CyberNet Classics - All Articles

CyberNotes: Setup an FTP Server in less than 30 Seconds

Ryan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:31:38 -0600

This article was written on March 27, 2007 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

I frequently get asked how people can setup their own FTP. Some of the current programs available always seem intimidating with the extensive list of configuration options when most people only want to access their own documents when they’re away from their PC.

In the past I have always recommended the free GuildFTPD, but getting it to work can be a hit or miss. So I started searching around for another tool that you could use, and I found just the thing!

The answer to your FTP server problem is the Quick ‘n Easy FTP Server Lite (Download Mirror). It is an easy-to-use FTP server application that you can setup in less than 30–seconds…no joke. The download weighs in at a measly 0.35MB and there is no installation necessary. Just run the executable file and start configuring your FTP server.

Once you get it running you’ll be greeted with a wizard to walk you through the necessary steps to complete the setup. As seen here, the only thing it really asks for is a username, password, a starting directory, and permissions for your server:

After the setup is complete just press the green “Start” button located on the toolbar. This will initiate your FTP server so that you can connect to it using Windows Explorer (by placing FTP:// in front of your IP address) or by using a free FTP client such as my favorite FileZilla.

After you get it all setup, there are a bunch of different things you can do with the program including viewing statistics or adding more users. With an interface that closely resembles Windows XP it should be a breeze for you to tinker around with what it has to offer:

The only thing that would probably prevent you from getting the FTP server setup in less than 30–seconds would be port forwarding. By default this program uses the default FTP port 21 which you may have to forward if you’re using a router at your home. This is pretty easy to do and your router’s documentation should explain how to do it.

I have never seen a program that makes it so easy to setup your own personal FTP, but this one does a very good job of it. They also have a Pro version available for $29.95, but I think you’ll be more than satisfied with what the free version has to offer.

Quick ‘n Easy FTP Server Lite Homepage (Download Mirror)

CyberNotes: Map a FTP to a Drive in Windows

CyberNotes: Your Week in Review with Sunday’s Summary

CyberNotes: Email Alerts when your IP Address Changes

Download EasyPHP 2.0 Beta 1 to Setup a Windows Website Server

Microsoft’s Windows Most Secure OS? What?

Ashley — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:28:45 -0600

This article was written on March 22, 2007 by CyberNet.

According to Symantec’s annual Internet Security Report, Windows is not only doing well in terms of security, it’s actually doing better than competitors when it comes to the most widely-used operating systems. The information for this report was gathered during the last six months of 2006, and some of the information they were looking at included how many vulnerabilities appeared, and how long on average it took for a patch to be released.

Microsoft:

39 vulnerabilities discovered
12 were high priority or severe
On average, Microsoft took 21 days to fix them

Red Hat Linux

208 vulnerabilities discovered
2 considered high priority or severe, 130 were considered medium severity
On average, it took 58 days to fix them

Apple

43 vulnerabilities discovered in Mac OS X
1 considered high priority or severe
On average, it took 66 days to fix them

Microsoft is definitely on top of their game when it comes to issuing patches compared to the others, however they also had the most high priority patches to deal with. At the same time, they also had the best turn around for fixing them. Apple had the lowest number of high priority vulnerabilities, but they took the longest out of the three, on average to fix.

Because Microsoft has been a target for years, they’ve had to be aggressive with fixing these issues. Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT when speaking to Internetnews.com explains that “there have been complaints in the past about Apple’s lack of response to security issues. But as Mac and Linux gain market share, they will have to respond much quicker.”

Vista UAC Secure Desktop Explained

Opera Partners with Haute Secure for Malware Protection

Helpful Tip: Firefox "Secure Updates" Extension Warning

Microsoft’s I’m Initiative Expands to Hotmail

Ubuntu 6.10 Beta Released

Ryan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:27:13 -0600

This article was written on September 29, 2006 by CyberNet.

The Ubuntu team is now ready to showcase the next upcoming version of their popular Linux operating system: Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy Eft. It is currently in the Beta stage but it appears that they are progressing nicely and doing a great job of adding new features. If you are skeptical about installing a Beta release then you should hold off because the final version should be available within a month.

Here are some of the things that are new:

New theme and bootup splash screen
Tomboy – used for note-taking (pictured above)
F-spot – photo manager
Firefox 2
OpenOffice 2.0.4 RC2
GAIM 2.0 Beta 3

If you are currently running Ubuntu 6.06 then you can quickly upgrade to 6.10 if you choose to.

