Some great news from Computer Associates - free antivirus, firewall, and antivirus updates. Read about it here.

As you may (or may not) know, the domain name mp3.com has been bought by CNET. Up to now, mp3.com had been owned by Vivendi, that media empire that seems to do nothing right.

Is this the day the music died (at mp3.com)? Maybe not. It seems that archive.org may host the dead music from mp3.com after all. This would be a great thing - there is over 5 terabytes of music at mp3.com, and, according to the Register, archive.org can host the music without any fuss.

Read more here.

More Bush "anti-terrorism" language is in the works. You, too, could be investigated by foreign countries' governments if this treaty is ratified. More here

Helpful Window cleaning tools -

PCWorld.com - Windows Tips: Superscrub Your Drive Automatically

For Microsoft, this is unfortunate.

Security Pipeline | How-To | How To Disable Windows Messenger Service

More about Windows Messenger service. Turn it off!

Security Pipeline | News | FTC Recommends Users Disable Windows Messenger Service

Paper as memory. Click - InformationWeek > Hardware > New Plastic Memory Technology Unveiled > November 13, 2003

UPDATE

News: Zombie machines fuel cybercrime wave

The Mob's got nothin' on these guys -

The Register

Okay, this isn't a tech story, but it's something near and dear to my heart. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about boxing and the Rocky saga, yet I had never heard about this until now. I didn't even know about this dork named Wepner. Oh well!

ESPN.com: GEN - Yo, Adrian! Wepner suing Stallone over Rocky

Just checking in - not much going on in the tech world. Waiting to see if the other shoe drops in employment (last report was very positive)...perhaps the jump in jobs will include some in the tech sector and we can all be happier.

In yesterday's news, there was a little blip in the annoying ticker at the bottom of most news channels' screens that said something like 8 out of every 10 workers will leave their current job when the economy picks up.

I don't know if stats have been kept on this, but it sure sounds like a lot of people hate their jobs. This cannot be good for society, to say the least.

While we're on the theme of monkeys (and when aren't we?), here is an interesting site called, appropriately enough, Monkey Radio: Grooving. Sexy. Beats.

It is kinda groovy, kinda synth, kinda smooth. Not bad, depending upon your mood. And the gentleman who runs it is standing up to the RIAA. This is the primary reason for listening...if you ask me. If you want to read more about telling the RIAA to eff itself, check out EFF. (I wonder if that's what they meant?)

Not to bash Microsoft (I love this company, yeah!), but to lighten the mood a bit, here is some really funny stuff -

jokke.dk/balmer

It's only appropriate that it appears here (thanks to The Register) -

It's Steve Ballmer of Microsoft doing the Monkey Dance with an iPod, shouting out, "I love this company!"

Of course, this is all parody. Ballmer loves Microsoft. Get it right, macboy!

But it is a wonderful parody. Excellent production value. I believe macboy deserves a free iPod. Oh, and metoo for mentioning it :)

vnunet.com Web hoaxes set to increase

Read all about some simple measures.

For all you stealers of cable (or satellite), check out this excerpt from the Register.

"...DirecTV has said that it will sue at least 150 residents of Maryland which it claims have been using unauthorized equipment to receive programming.

"The allegations are part of a nationwide sweep by DirecTV and the company has sent letters to more than 80,000 people asking around $3,500 each to settle. The company has already filed over 15,000 law suits.

"DirecTV is being lambasted for its heavy-handed approach, with one defender of the actions saying that many of these people don’t even have satellite dishes. The defendants either have to pay the settlement fines or pay a lawyer to defend them and if DirecTV isn’t fully diligent it could find itself paying legal costs on both sides."

Read about Window's Messenger service here.

Check out how you can disable the service with Gibson Research's methods, or just turn it off yourself (if you have Windows NT, 2000, or XP). For more information, please click here.

A spam filtering program that works with email clients that I have used over the past few months has proven very effective.

Let's face it. We get spam. Most of our email is spam. However, there are a few select individuals from which we receive email (and expect it) and this tool works very well at weeding out the junk while keeping the good stuff.

Plus, it is adaptive. Learn more here.

When will PDAs get hard drives? The writing is on the wall. We have iPods and other portable music players that have massive storage...

When will iPods and the others become the only portable device we need to carry?

Will the cell phone morph into these platforms as well?

Time will tell. To read more, click here.

Here's a unique password generator -

http://www.winguides.com/security/password.php

Also on the site, here, is a list of tweaks that one can make to the Windows registry to enable (or disable) various settings. Offers some very interesting tweaks. Of course, you could download their tweak manager, but where's the fun in that?

Has TiVo already mets its match? More here

Microsoft thinks Windows is more secure than Linux and other open source operating systems. See more at The Register

I just got a TiVo. Anybody have any tips or tricks I should know about?

I feel like I missed a technological revolution here...now I am jumping in. All my friends "TiVo this" and "TiVo that" - now, I too, can TiVo something...

Is this the beginning of another "aspirin" or "kleenex?" And/or, is this a new verb?

Tell me here.

Apple touts it as "the best Windows application ever." Read more here.

I have to admit, it's kinda funny. But is it the best Windows app ever? I may never know because I can't seem to shell out $500 for a plain Jane machine that stores inferior-sounding music...

If you would like to donate one to me, for "testing" purposes, email me and we can chat.

Palm is in more trouble. Just when you thought they were out of the water, their CEO pushed 'em back in.

