Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with protection

I'm floored that I'm writing the HiveMind about THIS.

canine epigram — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:43:35 -0800

How best to protect hardwood floors from chairs? I did a search on "protecting hardwood floors" and didn't find much.

We've just moved into our nearly-new condo, and have company over quite a bit, and we sit around the dining table in wooden chairs. Despite putting those sticky felt pads on the chair feet, the dining room floor is still sustaining a lot of surface scratches and scuffs - the pads shift under people's weight, they slowly slide off the chair feet, deform unevenly, etc.

We're likely eventually to get a rug in the dining room (partially for this reason, and also to cut the echo), but until we do, how best to protect the floor, because the pads aren't cutting it?

I suppose we could get a cheap(ish) remnant and put that down until we can afford a real rug, but even a remnant would run near $100, not look terribly great, and then only get used for a few months until we've got a rug - but at the rate this is going, I can't wait a few months to deal with the problem.

Help me hivemind!

Lost security dongle

TigerCrane — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:42:53 -0800

I've lost my security dongle! How can I get another one? I just bought some very expensive software, and I lost the security dongle right away!

I checked the documentation, and it seems that I have to buy another copy of the software!

Since I just bought it, I'm considering calling the company and telling them that I didn't recieve the dongle. Do you think this would work?

Also, can I use a friend's dongle? Are they interchangable?

Best protective gloves for delicate repairs?

alhadro — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:58:43 -0800

What are the best gloves to provide protection from molten stick shellac, while still allowing for extremely delicate repair work? These would be used for woodwind repair, where molten stick shellac is frequently dripping on my hands in the middle of a repair. Usually when I am unable to use a properly equiped repair bench, and doing repairs in awkward places.

-The gloves would need to allow me to adjust a pad on a saxophone in a very tight space, and in a very precise manner.
-Any protection from needle springs (sharp points), and from accidental contact with hot metal would be a definite plus.
-Latex gloves would be great, but do they provide any protection from hot molten shellac? Hot metal? Will they melt?

Thanks!

What protections does a state trademark provide that a federal trademark does not?

Mr_Crazyhorse — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:24:34 -0800

What protections does a state trademark provide that a federal trademark does not? I am currently applying for a federal trademark to provide protection to certain products that I intend to produce and distribute nationwide. I understand that IN ADDITION TO a federal trademark, I can obtain a state [CA] trademark.

Is it worth the time and money to obtain the state trademark in addition to the federal trademark I am currently applying for? Does the state trademark afford me any additional protections?

Is it worth my time and money to apply for a state trademark in the primary state that I will be doing business in? Since I will be doing business in several states, should I also obtain trademark protection in those states?

Thanks.

Whats the best hard case for a Macbook?

6am — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:53:55 -0800

I'm about to go backpacking for a while and need to take my MacBook 13". Can anyone recommend the best hard shell case you can get for it? I saw this, and I'd be interested in opinions for and against it, or any other brand. Aesthetics be damned, I'm after hard core protection above all else. Thanks!

Turn off Instiki spam/flood protection

djgh — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:18:36 -0800

Is there any way to stop spam protection on Instiki? I run a local version of Instiki (0.12) on my Mac (OSX 10.4.11) which I keep notes on. This isn't an as-you-go operation - I'll take notes by hand, and then at the end of the day or week sit down and try and type them all in.

Problem is, Instiki's flood/spam protection is stopping me. Is there any way of turning it off? I'm more than happy to dive in using Terminal. I've Googled around, but there doesn't seem to be a ready-made solution yet.

How can I automatically protect a Firefox tab?

Rabulah — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:48:32 -0800

How can I set Firefox up so that it will load a tab from a bookmark, and then automatically protect/lock it? For example, I have www.foo.com as a bookmark. When I open the foo.com bookmark, I want Firefox to protect & lock the tab automatically, until I manually remove the protection.

Is this possible? And if so, how?

How to best protect electrical equipment in a underground utility room?

colecovizion — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:26:34 -0800

How to best protect electrical equipment in a underground utility room? There is a small utility room underneath the house. It can get slightly damp, dusty and cold. Nothing too extreme.

I would like recommendations for protecting my electrical equipment in this area. I don't have much, just a small UPS, modem, 16port switch, and router. All equipment is on a shelf that is 4 feet off of the floor.

I'm thinking of a box or cover that is both antistatic and waterproof. Is this the right logic? I don't need industrial grade, just something basic. Links to stores online would be a big help!

