Tuesday 13th of July 2010 marked the last time Microsoft will issue patches for either Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Win 2000. Security watchers reckon a significant proportion of Windows machines are still running Win XP SP2.

“Since Windows XP is still the most popular OS version for Windows, I believe we’re dealing with hundreds of millions of Windows XP SP2 systems that need to be upgraded,” said Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of Qualys. “Our own monitoring shows that roughly 50 percent of all XP machines still run on the SP2 version. XP SP2 machines can be found both in corporate installations and are also very often the OS on home machines.”

Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2) can be upgraded to Windows XP SP3 (Service Pack 3) for free by using Windows Update or downloading from here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&displaylang=en

Windows 2000 is now effectively an unsupported product and users should upgrade their operating system, and probably the hardware too.

For assistance or advice on setting up and managing your Windows operating system, please phone Select IT on 02-513-1765 or email us at info@select.co.th

How are Pages different than Facebook Groups?

Pages can only be created to represent a real public figure, artist, brand or organization, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity. Groups can be created by any user and about any topic, as a space for users to share their opinions and interest in that subject. Pages can be customized with rich media and interactive applications to engage Page visitors. Applications can’t be added to groups.

Pages are designed to allow Page admins to maintain a personal/professional distinction on Facebook, while groups are a part of your personal Facebook experience. If you’re a group admin, your name will appear on that group, while Pages will never display their admins’ names. Additionally, when you take actions on your group, such as posting on your group’s wall, these actions will appear to come from you as an individual. However, if you post or take other actions on a Page you own, it will appear to come from the Page.

In short, if you want to create a presence for your business on Facebook create a PAGE not a GROUP.

For assistance or advice on setting up and managing your Facebook page or other website related work, please phone Select IT on 02-511-6118 or email us at info@select.co.th

Select IT, the one-stop computer service company in Bangkok for SME’s

Apple is now recommending that Mac users install antivirus software.  Late last year Apple updated a technical note on its Support Web site that says: “Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.” But don’t read this as an admission that the Mac operating system is suddenly insecure. It’s more a recognition that Mac users are vulnerable to Web application exploits which have replaced operating system vulnerabilities as the bigger threat to Security.

Select IT recently detected “Trojan-horse software” named OSX.Trojan.iServices.B running on a customers’ Apple Mac Computer, it’s suspected it came from a pirated copy of Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Mac that’s being sold openly in IT shops across Bangkok. A program used to generate a valid serial number to unlock the Adobe app installs a backdoor on machines that makes them part of a botnet.computer users.

If you’re not running anti-virus and/or spyware protection software on your Mac you should consider it. As Mac’s become more popular so too will virus, spyware and malware attacks designed to infect Mac computers.

Don’t forget, if your Mac connects to a network with Windows PCs, or you send and receive files with other Windows PC users you may find your Mac carries and distributes windows viruses without you even knowing! Sending viruses to a client is never a good idea Antivirus software is available online from the Apple store or from Select IT.

For assistance or advice on purchasing antivirus software please phone 02-511-6118 or email us at info@select.co.th

Select IT, the one-stop computer service company in Bangkok for small businesses and home users

Want to know how to upgrade your True internet connection without having to queue up at the True office for hours?

Here’s a DIY guide to upgrading your True Internet connection to 1, 2, 4 or even 8Mbps! using True’s website (in Thai)

Firstly, this only works for True HiSpeed (truehisp) customers, and you will need the following information;

1. The True telephone number of your ADSL line.
2. The ID number of the ADSL account holder.
   (ID card number for Thais, Passport number for foreigners, Company Registration number for businesses)

Then go to: http://www.truecorp.co.th/eng/promotion/promotion_superhispeed8mbps.jsp#

1. Click "Change Promotion", this opens a new window.

2. Click "Switch Promotion with no previledge"

3. From now on the site is in Thai language, click on the button

4. Click the top option, then click the button

5. Enter your True telephone number of your ADSL line and the ID number of the ADSL account holder. (ID card number for Thais, Passport number for foreigners, Company Registration number for businesses) Then click the button.

