I just received a chain email alerting me to a virus that came out over a year ago, so I wrote up a "usefull" chain email and sent it out as a reply. Here it is for archival purposes. I look forward to anybody's comments, additions or arguments:

(Written July 2008 - If recieved as a chain letter, stop passing on beyond 2009!)

BASIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMPUTER SECURITY:
Prevent Viruses, Spyware, Malware and Hackers from getting into your system:
by Jason 'Jaypoc' Bauman

Keep your PC up to date
Always update your PC. Most operating systems can be set up to download and install updated automatically. Once a bug in an operating system or peice of software is identified and a patch is released, it only takes malicious programmers a day or two to develop and implement a virus or worm that can take advantage of that bug. Keeping your PC patched constantly will ensure that your protected from such attacks.

Surf Safe Sites
Stick to web-sites that are well known, or run by legitimate organizations. Stay away from adult sites and sites that offer pirated software, music and movies (This includes using Peer to Peer or illegal bit-torrent sites). Often these sites are riddled with malware and spyware.

Don't click links in email.
Spammers/Malware developers can make an address appear legitimate in an email, but clicking on the link can sometimes send you to a totally different web site. It's always a good idea to confirm the address by checking the status bar at the bottom of the screen, or copying and pasting what you see into the address bar. If you recieve an e-card, don't click the included link, but go directly to the site and then type in the confirmation code given in the email. Also, don't respond to or click links in emails from people you don't know or don't trust.

Use a Firewall
If you're at home, put a router (wireless or wired) between you and your internet connection. If you're using a public hot-spot, turn on your PC's software firewall. If you are unsure how to do so, contact your computer vendor (or send me an email. I'll help if I can).

When in Public, pretend you have no privacy
If you use public Hot-Spots to connect to the Internet, you should keep in mind that nothing you do is private. Don't enter any information that you wouldn't want the person sitting next to you seeing. Unless you are using a secure website (https://) then any information send to/from your computer to the Internet could be seen by someone using special (and freely available) software on another computer nearby. When logging into sites, make sure the site offers a secure login page before typing in a name and password.

Use Strong Passwords
Easy passwords are easy to guess, or break using freely available software. Malicious hackers use "dictionaries" to guess thousands of passwords a second, and if your password is a dictionary word, or close to, it is likely to be one of the passwords that are guessed. Combine Capital and Lowercase letters as well as numbers and if allowed, symbols.A good practice is to use a phrase, make an acronym of it, and replace some of the letters with numbers or symbols. You'd be surprised how easy it is to remember very complex passwords this way.

Install Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware
Install an anti-virus program and make sure you keep it up to date. Most good antivirus programs will release updates on a daily basis. Be sure to keep your anti-virus solution up to date as a backup to catch anything that got past you. You may also want to install an Anti Mal-ware program (i.e. Spy Sweeper, Ad-Aware, Spybot). These are okay, but you generally don't want to install more than one Anti-Virus program (same goes for firewalls). Most commercial anti-virus programs protect you from spyware nowadasy as well, so using a separate program is often not necessary.


If you took the time to read this, then you should have a pretty good idea of how to keep your PC safe and clean. Using a little common sense while online and keeping an eye out for "trouble" will greatly reduce your risk of Virus/Malware infections, and possibly even eliminate the chances completely.

If you'd like a GREAT (and entertaining) resource for keeping your computer safe, I recommend a podcast (downloadable radio program) called "The Tech Guy" podcast. Hosted by Leo Laporte, a long time technologist. The show covers everything from Home Entertainment, HDTV, Radio, Phones, Computers, Security, etc... If you want an entertaining look into "geekdom" Leo is great and he breaks things down for the less tech-saavy.

The podcast can be downloaded for multiple MP3 players at - http://twit.tv/ttg

It is also available via iTunes and the Zune Marketplace

The Tech Guy can also be heard on XM Satelite Radio and multiple local radio stations. Check your local listings.

