Cell-phone tower construction rankles neighborhoods

By Rosemary Shinohara, Anchorage Daily News

New wireless communication towers are popping up in Anchorage, Mat-Su and elsewhere in Alaska as a big new company, Verizon Wireless, moves into the state and other cell phone companies upgrade their networks.

Verizon is set to begin Alaska service sometime in 2013.

The increase in cell towers is leading to conflicts in some areas between residents who don't want tall poles and antennas looming over their yards -- and companies competing to offer ever-more sophisticated cell phone services.

For example, east-side residents joined a battle this week over a proposal to build a 100-foot tower at 2100 E. Northern Lights Boulevard, in the parking lot of a medical building near Northern Lights and Lake Otis Parkway.

The city Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday rejected the tower site after city officials said it didn't fit with the College Village neighborhood just off Northern Lights.

In Turnagain, another controversy has developed over a plan to install a tower at a site off Wisconsin Street between 31st and 32nd avenues.

In the Valley, there's also trouble brewing. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough no longer requires permits to build towers, so residents may not even hear about plans until construction materials start arriving.

Read the entire article here.

How to detect and fix a machine infected with DNSChanger

By Topher Kessler, CNET

The FBI will be closing the DNSChanger network on Monday, after which thousands worldwide are expected to no longer be able to access the Internet.

On July 9, the FBI will close down a network of DNS servers that many people have been depending on for proper Internet access. These servers were originally a part of a scam where a crime ring of Estonian nationals developed and distributed a malware package called DNSChanger, but which the FBI seized and converted to a legitimate DNS service.

This malware scam has been widespread enough that even third-party companies like Google and Facebook and a number of ISPs like Comcast, COX, Verizon, and AT&T have joined in the effort to help remove it by issuing automatic notifications to users that their systems are configured with the rogue DNS network.

If you see this or similar warnings when using Google or other services, then be sure to check your system for malware.

(Credit: CNET)

If you have recently received a warning when performing a Google search, browsing Facebook, or otherwise using the Web that claims your system may be compromised, then you might consider taking a few steps to check your system for the presence of the malware. This can be done in a couple of ways. First you can check the DNS settings in your system to see if the servers your computer is using are part of the rogue DNS network.

Read the entire article here.