OK, too much coolness in one place to be ignored. Avoid this at your peril.

This info all taken from their official press release:

The Bands

Phantom Tails – City Pages Best New Band of 2011, Phantom Tails formed in early 2009 as Orion Treon, Logan Kerkhof, Sergio Hernandez and Dave Dorman naturally came together out of their previous projects. They wield analog synthesizers, fuzz bass, and surf guitar while brandishing electronic drum beats sampled from vintage 808 machines, and sonar whale recordings.

Phantom Tails on Bandcamp
Phantom Tails on Myspace
Phantom Tails on Twitter

Fort Wilson Riot – the Minneapolis- based duo of Amy Hager and Jacob Mullis have no shortness of ambition, having put out two EPs and two full-length records in five years. Amy’s soprano floats over Jacob’s growl and yelp, but there is nothing easily classifiable about the Fort Wilson Riot sound. From the crashing guitars and keys, to the blasting uplift of trumpet and harmonica lines to the dancing thump of electronic drums, Fort Wilson Riot are an energy that grabs hold and takes you on a journey.

fortwilsonriot.com
Fort Wilson Riot on Twitter
Fort Wilson Riot on Facebook

The New EPs

The Armageddon Experience – Phantom Tails are releasing their followup to Songs of the Hunchback Whale called The Armageddon Experience. This new EP contains five new songs:

• Flotsam & Jetsam
• Dressed Wounds
• Onward & Awkward
• Young Rapture
• Glacial Drumlins

These songs don’t stray far from the gritty mix of heavy drum samples, spacey keyboards, and unexpectedly catchy hooks featured on their 2010 debut, Songs of the Hunchback Whale, but go further to establish their ‘deep space doom funk’ sound. The new songs draw from apocalyptic landscapes and natural disasters as depicted in  film and art and then mixed with rhythmically dynamic negative space and Latin polyrhythms. Recorded and mixed by Ross Nueske and mastered by Greg Reierson of Rare Form Mastering.

Generation Complex – Fort Wilson Riot’s new EP, Generation Complex is the band’s fourth record. Here’s the track list:

• For All The Little Things
• The River Song
• The Appendix Song
• Generation Complex Pt. 1 (Diamonds In Your Eyes)
• Generation Complex Pt. 2 (A Night Alone)
• Song for Sympathy

Live versions of “For All The Little Things” and the “Generation Complex” songs were released previously as part of Fort Wilson Riot’s Daytrotter session and all the tunes have been developed and honed through two years of touring. Generation Complex was recorded in borrowed houses and friends’ basements, including Phantom Tails’ home and was mastered by Rob Schlette.

One Vinyl To Pull Them Both Together

Take the two new EPs from these two great bands and put them back-to-back on vinyl, and you get one awesome double-EP. Phantom Tails The Armageddon Experience on one side, and Fort Wilson Riot’s Generation Complex on the other. This natural pairing offers up two sides of the Twin Cities’ best core-shaking, hard-dancing, guitars-and-electronic-drums-driven rock n’ roll in one incredible package.

The “Phantom Riot” Event (and how to get Free Beer!)

The split vinyl will be released at “Phantom Riot”, a double-headliner all-out party at the Triple Rock Social Club on Saturday, December 3rd, 2011. The first 24 fans to buy the vinyl at the show get a free Pabst Blue Ribbon!

WHERE: Triple Rock Social Club
WHEN: 9PM, Saturday, December 3, 2011
HOW MUCH: $5, 21+

“Phantom Riot” is sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon and 89.3 The Current.

The Second Chance

• Dec 5 @ High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
• Dec 6 @ Borg Ward – Milwaukee, WI

And now for something completely genius:

Suffering from TMI? (Too Much Information?) Here’s how to take control of your incoming information in three simple steps

The Samsung Droid Charge is one of those phones you hear about that does just about Everything. Text messages. Voice mail. E-mail. E-books. The interwebs. Twitter. MyBook. FaceSpace. Google+. Paypal. Bank Account updates. RSS feeds. Stock prices. Netflix. Weather alerts. If you have a fetish, there’s an app for it.

Yep, it does pretty much everything except make quality phone calls.

The great thing about having a phone like this is that you can connect to everything, everywhere, no matter where you are, at any time.

The bad thing about having a phone like this is that no matter where you are, everything, everywhere, can connect to YOU, at any time.

