Hello Twitter, Goodbye Pounce!
In a move that feels more like a cruel prank than a financial strategy, Six Apart has purchased Pownce–only to shut the company down. The blogging company acquired the micro-blogging site for an undisclosed sum before announcing that it would shut Pownce in a mere two weeks.
[via PcMag]
Although if Six Apart was smart they should of tried to Monitize the service but I guess they just wasted there money in buying Pounce. They wanted something else from the company that owned Pounce but not sure what.
Vista To release Service Pack 2 in April 2009
Microsoft issues Vista patches out of Monthly Patch Cycle!
Microsoft issues Out of cycle patch for Vista. These patches are as Followed:
An update rollup is available for the Microsoft Windows Imaging Component (WIC) in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008. This update rollup resolves the problems that are documented in the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
954708 An update to add support for the serialization of complex Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) data types in the Windows Imaging Component945060 There may be inconsistencies in the Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) and Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) values for an image file in Windows Vista and in Windows XP
The Windows Portable Device (WPD) API collects and transfers Software Quality Metrics (SQM) data to Microsoft servers. The SQM data is collected only on an opt-in basis through the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program. An update is available that disables the collection and transfer of SQL data to Microsoft servers.
This update affects Windows Vista-based computers, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computers, and Windows Server 2008-based computers that are in the Microsoft Windows Media Player Customer Experience Improvement Program.
Vista has a new Vulnebility!
Comments OffAccording to Techworld.com, Vista has a new Vulnerability that could let a hacker infect a Vista machine with a rootkit. The talk from them is quite intriguing. I will quote it to better let you know what the Vulnerability is:
The vulnerability could allow a hacker to install a rootkit, a small piece of malicious software that is very difficult to detect and remove from a computer, Unterleitner said.
Phion notified Microsoft about the problem on 22 October. Microsoft indicated to Phion that it would issue a patch with Vista’s next service pack. Microsoft released a beta version of Vista’s second service pack to testers last month. Vista’s Service Pack 2 is due for release by June 2009.
[via Techworld.com]
The way they could do this is through the Device IO Control which in turn could corrupt the Kernel of Windows Vista. Now we all know that Microsoft will release a patch quicker than 6 months away. According to this article, people are already looking for the exploit and want to know more about it. I would be willing to bet they will have a patch out sooner than later. Probably January or Febuary, which will be a big deal because no one will expect it. I would also imagine hackers will start trying to figure out how they could install software as quick as possible before Microsoft pushes out the patch. So what can you do to protect yourself, Get a firewall, a Antivirus and learn how to protect yourself to prevent yourself from getting a computer virus.
Did the Xbox Experience break netflix on Demand activation?
Comments OffAlthough this is just a few that talks about the experience and Netflix problems there are going to be more tonight when people start to come home from work wanting this service. I would bet over 100$ it will probably go down because to many request to sign up!! I hope they have the IT guys ready for this tonight or it will be a long night!!
A good free VPN Client — OpenVPN & more
Comments OffI’ve been doing some research on what might be good to use in case, I was away from my home network. I was thinking how safe am I at Starbucks or other places that I might doing my web. So I did a little looking around to see which one I liked and I came to the conclusions that only one I need right now is:
The nice thing about this was the simple installation of the software and how easy it was to set it up. This service is in beta but seems to be really well done with regards to the end users. When you install this software and want to connect it uses the OpenVPN software with there configurations. OpenVPN, is a open sourced SSL VPN solution and is free to use. The way this this free is of Ad Supported banners. Now it is cheaper than paying monthly for a VPN service. The ones I’ve found so far are these few:
- OpenVPN (FREE)(*advertisement)(Linux, and Windows)
- Always VPN (Prepay) (5 GB to 80 GB limit) (Linux, Mac and Windows)*Out of Beta
- Hotspot Shield (FREE) (*advertisement) (Windows) (3 gig Cap)
Antivirus Professional 2008 uses Scare tactics
Comments OffWe came across a rogue today called Antivirus Professional 2008 that uses GeoIP Lookup as part of its scare tactics. This site uses Flash and script to create the effect of an online scan, that then attempts to push an installer at the visitor. The NoScript extension for Mozilla Firefox is an excellent way to mitigate against this kind of garbage.
