The Latest Antivirus from Grisoft is a Winner
When it comes to antivirus programs, Grisoft's AVG Antivirus has been my favorite for several years. Unlike some of its competitors, AVG is a relatively light user of system resources. Version 8 brings a new interface and some new features that make it an even better protector. Grisoft still offers a free version, but it's increasingly hard to find (I'll tell you how to find it). The free version offers the same basic protection provided by the paid version, but with fewer management resources and without the extra features the full version provides. I use the paid version of AVG on my desktop, we use the server version at the office, and I run the free version on my notebook.
AVG Antivirus version 8 looks different from version 7 and Grisoft has changed its name to AVG Technologies. (Remember when Satellite Software International became the Wordperfect Corporation?) By changing its name, Grisoft acknowledges that its flagship application is what the company is known by.
The image at the right shows AVG's Resident Shield working with Firefox.
At the left you'll see the information AVG provides when the user hovers the mouse cursor over the icon shown for each website.
I like the new interface. It's easier to understand and, therefore, easier to use. AVG rewrote the virus scanning engine and makes two add-on products available: AVG Anti spyware and AVG Anti rootkit are included in pricier versions of the antivirus program. I'm not sure this is a good idea, though. Companies seem to want to expand into new areas and eventually reach a point where they're in an area in which they have no expertise. At the right is AVG's main menu.
When you want to modify the settings, it's easy to accomplish with AVG's control panel.
Here (left) I'm going to the Advanced Settings panel.
At the right is what you'll see on the advanced settings menu. You'll have complete control of every part of the application.
Even with all of the features in operation, AVG is still not likely to consume excess system resources.
Unfortunately, AVG's scan is much like any other application's scan in that it identifies cookies as threats. The paranoia about cookies is unwarranted and AVG should not report every cookie as a "threat".
If you want to have AVG Antivirus scan your computer, all you need to do is set which directories or drives to scan and press Start. (At right.)
AVG's Tray icon is more modern, too.
AVG Antivirus includes a new feature works with your browser to evaluate websites. Web Shield is a minimal firewall application that looks for Web-based hazards. Resident Shield scans your e-mail messages and works with your browser.
AVG Checks for updates every 4 hours by default, but you can change this if you wish. It used to be that updates for antivirus programs occurred annually or every 6 months. That's no longer adequate.
Bottom line: AVG Antivirus continues to be the AV application I use.
AVG Antivirus (with additional applications) is an excellent choice for Windows users because it provides protection without slowing the computer.
For more information, visit the AVG website. If you want the free version, use this link.
I've Won $2,968,797.93!!!!!
That's right, I received another message telling me that I've won a huge amount of money. Actually, I didn't receive it; the message was hung up in my spam catcher. I noticed it, freed it, and decided that I could have some fun with it. The fun involved my becoming Lord Ian Percival Snodfeathers, a nearly-broke San Jose builder of luxury homes. Lord Ian (or LIPS, as I came to know him) had some pretty serious problems.
Let's start at the beginning. At the right is a copy of the message I received. It was waving huge red flags indicating that it's a hoax. Only a fool would reply, but LIPS apparently fits that description well. Click any of the images for a larger view.
Here are some of the obvious signs of fraud:
- The message supposedly came from London, but has a US Central time zone timestamp.
- The grand prize message was blind copied, indicating many recipients.
- The US registered trademark symbol (®) is used for a European entity.
- The supposedly British punctuation is wrong. (Department would be abbreviated "Dept" without a period.)
- The European number style is wrong.
- Incorrect capitalization and punctuation: "To File for Claim, Please provide: the following:"
- The use of G-Mail for the mark to reply. Businesses don't use G-Mail, particularly not if they're giving you $2,968,797.93.
- "Dr Martha Cooper" (at least they got the abbreviation of doctor right) seems oddly overqualified for this job.
- And the biggest giveaway: I've won a sweepstakes that I haven't entered.
I Want My Winnings!
I thought it might be fun to reply and see what happened, so I invented a character, Lord Ian Percival Snodfeathers and created an e-mail account for him at techbyter.com.
Then I created a reply and sent it to the address the scammer's spam suggested.
