Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock
Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock

When I first started this blog I promised that readers would get a glimpse behind the scenes at Schrock, and maybe even a heads up to things that were in the works before they were “officially” announced. We have 4 major announcements lined up that will be released at various times between now and February 2007.

Some of these will be more impressive than others, but I can assure you that many of these announcements will further entrench Schrock Innovations as Lincoln’s #1 Independent Computer repair company (as voted in the 2006 KFOR Best of Lincoln) and will further elevate our standing in the community as corporate leaders and industry experts.

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About 5 minutes ago, my automatic updating function in Windows XP notified me that I had received a new update to install. The update, KB925486, is designed to address “A security issue…that could allow an attacker to compromise a computer running Microsoft Windows and gain control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.”

Previously Microsoft had stated in an interview with ZDNet that they would release an update for this issue in October on the scheduled “Patch Tuesday.” After their statement, many pornographic websites began using the exploit to take control of visitors’ computers. There was also an indication that some other types of websites have begun using it as well.

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Each time Microsoft releases a “bigger and better” operating system, it seems that someones favorite program is obsoleted because it is not compatible with the latest version of Windows. While Microsoft’s efforts at improving the compatibility mode settings in Windows Vista will help programs, many others will simply not work with Windows Vista.

A new Wiki posted on www.iexbeta.com lists a number programs that work well with Windows Vista. However more importantly, it also lists programs that have minor issues with Vista, or that are completely incompatible. I have compiled a short list of some of the more popular programs that appeared on their list here. Is your favorite program Vista compatible?

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I would like to welcome Phil Walker and his website, www.plattevisions.com to the family of websites hosted and optimized by Schrock Innovations. Those of you who know who Phil Walker is may also know that his award-winning Visions Along the Platte River Valley CD series has sold more than 10,000 copies and is now featured in classrooms across the state as an interactive tool to teach Nebraska’s rich history.

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In the past week, a number of OEM manufacturers as well as Toshiba have joined Dell, Apple, HP, and Panasonic in the list of vendors who inadvertently provided defective Sony batteries to their customers. After receiving a few emails and getting dozens of phone requests to check the recall lists, I have decided to put together one complete resource for laptop users out there so you can easily find out if you should be the proud recipient of a brand new laptop battery (not a bad deal if I say so myself!).

To start, you are most likely to be effected by these recalls if you own a Dell, HP, Toshiba, or Apple notebook computer. Ironically, Sony has not recalled any of its own Sony Vaio notebook computers. I would assume that Sony uses Sony batteries in their systems, but as of now they are considered safe. (They may have been built by a different subcontractor than the afflicted batteries). In a separate recall unrelated to Sony batteries, Panasonic is also recalling some batteries in its notebook computers.

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On September 12, 2006 a new security vulnerability was discovered in Internet Explorer that was confirmed by Microsoft Security Advisory (925568). This vulnerability has been used by websites to take control of a user’s computer. Microsoft has stated that they will not release a patch for the VML rendering security vulnerability until October 10, 2006. This security problem affects all Windows users from Windows 98 to Windows XP, even if you use a browser other than Internet Explorer.

The only way to protect your system at the present time is to completely disable VML rendering in your Internet Explorer browser.

We have created a small utility that easily turns your VML rendering on or off. If you use this utility to turn off VML rendering, the utility will automatically re-enable it on October 11, 2006 – the day after Microsoft’s expected patch release. This is accomplished by adding a start-up item that checks the current date each time your computer is booted. After October 11, 2006 the start-up item is automatically removed.

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I received a request for an interview today from the Midlands Business Journal regarding the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I staunchly believe that SEO is a must-have tool in any small or medium size businesses’ marketing toolbox, and after the 45 minute interview and numerous real-time examples of our current efforts and results, the interviewer had what she needed for her story.

The Midlands Business Journal is a weekly business newspaper that has been circulating state-wide for more than 75 years in Nebraska. Jill Hanson was the interviewer and we started our conversation speaking about how Google rates websites where it does. I explained that there are black-hat (bad) and white hat (good) methods that can be used to “encourage” Google to rank a website near the top of its results for a given search term. The good methods are above board and accepted by Google, while the bad methods are far easier to implement but will eventually get your website de-indexed (removed from all Google search results).

I used our newest client, Phil Walker as an example of the dramatic improvements that can be made in a website’s ranking with the smallest of changes. Phil Walker produces the Visions Along the Platte river Valley CD Series, and has sold more than 10,000 copies of his Nebraska History CDs since he started the series.

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A new chapter in the history of Mozilla’s Open Source browser, FireFox, was started this week as the first ever recorded FireFox malware infection was reported.

The infection reportedly caused popups to appear on the users computer and defied all reasonable attempts at removal. The Schrock Innovations MCHE research team has investigated this infection, and has posted complete removal instructions at: http://www.schrockinnovations.com/removensismedia.php

After Microsoft released a whole new batch of security patches early this week, a new and previously unknown security vulnerability in Internet Explorer could allow websites to corrupt the memory of computers running the Microsoft web browser. I am recommending that all computer users temporarily switch to the FireFox browser until a patch is released for this latest flaw. You can download Firefox free of charge at http://www.getfirefox.com.

As a rule, Microsoft releases patches once each month on “Patch Tuesday.” In these releases, the company closes security loopholes and repairs newly discovered flaws in their software products. In an increasing trend, it appears that discoveries of new, previously unknown security problems are being posted to the Internet shortly after Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday. The new trend allows the flaws to go unremedied for a longer period of time and increases the likelihood that they will be exploited to attack computer users.

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It seems that suddenly people are realizing that cellphones have become small computers. There have been dozens of stories ranging form the Journal Star, the Omaha World Herald, and many Internet websites about the kinds of interesting (and important) data that can be recovered from a cell phone by anyone with the ability to download a program off the Internet.

Cell phones are becoming more and more sophisticated as they include web browsing packages, text messaging, ringer downloading programs, and the ability to make wireless online purchases. But when you upgrade your cell phone, what happens to all of the stored text messages, credit card information and contact information?

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