Random Fluf Archive

This morning brings email from Trend Micro, warning about the BADTRANS.B virus, which they have just upgraded from Low Risk to Medium Risk. In case you haven't heard, it's another neat piece of casual sabotage that can infect your PC simply by previewing an infected email message in Outlook or Outlook Express. Here's the solution Trend recommends on their web site (lightly edited):

1. Delete the %System%\CP_25389.NLS file.
2. Click Start>Run, type regedit then hit the [Enter] key.
3. Double click the following: HKLM>Software>MicrosoftWindows>CurrentVersion>RunOnce
4. In the right panel, look for following registry value: kernel32
5. Click the registry value and then delete it.
6. Restart your system.
7. Scan your system with {your AV software of choice} and delete all files detected as WORM_BADTRANS.B.

According to Trend, this virus executes a key logger program, compromises network security, and steals passwords. Bad stuf. Check out my Virus Stuf page for more details.

In other news, an article in the Register reports today that the forces of Good have won a (doubtless temporary and Pyrrhic) victory over the forces of Evil, which want to restrict (OK, permanently remove) a software purchaser's right to resell software. In a fit of enlightenment, the judge overturned a lower court ruling which stated that purchasers had no right to sell off parts of their bundled software suites as separate programs because the "shrinkwrap EULA" (End User License Agreement) prohibits such unbundling. You know those EULAs, they all say more or less "by the mere act of opening this package, you automatically agree to whatever conditions we want to put into the fine print." The judge ruled that a shrinkwrap EULA is not a "license" but a "sale of goods."

What does this mean? Well, until the Dark Side of the Force coughs up the change to ~~buy some judges~~ massively increase their lobbying efforts until new laws are passed (which will doubtless happen), a software publisher has no right to force us (or software resellers such as one finds on eBay) not to split up prepackaged software bundles and treat them as separate products. I've bought software on eBay. Typically you simply get a CD-ROM with the software on it, with no manuals or retail-type box. It's like what often comes with a new PC, minimalist but legal. Well, legal for now, anyway.

LATER...

I just installed Opera 6.0 beta, and set it to be my default browser. I installed it in a new directory, so it didn't replace version 5.12, or pick up its settings. That meant I had to duplicate my proxy and trusted server settings, but that only took a couple of minutes. So far so good.

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Thursday, 29 November 2001
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Well, this may be my last post for a while. My company's been having cash flow problems for some time, and they've begun to eat the seed corn. Today two other people and I got laid off. They hope it's for only a few months, but time will tell. Don't miss the next exciting episode.

I know the Lord will take care of me, one way or another. We all love to hear exciting stories about how the Lord does amazing things to help people... but it's not quite as much fun on those times when you get to BE the exciting story. Here goes...

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Friday, 30 November 2001
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No entry.

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Saturday, 1 December 2001
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No entry.

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