I have had a busy few weeks - sorry there was no column here last week.
On the virus and malware front, I have decided to stop selling the Norton Anti-Virus product without the firewall. I did not recommend software firewalls because they were hard to configure, but the situation is so bad that I think there is just no choice. I am installing the Norton Internet Security package now, which includes the software firewall and also a fairly good anti-spam package. If you currently have Norton Anti-Virus, you can add the firewall by purchasing the Norton Personal Firewall package, or check out the Zone Alarm package that you can get for free (with minimal function).
I have also switched allegiance from Adaware to Spybot. I always felt that Adaware was easier to use, but Spybot now has more features. I will be changing my clients to Spybot as I can. If you install it, be sure to turn on its Immunize feature, and also its SDHelper and TeaTimer functions that provide additional protection. You can get Spybot from www.download.com.
You might also consider adding IE-Spyad. This is a simple registry update that adds a number of undesirable websites to your Internet Explorer restricted zone. To can get IE-Spyad by doing a Google search for it, and look for the article on the PC World website.
So, what has kept me so busy besides consulting? Part of it is birthdays and anniversaries. My daughter has a birthday in August, but we usually celebrate it at the big family beach gathering next week. This meant two things this year. First of all, she recently had her digital camera stolen and so we thought it fitting to replace that for her. But the price was a bit more than we wanted to spend - but with lots of searching on eBay and the online stores, we found a great deal. Secondly, I wanted to do a small multi-media presentation at dinner one night, so I have been doing through the literally thousands of digital photos (and scanned photos and slides) looking for good shots. Of course, a cake is in order!
She and her husband also just celebrated a milestone wedding anniversary (their 10th) and I decided to move their old wedding videos higher in the DVD queue. I spent much time over the weekend converting from VHS and 8mm and adding some nice stills in a slide show. We will be showing the video during beach week; hopefully I can find or borrow a projector - if not, I will have to bring my LCD display (19") to show it on. I could also bring my big screen Sony TV, but getting it down the stairs to the pickup would take two more strong backs!
I have also been working on getting my digital camera kit together. Some of you may recall that I got a new Nikon D70 digital SLR camera, but not having any Nikon lenses I was forced to get at least a minimal set. The camera comes with an 18-70 zoom (with a 67mm lens filter size) and I got a 70-300 zoom with a 62mm filter size. I did have some 62mm filters from my old E-10 camera that I could use, but I still had to buy a set of filters for the 67mm lens. In this case, the filters needed were a UV protective filter (that stays on the lens all the time) and a circular polarizer. I also have two neutral density filters, but haven't bought those for the 67mm size yet.
Rounding out the kit was an extra battery and a charger that works on both AC and 12vDC, so I could charge in emergencies on the road. I also bought a large hand blower (to get dust off the internal sensor) and a close-up adapter for the 70-300 lens. Counting the cost of the flash, the bill has gone quite a bit higher now!
By the way, the SB-800 flash that I got is really nifty. It works as a normal hot-shoe flash, but can also function off-camera with built-in wireless control. The flash comes with a mounting bracket so you can put it on a secondary tripod, or set it up with an umbrella reflector. I have done some experimental shots, and it produces very nice photos.
So, that is what has been going on here are tech-central!
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).