back! Just do all we told.

*Eeek*� If your computer�s desktop has suddenly turned very pale and is displaying the above message, I hope you have a good backup*.

Protect your PC Against Adobe PDF Reader Security Flaws

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:33:25 +0000

Not an original blog entry this time, but advice definately worth sharing from the security experts at AVG � thanks Lloyd!

Melbourne and Amsterdam, 13 August 2010�� It should go without saying that the best way to deal with malware is, of course, not to get infected in the first place.

Lloyd Borrett, Security Evangelist�for�AVG (AU/NZ)�says, �Being aware of what products are being targeted by the bad guys may help you as well, so it may be useful to know that at the moment Adobe products are virtually the number one target across the world with millions of PCs being hit by infected Adobe PDFs. Others are being pwned via Adobe Flash ads via Facebook and other social media web sites.�

Technology considerations for your new startup business

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:34:54 +0000

If you�re thinking about starting a business (congratulations!!), then technology might be the very last consideration on your mind.� With a long list of tasks in front of you (like getting a logo and stationery designed, finding an office, and working out your marketing plan), you may just requisition your home computer to start running your new business.��Let�s�look at some of your very first technology decisions.

New computer or your home PC?�� For a while, your home computer may be adequate to handle the necessities of your business.� However, if your computer time is conflicting with the children�s need to surf the internet for their homework, it may be time to consider a dedicated business computer.� Study any system specifications carefully and check the manufacturer�s websites.� Many �cheap� retail deals are superseded models, cannot be upgraded easily or may not connect to a bigger computer network, which will all be important as you grow.� Also, talk to your accountant about any tax benefits that may be gained from leasing instead of purchasing your IT assets.

Paypal / Western Union money scam

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:36:33 +0000

Thanks to Kate Booby at Spinefex (www.spinefex.com.au) for alerting us to this one!

�I thought I should bring your attention to a scam that we have 3 separate cases of occur within our immediate friends/family.

All of these people had advertised to sell items (2 x cars, 1 x horse) and had been contacted by email and phone calls from a buyer.

The buyer has asked to pay for the items through paypal (and the sellers had to set up paypal accounts) because the buyer is overseas or can�t use their internet banking (one case the man said he was on an oil rig, another was overseas).� Paypal is generally a safe & secure way to receive funds or pay for items.

Found a webpage crashing my Internet Explorer tab � how I got around it!

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:43:50 +0000

I have a business information blog website set as my homepage.� Today when I started up Internet Explorer, the page content would start to load, I�d see all of the text, and then the tab would �crash�, stating that the page had caused a problem and it was going to try to reload it.� After a couple of attempts at this, I got:

Website restore error.� Internet Explorer has stopped trying to restore this website. It appears that the website continues to have a problem.

Instead of taking me in a constant reload loop, IE had given up.

Windows Updates? Why bother?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:49:55 +0000

So many people I know are cynical about Microsoft�s �Windows Updates� .. that is, if they even know it exists.� Valiant attempts by Microsoft to make these updates deploy automatically (to your internet-connected PC) have hit some snags � the installations don�t always work and sometimes they can even break the functionality of corporate applications.� To ease the headache for system administrators, Microsoft�instituted �Patch Tuesday� .. being the 2nd Tuesday of every month when all the newest, tested updates would be sent out.� This lets systems administrators know when they will be hit and gives them a chance to test the latest updates in a lab against their corporate software programs, before releasing�them into the bigger corporate network.

Free search engine (SEO) tips from Google for small business

Fri, 22 May 2009 08:56:01 +0000

I�m going to keep this post brief so you can just get straight to the video on YouTube and watch.

Matt Cutts from Google gives you his search engine optimization tips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gscFgaMTm48

-SCuffy

Update on Support On Click � Police alert to Scam

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:57:01 +0000

It�s official � the Queensland state Police have investigated complaints and found the Support On Click offering is a scam�(when they call and pretend to be Microsoft).� Here is the official press release, with a link to the police website:http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/2009/04/New+scam+targets+computer+users.htm

The Queensland Police Service has issued a warning about a new scam targeting computer users.

The scam involves people taking a call from a person working at a foreign call centre. The victim receives a call from the offender, who claims to belong to a software support company that has been requested by Microsoft to fix problems on the victim�s computer.

Support On Click (aka reading the fine print)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:58:14 +0000

It�s that time of the night (usually around 6:30pm) and the phone rings.� A lovely Indian voice from Support On Click tells you that your computer has serious problems which must be fixed by paying them a subscription fee for a remote support session.� Would you be suspicious?� What if the caller told you that they were actually from Microsoft, or that they were calling on behalf of your internet provider (even mentioning BigPond by name)?

Australian shops in spam subject

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:15:11 +0000

Recently my hotmail account junk e-mail filter has been catching some rather �Australian-targeted� spam.

Often with a sender of �Thanks for participating!�,��Much Thanks!�, the subject lines claim to have a voucher pending for me from an Australian store like Myer, Wollworths or JB-Hi Fi (though I�ve also seen an iPhone one too).� The company is MyGiftRewards, and they ask me to click on a very suspicious link to confirm my email address and claim my $500 voucher.

Technology moves

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:17:56 +0000

Well, the whole office moved really, this weekend.� And in a rare moment of quite, surrounded by not quite as many boxes, I thought it was about time I added a new blog post.� Can you tell things around here have been a little busy?

So, a couple of tips for moving your technology (which I really should write up as a free report, but with content slightly better than just off the top of my head):

Credit card fraud � happens to the best of us

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:24:01 +0000

I�ve always been very vigilant about watching the transactions that appear on my credit card, which is even easier to do when you can view them online via internet banking before they disappear off to your paper statement copy.� Fortunately the fraud department at my business bank is just as vigilant, stopping a transaction from Cebu Air and notifying me about it.� We played safe and cancelled the card, which saw me issued with a new number.� And wouldn�t you know it, a week later the second card (different number, same linked account) of my husband�s also was subjected to a declined Cebu Air transaction.� Yup � cancelled and reordered his too.