by Jerry Stern
Editor, ASPects
In the brave new world of always-online software, help files have changed. We used to write HLP files. Now, it’s compiled hypertext, or CHM files, or sometimes, it’s a web page, and not much else. Format shouldn’t affect function, but it does–the industry is getting horribly sloppy, and have forgotten that help [...]
A recent rogue cleanup was easier than usual–there was an image backup to restore, and there was time to backup the contents of the infected drive before cleanup, and scan it a few weeks later with the newest, latest greatest antivirus/antispyware definitions. All the “infections” shown below are fake, of course. And WinDefender 2008 is [...]
Dell has had its share of bad press over bad decisions. Usually, they’re like most big companies that just don’t get it. Now, they’re advertising a new series of computers, called “Vostro”. No, I don’t know how they could possibly trademark that in Italy, where it would mean “Your Computer”. Like I’ve said, bad decisions. [...]
Ina Fried, of CNET’s New.com, has posted an overview of ‘Crapware’ installations on new PCs. It’s a good survey of the big-box companies’ current and recent abuses, er, I mean practices.
News.com
Other news reports have been identifying this stuff as ‘craplets’ or ‘crap applets’. Some craplets are also startupware, if they’re pre-loaded software that runs at [...]
The web evolves. Software security isn’t what it was. There was a time when backing up a computer was a reasonably straightforward operation, if a little time-consuming. Just run Archive Backup and back everything up to DC2120 tapes. Of course, that old program later became Backup Exec, was bought out at various times by Colorado, [...]