Thursday - June 16, 2011

Weiner chops it off

NY, 2:25 PM - Amid heckling shouts of “bye bye pervert!” Anthony Weiner has resigned his seat in Congress.

Scandal-scarred Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned his seat from the U.S. House on Thursday, ending a once-promising political career after his sexually-charged online behavior was exposed.

“Today I am announcing my resignation from Congress, so my colleagues can get back to work, my neighbors can choose a new representative and most importantly that my wife and I can continue to deal with the damage I have caused,” he said at a news conference in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

His announcement was met by some cheers and heckling in the packed room, including from one who could be heard saying, “Goodbye, pervert.”

Weiner now joins a long list of U.S. lawmakers who have resigned over sex scandals in recent years, including Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., Eric Massa, D-N.Y., and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

For nearly three weeks, Weiner has been embroiled in a scandal over lewd pictures and messages that he sent to at least six women on Twitter and Facebook over a three-year period.

Weiner has told friends he wanted to speak with his pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, before deciding whether to resign. She returned to Washington early Wednesday from a trip to Africa with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Weiner’s resignation came after the scandal grew even stranger when former porn actress Ginger Lee who exchanged emails and messages with the congressman said Wednesday he asked her to lie about their interactions. Lee called for Weiner to resign.

Oh snap. Maybe he could ignore the calls for his resignation from members and leaders of both parties, and even from the President, but when a used up old porn star says it’s over, it’s over.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/16/2011 at 02:07 PM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Sex •  
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   Wednesday - May 25, 2011

Purposeful Downgrade

UPDATE:

It all comes down to your computer.

I’m using 4.0.1 and love it. Much faster than the previous version and runs at about half the load. Wonder why our experience is so different?
Posted by Pal2Pal

Pal2Pal -

Because your computer is newer and stronger than mine. I looked things up and found that FF4 requires a much newer system to run properly than did FF3.6 -

FF4 needs at least a Pentium 4 CPU with SSE2 (2004 or newer) and 512 MB RAM
FF3.6 will run on any Pentium 233Mhz or faster and needs only 64 MB RAM

My system is a Pentium 3 at 733Mhz with 384MB RAM. At best it has SSE1, if it has any SSE at all; I see to recall MMX being an extra cost option around the time I got this machine (1999). Without going all techno-geek, SSE2 and MMX are technologies that allow for a basic kind of parallel processing (vectored SIMD - Single Instruction, Multiple Data), which is what the Pentium chip was really designed to do. The “Pentium” name comes from it’s design, which is one CPU controlling 4 other CPUs; the whole idea was to break up a given computing task into 2 to 4 smaller parts that could run simultaneously, thereby getting lots more work done for a given CPU clock speed. Great idea, hard to implement from the code end. SSE2 added lots more chip instructions to make this kind of processing possible. Today’s chips do this kind of thing automatically, and dynamically, to the point where CPU clock speed is largely irrelevant. Today’s Quad Core™ chips are far more than just 4 latest generation Pentium CPUs mounted together (given you the parallel power of 20 80386 super high speed CPUs), but they can be made to work that way. Firefox 4 takes advantage of some of those chip instructions, which is why it runs so darn fast on more modern PCs. But on older PCs it’s going to be utter confusion, with chains of instructions queuing up to run through a single processor that doesn’t have the necessary instructions. Limited amounts of RAM make things even worse, forcing the CPU to page instructions in and out. In other words a) the code is better than my computer can handle, and b) I can see the writing on the wall and I realize that the days of this PC are numbered. I want to get another 2 years out of this one if I can, because by that point the next generation of CPUs will be on the market in large enough quantities to be affordable, and from what I have read they are going to utterly outclass even today’s best Quad Core chips.

Shopping for a new PC? Buy the biggest and fastest CPU you can afford with the largest on board cache you can find and load the system down with as much fast RAM as it will take. You can always go get another hard drive later on. You can always go get the next generation video card later on too. It is almost always less expensive to buy the RAM with the PC than from the aftermarket, but that can change, so keep your eyes open. Those last two statements applies to folks shopping for a desktop system. If you’re looking for a notebook, fill it with RAM from the factory, and the best video card. Those machines can be very difficult to take apart for doing owner upgrades.