Once I got e-mail and all the apps and services hooked up, they all started clamoring for my attention. There wasn’t an hour of the day that something wasn’t ringing, pinging, tweeting, texting, alerting or messaging me.

So I had to do something. And on an author’s budget too, therefore hiring a “personal assistant” is out. So I turned to technology to crack down on the incoming data streams.

Here’s the tactics I used to fight back against info overload.

Step 1 – Eliminate the Negative

The first step I took to control my incoming data streams was to filter out the unwanted crap.

E-mail

It didn’t take long for me to realize that most of the junk e-mail I receive is my own fault – Ticketmaster. Eventful. Jambase. Forum updates. Band e-mail lists. Newsletters from other dark fiction authors, etc… I signed up for all this stuff. But whenever I’d check my e-mail, I’d simply delete them out of the way to get to my important mail. Now that every single e-mail alerts my phone, it’s an endless interruption of unimportant information.

So the first step in reducing info overload is to unsubscribe. Be honest with yourself about how many times you REALLY read that e-mail compared to the number of times you delete it unread, or file it away to read on a someday that never happens.

It only takes a couple clicks to get unsubscribed from an e-mail list. If you aren’t sure of the source of the e-mail (or you didn’t ask to receive it) don’t delete it, and don’t try to unsubscribe! Mark the message as SPAM and let your spam filter take care of it.  This tells your mail host and your mail client software that the sender is a spammer, and should be blocked in the future. The more you use your spam filter, the smarter it gets about who and what to block out.

Obviously, if you signed up for a mailing list and don’t want to receive it anymore, don’t list it as spam! Simply unsubscribe. If there isn’t an unsubscribe link in the mail, just reply to the mail with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

Social Media

RSS feeds, LinkedIn, FaceBook, MySpace, Google+, Twitter etc. Trust me, these things will still be there when you WANT to view them. Unless you have NO life whatsoever, there’s no need to receive real-time updates from social media. At the very least, go into the preferences and turn off the notices you don’t want to get, or change your subscription to a weekly consolidated update.

Voice Calls

If you find yourself receiving a lot of unwanted voice calls, Google Voice is the answer. I created a group in Google Voice called F-list. Contacts who annoy me, hound me, or take advantage of my phone number by calling me at odd hours with stupid questions get added to the F-list. I’ve set up Google Voice to direct anyone on the F-list to go directly to voice mail. they don’t even ring my phone. Its like a spam filter for phone calls. To do this in your own account, log into Google Voice then click the little gear in the upper-right corner of the screen and select “Voice Settings”. Under the “Groups” tab you can define the specific routing rules, custom message and whether to screen the calls or not.

There is another way to do this without using google voice. If your phone lets you assign a different ring tone for different people or groups of people, some of them can be set to the lovely sound of “Silent”. You might even be able to do this for numbers that are not already in your phone’s contact list. Unlisted numbers and first-time-callers will be forced to leave a message.

Many people won’t even leave a message when they get dumped to voicemail, so this tactic significantly reduces the number of incoming calls and messages. If the F-lister does leave a message, Google Voice translates it into text and sends me an e-mail along with an attached mp3 of the message! Reading through the message is much faster than actually listening to some F-lister blather on, and I’ll decide whether or not to call them back.

Often I’ll e-mail or txt them back instead of calling.  Migrating the conversation to text messaging or e-mail makes people cut the crap and get straight to the point about why they are calling.

Step 2 – Accentuate the Positive

In the first step, I showed you how to reduce the incoming data streams by cutting out the junk. In this step, I’ll show you how to promote the good stuff that you actually want to get.

E-mail

Gmail’s Priority Inbox feature is a great tool for prioritizing e-mails. You give it feedback about which mails are important and which aren’t. Eventually, it learns which e-mails are priority. E-mails from your mom, your agent and your BFFs will rise to the top of your inbox.

If you aren’t using gmail, then check to see if your mail client has some kind of filtering you can apply, perhaps a set of rules to forward to your phone if the call is from [insert name of stalkee here].

Social Media

I have a feeling that if you’re addicted to rss feeds like Digg, Lifehacker, Conrad Zero: Dark Fiction Author, or social media sites, you’ll make time to view them on a regular basis. But if you gotta be a virtual stalker and get bleeding-edge updates, then set up the social media or rss feed to notify you by e-mail and let the Priority Inbox rules from above do the filtering for you.

