Kintera.org/Blackbaud.com infecting its users - on its donation page

I recently tried to donate money to a friend's charity. The page is hosted on Kintera.org, which includes a form to collect credit card info, and a Java applet that shows who else has donated recently. It uses a scrolling library they probably pulled off some untrustworthy website (I doubt it's the worse possibility - Kintera willfully infecting those making donations).

Unfortunately that scrolling library has 3 viruses, all of which act as Trojans to infect the user's machine and place them at the whim of a command and control bot network:

Java CVE-2008-5353.KM
Java CVE-2009-3867.GC
Java CVE-2008-3869.M

That's pretty embarrassing. The scroll page actually shows one page before you fill out your credit card info, so in the absolute worst case scenario, you view the page, click Continue while the infection is occurring, a keylogger downloads and runs, you enter your credit card info, and off it goes to as many as 3 bot network owners/users. Not cool.

Confidence indeed.

How to Root the HTC Evo Shift 4G

Sprint blocks their forums from viewing by non-logged-in users; this same information is posted at:
http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/329584

But you probably can't view it. Here it is reposted: How to root the HTC Evo Shift 4G.

You need the JDK installed:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/java-se-jdk-7-download-432154.html

The Android SDK installed:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

And the HTC Sync software installed:
http://www.htc.com/www/help/ (scroll down to HTC Sync for all HTC Android phones and click Download)

Now follow these instructions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1185243

You'll need to cd into the directory where the Android SDK was installed, and then into the platform-tools directory inside that, in order to run adb and perform the other commands they ask you to run. You also need to move the 3 files they tell you to download into platform-tools (or, reference the path you downloaded them to in the commands you run - adb push).

This works on the current version as of this posting Aug 27, 2011: Android 2.3.3, but is unlikely to work in a future OTA update if there is one. Note that this only gives you temporary root but that's all you need to wipe out built-in apps you don't want. Note also that other temp root solutions like Visionary and permanent root solutions like ShiftRR will not work. Only the method linked to above will work on this latest OTA.

You can easily delete built-in apps while rooted by installing ES File Explorer from the Market (it's free), then go into Menu>Settings and check Root Explorer, then check Mount File System. Then browse to /system/app (you may need to change Home Directory to / instead of /sdcard to get to it). Press and hold on built-in apps you don't want, then tap Delete.

I deleted Amazon MP3, Nascar, NFL ("sfl-prod-release.apk"), Sprint Navigator, Sprint TV, and Swype (so I could install the latest). I doubt it's smart to get rid of the annoying Sprint Zone app because it appears to be how PRL updates etc get onto the phone.

You can prevent future OTA updates from putting all these apps back on by tapping Menu>Settings>Software Updates>HTC software update and uncheck Scheduled check. You can always explicitly ask for an OTA update if you want by coming back to this screen and tapping Check now.

Stop Enforcement of Patents Without a Publicly Available Product

http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2011/08/case-for-software-patents.html

He takes a long time to get to it, but I 100% agree:

restrict the right of "non-practicing entities" (patent trolls) to sue for patent infringement.

That's exactly what we need. Unfortunately he spends most of his time rehashing an old debate, briefly mentions this with no ideas on how to implement it (a tough problem), and moves on.

I think you could lay down some pretty simple rules. First, you could state that a patent cannot be enforced in court if what it protects is not available to the public either through your company or through a company that has licensed it. What this would lead to is a big company potentially stealing your idea while you develop it - but you can always finish the race to get it to market THEN sue for past damages. I think this is an acceptable outcome. It would prevent patent trolls from suing because they obviously have no intention of introducing a competing product, and the cost of doing so would be too high.

It would leave the licensing option open to some abuse though, and the definition of "available to the public" needs a tighter definition as well. But hey - it's a start. More than this guy tried.

He also leaves out one last negative impact of patents: They completely disclose to the world the details of what makes your product special. They protect you from the country against competition (and even then, probably only from small players in the country - big companies have a long history of kicking over the little guy, patents and all). I question whether the value of patents remains for small innovators (which should be the goal) when they have to fully disclose what they're patenting. It seems like you should be able to file a patent, get approved, but not have it go public until you give a say-so (basically when the product is released). There's no point in having the patent anyway until then (because you can't sue until it's available to the public), and making it known beforehand is dangerous - Chinese manufacturers love to just steal designs wholesale and give US companies the finger.

That's the final piece that's missing - worldwide protection after disclosure. That's really an enforcement problem. I suppose that's up to the PTO and the US as a whole to enforce - but only after we get our own **** together.