Warning about security threat to Adobe Reader 9, Acrobat 9, earlier versions

I know I usually wouldn't think twice about opening up a .pdf, so I thought I'd pass this along.

Anyone with Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9 and earlier versions beware! Adobe announced a "critical vunerability" for users that the could cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Adobe made the announcement last week, but says users won't be able to get a fix for it until March 11th for Adobe 9 and longer for earlier versions. That means three weeks of vunerability for any time a user opens a .pdf docutment.

According to Adobe's website, you can disable JavaScript to provide protection against currently known attacks. However, the vulnerability is not in the scripting engine and, therefore, disabling JavaScript does not eliminate all risk. Users can disable JavaScript, by following the instructions below:

Launch Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
Select Edit>Preferences
Select the JavaScript Category
Uncheck the ‘Enable Acrobat JavaScript’ option
Click OK

Check this site for Adobe security bulletins.

For now, Sourcefire has released a homebrew patch for Adobe Reader 9.

10 random things in the news this week

In honor of the 25 random things list circling through Facebook, I've decided to put together my own smaller version of 10 random things in the news (local/national/international) this week....

1. President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Tuesday which aims to help stimulate America of the recession. Find out what's in it for you.
2. "Slumdog Millionare" comes out top dog at the Oscars for best picture.
3. Facebook did an about face on its terms of service policy after a firestorm of backlash when it changed the wording in the TOS to say it claimed ownership to the content on the site even if a user deletes his/her account.
4. Joshua Kezer, imprisoned for more than 14 years for the slaying of a 19-year-old college student, is freed after a judge throws out the conviction.
5. Talk about bullet proof....A Kansas City woman is uninjured after a bullet fired at her ended up tangled in her hair weave.
6. Even though the big date for the Big Switch from analog to digital television was pushed back to June, more than 400 TV stations made the switch last week on the original date of February 17th.
7. The Southern Illinois Miners announced they will play an exhibition game in Cape Girardeau on May 9th.
8. Let there be light....with a few exceptions power was restored to the remaining customers in southeast Missouri that were still without power from Winter Storm '09.
9. Sen. Roland Burris was questioned by the feds in a probe of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's ongoing corruption investigation.
10. A Missouri lawmaker proposes giving school districts the option of a four day school week.

Twittastic Twittering at Heartland News

This blog entry is about micro-blogging, specifically Twitter. It's something we've picked up at Heartland News. KFVS Director of Internet Development John Dissauer and I have experimented with Twitter use for our station for quite a while. Some of our early experiments included twittering during the presidential campaign when Obama and Clinton stopped in the Heartland.


If you've never heard of Twitter, it's a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send short messages of 140 characters or less to others who have signed up to receive them. The users called "twitterers" or "tweeters" send their messages known as "tweets" from a computer or a mobile device. A lot of people use it to keep friends and family updated about what they're doing.


There's a whole twitoverse out there of tweeple crazy for Twitter. There's even a Twitter language of sorts. (Check out the Twittonary.)


You can sign up to follow our "kfvsnews" tweets at Twitter. (http://twitter.com/kfvsnews) We also have a daytime live Twitter feed during the week on our homepage. We plan to update you with short burts of news during the day, let you know what we're working on, and any breaking news that occurs.



For those of you still wondering about this Twitter phenomenon, "nearly one quarter--23%--of social network users say they have used Twitter or a similar service. In comparison, just 4% of those who do not use social networks have ever tweeted." (That's according to a report last week from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.)


"Twitter and similar services have been most avidly embraced by young adults. Nearly one in five (19%) online adults ages 18 and 24 have ever used Twitter and its ilk, as have 20% of online adults 25 to 34. Use of these services drops off steadily after age 35 with 10% of 35 to 44 year olds and 5% of 45 to 54 year olds using Twitter. The decline is even more stark among older internet users; 4% of 55-64 year olds and 2% of those 65 and older use Twitter." (Pew Internet & American Life Project)


So whether you're a neweeter, occasionitter, or reportwitter, join all the sweeple and read our tweets or twype your own. Just don't get too big of a twego. Tweh! This twitterspeak is wearing me out!

Personalized DTV Reception Maps

With the Big Switch two days away...wait make that four months from now. Even though the Big Switch has been postponed from February 17 to June 12, you can still find out how ready you are for the switch from analog to digital television.

