Online column Archives - Page 29 of 30

What’s in a name?

July 12, 2002

(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)

If you’ve ever wondered what your name means, wonder no more.

Behind the Name covers the etymology and history of first names.

Interestingly, our very own editor Fred Tulett’s name means peaceful ruler.

Anyway, I decided to find out what my name means and discovered the net can be a depressing place.

I looked up Jillian and it said it was a variant of Gillian.

So I looked up Gillian, it said it was the feminine version of Julian.

Next stop, Julian – from the Roman name Julianus, which was derived from Julius.

After finally getting to Julius in the list I read that it was possibly derived from Greek – downy-bearded – all that clicking just to be told I need a shave.

The Hobbit name generator, which takes your real name and gives you the Hobbit equivalent, was only slightly kinder, christening me Myrtle Knotwise of Michel Delving.

If you’ve ever wondered what your Jedi name might be, and haven’t we all, then wonder no more. It’s comforting to know that if I ever felt the urge to take up the light sabre I’d know what to write on the tags sewn into the back of my Jedi robes: Allji Mainv of the planet Augmentin.

Speaking of names, Who Named It details those fortunate enough to have had a disease or disorder named after them, including English surgeon Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie who gave his name to a specific type of haemorrhoid.

I wonder if he put it on his business card?

Freeware programs are readily available

June 14, 2002

There are thousands of useful programs readily available for download over the internet and often the person who wrote the software is more than happy to make it available free of charge.
There are several sites that specialise in bringing together collections of these programs, known as freeware.

Good starting points are No Nags, Freeware Home, Jans Freeware Collection and Jumbo.

CFI Software offers a great little program called ShellToys, which is actually a collection of 19 tools and utilities that add handy new features to Windows. You can use it to add new items to the send-to menu, flip through image thumbnails, change file extensions, view folder contents without opening them first, mask lists by file type, print folder contents, set file attributes and permanently delete files.

Yes, all the tasks can be done in other ways but with this program all you need to do is right click.

And the best part is, it’s free.

Another useful program is Clonespy. This little beast will save hard drive space by detecting and removing duplicate files.

There are plenty of other sites offering software as well but it’s worth noting that not all software available on the net is meant to be freely available.

With all the publicity about software piracy and of course the worries about computer virii and worms it pays to be reasonably cautious and to only download software from reputable sites.

While on the topic of software piracy, probably the most interesting and under-reported piece of news relating to the geek world I’ve found lately is that the company that coined the term software piracy has been convicted of just that.

Yes, last year a French court found Microsoft guilty of illegally including another company’s proprietary source code in SoftImage 3D.

Little nasties not so cute

May 17, 2002

There are still lots of nasty surprises awaiting the unsuspecting surfer so take care when opening e-mails and surfing the net.

Both McAfee and Symantec are warning users to watch out for an e-mail with a subject line: “Thoughts…” Apart from a short note reading: “I just found this program, and, I don’t know why…but it reminded me of you. Check it out.” The message carries an attachment called Cute.exe.

However, it’s anything but cute so don’t open it or you’ll unleash a Trojan horse worm that will look for security programs inside your machine and attack them.

It’s labelled a low risk by both companies but if you are unfortunate enough to get hit there are instructions on how to remove it at both sites.

If you use Microsofts MSN Chat or Messenger you might want to make sure you have the latest version because a security hole has been found in the chat tool.

Normally, Messenger automatically tries to update whenever a new version is available.

DOMAIN NAME SCAM

Since raising the issue of the infamous Aussie scamsters Internet Name Protection Ltd in my last column, the Commerce Commission has put out a press release advising against dealing with this company.

The commission received 35 complaints about the Melbourne-based firm in a fortnight and has already investigated Internet Name Protection and issued a warning to the company’s director.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is also on the case.

WHEELY NASTY

Speaking of nasties, if you want to express your feelings on the shameful team orders issued by the Ferrari team at the Austrian grand prix this week, head on over to Petition Online and sign the petition.

Interestingly, Michael Schumacher is only fifth on the Formula One Rogues championship list. This site celebrates drivers and teams for crashing, showing ruthless driving tactics, manipulating the press and other racing delights.

