All The Good Names Are Already Taken.net

Avoid getting a virus in the first place

2010-03-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Some advice I bestowed on a Win7 user after a virus malfunction on previous Vista installation -- In this case, the new user profile is a limited account and there's a separate account called "ADMIN" for -- well, you can guess.

BACKUPS
don't forget after each successful improvement (ie. installing bittorrent) "create a system restore point" or do a full "system image backup" -- you can back that directly to your external usb harddrive --- it will take lots of time but that's for monthly or just before doing something major.

if in trying to improve it or install something and it goes awry, just go back to before the mess using "system restore point" or in THE CASE OF VIRUS: do the full system image restore (from USB harddrive or DVD's I gave you in your Win7 box

** NOTE: keep good records of date/time when you label these backups -- trust me, that helps a lot later.

ABOUT MAINTENANCE

just leave it on at least one night during the week, otherwise shutdown or AT LEAST hibernate. Win7 is better than XP, but still wants to be restarted fairly often (full shutdown, startup). Leaving it on one or two nights a week will keep it running smooth as it will do scans and defrag on it's own.

USER ACCOUNT

I know the admin thing and the prompts are horrible but it's a necessary evil to keep your system clean.

For older software, you may need to

rick (right-click) the setup.exe or whatever
choose "Run as Admin.."

If that fails, you can use "troubleshooter mode" which will help you give the installer unrestricted access to install and run (make sure you TRUST the program)

For the XP user: you can recreate this "Run as" functionality to run untrusted programs in a couple of ways. The built-in way and the after-market way. Either would be sufficient. For the really paranoid (or extra cautious) folk, you can run most programs inside a "sandbox" like "sandboxie" which is a program I actually bought b/c it's so nifty. So many uses for it that it needs it's own post, coming soon. Meanwhile, just search.

CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS

make good ones that you'll remember, but that have more than just lowercase letters:

g00dL0rd1L0v3@g00dp@ssw0Rd

"good lord I love a good password"

save yourself some headaches and log in as admin to do admin-type things -- sometimes logging out of other users or restarting is warranted and recommendable. Typing it in a few times and burning it into your skull will help later when you need to remember it. Windows will encrypt your stuff for you if you want it to. Documents encrypted in that fashion become unrecoverable w/o the password -- so you CAN and SHOULD "create password reset disk" and lock in a firesafe.

2010-02-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

When dealing with a particularly nasty virus on a Vista machine -- av.exe a faux virus scanner telling you that you have to purchase the full version to remove all the many virus' found (a common scare tactic to glean your credit card number from you) -- I found myself able to create a new admin user and change the regular user into a limited account.

If you're interested in the virus, I ran through a more/less version of this post, and also did more scans once logged in via admin -- but don't log in as the regular user, that has been too badly tainted and the combination of virus scanners could not get the whole thing. Basically it rolls like this:

offline scans (bootable CD's, linux -- knoppix mostly) with:
bitdefender
kaspersky
dr. web
f-secure
panda
avast

(those last two weren't on their own boot CD, so don't know if they have them, I used PE ver.)

from a boot disk like BartPE or UBCD, use regeditPE (of sorts) to load default user profile on C:\ and ensure it's cleanness, use other PE tools to find other auto-load places (hijackthis, etc)
* reset users' password to blank (cuz i no nose it)
* turn off any unknown services (try not to turn off drivers though, that's a pain to troubleshoot unless you're diligent enough to make copies of the ones you turn off) and also any suspect known ones (at this point, I disabled symantec entirely b/c I could not confirm it's cleanliness... along w/ any other runtimes I could not verify to be genuine)

boot up in safe mode

create admin user (note that av.exe starts running despite best efforts to this point)

reboot and login as admin
* SET A STRONG PASSWORD, reboot
* install SP2 and run updates

reboot and install Microsoft Security Essentials
* update and scan (found 3 more trojans and asked me to submit av.exe for analysis)

manually pick clean the users' settings directly from their profile (file level, DO NOT LOGIN AS THEM) and populate current user w/ favourites, repair'd or reinstalled apps, etc..

use the method below to copy the default user profile and delete/create a new profile for the user
* log in as them

...the whole copying a default user profile from existing pre-setup user is an excellent legacy procedure spawning from the days of XP. So, for posterity, here it is in it's vista form (have tried once quickly in Windows 7 but failed... likely a permission problem or registry something).

My apologies to the person who wrote this, I think it was from a technet community forum or something like that -- not that anyone reads my blog but me -- but credits to that person, whomever it is...

----

Anyhow, this is the way that I copy a user profile to the default profile:

Configure the profile to copy then reboot and login as another administrator account. The profile that I want to copy is always that of either the Administrator or an account with full administrator access.
Press + to open the System window. You can also get to it from Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System.
Open the Advanced System Settings from the Tasks list and click Continue on the permission prompt.
Click the Settings button under User Profiles.
Highlight the profile you want to copy to the Default profile then click the Copy To... button.
In the Copy To window, click Browse to select the C:\Users\Default folder or just type it into the Copy Profile To field.
Click the Change button under the Permitted To Use section.
In the Select User or Group window, type "Everyone" in the text box then click OK. Leave off the quotes around Everyone. Then Click OK.
You are returned to the Copy To window. Click OK.
A Confirm Copy window will come up that tells you the directory already exists and asks if you're sure you want to continue. Click Yes.
After the profile is copied, you are returned to the User Profiles window. Just close all the windows.

After the copy, I open REGEDIT and load the ntuser.dat hive that is in the Default folder. From there, I search for any values that contain the path information for the source profile's user folder (ie. C:\Users\SourceUser) and delete it. Be certain you only delete these entries from the hive that you loaded into the registry. Finally, unload the hive and exit the registry editor.

    Here's a quick rundown on opening the Default user's ntuser.dat file:

    1. Open RegEdit
    2. Highlight the HKEY_USERS key
    3. Select Load Hive from the Files menu
    4. Select the C:\Users\Default\ntuser.dat file and click Open
    5. You will be asked for a Key Name. I usually use DEFAULT_USER
    6. Highlight the HKEY_USERS\DEFAULT_USER key and follow the directions in my previous post
    7. After removing all the necessary entries, Highlight HKEY_USERS\DEFAULT_USER again
    8. Select Unload Hive from the Files menu and click Yes to confirm
    9. Close RegEdit and delete the ntuser.dat.log file from the C:\Users\Default folder

I've never had any issues deleting the Registry Values that contain the source user path information and I've been using this process for years. Please let me know if this helps you and if you need more assistance.

