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Web Finds Week 31 Print
Sunday, 27 July 2008
This web roundup covers some interesting computer security items whether you’re at home or in an airport. If you’re more concerned about your health, you should check out an article we saw on cell phone use. And if all this stuff is too scary right now, you can always do a paper purge or read a book. Sometimes cleaning can be therapeutic.

One item that was fixed in the recent Windows update had to do with domain name servers (DNS). Sadly, not everyone has updating their systems including ISPs. The problem is the exploit code was made public which makes this item more hazardous. Robert Vamosi of c/net did an article which lists various resources to see if you’re still vulnerable. One mentioned resource is web based DNS randomness test from DNS-OARC. I found their results easier to understand. The test will take less than 2 minutes. If the test results don't look good, I would suggest trying OpenDNS which is a free service. I've been using them for 2 years.

Are you planning on carrying your notebook on your next flight? If so, World Hum has a short article with some very discouraging stats about notebook theft. And if you think it couldn’t happen to you, watch this video. After watching this video, I’m going to be extra cautious if the person in front of me sets off the metal detector.

Do you have a system for evaluating whether to keep papers? Julia Morgenstern had a 10 question paper purge list posted in the Organomics blog. And if organization is not your forte, I’d suggest taking a look at The Clutter Diet blog. Lorrie provides useful tips on both her blog and Twitter.

Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a big cell phone user. However, I did take notice when the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute put out a precautionary advisory. The advice notice has 10 steps regarding cell phone and exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Whether you agree with the research or not, the tips are easy to implement. The tips are even more important for kids.

Adobe has updated Reader to Version 9. I haven’t downloaded it yet, but I did spot a SANS article indicating the installer adds other software such as the eBay desktop if you keep the default settings. I’m starting to see this more often with software installations and it annoys me. Apple and Sun have been guilty of this too.

For those readers who have either an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, take a look at the free eReader program. This is one program I’ve always put on a PDA. So often, I’ve been in places where I have idle time and can get caught up on a book. It’s also nice since I had purchased a fair number of books through FictionWise over the years. They also carry a nice selection of free books.

That's all for this web round up. If you want to know when our next article comes out, you can sign up for email updates or the RSS feed. And yes, I’m still playing with Twitter.
Last Updated ( Sunday, 10 August 2008 )
 
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