A personal favorite, Malwarebytes, seems to be completely thwarted by this floater. It will remove parts of it, but not the entire thing. I did find this great mark-up of where AV2010 goes and what it touches here.  One big portion of this is the domain list that it uses to connect on(received from the above link):

best-online-antivirus-scanner.info
av2010pro.com
av1-scanner.info
av1-download.info
download-antivirus2010.info
cleanyourpc-now.info

My main point of curiosity on these items is whether a simple entry into the hosts file redirecting these domains to 127.0.0.1 can be used to help thwart troubleshooting this in normal mode.  I will conduct a few tests as soon as I can in the next few days and see where I get with this.  I am betting that it will work just fine, as those domains try to load, it will simply redirect to local host and not load anything.

A simple test of attempting to just browse to these domains will show only the last 2 resolve to anything useful, typical of malware and 1 landing page.  Now this might be because of AdBlock Plus(FireFox plugin) but I did not see anything in its giant list pertaining to those domains above. So the block, if one, may be an element trying to be loaded on the page – we’ll see on later tests.

Bottom line thus far this site seems to be the best path to get this thing removed.

UPDATE:

But wait! There’s more! So, from my initial poll of folks(Thanks Sean!(Give him money, damnit!!!)), it does look like there is a variant on this as well which is Home AntiVirus 2010. Fantastic! This now totals 9 domains used to redirect:

homeantivirus2010.com
homeantivirus-2010.com
home-antivirus-2010.com

Plus the above 6:

best-online-antivirus-scanner.info
av2010pro.com
av1-scanner.info
av1-download.info
download-antivirus2010.info
cleanyourpc-now.info

Simple redirects on firewalls, ‘rogue’ DNS entries, host file redirects etc should do the trick in disallowing this from getting populated onto machines. This is under the very strong impression that those are the only domains used to get this data and these aren’t mirrored somewhere else.

I would say the easiest way to circumvent this on our parents PCs would be a hosts file entry:

Path: %WINDIR%System32driversetchosts

Modification:

homeantivirus2010.com    127.0.0.1
homeantivirus-2010.com    127.0.0.1
home-antivirus-2010.com    127.0.0.1
best-online-antivirus-scanner.info    127.0.0.1
av2010pro.com    127.0.0.1
av1-scanner.info    127.0.0.1
av1-download.info    127.0.0.1
download-antivirus2010.info    127.0.0.1
cleanyourpc-now.info    127.0.0.1

This redirect can be to google.com and does not have to be to the localhost. This entry can also be made in most firewalls as mentioned above. The biggest issue of it all is our major providers of AV and Malware protection are not actually taking care of the problem by denying the software from installing.  Thinking back they haven’t really been protecting machines of this. I am not sure if we can consider these products malware protection.

I will leave rants for anther post oh and more as it comes….

UPDATE 2: Looks like I’ll be getting a copy of this file to do some testing… finally!

Peace.

Here is that command:

netsh http flush logbuffer

Other commands associated with the HTTP portion of netsh are all documented on MSDN Technet here, http://tr.im/NDmZ. Comes in pretty damn handy with IIS 7 and Windows Server 2008.

Good luck.

Official Post.

I was wondering what had happened last night, as Bing is my default search on my Dell Inspiron 10v netbook.  In the middle of working on something, non-critical, the usual ‘hey, let me look that part up!’ occurred, to which I received a 500 error. For the non-tech reading this, 500 error is usually what shows up when the server can’t process the request you fired off to it. After a few twitch F5(refresh) taps, I was laughing pretty good and just used Google in the meantime.

The part that isn’t so amusing to me, is that they are missing about 15-30 minutes of outage time in the report given above, as a guess, they probably found out about this at 8:30PM Arizona time, but in all reality, errors started occurring much much sooner.

/sigh

BBC Stated, “Not all aspects of the Bing service were knocked out by the configuration change. Many reported that Bing Maps was still available.”

Wow! That’s so great! Maps was working! …. ….. ….. …..

THE MAIN REASON YOUR SITE EXISTS WAS DOWN, but hey! Bing Maps was working!

@Bing: why?  You were doing so well. From the semi-clever ‘decision engine’ campaign to everyone was making fun of you, I really saw this as a new opportunity for you to reinvent your appeal to the public in software services. Now, now everything everyone was making fun of you about is actually true, again.

… …. ….. …. …. …..