Chrome for Linux is (NOT!) killing my VMWare Workstation Virtual Machine in Ubuntu 9.10

2010-01-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

--=LATEST=--
Well, all seems to be okay now running Win7 in VirtualBox OSE w/ the Sun VirtualBox Guest Additions and trimming down the RAM to 1GB. So my problem is either:

a) 2GB RAM (out of 3.8GB) is too much RAM for Linux to give up
b) 2GB RAM is too much for VMware Workstation to manage
c) I have a bad RAM stick

So, after bumping my Win7 VM up to 2048MB RAM (and even installing Google Chrome, lol) the same sluggish host performance has not been found. The performance of the VM is not awesome... but I have compiz on, some 16 FireFox tabs, shoutcast streaming techno music. So, we're at about where we should be and I can rule out a) & c) as the culprits to my issue.

But I'll say one thing, Linux runs nicer off an SSD than Windows (even Win Se7en!!) and I haven't even tweaked it... ahh, nice to have a fresh copy of Karmic Koala anywhoo...

--=ORiGiNaL=--
VMware Workstation 7 running on 64 bit Ubuntu 9.10 host with Windows 7 x64 Ultimate as guest.

Win7 crawling at a snails pace -- so slow, it was making my PC useless. I couldn't decide if it was the SSD drive I had installed W7 onto (via "Physical Disk" method) or what (well, true, there does seem to be a huge performance problem with using the OCZ Core 32GB SSD drive with the virtual machine) -- but after some troubleshooting, I found that it only became unbearable when Google Chrome was running. Odd.

Thing is, I don't know enough about memory leaks or Linux itself to troubleshoot much more than this... all I can do is not run Workstation at the same time as Chrome. That's okay, my FireFox was feeling neglected.

I can say this: With VMware Workstation 6.5 and Ubuntu 9.10 with win7 guest, it was still exhibiting the same issues.. this is why I upgraded to Workstation 7 -- but that did not do it. So, my thought is that it's Chrome. Although, my old XP guest seems to not cause this kind of issue -- really at a loss on this one.

Anyone have thoughts or similar experiences? I could not find much research on the interwebs about it.

--=UPDATE=--

okay, I went ahead and reconfig'd everything and installed Linux on the SSD and made a software raid stripe to house the Win7 VM -- system crawling again. What the hell? I didn't even install Chrome yet!!

Specs:
Asus P5B-vm
4GB 800Mhz RAM
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
2x 80GB WD
1x OCZ Core 32GB SSD

VM gets 2x Processors (1x Core), 2048GB RAM and a 40GB Pre-allocated vmdk virtual disk on a EXT4 partition on top of a 1MB cluster'd stripe array (across the 2x 80's)

ARRRRGGGH

m3u to DVD in Ubuntu

2009-11-22T14:06:00.000-08:00

stole this from the ubuntuforums website...

used Rythmbox to create a dynamic playlist (genre LIKE alternative, year > 2002, artist <> 'nickleback')
saved as m3u
ran this command in terminal against my playlist file (I had k3b open, don't know if it needs to be...)
trim down to 4.7GB, burn, play in DVD player on home theatre system... bob's your uncle, thank your mother for the eggs.

Re: How to burn music files (mp3, ogg...) according to a playlist (m3u, pls...)

Hi,
save your playlist as .m3u and then :

Code:

sed '/^#/d' MyPlayListFile.m3u | tr '\n' '\0' | xargs -0 k3b --datacd

or if you prefer Brasero

Code:

sed '/^#/d' cd\ aprile\ 2009.m3u | tr '\n' '\0' | xargs -0 brasero -d

bye Fil

disable the time synchronization in a virtual machine using vmware workstation

2009-08-14T01:22:00.000-07:00

Should you, for whatever reason need to power up a VM hosting w/ VMWare Workstation without having it sync the time, edit the .vmx file for your virtual machine and add these settings:

tools.syncTime = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.continue = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.restore = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.resume.disk = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.resume.memory = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.shrink = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.tools.startup = "FALSE"
time.synchronize.resume = "FALSE"
rtc.startTime = 1250197532

RTC time is... well, I'm not getting into it... but this dude made an app to calc the right number for it -- he has a blog. But I can't find it. So here's a different link.

Hard Reset your HTC Android phone without access to the Settings menu

2009-08-14T01:16:00.000-07:00

Um, so, my little HTC Dream sporting Android 1.5 (Cupcake) starting barfing on me the other day... when I would try to click into the settings menu, it would just disappear, poof, no error, nothing.

And with the random rebooting.

And the missing apps and settings... oye-vey. All because I let it die. Big time.

long story short, do this to get a hard-reset going:

take the battery out
hold down the "home" and "power" keys -- keep holding
put the battery back in
you'll see a cmos logo (mine aptly sports the Rogers logo) -- let go of the keys
you'll see a triangle symbol
press home/power together briefly
use the menu to wipe / reset the phone

Bob is your uncle.

signed, Uncle Bob

BambooInvoice Canadian Tax System

2009-08-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Our good friend Derek Allard (whose brainchild is said BambooInvoice) has informed me over at the BI Forums that an update is forthcoming which will include a much more versitile taxation system. /me wonders what other delicious treats will be bundled with this new incarnation... shall it even be 1.0 ??!

--==:[0000.0000]:==--

Not just for Canadians, but anyone who may want to use one, the other or both taxes on a single line item in Bamboo Invoice.

**WARNING** This hack is not for the faint of heart, I may have missed something in the chronicling of this adventure and I can't guarantee this will work for you in any way.

In case you haven't heard, BambooInvoice is only the slickest open source online invoicing system built with CodeIgnitor.

This mod is quite a hack, but the principal is to double the 'taxable' functionality for each line item, thus having a taxable1 and taxable2 for each item on the invoice.

To pull this off, modify the existing bamboo_invoice_items.taxable field to be called bamboo_invoice_items.taxable1 and add another field of INT(1) or BOOLEAN (if you will) called bamboo_invoice_items.taxable2

...Then make the following changes to the following files.


