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The Tedious Task Of Identifying Windows Processes0
Joe M posted in Howto on February 27th, 2009

“Do I really need this?”

It’s a question that you will ask yourself, from time to time.

If you run Windows, and you work on your own machine,  eventually you will have to examine the processes running, and that question will pop up.

It can be a hard question to answer.

When you install a printer, camera, mp3 player or webcam, something usually gets thrown into the system tray or put into the startup.

Eventually, all of those items are going to slow your machine down to a crawl.

Most processes are named with the old 8.3 naming convention.  That means that the filename will be 8 characters or less, and the extension will be three letters long.

That makes makes it more hairy in determining what each process is.

I used to love the SysInternals website.  They had a listing of all the Windows processes, and a breakdown of what each one was.

I am not sure how dynamic the listing was, but it always seemed to be prety helpful and I was always able to find what I needed to know using the site.

Since Microsoft acquired SysInternals in 2006, the SysInternals site has been migrated into the Technet website.

You can still find some useful utilities and information there, but I have not been able to find the former listing of Windows processes there.

Googling and wandering the web, I came across Uniblue’s Process Library.

It has a search feature that provides details that you need when making the distinction between the necessary and unnecessary.

It’s a detailed listing of each Windows process, along with references to Microsoft bulletins, and security threat, virus, trojan and spyware information for each.

Whether you are tweaking your performance, by eliminating items from the system tray; or you are trying to determine malignancy of a certain process, the Process Library website is a good place to start.

It’s a good idea to be familiar with some of the items that run, anyway.

Once you familiarize yourself with the processes that start and run, automatically; it makes the process of tweaking your performance much easier.

You’ll also find that troubleshooting your machine becomes easier, once it starts slowing down, or acting odd.

The Teenager Audio Test0
Joe M posted in Musing on February 27th, 2009

Created by Train Horn

This made the news a few months back. As we grow older, our hearing changes.

The test, usually, is easily heard by teenagers. After age 25, your hearing changes and you can no longer hear the same frequencies.

Some business use the tone to ward off teen loitering.

The interesting part is, that some kids were using the tone as a ringtone on their cell phone.

When their phone rings in class, the teacher usually can’t hear it!

Dealing With Missing Folder Sizes In Windows Explorer0
Joe M posted in Home Support, free stuff, products on February 25th, 2009

I got a call from a friend of mine today.

He was wanting to find a way to view his disk, in a directory structure, with the folder sizes listed in a Windows-Explorer-like screen.

I pulled up Windows Explorer.

You know… I had forgotten about it.  But…

Windows Explorer will give you file sizes but not folder sizes.

That one definitely left me scratching my head.

I did it not too long ago, in a batch file, run from the command line.

I scrambled around.  Could not find the commands or the batch file that I wrote to do it.

I Googled.  There are a couple of plug-ins, a couple of DLLs… but nothing clean and easy to pass on to my non-technical friend.

Trying to save time, I scampered to sourceforge.

After a quick search, I found WinDirStat.

It’s mnemonically named for Windows Directory Statistics.

It performs several functions, but the most important, being able to provide a graphic representation of a disk drive and directories.

Most importantly, it provides the function of providing me with directory sizes, as well as a unique picture of the types of files occupying my hard drive, at the bottom.

There is a shortcut for Windows Explorer, should I need it… and a shortcut to the command line, which will open in whichever folder I am navigating in WinDirStat.

Even though it’s designed with the Sys Admin type in mind, it provides some useful functions for everyone.

It’s free.  It will run on 32 and 64 bit Windows.

(No confirmation on Windows Vista or Windows 7.)

The Gimp: Playing With Plug-ins1
Joe M posted in art, free stuff on February 24th, 2009

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program.

I have grown quite fond of Gimp, over the past couple of years. It has become a tool that is familiar and useful.

Plug-ins in The Gimp have always been somewhat of a mystery to me.

