Bryan Powell reports that a recent study concludes that AdAware is the best spyware blocker.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Eccentric Babelizer translations
We told you about a few odd Babelizer translations on today's show. Babelizer takes a phrase from one language and translates to another. But usually the results aren't exact. It's possible to set up a loop so that the translations go back and forth several times until mutual unintelligibility is reached. Here are some results, alternately amusing, poetic and baffling, of running common "Help Desk" phrases through the process.
Babelizer translations:
Welcome to the Help Desk:
Chinese: Welcome to inquire the station.
French: Welcome with the service PLEASE.
German: Welcomely for support the desk.
Greek: Reception in the office of help.
Japanese: The help section should be welcomed.
Korean: Inside help desk illusion.
You are on the air:
Korean: It is an air which outside spreads out at the outside.
Japanese: There is an air.
Greek: You are in air.
German: They speak in the broadcast.
French: You are on the line.
Dutch: You are on air.
Chinese: You broadcast.
May I help you?:
Chinese: Perhaps we help you?
Dutch: We can be aid you possible?
French: Can we help you?
German: Can we help you?
Greek: Can help?
Italian: We can help them?
Japanese: Perhaps us who that can help somewhere thing?
You really need help:
Korean: Help with the realness which spreads out in necessity (partial translation).
Japanese: Actually help is necessary.
Greek: Need really the help.
German: They really need support.
Dutch: You really need aid.
Chinese: You really need to help.
Got a problem with your computer?
Chinese: Obtains has a your computer question?
Dutch: Did a problem with your computer get?
German: Did a problem with your computer receive?
Greek: It took a problem with your computer?
Italian: It has obtained a problem with your calcolazione?
Korean: Work it of high formation force inside comfort comforts it inside depiction possessing, inside the doesn' which is easy and,; Does the t under seizing boil it does respect the doesn' which to it to it in inside problem Anuikacikoiss funeral service and above on it it internal on inside Anui your computer kacikoiss internal it gets in inside,; It strengthens the t?
Babelizer translations:
Welcome to the Help Desk:
Chinese: Welcome to inquire the station.
French: Welcome with the service PLEASE.
German: Welcomely for support the desk.
Greek: Reception in the office of help.
Japanese: The help section should be welcomed.
Korean: Inside help desk illusion.
You are on the air:
Korean: It is an air which outside spreads out at the outside.
Japanese: There is an air.
Greek: You are in air.
German: They speak in the broadcast.
French: You are on the line.
Dutch: You are on air.
Chinese: You broadcast.
May I help you?:
Chinese: Perhaps we help you?
Dutch: We can be aid you possible?
French: Can we help you?
German: Can we help you?
Greek: Can help?
Italian: We can help them?
Japanese: Perhaps us who that can help somewhere thing?
You really need help:
Korean: Help with the realness which spreads out in necessity (partial translation).
Japanese: Actually help is necessary.
Greek: Need really the help.
German: They really need support.
Dutch: You really need aid.
Chinese: You really need to help.
Got a problem with your computer?
Chinese: Obtains has a your computer question?
Dutch: Did a problem with your computer get?
German: Did a problem with your computer receive?
Greek: It took a problem with your computer?
Italian: It has obtained a problem with your calcolazione?
Korean: Work it of high formation force inside comfort comforts it inside depiction possessing, inside the doesn' which is easy and,; Does the t under seizing boil it does respect the doesn' which to it to it in inside problem Anuikacikoiss funeral service and above on it it internal on inside Anui your computer kacikoiss internal it gets in inside,; It strengthens the t?
Article on spyware
Many of our Help Desk calls these days are related to problems with viruses and spyware. Please refer to the WMUB Help Desk page for our FAQs on this and other topics. Also, thanks to Guy Moore, here is a recommended article on spyware.
Remember that Help Desk recommends Spybot Search and Destroy, version 1.3. Bryan Powell also says take a look at SpywareBlaster, and comments: "Prevents spyware from being installed, but MUST be manually updated on a regular basis to be effective. To get automatic updates, you need to donate."
Remember that Help Desk recommends Spybot Search and Destroy, version 1.3. Bryan Powell also says take a look at SpywareBlaster, and comments: "Prevents spyware from being installed, but MUST be manually updated on a regular basis to be effective. To get automatic updates, you need to donate."
Monday, November 08, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Virus checker for Macintosh
Here's a free and small virus checker for the Macintosh. Thanks to Don Moeller for this tip.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Removing Bargain Buddy
There is a nasty virus going around called variously Bargain Buddy, Cash Back, Navisearch, and Bull's Eye. At this point standard virus removal techniques do not work. Here is information about removing it.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
More on Window XP SP2
New Firefox Browser
Mozilla has released a new web browser called FireFox that Bryan Powell recommends.
Possible security hole in WXP SP2
A Dutch website has identified a possible security hole in Windows XP, Service Pack 2. We have not checked this out, but here it is.