***********
[/bamboo_system_files/application/controllers/invoices.php]
-> Line 141:

  foreach ($items as $item)
  {
   //$taxable = (isset($item['taxable']) && $item['taxable'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;
   $taxable1 = (isset($item['taxable1']) && $item['taxable1'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;
   $taxable2 = (isset($item['taxable2']) && $item['taxable2'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;
   $sub_amount = $item['quantity'] * $item['amount'];
   $amount += $sub_amount;
   $tax1_amount += $sub_amount * (($tax1_rate)/100) * $taxable1;
   $tax2_amount += $sub_amount * (($tax2_rate)/100) * $taxable2;
  }

  echo '{"amount" : "'.number_format($amount, 2, $this->config->item('currency_decimal'), '').'", "tax1_amount" : "'.number_format($tax1_amount, 2, $this->config->item('currency_decimal'), '').'", "tax2_amount" : "'.number_format($tax2_amount, 2, $this->config->item('currency_decimal'), '').'", "total_amount" : "'.number_format($amount + $tax1_amount+$tax2_amount, 2, $this->config->item('currency_decimal'), '').'"}';
 }


-> Line 225:

    $amount = 0;
    foreach ($items as $item)
    {
     $taxable1 = (isset($item['taxable1']) && $item['taxable1'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;
     $taxable2 = (isset($item['taxable2']) && $item['taxable2'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;

     $invoice_items = array(
           'invoice_id'    => $invoice_id,
           'quantity'    => $item['quantity'],
           'amount'    => $item['amount'],
           'work_description'   => $item['work_description'],
           'taxable1'    => $taxable1,
           'taxable2'    => $taxable2
          );

     $this->invoices_model->addInvoiceItem($invoice_items);
    }

    redirect('invoices/view/'.$invoice_id);

-> Line 426:
    // add them back
    $items = $this->input->post('items');
    foreach ($items as $item)
    {
     $taxable1 = (isset($item['taxable1']) && $item['taxable1'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;
     $taxable2 = (isset($item['taxable2']) && $item['taxable2'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;

     $invoice_items = array(
           'invoice_id'   => $invoice_id,
           'quantity'    => $item['quantity'],
           'amount'    => $item['amount'],
           'work_description'  => $item['work_description'],
           'taxable1'    => $taxable1,
           'taxable2'    => $taxable2
          );

     $this->invoices_model->addInvoiceItem($invoice_items);
    }

    // give a session telling them it worked

-> Line 550:

     $amount = 0;
     foreach ($items as $item)
     {
      $taxable1 = (isset($item['taxable1']) && $item['taxable1'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;
      $taxable2 = (isset($item['taxable2']) && $item['taxable2'] == 1) ? 1 : 0;

      $invoice_items = array(
            'invoice_id' => htmlspecialchars($invoice_id),
            'quantity' => htmlspecialchars($item['quantity']),
            'amount' => htmlspecialchars($item['amount']),
            'work_description' => htmlspecialchars($item['work_description']),
            'taxable1' => htmlspecialchars($taxable1),
            'taxable2' => htmlspecialchars($taxable2)
           );

      $this->invoices_model->addInvoiceItem($invoice_items);
     }
    }

***********

[/bamboo_system_files/application/language/english/bamboo_lang.php]
-> Line 108:
$lang['invoice_item'] = 'Item';
$lang['invoice_item_no_tax1'] = 'GST Exempt';
$lang['invoice_item_no_tax2'] = 'PST Exempt';
$lang['invoice_last_used'] = 'last number used ';
***********

[/bamboo_system_files/application/models/invoices_model.php]
-> Line 92: ...replace the whole function...
 function getSingleInvoice($invoice_id)
 {
  $this->db->select('invoices.*, clients.name, clients.address1, clients.address2, clients.city, clients.country, clients.province, clients.website, clients.postal_code, clients.tax_code');
  $this->db->select('(SELECT SUM('.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_payments').'.amount_paid) FROM '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_payments').' WHERE '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_payments').'.invoice_id=' . $invoice_id . ') AS amount_paid', FALSE);
  $this->db->select('TO_DAYS('.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').'.dateIssued) - TO_DAYS(curdate()) AS daysOverdue', FALSE);
  $this->db->select('(SELECT SUM('.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.amount * '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.quantity) FROM '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').' WHERE '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.invoice_id=' . $invoice_id . ') AS total_notax', FALSE);
 
 
  $this->db->select('(SELECT ROUND(SUM(SubTotal_Tax1) * tax1, 3) as total_tax1
FROM (SELECT tax1, amt * qty AS SubTotal_Tax1
 FROM (SELECT '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.quantity AS qty, '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.amount AS amt, ('.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').'.tax1_rate / 100) as tax1
   FROM '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').' LEFT JOIN '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').' ON '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').'.id = '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.invoice_id WHERE '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.invoice_id =' . $invoice_id . ' AND '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.taxable1 =1 ) AS tmp_Tax_Total ) AS tmp_Total) AS total_tax1', FALSE);
 

  $this->db->select('(SELECT ROUND(SUM(SubTotal_tax2) * tax2, 3) as total_tax2
FROM (SELECT tax2, amt * qty AS SubTotal_tax2
 FROM (SELECT '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.quantity AS qty, '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.amount AS amt, ('.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').'.tax2_rate / 100) as tax2
   FROM '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').' LEFT JOIN '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').' ON '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').'.id = '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.invoice_id WHERE '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.invoice_id =' . $invoice_id . ' AND '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.taxable2 =1 ) AS tmp_Tax_Total ) AS tmp_Total) AS total_tax2', FALSE);

$this->db->select('(SELECT SUM(total_notax + COALESCE(total_tax1,0) + COALESCE(total_tax2,0))) AS total_with_tax');


  $this->db->join('clients', 'invoices.client_id = clients.id');
  $this->db->join('invoice_items', 'invoices.id = invoice_items.invoice_id', 'left');
  $this->db->join('invoice_payments', 'invoices.id = invoice_payments.invoice_id', 'left');
  $this->db->groupby('invoices.id');
  $this->db->where('invoices.id', $invoice_id);

  return $this->db->get('invoices');
 }

 // --------------------------------------------------------------------

-> Line 238:
  $this->db->select('TO_DAYS('.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').'.dateIssued) - TO_DAYS(curdate()) AS daysOverdue', FALSE);
  $this->db->select('(SELECT SUM('.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.amount * '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.quantity) FROM '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').' WHERE '.$this->db->dbprefix('invoice_items').'.invoice_id='.$this->db->dbprefix('invoices').'.id) AS subtotal', FALSE);

  $this->db->join('clients', 'invoices.client_id = clients.id');

