Friday, October 30, 2009

Virus alert: Manningham photo developers getting more than they pay for.

My wife and children regularly have their photos developed in the self service facilities of the major retailers. Recently however my wife came home with more than photos. She came home with a virus on the memory card.

On the 16th of October 2009 at 11:43am her memory card was infected by the photo developing machine. She used a different memory card on the following Monday and it was also infected. My daughter also used the retailers facilities on the 16th of October at 11:24am and her card was also infected.

As an IT consultant I have to admit I was very surprised this occurred. If you think about it, these machines are often nothing more than a computer which has been dedicated to operate as a photo kiosk. If you can infect your memory card using from a Desktop computer, then it makes sense it could also be infected from a photo kiosk.

If you’ve had photos developed using an in-store facility, I would recommend you check all your memory cards.

Now that I know this can happen, in the future I will be asking my wife to lock her card before installing it in a machine.

If you don’t have anti-virus software installed on your computer, I would recommend it be installed. You can read the result of my face-off of the free anti-virus products I recently completely. The article is on the main JustLocal blog (http://www.blog.justlocal.com.au/).

I have advised the company management (via their customer service area) and also the company in charge of the photo labs, of the problem, as potentially hundreds of local residents may be affected.

The virus can infect your computer when the memory card is inserted into your computer. If you are not comfortable with computers have your memory cards checked by a professional.
 
- Kelvin Eldridge

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Thinking of buying anti-virus software?

There is a wide choice of anti-virus software both free and commercial, but the real question is how well do they perform. Read the reviews and basically you get the information provided by the vendors, with maybe a bit of the reviewers experience.

I decided to put some of the anti-virus software packages through their paces using real emails that I receive on a day-to-day basis. Not old viruses which every package can handle, but new viruses. The type of viruses you get that slip past anti-virus software.

The battle has begun. To read more visit the main JustLocal blog.

- Kelvin



Monday, October 5, 2009

Welcome to the new Templestowe blog by Kelvin Eldridge of JustLocal

Hi,

My name is Kelvin Eldridge and I'm creator the JustLocal service. JustLocal is a unique service aimed at growing the local community. As a resident of Templestowe I felt it was now time to start a blog for the 3106 area and share my thoughts and local experiences with fellow residents and business. If something interests you please please feel free to make a comment or to contact me.

The JustLocal 3106 postcode page is a place to find businesses which can provides services to you in your local area. As more local businesses join the page, it will become an invaluable resource for the local community.

If you run a local business no matter how small, drop me a line and I'll include your web site address in the search engine. The search engine is free for local businesses.

JustLocal is different to any other service and the search engine is just one example of how we think and work differently. The search engine is limited to businesses in the local area (plus some businesses who are happy to share some of their profits back into the local community). This approach means your business doesn't compete against bigger businesses with deep pockets for advertising.

I am particularly interested in hearing from the over eight hundred locals who run businesses from home. We all know many of the local shops, but most of us know few if any of the home based businesses. Let others know you exist. Use the services of other local businesses. That way we end up with stronger local community and that is good for us and the environment.

Until next time.

- Kelvin Eldridge

PS. If you're local and have some information you would like to share with others in the area, you are welcome to contact me.