Richard Bliss recently blogged at Novell and on his personal blog with some great advice: don't click on e-cards from your friends, and think about asking them not to send them at all, since the risks of clicking on e-cards vastly outweigh the benefits....
Press
Bizarre Microsoft how-to video
Dave Rosenberg at cnet has pointed out that Apple junkies don't have a monopoly on crack-head fanboyism: Microsoft's video on how to host your Windows 7 launch party breaks new ground in this area. This makes us Linux fans seem positively normal in comparison! :-)
Clever banking trojan
cnet has a really interesting article about a clever trojan horse application which steals money from online banking accounts while the user is logged into them, and displays false balance details to the user so they don't know what's going on. Currently it only affects Windows users. Check your balances regularly from multiple different platforms (including your bank's ATMs).
It's time to turn off WPA/TKIP
Network world and SANS are reporting a new attack on wireless encryption, specifically, WPA with TKIP. The attack takes 60 seconds, and renders this combination almost as useless as WEP has been for some time. It's time to check your security settings, and if necessary, upgrade or replace your wireless routers.
Why you should care about your computer's security
ABC's Four Corners has an interesting episode about cybercrime and how it can affect ordinary people. Check it out on iView: http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/419222. (The program's victims were a little unsympathetic in my opinion, but they remain good examples of people who have been victimised by cybercriminals.)
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Whirlpool broadband survey results
Whirlpool has just released the results of its 2008 broadband survey. Essential reading for anyone who uses broadband, especially for those considering renewing their contracts.
Interesting article about generational differences from an IT security perspective
CSO Online has a really interesting article about generational differences from the perspective of IT security. While i'm sure it's not highly accurate from a sociological perspective and is probably guilty of overgeneralising, it still offers some food for thought that might be applicable to more areas than IT security. (As is usual with CSO Online, to get a readable version, use the printer-friendly option.)
Passwords and more!
The latest Ouch! newsletter from SANS has some great advice for end-users about password selection. If only every computer user read this newsletter regularly, the world would be a much safer place in which to compute!Some other useful related resources:
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Moving your mother to Linux?
Michael Reed has a good piece on his experiences in moving his mother from a Windows-based PC to Ubuntu Linux. The result? Amazingly successful, although it did take some tweaking on his part.
Ubuntu Linux Vs. Windows Vista: The Battle For Your Desktop
Serdar Yegulalp has an interesting article comparing Ubuntu Linux and Windows Vista for average desktop users. Teaser: "Is Linux finally ready to take on Windows as a desktop OS? We tried out both Vista and Ubuntu on individual PCs to see which works better. Here's who won."
