Denver Colorado Blog

Denver Colorado Blog

created by James Worthen

Tips to Avoid Spyware and Virus's

Feb 27th, 2008 - Subscribe
Keywords: spyware, malware, virus, avoid, remove, prevent, bundle, software, freeware, adware, help, stop

Tips to Avoid Spyware and Virus's

Introduction
The past weekend I was working on a friends computer and he wondered how and what I use to avoid getting spyware and virus's. I laughed at the question and while trying to think of the words to explain how I avoid getting spyware and virus's I simply said, "I know what not to download". And as ludicrous as it may sound spyware, 90% of the time is initiated by users. The other 10% is not having up-to-date software, such as Internet Explorer. Which prompted me to write this exert on how to avoid downloading and installing spyware, and virus's on your on computer not knowing, so let's get to it!

Pay Attention and Read
The biggest problem is that most people do not bother to read the fine print, which is where a lot of companies can get you. Taking the extra 30 seconds to read the fine print can save you hours and hundreds of dollars (which would be spent fixing the computer). First off let's look at a legitimate download, which everyone needs in this day and age, Acrobat Reader. As much as it sucks, Adobe tends to bundle software with their application. Although it is not Spyware, what they bundle will slow down your computer with unnecessary software. The Photo Album is not something everyone needs or wants, especially when for most people the default windows picture viewer is plenty. But yet when you download Adobe Reader, the default check mark is set to download Photo Album with Adobe Reader. Why? Because Adobe knows that most users are not computer savy and will not un-check it thus making their name bigger and make you feel like you NEED Adobe software to do anything.

Another company that will bundle software by default is Yahoo!. Anytime you download a game, or software from Yahoo! They bundle their crappy Yahoo! Toolbar. Which I have seen slows systems down up to 30% and most users do not even know how the toolbar came to be on their system. All they had to do was un-check one simple box, which of course is somewhat hidden and not noticeable because Yahoo! Wants you to depend on their software. In the end, companies are deceitful because they want money. Simple as that, so do yourself the favor and read and know what you are installing. It will save you numerous headaches.

Keep Windows Up-to-Date
As much as I do not like Windows Update (slow, and very inefficient) keeping windows software up-to-date will help you prevent spyware and viruses. Reason being is exploits are found every day in Windows software which could allow someone to inject spyware to your computer through a website, email or another means without you even realizing it. The big one is Internet Explorer, I highly suggest moving over to Firefox. That is my personal preference and have not had one issue with spyware leaking through like I have had with Internet Explorer. Keeping windows up-to-date is key to fighting spyware and viruses especially since there are many people who dislike windows and intentionally try to exploit it to disrupt it's users.

Do not download Freeware
Freeware online is often times bundled with Spyware galore! If you want to download free software make sure it is from a trusted source, such as Download.com, who regularly checks software on their website for spyware. No matter what avoid downloading any type of screen savers. As cool as some maybe, those .scr files are opening for massive invasion of privacy and attacks. The worst software to download is Screensavers so avoid it at all costs. Again anything you do download be wise and conscious about what the software is and how necessary the software is.

Keep Firewalls Active
Now a days with Cable and DSL a lot of people have Routers, if you do not I highly suggest getting one, as they come with a Hardware firewall, which ultimately protects you more than any software firewall could even dream about without taking up your computer's resources. A lot of your probably remember a few worms a while back that hit a ton of computers, Code Red I think was a huge one for DSL customers. When this worm hit the only really protected computers where those that had a hardware firewall in place to block certain ports which the worm infiltrated on. There are always worms circulation through the internet that attach to computers who do not have the port or an update to fix the worm blocked.

I have Spyware!! Help!
Once you have reached the stage that your computer is infected with Spyware, you have two choices. First choice is to download my favorite program, Spybot Search and Destroy. I have used this program for many years and if the spyware can be removed without a format this program will do it. Your second choice, which most people do not like, is a clean format. Basically wipes all of your software off and restarts you from ground zero. Personally I format my computer every 3-6months whether my computer is infected or not. But for the average user that is not viable. I would suggest that your computer is formatted every 1 to 2 years. Just to keep it running smooth and clean. When the computer is formatted you know that it is spyware, virus and any type of malware free.

