MORE gud nooz - NOT! If you use Facebook or MySpace (or anyone on your network does), this is for you.

Worthwhile updates and apps:

1. Spybot Search & Destroy has v1.6.0.3 out; The resident shield (called "Immunize") is very effective. It'll alert you when something attempts to change the registry, and you have to permit it, but that's a safeguard well worth the inconvenience.

2. ThreatFire Anti-Virus is another proven winner, which can alongside your current resident AV. The benefit of ThreatFire compared to most AV programs is that while the latter seek out known viruses and other malware by their signatures, ThreatFire detects most of the types of activity a virus would generate, even if the virus is new and unknown.

3. For shareware, Avast! anti-virus is excellent.

4. The registry, even if unmolested, can get cluttered with a number of things. While I still prefer System Mechanic for its other features - and I've used it since v.1.0 - sadly it's now on a subcription basis rather than purchase, so I'm sticking with v.7 - *

5. An oldie-but-goodie, recently updated, is CCleaner, formerly "Crap Cleaner", another thorough and reliable registry cleaner. *

* Most of these "cleaning" utilities also offer to clean cookies and other things. Make sure you understand and have it set NOT to delete cookies, unless you want to reload all your user/password combos. Let Spybot S&D or Ad-Aware check cookies.

P.S.: Windows XP SP3 is available. Get it.

P.P.S.: Edited to remove RegCure. The trial version no longer provides full features for a period; it now has only virtually useless functionality unless you buy it.

Hold off on IE8 (which is now in Beta 2). This site offers no gud gnus...

Rusty,
What is this Silverlight optional software microsoft is promoting?

You can read about Silverlight here, in typical understated MicroSpeak. IMHO, it's another resource-hogging piece of shovelware from Redmond.

Remember Chrome? (MicroSoft's, not Google's new browser). I thought not. The hype for it was about the same (almost word-for-word, IIRC).

BTW, although it's only been out a short time, Google's Chrome browser has received favorable reviews, especially compared to Safari and Firefox. Anand lal Shimpi's review is worthwhile, as he is one of the most repected WebGeeks.

The gud nooz never stops. If you have a laptop with separate graphics card, it's likely nVidia. And there have been problems, especially with the 8400 and 8600 cards.

Your iPhone enjoys your company SO MUCH that it records your every move.

Thinking about committing a heinous crime? think again!.

Big Brother's watching you!

Man do we love our Macs! Transition away from Windoze was seamless, even at work.

So, Bippy - what has YOUR kid done? Compared, for example, to this one?

Well, my 34 year old carried doubles at the golf course up in Martha's Vineyard the other day.

Well, that's surely better than mine, as today Bill N Y was kind enough to ferry Casey and me to a nearby vet to have Casey's impacted anal glands cleared. The little guy (Casey, not Bill N Y - and it's hard to call the burly 95 lb. Casey a "Little Guy") is much happier now without the discomfort.

My oldest has been using Norton Identity Safe as part of Norton 360 for a while, as have I, and we have grown attached to it, but now his company laptop has a different virus protection program than Norton, and Identity Safe doesn't come as a separate stand-alone package, so he's looking at alternatives.

So far, he's found Password Vault 3, RoboForm, My Password Manager, and Passpack, and we were wondering if there were any recommendations here.

If you scroll through this thread, you'll see my recommendations; Password Vault is the only addition to the list spread over several pages.

In addition, some basic OS-level safeguards can be instituted:

1. Disable file/folder/drive sharing on all PCs connected by a network. Entities that just HAVE to be shared can be protected by a password.
2. Partition the drive, and put sensitive files on D: or higher drives. Most hacker routines don't look for a drive other than C:.
3. Don't use primitive passwords like birthdates or all-alphabetical names. If your cat's name is "Herman", and you want to use that, "Geekify" it to "H3rm4n".
4. This goes against conventional wisdom: DO NOT change passwords periodically unless the application requires it. While rare, I've run across instances where folks have changed a password that wasn't hacked to one that was. If it ain't broke, don't fix it until it is...
5. Don't leave the PC running if it's not in use. An "Off" PC can't be hacked. Older PCs came with the suggestion that the components were better served by leaving them running; in the past ten years, power supplies have a "soft-start" feature that minimizes startup stress. If a PC just has to be left on, disable the "Wake on LAN" feature in the BIOS; this can allow a hacker to turn on a PC in Standby or Hibernate if he gets in to the network - rare, but doable. If the only reason to leave the PCs on is LAN activities, turn the modem off.
6. Note that most password thefts are throough "social engineering", i.e, Phishing, where allegedly bona fide email demands you contact one of your trusted sites, which isn't....
7. Never. Repeat: NEVER click on a link in an email, regardless from whom it came; your best friend Joe may be totally honest but totally clueless about security.
8. Never. Repeat: NEVER just forward an email with jokes, etc., with all the addresses - use the blind copy (BCC) feature in your email app to send to all your addressees without revealing them to other addressees.
9. Turn on the hardware firewall in your router or cable/DSL modem.

So Monsieur REALLY likes his Mac?