Out of necessity, I dug into the Gimp docs, and found the directions for using them.

From what I found, you pick a plug-in, and download it. It comes in the form of an *.scm file.

The plug-in I chose is Quick Sketch.

You put it in your /home/profile/.gimp-2.6/scripts directory.

There is a refresh scripts option, in the menu for Gimp.

Filters >> Script-Fu >> Refresh Scripts.

Once the script is refreshed, I can now use it.

I choose a photo to convert, as an example.

From the menu, I choose Filters >> Artistic >> Quick Sketch.

It gives me an option for the blur factor.

If you want to explore more Gimp plug-ins, you can check out http://registry.gimp.org.

Worth noting, if you download a plug-in, you may have to check the registry or the docs for the plug-in to see where it places the option to use the plug-in in the menus.

Thinking Outside The Chair0
Joe M posted in art on February 23rd, 2009

Every so often, you find something that proves someone was thinking outside the box. While it probably won’t win any awards for aesthetics, I was intrigued with the functional application.

No Waterspots0
Joe M posted in Howto, Musing on February 21st, 2009

My car was dirty.

I took some time out in the sunshine, this afternoon to give it a good wash.

I went over it, several times with soap and water, then rinsing it with the hose.

As soon as I finished washing one side, I would walk around to the other side.

By the time, I got done washing one side, the other side was dry.

With waterspots.

UGH.

After a good washing, I took to wetting the whole car down, keeping it wet.

Once I finished, and the car was soaking wet, I backed it into the garage.

I did not have a sham, and I was in an old T-shirt and jeans.  Not in shape to go buy one.

(Surely, as soon as I walk into a store in my neighborhood, in my ‘play-clothes’,  I undoubtedly will run into several people I know.)

I needed a blow-dryer.  My hand-held from the bathroom was obviously not the right one.

It gets really hot, and there’s no assurance as to what it will do to the paint.

I grabbed the electric leaf blower, plugged it in, and blew the car dry, top-down.

The results were pretty good!

Sharpening Your Skillz0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on February 21st, 2009

Earlier today, just surfing along, I came across a website that looks really intriguing.

At hackerslab.org, you can find some challenges to exercise your Linux / Unix skills, as well as strengthening your ability to solve puzzles.

You’ll need to sign up for an account, which includes getting issued a username and password.

Click on the Free Hacking Zone link to get started.

There are hints, a free board and a Q&A board to help you through.

If you need reassurance, check out the privacy policy.  A quick read over the page, and it looks like the organization respects its users.  Dont worry, you won’t be signing away your first born child or inviting anyone to spam you.

You can also connect using your own telnet client, so you won’t necessarily be locked into just using the web interface.

This looks like a great way to keep on your penguin toes.  Or, if you have ever wanted to see what hacking is like, this looks like a good example, but completely legal and safe.

The team at Hackerslab suggest using the site for learning and for exercise.

I can’t wait to dig into it, as soon as my schedule allows.

Test Your Awareness0
Joe M posted in Musing on February 20th, 2009

Finding Your Way Through The Milky Way0
Joe M posted in Musing, free stuff on February 19th, 2009

Every so often, even if you enjoy working on, and with computers, you have to have some sort of activity that allows for play and enjoyment.

On the BBC site, you can find a great version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

It’s based on the original 1978 radio show, but is a flash version of the game.

There are actually two editions of the game, both are available on the BBC site.

From what I understand the graphics are the main difference between the two versions.

It’s Adobe Flash.

Just what the doctor ordered for some entertainment.

Dealing With Forgotten Or Lost Passwords In Windows XP and Vista0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on February 18th, 2009

(Please read the complete post, including the Caution statement at the end.)

Inevitably, someone stops me about once a week, to ask me about how to recover or reset a user’s password for Windows.

Last week, I talked to a friend of mine.  Her son, 10 years old, reset the password and could not remember what the change was.

Earlier this week, someone stopped me, because it had been so long since they had logged on to their machine, they could not remember their password.