My message is at the right.
Notes on the message from Lord Ian Percival Snodfeathers:
Dear Mister Mark Ferguson: [My notes are in bold like this.]
This is indeed an auspicious moment. I was just sitting here wondering what would happen next. As you might know, the real estate and homebuilding business had just gone all to Hell here in the United States and particularly in California. [This, of course, is true and it's probably fairly well known. Perhaps even in Nigeria or among the Nigerian expats in England.] Things were getting so bad that I was even thinking about killing myself. Or maybe leaving the wife and kids and running off to Mexico. [I wanted to give the message enough pathos so that an honest bunko scammer might just walk away instead of adding to this poor slob's trouble.]
Your message or, more accurately, this message from Doctor Martha Cooper, bless her heart, has literally saved my life.
The way I figure it, the winnings are nearly $3,000,000! ($2,968,797.93 to be exact, according to today's exchange rate.) [LIPS has set his own hook here. He realizes just how much money this is and starts salivating.] My business is more than $2.5 million in debt, so this will allow me to pay off the debt in full and leave a few hundred thousand left over so that my mistress and I can escape to the sunny beaches of Ciudad Acuna, Mexico! [More pathos, but a quick look at the map will reveal that Ciudad Acuna is hundreds of miles from any beach.] I might even leave a little for my wife of 37 years and our 14 children, even though I suspect I may not be the father of some of them. I mean the last 6 were born after my vasectomy. [More pathos, just to twist the knife blade a little.]
Well, anyway, I have to run down to the store to get some more rum for lunch. [Rum for lunch?] Y'all write back soon. When can I expect the money? [Let the crook know you're anxious.]
--
Lord Ian Percival Snodfeathers, CEO, COO, CFO, PDQ, LIPS
[The first 3 might be legitimate, but PDQ? And the acronym LIPS?]
Lord Snodfeathers Luxury Homebuilders, Inc., Ltd, NA, SA
[I should have thrown in the German corporation term, too!]
1313 Sandy Eggo Freeway, Suite 666
[Needless to say, the "Sandy Eggo Freeway" doesn't exist. And 666? Just playing with him.]
San Jose, California 95101
[The Zip code is one for San Jose.]
First, A Small Detour
I thought that I might need another domain name to advance this illusion and I finally settled on the domain name that translates from Russian to English as "criminal" (prestupnik.com), but that had already been registered!
So I tried "prestupnik.info" and found that not only was it available, but also that I could obtain it from GoDaddy.com for just 99 cents (for the first year).
What Happened Next?
Within just a few hours, I heard from "Mr Ferguson", who told me that I had been confirmed as the winner and asked that I send information to the "courier company". I waited a few days to reply, though, because LIPS had run into some trouble with the police and at home.
I sent a note to a friend (right, above) noting that I had received a reply and noting some of my future plans. (Yeah, I misspelled "criminal".)
I pretended not to notice that "Mr Ferguson's" address had suddenly changed from G-Mail to markfergusn@treffpunkt.cc. The "from" address was still G-Mail, but the reply-to address was at treffpunkt.cc.
The domain is registered to an address that claims to be in Austria. In fact, it is in Austria, and the organization seems to provide free e-mail accounts. I probably shouldn't wait more than a couple of days to reply because the address will probably be shut down.
My Reply to Mr Ferguson:
Again, my comments are [bold and in brackets]. The various spelling errors are intentional.
Dear Mr. Ferguson:
Thank you for your kind response, Mr. Mark Ferguson. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, but I've just gotten out of jail. Yes, it's true. I was so excited by your previous message, that I had a lunch consisting mostly of rum. [I had mentioned a lunch of rum in my previous message.] Tjat prbobacly wound't have veen much of a big deal except that my wift noticed the bottles and started getting all over may ass acbout drijnking too much and yada yada yada. You know how it is, I'm sure, Mr. Ferguson.
Well anyway, because I knew i was goignto be coming into alot of money real soon I guess I got a little crazy and zxmacked her around a bit. She called the cops and I took off in my Land Curiser. The damb cops spotted me, though, and chased me. The bastards made me lose control of the car and smashed it all to hell and back again. I wasn't hurt, though. [I'm beginning to enjoy this pathos bit.]
