Random Thoughts of The Jon

Microsoft Security Essentials vs. NOD32

2009-12-04T04:50:05Z

So, I've been a long-time user of ESET Nod32 for all my personal machines, corporate systems, servers, and client PC's. I've heard many positive reviews for the newly-released antivirus and antimalware platform from Microsoft called Microsoft Security Essentials. My results were a little surprising and a bit disappointing... Read on for my full review.

I started with a clean installation of XP SP3 on an Intel Core2 Duo system with 512 MB of RAM (shared with the on-board video system). All essential updates installed. Here's a capture of the system in this state.

This next capture is after installing MSE, running a full system scan, rebooting, and waiting for all CPU activity to calm down for about 30 min. Note that the additional footprint for MSE is over 120MB. Considering the sparse amount of free memory in this system, this is a considerable hit to performance.

Here I closed the MSE processes and watched the change in system performance both before and after. This confirms that the 120 MB memory hit was a direct result of running MSE in the background.

This is after uninstaling MSE and rebooting. Strangely, I seemed to have managed to free up another 20 MB in memory somehow but I have no idea how...

Lastly, this is after installing NOD32 and performing the same full scan and letting all CPU activity calm down. It barely registers as a memory hit at all. I'm 40 MB above the system after uninstalling MSE -but I'm still about 20 MB from the original system configuration when I started this test.

CONCLUSION: First of all, I know that this is a VERY limited test. I have seen these results on 3 additional systems but I'm well aware of the fact that this can be a purely anecdotal test result. With that said, being a free Antivirus / Antimalware platform, if you have plenty of RAM and probably running either Vista or Windows7, I see no reason why not dedicate some of the system resources to MSE. But, if you're still running older XP systems with limited amounts of RAM, I'd stick with the reasonably-priced, low-overhead of NOD32.

I'd love to hear any thoughts you have at this point...

Fun at Disney...

2009-10-27T21:36:34Z

All I have to say is: my wife loves me!!

So, for $10, I lost a full 30 years of maturity over a silly plastic light saber!!

Afro...

2009-09-24T22:18:59Z

I thought I'd have some fun with this great utility I found at Paste Magazine's Obamicon utility...

I really did enjoy looking through some of the other ones created on this site -especially this one:

Here's another one I did based on some old pics of mine...

Enjoy!

Amusing Ourselves To Death...

2009-07-17T16:05:28Z

I'm not one to normally post links like this but I feel it's worth it...

I found this brief pictorial commentary to be quite thought provoking...
You can read the entire comic here --well worth the 2 minuets!!

Vidia and Boomer

2009-07-13T17:32:36Z

Vidia has been with us for a couple of years now (the fluffy one). Some crazy lady walked into my wife's job last last years and asked if anyone wanted a kitten. Candi asked where the cat was and almost on queue the little bugger popped his head out from the lady's purse... The rest, as they say, is history...

These shots are on those rare moments when these two kids aren't chasing each other around the house driving us mad!!

I met Steve Gibson!!

2009-07-10T00:14:18Z

I'm such a dork! I used to laugh at those little school girls that would go all crazy for the Jonas Brothers when they saw them --but I'm just the same way! I'm reminded of a great Intel Commercial when I ran into the opportunity to personally meet Steve Gibson of Gibson Research Corporation, the man who coined the term spyware and created the first anti-spyware program, creator of Spinrite and ShieldsUP while I was in Long Beach a few weeks ago. I knew that he had mentioned on his weekly Security Now podcast that he's been doing most of his coding work while sitting in a Starbucks at UCIrvine. Well that was just a quick 20 min drive for me! Steve was most gracious to me and we talked for a short while as I tried to keep from jumping up and down shouting "I can't believe I'm actually talking to THE Steve Gibson!!!" Anyways, thank you Steve for being so accessible and contributing so much of your time to the computer security industry.

Oddly enough, I'm not the only one with this attitude... SecureShirts.com even makes a nice black T-shirt that shares my sentiment...

He's also #66 in TechCult’s Top 100 Web Celebrities.

Mold!!!

2009-04-08T07:44:59Z

Well, we weren't planning on remodeling our front bathroom and kitchen THIS WEEK but a dead cat in the walls will definitely get your motivation going!!

Some of you may remember my "temporary" plumbing job from 2007. Well, it looks like I left a small hole exposed to the outside that a cat managed to get in through and stroll around to the inner bathroom inside the walls under the tub. It didn't look like he was stuck -just looks like he crawled in there to die (and get us to go ahead and gut out front bathroom and kitchen!!

So once we exposed parts of the inner wall, we started taking note of the black mold inside the walls a little more than before...

So, time to cordon off the area...

Break out the HAZMAT suits...

And go to town!!