Ending Notes
In the end avoiding Spyware, Malware, Worms and Virus's does not require some high priced virus or spyware checker. All it requires is a little work and a little time to make sure you are downloading and installing software you want and making sure it is not infected or bundled. I have not ran any anti-virus or anti-spyware software on my computer since 2000 and the only time I get infected, is when I consciously realize that I downloaded something I should not have. Luckily I have multiple harddrives and I always make sure that my main Windows Drive has nothing important on it so I can format it without worrying about losing any personal or important data. Well I hope this will help you to avoid Spyware and Virus's and keep your system running clean and smooth for years to come!

Related Articles
Spyware Tips for Avoiding and Removing
(Note I know the two are very similar but it does not hurt to re-iterate from time to time)

Popular Torrent Usages

Feb 7th, 2008 - Subscribe
Keywords: torrent, bit, bittorrent, legal, illegal, linux, organizations, computers, bandwidth, afford, price, cost, solution, community

Popular Torrent Usages
by FrosT

Introduction
Recently I have been approached by a few people who have asked about torrents. The main question I get is the legality of a torrent and the ethical issues involved with downloading torrents and seeding, or uploading, torrents. Really the torrent community has a bad reputation, for merited reason. Most torrents are used to transport illegal and pirated material. But for the few people who do not use torrents in this way, the legality views can hinder their projects and plans.

Torrents Save Money
Torrents are an ideal solution for any small software company starting out. The reason being is that bandwidth is expensive. A torrent can easily save a small company starting out or even a larger company money by utilizing a system where peers help share the files.

The Torrent system is also ideal for Non-Profit organizations to help get their software or files out to their employees for little to no cost all the while having the volunteers be able to help out with their own computer bandwidth. The biggest organization to utilize the BitTorrents would be the Linux community, who offers free open-source operating systems for those who cannot afford Windows and or want more functionality from their computers.

The Ethical Views
Torrents are noted for their bad reputation and for a lot of people this will shy them away from ever downloading a torrent. For the few companies that choose to use Torrents this will effectively limit their customer base. Torrents, in it self are not unethical; however, how torrents have been abused by many software pirates is. If you are downloading a torrent to obtain a copy of software, the best way to make sure what you are downloading is not illegal, is first check the companies website (if it is hosted on a 3rd party website). See if the software you are downloading requires to be purchased. If it does you have a couple options, one you can help out the business by informing them of the torrent. Two you can download the software from that torrent, but be sure to buy a genuine license key. Three do your own research; talk with the company etc. doing this will save you from having any type of lawsuits for downloading illegal software.

Just remember that not all torrents are bad or good. Always virus scan what you downloading and make sure the software you are downloading is legal, if not go straight to the company.

Ending Notes
In the end Torrents are not all illegal, although there is a vast community out there that do use torrents illegally, torrents can be considered a viable solution to expensive bandwidth; thus allowing companies, non-profit or profit making, pass along their savings to their customers all the while making access to their files easier. Remember a lot of time and effort go into making movies, games, and software. Give credit where credit is due.

Tips for Creating Aeonity Blog Templates

Sep 24th, 2007 - Subscribe
Keywords: template, aeonity, creating, editing, backup, blog, tips, tricks, styles, code, html, css

Tips for Creating Aeonity Templates

Introduction
As some of you may have noticed, I created a new template for my Free Aeonity Blog. Well given how much work it took I found a few tips and tricks that can help everyone on the community to figure out our crazy template system!

Always Backup
Make sure you backup your current template, especially if you like it and you have modified it recently. I usually open notepad and copy/paste everything into that and save it to my desktop as template_bup-date.txt This way I will always have that version incase everything gets messed up beyond belief. Also that version of the template can help you figure out the coding scheme for ETS (Easy Template System) which is what Aeonity currently uses.

Design First, Implement Later
Since Aeontiy does not have a "testing" center for templates the best way to go about designing a new template is to actually design it first. Get everything exactly how you want it and make sure it works in the browsers you use most (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera etc). Once the template is done in full html without any of Aeonity's template coding structure then you can start implementing. But do not implement until you have everything how you want it. I would use real life examples as the text and subject material etc. This will give you a good feel for what the template will look like.

Implementing the New Template
Now that you have the design completed how you want it, the time to implement the new template design is now. Open up the backup file we created of your current/old template. Note the very top, {mask:main}, and the bottom {/mask} as those are key. Without that Aeonity will not accept the template. I generally start with the navigation as that is easily and generally static. So take the navigation portions and insert the links and code in them. It should be generic and easy. Next I code in the blog portion. This will be looped for however many blogs you display on your page, so remember that. Insert the {body}, {subject}, {date}, {mood}, {custom_text} where you put them on your template inside the {mask:blog} {/mask} portions.

