The Wox Journal

Master Chief Sucks at Halo 3 Beta.. and Halo 2

2007-09-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

For all the Halo fans out there!!

Master Chief Sucks at Halo

Master Chief Sucks at Halo 2

The Chinese iPhone, or rather, iClone

2007-09-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

The Chinese cloners are world famous. Popular Science covered their latest product: the Meizu miniOne, easier to remember by iClone.
Turns out that Meizu, the company building the new phone, has a goal that's a little different from the other cloners: they not only copy the iPhone, they actually intend to improve the features.
As their skills develop, one day you might actually prefer the cloners' work over the official product, not just because of the price, but because of the quality.
Sooner or later. Who knows?

Popular Science

Chinese Cloners gallery

Bank of India hacked

2007-09-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Sunbelt Blog again brings us news. Hackers have successfully hacked the website of the Bank of India, and the hacked site will deliver all kinds of malware to users.
The techs worked real hard, it seems, and the site is back to life, safe.

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/breaking-bank-of-india-seriously.html

Best Vista AntiSpyware

2007-08-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

"WTF?!" You must be thinkin'. "A whole #@$!#%@$^*&^@$!^& week!"

Well, don't give up on me just yet.

I'm beginning to doubt PC World's quality, especially after I read the article about 20 system clean-up tools, which did not include CCleaner, EasyCleaner, or CleanUp.

I did take the time, however, to read the article "Die, Spyware, Die!", which was based upon the data of AV-Test.org.

Turns out that AVG AntiSpyware did quite well, much to my surprise. Spyware Sweeper kinda failed the thing, though, and Spyware Doctor grabs the crown, surprising no one that I know of.

Still, they missed SuperAntiSpyware and CounterSpy, two decent programs that deserve all the attention.

Here's the article, and, more important, the comparison chart.

P.S. If you still don't know, you could actually download a free version Spyware Doctor. More info here.

Holy s***!!

2007-08-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, this is a tech blog, but damn!! Look at that!
Major League Baseball: Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles

"How weird!!": the strangest sights in Google Earth

2007-08-20T15:49:00.001-07:00

This is pretty old, but still worth a peak.

Take a look as the PC World crew give you the strangest sights you could see in Google Earth.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134186-page,1-c,mapping/article.html

Vundo-Fix!

2007-08-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well it turned out that I need to post a guide for fixing Vundo, which is responsible for DriveCleaner pop-ups (see my last post).
There you go.

@ Vundo-Fix download link

1. Run Vundo-Fix.exe by double-clicking on it.
2. When Vundo-Fix opens, click on the "Scan for Vundo" button.
3. Once the scanning finishes, click on the "Remove Vundo" button.
4. You'll get a prompt asking if you want to remove the files, just click yes.
5. Your desktop will go blank as it removes Vundo.
6. Once completed, it'll prompt to reboot your computer, click on ok.

@ Vundo-Fix might encounter a file that it cannot remove.
If that's the case, Vundo-Fix will have to run on reboot, just follow the instructions above starting from number 2 when Vundo-Fix starts on reboot.

Removing DriveCleaner 2006

2007-08-14T09:52:00.001-07:00

A user in TSF Forum just asked this, so I decided to write this guide.

Diagnoses

If you've seen pop-ups like these:

Yep, you've got this nasty stuff.

To confirm it, download and run HiJackThis. Choose run a scan and save a log.

Go through the log. If you find any of these entries-

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DriveCleaner 2006 Free] "C:\Program Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\UDC2006.exe" /min
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SDR6_Check] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\udcsdr.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PAS_Check] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\udcpas.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UDC6cw] "C:\Program Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\UDC6cw.exe" -c

That' confirms it.

Now follow these steps (it's advised to print out the directions)

1. Go to Start, Control Panel.

2. Click on Add/Remove Programs.

3. Find DriveCleaner, and uninstall it.

4. After the uninstallation finishes, close the Add/Remove Programs and Control Panel window.

5. Close all browser windows, including this one (print out the directions!)

6. Start HiJackThis. If you haven't already, download the tool and put the exe in a folder, e.g. C:\HiJackThis.

7. Do a scan.

Place checkmarks next to the following entries

(there might be more than one of each entries)
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [DriveCleaner 2006 Free] "C:\Program Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\UDC2006.exe" /min
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SDR6_Check] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\udcsdr.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PAS_Check] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\udcpas.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [UDC6cw] "C:\Program Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\UDC6cw.exe" -c

Click the fix button.

