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*HOT* Tech News And Downloads, I Would Read This Thread And Post Any Good Info
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xhardc0re
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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2. March 2007 @ 10:37 |
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some excellent posts you made on WiFi security, the RIAA/Fair Use and Windoze Vister. I just updated my sig to post a link to that story on settling with the RIAA. College students don't need to be admitting any wrongdoing to an organization that treats its "customers" like criminals for using their legally bought items the way they want to.
A former RIAA executive once referred to mp3 files as "a file format for piracy". u know what? Screw him!
if you're a college student, do NOT settle with the RIAA http://tinyurl.com/37oz2z
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Writer: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4080N 0G03 SW: DVDDecrypt*r,
lastest Nero Ultra 7 & Alcohol 120% ~ |
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 10:48 |
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Microsoft Vista, IE7 Banned By U.S. DOT
Quote:
Microsoft Vista, IE7 Banned By U.S. DOT
Posted by Zonk on Friday March 02, @02:38PM
from the that-is-a-serious-buzz-harsher dept.
Microsoft Windows Software
An anonymous reader writes "According to a memo being reported on by Information week, the US Department of Transportation has issued a moratorium on upgrading Microsoft products. Concerns over costs and compatability issues has lead the federal agency to prevent upgrades from XP to Vista, as well as to stop users from moving to IE 7 and Office 2007. As the article says,'In a memo to his staff, DOT chief information officer Daniel Mintz says he has placed "an indefinite moratorium" on the upgrades as "there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade."'"
Microsoft Hit By U.S. DOT Ban On Windows Vista, Explorer 7, and Office 2007
Tens of thousands of federal workers are prohibited from upgrading to the latest versions, according to memos seen by InformationWeek.
By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek
March 2, 2007 12:00 PM
Citing concerns over cost and compatibility, the top technology official at the federal Department of Transportation has placed a moratorium on all in-house computer upgrades to Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system, as well as Internet Explorer 7 and Office 2007, according to a memo obtained Friday by InformationWeek.
In a memo to his staff, the DOT's CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed "an indefinite moratorium" on the upgrades as "there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade."
Among the concerns cited by Mintz are compatibility with software applications currently in use at the department, the cost of an upgrade, and DOT's move to a new headquarters in Washington later this year. "Microsoft Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer [7] may be acquired for testing purposes only, though only on approval by the DOT chief information officer," Mintz writes.
The memo is dated Jan. 19. In an interview Friday, DOT chief technology officer Tim Schmidt confirmed that the ban is still in effect. "We're analyzing different client software options and also integration issues," says Schmidt. Among the options the Transportation Department is weighing as a possible alternative or complement to Windows Vista are Novell's Suse Linux and, for a limited group of users, Apple's Macintosh hardware and software, he says.
Schmidt says the Transportation Department hasn't ruled out upgrading its computers to Windows Vista if all of its concerns about the new operating system -- the business version of which was launched late last year -- can be resolved. "We have more confidence in Microsoft than we would have 10 years ago," says Schmidt. "But it always makes sense to look at the security implications, the value back to the customer, and those kind of issues."
The DOT's ban on Vista, Internet Explorer 7, and Office 2007 applies to 15,000 computer users at DOT proper who are currently running the Windows XP Professional operating system. The memo indicates that a similar ban is in effect at the Federal Aviation Administration, which has 45,000 desktop users.
Compatibility with existing applications appears to be the Transportation Department's major concern. According to a separate memo, a number of key software applications and utilities in use in various branches of the department aren't Vista compatible. Among them are Aspen 2.8.1, ISS 2.11, ProVu 3.1.1, and Capri 6.5, according to a memo issued by staffers at the DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Any prolonged ban on new Microsoft technologies by the federal government could have a significant impact on the software maker's bottom line, as Microsoft sells millions of dollars in software to the feds annually.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/show...cleID=197700789
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 10:52 |
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Quote:
Security Software Costs More to Renew Than Buy New
Posted by Zonk on Friday March 02, @01:21PM
from the helping-the-consumer-choose dept.
Security The Almighty Buck Software
Matt Whipp writes " In a story I wrote for PCPro, I explore a tip submitted by one of our readers. They pointed out how much more it costs to renew security software, rather than buying it new. In fact it cost less than half the price to buy it new than it does to renew the license because of heavy discounting. He feels a bit cross that, as a loyal customer, he is the one penalized. From the article: 'ZoneAlarm may have tripped up on this discount issue, but it's not alone. It highlights just how cynical companies can be in relying on customers' assumptions that a renewal should be cheaper than buying new. McAfee's Internet Security Suite costs just £24.99 with the current 50 per cent discount. However, should you be fool enough to already be a customer of McAfee, you'll have to pay £39.99 to renew your licence.'"