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So weird. During my 15 minute break I decided I wanted some junk food, so I went to the candy/snack machine and bought a cheese/cinnamon bun...then I came back to my desk. Decided randomly to check what holiday was today, and it turns out it's National Sticky Bun day! How did I know? What are the odds? I havent had one of these danish/buns for months. Is there subliminal advertising at work here? lol.

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so I was talking to some friends online when they told me about the lunar ecipse tonight. I ran outside with my camera and despite the clouds, managed to get a few cool shots. Here's one of my favs.

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The other day I picked up Chinese food for lunch yesterday and I received quite an odd fortune cookie. It read:

"Your spouse's bills are yours and yours are yours."

First of all, I don't have a spouse, and if I did, I guess this would hold true, but what happened to the inspirational fortunes. This is like a reality check slapping you across the face.

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My old house-mate, Vince recently moved back to Long Island from the city. Okay. so Queens is still a hike, but it's better than NYC. We met up for the first time since Shore-leave. Vince has a way of bringing you back to your past :) I felt like It was 10 years ago! I was 20 again. I met Vince in his new Apt and right away, he was with a friend of ours from back in the day. I don't think I saw her in about 10 years (not counting facebook/myspace and such...).

We wound up heading out to the Witches Brew coffee house in West Hepstead.. The place has not changed a bit in the 10 years since I was there last, however the crowd does seem to have. When I frequented it there was always loud music and a heavy goth scene. The people were less goth and more just generic teenagers. Most of them were still around the 15-20 years old age range. It occurred to us that we were becoming "Them"!. You know, The older people that we would look at and wonder why "They" were there. lol... I guess it makes more sense now.

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Check these guys other YouTube videos also!!!! The David Blaine ones are fucking hysterical!!!

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I'm 30. I'll be 31 in just a few weeks and I still love Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. It's been one of those nights I got home, had so much cleaning to do that I didn't bother making anything for dinner. That AND the fact I have to go food shopping. I always tend to revert to a childhood state of mind when I o for the Peanut Butter and Jelly from the fridge.

To make it worse, I HAVE to sing that damn song. You know, the one that goes "It's peanut butter jelly time!!!" over and over.. and you can't sing it without doing the stupid dance that the banana does in the popular flash video!

I need to get off the Internet ;) lol... I love the little things. They amuse me. They keep me content! Thats my secret to how I am always positive and happy, even when things are down.

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It's been a while since I blogged so I thought it was about time for an update. As it always is, the holidays are a busy time for me. The radio promotions keep me busy on my weekends and my regular job keeps me busy during the week. I took Thursday off and headed into the city to meet a friend for the first time. I had been talking to her online for a while and was excited to get to hang out.

I met Katie at Grand Central Station, so while I was waiting for her, I decided to explore the station a bit. I remembered hearing about certain archways that you could whisper in one corner and about 15 feet away, someone could hear your whisper as if you were right next to them. I hopped on the net and found exactly where the area was. While waiting around, I must have witnessed half a dozen people trying it out. She must have thought me crazy when only 5 minutes after meeting, I asked her to stand in the corner while I walked to an opposite corner and whispered to her.. lol. She heard me though. It was pretty cool.

So, we decided to check out the tree in Rockefeller center. After taking us on a trip on the wrong subway in the wrong direction, we decided to walk :) We got to the tree and then headed out for drinks and then off to lunch.

We were both starved,and not having any real plan we picked a diner and stopped in for burgers. I forget the name, but I believe it was Cozi's or something like that. They had the absolute biggest hamburgers I've ever seen. They were the same size around, but were the thickness of three burgers stacked. Okay, maybe only two, but they were BIG! and good :) Unfortunately, I could not finish mine. A first for me.

We wandered around the city a bit and took the elevator up to Fantasma, The magic shop I try to get to whenever I make it into the city. Despite being there earlier in the day, I spent even more money. I tried to take her to one of the Back-stage tours at MSG, but we were too late. I didn't realize that they only ran until 3PM.

