Aardvark Daily aardvark (ard'-vark) a controversial animal with a long probing nose used for sniffing out the facts and stimulating thought and discussion.

NZ's leading source of Net-Industry news and commentary since 1995
Headlines | XML feed | Contact | New Sites | Archives | Job Centre | MARKETPLACE | For Sale
Note: This column represents the opinions of the writer and as such, is not purported as fact
Lighten Up 27 September 2002 Edition
Previous Edition | Archives

Please support the sponsor
Sponsor's Message
Back by popular demand -- it's Aardvark's weekly dose of levity and lunacy from the backwaters of the web.

If you though defragging your hard drive was a difficult and potentially dangerous operation then perhaps you haven't read the Data Docktor's description of how to Defraggle your motherdisc!

In a similar vein is this little exposé on how to cheat at the Counter-Strike computer game.

Unless you're a long-distance runner you probably never knew there was a demand for such esoteric products as NipGuards(tm) did you?


Check Out The Aardvark PC-Based Digital
Entertainment Centre Project

And here's what happens when you don't use your brain, you get cobwebs in your head.

What A Week
Well, what a week it's been and this on-again, off-again cold has slowed me down significantly so it's time for a status report on some of the projects in progress.

First up -- the final installment of the rural modem shootout will be online early next week. You'll be able to read about the Dynalink option and how it compares to the Maestro I reviewed a week or two ago.

Readers Say
(updated irregularly)
From Yesterday
  • TDMA... - Tom
  • Spam Filtering Software... - Brendan
  • Spam filter... - Bahu
  • An NZ ISP does provide... - Barry
  • Spam Filters... - Paul
  • always requires review... - Tom
  • Your variant?... - Martin
  • Personally I don't think it... - Philip
  • spam filter... - Sam
  • Have Your Say

    Secondly -- the Aardvark Tivo-like PC-based PVR project is about to move into its Linux phase so I'll be publishing an update that deals with the various PVR software options I've evaluated for the Windows platform.

    The nice guys at Hauppauge in the USA have sent me (through their Australian reseller) a review sample of the WinTV-PVR-250 Tuner/capture card. The main benefit of this card over the Pinnacle PCTV unit is that it contains *hardware-based* MPEG encoding.

    I'll be reviewing it and publishing the results in a week or so's time.

    I notice that our friend "deathr0w" is back in business again -- this time hosting his little warez site with a free webspace company who appear happy to endorse such activities.

    I'm flattered that he was nice enough to mention me too!

    He's learning though -- now he's promoting the site as a "DVD Review Site" but it still carries that same give-away disclaimer and a new list of titles including a few that are yet to be released on (legal) DVD.

    You might want to read Paul Brislen's take on this story as well.

    I had quite a bit of feedback on yesterday's suggestion that ISPs ought to consider using TMDA as a method of protecting their customers from unwanted spam.

    A few suggested that the need for someone to confirm the first email they sent to an account protected by TMDA could act as a disincentive where the message might be a bonafide business enquiry. Well if that's a worry then instead of publishing your email address, publish the URL of a "contact" form on your company website as the first point of contact.

    It's good practice to use a contact form in preference to publishing an email address anyway because, within weeks (or even days) of an email address appearing on the Web, chances are that a spammer's robots will have spotted it and added it to their lists.

    As people have probably noticed, I don't publish my email address (why should I, it seems that Mr deathrOw is happy to do that for me ;-) preferring, even in my usenet posts, to direct people to this form. If they can't be bothered filling out the form then their message can't have been too important -- or was probably just spam.

    Others suggested that spammers could circumvent TMDA simply by writing an autoresponder that replied to the confirmation request.

    Yes, that's true -- but then they'd have to use a bonafide email address in the first place so it would become very easy to either shut them down by complaining to their ISP/mail-provider, or complaining to their upstream supplier -- or you could simply filter all emails from the offending sender (or their entire domain).

    My real point was however, that if *every* ISP adopted this system, spammers would be effectively put out of business. The extra email traffic generated by the additional confirmation requests and acknowledgments would be far less than that currently generated by spam and the huge number of bounces it produces.

    Now it's time for me to go back to bed.

    If you want to have your say on the contents of today's column then please do so. Only comments marked "For Publication" will (if I have time) be published in the readers' comments section.


    Add Aardvark To Your Own Website!
    Got a moment? Want a little extra fresh content for your own website or page?

    Just add a couple of lines of JavaScript to your pages and you can get a free summary of Aardvark's daily commentary -- automatically updated each and every week-day.

    Aardvark also makes a summary of this daily column available via XML using the RSS format. More details can be found here.

    Contact me if you decide to use either of these feeds and have any problems.

