My new HTC Touch Pro - first thoughts

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zaDesktop Remote Desktop client for windows smartphone

I just downloaded zaDesktop from http://www.zatelnet.com. It's a Remote Desktop client for Windows smartphones. The full Windows mobile comes with this software built in, but Windows mobile doesn't have any such thing. This software worked well, although working with the windows smartphone arrows was a little clumsy. I was able to control desktops pretty easily. I mainly will use this to get to a full browswer so I can do java and active X based web apps that can't be done with the phone, or to access quickbooks and create an invoice while on the road. It has worked great for me in the few days I have used it. So try it out. It is free.

Palringo IM for windows, smartphones, and Macs with Push to Talk

I just signed up for Palringo at http://www.palringo.com/. It is great. My friends and co-workers can talk to each other with a push of the button. Palringo is an instant messenger that works with all the common IM servers such as AOL, MSN, Yahoo and others, but is also Has a push to talk feature I find to be great. I can load it on my Motorola Q phone and my wife has it at the house. If she needs me she just pushes to talk to me and it comes out in my bluetooth headset. There is a low battery usage mode so it doesn't wear out my phone battery, but I think it only poles every 30 seconds are so in that mode. However, it still works great. You can also send photo IMs to each other. Best of all, It is free software. So try it out. I think you will find it useful in some work situations, and fun for friends and family to keep in touch. I don't have time to explain all the features such as group IM's and other things, so check it out for yourself.

Don't forget to checkout my business website at http://www.itofms.com/

SupportSpace - a helpdesk for the rest of us

I found out about Supportspace a few months ago. It is a remote support site, where home and small business can turn for help with almost any computer issue from email setup to spyware removal. It is different than the other sites, because the Supportspace representatives work independantly. They go through a certification process, but are not quote "Employees of Supportspace". Each may have a different area of expertise, which he displays with his profile. There is also pricing competition for help, which is good for the consumer. Each support expert is also rated by the customers ( kind of like EBAY) so you can get feedback about their abilities.
I tried them for removing spyware from my customers computer when I didn't have time to spend on it. It cost me $35 to have spyware removed from the machine. I found them to be so good and affordable, that I joined up to be an Expert myself. I had to go through several certification processes to make sure I could do the job. I suggest you go and try them out before you try Geeksquad or another remote support site. Here's the link. You might even see me online, so look for Jerry and try me out if you like. SupportSpace

Using Tech podcasts to stay up on the latest Tech

One way to keep up on the ever changing tech industry is to listen to Tech podcasts. Not only can you find out about whats happening with Microsoft, Apple, Dell, HP, and some of the other big names in the industry, you can also find out about great tips and tricks to keep yourself on top of your game. It doesn't matter if your hobby is tech or your career is tech, these podcasts keep you informed on the latest news, and are a great resource for finding answers to your tech questions. Often there are also forums where you can ask questions you don't have the answer to, and the tech community will come to your aid with informative answers. If you have an answer, you can leave your thoughts on a voicemail or email them and most likely they will play it on their podcast for others to hear. Here is a short list of my favorite podcasts, and ones that I think lots of people will be interested in. They are in no order of importance, but some are more technical than others.

1. The Mike Tech Show - www.miketechshow.com This is a great show by Mike Smith, who is a Network Manager for a large company, but shares his love for computers on a personal level and talks about his on the side computer consulting for small business clients, as well as his daily tech issues at work.
2. Podnutz and Podnutzdaily - www.podnutz.com and www.podnutzdaily.com These are two podcasts by Steve Cherubino, who owns a computer repair shop. On his daily show he talks about his day to day experiences with customer computers and how he solves issues for each challenge. He takes callers through his skype number, and also reads emails from viewers. His weekly show includes industry people that he talks with about specific topics, such as how to run a small tech consulting business and where to get parts for computers, as well as discussions on the latest issues for techs. There are also forums where you can ask questions and give answers. They are at www.podnutz.com/forums
3. Geek News Central - www.geeknewscentral.com is a great podcast by Todd Cochran, who is a full time podcaster, and can also help you monetize your podcast by helping you with advertizers who might match up with your podcast theme. His podcast is a general tech podcast with the theme being current tech news and science. His opinions on certain tech companies and tech products are interesting. He is truly "Geeky" and includes lots of his daily personal and business life into the podcast. I like this one, but be prepared to go an hour or more. Of course there is always the fast forward button if you are on the run and want to get straight to the tech.

These are a few of the ones I listen to and suggest. Of course there are lots more. You can check them out at www.techpodcasts.com

Jerry's latest Virus and Spyware removal Checklist

Here are some steps I use to remove viruses and spyware. I take no responsibility for what happens if you use these steps, but they have been pretty successful for me. These steps are similar to what Steve Cherubino from the http://www.podnutzdaily.com/ show uses, with a few different steps. Thanks to Steve for his insight, and check his podcast for PC repair out at Podnutzdaily.com and a weekly Podcast with interviews at http://www.podnutz.com/. Also checkout the podcast at http://www.miketechshow.com/ for an interesting insight into computers for techs and not.

Here are my steps. Please leave comments if you have an improvement.

___ Find out when virus happened. If it was within the last week or so, and you can do a system restore, restore back to before the problem occured to remove the problems from the registry.

___ Boot into safe mode and run Smitfraud fix (the latest version)
a. choose 2 and do a clean
b. choose 2 and clean the registry
c. choose 3 and delete trusted zone

___ Remove all temp files and delete all files in IE settings

___ Run Autoruns utility from Microsoft and see what is in the registry to run. ****WARNING**** YOU ARE MESSING WITH THE REGISTRY BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU REMOVE ****** Delete unwanted registry entries (Hint - entries without a publisher such as Microsoft or Hilgrave may be viruses. Be careful what you remove, Some valid ones without publishers are as follows: Changer, display panning, lbrtfdc, pcidump, several that start with PD*. Note some drivers may not show a publisher but are still valid and these files will show a .sys extension if you look at the end of the line. Most spyware/virus files will look strange... such as "dbrfstexefs.exe" or they may imitate an antivirus program such as "AV2009.exe"

___ Run Hijackthis and look there also. Remove unwanted items there. *** AGAIN WARNING **** YOU ARE MESSING WITH THE REGISTRY, SO BE CAREFUL!!!

___ Run CCleaner and check all boxes. then do a registry cleanup with CCleaner

___ Run Dialafix to fix registry problems

___ After rebooting into regular mode, install and run Superantispyware or Malwarebytes. Both of these programs seem to do a good job. Reboot again when you are through running scans.

___ Reboot and run hijackthis and autoruns again to make sure you see nothing left.

___ If possible, uninstall other AV and install AVG 8.0 and run a scan

___ Clean up and uninstall Superantispyware, CCleaner, malwarebytes, and other used software if necessary.