Under Worm Assault, Military Bans Disks, USB Drives

The Defense Department’s geeks are spooked by a rapidly spreading worm crawling across their networks. So they’ve suspended the use of so-called thumb drives, CDs, flash media cards, and all other removable data storage devices from their nets, to try to keep the worm from multiplying any further.

The ban comes from the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, according to an internal Army e-mail. It applies to both the secret SIPR and unclassified NIPR nets. The suspension, which includes everything from external hard drives to “floppy disks,” is supposed to take effect “immediately.” Similar notices went out to the other military services.

In some organizations, the ban would be only a minor inconvenience. But the military relies heavily on such drives to store information. Bandwidth is often scarce out in the field. Networks are often considered unreliable. Takeaway storage is used constantly as a substitute.

The problem, according to a second Army e-mail, was prompted by a “virus called Agent.btz.” That’s a variation of the “SillyFDC” worm, which spreads by copying itself to thumb drives and the like. When that drive or disk is plugged into a second computer, the worm replicates itself again ? this time on the PC. “From there, it automatically downloads code from another location. And that code could be pretty much anything,” says Ryan Olson, director of rapid response for the iDefense computer security firm. SillyFDC has been around, in various forms, since July 2005. Worms that use a similar method of infection go back even further ? to the early ’90s. “But at that time they relied on infecting floppy disks rather than USB drives,” Olson adds.

Servicemembers are supposed to “cease usage of all USB storage media until the USB devices are properly scanned and determined to be free of malware,” one e-mail notes. Eventually, some government-approved drives will be allowed back under certain “mission-critical,” but unclassified, circumstances. “Personally owned or non-authorized devices” are “prohibited” from here on out.

To make sure troops and military civilians are observing the suspension, government security teams “will be conducting daily scans and running custom scripts on NIPRNET and SIPRNET to ensure the commercial malware has not been introduced,” an e-mail says. “Any discovery of malware will result in the opening of a security incident report and will be referred to the appropriate security officer for action.”

“The USB ban should be effective in stopping the worm,” Olson says. Asked if such a wide-spread measure was a bit of over-kill, Olson responded, “I don’t know.”

“I know this [is an] inconvenience,” e-mails one Michigan Army National Guardsman. “This has been briefed to the CoS [Chief of Staff] of the ARMY. This is not just a problem for Michigan, and is effecting operations around the world. This is a very serious threat and should be treated as such. Please understand that this is a form of attack, and we need to have patience in dealing with this issue.”

[Photo: Department of Defense]

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Flash coming to Windows Mobile, Android

at the adobe max developer’s conference yesterday, adobe showed turned their latest flash especially bettor, one that works on both windows mobile phones as likely as the new android-based phone, the t-mobile g1. “we are excited to be working alongside adobe to illuminate flash technology to android,” said andy rubin, director of expressive platforms at google. “adobe flash is crucial to a rich internet and content sagacity on mobile devices and we are thrilled that google order be one of the leading companies along with the open handset alliance to bring glimmer technology to the smartphone market.” notably wanting from the presentation was the popular apple smartphone, the iphone. although adobe has said they contain a dart player that will prevail upon on the iphone os, apple’s strict tos make not allow it into the app store. i mean, why would apple sanction to consumers conduct unrestrained flash based games or on the lookout for movies from sites equivalent to hulu when they can instead be locked into itunes, the app store and other apple whizz platforms? adobe notes that 98 percent of computers receive flash installed, and it is fit crucial to have it to enjoy the internet. that is of course, unless you own an iphone.

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Lindsay Lohan slams the paparazzi, calls them “rough and dangerous”

In an effort to take the spotlight off of her ignorant slur, Lindsay Lohan is slamming the paparazzi and calling them “rough and dangerous”.

She says, “They’re kind of rough in L.A. They’re dangerous with their cars and they don’t listen to you no matter what. They’re always outside the house, whether the cops ask them to not be there or not.”

