For Android users, there are basically three apps to choose from when it comes to one-stop social networking: HootSuite, TweetDeck, and Seesmic. They're all great hubs for your social network updates, and they're all really good at shortening links, geotagging, and adding pictures to your posts. For the most part, the three of them do the basics very well, which makes it hard to decide which to use. So, we're taking a look at some of the nuances that set the three of them apart.

First up is HootSuite, which requires you to set up a HootSuite account before getting started. The Android app supports far fewer networks than its desktop sibling, but it still handles Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare nicely, which, for most users, should suffice.

Overall, HootSuite is a solid client for your Android. Its interface is a little drab, but otherwise, it's easy to use, and it does its job. Moving between different feeds is as simple as swiping left and right, and the built-in browser lets you view links without leaving the app.

What we love about HootSuite is its ability to schedule future posts and display statistics for your tweets. If you're a social media maven trying to boost your tweet-cred, these features are invaluable, and no doubt, give HootSuite a huge leg up on its competitors.

On the other hand, we hate that HootSuite offers no simple way to mention friends in posts. With no speed dial, auto-complete, or friend-finder on the Compose message page, HootSuite gives you no choice but to recall Twitter handles from memory. And let's face it, that's not always going to work. For some, this could be a deal-breaker.

Next, we have TweetDeck, which gives you power over your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Google Buzz accounts. To get started, you can either authorize your social networks individually or sign in under an all-encompassing TweetDeck account, which would ensure all of your settings are preserved across devices.

TweetDeck takes a more integrated approach to social media, as it combines all of your news feeds into a single color-coded column of updates. Tweets are gray, Facebook posts are blue, and so on. There's also a Me column, which aggregates all of your mentions, comments, likes and more. And of course, you can create any number of your own columns to go along with these, which brings us to TweetDeck's most unique attribute--its flexibility.

TweetDeck lets you create and arrange columns however you like. This means you could potentially have ten columns, with different feeds from different accounts, all one swipe away from each other. While some people enjoy this kind of flexibility, we find it a bit disorienting. However, we do like that you can set different notifications for each column.

There are a few features that make TweetDeck just plain easier to use than HootSuite. For one, the built-in speed dial feature makes mentioning friends in posts a breeze. You can save up to 12 friends to speed dial or sift through the friend-finder for any not saved. Also, Deck.ly is built in, which lets you post tweets over 140 characters. And Finally, TweetDeck offers three different Home screen widgets, while HootSuite offers none.

Last on our list is Seesmic, which supports Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, and interestingly, Salesforce Chatter. It requires no registration, so getting started simply requires authorizing each of your accounts individually.

While Seesmic may not be quite as flexible as TweetDeck, we still prefer its interface overall. We would much rather select an account and navigate with icons atop the screen, than swipe back and forth between a mishmash of different columns.

Just as importantly, we think Seesmic brings the best mix of features to the table. It can autocomplete friends' names, and post extra long tweets using TwitLonger. Also, it's the only client with Facebook Pages support and video upload capabilities. And finally, it offers one pretty darn attractive Home screen widget. Seesmic may not be able to do everything that HootSuite and TweetDeck can do, but it sure comes close.

In the end, we thought Seesmic provided the best user experience. Reading updates was a pleasure thanks to its intuitive and attractive interface, and posting updates was a breeze thanks to its powerful features like Facebook Pages support and video uploads.

That said, your choice will really depend on your specific needs and personal taste. Do you need to schedule future posts or analyze the clicks that your tweets yield? Do you want to view all of your Twitter, Facebook, and Buzz updates in a single timeline? Do you even have a Salesforce Chatter account? Well, whatever your needs and tastes require, these three clients, individually or as a combination, should have you covered.

For Android users, there are basically three apps to choose from when it comes to one-stop social networking: HootSuite, TweetDeck, and Seesmic. They're all great hubs for your social network updates, and they're all really good at shortening links, geotagging, and adding pictures to your posts. For the most part, the three of them do the basics very well, which makes it hard to decide which to use. So, we're taking a look at some of the nuances that set the three of them apart.

First up is HootSuite, which requires you to set up a HootSuite account before getting started. The Android app supports far fewer networks than its desktop sibling, but it still handles Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare nicely, which, for most users, should suffice.

Overall, HootSuite is a solid client for your Android. Its interface is a little drab, but otherwise, it's easy to use, and it does its job. Moving between different feeds is as simple as swiping left and right, and the built-in browser lets you view links without leaving the app.

What we love about HootSuite is its ability to schedule future posts and display statistics for your tweets. If you're a social media maven trying to boost your tweet-cred, these features are invaluable, and no doubt, give HootSuite a huge leg up on its competitors.

On the other hand, we hate that HootSuite offers no simple way to mention friends in posts. With no speed dial, auto-complete, or friend-finder on the Compose message page, HootSuite gives you no choice but to recall Twitter handles from memory. And let's face it, that's not always going to work. For some, this could be a deal-breaker.

