Today Benjamin took us into the world of national computer security, where the government is hiring hackers to test their networks. With these hackers trying out the tricks of the trade with innocent motivations, we can be prepared for malicious hackers. Of course, the plan is still pretty far down the road, and no one has really decided who should run the program, between the pentagon ,the NSA, the FBI, or even the White House, though Benjamin personally thinks the NSA should be in charge of an internation web security thing like this.

                This week, Benjamin also interviewd Michael Miller, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of changing your site so that it comes up higher in Seach Engine results, which use specific criteria for placing results.

                Benjamin also talked about Google this week and their invasion on privacy. Google has been hacing a lot of heat recently, particularly in regards to Google Earth Street View. Lawsuits about, such as one from a couple who claim street view causes them mental stress and lowers the value of their home. Of course, in this effort to gain money and privacy, the suit was denied, and they gained only more publicity. Benjamin expects things like this to be happening more and more, with Google winning ever more cases, and the people losing privacy.

                Additionally, Benjamin talked about pay-as-you-go computing. Much like free phones with service bills, or pay-per-view TV, Microsoft is proposing hourly fees for using your computer. They wouldn’t be high, say only 25 cents an hour. But say you work 8 hours a day on the computer, and then have to check e-mail, and your kids play computer games. Well this quickly racks up to paying $1000 in two years for a computer that cost only $600. Not a thing we want to do, especially not in an economy like this. Let’s keep our eyes and ears out for this one, and hope it doesn’t pull through.

                Of course, Benjamin didn’t just cover news this week. He also gave us some quick tips for business travellers, like Backing up your data, using strong passwords, and getting Lojack foir Laptops. These things will all help protect you and your information in case your computer is lost, damaged, or stolen while on the road.

                Benjamin also brought us news on the Lojack for Laptops equivalent on the Blackberry, made by Absolute Software. This program for the Blackberry, called Computrace Mobile, allows you to track your phone with Google Earth, as well as detect hardware and software changes on the phone. These would be tracked via reports sent to the Absolute Customer Center. This sounds like a great product, both for personal use and use on companby phones.

                Additionally, Benjamin received a phone call from Lisa asking why Microsoft Word had gone bonkers on her. Also, Richard e-mailed in with a question about why his computer was so slow.

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