Monroe

When I lived in Florida in the early 80's for a few years ... before satellite tv ... when cable was all the rage with not too many stations even on 24 hrs a day. I enjoyed some of the cooking shows on at that time and there was this one show with a chef from Texas. One episode was all about baking a turkey for Thanksgiving in a brown paper bag in the oven. After seeing the episode several times I decided to give it a try ... it really worked and the turkey will bake faster to golden brown ... his time was 10 minutes per pound ... the steam in the bag cooks the turkey faster. You have to get a plain brown paper bag with no ink on it ... no ads. I went to Winn-Dixie and they had both the Winn-Dixie brown bags and plain brown bags ... so I bought two unused large brown bags and peanut oil. I had the directions written down. Anyway, I thought about all this a few weeks ago and decided to see if I could find anything about the show. I could not remember the name of the show or the chef ... I remembered his face and the fact that he always worked in the kitchen dressed in an ascot and jacket. I used to wonder how he didn't get all splattered with everything ... he must have had several jackets. The show was out of Dallas ... I could only remember Texas. His name was David Wade and I learned today he has since passed away ... in 2001. Also, he was not "really" a chef ... he was known as a "food presenter" ... I could not rember his name but doing a Google search I remembered him when I saw his face and the ascot and jacket. "Admittedly, Wade was not a chef but recognized as one of the top "food presenters". That was a term possibly reserved just for Wade as he was no doubt difficult to categorize. But his words stuck with me through out my life. Wade had his own coat of arms." The above words in quotes are from the article below ... "Remembering David Wade - the Rembrandt of the Kitchen" http://cravedfw.com/2014/05/20/remembering-david-wade-the-rembrandt-of-the-kitchen/ Also found this from a woman who saw the show in the 60's I guess ... I saw it in the 80's. This is the recipe ... "When my husband and I were newly married in the 60's and away from home for our first Thanksgiving I had no idea how to start a Thanksgiving turkey dinner. David Wade's cooking show came on TV and I took notes on how to cook my first Thanksgiving turkey. I have used this wonderful receipe each and every Thanksgiving for 45 years. Everyone raves about the moist and delightful brown turkey. Easy!!! Cooking time 10 minutes per pound - really!!!!! Use a 12 pound or larger turkey. Do not subsitute the peanut oil." Turkey in a Sack http://www.food.com/recipe/turkey-in-a-sack-442999 David Wade - The "Gourmet's" Gourmet Chef http://www.davidwadegourmet.com/#!about/ierjb So I take you back to days long gone ... before satellite tv ... to a chef or "food presenter" in Dallas baking a turkey in a paper bag. It really works and did work for me ... just for fun and to see if it really did work. ...

Acheron ... I will also save your msi download link. I already have the current version installed from October but I decided to download the version again from both the DL links provided by you and dencorso. I really have never downloaded from msi links ... just exe links. I noticed that the two downloads are different in size. The "exe" download is 12.5 mb and the "msi" download is 23.6 mb ... was curious why that is the case? Both downloads should be identical once installed ... a full version of Shockwave? Thanks ...

sdfox7 For some reason only the Shockwave full version seems to work on my setup. Years ago I tried the slim version but it didn't seem to work so I just use the "full version". dencorso ... thanks for the explanation and the link. So when I see that File Hippo has a new Shockwave full version ... I will just download it from the link you provided. ...

OK ... that's good to know. I had a feeling you posted the information for a reason. I would rather have that version ... With the FileHippo version I always have the Google Chrome toolbar and one other item with a check box ... I have to uncheck two boxes but the Google Chrome thing still seems to be installed. One of my registry cleaners will still find it and I remove it for good. RegCleaner 4.3 by Jouni Vuorio will pull it up even though it was not supposed to be installed, since I removed the checkmark. I'd like to know the exact link to that Adobe Shockwave download page so I can use that version from now on. I've been downloading the File Hippo version for years and always fooling around with those Google toolbar checkmarks. RegCleaner 4.3.0.780 http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/regcleaner.html Author: Jouni Vuorio Date: 01/23/2002 04:13 PM Size: 541 KB License: Freeware Requires: Win All ...

Not to take issue with anything ... I've been using this version since around October 27th. Shockwave Player 12.2.1.171 http://filehippo.com/download_shockwave/tech/ Title: Shockwave Player 12.2.1.171 Filename: Shockwave_Installer_Full.exe File size: 13.25MB (13,895,144 bytes) Requirements: Windows XP / Vista / Windows7 / XP64 / Vista64 / Windows7 64 / Windows8 / Windows8 64 Languages: Multiple languages License: Freeware Date added: October 27, 2015 Author: Adobe Systems Inc www.adobe.com ...

