Hunt Down Threats with Anti-Malware

CAD Manager's Toolbox: Use Malwarebytes' tool in tandem with Spybot Search and Destroy to keep you users' machines safe.

Like the Spybot Search and Destroy tool I highlighted in the previous edition of CAD Manager's Toolbox, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware software is a great weapon in your battle against malicious computer worms and spyware.

The free version of Anti-Malware provides thorough scanning and removal tools, along with a constantly updated set of signature files to keep you current. The full version ($24.95 per license) adds automatic detection, scheduled scanning, and malicious site blocking based on the list of signature files.

All you need to do is download the required files from the Malwarebytes web site and run through the installation procedure, and you'll be on your way to detecting infections. As with any virus or malware tool, it usually pays to keep a copy of the installation and the latest update files on a memory stick or disk so you can install to an infected machine that is detached from the Internet. I've also found Anti-Malware works well when machines are booted into Safe Mode.

 
Download Anti-Malware at www.malwarebytes.org.

I've used Anti-Malware in conjunction with Spybot Search and Destroy for years to detect all manner of malware threats on my laptops, and have found it to be a valuable ally in the fight against malicious code.

Skype down May 26: Service unavailable

We are getting reports that Skype is down, along with their download servers. We have tried ours and all is fine, but millions of users around the world have reported that service is unavailable to them. Some have said that they cannot connect while others find that the software is crashing altogether.
As we are able to get online we thought that maybe it was a mistake, but Pocket-Lint is also having the same issue. This is a serious problem for not only them but for you as well, as they use Skype to communicate with colleagues. However, the tech site has now learned that the outage seems to be only for Windows users, as those on Macs, Android or iOS devices are able to connect.
Skype is already aware of the issue, and has updated their Twitter feed saying that they are trying to resolve the issue. They did not give any indication as to what the issue was, or how long it is likely to take. We would suggest trying to connect to Skype on alternative to a Windows PC or laptop.

It is amazing how much we rely on VoIP, as not only do we need it to chat socially, but also for business. Many companies use this as a way to conference call, as well as video. However, it never seems to get as much attention as when Twitter or Facebook goes down.

What You Should Know About Lake Mead

The water stored in Lake Mead, the Colorado River reservoir held back by the Hoover Dam outside Las Vegas, is absolutely vital to San Diego and the Southwest.

Last year, 75 percent of San Diego's water came from the Colorado. It keeps our lawns green, our faucets flowing and our businesses thriving.

But the reservoir has been under sustained pressure from drought and demand, and it's been dropping since 1997. Last November, it hit its lowest point since it was being filled in the 1930s.

And as we noted today, there's no emergency plan if severe shortage strikes the river.

Interested in the reservoir that sates our region's thirst? Here are some facts and figures about the vital waterbody.

How high is Lake Mead headed this year?

Federal officials expect it to hit 1,105 feet above sea level by Sept. 30. That's well above 1,000 feet, the level where Las Vegas gets cut off or 1,075 feet, where a mild shortage is declared.

The reservoir is currently at 1,096 feet and rising because of a major release of water upstream from Lake Powell, on the Utah-Arizona border, and from snowmelt after a wet winter.

When is Lake Mead empty?

The actual bottom is around 700 feet above sea level, according to a 2001 federal study.

But because of the way it's built, the reservoir no longer yields water once it hits 895 feet. That's commonly referred to as "dead pool," and yes, it's as ominous as it sounds. The Hoover Dam, which provides a massive amount of electricity to the Southwest, would stop functioning before dead pool. About 2 million acre-feet of water would be left in the reservoir, but it would be of crummy quality and would have to be pumped out (instead of letting gravity do the trick). By comparison, Lake Mead can hold 27 million acre-feet (enough to supply a whopping 54 million homes for a year) when it's full.

What happens if a shortage is declared on the Colorado?

This is triggered when Lake Mead drops to 1,075 feet or below. The cut primarily affects Arizona and grows larger as the reservoir approaches 1,025 feet.

If a shortage is declared, Arizona's supplies would be cut as much as 17 percent under current law. Nevada would be cut a maximum 6 percent. Arizona right now doesn't use its full slice of Colorado water, so it's storing some underground in case that happens.

