Another free web server for your system

Abyss Web Server is a compact web server available for Windows, MacOS X, Linux and FreeBSD operating systems. Abyss Web Server does not require huge memory or excessive computing power to run. It has an intuitive web management interface called the console that makes the web server configuration as easy as browsing a web site. No need to edit configuration files, the console helps you setting the server parameters in an effortless manner and can be accessed from a local or a remote computer

Abyss Web Server

Visit http://www.aprelium.com

File hosting made simple (and the price is right!)

Ever have the need to pass a large file to someone else, however, you have limits on the size of file you can send via your email system? MediaFire appears to offer a solution for this. They offer free file hosting in a simple fashion and at the right price - Free!

They offer unlimited disk space and the ability to send a file upt 100mb in size. You can upload without an account even. However, creating an account will help you keep track of what you have uploaded and its link.

For more info Visit http://www.mediafire.com/

Here's a link to a test file I created...
http://www.mediafire.com/?dizdjtejtw2

This is just something I stumbled across while surfing tonight. I think this may come in handy in the future and I'll probably use to add files to my blog.

Definition of a Real Man

A week or two ago, my Church had a men's meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to help provide us guys with Biblical wisdom / perspective on what God intends for me to do.

An awesome description was quoted by Randy Lanthripe our pastor. It comes from the book "Raising a Modern Day Knight: A Father's Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood" by Robert Lewis

A Real Man...

Rejects Passivity
Accepts Responsibility
Leads Courageously
Expects the Greater (Longer Term) Reward.

This definition has stuck with me. It reminds me of areas I need to consistently strengthen.

"Rejecting Passivity" - Sometimes its much easier to just sit back and see if things will smooth out for themselves or just wait till someone else deals with it. This reminds me that, if I see something that needs to be done, I need to engage and deal with it.

"Accepting Responsibility" - Its much easier to sit on the couch or hide away with distractions (TV, Movies, Video Games, Internet Surfing -- ouch). A real man needs to step up and lead and make a difference.

"Lead Courageously" - Throughout the Old Testament, God had the writers infuse the idea of "Being Strong and Courageous" (Deut. 3:28, 31:6-7, Joshua 1:6-9, 1 Chron. 28:20, 2 Chron. 13:18).

"Expects the Greater (Longer Term) Reward" - Put off today's immediate reward (satisfaction / pleasures) for the big picture. Also being part of something that will meaningful and something that will last until eternity.

I'm going to strive to continually add these character traits to my life. What kind of man will you be?

An option to help protect your on-line surfing

Here's an option to help protect your on-line surfing even more... OpenDNS.

OpenDNS blocks phishing sites (the bad sites that pretend to be good sites by using slight misspellings, they will often trick you into thinking your on the real site and ask you to login giving them your user id/password.) In addition it gives you the power to block adult and other non-desirable sites.

Another cool feature displays your most frequently visited sites on your network, and then allow you block them with a single click (could be good for keeping the kids out of the sites you don't want them to get into.)

I think I'll give it a try. Can't really hurt!

Visit http://opendns.com/ for more info...

Firefox Optimization

I really like using Firefox as my web browser, however I just learned that the Firefox browser is actually optimized for dial-up connections by default. Luckily there are some tips for getting the best performance over DSL, Cable or other high speed links.

Firefox broadband optimization tips... (Courtesy of the Mike Tech Show Podcast)

Type in "about:config" in the address bar for Firefox and press enter.

Next locate and double click each of the following entries...

network.http.pipelining (change the setting from false to true)
network.http.pipelining.maxrequest (change the setting from 4 to 15)
network.http.proxy.pieplining (change the setting from false to true)

Next, right-click anywhere on page and select "new integer", Then enter nglay-out.initialpaint.delay (then click ok.) Go ahead and set the value to 0 and click ok again.

For more info see the Mike Tech Show's Firefox Tweaks page. "http://miketechshow.com/firefox/"

Happy New Year! Time to Patch

I heard Steve Gibson/Leo Laporte (Security Now Podcast) discussing a serious new problem that you should patch right away. An attacker could try to exploit the vulnerability by creating specially crafted network packets and sending the packets to an affected system and then gaining complete control of it.

See

Microsoft Windows TCP/IP IGMP MLD Remote Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

-and-

Microsoft (MS08-001) Vulnerabilities in Windows TCP/IP Could Allow Remote Code Execution (941644)

First MAC

Bought our first MAC (MacBook Pro) this past weekend for my daughter. She's a graphics/visual arts major and we came to the point in which she really needed it for class projects (they are using adobe creative suite.)

I have been a PC user since early 1980 (actually my first computer I worked on was an Apple IIe, which is far from what the Mac and OS X turned out to be. I have to say, I didn't think it was as intuitive as many say they are.

It took a while to get used to it. It does has a well built feel to the construction. I'm sure more blogs will come on this topic.