I was just reading an article about Facebook filing their IPO and how there are going to be hundreds of new millionaires overnight. What really surprised me was the entire page of comments were people hating on Facebook. I’m not surprised by the comments except that ALL of them were anti Facebook comments.
I should have started this article a few days ago. There’s a lot at stake here and this topic deserves a lot more time than I can give it right now. However, today many sites are joining the STOP SOPA & PIPA blackout protest. This way people can see what can happen if these Bills pass.
There is a need to protect copyright on the internet, but not at the cost of our First Amendment. America was founded on this principal and these Bills threaten the concept our forefathers fought for and believed so greatly in.
Until I can really do this subject justice, I’ll post a link that you can use to learn more today’s protest
http://americancensorship.org/
Well one thing I don’t mind doing is admitting when I’ve had a fail. We can learn from a fail and the only time a fail is really a complete waste of time is when you don’t learn anything from it.
This time I learned that if you really want to run OS X on a PC, you need to find out what hardware people have used to do it before. The Sony VAIO laptop I tried it on seemed to have some incomparable hardware. This was just a test run and someone had loaned me the laptop just so I could see if I could do it. I had to give the laptop back before I could really figure out what the problem was.
I wanted to let you know in case you read my previous post and were waiting for a follow up. SO here is the follow up, and since it didn’t work, I’m not going to waste a lot of time for either of us going into everything I tried. Basically, I tried to install several versions in Virtual Machine and when that didn’t work I tried to make a dual boot setup using what amount to boot loaders for OS X and PC’s, and they had the same problems that Virtual Machine had. I did this just to verify that Virtual Machine wasn’t the root of my problems.
This is over for now. Next time I get some new hardware and some more time, I will give it another shot.
Since my world of computing has no limits or bounds, I can cook with many different operating systems. Starting with the Apple ][+ DOS, then Pro DOS, also whatever the C64/128 OS was called, before getting into MS DOS 3.2 and all versions onward, etc. Now days I stick to mainly Windows, OS X, and a couple flavors of Linux. I've also run all of the above on my PC's, even the old Apple ][+ Dos with thanks to some cool emulators. That is all of them, but one, OS X. Yes, because I have Macs at work, I’ve never bothered trying to run OS X on my PC before.
However, this is about to change. I’ve spent the week gathering information on creating my own Hackintosh. So far, it hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would. I started out trying to install a retail version of OS X Leopard & Snow Leopard using VMPlayer. None of them worked, but the attempts were not in vain. I’ve learned quite a bit about the different ways you can install OS X on a PC.
Now I must get back to my exploration of OSx86 and figure out what kind of Hackintosh I am going to create. We are burning the midnight oil here in the CyberTek lab and won’t be satisfied until we see something resembling OS X installed and working on one of the computers here.
I’m disabling comments for a bit. I forgot to setup spam filters when I was fixing the site and have over 1500 comments. Most of it is spam. I hate this because I do get real comments now and then and some need a response. These will be lost among all this spam. So the new policy is you have to create an account to comment.
Had some problems with the site and I’m reinstalling it right now. Things will look a bit funny until I am done.
Exciting news here at PC Cybertek! I’ve expanded the capabilities of the void of sunlight, purple walled, silver celling, neon lit, smoke filled, PC Cybtek Laboratory. And yes, that is an accurate description of the lab. But who cares what the room I spend countless hours staring at monitors looks or smells like? I’ve finally done what I have been threating to do for ages. Get on with it already you say… OK OK After the break, I’ll tell you
Just in case you still think one day you may get a useful attachment in your e-mail, you should know it won’t be coming from someone claiming to be a Facebook Administrator. Here’s a scam e-mail I got this morning..
from: Administration of Facebook [official-no.893@facebook.com]
subject: Facebook Support. Personal data has been changed! No81864
attachment: Facebook_Password_INM.152.zip (99k)body:
Security service of FaceBook.
Your password is not secure!
To secure your account the password has been changed automatically!
