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  • Internal but no external Citrix Access?

    - by leeand00
    We recently had to reload our configuration of Citrix on our server Server1, and since we have, we can access Citrix internally, but not externally. Normally we access Citrix from http://remote.xyz.org/Citrix/XenApp but since the configuration was reloaded we are met with a Service Unavailable message. Internally accessing the Citrix web application from http://localhost/Citrix/XenApp/ on Server1 we are able to access the web application. And also from machines on our local network using http://Server1/Citrix/XenApp/. I have gone into the Citrix Access Management Console and from the tree pane on the left clicked on Citrix Access Management Console->Citrix Resources->Configuration Tools->Web Interface->http://remote.xyz.org/Citrix/PNAgent Citrix Access Management Console->Citrix Resources->Configuration Tools->Web Interface->http://remote.xyz.org/Citrix/XenApp, which in both cases displays a screen that reads Secure client access. Here it offers me several options: Direct, Alternate, Translated, Gateway Direct, Gateway Alternate, Gateway Translated. I know that I can change the method of use by clicking Manage secure client access->Edit secure client access settings which opens a window that reads "Specify Access Methods", and below that reads "Specify details of the DMZ settings, including IP address, mask, and associated access method", I don't know what the original settings were, and I also don't know how our DMZ is configured so that I can specify the correct settings, to give access to our external users on the http://remote.xyz.org/Citrix/XenApp site. We have a vendor who setup our DMZ and does not allow us access to the gateway to see these settings. What sorts of questions should I ask them to restore remote access?

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  • PHP ODBC MDB Access on a Cloud Server

    - by Senica Gonzalez
    Hey! Hopefully quick question.... I have a .MDB file stored on my webserver and I'm trying to connect to it. I have no way of "registering" it with a name in ODBC. Is the only way to connect to it by specifying the absolute page of the .mdb file? $mdbFilename = "./db/Scora.mdb"; $connection = odbc_connect("Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=$mdbFilename","",""); if (!$connection) { echo "Couldn't make a connection!"; } $sql = "SELECT ID FROM ScoraRegistrations"; $sql_result = odbc_prepare($connection,$sql); odbc_execute($sql_result); odbc_result_all($sql_result,"border=1"); odbc_free_result($sql_result); odbc_close($connection); It never connects. Any thoughts?

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  • Easiest way to decrypt PGP-encrypted files from VBA (MS Access)

    - by stucampbell
    I need to write code that picks up PGP-encrypted files from an FTP location and processes them. The files will be encrypted with my public key (not that I have one yet). Obviously, I need a PGP library that I can use from within Microsoft Access. Can you recommend one that is easy to use? I'm looking for something that doesn't require a huge amount of PKI knowledge. Ideally, something that will easily generate the one-off private/public key pair, and then have a simple routine for decryption.

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  • MS Access Draw line around detail section that can grow

    - by LanguaFlash
    This really shouldn't be hard, I just can't figure out how to do it. I am making a proposal report that needs to have a border around it. The problem is to get the vertical lines on the side. I can't figure out how to get a line to grow and shrink based on the height of the detail section. I have used Crystal reports and sure wish Microsoft would learn a few things in regards to MS Access report writing! I am very comfortable with VBA so have no fears there. :-) Thanks, Jeff

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  • Print ms access data in vb.net

    - by user225269
    How do I print the ms access data(.mdb) in vb.net? Here is the code that I'm using to view the data in the form. What I want to do is to be able to print what is currently being viewed. Perhaps automatically save the .pdf file and the pdf viewer installed on the system will open that newly generated pdf file Dim cn As New OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\search.mdb") Dim cmd As OleDbCommand = New OleDbCommand("Select * from GH where NAME= '" & TextBox6.Text & "' ", cn) cn.Open() Dim rdr As OleDbDataReader rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader If rdr.HasRows Then rdr.Read() NoAcc = rdr("NAME") If (TextBox6.Text = NoAcc) Then TextBox1.Text = rdr("IDNUMBER") If (TextBox6.Text = NoAcc) Then TextBox7.Text = rdr("DEPARTMENT") If (TextBox6.Text = NoAcc) Then TextBox8.Text = rdr("COURSE") End If -some sites for beginners regarding this topic would help a lot:)

