spazquest spazblog

Sobering report at Windows Secrets, based on an extensive analysis by Eric L Howes.

Almost all the anti-adware programs that were tested removed fewer than half of the hundreds of adware components Howes cataloged. The best [...] removed less than two-thirds of a PC’s unwanted guests.

[...] Tech writers often say, “You should install two different programs and run both of them for maximum protection.” To test this assertion, I compiled Howes’s raw data into a new table [...] Combining Webroot Spy Sweeper with Giant AntiSpyware did the most to remove unwanted components. But the combination of the two apps increased Giant’s 63% success rate only 7 percentage points, to 70%.

The site also gives some security guidelines that almost anyone can (and should use). My favorite is one I’d never considered: “Make sure your family members and/or your employees know what to do if your computer becomes infected.”

[edit] One Slashdot reader made an interesting comment on the subject of spyware:

• Who actually reads all the agreement to use the software?
• How many of them know their personal details are being sold?
• How many people know what is actually being collected.
• How many people got these “tools” from a random e-mail saying look this is cool?

From the eBay auction listing:

Harley Davidson powered “Star Wars” Landspeeder / perfect for “Burning Man” art car For Sale !! [...] I have to sell the Landspeeder because I’m building a full-size mockup of the shuttlecraft Galileo used in the original 60′s Star Trek series. But Punkin’ says there’s only room at our house for one sci-fi vehicle.

Let’s keep Punkin happy and pool our lunch money for a good cause!

This vehicle is not considered street legal, unless you live in a location which allows golf-karts to be driven on the street. Check your local regulations.

I just got some unsettling news.

Someone told me about some serious personality flaws that I wasn’t even aware of. This person knows me pretty well, and they’re probably right.

So why didn’t anyone tell me this before? Why do people just zip their lips and let you make all these mistakes in life? It’s like I haven’t got a clue what effect my behavior has on people. Not a clue what I’m doing to people and not recognizing — or not admitting? — that it’s a problem.

I HATE hurting people. I hold onto the guilt for years afterward. If what they say is true, it’s going to shatter me when it sinks in.

It is often claimed (by me) that I can’t code my way out of a paper bag. But I finally got a Java project off the ground — an html-scraper to catalog job postings off the web.

The main obstacle is not learning the language syntax, but the massive set of libraries (incl. 3rd-party and open-source). But yes, i’ll ramp up and make it work. Optimism is what keeps us positive, after all.

Randomness:
1. Houdini once had to escape from a giant paper bag without tearing it. (The strategy may have involved the top end.)
2. Possibly more interesting is the general strategy he used on the well-hyped escape challenges: he used his lockpick skills to access the device on display, and had days to study its inner workings and vulnerabilities. Leet!