Category Archives: Technical

has Exitjunction improved?

Computer Aid Posted on by

As many of you know, I tried exitjunction back in 2009, with disastrous effects.

This moring, I received an email from David Johnson, from DynamicOxygen (parent company of ExitJunction)… he said:

Hi Luigi,

I came across your review of our product ExitJunction
http://www.computer-aid.com.au/blog/2009/03/20/exitjunction-yahoo-google-and-adsense/
and just wanted to drop you an email.

I read your experience with ExitJunction and not really sure what happened
in your case in 2009 but I can tell you that I been with ExitJunction for
the past 14 month and never ever heard anything like that from any of our
publishers! We currently work with thousands of publishers and our service
continues to grow as can be seen from our traffic stats
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/exitjunction.com

I would like to ask you to place ExitJunction code on just few pages of
your site and see it for yourself that we don’t in any ways affect your
Google Rankings… I would hope that after seeing it for yourself you would
remove your negative review of ExitJunction since at current time the
information stated in your review dosent reflect the reality of our
product! If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with
me and once again I fully stand behind our product experience since
nothing like that ever happened in the past 14 month I been with the
company…

thanks,

David Johnson
Client Services Manager
Dynamic Oxygen, LLC.
646 Maple St. STE 2B
Brooklyn, NY 11203
Office: (212) 937-7999
Fax:    (718) 228-5224
davidj@DynamicOxygen.com
http://www.DynamicOxygen.com

So my reply was:

Hi David,

Thanks for contacting me.

I find it highly unusual that you have never heard about the problems with exitjunction, as the internet is full of reports about google traffic drying up after exitjunction is applied to existing websites. But then you work for DO/EJ, so I’d expect you to say that.

Your traffic stats really don’t show much improvement (hovering around the 20,000 mark):

Given the very frightening effect of using exitjunction in 2009, I am very, very reluctant to try it again.

If I start seeing reviews (by others who have no affiliation with EJ/DO) who report no ill-effect with their google rankings, then I will consider trying it again… if that happens, I will not try it on a few pages, but on the whole site, to do otherwise will give useless results.

My understanding is that Google will penalise anyone who tries to influence or alter the way someone naturally uses google… so if Google themselves state that they will not penalise the likes of EJ, then I will seriously look at it again.

Otherwise I really don’t have the time & energy to test EJ again, unless I believe that google will not do what they did back in 2009.

 

So, has anyone else received a similar email saying: “trust us, we are actually good people, and have always been good, and what happened to you must have been something from before 2012”?

And has anyone tried EJ (or DynamicOxygen) recently, particularly if you have some stats on Google traffic before and after using exitjunction?

Let me know, as I’d be interested to see if google will now allow EJ to operate unhindered.

How to Encrypt a Folder or File in Windows 7

Computer Aid Posted on by

The standard file system used on Windows is NTFS. It allows you to use permissions to manage access control restrictions for data. For example, you can configure NTFS permissions to allow only particular users to access confidential documents. However, if there are users who have the necessary credentials to make permission amendments, they could simply alter those permission settings and gain access to the data.

Encrypting File System (EFS) provides an extra security layer in addition to authentication and NTFS access control permissions. EFS encrypts data through the use of an encryption key, ensuring that it can only be decrypted by a user who has access to the required encryption key.

What that means is: you need the password to access the file.

How to use EFS

Right click the folder of file you want to encrypt and select Properties from the drop down list.

EFS-encrypt-Report-2012

The relevant folder/file properties dialog box opens. Click the Advanced button.

EFS-Report-2012-properties

In the Advanced Attributes dialog box, tick the option Encrypt contents to secure data and click OK. 

EFS-Advanced-Attributes-Encrypt-contents

You are returned to the Properties dialog box. Click OK to continue. The Confirm Attributes Changes dialog box requests whether you want the encryption to apply to this folder only or apply to this folder, subfolders and files. Select your preferred option and click OK.

EFS-encrypt-confirm-attribute-changes

The encrypted folder will now appear Green (as shown below).

EFS-encrypt-Report-2012-green

Note:

Before you encrypt anything, best to follow this Microsoft guide to backup your encryption certificate. Otherwise, in the event that your Windows installation becomes corrupted you may be unable to access these files. If you’re in Sydney, I can help you out with data recovery.

If you want to decrypt a file or folder, perform similar steps as above except untick the option Encrypt contents to secure data in the Advanced Attributes dialog box.