I haven’t tried running this version but Ubuntu hasn’t been very friendly with my laptop in the past. Luckily the wireless does work on it but that doesn’t makeup for the fact that Ubuntu can turn on my laptop’s fans. Sure it is always quiet but if you have this thing sitting on your lap then you’ll quickly notice how hot a laptop can get if it doesn’t have a fan.

New Ubuntu To Be Released On Thursday

Ubuntu 6.06 Officially Released

What will the Ubuntu 8.10 Theme look like?

Ubuntu Site Crumbles After Releasing 7.04

Find the Best Auctions eBay Has to Offer

Ashley — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:11:21 -0600

This article was written on December 08, 2007 by CyberNet.

Weekend Website

If you’ve watched the Tonight Show with Jay Leno lately, you’ve probably seen their “Stuff We Found on eBay” segment. Actually, you’ve probably seen re-runs because of the whole writer’s strike, but before that, on occasion he has shown different unique/weird/humorous things that were found and sold on eBay. It always amazes me what people list, but it amazes me more when people actually by the stuff that shouldn’t have been listed in the first place.

If you’re wondering how to go about finding the most interesting/best auctions that eBay has to offer without the help of Jay Leno, you’ll want to turn to http://bestof.ebay.com. Best of eBay is a fairly new community driven site from eBay that is dedicated to showcasing some of the more interesting items that people put up for sale on eBay. There are a few social elements incorporated into it which we’ll talk about in a minute, but you don’t have to be social. If you’d just like to browse through all of the crazy stuff, you can do that too.

The “Socialness” of it…

As mentioned, Best of eBay is community driven. Think of it like Digg – if people don’t submit stories to Digg, there’d be nothing to the site. It’s the same with Best of eBay – if users don’t nominate listings, there’d be nothing to view. Not only can users nominate for listings they come across that stand out, people can also vote. Towards the right of each listing will be an image that displays how many votes each listing has.

Navigating…

Navigating the site is pretty simple. Up towards the top is the option to view listings that were recently submitted, “today’s best,” and the “best of all time.” There’s also a drop down box where you can select a specific category that you’d like to view. Unfortunately, there are only select categories to choose from. If you’re just wanting to browse and not really get involved, I recommend taking a look at the Best of All Time.

Tagging/ Top List/RSS…

Just like many other community driven/social sites out there, Best of eBay relies on tags. When you nominate a listing, you can select appropriate tags for it. To the right of the page you’ll see a tag cloud so that you can quickly navigate to a topic that might interest you like Christmas, Cars, or Gag Gifts.

Another element of the site is their Top list which simply shows who has given the most votes and which items have received the most votes. You can even comment, or if you’d like to subscribe to the Best of eBay via RSS, you can do that as well.

Some of the “best” of all time……

Remember, these are actual listings!

The Hillary Clinton Nut Cracker (link):

This item sold for $20.50

Name my 24 Toed Kitten (link):

This item had a winning bid of $28.00

Crazy Alien Eggs Straight from the Twilight Zone (link)

This item had a winning bid of $51.00

Knitted Quiche Meal (all fake food) (link)

This item sold for $13.99 – other listings from the eBay user included a knitted holiday tea set and sunny side up eggs.

eBay Strike Drops Number of Listings by 3%

Mpire Helps You Find the Best Deals Online

How Much Would You Pay For An Xbox 360…Picture?

Touring The Microsoft Xbox Headquarters Facility First-Hand

Ryan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:00:48 -0600

This article was written on December 12, 2005 by CyberNet.

If you are interested in what goes on at the Microsoft Xbox Headquarters in Redmond, Washington then head over to Engadget where they received a first-hand tour of the facility.

Microsoft Has Plans To Produce A ‘Cooler’ Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Price Cut Coming September 7th? We Think So…

The Xbox 360: To Be Or Not To Be?

Microsoft Executes Xbox 360 Price Cuts

Windows XP Available Until June 30th

Ashley — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:43:09 -0600

This article was written on September 28, 2007 by CyberNet.

It almost seems as though Windows Vista is another Windows ME, the operating system that consumers will forgo until something “better” comes along, and I think Microsoft may be starting to realize this. In a press release yesterday, Microsoft announced that they are extending the date that PC Manufacturers and Retailers are allowed to sell Windows XP. Originally the deadline was January 31st, 2008, but now they’ve been given the green light to sell XP until June 30th 2008. In developing markets, Windows XP Starter edition will be available until June 30, 2010.

