stuff

Find your monitor's dead pixels

From: Lifehacker

The Dead Pixels test is a special pattern which will reveal any spots on your screen which aren't functioning as they should.

Wipe off any dust from your screen, then open up the image patterns that will reveal any problems with your monitor's display. Great for testing displays in-store or used monitors before you buy.

Dead Pixels Test [via Quick Online Tips]

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Download of the Day: TweakAll

From: Lifehacker

TweakAll is a free program that lets you fine-tune Windows in a single, convenient interface.

Edit the Add/Remove Programs list, the Send To right-click menu, AutoRun action, programs set to start automatically, file templates that appear in Explorer's "New" menu, and whether or not shortcuts get named "Shortcut to" appear with the little arrow added to the icon. TweakAll can free up memory on a taxed system, or free up memory when specific memory-hoggin' applications start. A bit high on the optimization geek scale, TweakAll is free, Windows only - and settings apply to XP/2000/NT/98.

TweakAll [CodeForge]

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Hacker Hunters

An elite force takes on the dark side of computing

Hacker Hunters
An elite force takes on the dark side of computing

Animated Graphic >>

In an unmarked building in downtown Washington, Brian K. Nagel and 15 other Secret Service agents manned a high-tech command center, poised for the largest-ever roundup of a cybercrime gang. A huge map of the U.S., spread across 12 digital screens, gave them a view of their prey, from Arizona to New Jersey. It was Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004, and Operation Firewall was about to be unleashed. The target: the ShadowCrew, a gang whose members were schooled in identity theft, bank account pillage, and the fencing of ill-gotten wares on the Web, police say. For months, agents had been watching their every move through a clandestine gateway into their Web site, shadowcrew.com. To ensure the suspects were at home, a gang member-turned-informant had pressed his pals to go online for a group meeting.

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The Onion Router

From: hack a day

Tor is an overlay network that lets you browse and use other TCP based services anonymously. Normally if you use a secure tunnel an observer can still see the destination and origin ip addresses; They may not be able to tell what the payload is, but they will be able to tell who is talking. Onion routing uses a series of encrypted hops to hide this information. The Tor client creates unique routes through a network of Tor nodes. First the client contacts a node and negotiates an encryption key with it. Once that link has been established the client instructs that node to contact another and get the next key. Once all of these keys have been collected the client can begin encrypting its information. The payload is encrypted by each key in route order. When the first node decrypts the payload it determines where to send it next. The encryption is removed one layer at a time as it travels along the route arriving at its destination fully decrypted.

Tor recently reached 100 verified nodes. If you’ve got some spare bandwidth why don’t you set up a node of your own. You can even use Tor to provide anonymous web services. Of course using Tor will make it more difficult for sites to show you “singles in your area”, so make sure you consider the consequences.

Ads by Google

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Gastrocasting

From: Micro Persuasion

This is a really creative idea - an entire podcast devoted to cooking! Each show comes complete with a Flickr set (see sample below) and links to the products mentioned on the program. Someone get this guy a podvertiser!

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Social Engineering Via Voicemail

From: Schneier on Security

Here's a clever social engineering attack:

The Division has received a number of calls concerning a voicemail message left by an anonymous female caller urging them to purchase a particular penny stock. The message is intended to appear as if the caller is calling a close friend and has dialed the wrong number. The caller talks fast stating she has a great inside deal on a penny stock. The caller personalizes the conversation by saying the recommendation comes from a broker the woman is dating and that her father previously purchased stock and made a huge profit. The purpose of the call is to make you think you've received a hot stock tip by mistake.

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Howtoons

Howtoons how - to cartoons !

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Everything You Thought You Knew About Grilling Is Wrong

Everything You Thought You Knew About Grilling Is Wrong
 

I can't even remember when I first learned to cook on the grill, and I certainly don't remember any complicated lessons. "Go easy on the lighter fluid, but not too easy. Flip the burgers once after ten minutes or so, and then take 'em off when they're done." Nothing fancy.

I was always pretty competent at making burgers (although I attribute that to my super secret blend of ingredients more than anything else), but I never dared tackle the quality food. Steaks, chicken, fish? I'd leave that to the older men in the family. They knew what was what around the grill. I was merely the acoloyte. The burger flipper.

Fortunately, my wife gave me a great present for Father's day a couple of years ago: grilling lessons. An unbelievably good investment. Although we only went through a couple of recipes, the few simple techniques we learned turned me around completely. Suddenly, I knew more about working the barbeque than anybody in my family. When I'd go visit my parents, I'd be the one grilling steak, potatoes, and veggies on the grill, giving impromptu lessons to anyone who'd listen.

There are a few extremely simple secrets. Once you learn a good marinade (I'll include on at the bottom), you'll be amazed at the results. Trust me.

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Color Palette Tools

Color Palette Tools

All of these tools work slightly differently, but are based on the same principle: fiddle around until you find an attractive group of colors. I use all of them at various times, and if I’m not having luck with one tool, I move on to the next. I can never remember which one does what from my bookmarks, so I have posted them here with screenshots and notes on all 11 color helpers:

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Free PDF eBooks Archive

Home of all our free PDF eBooks

Free PDF eBooks Archive

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