Save your PC from the Conficker Worm

Last evening, on CBS 60 Minutes there was a story about a worm called Conficker that has many computers infected in the world. The unusual part about this worm is that right now it does not do anything to your PC, yet....

What it does is check in periodically with whomever it's masters are to see if there are instructions for it to execute. So far the only thing the experts seem to know is that April 1 is a key date. However, they don't know what exactly is planned.

However, what these guys are good at is stealing your passwords, login information and accessing your bank accounts to transfer money.

Here is the link to the story: CBS 60 Minutes

I don't mean to be an alarmist, and I don't have any advice. However this is what I am going to do. I am updating my virus and internet security on March 31st. Then I'm turning off my PC and will not turn it back on until April 2nd, and even then I am going to immediately get my updates from Norton for Virus and Internet Security. (The Windows Secret Magazine article listed below says that the worm is to check for instructions on April 1 and could continue for weeks after, so my strategy is now to keep my Norton Internet Security up to date, it does this automatically).

Hopefully, this will be much ado about nothing, but in either case, I'm keeping my PC off that day.

At least watch the video.

Here are a couple of sites with more details: http://windowssecrets.com/

According to Symantec Corp, if you are running Internet Security 2009 or Norton 360 2009, you are protected. If not, there are free trial versions available at this Symantec link: http://www.symantec.com/norton/theme.jsp?themeid=conficker_worm&inid=us_ghp_link_conficker_worm

Miracle Uses for Common Household Products

These appeared in our local paper and I thought that I would share them with my readers. As you know there are avid followers of vinegar and duct tape. Well, here are some other items and things you can do with them. I'll cover more of them in later blogs. By the way, I have not tested these, so test them yourselves, no guarantees.

By the way, if you get a chance and need a laugh, check out my joke blog, ZJokes4U

Alka-Seltzer

1. Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets; wait 20 minutes, brush and flush.

2. Attract fish. Fill a tube jig with a piece of Alka-Seltzer and cast off.

3. Remove burned food from cookware. Fill your cookware with warm water, then dissolve six tablets and allow to sit for an hour or so.

4. Soothe insect bites. Dissolve two tablets in water and saturate a cloth or cotton ball with the solution, and place on the bite for 30 minutes. Don’t do this if you are allergic to aspirin, which is a key ingredient in Alka-Seltzer. An alternative suggested by our family Dr is meat tenderizer. Moisten the sting/bite and immediately put a heavy dose of meat tenderizer on it. Quicker is better because it counteracts the poison.

Aluminum foil

1. Sharpen your scissors by cutting through six to eight layers of aluminum foil.

2. Shine rusty chrome. With a bit of water on a wadded-up piece of aluminum foil, you can rub most rust spots off chrome car parts.

3. Keep birds out of your fruit trees. Hang twisted strips of aluminum foil all over your fruit trees using fishing line. The light reflections and the sound will keep birds away from your fruit.

4. Keep the bottom of your fireplace or charcoal grill from becoming encrusted with soot. Line the bottom of your fireplace or grill with aluminum foil before starting a fire, then dispose of the foil after the fire is out and the coals are completely cooled.

5. Eliminate electromagnetic interference if your TV and DVD player are stacked on top of each other. If the picture is fuzzy, place a sheet of aluminum foil between them.

6. Iron more effectively by putting a piece of aluminum foil under the ironing board cover. The foil will reflect the heat from the iron so both sides get ironed at once.

7. Move furniture with ease. To slide big pieces of furniture over a smooth floor, place small pieces of aluminum foil under the legs. Put the dull side of the foil down —- the dull side is actually more slippery than the shiny side.

8. Clean starch build-up from your iron by running a hot iron over a piece of aluminum foil.

Aspirin

1. Remove perspiration stains from white fabric by dissolving two aspirin in half a cup of warm water and applying to stained fabric. Leave for a couple of hours before washing.