"There's acute concern at 1,075," said Chuck Cullom, Colorado River programs manager for the Central Arizona Project, which supplies that state's major cities. "The tension and anxiety ratchets up the further the reservoirs drop."

Those rules are in place until 2026. They address what happens until Lake Mead hits 1,025 feet. If the reservoir falls beneath that, no one knows what happens to stop the decline.

Is the Colorado River close to coming up short?

Not today. Lake Mead is rising right now. Cullom said Arizona believes the river wouldn't drop to 1,075 until 2015 or 2016 at the earliest because of the wet winter.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the river, says there's a:

• 20 percent chance of hitting 1,075 by 2020.

• 40 percent chance by 2030.

• 50 percent chance by 2050.

A shortage would be remarkable — none have been declared in the river's modern history, though one was almost triggered late last year.

The bureau says there's a less than 5 percent chance that Lake Mead will drop to the ominous dead pool by 2050.

Just how big is the reservoir?

Gigantic. The largest in the country. When full, it covers 254 square miles, an area five times the size of Chula Vista.

That's good for the Southwest. The reservoir's trillions of gallons of storage act as a major buffer against drought, capturing high runoff from wet years to carry the region through dry ones. Lake Mead has been dropping for more than a decade, but it's still had enough water to meet demand. That's one reason water managers say they aren't concerned about the lack of an emergency plan for severe shortage.

"You can see it coming. That's the beauty of the Colorado," Roger Patterson, assistant general manager of the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District, told me. "You can see things coming and you have time to put things in place."

How much water evaporates from Lake Mead each year?

A lot.

The lake loses almost 900,000 acre-feet a year to evaporation. That's enough for 1.8 million homes. It's two times more than what San Diego's urban users consumed in 2010.

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Egypt Accepts 6 Billion Pounds in Seven-Day Repos at Auction

Egypt’s central bank accepted 6 billion Egyptian pounds ($1 billion) in seven-day repurchase agreements, or repos, at an auction today, according to data it published on Bloomberg.

The central bank said it received 6.1 billion pounds in bids for the agreements, which it offers weekly at an interest rate of 9.25 percent. Last week, it awarded 8.21 billion pounds instead of the 10 billion pounds it sought.

The North African country’s central bank started the repo facility in March to allow banks to sell government securities back in order to access more liquidity.

The yield on Egypt’s 5.75 percent dollar bond due in April 2020 rose two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 5.94 percent at 3:41 p.m. in Cairo. The pound was little changed at 5.9514 per dollar.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ahmed A Namatalla in Cairo at anamatalla@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Digby Lidstone at dlidstone@bloomberg.net

Full Moon Candle goes infrared

After years of constant discomfort — waking up in the morning feeling like she’d been badly beaten — Castaneda said she feels better than she ever has before.

 

Castaneda was diagnosed more than 25 years ago with fibromyalgia, a syndrome that affects the muscles and soft tissues and creates chronic pain in the muscles, fatigue, sleep problems and painful tender points or “triggers” at certain parts of the body.

 

Fibromyalgia affects an estimated 5.8 million Americans, according to WebMD, and can negatively impact a person’s overall quality of life.

 

Last year, medical expert Dr. Mehmet Oz introduced Americans to infrared saunas on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Intrigued, Castaneda gave the latest medical rave a try. It didn’t take long for her to reach a conclusion: She was going to have an infrared sauna installed in her home.

 

After some thought, Castaneda changed her mind. Instead, she decided to open an infrared sauna at her existing business — Full Moon Candle Co. — so the entire community can reap the benefits.

 

Not only does the sauna help with fibromyalgia symptoms, it’s an excellent tool for detoxification, arthritis, chronic fatigue, autism and relaxation, Castaneda said.

 

Dr. Oz quotes the “circulatory and blood pressure benefits” as “well-documented” and even goes as far as to say that incorporating infrared heat therapy into a health routine can extend longevity.

 

Infrared saunas work differently from regular saunas. Infrared saunas make the same rays that come from the sun but filter out UV radiation, leaving only infrared radiation, which is lightly absorbed into the skin. In effect, it heats up the body without heating the surrounding air.

Science behind the sauna

Some research shows that people who indulge in an infrared sauna a couple times of week may experience a decrease in blood pressure.

