The value of review websites

An email exchange with the perpetrator of torrent-privacy.com has led me to make this observation. "What is the value of a website that only seems to exist to attract traffic to itself without any intrinsic value of its own?"

This is of course my own view, it is wondered whether this is shared by others? The site in question seems to capitalize on the fact that many are dubious about the operation of sites such as torrentprivacy.com and whether they are scams.
I postulated that torrent-review.com was a scam as I had a visitor to my site that claimed that their credit card details were compromised when they signed-up for the torrentprivacy service.

Due to the nature of the communication with this visitor, who seemed to imply that I had something to do with the deception, I could only speculate that he had joined torrentprivacy via a site such as torrent-review.com.
I had no proof of this and I based my hypothesis on the fact that the torrent-review.com website showed every sign of a website that was capable of this type of deception.

In my communications with the supposed owner of the torrent-review.com website he accused me of lying about the fact he was engaged in a phishing scheme and that he was stealing peoples credit card details.

The purpose of this post is to set the record straight and to allow others to comment on their experiences with the torrent-review.com website.

I qualify my assertion that the torrent-review.com brings little to the table in that the information, while being largely correct, is nothing you cannot find elsewhere on the Internet (including the torrentprivacy.com website).

The sensationalist and scare tactics of the copy are aimed squarely at those searching for information on whether torrentprivacy is a scam.

In my opinion is is not a scam, but I could be wrong and I am not trying to get you to sign-up, I am a torrentprivacy.com user.

Whereas, this topic is of low importance to me, the fact that I have posted on this in the past has led to me making a follow-up.

I would also welcome feedback on other review websites as torrent-review.com is not alone in this sort of nonsense, it was just the one that got me to post in detail.
IMO most of the review sites are little more than shills.

AMD 990fx review

Do not let Intel win this.

Analysis of pass_creator script

Summer 2011 - I now do this on the webserver directly from the Linux command prompt.

kb2533552 installed now what?

The search "kb2533552 installed now what?" found site and prompted a cache retrieval.

• For an update to this post - please see this link

I installed kb2533552, however, it didn't seem to have any bad effects on my Windows activation.
As Microsoft say this update cannot be removed once installed. I don't see that there is anything stopping you rolling back to a previous restore point but the update will keep on coming back as it will install even though you may deselect it or hide it.

If this update is anything to do with the detection of pirate copies of Windows 7 it is not known. I have speculated that it is in the past. Now I am not so sure. All my copies of Windows are showing as "genuine".

Pages relating to Windows Activation:

• How to activate your computer without a product key 

Brazos hits the streets

Notebooks and Netbooks are finally hitting the shelves in numbers.

Featuring AMD E-350 and AMD Radeon 6310 graphics;
AMD C-50 with AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics

Contrary to what OEMs  have said it has been interpreted the "AMD Radeon HD 6310M Discrete-Class" chipset is just that - a discrete-class i.e. integrated (on-board) graphics with discrete performance (hopefully).

No doubt there are those that will be looking for drivers. These will be described on my website. tempusfugit.ca

AutoAdmit and Super Injunctions

The rules have changed! Have we come full circle?

There are those that think that this is solvable by legislation or public awareness. (BBC Radio 4 - "In Business" - 22 May 2011) - Mike Batt and his loaf of bread analogy.

The system is broken - don't expect people to suddenly develop a social conscience - it an individual thinks that they can do something and not get caught - they will. This can range from stealing, copyright infringement to spreading rumours about the "affairs" of football (soccer) players.

AutoAdmit - "The most prestigious law school discussion board in the world" or a rather nasty (un-moderated) "muck scraper"? or a champion of anonymous internet speech.
Quite frankly I cannot see how anything that is un-moderated can be of value. I think that is called "graffiti"

(The reason that I bring up AutoAdmit [as this is old news] is that I had a visit on my web site with someone looking for: "Jarret Cohen on behalf of AutoAdmit phone number" - which hit my page on Reputation Defender)

Ryan Giggs and Imogen Thomas

I am getting fed up with all the pussyfooting around the issue.

The Scottish newspaper makes it pretty obvious. Super Injunction indeed!

How to check if your AMD processor supports AMD-V

The first thing to do is to look up the specifications on the AMD website.

If this is not possible then look in your system BIOS to see if AMD-V or SVM is an option that you can turn on. It is likely to be disabled by default, and it will not appear if your processor does not support Hardware Virtualization.

However, the fact that SVM does not appear in system BIOS this does not mean that the processor does not support it. It amounts to the same thing as if it is not listed in system BIOS you will have to make a BIOS update to allow it.

