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Beware The Swine Flu & Social Engineers, Too0
Joe M posted in homelife, security on April 30th, 2009

Social Engineering is a term that has been coined to describe a genre of activity designed to influence people to engage in activity that they normally would decline or not engage in.  It usually involves lies or deception of some sort.

The activity is subversive, and the unsuspecting victim shares information that helps the Social Engineer to gain information or an exploit.

Phishing is a form of Social Engineering designed to influence the user to click on links that redirect them to a website.  Subsequently, the destination is a fake site designed to look like a legitimate site.  Usually the user is coerced into typing in their username and password, and possibly account numbers to an online bank or payment company.

And… the information is collected and saved.  It’s either immediately used or saved and sold on the black market.

Ultimately, these days, it boils down to money.  They want your info, to get at your money.

The BBB came out today with a warning regarding schemes drawing focus on the recent Swine Flu (H1N1) outbreak.

One ad offered a ’survival guide’ for $19.95.

The ultimate goals of such schemes could be any of a growing list of objectives.

It’s possible that the scheme is a website designed to get your username and password… or your username, password and bank account number or credit card number.

It could also be a matter of getting you to click a link to install a virus or trojan on your machine.  It might be designed to collect your keystrokes (a keylogger).

The focus… is to present something intriguing that sparks your interest… that makes you want to open the attachment, click the link or type in your username and password… or simply use your credit card.

If I haven’t said it enough… scammers and schemers, virus authors and crooks are actively designing new routines both in software, hardware and ‘the real world’.

As money gets tighter, there is a relative increase in Social Engineering.

It will get worse, before it gets better.

Beware of emails and websites that sound too good to be true, or just too doggone intriguing.  If they include a time-sensitive deal, RUN.  In the opposite direction.

These days, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  To top it off, just checking it out might cause you problems, too… if you click the link, or open the attachment.

Remember, Google is your friend.

If you really have to know about that great deal, Google the subject line.

Usually the first page of results will tell you if there is a virus or something nasty circulating with that subject line.

And… even if you don’t find anything… still beware.

Who’s to say that you are not one of the first victims of a new scheme?

Simplify File Management With Gnome Commander (Ubuntu)1
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on April 29th, 2009

For quite some time, now, I have used two windows to manage my files in Ubuntu.

The ritual that I have gone through… firing up two Nautilus windows and resizing and moving them around on the screen, then navigating in each window to the source and destinations.

After reading an old article on Norton Commander, it hit me.

Why don’t I use something like it for Ubuntu?

I Googled ‘commander’ on SourceForge.

I found Krusader, which is identical to Norton Commander, but it’s designed for the KDE desktop.

Pulling up Synaptic Package Manager, I found Krusader… but luckily, I also found Gnome Commander.

The great thing about Gnome Commander is that you have some features beyond what the original Norton Commander.

Since it’s built upon the Gnome Desktop Environment, you have drag-and-drop copying and moving… as well as the hotkeys listed at the bottom of the screen.

I still have the navigation portion of the left and right window panes, but it’s more of a snap.

There are fewer programs to run, fewer windows to resize and move around.

Gnome Commander starts up, automagically, with two panes.

What makes me scratch my head is… after a few years of using Gnome exclusively, why didn’t I think to look for it, before?

A side note…

Norton Commander development eventually ended, suspected as a result of more graphical development by Microsoft in the Windows arena.  It still inspired the design of several products; free, commercial, open source and proprietary offerings.

Google Tracks The Swine Flu Spread0
Joe M posted in homelife, well-being on April 28th, 2009

With the scare of the Swine Flu (H1N1) all over the news…

I came across a Google Mashup of infections across the U.S. and the world.

It helps to put a geographical perspective on how the strain is spreading.

I heard on NBC Nightly News that wearing a surgical mask does not really do any good… because the virus can still be transmited through the mask.

Does not mean that I won’t be using my hand sanitizer and my can of disinfectant whenever I come into contact with the public.

The number of cases doubled, from yesterday in the U.S. to 45 cases.

Beware The New Swine Flu Strain0
Joe M posted in homelife, well-being on April 27th, 2009

The Center for Disease Control has launched an investigation of a new strain of the flu virus.

H1N1, Swine Influenza A, is a nasty strain.

Definitely one to beware.

From the CDC website (9:00 am today):

There have been 60 deaths reported in Mexico.

There are no reported deaths in the U.S., and several recoveries have been reported so far.

South of the border, they have cancelled school and public events for concern of spreading the virus.

Straight from the CDC Website:

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
• If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

The scary part for the business world is to observe the dynamic of attendance created by the economy.

Who wants to miss work these days?

That’s not to mention the ‘die-hard’ attendees that show up for work or school, no matter what sort of funk for which they are scourged.

Whether you go to work or school, make sure you take your hand sanitizer, a can of disinfectant spray and rubber gloves.

And…

For Pete’s sake, if you are sick… avoid contact with others, and stay home.

If you are a teacher or supervisor, don’t hesitate to send someone home to avoid further infection or spread.

Questions On Microsoft Netbook Strategy0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on April 26th, 2009

Microsoft is now boasting that 96% of all netbooks run Windows.

This figure sounded a little strange, to me, considering that a little over a year ago, it seems there were problems getting a flavor of Windows to run on netbooks.

It makes me wonder how the numbers are derived.  This bugs me.

I was in a couple of local retail stores, recently.  I spotted a Dell Mini 9 and an Acer Aspire One.