8. Exit HiJackThis.

9. Restart your computer into Safe Mode.

10. Remove these folders (if they're still there)

C:\Program Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\
C:\Program Files\Common Files\DriveCleaner 2006 Free\

11. Restart your computer into normal mode, and you should be free of DriveCleaner.

12. If you want a free, clean drive cleaner, try CCleaner.

Have a decent computer protection without spending a buck: free security suite for everyone

2007-08-10T12:24:00.001-07:00

I finally decided to write this. A guide on how to get a decent computer protection for free, and how you can put together your own security suite.

1. AntiVirus

@AntiVir Personal Edition

Our "Editors' Choice". Easy-to-use interface,, high detection rates and low resource usage gains it a 93/100.

@Avast! 4 Home

A close second, Avast! Home has all the features of Avast! Pro except scheduled scanning. Grab this if you think AntiVir's daily updates are to slow. The only downside is that you have to register for a key every year. 91/100

@AVG Free

Probably the most popular free AV program in the States, AVG is recommended by a lot of security experts. It's also the most lightweight AV. In the testings, however, AVG had a few false positives. Also, by default, a screen pops in your face in every time it updates. The settings are also hard to change. The biggest downside of all: it splits into Control Center and Test Center. 78/100

@ClamWin

We never tested this software as it's not a good choice anyway. Free antivirus programs not backed by big companies just doesn't look reliable. We would be watching for a change, though.

@Comodo AntiVirus

CAVS has everything you'd look for in an antivirus. Frequent updates, scheduled scanning, all that stuff. It would be worth trying once it gets out of beta.

@McAfee VirusScan Plus AOL Special Edition

AOL dumped Kaspersky and doesn't look back. Looks like McAfee's the new choice. However we couldn't access the download page; leave a comment if you successfully downloaded it.

@PC Tools AntiVirus Free

PC Tools made Spyware Doctor, probably the most effective antispyware available. We don't recommend the antivirus, though. It's not mature enough; sticking with the big ones seems like a better move.

2.AntiSpyware

@Ad-Aware Free

Ad-Aware and SpyBot were once the champions of spyware fighters; they're getting outdated. The 2007 version of Ad-Aware is how Lavasoft plans to keep up with the on-going warfare. It's pretty much the same as the older version, except a few more issues, and if you have to get this mediocre protection, bundle it with something else. 72/100

@a-squared Free

Of all the choices, this doesn't really stand out. Don't get this unless you have a really good reason. It has daily updates and an easy-to-use interface. 75/100

@AVG AntiSpyware Free

The free version doesn't have automatic updates, nor does it give you real-time protection. But with a handy-dandy context-menu integrated scanner, it serves as a good on-demand second opinion- just remember to update it. 69/100

@SpyBot - Search and Destroy

Probably the most well-know spyware fighter, SpyBot just can't keep up with time. The immunization is the most useful feature. Perhaps with some more donations, SpyBot can rise again? 70/100

@SpyCatcher Express

SpyCatcher did turn out a decent performance in 2006 testings, and hopefully it would still remain good. 78/100

@Spyware Doctor Starter Edition

Yep, you read right, a free version of Spyware Doctor, the most effective antispyware on the market. High detection, real-time file guard, and automatic updates. Needless to say this is our top pick. 93/100

@Spyware Terminator

We actually used this for some time before getting rid of it. It had all the features we looked for, plus a nice interface, and it even has antivirus integrated (optional). It's recommended, though, to turn the real-time guards to the lowest setting, and to read the results before removing them. [Considering how low it scored against Neil J. Rubenking's tests, we lowered the rating.] 70/100

NOTE - Crawler no longer does adware business, and this is 100% clean. Quoting Spyware Warrior:

"we decided out of caution to impose a three month probation period before we would consider re-testing and, if warranted, de-listing the the product from the Rogue/Suspect list. During that three month probation period we monitored the behavior of IBIS and Crawler. At the end of the three month probation period we re-tested Spyware Terminator, again finding no problems serious enough to justify listing the program on this page. As the vendor involved has not been involved in the distribution of adware for many months, and as the program itself exhibits no problems serious enough to warrant mention on this page, we have decided to de-list Spyware Terminator from the Rogue/Suspect list and can no longer regard the program to be "rogue/suspect."

