Category: Computers, Science & Technology

There’s a nasty virus on the loose, in the wild, and YOU need to be on the alert! If you get infected, it will hit you with a screen like the one shown below:

From Sophos: “Ransomware is malicious software that locks you out of your computer or your data, and demands money to let you back in.

One “brand” of ransomware, widely known as Reveton, has been very widely circulated in recent months.

Reveton pretends to be a warning from your country’s national police service, locks you out of your PC, and threatens criminal proceedings within 48 hours – usually for unspecified copyright offences.

Of course, you can bypass the prosecution if you pay a ‘fine’ to the cybercriminals. The amount they extort is typically about $200.

If you run across this sort of malware, it’s tempting just to wear the cost and hope that the crooks live up to their promise of giving your PC back.

We recommend that you don’t do that, so here’s a short video to advise you, and your friends and family, on what to do instead:”

“Remember: an up-to-date and active anti-virus, combined with prompt software patching to close known holes, makes things much harder for the Bad Guys.

So give yourself the best chance of safety by taking security seriously!”

The FREE Sophos Bootable Anti-Virus bootable CD mentioned in the video is available at the link below:

Sophos Bootable Anti-Virus (SBAV)

Full instructions are available at the link above as well. As they say: “Don’t Panic!” (Good advice from Hitchhiker’s as well!)

Another great tool, that I use regularly, is Malwarebyte’s Anti-Malware, also available FREE from the link below:

Malwarebyte’s Anti-Malware

I told you this was coming. We have to stand for freedoms, even if it is unpopular!

Google’s President of Brazil Operations arrested for failing to remove YouTube videos

“Google’s President of Brazil Operations Fabio Coelho was arrested today in São Paulo, the Brazilian website G1 reports, quoting a press release from the country’s Federal Police.

While this is a shocking piece of news, this isn’t exactly a surprise. As we reported yesterday, a local judge from Mato Grosso do Sul had ordered the arrest after Google allegedly failed to remove YouTube videos attacking a mayoral candidate. Brazilians are going to the polls next October to choose mayors, deputy mayors and city councillors.

According to the Police, Coelho won’t remain under arrest, and will be released once he signs a document in which he commits to obey a subpoena. It’s worth noting that the same judge also ordered a 24-hour YouTube suspension in his State. Brazilian company Embratel informed that it would abide by the decision, although the block’s date and modalities remain to be confirmed.

As we pointed out yesterday, lawsuits have been a recurring problem for Google in Brazil, as judges repeatedly try to hold it responsible for content posted on its platforms, such as YouTube and social network Orkut.

As our managing editor Brad McCarty noted, ‘Brazil has led the charge when it comes to removal requests for content provided by Google. The company had previously reported that it had a total of 669 removal requests from Brazil,’ he explained.

No later than yesterday, a São Paulo judge summoned Google to remove controversial trailer ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ from YouTube in Brazil.

We have reached out to Google and will update this post with any comment we receive from the company.”

The VUDU application is now available on your Roku box! I have used VUDU on my Bluray Player as a “smart app” and watched streamed movies through VUDU, now I can do the same thing via my Roku box! The cool thing is that there is no subscription fee, unless, and until, you rent a movie for a day or two, and it is reasonable. Also, in a special offer, if you sign up for the new VUDU app on Roku, you get a $5.99 credit toward a movie! Cool!

Just log into your Roku account on the web, then click on this link:

https://owner.roku.com/add/J2FRF7

Even as they trumpet how much better, and safer Internet Explorer 9 is, they issue a security fix for a bad security hole. Now do you know why I use Google Chrome exclusively?

Microsoft issues a rebootless ‘Fix’ to the Internet Explorer security weakness

“Yesterday we brought you the news that Microsoft was preparing a one-click solution for Internet Explorer, protecting users from a security flaw that was discovered.

The company adamantly states that few users were in fact harmed, but does acknowledge the potential for further infections. Microsoft has now planned a security update for this Friday that will be ‘cumulative.’

Right now, however, if you want to get yourself protected, Microsoft has you covered:

[T]oday we have released a Fix it that is available to address that issue. This is an easy, one-click solution that will help protect your computer right away. It will not affect your ability to browse the web, and it does not require a reboot of your computer.

If you use Internet Explorer, hit that link. If not, why are you reading this post?

As an aside, fear over Internet Explorer security recently led to Germany advising against its use. Microsoft needs to get this issue behind is so that it can get back to the brand progress it has made since Internet Explorer 9.”