What do I do to track my stalker?

beezy — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:04:02 -0800

My husband recently recieved a death-threat via email from a former coworker. We want to know what we can do to track his home address, car, and other stuff, so we don't run into him. So, Mr. Beezy worked with a guy, they had a cold relationship, life wen ton. Mr. Beeze left the company about 2 years ago. Then, the team he worked with invited him to come out to a happy hour in a bar in town. They had an altercation, bartender threw them out, and that was 18 months ago. Last week, he got a death threat to his personal account from an anonymous yahoo address, The IP header showed it had been mailed from the guy's work, so we got the hr department to confiscate the hard drive, and they are going to give it to the police. So, today we spoke with a detective to make a report.

Now the party begins. ex-coworker is either going to flip out, or go crazy. We want some basic pieces of information about him: where he lives (the police have three addresses0, as well as what kind of car he drives. It's a big city and there's room for everyone, but I'd just as soon not finding myself nose to nose on a beer run with this guy.

The police are going to interview him, take custody of the hard drive, as well as talk to some other poeple involved. The state may think it's worth to prosecute, or not.

Meanwhile, we feel like a sitting duck, installing floodlights, carrying peppersr\prays, etc.

What are my choices while the wheels of justice turn slowly?

How do I password protect a CD for both mac and pc?

ndicecco — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:58:37 -0800

I want to encrypt a CD with a very simple password. Brief explanation: I'm handing in a project in a few days, one component of which is a technologically based riddle. I want my professor to read what I hand in, then run the CD I provide, and find that it is password protected. If he is able to guess the password (which will be the greek word "Aletheia") based on the project - great, there will be a few extra things on the CD. If not, all the better.

The thing is... I run Mac OSX, but toast titanium will only let me encrypt a CD that runs exclusively on Mac OSX. I don't know what kind of computer my professor uses, and I don't have time to ask. So what program will allow me to encrypt a CD so that it will prompt for a password whether it is run on a windows OS or a Mac (assuming, of course, he is running one of the two)?

I did something dumb, have I screwed up my USB key / flash drive??

katala — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:27:22 -0800

I did something dumb, have I screwed up my USB key / flash drive?? I bought a 4 gig USB key not long ago, and it cost me $50 so I'd rather not throw it in the bin if I can help it, but recently I did something rather stupid... I'd set a password for the key using the in-built password protection software, and then I went and deleted the password program when it wouldn't run on another computer.

So now of course when I load up the drive it tells me it's only a 10Mb disk (the amount of un-passworded space), and a complete format just results in the same 10Mb.

I've googled and searched on Metafilter (only relevant post I could find was this one which didn't really give an answer) and I'm completely stumped! Does anyone know how I can get my 4 gig of space back, most likely by finding some way to do a complete format of the entire usb key? It doesn't matter if I lose the data as I can replace it from my hard-drive.

A huge thank you in advance for any help you can give!! I'm at my wits end with this one.

Protecting a LaCie desktop hard drive?

The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 14:45:41 -0800

Are there any protective covers or cases available for the LaCie d2 Quadra? The radio program I work for recently lost its original 500 GB LaCie d2 to almost exactly this accident, and now it's being replaced with the same model. I've looked around the web for some sort of protective case that could prevent something like this from happening in the future (unfortunately, keeping it in one place without moving isn't feasible) but I haven't had any luck finding products that would fit. Does anyone make a case that fits a d2 Quadra?

USB Flash Drive Software Protection

dhacker — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:08:50 -0800

My company sells commercial software. We would like to make our solution available on a USB flash drive. I'm looking for manufactures/solutions that can help us solve our problems . . . Ideally, we want to know the following on insertion of the drive into a system
1. Is the USB drive ours? That is, does it have an internal device ID or serial number that we can recognize.
2. Our product is serialized, we need to identify that the USB stick has our license on it along with licensing "options" that tell us Serial Numbers and different ways that the program can operate.

I'm looking for hardware/software solutions that can help make this happen. Any thoughts?

Is Iphone insurance worth it?

austinlee — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:00:42 -0800

Are there are good Iphone insurance policies or discreet cases that would protect from drops? I decided to get an iphone after my current phone stopped working due to rain. It was a Audiovox Smt 5600 and it was a great phone and I'm surprised it worked as long as it did. It managed to survive many drops but I'm nervous the iphone might not be so resilient... So I was wondering if anyone could suggest some sort of insurance for the iphone. I found one from SquareTrade that seemed like a pretty good deal at first. It is only 10% of the purchase price to extend the warranty 3 years. However it is an additional 50 dollars for the Accidental Damage Protection and then another 50 dollars deductible if you have to use it. Do you think that would be worth it? Has anyone dealt with this company? Also, can anyone suggest a protective skin that might save it from a drop? Thanks!

