VoicesInMyHead
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Posts posted by VoicesInMyHead
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You're suggesting that these anti-virus software will keep everyone nice and safe so long as they're updated. But in order for them to be updated to protect against a certain virus or trojan (or whatever), doesn't someone have to get hit first?
Not necessarily. Anti-virus and anti-malware applications nowadays have very accurate heuristic scanning, which analyzes the program code for design patterns that are indicative of something malicious. In addition to that, applications like Norton Internet Security also perform behavioral and risk analysis. Using algorithms that their engineers design and maintain, it analyzes hundreds of properties and attributes about an application to rank it as a risk. And based on this, it can more closely scrutinize (or flat out prevent) the program's behaviors (like network access, disk access, and so-on). Using networks of millions of users, they are able to very accurately rank pretty much ALL known safe software... anything else gets ranked higher by virtue of it being unknown.
And, of course, there are virus patterns, which they constantly are on the lookout for. But even that is often done with what is called "honey pots", which are computers on the Internet whose only job is to be open and accesible to infection. These computers get heavily infested, and are then analyzed to see what the latest threats are before they spread much further. Norton Internet Security streams updates out constantly... every 5 minutes or so, so you're never more than 5 minutes old on signatures and patterns.
It takes money to create protection this strong. That's why paid-subscription-type security software is able to deliver it and do it well. You're never going to get that kind of protection from something that's free. Never.
Besides... take a good hard look at the cost of these applications. On sale, after rebates (many of which are instant rebates nowadays), some of the best protection costs just $70 a year. That's about $6.00 a month... A dollar and some change a week. Surely, your important data, photographs, email, documents, and so on is worth just paltry cents a day, right?
Mine certainly is. I make a living off of the data I have stored on my computers. I wouldn't trust it to anything but the absolute best.
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The key is to run a tip-top machine with good, purchased anti-virus and anti-mailware before getting an infection.
And, dude... serious... Vista is one of the best things you can do for the security of your PC. Trust me... I write software for a living. Unlike most, have to actually understand how this stuff works... the nuts and bolts of it... and not just listen to the mass hysteria.
Here... take a look at the Windows Vista Security Guide on Microsoft's TechNet site. (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb629420.aspx). This is a very long and very technical read... not for the faint at heart. But, if you understand it, you will walk away with a much greater appreciation of what Vista and IE7 do to protect you. Somewhere in this will be the <palm-on-the-forehead>"Now, I get it!" moment.... I promise you.
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IE7, Vista, Norton Internet Security 2009 here. As usual, no infection nor am I the slightest bit worried about the latest in a long string of "omg! a nasty virus blah blah blah" internet "warnings".
If you guys had real, dependable, subscribed and updated anti-virus and anti-malware software along with the latest patches, and practiced safe computing, you could be like me... a happy, uninfected, and productive computer user.
Once again... you get what you pay for.
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I agree, Five Guys are da bomb.
(Side story: Just last week, a co-worker asked if I wanted Five Guys. I said, "Sure... as long as they're gentle." Much laughter followed.)
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I don't see anything wrong with the idea.
I mean, think about it. Do you think a nutjob who is going to shoot the place up is going to take the time to get a concealed permit anyway? Of course not. He's going to shoot the place up regardless.
With the new law, the nutjob knows he might meet resistance. If anything, this could DECREASE the chance of a shooting in a church.
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Three computers running IE7 on Windows XP Home SP3 here at the house... no problems. Ever.
One computer running IE7 on Windows Vista SP1 here at the house... no problems. Ever.
One virtual machine running IE7 on Windows 7 Beta here at the house... no problems. Ever.
One virtual machine running IE7 on Windows XP Professional SP3 here at the house... no problems. Ever.
Four software development workstations running IE7 on Windows XP Professional SP3 at work... no problems. Ever.
One virtual machine running IE7 on Windows XP Professional SP3 at work... no problems. Ever.
One virtual machine running IE7 on Windows Vista Enterprise SP1 at work... no problems. Ever.
There's a pattern here. Heavily used computers, all running IE7, with no issues. It's NOT a failure of Internet Explorer or Windows.
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Subby:
There is something wrong with IE 7 ... Think of it like a canoe that had a hole in it. Some one gets a cork and its fixed.