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  • MS-Access nested DIR - check if a file exists elsewhere whilst looping through a folder

    - by David Carle
    I have used the DIR() command in Microsoft Access 2003 to loop through the files in folder A. This works fine, but I need to check if each file also exists in another location (folder B), and only process the file if it doesn't exist in folder B. The problem is that checking for the file existing in folder B also uses the DIR() function and this then resets or confuses the original one, with the result that no further files are found in folder A. Is there a way to check if a file exists without using DIR? Or, is there a way to have a separate instance of DIR? I suppose I could build a list of the files in folder A into an array and then process the entries in the array, but this seems rather 'clunky' Any suggestions for a better solution? Thanks

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  • Access Database connect C# local director

    - by Bomboe Cristian
    I want my connection to the database to be available all the time, so if i move the folder with the project, to an other computer, the connection to be made automaticaly. So, how can i change this connection: this.oleDbConnection1.ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\"C:\\Documents and Settings\\Cristi\\Do" + "cuments\\Visual Studio 2008\\Projects\\WindowsApplication3\\bd1.mdb\""; ??? It should read the project directory or something. I don't know. Any ideas? Thank You!

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  • VB.NET - ASP.NET - MS-Access - SQL Statement

    - by Brian
    I have a button which when pressed, sets the user's rights in the db. (If Administrator UserTypeID is set to '2' and if Customer it is set to '1'). However when I run the below code, everything remains the same. I think it's from the SQL statement but I;m not sure. Can anyone help please? Protected Sub btnSetUser_Click(sender As Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnSetUser.Click Dim conn As New OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\Users\Brian\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\WebSites\WebSite3\db.mdb;") Dim cmd As OleDbCommand = New OleDbCommand("UPDATE [User] SET [UserTypeID] WHERE Username=?", conn) conn.Open() cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Username", txtUser.Text) If ddUserType.SelectedItem.Text = "Administrator" Then cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@UserTypeID", "2") cmd.ExecuteNonQuery() lblSetUser.Text = txtUser.Text + "was set to Administrator." ElseIf ddUserType.SelectedItem.Text = "Customer" Then cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@UserTypeID", "1") cmd.ExecuteNonQuery() lblSetUser.Text = txtUser.Text + "was set to Customer." End If conn.Close() End Sub End Class

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  • ms-access: DB engine cannot find input table or query

    - by every_answer_gets_a_point
    here's the query: SELECT * FROM (SELECT [Occurrence Number], [Occurrence Date], [1 0 Preanalytical (Before Testing)], [Cup Type], NULL as [2 0 Analytical (Testing Phase)], [2 0 Area], NULL as [3 0 Postanalytical ( After Testing)],NULL as [4 0 Other], [Practice Code], [Specimen ID #] FROM [Lab Occurrence Form] WHERE NOT ([1 0 Preanalytical (Before Testing)] IS NULL) UNION SELECT [Occurrence Number], [Occurrence Date],NULL, [Cup Type],[2 0 Analytical (Testing Phase)], [2 0 Area], NULL,NULL, [Practice Code], [Specimen ID #] FROM [Lab Occurrence Form] WHERE NOT ([2 0 Analytical (Testing Phase)] IS NULL) UNION SELECT [Occurrence Number], [Occurrence Date],NULL, [Cup Type],NULL, [2 0 Area], [3 0 Postanalytical ( After Testing)],NULL, [Practice Code], [Specimen ID #] FROM [Lab Occurrence Form] WHERE NOT ([3 0 Postanalytical ( After Testing)] IS NULL) UNION SELECT [Occurrence Number], [Occurrence Date],NULL, [Cup Type],NULL, [2 0 Area], NULL, [4 0 Other] FROM [Lab Occurrence Form], [Practice Code], [Specimen ID #] WHERE NOT ([4 0 Other] IS NULL) ) AS mySubQuery ORDER BY mySubQuery.[Occurrence Number]; for some reason it doesnt like [Practice Code]. it's definitely a column in the table so i dont understand the problem. the error is the microsoft office access database engine cannot find the input table or query 'Practice Code'........

