Googlers, Watch Out!

From CNET NEWS: "According to security specialist F-Secure, unsuspecting Web surfers may be bombarded with various types of Trojan horse threats, spyware and backdoors when they go to "Googkle.com." The scheme is meant to take advantage of sloppy or hurried typists, given that on most keyboards the letter "k" key sits next to the "l" needed to type "Google."…In an advisory, F-Secure strongly advises people not to go to Googkle.com. People who do so will see two pop-ups linked to Web sites that install the Trojan programs. One of the programs is a phishing-style Trojan that attempts to garner individuals’ online banking information, while another drops phony antivirus alerts on the victim’s desktop that attempt to lure people to other infected Web sites."

I’m surprised Google had not bought up all the similar URLs for redirects already. Something like this could certainly dirty up their "do no evil" image, even though it’s not really them doing it. But unsuspecting Google/PC-newbies may not realize that and blame them for their woes.

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Ebay partnered with Rethink, which is backed by Intel to deal with the growing problem of e-waste. 133,000 PCs  are junked every day, not to mention printers, cell phones, monitors, and other electronics. These items not only fill up our landfills, but they also contain hazardous materials like lead, chromium, and mercury. The Rethink website coordinates the recycling programs of many companies including computer manufacturers, retailers, cell phone companies, government agencies, environmental groups, and charities. All of these are linked from the Rethink website for your convenience. Ebay, of course, would like you to sell your old items on their site, but if you can’t, the Rethink website offers info on local drop-off options, trade-in programs, and ways to donate to local charities.

At last! This is an idea whose time has been long overdue. Spread the word and save our landfills!

Source: PCWorld.com

In the spirit of being contrary, Fernado Cassia writes of his top ten Firefox Annoyances. I’m on board with #2. What about you?

See the winners of the 2004 Weblog Awards for Best Blog Design. I guess so. They still look like blogs to me. Creative? Yes, definately. Innovative? Hmm….I don’t know. Isn’t innovation doing something new? Can someone explain to me if they are innovative, or just pretty?

In Greensboro, N.C., a newspaper is trying to survive. With newspapers’ ever-declining circulation, the News & Record has taken a new approach. It’s taken to the web. Their website has been revamped to include staff-written blogs, forums, online tips, reader-submitted articles, and the editor’s blog even answers readers questions and responds to their criticisms. Current public record information is also hosted (marriages, divorces, etc.). Way cool.

Microsoft is still trying to figure out a way to get people to pay for the increased email storage, instead of giving it away, like Google’s Gmail. So their latest scheme is "Outlook Live" Basically, it’s Outlook 2003 downloading your Hotmail email - a service that they used to offer for free. Now it’s $44.95 per year. Oh, but you get 2 whole Gigs of storage - and if you watch the demo/promo at the Outlook Live website, it will tell you that 2GB is 2 billion bytes! Oooooooohhhh, aaaaaaaahhhhh. Yep, I’m sticking with Gmail, thank you very much.

A company called "Nice Systems, Ltd." has just introduced
software called "Perform" that detects unhappy callers. The software creates a
baseline during the first 5-10 seconds of the call and any deviation from that
triggers an alert. If an alert is triggered, the software emails a supervisor,
who listens to a recording of the call, and then calls the unhappy customer
back. Additionally, users of the software can configure its parameters as to
various words and phrases that would constitue an alert: "cancellation" or a
competitor’s name, for example. Who’s onboard? FedEx, for one. Well, at least now you don’t have to ask for a
supervisor…the supervisor will call and ask for you! Talk about
proactive!

A story out of the U.K. reports that Napster users have begun to share passwords, in order to save on the cost of subscribing. Googling this topic, though, I found no mention of U.S. Napster users doing the same thing. Is this trend going to pick up here as well, I wonder?

"Google will begin archiving personal video clips as
part of its ever-expanding search service, company co-founder Larry
Page said Monday.’We’re going to start taking video submissions from people’ in the next
few days, Page told a crowd at the National Cable &
Telecommunications Association show in San Francisco."

Source: CNET.com 

Have I mentioned how much I love Google? Seriously, I’m buying stock. They rock.

I’m all for innovation, but do we really need a voice-controlled TV remote? Was pushing a button really too hard for people?  On the website for this new product, called Promptu, their infomercial shows a woman saying "Watch Oprah," and the channel changes for her. Wow, is that the height of American laziness or what - when we try to find an easier way to watch TV than using the remote? The informercial continues and shows a man saying "find actress Halle Berry." Then the woman grabs the remote and says "find actor Brad Pitt." Oh ha ha ha. They think it’s clever, but I forsee fights for the remote control becoming shouting matches. Hmm. Not such a good idea.