New Windows security hole: JPEG files
This is from the latest issue of the Internet Tourbus:
"Microsoft released a series of patches earlier this week that [hopefully] closes a rather nasty security hole in how Microsoft products process JPEG images. Over a dozen Microsoft products are affected, including:
- Windows XP and XP SP1 [but not SP2]
- Internet Explorer 6 SP1
- Microsoft Office XP [Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage, and/or Publisher]
- Microsoft Office 2003 [Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage, Publisher, InfoPath, and/or OneNote]
Long story short, if you have a new-ish computer running any of a host of Microsoft's newer software applications, your computer is probably vulnerable to attack through this JPEG processing vulnerability...even if you have a firewall and an up-to-date antivirus program."
"Microsoft released a series of patches earlier this week that [hopefully] closes a rather nasty security hole in how Microsoft products process JPEG images. Over a dozen Microsoft products are affected, including:
- Windows XP and XP SP1 [but not SP2]
- Internet Explorer 6 SP1
- Microsoft Office XP [Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage, and/or Publisher]
- Microsoft Office 2003 [Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage, Publisher, InfoPath, and/or OneNote]
Long story short, if you have a new-ish computer running any of a host of Microsoft's newer software applications, your computer is probably vulnerable to attack through this JPEG processing vulnerability...even if you have a firewall and an up-to-date antivirus program."
Friday, September 10, 2004
Windows XP SP2 now on CD-Rom
This is forwarded from Patrick Douglas Crispen's very useful Internet Tourbus of September 9, 2004.
"I mentioned back on August 9th that you can get Windows XP Service Pack 2 [XP SP2] either by downloading it from Microsoft or ordering it on a free CD-ROM. The catch was that the CD wasn't yet available.
"But it is now. To order a free copy of XP SP2 on a CD-ROM, just hop on over to either
http://tinyurl.com/6g675
or
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx
"Both addresses take you to the same page, and that last address needs to be on one line. The English language version of XP SP2 is available today, and versions written in other languages will be released over the next three weeks.
"Even if you plan to download [or have already downloaded] XP SP2 directly from Microsoft, I strongly recommend that you also get XP SP2 on CD-ROM. Why? Well, if you ever have to erase your hard drive and start from scratch, having a copy of XP SP2 on CD-ROM will speed up your computer's recovery. Why wait for it to download again when you can just as easily pop in a free CD-ROM?
"I also recommend that you order the XP SP2 CD-ROM today and then put it away until Halloween. DON'T install it. Yet. As I've mentioned in my last few Tourbus posts, you really should wait a few weeks before you upgrade your computer to Windows XP SP2. Why? Well, there are bound to be problems with XP SP2 that no one expects--like, for example, 40 different programs that "seem" to stop working once you install XP SP2 [see http://tinyurl.com/4uvng ]--and I would MUCH rather these problems happen to someone else's computer instead of yours. By waiting a few weeks [or even months], you give Microsoft and the other software vendors time to fix these unforeseen problems.
"You need XP SP2. Just not until Halloween. And when Halloween comes around, I promise to send out a post telling you everything you need to know in order to [hopefully] make your upgrade as painless as possible."
"I mentioned back on August 9th that you can get Windows XP Service Pack 2 [XP SP2] either by downloading it from Microsoft or ordering it on a free CD-ROM. The catch was that the CD wasn't yet available.
"But it is now. To order a free copy of XP SP2 on a CD-ROM, just hop on over to either
http://tinyurl.com/6g675
or
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx
"Both addresses take you to the same page, and that last address needs to be on one line. The English language version of XP SP2 is available today, and versions written in other languages will be released over the next three weeks.
"Even if you plan to download [or have already downloaded] XP SP2 directly from Microsoft, I strongly recommend that you also get XP SP2 on CD-ROM. Why? Well, if you ever have to erase your hard drive and start from scratch, having a copy of XP SP2 on CD-ROM will speed up your computer's recovery. Why wait for it to download again when you can just as easily pop in a free CD-ROM?
"I also recommend that you order the XP SP2 CD-ROM today and then put it away until Halloween. DON'T install it. Yet. As I've mentioned in my last few Tourbus posts, you really should wait a few weeks before you upgrade your computer to Windows XP SP2. Why? Well, there are bound to be problems with XP SP2 that no one expects--like, for example, 40 different programs that "seem" to stop working once you install XP SP2 [see http://tinyurl.com/4uvng ]--and I would MUCH rather these problems happen to someone else's computer instead of yours. By waiting a few weeks [or even months], you give Microsoft and the other software vendors time to fix these unforeseen problems.
"You need XP SP2. Just not until Halloween. And when Halloween comes around, I promise to send out a post telling you everything you need to know in order to [hopefully] make your upgrade as painless as possible."
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Norton for Macintosh Virus Definitions
A listener reported that Norton for Macintosh Virus Definitions were not automatically updating. We suggested that perhaps the caller had let her subscription to Norton lapse without realizing it. See this Symantic page.
Cakewalk Music Creator
A listener reported problems with Active X and Cakewalk Music Creator. Try this.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)