Got rid of Security Tool

I was just leisurely browsing the Internet a while ago looking for recipes when I went into a website that set off the PCs antivirus software. The next thing I saw was a software downloading and before I knew what hit me I had a prompt on the screen telling me that Security Tool was successfully installed.

I didn't pay any attention to it as the antivirus advised it had taken care of the problem. But the program was annoying me already as it kept popping up with warnings that the PC was infected and was running fake scans. I just knew the scans were fake because I didn't install the program in the first place. It kept on advising me to register the software to which I just canceled the prompts.

I tried to delete the desktop shortcut to try and get rid of it but with no success. At this point, I was at wits end and decided to google it. And I was so shocked at what I initially read! Security  Tool is a malware that tricks unsuspecting users to provide credit card details when registering the software. So I quickly looked for ways of removing the program (I didn't find it in the Windows programs list in the Control Panel) without downloading any software.

After going through several pages of the search results list, I found this video on You Tube that was so simple to do. Grab a pen and paper to take note of the instructions.  Good riddance Security Tool!

Thank you caz939!

I'm so excited!

The RDA Toolkit open access period has commenced! We applied for institutional access so pretty much all library staff can access the site and create profiles.

If you haven't signed up yet, just visit the link and register. Open access period is up to August 31, 2010.

The CPE needs a paradigm change

Zarah's post on the CPE got my brains working. I've had the honor of serving in the first ever CPE board as Secretary back in 1993 fresh from the board exams, if I'm not mistaken, with other respected librarians. Since the idea of a Continuing Professional Education for librarians was a novelty, there was no outcry whatsoever to its adherence. We'd get loads of applications each month we met.

Fast forward to 2010 and there is now an undercurrent questioning its necessity from what I gathered from Zarah's post and with upcoming PAARL forum weeks from now.

Here's my two cents worth. Professional education should definitely be part of one's development more so for librarians as part of lifelong learning and to catch up with technology that changes every so often. However, to limit the activities one might engage in and earn credits to become eligible for license renewal is another thing. I say limit because continuing education should not be a one-size -fits-all package.

Nothing much has changed on what activities are eligible for CPE credits from back then and I think this has to be improved and be made less imposing. I mean, come on. Be practical. Not everyone is interested in getting a Master's degree let alone a Ph.D. save for promotional reasons. Speaking and writing activities are for those who have the gift and the connections. Attendance to seminars and the like still seems to be the most popular method of earning credits and this is where the problem lies, budget.

But as I've written earlier, be practical. Much of what I've acquired over the years I got from reading stuff on the web and putting them into practice. And who benefited from these? The library I worked for, of course. This, I think should be the essence of continuing education. Not piling up on the credits.

So I appeal to the BFL to think out of the box and be less restrictive in defining activities to earn credit from or scrap the credits altogether. Take blogging for instance. There has been an increase in library-related blogs over the years and I say the librarians who maintain these blogs should be given credit for it.

Life is hard as it is and don't make the CPE an additional burden to bear.