Open DNS

Been meaning to post this for quite some time. ISP DNS stinks? Check this out. It's DNS servers open to all. I've been using them and they work fine.

Hardware in Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T60p review

Linux compatible ThinkPads explained, along with a very good review of the T60 series ThinkPads. This is definitely worth your time.

Jack

Sticking with Windows XP: The Case Against Windows Vista

I got my Windows Vista RC1 DVDs the other day and promptly installed the 64 bit version. I only live once right? Even though I knew I would encounter more driver problems with the 64 bit edition, it went pretty well and I have a dual boot between Vista and XP Pro. I've played with Vista for about 6 hours. It is different in a number of minor ways, but enough like XP that I've adapted to the changes more easily than I had expected.

Aeroglass is okay, but not a deal-maker for me. I probably most like the taskbar button thumbnails -- those are neat, but again, not nearly $300 worth of neat. I add that to the driver incompatibility issues and the shakedown period that any new OS needs and I'll be sticking with XP for a while. At least until Vista SP1 and until I replace enough hardware because some of my older hardware will never support Vista 64 drivers (if I can't move to 64 bit what is the point, really?)

After having a good look at Vista RC1 on my own hardware, I decided to see what Paul Thurrott was saying these days. I spotted this article. It is timely and so agrees with what I've experienced so far. Based on my personal experience with Vista, I think he has a good point.

Microsoft keelhauls customers in WGA snafu

They call it "Windows Genuine Advantage". The advantage is all Microsoft's, no matter how often and how much they try to tell us they are doing it for our benefit. The system is fatally flawed and Microsoft is in a state of denial over that.

In the last few months, I have seen a 2 year old OEM installation of XP Home (a Compaq laptop) repeatedly be declared invalid. Thank Goodness HPQ is sympathetic and willing to help. Other OEMs have been less receptive and Microsoft's only interest is in getting you to pay for another license, no matter that you already have. They want full retail, too. One has to wonder how many clueless users have paid up in order to not have to deal with the hassles. I'm betting the number is fairly high.

The situation is going to get a whole lot worse when Vista and Longhorn Server get here. Vista will almost completely shut you down if WGA thinks you have a pirated copy or you haven't activated your copy in time. You will be able to use the browser to navigate the Internet, but nothing else. And you get logged off after an hour. False positives here will cause users to shed a LOT of tears, whether of pain or frustration.

Ed Bott's blog on ZDNet has his take on it.
And an older post on WGA.

This is David Berlind's announcement of the kill switch in a
ZDNet blog post.

And in the interest of fairness, Microsoft's justification.

Read it and weep.
Jack

Firefox JavaScript security "a complete mess"? More like a hoax (updated)

So much for my getting all alarmed.

Apparently the presentation I reported on is less than the presenters said it was. However, some of us have done some testing and can indeed compromise our subject machines in ways related to this. So, there is some vulnerability, even though it is not quite as it was depicted to be.

The Mozilla folks are still at it, evaluating everything and I expect to see an update coming out of this within the next few days.

Jack

Boing Boing: Day against DRM

Cory Doctorow writes:

Today is October 3, the International Day Against DRM -- the first global day where people rise up and say no to anti-copying technology that treats you like a crook. Remember, DRM doesn't stop "piracy" -- the only people who get DRM infections are people who don't pirate their media. You get DRM by buying your movies, music, games and books through authorized channels -- the stuff you download from P2P or buy off of a blanket at a flea-market has already had the DRM cracked off of it. They say that DRM "keeps honest people honest" -- but all it does is keep honest people in chains.

The article includes some tips to help celebrate today.
Boing Boing: Day Against DRM
[h/t to Militant Geek for the graphic]

--MissM

Taking passwords to the grave | CNET News.com

What are your plans about this? Let us know your solutions in the comments, please. I'd seen this last week, and mentioned it in the chat on Sunday, but Bruce Schneier's posting it reminded me to post it on our blog. There are some options in the comments of that post, too.

William Talcott, a prominent San Francisco poet with dual Irish citizenship, had fans all over the world. But when he died in June of bone marrow cancer, his daughter couldn't notify most of his contacts because his e-mail account--and the online address book he used--was locked up.

Complete article

--MissM

Hackers claim zero-day flaw in Firefox

Apparently the javascript engine in all implementations of the popular FireFox browser are broken badly enough to need a complete re-write. Whatever it is, I am sure they will do it fast. The Mozilla folks are good about that.

This just reinforces my opinion that the browser (any browser) is the most threatening application on the computer. I still use eLinks, links and occasionally lynx, which are text-only browsers and much less vulnerable, simply because they are not designed to do nearly as much as a "regular" graphic browser is.

The NoScript extension to FireFox is a good way to get around this. I simply turned of javascript in the FireFox preferences and will live with broken web sites until a real fix for the browser is available.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-01-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-01-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

Core 2 Extreme Quad Performance

ExtremeTech has gotten hold of one of the very first Intel quad core processors. The specs of the E670 are impressive, as are the results ET got out of it.

The article is filled with good information. Quad cores are almost here. Enjoy.

Jack

ATI's Linux drivers do not totally suck, shock

It's a tale about installing drivers for video under Linux. A cautionary tale, at that, and a series of reasons why average users probably won't cleave to Linux at home for a while, yet.

Jack

Project Vampire is about to Fly..

This is Rahul Sood's blog entry in which (toward the end) he announces the purchase of VooDoo PC by HP. He definitely likes to tell a story and I thought you would find it interesting. I did.

Jack

Friday fun! Check out the HD images of a sunken airship

This is cool, and just for fun, to try to start the weekend off right.
MercuryNews.com | 09/27/2006 | Scientists unveil high-definition images of huge airship sunk in 1935
--MissM

Symantec Lashes Out at Microsoft for Barring Vista Code Access

After a stretch of acting like a good corporate citizen by doing such things as promising not to sue over implementation of some web standards on which they hold patents, Microsoft is acting like, well, Microsoft. If Symantec's allegations are true, and even MS acknowleges they are, their behavior is back in anti-trust territory.