Antivirus firms charge loyal customers more 5:31PM, Friday 2nd March 2007
The mortgage industry has woken up to the fact that its customers get a little irate when they see fabulous introductory rates offered to new customers while they are left to plod along feeling uncared for.
It seems this ailment has afflicted the antivirus industry as well.
We were contacted by a reader, Bob Brough, who pointed out that renewing his copy of ZoneAlarm Internet Suite 2007 was more expensive than buying a new version.
And when he questioned the company over the logic of the pricing, he was told: 'The current 3 user license is discounted due to a promotion. Promotion pricing does not apply to renewals.'
ZoneAlarm apologised for the inconvenience and hoped that the issue had been resolved. But the inconvenience remained that renewals were £15 more expensive at £64.95.
'Needless to say I will be buying a 'new' download and not renewing. Bonkers eh?,' wrote our reader.
Even more bonkers, however, is that instead of downloading a new version from Zone, you
ADVERTISEMENT
can get the boxed product shipped free of charge (under Super Saver conditions) from Amazon for half that price: £24.97. And less than half the price of the renewal.
ZoneAlarm may have tripped up on this discount issue, but it's not alone. It highlights just how cynical companies can be in relying on customers' assumptions that a renewal should be cheaper than buying new.
McAfee's Internet Security Suite costs just £24.99 with the current 50 per cent discount. However, should you be fool enough to already be a customer of McAfee, you'll have to pay £39.99 to renew your licence.
To renew Symantec's Norton Internet Security 2007 costs £10 less than buying new, but to upgrade to Norton 360 costs £54.99, just £5 less than buying it new. Aside from the website authentication technologies and online backup, there's not much more you're getting, especially once you have downloaded the Add-on pack for Internet Security 2007. So while Symantec shouldn't be lumped together with McAfee and ZoneAlarm, it's definitely not worth upgrading to Norton 360 until your Internet Security 2007 licence is due for renewal.
ZoneAlarm had not returned our request for comment by the time of publishing.
Matt Whipp
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/106448
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 10:58 |
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Quote:
Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) 8.1.0178
Mar 02, 2007 - 7:53 AM - by Digital Dave
Updated for the masses.
Ta da! It?s the next-generation MSN Messenger. Along with everything you already love about Messenger?your contact list, emoticons, instant access to your friends?there are brilliant new ways to connect and share your photos (and other stuff). As always, Windows Live Messenger is free to download Messenger and use most of its features.
majorgeeks.com
Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger) 8.1.0178
Author: Microsoft Corporation
Date: 2007-03-02
Size: 17.6 Mb
License: Adware
Requires: Win All
Ta da! It?s the next-generation MSN Messenger. Along with everything you already love about Messenger?your contact list, emoticons, instant access to your friends?there are brilliant new ways to connect and share your photos (and other stuff). As always, Windows Live Messenger is free to download Messenger and use most of its features.
Call their phones. Call their PCs.
Call your friends' mobile or landline phones. It's affordable, both within the US and internationally. And calling someone's PC is always free.
See them on the screen
Show and tell: Grab a webcam and start a video conversation within minutes.
Share stuff
Set up a Sharing Folder with a friend. Drop in photos and other stuff, as many as your computer can handle. See your Sharing Folder even when one of you is offline.
Now: Talk to your Yahoo! friends, too
The world's largest IM network has just gotten bigger?and better. With Windows Live Messenger you can now connect with your Yahoo! IM contacts. Forget about using multiple accounts to talk to your friends?IM them all with Windows Live Messenger.
DOWNLOAD HERE
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Windows_Live_M...ger__d4258.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 11:03 |
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Quote:
New computer virus threatens biz nets
virus A disgruntled hacker with a personal grudge against Symantec, which provides anti virus software to leading Fortune 500 companies, could be behind a new, crippling computer virus that's already hit a division of at least one big U.S. corporation on Thursday.
If it spreads, technology experts warn the latest strains of the insidious RINBOT computer virus could hijack network systems of businesses worldwide. New computer virus attacks business networks - Mar. 1, 2007 Linked by shanmuga Thursday, 1st March 2007 11:59PM
New computer virus threatens biz nets
Technology security firm warns the latest strains of the RINBOT or DELBOT virus are starting to multiply rapidly.
