Microsoft Safety Scanner and Security Essentials

I decided to download and run the freely available Microsoft Safety Scanner after reading Gregg Keizer's ComputerWorld article New malware scanner finds 5% of Windows PCs infected. There is a very large button at the top of the page that one can click on to download the Microsoft Safety Scanner, but there is much more on the page. Roughly half of the lower portion of the page contains links and details about Microsoft's Security Essentials product ("a no-cost service for genuine Windows PCs"). The other half of the lower portion of the page contains links on Windows security and links on the most common threats found on PCs.

The Microsoft Safety Scanner page states that this application is designed to run alongside already installed antivirus software. In other words, Norton, McAfee, or other software does not need to be uninstalled or disabled to use Microsoft Safety Scanner. After downloading Microsoft Safety Scanner, I only ran the "Quick Scan" option because that covers the most common threats and doesn't take very long. There is also a "Full Scan" option available, but it is warned that this might take "several hours" on some computers.

The next image shows the Quick Scan progress being made. By the way, don't trust the green progress bar. When it reaches the end, it simply starts over again. Reaching the end doesn't necessarily mean you're almost finished.

I was pleased to see that my currently installed protection software appears to be doing its job. The results of the Microsoft Safety Scanner were what I was hoping for: I'm one of the ~95% (at least on that particular PC) free of the identified issues.

These results show not only that my currently installed software protection package is working, but also demonstrate that the Microsoft Safety Scanner was able to run without conflict while I had my currently installed software running. In fact, my currently installed software protection suite notified me on the download of Microsoft Safety Scanner that it was a safe download (not malware).

Because I still have a paid subscription to a competing suite of protection software installed on all of my Windows-based computers, I am not downloading Security Essentials at this time. However, the sentence (quoted from Microsoft Safety Scanner page) "Genuine Windows customers get a complimentary subscription to Microsoft Security Essentials, the award-winning antivirus software that helps you protect your PC." regarding Security Essentials is worth considering when it's time to renew my subscriptions, especially for my older PCs.

My recommendation is that anyone with a Windows PC should download and run the freely available Microsoft Safety Scanner to ensure that they are not part of the ~5% affected. This product downloads and runs quickly (if Quick Scan option is selected) and is advertised to not conflict with existing software. A subset of these people may also be interested in downloading Microsoft Security Essentials as a permanent computer protection package. Unlike Microsoft Safety Scanner, Microsoft Security Essentials is NOT designed to run with other antivirus software and that other software should be uninstalled before installing Microsoft Security Essentials.

As difficult as it is to believe, I know several people with Windows-based PCs that do not have antivirus or protection software installed on their computers or who have allowed subscriptions to updates to installed protection software to expire for many months or even years. For these people in particular, downloading and installing Security Essentials seems like a good idea. I believe downloading and running the "temporary" (10 days) Microsoft Safety Scanner is probably a good idea for all people running Windows-based PCs.

I've helped several people clean up their systems after allowing protection software to get significantly out-of-date or after not having any protection software installed at all. It would definitely have been easier on them and they might have even avoided loss of their computers for hours or days and loss of data had they had software like Security Essentials installed. As a side note, I have also found helpful freely available tools such as McAfee Labs Stinger (or other McAfee free removal tools), Norton free tools, and information on viruses, malware, and spamware that is available on many of the protection software vendors' sites.

Conclusion

I believe that all Windows users should have protection software installed on their machine, particularly if they access the Internet (including downloading e-mail messages). The freely available Microsoft Safety Scanner should be run by all Windows users because it is fairly quick to run and does not compete with installed protection software. Windows users who don't have any protection software installed should install either Security Essentials or some other protection software immediately.

Gelato Junction

Gelato Junction in Grand Junction, Colorado, provides a relaxing place to enjoy Italian ice cream and other desserts in the heart of downtown Grand Junction. When we were fortunate enough to visit this past weekend, we were able to relax and take some time to enjoy delicious gelato flavors. The traditional ice cream banana splits and the malts were also excellent.  Gelato Junction's main page includes  information regarding Gelato Facts (gelato tends to have less butterfat than ice cream because it's made with milk and water rather than with cream and is served at a warmer temperature than ice cream), photographs of Gelato Junction, and contact information.

Gelato Junction is located at 449 Main Street in Grand Junction, Colorado.  You can see what it takes to make gelato at Gelato Junction in this YouTube video.  Another YouTube video is also available.

DCTC's The 39 Steps

I was fortunate to be able to see the Denver Center Theatre Company's production of The 39 Steps at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts last night. This was also my first time to see a show in the ~250 seat Ricketson Theatre.

There were many things to like about DCTC's "The 39 Steps." The numerous characters in the story were played primarily by four cast members and I laughed as much at their switching between roles as the jokes and comedic lines. In some cases, the comedic lines involved the fact that it was a cast of four. This is not like any Alfred Hitchcock production I have ever seen. It did have a taste of the Hitchcockian suspense, but the silliness of this particular production made me laugh and smile throughout. The audience was really into the humor and antics of the cast. This version of The 39 Steps was significantly more humorous than the movie version.

Not only did I enjoy the humor injected by the ridiculousness of having only four people play multiple roles (even in some scenes with more than four characters), but I also enjoyed how scenes from the movie "The 39 Steps" were interwoven with the telling of the story. As a Hitchcock fan, I also enjoyed film and verbal references to Hitchcock classics such as North by Northwest, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Birds, and Psycho.