@Super AntiSpyware Free

One of the most effective free antispyware products, SuperAntiSpyware has almost everything we looked for, except a good interface. The scanning was also way faster than Spyware Terminator. 80/100

@Windows Defender

Easy-to-use, unobtrusive, and gives you real-time protection. Mediocre detection, and doesn't help much. Recommended as a second opinion in XP, and for Vista, you have no choice; it's already installed. 67/100

3.Firewall

@Comodo Firewall Pro

The best free firewall available. As tough as ZoneAlarm in resisting terminations, CFP also blocks all kinds of attacks. Although you would still be bombed with program permission dialogs, Comodo has a feature that could scan your system and pre-configure lots of programs. 94/100

@Jetico Personal Firewall

A decent firewall featuring three layers of protection, but hard to use and configure. Takes time and patience to get used to. 81/100

@PC Tools Firewall Plus

This firewall is easy to use, and is highly customizable. Suitable for both beginners and experts. 83/100

@ZoneAlarm Free

Probably the most popular free firewall on the market, ZAF is only a basic firewall, and is surpassed by Comodo. 79/100

4.Others

@IE-SpyAD

This tool adds thousands of domains to the Internet Explorer "block" list, and greatly reduces your chance of coming across an unsafe site. Read carefully for instructions.

@Spyware Blaster

This program works in the same way IE-SpyAD does, but it works for both IE and Firefox. It also blocks tracking cookies. Just remember to update it every few weeks.

5.Recommendations

Now that you know which products are better, let's try out a few combinations.

(a) High-end machines

Avast Home + Spyware Doctor SE + SuperAntiSpyware + Comodo

AntiVir PE + Spyware Doctor SE +SpyCatcher Express + PC Tools Firewall Plus or Comodo Firewall Pro

(b)Mainstream machines

AntiVir PE +Spyware Doctor SE + Comodo

AntiVir PE + SpyCatcher Express + SuperAntiSpyware + PC Tools

(c)Old and slow computers

AntiVir PE +SuperAntiSpyware + AVG AntiSpyware Free + Comodo

AVG Free + Windows Defendor + a-squared Free + PC Tools

Notes:

Feel free to mix and match and find the best combo for you.

It's recommended to have more than 1 antispyware program, if your PC can support it.

This guide is backed by testings, research, and a lot of work.

BlackICE Melts

2007-08-07T15:24:00.001-07:00

IBM has announced the end of BlackICE PC Protection, formerly BlackICE Defender. Sunbelt Software is offering free licenses of their product (Sunbelt Personal Firewall, formerly Kerio Personal Firewall) to current BlackICE users.

If you're not a current user, you could also get Sunbelt Personal Firewall for $10, which is half the price, and CounterSpy for $9.95, also 50% off the original price.

Learn more:

BlackICE End of Life FAQs

Save BlackICE: Sunbelt Special Offer to BlackICE users

Half-price offers from Sunbelt Software

Norton 360 All-in-One Security

2007-08-06T20:32:00.001-07:00

Eset's Smart Security is good at pissing users off, especially if the user wrote a review about it.

I was perhaps too eager to get rid of it- ESS is one of the few suites to offer a decent AV and a strong firewall at the same time.

My thought was to grab Nod32 (it's better on its own) and put some nice little firewall to go with it. Well I couldn't find any firewall decent enough that's compatible with Vista, and ZoneAlarm Pro just doesn't like my key (I wonder why.. :D)

Finally I landed on Norton 360, which is one of the better suites around. I got rid of Spyware Doctor, since I don't it will work smoothly with Norton, which is famous for conflicting.

It must be good, I thought. After all, it had a 8/10 from Cnet, 5/5 from SoftPedia, and an Editors' Choice from PC Mag.

I was wrong- complete wrong, so wrong I wanted to bang my head on the wall 200 times.

First of all, installation took forever. All those stupid components! Second of all, the activation process was a pain in the ass, although I still managed to grab a 11-year license off-line(you know what I'm talking about).

After the installation, Norton told me to run Live Update, which took longer than the installation (which is saying a lot).

Then comes the Virus and Spyware Check. It took so long that it made the installation process look like a split-second process.

I couldn't really write a decent review on it cause I had to get rid of it. Age of Empires III won't run because MSXML4 is missing, thanks to-for some dumbass reason I don't care to know-Norton 360.

Perhaps I should sue Peter Norton for messing up my computer and wasting my, *cough*, precious time?

Now you could have a laptop for $150..

2007-08-02T14:34:00.001-07:00

..or not. This is no news, but a Swedish computer company is selling laptops running Fedora Linux for $150.

As far as I know, customers have yet to receive the laptops. Most people consider it a big, huge, enormous and tremendous scam. Well, who knows?