Some of the wonderful surprises that awaited us...

Vent pipes that were so large that they effectively cut away all the structural integrity of the wall they were inside of (we will be replacing them with PVC. The horizontal member is too low for code (must be at least 6" above the tallest fixture --and it's right at the level of the vanity sink...

The drywall throughout the bathroom was just regular gypsum and not "greenboard". Also there was little to no sealing between the fiberglass tub and wallboard so there was mold on the inside of the seam all the way around --we will be replacing the drywall with mold and moisture resistant material...

The toilet mounting ring is nearly rusted away. We will be replacing it...

The rotted framing base looks like it started out as a 2x4 and they stuck a 2" strip inside at some points. The entire wall will be replaced with new wood (and a pressure treated 2x6 for the frame base...

Nice wiring!! I guess it doesn't matter since it's tucked behind the counter top!!

Looks like we have a leak from the roof that has been soaking this wall for some time now. We will be taking out the insulation, tracking down the leak and fixing the roof where needed...

Not too bad for about a week's work in the evenings!! It looks like the dead cat in our walls was God's way of getting us to take care of the mold problem that has been brewing for many years now. We have managed to find two sources of water in this area: one from an abandoned swamp cooler water line, and the second from the leaking room at the opposite side of the wall. It's been a real pain but we're sure glad to be getting this taken care of. More to come as the work progresses!!

Laurie Anderson: "Tightrope"

2009-01-06T19:24:52Z

Laurie Anderson may be an "acquired taste" to many. I was introduced to her strange, musical poetry at a relatively young age. "Tightrope" has got to be one of her most memorable compositions to me. The lyrics (and I don't normally even listen to lyrics) really put me in a reflective place...

Last night I dreamed I died and that my life had been rearranged into some kind of theme park. And all my friends were walking up and down the boardwalk. And my dead Grandmother was selling cotton candy out of a little shack. And there was this big ferris wheel about a half mile out in the ocean, half in and half out of the water. And all my old boyfriends were on it -with their new girlfriends. And the boys were waving and shouting and the girls were saying, “Eeek.” Then they disappeared under the surface of the water and when they came up again they were laughing and gasping for breath…

In this dream I'm on a tightrope and I'm tipping back and forth trying to keep my balance. And below me are all my relatives and if I fall I'll crush them…

This long thin line. This song line. This shout. The only thing that binds me to the turning world below and to all the people and noise and sounds and shouts. This tightrope made of sound. This long thin line made of my own blood…

Remember me is all I ask. And if remembered be a task, forget me. Remember me is all I ask. And if remembered be a task, forget me. This long thin line. This long thin line. This long thin line. This tightrope. Remember me is all I ask. And if remembered be a task forget me. This long thin line. This long thin line. This long thin line. This tightrope made of sound.

What I looked like 20 years ago...

2009-01-05T06:01:41Z

I managed to dig up this old shot after a friend of mine reminded me of it. The shot was taken by a fellow Tae Kwon Do student who was also a photographer. I wish I had known it would have turned out to be such a good shot or I would have tried not to look like my face was about to explode (and probably would have taken my practice pads off). Oh well, at least I have a visual reminder of what I looked like 90 pounds lighter and wearing a black belt! With all that's changing in my life recently, maybe I'll get back into martial arts again...

Dental Surgery Fun...

2008-09-10T23:15:30Z

Well if this image isn't enough to motivate someone to brush and floss regularly I don't know what will. Yesterday I had 4 teeth removed in one sitting (including one wisdom tooth). I left so much of a hole in my mouth that they needed an artificial bone graft for my lower jaw. Now I've lost 3 days of work and am on a steady diet of vicodin and Ensure. At least I'll probably lose some weight in the process!

Mounted a 15" touchscreen in my car!!

2008-06-05T06:30:03Z

Some of you may remember my initial post a little over a year ago where I mounted my laptop in my car here. This is how it used to look:

I've used a couple different laptops in my car for the last few years but they always had their problems. First of all, most of the displays were fairly dim (considering I only installed USED laptops as they were going to get a lot of abuse sitting in my car -and the risk of being stolen). I'd say the most expensive laptop I've installed cost me $250. Anyways, besides the dim screen that made it a little hard to see during the day while wearing sunglasses, I had to deal with the screen waving back and forth if I drove over any bumps or dirt roads...

So I mounted a 15" desktop display a few months ago and LOVED it! The brightness of even the lowball Dell display was quite easy to see. The only problem now was the fact that the keyboard was no longer sitting right where my had was -now it was sitting in the passenger seat and soon was going UNDER the seat. I needed a touchscreen! So for the next 3-4 months, I watched and lurked eBay for just the right deal... And here it is:

Here's a YouTube video of it in operation.

