Mike Rochip

Interesting and humorous (imho) article: Yahoo News Sidebar: I wasn't sure if "legalise" was proper spelling so I right-clicked "define" in my context menu. I thought the definition that popped up was like far out, Dude! I heard dictionaries are never wrong...

eWeek Symantec.com

If you try to sneak out of the house with your DRM protected Black Sabbath CD so that your friend can copy it you won't make it past the heavy metal detector.

That's weird. I checked it after I posted. Should be OK now. Yahoo/Reuters

I've been using it since englishmen posted about it earlier and it seems to be OK. I've had to remove a couple entries relating to MSNBC/Microsoft to use some of their services but only 1 or 2. It does not have to be "running" in order to work, I'm not sure why it seems to want to be, the Hosts file is just a file, not a service or program, etc. Maybe englishmen or Andavari will post further...

Yahoo/Reuters

Yahoo News

Version 1.09 12/13/05 Totalidea.com

Thanks Andavari- I agree completely. I noticed the USA TrendMicro site is now linking to the Euro site when you try to do an online scan. IMHO I think that's a mistake because the US site always worked quickly and easily. BTW, THANKS for the link to MS's online scan, I used it before and liked it but I couldn't remember where it was.

This is what I had to do on my PC to get past the stupid API warning: Search for and delete the "Sun" folder (assuming the only thing in yours is Java files and Java related files). Search for *ousecal* and delete all the entries that are found including any temp files. (.housecall, eu-housecall, various "hc" entries, etc). Search for "hc" and delete any files you are sure are housecall related. Delete any Netscape Navigator files (assuming you don't use Navigator. However, this step appears crucial). Basically, you do not want any Java files, any Housecall files, and any Netscape Navigator files on your PC BEFORE you visit the Housecall site for the first time. If you have multiple Java versions or an outdated Java version, an old Navigator version or ANY Housecall files you had when Housecall did not run properly, HCall will not work. Apparently it remembers your first visit and insists on reusing the files it initially loaded, whether or not they worked . Visit the Housecall site. You should receive a notification that you need additional plug-ins for the site to display properly. This will be the latest version of Java which will now download after you give it the OK (large file). If for some reason you don't get the plug-in message, you can download Java via the Java website. NOTE: On my ancient PC, Housecall will not run via Firefox. I did get past the Native API warning after following the above steps, but I keep getting a file error during download which I believe is because my dial-up connection is so slow. It ran the first time but hasn't since. If you try this, PLEASE let me know if it worked so I know whether to blame my PC. THANKS AND GOOD LUCK!

Yahoo News

We've seen one of the ugliest cars around. Here's the prettiest: edmunds.com

I've been using Thunderbird. One reason I guess I was fooled (other than being STUPID ) was I've had zero spam since I switched. The only email I've gotten since I switched was from Netzero, Rhapsody and other entities I've done business with. I use Yahoo for the folks I know will be sending junk I don't have any interest in. EDIT: I did get another one from Avast supposedly warning my computer was infected that was so unbelievably lame I didn't fall for it.

Hello again- Thanks everyone for all the advice, as always I really appreciate it. None of the spam is getting through, it just annoys me that my computer is always being asked to initiate connections with this cr*p. I could very well be wrong but I assume it is tying up resources in some way. I've also been trying to figure out why the System Idle Service is trying to initiate an internet connection. I thought it only is there to indicate CPU capability that is not being used, so why is it actively seeking a connection? There's quite a bit of info on the Web, but it's too technical for me to undestand. Unfortunately, 1 email got through purporting to be from PayPal, claiming to need to verify my account info. I STUPIDLY responded to it, even though I noticed the URL was for hometown.aol.com. I realized when it asked for my credit card number that it was bogus, but I had already given my name, address, Mother's maiden name, and phone number. I notified the credit bureaus, Netzero, and PayPal. Netzero and PayPal responded very quickly with helpful advice and precautions, etc. However, all communication with AOL immediately was terminated by them when they realized I was not a subscriber (surprise, surprise). For some naive reason I thought maybe they would be concerned a subscriber was using their service to run a phishing scam. Wrong. Netzero certainly was, and said that although they weren't involved, they would forward the info to the appropriate people (Netzero is my ISP). I can't believe I fell for it, but all the screens looked exactly like PayPal. Obviously, the wrong URL was a huge red flag, and the phisher wasn't even very sophisticated in that he didn't spoof the URL. Still I fell for it, my fault. Thanks again for all the help and letting me vent my frustrations. Don't let your guard down for a second, that's all it takes!