These are real scenarios, totally plausible.

A few years ago, there was a trick that I used utilizing the Windows install CD, the recovery option, and<CTRL>+F10.

That’s seems to be a long way to go, now.

My favorite solution is Ophcrack.

There is an installable utility, for both Windows and Linux.

My preference is the download in an ISO image.

You download the image, then burn it to a bootable CD.

The Windows XP version is here.

The Windows Vista version is here.

Check out this post if you need a utility to burn the ISO, in Windows XP.

Once you have the CD, you need to check your BIOS settings, to ensure that your machine will check the CD for boot media before booting off the hard drive.

Usually, you can either hit a function key during the boot process (look at the bottom of your screen during boot for the key listing) to get into the BIOS, or you may see a function key listing for selecting the media to use during boot, at the bottom of the screen.

Once you get it to boot, you can choose the graphic or text mode.

It will display a list of user accounts, and it will take some time to hash the tables and produce the existing password.

Once it finishes, you should see the passwords and the usernames displayed on the screen in a neat format.

Should you have problems with Ophcrack, the other option for forgotten passwords is to reset the password.

The most stable procedure I have found is to use Petter Nordahl-Hagen’s Offline NT Password & Registry Editor.

It’s not quite as pretty as the graphic interface for Ophcrack, but it is very effective.

If you have forgotten your Windows XP password, you can use his password reset tool here.

For Windows Vista Users, there is the Vista version, here.

Note:  For better results, the documentation says to simply blank the password out, rather than reseting it to something complex.

I have used both Ophcrack and Petter Nordahl-Hagen’s Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, and have found them both to be quite effective on Windows XP.

(Sorry, I don’t run Vista.  Wish I could say that I have tested it out on Vista, but I don’t want to waste the time or resources to do so.  I have not tested it on Windows 7, yet.  It is on my todo list.)

Both of these options are free.

Caution:  Use these tools at your own risk.  In some business, educational or social organizations, use of these tools may violate guidelines or policy.  Please take the responsibility to check the guidelines and policies before attempting to use any of these tools in a business, educational or social environment.  I would recommend abiding by those rules, since the outcome may result in termination or expulsion.  This applies to any environment, with the exception of a stand-alone machine, of which you are the owner, or in which you have the complete permission of the owner to use any of these tools.

Use A One-Time Email Address To Combat Spam0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on February 17th, 2009

Sometimes, when you are browsing, you see an item that requires an email address to sign up.

The depth of membership, about which, you could really care less.

You certainly don’t want to submit your actual email address.

In fact, the less you submit your email address to websites, the better off you will be.

For such instances, there is help.

Guerilla Mail allows you to set up a temporary email address, that expires 15 minutes after you set it up.

You can retrieve the messages you need, within that timeframe.

After that, any messages received at that address go into the spam filter at Guerilla Mail.

If you need a free, throw-away email address, Guerilla Mail is designed just for that.

Testing Your Internet Connection Speed0
Joe M posted in Howto on February 16th, 2009

Sometimes you are surfing the web, and something just does not seem right.

Is it your connection?

It may look as if there is absolutely nothing wrong with your machine. Programs load quickly, but when you click on a link, it just clocks.

If you are looking for a way to test the speed of your internet connection, there are plenty of sites around to allow you to do that.

One of my favorites is speedtest.net.

In the lower left hand corner, there is an icon of a person.  Just to the right of it, it will display your IP Address.  (I have covered mine with a mosiac, for security reasons.)

Once you click a pyrmid close to your location, the test will start.  The test will take a couple of minutes, depending on your internet connection.

With the results displayed, you can get a pretty good idea of how your connection performs.

There are plenty of options for comparing your connection with other users.

Setting Up Your Windows Network0
Joe M posted in Home Support, Howto on February 15th, 2009

This is the first step in getting your Windows computers to talk to one another.

