Ransomware advice from Milborne Port Computers

We are grateful to Milborne Port Computers for some timely advice on the latest scam- Ed

Over the past month a new version of an old scam, fraud, virus (whatever you want to call it) has cropped up.  Ransom-ware is when your computer becomes infected by a piece of software that encrypts all your data (documents, pictures & music etc) and demands payment of a substantial fee to unlock your stuff.  The virus also recursively scans USB storage and network drives, including Dropbox etc.  The new development is that the scam email that you receive to start things off now includes your name & address, as well as being well written without the usual spelling mistakes and Americanisms.

The email says that you owe money to a variety of well known British companies and charities and invites you to download the offending invoice:  Following the download link is what infects your computer.  Within a few seconds, much of your data will have been encrypted and a ‘ransom note’ is displayed on your screen telling you to pay up or loose your data forever.  The longer you leave it, the more you have to pay!

Now, I have always advocated NEVER to pay the ransom as there is no guarantee that you’ll get your data unlocked and your money will just disappear into the ether; however the choice is yours.  If you do choose not to pay then removing the virus and cleaning up the computer is usually fairly straightforward but history tell us that your data is gone for good.  It may be inconvenient and it may be upsetting, but is it really life changing?

On a more positive note, email is rarely affected as many of us now use webmail and on-line mailboxes that cannot be accessed by the virus.  As much of your data may be sent and received by email you are often able to recover a goodly bit.

How could you avoid this?  You can’t stop the incoming email if you are unfortunate enough to get one but you can be vigilant and be savvy enough to realise that it is a scam.  Just delete the email!  Secondly you should have good anti-virus software to block the virus if you do follow the download link, and finally you should have a good backup system on-line or on a removable drive that is not permanently connected to your computer.

Computer advice in Horsington is available from Gregg Pyne on 01963 370713

Late wire from Winterbourne Longjohns

Wednesday 10th May 2017: It’s Ladies Day at Wincanton Races and the last meeting of the season. Our exclusive racing correspondent Winterbourne Longjohns wires  “Change in the going to soft this afternoon will NOT suit Tara’s Rainbow and Ballyknock Lad, but Golden Birthday may win the last for Harry Fry”.

We are much obliged, sir. See you next Autumn. -Ed

Sue Mountstevens retains PCC role after “thin” election

Just 22% of South Somerset’s voters turned out to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner last week. As predicted (and advised) by the Blog, the incumbent Sue Mountstevens won, and will will hold onto her position until 2020.

The overall turnout of the region was 26.64 per cent, up from 19 per cent in the last PCC election

The results were

  • Sue Mountstevens 82,708
  • Kerry Barker 75,538
  • The other five candidates the below following votes:
  • Conservative Mark Weston 61,335
  • UKIP Aaron Foot 28,038
  • Liberal Democrat Paul Crossley 23,429
  • Green Party Chris Briton 23,414
  • Independent Kevin Phillips 22,667

South Cheriton Music festival – 4th June UPDATE

WhitehorselogoUpdate 6th May: There will be no car boot sale, just craft stalls. Entry is £5.00 per person, children free.

The White Horse Inn Music Festival is on Saturday 4th June. During the day there is a  Car Boot Sale & Craft stall in the  Marquee and many vintage cars and agricultural vehicles will be on show.

Six Bands – yes six – will be performing from 1 pm until closing the of course the pub will be open all day, serving delicious food and a selection of ales and wines.

The Music Line-up:
 1 pm till 2 pm b.e–cooling- canadian singer -songwriter
3 pm to 4 pm Grandads Jazz band
430 pm to 530 pm The Shaves
530 pm to 630 pm Bad Edukation
7 pm to 8 pm Mr Jukebox
9 pm to 10 pm Theya Musician /Band

Craft and car boot sale stalls are available -£5. To book a stall ring john Samson on 0797 466 2145

All welcome.

Election? What Election? The one on Thursday May 5th!

Horsington voters are urged to turn out tomorrow, Thursday 5th May, to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner for the Avon and Somerset area.

No, we hadn’t heard anything about it either. There has been no publicity or leaflets, no emails, nothing much on the news, so it looks as if the winning candidate will secure victory on a very low turnout – as usual.

Fnding out who is standing requires a trawl through the internet with no guarantee of success.