Dominance of a market should carry responsibility and not allow shennanigans like this.

Jack

Epos intros cheap handwriting recognition

Handwriting recognition is essential to some people's vision of future computing. It sure is to mine. This short article at The Inquirer will tell you about one such technology. The company, Epos, does not build anything, instead seeking to license the technology to others. I think they have a winner, here, and would love to have a sample.

There are others. I have a friend who programs for Electronic Arts, the game maker, here in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area. He tells me that within EA exists a very good pen recognition program that could be developed into a winning product, though he says the company probably won't do that. This is simply an offshoot of what they do for a living and is not seen as a product.

Further; rumor has it that Wacom, the tablet input people, will soon have a new tablet that has enough memory to be used without a PC for dozens of pages of dense text, then uploaded to the computer via encrypted BlueTooth or unencrypted USB/Firewire, depending on your preference. Combined with good handwriting recognition, this could be a killer app for a lot of people, myself included.

Interesting times, eh?

Jack

LivePC Engine and BetaGarage

Everyone knows about LiveCDs by now. At least I think they do. Well, here is a system based on VMWare's excellent technology that allows one to run different virtual machines for any purpose. They have Haiku, Linux and other virtual installations for download now and it seems as if developers are working hard to make more. There is even a "Christian" edition of Ubuntu GNU/Linux and a child safe desktop.

It is worth checking out. This is one possible shape of the personal computing future.

Jack

Microsoft fixes urgent VML problem

Go get it now boys and girls.

Langa Blog: Microsoft Releases IE Security Patch Early

Courtesy of Fred Langa's Blog, MS released a patch for the VML exploit documented by all of us (that post anyway :P ). This is the first I've seen of it, and wanted to post the update, ASAP. Go get it! Now!

Langa Blog: Microsoft Releases IE Security Patch Early
The Internet Explorer patch to fix a Vector Markup Language (VML) security hole (which we blogged this morning, saying that Microsoft may release it early) has now been released. Get the update here. Learn more about it here.

GO HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE LANGALIST E-NEWSLETTER!
--MissM

"IE for Linux" hack offers one more reason not to boot Windows

My neighbor, who is a fervent Windows and IE user quipped that this is what happens when sick minds are not occupied properly.

According to all reports, it works. You can run IE in many versions on your Linux machine, provided only that you have the wine libraries and common runtimes installed. So, you would not have to boot to Windows to see how your web site looks in IE or to access web apps that rely on ActiveX.

I will try it soon and report.

Jack

Spyware, Bots, Rootkits Flooding Through Unpatched IE Hole

Yet another IE hole. This one is gaping and the workarounds I have seen are not particularly impressive. MS will have to patch quickly, and it will not be in time, as so many machines are already infected.

Also, there is now an exploit that takes advantage of legitimate features in Adobe's Acrobat Reader which requires no user interaction, other than opening what appears to be a legitimate PDF file.

It's not safe out there and it is getting worse. I'll bet the Mac users are in such a smug state right now that they can hardly stand it.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 09-24-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-24-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

NTI Offers One Day Free Download of New USB Storage Partitioning, Encryption Software

Thought we'd get you this over the weekend so you could (hopefully) post it on Monday to alert everyone NTI is launching the new NTI Ninja USB device protection software with a free 1-day download...yes FREE!!!

You want a review copy? Hey we can get you the software early (ok one lousy
day but hey???) Let us know if you need anything else -- A

Free Tuesday

NTI Offers One Day Free Download of New USB Storage Partitioning, Encryption Software


Starting at midnight tonight, NewTech Infosystems (NTI) will be making their new Ninja software - a USB data storage and protection software solution - available
free on their web site, www.ntius.com . Unlike most fixed
partition USB software, NTI Ninja allows users to adjust the size of their public and private partitions on their portable storage device. In addition, the software provides users with complete storage area anti-tamper encryption and password protection.

The new software was developed to meet the dramatic increase in today's mobile workforce, the increased use of USB storage devices and the need to protect content and data from being stolen or compromised on the small, portable devices.

To kickoff Ninja protection, the company will make the software available free at the firm's website tomorrow (September 26). After that -- the software that works with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP operating systems - will have a suggested retail price of $24.95.

NTI Ninja allows users to adjust the size of their private and public workspaces on virtually any USB flash or hard drive device to meet their specific storage requirements.

To ensure private and sensitive information is not compromised even if the device is lost or stolen, NTI Ninja includes core encryption and password protection.


The password protection and encryption application complies with the Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES), the government- and corporate-grade encryption standard.
The 128-bit AES encryption prevents brute force password protection of the user's
private storage areas while providing free, easy access to the public storage
space on the USB device. Individuals can use the software on USB flash and hard
drives as well as SD cards, cell and smartphones, iPods and MP3 Players.

Users can reformat the storage device at any time to meet changing requirements.


For your free copy of NTI Ninja download it tomorrow (September 26) at www.ntius.com
. After that…$24.95!

BBspot - Microsoft Requiring Fingerprints and DNA for Vista WGA

Just a little humor to lighten the day.....

Workaround needed for IE hole

Been here, done this. Or something similar. This is just more info on the same that Jack and MissM have been posting, but it gives a specific workaround. I did it. It is a quick, easy, cut-n-paste. To reverse it is just as easy when the patch comes out. Since IE is so intertwined with Windows, I will remind you that this is needed even if your default browser is Firefox or Opera, etc.

On a personal note I've been completely down with something very nasty this week. If I had eaten spinach I'd know what it was, but I didn't so I'm thinking it was something Norwalk'ish. If you want the details you can look that up. I'm making a slow but steady recovery at this point.

SunbeltBLOG: Seen in the wild: Zero Day exploit being used to infect PCs

This is a different exploit than the one Jack posted below, and its been out a few days, but I've accumulated some links about it, here.

Day Zero
Still Day One: Sunbelt
Microsoft's response (Still Day One)
Minor fix to exploit mitigation
Secunia: Day One

The President of Sunbelt Software publicized this first, on his blog. As I recall one company discovered it, and notified Microsoft, but hadn't announced it yet. Why two days before it was posted here, you ask? Well, my reluctance was because it was an IE exploit, I thought, and I didn't want to repeat what an excellent browser Firefox is. But, I hope that this adds to your knowledge of the current exploit being used by the scum of the internet.