While Microsoft says that over 60 million licenses of Windows Vista have sold since launch (which is impressive), many people have their reasons for sticking with XP whether it’s because they’re comfortable with it, they’ve heard journalists bashing Vista, or they’re waiting for Service Pack 1. XP has remained a rather popular choice among consumers, so it makes sense that Microsoft extends this date. If they can’t win over everybody with Vista, why not continue to sell XP and make money off of it, even if it’s not their latest operating system?

According to Mike Nash, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, the reason for the XP extension was: “While we’ve been pleased with the positive response we’ve seen and heard from customers using Windows Vista, there are some customers who need a little more time to make the switch to Windows Vista.” Some of the main reasons consumers are unwilling to adopt Vista include:

Driver issues
Software compatibility
Cost
Performance

Even with these issues that consumers have pointed out, Microsoft is still very positive and optimistic about Vista. Mike Nash said “It’s early days still, but if things continue as we’re expecting, Windows Vista will be the fastest selling operating system in our history. And while that’s gratifying on one level when you consider all the architectural changes we introduced, it also suggests we’ve done a lot of things right in delivering value to our customers.”

Nash may be right. In terms of the big picture, it is still pretty early on, especially for big companies that have a system lifecycle for all of their equipment and haven’t been able to adopt right away. It takes time for these companies to make changes to their infrastructure to handle a new operating system, so perhaps Vista isn’t another Windows ME after all?

Source: LifeHacker

Dell Offers Windows Downgrade Service

New Windows Live Messenger Release Date

XP “Deadline” Extended? Maybe…

Windows Live Messenger Release On June 16

The Cost of Piracy in the Software Industry

Ashley — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:18 -0600

This article was written on June 01, 2007 by CyberNet.

Economist.com recently posted about the current state of piracy around the world according to the Business Software Alliance, which is a trade body. As you can imagine, it’s really not too good. No information was given about how they got the numbers that they did, but the calculation that was reported was based upon the number of computers in each country, and the dollar amount of pirated software per computer.

In terms of dollar amount and total losses, the United States tops that list at $7.2 billion, and China was next with $5.4 billion. But because this report focused on the amount per computer, The United States didn’t make the list. Topping the list was Azerbaijan with over $250 of pirated software per computer, and following behind was Iceland with over $200 of pirated software per computer. In total, the cost of piracy in Iceland was $32 million, however that’s divided among few computers in comparison to the $7.2 billion divided among all computers in the United States.

The report stated that piracy cost the software industry $39.6 billion dollars, as in lost revenue, however those that choose to pirate probably wouldn’t ever purchase the software in the first place if pirating wasn’t an option. Can it really be considered lost revenue then?

Source: Economist.com [via Digg]

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Video Game Industry Looks Beyond Hardcore Gamers

What Was Your Experience Cancelling AOL?

Ashley — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:34:05 -0600

This article was written on July 12, 2007 by CyberNet.

AOL had a choice, either they could go to court and fight or they could settle. The reason? They were accused of refusing to let customers cancel. To anyone unfamiliar with AOL, this accusation seems absurd. What company in their right mind would refuse to allow a customer to cancel. For those familiar with AOL, you know how plausible and true this actually is.

Not wanting to have to go to court and fight, AOL decided to settle for $3 million dollars which will go to 48 states and the District of Columbia to pay for their investigation, not to the customers who were affected. Customers who were affected however, will receive refunds from AOL for any fees that they incurred after trying to cancel their accounts.

I never did have AOL as an ISP, however Ryan did several years ago. When he called them to cancel, the AOL representative offered three months of free service. Ryan took them up on their offer, and after the three months was up, he called back to cancel. Again, he was offered three free months of service. This happened at least 4 times before the AOL rep finally cancelled the account! Of course, they were hoping after the three months of free service was up that he’d just continue using their service and get billed for his use.

It’s been reported that employees at AOL would receive bonuses up to a whopping $3,000 if they were able to convince a customer to stay with them instead of cancelling. So my question for you is, what was your experience cancelling AOL? I’m sure there are stories to tell…

Source: BetaNews

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Unofficial Rapidshare Search Engine

Ryan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:15:45 -0600

This article was written on October 12, 2007 by CyberNet.

Rapidshare is very well known for its extensive database of files that are being shared. There are tons of better file sharing services out there than Rapidshare, but I think the only reason it is staying alive is because of the extreme amounts of cracks, warez, movies, and all sorts of other illegal items being hosted on the service.

