Tech Scamps

I’ve been playing with Macrium Reflect for the last few weeks as part of a new backup scheme for my laptop and my wife’s computer. I’m still not settled with my scheme but I love Macrium Reflect and highly recommend it for anyone looking for an easy way to backup and recover from a complete disaster.

AppScout has a nice write up entitled Macrium Reflect Backs up Your Files for Free. Check it out! And watch for an explanation of my backup scheme in the next week or so.

Michael Johnson Security, Software AppScout, backup, Macrium Reflect, storage

The Conficker Working Group, a group of companies, agencies and organizations with an interest in putting a stop to the Conficker Worm, has a great little tool for quickly testing weather you have one of the three versions of Conficker.

Click on the image of the Conficker Eye Chart and it will present a page with six images. If any of the top row of images does not load then you might have a problem with Conficker.

Visit the site for a better explanation.

It’s too bad that every virus or worm wouldn’t provide a simple means like this for their detection. So make sure your operating system stays up-to-date and that you run an up-to-date anti-virus protection. And don’t install crap!

Of course, if you are on a Mac or Linux computer then you wont have a problem at all. At least not with Conficker.

Michael Johnson Security anti-virus, Conficker, Security, virus, Windows

The questionable “fair use” of Common Craft’s video, “Twitter in Plain English“, by the mainstream media is an interesting discussion. Common Craft raises some interesting questions in their blog post Our Twitter Video Used in Mainstream Media – Thoughts.

Common Craft is a company that makes educational videos for a living. They offer a number of great videos for free viewing on their website. One of their most popular is “Twitter in Plain English“, to describe why someone might want to try out Twitter.com. Apparently, ABC Nightline, ABC Good Morning America, NPR Unger Report, CNN International, CBS Sunday Morning, and KOMO News all used the video. ABC with permission. The rest without it.

Lee Lefever, one of the owners at Common Craft, takes a very intellectual and mature view of this in his blog post questioning the use. It does seem to be “Fair Use” by the media to me. In most cases, excerpts were used in conjunction with a news story, some used more than others.

Ok, fine, no laws broken. Common Craft doesn’t seem to feel harmed and does not appear to be harmed commercially. All is good.

But wait? Where is the common courtesy? A simple email and follow on phone call to ask permission would have been easy? I understand a clear mention and link in a news show is not always “good television”. But all of these pieces are now online? Why not a link and citation of sources on the web page with the video of the news broadcast? That’s not hard at all, is it?

As a frequent internet user, I often see something on TV or hear on the radio and go to the World Wide Web for more information. I consume more news online than offline. And I consider myself an amateur historian as well. Original sources, citations and attributions are a big deal to me. They allow me to determine if the information is any good. They allow me to get more information and to delve in deeper to an issue or topic. And I have a greater respect for and return more often to sites that provide me with good references and valuable links to more info.

I certainly try to provide enough links when I write on a subject. And I encourage others to cite their sources as well. While this particular case looks like “fair use” was met, common courtesy could have been done better. All these agancies would prefer links from me, I’m sure!

Michael Johnson communication ABC, CBS, CNN, Common Craft, copyright, creative commons, fair use, Law, media, Twitter, video

Computer World is reporting that “Texas state Senate bans Vista from use in government agencies“.

“We are not in any way, shape or form trying to pick on Microsoft, but the problems with this particular [operating] system are known nationwide,” Sen. Juan Hinojosa said during a Senate session debating the rider Wednesday evening. “And the XP operating system is working very well.”

Wow, I can’t believe I am going to defend Microsoft, but is Senator Hinojosa using the same Vista I am? Since upgrading to Service Pack 1 of Vista, it’s been as reliable as Windows XP.

The article from Computer World goes on to say that some agencies and state offices have already upgraded to Vista. But doesn’t answer the question as to how those migrations went? Did something go terribly wrong that influenced this decision? Or is it just these “known nationwide” problems that Senator Hinojosa speaks of? Which problems are those exactly?

I’m an Apple fan-boy. But even I confess that Vista is an okay operating system. If installed on new hardware and used with new peripherals to avoid driver problems, it’s fine. As fine as XP is. If the Texas State Legislature wants to really make some improvements, have an impact on their budget and not outlaw a single product from one company then why didn’t they pass a law to promote open source solutions? Linux is a perfect solution for many office uses. I’m sure some agencies have some Windows-only software on the client side for server side databases. But they should be moving away from such a proprietary model anyway. That is what is really tieing them to Microsoft.

In 2007, Texas considered a bill to require state agencies to adopt the Open Document Format but that failed. Seems like they should consider that again. Embrass something good, but don’t hate on the misunderstood.

Read the whole article at Computer World:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Operating+Systems&articleId=9130992&taxonomyId=89&pageNumber=2

Michael Johnson Operating System Computer World, Law, Linux, Microsoft, open source, Texas, Vista

I hope this is an April Fools joke! A bill has been proposed in the U.S. Senate that would empower the government to set and enforce security standards for private industry.

From the Washington Post: “Senate Legislation Would Federalize Cybersecurity”

The proposals, in Senate legislation that could be introduced as early as today, would broaden the focus of the government’s cybersecurity efforts to include not only military networks but also private systems that control essentials such as electricity and water distribution. At the same time, the bill would add regulatory teeth to ensure industry compliance with the rules, congressional officials familiar with the plan said yesterday.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV of W.Virginia and Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, my home state.

On the face of it, this sounds good. A government agency who is responsible for monitoring and reacting in conjunction with other agencies in the event of an attack on our nations cyber-infrastructure.

But I am not in favor of a bigger government. Also, I think there is a lot of good going on in the private sector in regards to security. They don’t need regulation. I believe that Homeland Security already has authority to respond to threats and attacks on the internet. I prefer that legal due process remain in place and fear that a new agency would be given powers to circumvent the courts.

I guess we shall see how this turns out and I look forward to reading what more inteligent and thoughtful writers have to say about this idea.

Read the entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/31/AR2009033103684.html?nav=rss_nation/special

Michael Johnson Security Government, Law, Maine, Security, Senate