Waiting for the shit to hit the fan with Windows 7

In anticipation of this happening and that kb2533552 is an elaborate plan by Microsoft to flush out the pirate copies of Windows 7 - I have a new copy of Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM ($99).

This was purchased with my new Asus P8P76 motherboard. It will not be used with the board unless the future updates start to fail on the pirated copies of Windows 7.

Will Windows 7 SP2 fix all the bugs that were introduced by SP1?

The fact that Microsoft have withdrawn SP1 from the list of Windows Updates (for those that had not pro-actively) installed it) and the fact that a lot of Windows users seemed to have a lot pf problems with kb976932. The fact that they now have kb2533552 waiting to be installed. Seems to indicate that kb2533552 is a precursor to SP2.

My advice is not to install anything unless forced to do so. Even then you may want to hold off the update, especially if you are running a bootleg or pirate copy of Windows 7.

This creates a dilemma in that those that are most likely to install the "important" updates before they are automatically "pushed" are those that are more likely to dig around their computers and the Internet - they are more likely to find that it is easy to find a free copy of Windows.
Those that "just use" their computers and don't care what is going on behind the scenes (they just want their computers to work) - they are the vast majority that have had no problems.

Text lost when Blogger went down

"Update Kb976932 Seems To Have Been Replaced By Kb2533552 This Would Explain Why There Are So Many Hits For The Kb2533552 Page On This Blog"

This text seems to have been quoted on Windows Tweaks forum - the pages are blank now (content-wise that is).

Other links to posts related to Activation Issues and Piracy (act_links)

• Activation
  
• Windows Update killing RemoveWAT - kb791033

Where did SP1 go?

I did have a post that was called "SP1 becomes kb2533552"

Microsoft seems to have pulled kb976932 and have possibly replaced it with kb2533552.

I have applied SP1 to a number of machines (and they are the ones that I have had some Windows Update problems). The computers on which I am waiting had kb976932 in the list of important updates but not pre-selected for installation. This has now disappeared and kb2533552 is now the update that is in the list to be installed.

My advice is not to install kb2533552 until it is forced.

Once again, this issue seems to be being ignored in the computer press. It is either because that it is a minority problem that only affects pirate versions of Windows 7 or it is only occurring a a few machines. It is my observation that most of the searches that hit this blog and my website (WRT this update) are from regions where I think that it is more likely that pirating is occuring.

DIGI+ VRM on P8P67 Series motherboards

This was another topic of a blog post that Google Blogger seem to have lost!

Most of the information on this seems to be generated by Asus themselves:

techinstyle.tv - Asusdesign

What they (techinstyle.tv) say about themselves:
We're technologists, media professionals, fashionistas, designers and usability appreciators bent on spreading the word.

What they don't say is that they are on the payroll of Asus.

Research, details and an independent review of this new technology will be found on my website.

Business Opportunity

The Internet and Social Media is primarily seen as a Business Opportunity not as a means of dissemination of information.

Not that there is anything wrong with using the Internet for this purpose it is when it is seen as the ONLY reason  to use it. The fact that it is there seems to give those that don't have anything else to offer a means to bombard you with spam and advertising.

There are many ways that the "enterprizing" seem to try and use the Internet for their own gain. From the simple blog with Adsense or banner ads to the creation of link farms that contain no useful information apart from links to other websites.

The (business) models that these websites follow are diverse and this page is an attempt to document some of the ways.

The sites are wide-ranging and cannot easily be categorized. Some are little more than link farms others just try and sell you something just because you found them by searching for a common keyword.

It is not as if that is exactly what my technique is (determining popular keywords that I know people are searching for) - however, I am not trying to sell anything or monetize this site/blog in any way.

Examples (as I come across them and document)

• WebTVUnleashed - the website
• ExpatShield - Watch UK TV online outside of UK!
• eHow  - solutions to unlock Insyde H2O BIOS
• SureStreamer - Powerline Networking and the marketing of lightning isolators.
• VinylEngine - williamshart.com       The Texan Amplifier   the business opportunity was in relation to the information on the VinylEngine page on Linsley Hood MOSFET amplifier

Using AMD Overdrive

The AMD Overdrive Utility seems to be aimed at the "Gamer" - fitting as they are most likely to want to overclock.

AMD Overdrive is the AMD equivalent of the tools available with Intel powered motherboards such as Asus's Digi+ VRM and AI Suite.

Using Facebook and You Tube for marketing

The use of Social Media for business purposes is all the buzz today.

In addition to Facebook and Twitter, You Tube videos are are also in the mix.