Microsoft Is Opening Retail Stores0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on February 14th, 2009

Yesterday,  Microsoft announced that it will be opening several retail stores.

With layoffs going down, left and right, it makes you wonder what will happen?

David Porter, will head up the retail store division for Microsoft.  Porter has Dreamworks and Wal-mart exec status on his resume.

What products will they offer?  Obviously, one would think that the Zune, the Xbox 360 would be on the list.  I would assume that the different flavors of Windows would also be available there, but the accompanying hardware is kind of vague.

Will the partnerships with other manufacturers be strong enough to compete in pricing?  This is a variable that could go in just about any direction.  The pricing of Windows 7 will definitely play a factor in the retail’s ability to compete.

If they offer real expertise in the stores, at competitive pricing, they may be able to maintain market position.  If they offer expertise at a premium, it could have the opposite effect.

In the past, when Microsoft flirted with hardware retail, they eventually got out of it.

The key is going to be in the service and product offering, and the delivery.

Apple has done well in this space, due to the fact that they have a definite but accurate product design and offering.  Makes me wonder if this is the direction that Microsoft is trying to move in.

If they don’t keep an awareness of the current economy when setting their prices, it seems to me that this won’t be a very smart move.

So, it makes you wonder, how many and where these stores will be.  (Seems like renting store sections might actually be a better way to go.  Will the store front have a big Microsoft sign?)

Looks like a gamble, to me.  And it’s either a really brilliant move, or pretty dumb.  Since we don’t have all the information, yet, we’ll find out in the coming months.

POP3 Access Is Enabled For Hotmail Accounts1
Joe M posted in products on February 13th, 2009

Did Hell just freeze over?

Lifehacker has a story on Microsoft enabling POP3 access for Hotmail accounts in the U.S.

I had to pinch myself.   I have been using Hotmail a long time, as a paying subscriber.

When I decided that I wanted to switch to Linux, at first I was stuck to the resolve of having to use a browser to access my Hotmail.

If I remember correctly, eventually, I found a couple of hacks that would allow me to pull my email into Evolution, the email client that I use on Linux.

I remember making two different changes, seemingly after Microsoft threw a wrench into the works for Hotmail, and people like me; using it the way I have.  (I think I was using Hotway, and the localhost address, 127.0.0.1.)

About six months ago, the hack quit working.

I was absolutely sure that Microsoft had put the nail in the coffin of anyone using a third-party client to pull down their email via POP3.

Every time someone came out with a work-around, Microsoft countered with some hidden foil, and Evolution would quit pulling down messages.

Then, Microsoft shocked me again.

Makes me wonder if we will see Microsoft Office for Linux?

Probably not.

I do think that Microsoft’s action on this item is admirable, but I am wondering what prompted them to make such a decision?

It’s a gift horse.

In utter disbelief, I tested it out with the settings, and it seems to be working.  Now, maybe I can use some of the features of the Evolution client to filter and manage my Hotmail messages.

All 14,000 of them.

If you are a Hotmail user, and you are interested in the settings for your POP3 client, you can get them from the article at Lifehacker.

Getting Around To Using The Ubuntu USB Creation Utility0
Joe M posted in free stuff on February 12th, 2009

A friend of mine stopped me, and asked if I knew how to set up Linux to run on a USB drive.

I flashed back to the Ubuntu (8.10) new feature, which allows you to make an Ubuntu bootable USB drive.

Okay, so maybe you can’t call it new anymore.

Still, not having tried it out, I figured it was time for a spin.

I burned a copy of Intrepid Ibex (Ubuntu 8.10) and put it in one of my laptops.

The drive my friend had given me was a SanDisk, 2 GB.  From my experience, they are good drives, but I hate the U3 software that comes pre-installed.

What does it do?  From the publicity, the app is supposed to allow you to have mobility with your apps using the USB drive.

I don’t like anything that requires you to use a special utility to uninstall, and it requires you to run the utility on Windows.

