Måjðr Mïkê

For all who are using Intuit’s TurboTax 2009 who are having trouble when it comes to connecting to the internet to pay either the Audit Defense or for your e-Files to be charged to your credit card as seen below:

You are getting the following error screen when clicking on [Continue] :

I am sure you have searched the web with many stating they have this problem and everyone, including Intuit, is telling people to simply close and restart the application because they believe you left it open too long and it has expired. This is NOT true and has nothing to do with how long you have left it open, in fact it has a very easy fix.

1. Go to [Control Panel | Internet Options],
2. Click on the [Privacy] tab,
3. Make sure you drop it to at least [High], as seen below:

Once you have done this, click [Apply] and you are set to go. Just make sure you have internet access and then go back to TurboTax and try again, it will now work successfully without any further problems.

[Technical Details for the Interested] – Since TurboTax is basically an extensive web application being run inside a windows GUI using the IE container control, it needs access to its cookie storage to properly set and process your interactions with their website. This is why when you have Privacy settings set to do not allow cookies, you will get this problem. Also if you have firewall, make sure you give the program full access, both incoming and outgoing connections via TCP. For users on Windows Vista and up, including 7, who have to deal with UAC (User Access Control), please run the application as administrator so the updates are successfully integrated. You can modify the shortcut by right-clicking and choosing [Properties] and then select the [Compatibility] tab and then select at the bottom [Run as Administrator] and click [Apply] and you are good to go from then. Simply run the application and say yes to its UAC prompt and you can enjoy worry free usage.

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There was recently a threat that was released to the public, a bit prematurely and irresponsibly, but the cat is out of the bag. Many of us have already taken steps to correct this behind the scene and now Firefox has a pending update 3.0.8 to address this issue, Microsoft released a patch and offered a reward to address this, and other developers of security solutions have already taken action to fix this.

However, given that the people do not always exercise common sense and tend to be behind on their updates and patches, it might serve to give a heads up to everyone just in case. For those technically inclined who wish to know more in detail, you can get more information from the following sources:

• Bugzilla@Mozilla – Bug 460090
• Bugzilla@Mozilla – Bug 485217
• SecurityFocus 34235

A colleague, a friend and a respected associate working on NoScript, dedicated to the public safety posted the following entry on his blog providing an advice that would behoove anyone who is not prepared or does not know how to protect themselves. InformAction – hackademix.net

We highly recommend using Firefox and install the add-on NoScript at the very least to avoid issues like this in the future. We test bugs continually and released updates to the security profile of NoScript are on a regular basis and often quite ahead of the threat. You can always join the discussion, learn or post questions at our support forum.

In the meantime ride out the period until the updates are released by using some common sense and avoiding any site that you are not 100% sure of and trust. I have also placed this benign test on my server to allow you to test your current setup. It contains nothing malicious and is used to replicate the effect of the XSLT bug. If you are protected, you will see the message and you can rest easy but if your browser crashes (it will simply close so make sure you don’t have anything pending) then you know you are not protected and might take extra care.

TEST ME
TEST ME (Cross Platform)

UPDATE: In an attempt to beat the April 1 problem that has been circulating, Mozilla and the Firefox team has released their update in a reverse April fools attempt to protect the users and you can now get that  update. However, I strongly recommend that after the update you install the NoScript add-on and test your setup against the test cases provided above. You can also read further about this here: InformAction – hackademix.net

We all know the old saying you are only as old as you feel. Well there is more to that than we thought. Our bodies have a calendar age, now vs. when you were born, and they also have a real age based on many many factors such as diet, health, environment and so on. Well I felt it was worth sharing with you because I found out why I always felt 50 when I am only 34 because frankly, I AM 50 (almost).

My Stats:

You can check out my profile on RealAge website and maybe get your own evaluation so you know where you stand and what steps you can take to make it better. You might be surprised to know that we are not as healthy as we think we are just because we eat right, exercise and so on. The smallest things can have such devastating results.

Don’t let yourself end up like me, a 34 year old with a real age of
 

Get yourself checked out and maybe you can extend the clock a bit and keep father time at bay a little longer.

I wish I had the ability to give an eloquent and tasteful piece of work to express how I feel and what I wish for everyone but in the absence of that, I wanted to post something from the heart and at least truthful, if not pretty.

I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday and end your year in the best possible way. I hope that you have a wonderful new year filled with joy, hope, success and happiness. I hope that you get to spend time with family, friends, and loved ones. For me, I can say this has been one of the top 5 worst years of my life. Those of you who know me already know why and if not lets just say that I lost the last of those who loved me dearly, felt betrayal at the hands of “friends” and learned once again that no good deed ever goes unpunished.

I hope that your friends are true and don’t betray you as soon as they have no more need for you. I hope that your family truly loves you and doesn’t ruin your life under the guise of love. I hope that your health is good and not eating you from the inside. I hope you are truthful, honorable, faithful and honest so that karma may be kind to you and if not, hope you get what you deserve. I hope that love finds and forgives you so that you may live and die in peace if you deserve it.

I will close by saying that if anything goes wrong, anyone hurts you, life betrays you and your health leaves you, that you at least have the patience and the wisdom to remain true to yourself and what is right and let the justice of the universe speak for you and dish out the karma others so deserve. From a son, a brother, a father, a lover, a soldier, a student, a teacher, a friend, and a citizen of humanity I wish you all the best and the worst that you deserve and hope that you live, learn and grow.