Archive for August, 2006
Have worms been squashed? Credit firewalls
Larry Seltzer writes about security issues and in an eWeek article, The End of the Worm Era, he says
What has changed? Perhaps the biggest change is Windows XP SP2. The number of security improvements in it are significant, including an inbound firewall that would stop just about any of these attacks in the default configuration.
He [...]
Disc Swapping
Now, here’s a possibly useful article. PC Magazine tells about some new sites where you can trade media you don’t want for something better.
Got movies, music, or games on disc that you’ll never watch, listen to, or play again? Unlock the value in those shelf fillers at these sites that make it easy to buy, [...]
About Internet Explorer 7
ZDNet has a review of the latest version of IE7. This is a release candidate, which means that it should be feature-complete. The review has a gallery of screenshots. The author summarizes
When it comes down to it, IE7 is a ‘catch-up’ version of Microsoft’s browser – adding tabs and other features that Firefox has had [...]
The World’s best mouse?
I decided a long time ago that a few extra dollars for a good mouse was money well spent. It’s not that I make use of the slew of extra buttons. My fingers are not agile enough and I end up pushing the wrong button too often. However, a good cordless optical mouse with scroll [...]
Cell phone attack
Another day, another new word and another form of attack. This one is “smishing”. Cell phone users should watch out for text messages containing links which could download a Trojan horse. A McAfee blog is the source of the warning.
Policing the language
No, I don’t mean the political corectness police (although they are as officious and interfering as ever). I am referring to Google and Apple. I mentioned previously that Google is not pleased to have become a dictionary entry. Now Apple is trying to lock up the use of “pod”. Matthew Lynn, a columnist at [...]
Guided Help for Microsoft Knowledge Base articles
The Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) is a very large collection of articles about Microsoft products. It is the primary source for much of the information about Windows. Although the articles are often written in Microsoft-speak and require translation, it is a treasure-trove of ways to tweak or configure your system. Many of the procedures [...]
Tech support worse than ever?
That’s what Michael J. Miller, editor of PC Magazine, has to say after looking at the magazine’s consumer survey
PCs are more reliable than they have been over the past few years, but tech support is worse than ever . That’s my takeaway from our 19th annual Reader Satisfaction Survey.
He goes on to note
The complaints I [...]
A new release for Internet Explorer 7
Microsoft has just made available the Release Candidate 1 version of IE7. This can be used on Windows XP SP2. This is an almost final version with all the features that are to be included. The final version will be in Windows Vista and is scheduled for release sometime in the last two or three [...]
Wireless network security
Wireless home networks are more and more common. You may be letting your neighbors or passers-by be uninvited members of your network. Here’s an article with some tips on security from Microsoft.
Flaws in the Windows update process
Ed Bott has been keeping a close eye on Microsoft’s monthly update process and reports on his conclusions so far.
The more I look, the more I’m convinced that there’s a substantial problem with Microsoft’s update process. But they’re not willing to talk about it.
I’ve put together an image gallery that documents problems I experienced, and [...]