We headed to times square and spent the rest of the night at Dave & Busters. Playing DDR, I just HAD to show off, but it backfired on me. It's been so long since I played, that I started with one of my more active levels and couldn't complete the second level. I could barely catch my breath. Just breathing slowly caused great pains in my back and chest. It was fun, but foolish.

At the end of the night I took Katie back to her train and we said our goodbyes. I wish that she lived in New York, or me in Connecticut, but we both have ties keeping us where we are. I've thought about trying to maintain a long distance relationship, but that's always been something I felt could never work. With my oddball schedule and the things I do, I don't get to meet people that often. It's rare someone that I am actually interested in comes along. For now, We're just friends. I'll admit that I'm disappointed about that. Who knows what will happen in the future. We'll definitely hang out again, and hopefully it won't take as long to coordinate in the future as it did this time (We've been making plans to meet for a few weeks.)

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Hey. I was hoping some of you might be able to help me out here. I'm looking for 2 online items, and perhaps some of you have these things. Feel free to email me privately if you dont want to post here.

1. An invite to Waffles (I am a former oink member and it's tough finding a suitable replacement)

2. A Windows XP SP2 OEM Activation Crack that WORKS ;)

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It all started with this idea I had for a Halloween costume. I'd tell you more, but someone might take my idea. It'll be good (If I can put it together)... But thats not what this post is about. Casey joined me and we went for a stroll through Home Depot. It's always fun finding things there that are usefull, and not at all for what their intended use was.

We stopped in the PVC pipe aisle. The friendly staff at Home Depot kindly cut various sizes of PVC pipe and stacked them in a display. I picked up a 4 inch diameter pipe and a 2 inch diameter pipe and asked casey to start looking for various interconnecting peices. One of their less lazy employees came by and asked if I needed assistance. I explained I needed a peice to connect this to that and that to this and such. He asked, what I was using them for in a manner that showed not his curiosity, but to help recommend the right producs. The look on Casey's face when I exclaimed, "I need them for a Potato Gun" was priceless.

Nonetheless, the clerk assisted me in finding all the right fittings and even recommended the PVC primer and glue. I already had the Spud Gun assembled and was walking around home depot looking for various parts I needed. I needed a push-rod and an igniter. The guys working (or I should say, not working) in Kitchens and Baths got a good kick out of it and advised I go with the BBQ igniter. I would like some sort of electronic ignition, but I can work on that in the future. They didn't have the BBQ lighters in stock so I headed out to another home depot with Tiffany and Kerri. We picked up a BBQ lighter and I had everything I needed.

Assembly was simple. Casey and I primed and cemented all the PVC parts together and I gave it 2 days to dry. We drilled 2 holes and set 2 screws, a quarter of an inch apart from eachother. We hooked up the igniter to the screws and headed out for some Hair Spray and Potatos.

With all the components, we headed out to a secluded area and stuffed the potato into the barrel of the Spud gun (Spud Cannon? BOOMSTICK!!!). We sprayed hairspray into the larger chamber and sealed it shut. One of the leads from the igniter came loose so I had to hold it against the screw while I hit the ignition....

CLICK!

Nothing happened. I tried again...

Click..BBBBBOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

I could have sworn that the entire spud gun turned orange for a second as the potato was launched way out of sight into the distance. The recoil pushed the gun back, even though both me and Casey were holding it! It was music to our ears (and enough to get us in serious trouble if anybody else heard. lol)... We took a drive by the probably landing area, but we didn't find much and I wasn't comfortable with parking the car and walking around.

The next step will be to find some large fields/woods where we can fire and test range/acuracy/etc and do so without bringing a lot of attention to us... Also, we have some plans on painting it and making it look a lot cooler. It's very plain now, just some joined PVC. Picture available after the cut and I'll post more when we decorate/paint it.

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