GMAIL BLOGGER crashed ?

[Bob]

If you use these services try sending gmail or getting to blogger

Service Unavailable

Error 503

BY the Way

be sure to see the THIRD post in this thread, detailing the new "hidden bug" in Google Chrome that keeps the MIKE turned ON, even when it is supposed to be OFF..

[Bob]

http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2012/10/18/google-data-centers-15.jpg

google data center in Oregon - the "beast"

Google's Web services, including YouTube, Search and Gmail, were down for a brief period Friday. Pictured is the company's Oregon data center.

[Bob]

Could have been a bump - it seems to be back now in Central US - anyone else loosing access?

New NSA/NRO hooks?

Anyone noticing keystroke slowdown, missing keys when typing, like hesitations ? Keystroke grabber in place?

Just asking after the NSA had been planting keybugs in computers.

You all did follow the ARS TECHNICA webpage about GOOGLE CHROME having a NON-FIXED BUG in the MIKE feature?

Going to a webpage that can turn on the mike (and camera), after exiting the website one would think that the "CHAT FEATURE" is no longer active. An Israeli trojan/virus researcher found in November 2013 that CHROME had this "bug" in it, reported and GOOGLE refused to fix it.

The bug is after the mike has been turned ON from a website that has access to do it, leaving that page, the MIKE IS NOT TURNED OFF, meaning it will continue to report, what it hears to the website that turned it on.

See ARS TECHNICA website for the full article..

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/googlers-say-f-you-to-nsa-company-encrypts-internal-network/

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/01/22/2156235/chrome-bugs-lets-sites-listen-to-your-private-conversations - see the full article on tech slashdot org

http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities-and-threats/google-chrome-allows-eavesdropping-researcher-claims/d/d-id/1113524 - the information week article on the "bug" that google apparently feels is a FEATURE (maybe for NSA?)

Unless you know where your mike physically is, you can't simply put a piece of tape on the mike like you might over the camera, and if one was successful in finding the mike, one would not be able to use SKYPE for instance or other social chat programs with the lens and mike taped.. (btw, does SKYPE now that it is owned by MICRO$OFT (http://www.wired.com/business/2011/05/microsoft-buys-skype-2/) actually turn things off? when done ?)

ALSO the CHROME TEAM (At Google) knows of another bug in the listening ability -
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=268386&q=speech&sort=-modified&colspec=ID%20Pri%20M%20Iteration%20ReleaseBlock%20Cr%20Status%20Owner%20Summary%20OS%20Modified

"It seems to me that I found a bug in Chromium.
Bug concerns the use of the microphone.

The microphone works even though it is disabled in the browser and Adobe Flash Player.
The microphone works in the popular voice search bars, on www website.

In a nutshell.
The microphone is [supposed to be] off and [it is still] running into the search bar.

VERSION:
Chrome Version: 28.0.1550.0 Stable
Operating System: Windows 7 HP, SP3 "

continues describing the mike-spy bug:

"In the second case, the website requests access to your microphone.

I.e. it can use JavaScript to start and stop recording without any user interaction.

So in the first case, nothing can be recorded without explicit user interaction.

In the second case this could happen and therefore, the content setting is applied.

Markus, I think you know the people who worked on this. Could you please ask them to confirm this?"

There was no further response from Google after that was posted.

WHY ?

[chocolate]

My previous password to log into my gmail account was:
*I hate Gmail* and I am not joking.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Bobd, God Bless you -- be strong and don't let the cyber bullies get ya down!!

I've had many DDOS and DNS problems while writing about controversial subjects a few years ago.

Also our city Seattle was doing IPv6 crap earlier than others (I think) so we were extra screwed by the persistent surveillance and bullying.

It's not just an issue of Comcast and Charter being bad providers.
there is something else going on.

Don't let them unravel your sanity!! :(

Fight the good fight and the long fight!

[korgh]

My previous password to log into my gmail account was:
*I hate Gmail* and I am not joking.

Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and the most popular email services are completely corrupt in matter of privacy/security.. there is no security when you trust your personal messages to somewhere in cloud... there is always someone that can read all that you have if he/she really want to do.
The best way to avoid this and finally get a nice dreams, will be begin to plan in building your own email server. and believe, is not hard ;)

[korgh]

Bobd, God Bless you -- be strong and don't let the cyber bullies get ya down!!

I've had many DDOS and DNS problems while writing about controversial subjects a few years ago.

Also our city Seattle was doing IPv6 crap earlier than others (I think) so we were extra screwed by the persistent surveillance and bullying.

It's not just an issue of Comcast and Charter being bad providers.
there is something else going on.

Don't let them unravel your sanity!! :(

Fight the good fight and the long fight!

Tesla,
have you ever tried to put a firewall on your local network?
Try the PfSense firewall. Is free, robust and easy to run ( i know that will be easy 4 u ;) )
Just get an old machine and run with a pfsense live cd. If it works, install it. I have four servers running under production for years. Is the best solution to catch some protection nowadays in your local network.

Give a try and i can help if you wish.

Cheers

[gnostic9]

If you use these services try sending gmail or getting to blogger

Service Unavailable

Error 503

BY the Way

be sure to see the THIRD post in this thread, detailing the new "hidden bug" in Google Chrome that keeps the MIKE turned ON, even when it is supposed to be OFF.. Hi Bobd, gnostic9 here, your information is very accurate, i am in ireland and have had the same problems for a few weeks now. Is there any OS that is free from this digital interrogation? Many thanks brother!

[Bob]

http://yaps-pcap.sourceforge.net/ --- freeware packet sniffer.

About this project:

This is the YAPS - Yet Another Packet Sniffer project ("yaps-pcap")

This project was registered on SourceForge.net on Sep 6, 2002, and is described by the project team as follows:

YAPS can account for IP traffic on a \'Per-IP\' basis, using the pcap library. It can handle hundreds of megabits of traffic easily, and can generate hourly/daily reports (text, or csv) using a simple report utility.

This may be a way for determining who is spying thru one's computer. Using this and checking to see where the packets are going if at all.

[korgh]

Google Chrome is full of bugs. and heavy to run because there is some weird java routines hidden. I'm using Mozzila modified. Just run mozzila and type in the address bar: "about:config" without quotation marks... you will see a world of things to adjust as you like.
My two cents

[korgh]

http://yaps-pcap.sourceforge.net/ --- freeware packet sniffer.

About this project:

This is the YAPS - Yet Another Packet Sniffer project ("yaps-pcap")

This project was registered on SourceForge.net on Sep 6, 2002, and is described by the project team as follows:

YAPS can account for IP traffic on a \'Per-IP\' basis, using the pcap library. It can handle hundreds of megabits of traffic easily, and can generate hourly/daily reports (text, or csv) using a simple report utility.

This may be a way for determining who is spying thru one's computer. Using this and checking to see where the packets are going if at all.


Wireshark does the job too.. Is visual, light and very powerfull.
I use this software in my job. There is a portable version to run in a pen drive.

[Bob]

Google Chrome is full of bugs. and heavy to run because there is some weird java routines hidden. I'm using Mozzila modified. Just run mozzila and type in the address bar: "about:config" without quotation marks... you will see a world of things to adjust as you like.
My two cents

Thanks Korgh - ya I have run that and turned OFF so many things which are turned ON by default, including their incessant automatic 500 megabyte downloads every other week :) - when one has a bunch of devices that insist on being updated the bandwidth bloat gets old fast.

Gnostic9 asked about browsers, and there have been discussions on the Forum about what to use... Possibly some folks remember those discussions and could offer solutions to browsers?

[Bob]

http://yaps-pcap.sourceforge.net/ --- freeware packet sniffer.

About this project:

This is the YAPS - Yet Another Packet Sniffer project ("yaps-pcap")

This project was registered on SourceForge.net on Sep 6, 2002, and is described by the project team as follows:

YAPS can account for IP traffic on a \'Per-IP\' basis, using the pcap library. It can handle hundreds of megabits of traffic easily, and can generate hourly/daily reports (text, or csv) using a simple report utility.

This may be a way for determining who is spying thru one's computer. Using this and checking to see where the packets are going if at all.