By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com staff writer
March 1 2007: 12:25 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A disgruntled hacker with a personal grudge against Symantec, which provides anti-virus software to leading Fortune 500 companies, could be behind a new, crippling computer virus that's already hit a division of at least one big U.S. corporation on Thursday.
If it spreads, technology experts warn the latest strains of the insidious RINBOT computer virus could hijack network systems of businesses worldwide.
New strains
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant with Boston-based IT security firm Sophos, said his company has been aware of "a number" of new versions of the RINBOT or DELBOT virus produced since Feb. 15.
"We believe this latest strain is the 7th version of RINBOT which first emerged in March 2005," Cluley said.
According to Cluley, this version is designed to exploit security vulnerabilities embedded in anti-virus software.
"Traditionally hackers always went after Microsoft's anti-virus programs. But now they're increasingly targeting other commonly used programs such as Symantec programs and others," he said.
Cluley said this strain appears to be hitting MS SQL servers. It looks for networks that run the Microsoft (Charts) Windows operating system, including Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT and Windows XP. It then spreads through the network by manipulating "weak" spots such as simple passwords.
Getting hijacked
Once it's in, Cluley said the virus quickly spreads and takes over many computers with the intention of turning the network into a botnet, or a "zombie" network.
"Without you knowing it, hackers will use your computer for a variety of purposes like sending out spam, or distributing denial of service attacks, or even blackmailing other Web sites. There was a case where hackers blackmailed a gambling site and said they would bring down the site for a few days unless they were paid thousands of dollars" Cluley said.
Cluley warned that the virus is not geographically limited. "It's very stealthy and insidious and works without you knowing it," he said.
Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner (Charts) and parent of CNN and CNNMoney.com, confirmed that its systems were hit by a virus Thursday.
"A virus has affected the network and we are actively working to rectify the situation," said company spokeswoman Shirley Powell.
Thomas Parsons, an IT specialist with Symantec (Charts), confirmed to CNNMoney.com that the most recent variants of RINBOT have targeted Symantec's anti-virus programs.
"We're not sure what the motivation is, but we are aware of a hacker that has been adding his own commands into the strain," Parsons said. Using those codes, Parsons said the hacker let it be known that he wasn't happy that Symantec was calling the virus RINBOT. Top of page
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/01/news/com...oney_technology
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 11:09 |
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Quote:
The 25 Most Common Mistakes in Email Security
email I still remember receiving my first phishing email in my AOL account. I had won the AOL lottery! As good as it sounded, I was skeptical at best. So without much thought, I opened the email and clicked on the link inside to check if I truly was a millionaire after all. Almost instantly, my computer crashed, and with each subsequent restart would crash again.
Countless computer crashes and thousands of spam emails later, I had learned the lesson that just opening spam email can bring harm to my computer. Unfortunately there are a whole host of traps and errors that catch new email users just because "they didn't know any better".
In this article we focus on 25 of the most common and easy to fix mistakes that people make when it comes to email security. We've designed this article with the new internet user in mind, so if you're an email expert, you may want to pass this along to your novice friends.
The 25 Most Common Mistakes in Email Security Linked by shanmuga Thursday, 1st March 2007 11:54PM
The 25 Most Common Mistakes in Email Security
I still remember receiving my first phishing email in my AOL account. I had won the AOL lottery! As good as it sounded, I was skeptical at best. So without much thought, I opened the email and clicked on the link inside to check if I truly was a millionaire after all. Almost instantly, my computer crashed, and with each subsequent restart would crash again.
Countless computer crashes and thousands of spam emails later, I had learned the lesson that just opening spam email can bring harm to my computer. Unfortunately there are a whole host of traps and errors that catch new email users just because "they didn't know any better".
In this article we focus on 25 of the most common and easy to fix mistakes that people make when it comes to email security. We've designed this article with the new internet user in mind, so if you're an email expert, you may want to pass this along to your novice friends.
Properly managing your email accounts
1. Using just one email account.
Individuals new to email often think about their email account like they do their home address, you only have one home address, so you should only have one email. Instead, you should think about your email address like you do your keys, while it may be okay to use the same key for your front and your back door, having a single key open everything is both impractical and unsafe.
A good rule of thumb for the average email user is to keep a minimum of three email accounts. Your work account should be used exclusively for work-related conversations. Your second email account should be used for personal conversations and contacts, and your third email account should be used as a general catch-all for all hazardous behavior. That means that you should always sign up for newsletters and contests only through your third email account. Similarly, if you have to post your email account online, such as for your personal blog, you should only use your third email account (and post a web friendly form of it at that).
