The good thing is that most people can't open rar files. You must intentionally install software to unarchive rar files.
The only real concern is when kids install rar software and then a click-happy parent opens any attachment and any files inside. (or other multi-user home computer scenarios)
The only news here is that while AV software could help protect the clueless before, there is now a workaround. in a few circumstances. Luckily, this is a small enough percentage that no new epidemic can occur.
Ok, despite the collision weaknesses in some algos, we all know hashes are pretty effective at detecting changed files. So, the next time your antivirus software checks that your system files haven't been modified it might whine about the differences...
And if you really want to be sure, boot from CD to ensure you're not running any kernel process that magically corrects any anomolies.
Sure, it may be inconvenient to check for this but the real problem is that most people *won't* boot from CD to do a virus scan. Some of us will if we need to, though.
Good point - until the taxes are appropriately allocated as healthcare taxes rather than "sin taxes" for the states' pockets this doesn't put states much on the "right side" of things. Still, the smokers are on shaky ground when they import cigarettes.
Yea, I'm tempted to say Ha-Ha because taxing cigarette smokers seems quite legitimate for the healthcare costs they are almost guaranteed to incur on the rest of the country...
However, it's a slippery slope. If it's the doorway to taxing all online purchases that's a dangerous prescedent.
We've seen viri/trojans that delete antispyware before. All the more reason to install software somewhere other than the default location, and to run more than one antispyware/antivirus solution.
Also, when software starts disappearing from your computer you might want to look into it.
Another nice thing about having a pricing system set up is that it helps people understand the value of your time. Even if you're not going to charge someone (family/close friends), they may not think of your time as "free" anymore. Therefore they may be more willing to exchange favors rather than taking your help for granted.
when you buy software that's dependent on a for-profit company to keep working, what do you expect?
The software continues to work just fine, but certain services that interact with external parties stop working. Duh. Do you expect Intuit and the banks to support old protocols and ancient software forever?
Computer users need to understand that the only time upgrades are absolutely never needed are in a standalone situation where no new software or functionality is needed. It costs money to interoperate with old software/hardware as well as new stuff. It costs money to update software. Even F/OSS costs time/money - it's just donated to the community.
F/OSS would be succeptible to the same problem when old protocols cease to be supported by the banks. Sure, someone might update it, but you would still need a new version, just like with paid software.
If you're really trying to keep things secure, ensure your encryption isn't made by microsoft. Their encrypted folders use AES (IIRC) but since they're open and decrypted when you're logged on the protection is compromised.
Isn't this the same guy referenced in a newscientist (or something) article a while ago? (as referenced by slashdot - like I read the news) They also had a counterarticle by an actual scientist in the field...
The funniest part was the counter artical mentioned several other historical figures who:
1. Prophsized that eternal life was almost within our grasp, and
2. Are all now dead and burried.
I love how retaillers rip off their customers. Only place to get cheap cables is online
Cables have something like 1000% profit margin for retailers - it's one of their cash cows (after they lure you in with specials on the peripherals that no longer include cables).
I've bought cables online for a few years and only buy retail in a pinch. If you're the kind of person to understand cables are cheaper online, you probably did enough research on your HDTV to know you should have ordered the cables a few days before you wanted to buy the TV;) Most folks probably don't really notice the price hit since they dropped so much on the equipment already.
I can't think of a better word to describe something as highly functional as scalable
Sure, if the word was used properly it would be extremely useful. However, when it's used improperly so often, the word gets diluted, and you start to expect that it's used improperly. I think much of BS-speak starts as a clever and correct use of a word, but then the hordes of PR folk get ahold of it.
So guys can now find... more single guys looking for p0rn? Hmm, I think you often do searches for things you don't already have, so you wouldn't have a picture.
While we can't really control slimy VC investors, the average consumer CAN boycott companies that directly support spyware/adware with advertising dollars.
At the very least, we can let them know we disapprove, and maybe help dry up the adware business. If there are no dollars from big corporations, maybe less VC investors will drop cash because the return potential is lower.