Wireshark does the job too.. Is visual, light and very powerfull.
I use this software in my job. There is a portable version to run in a pen drive.

I actually use WireShark too - What would be great for folks who are concerned is a simple TUTORIAL in how to go about doing the packet sniffing.

If nothing else being able to actually analyze the captured packets and SEE all the various exchanges happening on one's PC would very much open one's eyes as to what's going on behind the scenes. AND finding something that is happening without one's conscious choice.. posting what they found.. weoh.. :)

And if nothing unusual is found, great.. Just piece of mind goes a long way.

[Bob]

wireShark - a really good packet sniffer - http://www.wireshark.org/

https://blog.wireshark.org/2013/08/wireshark-tutorial-series-2-tips-and-tricks-used-by-insiders-and-veterans/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wireshark-tutorial-series-2-tips-and-tricks-used-by-insiders-and-veterans - tips and tricks in using wireShark packet sniffing

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

wanted to tell you guys something really quick,

i use chrome a whole lot, right? and last week, i noticed (not the first time) even when i had one (1) instance and one (1) tab open,
when I used the Task manager, the 2nd tab in there showed me that at least eight (8!!!!!!) instances of Chrome were running.

this was after a restart and fresh login! so it wasn't my admin account being logged in etc with chrome open,
it was like, extra **** running in my background...

chrome often hogs a ton of resources (and this is random so you never know when it is gonna occur), and when this happens, things are almost frozen on the PC.
this computer is like 4 years old or less. my Dell ran forever in comparison.

Software is getting messier every year seems like, no matter how good your machine someone is always finding a way to use it against the owner... lol!
or to hog all resources and throttle practical use!!

[korgh]

Google Chrome is full of bugs. and heavy to run because there is some weird java routines hidden. I'm using Mozzila modified. Just run mozzila and type in the address bar: "about:config" without quotation marks... you will see a world of things to adjust as you like.
My two cents

Thanks Korgh - ya I have run that and turned OFF so many things which are turned ON by default, including their incessant automatic 500 megabyte downloads every other week :) - when one has a bunch of devices that insist on being updated the bandwidth bloat gets old fast.

Gnostic9 asked about browsers, and there have been discussions on the Forum about what to use... Possibly some folks remember those discussions and could offer solutions to browsers?

Well.. there is no 100% security when you surf in internet, but you can minimize the collateral damage..
If you are running Windowze, all the O.S. can compromise you security/privacy because was made to have holes/backdoors.
You can install a local computer firewall like Comodo Firewall if you can't live without mswindows and use the firefox as client browser. After that, you can choose as your search engine the Duckduckgo (https://duckduckgo.com/about).

"DuckDuckGo is an Internet search engine that emphasizes protecting searchers' privacy and avoiding the "filter bubble" of personalized search results.DuckDuckGo distinguishes itself from other search engines by not profiling its users and by deliberately showing all users the same search results for a given search term. DuckDuckGo also emphasizes getting information from the best sources rather than the most sources, generating its search results from key crowdsourced sites such as Wikipedia and from partnerships with other search engines like Yandex, Yahoo!, Bing and WolframAlpha"

Avoid Win8 if you can! Is the worst thing that i saw in years about private security.This one was thought and forged by Satan in a bad day.
It sends packets to everywhere, checks your connection and your IP/dns w/ micro$oft servers and so on.. Is the NSA client/agent covered software running happy in your machine. and is ugly too..

But, if you really needs to change to another O.S who protects and offer better security than windowze, i suggest a linux distro (ubuntu is nice and friendly).

I'm use W7 pro, but totally modified and tuned by me. Also, i have a firewall running in my home network besides my router. Everyone in house must pass by proxy/firewall and after that goes to the router running a firewall too.
Is hard to keep the plague away, but as i said you can minimize the damage.
I can help with good solutions, but it requires some knowledge of network and server administration because is very technical issue. If you need, i'm here to help. nothing is impossible. If they can, we can do it too.