My initial reaction was, “This looks pretty intriguing.”  I have not really gotten a chance to play around with one, outside of my XO (OLPC)… and it doesn’t really fit the category.

I ran my finger across the touchpad on each machine.

Both were fitted with Windows XP, and had a fixed price.  No Linux offering, and no one around to ask.

The Aspire One had a $300 pricetag.  Looking high and low, I could not find any information around the display concerning other options.

It was simply $300, if you want one… and they come in Windows.

Over the past couple of years, the news has had sprinkles of stories of people buying Windows machines, then contacting the manufacturer for a rebate for not using the Windows License.

I tend to think that the strategy for Microsoft becomes one of a mass offering.  It looks like manufacturers pay a flat fee, then put the OS on all of the models they sell.

Is there an incentive to retailers to preferentially display the Windows offering in high traffic areas, within each store?

Just looking around the web, I looked at several web deals for netbooks.

I noticed a big difference from a year ago.

At that time, you had no problem in locating a netbook and identifying the Linux offering with the OS.

What’s different now?

I had to spend a great deal of time wading through pages of options.

The Linux offering was still there, in most cases, but it was much harder to find.

In a couple of cases, the regular option was Windows bundled, and you had to dig to find the option for Linux.

In one case, I found where there was not a price break for choosing Linux.

It makes me wonder if there is not a part of the Microsoft strategy that implies, “You are paying for it anyway, so you might as well use it!”

Ubuntu 9.04, Jaunty Jackalope, Released Today0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on April 24th, 2009

Ubuntu “Jaunty Jackalope” was released today.

It’s the new version of Ubuntu Linux, 9.04.

Most tech journalists have talked about Windows and Mac OS X.

Thanks to Mark Shuttleworth (Canonical), the past two years have brought articles, interviews and postings across the media and the net that now include Linux.

Thanks to Ubuntu and several other communities and factors, it’s no longer just a Windows or Mac OS X world.

The new version, Jaunty, has met some mild criticism, but playing with it gives me a different impression.

It still has the 256 MB minimum requirement, but performs without problem on the minimum.  There is a little slowdown during install with the 256 minimum, but after the install completes, it’s back to full speed.

There’s better support for multiple monitors.  This has been an area of much needed improvement in most distributions.

Jaunty now comes with OpenOffice 3.0 pre-installed.  (There’s been a few questions raised about the fate of OpenOffice, with the acquisition of Sun by Oracle, earlier this week.  Cross your fingers.)  OpenOffice 3.0 supports plug-ins.  It’s a great feature, probably needs a little maturing.

There’s ext4 file system support.  It’s not installed by default, but it is available.

Finally, there are more themes available in the base install.  In prior versions, you had to find and install your own themes.  I will say the new themes are progressing.  No one is really crazy about the orange / brown defaults.   They’ve added several more tones and colors, and it keeps improving.

There’s more eye candy, in this version.  Some subtle changes, but pleasant, with a new notification system.

The Brasero disc burning application now has video-to-disc options.   I am looking forward to playing around with this one, just to see how it compares to DeVeDe.

There are Evolution improvements for email.  There’s now support for importing PST files, from Outlook, to my understanding.  (Since I have been running Evolution for quite a while, I don’t really have a need for this one.)

Boot time has improved for this release.  Haven’t gotten to really measure or benchmark it yet, but I am going to play around with the tweaks.

This version also offers a separate download for netbooks, Ubuntu Netbook Remix.  That’s in addition to the Desktop and Server editions.

You can download the new version of Ubuntu here.

It’s free.

What are you waiting for?

Simplifying Admin Tasks As A Limited User (Windows)0
Joe M posted in Home Support, security on April 23rd, 2009

After reading my post on Tightening Home Computer Security, someone stopped me.

In a nutshell, I talked about creating multiple accounts, one for each user.  You have only one admin account, that is used ONLY for administration.

“… But I have to change things that require administrative privilege.  That means I have to log on with my regular user account, then log off… and log back on as the administrator… log off… log back on with my user account.  Using separate accounts is simply not feasible.”

Off the cuff, that may seem true.

There is a good work-around.

I brought up my XP box.

I opened notepad and preceded to create a batch file.

The batch file above, starts the User Manager, as my administrative user(4dm1n1str4t0r); using the RUNAS command.

XPIMAGE is my machine… and my admin account name follows it with a ‘\’.

(If you need to run another program as administrator, you can simply substitute the complete path to the executable inside of the quotation marks.

Make sure you locate the program you want to run, first, in explorer.  That will help you discover the path.

You’ll also want to substitute your machine name and your administrator account name in place of mine.)

I save the file to my desktop, as PWD MANAGER.BAT.

When I  double-click the shortcut on my desktop, it pops open the DOS window… and pauses for me to enter the password for the admin user, 4dm1n1str4t0r.

After I enter the password, it fires up User Manager.

The /savecred switch allows me to enter the password the first time I run the batch for the current session.  Subsequently, it no longer prompts me for the password for the current session.  The next time I log on, it will prompt me for the password, again.

For good security practices, you probably want to omit the /savecred switch from the batch file.

I have not heard of any vulnerabilities, using it, but it’s probably much safer without it.

You’ll also notice that I changed the name of the administrator account.  It’s another good measure in securing your home computer.

If you stick with the vanilla ‘administrator’ name, the measure left to break into your machine is to acquire the password.

If person posing a security risk has to find both the username and the password, the chances of someone circumventing your security diminish pretty quickly.  That’s as opposed to only having to get through the password security.