Next, we have TweetDeck, which gives you power over your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Google Buzz accounts. To get started, you can either authorize your social networks individually or sign in under an all-encompassing TweetDeck account, which would ensure all of your settings are preserved across devices.

TweetDeck takes a more integrated approach to social media, as it combines all of your news feeds into a single color-coded column of updates. Tweets are gray, Facebook posts are blue, and so on. There's also a Me column, which aggregates all of your mentions, comments, likes and more. And of course, you can create any number of your own columns to go along with these, which brings us to TweetDeck's most unique attribute--its flexibility.

TweetDeck lets you create and arrange columns however you like. This means you could potentially have ten columns, with different feeds from different accounts, all one swipe away from each other. While some people enjoy this kind of flexibility, we find it a bit disorienting. However, we do like that you can set different notifications for each column.

There are a few features that make TweetDeck just plain easier to use than HootSuite. For one, the built-in speed dial feature makes mentioning friends in posts a breeze. You can save up to 12 friends to speed dial or sift through the friend-finder for any not saved. Also, Deck.ly is built in, which lets you post tweets over 140 characters. And Finally, TweetDeck offers three different Home screen widgets, while HootSuite offers none.

Last on our list is Seesmic, which supports Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, and interestingly, Salesforce Chatter. It requires no registration, so getting started simply requires authorizing each of your accounts individually.

While Seesmic may not be quite as flexible as TweetDeck, we still prefer its interface overall. We would much rather select an account and navigate with icons atop the screen, than swipe back and forth between a mishmash of different columns.

Just as importantly, we think Seesmic brings the best mix of features to the table. It can autocomplete friends' names, and post extra long tweets using TwitLonger. Also, it's the only client with Facebook Pages support and video upload capabilities. And finally, it offers one pretty darn attractive Home screen widget. Seesmic may not be able to do everything that HootSuite and TweetDeck can do, but it sure comes close.

In the end, we thought Seesmic provided the best user experience. Reading updates was a pleasure thanks to its intuitive and attractive interface, and posting updates was a breeze thanks to its powerful features like Facebook Pages support and video uploads.

That said, your choice will really depend on your specific needs and personal taste. Do you need to schedule future posts or analyze the clicks that your tweets yield? Do you want to view all of your Twitter, Facebook, and Buzz updates in a single timeline? Do you even have a Salesforce Chatter account? Well, whatever your needs and tastes require, these three clients, individually or as a combination, should have you covered.

Just yesterday I wrote about a running game based on the viral video Baby Monkey (riding backwards on a pig). It's a fairly simple running game, but it got me to thinking about what would be the best games in the escape/running/survival genre (I'm not sure there's a standardized name for this genre). When I saw that a new game came out (the third in this collection) that added even more to the escape genre, I knew I had the theme for this week's post.

Escape games are not for everyone. Regardless of the setting, these games are the type that get you worked up, with your heart beating fast, trying to get as far as you can to beat your high score. All it takes is one mistake and you'll need to start over, so those with video game rage issues may want to skip this collection--we don't want anyone throwing their iPhones across the room.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about going for distance. The first requires that you swing from object to object using your trusty grappling hook. The second has you running and jumping across platforms as you blow away monsters. The last is a brand-new game that has you running in full 3D as you jump, turn, and slide your way past obstacles.

Hook Worlds (99 cents) is the latest sequel to one of our favorite all time game franchises in the escape genre on iOS, Hook Champ. Though there are four different game types in Hook Worlds, the object remains mostly the same as in its predecessors: use your grappling hook to swing from object to object to obtain the highest distance possible. The graphics are smooth with high frame rates as you swing through caves, under rooftops, and over hot lava. Unlike the earlier games in the genre, Hook Worlds has dynamically created maps with no end--you simply need to last as long as possible.

Hook Worlds offers a few different game types to add more challenges on top of the basic mechanic and to give the app more replay value. The first game type offers the original high-speed chase found in the earlier games, and you're given rocket boots to get out of sticky situations. The second is called bounty gunner: as you swing through the levels, you'll also have to shoot ghost pirates with your grappling hook control on the right side of the screen, and your weapons on the left. The third game type is about obstacle survival because along with your grappling hook, you have a reverse-gravity belt to switch from swinging from the ceiling of the map to swinging from the floor. The final game type is called Hook Champ 1000, which gives you a pixel throwback to classic arcade games, but don't let the simple graphics fool you--this one might be the hardest of all.

All the game types offer their own unique challenges and you play as different characters for each one. We found that even playing for some time, we could switch game types to fall in love with the game all over again. Maybe it's because it reminds us of arcade classic Bionic Commando, but whatever the draw is, it keeps us coming back for more.

If you like escape genre games where you go for the greatest distance, or were a fan of Bionic Commando in its hay day, we strongly recommend you check out Hook Worlds.

Monster Dash (99 cents), from the makers of the hit iPhone game Fruit Ninja, challenges you to jump from building to building to go for the greatest distance, all while monsters try to thwart your mission. The game mechanics in Monster Dash are much like the popular Web game Canibalt (the original game of the genre), in which your character automatically runs while you carefully time your jumps from platform to platform. But with Monster Dash, you're also given a fire button so you can shoot monsters that get in your way while you struggle to stay alive.