Handgun recommendations for women

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:55:12 -0800

Any recommendations for a concealed-carry handgun to be used by a woman? My significant other is getting a concealed carry permit, but finds that my Beretta 9MM is too big and heavy for her hand. She's aware of all the drawbacks of guns, so she doesn't need to be reminded of them. Please post recommendations as comments on this thread, but I've also got this throwaway account: handgunrecommendations@gmail.com

A prayer to St. Elmo?

zachxman — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:11:58 -0800

Which (American-style) electrical surge protector will most reliably and economically protect my precious computer equipment from unforeseeable disaster? I have become increasingly reliant on my home server, as well as more than a little paranoid that an electrical surge will destroy terabytes. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, I could pick up the shattered pieces of my life (e.g. the disorganized semi-current backups), but how can I minimize the risks so I can leave the house without worrying about unforecasted lightning?

After orienting myself to the mechanics of surge protection, I am fairly confident that I do not need a/n (battery-based) uninterruptable power supply. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rankings give some reassurance that the surge protection will work well under duress, but separating the wheat from the chaff is a little daunting--every guide says something along the lines of "Shopping for a surge protector is tricky business because there are a lot of nearly worthless products on the market."¹

Do any Mefites have recommendations for (or warnings against) particular models? Individual anecdotes welcome, and professional experience enthusiastically encouraged.

In previous surge-protecting entries, there were a few daunting tales, but few outright recommendations, as most focused on cable aesthetics; also, I'd be delighted with individual switches (as requested in this recent-but-somewhat-unresolved question), but the collective googling has yet to turn up an option in the West Atlantic. Am I just left to sort by price and decide how much protection I can afford?

Save my (Apartment's) Carpet!

Alterscape — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 06:27:52 -0800

My new apartment has carpet in a few places I wish it didn't. Help me keep my (potential) mess away from this carpet and save my security deposit. The only place in the apartment where I can store my bike is a walk-in storage closet that's about 15' away from the front door. It's a straight shot from the door through the edge of the living room and part of a hallway to the closet door, but it's all carpeted. Also, the 'breakfast nook' area next to the kitchen is carpeted. In both of these places, I worry that dirt and liquid will stain the carpet, resulting in my owing the landlord a hefty bill for carpet replacement.

The two solutions I've come up with thusfar are area rugs/carpet runners or plastic runners. Area rugs and carpet runners don't seem ideal because while they prevent damage to the original carpet, they're just as hard to clean. Plastic runners may not work because I can't find a good source for low volumes of the stuff -- I can buy a 36"x150' roll for $200 online but I only need about 15'. Also, I worry that my roommate might find it aesthetically objectionable. What I'd really like is some kind of vinyl/linoleum with a hard backing that won't slide around on top of the carpet. I've thought about bonding linoleum scraps to thin masonite (to keep the edges of the linoleum from curling), but I don't have any way to acquire sufficiently long sections of masonite, cut it to width or prevent it from sliding around.

Any ideas what else would protect my floor without destroying my wallet? Brick-and-mortar sources for plastic runner in would also help. I'm willing to be crafty in the interest of aesthetic appeal but my access to tools is severely limited right now.

Are there any DVD copy protection utilities out there?

Apo11o — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:10:32 -0800

Is there a consumer software (preferably free) that copy protects dvds? This goes against much of what I stand for, but is there an application that will convert a home video DVD like a commercial DVD? Something that will still play in consumer DVD players even after encryption? I already make movies in NTSC format, but i sell my movies (I'm somewhat of an amateur movie maker) and I'd love a copy guard. Is there something out there?

Athletic cup question from the mom

jvilter — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 10:53:08 -0800

Does anyone here have experience wearing the Nutty Buddy cup? My son needs one for martial arts and has hated wearing the conventional style ones we've found. The Nutty Buddy sounds like it would be more comfortable, but it's a pretty expensive investment, involving the cup plus compression shorts plus a supporter, so I'm reluctant to buy without some unbiased input.
He was always one of those sensitive kids - you know, socks, tags in shirts, seams etc, so this has been a pretty big obstacle for him, although he's much more tolerant now of being uncomfortable. I can't imagine wearing a big piece of plastic wedged between my legs, so I have sympathy for him, and don't want to tell him to "just get over it", if there is an alternative. On the other hand, if you know of another more comfortable "system" I'd be glad to hear about it. Even if it does not offer as much protection as the NB, anything would be better than what he is wearing now (nothing).

Motorcycle commuting? No sweat.

1f2frfbf — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:23:07 -0800

No sweat motorcycle commuting? I'm enjoying my new era of being a motorcycle commuter, but the weather is about to turn armpit hot here in the Southeastern US and I'm trying to find a way to arrive at work without looking like a sweaty beast. Are mesh motorcycle jackets a realistic alternative to heavier weight jackets? Any recommendations on good models? Any other advice?

Relevant info (maybe): 5 mile commute, urban traffic, max speed ~40mph, I'm a slightly taller than average fellow.