She also said that she would like to have a deal with the snappers so that she could still live her life. She adds, “I feel like, (the paparazzi) should get a lot of shots in the beginning of the day, and then leave me along. I get my space, they get their shots, they’re doing my job (sic) and I get to live a life. So there’s got to be some sort of balance but I don’t think me saying it has ever done much.”

The only time people really hear Lindsay is when she says something really stupid. We heard the words “First colored President”, Linds. It’s not going to go away over night.

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SoCal community prepares for wildfire’s aftermath

fires that began on thursday have destroyed more than 800 houses, mobile homes and apartments in los angeles county, riverside …

Hawks’ comeback snuffed out again

the same problems that have plagued the seahawks all season were evident in the good old days against in sunday’s 26-20 setback to the visiting arizona cardinals — a loss that signaled a changing of the guard in the nfc west.

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At The Movies: ‘Quantum of Solace’ a step back for Bond

“Casino Royale” came along just as the James Bond franchise was sinking into a lazy rehash of all that had gone before. It jump-started 007 with its seamless mix of action and emotion, and now “Quantum of Solace” keeps it humming along — in a familiar, but forgettable, gear.The car metaphor is appropriate: “Quantum of Solace” starts out with a thrilling chase through the winding, mountain roads of northern Italy that’s one of the film’s few highlights. But this is a very slight Bond movie, and it feels especially so compared to “Casino Royale,” easily one of the best of the long-running series.And it’s unusual in that it’s a sequel — that’s never happened before. Director Marc Forster’s film picks up right where “Casino Royale” left off — literally, an hour or so afterward — with Daniel Craig’s Bond trying to avenge the death of the only woman he ever loved, Vesper Lynd. (The smart and sultry Eva Green, the rare Bond girl who was truly the super-spy’s equal, is sorely missed here.)Villain and his water He’s also trying to pin down the mastermind behind a plot to control the water supply of Bolivia, and maybe, someday, the world! Mathieu Amalric, star of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” plays the role of Dominic Greene with a calm, cold-eyed creepiness.Yes, “Quantum of Solace” is about water and as convoluted as “Chinatown.” In theory, it could have had a relevant ecological message. Instead, the water angle feels like an afterthought in the surprisingly thin plot from writers Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who also wrote “Casino Royale.”“Quantum of Solace” suffers from an awful title but marks yet another intriguing entry in Forster’s eclectic filmography. He’s found success with small character studies such as “Monster’s Ball,” “Finding Neverland” and “Stranger Than Fiction,” but he might not have been prepared for the enormity of a 007 actioner.The new girl Along the many elaborate adventures Forster lays out for him, Bond hooks up with the leggy, mysterious and dangerous Camille (Ukrainian model Olga Kurylenko), who is on her own revenge mission. Then again, you’d have to be leggy, mysterious and dangerous to be a Bond babe — except for Denise Richards, the worst Bond girl ever, in “The World Is Not Enough.” Kurylenko holds her own here just fine.Craig is, of course, sexy and masculine and formidable as always, and he plays beautifully off of Judi Dench who blissfully returns as M, the head of the British secret service. They share scenes that are both teasing and meaty, and their exchanges provide the movie with some much-needed substance. They’re enough to make you wish the two could spend the entire movie together, solving problems and sparring.But despite his innate intensity, Craig seems a bit … bored, maybe? Underutilized, despite appearing in nearly every frame of the film. His visceral combination of physicality and acting ability, which allowed him to practically burst through the screen in “Casino Royale,” seems somewhat subdued here. Part of what made his first outing as 007 such a thrill was its back-story nature— the fact that it was a prequel, that it showed the iconic character before he’d ever driven an Aston Martin or ordered his first martini. This time, though, there’s little to connect the character with his beloved history. Sure, he kills indiscriminately when duty calls, loves brazenly without having to make booty calls, and looks great in a tux. But it almost feels as if he functions in a vacuum, as if character were as secondary as plot.Don’t blame star It certainly isn’t Craig’s fault, though — he’s more than up for the challenge. It’s the material, which seems simultaneously truncated and too action-packed. Similarly, Jeffrey Wright and Giancarlo Giannini, both returning from “Casino Royale,” bring grace and class to their few scenes but get woefully little to do as Bond’s CIA counterpart and his old MI6 colleague, respectively.Forster’s film has a couple of standout action sequences as it bounces in obligatory fashion across Europe and South America; besides the opening car chase, there’s a wild fight in which Bond and a bad guy are beating the hell out of each other while hanging upside down from scaffolding …