But if you haven’t time to go on line yourself, here are the candidates, mainly in their own words.

Kerry Baker – labour
Barrister. Offers some serious practical pledges

  •  More officers on the beat – in rural communities, towns, on estates and in the inner cities •
  • Officers who know their community and where people know them •
  • Better technology – to allow police officers to work where they are (instead of having to return to the ever dwindling number of police stations) •
  • Body cameras for all police officers •
  • The reinstatement of specialist teams – to deal with child abuse, sex offences and domestic violence

Chris Briton  -Green Party
Occupation not given
No pledges or practical proposals. Doesn’t seem to have a clue

Paul Crossley Liberal Democrats
Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council for 9 years.
Clearly experienced in getting things done.
Has 3 priorities:

  • Safeguard frontline policing
  • Cut re-offending •
  • Improve detection rates and provide closure for victims

Aaron Warren Foot – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Occupation not disclosed.
Has five pillars – very similar to Labour, but every one will cost more-

  • Ensure that ALL crime is recorded and improve the ease of reporting
  • Reverse the current decline in police numbers.
  • Guarantee rural police units get the tools they need to tackle crime.
  • Work closely with partners to stop people with mental health issues being detained in police cells.
  • The reinstatement of specialist teams

Sue Mountstevens – Independent
Occupation – Police and Crime Commissioner
Has practical experience in the job. Lists several priorities

  • Protect residents and police from political interference.
  • Keeping Politics out of Policing •
  • Prevent crime so you can be safe and feel safe •
  • Listen and be your voice: working with the Chief Constable for better policing •
  • Champion Police Officers, PCSO’s and Special Constables in your Neighbourhood •
  • Be a fierce advocate for victims •
  • Work with partners to make justice more accessible, faster, simpler
  • Ensure your money is spent efficiently, effectively, wisely

Kevin Stewart Phillips – Independent
Occupation – Police Officer of 26 years standing
Obviously knows about policing, but should an ex-policeman be the PCC?

  • Putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system, ensuring working in partnership the needs of the victims are prioritised. •
  • Re-focus and Re-assess the needs of Neighbourhood Policing, listen to what you are saying and embed policing back into the communities.
  • Protect the people that protect us, be the PCC that increases the number of police officers and PCSO’s year on year to be able to deliver the visible service we all want. •
  • Deal with traditional and modern day crimes robustly and effectively, making best use of the criminal justice system to achieve the right outcomes. •
  • Deliver value for money, making sure that the budgets available are spent in the right places to deliver the service you should rightly deserve.

Mark Weston – Conservative Party
Local Councillor. Claims PCC costs £100k per year more than the old Police Authority. Has some practical priorities:

  • Putting the community at the heart of Policing- I believe in Community policing with a strong, visible presence on our streets. •
  • Devolve and empower local policing- The Force area is too large to adopt a ‘one size fits all approach’. •
  • Reducing Re-offending- I will work with the Crown Prosecution Service and Courts to speed up justice to get criminals off our streets and before the courts. •
  • Greater support for victims of crime- Make better use of new victim support methods, such as restorative justice, to provide a victim-led system of support. •
  • Reducing Rural Crime is a priority- I will prioritise combatting rural crime. We must tackle the perception that this is an afterthought
  • Tackling anti-social behaviour and drug crime- We need to ensure that local residents and the Police are working together to tackle these problems robustly.

The Blog’s view (for what it is worth)
This looks like a 3-horse race between the Labour and Conservative candidates and the present incumbent. We favour the incumbent because she has had 3 years practical experience in the job and is free from political pressure and party politics, which should be nothing to do with policing.

We deplore the lack of publicity and poor communication for this election.

Blog odds:
Mountstevens – 6-4 fav
Baker 3-1
Crossley -7-2
Weston -7-2
Phillips 6-1
Foot -20-1
Briton 100-1

Vote at the Village Hall from 7am to 10 pm

Results

 

 

 

 

 

MPO’s “Sorcerer” now on line

Bloggovision1If you missed it, here’s a chance to catch up with the Milborne Port Opera’s production of “The Sorcerer, now on video, thanks to Geoff Allan.

