DNSChanger Malware Concern is Overblown!

I've seen a number of people posting about concerns they have regarding the recent media focus on DNSChanger. The media keeps posting about how this malware will kick "thousands" off the internet come Monday and everyone needs to check their computer. While it is true that any computer infected with this malware will be unable to gain access to the internet come Monday there are important things to point out.

1. The malware has been known about for some time, giving security companies plenty of time to roll out fixes, so if you have run a virus protection program recently you should be just fine.

2. This issue has been addressed by Microsoft and they have even sent out an update to help fix this problem months ago, so as long as you allow Microsoft updates you should be just fine.

3. The total number (worldwide) of infected computers is only about 280,000 with just 65,000 in the US. With over 250 MILLION computers in the US alone that means there is a .03% chance your computer is infected, so you should be just fine.

4. Even if your computer IS infected the FBI has controlled the servers the malware points to for some time, so there is no major danger to your computer. Worst case you can't access the internet come Monday and you have a computer-literate friend come over and change what DNS server your computer points to.

If you are still concerned just visit the following site and run one of the quick checks they suggest: http://www.dcwg.org

 

Did I mention.... you should be just fine, the media has blown this out of proportion to gain readership!

 

 

 

 

Games You Should Own: Saints Row 2 - Guest Article

This is a special guest article from my good friend Fritz, be sure to check out his great blog by following the link at the bottom of this post!

I'm not as big a gamer as I used to be. I used to buy just about every big name game that came out and play them pretty much non-stop until I had them beat. Now I usually buy only a few games a year and they last me months, so there are plenty of games that just fall through the cracks that I completely miss. Every once in a while, I go back and buy one of those games if I hear enough good things about them. About a week and a half back, I bought Saints Row 2. It might be the best $20 I've ever spent on a video game.

I never played the first Saints Row since I didn't have an Xbox 360 when it first came out and all I ever heard about it was that it was a Grand Theft Auto ripoff. And I didn't have any interest in the sequel since GTA 4 had come out by then and why buy a ripoff of a game you already own. Except Grand Theft Auto 4 got really boring, really quickly. GTA is always at it's best when it wasn't taking itself too seriously, which is all that GTA 4 did. I'm all for trying to tell a mature story about a former killer looking for redemption but it rings a little hollow when your character spends five minutes complaining about leaving that life behind and then goes out and kills 50 people for 5 grand because somebody asked him to. They changed the physics engine and made it more realistic, which made driving around town a lot less fun. There was also nothing really to do when you weren't doing a mission. I got about halfway through the game and just stopped because it just wasn't fun to me. Not to mention I wanted to shoot Roman in his stupid face.

 

Read the rest HERE

Site Promo

Created a QR code that directs to the site, if anyone would like to help promote AssortedNerdery.com please post this for people to see (would love comments about how the site looks on mobile devices as well if everyone could try this):

You can also include this QR code on your site if you would like using the following html code (would really appreciate anyone that is willing to get this out there):

 

<img src="http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=8&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.assortednerdery.com" alt="qrcode"  />

Why Being A Nerd Isn't A Bad Thing

This article really shows why being a nerd can be a wonderful thing.  Since the name of this site is AssortedNERDery I have to assume everyone can relate in some way to little Katie... maybe you like music that people would consider unusual... maybe you spend your paycheck on comics... maybe you build computers/websites... maybe you have been called a nerd or a geek in your life.  We all know what it is like to be considered different in some way and have others treat us different because of it.  It takes a great group of people to stand up for a young girl that is going through this kind of treatment and it shows the world that being nerdy means being part of a wonderful group of people!

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/12/09/katie.starwars.geek/index.html?hpt=C1

 

Almost Time

Dusting off the 'ol domain and going to try relaunching soon with fresh content.... hopefully this will include guest articles by some of my friends and readers, so if you have something let me know and perhaps we will include it on the site.

As the domain name states, this site is for Assorted Nerdery of all kinds.  Computer Nerdery, Music Nerdery, Food Nerdery, Movie Nerdery, Music Nerdery, etc.  If there is a reason to be excited about a subject and "nerd" out about it this is the place!