HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

Hal9000, my surly PC, has recently been retired through reason of general malfunction. It had so many viruses and trojan horses that it practically ceased to be. Once, everything was solved by using the time machine feature and reverting the hard drive back to an earlier date. It seemed genius at the time, until exactly a year and a half later when it approached the period in time in its timeline where the problem happened. That is the best way I can describe it. I tried to do the same thing all over again, and it only lasted a short while.

Since, I went back to a Mac. No matter what software I downloaded, I could never get the PC to work right again. There is one more Antivirus Software that I hadn’t tried and that is VIPRE. PC Magazine gave it 4 stars, as it doesn’t bog down your system, and delivers on its promise as both an antivirus AND an antispyware software combined.

Right now, there is a 15 day free trial to test it out.  If it revives Hal9000 back from the computer graveyard, it certainly will change the game here.  I will still remain loyal to my newer Mac, but it will be like sitting on the floor with a box of old photos.  There are still some wonderful things on the old clunker that I would like to see again, and to transfer to safety.  Who knows, the PC could prove to be earning its keep again.  I’ll report back any interesting results.

I may be considered on the moderate side when it comes to recycling and the environment. I reuse things as many times as possibly can, but I am not exactly in the camp of Sheryl Crowe’s “Just One Square” bathroom usage pledge, if that makes any sense. As far as my computer accessory usage, I take papers that printed out incorrectly and reuse them to jot things down, etcetera. When I am finally done, I shred the sensitive stuff and throw the rest in the recycling bin if it is still clean. Using less paper can be a very good thing as haste makes waste. In fact, many folks that are more progressive about the impact on the environment around them than I am applaud the idea of email instead of putting pen to paper.

The idea does occur to me that we may not be using as much paper, but we are certainly using a lot of electricity to save that paper. Tapping away on the computer involves lots of electricity. Over on the WebHostingGeeks blog, I was reading about “green hosts.”

On Tuesday February 17, Fasthosts was announced as being a part of United Internet’s Global Green Initiative, a program that uses renewable energy to prevent an estimated 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the environment. Additionally, Fasthosts is deemed a certified green host by Green-e, a voluntary non-profit certification organization that specializes in programs for renewable energy. The UK reseller host also announced that it would be purchasing enough RECs (renewable energy credits) from the non-profit BEF (Bonneville Environmental Foundation) to entirely offset electricity usage at its data center located in Kansas…

…Many companies are boasting green hosting but not all are making the efforts required to run an eco-friendly service. In fact, several web hosts simply offset their greenhouse gas emissions by investing in green initiatives in other locations, ultimately facing criticism for merely paying someone else to pollute the environment. The Fasthost partnership with BEF gives the assurance that revenue generated from RECs provides direct support for new watershed ecosystem restoration and renewable energy projects. According to an October announcement, the majority of the RECs will be contributed to the Power Company and Bowersock Mills facilities in Lawrence, Kansas.

I am going to try to dig up more information, but now, I suppose, this means that for some consumers, the game has changed for web site hosting providers. Some readers may now feel inclined to not only choose a host that is based in your home country, as was highlighted in a prior article, one that provides a competitive price, and the features you are looking for, but now you may want to patronize those that are ecology minded. It should be interesting to see how the computer climate changes as more companies change their policies and boggle a computer geek mind like me even more with the vast selection to choose from.

I wrote before on my astonishment that people could sell their Word Of Warcraft identities.  You can create a character, gain skills, and then sell them to someone so they don’t have to start out from scratch.   Now, I discovered that you can order a wow game card right online from Buymmoaccounts.com.  Instead of going to the store, you will be sent a code right in an email to begin or continue playing right away. The cards give you a sixty day play time to start or to add to your existing time.  Guess there is no reason to have to get out of bed now.

What is still rattling around in my mind is a way to have some sort of WOW tournament for charity. They have golf tournaments, so why not. Would it be a marathon, where people are pledged how long they can play, or would it work differently? Hold that thought, I’ll come back to it later.

I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that there was actually a calling to be a hacker. I mean, you can get a paying job with your existing computer hacking skills, or you can learn them for an exciting new career. Did I read that correctly? In fact, I did. An important part of IT Security is finding out if software or a computer system can stand up to the abuse and meddling of hackers and viruses. What better way to do it than to let your in house and contract hackers to have a go at it before it reaches the market place?

