Getting ready to go to my 5PM mtg and I saw that the Windows Mobile 6.1 update for the HTC (AT&T) Tilt is now available on HTC’s site.
With that, my evening is now booked.
Category: Uncategorized
Be alert as you read your mail today: fake ecards with loaded exe’s are once again making the rounds…
Oooh, look at the mail that’s piling up:
“You’ve received a greeting ecard”
How exciting. Not.
Today, several mails on my email accounts at home reportedly from greetingcard.org (which Outlook displayed as from alien@got.net).
Good day.
You have received an eCardTo pick up your eCard, choose from any of the following options:
Click on the following link (or copy & paste it into your web browser):http://somerandomurl.com/e-card.exe
Your card will be aviailable for pick-up beginning for the next 30 days.
Please be sure to view your eCard before the days are up!We hope you enjoy you eCard.
Thank You!
Nope, not gonna do it.
First of all, I’m sure that legitimate ecard companies are better at spelling (‘aviailable’ as you know is spelled available).
Last year, In his post on Not-So-Friendly Greeting Cards, Brian Krebs of the Washington Post calls out the rise of fake online greeting cards that can install keystroke loggers on to your computer, rather than delivering what you thought to be an innocent e-card from a long lost aunt.
Here’s a couple of things to watch for:
- If a link drives you to an exe file (an executable or application) then think twice.
- If the link isn’t from someone you know, think again.
If it looks like the mail comes from and directs you to a legitimate ecard site — such as American Greetings.com — be sure that it’s really http://www.americangreetings.com/ by hovering over the URL and verifying the link (see the lower left corner of your browser windows)
- And when in doubt, copy and paste the URL directly into your browser.
For more about what to do when you see these types of emails, see my post on More greeting ecard spam and what to do about it. And see my past note on how there’s no immunity from security vulnerabilities.
(Also, here’s the link if the embedded links above don’t work: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/07/notsofriendly_greeting_cards_1.html). You can copy the link as text and paste it into your browser to ensure that I haven’t duped you with a loaded exe. 😉
More info:
- Visit http://www.staysafeonline.info.
- To find out more about spyware – what it is, ways your computer can become infected, and what you can do to prevent it – watch this video on protecting your computer.
- If you’re wondering how Windows Defender compares with other Microsoft antispyware and antivirus technologies, check out this product comparison chart.
- Windows Live Safety Center – A Web service designed to help ensure the health of your computer with free scanning tools that help you get rid of unwanted software.
- Malicious Software Removal Tool – A security tool that checks your computer for specific viruses and other malicious software and helps remove any infection found. This tool alone has run more than 2 billion executions.
- Sign up for our security newsletter and receive monthly advice
- Get more online safety tips
Tags: Microsoft, security, antivirus, antispyware, Windows Defender.
I’m in a section of north Seattle called Ravenna, taking the morning off to take my youngest son to an appointment. although the waiting room’s seating is less than comfortable (little more than a low bench with a threadbare cushion) it is near the Café Racer.
It’s a cute place with young musicians in and out the door all morning, stopping in for coffee or tea, hosted by a lady who makes a mean breakfast sandwich. (Whilst I worked on my backlog of mail, she had the presence of mind to bring out pepper sauce… without having to ask.)
If you’re looking for the anti Starbucks and a place that has more character than your regular run of the mill place, this is worth a stop.
Tags: restaurants, cafe, Seattle, Ravenna
Late on a Friday, the kids are finally in bed and I just burned through the rest of my mail and feeds from MSDN blogs… so here are a few posts I found of interest and recommend…
As Ian mentioned here, a “Huge congratulations to some of my colleagues who have just won recognition from the Computer Weekly Blog Awards.”
- Steve Clayton’s “Geek in Disguise” blog won the “Company Blogs” category
- Jason Langridge’s “Mr Mobile” blog won the “Wireless and Mobile Blogs” category
- Mike Taulty’s “Bits and Bytes” blog won the “Programming and Technical Blogs” category
- Ray Fleming’s “UK Schools” blog won the “Public Sector Blogs” category
Super effort!
OneNote Videos on TeacherTube (Thoughts and Information from Alfred Thompson) — Mike Tholfsen, the OneNote Ninja, found some time to record and upload a bunch of videos about OneNote to Teacher Tube. The video he did on the OneNote 2007 Toolkit for Teachers is included in the collection. Mike is promising a bunch more that are specifically targeted at education users including teachers and students.
Free Download To Help You and Your Customers Save Energy and Carbon Emissions (Reaching Out to Microsoft Partners in Australia) — “I installed the Edison PC Power Management application today. It’s a great piece of software we are officially endorsing and it provides a consumer-friendly interface to help the users decide how much power saving they want to do – but it also tells you in environmental language…
Terry Zink’s Anti-spam Blog : Strengths and weaknesses – Terry says that “From time to time, I like to reflect upon my own personal strengths and weaknesses. I may be a spam fighter, but I’m also a professional working within Microsoft and I want grow my entire asset base of skills, not just in spam analysis. You know how on interview coaching, they say to you “If you’re ever asked one of your weaknesses, give one of your strengths that if overdone, could be a weakness”? For example, you could say “Sometimes I work too hard” which is overdoing dedication to the job. It’s kind of a way of weaseling out of the question.”