***********

[/bamboo_system_files/application/views/invoices/edit.php]
-> Line 42:
     <th><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_work_description');?></th>
     <th><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_taxable1');?></th>
     <th><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_taxable2');?></th>
     <th><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_amount_item');?></th>
-> Line 64:
     </td>
     <td><p><label><input type="checkbox" name="items[<?php echo $item_count;?>][taxable1]" value="1" onclick="recalculate_items();" <?php if ($item->taxable1 == 1) {echo 'checked="checked" ';}?>/><span><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_taxable1');?>?</span></label></p></td>
     <td><p><label><input type="checkbox" name="items[<?php echo $item_count;?>][taxable2]" value="1" onclick="recalculate_items();" <?php if ($item->taxable2 == 1) {echo 'checked="checked" ';}?>/><span><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_taxable2');?>?</span></label></p></td>    
     <td nowrap="nowrap"><p><label><span><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_amount');?></span><?php echo $this->settings_model->get_setting('currency_symbol');?><input type="text" id="amount" name="items[<?php echo $item_count;?>][amount]" size="5" value="<?php echo $item->amount;?>" onkeyup="recalculate_items();" value="" /></label></p></td>

***********

[/bamboo_system_files/application/views/invoices/newinvoice.php]
-> Line 38:
   <th><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_work_description');?></th>
   <th><?php echo $tax1_desc;?></th>
   <th><?php echo $tax2_desc;?></th>
   <th><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_amount_item');?></th>

-> Line 54:
   </td>
   <td><p><label><input type="checkbox" name="items[1][taxable1]" value="1" onclick="recalculate_items();" <?php if ($row->tax_status) {echo 'checked="checked" ';}?>/><span><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_taxable1');?>?</span></label></p></td>
   <td><p><label><input type="checkbox" name="items[1][taxable2]" value="1" onclick="recalculate_items();" <?php if ($row->tax_status) {echo 'checked="checked" ';}?>/><span><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_taxable2');?>?</span></label></p></td>   <td nowrap="nowrap"><p><label><span><?php echo $this->lang->line('invoice_amount');?></span><?php echo $this->settings_model->get_setting('currency_symbol');?><input type="text" id="amount" name="items[1][amount]" size="5" value="0.00" onkeyup="recalculate_items();" value="" /></label></p></td>
   <td> </td>
***********

[/bamboo_system_files/application/views/invoices/view.php]
-> Line 169:
   <td><?php echo auto_typography($item->work_description);?></td>
   <td><p><?php echo $this->settings_model->get_setting('currency_symbol') . str_replace('.', $this->config->item('currency_decimal'), $item->amount);?> <?php if ($item->taxable1 == 0){echo '(' . $this->lang->line('invoice_item_no_tax1') . ')';}?>  
   <?php if ($item->taxable2 == 0){echo '(' . $this->lang->line('invoice_item_no_tax2') . ')';}?></p></td>
   <td><p><?php echo $this->settings_model->get_setting('currency_symbol') . number_format($item->quantity * $item->amount, 2, $this->config->item('currency_decimal'), '');?></p></td>
***********

[/js/createinvoice.js]
-> Line 84:
 theInput.setAttribute('type', 'checkbox');
 theInput.setAttribute('name', 'items['+item_count+'][taxable1]');

 if (taxable)

-> Line 105: ...insert the following...

 var td = document.createElement('td');
 var p = document.createElement('p');
 var label = document.createElement('label');
 var span = document.createElement('span');
 var theData = document.createTextNode(lang_taxable);
 var theInput = document.createElement('input');
 theInput.setAttribute('type', 'checkbox');
 theInput.setAttribute('name', 'items['+item_count+'][taxable2]');

 if (taxable)
 {
  theInput.setAttribute('checked', 'checked');
 }
 else
 {
  theInput.checked = false;
 }

 theInput.setAttribute('value', '1');
 theInput.setAttribute('onclick', 'recalculate_items();');
 span.appendChild(theData);
 label.appendChild(span);
 label.appendChild(theInput);
 p.appendChild(label);
 td.appendChild(p);
 row.appendChild(td);

Virus/Spyware/Trojan Removal

2009-04-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Standing on the shoulder of giants, I'm compiling the ultimate user guide to self-cleaning windows.

...some info I swiped from yahoo groups (and elaborated upon) the subject:

Firstly update and run your anti-virus product. You can also run a free online scan as well as some malware can actually corrupt or disable your resident security products.

Here are a few online scans you can run (most online scanners only run in IE, not FireFox... but some do - better to try FireFox and run as many in FF as you can b/c often the reason you HAVE a virus in the first place is because of Internet Explorer):

Trend - http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
Panda - http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/Ac...
Norton - http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp
Ewido - http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/
BitDefender - http://www.bitdefender.com/scanner/online/free.html
F-Secure - http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml (scans for rootkits!)

**Note: the best way to use these is to use MSCONFIG.EXE to clean boot with networking and nothing else... use your browser to do the scans. (And you may need to do the following procedure 2 or 3 times depending on how many times you have to reboot -- BUT ALWAYS DO IT WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO REBOOT DURING THIS ENTIRE PROCEDURE)

1) START Run MSCONFIG

2) Choose 'Diagnostic'

3) Click the "Services" tab

4) Sort by "Status" by clicking the "Status" column - now all the currently running services are listed on the top

5) One by one, click the checkbox for the following services:

Application Layer Gateway
DCOM Server Process Launcher
DHCP Client
DNS Client
COM+ Event System
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Plug and Play
Remote Access Connection Manager
System Restore Service
SSDP Discovery Service
Telephony
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Wireless Configuration OR Wireless Zero Configuration
Application Management
COM+ System Application
Windows Installer
Remote Access Auto Connection Manager

6) Finally, there might be something in the "Startup" tab which you may need to operate your computer properly (like a special mouse or keyboard) - but generally, these can all be left disabled

7) Click Ok and reboot

8) Run MSCONFIG again (it should actually pop up after you reboot) and choose "Normal" on the first tab, click OK, but DON'T REBOOT when it asks you.

**Now you are in a special mode of Windows which is set for using the internet only and making special repairs/installing special repair programs. Use this opportunity to delete temporary files, remove system restore points, scan using online scanners, etc. A good program for removing temp files is Crap Cleaner.

Second download, update and run scans using the following products:

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

Spybot S&D (free version requires manual updating)

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/downl...

