FORT Koffee Klatch

[Ellen]

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

Hmm. I guess that only works if your car has an alarm (mine doesn't) . . .

[CaliLily]

I found this article on Yahoo earlier. Thought it might be helpful. It is a very easy way to tell if your computer has that new Conflicker Virus everyone is talking about.

Conficker Eye Chart: How it works

Many readers have been wondering what the easiest way is to determine whether their computer has been infected with the Conficker worm. Previously I've pointed them to this Conficker Eye Chart -- and that recommendation still holds -- but now I want to respond to further questions about how it works.

First, some have looked at the spartan Eye Chart and have worried that it might be, at best, a sham designed to lull you into a false sense of security and, at worst, yet another delivery mechanism for the Conficker worm. It is neither. The Conficker Eye Chart is in reality a very clever way to determine if your computer is compromised, and it doesn't require you to do anything but click one link.

Here's how it works, in brief: Visit the web page linked above and you'll see six images: The three on top are for security software websites, and the three on the bottom are the logos of various open source operating system distributions. The clever part of all this is that the logos aren't actually being served from the web page linked above, but are rather drawn directly from the six different websites to which each logo belongs.

Conficker (as many other pieces of malware) blocks your web browser from reaching many security websites, so if you don't see some of the security logos on the page, you probably have a problem. Why include the open source logos below it? Because if they don't show up, you are probably simply experiencing an internet connectivity problem instead of being the victim of a malware attack.

Whatever you see on the Eye Chart page, just scroll down a bit to determine how to interpret the images in question. Different strains of Conficker will cause a different set of logos to appear (since Conficker.B doesn't block the SecureWorks logo). Of course, you should also remember that many other viruses and worms block access to security software websites, so not seeing some or all of the images could also be a symptom of a different infestation. If you see all the logos, you're probably in the clear.

One point to remember is that Conficker's creators -- or someone -- have been attempting to attack the Eye Chart page directly, so the page may not load at all. If that's the case, don't assume you have Conficker; it's probably just a temporary site outage. (I am also getting sporadic reports that some of the images aren't showing up right now -- namely the SecureWorks logo in the upper center -- but again, this is a traffic overload issue. Try back later.)

Instead, try one of these other sites, which are also hosting the exact same Eye Chart and which will work exactly the same way. > joestewart.org > talkbiz.com > confickerworkinggroup.org

Here is the link to the actual article.
Conficker Eye Chart: How it works : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech

[Ellen]

Originally Posted by gabriel
What were y'all thinking? A big D***O?

I almost choked on my water gabriel! That was classic!

Well, you know, some of those neck massagers look like they could do some serious damage . . .

[burntbrat]

I am not a fan of guns, but I respect the right to own one. In fact, my husband is most likely getting one next week as an early father's day present. It scares the crap out of me. But... I have been in stressful situations before that require quick reaction (car accidents, kid emergencies, etc...) and I respectfully choose to be optimistic despite prhoshay's article. When I was in those situations, it was like in slow motion and everything clicked in my head, bionically almost, and things turned out all right. It's going to be different for each person, of course, but I'd rather be in a room with a gun when a shooter busts in than in a room without one.

[Missyboxers]

Note to self--prepare cup of vinegar coffee on April Fools Day

Putting salt in the sugar bowl is another good one, if anyone takes their coffee with sugar. And vice-versa.

[Gutmutter]

Putting salt in the sugar bowl is another good one, if anyone takes their coffee with sugar. And vice-versa.

Ever the wet blanket here, I strictly forbade my kids to do any of those food tricks on April 1. I hate the idea of wasting good food. A local church had a kids' event here recently all about raw eggs - playing catch, whatever. All I could think about were the people right here in our community who would have loved those dozens and dozens of eggs to eat!

[prhoshay]

I am not a fan of guns, but I respect the right to own one. In fact, my husband is most likely getting one next week as an early father's day present. It scares the crap out of me. But... I have been in stressful situations before that require quick reaction (car accidents, kid emergencies, etc...) and I respectfully choose to be optimistic despite prhoshay's article. When I was in those situations, it was like in slow motion and everything clicked in my head, bionically almost, and things turned out all right. It's going to be different for each person, of course, but I'd rather be in a room with a gun when a shooter busts in than in a room without one.

Hey, don't be calling it MY article. This was on a national news show! What they showed just freaked me out! Some of the "experts" couldn't even get their guns out of their waistbands when it got hung up on their clothes. And it was the "marksmen" who were most shocked at how "unmarksmen"-like they weren't, but thought they were.

[burntbrat]

Hey, don't be calling it MY article.

You should be flattered, I promoted you to Journalist! I probably should've said "despite prhoshay's recount of the news show". My brain was lazy. Happens a lot.

[prhoshay]

And mine is too lazy to be promoted to Journalist, so we're two peas in a pod!

[just1paul]

Ever the wet blanket here, I strictly forbade my kids to do any of those food tricks on April 1. I hate the idea of wasting good food. A local church had a kids' event here recently all about raw eggs - playing catch, whatever. All I could think about were the people right here in our community who would have loved those dozens and dozens of eggs to eat!

Kindred soul. I always thought the same of both things you just mentioned. Or when I see food fights on TV or any of the shows like hells kitchen etc., where food is thrown away.