Make a Difference

Day: March 24, 2009

Scareware an Annoying Scam

My own Dad, an intelligent and computer savvy former medical scientist, fell for one of these scareware scams, and I frequently encounter them in business – usually after a complaint by a client that the anti-virus software I sold them isn’t working. It is, but they have stuffed up their system by downloading malicious software.

Typically, you enter some common search terms into a search engine, and click on an OK looking (in the search engine results) site. This site then loads multiple pop-ups warning your computer is infected with all sorts of dire viruses or spyware. The site tells you you need to download a product which will clean your computer. If you do, and pay the $19.95, or $69.95, or whatever it is, the warnings will dispappear briefly, and then start up again, claiming further downloads are needed.

Don’t fall for this stuff. Get a reliable anti-virus like Norton, Vipre or Kaspersky and update it regularly. Never trust a pop-up that tells you your computer is infected. Just get out of that website, or if you can’t, do a forced shut-down if necessary, then a complete virus scan when you restart.

Wigs on the Waterfront – One Sour Note

Wigs on the Waterfront is an annual homosexual festival of music which takes place at the waterfront at Auckland Harbour.

GayNz.com has posted some sample performers on YouTube.

Amanda and I went because my brother David was performing. David has a truly wonderful voice, especially for the old standard Bennett/Sinatra type numbers. It was the first time I had heard him sing in live performance. Sadly the samples on YouTube don’t include any live singers, just mime acts.

We had a great time. It was colorful and fun, and most of the performers were very good. The highlight of the afternoon for me (apart from David’s three numbers) was a group of maori drag queens doing a traditional poi dance to an updated version of the song ‘Kiss me, honey, honey, kiss me.’ It was well done, bright and funny.

However, one of the acts was an attempt at comedy by mocking Christian faith and practice. This kind of thing seems to be a standard in gay festivals – the insulting ‘Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’ at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is another example.

Such acts are not only not funny, they are cowardly. It is easy to mock Christianity in a Christian country. In those countries no one is going to stone you to death because you are gay. No one is going to behead you for insulting Jesus.

Really girls, I’d be much more impressed with your courage and creativity if you tried a gay comedy routine about Islam and Muhammed at the Teheran Writers’ Festival.

Comments Open

OK, I am giving in on the need to register to comment. I have thought and written about this before, and would still prefer to restrict comments to registered subscribers.

However, I object to having to register with every new site I want to use, and enough people have told me this requirement has stopped them from commenting, that I am willing to experiment for a while.

If having open comments works – ie, more comments, and sensible comments, I will leave it open.

Cold Fusion Heats Up Again

The cost of energy is the major limiting factor in economic development. Cold fusion offers the possibility of vast amounts of cheap clean energy. The word ‘revolutionary’ is bandied around far too readily in reporting of science news, but this is one thing that really could change the world – economically, technically, environmentally.

If there is anything in this new round of research into cold fusion, we could be heading into exciting times.

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