The subject of this particular apple phishing email reads “Account Info Change,” the phishing email appears to look like it comes from APPLE, but the email address shows it came from do not reply@itunes.comvia smtp.com,”. This means this email did not really come from apple and instead came from a fraudulent third party email service provider. (Real APPLE emails will show “id.apple.com” as the address. If you are unsure if the email you receive is real or bogus then it’s a good idea to call your network administrator of a qualified computer consultant to look at the email for you.

The fake emails look identical to real emails from APPLE which makes it dangerous for unsuspecting victims of fraud.

The bogus email informs email recipients that their Apple ID was “updated” and includes a link users can click on “to review and update their APPLE account security settings”. The fake link tricks users into believing the link goes to the real apple website but in fact the link takes users to a fake webpage that is cloned to look like the real apple web page.

The bogus APPLE page asks for users to log in with their APPLE ID and password, which of course ais sent to cyber criminals which then take your user name and password and access your real APPLE account and steal your credit card information along with your home or business address, your phone numbers and this quickly turns you into a victim of identity theft.

This kind of cyber crime is blooming up all over the internet and is very popular in Orlando Florida.

It is also important for APPLE users to understand that APPLE laptops, computers, iPhones and Ipads, which are thought to be safer and more secure then Microsoft computing platforms are not immune from online cyber crime and cyber attacks. A long list of new malware and computer viruses have recently emerged targeting and crippling APPLE computers – Macs. Rather than hoping your Apple product will be safe it is best for users to install commercial quality anti-virus software and better yet to use a high quality firewall designed to filter malware and computer viruses.

Of course, there is no substitute for knowledge and common sense. No antivirus software, firewall or reputation.com review can completely protect you from cyber crime like this. If you ever receive an unsolicited email like this, pick up the phone and call your network administrator and computer consultant and have him or her look at the email and whatever you do not click on any links in the email as this can open up a serious threat to your computer and your network. A good Managed Services Provider will proactively monitor your computer and network safety and will filter content so you do not have to worry about doing so but it is not always possible to detect and block these kinds of emails because of the never ending trends of technology and trickery.

Microsoft unveiled its next generation operating system which is called Microsoft Windows 8. Windows 8 is a drastic overhaul when compared to previous versions of Microsoft windows including Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Microsoft is gearing its focus on touch screen devices in an effort to compete against the Apple Ipad tablet. During a software developers conference in Anaheim California Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky whom is the president of Microsoft’s Windows and Windows Live division. Steven spoke in depth about the new and upcoming operating system Microsoft Windows 8. Microsoft is going to be facing an uphill battle when it goes to sell its new operating system to businesses. Microsoft Windows 8 is expected to be released sometime in 2012 but as of right now nobody knows for sure. Now on the other hand consumers will most likely jump to the new operating system and many personal computer and laptop manufactures will likely roll out future computers with windows 8 for consumers to enjoy. This means that it is very possible we may see new computers in retail stores with windows 8 pre loaded on then again nobody knows for sure. Microsoft Steven Sinofsky stated he believes this new OS will be powering the table computers of the future. “We are going to completely reimage Microsoft Windows from the ground up inside out so it functions completely different with the memory in a computer all the way to how it interacts with new CPS’s – computer processors and all the way up to a brand spanking new GUI – graphical user interface. Some of the GUI changes are going to be focusing on the touch input controls which geared more for tablet computers – touch screens. Other features will include a built in “pop up keyboard inside the operating system and a built in spell checker.

QUESTION:
How much memory can you use with Microsoft Windows 7 ?

ANSWER:
First without getting into a bunch of technical detail here is a straight to the point breakdown of how much memory is supported with the different flavors / versions of Microsoft 7.

Microsoft offers it’s Windows 7 operating system in six different versions.

First you need to know that the maximum RAM – memory limit for 32-bit Windows 7 operating system editions is 4GB.
Which is more then enough for the average user.

For power users, special application computers, etc 4 GB of memory may not be enough.

The 64 bit editions of Microsoft Windows 7 support the following amounts of memory.

Microsoft starter Edition: 8GB
Microsoft Home Basic Edition: 8GB
Microsoft Home Premium: 16GB
Microsoft Professional : 192GB
Microsoft Enterprise: 192GB
Microsoft Ultimate: 192GB

These memory limits are similar to those with Microsoft Vista flavors / editions.

Which version is right for you?
We will get to that in another article….:)

If you do not know where an old or existing .pst file resides on your computer and you want to add this .pst file to your Outlook profile, this section explains how to search for the .pst file and then add it to your Outlook profile.

