Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

steve2470

steve2470's Journal
steve2470's Journal
October 30, 2013

CryptoLocker Is The Nastiest Malware Ever & Here’s What You Can Do

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cryptolocker-is-the-nastiest-malware-ever-heres-what-you-can-do/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=2012-10-30

Ransomware is an especially odious type of malware. The way it works is simple. Your computer will be infected with some malicious software. That software then renders your computer entirely unusable, sometimes purporting to be from local law enforcement and accusing you of committing a computer crime or viewing explicit pictures of children. It then demands monetary payment, either in the form of a ransom or a ‘fine’ before access to your computer is returned.

Horrible, isn’t it? Well, get ready to meet CryptoLocker; the evil patriarch of the Ransomware family.

What Is CryptoLocker

CryptoLocker is a piece of malware targeting computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. It is typically spread as an email attachment, often purporting to be from a legitimate source (including Intuit and Companies House). Some say it is also being spread through the ZeuS botnet.

Once installed on your computer, it systematically encrypts all documents that are stored on your local computer, as well as ones that are stored on mapped network drives and mounted removable storage.

*more at link*
October 30, 2013

Insomnia, MIRT and trance....

How's that for a subject line ? lol

My current jam: http://www.di.fm/trance

October 30, 2013

A blue state’s road to red (West Virginia, article in WaPo)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2013/10/26/a-blue-states-road-to-red/?wprss&google_editors_picks=true&clsrd

What’s happening in West Virginia runs against the tide nationally, and even more, against the pull of its own history.

West Virginia exists as a state because it broke away from Virginia in 1863 and refused to join the confederacy. From Franklin D. Roosevelt’s era until the 2000 election, it was among the most reliably Democratic states, one of only six that Jimmy Carter carried in 1980, and 10 that Michael S. Dukakis won in 1988.

But in the past decade or so, “West Virginia has realigned politically with the Deep South, at least in presidential elections,” historian John Alexander Williams said in a June lecture in Charleston marking the state’s 150th anniversary. “Between the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections, a time when voters were trending strongly Democratic in other parts of the nation, 366 of official Appalachia’s 410 counties increased their Republican share of presidential votes.”

In 2012, that trendline cut more deeply. Obama lost the seven West Virginia counties he had carried in 2008. It marked the first time that a major party’s presidential candidate suffered a 55-county shutout.
October 29, 2013

White House email: Less than a cable bill (ACA coverage)

Less than a cable bill

It's no secret that the health care website hasn't worked as well as it's supposed to. But Obamacare is giving millions of Americans across the country access to quality, affordable coverage for the first time.

Today there's some great news from a Department of Health and Human Services report: Nearly half of single, uninsured Americans between 18 and 34 will be able to get health coverage for $50 a month or less.

$50 or less. That's less than a cell phone bill. It's less than a cable bill. And it means that young Americans who want coverage will be able to afford it.

Deputy Senior Advisor David Simas sat down to talk about the news -- and why it's so important that more Americans are getting the coverage they need, at a price they can afford.

Will you take two minutes to watch the video -- and then forward it to someone you know who should see it?



About 700,000 people have already submitted applications to the Marketplace, and as we improve the website, more Americans are applying every day.

Everyone's got a stake in making sure that people who want quality, affordable coverage know where to find it.

Help spread this news to the folks in your community who need to hear it:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/10/29/young-people-obamacare-coverage-50-month
October 29, 2013

Florida Supreme Court to hear medical marijuana argument as supporters, opponents prepare to debate

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments on December 5th about whether a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana should go before voters.

The announcement came two days before supporters and opponents of the measure were to gather at the Lake Worth campus of Palm Beach State College for a 90-minute debate called, "The Great Debate! Marijuana Legalization: Make An Informed Decision."

"It's needed now because there are people who are ill now. They're getting pain killers. They may overdose and die when there is a safer alternative," William Deans, an organizer at Medical Marijuana Petition Palm Beach . "We're going to have 900,000 petitioners before it is said and done with who have signed to indicate that they want this issue on the ballot."

Some groups who have worked to keep drugs away from children said the measure was not in the best interest of the people of Florida.


Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/florida-supreme-court-to-hear-medical-marijuana-argument-as-supporters-opponents-prepare-to-debate#ixzz2j6VOlvH5

October 29, 2013

Florida Supreme Court to hear medical marijuana argument as supporters, opponents prepare to debate

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/florida-supreme-court-to-hear-medical-marijuana-argument-as-supporters-opponents-prepare-to-debate

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments on December 5th about whether a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana should go before voters.

The announcement came two days before supporters and opponents of the measure were to gather at the Lake Worth campus of Palm Beach State College for a 90-minute debate called, "The Great Debate! Marijuana Legalization: Make An Informed Decision."

"It's needed now because there are people who are ill now. They're getting pain killers. They may overdose and die when there is a safer alternative," William Deans, an organizer at Medical Marijuana Petition Palm Beach . "We're going to have 900,000 petitioners before it is said and done with who have signed to indicate that they want this issue on the ballot."

Some groups who have worked to keep drugs away from children said the measure was not in the best interest of the people of Florida.


Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/florida-supreme-court-to-hear-medical-marijuana-argument-as-supporters-opponents-prepare-to-debate#ixzz2j6VOlvH5
October 29, 2013

Obama May Ban Spying on Heads of Allied States



http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/world/europe/obama-may-ban-spying-on-heads-of-allied-states.html?google_editors_picks=true&_r=0

WASHINGTON — President Obama is poised to order the National Security Agency to stop eavesdropping on the leaders of American allies, administration and congressional officials said Monday, responding to a deepening diplomatic crisis over reports that the agency had for years targeted the cellphone of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.

The White House informed a leading Democratic lawmaker, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, of its plans, which grew out of a broader internal review of intelligence-gathering methods, prompted by the leak of N.S.A. documents by a former contractor, Edward J. Snowden.

In a statement on Monday, Ms. Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, “I do not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers.” Ms. Feinstein, who has been a stalwart defender of the administration’s surveillance policies, said her committee would begin a “major review of all intelligence collection programs.”

The White House said Monday evening that no final decision had been made on the monitoring of friendly foreign leaders. But the disclosure that it is moving to prohibit it signals a landmark shift for the N.S.A., which has had nearly unfettered powers to collect data on tens of millions of people around the world, from ordinary citizens to heads of state, including the leaders of Brazil and Mexico.
October 28, 2013

Desperate for Work? 10 Things to Know If You’re Thinking of Moving to the Jobs Capital of the U.S.



http://www.alternet.org/labor/desperate-work-10-things-know-if-youre-thinking-moving-jobs-capital-us

(heavily edited to only give you 4 out of 10 points to comply with DU rules)

10. There will be traffic.

9. There will be lines.

8. Women, prepare for stares.

7. Men, see above.

If you haven't guessed already, this is North Dakota.
October 28, 2013

Most compatible browser for Healthcare.gov ?

I've tried Opera, Firefox, IE, Seamonkey, Chrome and Chrome Canary. It seems IE and Firefox are the most compatible. Is that what you're seeing also ?

I keep getting hung up on the "View Eligibility Results" screen. I'm not in a big rush because I already have coverage and am looking for cheaper coverage if possible.

Thanks for any help.

Profile Information

Gender: Do not display
Member since: Sat Oct 16, 2004, 12:04 PM
Number of posts: 37,468
Latest Discussions»steve2470's Journal