6. Click the button

7. You may need to enter or update your mobile phone number and email address at the bottom of the page. Then click the button.

8. Select the package you require, if the package is grayed out, it may not be available for several reasons. Contact True's customer helpline - 02-900-9000, they do speak English.

Once you have completed the process, restart your router or ADSL modem.

ADSL Router Upgrade?

Now you’ve upgraded your internet speed you may consider upgrading your ADSL router.  The router provided by internet companies are often quite basic models with few features.

Select IT can provide the latest ADSL routers with the following features;

1. Hi Speed, Long range, secure Wi-Fi -WiFi has really improved in the last 3 years.
2. Internet filtering and parental controls to protect your family – Kids can only use the internet when you decide,and Office users can be blocked from viewing FaceBook, Pantip.com, and JobsDB for eaxmple.
3. Advanced firewall and VPN connectivity – keep viruses and hackers out, and connect to your home or office computers safe and secure.
4. Dual WAN connectivity, connect two different internet providers (True, ToT, MaxNet,CSLox, CAT) simultaneously – great for business that require a back up connection.

To make an appointment or discuss your requirements please phone 02-511-6118 or email us at info@select.co.th

Select IT, the one-stop computer service company in Bangkok for small businesses and home users

Does your website have broken links? Broken links affect your search engine ranking, so it’s best to fix them. Select IT recommend using LinkTiger.com

Windows updates are distributed in service packs. Service packs help keep Windows current, and extend and update the functionality of your computer.  Service Packs are free to download directly from Microsoft.  If you’re using a pirate copy of Windows you may not be able to install the update, or the update may disable operating system.

How to check if up-to-date;

Click on Start, then Control Panel, then System.

Your version of Windows the latest service pack (SP) will be displayed, then check below to see if you have the latest Service Pack (SP).

Windows Vista

Now on Service Pack 2 (SP2)

Download the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Five Language Standalone (KB948465) package now.

Windows XP

Service Pack 3 (SP3)

Download the Windows XP Service Pack 3 package now.

Windows 2000

Now of Service Pack 4 (SP4)

Download the Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 package now.

Start Downloading!

All of the updates listed above are quite simple to download and install directly from the Microsoft website.  Customers of Select IT benefit from regular and scheduled updates.

Contact us on 02-511-6118 or email us at info@select.co.th to discuss your software maintenance requirements, we can also give you an estimate of how much licensed software we cost and what the alternatives are.

Select IT, the one-stop computer service company in Bangkok for small businesses and home users

For years and years computer users here in Thailand have and still use pirate software at home in an the office. However, times are changing and more users are experiencing the benefits of using licensed or opens ource software.

At Select IT we have assisted our clients in the migration from unreliable systems running pirated operating systems and software to problem free systems using licensed and or great open source software at a price the doesn’t break the bank.

Here’s our list of 25 essential FREE software applications for Windows PCs.

1. OpenOffice

Replaces Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint

OpenOffice.org 3  is the leading open-source office software suite  for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages  and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages including Microsoft. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

2. Thunderbird

Replaces Microsoft Outlook or Eudora

Thunderbird is an email client that has five big things going for it: it’s free, it’s full featured, it’s lightweight and runs quick, it has an unparalleled spam filter, and it protects you from those ridiculous phishing attacks by clearly indicating which emails send you to a bogus website.  Although Thunderbird is great for POP3 and IMAP mailboxes, however if you’re using Microsoft Exchange there is really no substitute for Microsoft Outlook.

3. GIMP

Replaces Adobe Photoshop

This is a version of the GNU Image Manipulation Program that does a pretty solid job of imitating Adobe Photoshop – a regular user of Photoshop (like me) can adapt to it quite quickly. It’s very richly featured and runs quite well – in fact, I see no reason to ever go back, even if Photoshop were free.

4. Firefox

Replaces Internet Explorer

The first thing I do on any new Windows machine is run Internet Explorer just long enough to download Firefox.  Firefox is faster, more secure, more user friendly and has 100’s of useful plug ins.  If you haven’t used Firefox yet, you must download it now.