AVG AntiSpyware

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5

Adaware from Lavasoft (free version requires automatic updating)

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php

(These programs can also be run in Safe Mode after downloading and updating)

Third, after cleaning your system, disable System Restore, reboot and re-enable System Restore when you log back on. This will clear the malware that may still be lurking in System Restore, which could be reinstalled should you need to rollback at some point.

Additionally, a reboot may be required to complete the malware removal process.

Lastly, you may also want to install these tools. They are free and target specific infection locations and protect the computer BEFORE an infection occurs.

SpywareBlaster (inoculates, not a spyware removal tool)

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

---===---

Nortons' instructions for removing malware (this references a particular one I think, but the process is similiar)

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines.

Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP).
Update the virus definitions.
Run a full system scan and delete all the files detected.
Delete any values added to the registry.
Edit the Win.ini file.
Edit the System.ini file.
Clear the Temporary Internet Files folder.

For specific details on each of these steps, read the following instructions.

1. To disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP)
If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP, we recommend that you temporarily turn off System Restore. Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

For instructions on how to turn off System Restore, read your Windows documentation, or one of the following articles:
How to disable or enable Windows Me System Restore
How to turn off or turn on Windows XP System Restore

Note: When you are completely finished with the removal procedure and are satisfied that the threat has been removed, reenable System Restore by following the instructions in the aforementioned documents.

For additional information, and an alternative to disabling Windows Me System Restore, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Antivirus Tools Cannot Clean Infected Files in the _Restore Folder (Article ID: Q263455).

2. To update the virus definitions
Symantec Security Response fully tests all the virus definitions for quality assurance before they are posted to our servers. There are two ways to obtain the most recent virus definitions:
Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions: These virus definitions are posted to the LiveUpdate servers once each week (usually on Wednesdays), unless there is a major virus outbreak. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by LiveUpdate, refer to Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate).
Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted daily. You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by the Intelligent Updater, refer to Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater).

The latest Intelligent Updater virus definitions can be obtained here: Intelligent Updater virus definitions. For detailed instructions read the document: How to update virus definition files using the Intelligent Updater.

3. To scan for and delete the infected files
Start your Symantec antivirus program and make sure that it is configured to scan all the files.
For Norton AntiVirus consumer products: Read the document: How to configure Norton AntiVirus to scan all files.
For Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise products: Read the document: How to verify that a Symantec Corporate antivirus product is set to scan all files.
Run a full system scan.
If any files are detected, take note of the file names, and click Delete.

If the infected files are detected in the \Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5, due to the design of the operating system, you will not be able to delete them. Write down the entire path and file name and clear the Temporary Internet Files Folder at the end of the removal instructions.

Important: If you are unable to start your Symantec antivirus product or the product reports that it cannot delete a detected file, you may need to stop the risk from running in order to remove it. To do this, run the scan in Safe mode. For instructions, read the document, How to start the computer in Safe Mode. Once you have restarted in Safe mode, run the scan again.

After the files are deleted, restart the computer in Normal mode and proceed with the next section.

Warning messages may be displayed when the computer is restarted, since the threat may not be fully removed at this point. You can ignore these messages and click OK. These messages will not appear when the computer is restarted after the removal instructions have been fully completed. The messages displayed may be similar to the following:

Title: [FILE PATH]
Message body: Windows cannot find [FILE NAME]. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.

4. To delete the value from the registry
Important: Symantec strongly recommends that you back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified subkeys only. For instructions refer to the document: How to make a backup of the Windows registry.

Click Start > Run.
Type regedit
Click OK.

Note: If the registry editor fails to open the threat may have modified the registry to prevent access to the registry editor. Security Response has developed a tool to resolve this problem. Download and run this tool, and then continue with the removal.

Navigate to the subkeys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
RunServices
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

In the right pane, delete any value that refers to a file that was detected during the scan.

Exit the Registry Editor.

5. To edit the Win.ini file
WARNING: The following steps instruct you to remove the text from the run= line of the Win.ini file. If you are using older programs, they may load at startup from one of these lines. If you are sure that the text contained in these lines is for the programs that you normally use, then we suggest that you do not remove it.

If you are running Windows 95/98/Me, follow these steps:

Click Start > Run.
Type the following:

edit c:\windows\win.ini

and then click OK.

(The MS-DOS Editor opens.)

NOTE: If Windows is installed in a different location, make the appropriate path substitution.

In the [windows] section of the file, look for a line similar to:

run=[TROJAN FILE NAME]

Note: [TROJAN FILE NAME] refers to the file name detected during the scan.

If this line exists, delete everything to the right of run=

Click File > Save.
Click File > Exit.

6. To edit the System.ini file
If you are running Windows 95/98/Me, follow these steps:
Click Start > Run.
Type the following:

edit c:\windows\system.ini

and then click OK.

(The MS-DOS Editor opens.)

NOTE: If Windows is installed in a different location, make the appropriate path substitution.

In the [boot] section of the file, look for a line similar to:

shell = Explorer.exe [TROJAN FILE NAME]

Note: [TROJAN FILE NAME] refers to the file name detected during the scan.

If this line exists, delete everything to the right of Explorer.exe.

When you are done, it should look like:

shell = Explorer.exe

Click File > Save.
Click File > Exit.

7. To clear the Temporary Internet Files folder, if required
Log on to the computer using the name that was shown in the path that you wrote down in the scan and delete infected files section.

For example, if the path was:

C:\Documents and Setting\Linda\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\qrwmqczd.dll

log on to the computer as Linda.

Start Internet Explorer.
Click Tools > Internet Options.
In the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete Files button.
Check Delete all offline content, and then click OK.

Online Storage Awesomeness

2009-03-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

There are several free online backup solutions. You can even search around for comparison tables, but let me break it down real simple for your here.

iDrive I like, that's fun. And then there's this new one called DropBox. Now, it's still in beta, but it has some very cool features... Here I have a link for you for an extra 250mb of space in your free account:

https://www.getdropbox.com/link/21.b22t0S0Ykx

What's great about a free DropBox is that it's an easy way to sync between multiple computer systems; Like your Mac at home, your PC at work, your girlfriends laptop (via snazzy web interface or portable USB app). You got public links, drag and drop, encryption, the whole 9yards. Check out their site.