 

Another study showed that a 30-minute infrared sauna session can burn upward of 700 calories. How is that? During the sauna experience the body’s core temperature increases and the body works hard to cool itself. A substantial increase in heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate causes the body to burn calories.

 

Leading detoxification principles suggest that common illnesses are caused by the buildup of toxic substances in the body, Castaneda said. Ridding the body of such toxins through a natural sauna detox — which promotes sweating — may relieve symptoms, prevent future illnesses and increase overall health and vitality, she said.

 

Castaneda uses the sauna every other day. From her experience, she recommends sessions at least twice a week to experience results.

 

Clients are reminded to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after a session.

 

Towels and modesty gowns are provided at the store but clients are encouraged to bring their own loose-fitting clothes for the drive home and to shower afterward to prevent reabsorbing toxins.

 

Once inside the sauna, patrons have complete control of the reading light and music.

 

Temperatures can reach up to 150 degrees.

 

People with defibrillators, pacemakers or who are pregnant are advised not to use the sauna. Children under 18 years of age need a parent present.

 

Appointments are necessary.

 

Full Moon Candle, 161 W. Washington St., relocated from Cedar Street last November. The infrared sauna opened Jan. 1.

 

The “so-much-more-than-just-a-candle-store” offers more than 40 fragrances of locally made candles. Castaneda started making candles as a hobby in 1996, giving them away as gifts to her sister, niece and friends. What started as an after-hours passion soon turned into a full-blown business.

 

In addition to her own candles, Full Moon sells the works of American artists from all over the country and a few European artists. Almost everything in the store, however, is American-made.

 

“It’s been well-received,” Castaneda said. “People like buying products they know were made here in our beautiful country.”

Great Escape: Memorial Day

What does Memorial Day mean to you?

For many, it means the official start of summer. The pools open and kids start counting the days until the end of school. Cookouts abound and most employees are grateful for a long weekend.

With the hullabaloo surrounding the beginning of summer, it’s easy to forget the real reason for Memorial Day: remembrance. And sadly, with a large number of troops bravely serving our country overseas in recent years, more and more families are remembering someone important in their lives.

Memorial Day was first observed as Decoration Day following the Civil War as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation. Decoration Day came from the northern tradition of decorating soldiers’ graves.

Population genetics reveals shared ancestries

More than just a tool for predicting health, modern genetics is upending long-held assumptions about who we are. A new study by Harvard researchers casts new light on the intermingling and migration of European, Middle Eastern and African and populations since ancient times.

In a paper titled "The History of African Gene Flow into Southern Europeans, Levantines and Jews," published in PLoS Genetics, HMS Associate Professor of Genetics David Reich and his colleagues investigated the proportion of sub-Saharan African ancestry present in various populations in West Eurasia, defined as the geographic area spanning modern Europe and the Middle East. While previous studies have established that such shared ancestry exists, they have not indicated to what degree or how far back the mixing of populations can be traced.

Analyzing publicly available genetic data from 40 populations comprising North Africans, Middle Easterners and Central Asians were doctoral student Priya Moorjani and Alkes Price, an assistant professor in the Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology within the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

HCG Diet successful for local dieters

After years of yo-yo dieting, Linda Prinster was done.

"Any more attempts at weight loss would just put on more weight a little at a time from going up and down," Prinster said.

But when she heard about HCG, something sounded different.

HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy. In the 1950s, one doctor noticed weight loss in patients using the hormone. He published his findings as the HCG weight loss plan.

Prinster began taking the hormone to amazing results.

"I lost 20 pounds in 30 days, which for me was unbelievable," Prinster explained.

Her success prompted Prinster to found the weight loss center "Pounds and Inches Away."

There are no meals prepared there or workout machines in place, just homeopathic HCG drops and a scale. A simple approach, that so far seems to be working for hundreds of local dieters.

"For most people, it's the best thing they've ever done besides finding their spouse and kids," Prinster said.

Betty Smotherman is one of those people.

Damage to be assessed after North Texas storms

DALLAS — Officials will get a clearer picture Wednesday of the damage from severe thunderstorms that packed large hail and damaging winds, including tornadoes, that swept through North Texas.

Only daylight Wednesday would make the extent and severity of the damage clear, said Fort Worth city spokesman Jason Lamers. "It's been really difficult to get a grasp of the damage at night," he said.