Voice Calls

Once again, Google Voice is your hero. Similar to the F-list I mentioned in the previous step, I created an A-list of contacts whose calls are routed direct to my cell phone. This is for close friends, family, my agent, and Suzanne Vega.

Truth to tell, I actually have my ringer off quite a bit, so even A-listers have to leave a message. And sometimes it takes me hours or even days to get back to them, but I do get back to them. But leaving the ringer off when you don’t have time to talk is only fair to both you and those calling. (Yes, even when it’s your mom!)

Step 3 – The Unpublished Masses

So you’ve cut out the crap, and added all stalkers, government agencies and your student loan officer to the F-list. You’ve added your mom, your agent and Conrad Zero to the A-list. These simple steps might be all you need. But there are some things you can do with the remaining group of “everything else”.

The last tip is to help reduce your signal-to-noise ratio by creating different types of alerts for the different types of notifications.

I turned off notifications for general e-mail, but I still allow Important e-mails to vibrate once, but not actually ringing the phone. Texts are a short bird noise (like a tweet). When these alerts come in, I don’t need to look at my phone to know what kind of alert it was, and if it’s important enough to interrupt what I’m doing at any given moment.

All other calls (not A-list or F-list) are allowed to reach my cell during daytime hours, and dump to voicemail on evenings/weekends.

JEI (Just Enough Information)

When you’ve implemented these steps, you’ll have three distinct lists of incoming communication:

• Stuff you want (A-list)
• Stuff you don’t want (Spam, F-list, etc.)
• Everything else

I hope these tips help make your day simpler, quieter, and more productive. If you have any useful tips for reducing information overload, please share them in the comments.

If I’ve mastered anything about writing, it’s How To Put Off Writing By Reading More Books About Writing. And Larry Brooks latest work Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing made me put all my writing on hold until I finished reading it.

Lots of writing books focus on a single aspect of the writing craft. Books on Character, Plot, and such abound. It’s rare books like Stein On Writing by Sol Stein, Story by Robert Mckee and Story Engineering by Larry Brooks that present a top-level perspective of many essential writing aspects at once and shows how they interrelate.

For those dying to know what the six core competencies are:

• Concept
• Character
• Theme
• Story Structure
• Scene Execution
• Writing Voice

There may be other elements of writing, but I doubt anyone will argue that these six are essential. Story Engineering not only explains each element in detail, but also takes examples from popular bestsellers, and shows you exactly how it’s done.

Tools, Not Rules

My only criticism of Story Engineering is that the useful information is slathered in a thick coating of the author’s opinion on how you should use these tools. He rails against the practice of organic writing (also known as ‘pantsing’) suggesting you must have your story structure in place before writing a word, or you’re signing your own rejection letter.

I’ve already thoroughly examined this topic in a previous blog post, Let the Muse Run Free or Tie Her Down? Organic Writing vs Outlining. The short version is that no one can or should tell you how to write. The six core competencies in Story Engineering are tools, not rules. They are descriptions of good writing, not prescriptions of ‘the way thou shalt write it.’  There is no question that an awareness of these core competencies will make you a better writer. But how you implement them (or knowingly break them) is up to you.

Despite the strong personal opinions, Story Engineering has plenty of excellent core content. Here’s how I recommend approaching the book to get the most out of it:

1. Start by previewing Chapter 8 – The Development Process, which presents the top-level concept of a “Beat Sheet” and gives a method for organic writers to implement the six core competencies. Starting with this information will give you a context for the rest of the book. Reading chapter eight again when you get to the end of the book will really gel all the pieces together.
2. Skip the first 18 pages. Or read them for what they are, an opinion. In fact, you can safely start at chapter five.
3. If you’re the kind of writer who doesn’t outline, bring a lot of salt.

合計 (In Summation)

For those getting their Fringe on this week, I recommend Michael Merriam’s Darkly Through the Light Waters, Twin Cities Tales.

Michael is a great writer and reader. His performance is a hybrid of an author reading and a minimalist, one-man show where the one man happens to have the script with him on stage.

The three stories Michael presents are short, entertaining and chock-full of magical beings, action and romance. Think True Blood without the vampires.

