Here we go again....(Facebook virus)

[capnjuan]

... As far as I'm concerned XP is the only real OS Microshaft ever made. Smart of you to avoid ME because it was a major PITA. My wife has had it and is going MAC in a matter of days....

Sorry to hear about your not very Bueno Vista :evil: We had an HP desktop bought w/ ME. We were hoping for ME relief via the XPee upgrade and ran into having to flash the bios .... are you kidding; flash the bios? This machine bought nine years ago with Win 2000 installed ... it crashes maybe once every two years. Anyhow, I bought a licensed copy of Win 2000, stripped out the ME/XPee mess, and never looked back. Ever have the ( :evil: ) pleasure with Win98?

 

[Graham]

I don't use IE I use Firefox and I have XP on my laptop and Vista on the desktop, which is used mostly by Cid for email and little stuff, so as yet it running OK.

I just yesterday read about Chrome and downloaded Google Chrome browser. It feels a bit different so will take a bit of adjustment.

I try not to pay for many apps because there are very good open source and other free ones out there. Security I pay for and some hosting stuff really, not much more.

I'm not specialized enough in anything that I need a full on suite of things.

 

[Default]

I may have to go open source this weekend. I'm fed up.

You're probably way ahead of me, but the latest Ubuntu is very nice indeed. For those who have the interest, you can download Ubuntu Desktop 9.04 and you can testdrive the os by running it off the DVD.
That's right, it'll run right from the dvd, if your computer is set to boot from that first. Reads and writes to NTFS (microsoft file system) And you can pretty much do what you need to do. Wireless networking actually works. :shock:

Of course, the live disk isn't persistent as you have to install it, but it's great to keep around "just in case."

Oddly enough, I just got a free copy of Vista Ultimate in the mail today from some MS Partner giveaway that I don't remember entering.

 

[capnjuan]

I'm not specialized enough in anything that I need a full on suite of things.

Hi Graham; everybody's situation is different. From time to time I write reports and develop PowerPoint presentations with integrated text, spreadsheets, graphics, hyperlinks ... whatever is most effective or helpful in getting the information across making me largely dependent on you-know-who's stuff for cross-application reasons. In my business, I am regularly given data files; every kind you can imagine including recently 4 gigs of compressed MS Outlook email and, since you-know-who's stuff is in such widespread usage ...

After your earlier comment, I tried to think of a 'business case' for sticking with IE and really couldn't come with anything. I do remember getting boned by MS in the mid-90s; back then, you couldn't get on their support site using Netscape Navigator ... my favorite browser at the time. I fired up Fox-Zilla again and spent some time with it and can't see any reason for not using it; except for a nuisance lack of a scrollable mouse, it works better on sites where I'd been having IE headaches ... I haven't tried surfing MS yet but will.

Last year PCcillin stopped supporting Win2000 ... nothing wrong with the OS mind you but there are fewer and fewer Win2000 users because MS is obsoleting it by wave after wave of new OSs (MS 7 will be out soon?). I currently use AVG but there's a reasonable question about how long they will continue to support Win2000. Finally, I own two older versions of a proprietary application that runs on Win2000 but not XPee or Vista; if I had to upgrade, I'd have to renew the license ... about $5,000.

So if the poo-fighters give up on Win2000, it will cost me a new PC w/ new OS, new versions of you-know-who's suite, and a chunk of change for a new software license. Yes, this is all my problem ... yes, too bad Juan ... you're screwed buddy ... but the fact is that my exposure isn't a function of more complex needs and requirements on my part, it's driven by the fact that MS can't seem to produce a functioning, safe OS or is financially dependent on obsoleting existing ones ... not sure there's any simpler way to put it ... I am exposed to the extent of thousands of dollars because Bill and Melinda need new blinds for their new house ... and I'm expected to help with the financing :twisted: :wink: J

 

[Graham]

So if the poo-fighters give up on Win2000, it will cost me a new PC w/ new OS, new versions of you-know-who's suite, and a chunk of change for a new software license. Yes, this is all my problem ... yes, too bad Juan ... you're screwed buddy ... but the fact is that my exposure isn't a function of more complex needs and requirements on my part, it's driven by the fact that MS can't seem to produce a functioning, safe OS or is financially dependent on obsoleting existing ones ... not sure there's any simpler way to put it ... I am exposed to the extent of thousands of dollars because Bill and Melinda need new blinds for their new house ... and I'm expected to help with the financing :twisted: :wink: J

I do hate how the new OS's cannot run or support older apps, it seems like a blatant cash grab. Like an NHL/NFL/NBA/MLB team changing it's logo, ever so slightly or their colour scheme so that all of the suckers, er loyal fans will run out an purchase the new stuff.

Gotta love Marketeers.

 

[fronobulax]

As far as I'm concerned XP is the only real OS Microshaft ever made.

I'm willing to cut them some slack with Windows Server 2003...

I am amused to see the OS religious wars breaking out on LTG although I am partially to blame.