(I saw several postings in which some Linux users had deleted the app from the console, only to find the drive unusable afterward.)

If you need to uninstall U3, you can download the uninstall utility here.  Make sure you run the app from Windows, to be on the safe side.  (Have not tried the app from Wine.)

I booted the laptop up, after taking care of U3, using the Intrepid disk.

Once it booted up, I put in the USB drive.

I selected System >> Administration >> Create a USB startup disk.

I can use the remaining space on the drive by changing the slider.

I simply click Make Startup Disk.

I let the process complete.  This part takes about 15 minutes, give or take.

When it’s done, I get a message.

Now, I pop out the USB drive, and the CD when prompted.

There are several applications for my newly created Ubuntu USB drive.

I can use it to rescue files off of a hosed Windows hard drive.

I can use it to run CD burner software, should I need it.

I can also use it to test hardware, to isolate problems with a Windows driver.

Those are only a few.

I can’t believe I have not tried out the USB creation utility before now.

The last time I created a Linux USB, I had a long list of procedures to follow.  This definitely fills a need.

Oh… and I booted it up.  Pretty snappy!

Africa (Toto) Cover By Andy Mckee0
Joe M posted in music on February 11th, 2009

Searching For Windows Drivers0
Joe M posted in Howto on February 10th, 2009

I was visiting with a friend of mine last night.

He brought his laptop, and was wanting to install another OS, or so he thought.

It was an HP, and it had Windows XP Pro installed.

He was wanting the wireless card to work.  He thought that it was useless.

In taking a look at his issue, it turns out that he simply Googled the model displayed on the top of the laptop.

It was a ZE4500.  Using that number, he told me that he got a bunch of different results in his search.
He could never seem to figure out exactly what kind of wireless card it had in it.

I had him flip the laptop over.  On the bottom, there was another number, labeled P/N.  That was the product number. (ZE4560, I think it was.)

Using that number on the HP site, within five minutes, we had the wireless card operational.

During production of a product series, sometimes there are phases and slight changes in chips and product offerings.

So, it is entirely possible and even likely, that you can have two HP laptops, side by side, and have different product numbers and different components in each one. One might have a Broadcom wireless card, the other, an Intel.

That’s even though they look exactly the same, with no visible difference between the two, in simple observation.

When you research drivers for your desktop or laptop, look for specific product and model numbers.  Flip it over, look on the back, look on the bottom.

Write down any numbers you see.  Use them all to exhaustion, until you find the driver you need.  The more specifics you use, the better results you will have in your search.

If you need help identifying the component, there is always Belarc Advisor.

If you are using older or obscure hardware, there is also DriverGuide.

If you have a brand name machine, try the OEM website, first.

If you have a machine that you or someone close to you built, you may have to use Belarc and Driverguide.

Most of the time, your efforts will result in success.

Every so often, you will encounter a piece of hardware for which you cannot find drivers.

It might be that the OS is new and / or the piece of hardware is old.

Troubleshooting Locked Accounts In A Windows Domain0
Joe M posted in Uncategorized on February 9th, 2009

If you work supporting a Windows Domain, one of the issues that you encounter on a regular basis is account lockouts.

There is always that one scenario that mysteriously raises its head.

Someone will log onto a machine, and walk away. The machine locks, authenticating that user every so often, with the static password they used to log onto the machine.

It might be a remote desktop session.

If they forget they are logged in (on that machine), it’s not a problem, until password expiration rolls around.

Then, mysteriously, every few minutes, their account mysteriously becomes locked out; for seemingly no reason at all.

You ask the user, “Have you logged in anywhere, and not logged out?”

The answer will always be, “No.”

No pointing fingers.  I have done it, myself.  It’s an honest mistake.

Natively, there is no easy way to chase down the rogue user session.  It’s a head scratcher.

There is a tool available from Microsoft to help troubleshoot such issues.

It’s a program labeled LockoutStatus.exe.

You can download the entire tool package here.