Free Download To Help You and Your Customers Save Energy and Carbon Emissions (Reaching Out to Microsoft Partners in Australia) — “I installed the Edison PC Power Management application today. It’s a great piece of software we are officially endorsing and it provides a consumer-friendly interface to help the users decide how much power saving they want to do – but it also tells you in environmental language…”
Thomas Cheah – the Speaker Idol winner (MSDN Malaysia blog) — “The experience in Speaker Idol competition at TechEd SEA 2008 was great. It reminds me of those debating competitions that I participated when I was in high school. Presentation skills are something that will go a long way in your career. Most people have no problems giving presentation, but not many can see how well they are presenting. Speaker Idol is a good testing ground for this. With the 10 minutes time limit, it requires you to focus on giving the most captivate presentation that is within the attention spans of most audiences. Most people tend to be long winded and afraid to miss out every single detail in the presentation. This risks losing the audience attention before the core message is presented.”
Adrian Ford on XPS et cetera : Automatically Opening XPS files from MXDW — MXDW – the Microsoft XPS Document Writer – includes the ability to open XPS files that are created. To enable this, you’ll need to dig into the preferences dialog where you’ll find the following on the XPS Documents tab…”
//steve clayton: geek in disguise : The Fall of Google, the Rebirth of Microsoft and the Changing Face of Apple and Linux — Steve says that “I usually try to re-title my posts from the originator but on this occasion I felt the title of a recent post had to stay. “There is a whole load of commentary in Rob’s post that is of course music to my ears, and on Apple in particular he was joined this week by a hard hitting post from Michael Arrington. What really caught my eye in Rob’s post was this part where he talks about Microsoft Equipt…”
MIS Laboratory – Teaching Resources for Information Systems Faculty : Microphone on Facebook: Converse with Microsoft — Randy says that “The Microsoft educational community has launched a new application on Facebook called “Microphone”. Microphone is a Facebook application (http://apps.facebook.com/microphone) that links the Facebook community directly with experts and enthusiasts from Microsoft Corporation. Since it is a Facebook application, members of Microphone will be kept current on all things Microsoft relating to new products, training and workshops, conferences, technology careers, research, and the Digital Lifestyle.”
Architects Rule! : Herows will always ruin your it organization — Philippe says that “Working in an IT organization can be challenging. There are exhausting late night emergencies and deadlines, unpredictable technical complexities as well as executive management commonly suffering from extreme ADD. “As this leads to countless hours away from family, friends and your own precious solitude, you find those few who stand out willing to sacrifice everything to accomplish success.”
RFID Momentum (Microsoft Manufacturing & Resources Blog) — July 29, 2008 4:12 PM “I asked Greg Walker, a Supply Chain Specialist on our US Manufacturing team to guest blog with me on this topic. RFID Momentum is building and we wanted to jump in and share some perspectives from Microsoft.”
The Web and Microsoft : Photosynth really can be practical — 22 August 08 04:14 PM (klevereblog) “When something like Photosynth is released you begin to wonder what are the practical use cases. I found this “synth” on the site today that really shows the power of Photosynth. It essentially is photo tour of the Art Gallery of South Wales. Not only do you get a 360 view of the room, you also are able to zoom in closely and see the artwork on the walls. There are several similar situations where this could be used. Real Agents would love something like this. I think the real power in something like Photosynth would be potential for social scenarios. I know there has been talk before where individuals would be able to combine their pictures into a single “synth”.
And last but far from least: the award-winning Jason Langridge posted this in reference to something he “Spotted this over on Steve’s Blog and couldn’t help by repost it. Our Office Labs team has released a prototype tool that helps you manage email overload. This concept test provides a “do not disturb” button that temporarily pauses new email arrival, and prioritizes email with a 0-3 star rating system. You can get more details here…”
OK, one more from TechNet:
Dave posted a video of his chat with Brad Anderson on Virtualization and X-Plat Support: “A few weeks back, I had a chance to sit down with Brad Anderson, GM of Microsoft’s Management and Services Division (the folks who build System Center). We talked for a handful of minutes about virtualization, Ops Manager x-plat extensions, and some strategic developments and perspectives on what’s coming in the near future. Money quote:
“I think it’s kind of ironic that our major competitor in the area of virtualization is not heterogeneous … and Microsoft is.”
Tags: articles, what I read, Microsoft, blogs
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Gizmodo reports today that AIM for Windows Mobile is now available as an RTM…
“It’s been in beta for the last few months, but for Windows Mobile users who’d rather not risk their phone to be a lab rat in a suit, AIM for Windows Mobile is now in final release form. If you are on your mobile now, just go to this link and hit “products” to make the download. If you are on a Windows Mobile device and you don’t want AIM, then we are truly, truly sorry for wasting your time. Feel free to drop by Brian Lam’s place for a personal apology via back rub any time. No, it won’t be strange at all. [AOL via MobileBurn]”
Tags: AOL, Windows Mobile, Microsoft, blogs
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