If you’re a friend, colleague, or client of mine, you probably run some kind of antivirus software. It’s a Good Idea™ in Mac OS and an Absolute Necessity™ if you’re running Windows. I don’t want to diminish the importance of antivirus software. Install it, run it, and keep it updated. Unfortunately, malicious software can still sometimes get through the cracks. So what are the cracks and how do we fill them?

First the cracks. Software. All of the software on your computer is imperfect. Most of the imperfections are benign. Some of the imperfections may allow unauthorized parties to make your computer behave unexpectedly. These imperfections are called, “Vulnerabilities.” The worst vulnerabilities can be exploited to allow unauthorized people to run software on your computer without your permission. Such exploits and vulnerabilities are discovered all of the time. Take a look at a single week’s worth.

Now, the glue. Software vendors work diligently to fix these bugs as they are discovered. It’s your job to install their patches. In decreasing order of importance, you should keep the following things up-to-date on your computer:

 

1. Your operating system. Both Mac OS and Windows provide mechanisms for automatically updating themselves. Check and apply those updates regularly.
2. Your web browser. Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, Chrome, or whatever web browser you use, it’s the first part of your computer to come into contact with the internet. All of those browsers have had high-severity exploits discovered, and all are regularly updated and patched by their authors. Check and apply those updates regularly too.
3. Your web browser plug-ins. Flash is great, it lets web sites present full-featured applications with beautiful interfaces without leaving your browser. Unfortunately, it has also allowed malicious parties to install malware and viruses on unsuspecting computer users like you. Keep Flash and your other web plug-ins updated.
4. The rest of your software. Microsoft Office, Acrobat, Photoshop and others have all been exploited. Check with those vendors too.

 

That’s a lot to check. Fortunately there are nerds out there who care about you and have developed free tools to help you keep yourself safe.

On the Mac, after enabling automatic updates from Apple, I use AppFresh by Metaquark to scan my computer for out-of-date software. It’s free and it’s easy to use.

On Windows, after enabling automatic updates from Microsoft, I use the Personal Software Inspector (PSI) by Secunia to keep my software healthy. Secunia PSI can run almost entirely automatically. It’s a breeze to run and it does a great job.

If you need help with any of these ideas or processes, please don’t hesitate to contact your friendly neighborhood Feedwire nerd. Happy updating!

Welcome to the FIRST monthly Feedwire “Ask a Nerd Day.” You have from midnight to midnight to pose any question to us. Our knowledge is vast, our wits sharp, and our tongues loose. Be careful what you ask, because we WILL answer.

Post your questions to comments. We will respond in kind. To celebrate this kickoff, the author of our favorite question (a totally subjective title) wins a free hour of IT support.

Ask away, but ask fast. You don’t want to know what happens if you ask a nerd after midnight. You also don’t want to get us wet, but that’s an entirely separate issue.

Two facts, seemingly intractable, but not for long:

 

1. Your thoughts are important to us.
2. We are not telepaths.

 

Fortunately, we are technologists. We’ve deployed a new technology (called Nicereply) which will give you unlimited opportunities to share your thoughts with us.

If you work with us, you’re familiar with our ticketing system. This helps us track work done and ensure that issues don’t fall through the cracks. We’ve added a new line to every ticket response and closure notification.

When you receive a ticket response email, click on the nicereply link and you’ll have an opportunity to rate our work and to give us feedback. This will help us help you. We’ll get to share in your important thoughts without having to resort to telepathy. Win, win, win.

A thousand words would have been overkill, so here’s a screenshot taken from a ticket response email to show you the new link:

You may have noticed that the Feedwire website has a new look and feel. In addition to this facelift, we’ve received a bonelift. We switched from using Wordpress as a content management system and publishing platform, hosted by Media Temple, to an all-Squarespace site. Speed Boost While driven fundamentally by the desire to think less, we also got a nice speed boost on the new platform. If you will permit a bit of nerdery, our average homepage load time went from 0.842 seconds to 0.252 seconds. The attached graph shows how dramatic a change that is. How does this let us think less? We have fewer choices, we aren’t responsible for software upgrades, the platform is fully supported, monitored, and managed, and we have only one vendor with which to deal. So far, we are happy with the change.

In defense of Wordpress, we probably could have eked better performance out of it by either tuning our hosting environment or migrating to wordpress.com hosting, but Squarespace is more fun.

