Work on Jeep

Today I took the day off to have a new muffler put on my jeep, the tires rotated, and an oil change.  Basic maintenance that should be done regularly.  The muffler looks good, and the oil change is nothing special.  On the other hand, the tires could not be rotated because the tread was too worn, so I bought 4 new ones for $99 each (installed price).  The only thing is, I don’t think they did the balance right.  I’m getting vibration between about 55 and 65 mph, and 70 – 75 mph.   I’ll be back down that way this weekend and get that taken care of, or go to the Kost in N. Syracuse to get that taken care of.  Other than that, most of the work looks satisfactory.

Conficker

I have been hearing a lot about Conficker (or confucker … configuration fucker), and how it is supposed to take the world by storm on April 1st. (coincidentally when NY says I’ll have my taxes back)

I have to say that it is interesting to see so many organizations working together to prevent it from bing a huge problem.  I am doing my part by switching to OpenDNS (myself, and work) and spreading the word.  So…. if you don’t already have a plan in place, here is your chance to start one.  (no, I don’t work for them, but their service has been a life saver frequently) OpenDNS is a free service that provides Domain Resolution (makes www.wherever.com point to 123.45.678.243 or whatever the IP address is) and content moderation.  In a business network, it can be used to block certain types of websites, chat services and other unacceptable Internet related activities.  At home, it’s useful for keeping phishing sites from loading before they even get to your computer.

To learn more about OpenDNS, go to their site.  To start using OpenDNS, follow these instructions.  To learn about how they are blocking conficker, read this blog entry.  If you have a prent, grandparent, less savvy family member you know of, setup OpenDNS for them too. They’ll thank you on April 1st if you do.

That being said, good luck with your own vehicle repairs, and keep up the battle against malware!