Google Chrome is Vulnerable to Attacks

Released last September 2, 2008, articles have been sprouting like mushrooms because of reports indicating that Google Chrome is vulnerable to attacks. A security researcher named Aviv Raff discovered that Google’s shiny new browser is vulnerable to Carpet Bombing that can expose Windows users to hacker attacks. He said that it is possible to combine two vulnerabilities – A flaw in Safari (WebKit) and a Java bug discussed at this year’s Black Hat Conference - to trick users into launching executables direct from their browser.

I guess I’ll just have to stick to Firefox and Internet Explorer for now until Google is able to patch things up on their end. Besides, it’s still in the Beta stage so there will be a lot of improvements to come. It has a lot of promises though and I’m pretty sure that the LIVE version will be better. Let's wait and see!

No NBA Live 2009 for PC

It’s kinda sad to hear that EA Sports will not release NBA Live 09 on PC this year. According to reports, several EA Sports franchises will not release the said game because of serious business challenge and a need to reinvigorate sports offerings on the platform. Furthermore, EA Sports revealed that pre-orders for their other game NCAA Football 09 and Madden NFL 09 were down significantly compared to last year. I guess I’ll just have to wait next year and play other games in the meantime.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Being addicted to the Internet isn’t always good as there are consequences that one might encounter. Lately, I’ve been experiencing pain on my wrists and joints due to those long hours in front of the computer. It’s not the keyboard that’s making it difficult for me but the mouse. The position at my table at home and at the office is not right as it tires out my wrist. Of course, I usually stop from time to time to flex my muscles when I feel the pain but after several days, I began to experience the pain more. I hope that I don’t get or develop the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as it needs surgery once the nerves are damaged.

Bothered by it, I tried to research the Internet for more information about the syndrome so I could prevent and treat this before it worsens.

In a nutshell, you’ll know if you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome if the median nerve of your hand doesn’t provide sensation to your little finger anymore. For some, they experience it while holding a phone or a newspaper, gripping a steering wheel, or waking up during the night.
I know for a fact that I still don’t have those symptoms but I need to prevent this. Unfortunately, there are no proven strategies to prevent it, but to protect the hands from a variety of ailments; we have to take the following precautions:


- Reduce your force and relax your grip. Most people use more force than needed to perform many tasks involving the hands. If your work involves a cash register, for instance, hit the keys softly. For prolonged handwriting, use a big pen with an oversized, soft grip adapter and free-flowing ink. This way you won't have to grip the pen tightly or press as hard on the paper.


- Take frequent breaks. Every 15 to 20 minutes give your hands and wrists a break by gently stretching and bending them. Alternate tasks when possible. If you use equipment that vibrates or that requires you to exert a great amount of force, taking breaks is even more important.


- Watch your form. Avoid bending your wrist all the way up or down. A relaxed middle position is best. If you use a keyboard, keep it at elbow height or slightly lower.


- Improve your posture. Incorrect posture can cause your shoulders to roll forward. When your shoulders are in this position, your neck and shoulder muscles are shortened, compressing nerves in your neck. This can affect your wrists, fingers and hands.


- Keep your hands warm. You're more likely to develop hand pain and stiffness if you work in a cold environment. If you can't control the temperature at work, put on fingerless gloves that keep your hands and wrists warm.


Source: Mayoclinic.com

Gmail Drive

Gmail Drive is a free 3rd party add-on that can make your Gmail account act as an online storage device. Of course, you’ll need your Gmail account for this to work. Once installed, you will see another hard drive inside My Computer. You can then copy files to and from the GMail Drive by using drag and drop like you're used to with the normal Explorer folders. For me, this is the advantage of Gmail Drive from the other online storage providers on the Internet today.

Visit http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/E-mail/Mail-Utilities/GMail-Drive-shell-extension.shtml if you want to give it a try.

Live Mesh

At last, I finally found the program that I’ve been searching for months. I’m talking about a remote desktop type of program that will allow me to control my computer at the office while I’m at home. The ordinary remote desktop connection is possible but it only allows me to connect from office to home and not the other way around. With this program, it’s possible and all you have to do is install a small program and an active X and you’re done.

Aside from the remote desktop capability, it also acts as an online storage that you can synchronize for easier file management. For more information about it, visit http://www.mesh.com/ and see for yourself.

Windows Live Messenger 9 Beta Released!

After months of anticipation, Windows Live Messenger 9 Beta is finally here! I've been waiting to get my hands on this program for quite a while now. So, as soon as I heard that it was released, I immediately updated my version. The program was actually released to the public last September 20 and a lot of people have already downloaded the update. If you’re the person who loves to update and try out Beta products from Microsoft, head over to the new download site at http://download.live.com/. Aside from Windows Live Messenger, other Beta products were also released to the public. These programs include: Windows Live Mail Desktop, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Live Writer, Live Toolbar, Family Safety Beta and Microsoft Outlook Connector for Live Calendar.

