Wednesday, January 31, 2007
COMPUTER NIGHTMARE: Not-A-Virus.Exploit.ByteVerify I spent several hours today in a computer nightmare. My first mistake was being online with a Windows computer. I usually check emails with a Mac. It is less risky since most viruses and malware are written for Windows machines. I don't open emails that are obviously spam. I opened an email that I thought was from a person that I know but it turned out to be spam. I deleted it and moved on. I never clink on links in spam, but sometimes just opening the email is enough. After logging out I tried to close the browser window but every time I did, two or more windows opened. I tried to close them and more windows opened. I finally right clicked the icons in the task bar to close the windows. I disconnected my computer from the internet. If a trojan was at work, it could track my key strokes and potentially acquire passwords that I used online. I double clicked a folder on my hard drive and several folders opened. If I clicked on a file inside a folder, several other files were selected. Nothing worked quite right, like my mouse was on a secret mission and was opening folders, files, and programs on its own. Thinking my wireless mouse was the problem, I changed mice but no dice (sorry). I went to Folders in the Control Panel and reset everything to the defaults but that didn't help either. I tired resetting individual folders but that didn't help either. Things continued to open without clicking on them.
Fortunately, I had recently downloaded AVG Anti-Spyware so I ran the software. It found several tracking cookies and two files it marked as high risk. AVG Anti-Spyware removed everything but the file "Not-A-Virus.Exploit.ByteVerify". Clicking on files and folders still caused havoc. I rebooted from a Knoppix CD but I wasn't able to delete the offending file. FYI: Knoppix is very handy to have if Windows is acting up or dies. Knoppix will run your computer so you can at least get to the internet, do some essential computer functions with Open Office (and open source office suite), and access critical files on your hard drive and save them to a CD or DVD. You can download the English ISO file and burn it to a CD. When all else fails, I call my son Jared who is my computer guru. A few suggestions from him and I went to work. This link and this link were a huge help. I downloaded ATF-Cleaner and followed the directions below. I updated Java in the Control Panel and followed the directions below to empty the cache. Then I ran AVG Anti-Spyware. The offending file is gone and my computer is back to normal. My five hour computer crisis is over. Directions: REMOVING "NOT-A-VIRUS.EXPLOIT.BYTEVERIFY" Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune.
This program is for XP and Windows 2000 only Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
Under Main choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button. If you use Firefox browser Click Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt. If you use Opera browser Click Opera at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt. Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program. Updating Java and Clearing Cache
- Go to Start > Control Panel double-click on the Java Icon (coffee cup) in the Control Panel.
- It will say "Java Plug-in" under the icon.
Please find the update button or tab in the Java Control Panel. Update your Java then reboot.
- If you are unable to update you can manually update by going here:
- After the reboot, go back into the Control Panel and double-click the Java Icon.
- Under Temporary Internet Files, click the Delete Files button.
- There are three options in the window to clear the cache - Leave ALL 3 Checked
Downloaded Applets
Downloaded Applications
Other Files
- Click OK on Delete Temporary Files Window
Note: This deletes ALL the Downloaded Applications and Applets from the CACHE.
- Click OK to leave the Java Control Panel
Run AVG Anti-Spyware. If the file is still there, delete it or Quarantine the whole archive.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
PHOTO OF THE DAY: ORGAN AND ORGANIST 
Organ and Organist. Photo © Jim Doty Jr.
I wanted the unusual perspective of being inside the organ console so I used a 15mm fisheye lens which bends lines, distorts shapes, and exaggerates the size of anything (or anyone) close to the lens. Note the reversal of the usual black and white color arrangement of the keys.  Organ and Organist. Photo © Jim Doty Jr.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
DUNN'S RIVER FALLS, JAMAICA 
Climbing Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica. Photo © Jim Doty, Jr.
Dunn's River Falls cascades 600 feet down to the Caribbean. Dunn's River was featured in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, and has been used in other films. One of the top tourist attradctions in Jamaica is to climb the falls (or at least the stairs that parallel the falls). to continue, click more Each group to climb the falls must go with a guide. The boulders are slick so you would be wise to rent the special climbing shoes available at the top of the falls. The guide gives each group an orientation, takes them down the stairs that parallel the falls, and then leads the group up the falls. The climb takes about an hour. The falls are not far from Ocho Rios on Jamaica's north coast. Tour buses travel to the falls from Ocho Rios and from most resorts in the area. 
Beginning the climb up Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica.
Photo © Jim Doty, Jr.
Friday, January 12, 2007
PHOTO OF THE DAY: PYRAMID PROPOSAL 
Keith and Nicholle's Pyramid Proposal. Photo © Jim Doty, Jr.
Busloads of tourists were visiting the Mayan ruins at Altun Ha in the country of Belize, Central America. After the standard tour, a bunch of tourists headed back to the air-conditioned buses, the souvenir shops, or somewhere in the shade, while a number of us climbed to the top of the Temple Pyramid on the south plaza. Everyone was enjoying the view when one man dropped to his knees and proposed. The very surprised woman said yes and he gave her a ring. Everyone cheered. Congratulations to Keith and Nicholle! As they like to say in Belize, "It was UnBelizeable!"
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
PHOTO OF THE DAY: SUNSET AT SEA 
Sunset at Sea. Photo © Jim Doty Jr.
There are several creative and technical choices involved when shooting a sunset over water. The light was bright enough to eliminate the need for a tripod and a tripod isn't always useable when shooting from the deck of a ship anyway. On shore, I would have the camera on a tripod.
The sky was metered to the side of the sun without including the sun itself (which would have thrown off the look I was after). This rendered that part of the sky as medium toned with the sun much brighter than medium toned, the sky farther from the sun as darker than medium toned, and the ocean much darker. Metering the sky closer to the sun results in a darker photo. Metering the sun itself results in a very dark and dramatic photo. Metering the sky farther from the sun results in a lighter photo. Several exposures options will usually work with any given sunset. I bracketed exposures for a variety of looks. More information about exposure is in this article. When considering compositon, I chose to center the sun in the frame from left to right, but placed it high in the frame from top to bottom. This gives more emphasis to the specular highlights of the sunlight rimming the edges of the swells in the water. The specular highlights run right down the center of the frame. I used a long enough lens focal length to isolate the sun and the light on the water and eliminate more of the ocean and the blue areas of the sky. I "bracketed" the composition of this scene by using different focal lengths and placing the sun in different locations in the frame. This is one of several variations that worked well. Although the shutter speed was reasonably high, I still had IS (image stabilization) turned on which is almost always the case when I am shooting hand held without a tripod. This photo was taken from the deck of the Norwegian Dawn, out in the Atlantic about 250 miles southeast of the South Carolina coast. Data: Canon 5D, EF 24-105mm lens set at 105mm. Aperture: f/11, Shutter: 1/200, ISO: 100.
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