Cheers

[korgh]

wanted to tell you guys something really quick,

i use chrome a whole lot, right? and last week, i noticed (not the first time) even when i had one (1) instance and one (1) tab open,
when I used the Task manager, the 2nd tab in there showed me that at least eight (8!!!!!!) instances of Chrome were running.

this was after a restart and fresh login! so it wasn't my admin account being logged in etc with chrome open,
it was like, extra **** running in my background...

chrome often hogs a ton of resources (and this is random so you never know when it is gonna occur), and when this happens, things are almost frozen on the PC.
this computer is like 4 years old or less. my Dell ran forever in comparison.

Software is getting messier every year seems like, no matter how good your machine someone is always finding a way to use it against the owner... lol!
or to hog all resources and throttle practical use!!

Maybe there are scripts running in background..
You can filter them or just ban all scripts (java is a nasty piece when used by the dark forces :) )
And the google chrome loves java...
You should try (just for test purpose) run mozzila and this addon on it :
NoScript Security Suite (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/)
and let us know about the results.
Also, take a look in these fine tools that can help you a lot to monitoring your system.

SysInternals:

"The Sysinternals web site was created in 1996 by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell to host their advanced system utilities and technical information. Whether you’re an IT Pro or a developer, you’ll find Sysinternals utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications."

Sysinternals Networking Utilities: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb795532

PipeList
Displays the named pipes on your system, including the number of maximum instances and active instances for each pipe.

PsFile
See what files are opened remotely.

PsPing
Measures network performance.

ShareEnum
Scan file shares on your network and view their security settings to close security holes.

TCPView
Active socket command-line viewer.

Whois
See who owns an Internet address.

Sysinternals Process Utilities: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb795533

Autoruns (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902)
See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots and you login. Autoruns also shows you the full list of Registry and file locations where applications can configure auto-start settings.


Handle (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896655)
This handy command-line utility will show you what files are open by which processes, and much more.


ListDLLs (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896656)
List all the DLLs that are currently loaded, including where they are loaded and their version numbers. Version 2.0 prints the full path names of loaded modules.


PortMon (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896644)
Monitor serial and parallel port activity with this advanced monitoring tool. It knows about all standard serial and parallel IOCTLs and even shows you a portion of the data being sent and received. Version 3.x has powerful new UI enhancements and advanced filtering capabilities.

(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/dd996900)
Process Explorer (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653) (***** a must have )
Find out what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open, which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show you who owns each process.


Process Monitor (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645) (***** a must have )
Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in real-time.


PsKill (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896683)
Terminate local or remote processes.


PsList (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896682) (***** a must have )
Show information about processes and threads.


PsService (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897542) (***** a must have )
View and control services.


PsSuspend (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897540)
Suspend and resume processes.


PsTools (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896649)
The PsTools suite includes command-line utilities for listing the processes running on local or remote computers, running processes remotely, rebooting computers, dumping event logs, and more.


ShellRunas (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc300361)
Launch programs as a different user via a convenient shell context-menu entry.


VMMap (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/dd535533) (***** a must have )
See a breakdown of a process's committed virtual memory types as well as the amount of physical memory (working set) assigned by the operating system to those types. Identify the sources of process memory usage and the memory cost of application features.


There are more, but I hope that helps for now.

Cheers

[Bob]

I sense that if we COULD HAVE a sub-forum for COMPUTER HELP pointers, tips - that would go over wonderfully.. With thousands of users this would be a blessing - HOW TO, and so forth.. There is a LOT of "how to" in how to USE the FORUM, lots of tips here and there scattered about - one stop place would be excellent - hope it happens..

[korgh]

I sense that if we COULD HAVE a sub-forum for COMPUTER HELP pointers, tips - that would go over wonderfully.. With thousands of users this would be a blessing - HOW TO, and so forth.. There is a LOT of "how to" in how to USE the FORUM, lots of tips here and there scattered about - one stop place would be excellent - hope it happens..