Adobe Premiere: this installation package is not supported by this processor type

Computer Aid Posted on by

I installed a digital TV card into an XP PC (core 2 quad CPU, and good video card), and the owner also wanted me to install Adobe Premiere Elements 10 (he had the previous version, but wanted the new version).

I thought: it shouldn’t be too hard, but given that the customer had installed the previous version, then he might have come across a strange problem with installing version 10.

Sure enough, as soon as I insert the CD and run through the automated install process I get the error:

This installation package is not supported by this processor type

Hmmm, is it complaining about the core2 quad CPU? Its a Q9650 (12MB cache!), so a very quick CPU back in 2008… and still very quick in 2012.

At first, I thought that Premiere was incorrectly trying to install the 64-bit version… but after looking over the CD, it became obvious that the CD ONLY had the 64-bit version of Premiere… no 32-bit version available!

Oddly, I was able to find the 32bit version of Adobe Premiere 10 on the internet… I downloaded it, then did the install, entered the serial key, and then it installed correctly.

ISP tech support sometimes makes things worse

Computer Aid Posted on by

A lady had just moved into a new home… got her phones, internet, and cable TV working, with the help of a TV tech

He was even nice enough to install an ADSL filter to get her internet going.

After about 2 days, the internet stopped.

She called Optus technical support, and the support lady spend a good 2 hours trying to help, before saying that the problem was with the computer.

When I got there, the ADSL modem was showing all the correct lights, but I soon found out that the PC had no ethernet drivers.

In these cases, I usually just connect my android phone, switch on its USB tethered mode, so that it acts like a modem, and then download the drivers I need.

But the Windows 7 PC would not load the USB drivers for my phone.

OK, back to my office, and a virus scan detects no infection. I download the ethernet drivers from the HP website, and then the PC is back to working on my internet connection.

So what happened was: Optus tech would have guided the customer into removing the ethernet drivers (thinking they will automatically re-install after a re-boot)… and then ended up blaming a computer fault for the “extra” problem.

So, when I took the computer back, I assumed it would be a quick dropoff, plugin everything, check that the internet is working, and then leave…

But events often conspire against me.

Still no internet, but this time, I can connect to the modem, and I see it thinks there is no internet connection.

Maybe the modem is faulty, so I install a new modem, but I get similar same result: it connects, and both the link and internet light go on, but after talking to another Optus tech, I notice that the ADSL light has gone off. and the modem is trying to re-connect…

Thats odd! its almost as if there is no filter…. then the penny drops:

Excuse me Mrs customer: do you have any other phones connected in your house?

Mrs customer: Why yes! Besides the one in the computer room, there is also one in the kitchen!

A quick look shows that the kitchen phone has no filter. Once that is fixed, the ADSL light stops “dropping out”… but still no internet…

Back to Optus, and the tech says: hmmm, there is an issue on the line, I’ve raised a request, and if you wait on the line, it will be rectified in about 5 minutes.

After 5 Minutes, I’m asked to restart the modem… and finally, the internet is back.

the maximum file size for session readyboot has been reached windows 7

Computer Aid Posted on by

I had a PC that was behaving strangely.

I eventually looked into the Windows event viewer, and found an odd error (amongst others):

the maximum file size for session readyboot has been reached.

So a search reveals its could be safely ignored… but I’m not convinced.

Since the most accepted solution is to increase the filesize limit, I decide to try it.

In regedit, I go to:

hkey_local_machinesystemcurrentcontrolsetControlWMIAutologgerreadyboot

Then change MaxFileSize from 14 (hex) to 40 (hex) (ie triple the max file size).

When I restart the PC, the readyboot error (and a few other errors… eg a WMI error) are gone.

Next: look at the other errors, and see if any can be fixed

How To Stop Windows Update from Forcibly Rebooting Your Computer on Windows 7

Computer Aid Posted on by

Have you ever come back to your PC and found that it automatically rebooted itself due to pending Windows updates? Thankfully there is a way to turn off Windows auto-restart but keep automatic updates turned on. It’s really quite simple to make this change, but you will need Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise as it relies on utilising the Local Group Policy Editor.

Procedure:

Navigate to Start, type gpedit.msc in the search bar and press enter. The Local Group Policy Editor opens.

Scroll down to the following location:

Computer ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsWindows Update

Double click on the option – No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic update installation. The Properties dialog box opens. Select the Enabled radio button and Click OK.

Close Local Group Policy Editor. From now on, Windows will no longer request to restart your computer after Windows installs auto-updates.

