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April 30, 2008
You've probably heard this one before
It's been a while since we've had some old fashioned humor so via Lorie here are the ways to tell if you are an Internet Hobo:
You Might be an Internet Hobo if:
You spend more time online trying to find a way of making money than actually making money.
You have more than one degree from an online university.
Your little black book is full of usernames and passwords.
Your space is My-space.
You think a vacation is Google’s earth.
Your 15 minutes of fame is on You-tube.
Road rage means a dial up connection.
You hear your kids say "the snail man's here".
Of course these days road rage can be just 256k ram.
Posted by Peter at 01:04 PM
April 29, 2008
What happens on the web stays everywhere
The Washington Post discovers what we've known for a while. There is not such thing as privacy on the web:
"I know for a fact that when a superintendent in Missouri was interviewing potential teachers last year, he would ask, 'Do you have a Facebook or MySpace page?' " said Todd Fuller, a spokesman for the Missouri State Teachers Association, which is warning members to clean up their pages. "If the candidate said yes, then the superintendent would say, 'I've got my computer up right now. Let's take a look.' "
Read the whole thing (registration may be required for page one) and remember what some of these teachers are discovering, if you put yourself on the web you will be seen.
Posted by Peter at 08:25 AM
April 28, 2008
Security vs Security
As this came up with a customer today it seems like a good time to point out something that many people are still unclear on. Wireless Security vs Virus Security.
When we refer to WIRELESS SECURITY we are talking about the status of the signal being sent from your router that allows internet connection and/or networking through it. If your wireless is unsecure then your signal can be picked up by any other user in range. This will allow that user to surf the internet on your nickel and depending on your network settings get into your files. Wireless can be secured using several different protocols just remember as we have mentioned before the Six Dumbest Ways to secure a wireless lan, and avoid them.
When we refer to just Security we are talking about protection from virus', spyware and all types of malware. This is the protection on the pc or network itself that is stopping the attacks on the computer. This is what most people think of when they hear security. Without this protection your system will be slowed down, your data stolen and your tax returns may be a fun free download for all the world to see.
Remember one type of protection DOES NOT cover the other, you need both to make things work. The internet is a dangerous place, be prepared.
Posted by Peter at 11:32 AM
April 27, 2008
Score one for the good guys
Well it took 137 days but Saudi blogger Fouad al-Farhan has been released by the Saudi government who arrested him without charge. We'll take it.
Posted by Peter at 11:14 AM
April 25, 2008
Just what everyone needs
Hey computers are wonderful how did we ever do without the usb power heated slippers? It is #2 on the list of the Most Baffling Computer Gadgets Money can buy. The question is why would money want to buy them?
Posted by Peter at 03:55 PM
April 24, 2008
The Gathering Storm
Geek Press gives more info on the storm botnet. The good news is its scope is being overestimated, the bad news however is still bad enough:
Criminal gangs are increasingly active in producing things like Storm, and, in the case of China, so are government Cyber War operations. Russia is also believed to rely on criminal hackers for help in carrying out Cyber War tasks, usually espionage. (emphasis mine) Meanwhile, it's clear what Storm is up to. It has been launching attacks at web sites involved in stopping or investigating Storm. This involves transmitting huge quantities of bogus messages, that shut down targeted web sites (this is a DDOS, or distributed denial or service attack). The Storm botherders are also advertising their botnet as available for the usual illegal activities (various types of spam).
Cyber attacks and cyber warfare is going to be the wave of the future so we'd better get used to the idea.
Posted by Peter at 05:45 PM
April 23, 2008
Nothing like loving your customers
You know there are going to be days when a system may go down or a phone might malfunction or volume might be high or a half dozen other things can go wrong that can sometime make the customer less than desired. Any good company will do their best to avoid that since the customer is why they are in business.
However it looks like Microsoft never got the memo:
Microsoft just announced that it will no longer supply authorization keys for songs purchased from the defunct MSN Music service. That means that the PlaysForSure music you purchased will only play on your registered computers (up to 5) for as long as they shall live. As Microsoft puts it, "If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play."
This is certainly not what the people who purchased the service had bargained for.
Posted by Peter at 02:09 PM
April 22, 2008
Do it yourself security
Robotics was once a field of fancy, now it is one pub owners neighborhood watch:
The Bum Bot's reputation, it seems, has preceded it.The electronic vigilante — on the beat since September — has enraged neighborhood activists, who have threatened protests. Street people say it's intimidating. And homeless advocates question the intentions of its inventor, who uses the Bum Bot as a marketing tool and a political prop.
