Tom Wills's blog

Protect yourself from colds and flu

2008-08-15T03:14:15Z

From a posting to the Southern Arizona Network User Group list server:
Techs can avoid cold/flu viruses by washing hands
Quick Tip: Protect yourself from colds and flu:
"Techs are constantly touching other user’s keyboards, mice, and phones.
While this contact may seem harmless, I have always theorized that this interaction is the cause of many a support tech’s misery during the cold and flu season. If I’m right, not only do support techs pick up cold and/or flu bugs from end users´ peripherals, they also pass them to other keyboards and, therefore, to other people. I decided to investigate this, and here’s what I found."
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-1033381.html
Discussion here:
Wash your hands - dslreports.com
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20944881-Wash-your-hands

LawGuru.com

2007-03-06T06:42:48Z

While searching the internet for a totally different subject, I came across the website LawGuru.com. This site got my attention and I started checking it out.
I found an area on Intellectual Properties where questions may be posted regarding this area of law. You will not get a detailed answer, but by going through this section, one can find all sorts of interesting questions and answers from attorneys from all over the country.
One example of a question is "Is a cease and desist letter necessary before filing a suit for copyright infringement?." The answer was simply "No, but it does have its uses. For example, when a website has content posted on it by a third party and you simply want the content removed."
The part that is useful is that anyone can post a question and have an attorney who specializes in this area of law answer the question. Like stated before, you will not get a detailed answer, but you will get an answer that will point you in the right direction without first spending a bunch on money on an attorney.

Vista already hacked

2006-12-12T03:41:56Z

According to IT World.com, it didn't take long, but there is already a hack to get around Microsoft's Vista's Key Management System (KMS). Is this type of hacking brought on for one of the following reasons:

High cost of the product?
The Microsoft monopoly?
Malicious hackers?
Software Pirates?
Microsoft's monitoring of it's licenses policy?
Because it's fun?
All of the above?
None of the above?
Your idea here....

What's it going to be like when Vista is finally released? For one thing, it will mean even higher prices for an already expensive product. What possible consequences will there be for consumers? Only time will tell.

Record Industry Goes After Kids of Woman Accused of Illegal Downloading

2006-11-02T06:43:36Z

As Reported by Fox News - 11/2/2006
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Patricia Santangelo wouldn't concede in her fight with record companies that accused her of pirating songs over the Internet. Now the companies are hoping for an easier tussle against her kids.
Five record companies, represented by the Recording Industry Association of America, filed a lawsuit in federal court in White Plains on Wednesday against Santangelo's son and daughter.
It said Michelle Santangelo, 20, has acknowledged downloading songs on the family computer and that her brother, Robert, 16, had been implicated in statements his best friend made.
It accuses the two of downloading and distributing over 1,000 songs, including "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by the Offspring, "MMMBop" by Hanson and "Beat It" by Michael Jackson.
"In short, each of the defendants participated in the substantial violations of plaintiffs' copyrights at issue and then concealed their involvement, standing idly by as Patricia Santangelo repeatedly protested their innocence and chastised plaintiffs for filing allegedly frivolous litigation," the complaint said.

Man gets 7 years for software piracy

2006-09-11T02:47:18Z

Man Gets 7 Years For Software Piracy
By Steven Musil
The owner of a software piracy Web site has been sentenced to more
than seven years in prison--the longest sentence ever handed down
for software piracy.
Nathan Peterson, 27, of Los Angeles, sold copyrighted software at a
huge discount on his site, iBackups.net, prosecutors said. The FBI
began investigating the site in 2003 and shut it down in February
2005.
U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III on Friday ordered Peterson
to pay restitution of more than $5.4 million. Peterson pleaded
guilty in December in Alexandria, Va., to two counts of copyright
infringement for illegally copying and selling more than $20 million
in software.
Justice Department and industry officials called the case one of the
largest involving Internet software piracy ever prosecuted.
Last month, Ellis sentenced Danny Ferrer, a Florida man who pleaded
guilty to copyright charges in connection with multimillion-dollar
sales of pirated software, to six years in prison.
Software piracy resulted in a loss of $34 billion worldwide in 2005,
a $1.6 billion increase over 2004, according to a study commissioned

Windows Genuine Advantage - Is it Spyware or Something Else?