Just noticed this article ... I don't use Chrome or actually know that much about it ... so it might have been already mentioned in another part of the forum. Chrome Has a Serious Security Flaw November 19, 2015 http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/11/19/chrome-has-serious-security-flaw.html?intcmp=hpbt4 Since Google launched the Chrome browser in 2008, it's built a reputation for speed and security not found in other browsers. While the gap has narrowed in both those areas thanks to improvements in Firefox, and Microsoft creating the new Edge browser for Windows 10, Chrome still has the edge in hacking contests. That's one reason hundreds of millions around the world have it installed on their computers and mobile gadgets. Unfortunately, a newly discovered security flaw might put that reputation in jeopardy. A Chinese researcher, Guang Gong, discovered the flaw after three months of work, and built a proof-of-concept he demonstrated at the recent PacSec conference. Using a simple game app with a bit of extra code in it, he forced the phone to call out to a special server and load up a webpage in Chrome containing malicious code. When the Chrome browser visited the webpage, a flaw in the JavaScript system let the page download another app that took over the Android gadget completely. That's scary, but it gets worse. Usually, attacks that lead to a full takeover of an operating system require multiple flaws, a number of steps and some user input to work. This attack does it in one go, which means as soon as the user installs a modified app, or visits a malicious page, it's over. The way Gong's attack works, any app could have the code calling out to a special server with a malicious page. Apps do that all the time for ads and other uses, so it wouldn't trigger any alarms in the Google Play store. That means slipping a malicious app through Google's screening just got easier. It isn't just Chrome, though. Other researchers are now worried that any third-party app that includes Google's version of JavaScript will also be vulnerable. Of course, the same flaw exists in the desktop version of Chrome, meaning hackers might adapt it to launch attacks against PCs and Macs. Gong says he informed Google of the flaw in August, but so far there hasn't been a fix released. Fortunately, Gong hasn't released the details on the flaw, so no hackers should have it yet. Considering it took him three months to find, it will probably be a little while before anyone else figures it out. Still, you don't want to rely completely on that to stay safe. Here are some things you can do. Switch your mobile browser to Firefox on Android and Apple, or go back to Safari on Apple. Be careful when clicking on links you get in email or text messages. Only click if you know where it's going and you trust the person who sent it. Get a security app that warns you about phishing links and malicious app downloads. ...

Who gets the ticket? ... in this case no ticket was issued. "In a blog post, the Mountain View Police Department said the officer noticed traffic backing up behind a slow-moving car in the eastbound No. 3 lane, near Rengstorff Avenue. The vehicle was traveling at 24 mph in a 35 mph zone. In this case," the post continued, "it was lawful for the car to be traveling on the street, as El Camino Real is rated at 35 mph." Mountain View: Google self-driving car pulled over 'for driving too slowly' By Jason Green Daily News Staff Writer 11/12/2015 http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_29110712/mountain-view-google-self-driving-car-pulled-over MOUNTAIN VIEW -- When one of Google's self-driving vehicles is pulled over, who gets the ticket? The passenger or the car? The question was asked across the Internet on Thursday, after a police officer stopped one of the gumball-machine-shaped vehicles on El Camino Real. In a blog post, the Mountain View Police Department said the officer noticed traffic backing up behind a slow-moving car in the eastbound No. 3 lane, near Rengstorff Avenue. The vehicle was traveling at 24 mph in a 35 mph zone. "As the officer approached the slow-moving car he realized it was a Google Autonomous Vehicle," the post said. "The officer stopped the car," the post continued, "and made contact with the operators to learn more about how the car was choosing speeds along certain roadways and to educate the operators about impeding traffic." In a Google Plus post, the Google Self-Driving Car Project appeared to appreciate the humor of the situation. "Driving too slowly?" the post asked. "Bet humans don't get pulled over for that too often." "We've capped the speed of our prototype vehicles at 25 mph for safety reasons," the post explained. "We want them to feel friendly and approachable, rather than zooming scarily through neighborhood streets." As it turns out, the cars are considered "neighborhood electric vehicles" under the California Vehicle Code, and can be operated on roadways with speed limits at or under 35 mph, according to the police department's blog post. "In this case," the post continued, "it was lawful for the car to be traveling on the street, as El Camino Real is rated at 35 mph." So, no ticket, and the question of who would get it remains unanswered. "Like this officer, people sometimes flag us down when they want to know more about our project," the Google Self-Driving Car Project said in its post. "After 1.2 million miles of autonomous driving (that's the human equivalent of 90 years of driving experience), we're proud to say we've never been ticketed!" Zandr Milewski photographed the car stop from an office building at 5150 El Camino Real in Los Altos. He was working on a project in a conference room when a colleague wandered in with news of what was transpiring outside. "We all immediately dropped what we were doing to go look," Milewski said. "It's not something you see every day." ...