Even though the multiple user / single admin security model may seem triffle, there are ways to perform administrative tasks without complete surrender.

Google Brings 3D Back To The Web0
Joe M posted in products on April 22nd, 2009

Several years ago, there was a hot term being thrown around.

VRML (‘Vermal’) was an acronym for Virtual Reality Markup Language.

It was supposed to be the next big thing.

A few companies made demos.

For some reason it just died.  Never really went anywhere.

If I recall correctly, it required a special browser.

Google has announced an impressive venture back into the 3D realm.

O3D is a Google implementation.  It is an API (Application Program Interface) that supports javascript and low-level graphics.

The idea is to allow web content authors more visual dimension in creating content.

It supports Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome and Firefox… as well as several Operating Systems (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux).

The concept and product are still in discussion and development, but you can visit here for a download and more information.

It’s much more impressive than the original concept of VRML.

One-Stop Media Play, With VLC1
Joe M posted in Home Support, free stuff, products on April 21st, 2009

Getting a call from a friend of mine, I had to rebuild her laptop in a matter of hours.

Did not seem like a tall order, except for the fact that she did not have the original CD of drivers and software that came with the laptop.

(When we became friends, she never warned me that she was the high-maintenance type, or that she occasionally expected miracles.)

After going through the ritual of installing XP, several hours came and went downloading the updates and rebooting.

(One day, I am going to take the time to streamline the updates into the installation CD.)

After covering my standard list of applications, I tweaked the swap file and ran the defrag.

As far as I could tell, it was ready to go.

Long hours and fatigue finally caught up with me.

I put the laptop away.

A couple of hours later, she called.

“Don’t forget about the DVD Player software and the stuff I need to watch any other media I download.”

Shoot.  Thought I was free and clear, thought I had it finished.

I went to the laptop manufacturer’s website.

There were several updates for Intervideo WinDVD, but not the original package.  Just the updates.

(WinDVD is a paid software package… costs about $80, if you don’t own an older version.)

That did not do us any good.  It looked like we were going to have to either buy a package, or find the original software CD.

After tooling around for about 30 minutes, it hit me.

‘I can kill several birds with one stone.’

So… I went with the best solution.

Video LAN Client (VLC) is a multi-dimensional, almost-all-purpose media player.

It plays most audio and video formatted media.

It should handle just about anything she could throw at it.  Especially CDs… especially DVDs!

VLC is open source, and free.

It houses quite a few more features, including some video and audio streaming capabilities.

For our purposes, it fit the bill quite nicely.

It’s available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

The Right Response?0
Joe M posted in opinion, security on April 20th, 2009

Michael “Mikeyy” Mooney, a 17 year old from Brooklyn, New York made international headlines last weekend.

According to reports, the teen did a little research and found a vulnerability in Twitter.

He subsequently created a worm to promote his website, StalkDaily.

Using a series of steps with the cache and the Twitter API, the worm sent spam tweets to several accounts.

Twitter users and followers were upset, to say the least.

Several thousand Twitter accounts were affected.

The interesting part, a few days later, Mikeyy’s account got hacked.

During the hack, Mikeyy’s personal information was exposed… not to mention his coding skills were criticized.

To complicate the story, a couple of companies decided to give Mikeyy job offers.

The story is still unfolding.

As of right now, it appears that Mikeyy has accepted one of the jobs, with exqSoft Solutions.  According to the reports, he will be working in security analysis and web development.

We haven’t heard much of the legal repercussions, as of yet.

I think that this brings up some interesting questions.

Did Mikeyy Mooney get rewarded for his alleged and self-proclaimed ‘hack’ of Twitter?

Is exqSoft Solutions simply looking for publicity?

As our information and internet law continues to grow and mature, undoubtedly, it will change.

In recent years, we have seen prevention of convicted criminals from profiting from their crimes.  Basically, they are not allowed to earn a profit in selling their stories to publishers or media companies.

I think that somewhere along the line, we can expect similar responses or legislation to prevent ’script-kiddies’ and information vandals from receiving rewards from their ill-administered fruits.

Rewarding them with a job offer is the wrong response.

Kevin Mitnik, author and alleged hacker, received an extensive sentence from the court systems for activities prior to 1995.  The decision included a five year prison term, among other things, and disallowed him access to any communications device other than a landline telephone up until 2003.  At that time he got the ruling overturned.

If Mikeyy really wanted to alert people to a problem with Twitter, I think a better place to start would have been alerting the staff to the vulnerability.

The scary part of the whole ordeal, and other similar ordeals… How will the resulting legislation (if there is any) be worded?

Even scarier… how will the wording for that legislation subsequently be interpreted?

A Word Of Caution On ‘Free’ Software0
Joe M posted in free stuff, opinion, security on April 19th, 2009

On OSNews, a trojan designed for Mac OS X piggybacked on cracked copies of Adobe CS4 and iWork has been activated for the first of its kind Bot-net attack.

The software was distributed over some Warez sites.

What happens is… the virus author decompiles (or unassembles) the code for the package, inserts the malware and recompiles (reassembles) the whole package.

The resulting package includes the unwanted malware or trojan, hidden.

When they install the package, they get asked for their administrative username and password.

As soon as they enter it, the software package gets installed, as well as the trojan.

This happens pretty often.

Someone wanting a free copy of an expensive software package will Google the package, and land on one of these sites.

There are plenty of these less than desirable packages floating around.

If you land of a ‘free download’ of a paid software package, be very discerning.  Most of the time, it could be laced with just about any time of infection, probably several.

The more expensive the original package, the more people want it, and the more cautious you should be.