As you know, I LOVE my Roku, and we even have a new Roku Private Channel for all our shows! So, I am looking forward to these new options and ventures from Roku!

Roku Streaming Stick coming in October for $99, while mobile app adds AirPlay-esque streaming

Roku’s Streaming Stick was one of the most interesting home theater products at CES 2012, packing an entire streaming-video box into what looks like an oversized USB dongle.

There hasn’t been much news about the device since then, but Roku finally announced today that the Streaming Stick will be released in October for $99. That’s the same price as its flagship Roku 2 XS and, in fact, Roku says the Streaming Stick is largely a Roku 2 XS in a smaller enclosure.

The Streaming Stick is launching with 15 ‘Roku Ready’ TVs, including models from Hitachi, Apex, and Insignia. Those are far from top-tier manufacturers in the TV market, and the lack of compatible TVs will be the biggest challenge for the Streaming Stick. While the Streaming Stick doesn’t necessarily require a Roku Ready TV, it does require an MHL port, which only a handful of TVs currently support.

There are some differences between the Streaming Stick and the Roku 2 XS. The Streaming Stick actually has double the internal memory of the Roku 2 XS for storing channels, coming in at 512MB. The included remote for the Streaming Stick also works using Wi-Fi Direct, instead of Bluetooth, which Roku claims significantly increases battery life and works better with the Streaming Stick’s placement behind a TV. Also to deal with that backside placement, the Streaming Stick also supports dual-band Wi-Fi, rather than the single-band antenna included on the company’s latest boxes.

In addition to the Streaming Stick, Roku also announced today that Vudu is coming to all Roku 2, Roku HD, and Roku LT boxes. That’s one of the last major streaming-media apps that Roku did not support, giving owners another top-tier streaming-movie store besides Amazon Instant. For those keeping score at home, Roku still doesn’t have a YouTube channel, which continues to be puzzling considering how many other Smart TV devices the service is on.

Rounding out Roku’s announcements is a significant update for the company’s mobile app. The major new feature is called ‘Play on Roku,’ which lets you stream music and photos stored on your phone or tablet straight to your Roku. It’s Roku’s answer to the Apple TV’s AirPlay, except it works with both Android and iOS devices.

It worked quite well in the private demo I saw yesterday, with cover art and artist information displaying on the TV for music, as well as the ability to cue up songs underneath slideshows. It’s not as flexible as AirPlay since it doesn’t work with third-party apps, but it adds functionality a lot of Roku fans were looking for. (On a side note, ‘Play on Roku’ is a curious name for the feature, given the company’s rocky relationship with the PlayOn media-streaming software.)

In all, it’s an impressive trio of announcements that should help keep Roku’s boxes in tight competition with the ever-improving Apple TV.”

OK, I said that last week’s Apple event was a yawn for me, but this is actually pretty cool. Imagine an interactive, artificially intelligent game character in your Hand Held device! Check out this embedded YouTube Video:

This actually might be fun!

Have you ever wanted to remove vocals from songs so that you could sing along and pretend you were the “star?” Or, maybe re-write the lyrics so you and your friends could sing to the background music and “mix it up?” Well, here’s a great FREE way to do that!

You already have Audacity, of course! It is simply the best audio editor in the universe, and it is Open Source and FREE! What could be better? You say that you don’t have it? Shame on you! Get it here:

Audacity – Open Source Audio Editor

Then, download this file:

Audacity Center Pan Remover

Then, un-zip the downloaded file, and move the contents (which will be one single file called “centerpanremover.ny”) to this directory:

C:\Program Files\Audacity\Plug-ins

or

C:\Program Files (x86)\Audacity\Plug-Ins

if you have a 64-bit Windows system.

Open Audacity, open your music file, and then select it by doing a “Control-A”, then select “Effect” from the top-most menu line, and locate “Center Pan Remover…” and click on “OK” (accepting the defaults.

After it does it’s thing… select another effect called “Normalize” and click “OK” to accept the default.

Play your tune! You will notice that the vocals are nearly gone! This works with MOST songs that have the vocals equally the same level in both stereo tracks. Of course, some instruments that were at the same level will be “minimized” as well. Your mileage may vary! Enjoy!

It is finally ready! Check out the new Dr. Bill Bailey.NET Roku Channel! All the shows I do, all on one Roku Channel… can you stand it?!?!?

