I Spy…Something Terribly Wrong In Your Computer – Spyware
I Spy...Something Terribly Wrong In Your Computer
Andrew Wroblewski
I Spy...Something Terribly Wrong In Your Computer
This really chapped my lips...
I recently bought a new computer. Mine was getting old, had lost its whistle, and the few remaining bells didnt ding a nicely as they had in the past. Yep, it was time for a new state-of-the art dream machine with CD burner, DVD player, a bazillion gigabyte drive and more RAM than Rambo has. I whipped out my trusty credit card and told my local CompUSA to ring it up.
Well, needless to say I was enthralled. Blazing speed, working whistles, and bells that were more like the Big Ben gong! I could tear through spreadsheets with one CD-ROM tied behind my back. One day, about three months later, my Son came home from college. Having heard all about my new pride and joy, he sat down behind the keyboard and fired that puppy up. He put it through its paces for about 30 minutes and then turned and said Its nice Dad, but I thought it would be faster. HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FASTER What was he, crazy This box was so hot that it came with its own fire department.
Then he started poking around the hard drive. Dad, he said, You need an exterminator. Your PC is infested. Infested with what, bugs. Nope, he said Spyware. Spy What. Spyware, he replied. And then he explained.
Even thought I had a good virus prevention utility installed, it didnt protect me against Spyware. Spyware, it seeks, are nasty little programs that get downloaded in similar fashion to the way a virus does. It can be attached to an email, or even one of those new talking E-Cards. it can hide in one of those Click Here to close this window boxes, or in any of seemingly a hundred other secret ways.
There are essentially two types of Spyware. The less dangerous type either causes lots of ads to pop up every time you go on the Internet, or records your shopping and surfing habits in order to report them back to Big Brother somewhere. Of course, these steal your PCs clock cycles, and cause your hard drive to get bloated, which ends up slowing your entire system down. The problem is, the loss of speed is gradual and you dont even know its happening until Mr. Big Shot college kid comes along and tells you that your PC is slow.
OK, thats bad enough. But then, there is the second kind of Spyware. They are used by real spies, or at least the kind that want to steal your credit card and personal information so they can clean out your bank accounts and assume your identity. You know, the scary stuff that youre starting to hear about more and more.
So, what should I do Did I need to reformat my hard drive I hoped not because THAT was no walk in the park. Fortunately my college geek was up on the subject and took me to a website that specialized in safely removing Spyware. We downloaded and installed the software in just a few minutes and then fired it up. Holey Schmolie, I was infested. After about 15 minutes of chunking and plunking, the software pronounced me fit and clean. Well, at least my PC was. We rebooted and Boom! All of the speed and performance that had gradually been lost slammed right back into life. Even my Son was impressed.
Folks, this Spyware is serious stuff. You cant afford to be wiped out by some cyber terrorist half way across the world. Protect your PC and your identity. You probably already are infested. Theres only one way to know for sure, you need to check it out for yourself.
About The Author
Steve Robichaud and Andrew Wroblewski have been involved in online sales and marketing since 1996. For more information on finding and removing spyware from your PC, visit: http://spyware.pcwash.com/main/
email: admin@pcwash.com
What I Learned From a Womans Magazine – Diet
What I Learned From a Womans Magazine
David Leonhardt
Its amazing what you can learn about marketing if you can just find the time to spend in a dentists waiting room. I was reading a certain womans magazine, which will remain nameless because of my allergy to lawsuits. The magazine obviously has figured out what sells well, given that it operates on a consistent formula.
For instance, one cover proclaims: "3 sizes slimmer by Memorial Day". Then, in one corner is a picture of "Cookies n Cream Cake", while in another corner is a picture of "Lollipups to brighten someones day".
On another cover, the main headline is: "Lose that BELLY FAT!", while a secondary headline asks, "Cant stop binging" Just to make sure that readers can answer, "Yes", there is a nice picture in the corner of a "Banana Split Cookie Cake" labeled "Yum!", and the promise of "Family-pleasing Pasta dinners" inside.
See a pattern Lets try one more. The big headline reads: "Lose 28 lbs by Thanksgiving". How Perhaps the big picture of a "Oreo Cookie Cheesecake" labeled "Yum!" will give us a hint. Or the promise of "Best-ever Potluck recipes".
OK. By now I am sure you see the pattern. Thats right
Why I Would Rather Be A Slugger Than A Pitcher – Recreation
Why I Would Rather Be A Slugger Than A Pitcher
Aron Wallad
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to answer your question. Id want my mind and body to be in every inning of every game. I wouldnt want to be one elbow injury away from a possible end of my career or a lost year. I listened to Nolan Ryan talk at the last All-Star FanFest in Houston about how he would have to "rebuild" his body from one start to the next, an incredibly arduous process that the great pitchers know and few fans realize. Ryan would be on the bike immediately after each start, and he said his physical strength would go down to about 50 percent a day or two after each start, and then his mission was to get it back up to 100 percent by the next start. As the slugger you mentioned, Id love to be in that zone of hitting in the cages every day and be able to "slow down" every pitch like Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols do so incredibly well.
There is no greater feeling on earth than hitting a ball over a fence and running around the bases at your own speed. And I would be just like Scott Rolen, who has the fastest home run trot in the game -- no-nonsense, get back to the dugout and prepare for that next at-bat. I would be even-keel like a Cal Ripken and a Tony Gwynn and take satisfaction from reaching my potential every day and living in that zone and being completely in every inning.
The above article was written and given to this publication with permissions
by Mark Newman