Social engineering is at an all-time high.  Essentially, these authors put packages like this together, to make them as desirable as possible.

There is still a cost associated with these ‘free’ versions.

If the user practices include downloading packages, like this, they can count on re-installing their OS every few months… even weeks.  That’s provided that they become alerted to ’something is not quite right.’

If you want a free package, SourceForge is full of safe and stable releases of free and Open Source alternatives to popular software.

You’ll find Windows, Mac and Linux software offered in a safe community, with the source code readily available.

For a good comparison, hop over to alternativeto.net.  It offers some additional info and correlations to the popular package, should you want a little more than what’s listed on SourceForge.

More Of The Downside Of Social Media0
Joe M posted in opinion, security on April 18th, 2009

Social Media is great.

It’s a great way to catch up with friends and old acquaintances.

It can be both positive and addictive.

The uses for it, we are still discovering.

Not all the aspects are always positive, as we found out earlier this week, with two employees from Dominos Pizza.

Today, Ashton Kutcher appeared on Oprah, talking about Twitter and his one million followers.

There is something addictive about the prospect of following a microblog of someone or an organization that you consider interesting.

That’s part of the upside.

In Denton, Texas, the police department has joined ‘the latest craze.’

So, if you live in Denton, and you want to fly under the radar of your tech-savvy friends…

Make sure you obey the law.

Not sure if this is intended as an additional deterrent, or if it is purely coincidental.

The question I have… With Twitter and it’s recent vulnerability to the mikeyy worm from last weekend, how long before the page gets hacked… or someone complains of problems with potential identity theft?

Tightening Home Computer Security1
Joe M posted in security on April 17th, 2009

Almost everyone I know uses some version of Microsoft Windows.

Windows security has tightened, progressively with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Their general practice is to use one account for themselves and all of their family members.  That user account usually has administrative rights, in hopes of simplifying administrative tasks.

The one place in our homes that lacks the most discipline is how we administer and use our PCs.

With security issues and malware production on the rise, we have to take the initiative to protect ourselves and our homes, first!

A good home information security model is much like a good backup.  You don’t really think about it, until after a calamity.

That’s when you really need it!

Of course, the ideal is to create separate accounts for each user.  There should be a separate administrator account, seldomly used, to install software and hardware or for troubleshooting and problem isolation and resolution.

The regular user accounts should be given only limited user rights.  That’s not to complicate things, as it might seem.

If you look back during the Windows 3.0, 3.1, 3.51, 95 and 98 eras, you’ll remember how easy it was to contract an infection of some kind.  During that time, there was no distinction between users and their respective rights.

The administrative user account looked exactly like all the others, so just about anyone could make changes to hardware and software… and so could just about anything they clicked on.

Now, back to the ideal…

It has one administrative account with super user rights.  All of the other accounts have limited rights, with practically no administrative rights.

The idea is not based on a lack of trust for all the users, but a lack of trust for everything else.  You want to protect them and your Operating System.

Your son or your daughter, your wife, your husband, or your mom and dad… might have completely innocent intentions while web surfing or using email.

What happens?

Think about these two scenarios:

1)  Everyone has administrative rights.  They click a link on the web or through email.  Without their knowledge or intention, they run an executable program that installs itself on your machine.  It could be a virus, worm, key logger, IRC-bot and / or even worse… a rootkit.

2)  Each user has limited rights, with no administrative privileges.  That includes the members of the household that ‘know what they are doing.’  Once again, they click a link over email or the web.  This time, the program displays an error message and the program fails to run.  Before anything bad could happen, the executable was stopped, which is what you want to happen.

As a rule of thumb, never log on as administrator, unless you have a special reason to do so.  That reason should only include maintenance tasks, installing or uninstalling software or hardware, or troubleshooting and repair.

Importantly, stay off the web, except for updates.  Never use the admin account to randomly surf or check email.

The knee-jerk reaction is that it’s frustrating.  You can’t do anything.

The frustration usually only lasts during the adjustment period,  which also includes tweaks and allowances in getting enough function to run your programs.

Once everything is functional, remove administrative rights from each regular user.   Getting used to the new balance will take a little adjustment.

Don’t share the administrative account and password with everyone else in the household.  Pick one trusted assistant, and share it with them.  Explain the full reasoning in behind the new security precautions.

Assign each person a username and password in confidence.  Ask them never to share their username and password with anyone else inside or outside of the household.  Help them to understand the importance of maintaining the security, integrity and responsibility.

If everyone knows the administrative password, what will happen?  At that point, it becomes easy for everyone to use the administrative account.

And they will.

It’s human nature to take the easy road.

Separate user accounts will simplify the processes of reviewing logs and troubleshooting issues.

These days, more schemes are aimed at stealing information.

A good home information security model includes a sort of ‘Information Kung Fu,’ and it is a team effort from the whole household.

When Social Media Comes Back To Bite2
Joe M posted in opinion on April 16th, 2009

A few days ago, I posted my opinions and concerns over using social media.

A couple of days afterward, a video hit YouTube from two Dominos Pizza employees.

The video was filmed by one employee, and ‘featured’ the other employee inserting mozzarella cheese into his nose, then placing it on a sandwich. The viewer could easily draw the conclusion that the sandwich would be served to a customer.

There was more, but I will spare the details.

Not surprisingly, Patrick Doyle, DP President responded swiftly and quickly.

This issue demonstrates and possibly defines the boundaries in utilizing social media.

Even though you might not be breaking the law and wind up in the criminal courts, civil court is another matter entirely.