Terrill, a 57-year-old ex-Marine, asserts his motives are pure: He says more police now patrol the area at night, the park across the street feels safer and he's had no break-ins since the cube-shaped robot, which Terrill controls with a wireless remote, has roamed the area. To Henrik Christensen, director of Georgia Tech's Robotics and Intelligent Machines Center, the Bum Bot exploits the kind of anxiety that underlies the Terminator movies.
To quote Glenn, I for one welcome our new robot overlords....
Posted by Peter at 10:47 PM
April 21, 2008
Ok that is a good use for a Blackberry
I must confess I haven't joined the Blackberry revolution but here is one instance that it really paid off:
Although the intruder had taken Wang’s phones and his laptop, he’d left behind Wang’s wife’s computer, which was buried under a bunch of papers.Wang crawled to the master bedroom, hid behind the bed and tried to think of who might have a BlackBerry on hand. The obvious answer: a Hill staffer like Pitts.
“I was just robbed at home by two burglars,” reads the e-mail Wang got off. “Laptop, phones and wallet all taken. They missed my wife's laptop. I dont' [sic] know if they're still around the house. Please call 911 and ask them to send police.”
“Calling now,” wrote Pitts at 4:16 p.m., a minute after Wang’s e-mail came in.
Unfortunately they didn't get the thief but if nothing else it shows that a blackberry in the right hands can help save the day.
Posted by Peter at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)
A little History, Happy Patriots Day
Today is Patriots day, a holiday in Massachusetts and Maine, it is also the running of the Boston Marathon which made for an interesting drive into work today.
HiWired will as always be open our normal 24-7. If you want to learn a bit about Patriots day and the start of the American Revolution Jules Crittenden has a first rate post with first hand accounts of the day when the shot heard 'round the world was fired a snipit:
“‘I saw an occasional horseman dashing by, going up and down, but heard nothing more until I saw them coming back in the afternoon, all in confusion, wild with rage, and loud with threats. I knew there had been trouble, and that it had not resulted favorably for that retreating army. I heard the musket-shots just below, by the old Brooks Tavern, and trembled, believing that our folks were killed. Some of the rough, angry soldiers rushed up to this house and fired in; but fortunately for me and the children, the shots went into the garret, and we were safe. How glad I was when they all got by the house, and your grandfather and our neighbors reached home alive!’”
The internet brings this info to your doorstep.
Posted by Peter at 10:31 AM
April 19, 2008
Too many programs spoil the speed
Been seeing quite a few systems lately with multiple copies of anti-virus. This is a very bad idea.
In the old days anti-virus programs tended to attack each other, the virus signatures were mistaken for actual virus' and attacked. These days the scanners are much smarter however virus scanners tend to simply eat memory. On old xp systems you run into an inability to handle the multiple systems scans at once. Combine that with an internet that demands more and more memory and you are at a standstill.
On new systems Vista tends to eat up a ton of memory so combined anti-virus makes it even worse. The multiple scans will just keep things crawling.
When deciding what to keep remember your needs, do you want frequent scans, flexible scans, background running to help keep nasties out? Make your decision based on what you need to have and act accordingly.
Posted by Peter at 10:12 PM
April 17, 2008
Meanwhile in the world of gaming.....
Well X-Box and PS3 have had plenty of time to tweak themselves and their adverts. Have they caught up to the Wii in popularity or sales? Short answer: No.
"Super Smash Brothers Brawl along with a greater supply of inventory helped the Wii to capture the highest single month unit sales of any platform outside the holiday timeframe," she added.As far as hardware numbers go, Nintendo sold 720,000 Wiis last month; more than double that of combined Xbox 360 and PS3 sales, and almost enough to match the combined sales of all other consoles when including PS2.
You would think a revamped game that's been around forever wouldn't sell so well but my kids were dying for it.
Meanwhile my old Xbox has become the repository for my Big finish Dr. Who cd's.
Posted by Peter at 09:11 PM
April 16, 2008
The cons are on
Slashdot reports a very specialized batch of malware attacks.
We've gotten a few reports that some CEOs have received what purports to be a federal subpoena via e-mail ordering their testimony in a case. It then asks them to click a link and download the case history and associated information. One problem, it's total bogus. It's a "click-the-link-for-malware" typical spammer stunt. So, first and foremost, don't click on such links. An interesting component of this scam was that it did properly identify the CEO and send it to his e-mail directly. It's very highly targeted that way.
You would think a CEO type would know that subpoena's don't come via e-mail but then again that is what legal departments are for.