--MissM

Microsoft's Zune doesn't seem to give much to it's owner

The link is to a comment piece on ZDNet UK. It details what you can do with a Zune, and more importantly what you cannot do, which seems to be nearly everything. Read it and save your dough.

Jack

Internet Explorer daxctle.ocx "KeyFrame()" Method Vulnerability

The link will take you to a Secunia warning about yet another ActiveX flaw that allows attackers to construct a malicious web page that can crash the browser or, much more seriously and the point of this advisory, run malicious code on the user's machine.

Not for the first time; I have to wonder when MS will give up on ActiveX, which offers no unique benefits and a seemingly endless series of vulnerabilities.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 09-17-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-17-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

Dell Customers Ask for More

Dell is in trouble, as this eWeek article illustrates. They can recover. There is not any doubt about that. It is simply that selling cheap PCs is not enough to wow the masses, any more, whether they are corporate types or home users.

In the past, Dell's service was really something to crow about and they are still bragging on it, though it has gone downhill enough to elicit more complaints than praise. Dell definitely needs to fix this, pronto. Their use of remote administration is surely one step in the right direction, but is not nearly enough to reverse the trend of ill will they have generated in the last couple years. I think they know it and will take their best shot at doing better. They have to hurry, though.

And while Dell has been proud in the past that they do almost no R&D (thus saving a lot of money) they are going to have to start. Customers are demanding innovation in all but the cheapest machines. In order to meet that expectation, Dell is going to have to innovate on their own, rather than just aping features that have proven popular in other maker's lines.

The laptop battery recall isn't really their fault, but how they handle it will influence a LOT of possible customer's opinions. Dell is off to what looks like a good start, but they have to execute all the way through. They are dependent on Sony to come up with the replacement batteries in a reasonable amount of time and if there are problems Dell will have to find a second supplier....pronto. They may already have. I don't know.

Their future is in their own hands.

Jack

Dell Customers Ask for More

Dell is in trouble, as this eWeek article illustrates. They can recover. There is not any doubt about that. It is simply that selling cheap PCs is not enough to wow the masses, any more, whether they are corporate types or home users.

In the past, Dell's service was really something to crow about and they are still bragging on it, though it has gone downhill enough to elicit more complaints than praise. Dell definitely needs to fix this, pronto. Their use of remote administration is surely one step in the right direction, but is not nearly enough to reverse the trend of ill will they have generated in the last couple years. I think they know it and will take their best shot at doing better. They have to hurry, though.

And while Dell has been proud in the past that they do almost no R&D (thus saving a lot of money) they are going to have to start. Customers are demanding innovation in all but the cheapest machines. In order to meet that expectation, Dell is going to have to innovate on their own, rather than just aping features that have proven popular in other maker's lines.

The laptop battery recall isn't really their fault, but how they handle it will influence a LOT of possible customer's opinions. Dell is off to what looks like a good start, but they have to execute all the way through. They are dependent on Sony to come up with the replacement batteries in a reasonable amount of time and if there are problems Dell will have to find a second supplier....pronto. They may already have. I don't know.

Their future is in their own hands.

Jack

Windows Vista RC1 Now Downloadable By Anyone

Or you can do what I did if your Internet connection is not up to snuff for a 3 to 4 GB download, and order a DVD for a very reasonable $3 plus $2 shipping.

So if you've been wanting to take a look at Vista for yourself, now is your chance.

Microsoft Releases New "Open Specifications Promise" on 35 Web Services Specifications

While the link above is to a rather long and detailed post at Consortiuminfo.org, I found it very informative on matters of patent licensing in regards to software standards.

The subject of the post is Microsoft's promise not to assert patent holder's rights against implementers of a proposed standard. Essentially, this means that while MS has the patents, they won't sue anyone using the technology in implementation of the standard in question.

Like I said; it is complex. But this will go a long ways towards clearing up any questions you might have on the subject. It is very well written and quite understandable, which is refreshing.

Jack

Cookies Detected by Anti-Spyware Programs: The Current Status

Ben Edelmen has posted a link to a study that he was commissioned to do about which cookies 9 different spyware detectors detect and remove. I found it interesting, and it has a handy graph. Check it out. The Summary is as follows:

I test eleven anti-spyware programs for their treatment of cookies from 50 advertising systems. I report my observations in full detail, along with analysis of notable detections. For example, I find that PC Tools Spyware Doctor detects the most cookies from within my sample (50%), while cookies from Advertising.com, Aquantive/Atlas, Casale Media, FastClick, and MediaPlex are most often detected (each detected by 8 of the 11 anti-spyware programs tested). Conversion-tracking cookies from Yahoo Overture are widely detected (6/11), but no anti-spyware programs detects the corresponding Google cookies, perhaps because Google's cookies use arbitrary names that are hard for scanners to identify. I conclude by reporting some anomalies observed in testing, and by suggesting privacy-protective practices that may nonetheless accommodate typical advertiser objectives.

The report is available here.

--MissM

WOW-Pen Eco100 Review

I'm mainly a trackball user, since Joe rightly convinced me it was the key to solving ergonomic problems that had resulted in a bad case of "frozen shoulder". I do still have mice on some machines, but don't use them much. The exception is my laptop(s), where I have been unable to find a suitable trackball for mobile use that I can rationalize paying for.

ExtremeTech has a review on a "pen" mouse. It looks very, very attractive, though I will have to wait for later models which will better the current model's 400 dpi resolution. When they come out I'll pawn something if I have to to get one. (I wonder how much they will give me for a cat that loves to type? I could solve two problems at once that way.)

Anyway; the idea of a "pen" mouse is one I like and I cannot wait for them to be just a bit more capable.

Jack

Microsoft delivers 'Save as PDF' add-on | CNET News.com

"Microsoft has released a free download that will enable Office 2007 users to save documents in both Adobe Systems's PDF format and Microsoft's own rival format, XPS."
Microsoft said it was coming.