And now that you've got your shiny new dropbox account, do some cool stuff with it:

http://wiki.getdropbox.com/TipsAndTricks
http://tutorialsandtrivia.blogspot.com/2009/02/carrying-around-my-dropbox-on-removable.html
http://lifehacker.com/5154698/sync-files-and-folders-outside-your-my-dropbox-folder
http://lifehacker.com/5175362/start-bittorrent-downloads-at-home-from-any-computer-with-dropbox

Screaming Deamon Laptop

2008-12-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

Now *this* is not your grandmothers' laptop. (Funny story though, I put it together for someone's grandmother -- true story).

The requirements:

Fast
Long battery
Lightweight

Okay, so like Cost/Time/Quality -- pick your favourite two.

Check out this vid of the laptop booting up in under 20 seconds...

Here's a heavy beast that wollops a big punch.

The OCZ DIY17A2-DM88XT

Couple that with an Intel Core2 Duo 2.1Ghz processor, some OCZ 1333Mhz RAM and two OCZ Core Series II Solid State Drives (flash technology, no moving parts) and you got yourself a screamer. Of course, you have to put it together yourself, but you save a bunch of dough (comparitively speaking).

Here's how she gets put together:

First: sprawl out yer gear

Next: ditch the manual.. (RTFM my ass)

Gather all the peices, start putting together.

mount HDDs in their cradles..

a gentle pop-out with your McGyver tool

Brain goes here... note the "locked" and "unlocked" switch

now, there was one final requirement for this laptop which was unavoidable in my quest to find the speediest of laptops at a bareable price point. XP.

No Vista please.

After some fighting and cursing and scouring the forums at http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/ - I've finally got the bitch humming on XP. Here's how:

(This is sort of an addendum to D111's post found here: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47942.)

two notes: I didn't update the bios, call me chicken, but if there's a need to I may -- and after this, you're left with 5 "unknown device"'s in the dev mgr... from what I can tell they relate to the quick buttons above the function keys (which no one uses anyway)

...on to the goods.

I always use an nLite'd install DVD anyway, so that's where I'll start. NOTE: looks like if you slipstream SP3, then you also need to include the KB888111 MS UAA High Definition sound driver package for the sound to work. Download it, extract the files from the .EXE file and at step 1 when you integrate drivers, also integrate the single driver files from the extracted "Common Files" folder...

1. Slipstream SP3 and BTS drivers into your fav. flavour of XP

* get drivers from driverpack.net, extract all into one "\driverstore", insert "multiple driver folder" while nLite'ing

* ensure you select the TXT mode drivers when nLite prompts you about them, just select them all, this boot disc will come in handy for other computer (re)installs

* burn on slowest speed... don't be using yer hdd too much while you burn either!

2. setup your RAID first if need be, THEN check your boot order in bios (reboot between)

3. boot up the DVD and do your install (hopefully you auto-attended it in step 1, so you can grab a coffee now -- but not too long, full install on striped set of OCZ Core Series II SSD takes about 15min)

4. On first boot, let XP try to install your unknown devices, and just tell it not to try anymore when it fails

5. Pop in your OCZ Vista driver CD, go through the Vista32 folder and subsequent sub folders and extract all the zip files into meaningful names on your desktop (vga, chipset, fingerprint, et al)

6. download the omega driver pack as per D111's link

6.a) now, I did another step here in my troubleshooting, so, this may (not) be necessary... I selected the unknown VGA driver in dev mgr and did an "Update driver" and pointed it at the 2kXPinf folder from the extracted omega download (use 7Zip to extract the files from the .EXE)

7. Install the omega driver (PCIe, all other defaults are good)

8. update the driver for the bluetooth, point it at the extracted bluetooth ZIP under Win32\brcm
9. update the WLAN driver, point at RealTek (XP folder or something as obvious)

10. run the installs (usually setup.exe) for all the following (mostly extracted from the ZIP files) --- oh, and reboot as necessary.. better safe than sorry.

Chipset (Intel)

eSata (RAID ..?)

TV Tuner (aver media)

CardReader (RICOH)

TouchPad (synaptics)

FingerPrint (VitaKey)

Webcam (WebMate... its just the App, the driver already works... so, use your own program or the cute little util what comes with)

Now, it seems that without Media Center Edition or one of those Vista ver. with MCE built-in you won't get rid of the unknown device "eHome Infrared Transceiver"

Otherwise, Bob is your uncle. :)

I hate limited trials

2008-12-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Especially when you go to download them and they DON'T INFORM YOU OF THE LIMITATION.

This happened with an O&O trial product or something like that where I was trying to recover lost files and it scans the whole drive, shows you the results and when you click the save button "Oh, sorry, you can only save 5 small files in this trial version".

Do a good job with a first impression and earn my respect... don't blackmail me. I'm more inclined to promote and/or donate/purchase in that case.

So, anyway this happened with "Reasonable No Clone FREE Edition" -- yeah, free edition my ass.

Anyhooters, I am impressed with the following freeware products when managing my massive MP3 collection:

MP3Tag
MP3-Tag Studio
Duplicate Music Files Finder

Oh, and as more of these programs come to light I'm going to list them here. Of particular disgust is ArcSoft Print Creations... my wife used this old Broderbund program for the past few years to make calendars of the kids for family at xmas. So she's all impressed with the ease of use and the fun templates with this program she downloaded (ArcSoft). She spent a whack load of time getting a couple of different calendars together and just when she's ready to print...

"A watermark will appear on your printouts unless you activate your software."

BLACKMAIL!

very distasteful.

Watch what link you click -- it could be your last

2008-12-01T23:10:00.000-08:00

My brother-in-law, god bless his soul, told me he F***'d up his wife's computer by looking for a wiring diagram online. "Pardon?" says I. "No shit" says he.

Sure enough he got into a little trouble, innocently enough... luckily the Bitdefender I installed on their PC thwarted the baddie forthright.

What happens when you do a little Google search, and click the first result...

Another reason why Chrome is quickly becoming my new recommended browser (esp. for n00bz)

Google is nice enough to give us some info on this site by clicking the link in the warning page:

Advisory provided by

Safe Browsing

Diagnostic page for full-antivirus-scan.com

What is the current listing status for full-antivirus-scan.com?

Site is listed as suspicious - visiting this web site may harm your computer.
Part of this site was listed for suspicious activity 1 time(s) over the past 90 days.

What happened when Google visited this site?

Of the 52 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 0 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2008-12-01, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2008-12-01.
Malicious software includes 1014 adware(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 0 new processes on the target machine.

Has this site acted as an intermediary resulting in further distribution of malware?

Over the past 90 days, full-antivirus-scan.com did not appear to function as an intermediary for the infection of any sites.

