Just when you thought it was safe to click …
Bill Zahren
The days when a bored teenager would hatch a virus in his basement – just to prove he could – and start the epidemic using a 3.5-inch floppy are long gone.
Even spyware – with its Big-Brother-like, harassing approach to get you to buy things – seems to have waned in the face of fury from consumers and Congress.
Phish Phighter Battles Read More »
A peek inside online crime
hubs
Bill Zahren
Somewhere, right now, deep in the bowels of an anonymous
server in a dark room in, say, Iran,
a “carder forum” is brewing up the next scheme aimed at stealing your money.
Carder forums and chat rooms are highly exclusive online
bazaars where criminals who embrace the dark side of technology meet to
exchange the information and criminal services that create what’s been called a
shadow, “microeconomy.”
Computer Scams Spring from Digital Back Alleys Read More »
Pitstop users face a blizzard of spam – mostly aimed at the crotch.
The PC Pitstop users report they face more of a storm of spam than they did two years ago, with most of it aimed at sex, drugs and the theory that “bigger is better.”
The survey found that anyone who suffers from erectile dysfunction or is interested in increased penis size (including women) seems to have plenty of spam-delivered options. Pitstop users also reported a deluge of spam for software sales, Web greeting cards and excited emails from lawyers claiming the recipients have inherited money from strangers.
Since its introduction by McAfee in 2001, Automatic Renewal has become the accepted practice for today’s protection software. Whether its initial introduction was for corporate profits, or for customer protection, once wary consumers now see the advantages of seamless protection.
What Price Security? Read More »
The winners this month are Brian W from California for his pointer to speed up Vista, and Michael W from Indiana. Michael’s gave us several tweaks to get the most out of Vista.
PC Pitstop Winners! Read More »
In the beginning
Intel was founded on July 18, 1968 and produced its first microprocessor, the 4004 microcomputer, at the end of 1971. The processor used 2300 transistors, and was capable of executing 60,000 operations in one second. Shortly after the release of the 4004 the 8008 microcomputer was released and as the name implies, it was capable of executing twice as many operations per second. Eight years later on July 1, 1979, the Intel 8088 was introduced. It was IBM’s choice for their first PC and guaranteed Intel a viable future.
A Brief History of AMD v. Intel Read More »
Hi Everyone,
I’ve been working hard at PC Pitstop trying to get out our new products. I love this challenge, but my work flow has suffered a major interruption. Acer is buying Gateway, and I received 10, count ’em, 10, emails, asking for my thoughts. Rather than respond to all 10 emails, it is a far more efficient use of my time to write a blog.
How does this make me feel? Two basic and extremely visceral feelings, mad and sad.
The processor clock speed is only one of several factors that will ultimately determine the productivity of a given computer system. The micro architecture of the CPU itself, the number of instructions per clock cycle, the speed of the disk storage system, the design of the software in use, etc, will all play a contributing role. But raising the clock speed of the CPU has traditionally been one sure way to get more work done in the same amount of time.
I asked Steve Hogan to take a look at the latest news on Lithium Ion battery fires. Here?s what he came up with. Thanks Steve.
Summer Fire Season Read More »