Top Windows writer abandons Microsoft

"MICROSOFT DEVELOPER and writer Pete Wright has had enough of Vole and has bought an Apple."
It looks like some of the people in Redmond are leaving! What does this mean?
Thanks Rick-in-Florida for this.

A Few Well Deserved Kudos for Western Digital

I never say this, but I really hate knowledge bases. Even FAQ sections seem depressingly inadequate nearly all the time. Knowledge bases always seem hard to navigate. So much so that it is often a full day's work to find and digest enough information to solve whatever problem it is I am having. The Microsoft KB is like that. It's not their fault, either. The entire site shows that they try really hard to make it pertinent, up to date and usable, but there is so much information to dispense and it overlaps so dramatically that one is often left sorting through literally dozens of articles that might, just might, apply to what you are about. I appreciate Microsoft's efforts to make their KB usable, but with so much there, even the best search facility falls flat at times and I have to sort through all those possible hits. Sometimes more than once, if I haven't chosen my search terms well enough.

You have all heard me complain about being poor. It's a common enough affliction, these days. Because I and a lot of those whose computers I service are not terribly flush, I often buy factory refurbished parts, particularly hard drives.

I stick with the major brands and have had remarkably little trouble with them. They have given good service over an acceptable service life and on the very few occasions I have had trouble, the vendors and/or the manufacturers have made things right in short order.

The brand of refurbished hard drive that has gotten most of my business lately is Western Digital. My local vendors always seem to have them and occasionally Fry's has them on sale. Generally, I can get an 80 GB Caviar IDE drive (7200 rpm) very affordably. That is all the capacity most of my users, including myself, need. And the drive is so common that even the beta RAID drivers for Vista see them on the first try. Linux RAID software works just as well with them. Should someone need more capacity or redundancy, tossing another one into the box is easy as pie and cheap.

(I generally don't go in for bigger drives because I own and work on a LOT of older hardware. Often the older disk controllers or bios cannot see larger drives and rather than partition to overcome this, I just stick with that size.)

I have spent the last few nights trying to get a 5 year old bios to see one of my WD refurbs. It just would not. I could even install an OS, but it would not boot after the installation because a bios cannot hand off to the OS hardware it cannot see. I tried all the tricks I know and not one thing worked. I don't have enough hair left to be pulling it out, so I hit the WD web site.

What I found there was a delight. The FAQ had a couple "the bios can't see it" entries. Both recommended I download their diagnostic tools as well as giving me information on remedies to try. Everything was plain, clear and easy to find. The solution turned out to be an alternative jumper setting which was not listed on the label of the drive. I ran the diagnostic tools on an XP machine overnight. It took 9 hours, but I did not mind. I was asleep, after all.

In the end, I added a few bookmarks to my favorites under "help" and read about 10 articles that gave me a better understanding of what had happened and things to look out for, that I might anticipate problems. It really was a treat to see a knowledge base so well laid out and easy to digest. I just wish the Microsoft KB could be that way, but the sheer size of it would defeat anyone who tried to make it over and I just have to accept that.

And the PC boots and runs just fine, now.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 09-10-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-10-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

Silicon Valley to Get Free Broadband

"The Metro Connect network will be a combination of Wi-Fi and WiMAX and span 1,500 square miles. It includes six tiers of service, two of which are free.

Metro Connect will use mesh wireless technology from Cisco and network design by IBM. Azulstar, an ISP, will be the network operator for service provisioning of the 802.11b/g network. SeaKay, a nonprofit, will work directly with the municipalities to enable the construction and support of the network."
Will you be subscribing? The four remaining levels will have anywhere from 400 to 1,000 kilobits per second and cost between $14.95 and $59.95 per month.
I think I'll stick with my cable!
AlaskaJoe

'Critical' patch for Office coming | Tech News on ZDNet

"Microsoft plans to release a 'critical' security update for Office next week, one of three bulletins it will distribute as part of its monthly patch cycle."
Do your Windows/Microsoft Updates.

Microsoft Research Builds 'BrowserShield'

This is kind of neat and shows real promise, though it is a long ways from production, to the best of my knowledge.

Basically, the add-on to Internet Explorer deals with malicious code hidden within a web site, cleaning it and preventing execution, yet allowing the user to view the site. Apparently in concert with anti-virus and firewall apps, it is very effective.

Jack

It's not just Linux: Open Source has arrived

Linux-Watch reports on an IDC study which shows the true scale of open source and free software adoption. It's huge! In fact; the scale of FOSS adoption is really the only surprise in the survey, as we've all known FOSS has definitely been a major part of IT in recent years. I think the big numbers will surprise even some of the most rabid FOSS boosters.

Jack

Free Disk Defragmenter!!

I saw this mentioned in an article on The Inquirer's site.

Auslogic is offering their defragmenter for NT, W2K, XP, and Vista for free. I downloaded it this morning and find it serviceable, though lacking in some features I would use. It is much faster than the Windows defragmenter and seems to do a good job.

Jack

The Dark Side of Windows Vista RC1

Paul Thurrott really unloads on Vista RC1's user interface. Reading the article, he has a LOT of very good points. There are some places where it's just plain nonsense and no amount of talking is going to make a selling point out of it.

The point is made that the new interface is going to require a lot of retraining, particularly for users who are visually challenged. That is not good unless there is a real reason for it, like an improvement in function. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.

Jack

zCodec is a Trojan

"It is known as adware/ZCodec or Adware/EMediacodec and affects most versions of Windows. Some of the files that the adware has been downloading are particularly nasty, including a rootkit called Ruins.MB, which does what it says on the tin."
SECURITY OUTFIT Panda software says that a video codec which is appearing in the wild offering "up to 40 percent better video quality" is a nasty bit of adware.

Open Season on Unsecured Wi-Fi

Computer World's site has a very, very good article that lays out the problem with unsecured wireless connection. Whether or not you can fully secure your wireless, it is imperative you do all you can in order to escape any legal liability for actions taken by someone who intrudes on your LAN and Internet connection.

