controls

With a new year comes new computers, and that means new security problems. Viruses, spyware, rootkits, hackers--a fresh machine can be susceptible to the most insidious of plots. Lucky for you, here in the CNET Download.com defense bunker, we've devised a list of essential and free top-rated security programs to protect the honor of your computer and ensure that your sanity will last longer than your resolutions.

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LogLogic, a software company with an open-source twist to the business of monitoring and analyzing server log files, has hired software industry veteran Pat Sueltz to be its new chief executive.

Sueltz has made the rounds in the software industry, working at IBM, Sun Microsystems, Salesforce.com, and most recently, SurfControl, which as CEO Sueltz sold to Websense for more than $400 million in April.

LogLogic sells proprietary software but also made an open-source move in 2006 with a component called Lasso, governed by version 2 of the General Public License (GPL).

LogLogic's acting CEO, Dominique Levin, now is … Read more

More good news for those of us who have been forced to divide our attention between the road and what seems like an ever-increasing number of gadgets and other in-car distractions: automotive voice-activation technology is becoming more widespread.

On Thursday, U.S.-based company Nuance announced that it will be putting its text-to-speech technology in select new Ford models in Europe. The system powers Ford's "Human Machine Interface" (HMI), which allows drivers to make calls, enter destinations into the navigation system, control the audio system, and change the inside temperature using simple voice commands.

For example, a … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Restrictive tools and rash approaches to security challenges are endangering the health of the online ecosystem, an Oxford University researcher warned Wednesday.

Jonathan Zittrain, who has written a book due out in April called The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It, gave a public talk on the issue Wednesday night at CNET's offices here. News.com hosted the talk--a first for our newsroom. The event, which drew 120 people, was sponsored by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

You can call Zittrain's theme the AOL-ization of technology. Instead of personal computers being able to run any … Read more

The Internet has enabled the emergence of a collective consciousness that is unprecedented in human history. We are coming together as a hive, and the intelligence of the swarm is being mined and utilized like never before.

Knowledge is power, information is a cash commodity, and who decides how these resources and benefits are distributed? The latest controversy about Facebook's Beacon advertisements is one of many examples that suggests that the issue of user control over his or her own information is reaching a tipping point. We, the online masses, are developing a new sense that our own information is sacred and worth protecting, and not to be indiscriminately broadcast, or blindly exploited for someone else's commercial gain.

Beyond a "right to privacy" that might have meant "secrecy" in the past, we need to think about the right to control our information when it comes to:

I see these issues coming up time and time again in a thread that runs through everything from Internet safety, to social networking, creative artists' rights, consumer/patient rights, all the way up to government wiretapping and surveillance.… Read more

Still not jealous over all of the awesome bonuses Nintendo Japan has been giving its customers as part of the Club Nintendo rewards program? Well, get ready to say no friggin' way!

Nintendo has announced three free bonus items that it will be giving to its platinum members of the Club Nintendo service this year. Those customers with platinum status--meaning they purchased enough Nintendo products between 10/1/2006 and 9/30/2007 for over 400 Club Nintendo points--will be able to select one of the following items:

1. Wii Super Famicom Classic Controller: A Wii controller attachment that looks … Read more

I caught CNET Editor at Large Brian Cooley on the CBS Evening News report last night, "The Secret Lives of Teens." In the second installment of this three-parter, which featured a tug-of-war between a daughter and her mother concerned about her risky online behavior, Cooley observed that, "This is just the return of the Cold War, with different players. Instead of the U.S. and Russia, it's Mom and Dad versus Joey and Bill." Cooley talked about parental control technology but added that, "In the end, this points back to the parenting relationship, and it moves away from technology when you really have to make a difference in their lives...you cannot rely on software."

I agree with Cooley's conclusion. Online safety for teens is a complex issue that cannot be covered in one blog post, but the CBS Evening News series gave me a lot of food for thought. They posed the question, is parental spying on teen Internet use an "invasion of privacy or smart parenting?" and I wish the CBS series had given more consideration to the possibility that digital spying is a misguided parenting practice.… Read more

The wait is (finally) over, as leading electronic-yodelling-item vendor Archie McPhee has just released its next-gen line of yodelware.

McPhee's latest product line targets budget- and high-end yodelling item buyers. Alas, those looking for mid-tier electronic yodelling solutions will have to wait a bit longer.

Here are the major announcements from McPhee, all of which are available immediately for purchase on McPhee.com.

Electronic Yodelling Pickle: McPhee's completely wireless entry-level solution, the Electronic Yodelling Pickle provides portable yodelling solutions to the mobile workforce. Though limited in its feature set, the $12.95 Yodelling Pickle boasts a sleek, lightweight … Read more

After a recent attack on Power Downloader's home system, Power wanted to find a way to monitor or block usage on his computer while away. Ideally, Power wanted a program that could block usage of certain applications and record usage if a bad guy somehow accessed his system. With the holiday season just around the corner, Power knew that he would probably need to take extra precautions.… Read more