At the bottom of the link in my last post there is a small article titled: Is it legal to fly my drone? Not too long ago anything was OK ... I guess if you could get it in air, it could fly ... now it has to be under 20kg ... around 44 pounds. I'm sure more changes will come and probably be needed with personal spying all the rage. Is it legal to fly my drone? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11986847/Drone-may-have-been-involved-in-suspicious-death-of-police-horse.html By Matt Sparkes The answer, in short, is 'yes' - with some provisos.The CAA admits that the rules and regulations around drone use are “evolving”, but this is the state of play at the moment: drones are classified as "unmanned aircraft", and the CAA is keen to point out that they are most certainly a type of aircraft and “not toys”. If your drone weighs over 20kg then you're out of luck - it's only legal to use it in certified "danger areas" such as Parc Aberporth aerodrome in West Wales. Even those using a drone weighing less than 20kg for commercial use – receiving payment of any sort – are required to seek permission from the CAA.To get permission you will have to show that you are “sufficiently competent”. This is less clear-cut than manned aircraft, which has a well-established licencing procedure. If your drone is under 20kg and you're not using it for commercial reasons, then you still have some rules to follow. Anyone filming with a drone for their own purposes must avoid flying it within 150 metres of a congested area and 50 metres of a person, vessel, vehicle or structure not under the control of the pilot.You will also need to fly the aircraft within sight. This means you can’t go above 400ft in altitude or further than 500 metres horizontally. If you want to exceed that, you’ll again need to seek explicit permission from the CAA.

The death toll rises ... Drone may have been involved in suspicious death of police horse Police are appealing for the owner of an unmanned drone involved in an incident with one of the force's horses to come forward. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11986847/Drone-may-have-been-involved-in-suspicious-death-of-police-horse.html 10 Nov 2015 Police are seeking the owner of a drone that may have been involved in the death of a police horse. Fimber, a 14-year-old horse who joined West Yorkshire Police in 2004, died after he vaulted the fence of his paddock and collided with a wooden post after appearing to be spooked. Officers later discovered a radio-controlled drone at the site near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, after it was spotted by a police helicopter crew. The owner of the Walkera Runner 250, which costs about £200, is now being sought by the force after the incident in October. Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson said: ''We have reviewed CCTV footage which shows Fimber bolting seemingly in reaction to something nearby. This resulted in him being seriously injured and led to his death. We cannot discount that this drone was involved. ''There is a possibility that Fimber was reacting to the drone landing nearby or being close to him when he bolted with tragic consequences. ''We know he was used to the helicopter taking off and landing nearby and by the nature of his training would be used to loud noises, which tends to suggest it was something unusual that caused him to react. ''I am very keen to hear from anyone who has any information that could assist us in tracing the owner of this drone.'' Mr Atkinson said he did not want to detract from the pleasure people get from flying drones but said flying next to such a site was totally inappropriate. ''Clearly flying one near to an operational police location such as Carr Gate, where the helicopter is regularly taking off and landing, is not appropriate and could have very serious consequences,'' he said. ''I want to appeal directly to the owner of the drone to come forward so that we can bring this matter to a conclusion.''

Thanks JorgeA and jaclaz, I hadn't realized that MVPS had made the change from v127.0.0.1 to v0.0.0.0. After reading your post from yesterday I had decided to keep using 127.0.0.1 with XP but I've been using the other version. Seems to be working OK. ...

I saw something like this years ago for a hosts file ... I didn't look into it, I think it had zeros. I have a question about a hosts file being a 0.0.0.0 version or a 127.0.0.1 version. Which one is better or works better? I use the MVPS Hosts file. ...

dencorso ... thanks for your reply. I was just wondering since the Office 2007 updates that show up every month for Office 2000 are perhaps just some sort of security updates and also since I am "offline" when I use Office 2000 ... are the monthly updates really that necessary? I will continue to save and apply them ... my real concern is doing a system backup to a DVD ... I am still able to get all the contents onto one DVD but with the Office 2007 updates showing up every month ... my availabe space left on that DVD gets less and less ... one day in the future it will take two DVDs for a backup and the second DVD will have very little on it. I just did a system backup last Sunday and I keep track of the DVD space used and one of these times the program is going to say ... 2 DVDs will be needed ... right now I am getting the message ... "6 CDs or 1 DVD" are needed for the backup. I don't want to waste a second DVD for just a small amount of backup information. The XP computer backup done last Sunday seems to be perfect (near 100%) as I have found no mistakes so far ... I clean with five registry cleaners over and over and other cleaners also ... flash updates, shockwave updates, host file updates and many updates are applied at the time of the backup ... of course within a day or two there are newer updates showing up but that's OK ... at the time of the DVD backup everything is as good (perfect) as I can make it. After the backup has been burned to the DVD then I check everything on the computer to see if anything was missed ... some junk files ... the registry cleaners find nothing and just going around using my checklist. So I guess I could make this last backup my "Factory CD" ... like what once came in a box with a new computer ... as long as I don't discover or find any mistakes, forgotten items or junk files that were missed over the next few weeks. I will then only have one DVD and can keep adding the Office 2007 updates as they come out. I need to save some space on that DVD in case I might want to add some new software one day. If I need to use that backup later to fix or repair some damage ... then I can just reinstall all the Office 2007 updates after October 2015. I want to keep any future backups (if I do any) to that one DVD and not be wasting for the most part a second DVD. ...

