Category: All IT

IT - Other

T-Mobile mobile broadband ‘Fair Use’ Policy: Fair or unfair?

by Colin Bowen2 Comments on T-Mobile mobile broadband ‘Fair Use’ Policy: Fair or unfair?

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks, but I hope that’s behind me as I look forward to the new week ahead.  More on that another time.

 

This is just an unplanned post about some ‘discussions’ I’m having with T-Mobile about their ‘fair use’ policy on their mobile broadband.  This isn’t the broadband USB dongle that I plug into my laptop, it’s the surfing I do on my mobile phone.

 

They’ve written to me to explain that in October (2008) I exceeded the amount of data that they think is a ‘fair use’ of their service.  The letter explained that if I continue to exceed that amount in November then they would cap the speed to 64kbps (just over dial-up speed).  The problem is that the letter arrived on the 24th of November, by which time I had probably already exceeded their fair use allowance again.  Basically, I feel like I’ve been stitched up.

 

I’ve got over a year to run on the contract too, so I’ll be paying the full amount for a ‘broadband speed’ service, but will have little more than dial-up speeds.  Surfing at those speeds nowadays is not practicable.

 

Okay, so I exceeded the fair use amount in the contract (there are other issues too, but I won’t complicate things at this stage).  The thing is, there’s no way to monitor how much data I’m actually using.  The first I know about it is the letter I receive, and by then it’s too late to do anything about it.

I’ve had a lengthy phone call with them tonight, and will be faxing them a letter tomorrow to try to resolve the situation.  This is T-Mobile’s opportunity to show whether they are ‘treating customers fairly’.

IT News

Tax Man loses our personal details (including bank details) in the post

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Tax Man loses our personal details (including bank details) in the post
If you’re worried about the data security breach of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) where two CDs containing personal details of all Child Benefit claimants were lost in the post, visit my other website at www.CBits.vox.com where I will post more information.  The data lost includes names, addresses, dates of birth, National Insurance numbers, Child Benefit numbers, and bank details of all Child Benefit claimants and their children.
IT - Other

I’ve got a new Website

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on I’ve got a new Website

Almost by accident I started a website to support my IT Consultancy business. You can find it at www.CBits.vox.com.

Edit: I am no longer using the www.CBits.vox.com site for my IT business.  There is some worthwhile content there, but I will not be updating it.  At the time of writing, I am planning setting up a new site for that business.  If you want to be told when the new site is ready, please leave a comment including your email addess or other contact details, and I’ll get back to you.  Your comment and details will not be posted on this website.  Thanks.

IT News

Site update – make me your homepage

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Site update – make me your homepage

I’ve got rid of the Google Ads and replaced them with a Google Search Bar. You can search just this site, or the entire web, just click the appropriate radio button.

Please help me make this website more successful. You can do this by making this site your home page, and by using the Google Search Bar for everything you need to find or buy.

I want to be open about this, I get a small income every time someone clicks an add from the “Ads by Google” box on the search results page. This is the same income generation that companies like Virgin Media use, so instead of generating more income for them, why not help me?

So, if you want to make this site your home page:
In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet Options. On the General tab, click ‘Use current’.
In Opera, go to Tools, Preferences. On the General tab, click ‘Use current’. You can also set the ‘Startup’ option to ‘Start with home page’.

Thanks very much.

IT News

Windows Security Alert – update

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Windows Security Alert – update

Hi folks.

I’ve got a couple of posts to make soon about other racing competitions, so check back later for those (or get your RSS reader to do it for you).

If you read and took action as a result of my earlier post “Windows Security Alert“, now is the time to reverse the fix I gave you.

First, you should make sure that you have witched on ‘Automatic Updates’ so your computer goes to Microsoft and gets security updates regularly. Go to Start, Control Panel, Automatic Updates, and make sure the top option is selected “Automatic Updates (Recommended)”. I have mine set to check Every Day at 2pm. You can make sure that your Windows is fully up to date now by going to http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate. Keep going back there and using the “Express” option until is says “No High Priority Updates Available”.

Now, to remove the temporary fix I suggested, follow the instructions in the ealier post, but use this text instead (and include the final quotation marks): regsvr32 “%CommonProgramFiles%Microsoft SharedVGXvgx.dll”

Unfortunately, hackers are releasing their security exploits shortly after Microsoft’s once-a-month Critical Update. I hope Microsoft decides to issue their fixes on a more regular basis.

That’s enough tech for the time being. I’m thinking of starting a new blog on computers, technology and security. Where will I find the time?

IT News

Blog News – I got Google Ads!

by Colin Bowen2 Comments on Blog News – I got Google Ads!

This post is not designed to encourage you to click the ads!

I need to earn money to help fund my karting habit. It’s hard to get sponsors that pay me, so I thought I’d put some ads on the site in the hope they’ll generate some income.

I love sponsors, but hate ads. I’ll do everything I can to promote a sponsor (but I’ll only take sponsors whose products I believe in). When it comes to ads though, I don’t want loads of flashing ads all over the place, so I’ve gone for something subtle, between the blog banner and the blog entry.

