Month: April 2006

This one makes it easy for “phishers” to fool you into thinking you are on one site, when you are really on another. Again, folks, why aren’t you using Mozilla Firefox? You CAN’T trust Windows Internet Explorer!

Windows Internet Explorer Spoofing Test Page

“Hai Nam Luke has discovered a vulnerability in Internet Explorer, which can be exploited by malicious people to conduct phishing attacks.” The test on the page linked above will demonstrate why this attack is so bad… if you still have Internet Explorer!

Well, the rumors were true… the next version of OSX will allow booting into Windows as well.

Apple Runs Windows

“Apple Computer, the maker of the iPod, yesterday announced a new program which allows its computers to run Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The surprise move – which some analysts imagined could never happen – is seen as an attempt by Apple to capitalise on the phenomenal success of its iPod digital music player, which has sold more than 40m units around the world. The new software, called Boot Camp, lets customers run the Windows system alongside existing Apple programs. ‘Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows,’ said Phil Schiller, a senior vice-president at Apple. ‘But many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware.'”

Most of my Blog entries are short and to the point, providing links to other sites for detailed information on the topic. However, this entry may be a bit longer than usual. Why? Because this topic is what I believe is one of the “next big things” on the Internet, and in society at large as well. What is that topic? IPTV! What is “IPTV?” It is television delivered by Internet connection… or “Internet Protocol.” (IP) Just as Podcasting started as a “grassroots” effort by some highly geeky individuals that love technology, so IPTV, or VODcasting (Video on Demand), has started among those “geeky few” that are interested in the technology. In fact, it is based on similar technologies as Podcasting, such as RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication.)

More RSS feeds of weekly video programs are being made available, and more excellent free software is being developed to allow users to easily connect to the feeds of these VODcasts. I, personally, listen every week to Patrick Norton and Robert Heron on “DL.TV” (Digital Life TV) talk about tech issues in a similar manner as the old “Screen Savers” show on TechTV, before G4 bought the network and destroyed it! Other great shows on many topics are available as well.

Here’s a link to Ziff-Davis’ “Digital Life TV:”

DL.TV

I wanted to use this posting to tell you about two great software platforms that you can get for free! One is the “Democracy Player.” Why “Democracy?” Because almost anyone with a strong enough desire can create TV content and serve it out via an RSS feed! This is the great “democratization” of video content! No longer are a “special” few able to program only a few channels of content! Now, we can all provide content to people that have interests similar to us! The “Democracy Player” is available free from here:

Democracy Player

Another great player is called FireAnt… it is also Open Source and free as well. FireAnt delivers a rich media experience through a simple to use, unified viewer that lets you watch all types of content without having to worry about which format it is (Quicktime, Windows Media, Real, Flash, MP3, and more!) This is a slicker, somewhat cooler looking player. And, they make it very easy for content providers to provide content via a “one click” subscription process. Check it out!

FireAnt Player

Watch this trend! You will be hearing WAY more in days to come about “VODcasting,” and “IPTV!”

Malware is becoming too big of a problem to handle according to M$. They suggest just re-formatting and starting over.

Malware? Give it up!

“When you are dealing with rootkits and some advanced spyware programs, the only solution is to rebuild from scratch. In some cases, there really is no way to recover without nuking the systems from orbit,” Mike Danseglio, program manager in the Security Solutions group at Microsoft, said in a presentation at the InfoSec World conference.

Microsoft, it seems, will deign to host Linux on it’s Virtual Server Platform.

Microsoft to Host Linux Virtually

“Microsoft will support customers who chose to run Linux with Microsoft’s Virtual Server 2005 R2, software for running multiple operating systems on one machine. In addition, the company on Monday said that it has now made Virtual Server 2005 R2–which the company had charged either $99 for up to four physical processors or $199 for an unlimited number of processors–a free download. The announcements were made in conjunction with the LinuxWorld conference in Boston this week.”

Scott Redmon, my former co-worker (at Guilford County IS) and current Webmaster there, designed a new header for the ol’ Doctor! It is way cool! Thanks, Scott! If you need awesome computer graphics or logos done, see Scott… he da’ man!

By the way, Scott is a “hired gun” for graphics, at Triad Web Solutions, check him out:

Triad Web Solutions