Very nasty AOL Instant Messager worm/virus/spyware

CNET is reporting that an AOL Instant Messenger worm is infecting computers with a combination of nasty spyware, a trojan horse virus and a rootkit virus. If you have been reading this blog you might remember rootkit viruses are currently undetectable by any current anti-virus program. So if you use AOL Instant Messenger or have teenagers, prepare for computer meltdown. It is not clear that any of my special rootkit tools will be able to find/clear this rootkit virus. Best way to remove it might be to just wipe your hard disk and re-install Window and all of your programs from scratch.

Hope you have your data backed up.

http://news.com.com/AIM+worm+plays+nasty+new+trick/2100-7349_3-5920403.html?tag=nefd.top

JV16 Power Tools 2005

JV16 is considered by many to be the best registry editing program.

I use it to clean the registry of invalid entries. This often results in a faster loading/more reliable Windows.

To clean the registry, run JV16, select 'Registry Cleaner" and then check 'Aggresive' and click on 'Start'. After the Cleaner finishes, press the Ctrl and A keys to select all entries and then 'Fix' or 'Remove'.

$29.95 with a 30 day free trial.
http://www.macecraft.com/jv16powertools2005/

Interesting blog from Mosul

I thought this was a very interesting report from Mosul Iraq.
http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/10/battle-for-mosul-iv.html

Firemonger

If you are a Firefox enthusiast or think you might be, check out this link:
http://www.firemonger.org/en/

PDX food

I was cruising one of my BBQ web sites when I saw mention of www.chowhound.com. That led to http://www.portlandfood.org/index.php and then http://www.extramsg.com/ and links to many other Portland and northwest food pages. Spent a lot of time reading these sites. Signed up for a newsletter and several RSS feeds. I especially liked the PDX tip sheet of recommended places to eat/shop in the Portland area.

Searching the Internet

While I remain a big fan of Google, reader LL sends the following:

I have been regularly using http://doubletrust.net/ as my primary search engine since I wrote you last and I'm lovin it - he says he's going to upgrade with an advanced search feature soon. I recommend it to you/anyone. I use dogpile also routinely .

USB Flash Drive

I just ordered a USB 2.0 1GB flash drive. I have been using another 1GB flash drive to transfer files, etc. but wanted a separate one to securely store my personal files on. This drive seems to be one of the better ones - Fast and secure. It is also more expensive with prices about $110 at most discounters but I found it at Dell for $83 including shipping.

Review and links here:
http://www.everythingusb.com/lexar_jumpdrive_lightning_1gb.html

Update: I like this flash drive. It is fast, easy to use and secure. I backup all of my personal data to it every day or so. (In addition to all of the daily/weekly/monthly backups that I do to other media.) Using the built-in application, I easily divided the drive into two 512MB segments - one public and one private. When I insert the drive into a USB port, the built-in application asks if I want to allow it to run. I say 'yes' if I want to access my private files, otherwise I say no and it opens up the public part of the drive which I use to store various trouble shooting utilities.

Recommended...

Google Local

Google has merged it Google Map and Google Local. Still a nice mapping application with local area features.
http://local.google.com/