Yes ... the Johnny Cab! That's one of the highlights of the movie, at least to me ... along with Sharon Stone. Also, the film was both "minature" and "CGI" (Computer Generated). I pretty much hate CGI being used today. "This was one of the last major Hollywood blockbusters to make large-scale use of miniature effects as opposed to CGI. It was also one of the first major Hollywood blockbusters to use CGI (mainly for the scenes involving the X-Ray scanner) and have it look "photo-real". 10 Amazing Things You Didn't Know About TOTAL RECALL http://www.thegeektwins.com/2013/11/10-amazing-things-you-didnt-know-about.html The Doctor is Johnny Cab - "Please state the nature of the driving emergency." That's what the robot taxi should have said, because it was played by the Doctor from Star Trek Voyager. Robert Picardo played the voice and his face was used as the model for Johnny Cab. By the way, the song Johnny Cab is whistling is the Norwegian national anthem...for no reason. Some additional trivia: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100802/trivia This was one of the last major Hollywood blockbusters to make large-scale use of miniature effects as opposed to CGI. It was also one of the first major Hollywood blockbusters to use CGI (mainly for the scenes involving the X-Ray scanner) and have it look "photo-real". All of the crew fell ill due to food poisoning during production, with the exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Shusett. Schwarzenegger escaped because he always had his food catered from the US. This was because three years earlier, he had fallen ill due to drinking tap water in Mexico during production of Predator (1987). As for Shusett, he took extreme health precautions, such as only brushing his teeth with boiled or bottled water and insisting on getting a weekly vitamin B12 shot. Shusett was even mocked by the crew until they all got sick themselves. ... here is more detail how Johhny Cab or Johnnycab came to be. The futuristic cars of Total Recall, behind the scenes http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2010/02/03/the-futuristic-cars-of-total-recall/ I worked at a make-up shop that did the Robot inside the cab. All of us at the shop only knew it as Johnnycab (not describing the whole car and everything in it). Rob Bottin of THE HOWLING, THE THING, And ALL of the make-up effects in TOTAL RECALL called me up to finish off the fiberglass chest, head, and hat of the Robot (Body shopping like a car shop using evercoat bondo). Henrey Alvarez had sculpted the chest suit and parts of the head. The head was molded off of Robert Picardo of Star Trek, The hologram medical officer. Rob loved to use his face. Once on the job I was required to sand down, add vents(I have a chum box of parts that I pull out for detail pieces), cut the torso, add a pedestal with controls and a wide base. I normally work as a model maker and have worked on some very cool projects but this job I was a prop maker. I also got stuck having to paint him. Jim Clark (Who does the Jack-In-The-Box head for the commercials) helped me hand mix the lacquer paints for the Robot. I also had to make the hat on his head but a technician made the chaser unit. Because I had body shopped, mixed the paints and soldered the 20 odd lights in his hat I had to go down and baby sit while they did night shots just in case he got ruffed up. During the day I was free to wander around the Studio and take pictures, I did take some shots while they were shooting at night, everyone seemed cool about it. ... more at the link.

Great timing ... Dead comet with skull face to hurtle by Earth on Halloween http://news.yahoo.com/dead-comet-skull-face-hurtle-earth-halloween-115444654.html 15 hours ago Miami (AFP) - A massive space rock that will shave by Earth on Halloween looks like a dead comet with a skull face, NASA said after gaining a closer look at the spooky space object. Astronomers initially thought the object was an asteroid when they spotted it in early October, and named it Asteroid 2015 TB145. But using the US space agency's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, experts "have determined that the celestial object is more than likely a dead comet that has shed its volatiles after numerous passes around the sun," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a statement late Friday. Scientists have also spotted an eerie skull-like resemblance on the face of the rock, based on radar data from the National Science Foundation's 305-meter (1,000-foot) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. "In the Arecibo images it appears to have donned a skull costume for its Halloween flyby," said Kelly Fast, IRTF program scientist at NASA and acting program manager for the US space agency's Near-Earth Object Observations Program. The space rock has already grabbed attention with its unusually high speed and big size, about as large as a football stadium at 2,000 feet (600 meters) in diameter. There is no danger of it hitting Earth, however. When it zips by Saturday at 1 pm (1700 GMT), it will do so at a distance of 302,000 miles (486,000 kilometers). That's about 1.3 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. ...

