Today someone successfully spammed a huge number of Skype users with an Instant Message that looks like it is from Skype.  It is not.  It is an attack on your PC.  Please do not follow the instructions on it.

The message reads as follows:

[3:15:23 PM] Online Notification: ******************************************
URGENT SYSTEM SCAN NOTIFICATION ! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY !!

http://www.updatesec.com/

For the link to become active, please click on 'Add to contacts' skype button or type it in manually into your web browser !

FULL DETAILS OF SCAN RESULT BELOW
******************************************

WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

ATTENTION ! Security Center has detected
malware on your computer !

Affected Software:

Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Impact of Vulnerability: Remote Code Execution / Virus Infection /
Unexpected shutdowns

Recommendation: Users running vulnerable version should install a repair utility immediately

Your system IS affected, download the patch from the address below !
Failure to do so may result in severe computer malfunction.

http://www.updatesec.com/

For the link to become active, please click on 'Add to contacts' skype button or type it in manually into your web browser !

I ran across an article today that I thought some of the more advanced readers might want to try.  Please note, I have not tested the software referred in this article and I am not endorsing it.  I just thought knowing some of my readers they want to play around with it. 

Here is the opening paragraph taken directly from the site:

“Laptops are stolen all of the time. And recovering a stolen laptop is made very difficult when steps have not been taken to help this task get accomplished. Prey is an open source application, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, that can help you out when your laptop is stolen. Prey takes an ingenious approach to laptop recovery; because once it is installed, it will send timed reports to a configured email address containing information describing its whereabouts.”

Go to http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=1543&tag=nl.e064 if you wish to read the whole article.

Dennis “The Computer Guy” Wilson

http://TheComputerGuysLLC.spaces.live.com

ANY PET LOVERS LOOKING FOR TWO LABS?
Subject: Seeking Home for 2 Family Dogs- Two gorgeous labs  trained
If you can ' t help, please forward & thank you!
Cookie and Coco
Even if you cant take them, please pass this around!
Contact: Katherine at:kjmorris74@yahoo.com

We are moving overseas in just 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I have still not been able to find a good home for Cookie and Coco . We ' re not able to take our beloved doggies with us and I ' ve been desperately trying to find a home for both of them ' together ' . They were raised together and pine without each other. The Lab rescue have already said that they would probably separate them, so this is my last resort. Recently I tried to take Coco out in my car alone and she TOTALLY refused to even get into the car without Cookie......!!!! She absolutely pulled back on her haunches until Cookie was by her side.

Both doggies are in great health, have been spayed and have ID chips implanted under the skin.
Cookie turned 3 December 10th and Coco turned 3 April 1st. Cookie is my mellow-yellow, and just loves her tummy rubbed. Coco is adorably funny and lives for her "ball." She also loves the water...... Cookie loves lots of attention. Both doggies are loyal and love to walk.. They have been raised with my 3 kids running around all over the place, and have survived Sammy ' s constant hugging and love of ' dress-up ' , so they are fantastic family dogs.. This is by far one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, but under the circumstances I have no choice.

Please, please forward these pics to all your friends. I want to find a great home for these fabulous doggies. They are just adorable and it ' s heartbreaking to let them go. In a perfect world, I hope that we could find someone local so that we can still keep in touch and visit them. I pray that someone, somewhere can help us keep Cookie and Coco together, and love them just as much as we do.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Now…this is from Dennis….help!  My wife wants them and we already have to 4 footed daughters.  We don’t need more right now and I don’t think our oldest lab Molly would be very welcoming anyway.

I am pretty excited about the improvements to Internet Explorer version 8.  Yes, I know a lot of you have started using Google’s Chrome browser, or Firefox or even Opera or Flock.  But, if you have not made that switch and are still using Internet Explorer, you may want to give serious consideration to IE8.  Or, if you switched to one of the others and haven’t looked at IE in a long time, you may want to download IE8 and give a spin.  You can always use more than one browser.  I know I do.

Microsoft has several videos available on IE8 so that you can learn more about the new features and benefits of IE8.  The link we provide here, IE8 Video, takes you to the main page for their videos on IE8. 

