Cool Web Search is also a trojan gained from various web sites that exploits problems with ActiveX and MS JVM. It's a total pain in the ass to remove, or even discover what version of it you have since neither Spybot nor Adaware clears all versions off.
Remember: All a user has to do is surf to one of these scumbag sites (by accident or on purpose) with their freshly, fully patched IE and... BOOM!
"Did you know that your computer may be infected with SPYWARE?!" - Actual quote from these scumbags.
...in an episode of Kingdom Hospital. A civil lawyer comes into the emergency room with chest pains. One of the doctors says, "Wait a minute... He's a civil defense lawyer."
From that point on EVERYTHING is signed in triplicate, videotaped from every angle, and witnessed by at least three people. Funny, but I'd LOVE to see this sort of thing happen.
Can we talk? I mean have a heart to heart? I F*CKING HATE these b*stards. There, I've said it - well, mostly.
Here's a 'company' that makes a business plan out of finding every hole in I.E. it can and exploiting it.
"Just stop downloading software.." Yeah! I WISH I COULD!!! Last week, one of my users got this lovely trojan that no anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, or usual methods could remove. It actually took a piece of software called, "CSW Trojan Remover" to get rid of it.
According to the removal software, this version (there are at least 26 different ones now) takes advantage of a buffer overflow in the MS JVM. Visit an infected web page and *BLAMMO* - you're a new cool web searcher! Yet another reason to start using Mozilla...
Rather than going after scumware vendors who at least ask permission, I'd like to see this sort of thing pursued with more vigillence.
They... HAPPEN. And they happen without consent of the 'clueless' user. There are so many holes in I.E. - even a fully patched I.E. - and these scumbags take advantage of them.
EXAMPLE: The 'CoolWebSearch' bastards have found yet another exploit in the MS JVM. Simply go to an infected web page, wait a few seconds and *BOOM!* you've got a trojan! Neither Adaware nor Spybot could remove it (or knew anything about it). I finally found a CWS Trojan Remover utility that ID'd it and took it out after about an hour's worth of screwing around. Goddamnit, I want to charge these people with my time!!!
Anyway, I.E. can't be fixed by you or I. We simply have to wait until MS does it. I heard this weekend that they are reassembling the original I.E. team to update I.E. The team started out by asking what people would like to see in a new version of I.E.
Personally, I'd like to see them take something like the Gecko engine and wrap an I.E. shell around it - but that probably won't happen. So if they're just getting the team back together now - how long will it be until significant improvements occur? This is a great example of how closed source product can hurt your bottom line.
Look, the big deal about Skype is the fact that it... Get this: WORKS! It works through dial-up. It works through broadband. It works through most proxies and NATs due to it's centralized servers.
Those are the real advantages. Get behind a proxy server and then try any other VOIP 'solution'. Of course, they're going to have to pay for all this somehow eventually...
Been there and done that my friend. Here's the reasons I put forth:
1) Take a look through history - that's the 'real world'. Has it ALWAYS been MS Windows Office? I'll bet not. In fact, I'll bet it's been Wordperfect for DOS and Windows, Xywrite, Word for DOS and Windows, etc. The fact is that computer software evolves quickly, and your principal needs to get over it.
First and foremost, educational facilities shouldn't be pushing a particular brand 'X' software either, particularly from a company convicted of monopolistic practices. Most of what needs to be done in OOo is completely translatable to Word or Wordperfect with minimal effort.
2) Everyone DOES NOT have MS Office at home. That's a crock. What versions might they have - it matters. Do you realize that many people buying a Dell now are getting Wordperfect as a default office suite? What about older, incompatible versions of MS Office?.DOC is hardly a 'standard' just ask anyone whose tried to convert old 'Works' documents.
3) Win over the STAFF and get it in their homes. Let the staff see OOo in operation. Find out what their objections are (there will be some). Eliminate the unrealistic ones. Point out the advantages (they get a free copy, PDF/Flash support, etc.)
4) OOo or StarOffice is great and has been terrific for us because of standardization. Every student, teacher, and staff member uses it and guess what? Everything just works. No document incompatibilities because one document was formatted for someone else's printer. No issues with international characters. No licensing issues.
5) Which staff member was willing to take a pay cut to help finance Microsoft? That's the question I posed and what it was coming down to at the time. We were really in serious straights three years ago financially and things were tight. Money ended up being a prime motivator, but the software has proven itself over time.
