Skill Zone News issue 17
In a month when MPs have had their underwear washed in public it is tempting to poke fun at the politicians, but that would be too easy. Of more interest from a system security viewpoint is how the whistle-blowers managed to smuggle a hard drive and all the supporting documents out of a government building. But enough of parliamentary scandal; there are plenty of other things happening in the world of business computing.
28th May 2009
Straddling the snuffling pig
It is no surprise, following the extensive media publicity about the outbreak of Swine Flu, that spammers have tried to get in on the act. Some junk mail promises face masks, pharmaceuticals and miracle cures. Other junk mail, with headlines such as "Madonna caught swine flu" are designed to get you to open executable attachments to infect your own machine with computer viruses and other malware.
All the spam you can eat
Why do people keep falling for the "Nigerian" fraud where a spammer writes to you telling you that he wants to share twenty million dollars with you personally? Surely everyone on the planet has heard of that fraud by now. Or have they?
Good news for archaeologists
Archaeologists feared that the anonymity of the internet would provide an easy means for tomb raiders to sell valuable artifacts and increase the looting from historic sites. The reality is surprisingly different.
Patently stupid
The European Patent Office is looking again at whether or not it should follow the American model and allow software patents. Such a move would please software companies like Microsoft, but it can only add costs for the rest of us.
Job Hunting? Check that CV
Thanks to computers we can all produce smart-looking CVs, but a recent study found that many applicants are still blowing their chances by neglecting to proof-read their masterpiece.
This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.