I also enjoyed the Ricketson Theatre. It's a smaller theater, but I like being able to go into the theater in one of two different doors depending on which side of each row the seats are on. There was also more leg room in this theater than in some of the other DCPA theaters.

I'll admit some hesitancy in attending "The 39 Steps" because the movie is not one of my favorite Hitchcock movies (I like the above listed ones, Rear Window, and others better). I was pleasantly surprised to see this production take the best features of the film and make it even more entertaining to watch with the added humor of various types. It was a very nice surprise. This is such a fast-paced production that I never had the opportunity to day dream or nod off and was fully engaged the entire time.

Here are other reviews (all positive) of the Denver Center Theatre Company's "The 39 Steps":

• Denver Center Theatre Company Climbs to Comedic Heights in '39 Steps'
• 'Good Evening': Divinely Silly '39 Steps' Certainly is One
• 5280: The 39 Steps
• 'The 39 Steps' Film Noir Farce

By the way, Hitchcock's movie The 39 Steps can currently be streamed via NetFlix's streaming that I have previously blogged on.

Scoma's Restaurant (Sausalito)

While in San Francisco for JavaOne 2010 last week, we went to Sausalito for a half day after doing the Alcatraz Tour. Sausalito is a nice little town with a tourist-oriented main street walkway. It boasted beautiful views of Angel Island, San Francisco Bay, and the city of San Francisco. One of the highlights of our half day there was eating lunch at Scoma's Restaurant.

Scoma's Restaurant is located literally on the water and the building is listed in the national registry of historical buildings. They serve excellent fresh seafood in an elegant atmosphere. For what one gets in terms of food, attentive service, and ambiance, the prices are reasonable. Not surprisingly, this restaurant performs reasonably well in the various online reviews available.

Honey Honey Cafe and Crepery

I was in San Francisco for JavaOne 2010 last week and enjoyed many aspects of the city, not the least of which was breakfast twice at Honey Honey Cafe & Crepery. We spotted this place on the corner of Post and Taylor on the way to some tourist attraction from the hotel at which we were staying (Warwick San Francisco Hotel), which was in the same block.

The menu is on a huge board hanging from the wall and boasts a wide variety. We had breakfast both times we were there, but tried several different things and they were all excellent. The orange juice was particularly tasty and was freshly squeezed by a machine on the spot. It was like sticking a straw into the orange and drinking the juice out of it. The food is excellent, the location is nice, and the prices are reasonable. We'll definitely make this a must-visit restaurant the next time we're in San Francisco. They also have Wifi available.

Honey Honey Cafe & Crepery is currently ranked #40 of 3070 restaurants in San Francisco on Trip Advisor.

Installing Google Chrome on 64-bit Windows 7

I kept getting an "Unknown Installer Error" when trying to run ChromeSetup.exe after downloading it from the main Google Chrome download page.  The only way I could get it to work was to download it via Google Pack for Windows 7.

The Google Pack includes free software beyond Google Chrome such as Firefox with Google Toolbar, Google Picasa, Google Earth, Adobe Reader, Google Apps, and Google Desktop.  This provides a single convenient mechanism for downloading several useful free products for a new machine or machine requiring installation of new software.

Why I Like NetFlix

I have used NetFlix since 2004 and have been very happy with the service. In this blog post, I briefly look at some things NetFlix has done to keep my business.


The Model

One of the things that I have been happy about with NetFlix is its model.  This was what attracted me to sign up for the service in the first place and it continues to meet my needs well.  Being able to create a queue of movies to see and have them mailed directly to my home is convenient.  It was so nice to be freed from the burden of standing in line at Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, or other video store outlet.  It was also a welcome relief to have such easy access to such a wide variety of movie titles without the limitation of the physical size of a store.  There is no question that the NetFlix model, combined with the Redbox concept and the relatively cheap availability of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, has led to the downfall of the brick-and-mortar video stores.  There are few businesses I know of that had abused their own customers as much as these stores, so I think many of us are glad to see them going away.

In recent years, NetFlix has demonstrated a commitment to providing modern convenience in movie access.  The availability of a subset of their movie inventory via streaming on Wii, PlayStation 3, and select Blu-ray players is their latest effort to improve an already convenient model for accessing movies.  Not all movies in their inventory are available for streaming, so I find myself using a combination of discs by mail and streaming. It is nice to know, though, that NetFlix is continuing to make movies available in a modern, convenient manner.


Automatic Price Reduction

Years ago, I received an e-mail message from NetFlix stating that they were lowering my automatically charged monthly subscription fee because they were offering the lower monthly subscription fee to new customers.  How many providers of a monthly service have ever done that for you?  I cannot think of another.  Whether it be long-distance in the old days, cable or satellite service, cellular telephone service, or any other such service, it has always seemed to be that a current customer had to threaten or actually quit the service to get the reduced rates offered to new customers.  I didn't have to do this with NetFlix.


The Bonus Discs

Something NetFlix has recently done is to provide a fourth disc to have at home (I'm on the three-at-a-time plan) more than once.  This was not the most significant reason to me for staying with NetFlix, but it is another small thing to add to the reasons why I've been a satisfied customer of NetFlix for many years.


Conclusion

There are many reasons to like NetFlix.  Their service is convenient, relatively economical (especially when considering the streaming at no extra charge), and provides easy access to a wide library of movies.  It has also been refreshing to deal with a company like NetFlix which seems to understand that the secret to keeping customers even when the customers have competitive alternatives is to do the little things correctly.