There was no college today but I had some work to complete and was strongly tempted to go my college's library to finish it there; however, I chose not to do so.
Why? Because I wanted to bring my laptop but wasn't willing to carry it through heavy rain. It rained in the morning, was sunny in the early afternoon, rained a second time and then remained sunny after that. The work I had to do required the use of my laptop and I dislike carrying it through rain and snow.
At any rate, while I would have preferred to have travelled to college to do it, I completed my work at home, sent it off and then went for a walk. I return to college tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Thursday, 26 February 2015
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Problem (second part)
Well, yesterday and today have sure been fun: I spent most of yesterday trying to fix the virus and today re-installing the software on my computer
A couple of days ago, I noticed that whenever I did a Google search and clicked on a result, I would get re-directed to some other site (normally spam sites, but occasionally legitimate sites too). I dismissed it as a bug at first (completely the wrong thing to do!), but when the problem persisted the next day, followed by all sorts of other errors, I became worried.
I asked Dad for help (he works in engineering, and to say he is "very good" with computers is an understatement), and we found out that my computer had been infected with something called the "Google Redirect Virus". Essentially, it is a piece of malware that gets onto the system, and as its name implies it hijacks parts of the system to redirect Google search results to random sites (although it does affect other search engines as well). It is mainly an annoyance, but over time it also causes the computer to slow down.
We downloaded several piece of software including tools specifically designed to combat this specific piece of malware; however, nothing we used worked to remove it. Despite reading comments from people who claimed that these programs did the trick, we found them all to be a waste of time. Ultimately, I decided to go with a plan that would remove the malware: wipe the C:\ drive and re-install the software. I ensured that all my important files were backed up.
Dad and I wiped the entire hard drive this morning, not just the C:\ partition. By lunchtime Windows 7 plus the anti-virus/anti-malware systems had all been re-installed and upgraded, and I spent the rest of the afternoon re-installing the software on my computer. Not everything is back on the computer yet, but everything important has been restored. As a consequence of wiping the hard drive and re-installing the operating system, the malware has been removed.
I can think of better ways to have spent the weekend, but it is my own fault: I had not updated my computer's anti-virus for quite some time. My brother had told me that the protections were out of date, but I did not do anything about it. Not to worry: I certainly will not be making that mistake again!
A couple of days ago, I noticed that whenever I did a Google search and clicked on a result, I would get re-directed to some other site (normally spam sites, but occasionally legitimate sites too). I dismissed it as a bug at first (completely the wrong thing to do!), but when the problem persisted the next day, followed by all sorts of other errors, I became worried.
I asked Dad for help (he works in engineering, and to say he is "very good" with computers is an understatement), and we found out that my computer had been infected with something called the "Google Redirect Virus". Essentially, it is a piece of malware that gets onto the system, and as its name implies it hijacks parts of the system to redirect Google search results to random sites (although it does affect other search engines as well). It is mainly an annoyance, but over time it also causes the computer to slow down.
We downloaded several piece of software including tools specifically designed to combat this specific piece of malware; however, nothing we used worked to remove it. Despite reading comments from people who claimed that these programs did the trick, we found them all to be a waste of time. Ultimately, I decided to go with a plan that would remove the malware: wipe the C:\ drive and re-install the software. I ensured that all my important files were backed up.
Dad and I wiped the entire hard drive this morning, not just the C:\ partition. By lunchtime Windows 7 plus the anti-virus/anti-malware systems had all been re-installed and upgraded, and I spent the rest of the afternoon re-installing the software on my computer. Not everything is back on the computer yet, but everything important has been restored. As a consequence of wiping the hard drive and re-installing the operating system, the malware has been removed.
I can think of better ways to have spent the weekend, but it is my own fault: I had not updated my computer's anti-virus for quite some time. My brother had told me that the protections were out of date, but I did not do anything about it. Not to worry: I certainly will not be making that mistake again!
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Problem
Been dealing with/am still dealing with a computer virus. I will post about it tomorrow if it has been sorted out by then: if it has not been, then I will either post about something else...or even nothing at all! (Although I hope it does not come to the second option!)
Friday, 13 January 2012
Powerslide
Back in either 1997 or 1998, Dad downloaded the demo of a computer game called Powerslide, a racing game by the now-defunct Australian company Ratbag Games. Normally, we were not into racing games, as we found almost all the ones we had played to be very dull and similar to each other (we already had Monster Truck Madness 2, and that game was good enough for us); however, Dad had read positive reviews about Powerslide and wanted to try it out.
