Online Home of Derek Meister
Burger King’s online marketing department has scored another success with their latest addition at sithsense.com, where you can challenge Darth Vader to guess what object you’re thinking of by asking you questions about it.
The technology behind the game is impressive, but the sight of the Burger King himself coming out to give Vader hints alone makes the website worth a visit.
Spam, trojans, viruses, spyware, worms and malware move over, there’s yet another threat to anyone accessing the web or reading their email: ransomware.
According to Information Week, unsuspecting internet users are finding their files or computer held hostage by malicious software that demands a ransom be paid before allowing access.
The latest threat comes in the form of a self-proclaimed anti-spyware product called SpywareNo. This ransomware uses the security vulnerabilities in unpatched versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web-browser to install itself on a user’s machine and then issue fake spyware warnings until the user agrees to pay for a “full-version” of the software from the developer.
As always, consider running an anti-spyware program, such as Webroot’s Spysweeper in addition to your anti-virus software, and make sure that both are updated to the latest patches. Also, consider a network firewall, even if it’s a simple $30 hardware router between your computer and broadband modem or a software firewall like Zone Alarm.
If you’ve been following the news this week, you’ve no doubt heard that the identity of Deep Throat, the secret informant who provided the Washington Post with information about the Watergate Scandal in the 1970s that resulted in Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency.
The side-effect of this news story, however, is the unintentional comedy of headlines involving the “Deep Throat” pseudonym, which was based on the name of a very successful 1972 pornographic movie of the time.
Like the ABC News story above, one has to wonder if news writers really are that oblivious to the connections made by the more puerile members of the public, or are they equally giddy over the ability to publicly resort to a bit of subtle, though immature, humor like the rest of us.