Someone contacted me because she was trying to watch 4od (Channel4 on demand), but she couldn’t get past the age restriction screen.
Author archives: John C. Kirk
Disabling 16 bit applications in Windows
In January, someone at Google discovered a bug in Windows that had been there for 17 years. (This was reported at The Register, among other places.) Microsoft have now released a patch, as described in Security Bulletin MS10-015, so it’s no longer a problem. However, I think that the details are interesting, particularly if you …
Online banking
In part 1 of my LUA series, I mentioned a virus that modified the HOSTS file on a PC. This meant that each time someone tried to connect to their banking website, they actually went to a fake website instead, even though they’d typed in the correct URL. This could also be a problem if …
BlackBerry vs Exchange 2007
Exchange 2007 has a few options for remote access to email: you can use Outlook Web Access, or ActiveSync with a smartphone. In particular, it only takes a couple of minutes to configure an iPhone. However, yesterday it took me all day to get a BlackBerry working.
Ribbon Hero
Microsoft recently released Ribbon Hero. This is an add-in for Office 2007 and Office 2010, and the idea is to earn points by completing challenges (e.g. formatting a table). In the process, you’ll become familiar with the new user interface. The name is obviously inspired by “Guitar Hero”, but I think it’s unlikely that this …
LUA part 5 (of 5): Related technologies
This post is part 5 of a series about using a limited (standard) account in Windows for everyday activities rather than logging in as a computer administrator all the time. (You may want to read parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 before continuing.)
LUA part 4 (of 5): Changes in Windows Vista/7
This post is part 4 of a series about using a limited (standard) account in Windows for everyday activities rather than logging in as a computer administrator all the time. (You may want to read parts 1, 2, and 3 before continuing.) When Microsoft released Windows Vista, they introduced a new feature: User Account Control …
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LUA part 3 (of 5): Compatibility problems
This post is part 3 of a series about using a limited (standard) account in Windows for everyday activities rather than logging in as a computer administrator all the time. (You may want to read part 1 and part 2 before continuing.) If you follow my advice and switch to a limited account, you may …
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LUA part 2 (of 5): Setting up separate accounts
In part 1 of this series, I explained why it’s a good idea to have separate accounts on your computer: a standard account for day to day stuff (e.g. reading email), and an administrator account for making system changes (e.g. installing new software). In this part, I’m going to provide step by step instructions for …
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LUA part 1 (of 5): Why you shouldn’t always log into Windows as an administrator
The German government have advised people to stop using Internet Explorer and switch to an alternate browser, as reported at the BBC and Mashable. Microsoft have published a security advisory about the problem, and they’ve discussed it on their Security Research & Defense blog. Personally, I’m using IE8 (Protected Mode) on Windows Vista with DEP …
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