Daily Cup of Tech

I recently read that people are starting to move away from VLC for their default media player to GOM. I plan to do a side by side comparison in the near future but I was hoping to hear from you, the reader, to see which you prefer and why.

Fill up the comments with your pick and convince me that this is the best way to go!

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/05/12/gom-vs-vlc-your-opinion/trackback/

Dropbox, one of my favorite free tools, has just updated their Linux package!  I am very excited by this because I can now run Dropbox on my non-GUI Ubuntu servers!

From the website:

Hi Friends!

We’ve been keeping this secret for some months while Megabuild (0.6.507) was in development. Now it’s finally ready! Here is the newest Linux package for Dropbox. In this package you can expect the following enhancements:

• Dropbox CLI (man dropbox at your prompt
• New Nautilus emblems (spiffy ones you see on the latest Mac and Windows builds)
• Dropbox no longer autostarts for every user from Nautilus, you can now start Dropbox from your applications menu!
• Jaunty compatibility out of the box (finally!)

For you Jaunty users out there who can’t stand a single level of indirection here are some direct links:

• Ubuntu 9.04 (64-bit)
• Ubuntu 9.04
• The Source

Enjoy!

[New Nautilus Plugin + Official Dropbox CLI]

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/04/17/new-linux-version-of-dropbox-with-command-line-version-available/trackback/

Just in case someone missed the 24 in 24 marathon from earlier this week, here are the 24 freebies that I posted about:

1. Ajax Fancy Captcha
2. eBox Platform
3. Untangle
4. Concrete5
5. Ultimate Deployment Appliance
6. XAMPP
7. FOG
8. Technitium MAC Address Changer
9. UNetbootin
10. DTM ODBC Manager
11. BitNami
12. Open-AudIT
13. SUMo
14. HaXe
15. SubSonic
16. pChart
17. Tunnelier
18. TimeVault
19. OpenGoo
20. Network Notepad
21. FreeVPS
22. Amahi Home Server
23. Jinzora
24. iRadeo

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/04/15/24-freebies-roundup/trackback/

As a former support tech, I know two things for a fact about support calls to my cell phone:

1. I can never remember later who called
2. I always underestimate how long the support call was

I am experimenting with my team at work with a new process that I thought might come in handy for other consultants.  We have provided all of out techs with smartphones.  We have also installed a little freeware app on all of the phones called PhoneLog.  The purpose of this software is to monitor all incoming and outgoing phone calls and then transfer the information to the phone’s calendar. It also puts into the calendar the name of the person who called from the contacts, their phone number, when they called and how long the call lasted.

Now, the next time the smartphone synchronizes with our Exchange server back at the office, the information about the call is also there.  The tech then calls the admin team who takes the information from the tech’s calendar and fills in all of the details from the tech.  By time the tech gets back to the office, the invoice is ready to go.

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/04/01/consulting-tip-easily-track-billable-calls-on-your-smartphone/trackback/

Everyone is in full Chicken Little mode these days with April 1 just around the corner and the Conflicker virus poised to bring down civilization.  Not since Y2K have I seen so much panic about a computer related issue.  So, to help everyone out, I thought that I would let you know how you can protect yourself from Conflicker.

1. Install the Microsoft patch - There has been a patch available for this issue out since October ‘08.  Make sure the patch is installed on your system.
2. Update your antivirus software - make sure that you have the latest version of your antivirus software and that the latest virus signatures are installed.  If you do not have antivirus on your computer, may I suggest Avast?
3. Remove the worm from your system - F-Secure has a free tool that will remove it from your computer to make sure you are not a part of the robot army!  Or you can use the Microsoft version of the tool.
4. Block the worm - I have created a HOSTS file update that can be added to the end of your HOSTS file to block the majority of the websites that the worm is attempting to connect to. (Thanks to F-secure for the original file that I modified).  This can also be done from your DNS server if your are running a corporate network.

More Information

You can get more information about this worm at the following websites:

• An Analysis of Conficker
• Conficker Worm: Help Protect Windows from Conficker
• Computer Worms - Conficker| Microsoft Security
• Yahoo! News - Giant Internet worm set to change tactics April 1 by AP: Yahoo! Tech
• The Conficker Worm: April Fool’s Joke or Unthinkable Disaster? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
• W32.Downadup | Symantec
• FAQ: Conficker time bomb ticks, but don’t expect boom | Security - CNET News
• Group launches strategy to block Conficker worm from .ca domain
• Conficker worm: worst is yet to come

P.S. If you are interested in doing a bit of manhunting, Microsoft is apparently offering a reward of $250,000 to catch this virus maker!

P.P.S. How many Linux and Mac users are stressed about this?  That’s what I thought!

Trackback link - http://www.dailycupoftech.com/2009/03/31/howto-stop-conflicker-in-its-tracks-immediately/trackback/