The PC Informant

Reviews of security suites

Vic Laurie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:00:28 +0000

These days, guarding against Internet malefactors requires a whole host of different defenses. Accordingly, the security software firms have created suites that bundle a variety of different functions. Computerworld has just published an article with reviews of 9 of the most comprehensive suites. The list consists of:

BitDefender Internet Security
Kaspersky Internet Security
McAfee Internet Security
Norman Internet Security Suite
Norton Internet Security 2010
Panda Internet Security
PC Security Shield
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro
ZoneAlarm Internet Security

These are all commercial products that typically cost $50 to $80 for one year. They come with licenses for 3 computers and are intended for Windows Vista/7. The reviewer (Frank Ohlhorst) doesn’t explicitly rank the suites but does say:

Norton Internet Security 2010 is an excellent security product and still remains the one to beat. Symantec has done a good job of improving it over time to keep it one step ahead of the competition.

Review of Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 2011

Vic Laurie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:57:54 +0000

Neil Rubenking, PCMag’s security expert, periodically does a thorough test of various security software and publishes his findings. He has just come out with his results for Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 2011. This software is now a PCMag top pick. Rubenking says:

There’s a lot to like in Webroot’s 2011 model. Its well-crafted interface has been made as simple as possible, but not too simple—Spyware Doctor could use a similar makeover. While Webroot didn’t ace every test, it consistently made the top three, and, unlike many products, it did well both at malware prevention and at cleaning up existing infestations. You won’t go wrong choosing Webroot to protect your system against viruses and other types of malware. Webroot AntiVirus with SpySweeper 2011 is our new standalone antivirus Editors’ Choice.

Spyware Doctor was Rubenking’s previous choice for standalone malware protection. Note that this category does not include suites with specific Internet malware defenses like a firewall or phishing filters. For reviews of some more comprehensive suites, see the next post.

Apple’s new touch interface- end of the mouse?

Vic Laurie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:08:51 +0000

The graphical user interface pointing device (as the mouse was once known) has been with us since the dawn of personal computing. Older than Apple, older than Microsoft, the mouse is so ingrained in our daily computing that we can scarcely imagine doing without it. And yet many young people almost never use a mouse. The mouse is a desktop item and the growth of mobile platforms means that many are interfacing with touch. Many laptop users rarely use a mouse and rely on the touchpad instead.

Personally, I have always disliked touchpads and have found them very hard to use. One problem with touchpads is that they haven’t worked that well in Windows. Apple has done better with touch and the touchpad on a Mac is noticeably easier to use. However, it is also true that touchpads have been getting better on Windows machines and I find that the touchpad on my Windows 7 Asus laptop is much more usable than on previous Windows systems I have used.

Apple has decided to expand its touch expertise and has just announced a product called the Magic Trackpad for use with desktop Macs. At the New York Times, Nick Bilton describes it:

What is this magical device, you ask? It is similar to a laptop trackpad and acts as a replacement for a traditional mouse. It will also bring multitouch capabilities to some applications on a Mac computer. The Trackpad costs $69 and connects to Macs over a Bluetooth wireless link.

Apple said the Magic Trackpad would offer standard touch experiences like “flipping through pages in a book or magazine,” rotating images, and scrolling through Web sites and other texts with two fingers.

Over at TechCrunch, MG Siegler writes, Apple’s Magic Trackpad Signals The End Of The Mouse Era. This led to a storm of commentary and Siegler later posted:

I mean come on, it’s a mouse. Does anyone really think it’s going to be the main way we interact with computers in the future? It’s a 50-year old technology for Chrissakes.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying trackpads and other multi-touch surfaces are going to replace the mouse overnight. Of course they’re not. I’m also not saying that the Magic Trackpad specifically is going to kill the mouse. Of course it’s not — it’s Mac-only, that’s still a small percentage of overall computer users. What I am saying is that the Magic Trackpad is the device that is signaling the end of the mouse era.

Apple hasn’t just developed touch technology for its desktop operating systems. An operating system written for the conventional mouse interface isn’t likely to be optimum for a touch interface and Apple has taken the logical step of writing operating systems designed specifically for touch. The difference is very noticeable if you try out an iPad or iPhone.

Buying and selling stolen credit card numbers

Vic Laurie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:34:27 +0000

Cybercrime is big business. There are web sites where you can buy kits to help you set up spamming or planting Trojans. There are online markets for buying and selling stolen data like credit card numbers. At the New York Times Bits blog, Nick Bilton shows some examples of numbers for Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discovery on sale:

Hackers buying and selling credit cards and other personal information are extremely organized in the way they shuffle information around the Web, these experts said. For example, the list below is taken from an advertisement online that sells credit cards. The price of the credit card numbers varies based on the number of accounts for sale:

Visa Classic, MasterCard Standard
10-50 pieces – 15$/dump
50-100 pieces – 12$/dump

Visa Gold/Platinum/Signature/Purchasing/Business/Corporate/etc…
10-50 pieces – 25$/dump
50-100 pieces – 20$/dump

MasterCard Premier/etc…
10-50 pieces – 25$/dump
50-100 pieces – 20$/dump

Amex, Discover
10-50 pieces – 25$/dump
50-100 pieces – 20$/dump

Text baffles readers

Vic Laurie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:13:50 +0000

It may be satire but this piece from the Onion is too close to the truth for comfort. It begins:

WASHINGTON—Unable to rest their eyes on a colorful photograph or boldface heading that could be easily skimmed and forgotten about, Americans collectively recoiled Monday when confronted with a solid block of uninterrupted text.