Then again another slashdot story suggests we shouldn't be surprised by these concerns:
I see our customers turn a blind eye to blatant security issues, in the name of the application or business requirements. I see our own senior officers reduce the risk ratings of internal findings, and even strong-arm 3rd party auditors/testers to reduce their risk ratings on the threat of losing our business.
Sounds a bit like Brezhnev on the train to me.
Posted by Peter at 07:31 AM
April 10, 2008
Still looking for a few good men and women
Well the economy is not supposed to be doing too well, (my kids college stock accounts took a hit this quarter) money is tight and unemployment is up, but the Christian Science monitor finds some places that are still hiring:
Around the nation, a wide range of companies are still hiring. Some of the new jobs are even in areas that are shrinking, such as financial services. Some positions require advanced degrees, but a variety of skill levels are in demand.High-tech companies, including Epik, are especially looking for workers. In Needham, Mass., HiWired Inc. is planning to add 50 to 100 new employees to its staff, which provides US-based technical support for consumers. The company is gearing up partly because during downturns, consumers tend to keep their computers longer. "What happens is the computer slows down, and people want to know if there is anything they can do to make it run like new again," says Singu Srinivas, company president.
The positions we are offering currently are here. Maybe you're just the person we're looking for.
Posted by Peter at 02:26 PM
April 09, 2008
I bet you think this song is about you
You know there was a time when you could get away with this:
...a spokesman for Phorm refused to comment on why it had tried to censor a quotation from The Guardian's commercial executives describing the ethical stance they took against its tracking system. He also refused to talk about the deletion of a passage explaining how BT admitted it misled customers over the 2007 secret trial.Phorm also deleted a link to the The Register's report on the 2006 trial, and accompanying reference to BT's own document. It said that the aim of the trial was to validate that users were unaware of the presence of the tracking system.
More details at techdirt. Bottom line is you can't hide things on the net.
Posted by Peter at 02:01 PM
April 07, 2008
Our time will come
Well we can't get them yet but PC Mag shows what is now in Asia but not here.
Oh BTW on a little semi mini vacation so blogging will be iffy.
Posted by Peter at 10:31 PM
April 06, 2008
Silly on its face
The NYT Goes on about the health risks of blogging today:
To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.The pressure even gets to those who work for themselves — and are being well-compensated for it.
“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen.”
As usual Glenn Reynolds hits the nail on the head:
Blogging can be stressful, but it's not digging ditches. If you think otherwise, you've never dug a ditch.
That right, whenever I think my job has stress I think about my father who never even got into high school but worked during the depression very hard at a local paper factory, then the navy then at his own business. I don't think I've worked a day in my life as hard as he did.
Stuff like this is a matter of perspective again.
Posted by Peter at 02:28 PM
April 04, 2008
It's ALIVE
Now here is the best news of the day:
Demand for XP on devices like the Eee and Intel's Classmate machines has prompted MS to reconsider axing XP entirely this June: the company will now sell XP Home through at least June 2010, and for one year after the release of Windows 7 -- which means sales of XP could stretch into 2012.
How dare Microsoft let a little thing like customer demand influence what they do!
Posted by Peter at 04:19 PM
April 03, 2008
The advantage of high speed
Via Geek Press what is the greatest advantage to a high speed connection? Dry Laundry.
So, after nine months with the ability to download a full high definition DVD in just two seconds or access 1,500 high definition HDTV channels simultaneously, how has Sigbritt's life changed?Not much, according to Hafsteinn Jonsson, who is heading up the fibre network operation for Karlstad Stadsnät.
"She mostly used it to dry her laundry," he told The Local.
"It was a big bit of gear and it got pretty warm."
Real life is just too odd isn't it?
Posted by Peter at 12:32 PM
April 01, 2008
Free is a relative term
The good news is Adobe has a version of their photoshop (Photoshop Express) for free use and download:
The idea behind Photoshop Express is to present a very easy to use online photo editing experience, offering tools such as resize, tint, distort, cartoon coloring, and sketch . Adobe has also taken into account the popularity of social networking and has implemented the ability to upload and download photos directly from the most popular networks into Photoshop Express.
...but watch out for the fine print, namely the terms of use...
...with respect to Your Content that you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Services, you grant Adobe a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, derive revenue or other remuneration from, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content and to incorporate such Content into other Materials or works in any format or medium now known or later developed.
Or put simply you have free use of our software and we have free use of your pictures. Adobe seems to be caught with egg on its face over this.
There is something to be said for reading the fine print.
Posted by Peter at 10:49 AM