Monster Dash is a very easy game to pick up and play because of its simple game mechanics, but the developers of the game added plenty of variation by including themed areas (all randomly generated) so you won't get tired of running through the same location again and again. You'll fight zombies, demons, and vampires as you travel through well-designed levels that each gives the game a different feel. You also can find weapon pickups as you run through the levels, including Mr. Zappy (a lightning gun) and The Pacifier (a large handgun). To keep the game interesting, as you run, your character (did we mention his name is Barry Steakfries?) teleports to a different themed world every 1,000 meters, making for varied gameplay as you advance and the pace gets faster.

Overall, if you like running games like Canibalt, or just want a simple, but fun game with tons of variety, Monster Dash is a challenging and addictive option.

Temple Run (99 cents) is a new survival/escape game from the makers of Harbor Master where you play as a character who's a lot like Indiana Jones from the popular action movies. The simple storyline is you've stolen a cursed golden idol, and now you need to run for your life from demon guardians through all kinds of obstacles. A little different from the other games in this collection, Temple Run gives you a 3D perspective as you run, jump, turn, and slide down pathways while grabbing coins. You'll definitely want to grab as many coins as possible; in between runs, you can buy upgrades like the coin magnet that sucks coins toward your character, or the coin value multiplier that gives you double and triple coin value the farther you run.

Temple Run breaths new life into the running game genre with high frame rates on the iPhone 4 and a new level of interaction as you run. You run on 3D stone platforms, crude rock walls, and wooden walkways as you grab coins and avoid obstacles. A swipe upward makes you jump, a horizontal swipe lets you turn at intersections, and a swipe downward lets you slide under low-hanging obstacles. You also can run from side to side on a pathway by tilting your iPhone left or right--a necessary action when you need to grab coins on the side of your run and avoid broken parts of your path. The combination of all of these moves adds even more challenge because you never know what you're going to face when you go around the next turn.

Overall, with beautiful graphics, dynamic levels, unique controls, and power-ups you can buy with coins, Temple Run is an excellent addition to the survival/escape genre of video games. If you like the idea of running for your life while making quick moves to escape, Temple Run is an excellent time-waster.

Got a better survival/escape game we should know about? Let us know in the comments!

For Android users, there are basically three apps to choose from when it comes to one-stop social networking: HootSuite, TweetDeck, and Seesmic. They're all great hubs for your social network updates, and they're all really good at shortening links, geotagging, and adding pictures to your posts. For the most part, the three of them do the basics very well, which makes it hard to decide which to use. So, we're taking a look at some of the nuances that set the three of them apart.

First up is HootSuite, which requires you to set up a HootSuite account before getting started. The Android app supports far fewer networks than its desktop sibling, but it still handles Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare nicely, which, for most users, should suffice.

Overall, HootSuite is a solid client for your Android. Its interface is a little drab, but otherwise, it's easy to use, and it does its job. Moving between different feeds is as simple as swiping left and right, and the built-in browser lets you view links without leaving the app.

What we love about HootSuite is its ability to schedule future posts and display statistics for your tweets. If you're a social media maven trying to boost your tweet-cred, these features are invaluable, and no doubt, give HootSuite a huge leg up on its competitors.

On the other hand, we hate that HootSuite offers no simple way to mention friends in posts. With no speed dial, auto-complete, or friend-finder on the Compose message page, HootSuite gives you no choice but to recall Twitter handles from memory. And let's face it, that's not always going to work. For some, this could be a deal-breaker.

Next, we have TweetDeck, which gives you power over your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Google Buzz accounts. To get started, you can either authorize your social networks individually or sign in under an all-encompassing TweetDeck account, which would ensure all of your settings are preserved across devices.

TweetDeck takes a more integrated approach to social media, as it combines all of your news feeds into a single color-coded column of updates. Tweets are gray, Facebook posts are blue, and so on. There's also a Me column, which aggregates all of your mentions, comments, likes and more. And of course, you can create any number of your own columns to go along with these, which brings us to TweetDeck's most unique attribute--its flexibility.

TweetDeck lets you create and arrange columns however you like. This means you could potentially have ten columns, with different feeds from different accounts, all one swipe away from each other. While some people enjoy this kind of flexibility, we find it a bit disorienting. However, we do like that you can set different notifications for each column.

There are a few features that make TweetDeck just plain easier to use than HootSuite. For one, the built-in speed dial feature makes mentioning friends in posts a breeze. You can save up to 12 friends to speed dial or sift through the friend-finder for any not saved. Also, Deck.ly is built in, which lets you post tweets over 140 characters. And Finally, TweetDeck offers three different Home screen widgets, while HootSuite offers none.

Last on our list is Seesmic, which supports Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, and interestingly, Salesforce Chatter. It requires no registration, so getting started simply requires authorizing each of your accounts individually.