5. PDFCreator

Replaces Adobe Acrobat

PDFCreator easily creates PDFs from any Windows program.Use it like a printer in Word, StarCalc or any other Windows application.After installing PDFCreator, all you have to do is print like normal and out comes a PDF!

6. ClamWin

Replaces Norton AntiVirus or McAfee

ClamWin Free Antivirus comes with an easy installer and open source code. You may download and use it absolutely free of charge.  It’s worth noting AVG Free Antivirus is an excellent and well featured antivirus package, however it’s only available for non-commercial for free.

7. SpyBot – Search and Destroy

Replaces Microsoft Defender

Spybot – Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications.

8. Google Picassa

Replaces ACDSee

The easy way to find, edit, and share your photos.  Manage your photos in one place, and find photos you forgot you had.  Eliminate scratches & blemishes, fix red-eye, crop and more.  Turn photos into movies, collages, slideshows and more.  Upload seamlessly to Picasa Web Albums to share with friends, family & the world.

9. SongBird

Replaces iTunes and Windows Media Player

Move over iTunes! SongBird is developed by Mozilla, the same guys that developed Firefox and Thunderbird.  Songbird is an open-source customizable music player that’s under active development.  It’s a non-proprietary, cross platform, extensible tool that will help enable new ways to playback, manage, and discover music. There are lots of ways to contribute your time to the project. We’d love your help!

10. VLC Media Player

Replaces Windows Media Player, Quicktime, RealPlayer, etc.

If you get tired of having tons of media players on your computer, get this package that runs pretty much every media type you’ll run across without breaking a sweat.

11. Pidgin

Replaces MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AIM Messenger, ICQ, etc.

IM all your friends in one place.  Pidgin is an easy to use and free chat client used by millions. Connect to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and more chat networks all at once.  Supported chat networks: AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo! and Zephyr.

12. Adobe Acrobat Reader

Essential software

OK, I know there are several other PDF Readers out there, Foxit Reader is personally my favourite.  However, here is Thailand where so many government forms can be completed in PDF format, we’ve found that Adobe Acrobat Reader works best.

13. Skype

Essential for some

OK, I know Skype is exactly free, however Skype is still best for video chatting for free.

14. 7Zip

Replaces WinRAR or WinZIP

Open source Windows utility for manipulating archives. Formats 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR are supported fully, other formats can be unpacked.

15. RSS Owl

Essential for some

RSSOwl lets you gather, organize, update, and store information from any compliant source in a convenient, easy to use interface, save selected information in various formats for offline viewing and sharing, and much more. It’s easy to configure, available in many many languages and the best of all: It’s platform-independent.

16. Media Coder

Essential for some

MediaCoder is a free universal batch media transcoder, which nicely integrates most popular audio/video codecs and tools into an all-in-one solution. With a flexible and extendable architecture, new codecs and tools are added in constantly as well as supports for new devices. MediaCoder intends to be the swiss army knife for media transcoding in all time and at this moment, it already has millions of users from all over the planet.

17. BBC iPlayer

Essential for some

Find, Download, and Play BBC programming on your PC.  BBC iPlayer is only available to internet users in the UK.  Contact us to find out how to connect from Thailand

18. Azureus Vuze

Essential for some

Find, Download, and Play! Powerful torrent meta-search with login support for private trackers.  Download quickly and efficiently with intelligent bandwidth, queue and speed management then play of your PC, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

19. PageBreeze

Replaces Microsoft Frontpage

PageBreeze Free HTML Editor  is an award-winning HTML Editor which has both  visual (WYSIWYG) and HTML tag/source modes. PageBreeze Free HTML Editor’s design emphasizes simplicity and ease-of-use. You’ll find that you’ll be creating great looking websites almost instantly–with virtually no learning curve!

20. Filezilla

Replaces WinFTP

FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive graphical user interface.  If you ever have the need to transfer files to other computer or a web server, FileZilla will do the job slickly and quickly.

21. Google Earth

Unique but essential (for some)

Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places, and share with others.