Companies have their own accounts and I guess the hope is that their followers will see their products there and participate in discussion and share their details with the companies involved.

However, this is not without its problems. If the companies are not careful they will be seen as too "self-promotional" and there is a general trend for Social Networkers to reject advertising and the companies that use social media run the risk of alienating their potential customer base as opposed to expanding on it.

Also, when it appears that the Facebook and/or You Tube is the ONLY means that the company in question is using (or at least in the main), it makes them look amateur and desperate to get attention that they would not get otherwise.

In addition, when all the comments and entries appear to come from the same users, you have to start to suspect that they are are not "self promoting".

If I make a blog post based on my observations of your activity and you (the company) visit this blog, I can see that you are visiting and where from. It is in this way that that I can confirm that the only people who are interested in hearing what I say are the company themselves. I know this because all visits originate from the same geographic location (not far from KL and environs actually)

Network speed for HD

So far I have managed to stream content from a Bluray disc to a powerline network connected PC.

The client computer is using a 46" 1080p TV, and as such can be seen to be HD. The majority of my media is of a far less technical specification but never-the-less some of it can be considered HD.

The streaming of this media is not only acceptable using 85Mb/sec powerline adapters in some cases wireless-g connections are sufficient. Only the BD quality signal seems to require the 200Mb/sec adapter connection.
No additional or special filtering has been used in this media network.

To answer the question "how far do you need to have for HD" is "it depends". It depends on what you are trying to stream and what your definition of HD is.

Like most of us who are likely to be experimenting in this technology your sources of media is likely to be that from previously streamed material. This media is also likely to have been distributed using a broadband network with a transmission rate of far less than 200Mb/sec - this makes the requirement for this speed only necessary for programs that are taken from BD sources locally on your network.

Scraping content from other websites

Scraping is the "harvesting" of content from websites, terms, model numbers and other keywords, and putting them on another website along with other content that the webmaster wants you to visit. Sometimes the content has nothing to do with what you are searching for and it is often generated by a program (not a human being)

I collect data from web pages and places then into new pages that contain content that is relevant to me. The big difference here (with traditional scraping) is that I do this by hand and NOT by a computer program. The net effect here (hopefully) is a collection of something useful and the linking of what people could be searching for and content on this site.

Scraping by design - according to WikiP:

The emergence of XML and web services has lent itself to the creation of  technologies that improve the process of extracting machine-friendly data  from web pages.

Screen Scraping: -  from catb.org

The act of capturing data from a system or program by snooping the contents of some display that is not actually intended for data transport or  inspection by programs. Around 1980 this term referred to tricks like
 reading the display memory of a smart terminal through its auxiliary port.
 Nowadays it often refers to parsing the HTML in generated web pages with programs designed to mine out particular patterns of content. In either guise screen-scraping is an ugly, ad-hoc, last-resort technique that is very likely to break on even minor changes to the format of the data being snooped.

• Matt Cutts: Google Algo Change Targets Dupe Content - webmasterworld.com  Jan 28, 2011
• Wikibase  - an example of such a scraper site
• English Feeder - another
• Systems page

Oneworld

OneWorld is a prefix for a number of companies operated out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan by Wayne McAlpine.

Some of the companies include:

• OneWorldSafeDisk - oneworldsafedisk.com
• oneworlddatarecovery.com
• World Wide Electrical Services Corp.
• OneWorld Networks - 1wn.com
• oneworldoffice.com
• OneWorldStoreFront.

I have taken issue with some of the principles involved here. I have made comment, I have NOT made any un-true statements and therefore no libel or slander is involved here.

All quotes, green italicized text, is either taken from the Web and is what the principles say about themselves or it is from a comment that was made by someone else and has relayed that to me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There also seems to be a connection to RAD Media Corp

What it says about RAD Media Corp on the Internet:

"If you are a small business, large corporation, or home user, we have your
security in mind. With products that can not only help to eliminate exterior
risks, but attacks from the inside as well, RAD Media Corp located in Kelowna
is your one stop for computer security software."

Links:

• All posts - blog search on name
• Posts with label  - label search 
• 22 Jul 12 - 21
• No interest here

Surestreamer - a surge protector by any other name

Is the Surestreamer booster, noise filter, lightning protection a scam?

EDV - (Echo Dream Venture) was establish in 17 May 2010 at Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Surestreamer technology was invented by Chief Scientist, Paul Chang.

Paul Chang features in the You Tube videos - is in the same vein as Number1onGoogle.

As a monumental indication of how stupid these people are they have got their Facebook page's security so that only friends can comment on their wall. This is a reason that the only comments are positive ones or ones before FB changed their privacy policies.