While Seesmic may not be quite as flexible as TweetDeck, we still prefer its interface overall. We would much rather select an account and navigate with icons atop the screen, than swipe back and forth between a mishmash of different columns.

Just as importantly, we think Seesmic brings the best mix of features to the table. It can autocomplete friends' names, and post extra long tweets using TwitLonger. Also, it's the only client with Facebook Pages support and video upload capabilities. And finally, it offers one pretty darn attractive Home screen widget. Seesmic may not be able to do everything that HootSuite and TweetDeck can do, but it sure comes close.

In the end, we thought Seesmic provided the best user experience. Reading updates was a pleasure thanks to its intuitive and attractive interface, and posting updates was a breeze thanks to its powerful features like Facebook Pages support and video uploads.

That said, your choice will really depend on your specific needs and personal taste. Do you need to schedule future posts or analyze the clicks that your tweets yield? Do you want to view all of your Twitter, Facebook, and Buzz updates in a single timeline? Do you even have a Salesforce Chatter account? Well, whatever your needs and tastes require, these three clients, individually or as a combination, should have you covered.

Just yesterday I wrote about a running game based on the viral video Baby Monkey (riding backwards on a pig). It's a fairly simple running game, but it got me to thinking about what would be the best games in the escape/running/survival genre (I'm not sure there's a standardized name for this genre). When I saw that a new game came out (the third in this collection) that added even more to the escape genre, I knew I had the theme for this week's post.

Escape games are not for everyone. Regardless of the setting, these games are the type that get you worked up, with your heart beating fast, trying to get as far as you can to beat your high score. All it takes is one mistake and you'll need to start over, so those with video game rage issues may want to skip this collection--we don't want anyone throwing their iPhones across the room.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about going for distance. The first requires that you swing from object to object using your trusty grappling hook. The second has you running and jumping across platforms as you blow away monsters. The last is a brand-new game that has you running in full 3D as you jump, turn, and slide your way past obstacles.

Hook Worlds (99 cents) is the latest sequel to one of our favorite all time game franchises in the escape genre on iOS, Hook Champ. Though there are four different game types in Hook Worlds, the object remains mostly the same as in its predecessors: use your grappling hook to swing from object to object to obtain the highest distance possible. The graphics are smooth with high frame rates as you swing through caves, under rooftops, and over hot lava. Unlike the earlier games in the genre, Hook Worlds has dynamically created maps with no end--you simply need to last as long as possible.

Hook Worlds offers a few different game types to add more challenges on top of the basic mechanic and to give the app more replay value. The first game type offers the original high-speed chase found in the earlier games, and you're given rocket boots to get out of sticky situations. The second is called bounty gunner: as you swing through the levels, you'll also have to shoot ghost pirates with your grappling hook control on the right side of the screen, and your weapons on the left. The third game type is about obstacle survival because along with your grappling hook, you have a reverse-gravity belt to switch from swinging from the ceiling of the map to swinging from the floor. The final game type is called Hook Champ 1000, which gives you a pixel throwback to classic arcade games, but don't let the simple graphics fool you--this one might be the hardest of all.

All the game types offer their own unique challenges and you play as different characters for each one. We found that even playing for some time, we could switch game types to fall in love with the game all over again. Maybe it's because it reminds us of arcade classic Bionic Commando, but whatever the draw is, it keeps us coming back for more.

If you like escape genre games where you go for the greatest distance, or were a fan of Bionic Commando in its hay day, we strongly recommend you check out Hook Worlds.

Monster Dash (99 cents), from the makers of the hit iPhone game Fruit Ninja, challenges you to jump from building to building to go for the greatest distance, all while monsters try to thwart your mission. The game mechanics in Monster Dash are much like the popular Web game Canibalt (the original game of the genre), in which your character automatically runs while you carefully time your jumps from platform to platform. But with Monster Dash, you're also given a fire button so you can shoot monsters that get in your way while you struggle to stay alive.

Monster Dash is a very easy game to pick up and play because of its simple game mechanics, but the developers of the game added plenty of variation by including themed areas (all randomly generated) so you won't get tired of running through the same location again and again. You'll fight zombies, demons, and vampires as you travel through well-designed levels that each gives the game a different feel. You also can find weapon pickups as you run through the levels, including Mr. Zappy (a lightning gun) and The Pacifier (a large handgun). To keep the game interesting, as you run, your character (did we mention his name is Barry Steakfries?) teleports to a different themed world every 1,000 meters, making for varied gameplay as you advance and the pace gets faster.

Overall, if you like running games like Canibalt, or just want a simple, but fun game with tons of variety, Monster Dash is a challenging and addictive option.

Temple Run (99 cents) is a new survival/escape game from the makers of Harbor Master where you play as a character who's a lot like Indiana Jones from the popular action movies. The simple storyline is you've stolen a cursed golden idol, and now you need to run for your life from demon guardians through all kinds of obstacles. A little different from the other games in this collection, Temple Run gives you a 3D perspective as you run, jump, turn, and slide down pathways while grabbing coins. You'll definitely want to grab as many coins as possible; in between runs, you can buy upgrades like the coin magnet that sucks coins toward your character, or the coin value multiplier that gives you double and triple coin value the farther you run.

