I’ve Been Hacked From China – Someone Call General Tso

Seriously, is there anyone who doesn’t use the same password on more than one account? I already balance five or six passwords in my head. One for each site I visit would be nuts!

I checked in with Gmail a little earlier. Those Google boys run all my email accounts. There was a message with scary red type. Someone had logged into my account from China! The Gmail crew was wondering whether that was OK by me?

I’m a tech savvy guy. It really was from Gmail containing some details no spammer could ever conjure.

I have accounts on lots of sites. Many use the same password. That’s probably how whoever broke in gained access. This is the kind of password you can’t just guess. It’s now changed.

Thankfully this particular password wasn’t associated with any account that has access to my money. It was however my favorite. I’ve used it since the early days of the Internet.

I looked through Gmail again after the change. Everything seems intact. This should be an effective remedy.

It’s time we found a way to replace passwords. Seriously, is there anyone who doesn’t use the same password on more than one account? I already balance five or six passwords in my head. One for each site I visit would be nuts!

Bill Gates Goes Up In My Esteem (Like He Cares)

His trip to Microsoft.com sucked simply put and he documented his grief in intricate detail and with obvious anger. The interviewer showed Gates the email and asked if he remembered it?

I’ve never been a big Bill Gates fan. You have to be ruthless to be a corporate titan. I just read a well thought out story about him. My mind is changed.

In 2008 with Gates leaving daily life at Microsoft Todd Bishop of the Seattle Post Intelligencer was granted an interview. To prepare he read through Bill Gates’ emails made public after a trial.

In one Gates complained loudly about his experience on Microsoft.com. The site was slow and confusing. He never accomplished his objective.

Gates sounded like a real user–you or me. His trip to Microsoft.com sucked simply put and he documented his grief in intricate detail and with obvious anger.

The interviewer showed Gates the email and asked if he remembered it?

‘”What do you think I do all day? Sending an e-mail like that, that is my job. That’s what it’s all about. We’re here to make things better.”

That’s a better Bill Gates than I expected.

Tech Support 24/7… Possibly 8

There are two speeds in Stef’s life. The first is operative when she wants something. The second kicks in when I want something. Guess which is faster?

Stef called while I was driving home. It was a tech support call.

There are two speeds in Stef’s life. The first is operative when she wants something. The second kicks in when I want something. Guess which is faster?

I called her back when I got in.

She needed to know her WiFi password. I set up the wireless for her, but totally forgot the password. It seemed (and turned out to be) apropos when it was originally conjured. Problem is there are thousands of apropos passwords!

I tunneled into her computer with LogMeIn.com. It’s very reliable and resides permanently on her laptop.

Nowadays and on new installs I mainly use TeamViewer.com which seems a little more robust. More importantly it’s easy when my patient needs to be talked through its installation.

From Connecticut, but on her laptop in California, I quickly located, unzipped and executed a program to crack WiFi passwords. The virus protector zapped it on contact!

Oops.

Any program which plays with the system files necessary to recover encrypted data is looked at suspiciously. Understandable.

I tried turning off the virus protection. It wouldn’t fully shut down. Anti virus software looks suspiciously at that too! Frustration was setting in.

Finally I opened a browser and probed her router. It’s got a little website built-in to allow for configuration. Hidden away in obscurity was the password. It was fully in-the-clear. There was no encryption.

She’s happy. I am the man.

Stuff I Learned From A Bad Movie On TV

The world was not dainty. The 1983 world was still substantial.

You’re asleep now. That means you’re missing the telecast of Jaws 3 on Movieplex.

Yeah, I didn’t know there was a Jaws 3 either.

I’m not going to watch the movie, but I do want to point out some cultural differences that are quite obvious in this 1983 production.

The world was not dainty. The 1983 world was still substantial.

Everything looks like it was built to take some punishment. Nowadays everything is brittle or flimsy or both (is that possible?). A computer-communications room was filled with large pieces of equipment each having oodles of unused panel space. Things needed to be bigger back then.

Now very complex systems are built as a single chip! Some equipment is already as small as possible while remaining controllable. A tiny phone is no good if it’s too small to dial. New ways of using equipment will lead to the next diminution of size.

A few computers were shown. They all had large tape reels on top. That kind of storage today would seem glacial.