So theyn they took me downtown to the booking center. You ever been there, Mister ferguson? Oh, I spose not since you're a Brit and all. Well, they take your picture and they they put you in a cell with a bunch of criminals. I pay their salarsies, you know! [Drunk drivers like to point this out to the cops.]
So I was in there with a bunch of really mean looking crirminals. [Start Arlo Guthrie Mode] Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest father raper of them all, was coming over to me. [End Arlo Guthrie Mode] But then my laywer showed up and sprang me from the place. I sure was in a pickle, I'll tell ya. [See "The Significance of the Pickle" by Arlo Guthrie.]
And when I got home, my wife was all like "Our house is a very, very fine house with two cats in the yard. Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy because of you." [Now I'm quoting Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Is this going just a bit overboard?] You know, Mister Ferguson, I think she suspects something. I think she's been looking rthourh my email while I was in jail. It might not be safe to transfer this money through a bank. She might find a way to get her gryubby little hands on it. [Let's make "Mr Ferguson" do a little work.]
Maybe we need to find another way. Is there a way that we can get the money from there to here in a way that the wife won't find out about it? [Let's let him know that I'm willing to break the law. I'm beginning to get into this character part!]
So anyways, that's how come I've been a little slow in getting back to you.
Bummer! They Figured it Out
I was a bit too obvious. I didn't get a reply to this one and decided that I'd played the part a bit too broadly. So sometime in the next few weeks I'll select another winning spam and see how long I can play the criminals.
Nerdly News
Firefox Sets a New World 24-Hour Download Record
The message from the Mozilla folks told me, "We set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours. With your help we reached 8,002,530 downloads. You are now part of a World Record and the proud owner of the best version of Firefox yet! Don't forget to download your very own certificate for helping set a Guinness World Record." Sounds impressive, doesn't it? As much as I like Firefox, I am compelled to tell you the rest of the story.
Sometimes the PR department comes up with a good idea. Sometimes not. This classifies as a not.
Firefox is a popular browser. Those of us who use it think it's the better browser. But still it has just 15% to 20% of the market. The big guy is still Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Eight million downloads is a lot of downloads, but Microsoft easily quintuples that on the monthly patch day.
In fact, had only 1 person downloaded Firefox 3 during the special download day, it would still have been a record because it's a new category for the Guinness folks. No matter how many people downloaded the application, they would still have been able to say "We set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloads in 24 hours."
I like Firefox. I recommend Firefox. I use Firefox as my primary browser. But I'm not particularly impressed by the half-truth Fox-News-like approach they're taking here. Just tell people that you have a better browser and let them decide for themselves.
I suppose I should tell you that I downloaded my "certificate", though. (right)
The Shape of Things to Come
Amazon in Japan says that sales of Blu-ray discs are exceeding sales of standard-definition DVDs for some consumers. As HD television makes its way to the United States, similar results are likely.
The action genre seems to be the driving force in Japan. For January through June of this year, Sony’s "Resident Evil Trilogy" box set on Blu-ray was the best selling movie product. Amazon says that many software manufacturers believe that the action genre is the one that can best use Blu-ray's features. Animé is another genre that is showing strength in Blu-ray sales.
And what about porn? Oh, sorry. Amazon doesn't go there.
Forget about BlockCity or CircuitBuster
Blockbuster decided this week that it really doesn't want to buy Circuit City. In April, Blockbuster had bid more than $1 billion for Circuit City, but now Blockbuster's CEO, James W. Keyes, says that acquiring Circuit City is not in the best interest of Blockbuster shareholders.
Circuit City's shares are trading at 20-year lows and the company might look for another buyer. The more pressing matter, though is increasing traffic in its stores. Circuit City's online ordering with quick and easy in-store pickup might be good for consumers (I know that I like it) but it also most certainly reduces browsing and impulse purchases.
On Tuesday, Blockbuster withdrew its bid of $6 to $8 a share for Circuit City, but the company is still exploring other opportunities. The company's stock is now around $2 per share. Circuit City has reported losses for four of the past five quarters and sales have declined each month for more than a year.
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