61: Essentially Secure
2009-12-20
Download MP3 For Geekons Episode 61
Pop-Up: Microsoft Security Essentials
- Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is a FREE antivirus program by Microsoft.
- Several blogs have posted statistics claiming very high performance ratings for MSE, and very few false positives.
- Because Microsoft isn't trying to trick you into buying a product or use silly toolbars the installer is lightweight and very simple. (their website even has a video to demonstrate how to install it)
- The scans aren't incredibly fast, but it also doesn't slow down your computer while you are running it. (It takes about 3MB of RAM on my system, which is less than DropBox and slightly more than the various background tasks for iTunes.)
- Updates are automatic and don't interrupt your daily work to let you know they are being downloaded.
- Unlike third party antivirus applications, MSE doesn't appear to require extra work to install new versions as they come out. (such as some antivirus applications which can easily confuse less tech-savvy users)
- All of the critical buttons (like "Scan Computer", "Clean Computer" and "Update") are huge, clear, and in the right place.
- There are very few features and settings to worry about, which is nice for a system that should only do one thing and do it well.
- I've removed previous antivirus programs to run MSE, and don't have any intention on going back.
- 5 out of 5 stars, because this is the first antivirus program I am comfortable with recommending to geeks and non-geeks.
Geek-Tweak: 3 Tips to make the most of your email client
- First: Learn keyboard commands for your email client.
- Gmail
- First be sure that keyboard shortcuts are enabled by clicking on "settings" then be sure the "Keyboard Shortcuts on" option is selected, then click the save changes button at the bottom of the preference pane.
- Gmail has access to your keyboard when nothing else does, so make sure you don't have a text field selected by clicking somewhere on the page that only contains text (no links, buttons, or other controls).
- Now go back to your inbox by pressing "g" then press "i"
- now go through your inbox by pressing the "j" key to go down and "k" to go up.
- select one or more emails by pressing the "x" key.
- mark an email as read by pressing "shift"+"i"
- open an email by pressing enter
- label an email by pressing "l" then start typing the label you want to use. (you can easily add a new label with the keyboard by following the on-screen instructions)
- press "e" when you are done labeling an email to archive it and remove it from your inbox.
- Outlook
- At any point press "Control"+"Shift"+"i" to go to the your inbox.
- With an email selected, press "Control" +"Shift"+"v" to move an email to another folder (then start typing the name of the folder and press enter when it gets highlighted)
- Press "q" to mark an email as read.
- Use the up and down arrows to go through your emails and press enter to open an email.
- Gmail
- Second: Set up some GTD folders and make your email client keep you accountable
- Set up two folders: @action and @waiting
- Set up a rule in your email to automatically move emails to the @waiting folder (or apply the @waiting label in gmail) when the message is from you and to you.
- Any time you send an email and need a response from someone (whether that is an email response or an action they need to take) BCC yourself a copy of that email, and your client will automatically send that to your @waiting folder.
- When someone sends you an email that you need to take an action on and that action would take more than two minutes, move it to your @action folder.
- Review your @action and @waiting folder each morning to remind yourself what you have going on.
- It is common for me to have about 40 items in my @action folder and 30 items in my @waiting folder.
- Third: Treat your inbox as though it were an inbox
- An inbox is defined various ways, but I define it as a box of incoming stuff. Since we're talking about email clients, we'll assume that stuff is a bunch of emails.
- If something has been read, it isn't incoming anymore, so it shouldn't be in the inbox.
- If you don't need the email because it is junk, just delete it.
- If you might need it later for reference purposes, put it in a folder (preferably not a nested folder)
- If the email assigns you a task, or reminds you of something you need to do, move it to your @action folder
- If the email reminds you of a task you delegated to someone else, move it to your @waiting folder and follow up with that person.
- Try to check your inbox at least once a day, but no more than 3 times a day if you can help it. (My inbox is part of a help desk system, so I have to check it every time an email comes in... which makes me much less efficient.)
- No really, get email you have read out of your inbox. There is no real reason to have any email in your inbox after you have read it.
View-Source: The Parable of the Coder
- Jesus was at PDC one year talking to his team of lead developers, but was also surrounded by a large crowd of people, and he told them all a story of a coder.
- That coder wrote some very powerful cross-platform functions in various languages and gave them away freely under a creative commons license.
- One corporate developer was given the code, but he dismissed it immediately as hippie open-source scripting that couldn't be trusted.
- Another RubyOnRails developer received the code and began using it, until he found something else that he was more comfortable with and quickly performed a migration away from the code.
- A javascript developer also implemented the code in a project, and he loved it and didn't replace it, but the good functions were soon choked up due to some cross-site scripting exploits that the developer didn't protect against.
- One final developer received the code, implemented it fully in his application, and put security systems in place to protect the code from common exploits, and his software was effective and useful for the life of the project.
- Jesus gave this story because he knew some people at PDC were for Him, and some were against Him. He only wanted those who were for Him to benefit from the story. (And it fulfilled something Schneier said at BlackHat a few years before about people hearing but not understanding, and reviewing the source but not getting the point.)
- Those in his group were given the full explination, of the corporate coder receiving the word, then dismissing it because the enemy snatched it away.
- The ruby developer received it and accepted it, but once something in his world challenged the code he immediately gave it up rather than doing some research.
- The javascript guy received it, accepted it, and even kept it in spite of other options... but he let the world get to him via cross site scripting and his application wound up crashing.
- The final guy not only received and accepted it, but he protected it, nurtured it, and obeyed any coding standards set forth in it. Because of that his application was successful, and the original coder received quite a bit of geek cred in the blogosphere.
- Obviously the code is God's word, and the developers represent how our hearts can respond to God's word.
- What type of coder are you? What do you do with the instructions God has given you?
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