Tech Thoughts Daily Net News – May 22, 2010

CNET Free Security Starter Kit: Refined for 2010 – The Security Starter Kit will ensure that your sanity lasts way longer than your resolutions through a collection of must-have programs to protect your Windows computer. In our six categories this year, we offer the core essentials of Antivirus and Anti-spyware, as well as ancillary but important categories such as In-browser Security, Firewall, Encryption, and Parental Control.

IBM unleashes virus on AusCERT delegates – In an email this afternoon, IBM advised visitors to its AusCERT booth that its complimentary USB key was infected with a virus. An IBM spokesman and conference organizers confirmed the email was genuine.

Google TV is Real – As many predicted, Google unveiled its Google TV platform yesterday. The goal is to truly blend TV and the Web into one seamless experience. Google has its partners lined up and products coming this fall. This report pulls it all together.

How to Configure Internet Explorer to Stay Secure Online – With assistance from the United States Computer Emergency Response Team (US-CERT), this slideshow will walk you through the steps to configure Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to limit the damage from hacker attacks.

Fake joke worm wriggles through Facebook – Shifty sorts have created a new worm which spread rapidly on Facebook on Friday. The malware, for now at least, does nothing more malicious than posting a message on an infected user’s Facebook wall that point to a site called fbhole.com. Nonetheless, the speed of its spread on the social networking site has net security experts worried.

Perform Reverse Phone Number Lookups with Google Maps – Since we don’t store a lot of business numbers in our phones, it can be a pain to figure out which unnamed number in your log is the right one. You can use Google Maps, however, to do reverse phone number lookups.

How to Check if Your Gmail Account Has Been Hacked – If you’re worried about email security, here is a step by step guide to help you check and determine if your Gmail account has been hacked or compromised in any way.

Review: Google Docs 2010 – Let’s face it, Google Docs isn’t nearly as powerful as Microsoft office 2010. When you think about it, why should it be? Many people don’t need that kind of power. Instead, they need the ease of use and easy access found in Google’s still young suite of cloud-based productivity apps.

RouterPassView Recovers Lost Router Passwords – RouterPassView is a freeware application that taps into a router’s configuration file, allowing you to recover important data like router login information, wireless network keys, and more in the event any of that important information goes missing.

New Twitter Worm Abuses iPhone App – The attack abuses Twitter trending topics — a popular source of abuse — but with a twist: Rather than installing fake antivirus software like most similar attacks, it installs a new banking Trojan that steals online banking accounts, credit card PIN numbers, and online payment system passwords, according to Kaspersky Lab.

Off Topic (Sort of):

See the Porno E-mail That Got SF City Workers In Trouble – ​SF Weekly has obtained the hardcore e-mail sent around the city’s Planning Department that led to a scandal and the department’s chief moving to fire four veteran planners.

Google hit with class-action lawsuit over Wi-Fi snooping – Privacy violations could cost it $10,000 for each time it grabbed data from unprotected networks with its Google Street View vehicles.

Digging up chemical weapons in D.C. – After World War I, munitions including shells of poisonous liquid mustard were buried in a then-rural area. The cleanup has forced evacuations at American University and prompted concerns about illness. (submitted by Dar)

What ’synthetic life’ could mean for the energy industry – The idea of synthesizing an organism (in this case, bacteria) from four bottles of chemicals via a computerized DNA code recipe is pretty mind-blowing.

So where are the flying cars? The future’s not what it used to be – Okay, cars are getting a lot smarter, as just observed by my colleague Larry Dignan, but why aren’t they capable of flying yet? Where are the flying cars? Where are the jetpacks?

Today’s Quote:

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.”

–     Wilson Mizner

Today’s Free Downloads:

Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool – The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks Windows XP, Windows 2000,and Windows Server 2003 computers for and helps remove infections by specific, prevalent malicious software including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware – Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a surprisingly effective freeware antimalware tool. It’s a relatively speedy malware remover, with the quick scan taking about 8 minutes even with other high-resource programs running.

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