    Linking Policy
    Want to link to this site? Check out Aardvark's Linking Policy.

    Did you tell someone else about Aardvark today? If not then do it now!

    Latest
    Security Alerts
    Flaw in Word can allow file theft (TheAge - 13/09/2002)

    File-name flaw threatens PGP users (ZDNet - 06/09/2002)

    Microsoft reveals security hole (NewsFactor - 02/09/2002)

    Microsoft plugs critical Office holes
    (ITWorld - 22/08/2002)

    Security flaw hits Windows, Mac, Linux (NewsFactor - 7/08/2002)

    Latest
    Virus Alerts
    Linux server worm exploits known flaw
    (VNuNet - 13/09/2002)

    Worm spreads through KaZaA network, again (TheReg - 22/08/2002)

    Apher worm: From Russia (ZDNet - 22/08/2002)

    Bookmark This Page Now!

     

    MORE NEWS
    NZL Sites
    IDG.Net.nz
    NZ Netguide
    NZ Herald Tech
    PC World NZ
    Scoop
    NZOOM Technology WordWorx

    AUS Sites
    ZDNet
    Fairfax IT
    Australian IT
    AUS Netguide
    NineMSN Tech
    APC Magazine

    USA Sites
    Wired.com
    CNet
    CNNfn Tech
    TechWeb
    Yahoo Tech
    ZDNet Tech
    USA Today Tech
    7am.com SciTech

    UK Sites
    The Register
    BBC SciTech

     

    My Jet Engines
    Check Out Me And My Jet Engines

    The Day's Top News
    Open in New Window = open in new window
    New Zealand

    Open in New Window Domainz updates terms after .maori.nz problems
    Domainz, the domain name registry company, has amended its terms and conditions following problems with the launch of its new second level domain (2LD) .maori.nz...
    IDG

    Open in New Window Telecom hikes prices
    Telecom is hiking the price of some of its ehanced Smartphone services for residential customers in November...
    Stuff

    Other

    Open in New Window Microsoft discloses more vulnerabilities
    Microsoft has issued a security advisory to Web site administrators using FrontPage Server Extensions, warning that they could be vulnerable to a buffer overrun or denial of service, a vulnerability it rates as critical...
    The Age

    Open in New Window Stars Come Out Against Net Music Piracy in New Ads
    The music industry is launching a star-studded advertising campaign, using artists such as Britney Spears and Stevie Wonder to tout its most recent anti-piracy effort...
    Washington Post

    Open in New Window Profits from piracy
    Evidence is mounting that cracking down on software copyright infringement may not be good for business. Case study: Microsoft in China...
    Salon

    Open in New Window E-mail onslaught to feed anti-spam firms
    Spam may be a costly and seemingly unstoppable nuisance, but the trend offers an opportunity for companies developing technology to fight it, according to a new report from market research firm IDC...
    CNet

    Open in New Window Open-Source Tug of War Heats Up
    A lobbying group known as the Initiative for Software Choice is stepping up the fight against several governments' moves to adopt legislation advocating the use of open-source systems...
    Wired

    Australia

    Open in New Window auDA case against domain name re-seller goes to mediation
    The case between Australian domain administrator auDA and domain name re-seller Internet Registry over a mailout to domain name registrants which auDA said was misleading, has been referred to mediation...
    The Age

    Open in New Window SA Police contemplates e-crime outsourcing
    The South Australian Police Department is contemplating outsourcing its cybercrime investigations as part of a broad campaign to overcome a resource drain in the fight against e-criminals...
    ZDNet

    Other

    Open in New Window Techies braced for new internet boom
    Just when you thought the internet industry was a safely chilling corpse, it lurches back into life - rejuvenated, experts claim, by the magic of...
    BBC

    Open in New Window Universal Music Hit with Anti-Piracy Suit
    New York promotions/technology company DownloadCard has sued Vivendi Universal's music division, charging theft of its anti-piracy technology, trade secrets and ideas...
    AtNewYork

    Open in New Window The State of Linux in 2002
    Sun Microsystems in August joined IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Dell in offering Linux as a server operating system. A month later, IBM...
    NewsFactor

    Open in New Window University bans "illegal" links
    The University of California at San Diego has ordered a student organization to delete hyperlinks to an alleged terrorist Web site, citing the recently enacted USA Patriot Act...
    ZDNet

    Open in New Window Microsoft and the New Science of Security Flaws
    Software development is a much different animal than it was 20 years ago. As program size has increased, so has the number of security flaws...
    NewsFactor


    Looking For More News or Information?

    Google
    Search WWW Search Aardvark

    Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2002, Bruce Simpson, republication rights available on request

    jet engine page