Here’s a copy of the flier which gives you pricing, schedule and more description:

A Convention for High-Level Author Discussion

The 4th Street Fantasy Convention Conversation describes itself this way:

• a convention for people who are serious about good fantasy and good stories.
• a weekend of high-quality, high-intensity, mind-stretching fun.
• a single track program sized so that everyone can experience the same panels.
• fascinating conversations.
• an opportunity to promote interest and quality in fantasy literature.

I like that they call it a Conversation, not a Convention. The panel programming is structured like a Convention, but the audience is allowed to interact  add, and steer the conversation (under the control of a panel moderator). Some of the best conversation for me was found outside the actual programming, when writers would break into groups between panels, kibitzing in the back room, noshing at nearby venues, assembling in the hotel bar for some social lubrication, or taking over the conference room after hours for a late-night music jam.  The ability to digest and process the info with other authors is great because it allows you to take the high-level theory back to the day-to-day applied practice of writing.

Fourth Street is geared more toward art than craft. The level of discussion is more philosophical and abstract than the discussions we have at MNSpec Writer’s Groups. The topics are heady, and even panel topics that were started simply because “I didn’t like it when author X did this…” end up getting analyzed at a high level that might throw newer authors. With a roomful of experience, intelligence, alcohol and overcompensating introverts, your mileage will definitely vary. You could get moments of non-topic pedantic bullshit, but the results are usually writer-philosophy-Nirvana.

Who-All Was There

It was good to see a respectable turnout of my fellow MNSpec writers: the talented, published (and MODEST, damn him) Michael Merriam, his lovely wife Sherry Merriam, the uber-talented Dana Baird, the lovely and talented and very pregnant Abra Staffin-Wiebe, the cheerful uber-hipster couple Eli Effinger-Weintraub and Leora, and the charming Tracy LaChance. It was comforting to know that we could have taken the conference if we had to (except maybe Elizabeth Bear, she seems like a scrapper) but fortunately it didn’t come to that. It would be great if MNSpec could have an even greater presence at 4th Street in 2012. I was glad to have plenty of people I knew at the convention, because socializing is a major component of the event, and if you have people there whom you know, (or if you’re naturally outgoing and extroverted) I think you’ll get more out of it.

I was forewarned that there is a “country club” feel to the 4th Street convention, and I can tell you this is  is kinda-sorta true. A high percentage of people attending conference have been there before. I would say less than 10% of the group were first time attendees. Overall the regular crowd was friendly and accepting of The New People. There is also the core group that created 4th street called the Scribblies. These are the royalty in the not-so-invisible hierarchy of 4th Street. You don’t have to bow to them, but it’s clear that they run the show.

If the Scribblies are the Royal Court, then the Queen would be Janet Grouchy, the real power behind making 4th street a success. Janet is actually a Momma Duck in Disguise who made sure we were all taken care of over the long weekend. She was my personal caffeine source, keeping me supplied with Diet Coke and Louisiana Coffee for my high-octane needs. Janet was the epitome of Southern Hospitality. She checked on each table personally to make sure our lunches were alright before she sat down herself. Fourth Street is very lucky to have someone like Janet to coordinate this awesome event/resource for writers.

Highlights

Conrad Zero and the Queen of Urban Fantasy, Emma Bull

The #1 highlight of the convention for me was when one of my personal hometown heroes Emma Bull sat down beside me, and we got the chance to chat. For those who don’t know, Emma Bull wrote War for the Oaks in 1987, which is considered to be the book that defined the Urban Fantasy genre, and had a huge impact on my own writing career. I told Emma that her work inspired me greatly, but that she should not feel responsible or guilty for any stories I might publish because of that inspiration. After three days of observing Emma in action, I can tell you she is smart, sparky, fun, and still passionate about writing after almost 25 years. She is living proof that writing will not eventually turn you into Harlan Ellison.

Another personal highlight was during a panel called “Off with ‘is head!” which discussed how, when and why authors might kill off main characters. One audience member was struggling to come up with an example of a character who become immortal, even mythological, by transcending death. I yelled out “Frodo Lives!” The guy looked equal parts confused and annoyed, like I had Tourette’s Syndrome or something. I could just as easily have yelled out “Jesus Christ!” but I figured more of the audience had read The Lord Of The Rings than The Bible. (I’m waiting for the movie myself.) But seriously, I didn’t just make up this phrase. If it has it’s own wikipedia page, it qualifies as pop culture. Good thing I had a +3 Potion of Snub-Resistance on me.

