News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
I’ve previously heard bad things about the Grand Canyon Skywalk, but the linked article has a very precise explanation of why you don’t want to go there during your vacation. One item being that it will cost you at least $75 per person. The Consumerist did some followup and verified that it’s as bad as the linked article says.
Link: http://travelonthedollar.com/…
(via The Consumerist)
Long-time Chad’s News readers already know that using WEP security for wireless networks is about as effective as having no security at all [link1, link2]. The solution has been to use the more advanced WPA security. Unfortunately, researchers are now able to break a certain type of WPA encryption in about 60 seconds, opening your network to the world.
The solution is to use WPA with AES encryption or to use WPA2. Some wireless routers will allow you to choose AES or WPA2, so it doesn’t hurt to check and see what’s available on yours.
But even then, wireless security is an iffy proposition should someone really want to break into your system.
Link: http://www.networkworld.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Firefox 3 made some improvements by moving the browser history, bookmarks, etc. to an SQLite database. It also changed the default settings to keep history information for a longer period of time. Regular use causes the the places.sqlite file to get fragmented and bloated, and slows down Firefox’s performance.
This problem is easily solved by periodically “vacuuming” the places.sqlite database. You can do this manually via the directions in this Lifehacker article. Alternatively, the Firefox extension in the linked article provides a status bar icon to do the job, and also allows you to set up automatic defragmentation. Note that the extension only works for Firefox 3.5 or later.
Link: https://addons.mozilla.org/…
(via Lifehacker)
There are many ways to start a fire when you’re lost in the wilderness, but this one is pretty innovative. Use a chocolate bar to polish the bottom of a soda can, then use the can to focus sunlight on your tinder. This generates sufficient heat to light the tinder and start the fire. I’m thinking toothpaste might also work in place of the chocolate, should you happen to have some.
The linked article lists 10 different ways to demolish a hard drive. Unfortunately, several of the methods don’t actually destroy the data, but they do incapacitate the drive and necessitate the use of special equipment to read what is left. For those that do wipe the data, item #3 (using a grinder) is probably the simplest, and item #10 (Thermite) is definitely the most satisfying. Also, I’m not sure that any magnet, no matter how powerful, is able to completely wipe a disk. Back in my military days, the only approved method for disposing of classified hard drives was to physically break the platters into pieces.
Link: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/…
(via Slashdot)
Due to a major security problem in older versions of WordPress, the software behind Chad’s News, I have finally updated from the very old 2.0.* branch to the latest version, 2.8.4. The site appears to be working correctly, but if you see any problems, please let me know.
Medical researchers have long wanted a generic anti-viral agent that works on most viruses, much like antibacterials (such as penicillin) work on bacterial infections. The main way we protect against viruses is to inject a vaccine consisting of a harmless or dead version of the virus. This causes the body to generate antibodies and allows it to react more quickly when exposed to the real virus. The problem is that this doesn’t work on new or mutated viruses (think SARS or the ever-changing flu virus).
Now researchers have developed a promising anti-viral drug that should work on most existing viruses as well as any new ones. Rather than prepping the body’s immune system, it works directly on the virus and prevents it from replicating. And as an added bonus, it will be quite difficult for a virus to develop an immunity to the drug. The linked article has more details.
Peer-to-peer file-sharing programs are best known for their use in illegally distributing copyrighted music and video files. With some of these programs you host the shared files on your computer, and other users can search your computer for a particular file. This is a significant security issue. Some people have not configured the file-sharing program correctly and are unintentionally sharing private information. And in certain cases, a child installs the program on the family computer without the parents’ knowledge. The first linked article discusses how a man used Limewire to perform identity theft, and the second is about private photos taken from other users’ computers and posted on the internet.
Link #1: http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/…
(via Slashdot)
Link #2: http://www.neatorama.com/…
Chad’s News has no opinion on political issues, but given the controversy surrounding the US government’s proposed health care legislation, I thought the linked article would be helpful. It provides basic information about the existing programs in various countries (including the US).
Japanese researchers have successfully grown replacement teeth in mice. Here’s hoping this will be a common procedure for humans when I’m old enough to need dentures.
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…
Astute Chad’s News readers already know that the performance of a Solid State Drive (SSD) deteriorates over time. The linked article explains why this slowdown occurs, and also describes how SSD manufacturers are working around the problem.
Link: http://hothardware.com/…
Sony is offering up some serious competition to the Amazon Kindle. The end result is that we may see a lessening of proprietary e-book formats. But I’m not sure how Sony will be able to match Amazon’s extensive catalog of books.
Link #1: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/…
Link #2: http://www.internetnews.com/…
(via Kim Komando)