 

[Default]

Sun VirtualBox can help with that. Microsoft has Virtual PC 2007. Both programs allow you to use a "host" computer running XP, Vista or Windows 7 and run "guest" operating systems in an environment that tricks the guest os into thinking it's running on real hardware. Microsoft only supports older MS stuff, but VirtualBox supports darned near every operating system ever built to run on the PC platform.

I used VirtualBox to run a Suse Linux webserver on my laptop (XP) and it handled every os I threw at it.

It's free too.

In anycase, if push really came to shove, you could still use your legacy apps and Windows 2000, it's just that W2k would be an application itself.

Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, and OpenBSD.

 

[capnjuan]

Microsoft has Virtual PC 2007. Both programs allow you to use a "host" computer running XP, Vista or Windows 7 and run "guest" operating systems in an environment that tricks the guest os into thinking it's running on real hardware. Microsoft only supports older MS stuff, but VirtualBox supports darned near every operating system ever built to run on the PC platform.

Scotty: "Captain, we've got a problem with the OS / transporter interface, cross-circuiting to B no workee"
JT Kirk: "Switch to Nebulous mode"
Scotty: "Aye Captain"

Message this morning from YouTube to Juan:

...................................................IE8 no run on Win2K

When will it end :?

 

[fronobulax]

I used VirtualBox

Geek veer. I wonder how many people are going to learn about LTG because they are searching for VMware Server which is what I use to run virtual machines. I have W95 and a WinME desktops that I hope to virtualize "real soon now". If it works then maybe I should go to Florida and see if there is a way to make the Capn's life less miserable. (The obvious answer is Yes and that would be done by visiting, bringing a Guild and paying for all of the Heinies and Stoli but I was limiting the speculation to computers...)

 

[JerryR]

When I had to replace my old PC (fried by a lightning power surge) I had to pay Dell extra to reload XP rather than the standard Vista package which few seem to really want until V0.3 or whatever irons the bugs out :evil:

 

[Default]

(The obvious answer is Yes and that would be done by visiting, bringing a Guild and paying for all of the Heinies and Stoli but I was limiting the speculation to computers...)

Rats. All I was going to bring was a suitcase full of used batteries to throw at the gators.

 

[capnjuan]

I used VirtualBox

... I have W95 and a WinME desktops that I hope to virtualize "real soon now". If it works then maybe I should go to Florida and see if there is a way to make the Capn's life less miserable. (The obvious answer is Yes and that would be done by visiting, bringing a Guild and paying for all of the Heinies and Stoli but I was limiting the speculation to computers...)

Anytime Jamie; I'll supply real-time Heinies, the Stoly, and a couple of (non-bass) Guilds ... once we get the PC straightened out, we can go watch a couple of shuffleboard tournaments. I'd like to know how your project works out; I had Win95 in an HP7090 ... practically a bullet-proof combination. John

 

[fronobulax]

(The obvious answer is Yes and that would be done by visiting, bringing a Guild and paying for all of the Heinies and Stoli but I was limiting the speculation to computers...)

Rats. All I was going to bring was a suitcase full of used batteries to throw at the gators.

Love the veer.

Maybe we can fete the Capn by getting Grot and/or Billy D. Light and some of the other New Jerseyites to host a NJ Guild fest. Both of them have gigging bands and there is always young Billy's trio. Them's that can bring a Guild or two (or several, in the case of Grot) and we pass a hat to pay for the Capn's plane ticket from Fla. to DC or Baltimore or Philia or Newark - whichever is cheaper after which he can ride with a local.

Back to the topic at hand (which is Miscellaneous even if it is not Guild), as a new and low profile Facebook user, what is the threat vector? Do I receive a Facebook message with the malware attached or do I allow an Application access to my profile data or what?

 

[capnjuan]

Rats. All I was going to bring was a suitcase full of used batteries to throw at the gators.

Careful; Skeeter's Alligator Petting Zoo ain't the Vet. I checked the links to Virtuality ... roughly; is this a matter of installing a piece of software that wraps around the native OS and Apps, isolating them from the web, allowing the revised machine to more or less 'pose' as a current system but leaving the existing functionality intact? Eh? Juan

 

[Default]

Rats. All I was going to bring was a suitcase full of used batteries to throw at the gators.

Careful; Skeeter's Alligator Petting Zoo ain't the Vet. I checked the links to Virtuality ... roughly; is this a matter of installing a piece of software that wraps around the native OS and Apps, isolating them from the web, allowing the revised machine to more or less 'pose' as a current system but leaving the existing functionality intact? Eh? Juan

Your Vista/Xp/Whatever7 machine is your uptodate normal web-browsing, word-processing, everyday use computer. You install whichever Virtual machine software you'd like to use. Frono's VMWare is the industry standard, the other two are ones that I've had personal experience using. After installing that software, you can run it and then install W2K on a fake, "virtual" hard drive. This is nothing more that a big file that VMWare uses to con W2K into thinking it's running on a separate box. It doesn't know that it's just a file, so you can still surf the net, email, print and stuff like that. You can even set up a shared folder, so you can pass documents back and forth between the W2K and the host system.
Basically, you could use your legacy applications on the VM, generate your reports and email them out or transfer them to a shared folder or memry stick for further processing

If you want W2K to be isolated from the internet, there's usually an option for enabling/disabling networking.

