"See you next year!"

I'm going to deliver a roundhouse kick to someone's throat if I have to hear that again. What is it with people saying that? Do they think it's actually funny? That they're somehow witty using such a ridiculous statement? I'm sure it got a hearty laugh the first time you heard it, but never after that. Do people say it thinking the other person has never heard it before? If you are one of those people, here's a tip: Shut up. Just say Happy New Year and be done with it.



Happy New Year everybody!

Getting The Perfect Nap

"When billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett broke the record for around-the-world solo jet flight last March, he slept just 60 minutes in 67 hours of flight time -- 60 minutes broken into two- and three-minute naps. "I slept when I needed it and awoke refreshed," he says. Fossett, who holds world records in ballooning, sailing, and flying, adds that none of his feats could have been done without these micro-variety "power naps."

I've never been much of a napper because it seemed like more often than not, I would feel more sluggish than I did previously. From the information in the article and the following chart, I can see why - my naps were about half an hour, which they shouldn't be. I'm going to try shorter intervals when I feel I need some extra z's.

Almost forgot...

Wanted to wish my few readers a Merry Christmas and hoping for a great New Year for everyone!

*for those of you that get "offended" by me saying Merry Christmas, get over it. political correctness is a joke*

Santa IM worm hits AOL, MSN, and Yahoo

"A Santa Claus worm is attempting to trick America Online, Microsoft MSN and Yahoo instant-messaging users into clicking on a file that delivers unwanted software to a victim's computer.

The IM.GiftCom.All worm attempts to dupe IM users into thinking an acquaintance has sent them a link to a harmless Santa Claus file, according to a security advisory issued Tuesday by IMlogic."

I'm hoping most are smarter than this, but usually that's not the case. Please be very careful of what you receive and send in emails and Instant Messages. While we're on the subject of Security, double check to make sure that your anti-virus is up to date. How do you check? Right click on the application's icon in your taskbar and find where it says update. If, for some reason, you don't have anti-virus software or the one that came with your pc expired because you didn't want to pay the annual fee, you can download and install AVG Free Edition.

Game being developed for "sex ed"?

"The CanWest News Service has a piece up on Heather Kelley, an Ubisoft game designer who has created Lapis, a prototype of a Nintendo DS game that offers a "stealthy primer" on female sexuality.

At first glance, the game sort of looks like Nintendogs, but with a fluffy blue bunny. But as it turns out:

The prototype teaches how to reach orgasm by simulating the affect of pleasurable sensation on the cartoon. Players tickle, touch, tap, and stroke Lapis using the touch screen of the Nintendo DS, a hand-held video game device. They can also talk, sing and blow on the bunny's fur using the device's built-in microphone."

I doubt that this will make it through Nintendo, but is this the kind of crap we can expect our kids to get their hands on? Ridiculous.

Ebay CEO/President says 40,000 Xbox 360's sold

"As reported by Dow Jones last night based upon a presentation at the CSFB Annual Technology Conference, the 40,000 unit figure has left pundits flabbergasted. If launch supply estimates from American Technology Research are accurate, that would mean that 10% of all Xbox 360 consoles sold in the US were either sold or resold through eBay."



Might be a good idea to reserve several Sony PS3's once you're able to. Some of the Xbox 360's went for >$1000. Incredible.

Windows Live Safety Center

Windows Live Safety Center is up, in beta form, and looks to be a nice set of tools for the unsaavy computer user. Click on the link above to check it out. Here is the first review I've seen of Microsoft's new site.

Russian gymnasts going nuts

These kids are insane. A great look at some "off the wall" antics of these Russian gymnasts. One of the best google videos I've come across this year.

Bugmenot.com

Don't you just hate it when someone sends you a link to an article, but the link directs you to a site that requires a username and password? Ugh, the bane of the internet. But fear not, my thinly veiled friends. Simply copy the URL for the website in question, then go to BugMeNot.com, paste the URL into the box and BAM - it'll dish you a username and password. I've not run across a website yet that this hasn't come through for me. Don't ask me if it works on porn sites because I HAVE NO IDEA.

Firefox 1.5

Word on the "street" is that the latest version of Firefox will be released some time today. If you don't know what Firefox is, then I'll tell you. As I've mentioned in a previous post, Firefox is a faster and, most importantly, a more secure browser. If you're NOT using Firefox, then I am going to assume you are using Internet Explorer or Opera. If you use Opera, you're ok in my book. If you're an IE user, kick yourself in the face, recover, and go download the greatest browser to hit the internet. (Those that are on Macs are ok with Safari, and those that are Linux nerds haven't bothered reading this article)

*UPDATE* It's out today folks. Click on the links above.

Mac OSX Tiger free tutorials

Some really nice tutorials for the noob and also for people that are interested in getting a Mac. Covers the Dashboard and Widgets, using Spotlight, and some other goodies.

Why $5 Gas Is Good For America

"At the climax of his book Twilight in the Desert, Houston investment banker and energy guru Matthew Simmons describes a visit to the world's most powerful oil company, Saudi Aramco, in Dhahran. Simmons listens in horror as a senior manager reveals the kingdom's darkest secret. The old ways no longer suffice. To keep their aging wells productive, the Saudis now rely upon one information age prop after another: advanced analysis of rock cores, 3-D seismic imagery, software for diagnosing underground oil flows - all integrated using something called fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic? The Aramco man tries to explain the science of complex systems and partial information, but Simmons hears only tidings of a bleak future. Obviously, the end of energy as we know it is nigh."

A great read and could possibly be an eye-opener for some of you behemoth SUV drivers.