Nope. "Painting" is the term used for 'painting a target', such as used with smart bombs and sniper rifles. It's used for targeting, and considering the anti-terrorism topic this use of the word is still fairly relevant.
HijackThis - an invaluable addition to the expert's arsenal in antspyware
These ones were mentioned already, but bear repeating:
AVG - free antivirus. I just used this over xmas to clean out someone's computer... Virtualdub - possibly the best video editing program ever written. Source code too. Sysinternals.com - my favorite site for expert's utilities. These guys are sharp, and they release their sourcecode too.
Network World maintains an online Buyer's Guide, which allows any anti-spam vendor to submit its product information...we decided that any vendor who wasn't in the Buyer's Guide wasn't very serious about participating in a product test
"Buyer's guides" based on company submissions tend to not be very objective (i.e. the advertisers own them). A true scientific endeavor would involve finding out which products to use, regardless of how agressively they market themselves.
Considering that Giant anti-spyware used a paid subscription-based model, it kindof makes sense that MS would charge for it. I wouldn't expect Halo to come free with windows just because MS owns it and it can run on windows. I would, however, be pissed if service pack 2 wasn't free.
For all those who have forgotten, Giant showed a lot of promise in the big anti-spyware head-to-head on the/. front page a few weeks ago.
And yes, as people mention this is good competetive behavior. You can buy the MS branded one, or you can buy something else (or use free stuff). If they have to compete for dollars, the spyware database will be maintained with more gusto.
I've printed photos from time to time at home for a few years, but I still don't think it can come close to replacing professional printing.
I agree that we're part of the "digital generation" but for previous generations (i.e. grandparents), they can't view the digital copies or reprint photos I give them every couple of years. So, taking a chance on printing quality/archival life isn't always worth it.
This article is great to show the potential of home prints, but you have to remember that 99% of users will NOT get optimum results from their printers. Most will use discount paper/ink/printers and it's not worth it to them to buy premium equipment/ink unless they print enough and know what they're doing.
Home printing is simply better suited (at this time) for convenience printing and stuff you don't want the world to see;).
Umm, not to sound like a tree-hugger but I wonder if dropping junk like that into the ocean is really harmless; I don't know if anyone really considered the environmental effects of the materials in the missile. At least it wasn't a nuke;)
Odd that this shows up as awareness is growing that patents are exactly what software does NOT need. Perhaps the utter failure of this case would help the case to dismantle software patents, but I think this could lead to bad things if taken too seriously.
Re:Backups for big gig drives...
on
Digital Packrats
·
· Score: 1
I wonder how shocked some of these people will be when their 250 GB HD bites the dust
Luckily my latest (and only real data loss lately) was just some crappy game that deleted my entire games directory upon uninstall. Backups were 6 months old (way too much data to back it all up at once to DVDRs very often) but I could restore the savegames with knoppix and ntfsundelete... I wonder about the masses of people who never backup and wouldn't know how to restore data. I think they'll be extremely shocked when they have their first data loss and don't even remember what files they had.
Once I get off work im gonna have to anonymous proxy inside china and try it.
I'd suspect that "AI" means they have a system for repressing information delivered to Chinese customers, but can use a separate algorithm for delivering to the rest of the world. Hence, the Chinese citizens receive sanitized results, while the rest of the world doesn't see what gets sanitized because the results aren't touched. Not a bad move, because more non-Chinese users will use this if there's no censorship.
See here for a more scientific test (last week's frontpage news). That one used some scientific principles and a MUCH larger set of software. It also presented tables showing what gets missed, and we find that Ad-Aware and spybot DO miss some items, and that some of the other contenders pick them up. Good to know if you're cleaning someone's computer and the usual tricks don't fix everything.
I hope/. users already know to never buy software from people using unscrupulous advertising techniques (like the ones the parent article used to select the commercial software).
Slashdot Mirror
The good thing is that most people can't open rar files. You must intentionally install software to unarchive rar files.
