CONFICKER WARNING - VIRUS ATTACK

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CONFICKER WARNING - BACKUP YOUR SYSTEMS AND DATA TODAY - URGENT!
--Douglas Castle

Tomorrow -- April 1 -- is D-Day for Conficker, as whatever nasty payload it's packing is currently set to activate. What happens come midnight is a mystery: Will it turn the millions of infected computers into spam-sending zombie robots? Or will it start capturing everything you type -- passwords, credit card numbers, etc. -- and send that information back to its masters?
No one knows, but we'll probably find out soon.

Or not. As Slate notes, Conficker is scheduled to go "live" on April 1, but whoever's controlling it could choose not to wreak havoc but instead do absolutely nothing, waiting for a time when there's less heat. They can do this because the way Conficker is designed is extremely clever: Rather than containing a list of specific, static instructions, Conficker reaches out to the web to receive updated marching orders via a huge list of websites it creates. Conficker.C -- the latest bad boy -- will start checking 50,000 different semi-randomly-generated sites a day looking for instructions, so there's no way to shut down all of them. If just one of those sites goes live with legitimate instructions, Conficker keeps on trucking.

Conficker's a nasty little worm that takes serious efforts to bypass your security defenses, but you aren't without some tools in your arsenal to protect yourself.

Your first step should be the tools you already have: Windows Update, to make sure your computer is fully patched, and your current antivirus software, to make sure anything that slips through the cracks is caught.

But if Conficker's already on your machine, it may bypass certain subsystems and updating Windows and your antivirus at this point may not work. If you are worried about anything being amiss -- try booting into Safe Mode, which Conficker prevents, to check -- you should run a specialized tool to get rid of Conficker.

Microsoft offers a web-based scanner (note that some users have reported it crashed their machines; I had no trouble with it), so you might try one of these downloadable options instead: Symantec's Conficker (aka Downadup) tool, Trend Micro's Cleanup Engine, or Malwarebytes. Conficker may prevent your machine from accessing any of these websites, so you may have to download these tools from a known non-infected computer if you need them. Follow the instructions given on each site to run them successfully. (Also note: None of these tools should harm your computer if you don't have Conficker.)

As a final safety note, all users -- whether they're worried about an infection or know for sure they're clean -- are also wise to make a full data backup today.

What won't work? Turning your PC off tonight and back on on April 2 will not protect you from the worm (sorry to the dozens of people who wrote me asking if this would do the trick). Changing the date on your PC will likely have no helpful effect, either. And yes, Macs are immune this time out.

This warning appears courtesy of Yahoo!

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/

DESPERATION

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Dear Friends:

I have often heard it said that "desperate times require desperate measures." People do things out of desperation (or out of a sense of desperation) which they often regret afterwards. It would be a blessing, in this life, to never react to circumstances, real or perceived, in a desperate way.

Too many of us are inveterate "reactives," and are no longer pro-active. This makes for a constant sensation of living in a maelstrom...of running and hiding, of being thrown from one crisis into the next...the horrible feeling of being helpless and losing ground.

A powerfully transformative exercise is to visualize that the worst has already happened, and to take on the attitude of serene (almost post-mortem!) detachment that comes to us in the aftershock before taking action. For most of us, this would be amazingly liberating.

In the movies, the fellow on the wrong end of the gun relishes those precious moments before the hammer of death strikes to confront and belittle his executioner. This type of "laughter in the face of death" is exhilarating. We should try our level best to live in that moment of clever parting words instead of crying and begging.

Desperation brings about crying and begging. A psychic reconciliation with the worst that could happen is intoxicating and empowering... and it beats the hell out of desperation any day. A reconciliation with the worst brings out the victorious, wise-cracking smartass in all of us.

You can not act out of desperation and be a hero. In fact, you cannot act out of desperation and feel any sense of power or control. Desperation is a waste of spirit, and waste of the opportunities which otherwise abound in life.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle


Miasma: Grouply, Yahoo, Google, MSN, command, control, leadership, decisionmaking, The National Networker, Internal Energy Plus, Humanitas Maximus, The Internal Energy Plus Forum, control, public service, inspiration, survival, uniting, dividing, conquest, growth, personal growth, self-improvement, personal development, networking, Mixx, Zimbio, Digg, Delicious, Technorati, Associated Press, LA Times, Fox News, Reuters, alpha, beta, theta, education, leadership crisis, personal power, humanitarianism, The Global Futurist, The Internationalist Page, Braintenance, Current Events, blogs, bloggers, news, news releases, Douglas Castle, intelligence, cognitive enhancement, advice, help, psychology, focus, technology, seduction, manipulation, debate, education, hypnosis, NLP, RET, articles, Linked In, Microsoft, SEO, fitness, longevity, creativity, meditation, media, YouTube, organizational engineering, winning, success, telepathy, trends, predictions, commentary, blogosphere, relationships, torture, victory, health, fitness, independence, mind, brain, thought, entrainment, Facebook, Naymz, downloads, CDs, tapes, instruction, competition, martial arts, politics, management, widget, blidget, social networking, nanotechnology, fitness, social Darwinism, humor, alternative energy, philanthropy, not-for-profit organizations, volunteering, interrogation, trade, commerce, personal dynamics, personal coaching, networking, leadership training, mind-body connection, nootropics, longevity, social groups, business groups, marketing, ecommerce, Feedburner, RSS, newsletters, writers, co-operative advertising, leverage, survivalism, viral marketing, public relations, advertising, promotion, image-development, videos, gaming, AI, social awareness, persuasion, theology, logic, alliances, reputation, ratings, polls, standing, positioning, self-help, metrics, design, interactivity, campaign, Wikis, chat rooms, interactive forums, mentoring, modeling, mind expansion, brainwaves, motivation, current events, press releases, keywords, adwords, economics, Wikipedia, Widgetbox, geopolitical economics, conflict resolution, activism, achievement, subconscious, collective mind, webinars, business services, self-growth, control, winning, fail-safe strategies, combat, strength, Internal Energy Plus, self-defense, winning strategies and tactics, improvisation, anti-terrorism, courage, victory, fear, psychological programming,...

THINKING ABOUT THE UNTHINKABLE

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Dear Friends:

One can and does, paradoxically, think about the "unthinkable". You have to visualize, at minimum, the terrors which you dare not venture to think about, and in so doing, you have given them the keys to the darkest corridors of your imagination. We often term things"unthinkable" simple because they are unconscionable, terrifying or of consquences that we are unprepared to contend with. Everything, de facto, is thinkable.

Let's exercise our ability to anticipate that which we should not dare to anticipate, discuss it (hypothetically, of course), and address it (either standing upright, or from under the bed).

Join me:

1. Giant computer service providers like Google and Yahoo (to name only two) have access to as much information about every individual computer user, credit card user, property owner, bank account holder, taxpayer, scofflaw, outlaw, porno-downloader, consumer and other person who has transacted something as seemingly inconsequential as filling up his or her gastank or walking into a 7-11 for a Slurpee than the NSA does. And these companies not only have all of our identity information, but they have all of our passcodes. If they chose to, they could literally take over our identities and our entire lives -- we are at their mercy, and we trust them. The government relies upon them, utilizes their systems, and by simple logic, cannot police them -- nor would they be inclined to. We are in a naked society. We are, by a lack of vision and vigilance, targets. As with Samson and Delilah, persons or organizations comprised of persons will always use the power that they are given...it is Human Nature. It is only a matter of time.


2. Your credit rating, long regarded as so precious, so sacred and so crucial to a respectable existence, is a nostalgic farce. Credit card companies are aggressively cutting credit lines without adequate cause or notice, and leaving their cardholders with miniscule credit lines, sudden "overdrafts" and "over limit drafts," and are actually charging them fees, as they deprive them of credit and irreparably blemish the credit reports issued to the three major credit bureaus with unexplained reductions in credit lines, overdrafts and all other manner of default. Your credit rating, if you are like most people in the United states, will be destroyed. But take heart -- the financial institutions are not interested in extending credit to consumers anymore. You credit rating may well become as meaningless and as vestigial as the batting average of a pet shop owner. Remember Mr. Peebles? Magilla Gorilla has been repossessed.


3. The IRS, which is a contractor and not even a righteous government agency, is hell-bent on collecting money from an all-but-destitute society. They are, practically speaking, immune to due process, and charged with the responsiblity of feeding the government so that it may be fruitful and multiply (in size and deficit). They can assess you any tax which they feel "may be due," levy and lien any of your assets without contest, charge you usurious interest and fees on spuriously determined delinquent amounts. In fact, in a soon-to-be cashless society, they will be undoubtedly given the power to directly debit sums, as they judge appropriate, directly from your bank accounts (and the banks are actually an extension of the Executive Branch of government) -- if they are wrong (and they are wrong most of the time), you'll have to retain counsel to fight back...ironically, as your funds have already been depleted, you won't have the money required to retain a lawyer. Talk about irony! Going further, be advised that your cash will all have to be declared and banked before a critical date when paper currency is rendered illegal. This will make things easier for the DEA, the FBI, The Treasury Department, The Secret Service and all of the other agencies that are chartered to investigate, confiscate, eviscerate and incarcerate. We will be afforded the opportunity to commiserate. That will be our only "-ate".