Alright, alright. Truly, most of the above is complete sarcasm. I find it amusing how quickly people love to bash the shit out of Microsoft at any chance they can get. Nevermind it being the main source of  how most get to these places. Oh wait, people bash that too. Doesn’t get old after over 10 years of doing it? I swear, I think people have just gotten used to doing it and reading it. Notice how everyone mentions Google at some point or another in their posts, but how quickly everyone forgot that it too just went down earlier this year.

Back off, give them a fucking break considering it was an hour without your precious Bing and an hour without your precious Google, respectively. Oh wait, no one complained about Google. Tenure you say? Hmmm, pretty sure Microsoft/MSN/Live/Bing has been around a metric-fuckton longer then Google. But Google does do a lot of things very right. It is a pickle.

Peace.

So, I will blog it!  That is what a blog is for, to share information!  So here you go!  This is a break down per provider(taken from http://tr.im/wiFw):

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
Cingular: phonenumber@cingularme.com
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

Yes, it is invaluable.  Use it.  Enjoy it.  Now, if I only knew what Google’s Voice address was… hmmm…

Peace.

Well, after my carefully placed blog of its death, they have now reconcidered to shut down their awesome URL slimmer.

I’d like to think it was because of my blog, oh yeah, you know it!

Welcome back tr.im!!!

Peace.

and

http://tr.im/vsER

Kevin Rose had a big complaint about Windows on Diggnation awhile back, about how many selections there are with Windows and how Apple basically gives everyone everything, then you can opt to not install more.  I agree with this quite a bit, over the years, the Windows OS has become more and more complicated for seemingly no reason at all.  This doesn’t mean I am an Apple fanboy by any stretch, in fact, I despise them much like Sony in their similar practices.  Anyway, since it is Microsoft, they feel very little need to include an explanation for this and not sure I really blame them.

I am not really THAT excited about this, since it is already my main OS across the board(sorry Ubuntu!) with the RC but, still is nice since the rest of the world – primarily the non-platform video game industry, can now officially support this with games!  Though, I’ve not really seen a game not run on it well.

We’ll see how true that holds in the RTM.

Peace.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/168036/google_set_to_take_on_microsoft_with_desktop_os.html

5 hours later…

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/168058/five_reasons_google_chrome_os_will_fail.html

Really? Nope. Nope. Possibly. Nope.  And, Nope.  Just as David Coursey is allowed an opinion, here goes an attempt at mine.

1. Netbooks will be the world quicker then we will think.  As mobile data increases in demand, so will the devices that deliver it.  Though, it may not be in the tradition that we see today, but we will see either a more powerful cell phone or ‘netbook’ in the near future that will blow our minds in what we can do from our finger tips.  Mainly the idea hit the shelf provided by Intel(for the most part) based on existing tech.  Nvidia and other companies haven’t even had time to plan into this at all.  Once they inject their hardware into the mix, we will see some serious power from these devices.  Accountability won’t be measured from behind a desk but from whether you’re actually out there effecting your business and the data will be available at the finger-tips. All of it. I’m getting a bit evangelical here and conclude my rebuttal on your first item here.

2. Whether the OS is free or not doesn’t seem to be a valid point then, if both can offer for free, then how is it even a failing point on Google’s part?  Brand recognition is mainly their fuel and they weigh in MUCH heavier then Linux would by itself, IF they go that route.  Notice this isn’t gOS, this is ChromeOS.

3. Eh, true Google Docs would take some serious overhauling, but with integration into say OpenOffice.  This could create a bridge between hardcore documentation and lightweight playtime with them.  Hell, they could come up with something new?  Wouldn’t be the first time.

4. What? Just as the Palm Pre is built on the idea of real time feeds, I don’t see where Google Chrome would not be able to function in this lightweight environment from a netbook side.

5. Ok, now I know you are a pretend techie nerd guy.  WTF???  There is a means to an end to get anything working for cross platform support, whether is be creating a virtual environment within VMWare on Windows to host a MAC OS X box, or VMWare Fusion for Apple.  Linux does not fall short in the ability to create these same environments, Wine, VirtualBox, etc.  Hell, stop the war, include MS Office in it!

I think that the simple idea of “Googling” could be enough brand recognition and allow folks another solid option other then Ubuntu as a platform to conduct day to day business.  The average user doesn’t care what powers the device, it could be a fucking squirrel on a wheel inside the iPhone, they don’t care.  Ah, a fruitless conversation I think.  Too much is what if at this point and no one can draw a solid conclusion anyway.  I will not rule anyone out at this point because it is a cut throat market and new players coming in do have a chance to take out anyone else in this radical environment.  Which that being said, sadly this nimrod, could be right.

