Issue #9 for gorilla56
4/16/2008 at 10:07:32 PM - 4/19/2008 at 4:35:30 AM
Working together to fight malware By Eric Case (Official Google Blog) Submitted at 4/17/2008 1:22:00 PM
Posted by Panayiotis Mavrommatis, Google Security Team We recently began a series of posts related to online security that focus on how we secure information (with posts like these) and how you can protect yourself online. Here's the latest in the series.- Ed. As part of this ongoing security series, we'd like to talk a little about malware. The term malware, derived from "malicious software," refers to any software specifically designed to harm your computer or the software it's running. Malware can be added to your computer, with or without your knowledge, in a number of ways -usually when you visit a website containing malware or when you download seemingly innocent software. It can then slow down your system, send fake emails from your email account, steal sensitive information like credit card numbers or passwords from your computer, and more. The conventional wisdom was that you could avoid malware by learning to spot sites that were created with the sole purpose of spreading it, and by staying away from other sites that might be risky. But recent research from Google suggests that an increasing number of malware attacks are taking place on sites you'd normally regard as safe or legitimate,
but have actually been compromised. Google works closely with the security community to identify malware on the web and then share that information more broadly. We've set up a number of automated systems to scour our index for potentially dangerous sites, and we add a label to those that appear to be a vehicle for malware. If you're searching on Google and click on a link that we've flagged, a warning page will appear before you move forward. We also notify webmasters if we discover that a site is no longer secure and provide a method for webmasters that clean up their sites to request a review. And starting soon, we'll be providing more detail on sites that appear to be spreading malware, so users have a better sense of why we have flagged a given site and webmasters can more easily identify and correct issues on their sites. All this stems directly from our security philosophy: We believe that if we all work together to identify threats and stamp them out, we can make the web a safer place for everyone. Of course, we can't catch everything, so our users play a crucial part of this effort too. Below are a few tips that can help you reduce your chances of being affected by malware: • Use anti-virus software. Most anti-virus software is specifically designed to find and remove harmful software on your computer. Be sure you have anti-virus software installed on your computer
(you can get a free trial through Google Pack if you don't), keep it current, and use it to run frequent full-system checks. • Make sure your operating system and browser are up to date. Attackers typically target vulnerabilities in your operating system (OS) and your browser to install malware on your computer. OS and browser providers frequently release updates to close those vulnerabilities. Enable automatic updates for both your browser and your OS, and check for alerts to ensure you have the latest and greatest protection. • Be careful about what you download. While Google and everyone else in the online community is working hard to identify harmful sites, new sources of malware are emerging all the time. Whenever you're prompted to download an email attachment, install a plug-in, or download an unfamiliar piece of software, take a moment to think it through. You won't always be able to identify a risky download, but if you practice some reasonable caution, you'll be able to reduce that risk. If you come across a potentially dangerous site that hasn't already been flagged, please report it. To learn more about malware and how to protect yourself, check out StopBadware.org's help page.
feedjournal.com
MacBreak Weekly 85: Wombats, Pystar, NBC's Buggy Whips, Mitchell & Webb, and hacking Time Machine (43 Folders -) Submitted at 4/16/2008 10:07:32 PM
MacBreak Weekly 85: You Look Mac Today Hosts: Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, and Andy Ihnatko Wombats, Pystar clones, Back to My Mac, Aussie iPhones on Vodafone, and more. Here’s a direct MP3 download of MBW 85. This week my Audible pick is That Mitchell and Webb Sound, and my application pick is TimeMachineEditor. The former is a wonderful radio series by two British comics that I’m currently obsessed with, while the latter is a very handy app for manually setting how often Time Machine backs up your Mac. Also, Leo was kind enough to acknowledge You Look Nice Today( iTunes), the new podcast that I do with my more gifted brother Twitterers,@scottsimpson and@lonelysandwich. We also live collectively on Twitter as “ ylnt.” I’m off MBW next week, but we should all be returning from our various conferences and travels with the full crew for taping on the week after.
