rudis dot net

Well, you always wanted to share your browsing history with the planet, didn't you?

(OK, so *technically* this really should have been a Tumblr post, but Tumblr and MarsEdit do not have speaks with each other and I really like MarsEdit. To all those bitterly disappointed in this choice, here is something to entertain you for a while.)

If you haven't heard about Microsoft bidding for Yahoo by the time I've posted this entry you are either not paying attention to "normal" news or have taken a tech-news sabbatical.

My first reaction was commenting on how ironic it is seeing a giant monopoly in one area whine about other giant monopolies in other areas and using that as an excuse to try to become a giant monopoly in that other area.

My second reaction was: "No! They can't have Flickr! No!".

I *really* like Flickr, so much so that I even have a Pro account. Their API's make integration a snap and the iPhoto FlickrExport plug-in makes backing up our photos simple and quick. While I have not done much with the community photo sharing part of Flickr, some of our snaps have been found & used by others and I have taken advantage of the Creative Commons tagging to use various third-party images. It has also been a great place to store screen captures.

The MS-Yahoo! combination is by no means a done-deal. Many factors will come into play, but recent moves by Yahoo! (re-structuring, layoffs, etc) suggest that they want to be bought and my neighbors in Redmond do have the cash. The assimilation of Yahoo! into the "Live" mind also does not necessarily mean the end of all the goodness that is Flickr, but it's a solid bet that the culture of Flickr will not carry over too well with the bottom-line program management-types which do Ballmer's bidding.

So, Flickr is my main concern and I'm looking at alternatives including SmugMug (suggested by @chriswebb). For those also seeking a candidate list of sites to jump to (in the event Microsoft does do something really stupid with Flickr), Scott Klettke has a great comparison post on his blog.

Hey folks... The last day of the year begins with an early roundup of some interesting bits from around the internets:

• If you think you're safer using your credit card at a restaurant than over the Internet, you're very, very wrong. You need to read this one.
• How exactly does 14,800 pounds of ground beef go missing? (Brings new meaning to "Where's the beef?")
• Maybe the DHS should stop oppressing the average folks and take a look inward instead.

When NPR decides to delve into the murky waters of security and technology, professionals should probably take some notice:

• Marketplace reported (wait a bit for the audio associated with that blurb to be posted) on the increased dangers of identity theft predicted for 2008.
• NPR's Morning Edition also covered identify theft and gave a brief nod to Netscape Navigator's demise.
• At the peak, Amazon was selling 17 Wii's per second this Christmas. That's quite a bit of Wii.

It's a gorgeous day out here and the posts may be few and far between for the rest of the day. Mary & I will be taking some time alone at Monsoon tonight and I'll be sure to post some comments on the cuisine.

One last note is that EVE Online looks amazing on a 46" Sony Bravia LCD HDTV. Booted Windows XP on the MacBook Pro and hooked it up with a DVI-to-HDMI cable, piped the stereo out to the receiver and worked the controls with Apple's Bluetooth keyboard (old school) and a Logitech wireless mouse. The Trinity expansion with the enhanced graphics make it look like you're watching a movie. Great fun!

Happy new year everyone!

F-Secure is accepting volunteers for two new technology preview programs:

• The F-Secure Health Check Technology Preview (Health Check lets you evaluate the security status of your computer, letting you know if you are safe or not, and help you fix security issues, if any.)
  
  
• F-Secure Internet Security Technology Preview [IISTP] (that provides you with a preview of the upcoming features of F-Secure's consumer products)

It looks to be a good opportunity to get a sneak peek of upcoming client security tools and and potentially influence the development of the products.

If you attended the 2007 MACSA Technology Day, you've come to the right place for follow-up resources from the presentation on Internet & Email Content Filtering. If you want to see anything added to this, please feel free to drop a line in the comments.

Information on the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA):

• CIPA Home (direct from the FCC)
• CIPA Info from Universal Services (USAC) Site (comprehensive explanation on what you need to do to stay compliant to receive government funds)
• American Library Association CIPA Information (keep an eye on their From The Field section for reports on what has/hasn't worked for various schools)

Email Content Filtering

Useful sites for statistics on spam and virus transmission via electronic mail:

• Postini StatTrack
• MessageLabs Threat Statistics
• Symantec Internet Security Threat Report

Client-side Email Content Filtering :: Free/Built-in Resources

• Outlook Junk E-mail Filter (via Microsoft, covers Outlook 2003)
• Outlook 2007 Junk E-mail Filter (covers configuration on Outlook 2007)
• Outlook SPAM Tutorial (covers Outlook 2003, Outlook 2000 and Outlook Express)
  
  
• Dealing with Junk E-mail in Thunderbird (applies to all platforms)
• Thunderbird Junk E-mail Tutorial
  
  
• Apple Mail's Junk Mail Filter (via macdevcenter.com)
• Tutorial on Spam & Junk Mail in Apple Mail
  
  
• MailWasher (Windows)
  
  

Client-side Email Content Filtering :: Commercial Offerings

• SPAMfighter (Windows)
• MailWasher Pro (Windows)
• CA Anti-Spam 2007 (Windows)
• Top 10 Windows Spam Filters (Windows)
• Mac Spam Filtering Tools (OS X)

Server-side Email Content Filtering :: Free/Open Source Resources

• SpamAssassin (NOTE: OS X Server comes with SpamAssassin; Can run on Windows Server)
• dspam (Can run on Windows Server)
• MailStripper (Linux/*nix only)

Server-side Email Content Filtering :: Commercial Offerings

• Plethora of Windows Server-side Spam Filters
• Exchange Anti-Spam & Anti-Virus Tools
• Barracuda Spam Firewall (appliance)
• IronPort Anti-Spam (appliance)
• SonicWall (appliance)

Email Content Filtering :: Firewall/Anti-virus Solutions with Email Integration

• Grisoft AVG (anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spyware, anti-spam, anti-phishing)
• Norton AntiSpam Solutions (server and/or workstation)
• McAfee Security Solutions (server and/or workstation)
• Microsoft Forefront Security (server and/or workstation)

Email Content Filtering :: Hosting/Outsourcing Services

• Google Apps for Education (free!)
• Postini (spam filter service)
• Sprint Hosted Spam Protection

Internet Content Filtering

Internet Content Filteirng :: Workstation-based

• SurfControl (commercial)
• ContentProtect Educational Edition (commercial)

Internet Content Filtering :: Server/Network-based

• Secure Computing Server/Appliance Offerings
• WebSense Enterprise (server software)
• DansGuardian (server-based, free, requires proxy server such as Squid Web Proxy Cache – also free, and can run on Windows or *nix); Squid can also be configured as a transparent network proxy with DansGuardian
• SonicWALL Content Filtering Service (appliance)
• BlueCoat (appliance)
• Fortinet FortiGuard (appliance/service, CIPA certified)
• Microsoft ISA Server

Internet Content Filtering :: DNS-based

• OpenDNS
• ScrubIT