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Why Google Needs Twitter To Stay Relevant

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google is a eminent search engine. unfortunately it’s only as good as it’s typography hand, and that index isn’t exactly real-time. when it comes to breaking despatch, trends, and search terms just becoming powered - your best results aren’t always from google. warbling can provide clearer, more relavant search results on a mark of topics. here’s why.google’s jam.google has tried to address this issue in a few ways. first, with integrated news results at the zenith of it’s web searches. unfortunately, these only amount to for events that are strapping enough to have an organization cover them and post a story or blog listing. trends is also a bit of a fix. it gives you a better hypothesis of what people are searching for, plus results from news sites, blogs and the net all on one point. but, if you’ve ever taken a look at those results, it can still be tough to become aware of a good link to bring you the data related to the autochthonous search.enter peeping.twitter is better than an index of the web because it’s never out of date. in fact, it’s always up-to-rendezvous. by searching on twitter, you get real-time updates on just about anything that’s phenomenon on the web. sure, it’s restrictive to 140 characters, but that’s all people need to share the best links, pictures and information they’re finding on a subject. it’s already better report because someone has infatuated the time to re-share it in the form of a tweet. they’ve done the leg work for you.google gobbles trilling.there are a few scenarios i see shaking out over this. the accuracy is that whoever controls trill, controls real-time facts on the net. two years ago, this would obtain been a mob of blog-searching services like technorati. today, it’s cheeping. the first scenario i see is google buying twitter. it already jumped the gun on microblogging with jaiku - but let’s be honest - who do you be familiar with using that overhaul? by purchasing twitter, google search results become more relevant and exact in an instant. when you’re searching throughout “palin on snl” or “who got kicked off the mark (reality drama name here)”, twitter results above standard search results would bring you the video clips, names and links people are sharing more that excuse in genuine-time, so chances are they’re highly relevant.on the other power, google could just integrate twitter’s summize search results into it’s own, but i’m not sure it would do that on a big-scale without purchasing the company out-and-out.twitter sort of knows what it’s on to.when gossip first started, numberless asked - “what’s the question?” it is very clear now. the service is apace becoming the biggest human powered search engine - it scales each time someone signs up and starts posting tweets. sure, many posts still say what people are eating and what movie they’re seeing that night - but even that information is valuable to trend seekers, marketers and advertisers who have a yen for to recognize whats heat up set to rights minute. chirping is getting it - they’ve already added “trending topics” to their search page for a intrinsic-dilly-dally look at what people are talking about in stack. i’m searching on twitter on nearly a daily basis now and i have a tender other force catch on at the end of the day. while the service is a household name to techies, solicit from anyone outside the tech circuit and they’re pacify just discovering it. it only gets better as more people be with the circumambulate. a bird gyrate tweets about birds (no quip intended), a car cat tweets about cars, a stamp accumulator all over stamps, and it goes on and on. the power of the gen contained in those tweets power appear short-lived at inception - but it’s precisely the real-time search results many people need when they’re looking for a key put together of info on something happening second.
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Wild Mushroom Stuffed Crepes