After you watch this one, just scroll down the page a bit and you’ll see the other videos.  We feel they are worth taking the few minutes to view and should make your surfing experience a lot more enjoyable.  (Even if you fancy yourself an “expert” or very knowledgeable user, you still might learn a thing or two.)

Dennis “The Surfer” Wilson

The Computer Guys LLC

http://www.TheComputerGuysLLC.spaces.live.com

We invite you to share the following with all your friends and family.  You don’t have to email this, you can simply send a link.  (http://TheComputerGuysLLC.spaces.live.com) Copy and paste that link into your email, or if you want to send them directly to this, click on the link at the bottom that says “Permalink,” and then copy and paste the long link that comes up at the top of your browser.

When A Soldier Comes Home

When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard....

..to listen to his son whine about being bored.

....to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

To be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

...to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.

..to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

...to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

..to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.

....to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

....to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

....to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

....to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

.....to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

....to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

....to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.
The only thing harder than being a Soldier.. 

Is loving one.

Published on http://TheComputerGuysLLC.spaces.live.com

And here is a shout-out to Big Sarge Warnock, my son-in-law and good friend, who retired from the US Army after 20 years of service to his countrymen.  ~~Dennis “The Computer Guy” Wilson

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, 'Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face.'

'Yes,' the class said.

'Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?'

Dennis “The Computer Guy” Wilson

http://TheComputerGuysLLC.com

Ok..so it has nothing to do with computers….I just liked it.

The main scripture for this coming Sunday is Phil. 3:17-21.  As the “Worship Leader” or “Song Leader” preparing for the worship service my job is to try to put together a list and order of songs to go along with the sermon.  When I start this task each time, I start with reading from God’s word the scripture and usually look to see what various translations say.  This week, as with most weeks, I started out with the paraphrase by Eugene Petersen called “The Message.”  I really liked his rendering of this particular passage and wanted to share it with my Blog Readers, FB Friends and Linked In Contacts.  So here it is, I hope you are edified by this rendering of the passage:

Philippians 3:17 - 21 (TMSG) “¹⁷Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal.  ¹⁸There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross.  ¹⁹But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. ²⁰But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ,  ²¹who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him. “

I don’t know about you  but I keep His Spirit pretty busy trying to “make us beautiful!”

While we enjoyed our visit to the church Chestnut Ridge in West Virginia this past week, we do look forward to being with our local church family this coming Lord’s Day and we hope that you will be with your church family this coming Lord’s Day.

In His loving grip of truly amazing grace,

Dennis

http://TheComputerGuysLLC.spaces.live.com

While reading an article on how to prevent or detect and remove malicious software I learned of a site that you really should visit.  This site offers a scanning tool to not only tell you if you have some vulnerabilities, but provides the link to download the update to patch the vulnerability.

Check it out.

http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

Disclaimer:  We do not own any interest in the company or its products and services.  We are not responsible for any damages either direct or indirect to your system or data.  You are using this software at your own risk.

I receive emails from Simple Truths and this morning they had the following little story about Teamwork.  I thought I would share it with you.

Learn from Old Warwick

Fostering a spirit of teamwork is critical in times of change. The key element is trust. Trust for the leader and trust for each other.

There is a wonderful story from the play, Some Folks Feel the Rain; Others Just Get Wet; and I think it's worth sharing again to shed some light on how people think about teamwork...

A man was lost while driving through the country. As he tried to reach for the map, he accidentally drove off the road into a ditch. Though he wasn't injured, his car was stuck deep in the mud. So the man walked to a nearby farm to ask for help.

"Warwick can get you out of that ditch," said the farmer, pointing to an old mule standing in a field. The man looked at the decrepit old mule and looked at the farmer who just stood there repeating, "Yep, old Warwick can do the job." The man figured he had nothing to lose. The two men and the mule made their way back to the ditch. The farmer hitched the mule to the car. With a snap of the reins, he shouted,

"Pull, Fred! Pull, Jack! Pull, Ted! Pull, Warwick!"
And the mule pulled that car right out of the ditch.

The man was amazed. He thanked the farmer, patted the mule, and asked, "Why did you call out all of those names before you called Warwick?"

The farmer grinned and said, "Old Warwick is just about blind. As long as he believes he's part of a team, he doesn't mind pulling."

(Posted on http://TheComputerGuysLLC.spaces.live.com)