ImageShack Hacked

It seems that ImageShack.us image hosting service has been hacked - at least I think so. Instead of my images on several of ImageShack servers (img20, img47, img99 etc) the following picture is displayed:

Good thing I already moved most of my pictures away from this hosting as I think that ImageShack sucks because of frequent downtimes and slow loading. However I still had some pictures hosted with them that I used with several of my Squidoo lenses. I suppose I'll have to finally take my time and move them all somewhere else. Too bad it's pretty hard to find a reliable image hosting service.

Fix Userinit EXE Error

I've recently had my Windows XP installation seriously messed up because of a userinit.exe application error: "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000142). Click on OK to terminate the application." This seems to have been caused by some nasty malware. Luckily the tool described in this page about how to fix exe error worked. At any rate, here are the steps to take if you are getting a userinit application error:

1) Click Start > Run, type in regedit, press enter and navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Winlogon. There should be a string named "Userinit". Make sure it points to userinit.exe in your Windows directory, in almost all cases it should be C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe. If it does not, correct it. If that doesn't help, try to get a copy of a "good" userinit.exe from another computer and copy over it to your system. And if that doesn't work either...

2) Use a specialized tool like ErrorFix to attempt to repair the userinit.exe problem. It should work in most cases. Note however that tools like these will only fix the error, but not remove the cause. If it was caused by a virus, trojan or other malware then you should update your antivirus and scan your PC, or at least the Windows directory when booted in Safe Mode. If that fails also...

3) Use your Windows CD to repair the installation of your OS. This is the last resort to take since it will overwrite most of your Windows settings and the registry, so a lot of installed software will stop working. Still, this is a 100% surefire way to fix all Windows errors!

4) Use a good antivirus and an antispyware scanner to test your computer. Even if you use Windows Repair, some viruses might remain (only a full format will get rid of them, and who wants to do that unless absolutely necessary). I rather like the AntiVirus and Spyware Doctor software from PC Tools, but you might want to use ZoneAlarm Antivirus or any other alternative. The important part is removing the virus from your system; remember that some antiviruses might detect certain malware while others won't find it.

MSI K9A2 Motherboard Beeps Two Times

While this is not a computer hardware blog, I just have to share this super annoying story of my new motherboard, MSI K9A2 CF-F beeping twice on boot (after the "normal" boot beep that is) and making me crazy. I looked all over the net for an explanation and all sites said this was a sign of "parity error" so I spent over an hour checking the cables, reseating RAM modules and almost was convinced that my motherboard was faulty - despite everything actually working normally.

Turns out this MSI motherboard BIOS beeps for the number of USB devices that are connected to your PC. I had my USB mouse and USB keyboard connected, so there. Removed the mouse, booted the PC - only 1 additional beep. Connected my mouse back and added a printer - 3 quick successive beeps. Does that makes sense? No! Stupid MSI decision, imagine if you had 6 USB devices and have to listen to six additional BIOS beeps on every PC boot up sequence?

Clickbank's New Design

Anyone using ClickBank affiliate marketplace probably noticed that their site got a huge facelift, a new brighter and sleeker design both on the front page and in the affiliates area. This is a welcome change since the old site had a bleak and boring look. Not that design is what matters most in an affiliate marketplace, but still. Nice move.

You can read ClickBank's comment on the site improvements here:

New Website Look and Feel

In the spirit of the many improvements we've made so far this year, ClickBank is excited to unveil our new look! We've made significant changes to our company colors, as well as the look and feel of the navigation bar and the layout of several pages on the website.

This is the first phase of making the ClickBank website more attractive and easier to understand for new clients.

Please note that these changes do not affect existing functionality or page locations, so you can continue to use the ClickBank system in the same way you always have.

They have also released HopLink shield, a great tool for encrypting affiliate links - and increasing your privacy as well as possibly decreasing affiliate link hijacking.

Last.fm to require a paid €3 subscription fee

Last.fm have announced on their blog about plans to make the streaming online radio a paid service with a subscription fee of €3.00 per month. This will come into effect as soon as March 30th. You will still be able to use the scrobbler and other features if you do not pay, but you won't be able to listen to music online.

Here's the real shocker though: this only applies to countries "outside" United States, United Kingdom and Germany. In other words, US, UK and Germany - which already get some premium features for free, such as Free On-Demand - won't have to pay, while people from other countries will have to cough up 3 euro a month for what is essentially inferior service (meaning, you still won't get all the features that people from said 3 countries receive).

Now, I have no problems whatsoever in paying a small and reasonable €3/mo fee for a service I like, but I do have a problem with this discrimination where people from some other countries get same, or even better service for free.

Looks like I have to say "bye" to last.fm and look for some alternatives.