The “Another Panel” is complete genius. If anyone tries to take the discussion off-topic (intentionally or not) people can claim “That’s Another Panel” in which case someone writes it down on a board and the discussion returns to the topic at hand. At the end of the weekend, the last panel is called “Another Panel” where the list of topics is examined for further discussion.

There was so much book/author-name-dropping that it made me feel guilty for not reading more. The good news was that I was able to add a whole slew of fiction books to my amazon wish list. (Thank goodness for free wireless.) and a slew of movies to my Netflix queue. Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore had a handy table at the conference with an assortment of books by the authors in attendance.

I picked up a copy of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and got Scott to sign it. Scott is a great speaker with a great sense of humor and an odd combination of gregariousness and modesty. One of the discussion panel topics was about killing off main characters, which apparently happens in this book. Of course, I immediately had to buy it. Not because a main character dies, but I told Scott that any author willing to take chances like that is going to take chances in other areas too, and that’s the kind of author I want to read.

The best parts of 4th street for any author are information, motivation, and networking. Just talking about writing with writers, and bouncing around so many great ideas made me want to go home and write ten novels. If you’re a writer in the Minnesota/Minneapolis area, you owe it to yourself to attend the 4th Street Fantasy Conversation.

Things I learned at 4th Street Fantasy Conversation 2011

• If you have a clean house, you are not an author.
• If you aren’t a control freak, you aren’t really an author.
• Weight gain in authors is also known as “street cred.”
• Write better.
• Write things you have a passion for.
• Simply because you talk a good talk on a panel doesn’t mean your writing is good.
• Simply because you botch or get trounced on a panel doesn’t mean your writing sucks.
• You’re never going to keep your audience if you worry about keeping your audience.
• The deadline for your Science Fiction manuscript is Fantasy, and the deadline for your Fantasy manuscript is Science Fiction (esp since it involves Time Travel.)

Apple iCloud vs. Amazon Cloud Player vs. Google Music Beta

Online music storage is the future that replaces MP3 players, just like MP3 players replaced CD players, just like CD players replaced cassette players. The beauty of accessing your music where ever you go on whatever device you have available might just launch a renaissance of music appreciation. Or not. At the very least, it keeps your music backed up for you, and there’s some free options, so you should at least check them out.

PCMag.com has a great article describing the differences between Amazon, Apple and Google’s online music players.

I’m in on the Google Music Beta and I’ve been choking my internet connection with about 60GB of music that’s been uploading for the last two days. People complain about how long it takes for the initial upload, but seriously, 60GB is a preposterous amount of data. People are quick to dismiss data size because hard drive space is so cheap but seriously, it would take you MONTHS of listening for 24 hours a day just to play through all that music. And once its up on the cloud, it only needs to sync changes.

Too bad it took so long for online music storage to get popular – mp3tunes.com has been doing online music storage for YEARS. Sadly, their business model doesn’t work. 2GB is not enough space for all my music. And paying for more space is not reasonable. If I was going to pay for storage, I’d pay for generic online file storage like Dropbox or SugarSync that works for all my data files, docs and pictures, not just music.

Ah, music storage in the cloud. Ah, no DRM. Ah, no Apple or Itunes involved. Life is good. My nest step is to pick up a 4G phone so I have access to my entire music library almost anywhere. Can I get a Hell Yeah?

Dreams With Sharp Teeth

At the MNSpec writer’s group, there are three names that keep coming up. These three would be the Prince, Michael Jackson and Madonna of writers for our group. They are writers who not only pushed the boundaries of commercial speculative fiction, but have also stood the test of time. They are Stephen King, Anne Rice and Harlan Ellison.

So who the hell is Harlan Ellison?

I was asking myself that very same question. Despite knowing a bit about his antics (See this fantastic rant from Harlan.) I’d heard more about Harlan’s personality than I ever did about his writing.  So when I tripped over a documentary called Dreams With Sharp Teeth I had to check it out.

Harlan is such an interesting and quirky person that even if you aren’t an author or an avid reader, you still might want to watch this well constructed and highly entertaining documentary, directed by Erik Nelson. Guests include Robin Williams and Neil Gaiman.