One thing that Rapidshare has always stayed clear of is implementing a search engine so that people can easily find files that have already been uploaded. There are a few sites that have tried to implement their own Rapidshare search engine, such as Rapidshare-Search-Engine, and they have all been a little unsuccessful. What I’ve resulted to in the past is doing Google searches in this format:

ratatouille (rapidshare.com/files OR rapidshare.de/files)

The portion before the parenthesis is the program, movie, or name of what you’re looking for on Rapidshare. The two items in the parenthesis tell Google to look for sites that are linking to Rapidshare files. This type of searching has also come in handy when I’ve been looking for older versions of applications that are no longer available.

A new site, called Rapidshare1, has been created to crawl the web looking for all of the Rapidshare links that are being posted. It then aggregates them into a central database so that you can easily search for the files that you want. Is it successful? I wasn’t all that impressed with the results it returned for some of the common searches I did. A search for Excel pulled in results for all kinds of off-the-wall items, which led me to believe that their database is still extremely limited. I think I’ll be sticking with Google for my Rapidshare searches.

Note: We’re not condoning piracy, it’s just a well known fact that Rapidshare is the home to thousands of illegal downloads.

Source: HongKiat

RapidShare.de Now Owns RapidShare.com

RapidShare Redesign Cleans Up the Site

Google’s Search Engine Creator Makes Filtering Easy

How Do Search Engines Really Rank Themselves?

A History Of Windows Presented By Microsoft

Ryan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:06:27 -0600

This article was written on July 25, 2006 by CyberNet.

Microsoft Windows has been around for two-decades and has helped technology evolve. Windows 1.0 was released in 1985 and brought a wide range of features no one had ever expected a computer to bring. Things like moving a mouse around the screen and being able to simply click to start an application.

Technology has come a long way and has even taken it a step further as more ways to input data into a computer are found. Things like Tablet PC’s or voice recognition are becoming an accurate way to take the pain out of typing. Looking back on what we had 20 years ago makes you wonder where we will be 20 years from now.

Even though Microsoft has plans for Windows years and years in advance it will still be awhile before we know what to expect decades from now. However, while we sit and ponder about the future we can take a look at the past with Microsoft’s History of Windows site. It will walk you through all of the different versions of Windows that have been released over the years and will certainly make you appreciate what we have now. Where would the World be without Minesweeper and Solitaire?

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Changes In Vista: EULA And Antitrust

Ryan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:58:41 -0600

This article was written on October 14, 2006 by CyberNet.

There are all kinds of rumors and misconceptions that are floating around the Internet with what is going on with Windows Vista lately. We have been hearing about several changes in the License Agreement that are supposed to limit people more so than XP, and there has also been a lot of talk about the European Union (EU) forcing Microsoft to make some changes before Vista launches. Paul Thurrott has decided to cover both aspects so I decided to provide a “quick” summary of each.

–Vista Licensing Changes–

I have read so many different articles regarding the changes in Vista’s End-User License Agreement (EULA) that I am on the verge of insanity . Everyone has their own interpretation of the agreement but Paul contacted Microsoft in order to clear things up.

People apparently think that you can transfer Windows XP to as many computers as you would like but Paul is quick to point out that Windows is tied to a device and not a person. The Windows XP EULA doesn’t exactly say that it is limited to the number of transfers but a transfer should only be used in special circumstances, such as a hardware failure causing you to buy a new machine. Paul concludes by saying:

And if you do actually have a catastrophic PC failure, you’ll be able to transfer your license just as before. The process, as it turns out, hasn’t changed at all. “The escalation process is exactly the same in Vista,” Boettcher told me. “You have to call support. It just wasn’t clear in Windows XP. But we wanted to do the right thing by the customer. So we let them move a license, while being clear about what the license is intended for. In the past haven’t been super clear up front.”

Virtualization has also raised quite a few eyebrows I think mostly because no one understands how it is going to work. You will be able to use Microsoft’s Virtual PC or other virtualization software such as VMWare on any version of Vista. However, you will only be able to legally use Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate Editions on that virtual machine. The key is legally, because you will be able to install any version of Vista on a virtual machine if you would like.

You will still have to activate Vista on that virtual machine which requires you to have a legal copy of the operating system. Vista Enterprise is a little different because of the volume licensing that it uses. Users that have a valid Enterprise edition will be able to install and activate up to four virtual machines provided that they are all on the same computer and for the same user. That means if you are really looking to use Vista on virtual machines then the Enterprise edition is probably what you need.