To search for the .pst file, follow these steps:

1. To search for the .pst files:
   • If you are running Windows Vista: Click Start, and then Computer. Locate the search window in the top right corner.
   • If you are running Windows XP: Click Start , and then click Search .
   • If you are running Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98: Click Start , point to Find , and then click Files or Folders .
   • If you are running Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me): Click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders .
2. Type *.pst, and then press ENTER or click Find Now. Locate the desired .pst file you want to add to Outlook. Record the location of the .pst file.
3. Close the search window and start Outlook. Click on the File menu, and then select Data File Management.
4. Click on the Add button, and then choose the correct type of .pst file to add: If your .pst file was created in Outlook 2007, then choose Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst). If your .pst file was created in an older version of Outlook, such as Outlook 97, 2000, or XP, then choose Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst).
5. Navigate to the location of the desired .pst file that you found during your search above. Select the .pst file and click OK.
6. Either type a custom name for the .pst file or accept the default name. Click OK. Click Close to exit the current window.

Outlook now displays that .pst file in the Outlook folder list.

If these methods did not help you, you might want to ask a network administrator to help you.

If you have customized settings, such as toolbar settings and Favorites, that you want to replicate on another computer or restore to your computer, you might want to include the following files in your backup:

• Outcmd.dat: This file stores toolbar and menu settings.
• ProfileName.fav: This is your Favorites file, which includes the settings for the Outlook bar (only applies to Outlook 2002 and older versions).
• ProfileName.xml: This file stores the Navigation Pane preferences (only applies to Outlook 2003 and newer versions).
• ProfileName.nk2: This file stores the Nicknames for AutoComplete.
• Signature files: Each signature has its own file and uses the same name as the signature that you used when you created it. For example, if you create a signature named MySig, the following files are created in the Signatures folder:
  • MySig.htm: This file stores the HTML Auto signature.
  • MySig.rtf: This file stores the Microsoft Outlook Rich Text Format (RTF) Auto signature.
  • MySig.txt: This file stores the plain text format Auto signature.

  The location of the signature files depends on the version of Windows that you are running. Use this list to find the appropriate location:

  • Windows Vista or Windows 7: Drive\users\Username\appdata, where Drive represents the drive that Outlook was installed to and Username represents the user name that Outlook was installed under.
  • Windows XP or Windows 2000: Drive\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook, where Drive represents the drive that Outlook was installed to and Username represents the user name that Outlook was installed under.
  • Windows 98 or Windows Me: Drive\Windows\Local Settings\Application Data, where Drive represents the drive that Outlook was installed to.

Note If you use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, signatures are stored in the Normal.dot file as AutoText entries. You should back up this file also.

Your .pst file contains all the local Outlook folders, such as Calendar, Inbox, Tasks, Sent Items, Outbox, Deleted Items, and user-created folders. To automatically back up these folders, create a backup of your .pst file.

The Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders Backup tool is an Outlook add-in that automates the backup process. The Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders Backup tool works with Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, Outlook 2003, and Outlook 2007. To download the add-in, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

With the Personal Folders Backup add-in, you can choose which of your .pst files you want to back up and how frequently you want to back them up.

Each .pst file contains all your Outlook folders. This includes the Inbox, Calendar, and Contacts. You can have a single .pst file (usually called “Internet Folders” or “Personal Folders” in your Folder List), but you might also have an additional .pst file that you use for archiving (“Archive Folders”). The Personal Folders Backup add-in lets you back up any of these .pst files.

Note The Personal Folders Backup add-in backs up only .pst files. If you have a Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox, the server mailbox folders are backed up regularly by the server administrator.

To use the Personal Folders Backup add-in, follow these steps:

1. Start Outlook.
2. On the File menu, click Backup.
3. Click Options and select the .pst files that you want to back up.

To use the Personal Folders Backup add-in with Outlook 2010, follow these steps:

1. Start Outlook.
2. On the Ribbon, click Add-ins.
3. Click Options and select the .pst files that you want to back up.

The Personal Folders Backup add-in can back up files to a disk. However, the add-in cannot spread the .pst file across multiple disks. When you change backup options, select a storage location that has sufficient free space to handle your whole .pst file.

Your Personal Address Book might contain e-mail addresses and contact information that is not included in an Outlook Address Book or contact list. The Outlook Address Book can be kept either in an Exchange Server mailbox or in a .pst file. However, the Personal Address Book creates a separate file that is stored on your hard disk drive. To make sure that this address book is backed up, you must include any files that have the .pab extension in your backup process.

