Spyware; Dunn Justice?; and a soggy blog?

Post #: 3

[If you are new to my blog, please read my first post to gain perspective: Blog Diddy Blog Blog ]

- Well folks, it appears I have completely dropped the ball. My last post was in September of ’06 (Wow I’m long overdue) and I’m just now dragging myself around to posting again. Not that blogging is a chore, (hey it pays the bills…, uhhh actually it doesn’t), but it’s very much like when you forget to cut the grass for two weeks. ‘Excuse me?’ you may be saying. When the grass becomes too high, it’s harder to cut and takes longer. As you are contemplating when you have time to cut said grass, other things take priority and before long, it’s been 4 weeks and the grass is scratching your knees. And as you are figuring out how to now cut much taller grass, life happens. And now it’s been six weeks, the grass is tickling your nose, and the neighbors are threatening legal action. So everyone follows the simile, right?

The point is, how do you start blogging again when you haven’t for months without everyone ridiculing you? The answer? Someone? Anyone? You in the back?

I finally decided that the best thing was to post, take the snickers, (not the candy bar, but hey if anyone’s got one….) and move on to a healthier posting lifestyle. That said, moving on…

- Life has been, well, life. Could be better, and could be worse. I know I could’ve done without a rotten odor forming in one of my vehicles, which I now believe is the by-product of a quietus rodent who decided to make a home somewhere in my engine. Interestingly I learned that this is not that uncommon. I found that many people had commented online about their misfortunes with mice in their cars. My problem is that I can’t find where the thing has died, hence the numerous NeutraAir cans that litter my floorboard. I guess it could be worse, though. I could be in a situation where I can’t afford a car for a mouse to crawl into to expire. Yeah, I’m gonna err on the side of caution and take it as a blessing.

As far as work related things, I recently wrapped up a big project where… [We interrupt this posting for a special announcement. For those of you who are not techie geeks, you may want to just jump to the next, uh… dash “-“ thingy. Go on. Just right below. There you go. Okay. Buh bye.]… I configured a Cisco PIX firewall to include a new VPN rule set for a new subnet in a new facility. For redundant secondary data links, the company I work for uses IPSec tunneling via an ISP line to connect back to our Corp. offices. I then successfully did the same thing on a 3Com Office Connect router I was using as a backup on another ISP line. I also successfully meshed all of our remote sites by reconfiguring all of our Cisco routers to include this new facility. So yay for me!!! Okay, I’m not actually that arrogant, but this is the first time I successfully accomplished all of this as one big project to initiate data services for a new site. So I’m kind of happy about it. Okay, I’m over myself now, moving on…


- The Tech
Spyware. Many PC users deal with it, and many companies are trying to find a way to make a profit from it. Spyware has become a catch all term for any software that wreaks havoc with your PC. But it’s original meaning was software that was installed unbeknownst to the user which tracked sites visited, credit card numbers typed in, etc. and reported this info back to a server, all with the unsuspecting user simply thinking that their PC has become slow. Spyware has now become known to include other bad programs, such as Malware – malicious software better known for deactivating your antivirus and installing multiple virus infections, and Adware – software that pops up ads even if you are not surfing the web. In any case, Spyware equals bad. The big problem with Spyware is not that you can become easily infected. It’s that it is not so easy to become uninfected. Ok, that’s confusing so let’s try again. It’s that you need to be an App (application) and OS (operating system) expert with 5 hours of your life that you will never get back, to remove Spyware infections.

But not so much anymore. One of the best tools to deal with Spyware and is still free, (okay now I have your attention, don’t I?), is Microsoft’s Windows Defender. Now I will by no means champion MS (Microsoft) as the bestest software company around. But I have to give credit where it’s due. (And speaking digitally, it is a MS world, but I don’t have to like it!!!) You will find it on Microsoft’s Download center, or just save time and click here and select number 2 in the list.

Not only does it remove Spyware, but it helps to protect against future infections by blocking software installs until you approve them. The only downside I have seen with Defender is that even though you may schedule it to scan your PC at 2:00AM, (Of course those of you who surf into the wee hours of the morning may want to set it at 10:00AM, when you will be sleeping!) it will start scanning after a boot up, especially if your PC was off during the scheduled scan. And when it does scan, your PC will crawl, literally. Like on all fours with it’s belly dragging. It will take forever for you to surf the web and to open any files.

Captain Obvious tells us that this will become very annoying, especially if you are booting up your PC in order to actually accomplish something. The good news is that you can stop the scan by opening the Defender console and selecting ‘Stop Scan’.

So If you don’t have a Spyware blocker installed, than get Windows Defender. The alternative? Deciding if your PC can double as a chic new style of flower pot, since the Spyware is so bad that you can’t even use it. And that’s the Tech.


- The Gloss: ISP (Internet Service Provider) - a company that provides access to the Internet. In addition to serving individuals, ISPs also serve large companies, providing a direct connection from the company's networks to the Internet. (Source: Webopedia) Some examples of ISPs are Verizon, Comcast, StarPower, and ZoomInternet.


- The World
So in light of the recent events surrounding the HP Boardroom scandal, more specifically former HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, I guess justice is only served if the defendant is in good health??? While I reel my jaw from the floor back into place, let me type some background info so that everyone can understand my baffled and perplexed reaction.

Several months back, it was suspected that someone on Hewlett Packard’s board was leaking info to the press. So Patricia Dunn, then Chairwoman for HP, did what every civil minded person would do. (Later on in your reading, you will realize that I’m being sarcastic. Oops, I spoiled it for you) She called for an investigation that included pretexting, which is where someone calls a company pretending to be you and asks for a copy of whatever records that company has of you. In this case, the private investigation company working for HP called phone companies and pretexted everyone on the board and even prominent tech magazine journalists for their personal phone records. Don’t believe me, read for yourself an article as this scandal was ripening back in November at CNET - click here. However, even though evidence mounted showing Dunn had knowledge of the investigation and was involved, she claims that she didn’t know about the pretexting.

Whether she did or not, isn’t my beef here. My problem is that at the trial, the judge dismissed the charges against her in light of her medical condition. Read here. Now if none of you know, she has cancer. But for the love of cheese, what does that have to do with anything???? I’m not downplaying her health here. I can only imagine what she lives with in her fight against cancer. But that cannot negate her responsibility for being involved with and even possibly initiating a crime!!!

So if a drunk driver kills a mother and her kids in a head-on collision, but survives, he shouldn’t be tried because he also broke his leg in the accident??? Or to better compare this situation with Dunn’s, he shouldn’t be tried because he also has an incurable, possibly fatal disease??? Am I missing something??? I’m pretty sure that our founding fore-fathers didn’t set in motion our justice system to only put on trial those who are physically healthy to be tried. Maybe I’m being insensitive here, but in common sense land, if you commit a crime you should be tried for it. And if found guilty, serve the appropriate sentence. Uh-oh Toto. Looks like we aren’t in common sense land anymore!


- So I guess we shall see in the comments section if anyone agrees with my take on the Dunn\HP Scandal opinion. That’s if anyone actually reads my blog long enough to make it to ‘The World” section. From what I’ve read though, some techies already have the same viewpoint as me on this. And hopefully, any of you reading will definitely take my word on Windows Defender. Because Spyware ain’t no good thing. And of course I will give the old college try to ensure that my next post is sooner than 5 months from now. Because a bloggy is soggy when there are no new posts. Am I right? Someone? Anyone? You in the back????