 

[Default]

Back to the topic at hand (which is Miscellaneous even if it is not Guild), as a new and low profile Facebook user, what is the threat vector? Do I receive a Facebook message with the malware attached or do I allow an Application access to my profile data or what?

You get an email from a compromised account stating that there is a video that a friend wants you to see. When you go to the "video", it claims you need a flashplayer update. When you install it, the worm shuts down the Windows firewall and automatic updates, while leaving the taskbar icon intact. The you get a crapload of payloads dropped into Temp, Prefetch, and Temporary Internet folders. It also drops defender32 (fake virus protection software) and possibly a keylogger as well. You end up rooting through the registry for the 4-5 keys that get dumped into there too.

It's just a classic social engineering attack

 

[jp]

Ever have the ( :evil: ) pleasure with Win98?

Unfortunately, I've had the displeasure of working with just about every standard consumer-targeted MS OS. I should retract and say that NT and 2000 were pretty stable. I set up a CAD-dedicated machine for my wife with 2000 but never ran anything else on it. Never messed with the any server apps, frono.

I was gonna a multiboot system with MS Virtual PC because I prefer XP Pro to Vista, but I never got around to doing it. Now may be the right time. Unfortunately, I'm still battling what I suspect is a nasty backdoor trojan. When I found this out, I immediately yanked my network connection. Gotta run diagnostics on all the home machines now. :evil:

I don't know how this happened 'cuz I run a pretty secure system. I've tried several solutions and I'm trying to avoid the full recovery. At this point, however, I think I'll have to wipe everything clean. Just gotta get things running enough to salvage some unarchived files. . .<sigh>

"Hi, I'm a MAC, and I'm a PC. . ."

 

[capnjuan]

... Your Vista/Xp/Whatever7 machine is your uptodate normal web-browsing, word-processing, everyday use computer. You install whichever Virtual machine software you'd like to use .... After installing that software, you can run it and then install W2K on a fake, "virtual" hard drive.....

Ok; Buy another PC/OS, reinstall W2K as if it were an app running under the OS, and re-install W2K-enabled apps. When WK2 is booted, it acts as if it's the OS and all of its apps respond accordingly. Price of admission? Yet another PC w/ yet another OS capable of handling WK2 as an app. Bill Gates' way of saying that if I don't want to pay for another PC or OS because of constructive obsolescence, all I have to do is buy another PC, OS, and a piece of software. Yes, would avoid another round of Suite upgrades and another licensing fee by following this simple rule

 

[capnjuan]

Unfortunately, I've had the displeasure of working with just about every standard consumer-targeted MS OS. I should retract and say that NT and 2000 were pretty stable. I was gonna a multiboot system with MS Virtual PC because I prefer XP Pro to Vista, but I never got around to doing it.

W2K .... Win98 :twisted: . I have a dual-boot laptop ... left over from the Road Warrior days; user selectable for XP (Pro?) and W2K. I have both copies of my proprietary app and the MS Suet running on the W2K side. Have not investigated whether tech subdivided the drive or not; at 40gbs, already a little on the small side. Assuming the laptop is the way to go, then would need only the Virtuality software, blow out the W2K install, install Virtuality, re-install W2K and its enabled apps .... under this approach, stuck with the laptop as the primary pc and my big-shouldered HP Vectra goes the way of all flesh.

Capnjuan: "What's for lunch today?"
Waitress: "Crap sandwich"
Capnjuan: "Anything else?"
Waitress: "Not really ... will that be mayo or mustard?"

 

[Default]

... Your Vista/Xp/Whatever7 machine is your uptodate normal web-browsing, word-processing, everyday use computer. You install whichever Virtual machine software you'd like to use .... After installing that software, you can run it and then install W2K on a fake, "virtual" hard drive.....

Ok; Buy another PC/OS, reinstall W2K as if it were an app running under the OS, and re-install W2K-enabled apps. When WK2 is booted, it acts as if it's the OS and all of its apps respond accordingly. Price of admission? Yet another PC w/ yet another OS capable of handling WK2 as an app. Bill Gates' way of saying that if I don't want to pay for another PC or OS because of constructive obsolescence, all I have to do is buy another PC, OS, and a piece of software. Yes, would avoid another round of Suite upgrades and another licensing fee by following this simple rule

Sorry cj, I'm doing a lousy job of explaining myself today.

Below is a thumbnail of my notebook desktop from my capstone project. It's running Linux like it's a game or an office suite or Solitaire. It boots inside that windows and operates like normally. Starts up almost instantly and shuts down the same way. It's preparation for the day when everybody stops supporting 2000.
You're right though, whenever you have to bite the bullet and buy a new a new computer, you'll have to do this to avoid buying a new license. The software is free, even if the pc/os isn't. IIRC, Windows 7 will have it baked in.