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  • MS Access (2010) Enable Design View

    - by Tim GONELLA
    I downloaded the Access template below for doing a home inventory: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/results.aspx?qu=home%20inventory&ex=1&queryid=0d245f2a%2Dacdc%2D4161%2D92c8%2D8ba16a52ab32&AxInstalled=1&c=0#ai:TC101918100| The design view is not visible, which is a bit of a nuisance. Things I've tried: 1) In options/options/current database/ the check boxes (enable layout view & enable design changes for tables in Datasheet view) are both greyed out. 2) I've unblocked the file using Right-Click-Properties. 3) I've tried copying/exporting the objects to another database. But can only copy/export the tables. 4) I've tried holding shift when opening the DB. 5) Enabling all trust permissions etc. None of these work Does anybody have any suggestions. (I'm using Office 2010) Thanks

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  • CREATE USER in MS Access 2010

    - by Anakela
    I have been searching for several hours regarding how to create a user using SQL for a database I am building in Access. I found several sources on Microsoft's website that say I can use the CREATE USER command to do this. However, whenever I attempt to run the query, an error saying Syntax error in CREATE TABLE statement pops up. What am I doing wrong? Thank you in advance for your help! If you're interested, the code format I am attempting to use is as follows: CREATE USER username, password, pid.

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  • WPF/.NET data access models - resource recommendations

    - by jasonk
    We're in the early design/prep phases of transferring/updating a rather large "legacy" 3 tier client-server app to a new version. We’re looking at doing WPF over Winforms as it appears to be the direction Microsoft is pushing development of the future and we’d like the maximize the life cycle/span of the apps. That said during the rewrite we’d like to make as many changes to our data access/presentation model to improve performance as much as possible up front as many. I’ve been doing some research along that vein but the vast majority of the resources I've found that discuss WPF focus only simple data tracking apps or focus on the very basics UI design/controls. The few items that even discuss data presentation are fairly elementary in depth. Are there any books/articles/recommended reading/other resources recommended for development related to large enterprise level business apps? Any “gotchas” that should/could be avoided? General advice to minimize the time underwater

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  • Vba to Access record Insert Issue

    - by raam
    I want to insert Values to access table by using VBA control is there is any simple way to do this. i try this code but it does not work properly if i run this code it give the error 'variable not set' can anyone help me. thanks in advance Private Sub CommandButton1_Click() Dim cn As ADODB.Connection Dim strSql As String Dim lngKt As Long Dim dbConnectStr As String Dim Catalog As Object Dim cnt As ADODB.Connection Dim dbPath As String Dim myRecordset As New ADODB.Recordset Dim SQL As String, SQL2 As String dbPath = "table.accdb" dbConnectStr = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" & dbPath & ";" SQL = "INSERT INTO Jun_pre (ProductName,DESCRIPTION,SKU,MT,(mt),MRP,Remark,no_of_units_in_a_case) VALUES (""aa"",""bb"",""test"",""testUnit"",""1"",""2"",,""3"",,""4"");" With cnt .Open dbConnectStr 'some other string was there .Execute (SQL) .Close End With End Sub

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  • Microsoft Access vs Native SQL

    - by ktm5124
    Hypothetical: Let's say you are writing complex queries to a database and it is very important that the data you extracted is the correct result set (e.g., that you didn't mess up a JOIN by not using all the correct keys, and all the other things that can go wrong, et cetera). What would you rather use to do this? Would you write the query using Microsoft Access and its Design View, or would you write it in native SQL using a SQL IDE? What is the better professional choice? Thanks in advance your feedback!

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  • How to convert ms access data into pdf in vb.net

    - by user225269
    I want to convert the ms access data into a document so that the print function in vb.net will read it. Where do I start from here? Here is my form: http://screencast.com/t/MGU4N2UyNmY And here is the code for print preview. Try PrintPreviewDialog1.ShowDialog() Catch es As Exception MessageBox.Show(es.Message) End Try How do I incorporate the above code, to the code below so that there is something that can be seen when I hit the print button? Dim cn As New OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:\search.mdb") Dim cmd As OleDbCommand = New OleDbCommand("Select * from GH where NAME= '" & TextBox6.Text & "' ", cn) cn.Open() Dim rdr As OleDbDataReader rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader If rdr.HasRows Then rdr.Read() NoAcc = rdr("NAME") If (TextBox6.Text = NoAcc) Then TextBox1.Text = rdr("IDNUMBER") If (TextBox6.Text = NoAcc) Then TextBox7.Text = rdr("DEPARTMENT") If (TextBox6.Text = NoAcc) Then TextBox8.Text = rdr("COURSE") End If Please help,thanks