Simply unzip the tools and find LockoutStatus.exe.  There is no install, and you can run it by simply double-clicking it.

It will display a window of domain controllers and statuses.

There is little setup, with the exception of specifying the domain and the username to monitor.

Once you have the username selected, you can use the tool forensically to track down the source of a bad password entry.

That means looking down the list of domain controllers and determining which the original bad password, by the time stamps.

Once you determine that, you can use mmc.exe to remote in to that box, and examine the security logs for that particular time stamp.

The zipped package contains several other programs and DLL files.

LockoutStatus.exe seems to have little impact, and is the most accessible and readily available utility from the package.

Please read and use them carefully, and in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the domain for which you are installing them.

(Some of them may interfere with backup software tasks, or Microsoft Exchange processes.)

Windows XP and Hard Drive Issues0
Joe M posted in Home Support, products on February 8th, 2009

Over the past couple of days, I have experienced a couple of hard drive issues.

I had a friend of mine get frustrated with the HP Pavilion A350N, and they broke down and bought a new machine.

They gave me the old Pavilion, knowing that I would take a look at it, and eventually fix it.

It has a 160 GB hard drive, made by Seagate (ST3160021A).

The machine has Windows XP Pro, and would work fine for a little while. For seemingly no reason, the machine would power down at random.

Unable to get the machine to stay on for longer than five minutes, I took a copy of Ubuntu (8.10) on the Live CD and popped it in.

I booted it up. It stayed on all day, without any problems!

I took the 160 GB hard drive out, and replaced it with a 40 GB drive that I found in another old HP machine.

The chipsets and hardware must have been similar enough. When I booted it up, it found most of the hardware, then prompted me to reboot.

(Sometimes, luck is on your side transferring a hard drive from one machine to another. Every so often, you can be lucky enough to take a hard drive out of one, put it in another. If the moon and the stars are aligned correctly, Kharma will be on your side and the existing XP install will work in the new machine. The number of times that I have been this lucky, I can count on two hands.)

Now, it seems to be fine. When I put the Seagate drive back in, it slows to a crawl, and sometimes freezes at boot.

I installed a BIOS update, but it does not seem to help the Seagate connection issue.

Also, my Lenovo Thinkpad T61 was having some freezing issues.

I could turn it on, and work on it for a little while. I would leave it on, and the screen would lock.

When I came back to it, and entered the password to unlock the screen saver, there was freezing and the screen would have artifacts from the programs running.

Browsing the Lenovo site, I came across a firmware update for the T61 series, just released January 21rst, 2009.

After installing the firmware update, the freezing problem disappeared.

My suspicions are, that somehow the problems are manifesting as a result of the release and install of XP SP3.

Give Me A Little Lattitude0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on February 6th, 2009

This looks impressive and scary at the same time.

Pushing The Boundaries Of Composition (AKA There are some things you should never do!)0
Joe M posted in Musing on February 5th, 2009

Okay…

Listening to TWIT (This Week In Tech) with Leo Laporte, he played a portion of this.

It is utterly horrible.

So horrible… it had me in tears.

I literally was in tears, driving home from work.

I don’t laugh to tears, easily, either.

SongSmith is a Microsoft Project.

The idea was to create software that would accompany your voice for a song. So, ideally, all you would have to do is sing or record a track and run it through SongSmith.

Easy enough, right?

So, some industrially-minded person decided to run a professionally recorded track through SongSmith.  They isolated the vocal track, then removed most of the music, so that SongSmith could work its magic.

All things being equal, you should come out with something similar to the original recording, right?

It gets worse, just listen!

The problem is, writing songs and music is a theoretical art.

The way in which John Williams composes a song and the way in which Jon Bonjovi or Beyonce compose a song, are all different.

If you got them all to write down their methods… you would have three completely different algorithms for the composition process.

Evidently, the developers that were involved in SongSmith were heavily influenced by the legendary composers at Nintendo and the arrangements from Muzak.

