Ode to an MD5 Checksum

Before I made my hash
I forgot to add the salt.
Now you've become so predictable
and it's really all my fault.

Bathed in white noise
from some foreign sector,
Is this the dubious voice
of an alien initialization vector?

Pay heed to the conductor
don't sully the notation.
Every bit dances through
their left-bit rotation.

One step forward
one step back.
I should have seen this coming -
a surprise birthday attack!

A torpor of smoke and confusion
amid flashing lights and double-vision,
the message is beset with peril
after a harrowing hash collision

The message must get through
if the cipher is somehow able -
to navigate his way
to an elusive rainbow table.

AntiVirus Update

One of the most crucial programs on anyone's computer is the antivirus program. When this is combined with a behavior that minimizes the chance of contracting a virus there is a good chance you won't have to reformat your hard drive and start all over again.

It's important to keep up with what antivirus software is out there. Last year's editor's choice may be outdated or passed by in a year or two. It wasn't that long ago Norton Antivirus was the best choice - now it's the worst solution out there. Other solutions are emerging, some of them freeware or open source.

There are independent sites that evaluate antivirus software, such as AV-Comparatives. Cnet.com does an annual review of antivirus software that can be useful. Lifehacker.com did a recent survey or poll of five popular antivirus packages - the comments were especially insightful.

There are also a number of factors to consider when choosing antivirus software. Cost is one factor - open source or freeware is always nice, but is it effective enough? Another big factor is performance. Does my email or browser run slower now? Does the antivirus software consume a lot of resources or does it have a small footprint?

I have used Norton and Trend Micro and will never go back. I recently used the open-source Clamwin with some success, but may have some performance issues. Based on the results and comments in the lifehacker post, I am going to give NOD32 a try.

Key Scrambler

In order to protect against keystroke loggers stealing sensitive information while you surf the web, Key Scrambler has a solution for you. There is a free version which will encrypt your key strokes while you type in webmail or enter your credit card information onto a web form. What the keystroke logger gets is a useless encryption of your keystrokes. What you get is peace of mind.

RSS Tutorial

RSS currently stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a simple technology which allows websites to notify readers of new content without having to visit the site. Here is a very useful and comprehensive tutorial for setting up RSS technology for your website.

Do you use the Verdana font?

I use it in certain cases, but you want to use the Verdana font judiciously and with care. Here's an article on Why you should avoid the Verdana font.

Scheme some colors

There is usually a mixture of creativity, intuition, science, and technology when coming up with color schemes for web sites or pages. For help in the technical area try Color Scheme Generator 2, a useful tool for generating color schemes. You can quickly generate triads, tetrads, or just a simple contrast.

When you're done playing with the tool, check out the parent site: Well-styled.com . I found some interesting hacks and articles.

Web Design: Positioning

The title of this article, Web Design 101: Positioning, is a bit misleading. I have been using css positioning for years, but some of the concepts continued to elude me. When I looked at different layouts their behavior seemed a bit mysterious and unpredictable.

This article clarified more than one concept that perhaps web designers took for granted, but should have stated explicitly. It might have saved myself and others from a lot of grief. But I would have to say I managed to find a little more room in my heart for hating Microsoft, when all was said and done.

This was a useful and concise article. There is also a nice example of css positioning to go with it.

Mail Big File

If you are trying to move or send big files over the Internet, FTP is really the way to go. But sometimes, for whatever reason, it is handy to get it done with email. Now, if only you could get past the filters that typically lop off any attachment over 5 MB.

The next time you're in a pinch, try MailBigFile.com . They have a free service that allows attachments up to 100 MB.

Color for the Web

There are many ways colors can be defined when doing web design. Let's see, is it color, bgcolor, or background-color for a tr element? Here's a handy compilation of most, if not all, of the ways to define color for various elements of a web page. While you're there, check out VisiBone's Color Charts.

Resources For Web Design

Here's a list of Resources For Web Design. It seems to be well laid out and covers a lot of topics concisely on one page. I ought to do something like this with my own list of resources.

The War of the Hard Drives

Solid State Drives (SSD's) perform better than Hard Disk Drives (HDD's), in general, but cost more. Usually considerably more. But as the price comes down, one would except to see SSD's become more prevalent.

It looks as though we may be at the point where it's worth considering SSD as a choice. StorageSearch has information to help make the choice as well as resources on where to buy your next SSD.

Controlling Div Heights

This one had puzzled me for some time. I would create a div container on a web page, then assign a height to be 100%. Sometimes it would work, other times not.

The reason is because the height based on % is determined by the parent object. If the parent object doesn't have a defined height, the child setting degrades to auto. For a fuller explanation and examples read papabaer's CSS 100% Height DIV's tutorial.