normally when andrew leaves town i hunker down and refuse to cook but everyone of these matrix times i was really craving mushrooms and i found a modus operandi in my unexplored cooking light anthology that i could not resist.forty-five minutes and a little tweaking and i had a dinner that pleased me oh so well. it was scarcely as approving as having andrew here (and he’s definitely less fattening).for crepes:1 ? cup milk2 tablespoon canola fuel3 eggs1 ? cups flour1/8 teaspoon saltfor filling:1 teaspoon olive grease8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced4 ounces oyster mushrooms, sliced8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano1 tablespoon minced garlic1 cup chicken bouillon1 4-ounce can tomato paste1 tablespoon flour1/2 cup (generous) part-skim ricotta1 tablespoon grated parmesan1/2 teaspoon saltdash of freshly ground pepperfor parmesan nerve:3 tablespoons flour1 1/4 cup low fat milk1/4 teaspoon hoard1/8 teaspoon nutmeg2 tablespoons grated parmesan1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes or pureed tomatoesfresh parmesan destined for toppingfreshly chopped parsley for toppingto make crepes, combination all the ingredients and whisk positively until bland. using a little non-stick spray in the pan, come down in buckets several tablespoons of batter into the pan and tilt to cover the foot. cook on the other side of a channel-serious activate in search a picayune or two before loosening edges with a spatula and flipping to brown the other side.once browned on both sides set aside to cool and repeat for the rest of the batter.for the filling, saute the mushrooms and garlic in the olive unguent past a medium-high heat. cook until the mushrooms have shrunk and turned blackness brown. add oregano and cook 1 minute more, then add stock and tomato paste and whisk to combine. total the flour, whisking well to prevent lumps, then simmer until disrespectfulness is thickened. remove from heat, stir in ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper.for sass, gradually add the tap to the flour in a tiny saucepan, whisking until well blended. stir in zest and nutmeg then bring to a medium heat and cook until thick, stirring constantly. remove from the tension and stir in the parmesan until melted.to prepare: spoon 1/3 cup mushroom mixture into the center of a crepe, roll up and lay with the junction side down in a lightly greased baking dish. repeat with the brace of the crepes then spoon the parmesan crust over the top and with the tomatoes. sprinkle with parmesan then bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. garnish with parsley.sponsored by rick rack attack–mellowed aprons that aren’t just vintage reproductions they’re select pieces.technorati tags: food, recipes, crepes© 2005-2008 scribbit, llc all rights reserved

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TV Gal signs off

From the Jan. 30, 2008, issue of the Seattle P-I:

You are reading the words of one of the luckiest people on the planet.

That’s how I have felt almost every day for five years now. Fortunate. Blessed. Often overwhelmed.

Occasionally amazed at the notion that somehow I have pulled one over on the universe.

Watching TV for a living does that to a person. Often when I told people what I did, an incredulous expression fell across their faces.

Then came the questions.

What did I think about “The Wire”? (Brilliant.) How about “Jericho”? (To be honest, not one of my favorites, but I intend to give it another shot when it returns to CBS at 10 p.m. on Feb. 12.) And what’s my take on — (Hey, is that brie over there? Man, I love brie. Let’s fill our word holes with brie, and after that, maybe discuss the latest Radiohead release.)

Talking about TV all the time can become exhausting, I have to admit.

But though I need a break, I’ll never completely tire of it. I will miss starting our discussions in these pages, however.

This is my final column for the Seattle P-I, and for a lot of reasons, the most difficult piece I’ve ever had to write. There’s no show to analyze, no grist for comedic riffing — just a blank page, and a lot of memories to sift.

Plus, finales are always surrounded by such high expectations, so please forgive my nervousness at constructing this one.

A larger reason that makes it so hard to give up this column is that it means bidding farewell to the smartest, most loyal group of readers anyone can ask for. You have honored me with your continued attention, your encouragement and, quite often, your spirited disagreements.

We’ve seen television go through a lot of changes together. When my first column was published five years ago, Joss Whedon fans could get our weekly fixes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” on their respective networks, UPN and The WB.

“The West Wing” remained in fine form on NBC and Fox’s “24″ was a worthy addiction.

And, cable! FX was coming out swinging with “The Shield” and Bravo gave us “Project Runway,” one of the few unscripted series on television that feeds the mind instead of draining it.