Links of favor for April 18 (43 Folders -) Submitted at 4/18/2008 7:06:48 AM
• NEAT Receipts Scanner - Sharp-looking receipt scanner for the Mac, coming soon. I tend to avoid one-off gadgets that have any kind of permanent footprint on my desk, but this looks pretty handy if it works. • Footers In Modern Web Design: Creative Examples and Ideas | Design Showcase | Smashing Magazine - Inspiring collection of ways to use the space at the top and bottom of a web page. The first advocate for this approach that I can recall is Derek , who always uses his footers to such lovely and functional effect. • A Pattern Language for Productivity - Gah! I feared I’d waited too long. I’ve totally been meaning to start something like this on the 43f wiki for a couple years. ( curses self ). Nice start, here. Should be useful for folks. • The Fishbowl: Twitterpated - I get a surprising amount of flack for not following more people on
Twitter . Which dumbfounds me. It’s like being angry at someone because they aren’t watching enough TV. Anyhow, some of these hyper-following people strike me as either nutjobs or cynics, e.g. “in one case, 34,000. If you were truly following all these people, and they updated only once per day on average, you would be reading a Twitter message every two seconds.” Yeah. That sounds really fun and enriching. [via anarchaia ] • Word Spy - speed mentoring - “Getting advice in a series of short conversations with experts and other mentors.” I need me more of this. • BENTWOOD by contexture design workshop - My gosh, what a lovely idea; a wooden bangle that turns into a coffee cup sleeve. Smart. [via Erika ] • Ten typographic mistakes everyone makes | Life, Tutorials - Guilty as charged on a number of these. I think the one I’m laziest
about is straight quotation marks (“ " ”) where I really mean inches (“ ”). I do love that people care this much about this stuff (most of the time). • Mac Mini Media Centre / journal / hicksdesign - Jon has been sharing how he’s setting up his Mac Mini as a home entertainment juggernaut. This post outlines his basic setup, the apps he uses, etc. He also has a companion Flickr set . I’d love to hear more from folks on workflow . How — hypothetically — an AVI from out in the wild gets downloaded, encoded when necessary, and then dropped into the “ ~/Movies ” folder. Maybe Automator? As a
new Mini owner with the same goals, I’d love to hear your tips here in comments. • Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations (Event Video/Audio) | Berkman Center Clay’s book is justifiably hyped right now, because it’s just so damned good. If you enjoyed seeing the Claymeister General on Colbert , you might want to catch this swell talk, where he gets a bit more room to say his piece on a world where things get organized without organizers. • Spark | CBC Radio | Disaster Preparedness Kit for your digital life - “…Nora and Merlin Mann (of 43Folders fame) are putting together a ‘Disaster Preparedness Kit’ for your digital life. Do you have a tip, trick, or tool that puts your mind at ease and keeps you from worrying about data loss?”
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Here's to Tom Lehrer, elemental geek By Eric Case (Official Google Blog) Submitted at 4/17/2008 4:13:00 PM
Posted by Jonathan J. Rosenberg, Senior VP, Product Management We live in a world focused on celebrity, but there are also luminaries -- those guiding lights who actually inspire celebrities along with the rest of us. Today there's a luminary we'd like to call out: Tom Lehrer. It hasn't escaped our attention that Mr. Lehrer turned 80 last week. (We have it on good authority that his view of numbers is such that 80 is not so different than 79, so he probably won't mind this belated note.) We think he's great. We're fans. Mr. Lehrer is the Harvard mathematician turned parodist songwriter-performer whose sense of humor, intelligence and rhythm created a cult following that, weirdly
enough, anticipated a lot of what Google's culture tries to be about. His work is clever, playful and fun and connects things in ways that surprises, delights and inspires. (Consider"The Element Song", his ode to the periodic table, or his lesson on"New Math".) How could we not be inspired by someone who can craft a good laugh, a great tune, and an elegant equation? From"The Masochism Tango" to"Who's Next" to"Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" (trust us, you have to hear it), Mr. Lehrer's unique music carved out a distinctive place in popular music in the 1950s and '60s. He made his fans feel smart. An entrepreneur -- and we like entrepreneurs -- he self-produced and sold his songs via mail order. And for all the edginess in his humor, he ended up writing some ten clever songs for the '70s public television
children's program The Electric Company, including a tune about the letter 'e.' Although Wikipedia notes that he performed only 109 shows and wrote just 37 songs over 20 years, we think his impact and influence goes well beyond those numbers. He was the best kind of "geek" before the word made its way into pop culture. He's the kind of character as comfortable teaching a university course on the history of the musical -- which he did -- as running a seminar on the nature of mathematics -- which he did. We hope that in retirement Mr. Lehrer is enjoying himself even a fraction as much as we've enjoyed his work. We're grateful that he's such a great example of how science, humor, music and mathematics can be combined to create such wonderful things.