Has this site hosted malware?

Yes, this site has hosted malicious software over the past 90 days. It infected 595 domain(s), including alfonseca.org/, shbair.com/, rnsmessina.it/.

How did this happen?

In some cases, third parties can add malicious code to legitimate sites, which would cause us to show the warning message.

Next steps:

Return to the previous page.
If you are the owner of this web site, you can request a review of your site using GoogleWebmaster Tools. More information about the review process is available in Google'sWebmaster Help Center.

Except, the only virus on your computer that you will have is this one you're about to download by clicking ANYWHERE in the screen (the popup is just an image with a link associated with it to download this file)

So, who do we have to thank for this? Looks like our dear friend Ivan again. Oh Ivan.

Domain name: full-antivirus-scan.com

full-antivirus-scan.com (74.86.200.144)
	74.86.0.0 - 74.86.255.255 SoftLayer Technologies Inc. 1950 N Stemmons Freeway Dallas, TX US
	74.86.200.144 - 74.86.200.151 SixtyClear 30 Apollo Drive Bordon, GB

As you can see, the range is owned by SoftLayer... virtual hosting company. The IP in question seems to be registered to SixtyClear, located in Great Britian. ??

Linksys QuickVPN Hell - VPN client connection troubles SOLVED

2008-12-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

This post is about XP (sp3) so if you have vista, well, you have bigger problems... Pfft... vista. garbage. Can someone say Windows Millenium Edition?

VPN troubleshooting from Linksys website led me nowhere.

was getting the error "failed to establish a connection" -- which led me to investigate the router's log files:
[VPN Log]: Changing to directory '/etc/ipsec.d/crls'
[VPN Log]: Warning: empty directory
[VPN Log]: shutting down

The RVS4000 and WRVS4400 like other enterprise grade network appliances are based on Linux and open source server software. These Cisco born bad-boys use the Openswan VPN helper ("Openswan is an implementation of IPsec for Linux" - www.openswan.org)

so, this led me to believe (after some googling) that the Cert file was missing client side. Not only that, but the cert on the router itself was the default one, soooo, I thought I should like to "Generate" a new one from the VPN setup section. On the same page, you can "Export Client" cert. file... did that, saved into the client %ProgramFiles%\Linksys\Linksys VPN Client

So that got me past the generic "failed to establish a connection" because "incorrect password" or "no valid IP for the network card" error.

so then I'm getting "The remote gateway is not responding. Do you want to wait?" at the step for "Verifying Network"

Then some reading into the scathes of other linksys users experiencing the same problems... and wouldn't you know... remove any/all VPN software was a suggestion. Hmmm.. how about those outgoing and incoming Windows networking VPN connections I had been using previous to the purchase of this devlish router? Delete them you say? Sure I did bad boy.

EXTRA NOTE: reboot the router often... like between configin' things... it will sometimes make changes without needing a reboot... unplug and plug back in anyway... and reboot the client PC between major bouts of connection failing.

Anyway, the readers digest on how to get this to work:

Install latest firmware from Linksys for RVS4000 (RVS4000_v1.2.11_fw.img at the time of writing)
Reset to factory defaults
DON'T RESTORE SETTINGS (trust me... well, try it yourself, and you'll see... best to start from scratch)
Disable "Block WAN Request" (needed? at one point the log files client side were saying "could not ping VPN router" or something... oh, and I also disabled Multicast... I think)
Uninstall any other VPN software clients and connections from Network Connections
Install latest version of QuickVPN - hard to find on the Linksys website, I couldn't do it again if I tried.
Change IP range on Router to 10.0.0.x (or any subnet that isn't the same as client connections... any/all possible client connections)
For testing, disable any firewalls (espicially Windows XP Firewall)
For DNS name resolution to work, enter your domain name and IP in the DNS suffix order of the TCP/IP properties of your client's NIC (network card) or use LMHOSTS
Try setting MTU to 1300 or 1400
Verify it works
One by one, turn on the other settings you'd like to use and config the router the way you want, all the while testing the VPN connection from remote location (I use VNC to control a PC outside the LAN... u could just as easy put a box in the DMZ if you're so inclined)

This is scary

2008-11-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

This addon for Firefox allows you to export your passwords and usernames for websites. Which, is great, and I have the use for it, but, if this addon can access my passwords and usernames, then what's stopping any other addon from doing the same thing... and potentially report this information back to a 3rd party.

Scary.

HOW TO: Securing your wireless network

2008-11-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

When Wi-Fi routers hit the street, people generally left them wide open, allowing anyone to compromise their network and their personal information.

Nowadays, most wireless networks are secured from intrusion using built-in security called encryption. The default (historically) of which is WEP - which is crackable. The next level up is WPA/TKIP, which is now crackable.

So, do these things:

change the default password on your router

make your SSID something ubiquitous if you MUST use it

disable SSID broadcasting alltogether!

use WPA-AES or higher encryption... in this order: WPA-AES (Personal) WPA-XXXX (Enterprise, requires a RADIUS server)

use a strong password

disable remote router administration

disable router administration via wireless

utilize the MAC filter option

turn on SPI and other firewall features

always use https with sensitive websites

have a good software firewall

Excel shows formula instead of result value

2008-10-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

This is mostly for me, because, if I don't write something down, I forget about it. You may find this useful, but there's a lot of talk on the internets aboot this problem (is it a *problem* though?). Note that this post is for when F9 or CTRL+~ does nothing for you.

Situation:
You modify or create a worksheet in Excel and when entering a formula like =1+1 you get "=1+1" displayed instead of "2"

Problem:
Excel is formatting that cell as "Text" and therefore doesn't care what you type in there, it's going to display what you typed, litterally.

Solution:
If your cell value is linked in any way (external data, or from another worksheet or cell) then ensure that the linked cell and the cell in question are both formatted as "General" or something other than "Text". Then edit the cell that is displaying the formula rather than the result, and replace the "=" with "=" -- yes, you read that right, trust me.

Blamm-o, you're good to go.

SpiceWorks & the future of Free Swag

2008-10-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

Note to self, download this and test it out... http://www.spiceworks.com/product/

Has anyone used this? Leave me a comment!

I like that software companies are coming up with new ways to compete in this open source market. Embedding ads is a great way to generate revenue (if they're paid by impressions and not clicks - b/c I ignore any ad I see... usually).