I have distant plans to install a dedicated carputer from mp3car.com but my budget is just not there right now.

Kujo Mama Kitten Progress...

2008-05-16T13:11:05Z

Well the kittens have been almost 1 week away from "Kujo Mama" and seem to be warming up to humans (which is a relief to us all). They spend a majority of the day in their cage but come out at least twice daily to romp around the living room, harass our other two cats, and play with us and whoever seems to be around. Some are more affectionate that others but that is to be expected. We still haven't decided which ones (or how many) we'll keep.

The two black polydactyl kittens are even more interesting now that we've also found out that their back paws also have an unusual amount of toes. One has 4 and the other has 5!! Just amazing.

One more week and we'll be getting the mother fixed and released shortly afterwards (once she's healed). Then we'll be getting our lives back to some sort of normalcy (such as it is)...

Kujo Mama Kittens Videos 5 and 6 - The Amazing 6-toed Kitten!!

2008-05-12T20:50:29Z

Well the process of taking the 4 kittens from "Kujo Mama" went off yesterday without a hitch. She's been crying off and on through the night but that's to be expected. Now that we were able to get a good look at the two black kittens, we finally able to confirm that they do indeed have 6 front toes!! Here's some more pics for your own amazement...

Yup, it's a fully-functional extra toe --just like their dad it seems. We're still trying to get a pic of him but he's "in the wild" so don't hold your breath...

Here's the last video we shot of the kittens with mama...

And here's the smaller of the two black kittens getting a little nursing...

Kujo Mama Kittens Videos 3 and 4

2008-05-07T21:51:27Z

Well they're starting to stumble around now...

Yeah Toast!

2008-05-05T14:19:25Z

So this past weekend I was able to capture my rendition of the musical genius Heywood Banks and his amazing song "Yeah Toast" while performing at a writers conference in my town. I've only done it three times now but it seems to make an impression on those that watch it for years to come... enjoy all!

Mama Kujo Kitten Videos...

2008-05-02T16:15:19Z

Well, now that the kittens are starting to stumble around the room, we thought it was time to shoot some video. Thanks to Candi for finding the right time last night to do the shooting!

My Cellular Phone History

2008-04-24T06:13:06Z

From left to right: Motorola 120e, Motorola V557, Blackberry 8100 Pearl, Blackberry 8300 Curve.

I have heard that the old 120e actually had a GPS capability on it. Simply amazing. I will admit that I can't possibly imagine going back to a phone that doesn't have a full-sized keyboard anymore. I got the Pearl just because I wanted a phone with good voice recognition and worked well with Outlook. But that's just to get you hooked on "push email". Once you're used to it, the full-sized Curve is the only way to go! The shear volume of work I can get done while sitting on the toilet just blows my mind! I never need directions to someone's house, just an address and my phone will get me there. How did I live without it for so long?! My curve is actually the first phone that has forced me to change my wardrobe. I no longer wear shirts without a pocket. I refuse to wear it on my belt! Anyways, I thought some of you would find this photo interesting...

The "stray cat mother" and her kids progress...

2008-04-22T07:43:16Z

Well after a few days in a clean room, being well-fed, using a litter box, and not being harassed by the outside world, the "Kujo Mother" doesn't seem to stink nearly as much! I'm relieved to find out that I don't need any shots for the many bites and scratches I received -just a regiment of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds. I guess that the lymph nodes are located just inside my armpits so the doctor told me just to keep that in mind in case they start to hurt. The 4 kittens seem to be getting along well. They are just starting to open their eyes and mother is still a good, attentive caregiver. Candi and I are still trying to decide if we want to keep one of them as a memento to the savage attack I received from their mother! I hope some of them have kewl markings...

Thanks to my mom's ample supply of cat-ready antibiotic medicine, we're getting the mother cat as healthy as she can be while she's here with us. I only hope she calms down a little after getting more food in her belly!

So this is what you look like when you lose a fight with a cat (PICS)

2008-04-17T21:29:17Z

So we manage to find a stray cat in one of the rooms we're remodeling in our home. She's got a litter of 5 kittens....

Looks cute... But my wife and I slowly realized that they couldn't stay there --and we weren't about to let them lose on the neighborhood since there are already a good population of strays out there, we didn't feel good about adding another 5 to the mix. I figured we have another spare room in less of a state of disrepair (but still a work in progress) that we could keep them in with safety until the kittens are grown enough to find homes for them...

"Do you think I should get some gloves?" I asked my wife...

Scratch and bite marks on the left hand.

Minor scratches on left bottom of left forearm.

Bite marks on left wrist.

Bite and scratches on right hand.

Deep scratches on right forearm bottom.

Deep scratch on right outside forearm.

...Somehow I don't see her getting house broken!

How could a stapler make me so happy?

