Technology Bytes

Microsoft has issued an alert warning of a potential security threat to the Windows operating system.

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-017

Who Should Read this Document: Customers who use Microsoft Windows
Impact of Vulnerability: Remote Code Execution
Maximum Severity Rating: Critical
Recommendation: Customers should apply the update immediately

Apparently there are an increasing number of criminal groups targeting the vulnerabilities that this patch fixes and they are using it to silently install software when users visit a malicious Web site or open a certain types of e-mail.

It is strongly recommended that you apply the security patch immediately.

You can do this via the links listed at the security site linked above or by running Windows Update or by visiting windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

I have spoken before in my personal blog on the topic of hot-linking images.

As a photographer and as a person who hosts and posts a lot of images, I get people directly linking to my server all the time on Myspace, Friendster, Facebook and so on. There’s my image, plain as day. No credit for my work, no thank you Jay Lee for this awesome picture!, no nuthin! And to make matters worse, they’re pulling it directly from my server.

The John McCain team discovered that this is a huge no-no and they discovered it in a way that we here at Technology Bytes can truly appreciate.

Apparently John McCain has his own Myspace page which utilizes a template created by Mike Davidson over at Newsvine.com.

The McCain team ripped the template without crediting Davidson and, to add insult to injury, hot-linked to one of his images.

Davidson retaliated.

By simply changing the picture on his own server, Davidson was able to give Senator McCain and new political outlook.

You can read Davidson’s own account on his blog, but be warned. As of this morning the story was “slashdotted” so his site is responding a little slowly.

*Screen capture of McCain’s Myspace hack created by Mike Davidson

One of the readers of my Helpline column sent me this email which describes a novel solution to an age old problem:

14 year old computer “geniuses” and the problems they cause

I have a 14 year old son who believes he is a computer whiz. He is constantly downloading programs from the Internet and tinkering around with system files and hardware. As a result, the computer he uses is always loaded down with viruses and malware. The other day I caught him swapping .dll files in the Windows system directory (he said the versions he needed weren’t there and he was replacing them with files that came from who knows where). Needless to say, his tinkering really messes up this system.

Unfortunately, my wife uses this computer too and she is pulling her hair out. I finally reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Windows (I’m still using 2000), but within an hour, he was at it again, undoing all my work with downloaded junk. At this point, my wife was ready to go buy another computer for herself; kicking my son off the system is not an option, since there are times when he needs the computer for schoolwork.

I made it clear to all concerned that we weren’t buying another computer. After a bit of pondering, I came up with what looks to be a solution that will keep everyone happy. I pulled out the system disks and started
reformatting again. But this time, I created two equal partitions on the hard drive, then installed W2K on both. I knew you could set up a dual boot system with two different operating systems, but I wasn’t sure you could do
it with the same OS. Just like a dual OS installation, you get a choice of two OSs on bootup, but in this case, they are both Win 2K. I configured one for my wife and the other for my son. Now, he can mess up his partition to his heart’s content while my wife’s partition remains clean and green. I know other people with teenagers who have the same kinds of problems; maybe this is a simple alternative to a second or third computer.

Mark K. Davis

This is a solution that will also work with XP and Vista. And since the operating systems are not running simultaneously, I don’t believe you will need two license keys.

We do get a lot of calls from small business owners so I know this will be of interest to some of our listeners

Houston based Ergos Technology is looking to make one small business a very happy camper.

They are sponsoring a contest, the winner of which will receive a $35,000 technology makeover.

The X-treme Technology Makeover will include:

Microsoft Small Business Server Premium
Microsoft Office Professional
Dell Power Edge 2900 Server
Dell Color Laser printer
Symantec Antivirus and Backup Exec Software
SonicWALL Firewall
Palm® Treo™ Smartphones with Windows Mobile Messaging
Implementation & Consulting by ERGOS
Toshiba phone system – implementation by DataVox
Applications must be completed and received no later than April 11th, 2007.

Full contest rules are here

You can fill out your application here.

From Steve Winter, CEO:

The winner will be chosen from a panel comprised of members from some of our sponsors including the Houston Technology Center and the Greater Houston Partnership. We want this to be an unbiased decision. We are looking for the company with the most compelling story. We want to choose a company where an upgrade or new infrastructure will have the most impact on their business and on their employees. There are a myriad of issues that can affect a companies’ productivity that don’t allow them to effectively compete in the marketplace. We want to help a company that has a good business plan or idea and just needs the technology to make it go. This could be for a non-profit or for-profit company in Houston.”

“This contest is a great way to give back to the community. There are thousands of small businesses in Houston and we hope to make an impact with one of these companies. It is also a good way for our sponsors to help give back to a community in which they may not be based. All of our sponsors were very excited about this. It is also obviously a great way for ERGOS to gain recognition in the marketplace and a fun way to do it.

Additional sponsors include Microsoft, Dell, DataVox, Symantec, Houston Technology Center, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Galleria Chamber of Commerce, Palm and SonicWALL.”

Jay Lee’s Chronicle Helpline column for the week is online here

Geek humor meets political commentary

Add youself to our Frappr map!

I have been talking to a lot of computer users who tell me their Windows computer clock will not stay set to the correct time since the time change this weekend.

If your system clock keeps reverting to the incorrect time, here is what I have found will fix it.

First, go to windowsupdate.microsoft.com and make sure you are fully patched. You can use the custom option if you want to exclude Internet Explorer 7.

Install all the patches, reboot and go back until there are no more high priority updates to be installed.

Once you are patched double click the clock down in the system tray. Go to the Time Zone tab and select any time zone other than the one you are in. Click apply. Then set it back to your time zone and make sure the check box that says “Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes” is checked and click apply.

You should see your system clock has now changed to the correct time.

This past Sunday I was interviewed on Channel 13’s morning news program about the Y2K7 issue.

You can view it on Jeff Ehling’s blog by clicking here.

I enjoyed the experience. The staff that makes up the Sunday morning crew made me feel welcome and at ease. Elissa Rivas conducted the actual interview and she made it very pleasant.

When the interview was over Mark Garay (who, by the way, was wearing tennis shoes behind the anchor desk) asked me to stop by and speak with Carmin the producer on my way out. I figured they must want me to sign something or I don’t know what, but I stopped by. No paperwork, oh no. Carmin was having a computer problem and they wanted my assistance.

Turns out that Carmin’s workstation was having a problem with the time change. This was the computer she was using to manage the current on air program with all the various time blocks, story segments, commercial breaks and so forth and every couple of minutes it was reverting back to pre-DST time after she would manually set it to the correct time.

My guess expert opinion was that it must be synching to an NTP server and also not have the current software update to allow it to sort out the time change.

How ironic. Here we are making light of the Y2K7 problem and how it’s no big deal and the very show hosting the interview is in danger of collapsing in a Microsoft-induced DST wormhole.

There’s no way to patch the machine what with it being used to mange a live program. It would have to wait till after the show and wait for one of the ABC IT staff as I was on my way out the door.

It was a great fun and I hope to do more work with ABC in the future.

Jay Lee
www.baldheretic.com