Follow these steps to locate your Personal Address Book file:

1. If you are running Windows Vista: Click Start.If you are running Windows XP: Click Start, and then click Search.If you are running Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98: Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.If you are running Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me): Click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
2. Type *.pab, and then press ENTER or click Find Now.Note the location of the .pab file. Use My Computer or Windows Explorer to copy the .pab file to the same folder or storage medium that contains the backup of the .pst file.

You can use this backup to restore your Personal Address Book to your computer or transfer it to another computer. Follow these steps to restore the Personal Address Book:

1. Close any messaging programs such as Outlook, Microsoft Exchange, or Windows Messaging.
2. Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER:
   control panel

   Control Panel opens.

   Note If you see the Pick a category screen, click User Accounts.

3. Double-click the Mail icon.
4. Click Show Profiles.
5. Click the appropriate profile, and then click Properties.
6. Click Email Accounts.
7. Click Add a New Directory or Address Book, and then click Next
8. Click Additional Address Books, and then click Next.
9. Click Personal Address Book, and then click Next.
10. Type the path and the name of the Personal Address Book file that you want to restore, click Apply, and then click OK.
11. Click Close, and click then OK.

Note The Outlook Address Book is a service that the profile uses to make it easier to use a Contacts folder in a Mailbox, Personal Folder File, or Public Folder as an e-mail address book. The Outlook Address Book itself contains no data that has to be saved.

You cannot share or synchronize .pst files between one computer and another computer. However, you can still transfer Outlook data from one computer to another computer.

You might also want to create a new, secondary .pst file that is intended for transferring data only. Save the data that you want to transfer in this new .pst file and omit any data that you do not want to transfer. If you need to make a secondary .pst file to store data for transfer between two different computers, or for backup purposes, use the following steps:

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Outlook Data File.
2. Type a unique name for the new .pst file, for example, type Transfer.pst, and then click OK.
3. Type a display name for the Personal Folders file, and then click OK.
4. Close Outlook.

Follow these steps to copy an existing .pst file:

1. Use the instructions in the “How to make a backup copy of a .pst file” section to make a backup copy of the .pst file that you want to transfer. Make sure that you copy the backup .pst file to a CD-ROM or other kind of removable media.
2. Copy the backup .pst file from the removable media to the second computer.
3. Follow the steps in the “How to import .pst file data into Outlook” section to import the .pst file data into Outlook on the second computer.

You can use the backup copy of your .pst file to restore your Outlook data if the original .pst file is damaged or lost. Everything that is saved in the .pst file is returned to Outlook.

Follow these steps to restore, or import, your data into Outlook: If the .pst file that you want to import is stored on a removable device, such as a floppy disk, a portable hard disk drive, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape cassette, or any other storage medium, insert or connect the storage device, and then copy the .pst file to the hard disk drive of the computer.

When you copy the .pst file, make sure that the Read-Only attribute is not selected. If this attribute is selected, you might receive the following error message:

The specified device, file, or path could not be accessed.
It may have  been deleted, it may be in use,
you may be experiencing network problems,
or you may not have sufficient permission to access it.
Close  any application using this file and try again.

1. If you receive this error message, clear the Read-Only attribute, and then copy the file again.
2. Open Outlook.
3. On the File menu, click Import And Export. If the command is not available, rest the pointer over the chevrons at the bottom of the menu, and then click Import and Export.
4. Click Import from another program or file, and then click Next.
5. Click Personal Folder File (.pst), and then click Next.
6. Type the path and the name of the .pst file that you want to import, and then click Next.
7. Select the folder that you want to import. To import everything in the .pst file, select the top of the hierarchy.
8. Click Finish.

If you want to back up only some of your Outlook data, you can create a new backup .pst file of only the data that you want to save. This is also known as exporting .pst file data. For example, you might want to use this section if you have important information in only some folders and you have other, less important items in much larger folders. You can export only the important folders or contacts and omit folders like Sent Mail.

Follow these steps to export a specific folder:

1. Open Outlook.
2. On the File menu, click Import And Export. If the menu item is not available, hover your pointer over the chevrons at the bottom of the menu, and then click Import and Export.
3. Click Export To File, and then click Next.
4. Click Personal Folder File (.pst) , and then click Next.
5. Click the folder that you want to export the .pst file to, and then click Next.
6. Click Browse, and then select the location where you want the new .pst file to be saved.
7. In the File Name box, , type the name that you want to use for the new .pst file, and then click OK.
8. Click Finish.

Note Folder design properties include permissions, filters, description, forms, and views. If you export items from one .pst file to another, no folder design properties are maintained.