CommonException[dot]com

I’ve had a pretty good weekend, despite K-State’s loss yesterday and the large amount of time I’ve spent at the desk. Here’s something that just capped everything off.

This one guy was a little disappointed with Apple’s special U2 version of the iPod, so he decided to design his own. You can own the Ashlee Simpson Karaoke Edition iPod today!*

I’m glad other people have that much time to devote to my entertainment.

*Not really. Damn.

Currently Playing: Los Lonely Boys - Heaven

While farfetched, this isn’t such a bad idea. I could handle John McCain as president.

This pretty much sums it up. This one is for the Fark fans out there.

Thanks to Yesdog for the image. If you have a problem with me using it, just let me know.

Currently Playing: 3 Doors Down - This Time

Live on
Live it up today
This life’s your cup
So drink it up I say, yeah
Say it’s mine so give it all up to me now
And walk that line
Don’t let this go my friend

Currently Playing: Gavin Degraw - I Don’t Wanna Be

I don’t need to be anything other than a prison guard’s son
I don’t need to be anything other than a specialist’s son
I don’t have to be anyone other than a birth of two souls in one
Part of where I’m going is knowing where I’m coming from

I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately
All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind
I’m tired of looking ’round rooms wondering what I gotta to do
Or who I’m supposed to be
I don’t want to be anything other than me
I don’t want to be
I don’t want to be
I don’t want to be
I don’t want to be anything other than me
I don’t want to be
I don’t want to be
I don’t want to be

Yeah.

Great shirt and awesome belt buckle!! This guy is truly the role model for all the residents in the “special dorm“… I don’t really mean that… its a “residence hall” (big quote fingers). Anyways I used to live there and I think he’s awesome. I mean look at all the chicks, he has to be awesome!

Currently Playing: The Vestibules - Bulbous Bouffant

I just came across a study done by AOL and the NCSA (National Cyber Security Alliance) on security of the home PC. Unfortunately, the results seem to follow an all too familiar pattern.

I’ve been helping people clean up their computers for quite some time now. Personally, I’ve been pretty lucky on the whole and only had a few run-ins with viruses and probably only two of them have caused me much heartburn. However, I’ve seen some really messed up computers and I’ll have to say the results of that little study don’t surprise me at all. It’s interesting that the article touches on who is responsible for internet security: software companies or consumers. I believe the responsibility falls on both parties, but there are some big mistakes being made in the industry that aren’t helping consumers hold up their end.

1. Most packaged computers come with a free trial of one antivirus software or another. Trials of 30, 60, or 90 days are about the worst idea ever. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the thinking: get a user hooked on your software with a trial so that they’ll be willing to pay for it when it expires. There’s just one problem. The software doesn’t expire in that it stops working, it simply stops updating virus definition files. Therefore when someone tells me they’re having problems with their computer and I ask if they have antivirus software installed, they happily respond “Yes!” when in fact, their software is outdated by a good 6 months or more. By allowing these trials on new machines, consumers are lured into a false sense of security. Meanwhile, their trial quietly expires and the latest virus finds its way onto their computer with ease. “But how did this happen? I just ran the virus scan yesterday and it didn’t find anything?!”
2. Unfortunately not all software is helpful. Worse yet, most people can’t tell the difference between the good and the bad. Some definitions easily found via Google…

   malware

   a) A generic term increasingly being used to describe any form of malicious software; eg, viruses, trojan horses, malicious active content, etc.

   b) Malicious software that is designed by people to attack some part of a computer system.

   spyware

   a) A general term for a program that surreptitiously monitors your actions. While they are sometimes sinister, like a remote control program used by a hacker, software companies have been known to use spyware to gather data about customers. The practice is generally frowned upon.

   b) A technology that assists in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. On the Internet, “spyware is programming that is put in someone’s computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties.” As such, spyware is cause for public concern about privacy on the Internet.

   adware

   a) While not necessarily malware, adware is considered to go beyond the reasonable advertising that one might expect from freeware or shareware. Typically a separate program that is installed at the same time as a shareware or similar program, adware will usually continue to generate advertising even when the user is not running the originally desired program. See also cookies, spyware, and web bugs.

   b) software that may have been installed on your computer by a remote site. Many free utilities that you download from the Internet will install hidden software that sends details of the websites you visit and other information from your computer (which can include your email address) to advertisers so they can target you with popup ads and spam. See Spam, Spyware.

