Don’t Press That F1 Key!

Windows XP users beware.

Microsoft told Windows XP users today not to press the F1 key when prompted by a Web site, as part of its reaction to an unpatched vulnerability that hackers could exploit to hijack PCs running Internet Explorer (IE).

In a security advisory issued late Monday, Microsoft confirmed the unpatched bug in VBScript that Polish researcher Maurycy Prodeus had revealed Friday, offered more information on the flaw and provided some advice on how to protect PCs until a patch shipped.

“The vulnerability exists in the way that VBScript interacts with Windows Help files when using Internet Explorer,” read the advisory. “If a malicious Web site displayed a specially crafted dialog box and a user pressed the F1 key, arbitrary code could be executed in the security context of the currently logged-on user.”

Full article can be found here.

or…

…you could just buy a Mac or install Linux Mint.

March 3, 2010 by Why Windows Sucks

How Liberty Dies

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The following story is a sad one for any number of reasons.

The couple own their house and their land. It stands to reason that they should be able to do anything they want with it. Ah, not so much.

As long as you own something that can be taken away from you by the government, then it isn’t really yours.

“I own my home.” No. No you do not.

The moment you violate some petty law or ordinance or forget to pay your taxes to the government they can step in and take it from you.

There is no sense in crying about it. You gave the government the authority to do so. How? Because, you didn’t say no. It is the law of unintended consequences. The law was probably meant for some other purpose originally. “We don’t want an eye sore in our community.”

Hence, the story of the day.

Some Southern California cities fine residents for watering their lawns too much during droughts.

But in Orange, officials are locked in a legal battle with a couple accused of violating city ordinances for removing their lawn in an attempt to save water.

The dispute began two years ago, when Quan and Angelina Ha tore out the grass in their frontyard. In drought-plagued Southern California, the couple said, the lush grass had been soaking up tens of thousands of gallons of water — and hundreds of dollars — each year.

They said they were trying to do something good for the environment.

Wow California what is more important to you?

Hippies.

This is why California is green but not really.

March 3, 2010 by General Musings

Germany 1 – Law Enforcement 0

In a recent development in the land of beer and sausage comes a striking blow to those who would like to store your personal communications information for a period of six months. You know. Just in case law enforcement might need it for something.

via Slashdot…

Germany’s highest court on Tuesday overturned a law allowing authorities to retain data on telephone calls and e-mail traffic to help fight terrorism and crime. The Federal Constitution Court ruled that major changes needed to be made to a 2008 law ordering data on calls made from mobile or fixed-line telephones and e-mail traffic to be kept for six months for possible access by law enforcement agencies.

The judges said the data storage was not secure enough and that it was not sufficiently clear what it would be used for. A record number of almost 35,000 people, including current Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, had originally brought the case to the court. The law stems from a European Union directive.

The court said all data stored to date must be deleted immediately. It said the law went far beyond the requirements of the EU directive. The storage of data could “cause a diffusely threatening feeling of being under observation that can diminish an unprejudiced perception of one’s basic rights in many areas,” said the president of the court, Hans-Jürgen Papier.

Absolutely shocked? I was.

This is the European Union after all. Peace, love, socialism, and all of that.

If you take the time to read the article you’ll see that the fight isn’t over yet. The Germans would be ok with a law that had better defined parameters when it comes to the storage, use, and access of the data.

I suppose if you whack people with a stick long enough they might just get pissed off.

March 2, 2010 by Common Sense Filter

Federal Government and Internet

Of course, we all know that the government has been itching to grab more control of the internet with increased regulation, taxes, etc.

This article in The Registry should not surprise you.

The US government’s policy of leaving the Internet alone is over, according to Obama’s top official at the Department of Commerce.

Instead, an “Internet Policy 3.0” approach will see policy discussions between government agencies, foreign governments, and key Internet constituencies, according to Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling, with those discussions covering issues such as privacy, child protection, cybersecurity, copyright protection, and Internet governance.

The federal government octopus under the control of a liberal arm are trying to stretch their tentacles as far as possible. Healthcare, internet, the auto industry, and the banking system are just a few examples.

What do they want? Why, control of every aspect of your life is the goal. Silly.

Through a combination of government getting too big and the folks who vote and pay taxes becoming even dumber and more ignorant, the United States is now on the fast track to completely derailing this train riding down the constitution tracks.

It’s only a matter of time before the fed tells you what job you’ll have when you grow up, what house you can live in, and perhaps even who you can marry.