I would like to ask others still using MS Office 2000 if they are still downloading monthly Office 2007 updates for having Office 2000 installed with XP SP3. I have downloaded and installed the two Office 2007 updates for October 2015. However, I am thinking of no longer downloading any more future updates. I do not download the XP POS updates for XP ... my XP updates stopped in April-May 2014 but almost every month since that time I have been getting one, two or three Office 2007 updates ... there were maybe one or two months with no updates. I'm asking myself ... why keep downloading these updates every month ... I hardly use Office 2000 and when I do need to use it ... I'm always offline anyway. Office 2000 works just fine for me at this stage ... so do I really need these updates, which I imagine are mostly security updates ... but I'm not 100% sure about that? I'd like to know what others are doing with the Office 2000 updates. The updates just seem to be taking up more hard drive space for a rarely used program. ...

Remember not too long ago when the whole drone thing was just really getting started ... all the discussion of the good and bad with drones. So spying and intrusion seem to be the thing ... none of us want to be spied on. I wonder what rights a person has to destroy a drone hovering over their property. I thought I read a few months ago someone was arrested for destroying a drone that was either flying over their property or spying through a window. "Drones are set to be must-have Christmas presents this year. Many cost as little as £40 and have the ability to shoot clear and downloadable footage." Shock Rise in Sex Pests Filming Brit Couples from the Sky CREEPY peeping toms across Britain are taking to the skies with drones to film randy couples romping – without the stars of their film ever knowing. 29th October 2015 http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/472715/Shock-rise-in-sex-pests-filming-horny-Brit-couples-from-the-sky Official figures have seen the number of reports of nuisance flying – which includes suspected voyeurism – skyrocket over the past year. One police force has logged 20 times more incidents than the year before. Across the UK drones equipped with video cameras are perving on sunbathers, hovering outside windows and hanging above children's parks. Worse still a Daily Star Online investigation has found illicit candid clips, including intimate moments between couples, are being shared on porn websites online millions of pervs. Drones are set to be must-have Christmas presents this year. Many cost as little as £40 and have the ability to shoot clear and downloadable footage. But sex experts are warning that in the wrong hands the flying gizmos are simply another way for peeping toms to gather candid clips for their sexual gratification. One website we found celebrates "hunting for girls using the most advanced geek technology. It's a must have toy for all geeks in the world". It adds: "We developed our usage for porn and it's going to be something you have never seen before! "Using drones to hunt for girls. Welcome to voyeurism 2.0 baby!" John O’Neill, director of the Menninger sex-addiction clinic in Houston, told the Daily Star Online the problem will only get worse. He said: "Someone with an interest in voyeurism may use a drone to find new material to satisfy their urges or needs. "There have already been examples of people calling the police due to concerns about drones in their area public beaches. "It makes sense that a person with a voyeuristic disorder would seek out new and exciting methods for obtaining sexual images such as drone technology. "We live in a world where people have a wide variety of fetishes, and certainly technology allows people to explore them. "Drones absolutely open up a new world of opportunity for voyeurs as well as stalkers to seek out new material to feed their interest." Mr O'Neill said he believes "it is a reality that images obtained through drone technology will be viewed via the Internet". He added: "There are thousands of websites dedicated to voyeurism and a strong market for new and exciting images or videos. "If there is a market for sexual images, there are people willing to meet the demand." Already drones have allowed legitimate filmmakers to shoot porn from never seen before angles. One of these is Ghost+Cow Films who are credited with making the first adult movie called Drone Boners. Made using the mini-aircraft. which has won plaudits from mainstream critics for its camerawork. But a spokesman for the company warns that illegal voyeurs are now in the sky preying on unsuspecting victims. He said: "It's already a problem. If you can shoot something digitally and it exists as a digital file, it can be put all over the web." In the past year there has been an explosion of reported suspicious activity involving what are essentially remote controlled flying cameras. The Metropolitan Police (Met) has seen a huge rise in reports of nuisance drone flying, logging 21 cases in 2015, up from just one the previous year. Sinister reports logged by call handlers include one person becoming alarmed at being spying on through their window. Another was reported to police for repeatedly flying outside windows in a hotel area in the capital's West End. Worryingly, some dialled 999 over a drone buzzing over a children's play area. Currently it is illegal to fly the drone within 50m of a person or any crowd of people. If used by voyeurs it could be prosecuted under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, although this has yet to happen.Greater Manchester Police alone has logged 58 incidents since early last year. In one a drone sex pest was reported videoing someone in the city sunbathing on three occasions. In neighbouring Liverpool drones were also repeatedly reported film over playgrounds. Meanwhile down south naked sunbathers on the famous Studland nudist beach in Dorset are furious that a radio-controlled drone equipped with a camera is often seen flying up and down videoing. Met Chief Inspector Nick Aldworth, one of Britain's most senior police officers, has personally taken charge of dealing with the problem. "Is it conceivable we’ll have these things, particularly the ones with cameras, hovering outside people's bedrooms for whatever nefarious reason?" he told a House of Lords committee. "I can definitely tell you this technology has been used around London and elsewhere in the UK." ...

