> Adblock Plus still tops the list, however.

Which doesn't annoy advertisers. In fact, it helps them by conserving their bandwidth!

That is not a simple fix, that is a temporary workaround. Turning off the JIT compiler has performance implications.

If that's the case, I'm going to run a genetic code generator for a few thousand iterations, get some really meaningless routines, make a random main(), add some TicTacToe code, then submit it for review: HotTicTacToe as a 7MB binary... Let them figure it out.

> We now have Windows Defender... What is so special about Conficker..

For one, conficker kills Windows Defender and keeps it from starting up on reboot.

Go for it. See if you can reverse engineer conficker's encrypted and digitally signed binaries. It's only RC4 and MD-6. MD-6 was only released a few weeks prior to the first wild sightings of version C. Still wanna mess with these guys? Then all you have to do is figure out which of the 50,000 domains spread across ~120 .tlds to register so you can put your binary on it for when conficker does it's daily payload check.

Or if you want, you can try to infiltrate it via its own P2P network. You better be quick, if conficker detects it is being debugged, it quits. Can't look at the code? Hmmm, maybe look at the p2p protocol? Doh! you cannot run wireshark on an infected system, conficker process kills just about anything you would use for disinfecting every second (though I might change the .exe name of a tool i was using). But even then you have to figure out the digital signature before conficker will run your binary, it's a 4096 bit key, you better get started. Bonus points for breaking it before the authors update it.

This worm is piece of work. It memory patches your dns resolver. It kills your security products. With it's encryption, every copy is different. It hides with random file name, in several locations, date same as your kernel, and the registry entries get pretty names most would overlook on a quick glance. The ports it opens are a function of your IP address, so you cannot just look for port xyz traffic, but a remote conficker can figure out which ports should be open for your IP. It does updates with a plain URL that no IDS could catch without red flagging genuine HTTP requests. It closes it's infection vector but opens another back door. It pokes holes in your firewall, and gives them pretty names too. But wait there's more! It tries to spread through network shares with weak passwords and copies itself to the modern sneakernet of USB drives. Its IP scanner even avoids unregistered address space.

The authors of this worm seem to be a few steps ahead of everyone. It's weaknesses get patched, it's vulnerabilities get updated. As long as we have people running pirated copies of Windows, or people too afraid to auto-update for whatever reason, we better get used to things just "living" in the internet. Anti-worm? goodluckwiththat!

Hopefully they haven't discovered spoofing.

No, because he said, "legitimate traffic."

Fine then, cut both of China's internet connections.

Problem Solved!

Everyone forgets it because you only type it once. Then you can't type worth a darn anymore and you just join the circus.

I find this interesting. I am amazed at how much other countries cover US elections. Canada had elections a few weeks back, they are one of our two neighbors and I saw nearly zero coverage in US media. We never hear about other countries elections, maybe the UK. Last time before that was something in Israel, something about Hamas being terrorists.

I can imagine few in any other country gives a rats ass about our election. But it gets pushed so much. Is that media conglomeration pushing agenda? Does it matter to someone in Australia, or Tanzania, or India, or France, or Netherlands, that much? Why don't we get bombarded over here with other countries and their politics and elections? Is it just that I am reading the english language version of those sources and only seeing stories about US? I hear non-Americans having an opinion on which candidate they like! I never overhear discussions on who the next King of Belgium or Italy is going to be, much less anyone over here having an opinion or even being informed.

At any rate, I apologize. We are just as tired of it as you are. It is broken beyond our control, has taken on a life of its own, and is rapidly getting worse. Our only hope is that it will collapse on itself.

Enjoy traveling by airplane. Get on an airplane without taking off my shoes. Believe that America would never torture anyone, and everyone received due process. Click on a odd ball link about terrorism and wonder if I am being put in a database somewhere. Bring a screwdriver or nail clippers with me on an airplane. Use the word terrorist in a post and wonder if I am being put in a database somewhere. Believe my communications were not monitored.

Have faith in the election process.

Feel proud to be an American Citizen.

You must live in a cave if your life has not been impacted by this president.