omicidio nel catanese: vittima un piccolo pregiudicato (Repubblica Ultimora) Submitted at 4/18/2008 12:40:56 PM
E' un piccolo pregiudicato la vittima dell'omicidio commesso questa sera poco prima delle 20,30 ad Adrano, in provincia di Catania. Salvatore Santangelo, 32 anni, con precedenti penali, ma non legato secondo i primi accertamenti alla criminalita' organizzata, e' stato assassinato con almeno sette colpi di pistola mentre era a bordo della sua Peugeot 307 in via Tagliamento, alle spalle del Municipio. Santangelo era originario di Bronte, ma non risulta che fosse legato all'omonimo clan mafioso di quel paese. Da molti anni risiedeva ad Adrano. Sull'omicidio indagano il Commissariato di polizia e la Squadra mobile di Catania, che fino a questo momento non hanno reperito testimoni dell'agguato.
Worst Flu Season in Years Small Town First to is a Sign of the Coming Produce More Renewable Apocalypse Energy Than It Consumes (Wired Science)
Submitted at 4/18/2008 3:17:43 PM
Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed that this year's flu season was the worst in recent history. Even worse, they admitted that the vaccine did not work well. Back in February, we knew something was up. So did Michael Moyer at Popular Science, who jokingly called it the PopSci plague. He turned to downing packets of Emergen-C to ward off the particularly nasty illness. Sadly enough, it might be our best weapon. The invisible hand has failed us. Pharmaceutical companies, for the most part, are uninterested in developing drugs to protect us from
intermittent threats. In my opinion, the only way out is a massive investment by the government in antiviral drugs -particularly small molecules like tamiflu and newer technologies like RNA interference. It's their responsibility to defend us from all threats, foreign and domestic, and disease is a really big one -- perhaps more than terrorism or warfare. So far, our leaders have dropped the ball. If there is an epidemic, do you think that we will be caught with our pants down? What should we do to prepare? Image: Historical reenactment of the black plague. Photo: Hans S/ flickr CDC Webcast: Link
(Wired Science) Submitted at 4/18/2008 3:32:10 PM
A town in the United States is claiming to be the first in the country to be produce more renewable energy for the grid than it consumes. Thanks to a large wind farm operated by the Wind Capital Group, which begins operation next Friday, the city will produce 16,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year and has historically only used 13 kWh. Good news, but it's the location of the city that's really surprising. The first nominally wind-powered town in America isn't in California or Florida or anywhere near a coast actually. Instead, it's the state of Missouri, the country's bellwether, and the town
of Rock Port, population 1,395 with a median income of $28,571, that are providing us with this glimpse into a piece of our renewable energy future. The city is located about an hour north of Kansas City and happens to be positioned in the northwest corner of the state, where the wind density is the greatest (coded orange in the map below). The local paper, the Maryville Daily Forum, has the most comprehensive story on the construction and municipal metering system that will be employed. The deeper history of the project was explored in a St. Louis Dispatch article archived on Wind Capital Group's site.
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AT&T's job cuts to be offset with hires in Mobility unit (Engadget) Submitted at 4/18/2008 8:03:00 PM
Sort Tons of Beach Trash With Wired's Spreadsheet (Wired Science) Submitted at 4/18/2008 11:53:03 AM
This week, the Ocean Conservancy released a new report based on their beach cleanup efforts. The study revealed that their volunteers found six million pounds of trash on the world's coastlines in a single day. We thought Wired Science readers might want to know the backstory of that factoid, so we contacted the Conservancy to ask for their data, which they graciously handed over. We've posted the five worksheets they sent in a Google doc you can find here: Ocean Conservancy Beach Debris Data. Now, you can go spreadsheet wild to your heart's
content. Feel free to add your own analysis, charts, or tables. And take a look at their official report(.pdf), which cuts the data in a variety of ways, too. In paging through the item, state, and country breakdowns, we were struck by the number of large items that were dumped on beaches. Perhaps not surprisingly, there's also a disturbing amount of condoms floating around the world's oceans. We want to stress that this is not scientific data; it's just an aggregate snapshot of the cleanup experiences of 380,000 volunteers in over 75 countries who walked the beach picking up after us all.