Juan Pablo Montoya is leading the onsite championship with an impressive 50 points, mainly because of his tendency to turn formula one racing into a contact sport every time he gets within striking distance of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari.

He has also scored a few bonus points for premature champagne spraying on the podium and making gestures at Schumacher.

Another worm doing rounds

May 3, 2002

Has your computer had a visit from Klez yet? If you’ve managed to avoid it, then well done.

Klez is the latest mass-mailing worm doing the rounds.

It uses random subject lines, message bodies, and attachment file names and exploits yet another a vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express in an attempt to execute itself when you open or even preview an e-mail.

So don’t forget to turn off that preview panel in Outlook Express, keep up-to-date with Microsoft at https://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/default.htm and if you have been unlucky enough to have this nasty little critter arrive in your inbox, pay a visit to www.symantec.com/techsupp/vURL.cgi/nav117 If you have a domain name, be on the lookout for a new scam.

Notorious Aussie domain name scammer Internet Name Group is back in business under the name of Internet Name Protection Pty Ltd with an old scam targeting a new audience, this time existing .nz customers.

Details of existing .nz names are harvested and the name-holders are sent a letter saying an equivalent name with another extension is available.

The wording is confusing and can lead customers to think this is a renewal demand for their existing domain name.

To find out more, visit New Zealand domain name registration company FreeParking.

CREDIT CARD CHANGES

MasterCard is planning to discontinue using third-party credit card payment systems like PayPal.

PayPal offers the ability to process credit card transactions online without having to work through a financial institution and have a merchant account. Credit card fees and monthly minimums can quickly eat into profits for small businesses and individual users who may only process small numbers of credit card payments, so PayPal has become a popular option.

MasterCard has said its main reason for opting out of third-party services is a lack of information on credit cards processed, which in turn brings higher default and fraud rates.

PayPal is trying to get an exemption from MasterCard’s new rule and its affiliations with large companies like eBay should help.

ELVIS FREEBIE

In keeping with my tradition of writing a column that doesn’t follow any discernable path, here’s something for all the Elvis fans out there, how about a free Elvis screensaver. If you’re not a fan of the late Mr Presley, then take a look at the screensavers on offer at Drawing Hand Creations (www.drawinghand.com), where you will get to see a moving hand creating works of art right before your eyes.

Sites to keep an eye on

April 18, 2002

The death of the Queen Mother brought a huge rise in traffic to the official British monarchy website, with it jumping more than 2500 places in the hitwise.co.nz rankings.

The official Royals site site has links on the front page to either the main site or to the Queen Mum tribute site where you can read about her life, send a message of condolence or even download a poster of her.

The BBC News website, which showed the ceremonial procession and the funeral by streamed webcast, also recorded increased traffic, along with the Westminster Abbey site.

Meanwhile, back in New Zealand, it’s election year. The Alliance site doesn’t make any mention of the party’s recent split, However, the Green Party’s site is very green, reminds me of a line from the old Tom Lehrer song Pollution – “don’t drink the water and don’t breathe the air” (or in this case, don’t drink the water and don’t eat the chicken) – but it does mention the Alliance split.

You might need sunglasses to cope with the bright red background on Labour’s site and the soft-focus photo of Helen Clark really doesn’t even look like her. Apart from that, you can check out what’s happening throughout the country that the Government’s feeling proud about by clicking on the on-site map. Act’s site is available in both Chinese and English and looking at the Southern Sting-like colours in the party’s logo made me wonder if Richard Prebble, Rodney Hide and Gerry Eckhoff are planning to become the travelling cheer squad for our champion netballers. And of course there’s the National Party’s site with Southland’s own Bill English and family smiling out at us from the screen.

If you can’t wait until the election to vote, here’s your chance to make a difference.

M&Ms is running a worldwide promotion where consumers can go to the company’s website and vote for a new colour for M&Ms. Make your vote count!

Trade Me helps to find old and new friends

April 6, 2002

When most Kiwi web surfers think of Trade Me they think of the highly popular online auction site. However, the Trade Me also runs online dating agency Find Someone), Flathunt for those in the market for a new flat or flatmate and online escrow service Safe Trader.

The latest site in the Trade Me stable of runners is Old Friends, a place for Kiwis to locate old school friends and workmates.