For the most part, in the US, one entity can launch a civil lawsuit against another for just about anything. Oversimplified, their success mostly lies in the burden of proof.

Even though we all have heard the “Freedom of Speech” right recited throughout the media, I think it’s pretty doubtful that will provide the two employees a sound defense in a civil case.

I never really went that far in the discussion during my original post, but the argument is ultimately going to be, ‘How far as an individual do my rights extend, before they negatively impact another person, business or corporation… and what responsibility do I have as a result of my actions or statements?’

Don’t count on the ‘It was only a joke’ defense providing much shelter.

Potentially, I think we can expect YouTube and other social media websites to either change their TOS agreement, or begin to scrutinize submitted content a little more, in order to avoid the legal implications or backlash.

The problem is, to balance the control of potentially harmful content with the individual’s right to free speech.

Unsticking Stuck Pixels2
Joe M posted in Home Support, free stuff on April 15th, 2009

Every so often, you run into a stuck pixel on your CRT, LCD or plasma screen.

It’s one little, almost microscopic spot on your screen that is a different color than all the others.

On a black background, it might be a white, blue, yellow, red or green spec.

I came across JScreenFix, a website which offers some help.

They have a java applet which you launch and leave running.

It generates several rapidly changing patterns, that look like the following:

The applet is called a Pixel Massage.

From reading up on the site, it looks like it can fix most stuck pixels within the 5 to 20 minute time range.

They also offer an evaluation version of JScreenFix Deluxe for both Windows and Linux.

You can also purchase a copy of Pixel Protector DVD for your Plasma or LCD TV.

The pixel massage applet is free, and should run inside of any java-enabled browser, which you can usually press F11 for fullscreen.

I have a stuck pixel on my OLPC XO laptop, and I can’t wait to try it out there.

Lock Your Computer With USB System Lock (Windows)1
Joe M posted in free stuff on April 14th, 2009

In Windows, these days, you have a little more security than we had a few years back.

Now, you can set your screen to lock within a specified amount of time.

When you return, you have to enter a password or username and password in order to unlock it.

Looking at Sourceforge, I came across USB System Lock (USL).

I downloaded it, and installed it.

The way it works, is, you run the installer and create a USB key.

When you remove the drive, it locks the machine.

When you return, you insert your USB drive, the same drive, and the machine is unlocked.

If someone happens to try to unlock the machine while you are gone, you get a notification.

It’s an interesting concept, and still being developed.

It’s an interesting compliment to your current username and password security.

Other thoughts…

If you want to try it out, do so at home.

Most companies have either software or policies in place to disallow using USB ports.

Some companies are even supergluing the USB ports on all the the workstations and laptops to keep them from being used for ill purpose.

If you do decide to try it out at work, make sure you clear it with your information security officer.

From what I can tell, it operates on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 Beta.

It’s free and published under the the General Public License.

Simplifying Your Desktop With Ubuntu Tweak0
Joe M posted in Home Support, Howto on April 13th, 2009

Since the machines that I have to work on are primarily Windows machines, MSCONFIG and TWEAKUI are two apps that I use on a regular basis.

When I am at home and can make my own choice,  it’s working primarlily on Ubuntu (8.10) Intrepid.   I wondered if there were any comparable applications for tweaking Ubuntu.

I wanted something that would function identically to the two MS apps, but for Ubuntu.

I found it.

Ubuntu Tweak.

It’s an app that allows you similar control to the MS counterparts.

Actually, if you consider the fact that it allows you to add and remove applications from the same UI, it’s better than the two MS counterparts.

You can also view basic info about your machine, the hostname and kernel version, as well as the window manager, etc.

You can set the startup applications for your session, as well.

One of my favorie features is the UI for Compiz-Fusion within Ubuntu Tweak.

Compiz is a fantastic app, but the UI is pretty extensive.  Usually, I work with the UI until I finally come to somewhat of an understanding with the UI.

I get it tweaked, but it could be a little easier.

Ubuntu Tweak reaches closer to eye-candy config nirvana.

The edge settings are pretty easy to find at the top.

Most notably, the Expo and Show Desktop settings are much easier found.

With the settings set to Expo at the upper left corner of the screen, if I move my mouse quickly to that corner… here’s what I get:

It displays my open windows, allowing me to choose which one I want.

The Show Desktop setting to the upper right corner, minimizes everything and shows me my desktop.

Those are two ways in which Compiz makes your desktop easier to use, but Ubuntu Tweak makes them easier to find and set.

Ubuntu Tweak is free.

What does it mean — No Support?0
Joe M posted in Home Support, opinion on April 12th, 2009

Talking with someone this weekend, we got off on the subject of the end of Microsoft’s support for Windows XP.

At this point, it’s supposed to happen this month; but seems like I vaguely remember an attempt to end support for it back in 2006.

One of the questions that popped up, “What does it mean — no support?”

It’s a very valid question… and not easily answered.

What exactly does it mean?

The most obvious answer is, ‘That means that Microsoft no longer will encourage anyone to run XP.’

In order to get people to upgrade to a newer version of Windows, Microsoft has to offer encouragement.  That means you have to want to upgrade.

In the past, when Microsoft ceases supporting an OS, that means that newer software gets released for only the newer OSes.

Now, that probably means Vista or W7.

Will the software function on XP?  That’s a good question.

Usually, someone finds a few ways to a functional work-around or a substitute.  That only lasts for so long, though.

