Flaws in Google desktop search

The Google Desktop Search is an indexing tool, currently in beta testing, designed to allow users fast, intuitive, searching for local files. The principle interface is provided through a local web server which supports an interface similar to Google.com’s normal web page. Indexing of local files occurs when the system is idle, and understands a number of common file types. A optional feature is that Google Desktop can integrate a short summary of a local search results with Google.com web searches. Desktop Search allows you to simultaneously send your query to two different programs and locations. One query goes to Google, which performs a standard GoogleWeb Search. A duplicate query goes to the Desktop Search application running on your computer, which searches the information the application has indexed for you. Desktop Search intercepts Google’s results page before you see it and adds your Desktop Search results just above your web results so you can see both at once. The integration is a local operation. It is done by some agent which is running locally on the machine that would intercept incoming Google result pages and integrate the results from local indexing. Because the Google Desktop application bases its decision to integrate strictly on network traffic, all that is required for an eavesdropper to obtain an integrated web page is to open a socket on the target computer and send an HTTP request to Google.com, either directly or through any server configured as a web proxy server. This is well within the capabilities of a Java applet, even when running with the restrictive “sandbox” security model. A Java applet, legally connecting to its origin server, can fool the Google Desktop service into integrating local search results into non-Google pages. Google says it has fixed the flaw. So download the latest version of Desktop Search. If you are using the older version of the tool then disable local search integration with web searches, then the attack would be completely defeated. This only requires deselecting a single checkbox on the "preferences” screen.

computer's idle time is precious

Put your computer to work advancing scientific knowledge when it's not helping you. Google Compute is a feature of the Google Toolbar that enables your computer to help solve challenging scientific problems when it would otherwise be idle. When you enable Google Compute, your computer will download a small piece of a large research project and perform calculations on it that will then be included with the calculations performed by thousands of other computers doing the same thing. This process is known as distributed computing. No private or personally identifiable information is communicated by this feature to Google, Folding@home or any other beneficiary of the Google Compute project. The first time Google Compute is set up it will notify the server of the basic machine configuration, including the operating system, processor speed, estimated network bandwidth and hard disk free space. This is necessary to ensure that the computer meets minimum system requirements, and to subsequently match work units with suitable computers. I have been using this google compute since one month and i didn't have to stop it in any situation and my pc is a normal PIII with 256 mb ram (not express fast) and it gives me a thrill to be a part of the scientific research. U can download it from Google Compute.

My Yahoo! Search

Yahoo's new personalized search is in beta. You can

• Save the results you like..
• Block the ones you don't.
• Share what you've found.
• Find anything you've saved.

and many more cool features. Check it out at MyYahooSearch!

Share Files Freely in Xp

A firewall is a layer of protection for your Internet connection that permits or denies access based on a pre-determined set of rules. Windows XP comes with a built-in firewall feature called the Internet Connection Firewall. However, the default firewall rules will disable access to shared files from other computers on your local network. If you haven't yet enabled the Internet Connection Firewall, here's how you do it:

• Open the Network Connections window (through Control Panel, or right-click on the My Network Places icon and select Properties).
• Right-click the icon corresponding your Internet connection, and select Properties. Choose the Advanced tab, and turn on the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet option, and click OK. (If the option is grayed-out, you've either right-clicked the wrong connection icon, or your Internet connection isn't set up properly.)
• The change will take effect immediately.

Now, here's to adjust Windows XP's Internet Connection Firewall so that it permits access to shared files:

• First, make sure that the firewall is your problem. With the firewall enabled, try accessing a shared folder from another computer. Then, disable the firewall and try again. If disabling the firewall fixes the problem, then proceed with this solution. Otherwise, the problem is not your firewall.
• Open the Network Connections window (through Control Panel, or right-click on the My Network Places icon and select Properties).
• Right-click the icon corresponding your Internet connection, and select Properties.
• Choose the Advanced tab, and click Settings.
• Under the Services tab, click Add.
• Type File Sharing for the description, 127.0.0.1 for the IP address, and 445 for both the external and internal port fields. (127.0.0.1 is the loopback address which refers back to the same computer.)
• Click Ok when you're done, and then place a checkmark next to the newly added service. Click Ok two more times to close the remaining windows; the change will take effect immediately.
• If it still doesn't work, you'll need to return to the Service Settings window, as described above. Repeat steps 5-7 four times to add four additional services. Instead of 445, however, the services will use ports 135, 136, 137, and 138, respectively. Once you get it working, you may wish to experiment by removing the new services, one-by-one, until it stops working again. That way, you can eliminate the open ports you don't need.I am not sure of the exact port number.

It's important to realize that if you enable firewall access through these ports, you're opening them for anyone and everyone. Unfortunately, Windows XP's Internet Connection Firewall is incapable of allowing access to some computers while restricting access for others (you'd need a third-party firewall program for that). If you need to enable access to computers in your local network and disable access to computers elsewhere, you'll need two network connections (and two network adapters): one firewalled Internet connection, and one standard LAN connection.

Gmail Contest

Alright, for a break from the normal “technical” stuff, let’s play a little game. I have few FREE Google Mail invitations to hand out, so instead of just giving them away, why not have some fun with it? Post why you need a Gmail account and what you think of this blog as a comment.The Best answer gets u a Gmail account. Any Takers? Technobabble: Gmail is still under beta, and they don’t give out accounts to the public yet. Gmail is no different than any other free e-mail service such such as Hotmail, Yahoo and others. GMail can only be accessed through your browser, and I will say that they have done a pretty good job of the interface. The biggest advantage of Gmail is that they give you 1 Gigabyte of storage space, and of course, searching through your mail using their search engine is a breeze.

Smart Shoes

Introducing the first shoe that thinks for itself adidas has answered the question that always plagued the industry.How do you get cushioning right when no two runners are the same? The shoe's sensor is accurate to the width of the human hair.It has a processor which can perform 20,000 operations in the time it takes your brain to realize your hand is touching a hot stove. It has a motor which spins at a rate faster than the rotors of a Blackhawk helicopter. According to Adidas-Salomon AG, the Adidas 1 running shoe will continually adjust the firmness of its heel to make sure it always feels right: softer on concrete, firmer on grass, for example. The preferred firmness of a cushion in the heel is selected when you push either of two buttons on the side of the shoe, one carrying a plus sign and other a minus. These in turn activate a motor that tightens or relaxes a steel cord to give the heel its variable firmness. Five light-emitting diodes on each shoe indicate the firmness levels. The hollow plastic cushion in the heel contains a Hall Effect sensor which reads the strength of an electromagnetic field created by a magnet near the bottom of the heel. As the runner’s foot strikes the ground and the plastic cushion is compressed, the sensor measures the change in field strength. It sends this data to an embedded 20-MHz micro-processor in the shoe’s arch, which calculates to within 100 micrometers just how much the cushion has been compressed and adjusts the cord tension to maintain a constant level of firmness no matter what you’re running on. This cycle of sensing, measuring and adjusting happens 1000 times a second. You won’t notice the cord’s tension changing until you start moving because the motor is activated only when the foot is in air. This ensures that it is not wasting energy by fighting against the runner’s weight. The Adidas 1 is expected to hit stores in December. But what if the shoe catches a virus or if the chip/OS malfunctions? Do we have to take it to a computer tech or a dealer?