What’s with Google trends?

Having been going to the Google Trends and keeping watching.  I am starting to wonder something?  Take a look at this and you tell me?

Oct 20,2008 Google Trends

[ad]Can you see how someone might use this to create a Goog-411 and use it to promote there website? It is all about the hits and getting what publishers like to say the eyes on a website. Now is that going to confuse people or make people not want to come to a site.  So how would people abuse this?

Very Simple, they’d watch what is trending and post accordingly.  Now you as a reader would click on the website expecting to see what you want to see but instead it would popup with advertisements and maybe malware?  Check these links to better understand it:

[ad]
Now even though these are just a few.  You can see how someone might want to abuse it and get there site up on Google trends and be able to infect several to even millions of computers before Google sees that or stops.  You could in theory take over a website high in Google rankings and do exactly that.

Then I have to ask myself, why would hackers want to do it in the first? One they’d be able to direct people to sites that they could use to phish your information, or maybe make money by you going to these sites. It is all about money, I don’t say that lightly, but it seems to always be true.

So what is Google doing to prevent this? is it right to use Google for your advantage? Do we need it for anything other than to see what people are looking at? Is that a form of them tracking your every click.

[ad]
Are you comfortable with them keeping the list of what people searched for last year? if you don’t believe me, go check it out yourself. These are important questions to answer and should be explored.

Taking back Program Controls : For the Beginners!

Graph of typical Operating System placement on...
Image via Wikipedia

So, let’s face it, this is one of the most annoying problems there are with programs.   Programs that you think are shut down but are actually still active in the Taskmanager.  So I figured I’d talk about some of the most common fixes for these problems.    Now as you know there can be any number of programs or glitches as they say, causing the problems.  So let’s talk about the why, shall we.

Most of the time programs don’t quit because they are waiting for some kind of response from the system or the System is waiting for the program to close by itself.  It could also be a problem with a Virus or Root kit?  How do you fix it?

Fixing the problem is somewhat just trial and Error.  It isn’t always the hardest thing to do but sometimes people overlook the easiest solutions.   So here are some easy ones:

  • Check to see if one of the Microsoft updates are causing the problem —  Sometimes you might not realize it, but having installed an update can cause problems like KB951748.  That one caused a major Headache for Zonealarm.  So it is wise to check each months updates when you start seeing problems, sometimes it could of been happening for a while but it can sometimes cause troubles.
  • Do a Hijackthis scan — Just in case it is virus this will tell you what programs might be the virus.  You will need to go Analyze the logs so go HijackThis Log Analysis Site 1 and HijackThis Log Analysis Site 2. Check the logs to see what viruses might be on your system.   Just Remember that if you delete something important to your system you will have to install the Operating System.
  • Boot into Safe Mode and Clean out your Prefetch Directory — Yes that is right, if you boot into Safe Mode and clean the cache you sometimes help fix problems.  You see most programs loaded in cache sometimes get corrupt and might cause problems.
  • Uninstall any programs that you think might problem —  This one is easily overlook because most people don’t realize that a program is loading up with your knowledge and might cause a variety of problems.  You can also check the Msconfig for that programs that might not need to be loaded up when you start windows.

These are just a few ways to fix the problem and I think if you do this most of your problems will go away.  There are of course other solutions depending on your system configuration.   As with any changes to your system, please talk to your computer care specialist if you have any questions.

Un-answered questions

In the days of old, We’ve seen so much money going down the drain. I’ve only have to ask, some questions, that have been swimming in my head today. So I’ve figured I’d ask my users to submit there answers either via twitter or through the comment section of blogger. Anyways I’ve been quite curious of these questions:

  1. What type of OS is your Favorite? (Mac, Windows, or Linux)
  2. Do you have a favorite game? If so what platform do you use?
  3. Have you played with Linux or do you consider yourself a geek?
  4. Do you think Windows is going to die soon? If so who will replace it?
  5. Have you played with Linux? Do you think it is suitable for the kids?
  6. Have you played with a Macintosh? What do you think?
  7. What games would you like to see on this blog? (Give names of titles if possible)
  8. Is there Anything else you’d like to see posted on this blog? (Give Examples)
Now I know this is questions that most wouldn’t understand but I was curious about what people are looking for and want some input so as to make this blog even better. Please support this blog by let me know what you think.