DC server admin Gothic found this neat site which keeps tabs on the latest security tools and issues:

http://www.security-...base.com/toolswatch/

Well, I missed the set ~48 hour (I've read 75k download limit) download window from Microsoft, however I did still manage to obtain a copy and have it running on my machine now (alongside Spyware Terminator and Threatfire, no problems).

Figured I would give my opinion/experience thus far and maybe PM a link to the installer to those that may be inclined to give it a test of their own...

My experience:

The setup is straightforward and fast. It takes a whole 60 seconds from launch (of Setup) to launch (of MSE) - Windows Validation is tested before installation, and since mine has already passed it took ~1 second to see that and pass me on through. Once finished, it prompted me to start MSE and download updates + run a quick scan.

...

My opinion:

While it isn't great, it isn't as disappointing as I was expecting - false positives aren't automatically removed (ONLY because I changed the option before it found them, OTHERWISE it would have removed them permanently, so take note of that! ) and it gives you a nice little window when it finds something. The GUI, while basic, keeps it just right for always-on protection and the occasional scan.

Anyone else have MSE? Have an opinion? If you would like the installer, send a PM my way and I'll get you a link (or some googling may work, but Microsoft may be tearing it down from 3rd party download sites already).

Table of contents for this week's edition of Tech News Weekly:

• 1. Social Networking Big Boys Must Bow to EU Data Laws
• 2. Web Slows After Jackson's Death
• 3. Pirate Bay Retrial Call Rejected
• 4. FTC to Crack Down On Undisclosed "sponsored" Blogging
• 5. China Not Backing Off Despite Filter Code Post On Wikileaks
• 6. Achtung! RapidShare Ordered to Filter All User Uploads
• 7. Australian 'Net Filter to Block Video Games, Too
• 8. Google Access Disrupted in China
• 9. Star Trek: Confusion

Here is a great productivity tip from the Onion:

According to a groundbreaking new study by the Department of Labor, working—the physical act of engaging in a productive job-related activity—may greatly increase the amount of work accomplished during the workday, especially when compared with the more common practices of wasting time and not working.

"Our findings are astounding: By simply sitting down and doing work, employees can dramatically increase their output of goods and services," said Deputy Undersecretary of Labor Charlotte Ponticelli, who authored the report. "In fact, 'working' may revolutionize the way people work."

http://www.theonion....inds_working_at_work

Today Cnet download blog procalims "AutoCopy" the 'best' firefox extension.  Worth checking out:

http://download.cnet...7_4-10274187-12.html

Oh yes, I did just go there. Hands-down, without a skerrick of doubt, AutoCopy is the best Firefox extension. It may also be the best Firefox extension you've never heard of. Here's what it does, and then I'll tell you what makes it so great.

Developed at Mozilla, AutoCopy is a lightweight, single-feature add-on that copies any text you highlight to your clipboard. No more hitting CTRL+C, or using the context menu. That in and of itself is not so revolutionary. The feature has been around for a while in other programs. What makes it the must-have extension is that there's practically no other reason to highlight text on a Web page except to copy it to your clipboard.

After 2 years it looks like there is going to be a grand winner to the Netflix Prize, a one million dollar programming challenge to improve the netflix movie recommendation algorithm.. amazing.

http://tech.slashdot...y-Have-Been-Achieved

The nice thing will be reading about the final algorithms.. we've actually known most of the details of it since the authors are academics and published papers on their algorithms.. But it will be interesting to hear how they squeezed out the last drops of performance.