Chad’s News

There’s a new virus/worm out, and it’s taking the web by storm. Here’s how it works:

1. You visit an infected site that has a malicious script.
2. The script takes advantage of bugs in Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash to infect your system with a virus.
3. If you have any FTP programs installed on your computer, the virus gets the login credentials, connects to the sites, and infects those websites with the script. This means that anyone visiting -your- site will now be infected.
4. Whenever you use Internet Explorer to visit Google, you are redirected to a different site, possibly to activate pay-per-click advertisements.

To protect against Gumblar, do the following:

1. Install the latest version of the Adobe Reader.
2. Install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. (Note, there’s one version for Internet Explorer and another version for all other browsers—you may need to install both.)
3. Update your antivirus software and definitions, then run a virus scan.

For those who have FTP programs installed with saved passwords, I suggest (1) configure your FTP client so it doesn’t save the passwords, and (2) change the passwords. Also, this article explains how to determine if your website is infected and lists methods to remove the malicious code.

Link: http://www.itworldcanada.com/…

Need some extra time to write that term paper? At the linked site, you can purchase a corrupted file to email to your professor. By the time he/she notices, you’ll have finished writing the -real- paper and can “re-send” it. This is so bizarre—I wonder if it’s actually worked for anyone.

Link: http://www.corrupted-files.com/
(via The Presurfer)

Last February, Microsoft released a .NET 3.5 service pack via Windows Update. Part of the install process silently adds a Firefox extension allowing the browser to use the .NET ClickOnce feature. (The extension is named “Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant”.) There are some security concerns about this extension, and additionally, you can’t uninstall it without making a registry change. Needless to say, this irritated a good number of people. The uproar was so bad that Microsoft issued a patch allowing you to uninstall the extension normally.

Link: http://yro.slashdot.org/…

The Palm Pre is now available at stores. It has the potential to be a serious competitor to the iPhone. One significant difference is that the Pre has a physical keyboard. Price-wise it matches the iPhone, but I’m thinking the service plans may be the place to save money.

Thanks to Donna for this link.

Link: http://online.wsj.com/…

Update: Here’s an additional link detailing some of the downsides of the Palm Pre.

If you own a GM vehicle, especially one that’s under warranty or belongs to a soon-to-be discontinued brand, here are some answers on how the bankruptcy will affect you. On the plus side, if you’re up to taking a little risk you can probably get some good deals. All I can say is that I’ve had my Chevy truck for nearly 10 years, and I bought it used. Definitely got my money’s worth.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

SharpKeys is a Windows utility that lets you change the meaning of keys on your keyboard. You can map a key to be something else, or disable it entirely. I have an old M-series keyboard without a Windows key, and this is a way to create one. Also, don’t even get me started on Caps Lock. I use the Tab key quite often, and my left pinky has an annoying habit of hitting Caps Lock instead. In the past I would physically remove Caps Lock from the keyboard, but SharpKeys gives me the ability to disable it (or even make it into another Tab).

Link: http://www.howtogeek.com/…
(via Lifehacker)

Update: Parrish notes that KeyTweak does the same thing without requiring .NET.

The video in the linked article is from the International Space Station, and shows the stabilizing effect of gyroscopes. The demonstration is done in zero-gravity, and the “gyroscopes” are portable CD players.

Link: http://www.neatorama.com/…

Here at Chad’s News we have a love-love relationship with Firefox, but it has problems with the script-heavy Facebook site. So I use Google Chrome, with its faster JavaScript processing and minimal overhead, just for Facebook. And it makes a difference.

Google has just released a new version of Chrome. It has a few enhancements, about 300 bug fixes, and even faster script processing. If you haven’t already tried Chrome, this may be the time to test it out. I personally find it to be too minimalistic and wish it had some sort of ad blocking feature, but Chrome has benefits that you won’t find in Internet Explorer or Firefox.

Link: http://chrome.blogspot.com/…

This is just bizarre. If you look straight at the graphic it appears to be moving vertically, while if you look out of the side of your eye it appears to be moving at an angle.

Link: http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/…
(via Neatorama)

Here at the Chad’s News network command center, we do external site/database backups on a weekly basis. The website in the linked article maintained a backup server but did not create an external or off-site backup. A hacker broke into their system and destroyed the data on both servers. Thirteen years of irreplaceable data lost.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…
(via Slashdot)

How well do you know your web-related acronyms? I got 18 out of 20 correct. And I have to admit I’d never heard of “YUI” before.

Link: http://www.elanman.co.uk/…
(via digg)

The linked article explains the general differences between LED and LCD monitors.

Link: http://komando.com/…