I’m slightly annoyed at Firefox. Any program running on your PC can access information about your system. I’m not talking spy stuff, I mean the program can find out what kind of CPU you have, how much RAM, what BIOS version, etc. Just a few lines of code could determine whether the new version of FF would be a blessing or a curse. But no. I got the same “We strongly urge you to update to the latest version of Firefox for security reasons” message everyone else did. Those lines of code weren’t in the installation package either, and they should have been. “We’re sorry, your PC is not able to support this version. You need at least this for a CPU and at least that for RAM. Installation terminated.” sure would have saved me some headaches.

I just uninstalled Firefox 4.0.1 and put in the older Firefox 3.6.17. Version 4.0.1 was a total pig on my older, slower PC. Worse than being slow, every two or three minutes it would feel the need to take over my hard drive and churn away for several minutes at a time doing something; during that time I could do NOTHING at all with the PC. Even closing the damn thing took 5 minutes. Downloads were slow as heck too. And I could never get rid of the extra “Welcome to 4.0.1” tab whenever I loaded the thing. I gather this version no longer uses the prefs.js file.

Frog all that.

Buh bye little piggy, roast in hell.

But it fought me. There was no entry for Mozilla 4 in the Windows Add/Remove Software thingy in the Control Panel, only one for 3.6.4, which didn’t function. Using the Firefox Helper.exe application didn’t work - it wouldn’t even run! So I deleted the whole Mozilla directory structure, then used my tune up software to clean out the Registry entries and shortcuts. And yet somehow, the newly installed older version managed to come up the very first time with all my bookmarks, which I had exported to a .html file, but never specified to be used. So I guess other parts of the program hide in other places. I really don’t care, as long as this version doesn’t make a pig of itself.

Thanks to Roger for the 3.6.17 link.

Posted by Drew458     on 05/25/2011 at 04:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace •  
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   Monday - May 23, 2011

Killing a Nasty Bastard

What this infection does:

MS Removal Tool is a computer infection from the same family as System Tool. This infection is also categorized as a rogue anti-spyware program as it pretends to be an anti-virus program, but is actually a program that displays fake security alerts and scan results in order to make you think your computer is infected. MS Removal Tool is installed through the use of malware that will install the program onto your computer without your knowledge or permission. When installed, the infection files will be created in a random named folder in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\, in XP, or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\, in Windows Vista and Windows 7. It will then be configured to start automatically when you login to your computer.

The little bastard gets into your PC and immediately shuts down every other program’s ability to run. Those programs either won’t respond at all, or an error message will come up saying that you don’t have the proper permissions to run them. Meanwhile, MS Removal Tool will be scanning the daylights out of your hard drives, and reporting back that you have all sorts of infections, damaged files, and every other kind of horror. You can reboot all you want, and it won’t make any difference. MS Removal Tool sets itself up to be the very first program loaded on boot. It’s a con. It’s out to hold your PC hostage until you authorize it to make a charge against your credit card for $29.95. Then it goes away. For now.

It can get right through your firewall, and right through many of the commercial anti-virus software packages.

You can beat it without too much trouble, and at no cost. Download the just released tool from Microsoft, called Microsoft Safety Scanner. <<== this is the link to get it. It's big - 68Mb. And it isn't terribly fast. But it will do the job. You can even download the tool once MS Removal Tool has taken over your PC, if you know how.

Here's what to do:
1) Reboot your Windows PC in Safe Mode. Do this by hitting the reset button, and then holding down the F8 key once the BIOS information is done flashing across the screen. Some text will come up: choose Safe Mode With Networking. Detailed F8 Safe Mode Boot instructions are here for all versions of Windows.