Magnus has a good product too that he gives for free with a banner along the top... MP3 Studio - my life would be shite without it... and I'm too cheap to buy any software that can be had for $0.00

The speed of the internet

2008-09-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

I love how fast the internet moves. People are constantly clamoring to be the first at something or other. It helps to push boundries me thinks. But can also lead to jump first, look for questions later.

I said in my previous post that Chrome wasn't for power users.. although I stil hold that to be true, there is a gleam of light. Anywhey.. Leave it to LifeHacker to come up with a decent power user guide to Chrome... which incidentally, I am using more of. And now that I've found this guide, I'll be using it even more methinks.

Chromelicious... a little undercooked though

2008-09-07T00:11:00.001-07:00

Google Chrome is out in Beta. You probably heard that. And it's FAST...boy, I'll tell you. "Hey Madge, I'm blogging in it." But it doesn't clean dishes.

The "Create Application Shortcuts" is a nice touch (make GMail a shortcut on your desktop and have it isolated from the rest of your browsing when run).

It's missing features obviously (most notably a 'master password' feature) but these will come with time.

Rendering is a bit buggy... for instance, Google Calendar items don't stretch and move with the days when you resize the window.

Tab isolation (each window/tab has it's own 'core' program so as not to crash everything else when one window blows up) is a REAAAAL slick feature.. .but, since I'm on FireFox I don't see a lot of that.

I'm not migrating to Chrome just yet... its quick mind you... on my x64 box it runs nice... but FF3 is still ahead of the game... for now.

Oh, and the minimalistic title bar conflicts with my Winamp "Window Shade(R)" placement in the centre of my screen at the top. That really needs to be an option to change. You can see, the translucent winamp docked at the middle/top of my screen and with Chrome maximized, it covers all the tabs... <geek_note> I have my start bar on the right b/c this is my x64 host for XP virtual machines... with my VMWare proggy maximized, I get my virtual machines' START button in the lower right hand corner where it belongs. My x64 *was* interchangable with Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon but I had some video card problems which were show stoppers - and, I must say, x64 - like its fraternal twin 2003 server - is light, solid, and impressive... for windows. It also handles my 4GB of RAM, but doesn't handle all apps very well, hence the VMs... two for me, one for my wifey. Now, what did I do with my Hardy Heron disc...??? </geek_note>

My other big complaint is that it's actually "too simple". I'm sure with age will come customization and tweaking... but, for now, if all I wanted to do was point and click I'd be happy... but I'm a power user, and I require control. Try it out for yourself... see if you like it.

...lates

LOL

2008-08-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

I was trying to find out how osCommerce hashes its passwords so that I can convert clients backend to ColdFusion.

During my investigation, I found this:

I rotfl for a bit... then came to the awful realization that I am an ubergeek.

Windows, in windows, in windows... in windows.

2008-08-13T00:53:00.001-07:00

I forget exactly *why* I was doing this (perhaps to test external citrix connectivity?) but while I was doing it, I realized how insane it was.

Here you see, I am sitting at a computer (clients) with dual monitors... running VNC to connect to my computer at home (which, incidentally was a VM inside a Win64 host) and then in turn connecting back to the same office via Citrix. Once connected to Citrix I used Remote Desktop Connection to control one of the servers, which, in turn was hosting a Virtual Machine itself.

So, Windows, connecting to another flavour of Windows running inside Windows, while connecting to another flavour of Windows with Windows running inside it.

Did you follow that?

Its important to note that this was not on purpose... the recursion could have run much deeper; I was doing this because it suit my purpose. I just thought it was weird.

Local Radio Personality Turns Up the Heat on Government

2008-07-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

An interesting example of social networking and collaboration. Edge 102.1 CFNY in Toronto lets their DJs talk about pretty much damn near anything. DJ Barry Taylor (blog) chooses as of late to discuss such issues as "...corruption in traditional American media...". Particularly poignent recently is his discussion on the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car". To which produced an email invitation to Transportation Minister James Bradley regarding the ZENN motorvehicle.

You can read more about the governments (lack of) response and the car itself from this blog post.

Way to go Barry, and this show's to go you that the people are getting involved... you cannot stop the bum rush.

Neat stuff

2008-07-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

I've been interested in the origins of man and the mysteries of the Universe since I first read a book on Archeology. That's when I got the bug. After that it was on to reading "The destruction of Atlantis" and watching "Journey of Man" by Dr. Spencer Wells.

Since, I've researched everything from crystal skulls, to telepathy, orogone, zero point energy and quantum mechanics. (Ooo, see the movie "What the #@*! do we know?")

I could go on an on and on... but just look up some stuff... even if you can only believe 1/10th of what you read on the internet, there's some very disconcerting truths out there that the masses are not privy to. Spread knowledge. Spread truth.

Here's a search to help... try searching for "pyramids" or "aliens" - esp. the tall blond haired, blue-eyed ones. ;)

Bill, Bill, Bill...

2008-07-03T00:12:00.000-07:00

I saw something like this previously, but what caught my attention this time was not that Microsoft was advertising on their website, but that the advertisement was on a product (presumably that you pay for) from a third party that is designed to fix the inherent problems with XP.

BAWAWWAAHWHAHAHWHA...

Don't get me wrong Bill, I make a living off of fixing XP for home users and small business... but you have so much money, do you really need to ADVERTISE on your website. Tacky. I make like 1/10000 of what you do in a year and don't advertise on my web site (well, here on this bloggy-blog I do, but not on my *real* websites :)

Not to mention the dodginess of the ad - I didn't even dare click the link... I'd have to reboot into Linux just to be safe, which would mean pausing my Virtual Machines, restarting my drum and bass shoutcast stream in KPlayer (does that even work? Ooo, I smell another blog post coming on) and I'm just too lazy (errr, ahh, busy) to do that right now.

The only reason I'm not in Ubuntu right now is b/c 3D display drivers was a hassle the first time and I haven't had the time to install the new 8.x Ubunutu Hardy Heron.

Don't ask

2008-03-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

My friend - you're dead.
Body listless and devoid of life; no aura, no magnetic field.
No spark or presence left at all.
You consciousness has transcended this reality into a higher vibrational frequency.
Yet, your effect, your life... residual - it lasts.
Always. Forever. Through eternity.
Vibrating... at the speed of love.

Current Registrar:		BIZCN.COM, INC.
IP Address:		74.86.200.144 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)
Lock Status:		clientDeleteProhibited
DMOZ		no listings
Data as of:		14-Jun-2005