Monday, January 10, 2005
Microsoft AntiSpyware is officially crapOK, so I've just downloaded and installed Microsoft's new anti-Spyware tool. Its still officially Beta-test, and by the results so far it has a hell of a lot of work necessary before it is of any use. I use the internet for both banking and shopping, so I am always keen to ensure that both my desktop and laptop are free of spyware and viruses. Like all microsoft products, it's attractive and has lots of buttons to press and twiddle - and doesn't do anything of value that free software already available can't do much better. I scanned my laptop - deep scan all disks and memory. After grinding away it finally highlighted a solitary bit of spyware - one of those irritating things that hijack your browser to make you use their search engine rather than the one that you have set as your default. That's it. Nothing else.
I have Download accelerator plus intalled - I know for a fact that it comes bundled with a shitload of adware, but I put up with it since the program won't work without it. Sure enough, a scan with spybot search & destroy identified a further 37 threats. Half of these were tracking cookies, browser extensions and other miscellany in addition to DAP. I deleted them. I then ran ad-aware and identified a further 60 tracking cookies which I also deleted. Some of these programs were listed as High-priority. Why the hell didn't MS pick them up? Microsoft are rumoured to be considering charging for the service in the future. You're going to have to do a hell of a lot better than that Bill to get my money!
"Celebrity" Big Brother
Well, as promised I have been watching the Z-listers as they sit around and drink booze. First impressions don't appear to have been too far off the mark. John McCirick is even worse than I first thought, the man really is a boor of the worst kind. At first I thought that maybe he was playing up to the camera - but his outbursts are too frequent and spontaneous to be anything but real - he really is a class A misogynistic twat. How his wife "Booby" has put up with him all of these years is a great mystery. His fellow housemates are all fully disgusted with his attitude and quite rightly so. Brigitte in particular has been the brunt of some seriously below the belt jabs. It looks like the housemates are going to grant his wishes and nominate him ASAP. But I have news for them, the British public love nothing more than an arsehole revealing his true colours on TV - unless it comes down to a vote between him and either of the totty, he'll be kept in for entertainment value alone.
Caprice is essentially harmless. She's unlikely to be visiting Sweden to receive a medal off the King anytime soon, but she's pleasant enough and easy on the eye. She'll do well. Germaine is the mother of the group. She has bonded well with most of them, particularly Bez and Kenzie, who despite (or because of) them being the thickest of the bunch are quite taken with her and seem to be enjoying her more intelligent brand of small talk. Kenzie is a typical pleasant 15 year old (yes I know he's 19, but he's in a boy band - hardly designed to stimulate neural growth). He's doing his best to get on with everyone. Bookies have him as favourite to win - probably a reasonable bet.
Brigitte seems to have calmed down. I guess whatever she took before she went in has worked its way throughher system now. Lisa is irritatingly bossy and definately thinks more of herself than any one else. Jeremy seems to have gone AWOL.
Back to work
Yup, the loafing is officially over - back to work this morning. Resetting my biological clock has been a dismal failure. I just hope I can resist temptation and stay awake for the next few hours before going into work. Once I'm there I'll be fine and hopefully I will nod off tonight at a decent hour. It'll be nice to see my workmates again after the christmas break. However, my to do list is scarily large and a "progress" meeting with "She Who Must Not Be Named" (herein referred to as SWMNBN) is looming on the horizon. The fact that I haven't been in work for 3 weeks is unlikely to be regarded as adequate excuse for a lack of positive results. After all, working 80 hour weeks doesn't satisfy her so how the next meeting will go is anyone's guess. No doubt I will vent my spleen in the near future.
# posted by SaneScientist @ 5:28 am
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