Thursday, October 28, 2010

For the nerds

AVG 2011 command line perimeters

AVG 2011 Anti-Virus command line scanner
Copyright (c) 1992 - 2010 AVG Technologies
/SCAN           Scan /for example SCAN=path;path/
/COMP           Whole computer scan
/HEUR           Use heuristic analysis
/EXCLUDE        Exclude path or files from scan
/@              Command file /file name/
/EXT            Scan these extensions /for example EXT=EXE,DLL/
/NOEXT          Do not scan these extensions /for example NOEXT=JPG/
/ARC            Scan archives
/CLEAN          Clean automatically
/TRASH          Move infected files to the Virus Vault
/QT             Quick test
/LOG            Generate a scan result file
/MACROW         Report macros
/PWDW           Report password-protected files
/ARCBOMBSW      Report archive bombs (repeatedly compressed archives)
/IGNLOCKED      Ignore locked files
/REPORT         Report to file /file name/
/REPAPPEND      Append to the report file
/REPOK          Report uninfected files as OK
/NOBREAK        Do not allow CTRL-BREAK to abort
/BOOT           Enable MBR/BOOT check
/PROC           Scan active processes
/PUP            Report "Potentially unwanted programs"
/PUPEXT         Report enhanced set of Potentially Unwanted Programs
/REG            Scan registry
/COO            Scan for Tracking Cookies
/?              Display help on this topic
/HELP           Display help on this topic
/PRIORITY       Set scan priority /Low, Middle, High, User Sensitive/
/SHUTDOWN       Shutdown computer upon scan completion
/FORCESHUTDOWN  Force computer shutdown upon scan completion
/ADS            Scan Alternate Data Streams (NTFS only)
/HIDDEN         Report files with hidden extension
/INFECTABLEONLY Scan files with infectable extensions only
/THOROUGHSCAN   Enable thorough scanning

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Steve Jobs defends iPad vs new Android tablets

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, made some interesting points at this quarter's earnings calls. Apple achieved their first $20 billion quarter and is looking at their competition with scrutinous eyes.

In comparison, Apple activates an average of 275,000 devices per day while Android lags behind still with an average of 200,000 per day. Apple boasts a app store container 300,000+ apps, over three times that of which Android has in it's app marketplace. Jobs also explained how the company feels about the differences Android and Apple have in approach to their mobile devices saying "[w]e think Android is very, very fragmented, and becoming more fragmented by the day". The fragmenting that Jobs is referring to is the fact that Android's open approach has created over 100 variations of the Operating System making app development more difficult and prone to incompatibility issues and lack of support on the lesser used Android models. Being a Droid user myself, I've felt the burn of being on what seems like an already outdated HTC Eris platform, but this feeling for the most part comes from HTC's reluctance took make updates for their first Android child while they focus on the Droid Incredible.

This year's innovative release of the iPad attracted over 3million consumers in less than 3 months looking to own one for business, art, or even just for gaming. Mobile device manufactures frantically struggle to release competing tablet devices but, according to Steve Jobs, will fail. "[A]lmost all of them use 7-inch screens, as compared to iPad's near 10-inch screens.", Jobs claims, "The screen measurements are diagonal, so that a 7-inch screen is only 45 percent as large as iPad's 10-inch screen". On top of this, Android urges manufactures to hold off from jumping in on the market until next year's release of a Android platform designed specifically for tablet devices.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Well, ok, there is no official month for this deems by the powers be, but one or two geek groups are observing this year's 7th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Some tips from me to you:
  1. Be sure you have anti-virus software on your computer.
  2. Be sure that your anti-virus software is actually activated, working, and up-to-date.
  3. Links on Facebook are not always actually posted by friends. Be very cautious any time you follow someone's link.
  4. YouTube and Facebook is not likely to ask you to update, download, or enable anything if its already been working for you.
  5. If something seems suspicious, its probably for a good reason. Check the URL to be sure you're really where you think you are.
  6. Anytime you are prompted for a password, look at the URL to be sure you're not being Phished.
  7. If a anti-virus software comes up that you don't recognize, its likely malware and your Anti-Virus has failed. Shut down your computer and call your Geek.
  8. Websites offering free scans of your computer are 99% of the time a BAD idea.
  9. If your email or Facebook gets " "hacked" " (more likely Phished), change your password and check your account settings for traces the intruder left.
  10. Passwords should be 8 characters or longer, have more than just letters. More importantly to your security is to be sure you follow #6. Phishing is getting too common.
If you don't know who your Geek is, its that computer person in your family, friends, or church you trust. If you've got no Geek in mind, call me.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

New Facebook Feature

Facebook will soon be allowing users to text into the normal text number (32665) the letters "opt" and receive a one time use password to log in with. This is great for using at public locations where you should not trust the network. Facebook hopes to have the feature available in the next few weeks to everyone. Note: you will need to have your cell phone associated with Facebook, of course you can make that phone number not visible to the public in your security settings.