Microsoft directly, will inevitably release a new version of Windows Media Player or some other basic component of the OS that will only install and / or function fully on the newer versions of Windows.

Indirectly, Microsoft will encourage third party vendors to cease support for it as well.  Whether it’s a pricebreak or a monetary incentive, is anyone’s guess.

According to what I understand, Microsoft will still release fixes for XP in major security flaws.

If Microsoft manages to secure a deal for Silverlight, like with the Olympics, it will require a new version.  The new version will probably no longer install or function on XP.

Does this mean that nothing will work on XP, after a certain time?
That’s probably going to an extreme.  Most of the software that is functional, now, on XP will still function in a few months.

The biggest difference will be the part of ‘no support’ that means ‘at your own risk’ or ‘at your own luck.’

Many times in researching an unsupported software application for a particular OS, you can find a tweak or a hack that allows you to run the application.

Usually, in those instances, it means that the vendor won’t discuss any details or offer any assistance to you during the process.

The elephant in the room is, how many people will upgrade to Vista or W7 (and how soon it gets released) and how much that will cost.

It’s possible that customer demand might squeeze just a little more support for XP, if it happens in a great quantity.

The other wrench is the new offer for downgrades to Vista or XP for Windows 7, followed by an offer for a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Are you dizzy, yet?

I am.

The EU Getting Involved With VOIP Debate5
Joe M posted in opinion on April 11th, 2009

According to this article, the European Union is getting involved in the debate over VOIP on cell phones.

Earlier this week, I talked about AT&T being unhappy about a Skype app availability on the iPhone.

As it turns out, the EU may require that carriers leave VOIP traffic alone, and free from discrimination.

This is part of the whole Net Neutrality debate.

The debate stems from a question of the rights of the consumer, versus the rights of a carrier or provider.

If a carrier or provider offers a service, such as phone service, should they be allowed to block traffic that could impose on their ability to earn a profit in that market?

Looking at it from a different perspective…

Think about the following scenario:

A carrier or provider has a search website with paid advertisements.

The carrier examines their logs, and discovers that none of their customers use their search site.

As a result, they block traffic going to other search websites, and redirect the customers to their search site.

It’s easy to see that this could twist into a heated debate, quickly.

In the end, competition is an important element to examine during the debate.

If a carrier discriminates against traffic for the sole purpose of increasing their own profits, is it anti-competitive?

In my opinion, competition drives innovation and changes in the market.

If a mousetrap is not selling because it no longer works as cost effectively as newer mousetraps, it drives the producer back to the drawing board… to design a new mousetrap.

The EU is expressing their reaction.

Will the legislature and judicial branches in the United States follow suit?

I have said it before…

Microsoft Windows Vista was what it was.

Windows 7 looks more promising, only because of the competition from other operating systems, and the fact that consumers (should) drive the final decision.  Luckily for them, the courts did not get involved (much).

The same thing should happen in the VOIP and Net Neutrality debate.

The sad part is, when a provider becomes so large, they can dictate the standards and rules for what allowances the consumers will be afforded.

Public opinion is not really a concern, in some instances.

The idealist in me, says that the carriers and providers should act benevolently, without any government getting involved.  As I said, that’s the idealist in me, though.

Conficker C ‘Doom’ Phizzles Into A Phony Sales Pitch1
Joe M posted in Home Support, opinion on April 10th, 2009

This sounds like an April Fools’ joke that wound up in the cornfield.

According to Wired.com, Trend Micro has discovered the whole underlying purpose behind Conficker C.

It’s not the Apocalypse.

It’s not a hoard of locusts.

It’s not horsemen.

It’s… another phony anti-virus sales pitch, for only $49.95.

Ironic enough… It also may install other worms that are used to spam from your machine.

One of the symptoms?

A slow Windows machine.  Nothing really new there.

(If I had a dime for every time I heard, “My computer has gotten really slow…”)

There are a number of removal tools out there.

Symantec has one, that is easily accesible.

With all the TV and news hype regarding the worm, you might think that the purpose of the worm is something much darker.

Actually, considering how annoying and ‘lazy’ ads have gotten, trying to sell a fake product is still somewhat of a dark venture.

The worst thing anyone can do is to pull out their wallet and give these authors encouragement.

If you think you might be infected, shut your machine down, download a removal tool on another machine.

Definitely, don’t use the machine again until you fix it.

The next item to watch for, in the news?

How many spammers or dark industrialists take the code from Conficker C, and make it ‘better,’ to produce Conficker D or Conficker E.

Stimulating Your IT Knowledge To Grow1
Joe M posted in Howto on April 9th, 2009

I had a guy stop me the other day.

He has always been interested in learning more about IT, but just never could muster enough drive and motivation to dig in and learn.

He asked me, “What’s the best way to learn more about {IT / Operating Systems /Protocols}?”

At that point, I had never really thought about it.  I know what I do, but never really tried to communicate that to someone else.

After having thought about it for several days, I have come up with a basic list to pass on to him.

1. Learn Concepts, not buttons or menus.

So many times, I have seen people swear by the Start menu in Windows or the menu in MS Word.  If they happen to use something different, such as another Office Suite or another Operating System, they scratch their heads in disbelief.

Concentrate on the task at hand and the underlying idea of the action you are taking.

2.  Avoid vendor specifics.

There are vendors that make excellent and innovative products.  There are also vendors that try to control standards.

I remember studying the OSI Model in school.    There’s seven layers to it.  It’s a basis for troubleshooting and design within OSes and networks.

I took one vendor-specific test, in which the vendor tried to re-design the seven layer model into a four layer model.