Dumbfounded citizens from Maine to California gazed helplessly at the frightening chunk of print, unsure of what to do next. Without an illustration, chart, or embedded YouTube video to ease them in, millions were frozen in place, terrified by the sight of one long, unbroken string of English words.

“Why won’t it just tell me what it’s about?” said Boston resident Charlyne Thomson, who was bombarded with the overwhelming mass of black text late Monday afternoon. “There are no bullet points, no highlighted parts. I’ve looked everywhere—there’s nothing here but words.”

Via Lifehacker

Browsers blocking malware downloads

Vic Laurie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:13:27 +0000

Modern browsers have filters designed to block downloads from dubious sites. They rely on a database of known malware providers and infected sites so they are always behind the fast-moving Internet gangs. Nonetheless, it can be valuable form of protection as shown by some statistics from Microsoft – Internet Explorer 8 has blocked 1 billion attempts to download malware.

The time it takes for the site filters to check if a site is dodgy can sometimes slow down browsing so advanced PC users sometimes disable them. However, typical home users should leave this defense intact. Just remember that it is far from a perfect defense since the databases used for filtering are always somewhat behind. So other defenses like disabling scripting are needed as well. Of course, discretion and judgment about what you click are the best defenses.

I have written an article at my education site on how the site filters in Internet Explorer 8 and in Firefox 3.6 work.

Web sites that help you find good books

Vic Laurie — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:58:01 +0000

Are you still a consumer of content in that old-fashioned medium, the book? Personally, I find that reading a good book is one of the great pleasures of life. In spite of all the noise about the death of printed media, great numbers of books are still being published. Admittedly, e-readers are encroaching on the printed mode but, in one form or the other, there are still a lot of good books to read. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of very bad books being published. To help winnow the good from the chaff, there are some web sites where serious readers share recommendations and reviews of books they have read.

Lifehacker recently polled its readers about places to get information on books and found that GoodReads got the most votes. I haven’t used the site but, when I took a look, I was gratified to see “The Da Vinci Code” on the list of worst books ever. Of course all sites where anyone can contribute will attract cranks and zealots as well as serious readers. So all ratings have to be considered in the context of the shortcomings of social sites. For example, at GoodReads a book titled “Twilight” is on the list of best books ever as well as the list of worst books ever.

The second-place site in the Lifehacker poll was one that I use- Amazon Books.In addition to recommendations from those who have bought a particular book, Amazon will make recommendations for you based on books that you have personally bought. It is a little spooky when Amazon seems to know what kinds of things you are interested in but that is part of our modern lack of privacy.

Statistics about social networks

Vic Laurie — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:47:54 +0000

As mentioned previously, Facebook now has over 500 million users worldwide. BBC has published a number of charts showing statistics for the membership of a number of social networks in various countries. Shown below is part of one of the BBC charts with some US numbers:

Has Facebook peaked?

Vic Laurie — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:19:21 +0000

Facebook recently passed the 500 million mark for users. Can it keep growing? At Computerworld, Mike Elgan says Facebook has problems. In fact, his opinion is that users are losing interest. Here is what he says:

Facebook has a huge problem. No, it’s not privacy, security, application spam or even horrible P.R. from the upcoming movie, “The Social Network.” These are short-term annoyances for the company, but not existential threats.

Here’s the real problem: Facebook’s social network can’t mirror the actual social networks, or social groups, that people have. Because of that, users are beginning to notice a curious effect: The more you use Facebook, the less usable it becomes.

It turns out that our feelings about Facebook aren’t static. They’re evolving in a way that will eventually lead many of us to quit and find something else — or at least minimize use.

Facebook is structured on the false assumption that you have one social network. But nobody has one social group.

Do you use Facebook? Are you using it less?

Just how nosy is Google going to get?

Vic Laurie — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:38:39 +0000

As we all know, Google and others have massive amounts of data about all of us. The collection of data is not by itself necessarily a privacy problem; if it is scattered in unconnected bits around a gigantic database, it might just sit there with no one the wiser. It is putting all the data on one person together, making correlations, and constructing a dossier that has Orwellian implications.

Recently, Google Fellow Amit Singhal talked to TechRadar about a concept he called “searching without searching”. By this term, he means that Google will know so much about you that it can tell you what you are looking for before you even get a chance to search for it.

Commenting on this concept, Mike Elgan writes:

Specifically, Google search would know about your preferences, hobbies, favorite activities and more. It would know all the events in your life, such as the birthdays and anniversaries of family and friends. It would also scan the Internet for relevant events, as well as social networks for trending topics and breaking news.

When someone’s birthday is coming, it would suggest a gift based not only on what Google knows about that person, but also what it knows about product availability and ship times to make sure the recipient gets the goods on time.

And Search would make decisions based on its constant review of all your stuff. For example, if there’s slow traffic on the way to a meeting on your calendar, it might alert you to leave early.

Personally, I find this a rather spooky prospect. I am not so sure I want Big Google watching everything I do. What do you think? Would you like to have Google organizing your life? Not to mention the government- what’s to keep some agency from subpoenaing the Google dossier?