Dr. Bill | The Computer Curmudgeon

Will Google start selling Google branded PCs? THAT would be a strange turn of events!

Google to Sell PCs Soon?

“The Internet giant, based in Mountain View, Calif., is considering selling its own version of a wireless networking device for homes, according to two sources, and is reportedly in talks with giant retailer Wal-Mart Inc. to sell an inexpensive Google-branded personal computer. Google already makes Google-branded hardware, mainly consisting of a line of search engines meant for businesses. Google-branded consumer devices, outside of promotional items like Lava lamps, are hard to find. ”

WOW!!! That was fast! As the comment to this post from Darkmoon points out, the rumor has already been debunked! Here’s that link!

Google WON’T Make PCs

Thanks, Darkmoon! By the way, check out LUX.ET.UMBRA for more of Darkmoon’s great tech info! Here’s the link to his Blog:

LUX.ET.UMBRA Blog

A patch to fix the VERY BAD WMF metafile vulnerability! Go the the link, download the patch, and install it. It is VERY important that you do this immediately!

WMF Metafile Patch

This patch offers complete protection for the problem EXCEPT for Windows 98, it won’t fix that (but, hopefully, you aren’t using 98 anyway!) Once Microsoft gets around to responding with their own patch, this patch can be uninstalled in “Add Remove Programs.” Remember, it is ABSOLUTELY necessary to install this patch! Listen to your Doctor! This is the WMF Metafile patch that Steve Gibson recommended on the Security Now! Podcast!

REMEMBER: This fixes a problem that does NOT require you to click on an attachment, or do ANYTHING… just visiting a web page that contains an “infected” image, and you are infected by the WMF Exploit! Take this one seriously!

I told you about the VERY SERIOUS Windows exploit that came out a few days ago that involves the Windows metafile property in Windows. This exploit effects all versions of Windows, including older versions. It allows web sites, or banner ad creators to embed code into images that can then be executed by simply visiting a web site. You don’t have to go to a bad site, just one that uses a banner ad, or some other image from an Ad-Ware company… which are all over the Web!

Windows Exploit Now Spreading Ad-Ware!

“Researchers said that sites running pop-up advertisements from the network will infect viewers with vulnerable systems.”

As an old DOS hacker, the C:\> prompt was my friend! In these graphical user interface days, no one really thinks about it that much. There are still some things that you can only do from the ol’ C:\> prompt! Well, there is more on the way in Vista!

Return of the Command Prompt

“Code-named Monad, the new shell will enable a host of new programs known as scripts–something at which rival Unix operating systems have historically excelled. While these new commands and scripts will interest primarily administrators and power users, less-technical types may benefit from Monad scripts that could circulate on the Internet as Unix scripts do. For example, a Monad script might quickly reorganize files and directories based on their name or creation date–a task that can take a fair bit of manual labor in Windows Explorer.”

This one is major nasty! It affects fully patched Windows XP systems running Service Pack 2, and is actually out in “the wild.”

Really BAD Exploits Treatens Windows XP

“A new exploit has been discovered in the wild that affects fully patched Windows XP SP2 systems, according to reports by security firms F-Secure and Sunbelt. The malicious code takes advantage of a vulnerability in the WMF graphics rendering engine to automatically download and install malware. WMF, or Windows Metafile, is a vector based image format used by Microsoft’s operating systems. SHIMGVW.DLL is loaded to render the images and contains a flaw that opens the door for a malformed WMF image to cause remote code execution and potentially allow for a full system compromise.”

Microsoft has been notified of the issue, and they are expected to come out with a patch soon.

Computers and the Internet have long been considered a “man’s world,” some would even say it is only a geek’s world! (With geeks being mostly men!) So, a subset of a subset! However, this is no longer true! Women now out-number men, according to a new study!

Women on the Web

While a slightly larger percentage of men than women are online (68 percent vs. 66 percent,) the larger population of American women tips the balance. Other findings: younger women and black women outpace their male peers by larger margins than the wider population.

Very nice! Keep it up, ladies!

Peter Quinn, CIO of Massachusetts, announced that he will resign, effective in January, from his post, due to flack that he has gotten for standing up for the OpenDocument standard for Mass. government. It seems that Microsoft is winning this one!

Mass. CIO Resigning

“Peter Quinn, the man responsible for bringing OpenDocument to the state of Massachusetts as CIO will resign on January 9, citing the controversy around the decision as well as personal attacks aimed at him as reasons for his departure,” according to BetaNews.

The move to standardize on the OpenDocument format for all electronic documents in Massachusetts began on September 1, when the proposal was first approved. The plan was quickly attacked by Microsoft, which called it “inconsistent and discriminatory.” The Evil Empire has been flexing it’s muscle since then to destroy this effort toward open standards in government.