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Microsoft Releases MS08-062 to the Public a Month Early!

PaulOctober 29, 2008

Vulnerability in Windows Internet Printing Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (KB953155)

This update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Windows Internet Printing Service that could allow remote code execution. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts.

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This update is rated Important for all supported editions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses this vulnerability by changing the way that memory is allocated within the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) service. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

[via Microsoft Bulletin]

Now from what I understand, if you have a Network attached printer on your system this would make you more vulnerable to someone taking control over your system. So this patch is supposed to fix that. I am recommending to all to update this and fix this update ASAP. I do not know if you don’t have one what that would do so just install this update, because you will undoubtedly still be runing the Internet Printer Protocol even if you don’t have a printer.

Mahalo Lay’s off around 10% of it’s workforce!!

PaulOctober 23, 2008

[ad#ad2-left]In an email he sent to the readers of his publication, Jason Calicanis talks about having to lay off around 10% of people from Mahalo. Here’s the quote:

We’ve laid off a just under 10% of our full-time staff, cut our overhead by doing smart things like renting desks (we have six desks/offices available fyi), and reorganized our editorial department to focus on freelance positions over in-house editors. The net result
of the effort is we are giving Mahalo another year of “dry powder” (or runway) to complete our mission.

This is not to be unexpected after all the talk about the recession coming our way. It does however emphasizes the need for companies to consider there profit margins and accounting strategy.

Mahalo was launched in May 2007 as an Alpha test. That is to say only a select number of people were able to access the site and create feedback to the development of the site. As of January of 2008 it is in what we call the Beta test phase. Which means more people are testing it out and find out it’s flaws to report back about where they need to improve. Mahalo’s directory employs human editors to review websites and search engine results.

[ad#ad2-right]Saying that Mahalo is in Beta still doesn’t lessen the fact that they are worried about there revenue model and expect a drastic decrease in revenue over the next 2 years due to the Recession still hanging over our heads. This is where it comes to pure talent and understanding that most people in the business has to worry being laid off for example Merck Laid off 13% of it’s workforce. Most people know the dread and fear of having the possibility of a Layoff hanging over your head and it is bound to affect even the most stubborn person and independent person. It is going to come at a time like Christmas or the first a year and you will have to scrounge around and try to find another job. It’s tough and I’ve got a list that will help you :5 ways to improve your chance of getting hired.

With this list you will be able to get a better grip of the future and maybe create a better future in the process.

Mahalo is still in it’s infancy and will still need time to grow and mature and with this recession looming over everyone’s head they will have quite a time making heads or tails of the future. So why try to create the future if you don’t know what will happen? That comes with the territory of blogging and website that are 2.0. It’s a hit or miss when it comes to people finding the best content and sometimes finds the worst content. This is where you as a reader have to choice what to listen to and who to listen too. I don’t say that will be easy but it is essential in finding what you need at the time you need it.

If we don’t do anything, this will be the last you will see of some of these big name sites. We need to gather around them and show our support, by reading there content and providing feedback if there is something that needs to be change. That is your power to help these websites become the best they can. So go comment on your favorite website, tell them something you think they can do to better the content. So why aren’t you doing that now?

Are you asking to be scammed?

PaulOctober 15, 2008

As we go further into the economic death, we are faced with the most undesirable aspect of the human culture. That is to say, scammers are going to use the chance to find people to scam. I don’t say this lightly because scammers have become more cunning and dubious through the years. They are actually using the internet as well as most companies. They are going to sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and other hiring sites to get people to apply for jobs.

<<See Previous Post — Nationwide Marketing Scam

Having said that, I recently had a problem with being tried to be scammed. I applied to a job posted on Careerbuilder and that is how they got a hold of my home address. I did not think about the security problems associated with applying for jobs on line, until recently.

As you can see that is how they got a hold of my information and have made myself vulnerable to scams and also, other potential problems. I am talking about Theft ID and also spam. Although spam is to be expected with anything we do online. I’ve come to the conclusion that we will always have to deal with spam. I wanted to talk about how to be careful when you apply for online jobs and put your information out on the internet. I’ve started taking some steps to prevent this from happening again.

