VIRUS: XP AntiVirus Pro (av.exe)

WARNING: XP AntiVirus Pro is actually a virus. It looks just like your Microsoft Security. It will tell you that your computer has many viruses and you need to upgrade it. DO NOT UPDATE IT. It will steal your credit card information. The support website exclusiveavsupport.com is also malicious. Please beware, because it also hacks your Windows security alerts and looks like the alerts are coming from Microsoft.

I do not yet know how to remove it, but do NOT use www.2-spyware.com (the first Google site under the search "XP AntiVirus Pro") because this site is also malicious. This virus must have just been made days ago, because there are no professional responses yet to remove it. What a scheme to make a virus that looks like a Microsoft program, and then to put all the removal tools on Google as additional malware.

If you have found any removal solutions, please post them below.

35 Semi-Finalists for the Duke Start-Up Challenge (DSC)

DSC announced their 2009-2010 results last night. Go BioWires, Phosify and Ecoviator!!

Evidence That Little Touches Do Mean So Much

The power of physical contact?

Psychologists have long studied the grunts and winks of nonverbal communication, the vocal tones and facial expressions that carry emotion. A warm tone of voice, a hostile stare — both have the same meaning in Terre Haute or Timbuktu, and are among dozens of signals that form a universal human vocabulary.

But in recent years some researchers have begun to focus on a different, often more subtle kind of wordless communication: physical contact. Momentary touches, they say — whether an exuberant high five, a warm hand on the shoulder, or a creepy touch to the arm — can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words.

To find out what you are communicating, read the NYT article here.

For Google, doodles are oodles of surprise

Want to learn more about the Google doodlers? (Possibly the coolest job ever). Check out the CNN story here. (Thanks, Jamie)

An Easily Understandable Explanation of Derivative Markets

Confused about how this past recession happened? Here's a simple analogy using a beer hall. (Thanks, Rish)

Business Advice From Van Halen

Is there any sense to celebrities asking for no brown M&Ms at their concerts? Read the Fast Company article here.

Bacon or Beer Can?

Is it "bacon" or a "beer can"? Check it out here. (Courtesy of Rish)

3 Year old crying over Justin Bieber

Embedding is disabled, but this Youtube video has 1 million views and is SO funny.

Creepy: Superintendent of Pennsylvania School Accused of Spying on Students via Webcam

The article speaks for itself:

Lower Merion School District.... [is] even able to provide Apple MacBook laptops to all 2,300 students in its Harriton High School--a luxury that's increasingly looking more creepy than admirable.

Students had been reporting for the last year that the tiny green LED light next to their school-provided laptop's webcam had been lighting up at random times, indicating the webcam itself was in use, for no clear reason. That problem was waved off as a technical glitch by the school's security and technology department.

But two days ago, sophomore Blake Robbins filed a disturbing lawsuit against the school district. He was disciplined by the high school's vice principal for "improper behavior in his home," with the vice principal citing photos taken by his laptop as evidence of this vague wrongdoing. After some digging, it was discovered that the school had installed software on the laptops that allowed the security and technology department to remotely take photos using the laptops' webcams...(!!!)

Read the Fast Company story here.

When Deficits Become Dangerous

Michael Boskin from the WSJ describes how debt-to-GDP ratios over 90% have significant impact on the pace of economic growth. He outlines an economic analysis of Obama's new plan, which has a surprisingly large hidden fees for U.S. citizens.

If you want to be better informed in future political debates, check out the WSJ article here.

Wall St. Helped to Mask Debt Fueling Europe’s Crisis

Confused about how Wall Street could help Greece secretly borrow and hide its growing deficit? Check out a relatively simple description here in the NYT.

Side comment: I'm amazed that Greece was willing to auction off rights to its airports to international entities in order to fuel spending in other areas.

WARNING: Google Buzz Has A Huge Privacy Flaw

The Twitter/Facebook competitor, Google Buzz, does not automatically protect your privacy:

...before you change any settings in Google Buzz, someone could go into your profile and see the people you email and chat with most.

For a step-by-step guide to change your privacy settings, see the Business Insider article here. (Thanks, Anjali)

Colorless Cola Packaging For The Environment

Check out more information here. (Thanks, Gloria)

IfWeRanTheWorld

If you ran the world what would you do? Think of an action... even a micro-action. Now visit the website here.

DJ Earworm - United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It on the Pop) - Mashup of Top 25 Billboard Hits

2009 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA)

If you are looking for inspiration, check out the winners of 2009 IDEA. Two cool things to start out with (1) the Energy Seed

and (2) the One Day Poem Pavilion.

(Thanks, Gloria)

The Organization Kid

The young men and women of America's future elite work their laptops to the bone, rarely question authority, and happily accept their positions at the top of the heap as part of the natural order of life

Even though Organization Kid was published nine years ago in the Atlantic, it is one of the best (and most engaging) descriptions I have ever read of my generation.

I can't do this article justice in a blog post. It is "long," but print it out, grab some tea, and find a bit of solitude. If you don't agree, let me know. (Thanks, Will)

A Mediocre Criminal, but an Unmatched Jailhouse Lawyer

"A former bank robber, Shon R. Hopwood emerged from more than a decade in federal prison as a skilled Supreme Court practitioner. At his home in Omaha, his wife, Ann Marie, held their six week old son Mark."

Read Shon Hopwood's story in the NYT here. (Thanks, Gaurav!)

Cuteness Overload

Also, meet Dexter, the pug. Warning: If you are grossed out by cute animal slobber, do not click on the link. (Thanks Jamie. Alex and Jules)

Big Brothers

The best part about this image is you can not only see functioning satellites, but also nonfunctional satellites and general space junk. Check out the full-size image here.

Five Best Online Backup Tools

How do you back up your computer? CDs, DVDs, Dropbox, Mozy, personal server, external hard drive, online or maybe you use all of those... or none.

LifeHacker summarizes a few of the online options here. My computers tend to fail me quite often, so I'm happy to have a few options to get my data back.

Your Career: How to Get Organized as Work Piles Up

Life organization tips from Google's former CIO, here in the NYT.