–Vista Changes because of the European Union–

It seems like there is always a company that will get angry with Microsoft for releasing some new feature in Windows because someone else probably makes a profit from Windows lacking that feature. Paul Thurrott’s article on the last minute changes in Vista covers a few aspects that Microsoft is being forced to change in order to comply with the European Union.

It starts off with some security changes that Microsoft originally did to help protect the user. Paul starts off by saying “I want to be clear here: Microsoft security improvements in Windows Vista should be applauded by all Windows users, and any security company that wants to bypass them while not providing equivalent or better functionality is more concerned about their own profits than they are about users.” The primary concern that security companies have had is that they can’t change the kernel at run-time in Windows Vista 64-bit versions. Well, no one can and that includes Microsoft! However, Microsoft decided to create some API’s that would allow security companies to access the kernel in a secure fashion, but nothing is as secure as no access!

The other primary area of concern was with the default search in Internet Explorer 7. Microsoft, of course, would like it to be set by default to Windows Live but other companies, like Google and Yahoo, for some reason aren’t so fond of that idea. For users upgrading from IE 6 to IE 7 they will now be prompted with a screen that shows them what their current search engine is as well as several other search engines ranging from Google to Lycos. The user will see this screen every time that they start Internet Explorer until they make a choice to keep the existing search engine or pick a new one, so the program will not be choosing for them.

The last change comes in response to Adobe’s complaints. Microsoft has developed a new format for files called XPS which is very similar to PDF’s. By default this is included in Windows Vista and, and just like with Office 2007, Adobe wasn’t too happy about that. Instead of making this a separate add-on for Vista like Microsoft has done for Office 2007 they decided to open up the XPS format as an international standard so that everyone can use it how they please and create applications that support it.

–Summary–

As you can see there are a lot of last minute things going on with Vista that Microsoft needed to take care of before they officially release it. Some of the things are a little disappointing to see Microsoft being forced to change when some were implemented to protect users, but I guess that is the corporate world.

In the next month we should be seeing Vista available to companies and I’m still not sure if the public release date of December is true.

Thanks to ”Jack of all Trades” for the tip!

Vista Entices PC Enthusiasts With License Changes

Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 Available for Free Download

Google and Microsoft – Can We All Just Get Along?

Opera Fights for IE Web Standards

Go Green with GreenPrint & Save $$

Ashley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:56:49 -0600

This article was written on February 02, 2008 by CyberNet.

All the talk these days is about how to go green and save green meaning help the environment and save money at the same time. There are super simple ways in which everybody can make a difference, it’s just a matter of actually doing it. One way is by using GreenPrint, software designed to cut out wasted pages before you print which results in saved paper (helping the environment) and saved money (which helps you).

On their website, they say that GreenPrint was started “in an effort to end wasteful printing worldwide.” They offer both free and paid version with different features so that everybody can benefit. Some of the features include:

Track the impact of using the software by viewing the dollars, pages, and greenhouse gases you have saved
Print to PDF

So what is it that it does? Well, it highlights unwanted content like banner ads and spaces and removes them. There is also the option to remove unwanted images from a page before you start printing. Once all of the unwanted space and extras are removed, then you can print. They estimate that those who use the software regularly could save up to $90 each year and users combined could save millions of trees! Below you’ll find a few screenshots of what the software looks like, taken from their website:

As mentioned, there is a free version as well as two different versions that you’ll have to pay for. Home Premium and Enterprise versions feature a quick-loading preview, and an advertising-free preview, among other things unlike the World edition. They have a nice comparison chart that outlines all of the details that’s worth checking out if you think you might want to buy. Prices range from $35-$40 for Home Premium and $70-$75 for Enterprise. You can also purchase an EverGreen Font for $10 where the characters are designed to allow more words to fit on a printed page. For most of you, the free World edition will do the job, and that can be downloaded here.

Thanks for the tip Jack of all Trades!

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CyberNotes: Firefox 2.0 Memory Leaks

Ryan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:53:10 -0600

This article was written on July 12, 2006 by CyberNet.

Web Browser Wednesday

Firefox is a great browser and with version 2.0 due in August many people are expecting great things. However, it seems like it doesn’t even matter to people whether Mozilla puts any new features in they just want to see the memory leaks disappear.

Mozilla has not ignored the demand for fixed memory leaks and that is why Firefox 2.0 will have 13 memory leaks fixed! Below is a list of memory leaks that Mozilla has posted that are unique only to the Firefox 2.0 build.