   Most people have experienced that moment when they find something on their computer that they don’t remember installing. Most simply brush it off, but those that don’t will usually find things that fall into one of those three categories: malware, spyware, or adware (I’ll refer to everything as spyware to keep it simple). One could argue that they are all related and therefore part of the same issue. Security. Privacy. Call it what you like, it’s a problem that is getting ridiculous. I’ve worked on computers with literally hundreds of items considered to be bits and pieces of spyware. The problem isn’t necessarily apathy (although it definitely can be), but more often it’s a lack of education. Users see a box pop up asking them a question and click without thinking. They download a program with some extra stuff along for the ride, and just like that they are infected.

   So what’s being done to combat spyware? Well, there are companies out there like Lavasoft USA and Safer Networking Limited, creators of Ad-Aware and Spybot - Search and Destroy. Both will scan your computer for items considered to be spyware and remove them for you. I recommend both programs and use them every week or two. Finally, some companies are beginning to take a stand on the issue and Congress has gotten in on the act as well, passing anti-spyware legislation. Still, I won’t hold my breath for big changes. Some people must make a lot of money from software like this or there would be no reason to keep making it.

3. Wireless networking is becoming increasingly popular. It’s everywhere from PDAs and cell phones to laptops and even desktops. And while it makes some people’s lives a lot simpler by freeing them from the bounds of wires, there are big security risks that most people don’t even consider. As of now, there is still no wireless security standard comparable to that of wired networks. The most common form of wireless security simply requires a pre-shared encryption key that once learned will give a person full access to a wireless network. Give me a day or two with the right tools and I could probably learn the encryption key of any wireless network without ever needing to ask for it.

   To make matters worse, most wireless networking components have security turned off be default. And while it may be much simpler to set up your wireless network without worrying about encryption keys, you’re leaving yourself extremely vulnerable. Since I got my laptop with it’s built-in wireless card, I’ve had occasion to visit friends off campus and notice the sheer number of wireless access points available. I’d say 80-90% are unsecured. Not only could people potentially steal internet access, but in the process they’re connected directly to your network with little to no effort.

It’s probably foolish to think there is such a thing as a perfectly secure system. But there are plenty of things you can do to get closer to the ideal. Install a popup blocker (better yet, run a web browser that does it for you like FireFox). Download and use Ad-Aware and Spybot (don’t forget to keep them updated). Turn Windows Firewall on. Oh, and download Windows Updates (something I haven’t even touched here). Slowly but surely, the industry is providing the tools for consumers to protect themselves, but knowing where to look is half the battle. I’ve made it my personal goal to start educating users on these issues by teaching them to respect their systems and explaining why they’re having problems rather than just fixing things for them.

Proof that Ashlee Simpson has absolutely no talent, tact, or brains.

I forgot to “sing” on cue so I think I’ll do a stupid dance and then walk off stage.

Then I’ll blame it on my band and pray they don’t kill me for selling them out.

Edit: Simpson on lip-syncing:

“I’m totally against it and offended by it. I’m going to let my real talent show, not just stand there and dance around. Personally, I’d never lip-sync. It’s just not me.”

Wow, how sad.

Who knew it could be such a task to get it? When Amber said she wanted to move her computer upstairs so she could be more productive with less distractions, it didn’t sound like that big of a deal. Drill a few holes, pull some wire, run it around the obstacles, done. Haha, not so fast.

First of all, you need the right tools. That includes a drill, which no one had. That includes a tape measure longer than 12 feet, which I had but would have to drive 15 minutes to get.

Second, you need to know for sure how you want to get it done. And you don’t need someone to try and sell you a wireless router right in the middle of your planning. That leads to approximately an hour of wondering if that might be the best solution. Then as you think about it you realize that a wireless router is expensive (even at a discount) and you still have to buy a wireless card on top of that. So you’re back to square one. Where do you drill and run this CAT5 cable?

Well the office in Amber’s apartment has an air intake vent. It runs to the ceiling. Let’s use that. HA. You only thought you were smooth; the intake only goes to the ceiling of the main level, not to the floor of the upper level. You have no way to drill a hole inside the wall. (At this point we still had no way to drill a whole period).

