The Bad words of Computer Security Part 2 – Viruses

March 6, 2007 By - Leave a Comment

In the first Part of the “Bad” words of Computer Security I talked about Passwords. Now that you have a safe and secure password what about Viruses??? Since a computer was built by a human you will notice we take a lot of the same words when we talk about ourselves. If you get a virus, that’s not a good thing. The same goes for your computer. Now we protect ourselves from viruses, we don’t eat from the garbage, wear the right clothing when its cold and in general stay away from the things that will harm us. That is the same with computer viruses, be careful what you feed your computer. In the good old days that meant putting a disk in a drive, today that means going to a website, downloading a program or opening an email. Security experts use to say don’t open anything from strangers, but even that has changed.

Rules for protecting your computer from getting a virus:

  • Install an anti-virus program. Then make sure you have the up to date virus definitions each month. PLEASE READ, yes that four letter word, READ, the information on the anti-virus companies website. Most anti-virus software comes with a subscription, when that subscription runs out then you are no longer protected from the latest viruses since you will not be able to install the latest definitions. I list Anti-virus programs at the end of the article.
  • UPDATE, I know i mentioned it above but make sure that you are getting the updated definitions each day or at least each week. (Companies don’t always reales them each day.)
  • Make sure you have a firewall on. Most Operating Systems (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux) have built-in firewalls.
  • Run an anti-virus scan at-least monthly with of course the newest definitions. You can schedule the scan. I run mine weekly.
  • That Is it…. now for those resources

Resources:

Filed Under: Advice, Internet Tools, Security, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Exoskeleton suites closer then ever?

January 25, 2007 By - Leave a Comment

sci-fi exoskeletonFor years, well as far as I can see dating back to the cave men time man has always looked on creating something to protect and make himself stronger. This is of course more the story when your talking about military needs. Any sci-fi writer or reader knows what an Exoskeleton is and does. In the world of science fiction they come in many different sizes and functions from just skin tight shirts to Battle-Tech hundred ton machines that mimic your every move.

This science fiction meets reality has been picking up a lot of news lately and well it should since we are currently at war with thousands of US soliders dead and thousands of others wounded. First Sci-Fi Tech has a nice blog post about 9 Military Technologies we want – Exoskeleton is number 2 on that list and they point out the recerational uses this could have. On the Scince Fiction tv show Dark Angle the male lead – Logan – was wheel chair bound until he came across some fancy Exoskeleton legs making him able to walk again which leads to another interesting concept of this technology.

However before the medical and recreational use of this technology the military will have the first run. In this article at spiegel.de they talk about Robo-Soldiers and how the Pentagon is developing such a thing. This past October New Scientist posted a similar article on their blog and also reflected the length at which these projects have been worked on which is the reason why exoskeletons are popular in Science Fiction. Science fiction writers tend to use things that are possible but limited with todays technology and knowledge, they ask the “what if” and “why not” questions then answer them.

With the advancement in technology and the how computers and electronics are shrinking in size it is only a matter of time we wear our computers. Wearing a computer may mean an entire exoskeleton suite that maybe called a smart suite as well. The future of this technology is as open as the books, cartoons and movies have showed us. Reading about the development of these suites puts a smile on my face that once again technology is caching up to our imaginations.

Filed Under: News, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

The New DWI – Driving With Internet?

January 4, 2007 By - 1 Comment

AutoNet Mobile RouterWith a new year comes new technologies, discoveries and as always questions. Do I really need always-on internet access in my car? Well, of course you do. Their is a new product that has this feature and its coverage is as the website states “95% of the United states.” AutoNet Mobile (http://www.goautonet.com) will be launching the product in the spring with what seems to be the next Internet frontier – America’s second home- our cars. They do this by placing a mobile router inside your car, which then creates a wireless hot spot. The coverage map resembles the wireless cell phone coverage maps we see when shopping around for the best wireless service which brings me to the conclusion this will not be the only company that will offer this service.

Many people will still question if we need internet access in our cars and the answer is still yes. Everything should be connected, the world needs to be connected and this will some day allow us to turn on our lights from our car four miles away. This will also spark on-board computers in our dashboard that will do more then just give us directions. The possibilities are endless but if you have kids in the back seat watching a movie, one day they can be also be online doing their homework. Well, that might of went too far, however, bridging the gap of the Internet in the car will change the meaning of DWI to Driving With Internet and maybe like other technologies the law may catch-up.

Filed Under: News, Technology, wifi Tagged With: , , ,

Sex, Drugs and iTunes Generation

December 18, 2006 By - Leave a Comment

itunes aware

Today the web is what rock and roll was to previous generations. It is no longer the tool of the geek, nerd and software engineers (if any distinction exists). The web is open to all who have a creative moment, since it lives in the moment for the moment like table dancing in a dive bar at 3am on a Thursday night. In this moment we discover our inner curiosity and build our wish lists on Amazon and iTunes; our profiles on myspace, 360 and facebook; upload our photos on picasa web or flicker; stream our personal videos on youtube and google video. This is how we – the iTunes Generation – are expressing ourselves. Some people do this a little more then others as in the past with head-bangers, greasers, punks we have labeled these bloggers, hackers and back to the word geek . However, years ago it was the rock star, the guys with big hair, loud voices that entertained us by biting off bat heads, smashing guitars, dancing on stage in spandex. These were our heroes, our role models and in some small way they made us all warm and fuzzy inside. The 21st centaury has main streamed entertainment making it possible for anyone to be a rock star, to have their 15 minutes of fame and all they need is a little modern day canvas – the internet – to express themselves and show the world what thy are made of. In myspace they post pictures, link to friends, show favorite music videos just for the fun of it. What use to be the fame of the super cool has been distributed to anyone with a web blog, webcam and a little pride. With iTunes you don’t have to wait to goto the store buy the latest song or movie. Plus you can speak your own mind, create your own PodCast and express your own opion, submit it with the thousands of free PodCasts available daily at iTunes.

I would like to say good bye to the Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll generation and hello to the Sex Drugs and iTunes generation. Because whether it’s real or cyber you can’t substitute the sex or the addiction of any drug but entertainment has gone from old school rock into digital puberty.

Filed Under: Advice, Technically Foreign, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

What’s in an address anyway?

December 7, 2006 By - Leave a Comment

So your at a party and this guy gives you his business card. You goto his website and look around but that’s only part of what you can find out about someones company. The technical aspect of the location and the IP (actual number associated with the website.) has a lot of information. There are a bunch of sites that have great tools to help you find out about a website, email address and more.

Each of the above sites can also tell you about your connections. Post any questions or comments to this post.

Filed Under: Internet Tools, Technology Tagged With: ,

Connection Speed tests

December 7, 2006 By - Leave a Comment

Sometimes you just want to know how fast you are going. If your driving your car you always know how fast your going, but when your downloading a file from the internet you never know the exact speed of your connection. On the internet it’s called a bandwidth meter. Here are two sites that will test your connection and tell your speed:

Filed Under: Internet Tools, Technology Tagged With: ,
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