This kind of work is called “Ethical Hacking.”  There are actually all sorts of classes that you can take in the effort to make your websites more secure.

Did you also know that there are items that should be restricted from Google so that an attacker does not use your site as a “drive by attack.” or worse, use Google as a roadmap to your site which most likely contains sensitive information that you have not secured? Join us for the Secure Coding course and we will show you how to “programmatically” keep your sensitive information out of the prying eyes of Google’s spiders.

Just about anyone can benefit with that type of training. If you want to get more involved, there are also Ethical Hacker certification tracks at the EC-Council. I think this is something I am going to look farther into. The more skills I have, the more employable I will be for a “day job.”

What do you think?  Is this something that can channel the energies of people who would otherwise be up to mischief?

In the past week, I have caught up with some of my friends at various charities who I have not crossed paths with in awhile.  While most of them are at the forefront as far as computer systems go, there are some that are not.   A few groups use a computer only when absolutely necessary, and they wait awhile after that.  As a result, some of them are wrestling with the Conficker worm that some of us tangled with and beat weeks ago.  I was not affected, but I know many who were.

The problem that developed later was that the worm would put a message on your screen, giving you a link to buy software to get rid of it, or at least protect yourself. It looked pretty convincing, too. When people downloaded it they were actually getting….surprise…the worm! It was the old Trojan horse scheme. Then, of course, it was almost impossible to get rid of. My friends who are limited in their computer knowledge were the ones that innocently fell for it.

One way to be sure that you are buying legitimate software from a legitimate company is to Buy Antivirus Software Products from Cyberdefender.com. Don’t do a search for them, but only directly type in the name of their site. This way, you can be sure that you are getting the tested software and are not directed a site that just contains the keyword.  If you know of any other safe, and legitimate sources of worm busters, please share.

On Sunday, I went to my cousin’s house for Mother’s Day. The adults sat around the table in the kitchen. The “kids” sat at the long table in the basement, and the “little kids” sat in front of the tv. The “kids” by the way, are 25 to 42 years old. The “little kids” are the children of the kids. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but there you go. The “little kids” were transfixed on the video games and the “kids” were eating cake and giving a running commentary of what the “kids” were up to. They were playing Wii, and there is apparently a function where you make a “Mii” which are characters that you use to be “you” in a given game. I don’t think they actually got around to playing any games, but commiserated on “making people” for hours. In fact, they even started arguing about hair color!

Maybe the Mii is a stepping stone to rollplay games where the character you create is a huge undertaking.  I didn’t realize how serious people war until I heard on the radio that there is a site called Buymmoaccounts.com , which is for all intents and purposes a brokerage for world of warcraft accounts.  Apparently, people build up their characters, powers, and rankings, and when they want to take on a new identity, they sell their account! I am familiar with World of Warcraft but had no idea that this occurred.  If you want to start off in the Warcraft world with a higher rank, or a different set of skills than you are versed in, buying an existing account would save you hours and days of time if you are very competitive.

There are accounts that range from the $200 range upwards of $700.  You can buy an “Undead” person, a Troll, an Elf, or whatever else you fancy yourself as.  Below, this might be a picture of my family when we are all fitted out with our new identities. Of course, there probably would be heated debate over who gets to be what. I don’t see my dogs anywhere in there, so I guess I ducked out of camera range.

If you are hankering for a new identity, Click Here if you don’t believe me!  I just was hoping I could buy myself a new persona in real life.  I am pretty happy with myself, but some days I just wake up and feel like a Blood Elf.

The National Geographic Society doesn’t really use Star Trek teleporters to save money, but more importantly, valuable resources on travel.  It would have been cool though, right? Instead, they have been using LifeSize HD video conferencing equipment. It is a teleconferencing system that allows researchers, writers, and employees to get together in real time, from wherever they are on the planet.