While your first and second email accounts can be paid or freebie, your third 'catch-all' account should always be a freebie account such as those offered by Gmail or Yahoo!. You should plan on having to dump and change out this account every six months, as the catch-all account will eventually become spammed when a newsletter manager decides to sell your name or a spammer steals your email address off a website.
2. Holding onto spammed-out accounts too long.
It is simply a fact of life that email accounts will accumulate spam over time. This is especially true of the account you use to sign up for newsletters and that you post online (which as stated above should not be your main email account). When this happens, it is best to simply dump the email account and start afresh. Unfortunately, however, many new email users get very attached to their email accounts and instead just wade through dozens of pieces of spam every day. To avoid the problem, prepare yourself mentally ahead of time for the idea that you will have to dump your 'catch all' account every six months.
3. Not closing the browser after logging out.
When you are checking your email at a library or cybercafé you not only need to log out of your email when you are done, but you also need to make sure to close the browser window completely. Some email services display your username (but not your password) even after you have logged out. While the service does this for your convenience, it compromises your email security.
4. Forgetting to delete browser cache, history, and passwords.
After using a public terminal, it is important that you remember to delete the browser cache, history, and passwords. Most browsers automatically keep track of all the web pages that you have visited, and some keep track of any passwords and personal information that you enter in order to help you fill out similar forms in the future.
If this information falls into the wrong hands, it can lead to identity theft and stolen bank and email information. Because the stakes are so high, it is important that new internet users be aware of how to clear a public computers browser cache so that they can delete private information before lurking hackers can get a hold of it.
For those of you using Mozilla's Firefox, simply press Ctrl+Shift+Del. Opera users need go to Tools>>Delete Private Data. And users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer need to go to Tools>>Internet Options then click the 'Clear History', 'Delete Cookies', and 'Delete Files' buttons.
5. Using unsecure email accounts to send and receive sensitive corporate information.
Large corporations invest huge amounts of money to ensure that their computer networks and email remain secure. Despite their efforts, careless employees using personal email accounts to conduct company business and pass along sensitive data can undermine the security measures in place. So make sure that you don't risk your company's security, and your job, by transmitting sensitive company data via your own personal computer or email address.
6. Forgetting the telephone option
One of the most important lessons about email security is that no matter how many steps you take to secure your email, it will never be foolproof. This is never truer than when using a public computer. So unless you need a written record of something or are communicating across the globe, consider whether a simple phone call rather than an email is a better option. While a phone conversation may require a few extra minutes, when compared with accessing email through a public computer, a phone call is a far more secure option and it does not leave a paper trail.
Emailing the right people
7. Not using the Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) option.
When you put a person's email addresses in the BCC: rather than the CC: window, none of the recipients can see the addresses of the other email recipients.
New email users often rely too much on the TO: because it is the default way of sending emails. That is fine as long as you are writing to just one person or a few family members. But if you are sending mail out to a diverse group of people, confusing BCC: and CC: raises some serious privacy and security concerns. It takes just one spammer to get a hold of the email and immediately everyone on your email list gets spammed.
Even if the honesty of the group isn't in question, many email programs are setup to automatically add to the address books any incoming email addresses. That means that some people in the group will inadvertently have added the entire list to their address book, and as a result, if one of their computers is infected with "Zombie" malware and silently sends out spam emails, you will have just caused the entire list to get spammed.
8. Being trigger happy with the "Reply All" button.
Sometimes the mistake isn't in deciding between CC: and BCC: but between hitting Reply All instead of Reply. When you hit Reply All, your email message is sent to everyone included on the original email, and if you didn't intend to include them, the information can be disastrous from both a security and personal humiliation perspective:
Example 1: "A very successful salesman at our networking company had a large email address book filled with his best customers, including some very important and conservative government contacts. With a single click, he accidentally sent a file chock-full of his favorite pornographic cartoons and jokes to everyone on his special customer list. His subject line: 'Special deals for my best customers!' Needless to say, he's cutting deals for another company these days."
Example 2: "A woman was in torment over a busted romance. She wrote a lengthy, detailed message to a girlfriend, adding that her ex-boyfriend preferred men to women. But instead of hitting Reply to a previous message from her girlfriend, she hit Reply All. Her secret was sent to dozens of people she didn't even know (including me), plus the aforementioned ex and his new boyfriend. As if that weren't bad enough, she did this two more times in quick succession!
