Secunia Personal Software Inspector (Secunia PSI) is a free (for personal use) security vulnerability scanner for software installed locally on your machine.  PSI will inspect installed software and report back on such things as known vulnerabilies, known updates, end of life applications, etc.  Part of the beauty of this service is that it will help you to download and patch anything which it considers to be a threat, so no messing around trying to find the patches; plus you only need to run it when you want (though it can be configured to run full time if you want).

From the home page:

“The Secunia PSI protects against software vulnerabilities 527,821 users have already installed the Secunia PSI and 45,228,804 user applications are currently monitored.”

I will post comments as I continue to test this, but you can get your copy here

Original is here

Like Flickr? then this may be of interest . http://flickrvision.com/ . real time mashup of Flickr photos as they are uploaded.  very addictive

These are apparently photographs of people, things and moments in Russia which are, for the most part, REALLY strange (and funny!).  Here

enough said !!!  

I did not do this, simply passing on the good word.  The original can be found here

Excellent Mindmap if I do say so myself.

What to do with all those old CDs and DVDs … use PLENTY of glue now or the thing will spin off and make a mess 

I came across two articles in the last few days which show that disk encryption is perhaps more vulenarable to a successful attack than previously thought.

Article 1

Article 2

I was looking for a quote from BT (UK communications service provider) today and filled out the appropriate WEB form.  About 15seconds later (impressive !!) I got an automated mail to say my enquiry would be dealt with, the reference number made me laugh … BT snoozing or was my enquiry just boring ??   

Dear __ ____ _________

Thank you for your quote request. We can confirm it has been forwarded to the BT team with Reference Number ZZZZZZZ. You will receive a reply shortly. Please retain the reference number for future use.

Best wishes,

BT

Came across this site which has links to LOTS of really nice (IMHO) wallpapers for your desktop … many different types and surely something for everyone  :-) 

From the site blurb:  “With so many websites to join, users must decide where to invest significant time in adding their same connections over and over. For developers, this means it is difficult to build successful web applications that hinge upon a critical mass of users for content and interaction. With the Social Graph API, developers can now utilize public connections their users have already created in other web services. It makes information about public connections between people easily available and useful.”  Watch the video too - more info here

These had me fooled for a moment … damn cool pillow rocks

I have just read with some interest and quiet amusement that UK TV presenter, author and newspaper columnist Jeremy Clarkson has lost money after publishing his bank account details in the UK national press.  Story goes that he was commenting on the loss of 25 million people’s data on two government CDs which had gone missing, here, apparently writing that:

“All you’ll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out. Honestly, I’ve never known such a palaver about nothing,” he told readers.

So, he published is own account details and how to find his address.

What happened?

Well, someone has since opened a direct debit for £500 from his account and into the account of the charity, Diabetes UK.  Seems the bank can’t tell him who did it due to the Data Protection Act and cannot prevent it happening again.

My quiet amassment is not that it happened to him but that someone followed this through and highlighted what can happen when you are haphazard with personal details and set yourself up for a fall.  Whether this was a direct result of an anonymous reader getting hold of the details or a close friend “playing a joke” the punishment is fitting. 

Good charitable cause, I hope the direct debit stays !!!

Original BBC report.

Want to translate something into R2D2 speak … then now is your chance

For such beauties as “Plan and track weight loss $19″ to “Give a gift of peace of mind, SimplyFile an overflowing inbox. 50% off” then why not visit the Microsoft gift store for 2007 where these and lots of other wonderful add-ons can be picked up.

“Professional backgrounds for PowerPoint for only $199″ - Surely they should have thought of those when developing PowerPoint in the first place … and does this mean that the backgrounds which were included with the software are NOT “Professional”

Note to self - find FreeWare alternatives to those add-ons listed and post