Filed under: Cellphones AT&T has announced plans to cut 1.5 percent of its workforce of 309,000. Sad times ahead for the company? Not quite. Apparently the 4600 jobs will be harvested from managerial spots in its flagging wired home phone business, so no worries, wireless types. Now here's where it gets interesting: word has it that AT&T also expects to hire back that same number of employees into the fold -- the wireless fold, that is -- keeping the total headcount nice and steady. We'd wager that we'll see more cuts like this in the coming months and years, so if you were pondering that job as a switchboard operator, time to retrain. So yeah,
turns out it's business as usual for the number one carrier after all -- unless you happen to be in the 4600-strong group of obsoleted folks, that is. [Via mocoNews] Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Air France in-flight calling tests begin: not so great (Engadget) Submitted at 4/18/2008 5:54:00 PM
Filed under: Cellphones That Air France in-flight calling trial is now well underway, and it looks like there's still some kinks left to iron out. The New York Times hitched a ride on a recent flight featuring tests of the system, and found that things weren't quite working up to snuff: voice quality was said to be like "talking to a small robot," only six passengers could get a signal at a time, Blackberry email didn't work, and calls placed from the ground to cell phones in the air went straight to voicemail. That's a pretty long list for a system that's been talked about for a
couple years now -- let's hope OnAir manages to clear up some of these glitches before angry passengers revolt over not only having to listen to other people's conversations, but also their screaming over bad connections. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
How would you change GamePark's GP2X F-200 handheld?
Samsung aiming for waterpowered cellphones by 2010
(Engadget)
(Engadget)
Submitted at 4/18/2008 4:30:00 PM
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds Alright, so we know there aren't hordes of you out there currently possessing one of GamePark's GP2X F-200 handhelds, but we have absolutely no doubts that the owners that do exist are mighty vocal about their diminutive emulation powerhouse. When the unit was reviewed recently over at Ars Technica, critics found an awful lot to love, but it's not like the admittedly
hefty, battery-eating, mildly unsightly unit was flawless or anything. Sure, we know the hardcore emulation geeks out there are likely turning their attention to the forthcoming Pandora, but that's not to say the F-200 can't handle a good talking-to from its loyal followers. Go on, put away that unconditional adoration for just a moment and tell the world how this thing actually could be improved upon -- we're sure there's something that grinds the gears. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Submitted at 4/18/2008 4:13:00 PM
Filed under: Cellphones We've seen quite a few prototype fuel-cell powered mobile devices, but Samsung's upping the ante by predicting that we'll all be running our phones on water by 2010. The company says it's developed a method to generate hydrogen by exposing water to metal, but the details are a little shaky -- we're
guessing it's similar to the system used in the HydroPak generator, but it's hard to tell. Still, we've got no reason to doubt Samsung's engineers, who say the system currently provides about 10 hours of use, or about five days of average cell usage, and will eventually allow users to simply top off and go. That's every traveler's dream -- let's get this to market, Sammy. Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Il Papa all'Onu: "Rispetto dei diritti e libertà di religione" (Repubblica.it > Homepage) Submitted at 4/18/2008 3:01:52 PM
L'atteso intervento davanti all'Assemblea generale: "Garanzie contro la violenza e per la sicurezza". Ratzinger parla anche in francese Il Papa all'Onu: "Rispetto dei diritti
wall street chiude a +1,81%, nasdaq +2,61%
e libertà di religione" Discorso terminato tra gli applausi. Pace fatta dopo l'aspra polemica di dicembre Poi breve visita alla sinagoga di New York. Donna ebrea gli bacia la mano (00:01 19/04/2008)
"Io per fortuna c'ho la Camorra" (ilmessaggero.it - Roma) Submitted at 4/18/2008 2:22:00 PM
App Uses Satellite Images to Size Your Home for Solar Panels (Wired Science) Submitted at 4/18/2008 4:02:02 PM
Sungevity, a new solar services startup, allows you to fit your home for solar panels without leaving your den. According to a write-up on Fortune's Green Wombat blog, the web app simply takes your address, zooms in on your home, and uses satellite images to compute your
roof's dimensions. Then it helps you choose the right solar array and try out what the system will look like on your home's roof. You can try it for yourself starting Tuesday, but in the meantime, check out the full write-up by Todd Woody, with the screaming headline, The Dell of Solar Energy.