Finally I code the comments. This part can be tricky with the add comment portion. The add comment portion will only show up when a user clicks on the actual blog. To do this the {set} is used and as stated before their should be an example on the current template. To get the add comment form the way you want there are a few different choices. You can create it on your own and not use the {add_comment_block} Aeonity provides or you can style the add comment section using the classes that Aeonity's default code has in place (view source on your current blog for that code). This should allow full custom ability for the comment block.

Ending Notes
Now that you know the tips and tricks hopefully it will be less frustrating to attempt to create a new template for Aeonity. In the future at some point we will be creating a whole templating section on Aeonity, where you can create templates and test them without disrupting your current blog. Unfortunately that is quite a task and it does not look to be done in the future but is of high priority as we want to move to the new Web 2.0 interfaces. To do that we need templateors and we want them to be able to template in ease. Questions about templates, features etc, for now use the contact form until a FAQ has been generated for you. Thanks!

On that note if you need help converting an already designed template shoot me an email at frost [-at-] aeonity [-dot-] com. I will not design any templates but am more than happy to help implement them.

Save The Internet

Aug 24th, 2007 - Subscribe
Keywords: save, internet, comcast, att, speak, voice, limit, torrent, traffic, seeding, your, story

Comcast recently made a news release that it will be pulling the plug on Bit torrent seeding ports. What this means is that the Linux community is going to take a huge hit from not having their distributions seeded, plus many other free based companies that do not receive any profits from their products.

As such I took action by visiting
Save the Net and told My Story on why Comcast should not do this.

So go ahead and tell your story. Help us save the internet from being crippled by ISP companies such as Comcast and AT&T! Speak up!

Here is my story from the above link:

Bit Torrent traffic is not all illegal. A lot of us help out the Linux community and other Open source free software communities by seeding legal software distributions which in return saves them bandwidth. Having this stupid logic in place prevents great feats like that from happening and will basically shut down the Linux community as no one can afford to buy hosting for as much traffic as they bring in.

Stop trying to take control of the internet, I will be looking into a new company to take my money and not limit me. Thanks Comcast for making not want to give you my money anymore. I sure as hell wasted my time and money by switching from DSL.

Win a 1990 FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser

Jun 7th, 2007 - Subscribe
Keywords: toyota, land, cruiser, landcruiser, rising, sun, risingsun, 4x4, 4wd, offroad, raffle, vehicle, 1990, fj62, custom, mod

Win a 1990 FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser
by FrosT

Win this 1990 FJ62 Land Cruiser

Introduction
Do you want a chance to win a 1990 FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser? I know I do. Your question is, where can I find a sweet deal like that? Well for starters you can Buy $3.00 Raffle Tickets for a chance to win. Now the question you have is why is there such a sweet deal to win this 1990 FJ62 Land Cruiser, which has definitely been DECKED OUT? Well let me explain how the 1990 FJ62 Fully Customized Raffle vehicle came to be.

1990 FJ62 Fully Custom Land Cruiser
Thanks to Rising Sun Land Cruiser 4WD Club and many other people the Raffle Vehicle, 1990 FJ62 Land Cruiser, who has put in many hours of wrench work and has received many donations from awesome vendors. Without the vendors, the donations or even the wrench work, this vehicle would not be as sweet as it is now. Why not give it a try for just $3.00 a Raffle Ticket? This is a win-win situation, as the money you put into the Raffle tickets will be used as such:

The proceeds from the ticket sales are distributed through the Associations Funds as follows: 30% to the Land Use Fund, 10% to the Promotion Fund, 40% to next years Raffle Fund, 5% to the Office Fund, 12.5% to the Scholarship Fund and 2.5% to the Sunshine Fund. All unused monies in the Raffle Fund at the end of the year will be transferred to the General Fund.

Ending Notes
There is really no reason you should not spend at least $3.00 a Raffle Ticket to enter for a chance to win a 1990 FJ62 Land Cruiser and help keep 4WD trails open. What are you waiting for? Hurry and Buy a $3.00 Raffle Ticket to win this AMAZING 1990 FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser!

References:
The 1990 FJ62 Land Cruiser Raffle Vehicle
Rising Sun 4WD Club
Buy a $3.00 Raffle Ticket to win the 1990 FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser Raffle Vehicle
A picture of the 1990 FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser


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