Funny Germans means I'm not depressed!

I was feeling a bit depressed when I saw this and started laughing my ass off...=)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4933318503062049442

Boy in the Bubble

For as much talk as Voice-over-IP (VoIP) has been getting, I had largly ignored it. I had considered it only practical for special scenarios as a result of the case studies I had done in my classes, and until everyone had it, I probably wouldn't use it. But I took another look at it when Molly asked me if I had Skype on my PC. I connected the dots pretty quickly. "Of course! We could talk over the internetjust between the two of us and I couldn't have to pay for long distance!" I'm not ready to replace my regular phone with VoIP, but for "special scenarios" such as, my friends overseas, this would work great.
Molly and I couldn't get her microphone to work, but Erin and I did, and we tested it while she was in town.

"You know, with this, it doesn't feel as though we're so far apart..." (Paraphrasing here)

Those words rung with me like a bell. I have so long believed that technology, especially communications technology will bring people together, but I've never heard it from anyone expect in an academic or professional setting. But I think hearing it from a friend who I've historically had trouble keeping close to echoed with a purity that really struck me as magnificant. The magic of hearing someone's voice from across the ocean can be easily overlooked since it's so ubiquitious today, but when I consider all of the factors involved to make it happen I really become amazed. It was one of those moments of clarity in which I reaffirmed that I'm on the right track to be doing what I really want to be doing, and that it will make a difference in people's lives.



Macworld started yesterday, and Apple announced both their new line of iMacs and laptops, dubbed the "Macbook" that run on Intel processors. I'm reading this morning that both Apple and Microsoft will not prevent Windows from being installed on these machines, which suddenly makes it a tantalizing possibility. Mac OS X and Windows XP on the same box! Or Linux too! I have to say, I'm looking at Apple with a whole lot more respect these days. ::gasp::

Don't worry, it's not the end of the world yet. So long as there's Windows Server System, I'll still be PC oriented.

Oh, and one of the handlers at isc.sans.org posted a link to this gallery. Excellent work.

Oh, and Mac users (I'm looking at you Erin.) Flip4Mac is now being distributed by Microsoft, letting you play any Windows Media file in Quicktime. Horray! (Now if only they had a plugin to let me play my Windows Media Lossless files in iTunes, we'd be set!)

Microsoft WMF Patch

Microsoft has released their WMF vulnerability patch early. Please go ahead and install this at your earliest oppurtunity. You can download the patch at http://update.microsoft.com

If you unregistered the .dll and/or downloaded the unofficial patch, take a look at the directions for uninstalling the old patch here.

Soapbox!

I told myself I wouldn't do this, that this wouldn't become some "activist" blog. But since I just finished going off on Alex about this (of which most of this will be cut and pasted from those IMs) I might as well share with everyone!

I was reading an article on C-Net, which you can find here.

I can understand trying to be competitive in foreign markets, and China is a big one. But it seems like every major IT company is playing patsy to the communist party and has no problem rolling over for The Party. Did everyone suddenly forget that the reason our corporations are as powerful as they is because we have the freedoms we do?
I was reading Scoble's response, (A Microsoft blogger and employee) and he makes a good point: "See, it’s real easy as Americans to rattle the door and ask for change, but we don’t live there. Saying “give them the finger” isn’t that easy when there are real human lives at stake. And I don’t need to spell out what I’m talking about here, do I?"
But I think there's a line to be drawn. The reason the U.S. is disliked is because we have an image problem: We're seen as a nation of ruthless capitalists who run rampant over whatever laws or ethics in order for us to turn the largest profit, be it money or power or otherwise.
Now I'm not entirely against this. Nations are self-serving, and rightfully so. I'm a capitalist, and I believe in competition. But hypocrasy, especailly when it involves our own lofty ideas which we tout so loudly is, and is going to continue to backfire in our face...
When I started at SRA upper management talked to us about the importance of ethical decision making, and how they were shocked when talking to another company who said that "we sometimes make ethical decisions even if it's a bad business decision".
Our guy (our current CEO) replied that making good ethical decisions are good business decisions. You may not turn the immeditate profit, but the legacy of those morals stays, and people remember it. MS will turn a profit in China, but it will be a bitter one, and will come back to bite them (and others) when they start up new ventures...
And this doesn't apply only to IT companies, as I'm sure you are aware....

Windows 0-day exploit

A 0-Day exploit was released for Windows over the weekend, creating alot of headaches for sysadmins everywhere.

In short, it works by executing code that hides in a WMF file (graphics format) and executes upon viewing the file. By viewing, we mean a a graphic on a website or attached in an e-mail. Since WMF is identified by a special header and not by the file extension, the file can be named .jpg, .gif, etc.

If I sound serious, that's because it is.

I really thought this was going to be cleared up by this morning but apparently Microsoft has decided that they will wait till the 10th before deploying a patch. Lucky for us, the guys at isc.sans.org issued their own patch, which you can download here:

http://handlers.sans.org/tliston/wmffix_hexblog14.exe

It has been tested for Windows XP and Windows 2000. (If you're running Windows 98 or earlier, do panic. There is no hope you for you.)

It is also reccomended that you unregister the .dll that handles .WMF files. You can do this by going to "Start" -> "Run" and in the Run box, type "regsvr32 -u %windir%\system32\shimgvw.dll" without quotes.

Again, it is reccomended that you both install the patch and unregister the .dll.

Microsoft will be releasing their own patch on the 10th. At that time, pending reports that it successfully blocks the attack, I will post instructions to uninstall the SANS patch (it removes via Add/Remove programs) and how to re-register the .dll

Again, if you have Windows XP or Windows 2000, please take care of this ASAP. This runs very easily. Just looking at a webpage, previewing a graphic, or looking at a picture in an e-mail will trigger the exploit.

You can follow all of the goings on here:
http://isc.sans.org/

If you're running MacOS X, Linux, or something else entirely, you should forget all of the above and go play with sand! =)