A sample of Favicons.

I often use Google to find solutions to technical problems. While doing this, I usually come across a lot of posts that are extremely unrelated to the problem at hand. If this is a common occurrence for you, check out Faviconize Google.

This Chrome extension/Firefox add-on script will allow you to see small favicons next to the results in your search area. Adding Faviconize Google to your browser will streamline your results review process. If you see an icon you recognize, you're likely to know if that site will have the information you're seeking. Give it a try:

For Chrome

Faviconize for Google Chrome.

Step 1: Visit the download page for Faviconize Google.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

Step 2: Once there, click the blue Add to Chrome button and authorize the install.

Step 3: Head to Google and do a search to see the favicons appear next to their respective sites.

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(Credit: Google)

With so many Web sites to follow, I find myself relying on my Google Reader regularly. Unfortunately, I also find that many RSS snippets will cut off right when I'm about to get to the good stuff. This is generally because the sites want you to click on their links. I understand the reasoning behind it (and am guilty of it myself), but this sometimes leaves me with 10 open tabs to read, making me wander and lose focus on 10 different Web sites.

To prevent this, I've started using Google Reader Inline after checking out a recent article on Lifehacker. This is a very useful extension for Chrome that allows you to load the full article without leaving your current tab or opening a new one (and still gives the writer's site a page view). So after I'm done reading, I can move on to the next article in the queue, instead of wandering aimlessly through a Web site for 3 hours -- like I do on Wikipedia.

Google Reader Inline.

LaunchAgent scripts in OS X can be used to automatically run programs and scripts and are a common route that malware developers use to run their malware in OS X once either the system is exploited or the user has been fooled into installing malware.

Because of this, I recently wrote a procedure for how OS X users can set up notifications that warn whenever changes are made to the various LaunchAgent folders and thereby help detect such attacks, which have been used in some recent and notable malware scams in OS X including DNSChanger, MacDefender, and the most recent Flashback malware.

The procedure I outlined makes use of Apple's built-in Folder Actions technology in OS X, which is used to run specified Applescripts whenever a change happens to a specified folder. Because LaunchAgent scripts are only automatically opened from specific LaunchAgent and LaunchDaemon folders on the system, you can use the Folder Actions feature to watch these locations and send yourself notifications if any files are added to them.

Unfortunately, the Folder Actions feature is relatively hidden, so setting up this notification system for each system you own requires repeating the steps I outlined; however, following the publication of these steps, the Computer Incident Response Center of Luxembourg (similar to US-CERT) ... [Read more]