Feel free to shoot me an email if you'd like to discuss this further. I'm also the tech coordinator of a small all-girls private school here in PA. We converted to StarOffice/OOo three years ago and haven't looked back.
We are extremely fortunate in that his Autism was caught early and that intervention has worked wonders. Today, you'd hardly know he wasn't a 'normal' little boy of six were it not for his social interaction quirks.
And you are right, I probably wouldn't change my profession, but you have to wonder what might have been in other circumstances nonetheless. I may not blame the technology - but I do blame unscruplulous corporations who have been known to hide the true dangers of the stuff they hawk.
All I'm saying is that:
a) People working in this field need to consider the possible risks.
b) If, in the future, a company is found to have violated some sort of environmental laws they need to be nailed to the wall - big time.
...may not be your own. There's been a lot of jokes here about how no one's going to live forever and all that bullshit, but there are other considerations than yourself.
Let me give you a *painful* personal example. Three years ago, my six year old son was diagnosed with Autism - a genetic defect that may in fact be linked to chemicals such as these.
It would really piss me off to find that my career was directly responsible for his condition. My wife sent me this article before even Slashdot picked it up and it got me thinking about it.
It's all water under the bridge now, but my son's condition has affected our lives in countless ways including the decision not to have children in the future.
It also made me wonder about this article on Wired:
See, this is the kind of bullshit that goes on all the time. Look at the Radar industry - one upping itself with each new generation of equipment it sells to law enforcement.
In states like Virginia, where it's illegal to have one, that's ok because you can get 'stealth' radar detectors to help avoid the radar detector detectors.
And when you look at the companies responsible for the development of this tech, you'll find they're the one and the same. That's why I don't completely discount something dispicable like this. Unbelieveable.
"...KMCQ's {the nasty corporate commercial station} Web site says the station plays adult contemporary music and uses local announcers. KMIH (The 'hi skool', yo} plays hip-hop and R&B."
...the actual manufacturers of bogus penis enlargement pills, quasi-legal drug sales of Viagra, and other such snake oil companies. The actual spamming agencies are half the problem - the other half are the scumbags who hire them and turn a blind eye to their practices.
This is total crap! What OS DIDN'T have UNIX as a root??! I seem to recall that Windows NT used to be POSIX compliant as well. And didn't IE start life off as Mosaic?
And the last time I checked, MS Office was not the first office 'suite'. Wasn't that Lotus 1-2-3? Besides which, LONG before Word for DOS was created, there were plenty of other competitors (XYwrite, Wordperfect, etc.)
In fact, StarOffice started life almost 10 years ago from a German firm as a commercial product. It was open sourced by Sun as 'OpenOffice.org'. The incredible results of just three years of effort show what OSS can do when properly focused.
It's totally amazing how all of a sudden no one wants to remember U.N. resolutions dealing with Saddam's WMD's (Yes, where are they? Syria perhaps?), and how the French and Germans sold us out through the U.N./Iraq's 'Oil for Food' deal. Sorry to ruin your lucritive deal boys, but we do have to worry about national security here. At some point to actually should DO SOMETHING instead of fret about whether or not someone's got something they shouldn't have.
Remember: Saddam could've avoided all of this - why didn't he let the inspectors in if he had nothing to hide?
So this is what we're to expect from our so-called friends? And then you have the balls to bitch about what a hellhole Iraq might turn into! If it does, it will be thanks to you and yours for not helping end it sooner. Don't presume to lecture the U.S. about foreign policy when you let things like Bosnia happen in your own respective backyards. Just how long were you going to let that travesty go on, anyway?
So you don't want to help us in Iraq? Fine. But if Iraq DOES become the next Iran or worse, just remember that being the non-muslim nations you are, you are target #2 on the list (see: Madrid bombings). If you won't fight - even for yourselves, you'd better stock up on burkas and prayer blankets. In case you hadn't noticed, these wackos aren't exactly taking 'non' for an answer and I don't think you'll be able to change their minds with some fine wine or escargot.
"9/11 has shown you can built tons of rockets and warships it does not save you from the massive dangers of disproportionateness..."
Well maybe not - if we continue to insist on being civilized. Were we brought to the terrorist's level sufficiently (say, a few well placed and important attacks), those bombs and missles could effectively quell any resistance. After all, it's hard to offer resistance when everyone is dead and your country is little more than a smoking radioactive crater.
