Ben’s Blog

Archive for August, 2007

OpenID is a way for individuals to create identity online and use it anywhere OpenID is supported.

For geeks, OpenID is an open, decentralized, free framework for user-centric digital identity. OpenID takes advantage of already existing internet technology (URI, HTTP, SSL, Diffie-Hellman) and realizes that people are already creating identities for themselves whether it be at their blog, photo stream, profile page, etc. With OpenID you can easily transform one of these existing URIs into an account which can be used at sites which support OpenID logins.

For individuals, OpenID means the elimination of multiple user names and passwords and a smoother, more secure, online experience. For businesses, this means a lower cost of password or account management, the opportunity for easier and higher numbers of new user registrations and the elimination of missed transactions because of user frustration with lost and forgotten passwords. OpenID allows for innovation in the authentication space beyond just using a password to “unlock” your OpenID identity, but the ability to strongly protect your OpenID and have that benefit move with you everywhere you go online.
Verisign take this one step further. Verisign PIP allows you to secure yout credentials with a two-factor token. This token also works with Ebay and Paypal.

Whilst token-based authentication isnt a cure all, it does significantly imrpove the security of someone accessing your account by obtaining your password.

Verisign PIP https://pip.verisignlabs.com/
Paypal Security Key http://paypal.com/securitykey

I cant imagine why ANYONE would be still using Word 1, but we came across a client today who needed to open files the were receiving from a Government Department in MS Word 1 format.

Word 2007 has some security built in preventing that, below is the workaround.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

You try to open a file that was saved in one of the following earlier Word formats. Word 2007 no longer supports documents that were saved in the following Word formats:

• Microsoft Word for Windows 1.x
• Microsoft Word for Windows 2.x

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods:

In Word 2007, you can disable the restriction. If you disable the restriction, you can open documents that were saved in an earlier version of Word. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Exit Word 2007.

2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.

3. Locate and then select the following registry subkey:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Security\FileOpenBlock

Note This registry subkey may not exist. If the subkey is not present, you must create it.

4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.

5. Type FilesBeforeVersion, and then press ENTER.

6. Right-click FilesBeforeVersion, and then click Modify.

7. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.

8. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

The Australian Government has announced the release of free filtering software for Australians to use on their PCs.

There are two packages available, Safe Eyes and Optenet. Safe Eyes is available for PCs and MACs.

Register and download from here: http://www.netalert.gov.au/filters.html

Welcome to my new site, blog style!

Im still getting used to how this works, so bear with me.

Some posts will be restricted to registered members, as I am not an overly public person, and like to know who knows what

Feel free to comment on posts as you see fit.

Ben