Bug 168411 – Move bookmarks transactions into a JS service (adding a bookmark leaks the Add Bookmark dialog)
Bug 206520 – XMLHttpRequest leaks memory if send() not called and event listeners set
Bug 289689 – Memory leak: nsDebugImpl::Assertion, Create Process
Bug 319980 – javascript garbage collector not run when supposed to, leading to “memory leak”
Bug 323454 – [FIX]Don’t leak the channel and XMLHttpRequest object if AsyncOpen fails
Bug 325984 – DOMWindow leak with (will be implemented into Firefox 1.5.0.5)
Bug 330780 – [ATK only] global nsAppRootAccessible is not released on shutdown
Bug 330878 – Firefox leaks the update.xml document when it checks for updates
Bug 333764 – Livemark Service leaking nsRDFResource and RDFServiceImpl references
Bug 334105 – [FIX]ASSERTION: Bogus: ‘!mHead’ (nsLineBox.cpp#916 – nsFloatCacheFreeList::Append)
Bug 336922 – nsAnnotationService leaks
Bug 337044 – Search engine Manager leaks an observer when canceled
Bug 341301 – 1.8 branch firefox leaks like a sieve

I know that you probably don’t understand what some of those mean, heck, I don’t even know what some of those mean. I am just trying to show you that the upgrade to Firefox 2 will definitely be worth it. However, Mozilla will not be able to incorporate fixes for all of the memory leaks in version 2.0. Currently Firefox 3.0 has nearly double the number of memory leak fixes which may mean there is a promising future ahead. In the mean time I had found this to help my Firefox memory leak. I have had 104,000+ visitors to my site that came just to view that article.

I hope you now realize that Mozilla is working on the memory leaks but they are very hard to pinpoint. I have been running Firefox 2.0 nightly builds for months now and the memory leaks are very minimal for me. I currently only have 5 extensions running because sometimes they end up being the culprit that makes Firefox eat up 300MB of memory. Every now and then you just can’t get around it and have to restart the browser.

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Zoho Impresses Me Even More By Implementing My Feedback

Ryan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:41:21 -0600

This article was written on November 03, 2006 by CyberNet.

As if I didn’t love the services that Zoho already offers they now go and impress me even more. A few weeks ago I used the Zoho Polls on a post regarding which Firefox extensions you use. The list of extensions quickly got very long but Zoho only allowed you to display the poll as one size, which looked something like this:

Note: Do not continue to the next page if you are using Internet Explorer 7, it will freeze your browser for some reason. I have just contacted Zoho and will hopefully hear back from them soon.

I’m sure you see now how hard it is to scroll through and see all of the options. The poll is just displayed in an iframe and I thought it would be great if I could manually resize the iframe and have the poll grow/shrink depending on whatever size I wanted. They responded to me the next day and said that they were working on a solution. After a few more days they emailed me again and said that they completed it!

It is absolutely perfect now and I can make the frame as large as I want. That means you can even make it big enough so that users don’t even have to scroll. Now users can easily vote and view the results without ever leaving your site. To see what the new poll box looks like go checkout the previous post that I made using it.

I think I’ll be using these a lot more as a quick way to get feedback on what users think about a topic. Since it is only using an iframe it can also be displayed in many feed readers (if you publish your full RSS feed).

So, I guess my question for everyone is whether you want to see more polls on our site?

Zoho Launches Integrated Start Page

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Free ZoneAlarm Firewall Released for Vista

Ryan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:29:34 -0600

This article was written on June 14, 2007 by CyberNet.

Click to Enlarge

The free ZoneAlarm firewall program just received a welcomed update that includes Vista compatibility. To the best of my knowledge this is the first free firewall that has been released for Vista, although Comodo did just reach the alpha stage with their’s.

For those of you who think that Vista is secure and doesn’t need a firewall, you might want to rethink your decision. It is true that Vista has a built-in firewall which can protect users to some extent, but it isn’t much different than the one included in Windows XP. It is designed to be unobtrusive to the user, which is nice because you don’t get bombarded with confirmations, but at the same time a malicious application could easily circumvent the protection it enforces.

While I prefer Comodo over other free personal firewalls, ZoneAlarm might be earning a spot on my PC simply because it is both stable, free, and now Vista-compatible. Once Comodo gets a more mature Vista-compatible release (for me that means a Beta release) out I’m sure I will be switching back over, but you’ve gotta take what you can get. And it’s not like ZoneAlarm is all that shabby…it has gotten great reviews in the past, although Comodo has beaten them in several different areas when it comes to testing.

