If you're looking for on-line training, particularly for Adobe products, you may have encountered TrainSimple. Although on-line training has been available for only a few years, the company has deep roots that include in-person training in Los Angeles. In fact, founder Matt Pizzi says that initially he was a certified trainer for Macromedia, the company that Adobe acquired in 2005 to obtain applications such as ColdFusion, Dreamweaver, Contribute, Flash, and Shockwave.
I've found TrainSimple to be a good resource for Adobe Dreamweaver, InDesign, and Photoshop, but the company has begun to branch out into related areas. When I talked with Pizzi, I asked about the company's background ...
If your browser doesn't support Flash, here's a direct link to the audio file.
Matt Pizzi's final point is particularly enticing in that some of the upcoming programs will present an application-like interface to give students a chance to experiment with the techniques that have been described.
This would be in addition to exercise files that are provided with most of the programs so that users can follow along with the exact files that the trainer is using.
TrainSimple might not be the largest training provider in the world, but if you're looking for useful information on using Adobe products and other creative applications that are associated with Adobe applications, TrainSimple would be a good choice. Learn more by visiting the TrainSimple website.
Installing programs is easy, but sometimes it's much more difficult to get rid of them. Several uninstaller applications exist and this week I thought we'd take a look at the IOBit uninstaller.
Most applications come with their own uninstallers and Windows has an uninstaller option. My recommendation always is to try these standard application removal tools before reaching for a utility. As a rule, software developers don't want to make it difficult for people who want to remove their applications to do so. That would only serve to increase the number of negative reviews that a program receives. So first try the uninstaller that came with the application. Then reboot the computer so that Windows can perform any additional clean-up. Then, if there are still remnants of a program that you can't eliminate, bring out something like IOBit Uninstaller.
But beware! Installing the IOBit uninstaller will bring with it the entire IOBit Advanced System Care Pro suite unless you explicitly deselect it. I have always considered this kind of installation just a bit disingenuous, if not to say unethical. Unless the user carefully reads everything on the screen and deselects a small item at the bottom of the screen, more applications than desired will be installed.
IOBit offers great sale prices, though: $24 for ASC Pro on 3 computers. The sale is good "right now", of course. But "right now" seems to be whenever you download the uninstaller. In other words, it's a limited time offer without a time limit.
The IOBit uninstaller's interface is prettier than the Windows uninstaller, even in Windows 10 (below), but it doesn't seem to offer any features that are substantially different from what Windows offers.
In fact, the new Windows 10 Add and Remove interface can help you find a program by its name, size, or installation date. There's also an option to look for applications that might have been installed in locations outside the standard locations.
The IOBit Uninstaller allows for batch uninstalls. You can select two or more applications that you want to remove and the application will uninstall all of them simultaneously.
Neat, but how many times have you wanted to install multiple applications at the same time. Removing multiple applications simultaneously will increase the chances that you'll need to restart the computer to complete the operation and, I suspect, also increases the opportunity for a problem to occur.
It's free, but it doesn't seem to do much more than Windows doesFirst, do no harm (primum non nocere) is part of the Hippocratic Oath for doctors. It seems to apply to the IOBit Uninstaller, hence the 3-cat rating. But it also seems to do no good. If you like the interface, download it and install it, but don't expect much more from it than you get from the Windows Add and Remove function of the Control Panel.
Additional details are available on the IOBit website.
Miami County isn't the first governmental agency to pay criminals so that they could regain access to their file and they probably won't be the last. Despite recommendations from Ohio's attorney general not to pay the ransom, Miami County did. What option did it have?
I've described on previous programs the criminals who plant malware on computers, encrypt the files, and then offer to provide the key needed to unencrypt the files only when a ransom has been paid, usually via Bitcoin. According to WHIO Television in Dayton (thanks to Keith for the tip), "Miami County’s IT department ... dealt with an “exposure” of a few county offices to a “ransom ware” threat sent via e-mail." According to IT director Matthew Watkins, "The county ended up paying a $700 ransom through a security expert hired to assist in dealing with the situation after the experts said successful recovery of affected documents would be quicker and less costly if that route was taken."
The good news is that the criminals who plant this malware seem to be honest. That is, once they've received the ransom payment, they provide the key needed to decrypt the affected files. According to the report on WHIO, "Among offices exposed was the county Communication Center, where the administrative network was affected, but not the secure 911 network, Jeff Busch, center director, said."
The report says that no files were lost and no information was stolen.
Last week I described version 7 of The Bat and said that I hadn't tried the 64-bit version because I wasn't certain that it would make any real difference. In addition, the anti-spam plug-in that I use (Antispam Sniper) wasn't yet available in a 64-bit version. About the same time I finished writing that sentence, Antispam Sniper became available in a 64-bit version. OK, so let's take a look.
Leaving the 32-bit version of The Bat installed, I installed the 64-bit version. 32-bit software installs in "Program Files (x86)" and 64-bit software installs in "Program Files". I started the program expecting that I would have to register it again and set up all of the accounts. Instead, it located my existing e-mail files and there was nothing for me to do except use it.
Oh, and install Antispam Sniper. That turned out to be slightly more difficult, but just slightly.
After running the plug-in's installer, I opened The Bat and selected the Plug-Ins item in the Preferences menu. There was no entry for Antispam Sniper and its location wasn't immediately obvious. I knew which file to look for, but not where to find it. As it turned out, the installer placed the plug-in inside the "Program Files (x86)" directory. It's not uncommon for 32-bit applications to add support for 64-bit systems; because they're still 32-bit applications, they install in the x86 directory.
I found antispamsniper.tbp in "C:\Program Files (x86)\AntispamSniper for TheBat!", added it to the anti-spam plug-ins, and found that it, too, had found both its settings and its historical data. Everything should be this easy.
But does converting an e-mail program to the 64-bit version offer any benefits? I'm not sure. The program feels a bit faster and smoother, but otherwise the operation is unchanged -- as it should be.
Consider this to be another vote in favor of The Bat, whether you choose the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version.
You have to give crooks credit for being inventive. No matter what you have, they'll try to find a way to get it. Some of them are very good. Good enough that they might be able to make a living honestly, if they wanted to. Apparently, though, they don't.
The US Secret Service says that vulnerabilities in account provisioning and verification processes in near-field communication (NFC)-based mobile payments is being exploited. "The payment provisioning aspect of the NFC payment system process has proven particularly vulnerable as it contains a variety of weak security controls. For example, if fraud concerns arise during the transaction process , a determination to proceed with the transaction is often based on the user calling from a recognized number in their profile or answering a series of standard security questions (e.g., mother’s maiden name, last four digits of the social security number, or other attempts to verify financial account information). These common security controls are often circumvented by criminals to compromise payment card data."
Additionally, the Secret Service says that compromised card verification value (CVV) codes, when coupled with hacked account information derived from certain popular music and media download sites put consumers at risk for fraud. Hacked customer data from popular music sites can be purchased for as little as $8 per account in criminal underground forums and used to facilitate a variety of illicit transactions in the mobile payment space. CVV codes are 3-digit numbers that are on the backs of most credit cards and 4-ditit numbers on the fronts of American Express cards.
The ease of identity theft has led to an increase in falsification of payment credentials. While measures to prevent identity theft are important to mitigating falsification of payment credentials, issuers such as banks and credit unions must assume that stolen identities will continue to exist. "To prevent falsification of payment credentials, issuers need to control the registration process and the issuance of payment credentials by strengthening the verification process," according to the Secret Service.
Additional information is on the Secret Service Website.