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  • Facebook Invalid OAuth access token signature trying to post an attachment to group wall from PHP

    - by Volodymyr B
    I am an administrator (manager role) of a Facebook Group. I created an app, and stored its id and secret. I want my app to be able to post something on the Facebook group's feed. But when I attempt to post, I get the error 190 Invalid OAuth access token signature, even though I able to successfully obtain the access_token with publish_stream and offline_access scopes. It has the form of NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, where N is a number (15) and X is a letter or a number (27). What should I do more to get this accomplished? Here is the code I am using: public static function postToFB($message, $image, $link) { //Get App Token $token = self::getFacebookToken(); // Create FB Object Instance $facebook = new Facebook(array( 'appId' => self::fb_appid, 'secret' => self::fb_secret, 'cookie' => true )); //$token = $facebook->getAccessToken(); //Try to Publish on wall or catch the Facebook exception try { $attachment = array('access_token' => $token, 'message' => $message, 'picture' => $image, 'link' => $link, //'name' => '', //'caption' => '', 'description' => 'More...', //'actions' => array(array('name' => 'Action Text', 'link' => 'http://apps.facebook.com/xxxxxx/')) ); $result = $facebook->api('/'.self::fb_groupid.'/feed/', 'post', $attachment); } catch (FacebookApiException $e) { //If the post is not published, print error details echo '<pre>'; print_r($e); echo '</pre>'; } } Code which returns the token //Function to Get Access Token public static function getFacebookToken($appid = self::fb_appid, $appsecret = self::fb_secret) { $args = array( 'grant_type' => 'client_credentials', 'client_id' => $appid, 'client_secret' => $appsecret, 'redirect_uri' => 'https://www.facebook.com/connect/login_success.html', 'scope' => 'publish_stream,offline_access' ); $ch = curl_init(); $url = 'https://graph.facebook.com/oauth/access_token'; curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url); curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, false); curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true); curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true); curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $args); try { $data = curl_exec($ch); } catch (Exception $exc) { error_log($exc->getMessage()); } return json_encode($data); } If I uncomment $token = $facebook->getAccessToken(); in the posting code, it gives me yet another error (#200) The user hasn't authorized the application to perform this action. The token I get using developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer/ is of another form, much longer and with it I am able to post to the group page feed. How do I do it without copy/paste from Graph API Explorer and how do I post as a group instead of posting as a user? Thanks.

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  • Microsoft’s Contribution to jQuery – Client Templating

    - by joelvarty
    I am interested to see the community’s response to Microsoft’s contributions to jQuery.  I have been using jTemplates on and off in my apps for a while, but I will certainly check out the new templating plugins put forth by MS and explained here by Scott Guthrie. It may be that some are against the very idea of a company like Microsoft being involved with jQuery, and Scott explains the process with the following: “jQuery has a fantastic developer community, and a very open way to propose suggestions and make contributions.  Microsoft is following the same process to contribute to jQuery as any other member of the community.” I think we can take this in one of two ways:  It’s great that Microsoft sees themselves as a part of a greater community that they can support. It’s the first step in Microsoft’s attempt to usurp the community and have greater control over the web, it’s standards, and it’s developer community. Personally, I believe Microsoft sees the world (and the web) differently from how they did back when IE had more than %80 of the browser market.  Now, in order to keep it’s development products relevant, they are pushing Asp.Net (as they have been for a few years) towards a more open strategy that’s more “web-like” in my opinion. These contributions to jQuery are a good thing, I think.  Now, let’s go try out these new plug-ins and see if they stack up… more later - joel

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  • Integrating Windows Form Click Once Application into SharePoint 2007 &ndash; Part 1 of 2