Wait for a wet afternoon, hook Youtube into your telly and enjoy.
www.youtu.be/Q5rxVmi0cXU

Book Review: Life, the Universe and Everything on holiday

The Blog is venturing into new territory and publishing its first book review. Readers are invited (and encouraged) to send in readable and succinct reviews of books they have recently enjoyed, in order to enhance everyone’s summer reading.

Richard Gaunt writes. . .This is a review of a life changing book. I didn’t choose to read it. It is almost as if it sought me out and thrust itself into my hand. To start with, I didn’t like it.. But then I was hooked.

I was planning to depart on holiday when an email from Amazon popped up. Why not have a free trial of Kindle Unlimited? Why not indeed? You choose a number of books for a 7-day free trial, after which they disappear.   Perfect for a week away, so I signed up.

One book was brilliant-“The Floating Brothel” an account of the transportation of female convicts to Australia in the 1790s. Highly recommended. (No surprises there –Ed.) 

The others were rubbish. But the last one, downloaded at random, and with only 2 days to go before automatic deletion was “Ancient Knowledge”. By an author I’ve never heard of, one George Curtis. Self published by the look of it. I gave it a try. And then began a very interesting couple of days. I learnt the secret of Life, the Universe and Everything, and a lot more besides.

I will tell you the secret of Life the Universe and Everything now. It will save you the bother of buying the book and reading it. The answer is

(AUi)(9/4pi).ln30 – F = (AUo)(3/2pi). 

Or to put it even more simply,

 y = mx + c.

But how the very clever, precise and logical Mr Curtis reaches this conclusion, and what it actually means, is a fascinating and literally earth-shattering (and also amusing and irreverent) treasure hunt which will have you on the hook from the moment you realise where he is going.

I am not going to deprive you of the fun, or Mr Curtis of a very well-deserved royalty, by spilling the beans, other than to say it starts with the Flood, and the Tower of Babel, delivers a startling piece of game-changing logic backed up by detailed proofs which hit you like a thunderbolt, and ends in the present day with a challenge to us all.

It is a not a religious or mystical book in any sense, although it quotes extensively from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and it certainly reminds us of who wrote that book, and why. Mr Curtis is an atheist, but Christians will not be offended. He affords the Christ the utmost respect, along with some, but not all, of his followers. Druids, New Agers, Scientologists, Mormons, Quakers and Jehova’s Witnesses will probably feel a bit foolish.

The curious thing about the book is that it does not appear to have been reviewed anywhere else, which is a pity. It looks as if the universities don’t want to know. And Mr Curtis is virtually unknown We wonder if it might be a pseudonym for someone anxious to guard his reputation in other fields?

A brilliant read, and something to discuss over endless pints in the Drinkers’ Arms.

You can get it on Amazon as a e-book, or obtain a  hard copy on line.

 

 

 

Sherborne Abbey Festival looms

The annual five day Sherborne Abbey Festival begins on Friday 29 April.

There is a veritable feast of all kinds of music, words and fun. Download the programme here . You can book on line or in person at the Tourist Information Centre in Digby Road, Sherborne.

Kieran White, a brilliant singer and friend of the editor (he also appeared in “Hot Fuzz” as a delinquent), is giving a recital in Cheap Street  Church with the lovely Charlotte Hewitt  at 3pm on Friday 29th April. Entry is free.

The programme will be some Handel, Britten and Purcell. The centre piece is the song cycle by Britten called a birthday hansel. The cycle is a Scottish cycle and accompanied by harp. The harpist is a fellow student at the Royal Academy of Music. Caroline D’Cruz, musical director of the Milborne Port Opera is the pianist.

But there’s also plenty of other stuff, from Jazz, through James Galway, to wonderful choral music in the Abbey.

Milborne Port Opera thanks Horsington

BloggoVisionThe cast, orchestra and crew of Milborne Port Opera has asked the Blog to thank all the kind people from Horsington who came to see “The Sorcerer”. The show played to three full houses, with a 70 per cent capacity on the first night.

22 people came in a party organised by the Half Moon and numerous other villagers made their own arrangements.

Judging by the comments in the media and on Facebook, the show was enjoyed by everyone.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the audience leaves after the final performance, watch this video. It gives a clue to why the Fine Times Recorder, the on line arts blog, described MPO as “remarkable”.
youtu.be/va4e39oA6oY

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