Bill Gates shares his notes

SEATTLE–Now you have a chance to compare notes with Bill Gates.
The Microsoft chairman is launching a Web site on Wednesday designed to to share his thoughts on everything from his foundation work to musings on other topics including energy and the environment.

Dubbed Gates Notes, the site is launching with postings from Gates himself, and in the works are plans to allow for more discussion on the topics he raises.

In an exclusive interview, Gates told CNET that he missed having the kind of Web presence he had at Microsoft.

“The Internet is tailor-made for the kind of activities I am involved in,” Gates said. “When I take a trip, we have all these photos. People want to see that and it’s very easy to put it up there. If I read a book, some people are considering whether to read that book or want a short understanding of what that’s like.”

Gates said he plans to post content about three times a week, with some posts being brief and others being more in-depth.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to share on an ongoing basis,” Gates said, adding that he is looking forward to the feedback. “It will help guide me.”

In its initial form, the site features articles on education reform, lessons from the swine flu pandemic, and the need for help in Haiti. There’s also a podcast series with Gates speaking on climate change and the challenges of developing friendlier alternatives to today’s energy sources. (Along with being available for download from the Gates Notes site, the podcasts will be on both iTunes and the Zune Marketplace, I’m told).

Although energy and climate issues are not something the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has directly focused on, it is an area of keen interest for Gates and will be the focus of his talk at next month’s TED conference.

“The interest in some of the energy things I have been doing has been very high so I will elaborate on that,” Gates said.
Gates Notes also features a section on Gates’ travels, where he narrates some of the video footage taken on trips, such as last year’s visit to India. Another section includes notes on some of the books Gates is reading.

Another section, dubbed “conversations,” is designed to include both interviews with Gates as well as excerpts from some of the long e-mail exchanges he has with various thinkers as well as question-and-answer sessions with students from around the world.

The launch of Gates Notes comes a day after Gates joined Twitter, where he quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of followers.
Although Gates Notes draws on work from the foundation, as well as from Gates’ work at Microsoft and at Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures, the Web site is a project of his personal staff.

January 20, 2010 12:00 PM PST
by Ina Fried

Conficker-C Worm Solution

National Cyber Alert System

Technical Cyber Security Alert TA09-088A archive

Conficker Worm Targets Microsoft Windows Systems

Original release date: March 29, 2009
Last revised: March 30, 2009
Source: US-CERT
Systems Affected - Microsoft Windows

Solution

Instructions, support and more information on how to manually remove a Conficker/Downadup infection from a system have been published by major security vendors.  Please see below for a few of those sites. Each of these vendors offers free tools that can verify the presence of a Conficker/Downadup infection and remove the worm:

Symantec:

http://www.symantec.com/business/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2009-011316-0247-99

Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962007
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

Microsoft PC Safety hotline at 1-866-PCSAFETY, for assistance.

US-CERT encourages users to prevent a Conficker/Downadup infection by ensuring all systems have the MS08-067 patch (seehttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx), disabling AutoRun functionality (see http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-020A.html), and maintaining up-to-date anti-virus software.

 

Need More Assistance?
Call 1-800-905-GEEK (4335) Today

Mention Promo Code: APRIL25
and Receive $25.00 Off New Service 

Last-minute Conficker survival guide

Tomorrow -- April 1 -- is D-Day for Conficker, as whatever nasty payload it's packing is currently set to activate. What happens come midnight is a mystery: Will it turn the millions of infected computers into spam-sending zombie robots? Or will it start capturing everything you type -- passwords, credit card numbers, etc. -- and send that information back to its masters?

No one knows, but we'll probably find out soon.

Or not. As Slate notes, Conficker is scheduled to go "live" on April 1, but whoever's controlling it could choose not to wreak havoc but instead do absolutely nothing, waiting for a time when there's less heat. They can do this because the way Conficker is designed is extremely clever: Rather than containing a list of specific, static instructions, Conficker reaches out to the web to receive updated marching orders via a huge list of websites it creates. Conficker.C -- the latest bad boy -- will start checking 50,000 different semi-randomly-generated sites a day looking for instructions, so there's no way to shut down all of them. If just one of those sites goes live with legitimate instructions, Conficker keeps on trucking.

Conficker's a nasty little worm that takes serious efforts to bypass your security defenses, but you aren't without some tools in your arsenal to protect yourself.

Your first step should be the tools you already have: Windows Update, to make sure your computer is fully patched, and your current antivirus software, to make sure anything that slips through the cracks is caught.

But if Conficker's already on your machine, it may bypass certain subsystems and updating Windows and your antivirus at this point may not work. If you are worried about anything being amiss -- try booting into Safe Mode, which Conficker prevents, to check -- you should run a specialized tool to get rid of Conficker.

Microsoft offers a web-based scanner (note that some users have reported it crashed their machines; I had no trouble with it), so you might try one of these downloadable options instead: Symantec's Conficker (aka Downadup) tool, Trend Micro's Cleanup Engine, or Malwarebytes. Conficker may prevent your machine from accessing any of these websites, so you may have to download these tools from a known non-infected computer if you need them. Follow the instructions given on each site to run them successfully. (Also note: None of these tools should harm your computer if you don't have Conficker.)

