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Surf the Friendly Skies – More Airlines Offering Internet Access at 30,000 Feet

Several major airlines are now offering high speed Internet access to their passengers. Scandinavian airlines has just announced their offering on all long-haul routes, and Lufthansa’s in-air high speed Internet access has been in place for the better part of a year. In fact, all told, there are at least…

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And Now for Something Humourous: Good Things from Spam

John Dutton has taken aim at spam in a novel and humourous way. His Good Things from Spam website features a collection of real subject lines from spam which Dutton, a professional writer, has received, and to which he responds, in often very funny repartee. Examples include (reproduced with permission):…

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Website Allows You to Crack Windows Password Hashes

If you have ever looked at any of your stored Windows passwords, you know that they are encrypted and look nothing like your actual password. That is because your system “hashes” the password, and the resulting gobbleygook is in fact known as a “password hash”. For those of you not…

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EU Hears that Implanting RFIDs and ICT in People is A-Ok – if Microchipping is Good Enough for Rover, Why Not Humans?

Aunty has been talking about RFIDs to track people since last year, and the natural extension, implanting RFIDs or other miniature technology (or ICT, as it’s often known in Europe) in people, is not a new concept. After all, we’ve been injecting microchips into pets and livestock for years. And…

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Google X – Google with OS X Appletude – Killed and Resurrected

If you blinked you might have missed it. Google’s labs had put up “Google X”, a Google search home page which emulated Apple’s Mac OS X look and feel, particularly with respect to the dock function. When you used the Google X interface, above the search box were cute little…

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How’d They Know Where I’m Located? Geolocation by IP Address

Ever wonder how someone on the Internet is able to tell where you are located when you visit their site? (You did know that people can tell where you are located, right?) It’s done by geolocation – geographic location – of your IP address.

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New Internet Explorer Attack by “Integrated Search Technologies” Works Even if IE is Closed!

A new type of attack on Internet Explorer has been discovered this week, and this attack works even if IE is closed! The way that it works is that a user visits an infected site, is given a pop-up window asking them to install an applet from Integrated Search Technologies,…

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A Rant about Operation Amber Alerts – Now on the Internet and Smartphones

The vast majority of Operation Amber alerts are not about “stolen” children at all, but about custody disputes. This reduces the effectiveness of both the Operation Amber Alerts and the resources used to find these “stolen” children. If anybody can have an Amber Alert issued over a custody or visitation dispute, what happens to the alerts and resources need for children who are truly victim to a non-family abduction?

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Spammer Sues Anti-Spammer – Cruise.com versus Mumma

Talk about adding insult to injury. First Cruise.com, a/k/a Omega World Travel, and run by John Lawless, spams the bejeezus out of anti-spammer Mark Mumma of Oklahoma. Mumma asks Cruise.com to stop spamming him. No relief. He asks them again to stop spamming him. The spam keeps coming. Eventually Mumma…

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“Drink or Die” Software Cracking Gang – Professional Pirates or Stupid Software Swappers?

A group of British ubergeeks calling themselves the “Drink or Die”, or “DOD”, gang has found itself on trial through the trials of several Drink or Die members, with the last – that of Drink or Die members Alex Bell and Stephen Dowd – wrapping up this week. Bell and…

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Replay it Again, Sam – ReplayTV Unit for Only $49.74 After Rebate!

What a coincidence! Just yesterday Aunty was talking about DVRs and her ReplayTV, and how much she adores her ReplayTV, and now she comes across this fantastic deal on..you guessed it, a ReplayTV! And when Aunty says a fantastic deal, she means a fantastic deal, so she felt that she…

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The End of MSN for Mac

MSN for Mac OS X will soon be a thing of the past. Microsoft has announced that they will no longer be offering or supporting their MSN service for Mac OS X, effective May 31st of this year. Said a Microsoft representative, “Beginning May 31, Microsoft will make changes and…

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AOL Coach – What is It?

A lot of people seem to be looking for information about AOL Coach lately. Usually, although not always, they are looking for the helper application called AOL Coach, although there is also “AOL Coaches”, which is AOL’s online self-help and life-improvement program. AOL Coach (singular) is the program which runs…

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Update: AOL Admits Waiver of All Privacy in AIM Terms of Service is Problematic

AOL has acknowledged that their updated Terms of Service for their AIM service is confusing and in places poorly worded. As Aunty reported earlier this week, the AIM TOS included such choice phrases as “You waive any right to privacy.” “That’s a phrase that should not have been in that…

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TiVo and Comcast Replay Broadcast+DVR Mating, Analysts Underwhelmed

DVR maker TiVo and cable giant Comcast have closed a deal which will have TiVo’s services, although not their DVR boxes, offered through Comcast, with the TiVo brand. This replay of the familiar DVR+broadcast offering, first made popular by TiVo and DirecTV, is a badly needed boost for TiVo, who…