My 5/15/11 Missoulian column There’s an interesting thing going on right now in the world of digital music; it’s moving into the “cloud.” By digital music I mean music that is bought online (or converted from CDs) and stored and played on PCs, laptops, smartphones and the many kinds of MP3 players. And by cloud […]
Missoulian Sunday Technology Columns
My past Missoulian Sunday Technology Columns on the Internet and Personal Technology in Montana
Silence Surrounds ‘botnet’ Actions
My 5/08/11 Missoulian column Sometimes, it’s tough to find out anything. And I’ve been trying to find out more about the Coreflood “botnet” takedown that I wrote about a few weeks ago. But without much luck. I’m interested because of the unprecedented nature of the Department of Justice’s action against the owners: The FBI took […]
Playstation Network Hack PR Nightmare
My 5/1/11 Missoulian column When it comes to computers, I’m not a gamer at all. Never have been, probably never will be. I’m in front of a screen so much that when I need a break, I go outside and walk the dog or dig in the garden. But I know how dedicated (even fanatical) […]
Ethics Enters ‘Botnet’ Battle: Questions Arise Over FBI’s Involvement
My 4/24/11 Missoulian column Last week, I covered the take down of the Coreflood “botnet” by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, in conjunction with an organization called the Internet Systems Consortium. In the past, botnets in Europe had been dismantled by officials taking over control of the botnet servers. But this is […]
Battle Against ‘Botnets’ Builds
My 4/17/11 Missoulian column I’ve covered Internet “botnets” in the past, and last week something unprecedented happened with a major botnet and the U.S. Justice Department and an organization called the Internet Systems Consortium were involved. A botnet is a network of home and office PCs that have been compromised by malware and turned into […]
Be Wary of Email Tax Scams This Year
My 4/10/11 Missoulian column It’s that time of year again: tax time. And it’s also that time of year for online tax scams. That’s because online criminals know it’s a busy time for filing and waiting for refund checks or direct deposits. And even people who are normally careful online can be scammed. One of […]
Google Search Changes Incoming Link Policies
My 4/03/11 Missoulian column Last week, I covered some of the recent tweaks Google made to their search algorithm and the fact that many website owners and companies are not happy with the fact that their websites now rank lower in search results. Google is constantly tweaking its search algorithm in order to improve search […]
Google Updates its Search Results
My 3/27/11 Missoulian column Google has been in the news recently because of some important changes they made to how its search engine collects and indexes results for users, and many website owners and companies are not happy with the changes. Google is constantly tweaking its search algorithm, the very complex computer code that makes […]
Smartphone Malware, Part Two
My 3/20/11 Missoulian column Part One is here: Malware Attacks On Phones Increase Last week, I covered how the fast growing popularity of smartphones has made them targets of malware. Criminal programmers are now following the money – and security vulnerabilities – to the smartphone market (as they always have for PCs and laptops) to […]
Malware Attacks On Smartphones Increase
My 3/13/11 Missoulian column Part Two is here: Mobile Malware, Part Two Smartphones are about the hottest things going these days in the high-tech world. Apple iPhones, BlackBerrys and the many different smartphones that run Google’s Android and Windows Phone operating systems are selling by the millions since being introduced, and the demand isn’t projected […]