Congress voted to postpone the switch until June 12. The move is meant to address concerns that more than 6.5 million Americans with older TVs that only receive analog signals would not be ready by Feb. 17, the originally mandated deadline. That's after the DTV coverter box coupon program ran out of money, so there's a backlog on requests for $40 coupons.

The FCC has put together an interactive DTV signal map that allows you to check for the DTV signals that are available at your location. You just type in your address and voila! You get a listing of local TV stations and their predicted signal strength at your house. (Thanks to KFVS Director of Internet Development John Dissauer for bringing this site to my attention.)

I plugged in my address to find out how many strong, moderate or weak digital signals I'd get from over the air at my house. Thankfully, the KFVS signal comes in strong! However, I wouldn't let this map be the end all be all. Things like buildings, trees, terrain, or home construction can affect signal strength so your situation could be unique. Like me for example, I have a several of trees around my house so I'm not so convinced it's as easy as scanning my digital tuner to 12.1. If you see you're getting a weak or moderate signal, learn more about higher quality antennas.

Until then happy Big Switch day four months early.

How to Pop 'n Lock Dance? - Tools for Online Videos

With the abundance of online video, it can get overwhelming when trying to search for a particular clip, show, movie, or find out how to do something. We've all been to YouTube, but there are several other sites dedicated to online video you might want to know about. By now, you've most likely heard of Hulu (especially after their Super Bowl ad with Alec Baldwin). Hulu is a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp offering video clips from namely NBC and Fox shows along with other networks and studios. Interesting fact, Hulu means "holder of precious things" in Mandarin Chinese. I've found Hulu to be great source for popular NBC shows like "SNL."

Now, what about your favorite CBS shows? Joost provides another myriad of clips, many from CBS like "How I Met Your Mother," "60 Minutes," and "CSI: Miami." But, did you know you can watch full length current and former episodes of CBS shows from our site? We have a link on our homepage. There are even specials like the "51st Grammy Awards" from Sunday. But, I digress, back to Joost. It has several shows from the WB as well. There are a lot of music videos too. (A lot of content that falls under the Viacom realm)

Veoh is another free internet TV service. Here you can find ABC shows, more from CBS, music videos, and films and even user generated content. (Yes, I know you can go to any of the networks' sites for episodes, but these sites offer more than just one network's shows.)

Did I mention you can also watch full length films at any of the above sites? They all break down content by category which is nice way to browse and the videos are in Flash.

Another type of online video that's gaining popularity---how-to videos. I recently discovered a few how-to video hosting sites and by the time I was done browsing I couldn't believe I had spent two hours! Wonderhowto.com is a great source if you've ever wondered how to do really anything. From dancing, cooking, pranks, and software, sports, and even magic tricks, Wonderhowto.com has you covered. I'm pretty sure I'll never need to know how to pop 'n lock dance, but I there's a clip on wonderhowto.com to teach me how. (Yes I did try this at home and yes, I'm a terrible hip hop dancer.)

5min.com touts itself as "your one-stop shop for instructional videos and DIY projects." Pretty much anything you'd ever really need to know and more than you'd care to. Find out how to change your wiper blades, give your dog a pedicure, or give yourself a mohawk. What's great about this site is that you can upload your own how-to videos.

For a more personalized approach, Stumbleupon.com directs its members directly to web sites matching their personal interests and preferences by using a ratings system and sites recommended by friends.

So, with the abundance of online videos, maybe some of these sites will help you wade through the endless well of online video content. Happy watching!

It's Okay to be a Girl Geek

While I haven't always been a computer geek, I do find myself increasingly interested in technology, computers and new media. I guess it comes with the nature of the job, Web Producer, right?

When people hear "technology" or "computers" or "web development" there's been a stereotype at least in the past that it's a man's field. While men probably fill most of the jobs in the technology field, us women are doing some important work.

I may not be as knowledgable as about javascript or CSS or HTML as the next guy, but I do think technology is such a huge field with growing importance of exponential return that us women should not be afraid to jump in and get our hands dirty in the high-tech workforce.

With that said, check out these sites for women in technology...

Anita Borg Institutute for Women and Technology

Girls in Tech