They’ve been up for a couple of weeks now, and although I don’t have any control over what ads are shown, Google does a good job of matching the ads to the site content.

Currently, clicking on a link takes you to another page which contains the ads themselves. Clicking one of those ads takes you to the advertiser’s page, and that’s what generates the income for me.

However, Google is very hot on making sure that people aren’t clicking ads just to generate income for themselves or others. They log the IP address of the computer that views the ad, and they block the account if the suspect that it’s not genuine (eg multiple clicks per IP address/computer). So don’t go clicking ads unless you’re genuinely interested, or I’ll lose this feature and the income it generates.

Trouble is, the ads interest me, but I can’t click for fear of being banned!

If you want to support me, the best way is to tell people about this site. The more visitors the site gets, the more the ads get genuine interest (generating income for the advertisers and me), and maybe some paying sponsors will contact me too. After all, I’d like to race professionally, but can only do so with sponsorship.

Talking of sponsors, let me remind you that I have a sponsor, ik Software. They specialise in Web Development, PDA Software, and Graphic Design. They’ve got some pretty big clients, and some small ones (like me). I think they do a great job, and the customer service is excellent.

IT News

RSS – A really simple way to stay up to date with my website

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on RSS – A really simple way to stay up to date with my website

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s a way to subscribe to a website. That doesn’t mean paying for it, it just means that when the website changes, you will be informed of the new content.

What you need is a feed reader, news reader or aggregator. You install the reader and every time you open it, it will check your subscriptions and tell you which of your subscribed websites have been updated.

The new Internet Explorer 7 contains a feed reader, but I prefer the open source Opera as a web browser and feed reader. I also use QuickNews on my Palm (this one is not free, it’s $14.99). Other readers include Google and Yahoo.

QuickNews is good for the content that I might want while I’m out and about like daily news. It downloads the feeds (and some MP3s) overnight using my wireless network, and it’s ready to go in the morning.

Click the subscribe link now (on the right of this column) and you will see more readers you can use. You might already have one, if so you can subscribe now. If not, download a reader now, instal it, and then subscribe.

Once you’ve got your feed reader installed, just look for the orange RSS logo or text like “Subscribe to my RSS feed” on any website. It’s ‘Really Simple’. My subscribe link is on the right, or just click here.

I’ll continue to write about motor sports, but I’ll also throw in other stuff I’m doing and other stuff I’m interested in. I hope you enjoy it. If so, please tell your friends to visit the site too.

IT News

Windows Security Alert

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Windows Security Alert

Wow, my posts are like buses; nothing for ages, then two at the same time.

A new Windows security vulnerability has been identified which allows bad guys to install software on your PC if you visit a malicious website or view an email (even in the preview pane). They can install anything they want including viruses, trojans, keyloggers (to capture banking passwords etc), spambot software, adware, etc.

Your firewall and antivirus software will not protect you. Microsoft will announce a patch for this, but maybe not until the second Tuesday of October. Meanwhile, there’s an easy, temporary solution you can implement yourself (see below).

You can read up on this at Microsoft.com or GRC.com. If you want to skip the reading and just solve the problem, here’s what to do:

Highlight the entire text on the next line, then right-click the highlighted text and select copy
regsvr32 -u “%CommonProgramFiles%Microsoft SharedVGXvgx.dll”
Click Start
Click Run
Press the backspace or delete key to delete the text in the box
Right-click that box, and select Paste. The text above will now appear in the white box.
Click OK.
After a few seconds, a windows box will pop-up entitled RegSvr32. Select OK.

This will protect you until Microsoft fixes the problem. They will do so as part of their Windows Update programme. When they do, I’ll post again with instructions on how to disable this temporary fix. I’ll probably get round to a series of posts on how to protect your PC at some point too.

IT News

RSS feed fixed, I hope

by Colin Bowen1 Comment on RSS feed fixed, I hope

Blimey, I think I fixed the RSS feed problem. If you have a newsreader or aggregator, you can click the link on the right-hand-side to subscribe to the RSS feed. Let me know in the comments if you have problems or want help.

This post is as much a test as info for you. I’ll post a comment to let you know if it works for me.

BTW, this my second post today. Don’t forget read the other one.

Competition Series, IT News

My first sponsor!

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on My first sponsor!

Today I confirmed my first sponsor! The excellent folks at IK Software have agreed to host my blog and do some design work to replace the template design. Thanks IK!

Part of the judges decision each round will be how well they think the competitor can do in the business side of things. Often, it’s not the best driver who gets the contract, but the one who can bring the most money to the team, as has been seen in F1. Sponsorship is almost as important as talent. On the business side, I’m a Partner in a small Financial Services Firm so I’ve got some experience there.

If you’re interested in sponsoring me, or you know someone who might be interested, please let me know. A big-money sponsor would be nice, of course, but I’m happy to talk to anyone who might be able to contribute financially at any level, or ‘in kind’ such as equipment or racewear manufacturers or suppliers.

The next update will be after round three on Tuesday. Wish me luck!