Monday, April 25, 2005
RANDOM POST :: I Am Doomed.
So I got this really promising tech job offer, and now have an interview coming up. So what do I do? Why listen to other peoples' advice of course! Uh oh.
Well, I kind of agreed that a physical change was due for this thing anyhow. Here's what I did.
Crap. How am I EVER going to get that damned mole off my cheek?
Back to the babyface days. I wonder if this would be considered my "job winning" smile?
Read more!
Well, I kind of agreed that a physical change was due for this thing anyhow. Here's what I did.
Crap. How am I EVER going to get that damned mole off my cheek?
Back to the babyface days. I wonder if this would be considered my "job winning" smile?
Read more!
Sunday, April 24, 2005
RANDOM POST :: We ARE Doomed!!
So I was going to work today, and it suddenly hit me. Things weren't normal. This is what I was driving through:
Read more!
For those of you who don't live in Michigan, I invite you to look at the date stamp. That is correct. End of April. Traditionally warm in MI. Not today. WTF.
I give it about ten more years at the very most, and we WILL be skiing in July around these parts. Greenhouse gases suck.Read more!
Thursday, April 14, 2005
RANT :: Observations of an Awakened Geek
Wow. Who knew that there were so many people that are dead in the skull being allowed to run free in this country? Well I do, for one. Haven't you ever taken a look at the people around you? I mean REALLY taken a good hard look and seen them for what they are: braindead sheep. You see them everywhere you go, surrounding you in everything you do. The next time you go out driving, look at the mooks on either side of you. Do they ever look back at you? Do they even make so much as a pretense of looking in the mirrors, or are they simply staring blandly ahead, gabbing on their cellphones or putting on their makeup while madly changing lanes (without using blinkers, I might add)? How about in the grocery store? Don't you ever take notice of all the oblivious gravy-brained mooks as they read the Nutrional Information panels on a box of cereal, trying to determine if a bowl of it will cost them too many Atkins Diet points?
During my workday as a sales monkey in a computer store (no, it's not Best Buy or any of those other bigbox places), I see an endless procession of people that come in, looking for parts for their computers they purchased for multiple hundreds, and sometimes, thousands of dollars. Most of these people have no clue what it is they're looking for. No problem, that's what I'm here for. What I can't abide are the fools that need something as simple as a set of burnable CDs, and get all bound up inside, agonizing over those speed numbers on the packaging.
"How fast does your CD burner go?" I ask them, trying to keep it as simple as possible.
"..." says the customer with a blank stare, slack-jawed.
"Is there a little number on the front of the drive? Like 32x or 52x?" I ask hopefully, doing my best.
"What's that?" they ask.
"It's a little number on the front of the drive."
"What's a drive?" comes the question that puts that little kink in my gut. Oh God, another one of THOSE.
"You know, the thing on your computer where you push the button, and little drawer comes out and you put your CD on it?"
"What's a CD?"
"The thing you're trying to buy, actually. Look, you use them all the time when you install a program or play a game or burn a CD"
"Yeah but I wanted you to show me all that stuff. I've never used a computer before."
"Okay, well don't you want to learn a little bit about it before you jump into something a little bit more complex like burning a CD?"
"No, I just want to copy illegal movies and edit video. Dell sold me a $4,000.00 computer for this, but it didn't come with any instructions."
"Hmm, well here's the number for a local training center. I suggest "Using Windows 101" before you go any farther."
"But I wanted some CDs. Don't you have any?"
"Well yes, right here, we have a large selection of many brands."
"What's this funny thing right here?" (Pointing to the "52x" label)
"That's the disc's maximum capable burning speed."
"What's a CD?"
And so the circle continues until I find a way to walk off and hide in a back room so I can cry for the next hour.
Now I understand that not everyone is going to know much about computers, but holy crap, $4,000 on a machine you don't even understand how to use? What the hell!
I see this level of moronic stupidity in all aspects of daily life, not just computers. People who buy Hummers, for example, or H2s for the tragically hip. These are the people that spend a crapload of cash for these beasts, trick them out with those stupid rims that keep spinning for hours after they've stopped, gotten out and gone inside to watch the game, as well as flashy rainbow-speckled paint jobs. These same people are also usually the first ones to complain about the price of gas nowadays. These same people who wouldn't be caught dead in the corner store just a minute's walk away, instead opting to drive ten miles to the nearest mega-mart for a loaf of Uber-Health(tm) Poser Cut Pumpernikel Bread. In the Hummer, mind you, not a super-efficient sensible getaround car like an Accord or something. These are also the people who buy those urban assault vehicles, having no experience whatsoever with anything larger than a Chevette, and attempt to drive it like a Chevette, putting everybody else in mortal fear for their lives. (Did you know that if you get killed in an accident with a Hummer, you automatically go to Hell? Fact.)
Speaking of Hummers and driving in general, I read an article in one of the biggie newspapers in Detroit, the Free Press. There is a column in the paper regarding driving around our fair city. The column today was centered around the freaks that wait until the last possible second to merge when a lane ends or in construction zones, despite multiple warnings miles back about the impending merge. The article also contains shoutouts from locals regarding the topic at hand. I find one in particular most laughable.
A gentleman named Dave Dixon sent in: "You are completely off base with your view that one should do the right thing and merge early," he writes. "Any traffic engineer could confirm that the most efficient method for moving traffic is to utilize all lanes until the merge is required. Those idiots who try to block the merge lane miles early should be ticketed, not those who keep moving. ... Please check your facts before encouraging stupid behavior and unnecessary road rage. While I like your column, you missed on this one."
