Author Alex Haley's personal letterhead included the phrase "Find the good and praise it." With this in mind, let's look first at Google's Desktop Search. Still in testing, Google announced their Desktop Search as a way to search the files on your computer that is easy and always up-to-date.

The current version keeps track of your Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.) files, Outlook/Outlook Express e-mails, Web sites you've visited, and AOL chats and instant messages that you've been in. Google Desktop Search lets you search through these files with the same easy-to-use screens that you can use through Google to search the Internet. Google Desktop Search creates and maintains an index of the files that it searches, that way it's not slowly looking in each file every time you search, just in its own index. It keeps that index updated as you change your files, which Google claims is different from other desktop search programs.

Keep in mind that it's still in testing and will likely become cooler with time. You can download a current version by going to http://desktop.google.com.

The Bad

The bad stuff comes in the form of a little nasty called the "GDI+ JPEG Processing Exploit." Basically, some lowlife found a way to take over computers using JPEG images. JPEGs are a common type of image file for photos, such as those on Web sites or from digital cameras.

The GDI+ exploit lets a weasel create an infected image, then entice users into viewing it, either by sending it in an e-mail or by directing viewers to a Web site that includes the image. The good news is that, if you've kept your computer up-to-date and have Windows XP Service Pack 2 (XPSP2), you're pretty safe.

Even XPSP2 users, however, will want to test and potentially update Microsoft Office and other graphics programs. See the link below for information on checking your computer.

If you're not up-to-date on XPSP2, this is a reminder of why it's important to keep updates. For non-updated XP computers or those using older versions of Windows (2000, ME, 98 or 95), check out the Microsoft page for the lowdown, including tools for testing Microsoft Office and other programs. See http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/200409_jpeg.mspx.

Turning Ugly on Spyware

Fresh from the fight against spyware, the Federal Trade Commission has finally started getting serious about spyware, as well. It's important to understand that earlier this year, the FTC took a hands off approach to spyware, calling it the "industry's responsibility” to bear the load of responsibility in the fight. Spyware is software that is usually installed without your knowledge via the Web. It tends to bog down PCs and may actually steal personal information. The FTC recently filed its first federal court case targeting a reported spyware provider.

Then, late last week, Dell and the Internet Education Foundation (www.getnetwise.org) launched their anti-spyware campaign. The campaign is designed to increase understanding of the spyware issue, as well as offer tools and tips to combat it. The Internet Education Foundation is a public service group supported by a who's who of consumer technology companies like AT&T, Dell, Microsoft, AOL, Amazon.com and Yahoo!

These folks deserve our thanks for carrying the mantle in this new battle.