4. Private enterprise will cease to exist as it becomes fused with the government. Any conventional employment will, in effect, be government work. Think of Huricane Katrina on a national level. The only "free enterprise" will be small and entrepreneurial. Genius and spontaneity will become increasingly persecuted, and often forced into hiding by a government and a social establishment in fear of being posed with "dangerous" questions which might lead to "revolutionary" actions.

5. That last sanctuary and sanctum of privacy, your cranial vault, will remain the last repository of original, "unthinkable" thought. The trouble which I foresee, is the most frightening thing that I have ever envisioned -- it may reach a point, within your own mind, when you have become so indoctrinated with "groupthink" and assumption that you are no longer able to determine which thoughts are genuinely your own, and which are deeply implanted through pervasive, invasive external influence.

Have a wonderful day.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

Miasma: Grouply, Yahoo, Google, MSN, command, control, leadership, decisionmaking, The National Networker, Internal Energy Plus, Humanitas Maximus, The Internal Energy Plus Forum, control, public service, inspiration, survival, uniting, dividing, conquest, growth, personal growth, self-improvement, personal development, networking, Mixx, Zimbio, Digg, Delicious, Technorati, Associated Press, LA Times, Fox News, Reuters, alpha, beta, theta, education, leadership crisis, personal power, humanitarianism, The Global Futurist, The Internationalist Page, Braintenance, Current Events, blogs, bloggers, news, news releases, Douglas Castle, intelligence, cognitive enhancement, advice, help, psychology, focus, technology, seduction, manipulation, debate, education, hypnosis, NLP, RET, articles, Linked In, Microsoft, SEO, fitness, longevity, creativity, meditation, media, YouTube, organizational engineering, winning, success, telepathy, trends, predictions, commentary, blogosphere, relationships, torture, victory, health, fitness, independence, mind, brain, thought, entrainment, Facebook, Naymz, downloads, CDs, tapes, instruction, competition, martial arts, politics, management, widget, blidget, social networking, nanotechnology, fitness, social Darwinism, humor, alternative energy, philanthropy, not-for-profit organizations, volunteering, interrogation, trade, commerce, personal dynamics, personal coaching, networking, leadership training, mind-body connection, nootropics, longevity, social groups, business groups, marketing, ecommerce, Feedburner, RSS, newsletters, writers, co-operative advertising, leverage, survivalism, viral marketing, public relations, advertising, promotion, image-development, videos, gaming, AI, social awareness, persuasion, theology, logic, alliances, reputation, ratings, polls, standing, positioning, self-help, metrics, design, interactivity, campaign, Wikis, chat rooms, interactive forums, mentoring, modeling, mind expansion, brainwaves, motivation, current events, press releases, keywords, adwords, economics, Wikipedia, Widgetbox, geopolitical economics, conflict resolution, activism, achievement, subconscious, collective mind, webinars, business services, self-growth, control, winning, fail-safe strategies, combat, strength, Internal Energy Plus, self-defense, winning strategies and tactics, improvisation, anti-terrorism, courage, victory, fear, psychological programming,...

FREELANCE WRITERS PUT DOUGLAS CASTLE IN HIS PLACE

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Dear Friends:

There's lots of anger afoot!

Click on the following link and enjoy a laugh at my expense:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ooomyli4crk