Nowhere is it clear that doing so will shield you from liability, but it has worked in a couple cases when the owner proved that he/she had taken all the steps they could, given their equipment.

Jack

Word flaw hit with zero-day attack

An "extremely critical flaw" in Microsoft Word 2000 is currently being exploited by malicious attackers, which could lead to remote execution of code on a user's system, security researcher Secunia advised Tuesday.

The vulnerability affects systems running Windows 2000 and occurs when processing malicious Word 2000 documents, according to Secunia's security advisory.

'Adware' attack on privacy tool

It sounded a bit too good to be true and I guess it was.

Jack

His first day of school

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 09-03-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-03-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

InfoWorld Tech Watch | TrackMeNot fools search engines

TrackmeNot is a firefox extension I've been using for the last week, almost. It generates random search queries at a rate that is user configurable (you enable via a choice under Tools, and the first few times I tried to open options it didn't work, but it's worked fine ever since then). Basically, it floods the search queries you make, I call it the "baffle 'em with BS" theory. ;)
Some of the queries are extremely odd, for instance the one currently is 'canned hex' (I'll post the ones I see while I'm working on this post, for you entertainment: 'patch gobbles,'daemon legaleses') But, it seems to work with no major hit in browser performance or connectivity, though I did get 600KB+/sec while getting some podcasts (just to show that I am a total broadband brat hehehe).

The Infoworld Weblog posted an article about TrackMeNot and other options to protect your privacy on the internet (to a limited
extent, I know...). A brief excerpt below with a link to the article.

In the wake of AOL's stunningly ill-conceived decision to publicize the search habits of hundreds of thousand of its users, as well as reports of various search engines employing user-profiling, we're seeing more Web tools emerge aimed at helping users hide their tracks -- or baffle their trackers.

Browzar falls under the former category. Though the name sounds like Godzilla's next-dorr neighbor on Monster Island, Browzar is actually a Web browser designed to protect users' privacy by not retaining details of the Web sites they've searched. It does so by automatically deleting Internet caches, histories, cookies and auto-complete forms.

Taking a different tack from Browzar is a Firefox extension called TrackMeNot. Rather than employing concealment or encryption to mask a user's browsing activities, it "periodically issues randomized search-queries to popular search engines, e.g., AOL, Yahoo!, Google, and MSN," according to the TrackMeNot Web site.

InfoWorld Tech Watch|TrackMeNot fools search engines
--MissM

Four Tough Lessons of System Recovery

This is described as "a cautionary tale", too. I thought it interesting and illustrative.

Enjoy

Jack

Announcing Tesseract OCR

An acquaintance who is working in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) for a university library turned me on to this. She is really excited by this and I think it is pretty neat, as well.

Tesseract is a rather old HP project. Along the way, HP decided they did not really want to be in the OCR business. Tesseract is not a product and in fact is fairly far away from being ready for prime time. However, the "engine" is unique and contains features that might serve other open source OCR projects. Conversely, features from other projects might be added to Tesseract. At least those are the hopes.

While there are already a host of pretty good OCR products out there, both proprietary and free software, there is room for improvement in all of them. So any new technology released for this use is interesting and has the possibility of changing our user experience for the better.

Jack

California passes Wi-Fi user protection bill

California is on the verge of mandating warning messages on wireless and other internet access gear regarding it's use in unsecured configurations. Survey after survey shows that most home wireless setups are not secured in any way. Relatively few business wireless access schemes are secured, though the percentage is not as low as that for home networks.

A recent online chat with an R&D staffer at NetGear revealed they are willing to sell wireless gear that will not allow an insecure connection to be set up. However, their research also showed that such a device would be overwhelmingly rejected by consumers, even given price parity with other gear!

I have no idea what the solution is, but something must be done. Mandating warnings seems pretty pale, though, given the wide awareness of security and the consumer's evident unwillingness to take steps to be more secure.

Jack

Mac OS X-friendly OpenOffice to go public next month

The existence of an Open Office version that will run natively on Apple's OS X using the Aqua graphics system will be revealed at Apple Expo Paris next month.

Until now, a Mac user had to install the X windowing system on their machine to run OO. This was available via the OS X 10.4.x installation CD or via download. The new version will require no such gymnastics of the user and will be welcome for that. This is a big step forward for OO.

Jack

AOL 9.0 Accused of Behaving Like Badware

Frankly, there is nothing in this article that surprises me. And I suspect there are more badware type features yet to be exposed.

As Joe says; "Friends don't let friends use AOL".

Jack

Microsoft leaks Vista pricing

From the "they've got to be kidding, dept."

Jack pointed this link out to me. This could just be another droll, Inquirer joke, but if this is true...

Update: Ed Bott has a more thoughful analysis and makes his best guess at the US prices. I still think it is too much to pay for what I predict will be a buggy, rushed to deadline, OS. I can only hope MS proves us naysayers wrong.

2nd Update: It seems that Amazon has decided to list Vista prices and release date though MS officially denies it. At $399 for Ultimate it better be danged good.

Ray Tracing

Brett Thomas has a pretty good article on Bit-Tech.net about ray tracing. It is evidently the shape of things to come and this article will give you an overview of how it works.

Currently, most of our computer graphics are done by pixel shading, a very, very processor intensive way of going about things. Ray tracing is supposedly better and we are at the point where it is possible. The calculations needed to accomplish ray tracing are massive, as well, but you don't have to perform so many of them to render good, or even great, graphics.

I have messed with ray tracing in the guise of various graphics editing programs and I must say that I don't understand it very well. However; it is amazing how much more realistic one can make an animated frame using it. I guess I'm trying to say I see at least some of the potential of this scheme. Whether or not it is the next big thing, it is coming, as the chosen route ahead by those who build our graphics hardware.

Jack

Google Office still needs some renovating | News.blog | CNET News.com

I haven't tried "Google Office", officially called "Google Apps for your Domain" It is available here if you want to try it:

Sounds like it is not quite ready for primetime, but if you try is and disagree with the article, please leave a comment.