2) If you prepared ahead of time, you downloaded Microsoft Safety Scanner, and you have the file, called msert.exe, sitting on your desktop in the upper left quadrant. Safe Mode generally defaults to VGA 640x480 resolution, so you aren’t going to see most of your desktop icons. But it seems to map them from the upper left to the lower right, so if you move msert.exe in that area you’ll always be able to click on it.
2b) If you put msert.exe anywhere else, use Start—Run to launch it.
2c) If you didn’t prepare ahead of time, you can launch a browser and go online and download it. Browsers aren’t easy to use in VGA mode, but you can do it.

3) Run msert.exe, set it to full scan, then go out to lunch. It will take the better part of an hour to run, probably longer. But it will wipe out MS Removal Tool almost as an afterthought, while scanning and removing any other bit of spyware, malware, etc on your PC. It won’t even alert you that MS Removal was found until the very last screen. But it kills it, every time.

There are other PC security tools that can detect and remove this bastard. is one.

MS Removal Tool is really just another version of the WinWebSec rogue (ID pics and info about all the variations at this link), but it is persistent and annoying. And it’s out there in lots and lots and lots of places. It looks like a Microsoft tool, or a proper anti-viral too. So be prepared. Make sure your other anti-viral applications are updated. And be familiar with the security tools that you have on your PC, so that you can spot this fake if it suddenly shows up.

The Microsoft Safety Scanner, expires 10 days after being downloaded. To rerun a scan with the latest anti-malware definitions, download and run the Microsoft Safety Scanner again. Do note that its not exactly a small file … its msert.exe file is a 68 MB download!

The MSS is different from the Malicious Software Removal Tool – nor is it meant to be a replacement for using an antivirus software program that provides ongoing protection. It is meant to be used as an additional on-demand scanner in addition to your existing antivirus software, should you feel the need for a second opinion. It works along with your existing antivirus software.

Posted by Drew458     on 05/23/2011 at 11:47 AM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace •  
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   Sunday - March 13, 2011

I’ve got the updating blues…

Yes, I finally decided to update to MacOS 10.6 Snow Leopard. (who names these things? Why the cat fetish?) As expected, some of my favorite third-party apps either no longer work at all, or are crippled. Sapiens is crippled. The ‘search’ function no longer works. Sticky Windows is completely busted. I expect I’ll have to buy the new version when available.

Meanwhile, to make up for the lack of Sticky Windows, I’ve increased my use of Spaces, an included function of MacOS.

Yeah, I know, Macker is laughing at me. Or with me. He may have had the same problems.

Which brings me to BMEWS. I had problems posting for the last two days. I normally use FireFox as my browser. I normally preview my posts. Three times I tried to preview a post in FireFox, it took me back to the Expression Engine page. Drew and peiper will know what I’m talking about. The post that I’d lovingly spent so much time on was lost.

I suspect I need to upgrade FireFox. Until then, I’ve found that Safari does the job.

Posted by Christopher     on 03/13/2011 at 08:57 AM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace • Editorials •  
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   Saturday - February 26, 2011

Firefox Tips for avoiding blacklist punishment

Have you ever lost a great comment here because the blacklist filter spit out your post? You can’t post certain links here, but you can avoid the punishment of losing your whole comment if this occurs. This happened to me this morning, so I found out several ways to work around it.

Firefox users can go into about:config and set dom.disable_window_open_feature.toolbar to TRUE, which will override any Java window.open setting a blog engine might use. That way you ALWAYS get the toolbar in a new popup window, even if the blog is set to not give it to you.

Another way is to learn the Firefox keyboard shortcut, Alt-Left Arrow, which will take you to the previous screen. So it works the same way, but without anything visible. Blacklist message? Alt-Left, then edit your comment and resubmit. You do have to remember the shortcut though.

A third way is for me to change to the parameters of the popup comment window so that it always has the browser toolbar visible. This is easy to do, now that I know how and where to do it. It makes the comment window load a tiny tiny bit slower. I tried it, it works, but I went back to having it set to ‘off’ for the time being. If folks would prefer to have it on, sing out in numbers, and I can do that.