I don't know why I am bothering with these jokers as it is probably just another hill that I am not prepared to do battle. Never the less, it is amusing to see that they have picked up my blog post and seem to be reponding to it. Rather that promoting their product I think that it highlights the deficiencies of Facebook as a propaganda tool.

Unlike them, (at the time of writing this [6 - 11 May 2011) they were coming here on a daily basis, I do not visit their Facebook page every day so I do not know whether they have changed their Facebook privacy settings. I did try and make a comment on their wall but found that there was no "comment" button.

Links:

• Is Echo Dream Venture a scam?
• The original post on this blog on Surestreamer
• Companies that market powerline networking filters?
• Using Facebook to promote a business.

Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur

Visits from who I can only assume as from Calvin J. Symons, Leong Wai Kin, Muhammad Syawalfiza or Paul Chang is an indication that I have been noticed.

The shameless self promotion on You Tube is both transparent and puerile.

It is also interesting that the only people who seem to be looking are the narcissists. I could even be on a Facebook wall somewhere. That makes sense. as those that think Social Media is a means to overcome the lack of a product that works would use that and Twitter in the hope that the impressionable will be taken in.

Sad thing is, they are probably correct.

Firefox 4 and cache

FF4 seems to be doing something strange with caching (maybe that is how they got it so fast?)

If I select a proxy (in the case that I tried, the proxy was in India - I am in Canada) when I load the ip2location page it shows that I appear to be in New Delhi.

If I tell FF4 not to use the proxy and refresh the page it still looks like I am in India.

Only when I close FF4 and restart it ip2location says that I am back in Canada. The speed at which the page loads is indicative to suggest that the proxy setting is correct. i.e. it is a lot faster when I am connecting to the Internet directly and not through a proxy. However, if I reload a page that I first accessed when connected through a proxy it is very quick to load - it is if it is being loaded from cache.

I tried clearing the Firefox cache but the Indian location (or the report that I was located there) was not lost until I re-started Firefox 4. Perhaps this is a fault with ip2location and not FF.

Firefox 4 and TorButton

• Vidalia Tor on the Technology Muse
• Torbutton and Firefox 11

Since Firefox 4 is not currently compatible with TorButton I had to dig out the manual configuration of Firefox to use a proxy (supplied by Vidalia Tor).

The last download of the Tor bundle included TorButton and the usage of Tor for anonymous browsing was automatic.
If you have downloaded and installed Firefox 4 and now find that you cannot get it to use Tor then you need to set it manually under Tools->Options->Advanced->Network.
The dialog for FF4 is different from what I show here but the principle is the same.

Downloads Digest

This is a re-post of my website page downloads_digest.html

To be up-dated if it is accessed

AMD C-50 and C-60 APUs

The first of the AMD Brazos APUs to hit the "budget" notebook market.

See also the E-350 and E-450 APUs

Vidalia Tor - The Onion project

This is the start page for all my experiments with Vidalia Tor.

Please follow the links for more information:

• Using the Tor Browser package
• Selecting ExitNodes and Exit servers
• Locating and editng torrc
• Will Vidalia Block Copyright enforcement companies? 
• Using Tor with Firefox 11
• Using TorStatus Reports 
• Using Tor to access BBC iPlayer from outside the UK  

I have extensive experience using Vidalia Tor for both Anonymity and GeoIP circumvention. I am in the process of transferring the information that was hosted on my website tempusfugit.ca, please return as I will be adding more information as time goes on.

• The Onion Project- The official website

SP1 becomes kb2533552

This information is now covered on other posts.

Please search for kb2533552

Google Analytics

Using Google Analytics

• Using Google Analytics with Blogger
• Cross-correlating Google Analytics with observations from server logs

DVD43 running in XP-Mode

There is information on this blog on how to run DVD43 on a 64 bit Windows 7 computer using XP-Mode

You will have to search and follow links to those posts. The screen-shot above shows it being done.

I have a long experience with DVD43 and have worked out many ways of running it since upgrading many of my computers to 64 bit.

You don't have to run Windows 7 XP-Mode and you don't need a computer with a processor that supports vt-x of AMD-V (SVM)

Links:

• Getting an external DVD drive to be recognized by DVD43 in a VM

Is Eco Dream Venture a scam?

It certainly looks like one with all the You Tube videos featuring Paul Chang.

Powerline networking is likely to be a continued interest and computer users will want to overcome the deficiencies of their house wiring. I have yet to see any hard evidence that the SureStream filter does anything to improve network performance. I am way too skeptical to shell out any money to find out.

Links:

• The SureStreamer PL filter review