That’s grab bag, not gas bag.

I attended a cybersecurity conference yesterday in Charlottesville and I have a URL for you: the Center for Internet Security. This site has free downloads that will test your computer’s security. You’ll have to register but the process looks fairly benign.

Probably the spookiest thing I learned yesterday was that organized crime groups are getting money from large corporations by hacking into their networks and then threatening to go public with the news that their security has been compromised and their customers are at risk. Companies that refuse to pay up get their customers’ SSNs and credit-card numbers posted to the web. Those of us with shallower pockets still need to keep our computers secure: the biggest game in town is taking over unprotected computers and using them for denial-of-service attacks and worm-spreading.

In other spooky news, bloggers once again are causing a ruckus. This time it’s about the mysterious bulge spotted on George Bush’s back during the first debate with John Kerry. The White House denies the rumors.

And finally, I got to see Brian Wilson perform in D.C. Sunday night. He and his band did a bunch of great Beach Boys material, but the real highlight was a complete performance of SMiLE. It was overwhelming, even better than I’d hoped. If you’d like more details, see my review on the Steve Hoffman forum.