Reading this yesterday about Google balloons around the Earth ... good or bad, sounds OK but will they also spy on people ... gathering up information. Google's Project Loon internet balloons to circle Earth 28 October 2015 http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34660205 Google believes it is on course to have enough internet-beaming balloons in the stratosphere to form a ring over part of the world next year. It told the BBC the move would let it trial a continuous data service to people living below the balloons' path. The declaration coincides with the announcement that three of Indonesia's mobile networks intend to start testing Project Loon's transmissions next year. One expert said the plan had benefits over other solutions. Sri Lanka previously signed a separate agreement signalling its wish to be another participant in the giant helium balloon-based scheme. 4G-like speeds Google first revealed its superpressure balloon plan in June 2013, when about 30 of the inflatable plastic "envelopes" were launched from New Zealand. OK ... the sheer number of these balloons is huge ... I thought I had read that there would be 300 balloons around the entire globe but these numbers are just for one area - country. Google To Put 20,000 Internet Balloons In Indonesian Skies October 29, 2015 http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/10/google-20000-balloon-indonesian/ Google is making sincere efforts to make the internet available in deprived areas using its large party balloons that fall under its Project Loon. The company released 20 balloons over Australia and now has plans of putting 20,000 such balloons over Indonesia to provide internet in remote areas. ... then there is this with the balloons ... it could happen a lot with thousands of balloons everywhere. Neighbors Shocked When Giant Google Balloon Falls From Sky Onto Quiet SoCal Street September 12, 2015 MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS) — A giant Google research balloon caused quite a shock for some Southern California neighbors when it fell out of the sky onto a quiet street in Chino Hills. The fifty foot balloon crash-landed in a palm tree. Janet Olaffson didn’t realize it had fallen in her front yard until she got a knock on the door from the local sheriff’s deputies. “We ran out, and the police said don’t go near it,” she said. “At that time they had got a call from the company that said it’s a weather balloon,” said Olaffson. Curious neighbors came to see it by the droves — driving by, snapping photos. Rumors began to circulate. Some speculated it was a weather balloon traveling from Las Vegas to Japan. In fact, the orb that fell from the sky belongs to Project Loon. It’s part of a research and development idea to deliver 3-G Internet access. Mountain View-based Google launched the project in partnership with the government of Sri Lanka. The goal is for these high altitude balloons — called Loon Balloons — to someday transmit signals to people all over the world, so people can “Google” from anywhere, including Chino hills. But according to Google, the Loon Balloon was supposed to land nearby — not at Olaffson’s house. Fortunately, no one was hurt. ... this seems to be some project, what would be the cost to maintain thousands of balloons, if that's the number. ...

The Google freak show continues ... we have a Google's self-driving car crashing with injuries. Google's self-driving car has achieved a notable first, though not one it was eager for - its first accident with injuries. http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/17/autos/google-self-driving-car-injury-accident/ Fortunately, the injuries were minor, according to the company. And Google insists that like all the other accidents in its self-driving car program, it was the fault of humans, not the self-driving car. We have the every Email and details being forever saved somewhere. Now they want to deliver things using drones ... as Amazon is doing ... good thing, bad thing ... I'm not sure ... maybe as long as there is no "spying" along the way. Google Wants to Use Drones Too, but Not in the Same Way As Amazon http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/24/google-wants-to-use-drones-too-but-not-in-the-same.aspx So now Google wants to get into a person's head to fix it ... probably sounds good but it also sounds like a form of possible "mind control" ... it may start off with good intentions but will it be used one day to control how people vote, if they are against some hot button issue such as climate change / global warming ... I can see this being a very dangerous thing in the future. Google wants to monitor your mental health. You should welcome it into your mind. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/11961415/Google-wants-to-monitor-your-mental-health.-You-should-welcome-it-into-your-mind.html 28 Oct 2015 Next week, Dr Tom Insel leaves his post as head of the US National Institute of Mental Health, a job that made him America’s top mental health doctor. Dr Insel is a neuroscientist and a psychiatrist and a leading authority on both the medicine and public policies needed to deal with problems of the mind. He’s 64 but he’s not retiring. He’s going to work for Google. More precisely, he’s going to work for Google Life Sciences, one of the more exotic provinces of the online empire. He’s going to investigate how technology can help diagnose and treat mental health conditions. Google doesn’t just want to read your mind, it wants to fix it too. It’s not alone. Apple, IBM and Intel are among technology companies exploring the same field. IBM this year carried out research with Columbia University that suggested computer analysis of speech patterns can more accurately predict the onset of psychosis than conventional tests involving blood samples or brain scans. Other researchers theorise that a person’s internet search history or even shopping habits (so handily recorded by your innocuous loyalty card) can identify the first signs of mental illness. Computers can now tell when something is about to go terribly wrong in someone’s mind. Where does it end with this company ... they sure have "expanded" from many years ago when G-Mail first started. ...