Go to your Roku account, log in there, then click this link:

Add Dr. Bill Bailey.NET to my Roku!

Private channels are “unofficial” as far as Roku is concerned. They have not been reviewed or approved by Roku, so don’t expect to get any support from them.

Developers use private channels to test channels that may be later posted for approval to the Roku Channel Store, also, private channels can be beneficial for small, specific interest audiences.

Want a 4 Terabyte drive? (YES!) If it leaks, will Server Admins speak in high, squeaky voices?

Western Digital Boosts Hard Drive Capacity With Helium

On Thursday, HGST announced a new helium-filled HDD platform, expected to hit the market in 2013, that boosts storage capacity while consuming less energy. In a statement, the company–which was formerly called Hitachi Global Storage Technologies until Western Digital acquired it in March–said the new design should ‘significantly [reduce] total cost of ownership.’

The new storage products are built around sealed drive enclosures that have been filled with helium, which is one-seventh as dense as regular air. HGST claims the new technology exerts less force on the drive’s spinning disks, thereby diminishing the mechanical power required by 23%.

The design also allows components to be arranged more closely to one another, meaning that Western Digital’s new HDDs can fit seven platters–up from the current standard of five–into a typical 3.5-inch form factor. The resulting increase in storage capacity makes the energy savings even more dramatic; HGST claims that energy consumption is 45% improved on a watts-per-terabyte basis. The company also stated new products will ’emit less acoustic noise’ than current models.

John Rydning, IDC’s research VP for hard disk drives, said in a phone interview that the helium-filled design caters to a ‘market hungry for capacity.’ He stated that data centers will be interested, highlighting ‘cold storage’ as an opportunity. When asked about current archival options, which obviously do not employ the new tech, he said he could not speculate about which hardware offerings will be purchased by given companies. Even so, he said services such as Amazon Glacier would be ‘most suitable for these types of drives.'”

And now, a rare somber moment from the Doctor…

Google says it stands for free speech. The government says that it wants the film pulled… did the video REALLY cause our diplomats to be killed? What do YOU think? And, from a tech and moral perspective, what should Google be required to do?

Google rejects White House request to pull Mohammad film clip

So, Reuters reports:

“(Reuters) – Google Inc rejected a request by the White House on Friday to reconsider its decision to keep online a controversial YouTube movie clip that has ignited anti-American protests in the Middle East.

The Internet company said it was censoring the video in India and Indonesia after blocking it on Wednesday in Egypt and Libya, where U.S. embassies have been stormed by protestors enraged over depiction of the Prophet Mohammad as a fraud and philanderer.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in a fiery siege on the embassy in Benghazi.

Google said (it) was further restricting the clip to comply with local law rather than as a response to political pressure.

‘We’ve restricted access to it in countries where it is illegal such as India and Indonesia, as well as in Libya and Egypt, given the very sensitive situations in these two countries,’ the company said. ‘This approach is entirely consistent with principles we first laid out in 2007.’

White House officials had asked Google earlier on Friday to reconsider whether the video had violated YouTube’s terms of service…

Google said on Wednesday that the video was within its guidelines.

U.S. authorities said on Friday that they were investigating whether the film’s producer, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year old Egyptian Coptic Christian living in Southern California, had violated terms of his prison release. Basseley was convicted in 2010 for bank fraud and released from prison on probation last June.

(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Toni Reinhold)”

Some things to consider:

The supposed “spontaneous protesters” flew Al Qaeda flags as they tore down the U.S. flag and burned it.

The attacks began on September 11th… ring a bell?

Our government says that the attacks have nothing to do with the U.S., or U.S. policy, according to the White House Press Secretary.

Now, attacks on American embassies and installations are occurring in twenty countries in the Middle East, and they are burning BOTH the U.S. flag AND the Israeli flag.

Is it REALLY about a fourth rate, stupid movie that some joker put together and was seen in it’s entirety only by a handful (some report ten or less) people when it was shown in one theater?

A “trailer” was posted on YouTube? Should they pull it down?

Do unspeakable acts of people claiming their actions are due to a poorly produced video warrant curtailing speech? Should a government ask a private company to take down a video that was posted on their web site to appease a crowd of murderers? Where do we draw the lines?

Things to make you go, “Hummmmmmmm.”

Personally, I don’t think anyone should incite violence, but I also have a problem with governments, especially ours, curtailing free speech, or expression, even if people disagree with that speech. That is a slippery slope that I am concerned about going down. These are events to watch, and consider.