Cue the meaningless flashing lights. They had lots of flashing lights and none of the steady ‘confidence’ lights most equipment today has.

One more thing about this flick. Bad acting is timeless.

I Want A Pad

The iPad is beautiful but it’s under Apple’s evil grasp. What you can or cannot do with an iPad depends on Steve Jobs’ mood on any given day. There’s a lot Steve and I disagree on!

I want a pad.

Uh oh.

Helaine, don’t worry it doesn’t exist yet.

The iPad is beautiful but it’s under Apple’s evil grasp. What you can or cannot do with an iPad depends on Steve Jobs’ mood on any given day. There’s a lot Steve and I disagree on! That’s OK on a phone, but a deal breaker on a pad.

I want a pad that’s an email/surfing machine I can take on the road. It also has to help with photography. The iPad does not.

I’d like to be able to view and do simple editing on my RAW photo files for emailing and the blog. There’s no need at the moment for Photoshop and other ‘heavy lifting’ tools.

I really don’t care about cell connectivity right now. WiFi will most likely be fine.

Today cheap pads have resistive screens. I’d like capacitive for multitouch (like iPhone pinching).

I’d rather not use Windows. I can’t tell you exactly why. I expect Android will be the go-to operating system for pads.

This type of pad should be out before the end of the year and under $300. At least that’s what I think.

Google, Verizon and Me (But Mostly Them)

Where’s the no evil company that previously championed net neutrality? They want to redefine net neutrality so it’s not always neutral.

Have you seen the Google/Verizon position on net neutrality? I expected Verizon’s position but Google? Where’s the no evil company that once championed net neutrality? They want to redefine net neutrality so it’s not always neutral.

I am incredibly disappointed with Google and will begin to question my extremely complex relationship with them. This is a stunning turnaround!

The Electronic Freedom Foundation (and many others) chimed in. They disapprove too.

The problem is bandwidth providers like cable TV or phone and cellular companies are not dispassionate observers. Along with conserving their pipes they want to be able to monetize my surfing. I want my online requests fulfilled without worrying whether they’re also in the best interest of my carrier.

In this conflict shouldn’t I prevail? That’s what net neutrality is all about.

It’s tough for me to think companies like Verizon and now Google are operating with my best interest first. Maybe it is to be expected. That’s not evil. It’s just true.

Tech Support Here. I’d Like A Few Words With You

Hi, tech support here. I’m the friend/relative who fixes your broken PC. I am part of an army of nerds that cleans up other people’s computer troubles.

Hi, tech support here. I’m the friend/relative who fixes your broken PC. I am part of an army of nerds that cleans up other people’s computer troubles.

The good news is I can probably fix your computer even though this is the first time I’m seeing your particular problem. It’s not that I know how to fix everything. I just know where the answers are. That’s the secret of the nerds!

Unfortunately I can’t find the answer unless I know exactly what the problem is. No abbreviating. No paraphrasing. I need the error message verbatim. Don’t leave stuff out. Let me decided what’s important.

Writing all that stuff down is a pain in the butt. Do it anyway. Trust me–you’re still getting off easy.

I have to research. I can’t unless I have real specifics. This is why computer geeks are often perceived as snippy. Put yourself in our scuffed shoes.

If your computer stopped right after you did something tell me.

One of my tech ‘suportees’ downloaded the ‘free Flash player’ from a porn site. It was the only way to get the free porn. Wow, how public spirited. I won’t be judgmental.

Yesterday my daughter’s computer lost Internet access after getting some Microsoft updates… except it wasn’t connecting to the Internet before the updates either. I discovered that by accident. It allowed me to say, “wait.” Sure enough today this problem fixed itself.

Speaking of my daughter, she knows I don’t snoop at her stuff. She’s a grownup and deserves privacy. However, understand we tech supporters can see pretty much everything on your computer including a list of the websites you’ve recently visited.

A friend’s teenage daughter decided she didn’t need my help when she found that out.

Sometimes problems can be solved by restoring. It’s a function built into Windows and brings your computer back to an earlier state. Documents remain untouched. Whoever’s responsible for that gets my undying gratitude. Of course if you tell me the problem started three months ago restore won’t help.

