The Vanilla Blues News: June 2008

Examples of Assistive Technology Products

* Trackballs have the ball on top instead of underneath for those who struggle with moving the mouse accurately on a desk. Logitech may be willing to donate some to your site; contact the Canadian office for details.
* List of other alternatives to the traditional mouse. For more options, search at Google for 'alternative, mouse'.
* Download a collection of non-traditional mouse pointers that you can use to help people with low vision better see the mouse pointers on the screen. Once you've downloaded the program, double-click it, then read the README file it creates for more instructions on how to install.
* Screen Magnifier programs assist those who have a visual impairment by 'blowing up' parts of the screen to show larger text/images.
* Screen Reader software is designed to help those with a severe visual impairment, and also those with low literacy.
* Reading software is a little different, as it is designed to help people with visual impairments to read printed material that is input into the computer with a scanner.

Get Information about Viruses

Definitions

Virus

A virus is a small computer program that attaches itself to other programs. The only way to "catch" a virus is to run an infected program. You can unintentionally download virus from a web site or get it from a disk that someone has lent you. When an infected program is run, the virus is also run, which allows the virus to replicate by attaching itself to other programs. There are some viruses that can crash computers and even damage files and some that do nothing but replicate. Software is available to detect and remove viruses, but you must keep your "pattern" up to date. One good defense against viruses is to be careful not to download programs or data from a site you're not familiar with, but this is not a guaranteed defense because people you know may easily send you a virus in an e-mail attachment without knowing they have a virus on their own computer.
Hoax

A virus hoax is a false warning about a computer virus. Typically, the warning arrives in an e-mail. These notes are usually forwarded using distribution lists and they will typically suggest that the recipient forward the note to other distribution lists, or to 'everyone in your address book'. If you get a message about a new virus you should check to see whether it is a hoax before forwarding the warning to other people. You can check by visiting http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp.
Pattern File

This is the part of the anti-virus program that recognizes viruses and alerts the program to take a 'cleaning' action. Because new viruses are being created all the time, the pattern needs to be regularly updated with new information. The companies that make anti-virus software usually update their pattern files at least once a week.
Subscription

In order to keep your anti-virus program accurate, you must regularly (for example, once a week) update your "pattern" file. Most anti-virus programs have an automatic update function that will check the vendor's web site for updates and automatically download and install the changes you need. In order to use this function, you must buy a subscription from the vendor - this provides you with an access code. Subscriptions can be purchased over the phone or on the Internet. The fee is usually nominal compared to what it costs in time to restore a computer that has been damaged by a virus.

Anti-Virus Software

* Symantec: Norton Anti-Virus
* McAfee: VirusScan
* Trend: PC-Cillin
* Grisoft: AVG Anti-Virus (free)

Monday, June 30, 2008

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Friday, June 13, 2008

Wednesday, June 4, 2008