There were no reports of injuries. Initial reports suggested the damage from tornadoes and other winds was largely confined to roofs, trees and lawn furniture and play equipment, he said.

"The hail was probably more destructive," said Steve Fano, National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth.

No restrictions on Irish airspace for at least next 24 hours,’ says IAA

THE IRISH AVIATION Authority has said that based on the latest information there will be no restrictions on Irish airspace for at least the next 24 hours and that all Irish airports remain open.

However there is significant disruption to flights in and out of Scotland and other parts of the UK with Ryanair this afternoon cancelling the remaining six scheduled flights out of Edinburgh airport today.

The IAA said it is in contact with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in London, Met Éireann, the Department of Transport, airlines, airports and also European air traffic service providers and that it expects to update the situation tonight at 9am.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Gameplay Trailer released

After the massive Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 leak that occurred a couple of weeks ago, Infinity Ward has been playing catch up by releasing new material for the game even before the E3 event in a couple of weeks. Last week they gave us a short teaser that didn’t say much about the game, but today, the company has released a trailer with gameplay footage, and I don’t want to jump to conclusions judging from the trailer alone but it does look very impressive.

Explosions, gunfire, huge maps, collapsing buildings, trains, cars, action – everything you ever wanted in a Call of Duty game. Let’s hope that this trailer isn’t the best thing that Infinity Ward delivers when the game drops later this year, November 8. Hit the break to watch the gameplay trailer and let us know what you think about it:

T-Mobile Puts the Asterisk in Unlimited* Data Plans

T-Mobile today announced new smartphone contract rate plans that increase in price based on the number of voice minutes and the amount of 4G mobile broadband data a customer wants in a given month. Customers can go over their 4G broadband limit, but the carrier will then deliver data at slower speeds for the remainder of the month. The operator also launched no-contract plans called Monthly4G that offer unlimited talk, text and web access starting at $50 and follow the same tiered data approach as the contract plans; once customers hit their data limit, access speeds will be throttled down.

Was Armstrong too big to fail?

In his doping confessional to CBS's 60 Minutes, Tyler Hamilton not only tells of witnessing teammate Lance Armstrong's use of the banned blood-boosting agent EPO when they rode together on the U.S. Postal Service team from 1995 to 2001, but he also delivers a blow to Armstrong's longtime defense against such allegations: "Never a failed test," Armstrong tweeted in response to Hamilton's remarks. "I rest my case."

Hamilton paints a picture of a testing cover-up at the 2001 Tour de Suisse, telling CBS that Armstrong told him that he failed a drug test there. The UCI, cycling's governing body, has denied there was any such cover-up, but another former teammate, Floyd Landis, made a similar allegation last year in letters to USA Cycling as federal officials began investigating whether Armstrong was involved in a doping operation while the team was receiving sponsorship money from the Postal Service. Armstrong has repeatedly denied ever taking a performance-enhancing drug, much less testing positive for one. But if the Tour de Suisse accusations prove true, it would underscore what many in cycling have asked for two decades: Was Armstrong too big to fail?

Can Australia prevent death by snake bite?

HE WORKS with deadly creatures — taipans, redback spiders, box jellyfish — but insists the risk is worth it. University of Melbourne toxinologist Ken Winkel says Australian antivenom research has come a long way since it began in Melbourne in the 1890s, with biopharmaceutical company CSL releasing the first antivenom in Victoria in 1930. Dr Winkel is director of the Australian Venom Research Unit.

 

Losing Sleep

Sleep apnea is characterized by potentially life threatening pauses in breathing. Left untreated, it may lead to dangerous medical problems. It's also more common than most people realize. Some 12 million Americans may be affected. But many don't even know it - especially women.

A middle aged man with a weight issue who snores fits the classic case of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the airway collapses and blocks breathing. Laurie Peltz was shocked when she was hit with the same diagnosis.

"Sleep apnea is not something that really comes into your head," said Peltz.

Her symptoms didn't send up an urgent, red flag. Peltz was snoring a bit and waking up tired and grumpier than usual. Then there was a scare.

"I woke up not able to take in a breath. I felt like it was closed off," said Peltz.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious disorder that can strike anyone at any age. The best known risk factors are being male, overweight and 40 or older.