If you are in need of IT support in and around the Sydney CBD, please visit our website and give us a call.

DVD drive disappears on windows 7

Computer Aid Posted on by

New PC, gigabyte ga-h77m-d3h mobo, seagate barracude 1TB hdd, LG superMulti DVDRW, decent psu and video card.

After a few weeks, dvd disappears from windows.

So I replace with a new one.

After a few more weeks, it disappears again, but this time, the sound is also gone.

So I look over everything carefully:

  • HDD: I had updated the firmware (CC4H) when I first assembled the PC, and there hasn’t been any new firmware release
  • I update the motherboard firmware to F6
  • I updated the LG DVDRW firmware (GH24NS90) to IN01

After all the firmware and Windows updates for hardware, the sound and DVD drive started working again.

But…

A few weeks later, the DVD drive disappeared again!

What could it be now?

I ended up trying the microsoft fixit (in case the registry got corrupted), but fixit could not detect the drive.

And the bios also couldn’t detect the DVDRW

Since fixit mentioned checking that the drive was plugged in, I opened the PC and looked at the drive and cables.

This motherboard has 6 SATA sockets: 4 “traditional” sockets (SATA2) that face out from the circuit-board… so you just plug the cable plug straight (perpendicularly)  into the socket on the board.

But the first two SATA3 sockets are sideways, on the edge of the motherboard.

I had both the Seagate HDD and the DVDRW plugged into the SATA3 sockets.

So I figure: why not plug the DVDRW into the older SATA2 sockets. Besides, a DVDRW isn’t fast enough for sata2, let alone sata3… so it won’t really make a difference.

And lo! the bios detected the DVDRW, and then windows 7 did as well.

OK, the next step is to try the drive back in the SATA3 socket…

Woe! Windows detects it in the SATA3 socket as well…

I now have 2 very similar (new) computers that are displaying similar problems… what could it be?

As a last resort, I change the SATA cables, give it back to the customer, and hope the problem doesn’t re-surface.

Beware Linkedin advertising !

Computer Aid Posted on by

Back in January 2012, I got an email saying that linkedin is now implementing advertising (ie something similar to google and facebook advertising).

They also offered a free $50 “promotion”… OK, its less than the $100 that google offers, but it should be good to see what kind of return it gives.

Then it started getting weird:

I setup a campaign for my website design business, only to find limits like:

  • maximum daily budget cannot be less than $10
  • minimum cost per click (for a CPC campaign) is $2.00

Wow, I could be looking at, at least, $10 per day, per ad campaign.

Lets do the maths: with just 1 campaign, I could use up my “gift” $50.00 in just 5 days

I could be looking at $300 per month.

I’d need to be selling some high profit-margin goods or services to justify advertising in linkedIn.

As a comparison, Google have a minimum cost per click of $0.01 (yep, 1 cent), and the max daily budget also starts at $0.01. You you could limit your google advertising to just 1 cent per day, and then alter it if I want to get more views, traffic and clicks. And then Google also has a huge audience for showing these ads.

Facebook is similar: minimum Cost Per Click is $0.01, but the max daily budget is at least $1.00 (which I personally think is too high for some situations). But then again, facebook also has a huge audience for showing these ads.

So, I just try out the campaign, and as usual, I forget to check until about 2 weeks later (maybe this is what linkedin are planning: that people will forget).

Luckily it only cost me an extra $10 or $15, as I sometimes didn’t get to spend the full $10 per day.

Anyway, I switch off the campaign, and promptly forget about the LinkedIn advertising scam.

At the start of September 2012, I get an email from linkedIn, saying: “Your LinkedIn Ads campaign has been feeling a bit lonely recently. Come back to LinkedIn Ads and reach out to your customers!”.

They offer another $50 bonus, which expires on 19 Sept.

I figure: I’ll take another look.

I notice the click costs are still $2 per click, and I cannot set a max daily spend of less than $10…

Anyway, I guess I’ll just run the ad for a few days… I login and using the $50 code they sent me, I re-activate my ad campaign on the 12 Sept (before the 19 Sept deadline)…

I also add a campaign for my name-brand mobile phone look-alikes (iphone, Galaxy, HTC One X, etc).

Within 1 hour of activating my campaign, I get 7 clicks on my ads ($14 out of $50 gone already!)… and 29,000 impressions… ie my ads get shown 29,000 times!

But over the next 5 days, I get no more clicks, and the number of impressions drops to about 200 – 500 per day… It all looks a bit suspicious.