    - by Kelly Jones
    Last year, I had the opportunity to build a solution that involved integrating a Windows Form application into a SharePoint 2007 (WSS version 3.0). In this post, I’ll layout our architecture thinking and in part two, I’ll describe the technical details. Business Case Our challenge was this: we needed an easy way for a small group of our users to upload documents, in batches.  They also needed to quickly set the meta data values, as well as set security on individual files. Using the out of the box uploads just didn’t fit.  The single file upload allows set the meta data, but our users would be uploading dozens of files.  The multiple upload would allow our users to upload batches of files, but it doesn’t allow them to set the meta data during upload.  Also, neither upload method allows the users to set the permissions on the file. Our Solution We looked into building a web control of some kind, but ruled that out due to security complexities (if I remember correctly).  Another option would have been using a technology like Silverlight (or Flash?), but our team didn’t have the skills necessary to build with these. So, after looking at what was technically possible, and also what skills our team had, we settled on a Windows Form application.  We also decided to deliver it to the clients via Click Once, so we would have the ability to easily update the application in the future. Lessons Learned After deploying our solution, we’ve learned a few lessons.  First, you’ll need to have the .Net Framework installed on the client computers.  We knew this, but we still ran into issues making sure our users had the proper framework version installed.  Second, we had issues with authentication.  Our issues were due to our testing domain being a separate Active Directory domain from the domain that our end users and their workstations were members of.  (See my earlier post about Clearing Saved Passwords for the fix to our problem). Our third issue was how we dealt with uploading files that were named the same.  Our application would replace the existing file with the new file, which is the way we expected it to work.  However, our users wanted to upload weekly reports, named the same as the previous week.  We solved this by using folders within the document library to keep the sets of reports separate from previous weeks. One last thing to consider before implementing a solution like this, is what browsers and platforms your users will be working from.  We only needed to support IE and Windows, which works fine.  However, if you need to support Firefox, there are add-ons that allow Click Once to work with Firefox.  This is still a Windows only solution though.  In order to support Macs, you’d have to focus on either browser techniques (AJAX?) or Silverlight/Flash. Summary Our users are happy with the Click Once app.  It allowed them to move all of their content to our SharePoint site in under a couple hours, which they were thrilled with.  We’re happy because we can easily deploy updates, our development time was small, and we met all of our business requirements.

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  • Third year in a row- Microsoft MVP again!!

    - by Jalpesh P. Vadgama
    Today is Sunday and I was not expecting this as today is holiday although I know it was Microsoft Mvp renewal day. At evening I got the congratulation email from the Microsoft. Yeah!! I am Microsoft Most Valuable Professional again. I got the same message as a part of Mvp. Thanks Microsoft again. Dear Jalpesh Vadgama, Congratulations! We are pleased to present you with the 2012 Microsoft® MVP Award! This award is given to exceptional technical community leaders who actively share their high quality, real world expertise with others. We appreciate your outstanding contributions in Visual C# technical communities during the past year. Feeling is again same as first time. I am going to dedicated this award to my family. My parents who always inspired me to do new things. My wife who scarifies her time to write blogs. My brother who support me in every possible way.  On this occasion, I would also like to thanks my reader without their support it was no possible to achieve this. Thanks for reading my blog!!. Please do keep reading this. I will try to write as much as possible. I would also like to thanks ‘Tanmay Kapoor’ My Mvp lead for continuous support.     Once again thank you all for your continuous support and love. There are lots of new technologies in Microsoft Stack and I am going to write lots of blog post about all the new stuff. So stay tuned for the same.