(Repubblica Ultimora) Submitted at 4/18/2008 1:42:40 PM
Wall Street ha chiuso in forte rialzo spinta dai guadagni oltre le attese di Google, che hanno trascinato il settore tecnologico, e alle rassicurazioni di Citigroup sull'imminente fine della crisi finanziaria Il Dow Jones ha guadagnato l'1,81 per cento per finire a quota 12.849,36 punti. Meglio ha fatto il Nasdaq cresciuto del 2,61 per cento per finire a 2.402,97 punti.
A new look for Alitalia, Berlusconi: "Con Putin pensiamo Google Video
a un tavolo con Aeroflot" (Repubblica.it > Homepage)
By Eric Case (Official Google Blog)
Stamane circolavano indiscrezioni, smentite da Palazzo Chigi, su un intervento di ricapitalizzazione della compagnia da parte delle banche da 1 -2 miliardi
Alitalia, Berlusconi: "Con Putin pensiamo a un tavolo con Aeroflot" L'annuncio nella conferenza stampa a chiusura della visita del presidente russo La Ue mette paletti al prestito ponte, possibile solo "alle condizioni di mercato" (17:42 18/04/2008)
A Roma l'Udc lascia libertà di voto Storace, condizioni ad Alemanno
Montezemolo, attacco ai sindacati "No ai professionisti del veto" Appuntamenti elettorali di sabato 19 (Repubblica.it > Homepage)
(Repubblica.it > Homepage)
Submitted at 4/18/2008 10:43:51 AM
Submitted at 4/18/2008 8:42:26 AM
Submitted at 4/18/2008 3:01:27 PM
Continua la caccia ai voti nella capitale in vista dei ballottaggi del 27 e 28 aprile L'Unione di centro: "Apparentamento impossibile con entrambi i candidati" A Roma l'Udc lascia libertà di voto Storace, condizioni ad Alemanno La Destra: "Contro la sinistra se avremo il nostro simbolo" (00:01 19/04/2008)
Il Gran festival internazionale della Zuppa
A Torino, il presidente uscente di Confindustria, parte dal risultato delle elezioni per lanciarsi contro Cgil-Cisl-Uil: "Basta con i negoziati infiniti" Montezemolo, attacco ai sindacati "No ai professionisti del veto" Sì alla detassazione degli straordinari. "Cambiare le relazioni industriali" (19:43 18/04/2008)
Posted by Bindu Reddy, Group Product Manager Last year, we shared our vision for Google Video and announced a renewed focus on organizing all the web's video. We have a lot of new features to tell you about, so head over to the Google Video blog for more information about our new look.
(ilmessaggero.it - Roma) Submitted at 4/18/2008 2:38:00 PM
Il candidato a sindaco per il Pdl, Gianni Alemanno: alle 9,30 incontra cittadini e commercianti presso il mercato rionale a Via Fara Sabina, angolo via Stimigliano. Alle 11,30 presenta le iniziative della campagna...
Montezemolo: «I lavoratori più vicini a La cultura noi che alle posizioni Miao/Hmong al Museo dei sindacalisti» d'Arte Orientale (Il Sole 24 ORE - Prima (ilmessaggero.it - Roma)
(ilmessaggero.it - Roma)
Submitted at 4/18/2008 2:19:00 PM
Submitted at 4/18/2008 2:26:00 PM
Sabato 19 aprile alle ore 16, presso il Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale in Via Merulana 248, giornata di studi Ricerche e prospettive sulla cultura Miao/Hmong, con interventi di Isabella Zedda Macciò, Federica Olivotto, Maria...
