Author: Dave Farquhar

New Microsoft Security Essentials

Dave Farquhar security, Windows

Microsoft tried to quietly release a new version of Security Essentials yesterday, then everyone started talking about it. The new version 4.0 claims to be faster and catch more viruses. Of course, that’s everything we want in virus scanning–besides being free.

The most recent data I read stated the old MSE was about 93% effective, so there was some room for improvement there. Read more

The difference between blogging and true journalism

Dave Farquhar Writing ,

If you want the difference between true, honest-to-goodness journalism and blogging, this Slashdot story is a good place to start.

The key is the word “reporting.”
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One in five Macs has malware–but read the fine print

Dave Farquhar Macintosh, security, Viruses , , ,

Sophos claimed today that 20% of the people who’ve installed their free Mac antivirus has malware.  That’s not altogether surprising, but it’s also not nearly as big of a problem as it sounds.

One in 36 systems has Mac malware, which means the Mac has an infection that could actually be harming the system itself. That number is low but believable. In my experience, the people who seek out antivirus software are usually the ones who need it the least.
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Oh nos! The Internet is going to die in July!

Dave Farquhar security

I’ve seen some scary-looking headlines, predicting doomsday for “hundreds of thousands” of Internet users on July 9 when the FBI shuts them down.

Actually, the FBI isn’t sabotaging the Internet. Here’s what’s going on and how to make sure you don’t get caught in the crossfire. Read more

The origins of Prince of Persia unearthed

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing , , , , , , , ,

Prince of Persia isn’t just a recent movie. It’s based on a video game series, the first of which was first released all the way back in 1989 for the venerable Apple II series of 8-bit computers. That original game, extremely simple by today’s standards, is a classic today.

The author, Jordan Mechner, had given up on looking for the 6502 assembly language source code behind the game until his dad found a box of disks buried in a closet. Among them were several hand-labeled disks claiming to contain the long-lost code. Read more

When to upgrade to new LED bulbs

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , , , , ,

PC Magazine asks when it’s worth upgrading to the new Philips L Prize-winning LED bulb, lamenting its high price and long payback time. I can only say what I plan to do, based on my experience with high-efficiency bulbs. I was one of those guys paying $9 for CFL bulbs nearly a decade ago. Read more

What’s going on with Macintosh security?

Dave Farquhar Macintosh, security, Viruses , , , , , , , , ,

The latest figures I’ve read say there are perhaps a half-million infected Macintoshes still floating around out there, an improvement from the high of 600,000 that I was seeing a few weeks ago, but probably not what Apple had hoped after releasing its most recent fix.

I argued three weeks ago that the end of the innocence was either here or very near. I’ll argue now that it’s gone: There are now 250 known Macintosh OS X viruses in existence. In 2003 there were none. Read more

Reducing allergies and saving money doing it

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , ,

I saw a slideshow on CNN this week about ways to reduce allergies at home. One of the options they suggested was using a filter with an MERV rating between 8 and 12.

This works, and doesn’t have to be expensive either, if you know where to shop. Read more

RIP Greg Ham, Men at Work

Dave Farquhar Copyright, Music

Men at Work multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham died this week, aged 58, under circumstances still under investigation. At least in the United States, Men at Work is mostly remembered for the 1982-83 hit “Down Under,” on which Mr. Ham played the flute.

The song was the focus of a copyright battle a couple of years ago, which weighed on Mr. Ham. Read more

Why I fired my mechanic and how I found a good new one

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized

Consumerist asked its readers why they ditched their car repair shops. For me, that’s really easy. They didn’t do the work, and they were jerks. So I got rid of them and figured out how to find a good mechanic.

I’ll elaborate. Read more