Well Dave, obviously you're not from around here. You see, the wise and respectable thing to do is to get over early. The "zipper" method of using all available lanes until you are forced over might work in other cities, like say Piggott, Arkansas, but it just won't fly (or drive) here. Your method is plausible only if the people who already got over let someone at a dead stop at the merge point get over, and in so doing back up the freeway for miles due to the folks who will wait in line, stopped for a moment, then yank over to the next lane, slowing THAT one down, and so on. People don't notice or don't care about what other drivers are about to do, either because they are trying to get somewhere, or because the road is about to force them into it. Because of this, it's not much of a surprise to see people causing accidents by not letting someone merge without coming to a complete stop on the freeway(!!) So yeah, Mr. "I Know How Traffic Engineers Would Think". You can kiss my ass. I do not recognize the fake science of "traffic engineering". It's about as legitimate as a Hallmark holiday. Like Boss's Day.
Also while I'm referring to this mook, let me go over that one a moment: "Traffic Engineer". Excuse me? They have engineers for that? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! What a-hole made THAT one up?! Look, there are sciences that study the flow of things, and how they interact with other surfaces/substances. There are aerodynamics engineers who study air, and hydrodynamics engineers who study water. How can you possibly create a "science" out of TRAFFIC, for God's sake? The simple fact of the matter is that while a hydrodynamics engineer is studying the flow of water over a boat hull, he never witnesses a bit of water that decides to make a sudden right-hand turn across the flow because it missed its chance to get over long before. You can't make a science of studying something that revolves around the semi-intelligent, completely self-absorbed people on the move, especially here in Detroit.
You see, if people drove like air and water flows, there wouldn't be a need for signs. We would simply drive through tubes (planned and built by engineers) and hope that they designed the system so that when we came out, we would be where we wanted to be. Since life is a little more demanding of us than allowing us to rely on chance to get places, we're forced to let people make their own decisions which, apparently, was a bad idea. There should be more guardrails and walls to direct traffic. Well sure, we have those now, but they are there less to help direct traffic than as to pointlessly save the lives of fools who enjoy courting fate (and a Darwin award). People are sheep, and idiots to boot. They need other people to tell them where to go, because nobody keeps a map in their glovebox anymore, and they certainly don't check Mapquest before they leave home. They expect someone else to tell them how to get there. Do you honestly believe GPS is all that necessary in cars these days? How in the hell did we ever get around before that? I spent fifteen minutes on the phone with some dumbass the other day, trying to explain to him how to get to our store. Instead of it being sufficient to describe the major nearby crossroads, he wanted me to take him turn by turn to our door, waiting patiently while he WROTE IT ALL DOWN WORD FOR WORD!! OMG!! Turns out the idiot lived had TWO WHOLE BLOCKS away from us for ten years, and he STILL didn't know the area. Yeah, *sheepish shit-eating grin* indeed.
Now that I've gotten that all off my chest, I would like to take a moment to thank a random soccer mom in a Chevy Behemoth (she DID have a load of kids, so she's justified in owning that frigging monstrosity) who took the time to actually roll down her window and give me an emphatic happy wave of thanks when I let her into the lane in front of me. She passed my driver's side, then paced the open slot in front of me, turning on her blinker while waiting for me to back off instead of forcing her way in. Such courteous driving always earns my respect, and I diligently pissed off the fag behind me by slowing down just a tad so she could get in. So the dude behind me with his hand on the horn gets the finger, and the nice lady in front gets a smile and a wave in return. We need more kickass drivers like you, miss.
Although we could probably do without the Chevy Behemoth for a while.
Deadweasel drives like a bat out of hell, but always uses his blinker.
Read more!
During my workday as a sales monkey in a computer store (no, it's not Best Buy or any of those other bigbox places), I see an endless procession of people that come in, looking for parts for their computers they purchased for multiple hundreds, and sometimes, thousands of dollars. Most of these people have no clue what it is they're looking for. No problem, that's what I'm here for. What I can't abide are the fools that need something as simple as a set of burnable CDs, and get all bound up inside, agonizing over those speed numbers on the packaging.
"How fast does your CD burner go?" I ask them, trying to keep it as simple as possible.
"..." says the customer with a blank stare, slack-jawed.
"Is there a little number on the front of the drive? Like 32x or 52x?" I ask hopefully, doing my best.
"What's that?" they ask.
"It's a little number on the front of the drive."
"What's a drive?" comes the question that puts that little kink in my gut. Oh God, another one of THOSE.
"You know, the thing on your computer where you push the button, and little drawer comes out and you put your CD on it?"
"What's a CD?"
"The thing you're trying to buy, actually. Look, you use them all the time when you install a program or play a game or burn a CD"
"Yeah but I wanted you to show me all that stuff. I've never used a computer before."
"Okay, well don't you want to learn a little bit about it before you jump into something a little bit more complex like burning a CD?"
"No, I just want to copy illegal movies and edit video. Dell sold me a $4,000.00 computer for this, but it didn't come with any instructions."
"Hmm, well here's the number for a local training center. I suggest "Using Windows 101" before you go any farther."
"But I wanted some CDs. Don't you have any?"
"Well yes, right here, we have a large selection of many brands."