It didn’t fly, but it makes the point.

Vendors are usually relationship-oriented and usually practice benevolence in securing a long term customer relationship.  There are exceptions, in that some vendors feel they can be more profitable if they control the standard.  That means filling the genre with a lexicon of their own terms and dictating how a model will work.

Models that are open usually offer more for the customer in terms of having more vendors’ support.

In an open model, Brand A will interact with Brand B, C and D without having to spend additional time or resources.  If you have to spend additional money, then it’s probably not an open model.

3.  Attend to your peers.

Talking with people that have similar experiences often will open doors and resources in which you might never find, otherwise.

Ask your friends and coworkers for help.  Share experiences.  Trade knowledge.  Find out where and how they learn.

If someone tells you, “It can’t be done,” write the task down.  Research it, and don’t settle for that answer without a long, hard fight.  It’s a challenge or a puzzle for you to solve.

4.  Broaden your spectrum.

It’s easy to fall into an informational rut.  If you only work in Windows or OS X, you can miss a great deal of opportunity for knowledge growth.

Keep your eyes and ears open.  Keep up on emerging technology (there are enough tech news websites to keep you busy).

If you work in Windows, mostly, make it a point to learn more about Unix, OS X or Linux (which can be considered similar skillsets).  Try performing some of the same functions in another OS (different from the one you normally use).  If you get stuck, once again, Google is your friend.

Make it a point to learn about how to connect dissimilar network components.  Try getting a Windows machine to talk to a Mac or a Linux machine.

If you hear about something new and interesting, write it down and Google it.

5.  Share!

During the quest on your learning path, inevitably, you will learn a tip, technique or concept that will prove valuable.  Practice it.  Write it down.

At the next opportunity, tell someone about it.  The experience will positively reinforce your own motivation, even if the person you tell is not as excited as you are.

If you follow the above suggestions, you will find that your motivation and your expertise will continue to grow.

It’s a process, and not one that will take place over night, but before too long, you will start to see your knowledge grow.

Schemes Are On The Rise2
Joe M posted in homelife, opinion on April 8th, 2009

Attack of the Card Skimmers, an article on Gizmodo has some interesting photos

It seems that card skimmers are everywhere these days.

A card skimmer is a small device that can be placed over the card slot on an ATM.  It captures the magnetic stripe information for a thief.

The thief returns later, removes the skimmer, and it contains all of the card info that it has captured while it has been covertly installed.

The info can be reproduced on a counterfeit card, or sold to someone on the black market.

The masterminds behind this idea have gotten really clever, and the skimmer is hard to spot.  These days, they match the color, look and feel of the ATM.

In the article, the thief also used a pinhole camera to capture shots of PIN numbers being entered.

This is a reminder to all of us.

The economy is in a questionable state.  Theft and fraud are on the rise.

We can expect it to get much worse before the year is up, or the economy turns around, whichever comes first.

I also expect phone-related and computer fraud to rise.

I have gotten two automated calls in the past week.  Both calls were from ‘customer service at (Insert choice credit card issuer name here).’

Ironically, they were ‘courtesy calls’ to let me know my account number ‘had been compromised.’

The interesting thing?  I did not have accounts with either mentioned issuer.

With the popularity of text messaging and twitter, I expect those two forms of communication to become heavy-laden with attempts to dishonestly exploit any possibilities.

I have not gotten many, but I have received a couple of spam-texts on my cell phone, as well as a couple of automated spam calls.

Some time back, I wrote a post about phishing schemes.  Check it out for more information.

Not too long ago, I wrote another post on new, crooked schemes.

AT&T Is Not Happy About Skype For The iPhone2
Joe M posted in opinion on April 7th, 2009

I found a story today on Google News and MocoNews about some hoopla regarding Apple’s iPhone.

It seems Skype has been ported to an application for  the iPhone.

This has AT&T up in arms.

The iPhone has some broadband internet capabilities.  Users can surf the internet or make a call.

If they make a call, normally the design of the iPhone utilizes the AT&T carrier network.

That allows AT&T to charge for the call (which actually may be in monthly fees.)

A Skype application allows the user to make a call using VOIP (Voice Over IP).

VOIP essentially is a technology in which the call is translated into internet packets, and uses an internet connection instead of a telecom for the call.

The interesting part is, how far will the FCC allow AT&T to go in stopping VOIP traffic from an iPhone over a broadband connection?

AT&T openly admits that they perceive the right to distinguish VOIP traffic and treat it as they see fit.

If they see it as cutting into their bottom line, they could require Apple to disable the app or remove it from the app store.

They also could block VOIP traffic coming through their broadband network from the iPhone, or through any other portion if they desire.

This is probably going to get interesting in the coming months.

AT&T has a great deal of clout, and the issue may become heated, or it could become even more than that.

This is definitely one to watch.

Hear New Music On Gibson0
Joe M posted in free stuff on April 5th, 2009

Over the years, I have always had an interest in music.

At one time, prior to getting deeply involved in technology, I spent a little time in my own trying to learn as much as I could.

Now, I still noodle around from time to time.  I know a little bit about chord progressions, and a little about scale theory.

I enjoy hearing new things, and usually listen with an open mind.

Years ago… if you enjoyed hearing different things, it had to be a coincidental stroke of luck.

You might be lucky enough to walk into a tape / record / CD store, while they were playing an album of choice, maybe even from one of your favorite genre.

The other coincidence might be that you were at a friend’s and they had a collection of similar tastes, and offered plays to your choice and satisfaction.