Old Friends is free to use and offers an e-mail notification service that updates members when other people join their old schools and workplaces.

It’s a concept that has had great success overseas, with a similar site in the United Kingdom that focuses on school, growing to 4 million registered users within a few months and drawing more than half of the UK’s total web traffic. Friends Reunited (www.friendsreunited.co.uk) is the 11th most popular UK site overall.

There are a wide range of sites offering a similar service here in New Zealand, including Find a Kiwi, Friends Reunited NZ, School Reunions, Reunion, Lost School Friends NZ and Kiwis Reunited.

UNAPPETISING SPAM

Spam continues to be one of the biggest drawbacks of being online. With the Outlook XP you can download only the headers of your e-mail, making it far easier to spot spam before downloading the whole message. For those who don’t have XP, try MailWasher, which lets you download only the headers and put stubborn spammers on your blacklist so that any message sent from them again will be bounced back, making them think your address no longer exists.

You can also use it for hassle-free filtering and best of all it’s free.

Although if you do use it and consider it to be good, consider making a voluntary donation.

Attacks trigger a nice little earner

March 22, 2002

It’s been six months since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and reminders are everywhere on the net.

Every second site seems to have some sort of icon or section commemorating the attacks and the thousands who died.

While a respectful sign of remembrance is fine, there is increasing controversy over the internet users who are looking to profit from the events.

A quick search on eBay brings up a huge range of items for sale that are tied to the attacks, from World Trade Centre jigsaw puzzles to commemorative dollar bills and pictures.

New York City officials have asked eBay to remove all items from its site that relate to the attacks, saying the memorabilia is exploiting a tragedy.

However, eBay said it wasn’t likely to.

The story of the passengers on United Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania prompted singer-songwriter Neil Young to record Let’s Roll, a tribute to the passengers and their heroism.

The song has been made available to radio stations and on the internet. The inspiration was when passenger Todd Beamer was heard to say “let’s roll” as he and others tried to stop the hijackers on their plane.

Let’s roll has since become something of a national catchphrase. Even US President George Bush has repeatedly used it to rally Americans in the war on terrorism.

The foundation set up in the name Todd Beamer wants to trademark his last known words and make sure any money made off the phrase goes to families of the victims.

Also in the race to trademark the phrase are companies and individuals who want to use the inspirational words to sell some not-so-inspirational products ranging from T-shirts to mudflaps.

Dodging the scams

March 9, 2002

(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)

The growth of the internet has also brought about a growth in the number of scams that are happening.

One most people know about is the Nigerian scam. If you get an e-mail from someone claiming to be from top officials in the Nigerian government who wants help in moving millions of dollar from a shonky business deal, delete it.

The sender will request your bank account number to deposit the cash and will offer you an attractive fee in return for your help but once involved you’ll be asked to pay “advance fees” and you’ll never see the millions.

The latest variation on this one has moved to the Balkans, with stories of foreign currency gathered by such members of the former Serbian government as Slobodan Milosevic.

Pyramid schemes also seem to have made themselves quite at home online. Many of these schemes will be described as multi-level marketing plans but look into them closely and you’ll find that they are just illegal pyramid schemes and you’ll probably never see your money again. Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs’ scam watch page keeps a running list about the more common scams and Consumer also has up-to-date information.

Online auctions are another minefield. According to ScamBusters auction fraud accounts for about 48 percent of all online fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission in the United States.

Anyone reading the message board at New Zealand’s largest auction site, Trade Me, could be scared off from even considering buying via online auction. Lately, it seems the scammers are running riot at Trade Me.However, there are things you can do to protect yourself, including checking the feedback of the person you are buying from and requesting that Safe Trader be used for higher priced items.

Safe Trader is an escrow service, where the cash is held by a third party until the goods arrive with the buyer and are deemed to be up to the standard described in the auction.

Sadly, it seems Trade Me is a popular spot for the scammers right now and while the site’s members are putting warnings on the message board, Trade Me itself doesn’t appear to be on top of the problem. One member has had at least three different usernames, each time rejoining after being disabled for breaking the rules. While the site’s members have pointed out time and again that this is the same person because he is using the same bank account number, the Trade Me administrators seem oblivious to it all.