"What's this funny thing right here?" (Pointing to the "52x" label)
"That's the disc's maximum capable burning speed."
"What's a CD?"
And so the circle continues until I find a way to walk off and hide in a back room so I can cry for the next hour.
Now I understand that not everyone is going to know much about computers, but holy crap, $4,000 on a machine you don't even understand how to use? What the hell!
I see this level of moronic stupidity in all aspects of daily life, not just computers. People who buy Hummers, for example, or H2s for the tragically hip. These are the people that spend a crapload of cash for these beasts, trick them out with those stupid rims that keep spinning for hours after they've stopped, gotten out and gone inside to watch the game, as well as flashy rainbow-speckled paint jobs. These same people are also usually the first ones to complain about the price of gas nowadays. These same people who wouldn't be caught dead in the corner store just a minute's walk away, instead opting to drive ten miles to the nearest mega-mart for a loaf of Uber-Health(tm) Poser Cut Pumpernikel Bread. In the Hummer, mind you, not a super-efficient sensible getaround car like an Accord or something. These are also the people who buy those urban assault vehicles, having no experience whatsoever with anything larger than a Chevette, and attempt to drive it like a Chevette, putting everybody else in mortal fear for their lives. (Did you know that if you get killed in an accident with a Hummer, you automatically go to Hell? Fact.)
Speaking of Hummers and driving in general, I read an article in one of the biggie newspapers in Detroit, the Free Press. There is a column in the paper regarding driving around our fair city. The column today was centered around the freaks that wait until the last possible second to merge when a lane ends or in construction zones, despite multiple warnings miles back about the impending merge. The article also contains shoutouts from locals regarding the topic at hand. I find one in particular most laughable.
A gentleman named Dave Dixon sent in: "You are completely off base with your view that one should do the right thing and merge early," he writes. "Any traffic engineer could confirm that the most efficient method for moving traffic is to utilize all lanes until the merge is required. Those idiots who try to block the merge lane miles early should be ticketed, not those who keep moving. ... Please check your facts before encouraging stupid behavior and unnecessary road rage. While I like your column, you missed on this one."
Well Dave, obviously you're not from around here. You see, the wise and respectable thing to do is to get over early. The "zipper" method of using all available lanes until you are forced over might work in other cities, like say Piggott, Arkansas, but it just won't fly (or drive) here. Your method is plausible only if the people who already got over let someone at a dead stop at the merge point get over, and in so doing back up the freeway for miles due to the folks who will wait in line, stopped for a moment, then yank over to the next lane, slowing THAT one down, and so on. People don't notice or don't care about what other drivers are about to do, either because they are trying to get somewhere, or because the road is about to force them into it. Because of this, it's not much of a surprise to see people causing accidents by not letting someone merge without coming to a complete stop on the freeway(!!) So yeah, Mr. "I Know How Traffic Engineers Would Think". You can kiss my ass. I do not recognize the fake science of "traffic engineering". It's about as legitimate as a Hallmark holiday. Like Boss's Day.
Also while I'm referring to this mook, let me go over that one a moment: "Traffic Engineer". Excuse me? They have engineers for that? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! What a-hole made THAT one up?! Look, there are sciences that study the flow of things, and how they interact with other surfaces/substances. There are aerodynamics engineers who study air, and hydrodynamics engineers who study water. How can you possibly create a "science" out of TRAFFIC, for God's sake? The simple fact of the matter is that while a hydrodynamics engineer is studying the flow of water over a boat hull, he never witnesses a bit of water that decides to make a sudden right-hand turn across the flow because it missed its chance to get over long before. You can't make a science of studying something that revolves around the semi-intelligent, completely self-absorbed people on the move, especially here in Detroit.
You see, if people drove like air and water flows, there wouldn't be a need for signs. We would simply drive through tubes (planned and built by engineers) and hope that they designed the system so that when we came out, we would be where we wanted to be. Since life is a little more demanding of us than allowing us to rely on chance to get places, we're forced to let people make their own decisions which, apparently, was a bad idea. There should be more guardrails and walls to direct traffic. Well sure, we have those now, but they are there less to help direct traffic than as to pointlessly save the lives of fools who enjoy courting fate (and a Darwin award). People are sheep, and idiots to boot. They need other people to tell them where to go, because nobody keeps a map in their glovebox anymore, and they certainly don't check Mapquest before they leave home. They expect someone else to tell them how to get there. Do you honestly believe GPS is all that necessary in cars these days? How in the hell did we ever get around before that? I spent fifteen minutes on the phone with some dumbass the other day, trying to explain to him how to get to our store. Instead of it being sufficient to describe the major nearby crossroads, he wanted me to take him turn by turn to our door, waiting patiently while he WROTE IT ALL DOWN WORD FOR WORD!! OMG!! Turns out the idiot lived had TWO WHOLE BLOCKS away from us for ten years, and he STILL didn't know the area. Yeah, *sheepish shit-eating grin* indeed.
Now that I've gotten that all off my chest, I would like to take a moment to thank a random soccer mom in a Chevy Behemoth (she DID have a load of kids, so she's justified in owning that frigging monstrosity) who took the time to actually roll down her window and give me an emphatic happy wave of thanks when I let her into the lane in front of me. She passed my driver's side, then paced the open slot in front of me, turning on her blinker while waiting for me to back off instead of forcing her way in. Such courteous driving always earns my respect, and I diligently pissed off the fag behind me by slowing down just a tad so she could get in. So the dude behind me with his hand on the horn gets the finger, and the nice lady in front gets a smile and a wave in return. We need more kickass drivers like you, miss.