LOL.
I was thinking the same about it..
I could compile some tutorials very clear and easy to execute for anyone and others more complex to the advanced users, like a "step-by-step" mainly for those who the computer is a nasty thing.
I will be glad to contribute. :)

[gnostic9]

wanted to tell you guys something really quick,

i use chrome a whole lot, right? and last week, i noticed (not the first time) even when i had one (1) instance and one (1) tab open,
when I used the Task manager, the 2nd tab in there showed me that at least eight (8!!!!!!) instances of Chrome were running.

this was after a restart and fresh login! so it wasn't my admin account being logged in etc with chrome open,
it was like, extra **** running in my background...

chrome often hogs a ton of resources (and this is random so you never know when it is gonna occur), and when this happens, things are almost frozen on the PC.
this computer is like 4 years old or less. my Dell ran forever in comparison.

Software is getting messier every year seems like, no matter how good your machine someone is always finding a way to use it against the owner... lol!
or to hog all resources and throttle practical use!!

Use old aps, can be found easily on a search, skype is one app that insists on new app, therefore it's corrupt! make your own individual choice!

[Bob]

wanted to tell you guys something really quick,

i use chrome a whole lot, right? and last week, i noticed (not the first time) even when i had one (1) instance and one (1) tab open,
when I used the Task manager, the 2nd tab in there showed me that at least eight (8!!!!!!) instances of Chrome were running.

this was after a restart and fresh login! so it wasn't my admin account being logged in etc with chrome open,
it was like, extra **** running in my background...

chrome often hogs a ton of resources (and this is random so you never know when it is gonna occur), and when this happens, things are almost frozen on the PC.
this computer is like 4 years old or less. my Dell ran forever in comparison.

Software is getting messier every year seems like, no matter how good your machine someone is always finding a way to use it against the owner... lol!
or to hog all resources and throttle practical use!!

Maybe there are scripts running in background..
You can filter them or just ban all scripts (java is a nasty piece when used by the dark forces :) )
And the google chrome loves java...
You should try (just for test purpose) run mozzila and this addon on it :
NoScript Security Suite (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/)
and let us know about the results.
Also, take a look in these fine tools that can help you a lot to monitoring your system.

SysInternals:

"The Sysinternals web site was created in 1996 by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell to host their advanced system utilities and technical information. Whether you’re an IT Pro or a developer, you’ll find Sysinternals utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications."

Sysinternals Networking Utilities: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb795532

PipeList
Displays the named pipes on your system, including the number of maximum instances and active instances for each pipe.

PsFile
See what files are opened remotely.

PsPing
Measures network performance.

ShareEnum
Scan file shares on your network and view their security settings to close security holes.

TCPView
Active socket command-line viewer.

Whois
See who owns an Internet address.

Sysinternals Process Utilities: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb795533

Autoruns (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902)
See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots and you login. Autoruns also shows you the full list of Registry and file locations where applications can configure auto-start settings.


Handle (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896655)
This handy command-line utility will show you what files are open by which processes, and much more.


ListDLLs (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896656)
List all the DLLs that are currently loaded, including where they are loaded and their version numbers. Version 2.0 prints the full path names of loaded modules.


PortMon (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896644)
Monitor serial and parallel port activity with this advanced monitoring tool. It knows about all standard serial and parallel IOCTLs and even shows you a portion of the data being sent and received. Version 3.x has powerful new UI enhancements and advanced filtering capabilities.

(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/dd996900)
Process Explorer (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653) (***** a must have )
Find out what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open, which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show you who owns each process.


Process Monitor (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645) (***** a must have )
Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in real-time.


PsKill (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896683)
Terminate local or remote processes.


PsList (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896682) (***** a must have )
Show information about processes and threads.


PsService (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897542) (***** a must have )
View and control services.


PsSuspend (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897540)
Suspend and resume processes.


PsTools (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896649)
The PsTools suite includes command-line utilities for listing the processes running on local or remote computers, running processes remotely, rebooting computers, dumping event logs, and more.


ShellRunas (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc300361)
Launch programs as a different user via a convenient shell context-menu entry.


VMMap (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/dd535533) (***** a must have )
See a breakdown of a process's committed virtual memory types as well as the amount of physical memory (working set) assigned by the operating system to those types. Identify the sources of process memory usage and the memory cost of application features.


There are more, but I hope that helps for now.