And I also find that the amount of information about my advertising performance, stats, etc is scant…I just cannot figure out why I got so many impressions, and then a sudden drop.

I then take a look over at the billing details, and I see that the $50 credit that linkedin gave me, has a “grant date” of sept 12, and an expiry date of sept 12… A reasonable person would think they mean the “coupon” has been used on that day… but being a suspicious person, I see it as: my “gift” of $50 expired on the same day I activated it, and any clicks after that date, I will need to pay for out of my own pocket. Thanks a lot LinkedIn! 🙁

When dealing with larger companies, it pays to be suspicious, and assume the cards are always in their favour.

So I suspended all my linkedin ads (again)… even though I still have a theoretical $36 in my account… I just can’t be sure about that. I’ll think I’ll just forget this whole linkedin advertising scam (again).

error 0x000000c2 bad_pool_caller on windows XP

Computer Aid Posted on by

My main workshop PC (windows XP, Intel dual-core CPU, 2GB DDR3 RAM, WD HDD, Gigabyte mobo, etc… nothing fancy) has been quiet for a few days (another quiet time in business 🙁 ).

So when I started it today, I was surprised to get a blue screen of death: error 0x000000c2 bad_pool_caller

I figured: maybe RAM, maybe the video card… but it was neither.

So, after pressing F8 at boot time, I selected “last known configuration that worked”

And this turned out to be one of the rare times that it actually worked.

As soon as the PC started, taskbar icon for Microsoft security essentials appeared in red… It really wanted to update the software (not just a signature update, it was completely new software.

So I figure: sure, its always best to be safe to keep the AV up to date.

But part way through the update, the computer did another BSOD.

I fixed it again (last known configuration that worked).

Now, when I cast my mind back a few days, to when I last used the PC, I remember doing a windows update, and I got a BSOD. Because I was in a hurry, I just left it, and then forgot to get back to fixing it.

So now:

  • I uninstall MSE
  • I restart the PC
  • I download the latest MSE from the microsoft website
  • I install the latest MSE and…
  • BSOD !

Wow, that proves that the latest MSE either doesn’t like my PC, or it doesn’t like XP in general.

I have another XP PC, but it has the latest MSE, and I get no BSOD from it…

Its a mystery. Next chance I get, I’ll be installing another anvivirus program & see what difference that makes.

external Seagate hard drives failing (or not showing up)

Computer Aid Posted on by

I’ve had this happen a few times, so I thought I’d mention it to everyone.

Some external Seagate branded USB hard drives (usually 1TB, and usually the larger 3.5″ size), that seem to be failing at random.

The first one: a customer said its acting strange (windows 7 would detect the drive, and its capacity, and how much space was still available, but couldn’t view any files and folders.

I ripped open the enclosure to get to the raw drive inside (its a 3.5″ sata drive), and plugged it into my xp diagnostic PC… and I could read the data without any problem.

I concluded that the enclosure electronics had “died”, so I got another enclosure, put the HDD into it, and could easily read the drive from my XP PC.

But when it was plugged into a Win7 PC, I got the same problem: cannot access any files or folders…

So, there is something wrong with the drive itself… but what could it be?

I decided that a firmware update was worth a try, as I’ve had other firmware problems with seagate recently.

So, after backing up all the data, I updated the firmware, and that was all I needed to do… The drive now worked perfectly.

Since then, I’ve had a few similar problems (only with seagate).

It seems that seagate need to check their firmware more carefully, as I’ve been seeing Seagate firmware issues on drive that have been manufactured 2 or 3 years ago, up to some very recent ones.

Pity, as Seagate was/is my drive of choice, given that I had poor lifespan out of the main rival: WD.

How To Enable Applications to Always Run as Administrator

Computer Aid Posted on by

Occasionally you may find the need to make an application run as Administrator every time you open it. This is a very simple little tip, but useful nonetheless.

Note: Be cautious about the types of applications you run as Administrator, as this gives the application permission to potentially change important system files.

Procedure:

1. Right click the application you want to always run in administrator mode and select Properties.

2. The Properties dialogue box appears, navigate to the Compatability tab.

3. Under the heading Privilege level, tick the check box Run this program as an administrator. Click OK to apply the changes.

From now on, whenever you click that shortcut, the application will run as Administrator (and depending on your security settings, will likely prompt you for confirmation).

If you find yourself in need if IT support when you’re next in Sydney, feel free to check out our services. Thanks!