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  • Leaving Microsoft

    - by Stephen Walther
    After two and a half years working with the ASP.NET team, I’ve decided that this is the right time to leave Microsoft and, with the help of some friends, re-launch my ASP.NET training and consulting company. The company has the modest name Superexpert. While working on my Ph.D. at MIT, I was surrounded by professors and students who were passionate about knowledge. During the Internet boom, I was lucky enough to work side-by-side with some very smart and hard-working people to create several successful startups. However, the people I worked with at Microsoft were among the smartest and hardest working. Microsoft hires a small number of people and gives them huge responsibilities. It continues to amaze me that so few people work on the ASP.NET team when you consider how much the team produces. I had the opportunity to work with a number of inspiring people at Microsoft. I’ll miss working with Scott Hunter, Dave Reed, Boris Moore, Eilon Lipton, Scott Guthrie, James Senior, Jim Wang, Phil Haack, Damian Edwards, Vishal Joshi, Mike Pope, Jon Young, Dmitry Robsman, Simon Calvert, Stefan Schackow, and many others. I’m proud of what we accomplished while I was working at Microsoft. We reached out to the jQuery team and changed direction from Microsoft Ajax to jQuery. We successfully contributed several important new features to the open-source jQuery project including jQuery Templates, jQuery Data-Linking, jQuery Globalization, and (as John Resig announced at the last jQuery conference) jQuery Require. I’m looking forward to returning to training and consulting. We want to focus on providing consulting on the “right way” of building ASP.NET websites, which we call Modern ASP.NET applications. By Modern ASP.NET applications, I mean applications built with ASP.NET MVC, jQuery, HTML5, and Visual Studio ALM. Additionally, we want to help companies that have existing ASP.NET Web Forms applications migrate to ASP.NET MVC. If you are interested in having us provide training for your company or you need help building a custom ASP.NET application then please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website at Superexpert.com.

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  • 8 Reasons Why Even Microsoft Agrees the Windows Desktop is a Nightmare

