TechTraction » Friday Finds

Interest in Attacking the Mac on the Rise (Friday Finds 01/23/2009)

Bret — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:01:48 +0000

It seemed laughable when Bill Gates first said that the Windows platform was more secure because it was under constant attack from hackers and therefore needed constant security updating (I’m paraphrasing of course). Over time, however, “tech authorities” have legitimized Gates’ statement by saying that hackers spend more time attacking Windows because it’s the most popular computer operating system. Basically why bother trying to exploit the Macintosh when it accounts for less than 10% of the computer population?

Whether you agree or disagree with that logic makes no difference. The Macintosh now represents over 10% of the computing population and is starting to feel the pains of its rising popularity. You can see evidence of these pains in the recent articles shown below. Again, whether you agree that these articles document “real” Macintosh attacks makes no difference. The conclusion one can draw is simple: the Macintosh is gaining market share and therefore has become an area of interest for hackers. Will the hackers get very far on a platform that has touted itself as “more secure?” Only time will tell. Personally, I’m betting on the hackers.

ArsTechnica: Newly-discovered Mac exploit to be Detailed at Black Hat

CNet News: Trojan found in Pirated Apple iWork software

CNet News: Apple issues critical QuickTime security update

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Friday Finds for 01/09/2009 – Find Hex Code for Any Color

Bret — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:01:22 +0000

Ever come across a web site or image that used an amazing color and wanted the hex code so you could use the same color elsewhere? I know I have but always had to use Photoshop to determine the hex code. Well, not everyone has Photoshop and those that do, like me, don’t want to load the program just to figure out a hex code. Fortunately, there is an answer and it’s free: ColorPix.

ColorPix is a small utility “that grabs the pixel under your mouse and transforms it into a number of different color formats.” The application is small, free of viruses (refer to this Virus Total analysis for details), and free to download.

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Friday Finds for 11/28/2008 – Free Online Education

Bret — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:01:49 +0000

Everyone loves free stuff and free online education is no exception. If you’re wondering what the “Great Big Internet” has to offer in the way of free education, check out a nice compilation of resources that Ace Online Schools has put together. The list is short, sweet, and very useful.

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Friday Finds for 11/28/2008 – Home Grown Ringtones

Bret — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:01:28 +0000

Ever wanted to create your own cell phone ringtone but didn’t know how to get started? If so, check out this ringtone creation tutorial from SimpleHelp.net. The tutorial is well written and easy to follow. Unfortunately, if your phone doesn’t support MP3 or simple WAV style ringtones, this tutorial won’t help you much.

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Friday Finds for 11/21/2008 – Online Shopping Tips

Bret — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:01:13 +0000

More and more consumers join the world of online shopping each year. For one reason or another some consumers have remained on the sidelines when it comes to online shopping. If you, or someone you know, has just started shopping online (and yes there are people out there who have just started) the Money Saving Blog has a nice list of useful tips to help make shopping safe and secure. These suggestions are even good for a seasoned online shopper so take a look.

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Friday Finds for 11/14/2008 – Deal Locker

Bret — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:01:52 +0000

When does the Christmas shopping season “officially” begin? I used to think it was the day after Thanksgiving. These days, however, retailers waste no time converting from Halloween to Christmas. Regardless when the season starts, shopping for deals this year will be on the top of everyone’s list. One web site that might be able to help is a place called DealLocker. Check out Rick Broida’s (CNet) post about this coupon collecting site to learn about how it works and where to find it.

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Friday Finds for 11/07/2008 – Hidden Fees

Bret — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:01:58 +0000

I’ve been a little overwhelmed with my day job lately but I’m trying to get back on track with regular articles here at TechTraction. Therefore, without further delay, here is today’s Friday Find.

Found an interesting and useful article about sneaky fees and how all of us are starting to pay more and we might not even know it. Even though I enjoyed the article, I have to admit I was pretty depressed when I was done.

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Friday Finds for 10/03/2008 – Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 is a Dud

Bret — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:01:12 +0000

Okay, this is the second Friday in a row where I’m not writing a “tech specific” Friday Find. But in my kid’s mind, Nerf guns are cool tech toys. That being said, I’ve got a warning for all Nerf gun fans: the latest addition to the Nerf arsenal is a complete dud.

The Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 looked to be one of coolest Nerf guns yet. My youngest couldn’t wait for this toy to hit store shelves. Once it did, I was pestered to no end until I finally took him to Walmart so he could spend his hard earned cash on the latest gun from Nerf.

Unfortunately, once he got the gun home he was quickly disappointed. The handle was missing and worst of all, the gun did nothing but misfire and jam time after time. Normally, my son adapts to toys that don’t quite live up to advertised expectations. In the case of the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 he just couldn’t work around the gun’s poor performance and in less than 24 hours from purchase we were headed back to Walmart to return the toy. If you or your kids love these Nerf guns, don’t waste your money on this one — it’s a dud.

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Friday Finds for 9/26/2008 – Guitar Chord Cheat Sheet

Bret — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:14:23 +0000

A guitar chord cheat sheet might not be for the technical audience of TechTraction, but it’s still a great example of all the amazing free resources available across the web.

I found “Tom’s Guitar Cheat Sheet” when my daughter asked me to “write down” some basic guitar chords so she could start learning guitar. I didn’t have any beginner guitar books laying around, and I didn’t have time to create a bunch of guitar chord diagrams on a grid. Instead I did a quick Google search and found this fantastic cheat sheet. It’s a single a page and contains nearly all the major open chords for guitar drawn out on guitar tab. The sheet includes some basic music theory and a note-by-note break down of the entire fretboard. If you occasionally play guitar for fun, and need a quick chord refresher, check out this cheat sheet it’s a great resource.

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Friday Finds for 9/12/2008 – Free Audio Books

Bret — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:01:34 +0000

Sure, you can buy an audio book, but did you know that there several resources on the web that offer audio books for free? Of course some of these free audio books are meant to entice customers to sign up for a pay service, but there are also completely free sites with a limited selection. Diplomaguide.com has compiled a nice list of 25 online resources for free audio books. Recommended for audio book lovers.

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