HBO raised our expectations of the medium with intelligent, soul-stirring series whose names I probably don’t have to mention … but yeah, I’m talking about “Six Feet Under,” “The Sopranos” and every other terrific hour a person can recall.

“Brothers and Sisters,” “Boston Legal,” “Friday Night Lights,” “30 Rock,” “The Unit” — these are but some of the series that prove that TV, with all its flaws, is still worth watching. On nights that they fail us, we can still nod off with a smile courtesy of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who continue to get better as time goes on.

What a gift it has been to talk about extraordinary series like AMC’s “Mad Men” and The CW’s “Veronica Mars,” or the awe-inspiring rise in prime-time drama’s overall intelligence. How heartbreaking it was to say goodbye to great shows like “NYPD Blue,” or see one-of-a-kind series like “Arrested Development” fail to find purchase with a larger audience. (At least it got a few seasons to prove its case.)

And think back to the sheer awe of viewing the “Lost” pilot for the first time, or the riveting, delicious minutes of “Dexter’s” first episode — amazing, weren’t they?

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As for “Dexter” cleaning up for its upcoming CBS debut … well, that should be interesting.

Not every change has been positive. These past few years provided a number of sobering lessons about the devastating combination of a manipulative government and a compliant media, and how invasive and chilling to creativity the Federal Communications Commission can be if citizens don’t continue working to keep it in check.

The industry itself is undergoing a tough transition as well.

The writers’ strike continues. Behind all of those shared memories of top-shelf television is the hard work of smart, talented writers who have put their careers on the line to secure their futures, and the futures of great scribes who have yet to debut their work.

Meanwhile, Fox got boffo ratings for last week’s premiere “The Moment of Truth,” and NBC is encouraged by our demonstrative affection for “American Gladiators.”

In spite of what you may be thinking, none of these developments factored into my decision to move on. I survived “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” and all that nauseating slurping on “Joe Millionaire.” I even continued to live happily in the wake of an unexpected smooch on the mouth from Ron Jeremy during a party for “The Surreal Life.” I’m pretty sure I could have made it through this strike.

By the way, I would like to extend an extra special thanks to Mr. Jeremy for that peck. Not only was it a very sweet and heartfelt ges …

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Wednesday Giveaways : Aby Garvey from Simplify 101 + Studio Calico

Two wonderful sponsor giveaways to share today.

The first are two beautiful November kits from Studio Calico and the second is a gift certificate for the very timely workshop Get Organized for the Holidays with Aby Garvey at Simplify 101.

Here’s some more info on the Get Organized workshop:

Get Organized for the Holidays is the ultimate holiday planning workshop. You can get started right now, with our pre-workshop assignment that shows you step-by-step how to create a planning binder. Then, when the workshop begins, you’ll fill your binder with forms, checklists, and best of all, a customized holiday plan that focuses on what’s most important to you and your family. You’ll also learn how to weed-out and simplify your less meaningful tasks, freeing-up time to indulge in those things that make the holidays most special to you. We’ll wrap things up with tips and ideas to implement your plan so you stay energized and joyful all season long!

To be entered into the drawing leave a comment below and let me know one of your favorite organizing OR simplifying tips for the holidays. Comments will be closed tomorrow (Thursday) at 7am Pacific and the winners announced shortly after.

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Archer Daniels 1Q profit more than doubles

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Archer Daniels Midland Co. says its fiscal first-quarter earnings more than doubled, beating Wall Street estimates as the company benefited from an accounting change and higher selling prices.

The Decatur-Ill.-based food processor and ethanol producer said Tuesday its profit rose to $1.05 billion, or $1.63 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. That’s up from $441 million, or 68 cents per share, last year.

The profit beats the 69 cents per share expected by analysts in a Thomson Reuters poll.

Its says sales rose 65 percent to $21.16 billion, easily surpassing Wall Street’s estimate of $15.98 billion.

ADM says it booked income of $453 million after changing the way it accounts for inventory.

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