If you’re infected with a virus I’m going to recommend reformatting and reloading from scratch. Maybe I could clear the infection, but it’s painstaking work which will take forever with no guarantee I’ll fully succeed. Virus writers try and protect their work from my repairs and they’re much more computer savvy than I am. Reloading take a fraction of the time and I don’t need to supervise most of it.

I don’t have virus protection on my computers and I don’t get infected! Think about that a second.

Today most… no nearly all virus infections happen because you bring them in! It’s called social engineering. The virus writers convince you to do it willingly! Most computer users click on anything without understanding what they’re doing. You’re not doing yourself any favors.

Microsoft takes a lot of the credit here. Their methods of security have numbed users who just assume all clicks are good.

If you’re using a Mac I don’t want to hear it. OK?

Cool Video: Simulating What’s Real

If you’re not a math and science type just watch the attached video because it’s fascinating. On the other hand if you’ve got your geek on you’re really going to enjoy it!

If you’re not a math and science type just watch the attached video because it’s fascinating. On the other hand if you’ve got your geek on you’re really going to enjoy it!

The video itself comes from Lagoa Technologies, a company with limited Internet presence. I wish I could give you more details.

Lagoa Multiphysics 1.0 – Teaser.

The Penguin And I Are At It Again!

This is hardcore geek work. I’m performing tasks that resemble scenes from “War Games.” I inserted a disk and within seconds the screen was full of scrolling text.

The penguin and I are at it again. This is like Ali-Frazier!

If you missed it earlier the Linux operating system is referred to as the penguin here. My homebuilt DVR runs atop Linux. Unfortunately part of the DVR isn’t working. I am too crazed to allow that.

Mythbuntu is the distribution that’s causing the trouble. I read somewhere (though I haven’t been able to find it since) MythDora supports my capture card and fixes my problem. We’ll see.

This is hardcore geek work. I’m performing tasks that resemble scenes from “War Games.” I inserted a disk and within seconds the screen was full of scrolling text.

Why is it there when it goes by so fast it can’t be read? Got me. It just does.

This is a net install. I burned a smaller file–just enough to get the computer running. My job is done. It will now go online and find whatever else is needed. The autonomous computer is currently installing 194 Mb of “fluid-soundfont-lite-patches-3.1.-4.fc12.noarch.” That’s file 65 of 1457. Isn’t that the one they download to take over the Earth?

This will take a while. I might go to sleep and let it work quietly then pick it up in the morning (by which I mean afternoon).

It partially worked before I attempted this. It’s only fair I get at least that far tomorrow.

You And The Penguin Aren’t Getting Along

I’m like the guys who built hot rods in the 50s and 60s–just with computers. That’s why I’m rebuilding something that worked fine, but could be coaxed to work finer.

“You and the penguin aren’t getting along.” It was Helaine. “I can tell.” She’s psychic about these things.

The penguin is ‘Fox housetalk’ for Linux, a computer operating system that’s sparsely used by folks at home. It is atop Linux that MythTV, my DVR software sits.

I know. This is really geeky. It’s my fun… when the penguin and I are speaking.

It hasn’t been good this weekend. Computers aren’t suppose to give you a different answer when doing the same thing multiple times. This Ubuntu Linux install did.

I’m a scrounger. I’m like the guys who built hot rods in the 50s and 60s–just with computers. That’s why I’m rebuilding something that worked fine, but could be coaxed to work finer.

I’m in the midst of rebuilding my DVR. It moved into a faster box, got a software update and acquired a digital tuner. I should be able to record non-scrambled high def shows in high def.

The problem is none of the digital station recording works! When it’s time to scan for channels it merely rolls through the dial without locking onto one. I can still record ‘old fashioned’ TV, but that’s not the point.

Others have had this problem and solved it. I will too.

At the moment it’s driving me a little crazy.

Meanwhile this newly assembled machine means two very old and now gutted computers will be thrown out. Though both are worthless the act itself pains me. It seems so wrong. It would be like throwing out wire or cable. You just don’t.

The Frustration Of Style Over Substance

What happened to play testing products? The developers probably never use the product once it’s out of their dev hands.

We’re going on vacation soon, cruising to the Canadian Maritimes. I thought it would be nice to pack my iPhone with some ‘content’ so I could sit on deck, soak up the sun and be ‘edutained.’