Scattered throughout the documentary are clips of Harlan reading from his work. The man definitely has a way with words. I’ve never read anything by Harlan Ellison, but with titles  like “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman and I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, I’ll be checking these out soon. My favorite parts of the film are clips of him being interviewed back in the 70′s. Harlan is one cool cat, no question. And his biting cynicism, worldviews, chaotic behavior and intolerance for stupidity made me feel like I just discovered my real father. (Harlan might actually be my real father for all I know. My mom told me I was dropped off by the gypsies… long story.)

Dreams With Sharp Teeth is an excellent documentary about a fascinating human being. If you were thinking it would be  cool to sit down and have dinner with Harlan, make sure to check out the bonus feature where Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman and the director sit around a table eating pizza and telling stories until Harlan looks at them and says, “When are you guys going to leave?” Fabulous.

Google prepares for world domination with new product lines.

Sure Google is Evil but so is my ex. But just because they’re evil doesn’t mean they aren’t attractive. Buzz on the web indicates Google is poised to shake some pillars just in time for the end of the world in 2012.

Project Tungsten

Mobiledia reports that Google is nearly finished with a “Smarthome” platform code-named Project Tungsten.  This is straight out of every damned future-movie we’ve ever watched. You pull up the driveway and the door unlocks, the lights turn on, (to a preset level dependent on time of day and ambient light intensity) the stereo pulls up your favorite playlist, and your android-enabled kitchen mixes you an unnecessarily strong Iron Butterfly.

Just add a holographic model in a French-maid outfit, and we’re all set. Except we will need a new vision of what the new future living quarters will look like.

Google Music Player

Finally. I’ve been waiting for someone…anyone to come out with a decent music player and online storage system  so I can tell Microsoft and Apple both to suck it.

I would have bet money on Amazon’s new cloud storage, or maybe Dropbox or Sugarsync, but I never thought our musical savior would be Google. Lifehacker.com gives a sneak peak of Google’s new cloud music player.  Store 20,000 songs in the cloud, and access them through the android smartphone app. Yet another way to suck both your phone batteries and your data plan minutes dry, but it trounces carrying two devices or suffering with I-tunes.

By invite only, so make sure to get on the list.

Google Voice

I was grandfathered into Google Voice a few years ago when they bought Grand Central, so this service isn’t very *new* and I’m surprised that Google really hasn’t bothered to promote the “One Number To Rule Them All” but I think it’s a damned miracle. One number rings all your phones at once, or you can set rules based on time of day or the incoming number. For example, if anyone from my Family group calls between 8AM and 5PM, then forward to these phones. If my student loan officer calls at any time,  dump it directly to voicemail.

Custom messages means you can leave a “Hi There! I sure am sorry I missed your call!” for your mom and your sweetie, while unlisted numbers get the generic “Leave  a message, but don’t hold your breath.”

Messages left for you get translated into text and e-mailed to you, meaning you can actually get your voicemail messages during meetings with your ringer turned off, AND messages are now stored forever in your e-mail, AND searchable via text.

I could keep going, but QED. Google Voice rocks, and the reason I add this to the list is because Microsoft just announced plans to purchase the mega-online phone mogul, Skype. This action alone will call attention to Google Voice as an option, and  so they won’t even have to promote it, and it may force Google’s hand and make them fess up as to their big plans for such an awesome and underrated service.

Regardless, I predict that you’ll be hearing more about Google Voice in the near future.

Google TV

And if that wasn’t enough, Google TV should just about clench it.

Evil is the new Good

So Google’s got your personal communication device, your entertainment center and your house in their digital pocket. Oh yes, and they are sifting through your contact list so they got all that, too.  I’m just going to send them my credit card now and get it over with. Who am I kidding? They probably already have it.

When you add it up, it really does look like Google is going to take over the world. Maybe it should. Google may not be able to run for President of the United States of America, but it could certainly take a position as a world-dominating authority. Google knows all our secrets (Well, except maybe China)  so it wouldn’t be a difficult task.

Come on Google, you’ve already botched your Don’t Be Evil slogan, and Be Evil, but just evil enough to make your online experience better isn’t going to cut it.

If you don’t step up and take over the world, I’ve got Cthulhu on speed-dial. Wait a minute, does Cthulhu own controlling stock in Google? That would explain a lot.

