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Cligs is Throwing in the Towel on its URL Shortening Services

Ryan Whitwam — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:00:51 -0500

URL shortening service Cligs has announced that it will be closing up shop later this month. The service will stop accepting new URLs on Sunday, 25 Oct 2009 at 12:00:00 GMT. The owner of Cligs indicated that there would be a tool available at some point for users to export their data.

Cligs reported there were a number of reasons for the move. Of the chief reason the site says, “There comes a point when you need to actually hear the message the market is telling you, and not just listen and ignore it.” The owner of Cligs noted that since it was not winning the market, devoting additional time and money to it made less sense. This tends to remind one of the recent almost-closure of Tr.im a few weeks back. In a follow up post, the Cligs owner said he would be open to selling the service.

This is all partially your fault. You use Bit.ly, don’t you?

Another Good Reason to Always Shut Your Computer Down at Night

Paul Lilly — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:02:26 -0500

The Dallas Cowboys just can't seem to get a grip on this whole technology thing. In a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans last month, Dallas' 180 foot long HD screen blocked a punt by the Titans, a play which isn't reviewable under current NFL rules. Moving the screen could cost millions of dollars, so the solution for the time being is to do nothing.

Fast forward and the Cowboys once again take center stage in this week's giant screen fail, only this time there were no punts involved. Instead, a scrolling banner let everyone in attendance know the eggheads behind the scenes had encountered an error and didn't shut down properly. Or maybe it's a really good Photochop. Either way, it's fun to laugh at the Cowboys. That is, unless you're a Lions fan, in which case there's nothing at all funny about the NFL.

Image Credit: Gizmodo

CastleCops Takes Off Badge, Shuts Down Website

Mark Edward Soper — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:38:54 -0600

Since 2002, CastleCops has been among the leading antimalware research websites, offering a Wiki, blog, malware removal and prevention tips, and much more. CastleCops founder Paul Laudanski went to work for Microsoft's Live Consumer Services team in mid-May of this year, and CastleCops, which was volunteer-driven, did not survive the transition. CastleCops' last day on duty was December 23, as the farewell message relates:

Greetings Folks,

You have arrived at the CastleCops website, which is currently offline. It has been our pleasure to investigate online crime and volunteer with our virtual family to assist with your computer needs and make the Internet a safer place. Unfortunately, all things come to an end. Keep up the good fight folks, for the spirit of this community lies within each of us. We are empowered to improve the safety and security of the Internet in our own way. Let us feel blessed for the impact we made and the relationships created.

With respect to the server marathon, by March 17 2009 CastleCops will refund contributions made through PayPal that were specifically designated for servers. Unfortunately, server donations made via check cannot be returned because we do not have the addresses for the donating entity. Unless instructed otherwise, CastleCops will re-allocate these funds as a donation to the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC.org). This organization sponsored our hosting environment for approximately the past 2 years. Please contact us [cc at laudanski dot com] before March 17, 2009, if you would like a return of your server marathon donation. Otherwise, we would like to thank the ISC for their unfettered support.

We thank everyone in creating our unique footprint and memories in time.

Love, Best Wishes and Happy Holidays, CastleCops
PST 23 Dec 2008

Need Help? Now What?

While the CastleCops website, except for its farewell message, is now offline, some of the information developed by CastleCops is now available at the SystemLookup website. Because the CastleCops website used a robots.txt file to block queries from other websites, including the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, most of its website content is currently not available in cached form.

For other anti-malware sites and services, check out this forum thread at Scot Finnie's Scot's Newsletter website. Have other suggestions? Hit Comment and share your favorite software, forums, and websites.