Now, because IE7, with at one time 95 percent penetration worldwide, was the most visible and forward part of the 'Microsoft monopoly,' imagine the canoe analogy again and think of all the hackers in the world as native American's sitting on the bank throwing arrows in the side of the canoe.
Sure, five, ten, even twenty five holes can be easily fixed with the cork plug ... but were're talking a true Clint Eastwood gauntlet and thousands upon thousands of assaults on the browser platform by MS.
Ultimately - and it does depend on the computer and other aspects - but IE 7 just starts sinking under the load. Just too many plugs to too many holes.
pubby
Oh, brother.
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It's called promotion. You, I, and every other red-blooded American owns a stake in Bank of America, now. I don't know about you, but I want them to succeed and become viable again. They're not going to become that sitting quiet in the corner.
Get out there and peddle your wares, BoA. Become strong again, and pay me back the money I loaned to you (forcefully, I might add).
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all women are beautiful in some way. guaranteed. it might be a beautiful face, a beautiful body, a beautiful mind, a beautiful heart, or what have you.
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MP3ROCKET.COM
$29.00 for lifetime membership
* sigh *
MP3ROCKET = Gnutella = file sharing network = illegal song distribution
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They made it clear that the rebate is not taxed, while your refund is.
If you're saying that your tax refund is taxable, that is also incorrect.
Neither the tax rebate nor federal tax refund is taxable. Your STATE tax refund from the previous year IS taxable on your federal taxes.
Good grief... I'd like the Fair Tax just to eliminate this insanity.
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Clearly, privatization of the peanut butter industry has failed us. It's time for the government to step in and take over the peanut butter industry. After all, Daschle said, "you can't professionalize unless you federalize".
I mean, if there's any industry where the government would fit right in it would be the goober industry, right?
United States Department of Goobers
Of course, that would confuse people... they are ALL departments of goobers.
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The 2008 stimulus check is NOT taxable income, folks. It was a computed rebate of the taxes you would have paid for the rest of the 2008 tax year. If, by chance, your income increased during 2008 to a point where you would have had a tax increase greater than that of the rebate, then yeah... you're going to owe it back. In that case, it was a rebate that you weren't really entitled to in the end.
But in any case, that rebate is NOT additional taxable income. Your gross income did not change due to that rebate check. It was simply taxes returned to you that you would have paid throughout the year. A tax cut in advance.
If your tax preparer told you that it is taxable, fire your tax preparer and find someone who knows what they're talking about.
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I invested money in my own pulse oximeter to measure the oxygen saturation in the blood (you've seen the little red light they tape to your finger at the hospital?... that's a pulse oximeter) and a pediatrician-quality stethoscope, along with an audio course on pediatric lung sounds. There are medical supply companies where you can buy them. Some are expensive, others aren't.
Using these tools, I can accurately determine whether my child is having a true breathing problem or just a nuisance cough/wheezing/chest congestion event. And most times, it's nothing more than a nuisance issue... not a medical problem.
Here are the places I have used to purchase our equipment. Good folks with good prices.
Southeastern Medical Supply - Pulse Oximeters
Redding Medical Supply - Littman Pediatric Stethoscope
Redding Medical - Littman 'Learning Lung Sounds' Audio Course
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Albuterol is WAY over-prescribed around here. It's used as a crutch for temporary discomforts. The side-effects (tachycardia, hypertension, immunosupressancy) do not warrant its use in most cases. If a child or adult truly has chronic asthma, it can be helpful... but simple chest congestion and wheezing is NOT chronic asthma, and albuterol shouldn't be prescribed... yet the doctors in the Atlanta area continue to do it.
If you were to talk to pediatricians outside of the southeast and tell them your child was on an albuterol nebulizer, they'd look at you like you had lobsters coming out of your ears.
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I think I'll just let you folks wonder about mine.
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What is the difference between them and F-18's?
Well, first off, the F/A-18 is Navy and the F-22 is Air Force.
But, to be more specific, the F-22 can go further and faster on a tank of fuel, employs stealth to help prevent detection (something the F/A-18 doesn't have), and has weapons systems that (by industry articles) make it much easier for a pilot to concentrate on flying and less on shooting. From articles I have read, the F-22 can engage many more targets simultaneously than any other aircraft... and can do it without even being detected.