Although we could probably do without the Chevy Behemoth for a while.
Deadweasel drives like a bat out of hell, but always uses his blinker.
Read more!
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
WINDOWS :: Sidestepping Microsoft's Internet Security Problems
To this day, the biggest complaint of most Linux or Apple users about Windows is regarding the horrible security loopholes in Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser. Even many seasoned Windows veterans are getting fed up with the constant patches and updates that attempt to stem the never-ending tide of spyware and viruses that take advantage of those loopholes to get on your system and make a mess of things.
The biggest cause of these security holes is Microsoft's reliance on a pointless technology called "ActiveX". Now this isn't to be confused with "DirectX", which is Microsoft's software for 3D graphics processing, among a few other things related to gaming and multimedia. ActiveX allows a web designer to write small programs that install themselves on your computer when you access their site. It was originally intended to make the site a little more interactive. For example, when you visit WindowsUpdate.com, you are asked for permission to install an ActiveX control from Microsoft. This little program scans your computer's configuration, then compares that with what Microsoft has available in their update library. Then, you are shown only those updates that are of use to your computer.
The problem with ActiveX is that it's a little *too* flexible. A malicious programmer can write an ActiveX program that sneaks onto your hard drive (without even asking you for permission to install), and then sit and wait until you search on Yahoo for "cookie recipes", then quick-format your hard drive. (!!!)
This little "feature" is one reason Microsoft is continually patching Internet Explorer, which really becomes a hassle since MS refuses to dump ActiveX. They still think it's the best thing ever, and apparently plan to stand by their mutant child no matter what happens. One reason for this unexplainable behavior may be that they have built their entire Windows product update infrastructure around the capabilities that ActiveX provides.
Of course, there are many other things that Microsoft would be well-advised to adopt in the interest of keeping their customers happy, but that's not something I will go into here.
So, how to secure yourself effectively, and most importantly, for FREE? One URL says it all for the first part: www.getfirefox.com
Mozilla's Firefox internet browser project was just recently released out of its previous beta stage, which means that the developers feel they have all the major bugs worked out. For those who already use it, you know that the beta version was actually quite stable and feature-packed anyhow. Firefox is a completely free, does not allow ActiveX, and even includes built-in popup blocking and a search bar with Yahoo and Google (among many other services) ready to use, right from within the browser itself! Heck, Firefox will even import your Internet Explorer bookmarks for you! How's THAT for service?
Since many malicious spyware/adware bugs take advantage of IE's security holes to do some nasty stuff, (permanently changing your homepage to an advertising or "search engine" site etc), if you are using Firefox you will still get some spyware/adware on your system, but none of it will be the truly nasty stuff. For the most part the worst you will see while using Firefox is an occasional tracking cookie or registry entry.
By the way, for those of you that think getting rid of ActiveX usability is bad, consider this: any web developer that requires the use of MS' Internet Explorer is either a very amateur developer (and therefore won't likely have much of interest on his/her site), or has "other", more sinister reasons for forcing you to do it his/her way. A well-done website should be accessible by almost any browser, but at the very least Internet Explorer, Firefox and Netscape.
So now you have a nice, tight, secure and most importantly, FREE browser in place. What else?
Well, another major hazard source comes from viruses. Or virii if you're one of the geeks caught in that particular endless debate. There are two major programs that will take care of these monsters for you. Norton's Antivirus, and McAffee VirusScan. Yes, you do have to pay for these programs, but your money goes to a worthy cause. These companies spend millions of dollars every year to keep a harem of uber-nerds on staff, that write virus detection patterns within minutes of their initial discovery. While I do recognize that Trend Micro does put out a free Housecall scanning tool, you need to know that Trend Micro is a very good product, IF you plan on spending a few thousand dollars for the Coporate-level license. The online scanner they offer is also ActiveX-based. Uh oh. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of McAffee, or my personal fav, Norton's. The current versions of both will also detect and remove spyware/adware, BUT, they do NOT remove all of it. No single product does, unfortunately. You can solve this problem by reading on.
Norton and McAffee do a great job offering peace of mind on the Internet, and their added ability to scan for spyware/adware is a huge plus, but in order to get all of those buggers out, you will need to throw a triple-threat at them. You can do this by downloading two free programs. The first is called Spybot : Search & Destroy, and the second is Adaware. There are multiple versions of Adaware, but the SE Personal Edition is free. Spybot is universally free. Download them, install them and let them get their latest updates before running a scan on your system. It wouldn't be a good idea to run them both at the same time, though.
Now, you are secured against viruses (or virii), spyware/adware, and malicious ActiveX controls. Wait, what about worms? Those nasty, pervasive type of virus that actively crawl the web, looking for open connections and attempting to hijack your machine so they can bring your PC to its knees as it replicates and emails itself to all of your Outlook contacts? They are a different story. A regular virus comes to you through an infected email or file download, while worms can make their way onto your drive all by themselves. They can infect your poor PC even if you don't have a browser open, if you are connected to DSL (logged in of course) or cable broadband service. Norton and McAffee will both make a stellar attempt at keeping these things off of your drive, but they can only do so much. Some worms can even mimic regular web traffic, so antivirus software can sometimes let them right in! Bad news. Many people never even know they've been infected until their Service Provider sends them an email, threatening to cut off their service if they don't stop mass-emailing (spamming) from their computer. The hapless victim didn't even realize this was happening, because it's all going on behind the scenes, just as the real spammers who created the worm intended. Why should they invest in all the hardware and take the risk with their own internet service providers when they can simply use your computer and those of your friends to spread their evil?
