One person who hopes to have a chance even though he doesn’t have any college experience is freshman Matt Barkley, according to reports. The team started working out on Saturday, and this young quarterback from Orange County has been holding his own with Corp and backup quarterback Mitch Mustain. Barkley graduated early from high school and enrolled at USC for the spring in order to take part in spring practices with the team.

Aaron Corp and Matt Barkley at practice. Image: Newscom

Corp isn’t going down without a fight, though. The starting position is his to lose, and although Barkley may be impressive for a freshman, Corp is taller and is more mobile and consistent. Mustain is a quiet threat too, though. He is a transfer from Arkansas, where he was a freshman starter, and he probably could have started at many other BCS school, so he won’t just sit back and watch as he falls to third string at USC.

Carroll admits that a lot can happen between now and the season opener against San Jose State in four weeks. Who will we see shine for the Trojans this year? My money is on Corp, but it’s really anyone’s game at this point.

Post from: EveryJoe

Who Will QB for the Trojans in 2009?

Outlook 2007 does a good job of letting you know when you receive emails that look suspicious. Here’s a couple of things I immediately look for in a seemingly weird or unexpected email.

1.) Is there an attachment? Anytime I receive an email with an attachment I’m always leery of the file. Even if it’s from someone I know. If I didn’t expect it, I usually don’t ever open it.

2.) Be aware of patterns. Does the "sender" normally contact you by email? Do they ever send you a file via email? In the case of the email above from Microsoft, Microsoft wouldn’t email you a file, they almost exclusively provide files for download from their website specifically.

3.) Look for actual link targets in email. Any links in the body of the message, hover over it and look at the tooltip or status bar to see where the link is really pointing. In my opinion, if it’s to an IP address or an uncommon domain name or top level domain, don’t click the link!

That’s my trio of email triage questions I work through with suspicious emails. They’ve protected me for quite some time. Hopefully they’ll be helpful to you as well.

Image: screenshot of email received in Outlook 2007

Post from: EveryJoe

Paying Attention to Tricky Email Phishing Scams

A recent article in PC Magazine shares the research that Microsoft’s OneCare product finished dead-last in side-by-side comparisons to other anti-virus software.

“We recently learned that AV Comparatives conducted tests on Windows Live OneCare and the service did not pass their testing criteria,” a Microsoft spokesman said. “We are looking closely at the methodology and results of the test to ensure that Windows Live OneCare performs better in future tests. We will also determine whether any learnings from these tests can be used to improve our services as part of our ongoing work to continually enhance Windows Live OneCare to ensure the highest level of protection and service that we can provide our customers.

This hurts me really. I love the integration of OneCare into the rest of the operating system and feel like it’s a no-brainer to use this type of product on your machines. I believe the multi-use agreement allowing you to install it on up to three machines with a single purchase price. I recently purchased it at Best Buy for $49.99.

It’s a great price for protection on three machines, but doesn’t seem like you’re getting much protection according to the study in the article. Given the response above, let’s hope that Microsoft jumps on these issues and starts rolling out some streaming updates as quickly as possible.

Post from: EveryJoe

Microsoft OneCare Far from #1