A few things I've read:
- The F-22 enters an area and passively listens for radar from other aircraft, thereby remaining "invisible". It uses an array of radar antennas that are positioned all around the aircraft in all directions, giving the F-22 a 3-dimensional picture of radar sources
- The F-22 shares this data gathering with other F-22's in the area. Using trangulation from the data from all of the other F-22's, it can detect the location and range of all of the aircraft
- Using short bursts, the F-22 can aim a very tight radar beam directly at one of those targets to identify the type of aircraft. While this quickly shows that an F-22 is in the area, it is for such a short time that enemy weapons systems can't determine the range or direction of the F-22. The enemy knows something is there at that point, but doesn't know where it's going. (At that point, it doesn't matter because they're about to be downed anyway.)
- Knowing the type, the direction, and range, the F-22 can make the decision on which of the detected targets is the more immediate threat... something other aircraft can't determine for the pilot
- When the pilot decides to engage, the F-22 can select an appropriate weapon, the appropriate angle of attack, and the appropriate range to avoid detection, all without the pilot needing to know the details
- The F-22 does all of this for multiple targets while maintaining complete stealth
If the articles are right (and there's no reason to think they're not), then this is one incredibly lethal aircraft... a definite asset to our defense and offense. It is not only highly effective but also keeps the pilots well out of the danger of the enemy.
Gone are the days where pilots fly into an area, shoot, and hope they're not caught. The F-22 is so much more than that.
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That is what I was trying to say yesterday and then I get called a Moron the question was "Malfunctioning" traffic light.
And then we want to blame the north for being polite and treat it like a four way. Lets say this was to happen on 278 and 92
The yellow is flashing for 92 and you are 30 cars back on 278 west bound at 5pm. Bet you would be happy to see it being treated as a four way stop then. There is a difference in a regular flashing traffic light and a Malfunctioning one and common courtesy on the road ways goes a lot further
then the road rage "I am the only one in a hurry"
I have heard the radio traffic dudes and dudettes use the following descriptions:
"The traffic light at blah and blah is malfunctioning"
"The traffic light at blah and blah is on the blink"
"The traffic light at blah and blah is out"
Out of those three statements, only the last one indicates the light is totally out. Consequently, I've only heard the last one followed by "Treat it as a four-way-stop."
To answer your comments directly, though, I disagree. The reaction to a flashing signal should never change, no matter why it is flashing. Here's why. You and I know that 278 at 92 is normally not flashing. But, someone from out of town comes through and sees it flashing. You think we should stop and take turns because it's "not normal". The out-of-towner, however, has no basis to make that decision. He has no reference as to whether that light is always flashing or is just broken. There should be no question about it. (Hence the law!)
The same goes for new intersections. Often, they will put up lights and set them to flash. Does that mean that people should now stop at the flashing yellow light? It's not broken... it's set that way on purpose.
And what about other instances of flashing yellow signals? In many smaller towns, traffic signals switch from the normal green/yellow/red cycle to flashing at night because there is no need for traffic control at night. Does that mean that they should just stop? Of course not.
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I'm in the "no payment = no power" camp. He should have paid the bills.
Incidentally, many states (Georgia included) have laws that prevent the disconnection of an energy source when the temperature is forecast to be below a certain point within a certain number of days after the scheduled disconnection date.
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The blame for the "stop at a flashing yellow light" syndrome can be directly attributed to the morning and afternoon traffic reporters on the radio. They will often say:
"A traffic light is out at the intersection of blah and blah, treat it as a four-way stop"
Their statement is true, but what listeners fail to pick up on is the key phrase "traffic light is out". A blinking yellow light does not mean the traffic light is out.
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The Joint Strike Fighter is not a smaller version of the F-22 Raptor. The two aircraft have very different roles. The F-22 Raptor is designed to get in first, clear the air and ground of threats to following aircraft, and then get out... much like the F-15 Strike Eagle it will be replacing. The JSF is more of a tactical fighter, designed to go into the areas that the F-22 has cleared and do the grunt work of the mission, much like the F-16 Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, and AV-8B Harrier it will be replacing. The JSF is also designed to be a common platform with similar if not identical systems between the three variants that will be produced.
The F-22 Raptor is essential, considering the F-15 Strike Eagles are getting very old and are beginning to be out-matched by the likes of Russia's Su-27 Flanker, MiG-29 Fulcrum, and the newer Su-47 Berkut (an experimental Russian fighter that is a glimpse of things to come).
While the Raptor and JSF both benefit from refined stealth technologies, they are very different aircraft.