These people are effective at using our conscience against us, hiding behind mosques and children. To them, this is a sign of our weakness. In dealing with this sort of foe, we might have to do far more than we are already doing. It's not nice, but then, neither is war.
We do not win we because we choose not to win - not that way at least. It is as it was in Vietnam. It's not a lack of weapons, it's a lack of will. The Iraq situation is 'winnable' but at what cost - politically and otherwise?
The reason why it's now said, "In Soviet Russia..." is because after the fall of the Berlin Wall and promotion of semi-democracy, Mr. Smirnoff realized his act needed adjustment.
Actually, we haven't heard from Darl and the boys for a while. No ludicrous statements. No bold and cunning plans. No 'all your code are belong to us! Muahahahaha!'
On Yahoo's finance boards, you could count on an almost daily press release from them or their lackeys. The last news listed is from May 7 and it's about Royal Bank pulling out.
All this takeover business must be keeping them busy. Well, that and the fact that Groklaw keeps track of all verbiage over time.
I'm certain that Darl now wishes he'd shut his mouth and stuck to what few facts there are.
Now that I think of it, I think I've actually seen a triple-bladed sword. It was the day ATi released the 4.3 Catalyst update to my Radeon 8500. I installed it, rebooted, and proceeded to play Dark Age of Camelot.
Hoo boy! I had lines going every which way, textures out of place, the works! But I remember that those who held flame or ice blades had three or four polygon planes of blade sticking out (instead of fire or ice effects)!
Uhhhh, no... That's probably not what the writer of this article was thinking.:P
Slashdot Mirror
The 2.0 version of OpenOffice.org is greatly extending the number of rows. Look for a beta sometime in the October/November timeframe.
Cool Web Search is also a trojan gained from various web sites that exploits problems with ActiveX and MS JVM. It's a total pain in the ass to remove, or even discover what version of it you have since neither Spybot nor Adaware clears all versions off.
Remember: All a user has to do is surf to one of these scumbag sites (by accident or on purpose) with their freshly, fully patched IE and... BOOM!
"Did you know that your computer may be infected with SPYWARE?!" - Actual quote from these scumbags.
...in an episode of Kingdom Hospital. A civil lawyer comes into the emergency room with chest pains. One of the doctors says, "Wait a minute... He's a civil defense lawyer."
From that point on EVERYTHING is signed in triplicate, videotaped from every angle, and witnessed by at least three people. Funny, but I'd LOVE to see this sort of thing happen.
Can we talk? I mean have a heart to heart? I F*CKING HATE these b*stards. There, I've said it - well, mostly.
Here's a 'company' that makes a business plan out of finding every hole in I.E. it can and exploiting it.
"Just stop downloading software.." Yeah! I WISH I COULD!!! Last week, one of my users got this lovely trojan that no anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, or usual methods could remove. It actually took a piece of software called, "CSW Trojan Remover" to get rid of it.
According to the removal software, this version (there are at least 26 different ones now) takes advantage of a buffer overflow in the MS JVM. Visit an infected web page and *BLAMMO* - you're a new cool web searcher! Yet another reason to start using Mozilla...
Rather than going after scumware vendors who at least ask permission, I'd like to see this sort of thing pursued with more vigillence.
They... HAPPEN. And they happen without consent of the 'clueless' user. There are so many holes in I.E. - even a fully patched I.E. - and these scumbags take advantage of them.
EXAMPLE: The 'CoolWebSearch' bastards have found yet another exploit in the MS JVM. Simply go to an infected web page, wait a few seconds and *BOOM!* you've got a trojan! Neither Adaware nor Spybot could remove it (or knew anything about it). I finally found a CWS Trojan Remover utility that ID'd it and took it out after about an hour's worth of screwing around. Goddamnit, I want to charge these people with my time!!!
Anyway, I.E. can't be fixed by you or I. We simply have to wait until MS does it. I heard this weekend that they are reassembling the original I.E. team to update I.E. The team started out by asking what people would like to see in a new version of I.E.
Personally, I'd like to see them take something like the Gecko engine and wrap an I.E. shell around it - but that probably won't happen. So if they're just getting the team back together now - how long will it be until significant improvements occur? This is a great example of how closed source product can hurt your bottom line.