As a final safety note, all users -- whether they're worried about an infection or know for sure they're clean -- are also wise to make a full data backup today.

What won't work? Turning your PC off tonight and back on on April 2 will not protect you from the worm (sorry to the dozens of people who wrote me asking if this would do the trick). Changing the date on your PC will likely have no helpful effect, either. And yes, Macs are immune this time out. 

Yahoo Tech News -  Tue Mar 31, 2009

Parent's Guide to Internet Safety

The Internet is a valuable tool for education and business. There is, however, an alarming rise in cyber threats, which affect our children.

The Internet is now the primary research tool for a majority of students. Even the most responsible students stumble across web sites that expose them to pornographic content.  Many such sites contain software harmful to your computer, putting all of your family's private data at risk and might possibly even lead to identity theft.

     Beware!
     • 65% children admit to unsafe, inappropriate and/or illegal activity on the Internet.
     • 50% of high school students "talk" in chat rooms or use instant messaging with strangers.
     • 49% have posted personal information on the Internet.
     • 20% have gone to meet face to face with someone they have met on the Internet

Out of concern for our children's safety; Geeks On Call has created the Parents' Guide to Internet Safety, a comprehensive guide to web-safe practices for children and parents. The guide is designed to help children and parents avoid the negative side of the Internet and see the internet as a tool for learning and entertainment. To download your free guide, please click below.Parent's Guide to Internet Safety

Surf Safe!
 
Click Here to Download our Free Parents' Guide to Internet Safety. 

Geeks On Call Commercials

From past to present, we now have most of our commercials online. Check them out below. 

Home & Business
905 Reasons
No More Spam
Hackers?

Old Commercials:
Scream Commercial
First Aid
Game Show
Ad Meeting

Tool #5 - Speed Test

Speedtest.net is a broadband connection analysis tool with a huge selection of geographically dispersed testing servers. Ookla provides this service free to hundreds of thousands of people every day. If you are experiencing slowness with your Internet connection or are simply interested in testing your speed, Speedtest.net is for you.

Basically SpeedTest.net allows you to test your Internet connection speed. It’s great to use when you want to see if your ISP is holding up on their end of the bargain.

Visit Speed Test

Call Geeks On Call today for all of your computer and network needs.
Mention “Blogger2” and receive $20 OFF NEW SERVICE

Tool #4 - Zamzar

Have you ever wanted to convert files without the need to download software ? Zamzar is dedicated to helping you transform your songs, videos, images and documents into different formats.

Visit Zamzar 

Call Geeks On Call today for all of your computer and network needs.
Mention “Blogger2” and receive $20 OFF NEW SERVICE

Tool #3 - Pandora

With Pandora you can explore this vast trove of music to your heart's content. Just drop the name of one of your favorite songs or artists into Pandora and let the Genome Project go. It will quickly scan its entire world of analyzed music, almost a century of popular recordings - new and old, well known and completely obscure - to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice. Then sit back and enjoy as it creates a listening experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs for you.

You can create as many "stations" as you want. And you can even refine them. If it's not quite right you can tell it so and it will get better for you. 

Visit Pandora

Tool #2 - Twitter

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Why? Because even basic updates are meaningful to family members, friends, or colleagues—especially when they’re timely.

• Eating soup? Research shows that moms want to know.
• Running late to a meeting? Your co–workers might find that useful.
• Partying? Your friends may want to join you.

With Twitter, you can stay hyper–connected to your friends and always know what they’re doing. Or, you can stop following them any time. You can even set quiet times on Twitter so you’re not interrupted.

Twitter puts you in control and becomes a modern antidote to information overload.

Click Here To Get Started

Tool #1 - You Send It

For years business professionals have been asking for a solution that would eliminate the frustrations of email attachment limits, the hassles of FTP servers, and the need to use overnight couriers to send large files.

YouSendIt has responded with an answer that fits seamlessly into the busy workflow of every organization. The secure, cost-effective and easy-to-use YouSendIt services are ideal for anyone with the need to send, receive and track digital content. 

Key Benefits:

• Plenty of size - Send files up to 100 MB with a 1 GB monthly download limit.
• Spread the word - Allow up to 100 downloads of every file.
• Address book - Keep track of your friends’ and family’s email addresses in one handy location.
• Files remain available for 7 days - Give your recipients a week to download the files you’ve sent.
• HIPAA Compliant - We are HIPAA compliant. 

Click here for more information

2/21/09 - New Virus Alert!

Date Published: 21 Jan 2009
Last Updated: 21 Jan 2009

Type : Trojan
Category : Win32

Also known as: Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent.avzz (Kaspersky), Troj/Agent-IJX (Sophos), DowritnBG (CA Anti-Spyware)
Description: Win32/Dowritn.BG is a trojan that downloads and executes binary files.
Method of Infection: Win32/Dowritn.BG usually arrives as an attachment to a spammed email. It may use the attachment name “bank_statement.scr”.

Immediate Protection Info:
CA Antivirus 2007
eTrust Antivirus v7/8*
eTrust EZ Antivirus 7.x
Vet 7

Call Us Today: 1-800-905-GEEK
Visit Us Online: www.geeksoncall.com/blogger

Mention “Blogger2″ for $20 Off New Service