All posts by The Artist

Microsoft Warns Of Windows Server Vulnerability

Microsoft experts have warned that they have detected a wave of attacks on Windows servers over the past couple of weeks. Although a patch has been issued, not everyone has downloaded and installed it. Microsoft, as always, advised users to get the latest security patches from their official website.

This malware has mostly attacked businesses but some home users have also reportedly been affected. It’s not clear to me how a system could be infected but this malware would contact various major websites and request for a date, after which t would generate a list of domain names and try to download malicious file onto unsuspecting computers and then totally take control of them.

I know, this sounds pretty serious but like my friend told me, if we would like to escape from all these, it’s better not to connect to the web, but what is the purpose of the internet, then?

It seems to me that there is always a form of attack by malware, virus, Trojan and what not all the time. The best thing to do is, of course, only install original software, especially for your operating system, so that you could update your security files as and when they are available.

Google Chrome The Fastest Web Browser

ExtremeTech, technology experts, recently ran a battery of tests on various popular web browsers and concluded that Google Chrome is by far the fastest web browser at the moment. Not only do web pages load faster, it is also more secure and could handle flash and render videos faster than the other browsers that were tested alongside Chrome; namely Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

Now that Google Chrome has been released for a couple of months already, although it is still in beta, I think it’s about time I check it out myself too. What I want is just a fast web browser with tabbed browsing and automatic refresh/reload as these are required for my work.

Even so, Chrome is only used by about an estimated 1% of web surfers, with the majority of the people using Internet Explorer and 20% using Firefox. I guess Microsoft has the biggest slice of the pie because it is pre-installed in most computer systems that run on Windows. Google plans to pre-install Chrome on computer systems beginning next year as well, that is provided that they are able to bring it out of beta by then.

It would be interesting to see really how fast Chrome is compared to what I am using right now; Maxthon, Firefox and Safari. Yes, I use three browsers at the same time. Anyway, don’t we hear everyone saying how FAST Firefox is compared to Internet Explorer? I don’t think it is fast enough especially with loading it the first time. A lot of times, Maxthon is faster. But then, maybe it’s just my computer? *shrug*

Christmas Gift For Lady Boss

My sister works in a company where all the colleagues are so close and friendly that she feels obligated to get gifts for them all the time, during birthdays, baby showers, housewarming and such. It feels like it’s a round the year occasion. However, my sister says that it’s the thought that counts and they don’t mind receiving gifts that are not too expensive.

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However, come Christmas, my sister told me that she would need to buy a Christmas gift of higher value for her boss. Her boss is an iron lady and slave driver BUT she has been very kind to my sister maybe because my sister is all alone in the United States without family or friends.

My sister asked me if I could suggest some gifts for her. I know that she is on a tight budget (who isn’t these days?) so we planned something that would be under US$100 yet is luxurious.

I was told of Oooh La La Cadeau which carries an extensive range of luxurious handmade boxed gifts designed by Sande Chase especially for women. Since they have a new collection of gifts out, I thought that it was most timely for Christmas.

If you do not know yet, Americans should shop with Canadian stores because of the stronger currency exchange rate which would save them some money. Plus, for orders below CAD200, there will be no duties imposed for cross border purchases.

The good news for my sister is that Oh la la Cadeau ships across Canada and the United States via UPS so that would be a real hassle-free shopping experience.


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Facebook Awarded $873 Million

Facebook last week won a judgment against a spammer who used Facebook as a mechanism to spam Facebook users with porn and other adult-related content by phishing account login information from other unsuspecting users. Not only did this guy, Adam Guerbuez who runs Atlantis Blue Capital, spam the private messages of other users, he also spammed the “Wall” of users, causing embarrassment to the real account holder and their friends who may read such public messages on the Wall.

Although Facebook do not expect to be able to collect the whole award of US$873 million, they will surely go all out to get at Adam Guerbuez, if only to teach him a lesson and serve as a deterrent to other people who have similar thoughts of spamming social networking websites.

This is by far the largest award to date compared to the one won by MySpace in May, 2008. As mentioned, unlike other spammers, Adam Guerbuez utilized the Wall feature of Facebook, sending out public messages, which is deemed more damaging.

Do Bloggers Need Code of Ethics?

If they do, and such a code is set, which is said to be just a guideline and not legislation, would it be possible for bloggers to follow such a guideline diligently? Our dear Home Minister seems to think that Bloggers need it but who would be making sure that we will be following these guidelines?

As a blogger myself, I think that one of the things we bloggers enjoy is the nature of blogs where everything is no holds barred. Of course, we do our best to write within the law and our own social and moral obligation. Even if there would be bloggers who set out to be pot stirrers, I believe that blog readers are smart enough to determine the truths from lies.

I think it’s pretty dumb for certain government quarters to hire bloggers, or hire blog readers and commenters to create problems for the blogger. As long as the government of the day does right for the Rakyat, they will not be trashed by bloggers on their blogs. Well, we all know why blogs have become an avenue for us to air our grievances. That’s because mainstream media is off-limits to most of us.

So, yeah, let me just say that we don’t need no code of ethics. We just want truth and justice, don’t we all?

Which Is Your Favourite Gmail Theme?

Yesterday, Gmail surprised us with a collection of colours and themes for Gmail. I wasted no time checking them out since Gmail has been way too plain for my liking. My favoruite is the CANDY theme. It’s so sweet. I am using it for two of my Gmail accounts but I believe I am not the only girl who likes it. Some of my male friends like Ninja. So which is your favourite theme or colour?

I used to swithc my Gmail from default new version upon log in to the older version because I felt that the older version is faster. After installing a theme, I no longer do that since the theme would not work with the older version. LOL

Actually, I have been looking for a WordPress theme that is as cute and sweet as Candy but so far, could not find one. There are a handful though, but not suitable for my needs.

Anyway, I think that before long, creative people would start to submit their Gmail themes to Google and share their designs with us. For people like me who are not creative at all and have no idea how to make these themes, well, let’s just wait and hope for a larger pool of themes to play around with!

Netbook Comes In Handy

My friend bought a netbook recently and although it was a mid-range unit and a tad expensive, he told me he has no regrets and absolutely loves it. Last week, he was travelling in the United States and he was able to hook up online on the go. It came in handy when he wanted to check out local places of interest while on the move.

He whipped out his netbook when he stopped by in Denver, Colorado overnight. He said he had some time to explore the city but didn’t know where to go but was able to check online for on-going activities in Denver and Denver Restaurants that would be suitable for a single person and not look out of place.

After having a try at his netbook, I am so tempted to purchase one as well but definitely will not buy one as expensive as his!