Networking & Internet

Viruses, Malware, Badware everywhere

Computers, Networking & Internet / By /

First the bad news. The number of unique viruses will reach 1,000,000 (1 million) by the end of the year. More bad news. About 25% have been generated in the last 6 months out of all generated in the past 20 years. Ugh.

The good news is that the number of viruses/malware making it through to user inboxes is down to 1 in 1000. Five (5) years ago, it was 1 in 40. Naturally, we need to get that down even more. So would you please stop adding your name to those weird mailing lists and yell at your friends for putting you on those mass forwarded e-mails! 😉

via Webb Alert and PC Guide.

Virginia, Illinois and Texas say kids need to learn Internet safety

1 Comment / Computers, Networking & Internet / By /

Virginia was first with a law requiring public schools to teach classes on Internet safety. Hear, hear. Texas and Illinois have both followed suit. I totally agree. The Internet is something that has taken hold in the general public in the blink of an eye, relatively speaking. Its uptake has been rapid as compared to say, television or radio.

As an IT person who understands a fair amount of computers, technology and the Internet, I still maintain that computers are complicated beasts, and it is downright scary how little people know and understand. This doesn’t stop them from trawling the Internet, happily clicking away at things they don’t understand. And while I believe that kids will be entirely more comfortable than their parents at using computers and being on the Internet, I don’t think that they will as a group be knowledgeable enough.

Yahoo-AOL merger deal in the works?

1 Comment / Networking & Internet / By /

In the “What the … ?” department, Yahoo’s latest counter-move to Microsoft’s acquisition desires is to court AOL (part of AOL Time Warner). In a rather complicated sounded potential deal:

“Under the terms being discussed between Yahoo and Time Warner, the latter would fold its AOL unit into Yahoo and make a cash investment in return for about 20% of the combined entity, people familiar with the situation said. The deal, which wouldn’t include AOL’s dial-up access business, would value AOL at about $10 billion. As part of the deal, Yahoo would use the Time Warner cash and additional funds to buy back several billion dollars worth of its own stock at a price somewhere in the middle of the range between $30 and $40 a share.”

So this sounds like Yahoo wouldn’t lose all autonomy. In fact they would regain some control of the company as well as add some additional cash. Together the 2 companies would strengthen their combined online assets and services. Not a bad deal for both of them.

via Silicon Alley Insider and the Wall Street Journal.

The technology week in view: 7th April 2008

2 Comments / Networking & Internet / By /

Our server virtualisation project is moving along apace recently – we have decommissioned a number of physical servers and moved to a virtual server platform and I can happily report that virtualising takes time but it is worth it, especially as we have been seeing green recently. Mind you the reduction in power requirements from the physical servers is definitely a small step in the green direction for improving technology and the environment – not only that but the uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) last longer as their load is less – win win so far. Receiving the “call out” request in the middle of the night because the UPS has ran out is never a happy call especially when it has been a long late night trying to get the kids to bed but the phone vibrates away and duty calls. Whilst on the subject of mobile phones – mine is due for renewal (Goodbye Mobile, Hello Mobile) and I am quite keen on the Nokia N95 8GB which was talked about by the Chief Gizmateer at the back end of last year but it will take a lot to move me away from my trusty Sony Ericsson K800i. The 5MP camera on the Nokia may just swing it for me.

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GCycle – New website that helps you locate recycling locations near you

1 Comment / Cameras and Photo, Computers, Gizmo of the Day, Miscellaneous, Networking & Internet, Phones, Portable / By /

G4 (yes, the cable TV channel) has launched a website, called Gcycle, devoted to helping you find locations near you that will recycle electronics, batteries, computers, etc. Although there are already similar sites out there, they certainly aren’t as flashy. This one is totally done in Adobe Flash and is a little ‘jumpy’, but then they were going for a unique, cartoony look and succeeded.

Bottom line is that it has the goods. Punch in your zip code, select the stuff you want to recycle and it delivers. Before you do that, hit the Flummoxing Facts link and be flummoxed. It’s staggering, a bit sickening and frightening how much we’re tossing into landfills. Not only are we polluting at a ridiculous rate, but we’re going to run out of resources to make more and new gadgets in the future!

As for my comment about there being other sites to help you find recycling resources, I say bring them on in droves. We need as much info out there to drive up awareness, and it needs to be easy for folks to find it. Google helps; use it. Please.

gcycle now…

Google Docs Offline being rolled out

Networking & Internet, Software / By /

Google Docs proved (at least for me and others I know) that for a significant portion of what we use office productivity software is relatively simple and does not usually require full-blown, feature rich suites like MS Office, or OpenOffice. While I found that using GD was not an issue as I regularly have high-speed Internet access (@ work and @ home), it did lack what the other suites provided which was offline use (like say when I’m on a plane or at an airport refusing to pay $12 for 24 hours of Internet access).

Now get ready for Offline Google Docs. All you will need to do is download and install a browser plugin called Google Gears, which already has me wondering what other applications Google has in mind for your browser. For now, Offline GD only works with the word processing app and only in English, but stay tuned. The others will be coming soon. Here’s a video of it in action.

Live in Manhattan and need booze delivered to your door ASAP?

1 Comment / Miscellaneous, Networking & Internet / By /

Then take a look at Wakozi. Yes, it’s an online Web 2.0 site. Plug in your address and it shows you what liquor stores and delis near you that deliver. Click on a store and you can see what they sell, how much it costs and then you can create a shopping list, checkout, including paying with a tip.

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Technology week in view: 25th March 2008

Networking & Internet / By /

Great Easter break? Have you eaten all of your Easter eggs yet? With two small children in the house we still have quite a few to get through but we’re back at work already and a few hours in it feels like we haven’t been away. The snow is really trying to break through at the moment and the kids promise me I am first in line for a snowball so every time they see a few flakes on go the wellies. It is also that time of year when many of our support contracts come up for renewal. One of these in particular involves a service for remotely supporting the user base and with so many solutions now on offer the question comes down to Which remote support solution to choose? Whilst supporting remote users it may be worth considering the storage space a user takes up and one in particular is storage for user ‘behind the scenes’ data which was discussed recently in Windows User Profile Considerations and talking of remote users perhaps you should consider uninterruptible power – just in case the snow takes your power lines down? If so, here are Eight tips for running a UPS.
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Mozilla launches Extend Firefox 3 Contest

Networking & Internet, Software / By /

I have to wait for Firefox 3, as much as I want to upgrade now, what with the promise of better memory management and performance increases, because I depend too much on the over 2 dozen extensions that I have. But Mozilla got smart with the upcoming next release of Firefox – they’ve launched a competition (Extend Firefox 3) to recruit developers to create brand new extensions that take advantage of new features in FF 3, as well as to simply upgrade existing extensions so that they continue to work.

Prizes include travel to a Mozilla Developer Day, development gear (including a Macbook Air), and Firefox swag. Come on Firefox community – keep me loving my browser!

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