Temple Run breaths new life into the running game genre with high frame rates on the iPhone 4 and a new level of interaction as you run. You run on 3D stone platforms, crude rock walls, and wooden walkways as you grab coins and avoid obstacles. A swipe upward makes you jump, a horizontal swipe lets you turn at intersections, and a swipe downward lets you slide under low-hanging obstacles. You also can run from side to side on a pathway by tilting your iPhone left or right--a necessary action when you need to grab coins on the side of your run and avoid broken parts of your path. The combination of all of these moves adds even more challenge because you never know what you're going to face when you go around the next turn.

Overall, with beautiful graphics, dynamic levels, unique controls, and power-ups you can buy with coins, Temple Run is an excellent addition to the survival/escape genre of video games. If you like the idea of running for your life while making quick moves to escape, Temple Run is an excellent time-waster.

Got a better survival/escape game we should know about? Let us know in the comments!

LAS VEGAS--The hacker conference DefCon kicked off this morning with the rare public sighting of a now-archaic piece of technology: the 5 1/4-inch floppy disk. Mikko Hyponnen, the chief technical officer for the Finnish security company F-Secure, waved the disk above his head to start off his history of PC viruses, and said, "This is Brain."

Hyponnen was talking about a guest of honor housed on the disk: the original computer virus. Hyponnen found the disk last year in a lockbox in F-Secure's headquarters in Helsinki, and he dove in, cracked the virus code, and found in it the names and address of the virus' writers, two brothers from a town near Lahore, Pakistan. And--believe it or not--he went to the address and found the same brothers there, now running an Internet service provider called Brain Communications. (Hyponnen details his trip in a short YouTube film.)

One of the important things he learned from them is that they said they had no malicious intent when they created the virus. "There was no real motive," said Hyponnen. It was a proof-of-concept, created just to prove that it could be done. This was to inform computer virus development until the first years of the new century, as viruses grew more malicious and complicated, but were essentially pranks.

Just because they were pranks doesn't mean they weren't harmful, though. Hyponnen demonstrated a number of early computer viruses from which he had removed the infectors, including one called Disk Destroyer. This particular piece of nastiness would copy the contents of your hard disk into the RAM, then wipe your drive. It then loaded a rudimentary slot machine-style game, and gave you five chances to win. If you won, it would reload your data back onto your hard drive. If you lost, your data was permanently wiped out.

Though viruses continued to get more and more complex, it wasn't until 2003 that things began to change. First, Microsoft began to take computer viruses seriously, he said, because worm infections were causing serious Internet traffic packet loss and causing real-world damage. Trains in 2003 were stopped around Washington, D.C., because the Windows computers controlling the signals and routing systems had crashed. "This is the basic reason why serious problems like these were finally taken seriously," Hyponnen noted.

The other major change in 2003 was the Fizzer infection. "Fizzer, which nobody here remembers, is one of the most important viruses in history. It was the first virus written with one purpose only: making money." Fizzer spread e-mail spam in an effort to rake in the dough. Hyponnen said that when other virus writers realized they too could earn some bucks from writing malicious code, it was game on.

This began to have even more serious real-world implications, as some virus writers were found to have used their money to buy equipment for fighters in Iraq.

"We also began to see a geographical shift [in] where viruses were written," he said. "From 1986 to 2003, it was mostly Western countries, the U.S., Western Europe, Japan. From 2003 on, it was Russia, Eastern Europe, Ukraine, China (of course), and South America, especially Brazil."

However, Hyponnen said the problem was not only limited to criminals. He called out the president of Sony BMG, Thomas Hesse, to calls of derision from the audience. Hesse was instrumental in approving a DRM system that surreptitiously installed a rootkit on your computer when you played a CD from that computer. "Sony gets a lot of hate, and they deserve it. Of course, some would claim that if you listen to Celine Dion, you get what you deserve," Hyponnen quipped.

But he especially called out Hesse for saying, "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" Hyponnen retorted, "Most people don't even know what brain damage is, so why should they care about it, too?"

Hyponnen talked about the technical complexity of the 2008 virus Mebroot, a trojan that infects the master boot record of computers and is exceptionally difficult to remove because of it, and ransomware like GPCode, which holds your computer hostage until you wire money to the virus writers. Stuxnet, though, was an embarrassment for the security industry, Hyponnen said.

"All this work did not prepare us for what we found next. It was embarrassing. We missed Stuxnet for a freaking year," he said, shaking his head.

"Today when you get infected by viruses, you will not know," Hyponnen said. "It's running silently in the background. It won't slow down your system, and it won't take up too much of your resources."

"It has been a pretty wild ride over the past 25 years, from Brain to Stuxnet. Many things have changed, many things haven't changed. Brain didn't spread on the Internet, it didn't exist," Hyponnen said, alluding to the spread by floppy disk. "And Stuxnet spread by USB key."