A fourth way is to set your browser to force all popup windows to open as a new tab. That gets you the back button by default because the new tab is still within your original browser window. It should be a tick or two faster to open a new tab instead of a whole new browser window as well. In Firefox this is done in about:config by setting the value for browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction to 1. See http://www.techzilo.com/firefox-power-optimization-tips-shortcuts/

Fifth way: when in doubt, try the obvious. D’OH!!! Using the backspace button will take you from the blacklist message back to the comment editor. It will not take you from a properly submitted comment back to the editor though.

The blacklist filter is usually quite useful, but sometimes it is a real pain. And I hate losing a big essay of a comment because of it. I’m sure you do as well. So know you know. Other browsers ought to have similar kinds of adjustments, so do a bit of research if you have to.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/26/2011 at 01:43 PM   
Filed Under: • Blog Stuff • Computers and Cyberspace •  
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   Wednesday - February 16, 2011

Today’s Face Palms

1

Stuxnet Worm Code Hacked and Released

The group of anonymous “hacktivists” that made headlines for online cyberattacks in December just released a bombshell online: a decrypted version of the same cyberworm that crippled Iran’s nuclear power program.

The ones and zeroes that make up the code called the Stuxnet worm—described as the most sophisticated cyberweapon ever created—were reportedly found when the faceless group hacked into the computers of HBGary, a U.S. security company that the anonymous collective viewed as an enemy. And the security experts FoxNews.com spoke with said the leaked code was serious cause for concern.

“There is the real potential that others will build on what is being released,” Michael Gregg, chief operating officer of cybersecurity firm Superior Solutions, told FoxNews.com. Gregg was quick to clarify that the group hasn’t released the Stuxnet worm itself, but rather a decrypted version of it HBGary had been studying—which could act almost like a building block for cybercrooks.

Stuxnet was designed specifically to take over those control systems and evade detection, and it apparently was very successful. But Dave Aitel, CEO of Immunity Inc., painted a firm line between the version of the worm that destroyed Iran’s nuclear plant and the code released by Anonymous.

“What they’ve released is essentially incomprehensible,” he told FoxNews.com, saying that what the group found was far removed from the raw worm that has been “travelling around Iran destroying nuclear things.”

“This is essentially just a translation. HBGary took the worm in the wild and translated it into a slightly easier to read format,” Aitel said. He notes that Stuxnet is still a threat, however, and the more dangerous raw version of the worm—or the “binary” version—is still easily accessible for those wishing to use it maliciously.

The Anonymous group released the Stuxnet code on February 13, after finding it in a database of e-mails it stole from HBGary. “First public Stuxnet decompile is to be found here,” one representative of the group wrote over Twitter.

Horry clap. The most powerful computer worm ever written, one custom design to wreak mayhem on industrial systems, and Dan Dipshit and his team at HBGary are sending the code around the office on an email. And it’s a cyber security firm. Do they know NOTHING about actual digital security? This is like putting a hydrogen bomb on the front seat of your car, then leaving the door open and the motor running while you run into the store for a quick plate of falafel in Gaza. Gosh, who would ever think the car would get stolen? You study computer viruses on completely isolated networks. No internet connections, no email servers, no floppy disks, no flash drive ports. No connections to anything outside that network whatsoever. IDIOTS. Oh, but don’t worry, this is just a decrypted version of the decompiled source code. Yeah, because nobody out there knows how to write Assembler anymore. And there is no such thing as decompilers that can take executable code and give you back Java, C, or whatever source language you want it in. We are utterly fucked.



2

Scandal at DOJ: smuggling to pad statistics on U.S. guns in Mexico

A brewing scandal at the Department of Justice involving an illegal scheme to pad statistics on U.S. guns in Mexico threatens to erupt as U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee begins an investigation.  ATF agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives--a DOJ agency--allegedly smuggled U.S. guns into Mexico in order to bolster the Department’s disputed contention that Mexican drug cartels are armed primarily with U.S. guns.  Whistleblowers within the ATF contend that one of the these guns was used to kill Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry in December of 2010. News of the murder and the underlying scandal that prompted it was first reported on December 28, 2010.