Sabato 19 aprile, dalle 9,30 a sera, a La Città dell'Utopia, Via Valeriano 3F – metro B San Paolo, Primo Gran Festival Internazionale della Zuppa di Roma, organizzato dal Servizio Civile Internazionale con il patrocino del Municipio XI di Roma....
Submitted at 4/18/2008 7:22:00 AM
Pagina) Submitted at 4/18/2008 10:20:29 AM
«Il risultato delle elezioni conferma quanto andiamo dicendo da tempo: i lavoratori non si sentono più rappresentati da forze politiche e sociali incapaci di dare risposte vere ai...
Le vendite di pc crescono ancora, ma negli Usa si sente la recessione (Il Sole 24 ORE - Tecnologia e Business) Submitted at 4/17/2008 5:48:58 AM
Nell'annunciare i risultati preliminari relativi al primo trimestre 2008, Idc ha lanciato un preciso messaggio: la domanda di personal
computer negli Stati Uniti sta iniziando ad avere...
Sabato 19 aprile, alle 19.00, presso la Libreria Gocce d'inchiostro via Agostino Bertani 11, in occasione dell'incontro dal titolo Coraggio! Informazione e narrazione al tempo della mafia organizzato dall'associazione Cuntrastamu,...
Google e Yahoo sempre più vicine nel segno del Web advertising (Il Sole 24 ORE - Tecnologia e Business) Submitted at 4/18/2008 8:28:07 AM
Google e Yahoo sempre più vicine nel segno del Web advertising Il botto sparato da Google alla lettura della trimestrale (profitti netti in crescita del 31% a quota 1,3 miliardi di dollari e ri...
Berlusconi: «Possibile un tavolo con Aeroflot su Alitalia» (Il Sole 24 ORE - Prima Pagina) Submitted at 4/18/2008 8:12:23 AM
Berlusconi: «Possibile un tavolo con Aeroflot su Alitalia» «Scusate il ritardo, ma avevamo tante cose da dirci». Berlusconi inizia così, con due ore di ritardo, la conferenza stampa congiun...
campidoglio, udc, agli elettori liberta' di voto (Repubblica Ultimora) Submitted at 4/18/2008 12:57:24 PM
L'Udc, in occasione dei ballottaggi per la carica di sindaco di Roma e di presidente della provincia, lascera' ai propri elettori liberta' di voto. Lo rendono noto il segretario regionale dell'Udc Luciano Ciocchetti, l'on.
Zzzphone, il misterioso cellulare low cost che si vende solo online (Il Sole 24 ORE - Tecnologia e Business) Submitted at 4/18/2008 4:08:04 AM
Non si trova nei negozi. E non si vede in spot tv con modelle in locali notturni alla moda. È agli antipodi dell'iPhone, ma forse farà tendenza e si compra solo su Internet. Ecco...
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Straordinario esentasse, Borsa, il Mibtel chiude a il bonus vale da 580 a +1,91%. Positiva Wall Street 700 euro (Il Sole 24 ORE - Prima Pagina) Submitted at 4/18/2008 2:53:52 AM
Con la detassazione lo straordinario vale pi첫 di una tredicesima. La busta paga di un metalmeccanico che guadagna 1.300 euro lordi al mese ed effettua tutte le 250 ore previste...
Bufera su Samsung, Ceo accusato di evasione fiscale (Il Sole 24 ORE - Tecnologia e Business) Submitted at 4/17/2008 11:56:10 PM
Rinviato a giudizio il numero uno Lee Kun Hee e altri nove alti dirigenti: avrebbero nascosto al fisco pi첫 di 120 milioni di dollari...
campidoglio: rutelli, ho fiducia in elettori udc (Repubblica Ultimora) Submitted at 4/18/2008 1:25:59 PM
(Il Sole 24 ORE - Prima Pagina) Submitted at 4/18/2008 10:01:05 AM
Piazza Affari amplia i guadagni, ben comprate le banche sulla scia di SocGen e Royal Bank of Scotland...