Ok, so we decide we’re going to just try and find a spot that would be convenient to go through and end up in a corner between two doors in the hallway upstairs. But how much cable do we need? Some quick measuring and estimates say about 85 feet of CAT5. So let’s do some research: walmart.com, radioshack.com, staples.com, newegg.com…CAT5 is damn expensive unless you want to wait for it. Any local retailer it would cost at least 50 bucks to buy 100 feet of cable. Ok, let’s regroup. Home Depot sells CAT5 by the foot. How much does it cost? $.15 a foot = $12.75 for 85 feet. Sweet! But wait…you also have to put the ends on the cable which requires buying RJ45 connectors and a crimping tool. Ok, no problem. Except that the tool costs 20 bucks and you can’t buy less than 25 RJ45 connectors. Well, it wouldn’t be so bad to have my own crimper tool…

So we’ve got our cable and we’re ready to try and get through the ceiling/floor. So Amber goes door to door to come up with a drill. Three apartments and five minutes later, she’s got one. So we pick a spot upstairs, pull the carpet out of the corner and drill a hole. We straighten out a hanger and I drop it in…clink clink. Guess what? You just hit an air duct. Not the intake kind that would have room temperature air flowing through it. Ok, time to try again. Where the hell are we gonna put this hole?

The upstairs hall closet sits right above the pantry in the kitchen! There’s no light in the pantry and they back up to the stairwell, so there shouldn’t be any ducts or wiring in the floor there. Alright, try again. Pull the carpet back, drill the hole, drop the hanger…it sinks a foot! Ok, now we’re getting somewhere. Time to try and measure to get an idea of where to drill the matching hole from below. Not as easy as I’d hoped. Realize the walls don’t quite match so I’m just gonna have to try it. Drill a second hole. Make a sheetrock dust mess.

Back upstairs to drop the hanger through. Yeah right. Not that easy. Fish around, find nothing. Enlarge both holes, find nothing. Stick a pencil through the bottom hole trying to get an idea of where it is…nothing. Finally: have Amber hold a flashlight to the bottom hole while you run upstairs and try to see where the light comes from. Fish around aimlessly and with a little luck hit the spot. Wow, that only took forever.

So now it’s just a matter of routing the wire out of the way, wiring the RJ45 connectors, plugging everything in, and praying it works the first time. At this point Amber had to leave to babysit but I wasn’t about to leave without this thing getting done so I stayed and finished up. This is actually where things got a lot easier. I wired the plugs in about 10 minutes and everything worked right off the bat. Whew. It’s only 6pm so you’ve got time to sit back and revel in a job well done. Wait. What I meant to say is it’s time to catch a ride home from Amber’s roommate and begin frantically working on diagrams and screen shots for your design document for which you are meeting with your group at 9pm.

Here’s the important thing: Amber can now sit in her room with her computer and internet access, away from other tempting distractions like roommates (well, that’s the idea anyway). I can also play with her computer more often because I don’t have to go downstairs to get to it It only took a week and a half to get it done. Now I don’t want to give off the wrong impression. While this little project was a pain at times, I was happy to do it.

Currently Playing: Creed - Stand Here With Me

You always reached out to me and helped me believe
All those memories we share, I will cherish every one of them
The truth of it is there’s a right way to live and you showed me
So now you live on in the words of a song: you’re a melody

Just when fear blinded me you taught me to dream
I’ll give you everything I am and still fall short of what you’ve done for me
In this life that I live I hope I can give love unselfishly…
I’ve learned the world is bigger than me: you’re my daily dose of reality

I am still here… Carson doesn’t completely own this site yet. Anyways some endless clicking fun… SuperBad
Man The things you fill your time with when you should be doing homework….
Currently Playing: Relient K - More Than Useless

Or make it…with your mouth. This guy is amazing. I really don’t know what else to say. Just watch.

I was browsing the net this morning and I came across this article about a roommate scam. I don’t think this is the type of thing that I would ever fall for (too many red flags), but unfortunately not everyone would see it that way. It’s scary how close she came to getting royally screwed on the whole deal.

That article led me to this one on Michael Moore: For one thing, there is not a cause in the world that is ‘good enough’ in the eyes of ANY rational parent that they would actively sacrifice their children for. And that includes freedom of speech, freedom of religion, civil rights and the freedom to make shitty movies full of lies. An open letter to Michael Moore. There’s some kinda random/vulgar stuff in there, but I agree with her general ideas.

So anyway, I’ve added a few links to the sidebar including Verisimilitude, Bash, Points in Case, and College Humor. Lately I’ve been feeling like I was in an internet rut, like the stuff I usually check was getting old and always the same. Hopefully those will help.

Currently Playing: Five for Fighting - Superman (Just one man, not five)

I can’t stand to fly
I’m not that naive
I’m just out to find
The better part of me

Its not easy to be me