Going back to the topic, here are some of the new features of Windows Live Messenger 9 Beta:

Animated Display Pictures - You can now use animated .gif files and a short clip from your very own webcam.

Signature sounds – You can use customized .wav files whenever you sign in. This sound will be heard by your contact.

Customized sounds – You can now choose specific sounds for certain contacts.

Sign in from multiple places at the same time – Not sure why they designed it this way, but you can now sign in to different computers at the same time.

Photo Sharing – Share photos like the same feature from Yahoo.

What’s new feed – You’ll be given the option to see the changes every time your contacts update their PSM, display picture, display name, and Spaces.

Favorites – You can add frequent contacts to your favorites for easier conversations.

Scenes – Customize your own instant messaging window by adding your preferred images.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back again for more updates of the product. Remember that this is still Beta so there’s going to be changes again when they release the LIVE version of Windows Live Messenger 9.

Make money while browsing

Have you ever wondered if you can get paid while browsing the Internet??? Well, I did so I tried searching for it. Fortunately, I found this new site that pays when you search on the internet. Basically, you just need to set their page as your homepage, search the internet, then get paid! No need to install any toolbars so you don't have to worry about spyware or trojan problems. It uses Yahoo as the main search engine so there's really no difference except the home page.

Best of all, you get paid by £ which is higher than $

Right now, I'm at 9.27 £ with 991 searches.

There's no harm in trying right? Try it out and see for yourself - http://www.myhpf.co.uk/apply001.asp?Friend=144867

How to check if your computer is connecting to another website

Earlier, I posted an article on How to remove spyware programs from your computer. If you found the steps complicated or if you’re still wondering if your computer is clean, here’s another tip that can help you check if your computer is connecting to websites without your knowledge. It’s a simple DOS command, called Netstat (Network Statistics) which will display all the connections on your computer.

Here’s how:

1. Click Start, and then Run.
2. Type CMD, and then click OK.
3. Type NETSTAT –B 5 > ACTIVITY.TXT and then press Enter.
4. Wait for 2 minutes, and then press CTRL + C.
5. Type Activity.txt on the command line to open the log file.

The file activity.txt will have a log of all processes that made a connection to the Internet. It will also show the browser used and the name of the website it connected to. The log will also show your IM clients, download managers, email programs or any software that requires a net connection.

If ever you saw a process that you’re unfamiliar with, investigate first before you panic. Try to Google the name to get more information. Aside from this, you can also refer to Microsoft’s article - 4 steps to protect your computer (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/default.mspx)

Step 1. Keep your firewall turned on

What is a firewall?

A firewall helps protect your computer from hackers who might try to delete information, crash your computer, or even steal your passwords or credit card numbers. Make sure your firewall is always turned on.

Step 2. Keep your operating system up-to-date

What are operating system updates?

High priority updates are critical to the security and reliability of your computer. They offer the latest protection against malicious online activities. Microsoft provides new updates, as necessary, on the second Tuesday of the month.

Step 3. Use updated antivirus software

What is antivirus software?

Viruses and spyware are two kinds of usually malicious software that you need to protect your computer against. You need antivirus technology to help prevent viruses, and you need to keep it regularly updated.

Step 4. Use updated antispyware technology

What is antispyware software?

Viruses and spyware are two kinds of usually malicious software that you need to protect your computer against. You need antispyware technology to help prevent spyware, and you need to keep it regularly updated.

How to convert multiple movies to 1 DVD disc

This is how I convert my movies into 1 DVD disc. Usually, I put 3 movies into a disc so as not to sacrifice the quality. You’ll need to have several programs to do this.

Things you need:

- WINAVI Video Converter
- DVD Shrink
- NERO

Once you have these programs, you can start performing them by following the steps below:

1. First you’ll need to convert the .AVI movie file to DVD format (.VOB format). I use WINAVI Video Converter for all my movies and I’ve had good results. If you want to try it, you can visit their official website at www.winavi.com

2. Before you convert your movies, I recommend that you update your DIVX codecs for better resolution.

3. Open WINAVI, and then click the DVD button.

4. Select the movie, and then click Ok.

5. After converting your movie, this is the part where you’ll need the DVD Shrink program. Visit the site at http://www.dvdshrink.org

6. Open the DVD Shrink program, and then click Re-Author.

7. Locate your .VOB movie, and then drag and drop the file to the left window under DVD Structure window.

8. Once you’re done locating 2 or 3 movies, click Backup!

9. Fill out the target and the location of the folder of your compiled movies.

10. Click Ok, and then wait.

11. Open your Nero program, and then locate the folder to burn the movies.

12. Play the compiled movie using your favorite player.

Remembering the Chinese Yoyo

I was cleaning my closet last week when I stumbled on my Chinese yoyo which I got from Taiwan several years ago. It’s been a while, 10 years to be exact, since I last played it and I can still recall the first time I saw it. It’s about 5 times bigger than the normal yoyo we have here and you need to use 2 sticks to play with it. At first I thought it was boring until our teacher showed us a video of kids playing it. Some normal yoyo tricks like Walking the dog and the butterfly are no matched for the Chinese yoyo tricks. Watch this video and see for yourself.