Mark Shuttleworth; One on the Chin - Updated

The link is to Mark Shuttleworth's personal blog. For those of you who do not know, Mark is the money and the driving force behind the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution. Ubuntu and it's derivatives are currently the most popular deskto Linux flavor and doing reasonably well in the server space, though it is plainly targeted at desktop users. Ubuntu is based upon Debian, which is the reason it is also seeing server usage. Debian is well suited to that and apparently Ubuntu only slightly less so, even in it's present form.

In the blog entry, Mark takes full responsibility for the problems with a patch to X that the distro had this last week. He also accepts all the virulent criticism they received. That is the way it should be, of course. The Ubuntu team knows such things are unacceptable and says it aloud. They vow to change whatever needs to be changed to keep it from happening again.

The entry is pretty short and well worth a read.

Jack

Update;
Here is an article with more particulars than Shuttleworth's blog post. Though I talked about it on the show, I thought I had best put up some details.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 08-27-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 08-27-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

Gartner on the shape of Windows to come

Gartner analysts predict Vista will be the last "monolithic" release of Windows. Whether or not their arguments are correct, they do make a good case for a modular Windows that would (as a desired side effect) also make subscription to Software Assurance plans mandatory. This by it's ability to receive timely updates and even upgrades almost automatically.

Between the potential of virtualization technologies and the ever growing complexity of Windows (now said to be well over 50 million l ines of code in Vista) MS is forced to do something. Gartner makes a case for modularity, much like that present in Linux distributions to manage it.

Jack

SunbeltBLOG: The Consumer Reports testing scandal: It's far, far worse than we initially thought.

I'd heard about Consumer Reports creating viruses to test anti-virus software, well apparently they didn't properly test anti-spyware software, either, I've posted the first part of the president of Sunbelt Software article about it, but the whole thing has to be read to be believed. This is the first black eye that Consumer Reports has ever gotten (that I know of, anyway....), even though I don't always agree with their tech advice.

Over the past two weeks, Consumer Reports has been slammed by the bulk of professional researchers in the security community for testing antivirus programs using 5,500 “fake” viruses.

Consumer Reports fans and a minority group in the security community, however, fought back —– after all, Consumer Reports is seen by many as a competent, independent testing lab and antivirus companies are generally seen as lazy, self-serving, money-hungry companies who have been soaking users for years with crappy products and high subscription fees, etc, etc. So even though Consumer Reports was lambasted by professional security researchers with no ties to antivirus companies, it was seen by some as whining by money-hungry antivirus companies.

Well, ok, on to Chapter 2, which is more damning than the AV test. Because I have something which is so incredible, it boggles the mind

In addition to antivirus programs, Consumer Reports tested antispyware applications. And they have now confirmed that they did not test against any spyware for their antispyware testing. (Feel free to read that sentence again.)

Instead, their entire test of antispyware applications was based on running applications against Spycar, a set of applications written by Intelguardians that mimic spyware behavior — directly against the explicit instructions of the Spycar developers.

--MissM
The post link:SunbeltBLOG: The Consumer Reports testing scandal: It's far, far worse than we initially thought.

15-inch PowerBook G4 Battery Exchange Program

From the apple site:
In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other international safety authorities, Apple is voluntarily recalling certain lithium ion rechargeable batteries that were sold worldwide from January 2004 through August 2004 for use with 15-inch PowerBook G4 (Aluminum) notebook computers. These batteries were manufactured by LG Chem, Ltd. of South Korea.

SunbeltBLOG: Remember to report your phishes to PIRT

I like the idea of PIRT, which is a group that works to eliminate phishing sites. I was reminded of it by Sunbelt Blog. The President of Sunbelt Software Alex Eckelberry writes:

Remember to send in phishing scams to PIRT, the Phishing Incident and Takedown squad for takedown.

Two ways:

1. Email them to pirt @ castlecops.com as an attachment.

or

2. Go to the web interface at castlecops.com/pirt, and enter at least the phishing URL.
Also, we still need more volunteers to help take these sites down. Nothing more satisfying than toasting a fresh phish. Join the crew by clicking here.

--MissM
SunbeltBLOG: Remember to report your phishes to PIRT

Sophos offers free rootkit detection tool

I have not tried this, yet. However, early reports are that this is a really decent tool and overdue.

If you download and run this, please let us know how it goes. I have a feeling this is just the first of many important security tools that will be made available in the near future.

Jack

Weird Al Says 'Don't Download This Song'

Weird Al proves once again that he can spell I-R-O-N-Y with his freely downloadable recording of "Don't Download This Song". Of course I did!

How much is Windows worth?

Ed Bott's blog on ZDNet is often informative and sometimes even truly entertaining. Here is an article about how consumers perceive the worth of the Windows operating system. It puts the subject in a light I have not seen before and for that is worth a read.

Jack

Microsoft Acknowleges Open Source Will Run on Vista

This is surely a policy shift for Microsoft, in it's own small way. I cannot see it as a revolutionary step, which is how some are depicting it. The company known for it's arrogance is bending a little bit. That's all. The world has not ended and you don't need to pack your snow shoes when you die.

That Microsoft is inviting in open source projects where previously only ISVs producing proprietary software got in is merely an acknowlegement of the fact that many open source projects have resulted in major products that have to be accomodated. Period. There is no more to say about it.

I expect we will hear similar news for some other projects, such as MySQL, Apache and perhaps some of the other open source databases.

Jack

OSI Seeks Open-Source License Reform

There have been recurring calls to simplify free and open source licensing over the last 3-4 years. There have been efforts to fix things so consumers of the software products won't be confused by the different licenses, some of which conflict, notably the General Public License (GPL). It conflicts with many, perhaps even most, of the other licenses.

There is reason to believe that this effort will do some genuine good, though no one believes it will fix the problem. The best result can be a gradual movement, fueled mostly by new projects, to more acceptable licenses. Progress, but not perfection, is the watchword here.

