Saturday, June 26, 2004
THE INTERNET'S GOING TO HELL...AGAIN!: Between the AOL employee who sold 92 million screen names to an online gambling interest and the trojan that's sneaking into hard drives through a breathtaking number of Microsoft-related security holes, this isn't a good time to be a Windows user on the Internet. Being a borderline paranoiac, I'm using the Linux flavor of Mozilla Firebird today...and maybe tomorrow. Possibly next week, too.
Microsoft has a few suggestions to help prevent the mess, and not surprisingly, the solution which has the best chance of working--not using Internet Explorer for the duration--isn't included. Other suggestions are a bit misguided, all things considered. I recommend unplugging your hard drive and boiling it in salt water. A large convection oven is a worthy alternative. After it dries, a good scrubbing is in order; Brillo and oil soap is something to keep in mind.
Since carrier current technologies are now being considered for data transmissions, cut the power lines at the pole (no need to worry about a virus "jumping the gap"). After that, you can truly consider yourself safe, sitting in the dark with your abacus, a supply of canned foods, and the fully-stocked armory you laid in for the Y2K apocalypse that never came. This time, it's for real--Microsoft wouldn't panic us for no reason (SNORT)--and don't believe otherwise until Rob Rosenberger calls you down from the bell tower.
(EDIT @ 7:36pm: I now find out that the main threat has been neutered. However, some of the sites are still trying to infect the unsuspecting user, so I still recommend taking your data line and cutting it into tiny pieces. Once you've done that, IM me and tell me how it went.)
Microsoft has a few suggestions to help prevent the mess, and not surprisingly, the solution which has the best chance of working--not using Internet Explorer for the duration--isn't included. Other suggestions are a bit misguided, all things considered. I recommend unplugging your hard drive and boiling it in salt water. A large convection oven is a worthy alternative. After it dries, a good scrubbing is in order; Brillo and oil soap is something to keep in mind.
Since carrier current technologies are now being considered for data transmissions, cut the power lines at the pole (no need to worry about a virus "jumping the gap"). After that, you can truly consider yourself safe, sitting in the dark with your abacus, a supply of canned foods, and the fully-stocked armory you laid in for the Y2K apocalypse that never came. This time, it's for real--Microsoft wouldn't panic us for no reason (SNORT)--and don't believe otherwise until Rob Rosenberger calls you down from the bell tower.
(EDIT @ 7:36pm: I now find out that the main threat has been neutered. However, some of the sites are still trying to infect the unsuspecting user, so I still recommend taking your data line and cutting it into tiny pieces. Once you've done that, IM me and tell me how it went.)
|| Eric 1:37 PM#