2. Eliminate chlorine discoloration from hair by dissolving eight tablets in a glass of water and rubbing into your hair. Leave for about 10 minutes and then rinse. Shampoo.

3. Reduce pimples by making a paste with water and crushed aspirin. Cover the pimple with this paste; rinse after a few minutes.

4. Recharge a car battery by dropping two tablets into the battery itself. The aspirin’s acetylsalicylic acid will combine with the battery’s sulfuric acid to produce one last charge. Drive to the nearest service station. (One note, most car batteries are sealed these days, so if it is sealed, leave it sealed. Also, I don't know if there might be some chemical reaction, so cover your eyes with protective glasses and cover your exposed skin).

Let me know if any of these work for you.

Your Personal Economic Stimulus Plan

Now here is story that reflects how people are feeling in general right now. In our little town, there was a story in the local paper about shops in town were closing. One lady said she couldn’t cut her costs anymore, so she was closing the shop because she didn't want to sign another year lease since she didn't know how the economy was going to do. It sounds like she is making a decision based on fear.

 This is the part that frustrates me. That means that the landlord is going to be without rental money for a while, so he will have less to spend. Why didn't she talk with him about a month to month lease, explaining her predicament, and possible impact to him if she closed her shop. She draws traffic, which has a positive effect on stores next door. She closes, some of that traffic will not materialize. See, it all feeds on itself.

 Maybe she did try to renegotiate, or was losing money at an un-sustainable rate, the story didn't elaborate, because it was too focused on the negative economic aspects.

 Now read this story on the opposite side of the economic fear spectrum.

 Last evening I saw a story on NBC nightly news segment called "Making a Difference". This was a story about a local pharmacist in Brewton, Al., a small town, with economic troubles of their own.

Here is the bright spot. The pharmacist decided to begin his own economic stimulus plan. He ordered $16,000 from his local bank in $2 bills. He then called a store meeting. Some were afraid of pending bad news. You know the typical story these days, "Uh oh, layoffs or store closing!" Instead, the pharmacist gave out the $16,000 to the employees with these instructions.

Do not use this money to pay bills. Do not put it into savings. Do give 15% to charity. Do spend it all locally. The use of the $2 bills was to let people see how spending their money locally helped other local businesses. So off they went. One fellow needed two mattresses, so he bought one mattress at one store, and the other mattress at another store. Thus he was helping two store owners. They earned a profit, giving them money to spend at other local stores, and so on. They are seeing those $2 bills all through their town reminding them that they do help each other.

The moral to this story is if you are working, if you are part of the 91% employed, then get out there and spend a little bit locally. 

If we could get the 91%, to stop listening to the instant evening news about how bad everything is, our attitudes would improve, and slowly we would resume living a normal life. So turn that evening news off for a week and see if your attitude improves. If the 91% would start this spending plan, you would then see on the evening news "Consumer spending is on the rebound", wall street would go crazy, and your stocks and retirement funds would begin rising. Did you know there is $4 Trillion sitting on the sidelines waiting to renter the stock market, hoping to catch it at the bottom? Once the flood gate opens, it will be a tidal wave of buying and computerized trading.

There are some great bargains to be had right now. Fall and winter clothing is on sale, so it is a great time to start that early Christmas, or birthday shopping now. You save money, you help stimulate the economy.

Need a new car? This is the best time since 1974 to buy a new car. In fact, new cars are even close in price to late model used cars. Plus you can help those folks out in Michigan, and other states that supply parts, the truckers that carry those parts.

You have the potential to create more jobs than anything stimulus plan that Congress can put into place. 

So if you are ready to go spend a bit of money, here is a website that offers advice on saving money by getting free shipping, coupons, etc. www.savemoney.com

and the save money blog.

Also, if you just need a good laugh to take your mind off all that emphasized depressing news, go to my joke blog, www.zjokes4u.blogspot.com, to help put a smile on your face.

Let's get this economy moving!!!