[Via F-secure]
It seems that there is a site out there, that seems to be trying to scare you into downloading there software. If you have any questions about this site please feel free to check out what I’ve found out:
Registration Service Provided By: ESTDOMAINS INC
Contact: 1.3027224217
Website: http://www.estdomains.com
Domain Name: ANTIVIRUS-ONLINE-SCANNER.COM
Registrant:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Creation Date: 07-Jun-2008
Expiration Date: 07-Jun-2009
Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.antivirus-online-scanner.com
ns1.antivirus-online-scanner.com
Administrative Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Technical Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Billing Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Avg detected Trojan Horse Generic 12.htc?
Just got a warning from AVG about, trojan horse generic 12.HTC, haven’t heard of it, anyone out there hear if this one? apparently it infects explore.exe, and after months of explore.exe crashing I’d say it’s a legit virus.
[Via Answer Bag]
Some tricks and tips to remove this little virus is quite simple. It is embedded in your system so how do you remove this threat? Easy follow these steps and you will have a better chance of getting rid of the virus:
- Find out all you can on the virus – Finding out the extent of where the virus lays is really a good idea. Just because you found one place doesn’t mean it isn’t also hiding some other place. Some good ways to figure out where it might be is to download Hijackthis and Then onces you download it and install. Run it, and when you get the LOG file you will want to go to HijackThis Log Analysis Site 1 and HijackThis Log Analysis Site 2, and see what it says.
Is Vista just Windows 7?
Comments OffNow I know Vista isn’t what people expected and that it had high expectations when they first released it. I think that is due to the fact Microsoft tried so hard to make Vista seem more than it actually was. Now According to Ina Fried from CNET her post was about Windows 7: A better Vista?. In her post she talked about the features of Windows 7, and how Windows 7 is almost like Vista. I tend to agree because of the look from screenshots I’ve seen to make me think it will be Version 2 of Vista. I don’t think it is anything that will change from Vista to Windows 7. It will however be more ready to boot up and shutdown that is according to what Microsoft said to Ina.
Microsoft reveals “Microsoft Azure”
Comments Off
Windows Azure is part of a set of new and existing technologies behind the Azure Services Platform, a development and execution platform that runs end-user and corporate software on Microsoft’s own servers, accessible over the web. It joins Google’s App Engine and Amazon’s EC2 in an increasingly competitive market.[Via ZDnet]
Although, There isn’t much more they have said I am quite curious how they will interegrate this into the cloud computing. According to Microsoft, it won’t run on the company server but Microsoft Datacenter. Now this I can see is a big security problem. Because most companies use what they call an Intranet and not the internet. So that leaves questions on if companies are going to use this system or not. Are you ready to let your information float somewhere over the inernet tht is SENSITIVE and CONFIDENTIAL? These are the questions that Microsoft will have to Answer, before any company will use this on there systems.
Microsoft Windows Server Service Vulnerability (MS08-067)
Comments Off
A vulnerability has been identified in Microsoft Windows, which could be exploited by attackers to take complete control of an affected system. This issue is caused by an error in the Server service that does not properly handle specially crafted RPC requests, which could be exploited by attackers to crash an affected system or execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted request.On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the vulnerability is only exploitable by authenticated users.
Note: This vulnerability is being exploited in targeted attacks.
[via FrSirt]
This was just discovered and needs to let people know. I will do more research on it and maybe come up with a way to fix the problem. According to my sources there is a patch that will fix the problem!!
*UPDATE*
According to Microsoft:
This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Server service. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an affected system received a specially crafted RPC request. On Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 systems, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability without authentication to run arbitrary code. It is possible that this vulnerability could be used in the crafting of a wormable exploit. Firewall best practices and standard default firewall configurations can help protect network resources from attacks that originate outside the enterprise perimeter.
[Via Microsoft Security Bulletin]
Are you asking to be scammed?
Comments OffAs we go further into the economic death, we are faced with the most undesirable aspect of the human culture. That is to say, scammers are going to use the chance to find people to scam. I don’t say this lightly because scammers have become more cunning and dubious through the years. They are actually using the internet as well as most companies. They are going to sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and other hiring sites to get people to apply for jobs.
<<See Previous Post – Nationwide Marketing Scam
Having said that, I recently had a problem with being tried to be scammed. I applied to a job posted on Careerbuilder and that is how they got a hold of my home address. I did not think about the security problems associated with applying for jobs on line, until recently.