A while back, I remember hearing about some free mp3 sites.  When I went there, every so often you could find some pretty good artists.

I remember thinking that I had to wade through the rough to get to the diamonds.

Here is a gem… Gibson offers a free music section.  It’s guitar-oriented, but I like the idea represented here.

There are several types to choose from, and several selections.

The mp3 files are open and ready to download.

It’s a good way to ‘test drive’ certain artists and see what their music sounds like.

Without going on a rant about DRM, I think it’s obvious that someone gets it.

I remember buying CDs, LPs, 8-tracks and cassettes that only had one or two good tracks on them.

The model and standard for music production has changed.

With so many previews available online for different artists, you don’t find the ‘one good song’ scenario as often.

Artists and music companies seem to be learning that you have to make most or all of the tracks, quality tracks.

Congrats to the responsible parties at Gibson, I think someone there ‘gets it.’

Give people decent music, and they want to buy it.  Once they buy it… if it’s good enough, then they might feel inspired enough to want to play it.

And… if they don’t own anything… what might they want to buy, next?

The Attempt To Govern Technology1
Joe M posted in opinion on April 4th, 2009

I usually try to steer away from any postings dealing with politics.

It’s not that I don’t have an opinion, I just figure there are enough opinions out there on both the left and the right side.

From the folks who brought us CANSPAM, the DMCA and the Patriot Act…

Some new bills seems to fall right into line with those acts.

According to both an editorial and another post at eWeek, this sounds a little scary.

Two bills, S.773 and S.778 could have effects reaching deeply into the private and commercial sector.

S.773 proposes providing the president with the power to determine emergency, power and execution in deciding when a network could and should be shut down, to avoid negative outcome.

S.778 proposes establishing an office for a Cyber-Security Advisor, reporting directly to the president.

Due to the vague wording of the two bills, no one is really certain, yet, as to how, if any of these terms are defined.

Would they include cell phone networks, banking networks, transit, commerce, internet, extranet or intranets?

At this point, it’s still vague, and it sounds as if this idea may be born from a need to do something in Cyber-Security.

If there is no condition or criteria for the type of network, or what constitutes an emergency; that could leave a wide birth for a whole slew of problems.

While it all may sound like a good idea on the surface, giving someone the power to shut down these networks sounds a little premature.

If one person has the authority to execute such an action, it could cripple a network, a business or an industry.

For lack of a better description, these networks have their own biosis and interconnection.

If executed recklessy or without knowledgeable planning, could add to the current economic disorder.

One question I have… If the president, given the power, appoints a person to the position of Cyber-Security Advisor, will it be a political appointment, or an actual competency?

As a nation, we have to be very careful.  That would be a very powerful position.

Ignoring the feasibility, it makes me wonder if we don’t need a separate body of government for all three branches of Cyber-government?

Looking at our history, I am not real confident that law-makers understand technology enough to act with care in the wording of Cyber-laws, such as these.

Most of the individuals in legislature will admit to having a stronger political background than a technological one.

If we elect or appoint a surgeon general, don’t we expect them to have a medical background?

Why don’t we have the same expectations of our approach to governance related to technology?

In summary, giving one or a handful of people the power to reach into the private or commercial sector and disable a network, however it might be defined, is not a good idea.  That’s approaching it from both an infrastructure and an economic standpoint, and not even taking into account how an emergency might be defined.

Just Add Bacon0
Joe M posted in Musing on April 3rd, 2009

After some heavy duty work over the past couple of days, it’s time for something mindless.

Looking around for something fun, I came across bacolicious.

You just add the link in front of the URL in the address bar, at the top of your browser.

(Make sure you paste it into the bar, just before the URL you want to use… not over it.  Right-click on the bacolicious link above, or this one http://bacolicio.us/ and choose copy, then paste it into your address bar.  Don’t blank out the URL.)

And voila!

What the purpose?

It’s for people that like looking at bacon on top of other things, obviously.

It is kind of neat from a tech standpoint.

And it’s free.

Warner Brothers Now Flying The Jolly Roger0
Joe M posted in opinion on April 1st, 2009

In a twist of events, Warner Brothers has acquired The Pirate Bay ($13 Billion).

For years, The Pirate Bay has been a big concern for corporations like Warner Brothers.

The deal was catalyzed by a recent lawsuit, in which the developing results no longer seemed to favor WB.

It sounded much like, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” or at least, ‘buy ‘em.’

The Pirate Bay has been a Bit Torrent tracking site. It’s another way to share and download files.

Bit Torrent is a technology acting as a transport for file sharing. It allows downloads from multiple peers, and subsequently, the download client becomes another peer.

Simply speaking…

In a normal download, you download files from a single server, or host.

In a Bit Torrent download, you first download the torrent, which points you to a host that provides a dynamic list of clients from which you download a composition forming the desired file or media.

Rather than just downloading from a single server, you download several pieces concurrently from a composite of peers, then you become a peer, called a seeder. (That’s unless you stop seeding, which can be done from your client software.)

Torrents have been a big concern for media production corporations, because of the dynamics and the inability to accurately track seeds for copyrighted material. That includes (but is not limited to) movies, music and books.

(What’s left? Go after the torrent hosts, through the courts, I guess.)

The interesting parts of this development?

How will Warner Brother utilize the acquired technology and vehicle?

How devout Pirate Bay fans and followers will respond to the buy?

Did they ’sell out’ to ‘the man?’

(Update:  As it turns out, this was a great April Fool’s day post on TorrentFreak.  Hats off to a great prank.)