Of course, they could always do a conference call, but you can’t exactly show people your dinosaur bone through the phone. Webcams might work, but they don’t exactly have “whole room” technology where multiple people can tune in at one location. I remember the old video conferencing units that were jumpy, and caused you to break down and pick up the phone instead. Nowadays, technology is more advanced, and you don’t have that unbearable ten second lag and “one at a time talking” that used to happen. Money is saved, fuel is saved, and productiviy has increased.  I would call that great stewardship of grants and donations!

I am having all sorts of silly fun today. Over on Back To a Mac, one of blogs in the HoundsGood.com family, I have discovered the strange fascination with changing the decor on my website. Yes, you can “Cornify” your website by making rainbows and unicorns with sparkles instantly appear. Why would you want to do that? I dare you to press this button to see what happens to the world.

According to Cornify.com and the world powers that decide these things,  it is the #1 unicorn and rainbow service worldwide.  As if there were more out there.  Who am I to argue?  You can’t just get away with clicking it one time. Click three, four, or five times and see what I mean. To get rid of all the sparkles, just hit “refresh” on my site, and things should be as good as new.  This may be the best thing that has happened to a complete waste of time since the Baconizer.

During the Florida hurricane season, and tornado season in the midwest, disaster preparedness is in your bones. You fill up the bathtub with water to help you flush later. Cranking flashlights, battery powered radios, and candles all come out of the drawer. When I was eight years old, I remember hiding in the basement, not only making sure my dog was safe, but I took my piggybank and my picture book, too, just in case. I justified that if the house blew over, I would at least have some money in the bank to buy some food. Of course, I wasn’t Oliver Twist. I did have parents, and that may have seemed precocious, but I suppose I was thinking a little farther ahead. Yes, I am the type nowadays to grab a flashdrive if weather should strike.

With so many applications on the internet these days, it is easy to pick up and leave, and just log in at another computer. However, I am well aware that major companies can’t always do that. There are server after server of client information. After witnessing many offices flood irretrievably during Hurricane Katrina, and seeing papers fly like snowflakes on 9/11, the concept of colocation as a stopgap for disaster prevention is being more widely considered. Your data and server would be hosted remotely.  Sure, there may be people who think it is redundant, but the first time you have an IT emergency, you will have wished you did.

If there should be weather related damage at your business, or another IT emergency, your websites and servers can still be up and running with no interruption. It may take a few hours or days for your people to regroup, but to the public, you will be “business as usual.” Someone may go to a website once and if it is down, they will check back later. However, if they do this two or three times, they may never return. It is so important to maintain trust.  If you can handle your own business in an emergency, a potential customer will know you can handle theirs.

As for a nonprofit, it is even more important.  Of course, it is important for the sites to be running during a disaster, as you hope to still generate donations.  However, you will probably also have much sensitive information on donors and more.  You would not want to lose this and have to start from scratch.   Data loss is not always caused by physical damage.  It can also be caused by a volunteer leaving or not having the time, and the person who once hosted everything decides they cannot.  Then, what do you do?  At least you have your server hosted remotely so you can easily salvage.

My dad works for a non profit organization, and often they are lucky to have very knowledgeable volunteers who have retired. They now have time for some honest to goodness brainpicking.  However, sometimes, in order to pick a brain, he needs to describe what is occurring.  He is really at a loss at how to describe something to those giving him tech support.  That is when my phone rings.  It usually would involve me saying, “No, your computer didn’t develop a mind of its own like Hal 9000.  I can probably help, but I would really need to sit in front of the computer and see what you mean.”

I was really intrigued by the idea of remote control software, where I could literally take a look at his work computer from my home.  I could not just access, but control his PC in order to set things right.   In that sense, it is much more complex than merely sharing a file.   On a larger scale, IT departments of companies sometimes have capability to do this.  Of course, Proxynetworks.com has software that is set up for one computer to act as the master with many host computers.

In my case, I would only need to start out with one of each.   I could get it for $240.00, and later on, if I wanted to add other host or master computers, I coud purchase additional software. This may seem steep to someone thinking about it for personal use.  However, I have considered the amount of money through the year normally spent on doodads for my dad, and have also weighed the number of hours of work he loses from describing a “thingamabob.”  It is probably the best investment I can make.   Afterall, there was also a “crunching noise” that is equally as nebulous.   Since, I have come to find out that the “crunching noise” was just the computer loading and is nothing to fear.  No rodents have taken residence.