Sound familiar? It should. That is precisely what life was like in the USSR a few years ago.

March 1, 2010 by Socialism Watch

Regulating Nature

Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?

Regulation implies something which man controls.

Nature is something man does not control.

Somehow, we are supposed to believe that those two words go together.

They obviously do not.

CO2 or carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring gas. It is the by-product of the mammalian respiratory cycle. We breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide.

That is a fact.

Plants use carbon dioxide for growth and expend oxygen in the process. We call this a “circle of life” if you will. A mutually beneficial relationship and one that has lasted for thousands of years.

Somehow. Somewhere in our recent history our elected officials think that they know better than nature and think that they somehow have the power to control one of these two elements.

The damaging component is the reason they believe the regulation is needed. Excessive carbon dioxide is leading to global warming. Have you looked outside lately? Warming? Seriously? This theory that carbon dioxide is a major player in the global warming hoax has been refuted and shown to be completely false.

With that being said, where are the calls in the senate for the brakes to be applied.

Trying to regulate nature based on a theory that has been proven wrong has to be the very definition of insanity.

If you are wondering why you should be looking forward to voting congress out of office, I believe this is just one small reason.

I have many many more.

February 23, 2010 by Common Sense Filter

Is Chuck Norris attacking your router?

Sad but true story via PC World.

If you haven’t changed the default password on your home router, you may be in for an unwanted visit from Chuck Norris — the Chuck Norris botnet, that is.

Discovered by Czech researchers, the botnet has been spreading by taking advantage of poorly configured routers and DSL modems, according to Jan Vykopal, the head of the network security department with Masaryk University’s Institute of Computer Science in Brno, Czech Republic.

Unlike most viruses which attack Windows based machines, this one affects most all of us.

February 22, 2010 by General Musings

The South Carolina Franchise

Well, state’s rights got trumped by the federal government a long time ago.

This we know. From now on, I think I’ll refer to the individual states simply as a “franchise” of the federal government because for all intents and purposes, thats precisely what they are.

This story was sent to me by a co-writer via CBS News.

It seems that South Carolina would rather use “real” money rather than federal reserve notes. South Carolina Rep. Mike Pitts is leading the charge and introduced legislation this month to ban the “illegal” notes and also goes on to call the federal reserve note system “unconstitutional.”

The Germans felt their system wouldn’t collapse, but it took a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread in the 1930s,” he said. “The Soviet Union didn’t think their system would collapse, but it did. Ours is capable of collapsing also.

I have to give Rep. Pitts credit. He’s doing what he feels is right.

Looking at the federal government and its hold over individual states much like Domino Pizza’s headquarters and its franchise stores would show us that when the corporate office tells you to use a certain type of cheese, you’ll do what they say if you want to keep your franchise.

Imagine if you were sitting in on a conversation taking place in the 1700s. I could see the person bringing up the idea of a federal reserve system being laughed out of the room. He would also probably be the butt of many jokes to come.

Today. That joke has become a reality.

February 18, 2010 by General Musings

Missing the Point: Palin and Tea Partiers

To the folks who are Sarah Palin robots, this post is not for you.

I like Sarah Palin but I seriously do not agree with everything the woman says.

Case in point. Exhibit A.

Now the smart thing will be for independents who are such a part of this Tea Party movement to, I guess, kind of start picking a party,” Palin said. “Which party reflects how that smaller, smarter government steps to be taken? Which party will best fit you? And then because the Tea Party movement is not a party, and we have a two-party system, they’re going to have to pick a party and run one or the other: ‘R’ or ‘D’.

Telling the Tea Party movement that they need to pick a party solely because we only have a two party system is ludicrous. It completely discounts the many reasons that the tea party movement exists. The tea party movement (the real one) is party neutral. So, I suppose that it’s ok to pick the lesser of two evils? Isn’t that what the McCain campaign was all about for the true grass roots conservative types who, on several occasions, denied McCain a presidential bid?

Yes.

Thinking that you absolutely must pick sides is part of the problem here.

The Democrat candidate sucks. The Republican candidate sucks.

If a tea party candidate who believes in everything I do runs, why shouldn’t I vote for them? What’s more important? Is it more important that the candidate have an R after their name or is it more important to vote for someone who actually represents me and my views?

Telling someone that they absolutely positively MUST pick sides is the problem.

I’m also afraid that the person who said that has absolutely no idea what she’s talking about.

February 18, 2010 by Common Sense Filter

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