    - by Chris Hoffman
    Let’s be honest: The Windows desktop is a mess. Sure, it’s extremely powerful and has a huge software library, but it’s not a good experience for average people. It’s not even a good experience for geeks, although we tolerate it. Even Microsoft agrees about this. Microsoft’s Surface tablets with Windows RT don’t support any third-party desktop apps. They consider this a feature — users can’t install malware and other desktop junk, so the system will always be speedy and secure. Malware is Still Common Malware may not affect geeks, but it certainly continues to affect average people. Securing Windows, keeping it secure, and avoiding unsafe programs is a complex process. There are over 50 different file extensions that can contain harmful code to keep track of. It’s easy to have theoretical discussions about how malware could infect Mac computers, Android devices, and other systems. But Mac malware is extremely rare, and has  generally been caused by problem with the terrible Java plug-in. Macs are configured to only run executables from identified developers by default, whereas Windows will run everything. Android malware is talked about a lot, but Android malware is rare in the real world and is generally confined to users who disable security protections and install pirated apps. Google has also taken action, rolling out built-in antivirus-like app checking to all Android devices, even old ones running Android 2.3, via Play Services. Whatever the reason, Windows malware is still common while malware for other systems isn’t. We all know it — anyone who does tech support for average users has dealt with infected Windows computers. Even users who can avoid malware are stuck dealing with complex and nagging antivirus programs, especially since it’s now so difficult to trust Microsoft’s antivirus products. Manufacturer-Installed Bloatware is Terrible Sit down with a new Mac, Chromebook, iPad, Android tablet, Linux laptop, or even a Surface running Windows RT and you can enjoy using your new device. The system is a clean slate for you to start exploring and installing your new software. Sit down with a new Windows PC and the system is a mess. Rather than be delighted, you’re stuck reinstalling Windows and then installing the necessary drivers or you’re forced to start uninstalling useless bloatware programs one-by-one, trying to figure out which ones are actually useful. After uninstalling the useless programs, you may end up with a system tray full of icons for ten different hardware utilities anyway. The first experience of using a new Windows PC is frustration, not delight. Yes, bloatware is still a problem on Windows 8 PCs. Manufacturers can customize the Refresh image, preventing bloatware rom easily being removed. Finding a Desktop Program is Dangerous Want to install a Windows desktop program? Well, you’ll have to head to your web browser and start searching. It’s up to you, the user, to know which programs are safe and which are dangerous. Even if you find a website for a reputable program, the advertisements on that page will often try to trick you into downloading fake installers full of adware. While it’s great to have the ability to leave the app store and get software that the platform’s owner hasn’t approved — as on Android — this is no excuse for not providing a good, secure software installation experience for typical users installing typical programs. Even Reputable Desktop Programs Try to Install Junk Even if you do find an entirely reputable program, you’ll have to keep your eyes open while installing it. It will likely try to install adware, add browse toolbars, change your default search engine, or change your web browser’s home page. Even Microsoft’s own programs do this — when you install Skype for Windows desktop, it will attempt to modify your browser settings t ouse Bing, even if you’re specially chosen another search engine and home page. With Microsoft setting such an example, it’s no surprise so many other software developers have followed suit. Geeks know how to avoid this stuff, but there’s a reason program installers continue to do this. It works and tricks many users, who end up with junk installed and settings changed. The Update Process is Confusing On iOS, Android, and Windows RT, software updates come from a single place — the app store. On Linux, software updates come from the package manager. On Mac OS X, typical users’ software updates likely come from the Mac App Store. On the Windows desktop, software updates come from… well, every program has to create its own update mechanism. Users have to keep track of all these updaters and make sure their software is up-to-date. Most programs now have their act together and automatically update by default, but users who have old versions of Flash and Adobe Reader installed are vulnerable until they realize their software isn’t automatically updating. Even if every program updates properly, the sheer mess of updaters is clunky, slow, and confusing in comparison to a centralized update process. Browser Plugins Open Security Holes It’s no surprise that other modern platforms like iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows RT, and Windows Phone don’t allow traditional browser plugins, or only allow Flash and build it into the system. Browser plugins provide a wealth of different ways for malicious web pages to exploit the browser and open the system to attack. Browser plugins are one of the most popular attack vectors because of how many users have out-of-date plugins and how many plugins, especially Java, seem to be designed without taking security seriously. Oracle’s Java plugin even tries to install the terrible Ask toolbar when installing security updates. That’s right — the security update process is also used to cram additional adware into users’ machines so unscrupulous companies like Oracle can make a quick buck. It’s no wonder that most Windows PCs have an out-of-date, vulnerable version of Java installed. Battery Life is Terrible Windows PCs have bad battery life compared to Macs, IOS devices, and Android tablets, all of which Windows now competes with. Even Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 2 has bad battery life. Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air, which has very similar hardware to the Surface Pro 2, offers double its battery life when web browsing. Microsoft has been fond of blaming third-party hardware manufacturers for their poorly optimized drivers in the past, but there’s no longer any room to hide. The problem is clearly Windows. Why is this? No one really knows for sure. Perhaps Microsoft has kept on piling Windows component on top of Windows component and many older Windows components were never properly optimized. Windows Users Become Stuck on Old Windows Versions Apple’s new OS X 10.9 Mavericks upgrade is completely free to all Mac users and supports Macs going back to 2007. Apple has also announced their intention that all new releases of Mac OS X will be free. In 2007, Microsoft had just shipped Windows Vista. Macs from the Windows Vista era are being upgraded to the latest version of the Mac operating system for free, while Windows PCs from the same era are probably still using Windows Vista. There’s no easy upgrade path for these people. They’re stuck using Windows Vista and maybe even the outdated Internet Explorer 9 if they haven’t installed a third-party web browser. Microsoft’s upgrade path is for these people to pay $120 for a full copy of Windows 8.1 and go through a complicated process that’s actaully a clean install. Even users of Windows 8 devices will probably have to pay money to upgrade to Windows 9, while updates for other operating systems are completely free. If you’re a PC geek, a PC gamer, or someone who just requires specialized software that only runs on Windows, you probably use the Windows desktop and don’t want to switch. That’s fine, but it doesn’t mean the Windows desktop is actually a good experience. Much of the burden falls on average users, who have to struggle with malware, bloatware, adware bundled in installers, complex software installation processes, and out-of-date software. In return, all they get is the ability to use a web browser and some basic Office apps that they could use on almost any other platform without all the hassle. Microsoft would agree with this, touting Windows RT and their new “Windows 8-style” app platform as the solution. Why else would Microsoft, a “devices and services” company, position the Surface — a device without traditional Windows desktop programs — as their mass-market device recommended for average people? This isn’t necessarily an endorsement of Windows RT. If you’re tech support for your family members and it comes time for them to upgrade, you may want to get them off the Windows desktop and tell them to get a Mac or something else that’s simple. Better yet, if they get a Mac, you can tell them to visit the Apple Store for help instead of calling you. That’s another thing Windows PCs don’t offer — good manufacturer support. Image Credit: Blanca Stella Mejia on Flickr, Collin Andserson on Flickr, Luca Conti on Flickr     

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