You CAN stop them from getting to you. You need a firewall. There are two ways to get one though, and in the end it's up to you to decide which method is better. If you have multiple computers connected to a broadband service, then good for you! You probably have a router installed. A router, just through the nature of how it functions, provides a relatively secure and affordable hardware firewall. Don't mess with the router's settings, and you can sleep peacefully tonight, for a router left at default security settings is nearly impenetrable. Wait, scratch that. You should mess with at least one setting on that router: its access password setting. Most decent hackers are aware of the major router brands sold today, and through trial and error, can work out which one you have and use the default password to get into your router and open your computer to the world once more.
If you only have one computer in the home, or are on a dialup connection (modem), a router won't be a very useful choice for you. In your case, there are software solutions that can perform the same protection duties, but that give the user a little more control over EXACTLY what gets to talk to the internet, and what does not. They can help expose a potential infection when the firewall software asks if a program that the user doesn't recognize can access the internet. There is a bit of a learning curve with these programs though. They will force you to become a little more familiar with some of the normal everyday Windows processes that communicate with the web, and can be safely allowed to do so. Norton puts out one such program in their Internet Security bundle, which also includes their Antivirus software. McAffee offers Personal Firewall, and Zone Labs puts up ZoneAlarm.
All three programs seem to be very effective, although I admittedly have limited experience with them, (see my DIY article here on TopLevel to understand why). Among those three, ZoneAlarm is the only freebie.
That's it! With those items in place, and with scans run regularly once a week, you can surf your heart out and know that no matter where you go, there you are... I mean... you'll be secure.
I know that all this sounds like a lot of extra effort, but it really isn't. I mean, if you think about it, wouldn't you rather just clean house once a week rather than being forced to reformat your hard drive to get rid of the more tenacious bugs that you could get? Yeah, I thought so too.
Deadweasel has a worm farm on his back patio, but they never do any hacking.
Read more!
The biggest cause of these security holes is Microsoft's reliance on a pointless technology called "ActiveX". Now this isn't to be confused with "DirectX", which is Microsoft's software for 3D graphics processing, among a few other things related to gaming and multimedia. ActiveX allows a web designer to write small programs that install themselves on your computer when you access their site. It was originally intended to make the site a little more interactive. For example, when you visit WindowsUpdate.com, you are asked for permission to install an ActiveX control from Microsoft. This little program scans your computer's configuration, then compares that with what Microsoft has available in their update library. Then, you are shown only those updates that are of use to your computer.
The problem with ActiveX is that it's a little *too* flexible. A malicious programmer can write an ActiveX program that sneaks onto your hard drive (without even asking you for permission to install), and then sit and wait until you search on Yahoo for "cookie recipes", then quick-format your hard drive. (!!!)
This little "feature" is one reason Microsoft is continually patching Internet Explorer, which really becomes a hassle since MS refuses to dump ActiveX. They still think it's the best thing ever, and apparently plan to stand by their mutant child no matter what happens. One reason for this unexplainable behavior may be that they have built their entire Windows product update infrastructure around the capabilities that ActiveX provides.
Of course, there are many other things that Microsoft would be well-advised to adopt in the interest of keeping their customers happy, but that's not something I will go into here.
So, how to secure yourself effectively, and most importantly, for FREE? One URL says it all for the first part: www.getfirefox.com
Mozilla's Firefox internet browser project was just recently released out of its previous beta stage, which means that the developers feel they have all the major bugs worked out. For those who already use it, you know that the beta version was actually quite stable and feature-packed anyhow. Firefox is a completely free, does not allow ActiveX, and even includes built-in popup blocking and a search bar with Yahoo and Google (among many other services) ready to use, right from within the browser itself! Heck, Firefox will even import your Internet Explorer bookmarks for you! How's THAT for service?
Since many malicious spyware/adware bugs take advantage of IE's security holes to do some nasty stuff, (permanently changing your homepage to an advertising or "search engine" site etc), if you are using Firefox you will still get some spyware/adware on your system, but none of it will be the truly nasty stuff. For the most part the worst you will see while using Firefox is an occasional tracking cookie or registry entry.
By the way, for those of you that think getting rid of ActiveX usability is bad, consider this: any web developer that requires the use of MS' Internet Explorer is either a very amateur developer (and therefore won't likely have much of interest on his/her site), or has "other", more sinister reasons for forcing you to do it his/her way. A well-done website should be accessible by almost any browser, but at the very least Internet Explorer, Firefox and Netscape.
So now you have a nice, tight, secure and most importantly, FREE browser in place. What else?
Well, another major hazard source comes from viruses. Or virii if you're one of the geeks caught in that particular endless debate. There are two major programs that will take care of these monsters for you. Norton's Antivirus, and McAffee VirusScan. Yes, you do have to pay for these programs, but your money goes to a worthy cause. These companies spend millions of dollars every year to keep a harem of uber-nerds on staff, that write virus detection patterns within minutes of their initial discovery. While I do recognize that Trend Micro does put out a free Housecall scanning tool, you need to know that Trend Micro is a very good product, IF you plan on spending a few thousand dollars for the Coporate-level license. The online scanner they offer is also ActiveX-based. Uh oh. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of McAffee, or my personal fav, Norton's. The current versions of both will also detect and remove spyware/adware, BUT, they do NOT remove all of it. No single product does, unfortunately. You can solve this problem by reading on.
