Ask.com's "Anti-Google" tool

This is a step in the right direction that all major search engines should impliment.
With Google's(aka SkyNet - Cozmik) privacy rating slipping and their quest for global domination in full swing it might be time to "switch"

Ask.com unveils anti-Google tool
By Cade Metz in San Francisco
'Hey! We care about privacy'

As Google plays games with its cookies, semi-rival Ask.com is actually getting serious about privacy. The web's fourth-leading search engine is giving web users a brand new tool that ensures their search results will not be retained by the company - at all. As the company points out, that's a first among major search engines.

Known as AskEraser, the tool isn't slated to arrive until later in the year, but Ask went ahead and announced the thing yesterday. No doubt, the company sees this as an opportune moment, with Google fighting off an ever-growing number of questions about its affect on end user privacy. At the end of May, after various privacy groups complained about Google's proposed $3.1bn acquisition of online ad firm DoubleClick, the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation, and in a recent ranking of web privacy practices, watchdog Privacy International put the search giant at the very bottom of the list.

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ElReg

Geek squad thieves

I have been following the Geek Squad "issues" since they had a run in with Sysinternals, now a Microsoft buyout.
But this is worse than a huge corperation using known pirated software.
Your personal information is at risk, have a look at the following links:

Consumerist Story #1
Consumerist's follow-up, one of many
CRN's coverage

This is an awful abuse of a "help desk" service and needs everyones attention, I for one have never used the service but when I do happen to go to a Bluebox the "service desk" is always busy with the poor saps trusting all their personal information to under paid computer geeks with nothing but time on their hands. A recipe for disaster.

Please pass this information along, maybe if enough users complain there will be an investigation into these abuses.

Microsoft decides to F-up your Pc with the new version of WGA

Ok I know I tend to complain about Microsoft my fair share and the fact that I still use it irritates some, but to bad I think Windows in itself is a great product. It is when Microsoft decides to do something like they did to me this morning that I get pissy and write about it.
When I logged onto my pc this morning I had an AU(auto update) available, it was the "NEW" Microsoft WGA tool mentioned here.
According to the article it was Opt-in right? WRONG!!! I'll explain.
Upon declining to install this new version of WGA, I was greeted with the typical are you sure and don't display this message again prompts, no problem. But as soon as I opened Windows Media Player 10 it shot up an error like this:












What the hell! So I opened the detail tab and what did await me?
This oh so helpful page:









Gee thanks for the information Microsoft!!!

Now please note that I had in no way opted-in nor downloaded the or WGA update this was a push by Microsoft and it totally screwed my morning!

Every day I get closer and closer to going Linux only and this is another large push in that general direction. Simply because I don't want my pc calling Microsoft I can't use Windows Media Player 10? WTF!!!