2006-07-06T05:01:13Z

Brian Livingston published this column recently:
--------- Included Stuff Follows ----------------
Dump Windows Update, use alternatives
By Brian Livingston
The Internet interprets Microsoft as damage and routes around
it.
My apologies to John Gilmore for tweaking his famous 1993
quote about censorship. But the above statement just happens
to sum up the alternatives Windows users are adopting ever
since Microsoft's "Windows Genuine Advantage" (WGA) debacle.
It was only a few weeks ago when the Redmond software giant
started quietly auto-installing WGA to Windows machines in the
U.S., U.K., and a few other countries. The code, which
qualifies as spyware under any objective definition, was
programmed to contact Microsoft's servers every 24 hours. Now,
after hearing from plenty of outraged customers, the company
back-pedaled on June 27, saying it would release a version
that calls home less often.
That's not really a solution, as I'll explain below. Since
that's the case, the entire affair has given enormous momentum
to third-party products that render Microsoft's Windows Update

What value certifications?

2006-05-02T04:01:24Z

Deborah Rothberg, who on April 26, 2006 wrote Study Shows Downside of IT Certification, addresses some interesting problems. And from Slashdot.org where CmdrTaco says, "IT certifications, popular after the dot-com bust, seem to be hurting careers now according to this article in the current Eweek.com issue. Guess employers are getting hip to the idea that those who don't have experience or can't "do", get certified..."

Digital Rights Management

2006-03-17T03:26:50Z

A subject which is becoming more visible lately is Digital Rights Management. What is Digital Rights Management? According to Wikipedia, it is "Digital rights management (DRM) is the umbrella term referring to any of several technologies used to enforce pre-defined policies controlling access to software, music, movies, or other digital data."
Some sites to get additional information include:
CNET Forums (where an active discussion is going on);
Electronic Frontier Foundation (The Skeptics View);
InfoMech.
What impact is this going to have on I.T. Asset Management? Only time will tell. It appears not much impact if current ITAM practices are used and enforced in the workplace. But, it does add one more layer of complexity to I.T. Asset Management that all ITAM professions need to be aware of.
Doing a

Donating old computers

2005-08-23T08:08:33Z

As more organizations upgrade their computer equipment, the problem of disposing of old equipment grows. One solution is the donation of old computers.
Rather that go too much into detail here on this, I would recommend reading "Ten Tips for Donating a Computer" at TechSoup, a website geared towards non-profits organizations. TechSoup does a good job of discussing this very important issue.
This information is useful for everyone, from the individual to major corporations to government entities, not just non-Profit orgainzations.

Standardized Software File Headers

2005-06-05T05:16:23Z

One thing I would like to see happen, now that software consumers are getting more proactive and aware, is somehow to find a way to encourage software publishers to set a standard as far as software headers go to aid in license compliance.
It seems it is very difficult for publishers of software asset management software to get everything right when they scan for software as the headers are all unique to the publisher.
Not only that, but they can be unique to each product, and version of the product, by the publisher.
If it is so difficult for the publishers of software asset management software, how hard is it for us to deal with the complexities of managing software licensing?
I would like to see the publishers take it upon themselves to standarize the headers in their packages, but I don't think that will happen. I really believe it will be organizations such as the Software Managers Resource and other consumer organizations who will need to address this issue and present it to the software publishers.
Now, how can we, as very informed and involved consumers, and I.T. Asset mangers, go about addressing this issue? I have ideas, but the logistics of doing it are enormous. I'd be interested in knowing what others think of this proposal.

Employee training

2005-04-16T12:29:52Z

I was wondering what others are doing regarding employee training, or what I like to call Employee Buy-In, with their employees?
I have set up a "Software Compliance and the Employee" training presentation. I felt there needed to be a way to give employees training that is comprehensive, and not overly dull. In my "test marketing" of this presentation, it was well received, and was anything but dull. Especially when the employees were encouraged to ask questions.
This can also be presented to groups other than to just employees. Such as user groups, which was one of my test groups. Never miss a chance to champion our cause.
A copy of my generic training can be obtained by clicking
here. I would like to see what others think of it and if they can use it. It is a Microsoft Powerpoint presentation. If you like it, go for it. The only thing I ask is credit where credit is due.
I am a big proponent of training employees in Software Compliance. The more they understand what it is all about, the more cooperation we will get from them.