Wired has an article on the Klex virus. It's decent, although the one thing that amazes me throughout all these "evil virus attacks", is that no one manages to point the real finger.

Microsoft.

Let's be clear here, this is a Microsoft-based virus, not sonme generic virus. It requires two criteria be filled:

Running a Microsoft OS. Running Microsoft's mail programme, Outlook/Outlook Express.

Figure it out people. Remove at least one of the pieces.
7:00:34 PM     Discuss: []


Look, I don't wanna alarm anyone, but Microsoft has found a security flaw in one of their products, their mail server. I know, I know, it's a shock to me too....

Ok, I can't keep a straight face on that, right, right, Microsoft Securitry flaw, works that go great together right? Anyways, get a load of this:

"Christopher Budd, security program manager at Microsoft's security response center, said the flaw was assigned a "critical" rating because once the attack starts, it can't be stopped, even if Exchange is restarted or the server rebooted." (My emphasis)

Ain't that lovely?

And of course Microsoft let everyone know as soon as they found out ab...oh wait....

"Discovery of the flaw was credited to researchers at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany."

What part of "Delete all of this crappy software off your system, now." are people still not getting?

Whups, to quote the Brit-enstein Ooops, they did it again....
6:47:42 PM     Discuss: []


Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, tell all your friends about the CBDTPA!! [Scripting News]

And remember, the The CBDTPA is immune to criticism while you're thinking about how to attack it.

I haven't watched the Flash yet; the server is still slashdotted. I hope that it's good quality. [iRights]
2:34:31 PM     Discuss: []


Keola's Take On NetFlix. "I gave up on them after only two months (one free and one paid). It wasn't their fault, but it just took too darn long for some DVDs to get here. Some got here in three days, others took close to two weeks (we're in Hawai'i)."  [Scripting News]

"Hello? Interplanetary Telephone and Telegraph? Yes, could you *please* do something about this annoying lag I get in my calls to Mars?"

Sorry. :)
2:31:01 PM     Discuss: []


Y'know, doc has long had this thing about companies calling folks that buy their products "Consumers" rather than Customer. I'd really never thought much about it, despite having commented on it in the past, that expecting them to change this phraseology was about as likely as them taking "Mission Statements" out of their corporate handbooks.

Foor some reason the concept has lodged in my brain and bounced around a bit for the past couple of days. So, in the interest of showing how stupid I am for not getting it, I'm gonna type about it a bit.

Consumer: Someone we trick into buying our stuff. Customer: People we make our stuff for.

Hmm, that was gonna be a lot longer and with plenney more words, like "The customer is always right" as an element of the mindset vs. "Consumers understand there may be bugs in the software".

And of course those extra words are inaccurate, as a Computer tech, the customer isn't always right. If they were, why are they telling me that it's okay to run their backup on a production graphic artists' system, even though the backup keeps crashing?

But the customer is always right in the sense that they are the people we need to provide for. In the case of IT, they are the one that needs to get the job done. I am the one who needs to give them the tools that will do that.

Anyways, in the case of the RIAA, MPAA, M-O-U-S-E, and their ilk, telling me how I can or can't use their stuff that I paid for is treating me like a consumer, who only exists to have them stuff things in my maw until I run outta money, at which point they're no longer interested.

CBDTPA?
2:13:58 PM     Discuss: []