Attached document contains a new password to your account and detailed information about new security measures.Thank you for attention,
Your FacebookHe was astonished at the ease with which he twisted Deane upon his back and put the handcuffs about his wrists.The work was no sooner done than he understood. A rag was tied about Deanes head, and it was stained with blood. The mans arms and body were limp. He looked at Billy with dulled eyes, and as he slowly realized what had happened a groan broke from his lips. In an instant Billy was on his knees beside him. He had seen Deane twice before, over at Churchill, but this was the first time that he had ever looked closely into his face. It was a face worn by hardship and mental torture. The cheeks were thinned, and the steel-gray eyes that looked up into Billys were reddened by weeks and months of fighting against storm. It was the face, not of a criminal, but of a man whom Billy would have trusted– blonde-mustached, fearless, and filled with that clean-cut strength which associates itself with fairness and open fighting.
That’s kind of weird, isn’t it. I mean do they think this little piece of a story will make you lose all control and run the attached virus file? Maybe the author is looking for a book deal and wants to steal a publishers identification. Either way, do not open the attachment, it contains a virus/trojan. At the time of this writing, 25 of 42 antivirus programs detect it, according to VirusTotal
One final thought. Facebook has come under major attack lately. By now you should know better than to ever open an attachment from anyone you don’t expect to get one from. I would also go a step farther, and not click on any links that come in e-mails claiming to be from Facebook. Just go directly to Facebook, either by typing in the address yourself, or using a bookmark YOU created yourself.
Stay Safe
I’m going to make this short and sweet to get the word out there. I will delve further into what actual malware is being served and what the effects are at a further date.
The following image was taken from a screen shot I made. It shows the fake video player that shows a rotating “waiting” graphic and pretends that it can’t load the video because it needs to be updated.
I knew this was a threat because I’m also a video editor and I keep all my codecs up to date. However, I thought I would pursue this further so I could see what file was going to be installed. Then I could run analysis on it and report my findings here. But I was running ESET NOD32 and it recognized this page was a threat and also blocked whatever this page tried top send me. You can see the results below.
So just don’t update your video player through any website that claims your video player needs to be update to view an online video. I would imagine there will be variations of this soon. Like fake Quicktime Player or Windows Media Player updates. I will grab a copy of the file this site is trying to distribute, for further analysis, later and post my findings here. That’s going to take some time and I have seen this fake xvid update a couple times now and decided I should spread the word sooner rather than later.
Today’s phishing scam I find kind of amusing. Does anyone really believe that the United Nations will actually send you millions? Just in case they might; here is a copy of what I received today
United Nations Assisted Program
Directorate of International Payment
United Nations Liaison Office – AfricaFund Beneficiary,
This email is to notify you about the release of your outstanding payment which is truly $4.7 million. The Federal Government scheduled a time frame to settle all foreign debts which includes Contract/Inheritance/Gambling/ Lottery (Sponsored by Microsoft and UK National Lottery) and other international loans. News had it that over the past, numerous individual(s) who happen to be impostors (claiming to be individuals, banks and organizations) are claiming to release numerous sums of fund via numerous ways.
You have two options to receive your payment which is either a Pin Based ATM card or Certified Cashiers Check. You are advised to select one out of the two options on how you wish to receive your $4.7 million. Your ATM card or Check/Bank Draft will be shipped via FedEx Shipping Company and would get to you within 2 to 3 working days at most.
DO NOT SEND MONEY TO ANYONE UNTIL YOU READ THIS:
We had to sign contract with them for bulk shipping which makes the fees reduce from the actual $125.99 to $96.99 nothing more and no hidden fees of any sort! You are advised to contact the dispatch officer responsible for the shipping of your Check or ATM card with the following information for shipping of your payment Check or ATM card.Dispatch Officer: Dr.James Don
Email:jamesdon9522@yahoo.com.hk
Telephone: +234 70 3109 2113As requested, provide the following information’s to my office:
Recipient full Name………….
Shipment Address:……………
Nationality…………………
Age:……………………….
Sex:……………………….
Current Occupation:………….
Home or Cell Phone:………….
Select Your preferred Payment Method (Check or ATM):……….The dispatch officer will provide you with instructions on how you are to make payment of the $96.99 only for the shipping of your ATM card or Cashiers Check.
Remember that you are not paying any fees extra no matter what. Once again note that the actual FedEx Retail Price: $125.99 Your Price (Because of our contract signed): $96.99 ($29.00 Savings!).
Respectfully,
Amb. Anthony Moore
UN Envoy (African Region)
So do yourself a favor and don’t send these people any of your info.
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