Write for money 2

Of the many computer security measures available to end users, none is more confusing to the novice than the firewall. I can understand why. Unlike anti-virus or anti-spyware tools, a firewall doesn’t immediately telegraph what it does. I wouldn’t be surprised if many people thought it was designed to prevent fires inside your computer. (It doesn’t.)

I’m writing this post for novices, so please forgive any over-simplifications. Basically, a firewall is software (or hardware) that blocks malicious attacks on your computer from coming through over the internet. But wait, you might say, don’t most malware attacks, like viruses, come over the internet? They do, but the difference is that with viruses and spyware, there is generally some human interaction that starts the infection: You might open an infected email or visit a bad website, for example. Anti-virus software helps in these situations where you’re actively involved in the process.

But believe it or not, many, many computer attacks come over the internet even if you aren’t at your desk and your web browser and email client are closed. Thanks to the millions of zombie PCs in the wild, attack computers are constantly scanning the internet, almost at random, looking for unprotected computers to attack. These zombies continuously scan for security holes (and I won’t go into the intricate details of how this works), many of which are caused by Windows. It’s like walking down the street, trying all the car doors to find one that’s unlocked. If your computer is connected to the internet, they will find you—fast. Before a firewall was added to Windows XP in Service Pack 2, it was commonly held that an unprotected Windows machine connected to the internet would be infected with some form of malware within 20 minutes and in some cases as quickly as 4 minutes. Just plug it in, and the bad guys do their work.

So where does a firewall come in? A firewall plugs the security holes I mentioned and blocks that bad, random traffic from coming through to your computer. Anti-virus won’t help you in many of these cases. You really need a firewall to stop a lot of this stuff.

The good news is that you probably already have a firewall up and running. The best firewalls are found inside router hardware (either wired or wireless) that you attach to your broadband modem. Every router I’ve ever tried has the firewall turned on by default, but check in the configuration tool to make sure it is. It should be easy to find. You usually need not configure it any more other than turning it on.

Don’t have a router? Turn on the Windows Firewall by going to the Windows Firewall control panel (in XP or Vista). It also needs no additional configuring, and in my experience it is just as good as using a third-party firewall software product. You do not need both a router-based firewall and the Windows firewall. One will do.

Once your firewall is on, you can largely forget it and let it do its work. You may not notice this silent friend protecting you in the background, but believe me, you’ll notice if you turn it off.

Exchange support, true push email, pro-level security and configuration features — they’re all in store for the iPhone as Apple tries to position its touch-screen handset as a true competitor to BlackBerrys, Palm Treos, and Windows Mobile devices.

Apple VP Phil Schiller said the new features, which will allow business users to instantly sync their Exchange email, contacts, and events, will be in the next iPhone software update. (No word yet on when the update will arrive.) (Update: Looks like it won’t be until June.)

Specifically, the iPhone will get support for Microsoft’s ActiveSync protocol, which taps into-and syncs with-corporate Exchange servers, pulling info into the iPhone’s existing email, calendar, and contacts applications. In the past, large business and corporate email networks have avoided using the iPhone because of compatibility, but now, that will no longer be an issue.

Also on tap are such must-have business features as Cisco VPN support (for creating secure tunnels into corporate servers), remote iPhone configuration (for rolling out software to an entire fleet of iPhone-toting employees), remote wipe for lost or stolen iPhones, and enterprise-level Wi-Fi security (including WPA2 encryption).

All these new features will surely make the iPhone, which hasn’t been able to sync with corporate servers until now, much more attractive to big business. (The iPhone originally launched with IMAP support, which lets you sync with IMAP-enabled Exchange email, but it doesn’t work with events or contacts, and there’s no push email support.) If you’ve been stuck with a BlackBerry for work and have been dying to switch over to an iPhone, now’s the time to pipe up.

Of course, the iPhone still lacks a physical QWERTY keypad, which will give many enterprise users-especially those who love cranking out messages with their thumbs-a moment of pause.

The announcement came during an event Thursday in Cupertino, during which Apple is rolling out details on its upcoming iPhone software development kit. Stay tuned.

VH1 is partnering with Dr. Drew for the reality series “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.” The project, consisting of eight one-hour episodes, is slated to premiere on January 10, 2008 at 10pm*. VH1 will announce the cast closer to the premiere date. It’s hard to escape all the news about the all-too-public displays by celebrities under the influence and their subsequent stints in rehab. But what actually happens on the inside? In a television first, the highly respected Dr. Drew, a practicing MD and professor at KECK USC School of Medicine, will give viewers an unflinching look at exactly how the rehab process works and what it feels like for participants. Dr. Drew hopes to use his celebrity patients to humanize the process and show viewers that treatment is a viable way to break the cycle of addiction. “The road to sobriety is not easy and rehabilitation and the recovery process are not to be taken lightly.” said Dr. Drew Pinsky. “My goal is to lift the veil and help my patients, as well as viewers, understand that if not taken seriously, addiction is a disease that will kill you.”

Manny Pacquiao is shown with his trainer, Freddie Roach, left, during a media workout in Los Angeles, Wednesday March 5, 2008. Pacquiao, from the Philippines, will challenge WBC’s super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, from Mexico, in a March 15 boxing bout in Las Vegas.

Manny Pacquiao works out during a session for the media Wednesday, March 5, 2008, in Los Angeles. Pacquiao, from the Philippines, will challenge WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, from Mexico, in a March 15 boxing bout in Las Vegas.

Web traffic is the amount of data sent and received by visitors to a web site. It is a large portion of Internet traffic. This is determined by the number of visitors and the number of pages they visit. Sites monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic to see which parts or pages of their site are popular and if there are any apparent trends, such as one specific page being viewed mostly by people in a particular country. There are many ways to monitor this traffic and the gathered data is used to help structure sites, highlight security problems or indicate a potential lack of bandwidth – not all web traffic is welcome.

Some companies offer advertising schemes that, in return for increased web traffic (visitors), pay for screen space on the site. Sites also often aim to increase their web traffic through inclusion on search engines and through Search engine optimization.

This being February 29 — Leap Day — today is costing you an extra day’s interest if you’re repaying a debt. On the bright side, it’s earning you a tiny bit more on your bank deposits.

Whom do we have to thank — or curse — for this extra day every four years? Julius Caesar and his lover, Cleopatra.

In 48 B.C., Julius Caesar was in Alexandria, Egypt, absorbing the culture and science — and decadence — of Cleopatra’s capital. There he learned from an old sage named Acoreus about Egypt’s calendar, which had a leap year.

At the time, the Roman calendar did not. Like most ancient calendars, it was based on the phases of the moon, which in one cycle takes about 29.5 days. But 12 months of 29.5 days doesn’t equal the true length of the year as measured by the orbit of the Earth around the sun. It’s off by 11 days, so anniversaries, holidays, and entire seasons to drift backward on lunar calendars.

The ancient Egyptians had realized this and created a calendar 365 1/4 days long — with the fraction averaged in by adding an extra day every four years.

When Caesar returned to Rome, he created a 365-day calendar with a quadrennial leap year, adding the extra day in February.

A minor hassle for some, perhaps, but certainly better than the alternative faced by the Romans. Back in 45 B.C., for instance, their lunar calendar had drifted backward by 80 days — nearly three months. Spring had become winter, and autumn came in the summer months.

To correct this, Caesar decreed that 45 B.C. would be 445 days long. Think about the extra interest on 80 extra days! No wonder they called it "The Year of Confusion."