Look, the big deal about Skype is the fact that it... Get this: WORKS! It works through dial-up. It works through broadband. It works through most proxies and NATs due to it's centralized servers.
Those are the real advantages. Get behind a proxy server and then try any other VOIP 'solution'. Of course, they're going to have to pay for all this somehow eventually...
Been there and done that my friend. Here's the reasons I put forth:
.DOC is hardly a 'standard' just ask anyone whose tried to convert old 'Works' documents.
1) Take a look through history - that's the 'real world'. Has it ALWAYS been MS Windows Office? I'll bet not. In fact, I'll bet it's been Wordperfect for DOS and Windows, Xywrite, Word for DOS and Windows, etc. The fact is that computer software evolves quickly, and your principal needs to get over it.
First and foremost, educational facilities shouldn't be pushing a particular brand 'X' software either, particularly from a company convicted of monopolistic practices. Most of what needs to be done in OOo is completely translatable to Word or Wordperfect with minimal effort.
2) Everyone DOES NOT have MS Office at home. That's a crock. What versions might they have - it matters. Do you realize that many people buying a Dell now are getting Wordperfect as a default office suite? What about older, incompatible versions of MS Office?
3) Win over the STAFF and get it in their homes. Let the staff see OOo in operation. Find out what their objections are (there will be some). Eliminate the unrealistic ones. Point out the advantages (they get a free copy, PDF/Flash support, etc.)
4) OOo or StarOffice is great and has been terrific for us because of standardization. Every student, teacher, and staff member uses it and guess what? Everything just works. No document incompatibilities because one document was formatted for someone else's printer. No issues with international characters. No licensing issues.
5) Which staff member was willing to take a pay cut to help finance Microsoft? That's the question I posed and what it was coming down to at the time. We were really in serious straights three years ago financially and things were tight. Money ended up being a prime motivator, but the software has proven itself over time.
Feel free to shoot me an email if you'd like to discuss this further. I'm also the tech coordinator of a small all-girls private school here in PA. We converted to StarOffice/OOo three years ago and haven't looked back.
If it was a 'Duh', as you say - this article wouldn't exist. The fact is, these risks aren't always immediately apparent.
We are extremely fortunate in that his Autism was caught early and that intervention has worked wonders. Today, you'd hardly know he wasn't a 'normal' little boy of six were it not for his social interaction quirks.
And you are right, I probably wouldn't change my profession, but you have to wonder what might have been in other circumstances nonetheless. I may not blame the technology - but I do blame unscruplulous corporations who have been known to hide the true dangers of the stuff they hawk.
All I'm saying is that:
a) People working in this field need to consider the possible risks.
b) If, in the future, a company is found to have violated some sort of environmental laws they need to be nailed to the wall - big time.
...may not be your own. There's been a lot of jokes here about how no one's going to live forever and all that bullshit, but there are other considerations than yourself.
r s_ pr.html
Let me give you a *painful* personal example. Three years ago, my six year old son was diagnosed with Autism - a genetic defect that may in fact be linked to chemicals such as these.
It would really piss me off to find that my career was directly responsible for his condition. My wife sent me this article before even Slashdot picked it up and it got me thinking about it.
It's all water under the bridge now, but my son's condition has affected our lives in countless ways including the decision not to have children in the future.
It also made me wonder about this article on Wired:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/asperge
It's how Silicon Valley has the highest rates of Autism in the country. Maybe it's not so much who you mate with, but in what environment...
:Better Evil:
Funny!
See, this is the kind of bullshit that goes on all the time. Look at the Radar industry - one upping itself with each new generation of equipment it sells to law enforcement.
In states like Virginia, where it's illegal to have one, that's ok because you can get 'stealth' radar detectors to help avoid the radar detector detectors.
And when you look at the companies responsible for the development of this tech, you'll find they're the one and the same. That's why I don't completely discount something dispicable like this. Unbelieveable.
...might do some good! :P
"...KMCQ's {the nasty corporate commercial station} Web site says the station plays adult contemporary music and uses local announcers. KMIH (The 'hi skool', yo} plays hip-hop and R&B."
...the actual manufacturers of bogus penis enlargement pills, quasi-legal drug sales of Viagra, and other such snake oil companies. The actual spamming agencies are half the problem - the other half are the scumbags who hire them and turn a blind eye to their practices.
Where do you BUY this stuff from? I used to buy those VIA boards from New Egg but then they stopped carrying them. Anyone know why?