Rather than launch an internal investigation into the murder and the illegal scheme, the Department of Justice under Eric Holder, according to ATF whistleblowers, instead attempted a coverup.

The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee wants Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to explain why Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents allowed suspected gun smugglers to purchase and keep assault rifles that later may have been used in the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

In a letter, Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa said ATF agents told his staff the agency allowed the sale to “known and suspected straw purchasers for an illegal trafficking ring near the Southwest border” and two of those weapons reportedly were recovered at the site of the Dec. 14 shootout that killed Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry.

Mr. Grassley said the ATF had been tracking Avila‘s firearms purchases since November 2009 and while at least one Arizona gun dealer wanted to stop participating in sales “like those to Avila,” the ATF encouraged the dealer to continue selling to suspected traffickers and asked the dealer to forward information about the sales to the ATF.

He said the dealer who sold the weapons believed recovered at the scene of Terry‘s death met with both the ATF and federal prosecutors in December 2009 to “discuss his role as a FFL (federal firearms licensee) during this investigation.”

It has long been known that the ATF/BATFE is even more out of a loose cannon than the IRS. But this is just insanity. There’s a war going on across the border, and the meme the left puts out is that it’s all America’s fault because of a) our demand for drugs, so let’s legalize them, and b) if we weren’t selling them the guns there wouldn’t be much of a war. ( I guess the cartel boys would just have to cut each other with knives, like proper Mexicans ). So to prove their hypothesis, BATFE orders gun dealers to sell lots of guns to aliens and known straw purchasers, using the “reason” that this will let ATF know who these purchasers are and then put them on a list. And they’ll know where the guns are going. As if “south of the border to be used by the cartels in their ongoing drug war” isn’t 10,000% bloody obvious!

And Holder and his rats immediately deny the whole thing, and claim it’s all a political witch hunt. Sure it is.

Maybe I should have found a triple face palm graphic, because this story just keeps on giving. After using this guy Avila to make all these gun purchases, which the ATF enabled by twisting the gun dealer’s arms, they go and bust him and his ring, but only manage to collect 103 guns. The other 666 are missing!

the ATF allegedly encouraged the dealer to continue selling to suspected traffickers and asked the dealer to forward information about the sale to the Bureau . . .

In addition to these specific weapons, the indictment of Avila and others references approximately 769 firearms.  Of those, the indictment refers to the recovery of only about 103 weapons.  So, where are the other approximately 666 weapons referenced in the indictment?

There is lots more to this story. Google up “operation gunwalker” and follow as many links as you need to, to try and understand the situation. Hey, let’s not forget that half billion in special foreign aid Hillary just laid on Mexico to fight crime. Maybe that’s more like a “keep this on the down-low” payoff? Is it truly the US foreign policy to solve the cartel war down there by arming up both sides so that they’ll kill each other off faster? Isn’t that the same crap idea we used back when Iraq and Iran were poison gassing each other in the swamps? How’d that one work out for us in the long run? I forget. But this new twist, of using that arming as a political lever to push for taking away rights from our own citizens, is a first. Scumbags.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/16/2011 at 09:54 AM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Government • Guns and Gun Control • Stoopid-People •  
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   Sunday - November 14, 2010

PC brought back to life

Ok, it took a day or so of messing about, but I’ve got the machine up and running again. After 11 years of daily use, 6-15 hours a day, my hard drive final developed a single bad spot. About 40,000 hours I think. Wouldn’t you know it, it was right on the boot information area. So I had to do the full rigamarole to make it better. Boot from a disk - ha, what’s a disk? Took me 2 hours just to find them! - run the diagnostics, move the files, mark the sector, clean out the trash, toss extra files, uninstall junk programs I never use, compress and defrag the HD, et cetera et al. I have a whole slew of digital computer tools that almost never get used, but when things go all topsy-turvy, I’m glad they’re there. That is, if I can get the machine up and running in Safe Mode to get to them.

