We explain supernodes. Also, see Skypes site regardingdisabling supernode mode.
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VOICEMAIL: Mark in Chicago wants to know ifScroogleadds to security when searching.
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Brent: I have a question that has perplexed me for years. I have noticed this on every computer system with an OS (computers, smartphones, etc), and never on an embedded system (old cell phones,carcomputers, stereos, etc).
Rafe: If your system is indeed idle, its possible the drive is spun down. Thats the case on my system. You can hear it spinning back up. It takes a few seconds.
Paired with thePortable Edition of FireFoxon a USB drive should handle some of the public computer access problems from both a security and usability standpoint.
Listener challenge:How could you search for tweets with links using Google or another service?
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Rafe: But dont defrag a solid-state drive.
Ted the Teacher: With all the silly apps that add functionality to twitter, Im amazed I havent been able to find one thatll comb back through my tweets and scrape all the URLs Ive shared. Do you know of a graceful way to do this?
No fooling around today. Just your geeky networking and Wi-Fi questions with special guest nerd, Darren Kitchen ofHak5. Lets get to it.
This consumer advocacy column gives technology consumers a place to sound off on issues with their products or services, join forces with other users experiencing similar issues, and get those issues resolved with CNETs help. Rafe Needleman and other CNET editors also examine claims companies have made in ads and elsewhere, and they take on other challenges to protect consumers rights and save them money.
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Mike the Diplomat, Kampala, Uganda: Your review ofPreysounded so great, I rushed out to put it on myMaclaptop, but came across a problem: Im in Uganda for the next few years, where landline (and thus wifi) connectivity is rare. Everyone works off of 3g USB dongles. If my laptop gets stolen, I dont see it as a viable solution unless it can do geolocation via the 3g network. Any idea if theres any functionality to do this?
Anthony: You guys brought up the Fire Sheep extension being used to sidejack peoples Facebook logins on public and unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. I have definitely become more aware of this and have started using alerts inFirefoxbrowser for when I am using encrypted and unencrypted pages while I am on my schools Wi-Fi network. Obviously the release of this extension would allow for students at colleges to use this to easily steal other students login sessions on such things as Facebook while logging in on the colleges network because they are unencrypted. Are all un-passworded networks not encrypted, even if they are using WEP security? Also, is there a way to force SSL certificates while using Firefox browser so that when students are on public networks at school we dont have to worry about our login sessions being highjacked whether it be from Facebook, Twitter, or other unencrypted websites?
Rafe: I know some USB 3G dongles provide GPS info, but not sure they do it in Uganda. Also, its easy to turn off, which defeats the stealth concept of Prey and products like it.
Derek in Omaha: Chandra was looking for a solution to prevent her from getting logged out of her ebook site. The LastPass solution mentioned seemed like a problem if you need to navigate to a specific page after you login. My recommendation is theReloadEveryplug-in for Firefox. This will simply refresh a tab every X minutes (X being configurable). This is no more of a security risk than having LastPass auto-login and keeps you on the page you were looking at.
Ben Smith: I am writing to see if yall had any insight into what a Skype Supernode is? I use Skype extensively at work but my employer is adopting a policy of not allowing Skype. A security audit recommended blocking Skype because of the possibility of one of our computers becoming a Supernode. Could you explain what a Supernode is and if there is a way to prevent becoming a supernode on both Macs and Windows machines.
Why does a computer give you an occasional blank stare for a request when the system appears to be idle? With the computer idle (task manager 99% system idle, the HDD light isnt flashing) you right click the desktop. 99/100 times the menu is displayed within miliseconds, but this time it takes 3 to 10 sec for a menu to appear. Why? What is happening there?
Darren: Its not supposed to be necessary on NTFS in Windows, but I think its ok to do it anyway.
Mark from Toronto: Hey guys just wondering what your opinion is on whether there is a need to Defrag a Raid 0 array or not?
Raymond in Athens, GA: This goes under the no-question-is-too-basic category. Can people who arent on Facebook see updates on Facebook?
Darren educates us on Wi-Fi networks and end-to-end security.
Rafe: In the future, post links via a logged-inBit.lyaccount. It keeps a record.
Rafe: I dont know whats going on exactly with your system but theres a r better way to see what your computer is doing than Task Manager. GetProcess Explorer from Microsoft. It shows everything thats running.
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Darren: Try the EFFsHTTPS Everywhere.
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Rafe: For past posts, theres a contains links option onsearch.twitter.com, but Twitters own archive length is very limited.
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My parents have started a winery and need to be able to post pics of the vineyard, the log cabin theyre building next to the winery, etc. They created a Facebook account for the business, thinking that would be an easy way to put pictures and updates on the web without having to call their son (me) for tech support all the time (yea!).
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VOICEMAIL: Jeff in Miami heading to S. America, will have laptop w/ Wi-Fi, wants a way to do financial transactions securely. Ironkey? Or what?
Rafe NeedlemanRafe reviews mobile apps and products for fun, and picks startups apart when he gets bored. He has evaluated thousands of new companies, most of which have since gone out of business. Feeling lucky? Send pitches [email protected]. And watch Rafes tech issues podcast,Reporters Roundtable, every Friday.
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CNET to the Rescue: Darren tackles network dilemmas? ga technical schools,Got a tech question? [email protected] leave it at our new toll-free number: 877-438-6688
Next time, a Special Geek Thanksgiving episode with Jeff Potter, author ofCooking for Geeks. Do not miss this show! Send your geek cooking (and other tech)[email protected]. Or call 877-438-6688.
Carlos, representing Prey, told me, Since 3g usb dongles need to be connected through a cellular antenna, maybe its possible to triangulate location based on antennas cellid information, just as non GPS mobile phones do, but unfortunately Prey doesnt provide that feature to the computer version. Im not sure if it is technically possible to get cellid information from 3g usb dongles, though.
Rafe: Yes, n pages can be seen by people who are not logged in. In years past I would recommend a blog instead. But today, Facebook is probably a better option today thanks to the whole like thing and the possibility for a n page to go viral.
However, not knowing much about Facebook, Im worried that only people who have Facebook accounts will be able to see theCNET to the Rescue: Darren tackles network dilemmas? ga technical schools information they are posting. Is this true? If so, is there another Web 2.0 solution that will allow them to easily maintain a web presence that the whole world can see?
Darren: Or useBackupify.
Wrap-up
William Allen: I downloaded Microsoft Security Essentials on my Windows XP desktop and when windows starts up M.S.E. takes 100% CPU usage and doesnt let it go. Ive tried waiting it out (even went to krogers and came back) but it doesnt let it go and nothing runs right if it runs at all. Is there a way to see if something else is trying to run at the same time? I opened the tasga technical schoolsk manager and checked the processes but I dont see anything.
Listener Questions
Comments
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