We’ve also started using Formstack to build new tools, both internally and for our clients. If you’re looking for a job and you think Feedwire might be a fit, or if you’re just curious to find out what a Feedwire-designed test is like, you can check out our online job application. If you’re pushing a lot of data around and need to estimate file transfer times, our file transfer speed calculator is free to the world. And if you need help, we’re ready to believe you.

If you think that your website might be a candidate for Squarespace or Wordpress.com hosting, or if you have some processes in your business that could benefit from Formstack forms, quit waiting and get in touch with us.

Click here to register yourself in our Friends of Feedwire customer appreciation program. It's totally free, from us to you.

Want to know more?

Next month, we are launching Friends of Feedwire and you are invited to join. What will follow? Good stuff. Free stuff. Invitations, coupons, discounts, advice, updates, photos, lessons. You have to enroll if you want the goodies, so click the link above, sign up, sit back, and wait for the fun to start.

Wondering who we are?

Damien, Zach, Chris, Michael and our little dog Destro. Best computer nerds for hire this side of the Mississippi. Photo linked here to jog your memory.

I've noticed a growing sentiment among many IT professionals that their job is a thankless and stressful never-ending stream of problems.  I beg to differ...

01. I Get Paid to Be a Nerd

What beats being paid to do what you love?

02. Being a Hero

I used to dream of being a wizard/firefighter/superhero, but I’ve come to accept my own limitations.  Sometimes, just as I sit down, like magic, the problem disappears – I’m just that good.

03. The Babes

Every hot girl owns a computer.  Guess who gets to fix them?

04.  New & Exciting

The learning curve in the IT industry never plateaus.  Because the technology changes I have to learn each and everyday.  I read books, get new certifications, and keep up with tech blogs.

05. Business is Dependent on Technology

Computers are an integral part of virtually every business.  It satisfying to know that I'm repairing the world one computer at a time.

06. Being a Teacher

While not everyone wants to learn about computers, Feedwire has made it a priority to work transparently.  It's important for me to know that a client has a basic understanding of the work that I've done.  The teacher learns through teaching, the student through listening, and both are more knowledgeable when it's over.

07. The Clients

Not many people make it a habit of going to offices all over Los Angeles, but I'm one of the lucky ones.  Photographers, producers, directors, PAs, agents, set designers, writers, secretaries, executives, accountants, marketers, and the list goes on and on.  I meet new and incredible people wherever I work.  I care about the people I work for and I care about their businesses.  Each day I try to make their networks run a little smoother, and hopefully make their lives a little easier.

08. Problem Solving Satisfaction

The reason I love fixing computers is the same reason I love math.  After learning some basic tools, I'm presented with a complex problem and given a short time period to find a solution.  I enjoy it every step of the way: The learning, the work, and drinking beer to celebrate my success.

09. One hand washes the other

Cooperation benefits us all.  I've watched a few Italian mafia movies and while I don't want my life to be a crime ridden murdering chaos, I do like the idea of asking one another for favors.  I come from a very close knit group of family and friends and it's important to me to help the people that raised me and made the me person  I am today.

10. Free Food

Need I say more?

You've probably got unused electronics in your life. You've probably also got too much stuff in your life. Chances are that the trouble of selling your old electronics outweigh the possible profits, or you're not sure about letting that hard drive out into the wild with your information still on it, or you've heard about heavy metals in electronics and you don't want to release them into the environment. Enter California Recycles.

"California Recycles was formed to assist people, non-profits, corporations and municipalities recycle their electronics with ease. They provide convenient, affordable and simple solutions that make it easy to recycle all electronics; de-clutter your environment and prevent the harmful elements contained in electronic waste from contaminating our environment." Bravo, California Recycles. They make it easier for business and individuals to recover wasted office space and improve our relationship with the environment at the same time.

If you've got electronic equipment that you'd like out of your life, Feedwire is happy to help you sort and identify which equipment is recycle-ready, and to verify that none of your business or company information will get into the wrong hands. We can even transport small equipment to the recycling center for you.

California Recycles is having a free equipment collecting event this week on Wednesday April 15 at Whole Foods Santa Monica from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. They have several collection events like this every month at different locations throughout Los Angeles, so check their website for the schedule.

Thanks to Ona for inviting us to this event.