Jack

Schneier on Security; Educating Users

This was published earlier this year and now Mr. Schneier has re-posted it on his blog. In the interim, I have directed a lot of frustrated business managers to it. You all will be familiar with the content. It's just nice to see it all in one place and I recommend saving a copy for the next client who doesn't understand why her or his employees can't get it right.

Jack

Three workers depart AOL after privacy uproar | CNET News.com

Posted with no comment.

Why doesn't Linux need defragmenting?

We have had a question or two in the OCLUG newsgroup and our chats about the Linux file system and how to maintain it. Ext3, the usual default file system in Linux distributions, is representative. Others, like versions of the Reiser file system are also common and Linux can interact with many different file systems.

Here is a not terribly technicall explanation of why Linux file systems do not need the most common maintenance operation present in Windows.

I will qualify the title, slightly. Occasionally, I have used a defragmentation utility on ext3 and ext3 systems that have been hit unusually hard by continuous file writes. It is a risky operation, really, because the utilities available are not equal to the highly developed ones for defragmenting Windows. In any event, in Linux they are not often needed. Almost never, in fact. Which is why I am not making a big thing about the title of this.

Jack

Microsoft fixes faulty security patch | Tech News on ZDNet

"Microsoft on Thursday issued a 'hotfix' for a fault in a security patch designed to correct a flaw already being targeted by worms."
If you don't have auto update turned on remember to do your Windows/Microsoft Updates this week.
AlaskaJoe

How to make a universe

Obviously these folks don't have any trouble assembling a new barbecue grill.

There is more here.

Jack

Dell, Sony discussed battery problem 10 months ago

Automobile manufacturers learned a long time ago that waiting for problems to become public and then appearing to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to a remedial recall is bad form. So they changed their tack to proactive recalls with enough publicity given to alert any consumers other means of notification missed. Our government actually cooperates in this to great success.

Well, Sony and Dell and several other companies in the tech sector really need to take a lesson from the car companies. There is less of a black eye in proactive consumer protection than there is in getting caught out in this sort of snafu. And they need to learn it really, really fast, as the devices we carry store more and more energy and thus have ever greater potential for harm.

Can you imagine current tech sector attitudes doing us any good at all when portable fuel cells, with combustable fuel on board, come into wide use?

Jack

TechCrunch: Good stuff!

I just read about this at TechCrunch, and with GeekMeet 2007 up for discussion, I thought that everybody who reads this could use it. [hint, hint] AND! There's an RSS feed (for the non-luddites :P) for the cities you put in. On first glance this is very neat, I'll be interested to see how the trends go.

Airfare Predictions, Find Cheap Airline Tickets - Farecast

And in an homage to the BSers that read this blog, another interesting site from Techcrunch.

--MissM

Wired News: Privacy Debacle Hall of Fame

Wired has the Top 10 list! As additional info to the post below on lack of privacy in search:

The company claimed it was trying to help researchers by providing "anonymized" search information, but experts and the public were shocked at how easy it was to figure out who had been searching on what. Apparently, AOL's anonymizing process didn't include removing names, addresses and Social Security numbers. Although the company has since apologized and taken the data down, there are at least half-a-dozen mirrors still out there for all to browse.

10. ChoicePoint data spill:
9. VA laptop theft:
8. CardSystems hacked:
7. Discovery of data on used hard drives for sale:
6. Philip Agee's revenge:
5. Amy Boyer's murder:
4. Testing CAPPS II:
3. COINTELPRO:
2. AT&T lets the NSA listen to all phone calls:

You have to go to the article to see the Number 1 "privacy disaster," and the details of the above countdown. Have a great week! ;)

Wired News: Privacy Debacle Hall of Fame
--MissM


And in an "Ohhh pretty pictures" way check out some aurora pictures from August 7th.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 08-20-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 08-20-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

What do Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft's MSN know about you?

The Mercury News has a comprehensive article about search histories and what can be divined from them. It is scary how much can be told about you by them, even if you have a dynamic IP.

I think it is about time we get real protection of our private data from our legislatures and to hell with commercial interests.

Jack

Lenovo Notebooks Include Sony Batteries; Co. Says They're Safe

This article is a couple of days old, but it gives some interesting insight into the laptop battery business. It is not just the battery, but the battery design and the computer design that go into the blazing laptop equation.

The Vista Domino Effect On Tech - Forbes.com

Here's an interesting analysis of whether a Vista delay will be good or bad and for which businesses. If Microsoft is reading this they will not rush the release.

AT&T turns back on Chicago suburb over franchise agreement

This concerns Naperville, IL, a large and generally very affluent suburb. Evidently not all of it is affluent enough for AT&T. They want to cherry pick where to put their fiber and Naperville said no. Go Naperville!

Why do I dislike AT&T (which is really SBC in sheep's clothing) more and more each day?

Writely registration is now open!

Google has put Writely up for users to try. Remember when you sign up that it is a beta and you're supposed to be hunting bugs.

I've used it. It works better than any previous version and I think it approaching the level of usefulness that will be demanded by most folks. You power users of word processors are going to wait for a while to get all the features you need.

If you don't mind a little bug documentation, this is a good thing to check out. It's also a fine demonstration of an AJAX web app and as such it really does fire up my imagination..

Jack

Philips contemplating LCD sell off - report

Everyone who had the dough to invest in LCD panel manufacture did just that. After all, weren't they going to be THE NEXT BIG THING?

It turned out that they were and they weren't. Sales amount to billions. Consumers love them. But the whole world can't buy enough to match the manufacturer's capacity. They simply over-estimated how fast they would fly off the shelves or there were simply too many outfits making them. Accounts differ.

Anyway; prices fell to insanely low levels for a while and will remain near those lows for the foreseeable future. So, LCD Panels have become NEXT BIG THING TO GET OUT OF. (Sorry. I just couldn't resist the emphatic statement.) The margins are thinner than the number of people who dare to go hunting with Dick Cheney. Phillips is just the first in a line of foundrys who will be selling off or dismantling their flat panel operations.

I guess I am crowing a bit. I've been telling you this would happen. Not Phillips in specific, but the over-supply was so dramatic that it was plain some of the manufacturers would have to bail.

