Netcraft Anti-phising Toolbar

I have installed Netcraft anit-phishing toolbar on IE. The toolbar is available for IE and Firefox. Apart from popping up alert windows to give warning of a phished site, the toolbar also display the originating country of the site.

I have heard that anti-phishing is an addded feature in Microsoft IE 7. Just wonder IE 7 will be bundled solely with Windows Vista or can be downloaded for free for Windows XP.

Cerberus FTP Server

Cerberus FTP Server is a fantastic FTP daemon under Windows XP OS. Each user can have a different default root directory. Permission to upload, download, rename files and create directories can be set individually and separately. The log statistics are comprehensive. There is also an IP Manager to block IP addresses or range of IP addresses.

Personal edition of Cerberus FTP Server is licence-free. I can use it to enable hosts in internal network segment to transfer files instead of sharing a directory to the network.

Free Opera 8.5

Opera is now free for download, no more ad banners. Just like Firefox, it supports all the essential functions of a modern day browser such as tab-browsing, RSS news feed and integrated Email client.

The anti-phishing security feature is most attractive. I tried to visit a phishing web site in which the URL returned to Opera's URL bar was :

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_login-run

Opera could display the real URL correctly as :

http://148.235.64.36/manual/mod/mod_perl/paypal/sysdll.php

Woooo, with Opera, I don't need to worry about being fooled by phishing web sites.

Standard Chartered double charged esdlife user

This is the popup message when visiting www.esdlife.com.hk

I can not imagine how system upgrade in Standard Chartered Bank computer facilities would result in doube charging visa card holders. It seems that the upgrade was not well-planned and there might be human errors in the course of planning the upgrade.

Google Blogsearch Engine

I am thrived to learn that Google has launched the Google Blogsearch Engine. With the most powerful Linux cluster system in the world, Google Blogsearch should be much faster than any other blogsearch tools.

There is no doubt that the blogosphere will become the world's second largest information archive on the Internet after the world wide web. Blogsearch engine is an important tool for people to find information from blog.

Using cell phones on airplanes

In Europe, there are now trial tests of onboard cellular base station. Users of mobile phones and other handheld wireless devices with roaming capability will be able to make and receive calls. They will be allowed to turn their phones on after the plane reaches 10,000 feet, when other electronic devices such as portable music players and laptops are permitted.

This service might be rolled out in 2007.

Skype accessories

It is not conveninet to wear headset when making Skype phone calls. The good news is there are Skype accessories that resemble the functions of a desktop telephone and come with USB. Pretty good look :




There are also DECT Skype phones for those that wants to have mobility at home or in office.

Skype

I have just experienced the voice quality of Skype. It is not comparable to POTS but still acceptable. It is good to communicate with friends overseas free of charge if they are all Skyper users. Of course, one needs to wear a headset with a microphone.

If I need to dial PSTN number overseas, I need to buy SkypeOut credit points. SkypeOut is not attarctive when compared with the current low IDD charging rates.

ipod nano

Ipod nano is an incredible product from Apple. The size is so small and yet it can have 4GB storage. The colour display can be used to view pictures. The price is below U$200, a bit cheaper than ipod mini. With ipod nano so sophisticated, ipod mini will soon be phased out in the market.

fping

Ping can only send ICMP packets to one host at a time. If I want to test how many hosts in a Class C network are alive or I want to pick an unassigned IP address for other purpose, ping can not quickly help me.

To overcome the problem, I turn to fping which can send ICMP packets to multiple hosts :

% fping < target_files
(list of holes are stored in target_files)

To ping a Class C network :

%fping -g 192.168.1.0/24

or use

% fping -g 192.168.1.0 192.168.1.255

A handy tool, isn't it ?

USB Extender

Re-thinking thin client computing

Ndiyo is a project to promote thin client network computing which is simple, affordable, open, less environmentally damaging and less dependent on intensive technical support than current networking technology. The client destop device, named as nivo, costs less than 100 pounds, with ports for keyboard, mouse, 100M Ethernet and VGA interface. The next version will come with USB and sound interface.


PCs need to be replaced every 3 years in order to catch up with the latest software. This is an environmentally damaging trend. In a networked computing environment, thin-client will not need to be replaced and only the Server needs to be upgraded. By adopting thin-cleint computing, we are saving the world from electronic waster generated from scrapped old PCs.

HSBC Security Key

After waiting for 3 months, I finally got a security key for accessing my Internet banking account with HSBC. From my observation, the secuiry key generates a code with a validity timing of about 1 minute. If the code is not inputted within the preset time, it will be voided.

With the security key in hand, I can perform Internet banking in public libraries, Internet Cafe, Game Centre or Wifi hotspots without worrying if my account and passowrd will be captured by keyloggers.

電影"太行山上"

電影"太行山上"是紀念抗日戰勝60周年的作品，除了中國，外國都沒有在這時間制作此類 電影。日本是於1949年8月15日投降，國內己將這電影策略地在8月 15日上映，但香港則要到9月1日才上映，老實說，大部份紀念抗戰勝利的活動都在8月中旬進行，亳無疑問，香港的電影商已經錯過了最佳黃金檔期。