2007-11-06T07:12:27Z

I've been slowly getting my life together lately with special thanks to David Allen's "Getting Things Done" audio book. I have to say, after using Franklin-Covey for so many years, I had no idea how much I was missing! Anyways, while getting my home office up and productive again, I decided to buy a nice stapler and thought the "Office Space" stapler would be an interesting office prop... $20 dollars later from eBay, here it is!

Holy cow is this thing heavy! At my "day-job" office, we have a bunch of old office products and one of the staplers we all fight over is this Swingline "747" model. Its all metal and just feels solid when using. Well, as it turns out, the red Swingline in Office Space IS a model 747...

I had no idea such a simple thing could make me so happy! Now I understand the significance of Milton's stapler in the movie at an entirely new level!!

High Winds in the High Desert!

2007-04-06T21:33:52Z

Well the winds of the Antelope Valley (also known as the "High Desert") have struck my house like never before! I wake up to shingles in my front yard...

Some of the larger pieces made taking them to the hardware store for replacements a real "breeze".

Here's what the back of the roof looked like in the morning.

...And $20 in shingles and roof nails later (and a little elbow grease) I'm back to new! Thank God my dad was a contractor!

I'd really like to increase the pitch of the roof and add tile but I just don't think I'm ready for that serious of a job (at least while still living there).

R.I.P. Richard Jeni...

2007-03-14T06:48:57Z

The idea that a comedian can suffer from clinical and severe depression just seems amazing to me but I now know that just because you don't lay in bed all day or act "blue" doesn't meen you're not depressed. Richard Jeni was one of my favorite comedians --I could nearly quote most all of his HBO specials to you. There are few comedians I will listen to over and over again but Richard was one of them. His family has a statement on the official website makes things pretty clear that his death was a suicide. Sad, sad day. Richard, you will me missed dearly.

My custom laptop car mount

2007-02-12T03:00:26Z

Well after seeing these guys selling their products on eBay, I figured I could do better. First of all, I realized that they were just using normal 3/4" steel pipe. But I wanted to mount the laptop on the side of the floor and not the bottom. I managed to score some spare thick plexi from the local hardware store since it was sitting outside for a few months and was just a mess (but since I won't ever be looking through it I didn't care how messed up it was)...

I'm still scouting for some plastic sleeving to cover up the pipe. Due to it's mounting up foreward where it is, the front seat can still slide all the way up and I can still accomidate a passenger with little problem.

I'm currently using an old IBM Thinkpad with a 12" screen but I've got a newer Dell 14" that will soon be installed. Bigger screen with better color visibility in sunlight is a good thing!

My bolts on the plexi were a little too long but no one will know!

Here's where it hooks into the floor. I'll probably grab a carpet remnant from the local auto parts store to do a better cover up soon.

Here's the secret to my "over engineering". I have mounted the pipe flange directly on the metal of the unit body where most of the other installations I've seen sat on top of the carpet and insulation. This made for a wiggly mounting! I also upgraded the flange to 1" pipe size so that I'd have a larger mounting surface. Believe me, this mount is solid!

Legally, I'm not too sure how I'll stand up. I know that it's illeal to watch movies in the front seat while driving but I'm actually using GPS software most of the time. I also know that you can't mount GPS deviced in the windshield because of the risk of obstructing the drivers' view. Well this mount keeps the laptop out of the way of the windshield so I should be ok but I'm not going to run around asking the highway patrol what they think!

Overall, I think I spent about $30 but I've got some spare plexi and pipe for the next mount I'm going to do.

Romeo Void - "Never Say Never"

2007-02-07T22:44:25Z

Man, had I forgotten just how much I loved this song as a kid. The musical layers are just amazing to listen to -even now. I didn't realize that this was a fairly big video on MTV in the beginning of the network. I also didn't realize that the lead singer looked so much like Rosanne! I had always immagined she looked something like a Joan Jett. Oh well, I'm off to Amazon to by another CD... From what I've read, this was a pretty good band that just never got the popularity it deserved other than this one-hit-wonder. I sure hope they're right 'cause it's gonna' cost me about $7 to find out!!

Cassie - Me and U

2007-02-05T00:46:33Z

Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a fan of modern "hip hop" music. I find most of it devoid of real musical talent or originality. I have noticed a trend towards what I would call "minimalism" when it domes to the production lately and this tune kind of takes the cake for it. but the more I listened to this song (on an otherwise mediocre album) I heard a lot of Kraftwerk influence --and not from sampling either! Sadly, the rest of the album pretty much sux in my opinion with the exception of one or two more tracks so I'm sure this tune was just a fluke -but still... I love this tune!! The strong base, 80's style synth's used sparringly, minimal and tasteful percussion progression, etc...

Check it out for yourself!!