Jack

Boing Boing: Commodore Amiga playing-cards

I thought this might interest some people who read the blog

These retro-tech playing cards feature images from the sadly departed Commodore Amiga personal computer, a dead media competitor to Windows and Mac OS machines from the GUI Cambrian Era. I owned an Amiga 1000 in 1984 1985, which was a stupendously promising, but underperforming, piece of shit. I later had lots of fun video-editing with the Amiga Toasters, but eventually gave up on the platform a little before the company itself croaked. Link (via Gizmodo)

Boing Boing: Commodore Amiga playing-cards
--MissM

Boeing to End In-Flight Internet Service

The good news is that this incarnation of the service is dead. The idea is not dead.

In the meantime I can think of 2 reasons why only a handful of people used the service each flight. The first being price. I might buy an hour for $10, but a whole flight for $26.95 adds up pretty fast. The second? A lack of a power outlet in coach seats (some airlines do supply power to first class and possibly to business class -- so far I've never seen power at a coach seat). Continuous use of WiFi eats batteries pretty fast so to really make this fly, it would include power at the seat of the subscriber.

I believe them when they said the terror alert wasn't inrelated. I see that as a little disingenuous though it certainly may not have been the main reason. There is a clear relationship. If passengers can't bring their laptops into the cabin, there are no customers, period.

Dell Battery Recall Web site

Dell’s response has been to set up a hotline, in a bid to drive the battery callers away from its already beleagured customer support teams. However the average waiting time, listening to classical music, to get to a human is now 30 minutes.
A spokesDell has admitted to Business Week that there are long telephone delays, saying the company had already received 90,000 orders for new batteries. She suggested using the Dell battery programme site for a faster service.
If you have a Dell Laptop and want to order a new battery go to their battery recal web site.
AlaskaJoe

Oh No I think I'm in trouble!!

They are having a woot off day, where they keep changing the item rather then just selling on item the whole day They take paypal, I already bought and espresso/cappucino maker for $15 and a 1 gig flash drive for $15.99 to pickup at microcenter.
Please put it on the blog so others can share in my pain.

This is from hally from our chat

Microsoft patch can cause IE trouble

Microsoft's security update from Aug. 8 to Internet Explorer is causing browser trouble for some systems.

After people apply the MS06-042 update, rated "critical" by Microsoft, IE may crash when certain Web sites are viewed.

Sounds like another patch for a patch is coming out soon.
AlaskaJoe

CNN.com - With shovels, AOL looks for retribution - Aug 15, 2006

I can't wait to see the results from this.....

Dell recalls 4m laptop batteries

From the BBC:

The world's largest manufacturer of personal computers, Dell, is to recall 4.1 million of its notebook computer batteries because of a fire risk.
Most batteries are in computers sold in the US but more than 1 million are thought to be elsewhere.

TechTV Reborn as 'UndoTV'

This is great news for those of us who miss our daily dose of The ScreenSavers or Call for Help. Though by now most of us already listen to at least some of Chris's and Leo's podcasts, and also watch or listen to dl.tv. Anything that will feed the need for quality tech programming is a plus in my opinion.

P.S. For those of us in the US who can't get the Canadian version of Call for help, it is available via Google video. Sadly, at at $.99 per episode, and that is a little expensive to watch on a regular basis.

Laptop batteries on planes are an accident waiting to happen

Even thought this article was in the Inquirer, it provides a poor man's glimps of an article that was in the Wall Street Journal (I don't have a paid subscription). Since we have discussed this, especially with Peter, on the show it is interesting to have the figures and details of incidents that this article provides.

powered by Ubuntu stickers :: free stuff

Since we have so many Ubuntu fans that read this blog.... Right??? :)
I thought I'd pass this on, I know nothing about the company or anything,
but a SASE for stickers seems like a good deal. Enjoy!

Show your Ubuntu pride !!
FREE strip of four 'powered by Ubuntu' stickers


Send a self addressed stamped envelope to:

System76, Inc. (Free Sticker)
875 S. Colorado Blvd. #765
Denver, Colorado 80246

powered by Ubuntu stickers :: system76 :

--MissM

Doubts dog anonymous Thinkpad code for Linux kernel

I thought this merited posting because it illustrates well the processes of open development in the Linux kernel. Contrary to SCO's claims, everything is documented and the various developers insist on it. There is nothing haphazard at all about the processes or the documentation.

As I understand it; the code in question is directly related to Lenovo's decision to ship at least one model of Thinkpad (the T60) with pre-installed Linux. The anonymous coder could be a Lenovo employee. Or not. The worry is that the code violates someone's intellectual property and, while the coder may well be allowed to remain anonymous, she/he will be forced to come clean to the kernel maintainers in order to assure one and all they are not infringing on someone else's claim.

Jack

Microsoft Photography Blog : Photosynth Technology Preview

This is not released yet, but I thought it might interest some of the photographers and travelers, the video is neat, I hear. [h/t CrankyGeeks]

Photosynth collections start with a set of photographs of roughly the same subject, such as a place, object, or monument. The photographs might have been taken all at once by the same photographer, or they might be a disparate set of pictures collected from different photographers at different times. The images are then processed by a preprocessor program that identifies “features” in the photographs – identifiable points in each image. (This picture shows a photo with some of its feature points superimposed.)

Microsoft Photography Blog : Photosynth Technology Preview
Video of Notre Dame and how Photosynth works here. The concept is to be able to check the ambience of a restaurant via photos accumulated and placed relative to each other to create a 3D world. Interesting idea, I think.

--MissM

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 08-13-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 08-13-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

Network Security | IT Security | Vulnerability Assessment | Intrusion Prevention

If you aren't sure you were patched against the recent MS06-040 exploit (the one in the news) you can download and run this scanner.

Colleges enrol more open source software

Silicon.com has a nice 1 page article about increasing usage of free and/or open source software in colleges and Universities. Use of FOSS products is widespread and still growing fast.

The article points out some interesting and probably troubling disconnects between software acquisition policies and reality. It seems that while IT departments are well aware of FOSS products and use them, management and policy makers are not.

Jack