Despite containing one track, we found the demo of Powerslide to be far more interesting and a bigger challenge than all the other racing games we had played. For example, in Powerslide, all of the vehicles the player could control had different strengths and weaknesses (such as one type being light with good traction but poor acceleration; and another having a bigger body and fast acceleration, but low stability), as opposed to all the car choices being different in appearance only. Another aspect of the game we found fascinating was the storyline behind the "powersliding", and the bizarre names and "bios" of each character. As well as having good gameplay, Powerslide's graphics were highly advanced for the time, with the various landscapes in the game being smooth rather than blocky.
We decided to buy the full version of Powerslide, and we were not disappointed. It was great to have the full allotment of tracks, vehicles, and characters (although all these, along with the higher difficulty levels, had to be earned by winning "championships"); plus the game turned out to be so much of a challenge that it was years before any of us "finished" it. Powerslide became further fun to play when Dad installed a network in the house and we were then able to play it against each other rather than just against the computer.
As for the Ratbag Games themselves, they were going to release a sequel titled Powerslide: Slipstream. However, they were unable to find a publisher for the game; and Ratbag itself was bought out by another company in August of 2005, then closed down by the new parent company at the end of the year.
Ratbag Games may be gone, but from what I understand, Powerslide is still being played...I even play it from time to time. It may be ancient by software standards, but it was groundbreaking for that era, and it still holds up pretty well. Powerslide also works on Windows 7, so I do not envision the game going away while operating systems can still run the program
Despite containing one track, we found the demo of Powerslide to be far more interesting and a bigger challenge than all the other racing games we had played. For example, in Powerslide, all of the vehicles the player could control had different strengths and weaknesses (such as one type being light with good traction but poor acceleration; and another having a bigger body and fast acceleration, but low stability), as opposed to all the car choices being different in appearance only. Another aspect of the game we found fascinating was the storyline behind the "powersliding", and the bizarre names and "bios" of each character. As well as having good gameplay, Powerslide's graphics were highly advanced for the time, with the various landscapes in the game being smooth rather than blocky.
We decided to buy the full version of Powerslide, and we were not disappointed. It was great to have the full allotment of tracks, vehicles, and characters (although all these, along with the higher difficulty levels, had to be earned by winning "championships"); plus the game turned out to be so much of a challenge that it was years before any of us "finished" it. Powerslide became further fun to play when Dad installed a network in the house and we were then able to play it against each other rather than just against the computer.
As for the Ratbag Games themselves, they were going to release a sequel titled Powerslide: Slipstream. However, they were unable to find a publisher for the game; and Ratbag itself was bought out by another company in August of 2005, then closed down by the new parent company at the end of the year.
Ratbag Games may be gone, but from what I understand, Powerslide is still being played...I even play it from time to time. It may be ancient by software standards, but it was groundbreaking for that era, and it still holds up pretty well. Powerslide also works on Windows 7, so I do not envision the game going away while operating systems can still run the program
Sunday, 25 December 2011
Merry Christmas
To all my regular readers and people who come across my blog, a very Merry Christmas to you! I hope everyone is having a wonderful time.
(As an aside, this is the first time in years, if ever, that I have used a computer on Christmas.)
(As an aside, this is the first time in years, if ever, that I have used a computer on Christmas.)
Friday, 11 November 2011
Skype fun
My Dad installed Skype on his computer earlier so he could test a new webcam. I decided to have a little bit of fun when he started a video call to my account.
He was talking, commenting how the quality looked good from his camera and was asking how it looked from mine when Oregon Trail II music started playing from my end of the call. He was surprised by this, and then I came down to listen to how the tunes sounded through Skype. We listened to Oregon Trail II tunes over Skype for about five minutes.
Now that I think about it, this does not actually sound very funny when typed up, but I can assure you that this was surprisingly hilarious while it happened (it was the whole scenario of listening to Oregon Trail II through Skype that made us laugh, as it was so bizarre).
He was talking, commenting how the quality looked good from his camera and was asking how it looked from mine when Oregon Trail II music started playing from my end of the call. He was surprised by this, and then I came down to listen to how the tunes sounded through Skype. We listened to Oregon Trail II tunes over Skype for about five minutes.
Now that I think about it, this does not actually sound very funny when typed up, but I can assure you that this was surprisingly hilarious while it happened (it was the whole scenario of listening to Oregon Trail II through Skype that made us laugh, as it was so bizarre).
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Hover!
Years ago when we were using Windows 95 (ah, those were the days), there was a game I remember briefly playing while using that operating system called Hover!, a simple flag-collecting game using hovering bumper cars. Despite the short amount of time playing it, it was memorable enough that I thought of it again a decade or so later when we were using Windows XP.
In early 2009, I decided to look the game up, and was surprised to learn that people were still downloading and playing Hover!, so I installed it on my computer. While the graphics are ancient and blocky, and there are only three levels, the game turned out to be more fun than I had anticipated and remembered it being.
