Spyware Just a False Alarm

Yesterday, I kept thinking about the file, fixcond.bat, that tried to install itself on my pc. I could not figure out how it got through my firewall. After checking it for viruses, I opened the file in a text reader. The batch file contained a command to copy a file, delta.dll, into my Sony Handheld folder. A light bulb went on in my head. I have the Delta Airlines electronic timetable on my pda, and I had just finished hot synching the pda when the Microsoft AntiSpyware alarmed about the attempt to install fixcond.bat. It appears that fixcond.bat is an update for the Delta Airlines conduit to my pda.

USDA National Nutrient Database

I came a across an article in The Wall Street Journal about a nutrition database that the USDA has available for the Palm Operating System. The database contains information on more than 7,800 food items and is more detailed than the nutrition information on food package labels. I had paper inserts for my Filofax that gave calorie information. I had always wanted something similar for my pda. Commercial programs are available, but all came with price tags that turned me away. The USDA database is free. In addition to the Palm version the database can be searched online. Information is located at Nutrient Data Laboratory. The program installation did not go smoothly. The automatic install to my pda failed. I had to go into the Palm Desktop program and select the files to be installed on the pda. After I did that, the database was transferred to the pda. The application has mostly black and white screens, but it does contain a huge amount of information.