It’s about time!!!

Talk about waking up to danger years after the war is already lost..

* US declares cybercrime a ‘national emergency’, threatens sanctions against hackers, online espionage

“Sanctions will hit cyber criminals where it hurts – in the pocket – says the White House.” Read more..

But.. better late than never.. right?

Wonder how/if that’ll affect relations with China.. or, since they own us, and manufacture all our goods, they’ll get a pass? (Since we know they’re major actors.)

(Sounds good, but good luck with that.)

Kinda related: No free pass for Google

• San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Apr 2015

“Google’s vaunted “Do no evil’’ credo is taking a beating. Leaked documents show that Federal Trade Commission investigators wanted to sue the search giant on antitrust charges, but the push melted away into modest changes after Google executives made numerous trips to the White House.” Read more..

Today’s quote: “Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own.” ~ Adam Lindsay Gordon

Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Mix and Match Saturday

aka Weekend Grab Bag

* For Facebook users: June 2011: The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide

“June 2011 edition of The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide. Helping you to protect your privacy, your social network security and to manage your network safely.“

* Better Late Than Never: I didn’t have time to post a Friday Fun video yesterday, so, here you go – Never Lose The Remote Again.

* Android smart phone: starter kit

“If you’re staring down at your shiny new Android phone wondering which apps to try first, hit up our list before you download anything else. Great applications proliferate on Google’s Android platform, and our Android Starter Kit is merely a sampling of the best software plucked from the Android Market.“

* Completely off-topic: I met a man who impressed me so much I would like to recommend him to anyone considering a fishing outing in California. John Walton has a bait and tackle store in San Leandro, and I came across him via the The Fish Sniffer Online website. He was so knowledgeable and helpful on the phone, I made a point of bringing my 30+ years out-of-date tackle box and my rods and reels to his shop, so he could advise me what I might need (or, need to replace). I drove out of my way to do that, but boy, am I glad I did.

John restrung one of my reels (said my others were fine), put on proper weights and hooks for the others, explained the proper way to set my drag (etc.) so I would stop getting ‘backlash’ snarls (which worked -YAY!), marked good spots on a map of the lake I was headed to, set me up with some bait, and got me thoroughly “good to go”. He spent a good 45 minutes with me. While I was there, he managed to keep up a running dialogue with several real fishermen, advising them on everything from current water conditions to fly fishing rods to tides in delta. His knowledge (and memory) was awesome to me… I picked up a new-fangled trout lure which was $5, and when it was time to go – what I mean is, John pronounced me ‘all set’ – John told me the total bill was $12. (And here I thought I was the last fella who ran his business with such generous integrity — that our breed had died out.) From what I could see my brief time there, John is known and sought ought by anglers, and I could sure understand why. If you are thinking about fishing in CA, I would give John a call: (510) 352-3932.

* In this economy, is a Google antitrust probe “un-American?”

“Is a probe of a leading tech company, at a time when the tech industry seems poised to buck the current economic trend, really the smartest move out of Washington?” READ FULL STORY

[I might phrase it, “should a Superpower get a ‘pass’ because the economy is shaky?”]

Today’s Quotable quote: “When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there.”  ~ Cecil Selig

Today’s recommended reading: Trojans, viruses, worms: How does malware get on PCs and Macs?

“What’s the best way to deal with malicious software on PCs and Macs? You can’t answer that question until you know how malware gets installed in the first place. Here’s a reality check.” READ FULL STORY..

Rumor? Somebody told me that online poker has been removed from the Internet… Gambling Laws, or sumsuch. Guess it’s time for a new hobby/addiction for some folks…

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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EU punishes Intel+corruption, greed, gov’t

“With this power, the EC is rapidly becoming the world’s gatekeeper for new technologies. In recent months, regulators forced Apple to accept price controls on its popular iTunes music store and launched three new attempts to dictate which features Microsoft can offer in its software products. In early April, commissioners released guidelines dictating how Internet companies like Google and Yahoo should collect, use, and profit from information online.
The EC’s willingness to manipulate the technology industry makes Europe the venue of choice for companies looking to cripple their competitors and gain an unfair advantage in the marketplace. By repeatedly coaxing regulators to investigate Intel, AMD hopes to level the playing field and compensate for its own mistakes.”

Folks, these lines are from an article I came across in one of my small local papers– a guest opinion piece written by Dr. Daniel Ballon.
It is a fascinating reporting on government meddling for the simple sake of greed and corruption, (disguised as a Noble Ideal) and how this (negatively) affects us all. I highly recommend it. It is an eye-opener.

Tip(s) of the day:
* Read Dr. Ballon’s excellent article titled, Intel punished for being too competitive. It is available here.
* (In case you missed it) Watch this short video from anti-malware vendor Sophos to see a demonstration of how clicking a link in an e-mail can exploit weaknesses in your computer, implant a trojan, and steal your (in this instance) banking info. See how the cyber-criminals do it..
* Visit my 10 item checklist and run down it to see if your machine is properly defended and configured for surfing the big bad Internet.

Today’s free link: Avidemux is a free video editor designed for simple cutting, filtering and encoding tasks. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs. Tasks can be automated using projects, job queue and powerful scripting capabilities. Avidemux is available for Linux, BSD, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows — under the GNU GPL license.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Google-hoo — a world run by ad revenue

The headline reads “Google and Yahoo team up on search ads”, but it really isn’t a partnership. Yahoo has sold a large percentage of its ad space to Google for hard cold cash.. and become a puppet.
Now, GoogleAds will appear on the #1 and #2 most popular search engines.

In my prior writings, I have made reference to “GigantiCorp”, which is meant to invoke images of a mega-company and trigger concern about a monopoly. Sadly, most people thought I was referring to Microsoft… or maybe Wal-Mart.
For a very long time now, Microsoft has been perceived of as being in monopoly control of the tech industry, and that Bill Gates ran the world. Microsoft has been sued under anti-Trust laws.

And then came Google.

Folks, if you think Google is just a place you go to look up websites, well.. you just aren’t paying attention. Google is into everything “tech”, and is a monster just as big as Microsoft (bigger?), and a battle is being waged between the two giants. A tech/economic version of Risk™ (or, Rock’m Sock’m Robots?).

Poor little Yahoo recently declined a take-over bid from Microsoft ($44.6 billion was insufficiently lucrative [yes, that’s a “b”]) and has now climbed into bed with the other giant.

That’s how you do it in today’s world.

You create some little tech doohickie that people like and use– like YouTube — and then sell out to one of the giants.

I wonder; do they even teach about monopoly-ism and Anti-Trust in the schools any more? Seems to me we had a little problem with that once before in our history… but, now it’s global. Hmmm.…

A more detail analysis, posted on C/Net, can be read here.

Attention Google and Microsoft: I love you guys! You’re the greatest! Keep up the good work!
Can you do a devoted fan a little favor? Can you send just a few more viewers to https://techpaul.wordpress.com? Thanks!

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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