I headed to iTunes last night–specifically the podcast section. There are hundreds of geeky university lectures to listen to or see.

You want me to admit I’m King Geek? Fine. I’m King Geek.

Often these lectures delve into subjects far off the beaten path. Thankfully the iPhone’s beautiful screen makes seeing and reading text easy… except here.

In order to preserve the beauty of the page design the descriptive text has been truncated to the point the subject matter can’t be discerned! Look at the screencap (above left) and see if you can figure out what these lectures are about?

Really Apple? Is this what you really wanted to do?

Apple isn’t alone here. My Comcast DVR often cuts movie and program titles to a single word. What movie or show is “Murder?” Who the hell knows? I surely don’t.

What happened to play testing products? The developers probably never use the product once it’s out of their dev hands.

Isn’t anyone looking to see if what’s been designed actually works?

Blogger’s addendum: Yes I was up at 4:37 AM getting this screencap. Guilty as charged.

Hooked On Chrome

It was reasonably fast, had fewer security holes and was produced by hippies who’d attended Woodstock and still lived on a commune.

This blog is written mostly for my own enjoyment. That sentence prefaces this entry in an attempt to give myself permission to write about geeky, nerdy stuff. Specifically web browsers.

Are you still here?

In the enlightened 2010s most web surfers still use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. IE has been a horrendous browser. Sorry Microsoft, it has.

Users don’t notice, but developers will quickly let you know IE has been a non-standards compliant nightmare and about as secure as a pup tent! It’s gotten better in its latest iterations, but it’s still s-l-o-w.

Oh yeah–browsers vary in speed. Noticeably. That’s mostly because of how they handle javascript, a language vital to the web and executed on the user’s machine with nearly every webpage–often more than once.

Are you really sure you want to read this?

I moved away from Internet Explorer a few years ago. My browser love was committed to Firefox the open source browser from the Mozilla Foundation.

Firefox had everything a good dweeb needed. It was reasonably fast, had fewer security holes and was produced by hippies who’d attended Woodstock and still lived on a commune. OK. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.

Firefox, is created by an international movement of thousands, only a small percentage of whom are actual employees.

Cue the unicorns!

About six months ago I began to use Google’s Chrome browser. It was stark. Almost immediately I realized I didn’t like it.

Sure, it was faster than Firefox–noticeably faster. It just didn’t have Firefox’s huge collection of add-ons. That was the deal breaker. Yet somehow I kept getting drawn back to Chrome.

Today 90% of my web time is spent using Chrome. It’s the speed. There’s that much difference. It feels like I’ve got a new PC.

Unfortunately some sites insist I use something other than Chrome. I can’t always be sure why. Firefox and IE have to remain on standby.

Google doesn’t need my proselytizing. Chrome will catch on without me. I just wanted to give you a heads up. It’s worth checking out.

More On AT&T’s Less Data Plan

These are bandwidth hungry applications. You can’t use Netflix for iPhone on a regular basis and expect to stay within the new monthly caps.

Apple is kicking off their annual developers conference, aka WWDC. As is usually the case Steve Jobs is presenting. I’m letting Twitter keep me updated.

Before getting to the new iPhone (very impressive hardware improvements) Jobs talked about some new apps, specifically Farmville (ugh) and Netflix.

This is exactly what I was talking about in my earlier post. These are bandwidth hungry applications. You can’t use Netflix for iPhone on a regular basis and expect to stay within the new monthly caps.

NY Times: Download an hour-long TV show to a smartphone or tablet and you’ve used 550 megabytes, or well over a quarter of your monthly allotment. Streaming a two-hour movie from Netflix consumes 300 megabytes.

By the way, I have no idea why an hour long TV show uses nearly twice as much data as a two hour movie. The numbers aren’t as important as the general concept: Bandwidth drives innovation.

Infected While Protected!

Charlie’s computer had a McAffee antivirus suite installed. McAffee didn’t stop Charlie from getting his PC infected.

My friend Big John called from Florida a few weeks ago. He needed a favor. His brother’s computer was acting up. Would I take a look?

I’d crawl over broken glass for John so this wasn’t really a problem.