For Android users, there are basically three apps to choose from when it comes to one-stop social networking: HootSuite, TweetDeck, and Seesmic. They're all great hubs for your social network updates, and they're all really good at shortening links, geotagging, and adding pictures to your posts. For the most part, the three of them do the basics very well, which makes it hard to decide which to use. So, we're taking a look at some of the nuances that set the three of them apart.

First up is HootSuite, which requires you to set up a HootSuite account before getting started. The Android app supports far fewer networks than its desktop sibling, but it still handles Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare nicely, which, for most users, should suffice.

Overall, HootSuite is a solid client for your Android. Its interface is a little drab, but otherwise, it's easy to use, and it does its job. Moving between different feeds is as simple as swiping left and right, and the built-in browser lets you view links without leaving the app.

What we love about HootSuite is its ability to schedule future posts and display statistics for your tweets. If you're a social media maven trying to boost your tweet-cred, these features are invaluable, and no doubt, give HootSuite a huge leg up on its competitors.

On the other hand, we hate that HootSuite offers no simple way to mention friends in posts. With no speed dial, auto-complete, or friend-finder on the Compose message page, HootSuite gives you no choice but to recall Twitter handles from memory. And let's face it, that's not always going to work. For some, this could be a deal-breaker.

Next, we have TweetDeck, which gives you power over your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Google Buzz accounts. To get started, you can either authorize your social networks individually or sign in under an all-encompassing TweetDeck account, which would ensure all of your settings are preserved across devices.

TweetDeck takes a more integrated approach to social media, as it combines all of your news feeds into a single color-coded column of updates. Tweets are gray, Facebook posts are blue, and so on. There's also a Me column, which aggregates all of your mentions, comments, likes and more. And of course, you can create any number of your own columns to go along with these, which brings us to TweetDeck's most unique attribute--its flexibility.

TweetDeck lets you create and arrange columns however you like. This means you could potentially have ten columns, with different feeds from different accounts, all one swipe away from each other. While some people enjoy this kind of flexibility, we find it a bit disorienting. However, we do like that you can set different notifications for each column.

There are a few features that make TweetDeck just plain easier to use than HootSuite. For one, the built-in speed dial feature makes mentioning friends in posts a breeze. You can save up to 12 friends to speed dial or sift through the friend-finder for any not saved. Also, Deck.ly is built in, which lets you post tweets over 140 characters. And Finally, TweetDeck offers three different Home screen widgets, while HootSuite offers none.

Last on our list is Seesmic, which supports Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, and interestingly, Salesforce Chatter. It requires no registration, so getting started simply requires authorizing each of your accounts individually.

While Seesmic may not be quite as flexible as TweetDeck, we still prefer its interface overall. We would much rather select an account and navigate with icons atop the screen, than swipe back and forth between a mishmash of different columns.

Just as importantly, we think Seesmic brings the best mix of features to the table. It can autocomplete friends' names, and post extra long tweets using TwitLonger. Also, it's the only client with Facebook Pages support and video upload capabilities. And finally, it offers one pretty darn attractive Home screen widget. Seesmic may not be able to do everything that HootSuite and TweetDeck can do, but it sure comes close.

In the end, we thought Seesmic provided the best user experience. Reading updates was a pleasure thanks to its intuitive and attractive interface, and posting updates was a breeze thanks to its powerful features like Facebook Pages support and video uploads.

That said, your choice will really depend on your specific needs and personal taste. Do you need to schedule future posts or analyze the clicks that your tweets yield? Do you want to view all of your Twitter, Facebook, and Buzz updates in a single timeline? Do you even have a Salesforce Chatter account? Well, whatever your needs and tastes require, these three clients, individually or as a combination, should have you covered.

Just yesterday I wrote about a running game based on the viral video Baby Monkey (riding backwards on a pig). It's a fairly simple running game, but it got me to thinking about what would be the best games in the escape/running/survival genre (I'm not sure there's a standardized name for this genre). When I saw that a new game came out (the third in this collection) that added even more to the escape genre, I knew I had the theme for this week's post.

Escape games are not for everyone. Regardless of the setting, these games are the type that get you worked up, with your heart beating fast, trying to get as far as you can to beat your high score. All it takes is one mistake and you'll need to start over, so those with video game rage issues may want to skip this collection--we don't want anyone throwing their iPhones across the room.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about going for distance. The first requires that you swing from object to object using your trusty grappling hook. The second has you running and jumping across platforms as you blow away monsters. The last is a brand-new game that has you running in full 3D as you jump, turn, and slide your way past obstacles.

Hook Worlds (99 cents) is the latest sequel to one of our favorite all time game franchises in the escape genre on iOS, Hook Champ. Though there are four different game types in Hook Worlds, the object remains mostly the same as in its predecessors: use your grappling hook to swing from object to object to obtain the highest distance possible. The graphics are smooth with high frame rates as you swing through caves, under rooftops, and over hot lava. Unlike the earlier games in the genre, Hook Worlds has dynamically created maps with no end--you simply need to last as long as possible.