If you like simple games like this, I would recommend taking a look at Hover!: it may be old, and probably only useful for when you are bored or need a time-filler when waiting for something else, but it can be fun; and besides, it runs on Windows 7. I do find old pieces of software like Hover! fascinating in a way.
In early 2009, I decided to look the game up, and was surprised to learn that people were still downloading and playing Hover!, so I installed it on my computer. While the graphics are ancient and blocky, and there are only three levels, the game turned out to be more fun than I had anticipated and remembered it being.
If you like simple games like this, I would recommend taking a look at Hover!: it may be old, and probably only useful for when you are bored or need a time-filler when waiting for something else, but it can be fun; and besides, it runs on Windows 7. I do find old pieces of software like Hover! fascinating in a way.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Skype
In the last couple of months, I have been using Skype. The reason for this is because I have a laptop with a built-in webcam and microphone: while I have owned this laptop for a year, it is only recently I have made use of these features. So far I have mainly been using Skype to talk to my grandmother, one of my uncles, occasionally my Dad, and also my brother when we have wanted to test a couple of things on Skype.
If any regular readers/official followers of my blog use Skype themselves, and would like to chat, please let me know and I will send you my Skype details so you can contact me (I would also prefer it if you are a blogger yourself, then we will both sort of know what to expect from one another). Of course, time zones and schedules (I will still be busy with unpacking and all that for the next week at least) will need to be taken into account when talking on Skype, but other than that, I look forward to talking to you!
If any regular readers/official followers of my blog use Skype themselves, and would like to chat, please let me know and I will send you my Skype details so you can contact me (I would also prefer it if you are a blogger yourself, then we will both sort of know what to expect from one another). Of course, time zones and schedules (I will still be busy with unpacking and all that for the next week at least) will need to be taken into account when talking on Skype, but other than that, I look forward to talking to you!
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Father's Day
Happy Father's Day everyone! I hope the day was good for anyone who celebrated it. My dad spent the day packing items and sorting out a computer, but we made him a card, and a nice dinner for him is almost ready.
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Chess
I like board games, especially Mastermind, Battleship, and Monopoly, but my favorite is easily Chess. I've had a Chess set since I was nine, and even when I didn't understand the rules of Chess properly (my brother and I called the games we had of Chess during this time "Cheat Chess"), I still thought it was a good game. Whether it's a short or a long go, it's fun to play, though I prefer the long games, as they involve more thinking (wiping the other player out does get tedious after a bit, but that's the same with any game).
While I did like it early on, my interest in the game really picked up when some friends taught my brother and I how to play Chess properly (for example, teaching us that the Queen can go in any direction and keep going in that direction until she reaches the end of the board or another piece, but she can't change direction; or showing us how to castle). We played Chess a lot more often after this, and I am glad they helped us.
Even though the vast majority of my opponents have either been my brother, followed by the computer, Chess has never got old nor lost any of its fun to me. I've heard on occasions that Chess is "predictable" and/or "boring", yet I've not found either of those two terms to be true whenever I've played it, and in fact, I've found it to be the opposite: I love how unpredictable Chess can be...you could be headed for an easy win, but then your opponent makes a couple of strong moves, and suddenly they're the ones going for an easy win; at that point, you have to think really hard about your next moves to avoid defeat, and that clearly eliminates the "boring" aspect.
My Chess set has been packed away for a long time unfortunately. I have been able to play Chess on the computer, both against it and a human player (Chess Titans on Windows 7 is pretty good), but the board game is much better. Hopefully I'll get my Chess board back soon!
While I did like it early on, my interest in the game really picked up when some friends taught my brother and I how to play Chess properly (for example, teaching us that the Queen can go in any direction and keep going in that direction until she reaches the end of the board or another piece, but she can't change direction; or showing us how to castle). We played Chess a lot more often after this, and I am glad they helped us.
Even though the vast majority of my opponents have either been my brother, followed by the computer, Chess has never got old nor lost any of its fun to me. I've heard on occasions that Chess is "predictable" and/or "boring", yet I've not found either of those two terms to be true whenever I've played it, and in fact, I've found it to be the opposite: I love how unpredictable Chess can be...you could be headed for an easy win, but then your opponent makes a couple of strong moves, and suddenly they're the ones going for an easy win; at that point, you have to think really hard about your next moves to avoid defeat, and that clearly eliminates the "boring" aspect.
My Chess set has been packed away for a long time unfortunately. I have been able to play Chess on the computer, both against it and a human player (Chess Titans on Windows 7 is pretty good), but the board game is much better. Hopefully I'll get my Chess board back soon!
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