**UPDATE**Hacker not guilty.

USA sea ports are not receiving very favorable press these days. Baseline Magazine recently ran a report focusing on the Oakland sea port, noting that ports are fraught with potential for terrorism.

In the UK, the courts are tying a gentleman who has been charged with launching a DOS attack on the Port of Houston's network.

Has anybody ever thought of removing these systems from the public network?

The middle class in the US is in danger of dropping to the lower class if outsourcing of IT jobs does not stop.

Read about it here.

Vivendi's mp3.com web site in a shambles after company officials failed to renew its domain name for $35. I suggest they buy ten years' worth for a few hundred dollars. That would save lots of time and, most of all, grief.

Neglecting to renew a domain name is more common than one would think...

California's voting machines are subject to hacking. Read more.

And many in California (say it, "Cal-ee-forn-ya") don't like them either.

Any thoughts on wireless connectivity between a PC and a stereo or TV? It would be really interesting if somebody made a reliable and super high-quality device that allowed bi-directional communication between both devices.

This would make copying an LP to a CD very easy, which is what I am looking for. Any ideas?

Microsoft has another security hole in its browser...more to follow

Spyware threat creeps up on PCs

The new economy has created a new term - "peeracy" - a combination of "piracy" and "peer" as in Peer to Peer networking.

It seems that one has committed an act of "peeracy" if one has used KaZaA (or any other P2P networking application) to download (or, presumably, upload) copyrighted material...

More to follow, as the story I read this in claims that many of the accused "peerates" (that is my word - I don't think it'll stick though) have been wrongly accused. This is due to the fact that they indeed never downloaded any copyrighted material. Apparently, there is something "wrong" with P2P software, such that it identified the wrong parties.

Read the full story here. Keep in mind the source, however, when drawing any conclusions. This is, after all, the "Inquirer."

Check out the very cool new wireless gear from US Robotics - purported to run at 100Mbps on the 802.11g standard by aggregating packets into bigger chunks, eliminating overhead...

US Robotics

By the way, TigerDirect is selling the gear at prices considerably below list. Check out TigerDirect's site.

Look for a review in the near future at the Monkeys' site.

Very interesting benchmarking site -

PCPitstop

This site provides a host of measurements that show you the performance of your CPU, hard drives, memory, video, etc. Well worth the price (FREE!)

While you can automate Windows updates, you cannot do so with Office updates. To perform an Office update, go here.

To automate Windows updates, do the following (copied directly from Microsoft):

To turn on automatic updates

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click Automatic Updates.

Select the check box next to Let Windows keep my computer up-to-date.

Shameless plug -

Computer Monkeys web site

I will be adding to the site as time permits. Blogging is still the best way to add observations, thoughts, ideas, etc. on an ad hoc basis...

Intel announces death of copper.

This one just recently went around and affected an uninformed and obedient friend of mine, who happened to send the "virus" notification to me (to which I replied, "I think this is a hoax") -

jdbgmgr.exe virus

More on computer security -

A very interesting site to check out is Gibson Research Corporation.

This site features a cool application called "Shields Up" which proposes to check your computer's "stealthiness."

Try it out. You may be surprised at the findings. If this application finds any vulnerabilities, I can assure you that some hacker will find those same vulnerabilities.

So, BEWARE.

One last thing for tonight (hopefully)...

Two really cool sites for downloads and helpful computer information -

Langalist.com and tinyapps.org

Two cool tools for ridding your computer system of spyware -

Lavasoft and Spybot

Another follow up to my advice on minimizing virus risks -

WiFi Is Open, Free and Vulnerable to Hackers

For a neat 'net speed test, try this.

To follow up on my recommendations for minimizing virus risks, here is another story about the newest Microsoft vulnerability, announced last week -

From Yahoo!News - Hackers Pass Out New Software for Attacks

Anybody know of a high-quality LCD monitor manufacturer? If you do, please email me.

General guidelines about minimizing virus threats -

1. Keep up to date on Microsoft patches (if your Operating System is a Microsoft version). The easiest way to do so: open Internet Explorer, choose Tools from the menu, then select 'Windows Update.' When you get to Microsoft's web site, click on 'Scan for updates.' Only be concerned (for now) with any 'Critical Updates and Service Packs.' If any show up, install them. You can enable this update to run automatically. Refer to Microsoft's update page for more details (or email me if you like).

2. Keep your antivirus software up to date (you have antivirus software, don't you?). Check whatever vendor's site you use every day. Scan at least once per week, but ensure that real time scanning is enabled.

3. Get a firewall (especially those of you with an 'always-on' connection like DSL or cable. I personally use a hardware device for a firewall AND a software device - a Linksys cable/DSL router with firewall and ZoneAlarm for the software. You could get by with ZoneAlarm (it's free and easy to use). The Linksys router comes in handy if you are sharing your Internet connection between two or more computers.

4. Be wary of email attachments. Turn off Auto Preview if you have it enabled in your email program (like Microsoft Outlook). Don't open any emails that you did not solicit that have attachments.

5. Don't believe the emails you get. More often than not, these types of emails turn out to be hoaxes. Microsoft and the other companies I have mentioned generally do not email such notifications and if they do they do not use attachments. Refer to their web sites. For some really fun reading, check out http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html.

Welcome to the Computer Monkeys' blog!

I will use this blog to post miscellaneous ramblings - advice (it's free so expect to get what you pay for it), thoughts, recommendations, etc.

Please come back often to see how things are progressing.