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I support keeping the manufacture of the F-22 Raptor going, but not because I care about "saving jobs".
Keeping a multi-billion dollar spending program going for the sake of "saving jobs" is careless and foolish.
Keeping a multi-billion dollar spending program going for the sake of maintaining and improving our defensive and offensive capabilities is wise and prudent.
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I used Bio-Spira a few years ago while setting tank up. I remember the results being ok--it didn't speed the cycle up as fast for me as it apparently did for you (I know results seem to vary). I think the main thing keeping me from using it again is the price tag.
I am familiar with liveaquaria.com, however, the shipping costs are the biggest barrier for me--I can't justify the shipping cost for a few dollars of fish.
I appreciate your input!
Yeah, the Bio-Spira wasn't cheap. But, I wanted to do that rather than get filter media from a tank whose cleanliness I may not know about... I didn't want to get an infection or anything setup in the new tank.
LiveAquaria.com is a bit more expensive than just buying local, but their specimens were in such good shape and health. I was severely impressed with their quality. They were hearty, strong, healthy, and active.
Good luck with the tank!
head's Up Computer users.....yeah....all of us!
in Internet Cafe
Posted
I've never seen any evidence that Microsoft hired any third party to do anything to "get the bugs out of Vista", and certainly not one that "won't run Vista on any machine". Sorry... I call BS on that claim.
But, in any case, it is entirely NORMAL for software development companies to hire external parties to code various parts of their applications. Outsourcing... you know that term, right? It's normal. No foul.
As for compatibility problems, you'd be amazed just how compatible Vista actually is with existing hardware and applications... all while maintaining a high degree of security. Let's face it, Windows has been historically insecure in the fact that in order for anything to run properly, you had to run with administrative privileges. Heck, in Win32 flavors (Win95, 98, ME), there was no concept of user levels... everything was an admin. This is bad. WAY bad. Ask the Unix and Unix derivatives crowd about that.
Windows XP tried to introduce the concept of limited user accounts, but failed miserably at it because despite the fact that XP itself could handle it, darned near every app ever written couldn't. And developers like myself take the blame on that one. We always assumed you, the user, would have all the rights you would ever need to let us do everything we want to... write files where ever we need to... access hardware... make changes... and so-on. Our users wanted power, and we gave it to them.
Unfortunately, there are other developers out there who don't intend on doing good like myself and other serious career developers. They intend on doing hard, stealing information, causing havoc. And guess what... their apps run with all of those same privileges the good apps like mine run under.
Windows Vista finally put the halt to that. Everyone... even admins... run on a lowered user level. You, the user, can't do many things without Vista stopping the presses and asking for permission to allow it.... the infamous UAC prompt. Many, no MOST people don't understand what UAC really is and what it is doing. What it does is allows you to run with much lower privileges, and only elevate your privileges when you need it, and then only temporarily and only for the process that you elevate. While this may seem annoying to you the user, it is even more annoying to the malicious software that can't do anything without administrative privileges. And guess what... it's not going to get it!
Now, knowing how Vista prevents processes from doing things they shouldn't do, what about the thousands of applications out there that expect that sort of privilege. Well, Microsoft went to great lengths to ensure that they run properly. Vista can virtualize folders for individual applications so that the application has the full access to its data locations like it expects, but in protected areas where things can't go nuts. Vista automatically recognizes most applications that need a little help getting over the hurdles that Vista puts up to stop malicious software, but those who can't are easily fixed by right-clicking on them, choosing Properties, and adjusting the compatibility settings.
Microsoft gave everyone the tools to fix things when Vista doesn't quite get it right. And it works. In fact, one of the applications my company writes is one of the victims of Vista. But, an adjustment or two, and everything is hunky-dory. All it takes is just a little know-how. And with almost every monthly update from Microsoft, they include these adjustments for Vista to make to applications automatically. (How do they know? Surely, you've seen the "report this error to Microsoft" button when something doesn't work right. Microsoft collects this data, figures out what applications in the wild are not working properly, develops adjustments for it, and publishes it back out to the entire planet automatically. One week, a program isn't running quite right... the next, it has no problems. This is a continuous process. Vista keeps getting better and better.)
Knowing all of this, surely you can't still say "Vista is so incompatible", can you? It is by far the most compatible operating system they've released to date. If you have software that simply refuses to run, it's time to update that software.