Productivity Portfolio

The first article is about security and comes from Geeks are Sexy. The article discusses a new online tool from F-Secure to find security holes on your system. The tool must be run in Internet Explorer since it uses an ActiveX component. What’s appealing about the service is it includes other software vendors. In most cases, you can download the required updates from their site. I’d advise people to try the service. There are plenty of non-Microsoft updates you might be missing such as Adobe Reader, Java, QuickTime and so on.

Keeping with a security theme, Ben Edelman of Harvard Business School has a nice article on deceptive online advertising practices. His recent research spotlights a company called C-NetMedia. Notice the similarity to another well-known online site? Well, it just gets worse. Too many bad companies selling anti-virus and spyware removal software.

If you’re running Microsoft Vista, you probably know that a service pack is coming. Ed Bott provides a nice FAQ on Vista SP1. Don’t expect the release until mid-March. In the meantime, bookmark Ed’s site, as I’m sure you’ll be going back.

If you haven’t’ had luck with your New Year resolutions you might consider a “commitment contract”. TechCrunch has a profile of a new service called stickK that is in beta. I’ve not tried this, but plan to in the near future. How’s that for a commitment! I went through the online demo and it looks intriguing. You can even put money behind your commitment to give you that extra motivation.

One benefit of going through our web logs is I find new sites. Recently, I spotted a site called BNET. The site is one of the properties of CNET Networks that calls itself the “go to place for management”. It reminds me of a cross between CNET and Lifehacker. In fact, one of the editors did a stint at LifeHacker.