22. Audacity

Unique but essential (for some)

If you’re interested in recording your own podcast (or just want to make your own voice recordings for whatever reason), Audacity and a microphone are pretty much all you need to get the job done. I’m not much for podcasting (let’s just say I don’t have a radio voice), but I use Audacity for other voice recording purposes.

23. CD BurnerXP

Replaces Nero

CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components.  Personally ImgBurn is my favourite, experienced users may prefer this too.

24. SyncBack Freeware

Essential for some

SyncBack is a freeware program that helps you easily backup and synchronize your files to: the same drive; a different drive or medium (CDRW, CompactFlash, etc); an FTP server; a Network; or a Zip archive.

25. TrueCrypt

Essential for some

A must for anyone that store sensitive data on a USB memory stick!  TrueCrypt is free open-source disk encryption software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X and Linux. In case an attacker forces you to reveal the password, TrueCrypt provides plausible deniability. In contrast to file encryption, data encryption performed by TrueCrypt is real-time (on-the-fly), automatic, transparent, and does not involve temporary unencrypted files.

Other Essential Software

OK, the list above is all about applications and utilities, here’s a list of other essential software you may need for your other software to work and for some websites to work properly;

a. Java Run Time Environment

Essential for some

You probably don’t even realise many websites and software applications depend on Java to work properly.  Java allows you to play online games, chat with people around the world, calculate your mortgage interest, and view images in 3D, just to name a few. It’s also integral to the intranet applications and other e-business solutions that are the foundation of corporate computing.  Keep it up to date by download the latest version.

b. Adobe Flash Player

Essential for some

Flash Player is a cross-platform browser plug-in that delivers 3d and moving graphics to internet users.

c. Adobe Shockwave Player

Essential for some

Shockwave Player displays Web content that has been created by Adobe Director, including; 3D games and entertainment, interactive product demonstrations, and online learning applications.

Start Downloading!

All of the software listed above is quite simple to download and install directly from the developers website.  Customers of Select IT benefit from regular updates for all of the above software, in fact new Windows PCs supplied by Select IT have all the above software pre-installed if requested.

Contact us on 02-511-6118 or email us at info@select.co.th to discuss your software requirements, we can give you an estimate of how much licensed software will cost and what the alternatives are.

Select IT, the one-stop computer service company in Bangkok for small businesses and home users

This is what makes us different from the others!

We figured we aren’t going to be able to compete with IBM with flashy TV adverts, big slogans and expensive cocktail parties, but we can do it much better than them in the things that really matter.

You aren’t going to get some salesman who is only concerned with how much commission they are going to make this month or a techie who sees you as one small client that doesn’t really matter.

What you get is people who enjoy seeing your business grow because we were able to help you out. You get a techie who’ll give you his mobile number and wants to hear that it’s all working again.

If that’s the kind of service you want, we are the kind of company you are looking for!

Apart from being technically competent and offering great service, Select IT;

• is a registered Limited Company in Thailand.
• is a member of the British Chambers of Commerce.
• is VAT Registered.
• has work permits for all foreign employees.
• has liability insurance.
• is here to stay.

Beware of foreigners working as “freelancers” if something goes wrong, there’s no paperwork, no receipt, no work permit, no trace, no come back.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US:

• Commitment : We don’t leave you hanging or do half baked jobs, when we commit to complete something you can rely on us to get it done for you.
• Transparency : We run a transparent operation here, we let you know exactly what you are paying for, how much it costs and what you are getting.
• Integrity : We don’t work on commissions like many other companies, we sell you what we think is the best value products that will get the job done for you.
• We won’t recommend or sell it unless we love the product and think it’s worth every satang.

HOW TO CONTACT US

Call us on 02-511-6118 or email us at info@select.co.th, our services are officially available Monday to Friday from 8.00 till17.00 but being the geeks we are we often hang out in the office much later. So give us a call anytime, we might just still be around!

For 24/7 PRIORITY HELP call: 089-479-9140 anytime.

You can also find more information regarding our home user and business user services from menu on the left.

Select IT, the one-stop computer service company in Bangkok for small businesses and home users