Cheers

Those are excellent no question. Users though who know not so much do need to know:
1) why to use a particular program or monitor, and what to expect - is what is running normal? is what is running supposed to be there.

It's kinda like picking up a hitch-hiker. What do they have in the backpack? Do we need to be concerned?

2) How often should something be looked for? Always run a packet sniffer, and have a firewall this is not able to be easily punched through by so called "friendly" programs and apps?

3) What about safely doing driver upgrades. What is a driver, why should it be upgraded.

4) Are there any benefits in safely setting up one's computer for dual boot, like to run Ubuntu? (I have Ubuntu (a Linux distro) and use that at times when I need a fast bloatware free machine.. But how could somebody who is not comfortable with installing programs (or know if the computer has enough memory, or disk space for instance), know even the right questions to ask?

This is where some great public service could come in to help out the Forum Members.

[Bob]

http://mashable.com/2014/01/24/google-gmail-outage-response/

Google has decided to "explain" what happened today.

"Friday's Google outage that downed Gmail, Google+, Calendar and Documents for users around the world was caused by a software bug, according to a statement released by Google Friday evening.

The culprit, said Google, was an internal software bug (dohh) that ultimately caused users' data requests to be ignored, which then caused errors within Gmail and other Google services."

""An internal system that generates configurations — essentially, information that tells other systems how to behave — encountered a software bug and generated an incorrect configuration," said Ben Treynor, Google's VP of Engineering, on the company's blog. "The incorrect configuration was sent to live services over the next 15 minutes, caused users’ requests for their data to be ignored, and those services, in turn, generated errors."

Google apologized for the outage, which, it reported, lasted 25 to 55 minutes and affected as many as 10% of users. The company also said they are in the process of putting systems in place to prevent any similar problems in the future.

The outage began Friday at 10:55 a.m. PST, according to Google. The sudden crash of multiple Google services at once caused an an uproar on Twitter, where affected users quickly pointed the finger at Google."

WooHoo !


http://sandpaw.weblogs.anu.edu.au/files/2012/05/homer-simpson-300.jpg

[Bob]

It does look like there are windows registry settings to allow for software de-activation of the mike.

There would be no guarantee that the javascripts would not be able to go in there and re-activate a deactivated registry setting.

Possibly one savvy in this would be able to write a very small program that could turn off, and keep off the mike (and/or camera).. Good public service. Eh?

IF you want it on for some reason, you could turn it on, then registry turn it off, preventing re-activation unless you want it..

Somebody?

[Johnny]

System explorer is a great tool: http://systemexplorer.net/

BTW to clear all history 'everything' often, is also a good thing

Johnny

[Johnny]

It does look like there are windows registry settings to allow for software de-activation of the mike.

There would be no guarantee that the javascripts would not be able to go in there and re-activate a deactivated registry setting.

Possibly one savvy in this would be able to write a very small program that could turn off, and keep off the mike (and/or camera).. Good public service. Eh?

IF you want it on for some reason, you could turn it on, then registry turn it off, preventing re-activation unless you want it..

Somebody?

I use a realtek high definition audio driver for the mike and loudspeaker. When you right click on the icon, and select sound, and go to properties, and advance, you are able to disable other/alien programs to take over the use of the mike and loudspeaker. There is also a kind of meter, where you can see the effect (if the mike and loudspeaker works). If somebody is able to go behind that, would not surprise me.

I have been a programmer for about 40 years, and I will say: "Everything is possible. The ordinary we do immediately, miracles takes one day", but maybe 'they' haven't used that day.

Johnny

[Ilie Pandia]

I sense that if we COULD HAVE a sub-forum for COMPUTER HELP pointers, tips - that would go over wonderfully.. With thousands of users this would be a blessing - HOW TO, and so forth.. There is a LOT of "how to" in how to USE the FORUM, lots of tips here and there scattered about - one stop place would be excellent - hope it happens..

LOL.
I was thinking the same about it..
I could compile some tutorials very clear and easy to execute for anyone and others more complex to the advanced users, like a "step-by-step" mainly for those who the computer is a nasty thing.
I will be glad to contribute. :)

This seems to be beyond the purpose of this forum and there is already plenty of documentation available if you Google for it. :)

But here is a suggestion. I know we have many technical people here. You could get together and start a blog/website/wiki and take requests from people at Avalon and write up tutorials and articles. There are tools to do this free of charge on various servers.