The only real concern is when kids install rar software and then a click-happy parent opens any attachment and any files inside. (or other multi-user home computer scenarios)
The only news here is that while AV software could help protect the clueless before, there is now a workaround. in a few circumstances. Luckily, this is a small enough percentage that no new epidemic can occur.
Ok, despite the collision weaknesses in some algos, we all know hashes are pretty effective at detecting changed files. So, the next time your antivirus software checks that your system files haven't been modified it might whine about the differences...
And if you really want to be sure, boot from CD to ensure you're not running any kernel process that magically corrects any anomolies.
Sure, it may be inconvenient to check for this but the real problem is that most people *won't* boot from CD to do a virus scan. Some of us will if we need to, though.
Good point - until the taxes are appropriately allocated as healthcare taxes rather than "sin taxes" for the states' pockets this doesn't put states much on the "right side" of things. Still, the smokers are on shaky ground when they import cigarettes.
Yea, I'm tempted to say Ha-Ha because taxing cigarette smokers seems quite legitimate for the healthcare costs they are almost guaranteed to incur on the rest of the country...
However, it's a slippery slope. If it's the doorway to taxing all online purchases that's a dangerous prescedent.
We've seen viri/trojans that delete antispyware before. All the more reason to install software somewhere other than the default location, and to run more than one antispyware/antivirus solution.
Also, when software starts disappearing from your computer you might want to look into it.
Another nice thing about having a pricing system set up is that it helps people understand the value of your time. Even if you're not going to charge someone (family/close friends), they may not think of your time as "free" anymore. Therefore they may be more willing to exchange favors rather than taking your help for granted.
when you buy software that's dependent on a for-profit company to keep working, what do you expect?
The software continues to work just fine, but certain services that interact with external parties stop working. Duh. Do you expect Intuit and the banks to support old protocols and ancient software forever?
Computer users need to understand that the only time upgrades are absolutely never needed are in a standalone situation where no new software or functionality is needed. It costs money to interoperate with old software/hardware as well as new stuff. It costs money to update software. Even F/OSS costs time/money - it's just donated to the community.
F/OSS would be succeptible to the same problem when old protocols cease to be supported by the banks. Sure, someone might update it, but you would still need a new version, just like with paid software.
If you're really trying to keep things secure, ensure your encryption isn't made by microsoft. Their encrypted folders use AES (IIRC) but since they're open and decrypted when you're logged on the protection is compromised.
Isn't this the same guy referenced in a newscientist (or something) article a while ago? (as referenced by slashdot - like I read the news) They also had a counterarticle by an actual scientist in the field...
The funniest part was the counter artical mentioned several other historical figures who:
1. Prophsized that eternal life was almost within our grasp, and
2. Are all now dead and burried.
I love how retaillers rip off their customers. Only place to get cheap cables is online
;) Most folks probably don't really notice the price hit since they dropped so much on the equipment already.
Cables have something like 1000% profit margin for retailers - it's one of their cash cows (after they lure you in with specials on the peripherals that no longer include cables).
I've bought cables online for a few years and only buy retail in a pinch. If you're the kind of person to understand cables are cheaper online, you probably did enough research on your HDTV to know you should have ordered the cables a few days before you wanted to buy the TV
I can't think of a better word to describe something as highly functional as scalable
Sure, if the word was used properly it would be extremely useful. However, when it's used improperly so often, the word gets diluted, and you start to expect that it's used improperly. I think much of BS-speak starts as a clever and correct use of a word, but then the hordes of PR folk get ahold of it.
...only recommended for people who want more copper and aluminum in the soil surrounding their house
Not a problem for the average slashdotter who is living in the parent's basement - the paint works exactly as designed!
So guys can now find... more single guys looking for p0rn? Hmm, I think you often do searches for things you don't already have, so you wouldn't have a picture.
While we can't really control slimy VC investors, the average consumer CAN boycott companies that directly support spyware/adware with advertising dollars.
At the very least, we can let them know we disapprove, and maybe help dry up the adware business. If there are no dollars from big corporations, maybe less VC investors will drop cash because the return potential is lower.