The free Vista-compatible ZoneAlarm actually isn’t available on their site yet, but it can be downloaded directly from the ZoneAlarm server or from our download mirror. I’m sure they’ll get the site updated shortly with the most recent version, but for now you’ll need to use those links if you want to give it a shot.

Download the Free Vista-Compatible ZoneAlarm Firewall (Download Mirror)

Source: Washington Post’s Security Fix
Thanks CoryC!

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CyberNotes: Vista Program Compatibility Mode

Ryan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:15:21 -0600

This article was written on February 14, 2008 by CyberNet.

Tutorial Thursday

One of the biggest complaints that people have with Vista is that many of their applications don’t work like they do in XP. Your program compatibility woes can possibly be solved in just a few clicks by utilizing the built-in “Compatibility Mode” option. What some people don’t realize is that the Compatibility Mode can also serve other purposes.

Today we’re going to show you how to use and configure the Vista Compatibility Mode. It’s actually rather easy, and there are two different ways that it can be done: with a wizard or through the properties window. Before we get into how you’ll go about doing this lets take a look at where it would be helpful.

–Reasons to Use Compatibility Mode–

I think it’s fair to say that most people only look at the Compatibility Mode as a way to fix applications that have issues running, but I’ve found several situations where it has come in handy:

If you plan on playing a game you should check the boxes to disable visual themes and disable desktop composition. Disabling the visual themes will remove any of the fancy buttons and borders around the windows, and disabling the desktop composition will turn off things like the Aero transparency. Having both of these things disabled while running a game will definitely help out on performance.
It’s kind of a hit or miss when getting older applications to run by selecting the last known operating system that it was compatible with. The available options are Windows 95, Windows 98/Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP SP2, or Windows 2003 SP1. Don’t expect this feature to work miracles.
User Account Control (UAC) was added to Vista to help with security issues, but a side effect was a lot of broken applications. There’s a compatibility setting available to force applications to run as an administrator each time the program is started (you’ll then receive a UAC prompt when starting the app). To enable this option check the run this program as an administrator box.

The nice thing about all of these settings is that once you close the application everything will return to normal. So if you have Aero disabled when running a game it will automatically be re-enabled once you exit out of it. Pretty cool, huh?

–Compatibility Mode Wizard–

To use the wizard click on the Start button, then Control Panel, then Programs, and finally Use an older program with this version of Windows:

The wizard is nice because it explains what the various options does, which is something that most Windows users will need. Here are screenshots from the different settings that you can configure by using the wizard:

(Click to Enlarge)

In the first screenshot you can see that the wizard goes and finds every executable file on your computer. The Settings column offers a central place to see all of the applications you’ve already configured compatibility options for.

–Properties Window–

You can access the Compatibility Mode options even faster by right-clicking on an executable file (or on a shortcut) and selecting the Properties option. Then just switch over to the Compatibility tab and adjust whatever settings you would like:

–Overview–

The Vista Compatibility Mode is often mentioned only when users are having troubles getting applications to run, but I actually use it the most to disable the special visual effects when running games or processor-intensive applications. Let us know in the comments below what you use(d) the Compatibility Mode for!

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FeedRinse: Filters for your RSS

Ashley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:03:25 -0600

This article was written on January 23, 2007 by CyberNet.

FeedRinse, which launched last March is a great filtering service for your RSS feeds. The purpose of FeedRinse is to hide items that match key words or authors that you don’t want to see. You get total control over your feeds, and can easily filter articles and content that wouldn’t really interest you. It’s one way to prevent information overload which isn’t too hard to do with RSS. When FeedRinse first started, they did offer a free option, but you were charged if you wanted a premium account. As of November, it’s a completely free service.

I hadn’t heard of it before until a tip from one of our readers, and after looking into it, I thought it was worth sharing. If you subscribe to a lot of feeds, it’s hard to keep up. There are always articles in my feeds that don’t interest me that I always end up deleting. This service would do the deleting for you automatically when you enter key word filters such as authors, or a specific topic.

After signing up for an account, you can set conditions for your RSS subscriptions. For example, if you’re not interested in Opera and you’d never read any article pertaining to it, you could add Opera as a filter so that you’ll receive everything except any item containing the word Opera. With their entirely free service, you’re allowed an unlimited number of feeds, 500 filters, and 5 channels. There’s also keyword filtering, tag filtering, and author filtering among other things. The complete list of features is here.