Oh, if you are interested in your own copy of SongSmith… here you go.

Don’t Bet On Windows 7 Being Cheap4
Joe M posted in products on February 4th, 2009

Watching the news stories over the past couple of weeks, I am going out on a limb, here.

Microsoft has announced six different versions of Windows 7.

When I installed the Beta, I noticed immediately… the “Ultimate” logo at bootup.

What that told me?
There will also be versions that are not so “Ultimate.”

Reading through this post, I found several descriptions of each version.

When we saw this tiering structure with Vista, it was a pain to understand.  There was also the “Capable” and “Ready” campaign stickers.

It hasn’t been long enough since those campaigns for anyone to forget.

This is just a gut feeling, but looking at the release of the Beta, the mass offering… makes me suspicious.  (Which I am a suspicious personality type, anyway!)

They allowed millions of people to download the Beta and get accustomed to it.  It’s a definite improvement over Vista.  Looks like they did a good job.

Next?

The blitz.  The hype.  The mass allowance for users of the Beta.  The web and news have been alive with great promise and aspiration for W7.

This is just a hunch (based off of a cynical view of M$ history).

With all of the factors I mentioned above, I think one thing is certain.

Microsoft is going to expect a pricetag for W7.

And…

It will be either equivalent to the pricing structure for Vista, or will have higher tier structures.

Bottom line?

First comes the blitz (the hype), then the bludgeon ($$$).

If we think that Microsoft is going to let us have W7 (Professional or Ultimate) for under $200,  I think we will be disappointed.

The price will naturally decrease as soon as W8 becomes a concept.

Initially, we can expect the price of W7 to cost as much as, or more, than the PC or laptop itself.

The Star Trek Trailer0
Joe M posted in Musing on February 3rd, 2009

Now Is The Time To Keep On Your Toes0
Joe M posted in opinion on February 2nd, 2009

I talked to a friend of mine, yesterday.  We’ll call him Chuck.

He owns and operates a restaurant.

He filled me in on an experience he had recently.

Several days over the past couple of weeks, he received a call from the same person.

The call came from an intermediate operator, used for the hearing and speech impaired.

Chuck told me that the calls came during the 12pm-1pm hour, during his heaviest business.

Each call was taking between 15 and 30 minutes.  The operator would read out the statements from the person on the other end of the phone.

Not the most patient guy in the world, my friend finally got to the point that he was hanging up during the call.

Ultimately, the caller wanted to place an order for catering services.  Over a matter of four or five days,  the services grew from $1,500 to over $3,000.  Gradually, the caller would add items in small increments.

Chuck started getting suspicious when the caller wanted to charge the whole amount on a credit card, and from another state.

What really tipped him off?

The caller, supposed to be hearing and speech impaired, insisted on having him charge the credit card.  Chuck was then supposed to take cash ($1,200 to add to the credit charge) to a Western Union to wire it to the WU office in Kansas City.

I think this is a sign of things to come.  As the economy struggles, we can expect more scams and schemes.

Most of them will be illegal, but not necessarily all of them are.

Now is the time, more than ever, to stay alert and aware.

If someone wants a complex deal that is hard to understand, chances are, it might be better to just say no.

Whether you talk to someone face-to-face, on the phone, on chat or by email… be discerning.

If you don’t have time to check out an offer on a service or a good, wait.  Check with the local law enforcement.  Google it.  Check out the BBB site.  Discuss it with your friends.

If it sounds fishy, it probably is.

If you miss a good deal, you still haven’t lost anything.

In the next few months, scams and schemes will be on the rise.  Some will originate domestically, and a large percentage will be overseas.

Don’t be pressured or rushed in any transaction.  Beware of any appeal to your emotion.

If you feel guilt, empathy, anger, sadness or any other emotion while considering some type of exchange… stop.  Walk away, push away from the desk, put down the phone, slam the door.

Spread the word, and start a dialogue with family members and friends.