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle


Miasma: Grouply, Yahoo, Google, MSN, command, control, leadership, decisionmaking, The National Networker, Internal Energy Plus, Humanitas Maximus, The Internal Energy Plus Forum, control, public service, inspiration, survival, uniting, dividing, conquest, growth, personal growth, self-improvement, personal development, networking, Mixx, Zimbio, Digg, Delicious, Technorati, Associated Press, LA Times, Fox News, Reuters, alpha, beta, theta, education, leadership crisis, personal power, humanitarianism, The Global Futurist, The Internationalist Page, Braintenance, Current Events, blogs, bloggers, news, news releases, Douglas Castle, intelligence, cognitive enhancement, advice, help, psychology, focus, technology, seduction, manipulation, debate, education, hypnosis, NLP, RET, articles, Linked In, Microsoft, SEO, fitness, longevity, creativity, meditation, media, YouTube, organizational engineering, winning, success, telepathy, trends, predictions, commentary, blogosphere, relationships, torture, victory, health, fitness, independence, mind, brain, thought, entrainment, Facebook, Naymz, downloads, CDs, tapes, instruction, competition, martial arts, politics, management, widget, blidget, social networking, nanotechnology, fitness, social Darwinism, humor, alternative energy, philanthropy, not-for-profit organizations, volunteering, interrogation, trade, commerce, personal dynamics, personal coaching, networking, leadership training, mind-body connection, nootropics, longevity, social groups, business groups, marketing, ecommerce, Feedburner, RSS, newsletters, writers, co-operative advertising, leverage, survivalism, viral marketing, public relations, advertising, promotion, image-development, videos, gaming, AI, social awareness, persuasion, theology, logic, alliances, reputation, ratings, polls, standing, positioning, self-help, metrics, design, interactivity, campaign, Wikis, chat rooms, interactive forums, mentoring, modeling, mind expansion, brainwaves, motivation, current events, press releases, keywords, adwords, economics, Wikipedia, Widgetbox, geopolitical economics, conflict resolution, activism, achievement, subconscious, collective mind, webinars, business services, self-growth, control, winning, fail-safe strategies, combat, strength, Internal Energy Plus, self-defense, winning strategies and tactics, improvisation, anti-terrorism, courage, victory, fear, psychological programming,...

YOUR PRIVACY - WHAT REMAINS OF IT

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Dear Friends:

Privacy is a critical issue and a basic Human Right -- or so we would like to think.

Click on the post which follows (courtesy of THE NATIONAL NETWORKER) and read about the current state of your affairs, and the double-edged power of internet technology:

http://thenationalnetworker.blogspot.com/2009/03/goodbad-news-were-all-connected.html.

The only truly safe repository and trustee of your truth is within the confines of your own cranium.

Faithfully,
Douglas Castle

p.s. Subscribe to the National Networker (free) at http://theTNNWOmnigadget.blogspot.com. In fact, first, subscribe (press a button), and then choose either email or RSS (another button).

Miasma: Grouply, Yahoo, Google, MSN, command, control, leadership, decisionmaking, The National Networker, Internal Energy Plus, Humanitas Maximus, The Internal Energy Plus Forum, control, public service, inspiration, survival, uniting, dividing, conquest, growth, personal growth, self-improvement, personal development, networking, Mixx, Zimbio, Digg, Delicious, Technorati, Associated Press, LA Times, Fox News, Reuters, alpha, beta, theta, education, leadership crisis, personal power, humanitarianism, The Global Futurist, The Internationalist Page, Braintenance, Current Events, blogs, bloggers, news, news releases, Douglas Castle, intelligence, cognitive enhancement, advice, help, psychology, focus, technology, seduction, manipulation, debate, education, hypnosis, NLP, RET, articles, Linked In, Microsoft, SEO, fitness, longevity, creativity, meditation, media, YouTube, organizational engineering, winning, success, telepathy, trends, predictions, commentary, blogosphere, relationships, torture, victory, health, fitness, independence, mind, brain, thought, entrainment, Facebook, Naymz, downloads, CDs, tapes, instruction, competition, martial arts, politics, management, widget, blidget, social networking, nanotechnology, fitness, social Darwinism, humor, alternative energy, philanthropy, not-for-profit organizations, volunteering, interrogation, trade, commerce, personal dynamics, personal coaching, networking, leadership training, mind-body connection, nootropics, longevity, social groups, business groups, marketing, ecommerce, Feedburner, RSS, newsletters, writers, co-operative advertising, leverage, survivalism, viral marketing, public relations, advertising, promotion, image-development, videos, gaming, AI, social awareness, persuasion, theology, logic, alliances, reputation, ratings, polls, standing, positioning, self-help, metrics, design, interactivity, campaign, Wikis, chat rooms, interactive forums, mentoring, modeling, mind expansion, brainwaves, motivation, current events, press releases, keywords, adwords, economics, Wikipedia, Widgetbox, geopolitical economics, conflict resolution, activism, achievement, subconscious, collective mind, webinars, business services, self-growth, control, winning, fail-safe strategies, combat, strength, Internal Energy Plus, self-defense, winning strategies and tactics, improvisation, anti-terrorism, courage, victory, fear, psychological programming,...