Click the image to go to Malwarebytes.org

True, there’s nothing exciting about computer security programs, but you don’t use them because they’re exciting. You use them to PREVENT exciting. Losing your manuscripts to malware (short for ‘malicious software’) is very exciting, and it’s exactly what you’re trying to avoid by loading programs like Malwarebytes AntiMalware.

I know, the name is awful. But the program is FREE for personal use, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Malwarebytes (along with an antivirus scan) is my standard “PC Tune-up” if someone complains that their computer is Slow or exhibiting strange behavior.

What is Malware?

You might say, “But Zero, I have an awesome antivirus program! Why do I need anything else?” It’s important to understand that AntiVirus programs protect against Viruses. Malware is a larger category.

You can read the full definition of Malware on wikipedia.org. Note that Malware includes rootkits, trojan horses, worms, backdoors, and specific kinds of viruses intended to allow others to gain access to your computer. Your antivirus program isn’t looking for all these things. Some antivirus programs (McAfee, Symantec, etc.) add malware detection as an option, but MalwareBytes is still a good ‘second opinion’ for any existing security software.

How to Use Malwarebytes AntiMalware

Using Malwarebytes AntiMalware is simple.

1 – Download/install

Go to malwarebytes.org. Download the free version, and install.

2 – Update the program.

Use the “update” button, and repeat updates until you get the message that you have the latest version. Some version updates require a complete uninstall/reinstall of the program and a reboot of the computer.

Malwarebytes gets new updates often, sometimes several times a day, so if you have to re-run the scan, make sure to check for updates again.

3 – Run a full scan of the local drives.

This could take some time, especially if you have larger/multiple drives or a slower system. If you are in a hurry, close down everything else running on the system and raise the priority level of the scan using Task Manager.

The first time Malwarebytes runs it always finds something. Don’t be disturbed if you see cookies, or Potentially Unwanted Settings listed.

4 – Remove All Selected.

If you like, browse through the list of malware found during the scan. This info is saved in the Log section for future reference, so there’s no need to write it down.

Click the “Remove All Selected” button. This will delete/uninstall the listed malware programs and settings.

5 – Repeat as Necessary

This is important: If AntiMalware found anything odd, especially anything like a trojan horse, malware, rootkit or anything fishy, repeat this process from step 2 -  “update the program” and keep repeating steps 2-5 until the scan comes back clean.

Repeat scanning until you see this message.

Problems?

There are several problems you can run into:

• Malwarebytes AntiMalware won’t install, run or update
• It shuts down and completely disappears during a scan
• The same malware keeps showing up over and over in scans, despite being ‘removed’.

In these cases, you probably need to start your computer in Safe Mode with Networking and repeat the steps. If you don’t know how to do that, call your techy-friend. You know the one. Or call me, I have reasonable rates – you just have to come to one of my book signings, act like a deranged stalker fan, and buy at least one of my books while raving about how great it’s going to be. Not that you weren’t going to do that anyway.

Or you can check Malwarebytes awesome support forums. Check to see if someone else had a problem like yours, and what they did to solve it. Or post your issue and it won’t take long for someone to reply with steps to take to resolve your problem.

Extra Credit

If you like Malwarebytes AntiMalware, please consider purchasing the paid version from their online store. The paid version acts more like an anti-virus application. It starts up with your operating system and runs in the system tray, actively monitoring for malware, and actively updating itself in the background so you are always up to date with the latest protection. The free version only launches/updates/runs manually.

Paying for Malwarebytes AntiMalware not only supports a high-quality application, it also gives Malwarebytes programmers money so they can buy my latest novel. So you’re really helping us both out.

The Great Software For Great Authors Series

As both an I.T. guy and a writer, I get exposed to many different computer programs that are useful not only to computer users, but authors in particular.  So I created the Great Software for Great Authors series, where I discuss software that can help authors in their quest to be more organized, efficient and successful.

So here’s the disclaimer. I’ve used all the software listed in this series, and found it useful enough to give it a hearty recommendation for my fellow authors, as well as the Conrad Zero Ubercool Seal of Approval. I’m not related in any way to the software companies I endorse, and they have not paid me for my recommendation. There may be affiliate links in this blog post and website which provide a token fee to me if people buy the software after clicking through from my links, but this is my recommendation only and not an advertisement.

I love to hear from other authors. If you agree/disagree with my opinion or have an alternative recommendations, please post them in the comments section.