20 years of Microsoft Windows

Ah, 20 years of the operating system we love to hate. Love - because it does alot of things well (and it plays a big part in how I make my living), and Hate - because of the proprietary nature of the software and the security issues that crop up now and again.

I'll leave you with your balloons and party hats with these photos of the one, the only, Bill Gates (he's so dreamy!!!11)

CD's containing Sony's rootkit - Complete List

Please check this list against your CD collection.

2005's "10 Worst Toys" List

"W.A.T.C.H.'s annual "10 Worst Toys" list nominates representative toys with the potential to cause childhood injuries, or even death. W.A.T.C.H.'s annual "Toy Conference" has generated extensive national press and media coverage. Because of these efforts, and the positive response from both the media and the public, there have been many toy and product design changes. Founder Edward M. Swartz and W.A.T.C.H. have fearlessly exposed potentially dangerous toys to the general public. As a result, children’s lives have been saved."

First of all, if you bought something like this for your kid, you shouldn't have kids to begin with. Secondly, The manufacturer recommends knee pads, elbow pads, gloves, and a helmet. Just look at that kid in the picture. Safety first, kids!

Yes folks, it's true. There's nothing wrong with buying your 5 year old a crossbow that shoots "soft tip arrows" up to thirty feet. "Hey mom, it even has 3 power settings!!"

*recommended for families that still hunt for their food*

Ok, let me stop laughing first. This manufacturer even encourages children to engage in "clobberin' time!" They look like the ass ends of a Tiki god if you ask me.

$100 Laptop!? (continued)

Last month I covered MIT's brave endeavour. Now, it seems like the ball is really rolling.

"Although no contracts with governments have been signed, Mr. Negroponte (founder of MIT's Media Labs) says current plans call for producing five to ten million units beginning in late 2006 or early 2007, with tens of millions more a year later. Five companies -- Google Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Red Hat Inc., News Corp. and Brightstar Corp. -- have each provided $2 million to fund a nonprofit organization called One Laptop Per Child that was set up to oversee the project. Mr. Negroponte says five companies are bidding to make the laptop, although he declined to name them."

MIT even turned down Steve Job's offer of giving each laptop OSX, saying "We declined because it's not Open Source". Well done.

Consumer : 1, Sony BMG : 0

"Sony is to suspend production of CDs using its controversial content protection technology, currently being exploited by a Trojan virus.

The technology employed by Sony to protect its music from illegitimate use was picked up by security software as a rootkit which hid files from Windows and made them impossible to detect. But simply using letters '$sys$' in a filename means that any such file will be hidden, even malicious files. And this is exactly what has happened with the latest virus."

Well, this is a nice change of events. Hopefully Sony BMG will let go of First4Internet and try a different approach.

Sony BMG Summary

Here is what has transpired so far in this debacle:

The DRM software Sony has been shipping on many CDs since April is cloaked with rootkit technology:

* Sony denies that the rootkit poses a security or reliability threat despite the obvious risks of both
* Sony claims that users don’t care about rootkits because they don’t know what a rootkit is
* The installation provides no way to safely uninstall the software
* Without obtaining consent from the user Sony’s player informs Sony every time it plays a “protected” CD

Sony has told the press that they’ve made a decloaking patch and uninstaller available to customers, however this still leaves the following problems:

* There is no way for customers to find the patch from Sony BMG’s main web page
* The patch decloaks in an unsafe manner that can crash Windows, despite my warning to the First 4 Internet developers
* Access to the uninstaller is gated by two forms and an ActiveX control
* The uninstaller is locked to a single computer, preventing deployment in a corporation

Consumers and antivirus companies are responding:

* F-Secure independently identified the rootkit and provides information on its site
* Computer Associates has labeled the Sony software “spyware”
* A lawfirm has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of California consumers against Sony
* ALCEI-EFI, an Italian digital-rights advocacy group, has formally asked the Italian government to investigate Sony for possible Italian law violations.


I'm going to step away from this story (via the blog anyway) for now. I will post anything that's big when it breaks. Please visit Mark's Sysinternal's Blog for more up to date information.

First trojan found that piggybacks Sony's rootkit

"Virus writers have begun taking advantage of Sony-BMG's use of rootkit technology in DRM software bundled with its music CDs.

Sony-BMG's rootkit DRM technology masks files whose filenames start with "$sys$". A newly-discovered variant of of the Breplibot Trojan takes advantage of this to drop the file "$sys$drv.exe" in the Windows system directory.

"This means, that for systems infected by the Sony DRM rootkit technology, the dropped file is entirely invisible to the user. It will not be found in any process and file listing. Only rootkit scanners, such as the free utility RootkitRevealer, can unmask the culprit," warns Ivan Macalintal, a senior threat analyst at security firm Trend Micro"

Thanks again, Sony.

UPDATE: Sony BMG - list of CD's with rootkit

"As we've mentioned before, Sony-BMG has been using copy-protection technology called XCP in its recent CDs. You insert your CD into your Windows PC, click "agree" in the pop up window, and the CD automatically installs software that uses rootkit techniques to cloak itself from you. Sony-BMG has released a "patch" that supposedly "uncloaks" the XCP software, but it creates new problems."

But how do you know whether you've been infected? It turns out Sony-BMG has deployed XCP on a number of titles, in variety of musical genres, on several of its wholly-owned labels.

EFF has confirmed the presence of XCP on the following titles (each has a data session, easily read on a Macintosh, that includes a file called "VERSION.DAT" that announces what version of XCP it is using). If you have one of these CDs, and you have a Windows PC (Macs are totally immune, as usual), you may have caught the XCP bug.

Click here for the list and more information.