While searching for something else, I came across this article about being able to drag files to the CD burner icon to burn to a CD. I use an older Nero version and never knew this. I post this in case someone else also wasn't aware of this feature and might have use for it. Copy or drag the files or folders to be recorded to the CD-R drive icon, or right-click on the files or folders and select Send To, Writable CD. http://www.seniorsguidetocomputers.com/backup.asp Windows XP CD Copy Windows XP has CD-Recordable (CD-R) disc burning support for most CD writers. First set your CD-recording options: Open "My Computer" Right-click your CD-R drive and select "Properties". See figure BK-1. Select the "Recording" tab (if this tab isn't available, your device doesn't support CD burning). Check the box to "Enable CD recording on this drive". Select the drive to hold the temporary files (before the system burns a CD-R disc, the system writes the files to be recorded to an intermediary area - this area must have enough free space to hold an entire CD's content). Select the CD recording speed (Fastest, 4X, 2X, and 1X). Select whether to eject the media after recording. Click OK. Perform the following steps to record to a CD-R: Insert a blank CD-R disc into your CD burner. Copy or drag the files or folders to be recorded to the CD-R drive, or right-click on the files or folders and select Send To, Writable CD. After you have copied all the files, select the CD-R drive from "My Computer" and you'll see the waiting files as "Files to add to the CD." Right-click the CD-R drive, and select Write to CD. Enter a name for the CD-R disc, and click Next. The files will be written to the CD-R disc. After the system writes all the files, it will eject the CD-R disc (if you chose that option above). Click Finish. This is a good way to make identical copies of your files and folders. The CD will be readable by any computer. But backing up large amounts of data is much easier if you use dedicated CD/DVD burning software.

I found some additional information regarding Win XP and SHA-2 ... the article says that Win XP SP3 should be OK, if I understand this. Anything lower than SP3 will not work ... "Support for SHA-2 has improved over the last few years. Most browsers, platforms, mail clients, and mobile devices already support SHA-2. However, some older operating systems such as Windows XP pre-SP3 do not support SHA-2 encryption." SHA-2 Compatibility Software and Hardware that Support SHA-2 https://www.digicert.com/sha-2-compatibility.htm Support for SHA-2 has improved over the last few years. Most browsers, platforms, mail clients, and mobile devices already support SHA-2. However, some older operating systems such as Windows XP pre-SP3 do not support SHA-2 encryption. Many organizations will be able to convert to SHA-2 without running into user experience issues, and many may want to encourage users running older, less secure systems to upgrade. This page lists the minimum version required for SHA-2 as well as some exceptions. .... there is a list.

Yes ... Dibya is new with only 10 posts ... I hate to think about my first 10 posts when I joined MSFN. They were probably very stupid posts and actually may have caused some long time members to leave the forum for good. However, we improve and in my case with newer posts that may still be considered "borderline stupid" ... I am proud to now be considered an MSFN Expert ... just don't ask me any questions !!! monroe