Hook Worlds offers a few different game types to add more challenges on top of the basic mechanic and to give the app more replay value. The first game type offers the original high-speed chase found in the earlier games, and you're given rocket boots to get out of sticky situations. The second is called bounty gunner: as you swing through the levels, you'll also have to shoot ghost pirates with your grappling hook control on the right side of the screen, and your weapons on the left. The third game type is about obstacle survival because along with your grappling hook, you have a reverse-gravity belt to switch from swinging from the ceiling of the map to swinging from the floor. The final game type is called Hook Champ 1000, which gives you a pixel throwback to classic arcade games, but don't let the simple graphics fool you--this one might be the hardest of all.

All the game types offer their own unique challenges and you play as different characters for each one. We found that even playing for some time, we could switch game types to fall in love with the game all over again. Maybe it's because it reminds us of arcade classic Bionic Commando, but whatever the draw is, it keeps us coming back for more.

If you like escape genre games where you go for the greatest distance, or were a fan of Bionic Commando in its hay day, we strongly recommend you check out Hook Worlds.

Monster Dash (99 cents), from the makers of the hit iPhone game Fruit Ninja, challenges you to jump from building to building to go for the greatest distance, all while monsters try to thwart your mission. The game mechanics in Monster Dash are much like the popular Web game Canibalt (the original game of the genre), in which your character automatically runs while you carefully time your jumps from platform to platform. But with Monster Dash, you're also given a fire button so you can shoot monsters that get in your way while you struggle to stay alive.

Monster Dash is a very easy game to pick up and play because of its simple game mechanics, but the developers of the game added plenty of variation by including themed areas (all randomly generated) so you won't get tired of running through the same location again and again. You'll fight zombies, demons, and vampires as you travel through well-designed levels that each gives the game a different feel. You also can find weapon pickups as you run through the levels, including Mr. Zappy (a lightning gun) and The Pacifier (a large handgun). To keep the game interesting, as you run, your character (did we mention his name is Barry Steakfries?) teleports to a different themed world every 1,000 meters, making for varied gameplay as you advance and the pace gets faster.

Overall, if you like running games like Canibalt, or just want a simple, but fun game with tons of variety, Monster Dash is a challenging and addictive option.

Temple Run (99 cents) is a new survival/escape game from the makers of Harbor Master where you play as a character who's a lot like Indiana Jones from the popular action movies. The simple storyline is you've stolen a cursed golden idol, and now you need to run for your life from demon guardians through all kinds of obstacles. A little different from the other games in this collection, Temple Run gives you a 3D perspective as you run, jump, turn, and slide down pathways while grabbing coins. You'll definitely want to grab as many coins as possible; in between runs, you can buy upgrades like the coin magnet that sucks coins toward your character, or the coin value multiplier that gives you double and triple coin value the farther you run.

Temple Run breaths new life into the running game genre with high frame rates on the iPhone 4 and a new level of interaction as you run. You run on 3D stone platforms, crude rock walls, and wooden walkways as you grab coins and avoid obstacles. A swipe upward makes you jump, a horizontal swipe lets you turn at intersections, and a swipe downward lets you slide under low-hanging obstacles. You also can run from side to side on a pathway by tilting your iPhone left or right--a necessary action when you need to grab coins on the side of your run and avoid broken parts of your path. The combination of all of these moves adds even more challenge because you never know what you're going to face when you go around the next turn.

Overall, with beautiful graphics, dynamic levels, unique controls, and power-ups you can buy with coins, Temple Run is an excellent addition to the survival/escape genre of video games. If you like the idea of running for your life while making quick moves to escape, Temple Run is an excellent time-waster.

Got a better survival/escape game we should know about? Let us know in the comments!

LAS VEGAS--The hacker conference DefCon kicked off this morning with the rare public sighting of a now-archaic piece of technology: the 5 1/4-inch floppy disk. Mikko Hyponnen, the chief technical officer for the Finnish security company F-Secure, waved the disk above his head to start off his history of PC viruses, and said, "This is Brain."

Hyponnen was talking about a guest of honor housed on the disk: the original computer virus. Hyponnen found the disk last year in a lockbox in F-Secure's headquarters in Helsinki, and he dove in, cracked the virus code, and found in it the names and address of the virus' writers, two brothers from a town near Lahore, Pakistan. And--believe it or not--he went to the address and found the same brothers there, now running an Internet service provider called Brain Communications. (Hyponnen details his trip in a short YouTube film.)

One of the important things he learned from them is that they said they had no malicious intent when they created the virus. "There was no real motive," said Hyponnen. It was a proof-of-concept, created just to prove that it could be done. This was to inform computer virus development until the first years of the new century, as viruses grew more malicious and complicated, but were essentially pranks.

