Be careful of fake warning messages on your computer

I do a lot of reading each day of tech news, and other computer-related info. I do this for a few reasons -- obviously I have an interest in these things or I wouldn't have gotten into this line of work years ago, but I also like to keep my brain in shape by exercising it with new knowledge (on a variety of topics including, but not limited to computers).

While I'm reading these articles, I like to keep my eye out for any important or valuable info I can pass on to you, my reader. Well, recently I read an interesting, and kind of worrying article that was done at North Carolina State University.

The study showed that most Internet users can't tell the difference between fake popup warning messages, and real messages.

The big problem with this is that there are a lot of websites out there, as well as malicious programs like adware and spyware that can infect your computer (especially if you use Windows instead of a Mac) which will pop up bogus warnings and error messages to try to trick you into installing dangerous programs on your computer without your knowledge.

The study also showed that people were clicking the "OK" button on those windows 63% of the time, even though the people in the study had been warned in advance that they'd be getting bogus messages!

So how do you know what to do to protect yourself?

Well, one rule of thumb is to be suspicious of any windows that suddenly appear on your screen while you're web browsing. *Especially* if the message says anything about installing or downloading software, or scanning your computer for problems.

Most true error messages on Windows computers will pop up from down on the Task Bar, which runs along the bottom of your screen. So if you see a warning message that appears somewhere else on the screen, you should be suspicious of it, and it's usually best to close it with the red X button in the upper corner of the window, and don't click buttons labeled "OK" or "scan computer", or anything else.

If you use a Mac, you tend to get very few true warning messages compared to Windows users, and you should be able to tell which program is giving you the message by looking up on your menu bar next to the Apple Menu (upper left corner of the screen) and read the title of the menu next to the Apple Menu.

The menu immediately to the right of the Apple Menu always will say the name of whichever program you're in, so if you are looking at a window with some sort of warning message in it, and the menu next to the Apple says "Safari" (or "Firefox" if you use Mozilla Firefox instead of Safari to view Web pages) then that's a dead giveaway that the error message is coming from a website and should not be trusted.

In either case (whether you use a Mac or a Windows PC) you should close these error messages by clicking the red close button. This is located in the upper left corner of a Mac window, and in the upper right corner of a Windows window.

And one more thing -- when you click the close button, make sure you click the real one.

Believe it or not, some of the people out there who are trying to scam you with those false warnings will go so far as to put a fake close button inside the window, hoping you click the fake close button and end up installing the dangerous software anyway! The real close button will always be in the top corner of the window, not lower down.

So hopefully these tips will help you stay safe and avoid problems.

Of course, the best way to avoid problems is to arm yourself with knowledge. If you haven't done so yet, you can educate yourself in a simple, easy way with my easy computer lesson CDs.

Due to popular demand, I've made a comprehensive list of each and every one of my quick & easy Plain English computer lessons in my bundles of lesson CDs, which you can see by visiting the following page on my site...

If you have an Apple Mac (including MacBook, iMac, iBook, etc.) then click the following link:

Ultimate Beginners Bundle of Basic Computer Lessons for Apple Mac

or if you have a Windows PC (Sony, HP, Dell, etc.), click this link:

Ultimate Beginners Bundle of Basic Computer Lessons for Windows

until next time, stay safe, and enjoy,

Worth Godwin

P.S. If you've been thinking about getting my easy computer lesson CDs, click on the link for your type of computer ASAP -- I'm going to be raising the price on my bundles of CDs in a few days, so you don't want to miss out on saving on these lessons while you can.

The links again are:

If you have an Apple Mac (including MacBook, iMac, iBook, etc.) then click the following link:

http://www.worthgodwin.com/mac/ultimate.html

or if you have a Windows PC (Sony, HP, Dell, etc.), click this link:

http://www.worthgodwin.com/windows/ultimate.html

What is DRM, and the Pros and Cons of Buying Music Online

What is DRM, and the Pros and Cons of Buying Music Online

In this issue of my newsletter, I want to talk about something called DRM. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, and if you ever have purched music (or movies and TV shows for that matter) online, or are thinking about doing so in the future, it's important for you to know about DRM and understand how it affects you.

