Computers - Page 6

NotFromHere · 03-05-2004, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Anyone have an idea why the spam I've been getting recently suddenly started including long strings of 25 cent words that bear no relationship to the product? Is this some way of beating a spam filter?

I have been getting a ridiculous amount of porn spam from my bigfoot mail forwarding service. All of the e-mails say something nondescript like - hi, I think you'll like this, or hi, check this out. It's usually from a nondescript person like Sue, or Mary or Brad. When I click on the link it takes me to a beaver shot and a heinous porn site. This is either an attempt to get me to use the pay service which includes a spam filter, or you people have given my e-mail to your heinous porn sellers.

Flinty_McFlint · 03-05-2004, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NotFromHere
I have been getting a ridiculous amount of porn spam from my bigfoot mail forwarding service. All of the e-mails say something nondescript like - hi, I think you'll like this, or hi, check this out. It's usually from a nondescript person like Sue, or Mary or Brad. When I click on the link it takes me to a beaver shot and a heinous porn site. This is either an attempt to get me to use the pay service which includes a spam filter, or you people have given my e-mail to your heinous porn sellers.

Hmmm. And yet you keep clicking the porn links...I'm starting to second-guess my belief that you were female.

Atticus Grinch · 03-05-2004, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Flinty_McFlint
Hmmm. And yet you keep clicking the porn links...I'm starting to second-guess my belief that you were female.

I think the use of the term "beaver shot" is what really calls it into doubt.

NotFromHere · 03-05-2004, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Flinty_McFlint
Hmmm. And yet you keep clicking the porn links...I'm starting to second-guess my belief that you were female.

Hey. When Mary tells me to check something out, I click.
As to my gender, ask Hank - he knows the truth.

pretermitted_child · 03-06-2004, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Anyone have an idea why the spam I've been getting recently suddenly started including long strings of 25 cent words that bear no relationship to the product? Is this some way of beating a spam filter?

Yes. They are used to circumvent the Bayesian analysis used in some spam filters. See, e.g., http://www.wired.com/news/infostruct...,61886,00.html

Atticus Grinch · 03-06-2004, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pretermitted_child
Yes. They are used to circumvent the Bayesian analysis used in some spam filters. See, e.g., http://www.wired.com/news/infostruct...,61886,00.html

Thanks. I figured it was something diabolical like that, but couldn't figure out why it worked.

Hank Chinaski · 03-06-2004, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NotFromHere
Hey. When Mary tells me to check something out, I click.
As to my gender, ask Hank - he knows the truth.

NFH is a girl, and she got them big boobies.

Conf. to NFH:
I was the one sending you those emails. I wasn't sending them for the porno stuff, but the girl in those photos you mentioned, she has the hairstyle that I like (I mean head hair Atticus- you wag!), I just wanted everyone to know my "Type."

NotFromHere · 03-06-2004, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
NFH is a girl, and she got them big boobies.

Conf. to NFH:
I was the one sending you those emails. I wasn't sending them for the porno stuff, but the girl in those photos you mentioned, she has the hairstyle that I like (I mean head hair Atticus- you wag!), I just wanted everyone to know my "Type."

OK then. Next time have her turn so that I can see the part of her body that does have hair because the "shot" I received was fairly hair-free.

andViolins · 03-10-2004, 02:50 PM

You're in luck!

CeBIT to premiere USB Swiss Army Knife

It was bound to happen. Given that you can buy a Victorinox Swiss Army Knive with just about every gadget known to man, from horse-hoof awl to Hubble Space Telescope lens polisher, it's no real surprise that the company - in association with flash memory outfit Swissbit - is now offering cutting tools plus USB flash memory stick. The gadget will be unleashed on an incredulous world at CeBIT next week.

The USB Swiss Army Knife is available with 64 or 128MB memory, plus all the usual extras - knife, corkscrew and tin-opener. The 64MB version will cost €55; the price of the 128MB version is tba.

Swissbit is not just any old company trying to make a buck from ingenious vehicles for memory. It grew out of Siemens and has been producing DRAM and flash memory modules - including Compact Flash and the 1 gigabyte SwissBitKey USB Memory key - for over ten years.

USB flash memory pops up everywhere these days. Indeed, our own Cash'n'Carrion already sells a popular 256MB USB Memory Watch. Whether the USB Swiss Army Knife proves as successful remains to be seen.

aV

robustpuppy · 03-26-2004, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alex_de_Large
Spyware is software the acts benign (toolbar, screen saver, etc.) but, in the background, sends information about you, your computer, and your computer use back to whomever wrote and/or distributed the code. Dangerous stuff, as it can theoretically be used to launch DOS attacks from your computer, and the like.

Spyware is actually a great way to defeat a firewall, because once it is installed on the computer (and is therefore behind the firewall) it can operate with impunity without triggering the firewall's defenses.

