CyberCoyote — April 2, 2009

NEWS and NOTES

We wrapped up the season today with a session of questions and answers. Meetings will start up again sometime in October. This newsletter will be on a monthly schedule until November. Have a good one. :-)

TECH TOPICS
Google Calendar in Gmail

Last week I mentioned that you can display a snippet from your Google calendar(s) in the left-hand column of Gmail. If you're like me, you check your email in the morning on most days. Well there's your calendar, whether you want it or not. ;-)

Here's how: [Click "Settings" in Gmail > click "Labs" > scroll (way) down and enable "Google Calendar gadget" > click the "Save Changes" button.]

If you hover your mouse pointer over the title bar of the calendar gadget, you can drag and drop it right up under the email functions, where it is visible without scrolling. There are options on the gadget too. For example, you can display a tiny full month calendar and/or go to your main calendar(s).

Data Rot

David Pogue interviewed the curator of the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley about data rot, AKA bit rot.

  Data rot refers mainly to problems with the medium on which information is stored. Over time, things like temperature, humidity, exposure to light, being stored [in] not-very-good locations like moldy basements, make this information very difficult to read.

The second aspect of data rot is actually finding the machines to read them. And that is a real problem. If you think of the 8-track tape player, for example, basically the only way you can find 8-track cartridges is in a flea market or a garage sale.

You can read the transcript of the interview, and/or watch a more interesting and informative video [8 minutes]. Bottom line: Every 5 or 10 years, recopy your precious data to whatever the best media is at the time. [CD lifetime]

SECURITY
Conficker

Well, the sky didn't fall did it? Nothing new has happened. It isn't an April Fools joke though — Conficker is still alive and well, and some kind of attack may be in the works. An IBM researcher very recently learned how to detect Conficker's online chatter, and that makes it easier to put up barriers. The next few weeks will probably tell if Conficker has been tamped down, but as Yogi said, "It ain't over till it's over."

Slate has the most readable account about the evolution of the Conficker worm. — The Worm That Ate the Web

 Much of the media coverage surrounding Conficker has centered on its go-live date, April Fool's Day. But that's something of a red herring; it's unlikely that anything will blow up on the first.

If you haven't done so already, now would be a good time to worm-proof your computer. Hundreds of websites are advising what to do about Conficker. I stopped looking when I came to three that are readable, yet authoritative. Start with the one written by Brian Livingston at Windows Secrets, which also refers to one by Woody Leonhard and one by Susan Bradley.

Conficker will not be the last uber-worm. The next generation of worms is bound to be more cunning. It's past time to get serious about protection. Here's a summary of what you need to accomplish to de-worm and/or worm-proof your computer:

  1. First, remove Conficker if your computer is infected, which isn't likely.
  2. Get all your Windows and Internet Explorer patches up to date.
  3. Update your other software, particularly internet-facing programs like other browsers.
  4. Disable Auto-run and turn off Auto-play to prevent infection from USB thumb drives, CDs, etc.
  5. Make sure your firewall and anti-malware program(s) are functioning. [start here]
ODDS and ENDS

click image for original

Don't do it

Warning: Objects in the mirror may not be as close as they appear. Give the image time to load.
— via A Welsh View

That's all, folks.