Peace.

http://www.netflix.com/silverlightoptin

Once enabled, you should have no issues watching movies instantly!  I thought I might as well blog this, since I do really enjoy the new Windows 7.  Hope this helps you all do the same!

Peace.

I’d reference the O face guy from Office Space when it comes to this launch, but I am not quite that douchey.  So, Windows 7 RC released to the technet subscribers today.  Well, the ones who dish them money anyway.  Beats trying to phish through bad torrents for the REAL SLIM SHADY!  Woohoo!  So, it has taken me the greater then the part of the day to download both flavors of the OS.  Meaning, x64 and x86.  I guess this 10/100 connection to the internet just isn’t cutting it anymore!

Well, in 32 minutes, I will have x64. And will be installing it.  God help us all… Alright well, this is me, signing off of Win7 Beta and I will update you all from Windows 7 RC with first impressions, including installation and performance.  Ooooooo Left 4 Dead…. I smell zombies.

UPDATE(5/6/09): Alright, well it has taken me much longer then expected to get this blog updated with results on my upgrades to the new Windows 7 RC.  Literally, so far, the only problem I’ve run into is NOT being able to upgrade from the Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RC.  It seems like most of the slight graphical glitches and other random ass shit that was broken in beta, now appears to be fixed in Windows 7.  I’m still seeing hand over fist improvements to frame rates in survival mode, though, there is an odd issue with Left 4 Dead, where Windows appears to be creating a separate thread to do audio, but keeps setting the volume REALLY low.  How the fuck am I suppose to hear zombies heads explode with it that low?  I have not looked further into fixing this, a slight annoyance in my humble opinion.  So, any on lookers that are thinking of upgrading their Dell Studio XPS 13 or Dell Latitude D820 to Windows 7 RC can rest assured, it will work wonderfully.  Sorry Linux, I was about ready to run you as my main OS again, looks like you’ve been taken over by my need for entertainment once again.

So, if you are on dial-up, upgrade!

Speaking of upgrading, Windows 7 is released.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx

Ok, so, that really is news but, I have it installed and have been using this as my primary OS now for a few days.  I have to say, the Windows 7 Beta 1 32bit appears to be hands down the best OS thus far.  It’s shiny, it flows well, it appears to be a lot more intuitive then previous versions of the OS and to boot… it RUNS WELL!  Ok, so it is a Beta and it can be quirky at times, but overall – right out of the gate, everything Vista compatible appears to be also Windows 7 compatible.  This will be nice when upgrade paths are talked about for those who have adopted Vista.  Those that haven’t, well, you’re retarded anyway and should go learn Ubuntu or something.

I know it seems perpsterous as to how a Beta OS can run better then an RTM’d OS can, but I am seeing about double the frame rates on my laptop in WoW and in application swapping.  Very key considering the OS is suppose to be used to multi-task.

2 big changes to me that I can see are actually, fairly low key to the more avid power users out there.  I really dig the fact that I can view any window, and any tab(within Intarweb Exploder) from anywhere in the OS by mousing over the icon and over various panes I have open.  Talk about sexy.  This doesn’t work from within Firefox, so it most likely doesn’t work natively and will have to be included in the Windows ports of applications.  I can’t foresee that breaking anything?  Never!  haha… ahh… yes.  The second noteably cool feature is the wifi network connectivity.  This, among other issues, has been one that has PLAGUED the Microsoft Windows operating system since, well, since wifi!  Even the third party software vendors provide complete shit.  Though, most of us have gotten used to these shitty ass piece of software over time.  Basically, you click on the network icon in task tray and you get an immediate, up-to-date list of networks around you.  Then, click on the network, and… omfg, what?  Now pop-up window??  Ok, cool, very cool… click on Automatically Connect if you like, and click connect.  Previous ways of handling wifi has never been this easy.

Sadly, I know what to expect from Microsoft though.  They have a tendancy to show us some really kick ass stuff you can do with UIs and then remove them right prior to release due to violations of agreement and yada yada yada… for fucks sake, I can see why people use open source.

Downside is they still appear to be using NTFS.  No new WinFS, or any other type of data management.  Just, crappy, old, degraded, pussing NTFS.

Eh, if your computer is pussing, take a picture or it didn’t happen.  Guarenteed to be dugg!  Anyway, if you get the chance to check out Windows 7 Beta 1, the link is up top and well worth the trip.  I did VM this as a test first in which I didn’t get the full aspect in a non-3d environment.

Peace.