The Medison Celebrity laptop features:

Intel Celeron M 370 processor

14" WXGA TFT display

40GB hard drive

256mb DDR memory

802.11g Wireless LAN

Optimized Linux OS

Pre-installed office and multimedia app

If anybody received a Celebrity, please post a comment here (with proof, please!)

Getting the most out of HiJackThis

2007-07-28T10:27:00.001-07:00

HiJackThis has been one of the most powerful tools in finding virus, spyware, and all kinds of nasty stuff in your computer. But, if you're not an expert, don't run it unless you've read a guide like this.

1. Create a folder for HiJackThis, e.g. c:\hijackthis\

2. Download the file. Un-zip it, and move the exe to the folder you created in step 1.

3. Reboot your computer in safe mode.

How to boot into safe mode: when the computer turns on, start tapping the F8 key until a different screen appears. Choose Safe Mode. Not Safe Mode with networking, just standard safe mode.

4. Once it boots into Safe Mode, go to the folder in step 1 and run the exe. In Vista, right-click on it and choose "Run as Administrator". Choose "Do a system scan and save a logfile" in the main screen. Wait for the scan to complete. Close the NotePad window that pops up with the log.

5. Close HiJackThis, and in the HiJackThis folder, highlight the exe file and hit Ctrl + C. Create a new folder, e.g. c:\random, open it, and hit Ctrl + V. Rename the HiJackThis.exe to something like random.exe. Run it. Choose "Do a system scan and save a logfile" in the main screen. Wait for the scan to complete. Close the NotePad window that pops up with the log. Reboot.

5. Once in normal mode, go to the folder in step one, and open up the file called "HiJackThis.log".

6. Hit Ctrl + A, then Ctrl + C.

7. Go to help2go.com/component/detective. Set focus in the text box below, and hit Ctrl + V. Click "submit'.

8. Follow all the instructions. If you need more expert help, post it in a support forum, like

Help2Go

Tech Support Forum

SpywareInfo

..and more.

So, you want computer deals?

2007-07-24T14:16:00.001-07:00

Dell is one of the first, if not the first, to offer customizable computer orders and grab the concept of "manufacture on order", which saves a lot of money. So if you're going to buy a PC, you might want to check out dell.com.

But there's more to it - coupons! Dell coupons are widely distributed all over the net, and you could even buy coupons on eBay.

Cheapstingybargains.com offers one of the most complete collection of Dell coupons and deals. Check it out and see how much you could save. (Sounds like a nice slogan..?)

What everybody (I think) should know about searching

2007-07-18T10:56:00.001-07:00

I just randomly thought of this, and perhaps you want to hear it. It's old news, as always, to some. or most of the techies. But if you didn't know this, this might help you.

When searching on the net, whether it's Google, Limewire, databases, whatever, often times you just can't find the stuff you really want. It could get really frustrating, and could cause NSR (Net-Searching Rage).

Here are a few searching tips:

1. Don't use capitals, not even with names. The only exception is when you get too many results and want to narrow down.

2. Avoid dashes, hyphens and apostrophes. Instead of hitchhikers' guide, try hitchhikers guide. Instead of double-posting, double posting.

3. Usually "the" doesn't affect anything, but sometimes it eliminates some useful results. Take away that.

4. "And" never works. Almost every searching engine excludes that from the query. It doesn't affect the results, but it sure wastes half a second. Instead of sports and hobbies, try sports hobbies.

5. Try a few different sequences and spellings. If you can't find what you want with "hitchhiking is fun", here are a few alternatives:

@ hitch-hiking fun

@ hitch hiking fun

@ hitch-hiking is fun

@ hitch hiking is fun

@ fun hitch-hiking

@ fun hitch hiking

@ fun hitchhiking

... and so on.

SysAdmin Appreciation Day

2007-07-11T19:26:00.001-07:00

Most of the geeks, techies and nerds probably know about this.

The annual SysAdmin Day is on July 27th, a little more than 2 weeks away. I almost forgot about this, but OpenDNS's birthday newsletter reminded me.

Well here's the deal. A System Admin installs the servers, maintains them, and when one of those goes down, the admin gets called to work.

Sounds easy and simple? See for yourself.

SysAdminDay

OpenDNS Blog : T-minus 30 days

Eset Smart Security

2007-07-03T16:48:00.001-07:00

I know I might be a bit late on this, but I just decided to write a quick nice little review. The product is Eset Smart Security, or ESS (aka Especially Stupid Security).

I came across it while looking for a decent firewall for Vista. I used to use ZoneAlarm, but it caused some weird problems and so I removed it. So I downloaded this and checked it out.