Norton and McAffee do a great job offering peace of mind on the Internet, and their added ability to scan for spyware/adware is a huge plus, but in order to get all of those buggers out, you will need to throw a triple-threat at them. You can do this by downloading two free programs. The first is called Spybot : Search & Destroy, and the second is Adaware. There are multiple versions of Adaware, but the SE Personal Edition is free. Spybot is universally free. Download them, install them and let them get their latest updates before running a scan on your system. It wouldn't be a good idea to run them both at the same time, though.
Now, you are secured against viruses (or virii), spyware/adware, and malicious ActiveX controls. Wait, what about worms? Those nasty, pervasive type of virus that actively crawl the web, looking for open connections and attempting to hijack your machine so they can bring your PC to its knees as it replicates and emails itself to all of your Outlook contacts? They are a different story. A regular virus comes to you through an infected email or file download, while worms can make their way onto your drive all by themselves. They can infect your poor PC even if you don't have a browser open, if you are connected to DSL (logged in of course) or cable broadband service. Norton and McAffee will both make a stellar attempt at keeping these things off of your drive, but they can only do so much. Some worms can even mimic regular web traffic, so antivirus software can sometimes let them right in! Bad news. Many people never even know they've been infected until their Service Provider sends them an email, threatening to cut off their service if they don't stop mass-emailing (spamming) from their computer. The hapless victim didn't even realize this was happening, because it's all going on behind the scenes, just as the real spammers who created the worm intended. Why should they invest in all the hardware and take the risk with their own internet service providers when they can simply use your computer and those of your friends to spread their evil?
You CAN stop them from getting to you. You need a firewall. There are two ways to get one though, and in the end it's up to you to decide which method is better. If you have multiple computers connected to a broadband service, then good for you! You probably have a router installed. A router, just through the nature of how it functions, provides a relatively secure and affordable hardware firewall. Don't mess with the router's settings, and you can sleep peacefully tonight, for a router left at default security settings is nearly impenetrable. Wait, scratch that. You should mess with at least one setting on that router: its access password setting. Most decent hackers are aware of the major router brands sold today, and through trial and error, can work out which one you have and use the default password to get into your router and open your computer to the world once more.
If you only have one computer in the home, or are on a dialup connection (modem), a router won't be a very useful choice for you. In your case, there are software solutions that can perform the same protection duties, but that give the user a little more control over EXACTLY what gets to talk to the internet, and what does not. They can help expose a potential infection when the firewall software asks if a program that the user doesn't recognize can access the internet. There is a bit of a learning curve with these programs though. They will force you to become a little more familiar with some of the normal everyday Windows processes that communicate with the web, and can be safely allowed to do so. Norton puts out one such program in their Internet Security bundle, which also includes their Antivirus software. McAffee offers Personal Firewall, and Zone Labs puts up ZoneAlarm.
All three programs seem to be very effective, although I admittedly have limited experience with them, (see my DIY article here on TopLevel to understand why). Among those three, ZoneAlarm is the only freebie.
That's it! With those items in place, and with scans run regularly once a week, you can surf your heart out and know that no matter where you go, there you are... I mean... you'll be secure.
I know that all this sounds like a lot of extra effort, but it really isn't. I mean, if you think about it, wouldn't you rather just clean house once a week rather than being forced to reformat your hard drive to get rid of the more tenacious bugs that you could get? Yeah, I thought so too.
Deadweasel has a worm farm on his back patio, but they never do any hacking.
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Tuesday, April 05, 2005
WINDOWS :: Managing Your PC's Files Effectively
Everyone's had to do it now and then: format the freaking hard drive. It's time-consuming, it's annoying, and to many, it's scary as hell. What if you accidentally wipe out something really crucial or otherwise important in the process? What about little Sally's massive mp3 collection?
Well, aside from the fact that Sally is courting a world of hurt with those mp3s, you can take steps with your Windows machine to help alleviate the pain of having to reformat your drive. Again.
But why do you even have to reformat in the first place? Well, the answer can be a little complex, but there are two main reasons why you would have to do this. The first is that little Sally surfs the web longer and harder than the most dedicated of California waverunners, so naturally she picks up a lot of bugs along the way. Bugs that, if left unchecked, will eventually make themselves permanently at home within Windows. They will ruin the efficient operation of your computer, and really slow things down to the point where simply opening a browser means you have time for lunch and a cigar.
The second reason you end up needing to format is the more complex one, but I will break it down for you thusly: Windows (98 and ME in particular) will slowly give itself a lobotomy over the course of a couple of years. "But why the heck does THAT happen?" you ask, "I defragment my hard drive every month!" Well, to that I would say Good Job. Defragmenting is how you get Windows to put things back in order on your hard drive.
You see, whenever you download, rename, delete, move or copy a file, Windows pushes other files around to help make it easier to deal with that file. This is especially true whenever creating or downloading new files to the hard drive, which includes installing programs. Windows sees that you created something new, and makes the assumption that you will be using the new file(s) the most frequently for now. So, it shoves older stuff to the "back" of the hard drive, and puts the new stuff first, making sure it gets accessed quicker. During this process, some of Windows' own files get pushed around and broken apart. For the most part, Windows doesn't really care about this, because it keeps an internal map, which shows it where all the parts are, and how they relate to each other.