Bogus charges on the Visa

diastematic — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:45:27 -0800

We found an unauthorized charge of about $1,000 on our Visa statement -- from seven months ago (groan). What's our best plan for recovering these funds? Today I was reviewing last year's purchases -- scanning for 2006 deductible items -- when I noticed a charge of more than $1k to a WalMart in Kentucky in August last year. There's no way that's ours.

So you'd think we'd notice such a large charge on our credit card, but we put everything, including frequent business travel, on this credit card each month. We scan the bills each month...and...somehow...this one line item escaped us. (Our monthly bill varies from between $3,000 and $7,000 each month, so the total was no surprise.)

I've done my homework and noticed that Visa expects fraudulent charges to be contested within 60 days or a"reasonable" time period. Obviously we're well outside of that. Before I pick up the phone and call Visa in my feeble attempt to fix this, I'm wondering what you'd recommend as a course of action to recover this money. Thanks.

How do you make sure grandparents stay out of the picture?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:02:25 -0800

How do you make sure grandparents stay out of the picture? I'd like to be a parent someday and of course successfully protect my child from harm. This would mean raising him or her without contact with my family. My greatest fear is someone forcing grandparent/other relative visitation somehow: is this even possible? Looking for opinions, anecdotes, articles, legal precedents, books, websites etc. that deal with this situation... There is a history of child abuse in my family (did you guess already?), but no one has ever reported or pressed charges, so I would not legally be able to prove to legal types what a bad idea any granting of visitation rights would be. I do not plan on pressing any charges in the future, nor would I be able to (statute of limitations). I reside in the same state as the family members; but really I'd like to hear how any state in the US deals with this.

I'd especially like to hear how anyone personally has dealt with phasing abusive family out of their (and their children's) lives, legally and/or emotionally.

So yeah. Heard any horror stories or happy endings featuring bad family vs. good parents?

Printing/Saving Protected PDFs

KRS — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 07:28:33 -0800

Printing/Saving Protected PDFs I want to print and save PDFs that are posted in a form that prevents this. The images have the extension PHP.

The images are of Mozart's manuscripts. Since he died in 1791, any copyright has long since expired, yet the site asserts a spurious copyright.

They don't copy into Word or various graphics programs, either. Other than tediously scraping screen-shots to the clip board, is there any way to print or save these? Does the full Acrobat program do this? Or something else?

Thanks.

Does the death of the landlord void the lease?

jason's_planet — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:45:29 -0800

NYCFilter: If my landlord dies, does that death void my lease? My landlord is an older man. He has some health problems. He's going into the hospital for a procedure next week. His agent who collects the rent was very eager to get my money into his account before his visit to the hospital.

I'm not sure how much of this urgency is just her normal anxiety and paranoia, but it still has me wondering: if my landlord were to die, would that void my lease or can I stay at my apartment and just pay his estate? I live in a co-op building. I pay market rate. I'm not covered by rent control or stabilization. I have been addressing the checks to him personally, not to a real estate company.

My concerns are that, without the protection of the lease, his heirs might try to increase the rent or sell the unit. These aren't huge concerns; I have been a reliable tenant for quite a while and the building isn't in a great location, so units tend not to move very quickly.

He'll probably be OK. But in the event something should happen, I would like to know what my legal position would be.

Many thanks in advance.

Charming road warrior seeks smart and sassy net protection software for fulfilling relationship.

chrominance — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 23:22:17 -0800

Help this desktop power user protect his new laptop from evil internet demons while using public Wifi hotspots. I am utterly thrilled at the prospect of being able to surf the internet in locations other than my home, but there's one glaring problem to which I don't have a comprehensive solution. You see, my desktop Windows system has been fairly well taken of. Up-to-date antivirus and anti-malware packages and the presence of a hardware firewall have kept my system free of viruses, worms and spyware (yes, it is indeed possible!). I'd like to keep my laptop similarly free of such ailments.

Unfortunately, I can't rely on a hardware firewall when I use public hotspots. I may not know or trust the owners of the open hotspots, for one, and even if I do (thank goodness for the volunteer-based Wireless Toronto!) I can't necessarily trust other wireless users on the same hotspot. And I'm not fooling myself; I know a big reason why my desktop continues to have a clean bill of health is because of that hardware firewall, far more so than the antiviral and anti-malware software.

My experience with software firewalls have led me to believe they are clunky and annoying; an earlier AskMe question also indicates they are unreliable at best. So what should I do to protect my vulnerable laptop from the dangers that await it in the outside world? Are there any firewalls that are at least somewhat effective, and what can I do to patch the holes that remain in my security regimen?

(Please, no "get a Mac" snarks, I already weighed the pros and cons when I bought my laptop and I'm quite happy with my decision despite the superiority of the Mac with regards to internet security.)