Quick Pros -

Free during beta

Clean interface

Exceptional Virus, Spyware, and firewall protection

Quick Cons -

Some annoying bugs

No context menu integration - it's supposed to be added in the second release

Way bigger memory and CPU footprint than Nod32, but it's not unexpected (it's a security suite, after all!)

Final Verdict -

If you are a sort of advanced user, and don't mind a few little bugs, check this out while it 's free (although I'm sure there would be a crack for it as soon as it goes final on the market). The firewall is decent, better than I thought, and the antivirus is Nod32, which says a whole lot. For beginners and impatient users, I would recommend that you wait for at least the second beta release.

Who else wants Vista, for free?

2007-06-29T08:30:00.001-07:00

I said "don't expect daily rich juice" in my first post, which, of course, means you should've been surprised to see my last post, which was pretty long. Which also means you shouldn't have been disappointed when I haven't posted for a while. Well here's a nice little tip, I'll link to it, since I'm tired of being tired.

Get Vista for free!

Is it legal? See for yourself.

Get rid of file hosting problems once and for all

2007-06-22T17:12:00.001-07:00

When some folks have stuff to share, files, games... stuff like that, they don't know what to do. Blogger doesn't that you host files; buying a server is just not practical.
That's how free file hosting sites got started.
They let you upload your files onto their server for free, and others could download the files for free, too.
They earn money through ads - as most free services do.

There's so many choices I decided to write up a guide for everyone to get rid of the problem.
First thing you look for in hosts is waiting time.
The time downloaders have to wait (there's usually a counter) before they could access the file.
The idea behind this was to force you to look at the ads and click on them.
Most of the sites have this, so finding a site with no waiting time is not that easy.

First thing you look for is file size limits. Some of the worst hosts limits your file sizes to 50mb, while the biggest I've found allows files up to 1gb.

Second thing you look for - speed. If a host has high speed servers, it would, of course, increase your download speeds. Upload a test file of at least 2 mb to test it.
Now don't worry; I did all the research. Here's some of the top sites:

1. MediaFire.com

A fairly new site, just got updated a few weeks ago, with a nice interface and account features. I suggest that you create an account, upload all the files that you want to share, and if you need to share a file but forgot what the download address was, just head to "My Files" and look for it.

Pros -

No waiting time, account features, clean interface

Cons -

100mb per file limit, just like most sites.

2. Files-Upload.com

This site is not the ideal sites for sharing pictures, power point files, or stuff like that. It's for sharing BIG files. If you don't register, you could upload a file via http. The per file limit is 300mb. If you register, you get a sub-domain of your own, and it lists all your files. Then you could use a ftp client and connect to File-Upload's server and upload the file up to 1G in size.

Pros -

Generous size regulations, ftp hi-speed transfers

Cons -

15 sec waiting time, not-so-nice interface, slow http transfer speed

3. BaDonGo.com

This was my main host until I found MediaFire. Pretty good interface, widgets, etc.

Pros -

Clean interface, widgets

Cons -

30 sec waiting time (I think..)

There might be better hosts, but that's all for now. Stay tuned for more updates!

Here's a quick way to download YouTube videos in tons of formats

2007-06-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Of course, almost everyone, has used, or at least heard of YouTube, and a lot of geeks and nerds and techs like me know how to download them.
The most common way people use is to download it in .flv format, which is the format that the first downloader sites use. The first one I met was VideoDownloader.
Then I ran into these, the ones I'm using right now.
The easiest one is Vixy. All you do is paste in the YouTube url, select the format you want (I use mp4 for full videos and mp3 when I just want the music-from music vids), and hit start.
Sometimes Vixy messes up and the video goes haywire. Sometimes you want more formats than just mp3, mp4, avi, 3gp, and mov.
Then I use ZamZar. ZamZar is the advanced downloader. More formats, supports more sites, and it rarely messes up.
The only downside is that you need to enter your email address to receive the download.
That wraps it up pretty nice. Enjoy your videos!

The secret to creating a homepage and getting it online in 5 minutes

2007-06-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I made this page in 3 minutes and got a server for it in 2 minutes.
It's not much, though; just a few links. There would be more soon!
Now I officially have a home page! Visit it at wox.us.tc.

Who else wants some random juice?

2007-06-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Yo what's up guys! This blog is created 'cause sometimes I just want to write stuff. The stuff would be random, whatever I want to write about.
The juice is probably gonna be tech-related, though sometimes totally random. You can tell my stuff is contradicting my words at this exact second, but if you're human you would get it.
That's all! Just don't expect daily rich juice, the stuff is gonna be concise and short.
Wox