Basically, DRM is something the recording industry (including music, film, etc.) is very gung-ho about, and is a way for them to put limits on what you buy. And really, in a way, is a way for them to keep you from really owning what you've paid for.

You may remember that back in the early 1980s, a lot of big companies from the movie industry were freaking out over the idea of VCRs, since they figured it would cause everyone in the world to steal their movies and never pay for them. As a result, they tried to sue to keep VCRs off the market.

Fortunately, the courts decided that this was unreasonable, and established "fair use" laws that allowed you to tape a show and watch it later, or even make a backup copy of movies you bought, as long as you didn't try to sell, rent, etc. the copy.

After that, the recording industry (which I'll use as a blanket term to cover the music labels, broadcast & cable TV companies, the film industry, etc.) got upset about CDs and DVDs, and tried (with varying success) to build in copy protection methods to prevent you from even making a backup copy of your music or your movies.

Even though this is a perfectly reasonable thing for you to want to be able to do, in case you scratch a DVD for example.

The recording industry has basically had a habit of treating their customers as criminals, and has fought tooth and nail against any new technology as it came along, like CD & DVD burners in home computers, iPods and other portable music players, MP3s, etc.

Which brings me to DRM.

DRM is the recording industry's way of saying that when you buy music, or a TV show, or a movie, that you're not *really* buying it, and so you have no right to be able to play it or keep it the way you want, and you basically have to ask their permission to use it. Even though you've paid for it.

Unless you get DRM-free music (more on this in a moment), then the song, TV show, etc. that you "bought" comes with special code in it that prevents it from being played how and when you want it.

The computer has to be connected to the Internet and check in with a special computer called a "DRM license key server" to make sure you're allowed to play it. And if you want to copy it from an old computer to a new one, or put it on an iPod, burn it on a CD, etc. you need to be authorized to do so, and your computer has to ask permission.

Imagine you'd bought a CD at the store and played it on your home stereo, then decided to listen to it in the car, and when you tried, instead of the music, all you heard was a voice saying "Nope! Too bad. You've played it in one CD player already, that's all you get!"

You probably wouldn't be too happy about that, would you? Well that's pretty much what we're talking about here.

There are a variety of places you can legally buy music and video these days, including Napster (which originally was for sharing music without paying for it), and iTunes, as well as several others. Most of what these online stores sell has this DRM in it, because the recording industry refused to let them sell it otherwise.

iTunes now (and for a while now) has *some* of their music in "iTunes Plus", which is better sound quality form, which has no DRM. You can find these songs by going to the iTunes Store and clicking the "iTunes Plus" link on the right. Everything in that section of the store is DRM-free, but only a limited amount of the music is available there (due to the recording industry).

Now this may just sound like an inconvenience, but not really a *big* problem. After all, the average person doesn't own multiple computers and want to put their music on all of them, and put it on an iPod, etc., and so probably won't have to worry about these restrictions, right?

Well, there's another problem: Microsoft tried having their own music store at one point, as did Yahoo, but both have closed the doors on their music stores. As a result, they want to shut down their DRM license key servers (the computers that keep track of whether you own a song or video, and give your computer or iPod, etc. permission to play the song or video). But when they do, that's when you have a big problem.

Anyone who bought music from the Microsoft MSN music store or the Yahoo music store will not be able to keep playing their music at some point after those servers get shut down. It may not be a problem right away, but if those people buy a new computer and want to move their music over to it, the music won't play on the computer. And if they get a new music player like an iPod, same problem.

For this very reason, when I buy music I'm still a *lot* more likely to buy a CD than to buy a song online, just as I'm more likely to buy a DVD (or Blu-Ray disc) than I am to buy a download of a movie. I do buy music from iTunes sometimes, but I'm careful only to get the DRM-free "iTunes Plus" music.

It may seem funny coming from someone who is as into technology as I am, but sometimes it's best to stick with older technology. Especially when some giant corporation is too scared of new technology and distrustful of their own customers to allow the new technology to work the way it should, in the interests of you and me.

Hope that makes sense.