Archive: May, 2007
I came across a letter on the Spybot website that tells an interesting story. Apparently there is a trojan roaming the web and installing some fairly harmless malware. The malware causes a little dancing girl to pop-up on your desktop.
The interesting part here is that Spybot properly identifies the dancing girl as malware and suggests it for removal, explaining in the description that it is distributed by the trojan. The malware company sent a letter demanding that Spybot no longer detect their software and that they remove mention of the trojan in the description.
That is stupid. Why should a program designed to remove spyware and malware stop detecting something because the creators don’t like it? If you don’t want to be associated with a trojan, go track down the person/people who wrote it, not the people trying to remove it for users at no cost.
The article and the malware company’s stupid demands reminded me that I don’t think I have ever suggested Spybot for Windows users. If you aren’t running this great program, go download it now. It will scan for spyware just like an antivirus scans for viruses. Then you can have it automatically fix everything for you.
Spybot is not the only solution for spyware removal, but they are really darn good, and free!
Other software solutions for Win users:
Firefox – Less vulnerabilities than IE, and you can customize it
Thunderbird – Free email program that is highly customizeable
AVG Antivirus – Free antivirus for home use
ZoneAlarm – Free quality firewall for home use
Spybot S&D – Excellent spyware detection and removal
All of these programs are free, but some will ask for donations or try to sell you additional products. Just say no to the additional products and please donate to Spybot.
“Real ID does not create a national ID card.” – Janice Kephart, president of 9/11 Security Solutions
That quote was actually uttered by a person. Yes, that person DOES supposedly have some sort of idea what the act is and what it does create.
Apparently, this woman is the equivalent of a snail on an intellectual level. REAL ID is exactly a national ID card. It requires (among other things) date of birth, social security number, home address, and of course name. This information would then be shared with all states and various federal agencies.
I don’t know about you, but it sounds like a national ID card to me. Some states have passed legislation opposing REAL ID, but it may or may not do any good. At the very least, it shows the communists that came up with it that there is a decent amount of opposition to the act.
Even ignoring obvious privacy issues, this matter will cost billions of dollars. The only people who profit are the people who provide security services. Hmmm, wonder why Janice supports the measure. Can you imagine every state’s DMV re-processing ID cards for EVERYONE?
…even Homeland Security’s own Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee said this week that it could not endorse Real ID. – Cnet
That’s not a good sign. Homeland Security, who is in charge of creating the stipulations and requirements of the REAL ID act won’t even endorse the idea.
There is some news of bloggers possibly receiving more protection (thanks to Arstechnica) like what traditional journalists enjoy now. Generally, this is referred to as “shield law” to shield the press from lawsuits stemming from reporting some information under certain circumstances.
Granted, specific stipulations have to be met, and not everyone will get this protection, but it is good to see lawmakers recognizing blogging as a news medium. Lots of blogs are decent news outlets, covering everything from politics to technology. Some are just opinion, which mine falls under more often than not.
I do hope that the law in some form makes progress and is effective. Even though I am more opinion on here than anything, it would be nice to have some protection should I decide to expose corruption or news. How could I get a hot “whistle-blower” story if my confidential source could be identified? I couldn’t, and that is what this bill is designed to remedy.
The news in this area is dominated by 2 newspapers. One can’t effectively investigate and follow up due to too few reporters and probably budgetary concerns. The other is too new and hasn’t proven itself enough yet (but they are doing a good job so far). Hopefully soon I will be able to devote a significant amount of time to this and develop some reporting skills of my own.
