Archive for August, 2004

Gmail invites

Published
by
idl3mind
on 8/26/2004
in Email
. 0 Comments

I just can’t say enough good things about Gmail.

I finally got some invites this week. Eight of them in fact. I gave some to folks I work with, and then donated some to Gmail 4 Troops. I hope the invites I donated go to a worthy soldier.

It’s funny how I’ve had my Gmail account for over two months now and I’m just now getting invites. By what criteria does Google give out invites? Email volume? Account age? I dunno… All I know is that it sure is nice to be able to share the enjoyment that I’ve had with Gmail. It’s been great so far.

Virus targets 64-bit Windows

Published
by
idl3mind
on 8/24/2004
in Security
. 0 Comments

The virus, dubbed W64.Shruggle by Symantec, seems mainly to be an experiment to test the concept of a 64-bit infecter and is not actively spread, said Alfred Huger, senior director of security at Symantec.

“The most interesting thing about this is that virus writers are already developing for the 64-bit platform,” he said.

[via]

DNA technique protects against ‘evil’ emails

Published
by
idl3mind
on 8/22/2004
in Science and Technology
. 0 Comments

A technique originally designed to analyse DNA sequences is the latest weapon in the war against spam. An algorithm named Chung-Kwei (after a feng-shui talisman that protects the home against evil spirits) can catch nearly 97 per cent of spam.

[via]

How Secure is Windows Firewall?

Published
by
idl3mind
on 8/14/2004
in Computers and Security
. 0 Comments

If you ask 100 Windows users what they think of Microsoft when it comes to security, you are likely to get a few negative responses. Microsoft has replaced the old internet connection firewall with the new Windows Firewall which is turned on by default. It should be noted that Windows Firewall is not as secure as MS would want you to believe since it does half the job a commercial firewall would do; which is to block both incoming and outgoing traffic. Windows Firewall only blocks or patrols incoming traffic and it can be easily turned off by another application, possibly a worm. We will look at how well Windows Firewall does at blocking incoming traffic by pinning it against several tests which scan for open ports and possible exploits. The tests, provided by PCFlank.com, include a Stealth Test, an Advanced Port Scanner test and an Exploit Test. The tests were run on a system running Windows XP with Service Pack 2.

[via]

KISS - 08/06/2004 Memphis, TN USA

Published
by
idl3mind
on 8/7/2004
in Music
. 0 Comments

You wanted the best, you got the best…the hottest band in the world…KISS!

I went to see KISS last nite on their Rock The Nation tour in Memphis with my friend Jason. What a show!!! Drowning Pool opened up with “Sinner”. They also played their other hits like “Bodies” and “Tear Away”. Their new stuff is good too; I’m going to have to get their new CD soon. It was a pretty good opening set. I hate that most of the crowd wasn’t responsive to the band because they are really good live. I guess the majority of folks that showed up were wanting to see Poison instead? Gross.

KISS came out with their usual explosions and pyro. It was great. I was on my feet for two hours. Ace Freley has been replaced by Tommy Thayer. Thayer is a much more technical talent than Frehley. Don’t get me wrong…Frehley wrote a lot of good songs back in the ’70s, but Thayer just pulls off the songs better. Paul Stanley was his usual flamboyant self. Eric Singer replaced Peter Criss on drums. I have no complaints about Thayer and Singer replacing Frehley and Criss. They are just better musicians and I makes for a more solid, enjoyable show. Great work guys! KISS has a gritter sound now too. I don’t know if it’s new technology, or if they’ve changed their playing to reveal an edgier sound for today’s youth. It’s a good thing.
Continue reading ‘KISS - 08/06/2004 Memphis, TN USA’

SpamAssassin 2.64 released

Published
by
idl3mind
on 8/5/2004
in News
. 0 Comments

(**IMPORTANT**: This is not an ASF release; this is a maintainance release of the older 2.6x stable branch, which is NOT released under an Apache license.)

SpamAssassin is a mail filter which uses advanced statistical and heuristic tests to identify spam (also known as unsolicited commercial/bulk email).
Continue reading ‘SpamAssassin 2.64 released’