Over time, these files get so fragmented and far apart on the hard drive that Windows can no longer find all of them in the time that it has to complete a particular task. If the file needed is a Windows core file, watch out. Blue screens, reboots and freezes suddenly abound. The bad news is that defragmenting your hard drive, while certainly helping to speed things up, will not help with Windows core files. These files are loaded into memory when Windows starts up, and cannot be moved around. These are the "locked" files that you see in the defrag window.
So over time, Windows scatters itself all over the hard drive, to the point where it can no longer function effectively. It's a sad state of affairs, but it's also the truth of our computer lives today. Try as you might, you simply can't avoid the format monster. There is a way you can make this process a lot easier though. A way that will ease your mind, sure in the knowledge that you got everything you wanted to save.
Say it with me now: Proper File Management Structure.
Sounds official, but the truth of the matter is that I just wanted you to say proper file management structure. It's funny to watch.
The idea behind PFMS is to create *and maintain* an organized layout for your important files. Windows and other MS programs give you a hand with this by defaulting their save directory to My Documents. If you keep everything in there, it won't be hard to go back and find them later. This method won't work for everything though. Can you imagine storing EVERYTHING in there? Talk about cluttered, to say the least! Let's break this down according to the types of files you might install and how you get them.
Another trick I've used to keep track of what I had installed (and therefore what could be left out upon reinstallation of Windows), is to copy the start menu over to a floppy or CD before formatting. For Win98/ME users, this can be found under C:/Windows/Start Menu.
For 2000/XP Users, the start menu is located at C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/Start Menu.
Now if you don't want to worry about copying that thing around, you can always print it out, or "print" it to a text (notepad) file. The easiest way to do this is through the Karen's Directory Print program. It's free, and it's easy to understand. I still recommend a quick read through the help file though. You will likely find that the program has a feature that you specifically wanted (for those of you just nerdy enough to have such expectations).
One more thing to worry about organizing: desktop icons. You know, all those little picture thingies sitting there on the screen when you first turn on the computer? Do you even USE half of those shortcuts? How many of those icons are installation files that you downloaded to there, used them to install the program, then left them there in a fit of laziness? Did you know that all those icons are slowing your computer down and *gasp* using up your computer's memory?
You need to organize here too. Move those zip and installer exe files somewhere else on your drive (like maybe the zip folder) and get them off your desktop. Also, those little shortcuts that programs put on the desktop. You know, the "Try AOL Free Now!" icons that some programs create? Wipe 'em. That is, unless you really gotta have AOL a few weeks from now, and don't know if you can rely on the mail to bring those CDs regularly enough. Anyhow, you get my point.
Other targets for your icon-deleting frenzy should be those RealPlayer and Quicktime icons. Do you ever open those programs by themselves, just to look at them and "ooh" and "ahh" over the interface? No. You installed those programs because some video clip on a website or that you downloaded required those programs in order to play. So I think you know how it works in general. You installed Quicktime, and now every .mov file you click automatically starts Quicktime. Duh. Simple. SO, delete those program shortcuts too. In fact, delete them from the Quickstart bar (down by the start button) too. Clutter = hard-to-find shortcuts = BAD.
It's also a good idea to get rid of those Quicktime, Realplayer, Winamp etc programs running in the background when you don't even need them. (Do you really need Quicktime running all the time in the background? I know I don't, and I use Quicktime all the time.)
Be anal about what gets to run on your computer in the background, and what gets to keep icons on your desktop. Make it an obsession to keep things out of the way and organized. You're computer-using life will be SO much easier. Been there, done that.
So for now, I bid you good day, and happy reformatting. It isn't every day I get to wish something like that! :)
Deadweasel formats his hard drive just to watch the pretty lights blink.
Read more!
Well, aside from the fact that Sally is courting a world of hurt with those mp3s, you can take steps with your Windows machine to help alleviate the pain of having to reformat your drive. Again.
But why do you even have to reformat in the first place? Well, the answer can be a little complex, but there are two main reasons why you would have to do this. The first is that little Sally surfs the web longer and harder than the most dedicated of California waverunners, so naturally she picks up a lot of bugs along the way. Bugs that, if left unchecked, will eventually make themselves permanently at home within Windows. They will ruin the efficient operation of your computer, and really slow things down to the point where simply opening a browser means you have time for lunch and a cigar.
The second reason you end up needing to format is the more complex one, but I will break it down for you thusly: Windows (98 and ME in particular) will slowly give itself a lobotomy over the course of a couple of years. "But why the heck does THAT happen?" you ask, "I defragment my hard drive every month!" Well, to that I would say Good Job. Defragmenting is how you get Windows to put things back in order on your hard drive.
You see, whenever you download, rename, delete, move or copy a file, Windows pushes other files around to help make it easier to deal with that file. This is especially true whenever creating or downloading new files to the hard drive, which includes installing programs. Windows sees that you created something new, and makes the assumption that you will be using the new file(s) the most frequently for now. So, it shoves older stuff to the "back" of the hard drive, and puts the new stuff first, making sure it gets accessed quicker. During this process, some of Windows' own files get pushed around and broken apart. For the most part, Windows doesn't really care about this, because it keeps an internal map, which shows it where all the parts are, and how they relate to each other.