The bottom line is DO turn on the security features that require prompting before installing new software and don't EVER install something on your machine unless you know where it came from.

How do you find the spyware once it's there? From my home PC, I just created a new email address at yahoo and ended up with yahoo shit all over the place -- especially a yahoo toolbar in IE -- without clicking ok for any programs. My security features are turned on. Does yahoo use, plant, or enable spyware? And how do I prevent moving that crap when I get a new computer and transfer some files (but not any programs) to the new hard drive?

I'll copy this post to the tech board so we don't clog the FB on what I hope will be a fun friday.

Mister_Ruysbroeck · 03-26-2004, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by robustpuppy
How do you find the spyware once it's there? From my home PC, I just created a new email address at yahoo and ended up with yahoo shit all over the place -- especially a yahoo toolbar in IE -- without clicking ok for any programs. My security features are turned on. Does yahoo use, plant, or enable spyware? And how do I prevent moving that crap when I get a new computer and transfer some files (but not any programs) to the new hard drive?

I'll copy this post to the tech board so we don't clog the FB on what I hope will be a fun friday.

To detect and remove spyware, install AdAware by lavasoft. They have a free version. It's very thourough: http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/

Regarding Yahoo Toolbar for IE, you should be able to uninstall it by going to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs. Just uninstall all the Yahoo! utilities (other than IM), that you don't want or need. Personally, I like yahoo's IE toolbar. It doesn't contain spyware, as far as I know, and it provides easy access to your yahoo e-mail, etc. (which assumes you use it).

If you are just copying data files when you get a new computer, you won't be in any danger of moving spyware from your old to your new computer.

Alex_de_Large · 03-26-2004, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by robustpuppy
How do you find the spyware once it's there? From my home PC, I just created a new email address at yahoo and ended up with yahoo shit all over the place -- especially a yahoo toolbar in IE -- without clicking ok for any programs. My security features are turned on. Does yahoo use, plant, or enable spyware? And how do I prevent moving that crap when I get a new computer and transfer some files (but not any programs) to the new hard drive?

I'll copy this post to the tech board so we don't clog the FB on what I hope will be a fun friday.

Yahoo is usually pretty good, but I tend to be pretty picky about what I allow companies to install, including toolbars, etc.

As for getting rid of spyware, I suggest Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. It's a free app that scans for and deletes spyware. It's pretty damned effective, and you will be shocked how much crap is on your machine. I use it once per week, and there are always at least 30 things to delete, usually tracking cookies.

edit: beat me to it! Ad-Aware is great stuff...

baltassoc · 03-26-2004, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alex_de_Large
Yahoo is usually pretty good, but I tend to be pretty picky about what I allow companies to install, including toolbars, etc.

I'm not sure about Yahoo, but I use the Google toolbar, and it can aggregate and transmit data back to Google regarding hits from searches that Google uses to refine its search methods. On the other hand, Google goes about this in the right way: it tells you exactly what it wants to do and asks politely before setting it up. And you can turn it off whenever.

It wouldn't surprise me if Yahoo had the same data collection piece.

Flinty_McFlint · 03-26-2004, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alex_de_Large
Yahoo is usually pretty good, but I tend to be pretty picky about what I allow companies to install, including toolbars, etc.

As for getting rid of spyware, I suggest Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. It's a free app that scans for and deletes spyware. It's pretty damned effective, and you will be shocked how much crap is on your machine. I use it once per week, and there are always at least 30 things to delete, usually tracking cookies.

edit: beat me to it! Ad-Aware is great stuff...

Yeah, Adaware is a standard, but I also use Spybot too--I find that each can find things the other doesn't. I don't understand why, but I won't argue. Both are free and available at www.download.com, along with a bunch of other free utilities. Always read the reviews by cnet and other users before downloading anything there, they usually will warn you if the download has spyware (which neither Adaware or Spybot have).

Best,

Reverend Flinty Sweetness

Not Bob · 04-09-2004, 12:30 PM

So, I finally broke down and got a cable modem. The old 9600 was just too slow for too long.

Unfortunately, the home computer is a couple of years old, and doesn't have a ethernet thingy. The cable modem can be hooked up with a USB port, but for some reason my 4 year old Gateway (with Windows 98) doesn't want to let it work. It won't let the driver be installed. (It works fine on my Dell notebook, so I know it isn't the modem's fault.)

Anyway, rather than continuing to try to get the USB hook-up to work, I decided to install an ethernet connection on my Gateway. How difficult will it be for a non-techie to do? Assume the non-techie is very good at following directions. Or should I have a pro do it (though it will take forever)?

The right answer is to simply buy a new computer, and we are planning on doing it in the near future. And I was planning on waiting to get the cable internet access after that, but but the local cable company was running a promotion, so ...

Thanks.