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No Longer am I going to apply for any more private companies — if I can’t see who they are then they have something to hide.

To prevent spam — I am going to make an email address just for my resume. That way I don’t have to worry about spam on my main account.

If it’s too good to be true, it is probably not — I am going to start using that philosophy when I’m about to apply for a job. See picture above, advertising way to much money for a Customer Service rep.

Don’t ever put your Social on your Resume — That is the most crucial part, if you want your identity stolen that is one sure way to get it stolen. Even though that should be painfully obvious it is sometimes overlooked.

I am sure there are more but that is the basic idea of the whole thing. I will probably come up with even more ideas later on but this was one thing that I have been thinking about all day. I also think we have to starting asking the questions before the seriousness of the scammers come to bear. They will never go away but until we get serious, they will always be there to taunt us and laugh us. I am not sure how to do it, Do you? Are we just supposed to sit here and take it or do we fight back and how? These are importantquestions for anyone to consider when you are faced with the possiblity of fraud or being scammed? How do we deal with it in the future? Should scammers be punished serverely or moderately?

Google Ups the Anti!!

PaulOctober 4, 2008

As part of our effort to protect the accounts of AdSense publishers, we have mailed a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to the payment address entered in your account. This PIN must be entered on the PIN Information page before any payments can be issued to you. In the meantime, your account remains active, and you may continue to show ads and accrue earnings.

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Well that came unexpectedly, Google actually is trying to protect our accounts now from getting phished and or/taken over by some malicious person. This is called two factor verification**, Something you know and something you have. You can also get verify through your Cell Phone. Here is what they said in my Email:

Hi,

In an effort to protect the accounts of Google AdSense publishers,
we've starting using automated telephone number verification to
ensure that your information is accurate and up-to-date. As a result,
you should see a Required Action on your Payment History Page to
'Please verify your phone number' after you log in to your account.
To initiate this process, lick the 'Please verify your phone number'
link and follow the instructions.

Keep in mind that you have 6 months to enter the verification code.
If you have not entered your verification code within 4 months, we'll
start displaying Public Service Ads (PSAs) on your web pages. If you
have not entered your verification code within 6 months, your account
will be disabled and any unpaid earnings will be refunded to the
appropriate advertisers. You can learn more about our phone number
verification process at
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=32055.

For additional questions about getting paid, please visit
http://www.google.com/adsense/payments.
If you prefer a video presentation of this information, we encourage you to watch our Payment
demo (currently available in English only), located at http://www.google.com/adsensedemo4 .

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

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So here’s my take, you don’t have to verify both of them just one or the other. It is going to be rather difficult that people get paid. I don’t think this will be a big problem for most people, but I am sure some are going to get annoyed having to enter their* pin every time they want to get paid. So what do you think? Is this a good upgrade or a bad upgrade you decide and leave your comments. I want to hear them.

(*) Thanks to the Diggers to showing me I had a mistake.

(**)Someone ask why I capitalise the two in so I changed it!

(The Google Letter) That text is from my email no changes have been made except line breaks, so if there is an error it comes from Google.

Filling the Internet Needs 3/3

PaulAugust 14, 2008

Is Google part of your you blog Body?

Having Google be part of your blog is essential to keeping people coming to your site. Google is kind, intelligent enough, forgiving, and nice to have on your site. Having Google juice helps you give your blog a chance to thrive. Making enemies is fine if you must, but don’t make enemies with Google. You need to understand that Google is right now the Alpha Dog. It can make or break your site. If you get removed from Google, guess what you will probably be removed from other search sites almost certainly because of Google.

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Time is the essence of creating a good blog!

It takes time to get people to come to your blog and stay at your blog. It isn’t something that will come almost instantly. It has taken me a year now to start getting people a high volume of people coming to my site. Some people think blogging should bring people to there site almost instantly. I would say that is almost impossible unless you do some things that I will not go into but it will never keep people to come to your blog, it’s how you talk to your web users. I’ll talk more about that later. I hope this helps you figure out how to start yoru blog and understand the challenges of having a blog. If you want to comment about what I’ve said please go right ahead!!