As you can see that is how they got a hold of my information and have made myself vulnerable to scams and also, other potential problems. I am talking about Theft ID and also spam. Although spam is to be expected with anything we do online. I’ve come to the conclusion that we will always have to deal with spam. I wanted to talk about how to be careful when you apply for online jobs and put your information out on the internet. I’ve started taking some steps to prevent this from happening again.
Scam ALERT: NATIONWIDE MARKETING!!
*Update* Seems to be that they’ve went and changed to another name. They are now using Excel Marketing, and I plan on keeping people updated. Read the comments to find out about what people have said!!!
Hi all,
Google Ups the Anti!!
Comments Off
As part of our effort to protect the accounts of AdSense publishers, we have mailed a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to the payment address entered in your account. This PIN must be entered on the PIN Information page before any payments can be issued to you. In the meantime, your account remains active, and you may continue to show ads and accrue earnings.
Well that came unexpectedly, Google actually is trying to protect our accounts now from getting phished and or/taken over by some malicious person. This is called two factor verification**, Something you know and something you have. You can also get verify through your Cell Phone. Here is what they said in my Email:
Shutting down Windows Vista Episode 1
Comments Off
Having seen this become obviously a big problem. I have decided to do a podcast on this and talk about the solutions on it.
[display_podcast]
My Social Networks:
My Sponsors:
Show Notes for Shutting Down Vista:
Is Spore Worth 49.99?
Comments OffSo I been doing a little digging and trying to find out what the heck people are complaining about and I found some great reviews telling me exactly why people hate EA. They don’t necessarily hate Spore or Will Wright, but the Security around The Spore game.
So In a couple of these comments. These reviews talk about Creating the creatures and All. I’ll submit some of the reviews that I thought was relevant and let you decide for yourself. I would however wonder the one big question? Is Spore Worth the Money? Here’s the details that I know of right now:
- You can only install it 3 times before you have to call EA to get an override code. (Although I heard rumors that if you unistall it, you will get a credit for an Install)
- You can not Install new hardware or upgrade your hardware because if you do, it’ll count as an install, According to this one person.
- The game only allows 1 login per Install. So you can’t have more than one character and one universe according to this person.
Getting Spaz to work with the Twit Army:
Comments OffI having successfully installed Spaz and use it with the Twit Army. I’d figure I would talk about how to get Spaz to work like Twirl. It’s a very simple way but some people seem to having trouble. This will only work with Vista or XP and I am not sure about Linux or Mac. I’ve been successful doing this with a Vista Premium Machine. It seems to be really easy to use and not take up to much of your desk space.
- Download and Install Adobe Air — (You will need this to installed first.)
- Download and Install Spaz — (This is the main program)
- Once install you will need to go to:
- Go to the [ Preferences ]
- Go to [ Other Services ]
-
Put this in exactly as shown (see example)
- Go to [ Networking ] (optional)
- Put this in exactly as sown (see example)
>
Doing this should get you connected to the Twit Army. I am not sure why it says “ERROR : Server returned invalid data” When you first start the program but if you wait a couple seconds you will see that it will eventually loads up. If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to leave a comment.
Bandwidth Tools For Monitoring your bandwidth
Comments OffSo I’ve done some looking around for bandwidth programs. So here’s what I found so far. The programs I’ve got listed are not test and are therefore your responsible for any and all use of the programs.
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FreeMeter Bandwidth Monitor For Windows – Monitor network bandwidth (C#.NET 2k/XP+). Desktop and Systray graph. Configurable connection speed, update interval, color, transparency. Monitor any or all network interfaces. Ping/Trace/UPnP utilities. Email notifier (POP/IMAP). Requires .NET 2.0.
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Pipelog – Windows Bandwidth Meter — Pipelog is a Windows bandwidth meter that gives live statistics of accumulated bandwidth usage. It is written in C# and runs on the .NET Framework.
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Windows Service Monitor – Monitor and automatically restart Windows Services with this small Win32 command line utility. Windows Service Monitor (WinSMon) can monitor several services, restart services that stop/fail and limit the number of restart times.
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iptotal — iptotal is an IP traffic monitor. It listens to a network interface in non-promiscuous mode, and measures IP bandwidth usage. After the specified number of seconds, the average throughput is printed at total, input and output usage.