Here’s how it works, and set-up is pretty simple: Using a bookmarklet, your feeds are added with one click. Next you’d set up your filters, and then export your “Rinsed” feeds. From there, you can always change and tweak your options so that you get all of the articles that you’re interested in, and all of the uninteresting ones are filtered and deleted before you even see them.

Again, this is a free service! If you’re not interested in a topic that comes across your feed reader, it’s easy! You won’t even have to think about it. Think of FeedRinse as spam protection for your RSS feed!

Thanks for the tip:Radu

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Viacom Cracking the Whip, Demands YouTube Remove 100,000 Videos

Ashley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:39:47 -0600

This article was written on February 02, 2007 by CyberNet.

Viacom who owns brands like BET, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Spike TV and several others, has demanded that YouTube remove 100,000 videos. That’s over 1.2 billion streams that are to be removed immediately. According to several sources, Viacom had been negotiating with YouTube for several months. Apparently there were disagreements or the deal wasn’t going anywhere for Viacom to make such a demand.

In a statement from Viacom, they say:

â€œFiltering tools promised repeatedly by YouTube and Google have not been put in place, and they continue to host and stream vast amounts of unauthorized video. YouTube and Google retain all of the revenue generated from this practice, without extending fair compensation to the people who have expended all of the effort and cost to create it. The recent addition of YouTube-served content to Google Video Search simply compounds this issue. …. Our hope is that YouTube and Google will support a fair and authorized distribution model that allows consumers to continue to enjoy our very popular content now and in the future.â€

Just last week, Google announced that YouTube video results would appear in the Google Video search index. It’s interesting that Viacom points that out in their statement above as compounding their issues with YouTube. Now it’s not just about YouTube anymore, with Google holding the reigns. Eventually the lawsuits will start flowing in, and Google will have to make an executive decision over what to do with copyrighted material that consistently makes its’ way into the video results.

So, say good-bye to the loads of Daily Show clips, The Colbert Show, and other popular shows that are floating around YouTube, like the Bill Gates episode with over 467,000 views. They’re still up as of now, but you can bet they won’t be there for long (Another source for these shows is www.colbertondemand.com ).

Source: paidContent.org

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Radiohead Teams with Aniboom for Video Contest

Ashley — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:21:07 -0600

This article was written on March 18, 2008 by CyberNet.

Radiohead is an English alternative rock band that has been around since 1992. Last year a big deal was made with their In Rainbows album because they were the first to sell it through their own site as a digital download and then the buyers chose the price they wanted to pay (this is similar to the approach that Nine Inch Nails is taking with their latest album). Now a big deal is being made over how Radiohead is choosing to produce a music video for the previously mentioned album… they’re turning to their fans and asking them to do the work!

It’s being called The Radiohead In Rainbows Contest, and unlike most music videos out there, the group wants an animated video. To do this, they’ve partnered with a fairly recent start-up called Aniboom. The best way to describe Aniboom is that they’re the YouTube of animation, a “cross-media, cross-platform animation content project which addresses wide audiences through a range of genres, techniques and means.”

The competition started yesterday and anybody is able to upload a storyboard (whether it be sketches or a fully developed animated video clip). Starting on April 7th, users will be able to rate the storyboards that were submitted. From there, 10 finalists will be selected and then given $1,000 to create a one minute video clip that is based upon their storyboard using songs from the In Rainbows album. Once again, users will vote and the five highest ranked clips will be presented to Radiohead. They’ll select the winner who will receive $10,000 to create a full music video.

Given all of the amateur video producers out there who submit some pretty decent content to sites like YouTube, it wouldn’t be surprising in the least to see other musicians turn to their fans and the plethora of online media sources to produce their videos.

Source: Read Write Web

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CyberNotes: Your Week In Review With Sunday’s Summary

Ryan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:06:43 -0600

This article was written on August 06, 2006 by CyberNet.

Sunday’s Summary

Here is your week in review with Sunday’s Summary! If you missed something, check it out. What was going on this week at CyberNet News with CyberNotes?

Million Dollar Monday: Hypersonic Sound Changes How We View Products With Direct Messages
Time Saving Tuesday: Create Shortcuts To Shutdown Or Restart Your Computer
Web Browser Wednesday:How To Upgrade Your Portable Firefox
Tutorial Thursday: How To Automatically Login To Windows XP
Free For All Friday: File Hippo Makes Finding And Downloading Free Software Simple
Weekend Warrior: Portable Laptop Desks

CyberNotes: Week In Review With Sunday’s Summary!

Your Week in Review with Sunday’s Summary

CyberNotes: Week In Review With Sunday’s Summary