Just because they were pranks doesn't mean they weren't harmful, though. Hyponnen demonstrated a number of early computer viruses from which he had removed the infectors, including one called Disk Destroyer. This particular piece of nastiness would copy the contents of your hard disk into the RAM, then wipe your drive. It then loaded a rudimentary slot machine-style game, and gave you five chances to win. If you won, it would reload your data back onto your hard drive. If you lost, your data was permanently wiped out.

Though viruses continued to get more and more complex, it wasn't until 2003 that things began to change. First, Microsoft began to take computer viruses seriously, he said, because worm infections were causing serious Internet traffic packet loss and causing real-world damage. Trains in 2003 were stopped around Washington, D.C., because the Windows computers controlling the signals and routing systems had crashed. "This is the basic reason why serious problems like these were finally taken seriously," Hyponnen noted.

The other major change in 2003 was the Fizzer infection. "Fizzer, which nobody here remembers, is one of the most important viruses in history. It was the first virus written with one purpose only: making money." Fizzer spread e-mail spam in an effort to rake in the dough. Hyponnen said that when other virus writers realized they too could earn some bucks from writing malicious code, it was game on.

This began to have even more serious real-world implications, as some virus writers were found to have used their money to buy equipment for fighters in Iraq.

"We also began to see a geographical shift [in] where viruses were written," he said. "From 1986 to 2003, it was mostly Western countries, the U.S., Western Europe, Japan. From 2003 on, it was Russia, Eastern Europe, Ukraine, China (of course), and South America, especially Brazil."

However, Hyponnen said the problem was not only limited to criminals. He called out the president of Sony BMG, Thomas Hesse, to calls of derision from the audience. Hesse was instrumental in approving a DRM system that surreptitiously installed a rootkit on your computer when you played a CD from that computer. "Sony gets a lot of hate, and they deserve it. Of course, some would claim that if you listen to Celine Dion, you get what you deserve," Hyponnen quipped.

But he especially called out Hesse for saying, "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" Hyponnen retorted, "Most people don't even know what brain damage is, so why should they care about it, too?"

Hyponnen talked about the technical complexity of the 2008 virus Mebroot, a trojan that infects the master boot record of computers and is exceptionally difficult to remove because of it, and ransomware like GPCode, which holds your computer hostage until you wire money to the virus writers. Stuxnet, though, was an embarrassment for the security industry, Hyponnen said.

"All this work did not prepare us for what we found next. It was embarrassing. We missed Stuxnet for a freaking year," he said, shaking his head.

"Today when you get infected by viruses, you will not know," Hyponnen said. "It's running silently in the background. It won't slow down your system, and it won't take up too much of your resources."

"It has been a pretty wild ride over the past 25 years, from Brain to Stuxnet. Many things have changed, many things haven't changed. Brain didn't spread on the Internet, it didn't exist," Hyponnen said, alluding to the spread by floppy disk. "And Stuxnet spread by USB key."

LAS VEGAS--It's easy now to look back at Microsoft's Windows Vista and berate the company for the operating system's shortcomings, but the truth is far more complex, according to one security researcher. At the second day of the annual Black Hat conference here, Chris Paget, chief hacker at the security company Recursion Ventures, discussed her independent contracting work for Microsoft on Vista prior to its release for the first time. Before Recursion took on the contract, all members of the team that worked on Vista were made to sign non-disclosure agreements that took five years to expire.

Microsoft hired her team as a final measure to verify that the operating system was safe to ship. The move was so unusual for Redmond that the company had actually never done it before, said Paget. "There were process and tool improvements. This was the first time that Microsoft brought in an outside team," she said.

Her team had to upgrade the hard drive of the test computer that Microsoft sent her before they could even install the operating system, she said with a slightly incredulous laugh. The process was so atypical for Microsoft that they weren't sure what to expect. "They expected us to come in and find nothing. This was the final check."

Recursion looked at code kernel and the user space but was told not to look at legacy code. Microsoft didn't add legacy code vetting until Windows 7, Paget said. "They got verification, not remediation." She said that her team was so good at finding critical flaws in Vista code that Vista was actually delayed because of one critical bug she found, and another Microsoft employee referred to them as a "rape gang" because they were beating up Vista so much.

Despite the security problems that Paget and company discovered in Vista, she also had high praise for Microsoft. She discussed Microsoft's bug track system and how Microsoft's own security team had created an extensive list of features ranked by risk. Risk, she said, was defined as whether the feature required credentials. If you had to enter a password, like an administrative password, there was a greater risk naturally associated with the feature. So because of Microsoft's work on this end, she was able to begin looking at features critically from beginning of the contract.

The experience, she said, showed her that by the time Microsoft had far better procedures in place for security vetting than she would have thought otherwise. Paget said that at home, she's more of a Unix fan and only uses Windows for gaming. "I would dearly love to see a Windows Lite, with all the unmaintained code removed."

"'World-leading' is entirely appropriate" when discussing Microsoft's security procedures, she said at the start of her talk. "Microsoft's security process is spectacular." And toward the end, she reiterated the point. "If security is a process, not a product, Microsoft deserves a lot of credit. Vista was a giant leap in the right direction."