We will then be able to link to that website from this forum and refer to articles there when questions arise.

So this would be like a "technical support team" kind of thing. A thread could be started here and monitored by volunteers for requests. When an answer is created it will be linked to in a reply on this forum.

[Bob]

Good thought - when folks here are wanting to reach out for help, it helps the spirit no question, that I believe is part of the Forum purpose, helping spirit - we are using technology to interact, to keep our equipment working to reach out is needed.. Many folks have asked what happens if Avalon goes dark, how do WE communicate. So if the computers fail, the networks fail, folks start to hurt. And the overall quality diminishes.

The group is in better shape if they know there is someplace to reach to.. that we interact in the Forum means we need working systems which we feel are as safe as possible to communicate with.. :)

[Ilie Pandia]

Hi Bob,

I know what you're saying. It's just that the computer tech is so vast, there are dedicated forums that do not cover it all... This why I think is more efficient to use Google to search for stuff or to ask people here specific questions and they may be able to assist.

I have said on a different thread, that each member here should have the emails address of his Avalon friends so they can get in touch if Avalon should go down. This will create a holographic network.

Also, there is this page that the staff will use to let visitors know what's going on (just add "status" to projectavalon): http://ProjectAvalonStatus.net (<-- bookmark this some place).

OK, I got a bit off-topic here, but is a good reminder for everyone to take measures to keep in touch. :focus:

[Johnny]

Hi Bob,

I know what you're saying. It's just that the computer tech is so vast, there are dedicated forums that do not cover it all... This why I think is more efficient to use Google to search for stuff or to ask people here specific questions and they may be able to assist.

Sorry to interrupt, Google is OK if you know what to ask for, but then usually the damage has happen, I understand it as a kind of thread where not so skilled people can learn to prevent the damage, what precautions one can take.

Regards Johnny

[Nanook]

If you like to be on the bleeding edge so you can play with all the latest HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript thing, might try Aurora. Despite being on the bleeding edge, it has been stable. I am using it to access this forum and write this now.

As far as microphones and camera, the only way really to be safe is unplug them when you're not using them.

Similar issues exist with cell phones, the cameras and microphones can be turned on remotely for spying, NSA has hacked software and ways to get it into your phone to allow this. Your phone also has a built-in GPS if it is modern and they can get that information as well, not just what tower you talked through. Only way to disable this is to remove your cell phones battery.

[Nanoo Nanoo]

Hey Bob ,

whats your opinion of Firefox ? is it safe to assume that they have all been gotten to ? or they wouldnt be in operation ?

N

[Bob]

Hey Bob ,

whats your opinion of Firefox ? is it safe to assume that they have all been gotten to ? or they wouldnt be in operation ?

N
Hi N :)

Here are a list of articles comparing browsers, pros and cons:

http://articles.centennialarts.com/2012/06/08/comparison-on-all-major-web-browsers-internet-explorer-safari-firefox-and-google-chrome/ - MSIE, Safari, FireFox, Chrome

http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/ - top ten reviews

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/The-pros-and-cons-of-migrating-to-Firefox - this is what they say there
"The main security advantage touted by Firefox (lack of ActiveX support) is also its potential weak spot for some users. One of the features of Internet Explorer that makes it work so well for users is ActiveX, a downloadable applet technology that allows Web sites to send applications to user desktops, integrating the browser very tightly with the Windows operating system. Many developers have taken advantage of the useful and cool capabilities offered by ActiveX in order to deliver feature rich applications over the Web. The problem, of course, is that all of this power comes at a price. ActiveX applets have the potential for complete access to a user's computer, reading and writing files, running programs and doing just about anything that a local executable can do."

Having FLASH VIDEO playing ability is another source of where attacks can come - http://www.mediacollege.com/adobe/flash/video/pros-cons.html - flash player has had numerous security bugs and that more zero day bugs exist is a possibility.

I do use FireFox on my Linux system.