I really liked those things!
This is total crap! What OS DIDN'T have UNIX as a root??! I seem to recall that Windows NT used to be POSIX compliant as well. And didn't IE start life off as Mosaic?
And the last time I checked, MS Office was not the first office 'suite'. Wasn't that Lotus 1-2-3? Besides which, LONG before Word for DOS was created, there were plenty of other competitors (XYwrite, Wordperfect, etc.)
In fact, StarOffice started life almost 10 years ago from a German firm as a commercial product. It was open sourced by Sun as 'OpenOffice.org'. The incredible results of just three years of effort show what OSS can do when properly focused.
A: The amount of time it will take Apple Computer to sue the living hell out of this project. ;)
It's totally amazing how all of a sudden no one wants to remember U.N. resolutions dealing with Saddam's WMD's (Yes, where are they? Syria perhaps?), and how the French and Germans sold us out through the U.N./Iraq's 'Oil for Food' deal. Sorry to ruin your lucritive deal boys, but we do have to worry about national security here. At some point to actually should DO SOMETHING instead of fret about whether or not someone's got something they shouldn't have.
Remember: Saddam could've avoided all of this - why didn't he let the inspectors in if he had nothing to hide?
So this is what we're to expect from our so-called friends? And then you have the balls to bitch about what a hellhole Iraq might turn into! If it does, it will be thanks to you and yours for not helping end it sooner. Don't presume to lecture the U.S. about foreign policy when you let things like Bosnia happen in your own respective backyards. Just how long were you going to let that travesty go on, anyway?
So you don't want to help us in Iraq? Fine. But if Iraq DOES become the next Iran or worse, just remember that being the non-muslim nations you are, you are target #2 on the list (see: Madrid bombings). If you won't fight - even for yourselves, you'd better stock up on burkas and prayer blankets. In case you hadn't noticed, these wackos aren't exactly taking 'non' for an answer and I don't think you'll be able to change their minds with some fine wine or escargot.
"9/11 has shown you can built tons of rockets and warships it does not save you from the massive dangers of disproportionateness ..."
Well maybe not - if we continue to insist on being civilized. Were we brought to the terrorist's level sufficiently (say, a few well placed and important attacks), those bombs and missles could effectively quell any resistance. After all, it's hard to offer resistance when everyone is dead and your country is little more than a smoking radioactive crater.
These people are effective at using our conscience against us, hiding behind mosques and children. To them, this is a sign of our weakness. In dealing with this sort of foe, we might have to do far more than we are already doing. It's not nice, but then, neither is war.
We do not win we because we choose not to win - not that way at least. It is as it was in Vietnam. It's not a lack of weapons, it's a lack of will. The Iraq situation is 'winnable' but at what cost - politically and otherwise?
Don't forget about Mute-net.sourceforge.net
Mute is an encrypted filesharing system that has actually worked for me and although a little slow, it IS anonymous.
Totally OT here but...
The reason why it's now said, "In Soviet Russia..." is because after the fall of the Berlin Wall and promotion of semi-democracy, Mr. Smirnoff realized his act needed adjustment.
"Soviet Russia" was HIS solution.
Actually, we haven't heard from Darl and the boys for a while. No ludicrous statements. No bold and cunning plans. No 'all your code are belong to us! Muahahahaha!'
On Yahoo's finance boards, you could count on an almost daily press release from them or their lackeys. The last news listed is from May 7 and it's about Royal Bank pulling out.
All this takeover business must be keeping them busy. Well, that and the fact that Groklaw keeps track of all verbiage over time.
I'm certain that Darl now wishes he'd shut his mouth and stuck to what few facts there are.
I'm not certain it's a 'right', per se, but it's hardly regulated or controlled in any real way.
Understand me here, I'm not defending Richter; but I understand what his point is - even if it sucks.
Yes, but this was before Linux AND... IBM does not control Linux, per se at any rate.
Now that I think of it, I think I've actually seen a triple-bladed sword. It was the day ATi released the 4.3 Catalyst update to my Radeon 8500. I installed it, rebooted, and proceeded to play Dark Age of Camelot.
:P
Hoo boy! I had lines going every which way, textures out of place, the works! But I remember that those who held flame or ice blades had three or four polygon planes of blade sticking out (instead of fire or ice effects)!
Uhhhh, no... That's probably not what the writer of this article was thinking.