Oh, no! What if it's Eldmannen in front of you? And what if he was going slow because his car couldn't go any faster? And you tried to pass him and your car couldn't go any faster either? Is that why you asked if he lives in Europe? LOL just kidding, I don't think that device will ever be used (I hope). And yes that is one ugly car but 2 V8s welded together with 4(!) turbochargers ugh ughh rruh (Tim Allen man grunt)!

Hello all- I've been trying to diagnose some issues with my computer for a while now concerning network slowdowns (pages loading very slowly or stopping). I've been looking at ZoneAlarm logs along with info from a program called Who's Connected that lists the programs on your computer that are trying to establish Internet connections and the status of those that are connected. I've looked up dozens of IP Addresses using the website all-nettools.com using their SmartWhois feature. To make a long story short, I've tracked down most of the issues and eliminated them except for one. According to the ZoneAlarm log there is an ISP which is constantly trying to connect far more often than any other. This ISP is UUNet which is a very large provider owned and operated by MCI.com. Here's the wonderful part of all this: MCI for years now has been by far the largest ISP that WILLINGLY hosts ILLEGAL spamhouses as they are called. They are making an estimated $5 Million a year by protecting these outfits by claiming they are protecting our First Ammendment rights to send and receive illegal, unwanted, computer slowing spam which the UN estimates is costing $25 Billion dollars a year. Spamhaus estimates by mid 2006 this will amount to 95% of all e-mail traffic on the web. MCI.com is also hosting web sites who sell and distribute the malware that makes this problem possible. These sites also sell lists of individual computers that they have infected. Sorry for the long post but it is really amazing (depressing) that this type of bs is still happening despite the efforts of a lot of people and organizations to stop it. MCI.com is by far the largest ISP allowing this and about the only one that is unwilling to do anything about it and in fact is encouraging the use of their network to facilitate spamming. Thanks Spamhaus.org PS: Thanks rridgely for finding the Who's Connected app, it's a great program!

But... Canada is where they're testing it LOL Your reply to Eldmannen was great. I'm picturing a chase between two identically controlled cars at the exact same speed for mile after mile after mile after mile after... I guess the entire outcome of the chase would depend on who runs out of gas first! I still think someone would figure out how to hack into the system with their XBox and play a game of real life Grand Theft Auto. Click here to read about this INSANE street legal car

I think it's a tough issue too for the reasons you guys have listed. I would like to think it would activate only if you are speeding and would not transmit any identifiable information when it is on. I doubt that's how it works though. I found some info on the Web: A man is suing Acme Rent A Car because they deducted $450 dollars from his debit card without his knowledge because they said he exceeded the speed limit 3 times. England is considering using the device to create a pay as you drive system on many of their roads. It seems to me that would be like paying for a taxi without the benefit of sitting in the back. It would be possible for the police to control your car in certain circumstances. Imagine the possibilities if people figured out how to hack into the system...

Since it's kind of tedious to try to look through so many different ones on the Mozilla website I thought it may be helpful if people list their favorites. If you want to, please list your favorite extensions, what's good about them, and the version of Firefox you are using. Listing ones that you dislike may be useful too. Thanks! Firefox 1.5 Image Zoom- Easily zoom a selected image by left clicking and the mouse wheel Remove It Permanently (RIP)- Block ads, banners, dead links etc. Sort of like Adblock but easier to use Leechget Mozilla Firefox Extension- Download manager Flashblock- Replaces Flash animations with an icon that you can click on if you want to see the Flash animation ColorZilla- Easily zoom an entire page among other things IE View- Click to view the same page in IE Dict- Define a highlighted word by right clicking Download Statusbar- View download progress in a small window on the Taskbar CustomizeGoogle- View image search results without the idiotic frames Bookmark Backup- Backups bookmarks and/or a lot of other stuff every time Firefox is closed

CNN Canada

Thanks so much for letting me know. I finally feel like I helped someone, wahoooo! Take care.

An interesting thing I read once about Fieros (which had entirely plastic bodies I believe) was that in an accident the plastic would shatter, which dissapated the energy of the collision away from the car's structure and hence the occupant. It seems you would be safer with a metal body, but apparently that might not be the case.

Thanks for the info Tarun, I assumed that the Fasterfox problem was with my computer.

I found this info on groups.google.com: The T30DebugLogFile provides detailed debug output of all communications with the modem in clear text. Google Groups Search The link is to the search results on groups.google.com. Hope it's of some help.

Times Online UK