"Painting" should be "pointing."
Nope. "Painting" is the term used for 'painting a target', such as used with smart bombs and sniper rifles. It's used for targeting, and considering the anti-terrorism topic this use of the word is still fairly relevant.
HijackThis - an invaluable addition to the expert's arsenal in antspyware
These ones were mentioned already, but bear repeating:
AVG - free antivirus. I just used this over xmas to clean out someone's computer...
Virtualdub - possibly the best video editing program ever written. Source code too.
Sysinternals.com - my favorite site for expert's utilities. These guys are sharp, and they release their sourcecode too.
Network World maintains an online Buyer's Guide, which allows any anti-spam vendor to submit its product information...we decided that any vendor who wasn't in the Buyer's Guide wasn't very serious about participating in a product test
"Buyer's guides" based on company submissions tend to not be very objective (i.e. the advertisers own them). A true scientific endeavor would involve finding out which products to use, regardless of how agressively they market themselves.
Type sex. It says 0 results. But if you hit enter, you get a godzillion.
Oh thank god. I thought someone deleted all the porn off of the internet!
Considering that Giant anti-spyware used a paid subscription-based model, it kindof makes sense that MS would charge for it. I wouldn't expect Halo to come free with windows just because MS owns it and it can run on windows. I would, however, be pissed if service pack 2 wasn't free.
/. front page a few weeks ago.
For all those who have forgotten, Giant showed a lot of promise in the big anti-spyware head-to-head on the
And yes, as people mention this is good competetive behavior. You can buy the MS branded one, or you can buy something else (or use free stuff). If they have to compete for dollars, the spyware database will be maintained with more gusto.
I've printed photos from time to time at home for a few years, but I still don't think it can come close to replacing professional printing.
;).
I agree that we're part of the "digital generation" but for previous generations (i.e. grandparents), they can't view the digital copies or reprint photos I give them every couple of years. So, taking a chance on printing quality/archival life isn't always worth it.
This article is great to show the potential of home prints, but you have to remember that 99% of users will NOT get optimum results from their printers. Most will use discount paper/ink/printers and it's not worth it to them to buy premium equipment/ink unless they print enough and know what they're doing.
Home printing is simply better suited (at this time) for convenience printing and stuff you don't want the world to see
crashed harmlessly into the ocean
;)
Umm, not to sound like a tree-hugger but I wonder if dropping junk like that into the ocean is really harmless; I don't know if anyone really considered the environmental effects of the materials in the missile. At least it wasn't a nuke
Odd that this shows up as awareness is growing that patents are exactly what software does NOT need. Perhaps the utter failure of this case would help the case to dismantle software patents, but I think this could lead to bad things if taken too seriously.
I wonder how shocked some of these people will be when their 250 GB HD bites the dust
Luckily my latest (and only real data loss lately) was just some crappy game that deleted my entire games directory upon uninstall. Backups were 6 months old (way too much data to back it all up at once to DVDRs very often) but I could restore the savegames with knoppix and ntfsundelete... I wonder about the masses of people who never backup and wouldn't know how to restore data. I think they'll be extremely shocked when they have their first data loss and don't even remember what files they had.
Once I get off work im gonna have to anonymous proxy inside china and try it.
I'd suspect that "AI" means they have a system for repressing information delivered to Chinese customers, but can use a separate algorithm for delivering to the rest of the world. Hence, the Chinese citizens receive sanitized results, while the rest of the world doesn't see what gets sanitized because the results aren't touched. Not a bad move, because more non-Chinese users will use this if there's no censorship.
See here for a more scientific test (last week's frontpage news). That one used some scientific principles and a MUCH larger set of software. It also presented tables showing what gets missed, and we find that Ad-Aware and spybot DO miss some items, and that some of the other contenders pick them up. Good to know if you're cleaning someone's computer and the usual tricks don't fix everything.
/. users already know to never buy software from people using unscrupulous advertising techniques (like the ones the parent article used to select the commercial software).
I hope