So anyway, crisis avoided, Window put back in, service packs and a quarter million security updates reinstalled, blah blah blah ... and it’s a computer once again. And it even boots a bit faster, now that I’ve once again trimmed down all the myriad background processes that Windows wants to run.

Hey Peiper, nice cartoon with the bears there. Looks awfully familiar somehow! Thanks again!!

Meanwhile, I’m spending today ... cleaning grout!  Did you know that there are actual blogs devoted exclusively to cleaning grout? Wow. And you thought BMEWS was dull and boring sometimes. Ha! But when you really need to learn what works, those grout blogs are priceless. Baking soda and lemon juice not doing the job? Worried about using Clorox? Should I scrub down the grout lines or across them? Grout blogs have the answers!

Allow me to save you time: Go buy a couple pounds of pure, unencapsulated sodium percarbonate. Put a double handful in a gallon of hot water, and mix it with a wooden stick for 3 minutes. Mop it out on the tiles, let it sit for about half an hour, then scrub it a bit. Then mop it up and then rinse things off a couple times. Ta da, done. Better than in your wildest grout cleaning dreams. [ and if you are dreaming of cleaning grout, you really, really, really need to get laid!!! ] Sodium percarbonate is the stuff that puts the Oxy in OxyClean. Except that OxyClean is only about 50% percarbonate, the other 50% being sodium carbonate - also known as washing soda and soda ash; ie, regular detergent. The pure stuff is about 4 times more effective than OxyClean, but you should wear rubber gloves and eye goggles. And you have to rinse things. Who cares? This stuff will clean everything, from wooden decks to shingles to concrete to dentures to yellowed curtains to killing the algae in your little pond to cleaning carpet to dishes, laundry, and you can even use it to sterilize your wort pot and your carboys if you are a home brewer or winemaker. For as big a revolution as Billy Mays started, he was really only selling you the mild version of the chemical. The only thing is does poorly is soften up soap scum in the bathtub.

But Google up the grout blogs and pay them a visit anyway. Those folks have put in a lot of effort, so they deserve some readership.

Posted by Drew458     on 11/14/2010 at 02:12 PM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace • Daily Life •  
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   Friday - November 12, 2010

PC issues of the other kind

PC almost kills the Gingerbread Man? Unreal.

Meanwhile, my PC is having problems here. Nothing fatal I hope, but after 10 years of all day use, you never know. I’ve got to run some diagnostics and so forth, and see what I can do to clean this old puppy up and find some space on it’s whacking great 25Gb hard drive. I think I can do that safely. I think I can, I think I can.  It will take a few hours though. Posting later I hope.

Posted by Drew458     on 11/12/2010 at 11:40 AM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace •  
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   Thursday - September 30, 2010

Cyber Warfare

"We” seem to be winning this one. Not that anyone is admitting to making the attack, although “everyone knows” and has known for weeks now that it was that little nation on the east end of the Med ...

http://debka.com/article/9050/

Poor, poor Iran. Can’t run their nuclear plant without computers, can’t run their air defense system without computers, can’t target their missiles, can’t properly monitor their oil industry without computers. Probably screwing with the power grid at this point. And it seems that all their computers have caught a nasty germ and have called in sick. “Stux” to be them!

Kewl. This is better than a plague of locusts stink bugs ( a war we are losing ).




So now they are asking foreigners for help? Wonder who will answer the call? Russians? Chicoms? NorKs? Sure as heck better not be anyone from US, EU, or India.

Posted by Drew458     on 09/30/2010 at 08:50 AM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace • War On Terror •  
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   Tuesday - April 19, 2005

For The Geeks

Just for the computer geeks out there, what does this code do? Here is the “Morse Source” (in the key of C, of course) ....

For the answer, click “Continue Reading” ....

Posted by      on 04/19/2005 at 02:10 AM   
Filed Under: • Computers and Cyberspace •  
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