Speaking of certificates ... this just came to my attention a few minutes ago. "Certificate authorities said they will respond by no longer issuing SHA1 certificates at midnight, January 1 2016, opting instead for SHA2 certificates. SHA2 is a significantly stronger algorithm that will last for many years to come. But there's a problem. A small but sizable portion of the internet's users don't have browsers or devices that are compatible with SHA2." As sites move to SHA2 encryption, millions face HTTPS lock-out "We're about to leave a whole chunk of the internet in the past," as millions of people remain dependent on old, insecure, but widely-used encryption. October 23, 2015 http://www.zdnet.com/article/as-sha1-winds-down-sha2-leap-will-leave-millions-stranded/?tag=nl.e589&s_cid=e589&ttag=e589&ftag=TREc64629f In 2016, tens of millions of people around the world will face trouble accessing some of the most common encrypted websites like Facebook, Google and Gmail, Twitter, and Microsoft sites. Why? Because their browser or device will be unable to read the new, more secure certificates. SHA1, the cryptographic hashing algorithm that's been at the heart of the web's security for a decade, will be retired in a little over a year. Some say it could be cracked by the end of the year, essentially making it useless and weakening security for millions of users. Certificate authorities said they will respond by no longer issuing SHA1 certificates at midnight, January 1 2016, opting instead for SHA2 certificates. SHA2 is a significantly stronger algorithm that will last for many years to come. But there's a problem. A small but sizable portion of the internet's users don't have browsers or devices that are compatible with SHA2. "We're about to leave a whole chunk of the internet in the past," said CloudFlare chief executive Matthew Prince, during a conversation in our New York newsroom earlier this month. 'One million websites' running risky crypto Encryption isn't important just for protecting your online banking, email accounts, and social networks. That green lit-up bar or padlock in your browser also verifies the integrity of a site, offering a strong level of assurance that the page has not been modified in any way. More sites nowadays are adopting encryption because it costs little to nothing to implement. In an age of daily data breaches, hacks, and mass surveillance, adopting a strong SHA2 algorithm is more important than ever. But browser makers and website owners alike thought they had more time. Prominent security researchers thought SHA1 would last until about 2018, but now they think the SHA1 algorithm may be broken by the end of 2015. The good news is that most website are already using the stronger SHA2 certificates. About 24 percent of SSL-encrypted websites still use SHA1 -- or, about 1 million websites. That figure is declining every month, so much so that by the end of the year it could fall as low as 10 percent of all websites, meaning the vast majority of encrypted websites will be safe from SHA1 collision attacks. For most people, there's nothing to worry about. The majority are already using the latest Chrome or Firefox browser, the latest operating system, or the newest smartphone with the latest software, which are compatible with the old SHA1-hashed websites and the newer SHA2-hashed websites. But many, particularly those in developing nations, who are running older software, devices, and even "dumbphones," the candy-bar cellphones that have basic mobile internet, will face a brick wall, because their devices aren't up-to-date enough to even know what SHA2 is. Mozilla's 'one million downloads' mistake There's no way to tell exactly how many will be affected until it happens, in part because there are no concrete figures on how many people are running old or unsupported browsers or devices. Ivan Ristic, head of of SSL Labs at Qualys, said in an email that users of Windows XP SP2 and earlier, and Android 2.2 and earlier, do not support SHA2 certificates. ... it's a long article ... more at the link. monroe

w2k4eva ... again thanks for more information, for sure I know a lot more about root certificates than I did one week ago. Yesterday I found out about the nssckbi.dll in FFox, Pale Moon and K-Meleon. I have an older version of KM (v1.8.24) from last year and I just downloaded K-Meleon 75.1 (portable) and transfered that dll to my older KM v1.8.24 version ... all seems to be working well at various web sites ... when I tried the nssckbi.dll from the latest version of Pale Moon 25.7.3 into K-Meleon many web pages did not work ... many errors. I would like to keep using the older KM version but later today I am going to work with the newer K-Meleon 75.1 version also. At this time last week I did not know that many browsers had their own root certificates included ... I was under the impression that the MS update was also for other browsers ... which it is for some but not for others. Very good information provided by everybody ... monroe

w2k4eva ... thanks for the reply and all the information on certificates, very good reading. I never knew too much about them, since MS would supply updates every so often. A few days ago I decided to get more information ... when I found out how to locate them and I saw so many foreign certs and expired certs ... I was wondering if they were safe to still have around. After I posted that earlier post I found someone also saying what you said ... expired certs can still be needed. I also found this article ... Why do we not trust an SSL certificate that expired recently? http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/31463/why-do-we-not-trust-an-ssl-certificate-that-expired-recently So you cannot trust an expired certificate because you cannot check its revocation status. It might have been revoked months ago, and you would not know it. A good question. The simplest answer is that having an expiration date ensures that you have an "audit" every so often. If there were no expiration date, and someone stopped using a certificate (and protecting the private key), no one would ever know. However, by having an expiration date you ensure that the user goes back to the company that sold them the SSL certificate and pays them lots more money err, I mean, has an audit and is re-validated as the person or service they claim to be (I'll try to leave rants about the current internet security model out of this question). The problem then becomes: If you're going to have a grace period in which you ignore expired certificates, how long does it last? A day? A week? A month? At some point you simply have to stop trusting the certificate; if you make that point a day after the expiration, you can still ask yourself: "What could have happened between today and yesterday?" And you fall into a loop. Essentially, you're right: People don't magically stop protecting their private keys as soon as the expiration date hits (or they may have stopped protecting them a long time ago and no one knows because they didn't revoke them and they haven't expired yet). The expiration date says nothing about the security of the certificate, but if you don't have a cut off you'll never know that a certificate may be forgotten about whereas with one you at least know that much. ... well I will probably leave everything as is for now ... I need to know more about certificates. I also do not use Internet Explorer very often. I have Pale Moon (Atom-WinXP) installed and there are frequent updates ... so the certificates in that browser would be more up to date ... if I understand about browsers and certificates correctly. monroe

Just to add that the older version of Malwarebytes v1.75 still works with Windows XP SP3 ... the newer version also works but I like the older version feel and look. I'm not sure about earlier versions of XP. You don't have to upgrade when getting database updates for the older 1.75 version, you need to take out the checkmarks under the "Settings " tab. Go to "Settings" ... then go to "Updater Settings" and uncheck : Download and install program update if available ... I also uncheck: Notify me when a program update is ready for installation It should work just fine on XP SP3. ...