Over time, these files get so fragmented and far apart on the hard drive that Windows can no longer find all of them in the time that it has to complete a particular task. If the file needed is a Windows core file, watch out. Blue screens, reboots and freezes suddenly abound. The bad news is that defragmenting your hard drive, while certainly helping to speed things up, will not help with Windows core files. These files are loaded into memory when Windows starts up, and cannot be moved around. These are the "locked" files that you see in the defrag window.
So over time, Windows scatters itself all over the hard drive, to the point where it can no longer function effectively. It's a sad state of affairs, but it's also the truth of our computer lives today. Try as you might, you simply can't avoid the format monster. There is a way you can make this process a lot easier though. A way that will ease your mind, sure in the knowledge that you got everything you wanted to save.
Say it with me now: Proper File Management Structure.
Sounds official, but the truth of the matter is that I just wanted you to say proper file management structure. It's funny to watch.
The idea behind PFMS is to create *and maintain* an organized layout for your important files. Windows and other MS programs give you a hand with this by defaulting their save directory to My Documents. If you keep everything in there, it won't be hard to go back and find them later. This method won't work for everything though. Can you imagine storing EVERYTHING in there? Talk about cluttered, to say the least! Let's break this down according to the types of files you might install and how you get them.
- Desktop backgrounds : Most people get their backgrounds by finding a cool picture on the web, then right-clicking on the image and selecting "Set as Desktop Background". DON'T DO THAT. Instead, create a folder on your C: drive called "backgrounds", then when you find a cool picture you want to use, right-click it and select Save Image As and save it in the backgrounds directory. Then right-click on the open desktop and go to properties, select the Background tab and browse to your picture. Sure, it's a little more involved, but now you can always bring back that background again later on. You now also have an established, central location for all your background pictures.
- Installation files : One thing that annoys a lot of people who format is that after the main event, there's no way to reinstall the programs they had before, much less find them all on the web again. The solution is to create a "zip" directory on the C: drive, and then store your downloaded install files (like Winzip, Winamp and other little web-snagged tools) in there. After a bit of time, you may come to realize that you'll want some deeper organization within that directory too, so you find the proper file again with little fuss. For example, inside my zip directory, I have other directories for Development, Audio, Games etc. Trust me on this one. VERY handy.
- MP3s : A no-brainer if you ask me. This is a filetype that almost everyone has on their computer. It's a music file, and where there's one, there's bound to be more. Lots more. Many music collectors will segregate all their mp3 music in a single directory, and some people take it to another level and organize each album within its own directory under the main music directory. For my part, I use a single mp3 directory, with a ton of mp3s inside. I simply don't collect entire albums, so that other method doesn't work well for me.
- Custom Windows sounds : These can be a few different filetypes, but they are generally used to change the sounds that Windows comes with by default. I usually place these sound files in a directory inside the Windows directory itself, so the path looks like this C:/Windows/media.
Another trick I've used to keep track of what I had installed (and therefore what could be left out upon reinstallation of Windows), is to copy the start menu over to a floppy or CD before formatting. For Win98/ME users, this can be found under C:/Windows/Start Menu.
For 2000/XP Users, the start menu is located at C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/Start Menu.
Now if you don't want to worry about copying that thing around, you can always print it out, or "print" it to a text (notepad) file. The easiest way to do this is through the Karen's Directory Print program. It's free, and it's easy to understand. I still recommend a quick read through the help file though. You will likely find that the program has a feature that you specifically wanted (for those of you just nerdy enough to have such expectations).
One more thing to worry about organizing: desktop icons. You know, all those little picture thingies sitting there on the screen when you first turn on the computer? Do you even USE half of those shortcuts? How many of those icons are installation files that you downloaded to there, used them to install the program, then left them there in a fit of laziness? Did you know that all those icons are slowing your computer down and *gasp* using up your computer's memory?
You need to organize here too. Move those zip and installer exe files somewhere else on your drive (like maybe the zip folder) and get them off your desktop. Also, those little shortcuts that programs put on the desktop. You know, the "Try AOL Free Now!" icons that some programs create? Wipe 'em. That is, unless you really gotta have AOL a few weeks from now, and don't know if you can rely on the mail to bring those CDs regularly enough. Anyhow, you get my point.
Other targets for your icon-deleting frenzy should be those RealPlayer and Quicktime icons. Do you ever open those programs by themselves, just to look at them and "ooh" and "ahh" over the interface? No. You installed those programs because some video clip on a website or that you downloaded required those programs in order to play. So I think you know how it works in general. You installed Quicktime, and now every .mov file you click automatically starts Quicktime. Duh. Simple. SO, delete those program shortcuts too. In fact, delete them from the Quickstart bar (down by the start button) too. Clutter = hard-to-find shortcuts = BAD.
It's also a good idea to get rid of those Quicktime, Realplayer, Winamp etc programs running in the background when you don't even need them. (Do you really need Quicktime running all the time in the background? I know I don't, and I use Quicktime all the time.)
Be anal about what gets to run on your computer in the background, and what gets to keep icons on your desktop. Make it an obsession to keep things out of the way and organized. You're computer-using life will be SO much easier. Been there, done that.
So for now, I bid you good day, and happy reformatting. It isn't every day I get to wish something like that! :)
Deadweasel formats his hard drive just to watch the pretty lights blink.
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