John and his brother Charlie are identical twins. They are tall and broad with deep, booming voices. John moved south while Charlie stayed put.

His PC is a nice middle-of-the-road Dell Dimension 4000. It’s got a 2.8 gHz P4 CPU, a hard drive large enough for Charlie but smaller than anything you can buy today and 1.25 Gb RAM. That odd number usually means the integrated video card shares some system memory.

Here’s the truth. Unless you’re a gamer or doing heavyweight photo/video work a system like Charlie’s is still just fine. And unlike mechanical devices a computer doesn’t slow with age. Slow is a fixable problem.

Charlie’s computer had deteriorated to crawl mode. When I booted it I immediately got a few error messages from dll’s identified with a virus! There were extra toolbars on the web browser. Strange pop-ups appeared. None of this was welcome news.

As a precaution I hadn’t plugged the computer into my network. In retrospect that was a pretty good decision.

Charlie’s computer had a McAffee antivirus suite installed. McAffee didn’t stop Charlie from getting his PC infected.

I’m not a fan of virus protection. I’ll go a step further–I think it’s a waste of money! Most of my machines go without and stay uninfected. If you click without reading (or thinking) or if you practice slutty computing, you’re going to end up catching something regardless.

Sadly, virus protection can’t protect you from you! There are a lot of dishonest people in this world and they all seem to know how to code for Windows and how to entice you into installing their wares.

I’m not sure I can describe my recovery methods except to say I turned a lot of stuff off, uninstalled a bunch of programs including McAffee and then installed and ran Windows Security Essentials and CrapCleaner (it’s now known as CCleaner, but we go way back so I get to use the original name).

Windows Security Essentials is free and has gotten pretty good reviews. It found “RegCure” and “Zango.” right off the bat. They’re now banished.

At the moment Charlie’s computer seems to be chugging along nicely. He’s got a sweet little Western Digital “My Passport Essentials” backup drive which had never been used! It’s currently backing up the system.

It’s not Charlie’s fault he’s not a computer expert. Why should he be? You don’t have to be Henry Ford to drive a car.

Windows computers (less so now with Vista and Windows 7) make it too easy for a basic user to harm his own machine. There are so many cryptic warnings that most people just click right through them! Macs and Linux machines probably aren’t any more secure, but they’re less fertile targets so there’s aren’t as many viruses.

The good news is the computer is now working the way it’s supposed to. The bad news is I disinfect, I don’t immunize against further infection.

Now My Phone’s My GPS

Where is Google in all this? You’d think enough time has passed that they can give up the Android platform exclusivity on their turn-by-turn product.

I’m an iPhone user. When the Android based “Droid” phone first came out I was upset. Both the iPhone and Droid have Google Maps built-in, but the Droid raised the stakes with turn-by-turn directions. That added “GPS killer” to the list of free Droid features!

Now the iPhone is in the game with free turn-by-turn directions from MapQuest. I downloaded the MapQuest4Mobile app tonight and used it to navigate home… over the same route I’ve driven every night for the past twenty years.

The good news is the route was correct. After a little playing the sound was loud enough to hear (loudness is not a native iPhone trait).

The bad news is compared to a modern GPS the screen is small. The maps are flat and two dimensional, not the 3D maps normally seen in this type of scenario. 3D maps make a difference because details in the foreground appear larger with more detail while items in the distance you don’t have to deal with for a while are smaller.

Usually the MapQuest app will give you two warnings before telling to to “turn right now!” If you’re on a road a very short distance than can be one or no warnings!

Because the GPS works best when you see the screen and because this app is constantly sucking down data it’s a battery killer. Of course any iPhone user worth his salt has stowed away charging cables in all the places the phone is used. At least I have.

This is not a handheld app. As soon as I got home I ordered a $3.99 suction mount (which I’ll also use for watching movies while traveling). Once it’s mounted on he windshield (and plugged into the lighter) the MapQuest equipped iPhone should work perfectly as a GPS replacement.

MapQuest has a paid app for GPS routing too. It adds the 3D maps I mentioned plus rerouting around traffic. I’d buy but I suspect those features will be available for free soon too.

Where is Google in all this? You’d think enough time has passed by now that they can give up the Android platform exclusivity on their turn-by-turn product.