Make your Firefox browser 10 times faster

Here's a tip that I got that worked for me.

1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit enter. Scroll down and look for the following entries:2. Alter the entries as follows:Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to number 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

Try this and see the difference...You can always set it back to the default values if you're scared :)

How To Remove Spyware From Your Computer

If your computer is running slow and there have been a lot of pop ups appearing on your computer even if you’re not browsing the web, it may be a symptom of a Spyware or a Trojan on your computer. Some obvious symptoms can also be seen when you go to a site but it gets redirected to another one, your homepage was changed to a different site and additional sites or links were added to your favorites.
So if you think you have Spyware programs or Trojans on your computer, here's my own guide of manually removing these pesky files:

Note: This guide was created based on my own experiences only. If you can't uninstall a file, or you've not tried checking the Registry Editor, please don't continue. Also, this is for XP users only as I don't have Vista yet.

1. Run HijackThis. This small free program, now taken over by Trend Micro can show you all the current running processes on your PC. You may download the file from Trend Micro's official home page here. Then search for the file at the top.

2. Once you run the file, you'll see the list of running processes.

3. Take a careful look at the running processes and don't click on any buttons at the bottom.

4. I'm assuming that you're familiar with the programs installed on your computer but if ever a file looks suspicious or unfamiliar to you, here comes the part where you will need Mr. Google's help :)

5. Search for the file in Google to get some information. Most of the sites will tell if the file is valid or not.

Note: Some search results are not accurate so I suggest that you visit more sites and read the articles carefully. Sometimes, tracing the path of the program, like navigating to the Program files folder, will also be helpful.

6. If you're sure that the file is a malicious one, run the Task Manager (CTRL + Shift + Esc) and then go to the Processes tab.

7. Select the file and then click End process.

8. If it's a .DLL file, sometimes you may need to un-register the file. Open the command prompt and then type REGSVR32 /u filename.dll and then Enter.

9. Manually delete the file from Windows Explorer. Most of the time, these files are hidden so you'll need to un-hide the folders. (Tools, Folder Options, View, select Show Hidden files and folders and un-check Hide protected Operating system files.)

10. Open Regsitry Editor, and then delete the file (Get the exact location from the HijackThis log file).

11. If you still can't delete the file, you may need to run Windows on Safe Mode. Restart the computer, and then press F8 while seeing the system information.

12. This should help you remove those malicious files. When in doubt, consult Mr. Google :)

Hopefully, all of your spyware/trojan files are already removed by this time. I guess your next question would be to prevent those darn files from coming back. There are actually several things that you can do:

1. Download all the latest security patches from Microsoft. If you're still running Windows XP SP1, this would be the right time to update your Operating System to SP2. I did not believe this before until I experienced it.

2. Change browsers or adjust your IE settings to a higher level. I've been a fan of Internet Explorer but recently switched to Firefox not because there's something wrong with the browser but because most attackers target IE users. I went to a crack site before and got a spyware alert from my anti-virus but did not get one when I used Firefox.

3. Download and install an anti-virus program with an anti-spyware and firewall (All-in-one program). Take note that an anti-virus alone can not detect spyware programs as viruses are classified differently from spyware.

P2P Technology

For those who don’t know what torrent files are or how it works, P2P or Peer-to-peer file sharing is a method of distributing large amounts of data without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting and bandwidth resources. The premise is to break up files into parts and distribute those pieces on to the PCs of end users who have downloaded the BitTorrent type client. When a user requests for a file to be delivered or streamed to them, instead of having to go to a host server, a tracker determines where all the file pieces are, and distributes them accordingly.

For me, this has to be one of the most ingenious inventions today as it lets you share anything and it increases the speed of the download. Right now, there are a lot of torrent clients on the Internet and on my opinion; µTorrent is the best client out there.

µTorrent is a small program that requires no installation and the interface is very user-friendly. You can check the Guides page from http://www.utorrent.com for a step by step introduction on how to use it.

Surf till You Drop!

Hi there folks!!! It's my first post so I thought I'd share something very cool.

I’ve been using this software for quite some time now and I think this will be very useful for a lot of folks out there. For those who can't browse the Internet because of Websense or any other filter, Ultrasurf is the answer to your problems. It’s a very small application that requires no installation and is described as the best proxy software on the Internet today. It can let you surf YouTube, MySpace and millions of blocked websites without having to add any proxy servers on your browser. Aside from this, Ultrasurf is totally free!!! You can download the most recent version (8.9) from the link below

UltraSurf Official site