9. Spamming as a result of forwarding email.
Forwarding emails can be a great way to quickly bring someone up to speed on a subject without having to write up a summary email, but if you aren't careful, forwarding emails can create a significant security threat for yourself and the earlier recipients of the email. As an email is forwarded, the recipients of the mail (until that point in time) are automatically listed in the body of the email. As the chain keeps moving forward, more and more recipient ids are placed on the list.
Unfortunately, if a spammer or someone just looking to make a quick buck gets a hold of the email, they can then sell the entire list of email ids and then everyone will start to get spammed. It only takes a few seconds to delete all the previous recipient ids before forwarding a piece of mail, and it can avoid the terrible situation of you being the cause of all your friends or coworkers getting spammed.
Making backups and keeping records
10. Failing to back up emails.
Emails are not just for idle chatting, but can also be used to make legally binding contracts, major financial decisions, and conduct professional meetings. Just as you would keep a hard copy of other important business and personal documents, it is important that you regularly back up your email to preserve a record if your email client crashes and loses data (It happened to Gmail as recently as December 2006).
Thankfully, most email providers make it rather simple to backup your email by allowing you to export emails to a particular folder and then just creating a copy of the folder and storing it onto a writeable CD, DVD, removable disk, or any other type of media. If that simple exporting process sounds too complicated, you can just buy automated backup software that will take care of the whole thing for you. Whether you purchase the software or decide to backup manually, it is important that you make and follow a regular backup schedule, as this is the sort of thing that new email users tend to just put off. The frequency of backups necessary for you will of course depend on your email usage, but under no circumstances should it be done less frequently than every 3 months.
11. Mobile access: Presuming a backup exists.
Mobile email access, such as through Blackberry, has revolutionized the way we think about email; no longer is it tied to a PC, but rather it can be checked on-the-go anywhere. Most new Blackberry users simply assume that a copy of the emails they check and delete off the Blackberry will still be available on their home or office computer.
It is important to keep in mind, however, that some email servers and client software download emails to the Blackberry device and then delete them from the server. Thus, for some mobile email access devices, if you delete it from the device, you have deleted it from your Inbox.
Just be aware of the default settings of your email client and make sure that if you want a copy of the email retained, you have adjusted the email client's settings to make it happen. And preferably make sure of this before you decide to delete that important email.
12. Thinking that an erased email is gone forever.
We've all sent an embarrassing or unfortunate email and sighed relief when it was finally deleted, thinking the whole episode was behind us. Think again. Just because you delete an email message from your inbox and the sender deletes it from their 'Sent' inbox, does not mean that the email is lost forever. In fact, messages that are deleted often still exist in backup folders on remote servers for years, and can be retrieved by skilled professionals.
So start to think of what you write in an email as a permanent document. Be careful about what you put into writing, because it can come back to haunt you many years after you assumed it was gone forever.
Avoiding fraudulent email
13. Believing you won the lottery ? and other scam titles.
Spammers use a wide variety of clever titles to get you to open emails which they fill with all sorts of bad things. New email users often make the mistake of opening these emails. So in an effort to bring you up to speed, let me tell you quickly:
* You have not won the Irish Lotto, the Yahoo Lottery, or any other big cash prize.
* There is no actual Nigerian King or Prince trying to send you $10 million.
* Your Bank Account Details do not need to be reconfirmed immediately.
* You do not have an unclaimed inheritance.
* You never actually sent that "Returned Mail".
* The News Headline email is not just someone informing you about the daily news.
* You have not won an Ipod Nano.
14. Not recognizing phishing attacks in email content.
While never opening a phishing email is the best way to secure your computer, even the most experienced email user will occasionally accidentally open up a phishing email. At this point, the key to limiting your damage is recognizing the phishing email for what it is.
Phishing is a type of online fraud wherein the sender of the email tries to trick you into giving out personal passwords or banking information. The sender will typically steal the logo from a well-known bank or PayPal and try to format the email to look like it comes from the bank. Usually the phishing email asks for you to click on a link in order to confirm your banking information or password, but it may just ask you to reply to the email with your personal information.
Whatever form the phishing attempt takes, the goal is to fool you into entering your information into something which appears to be safe and secure, but in fact is just a dummy site set up by the scammer. If you provide the phisher with personal information, he will use that information to try to steal your identity and your money.
Signs of phishing include:
* A logo that looks distorted or stretched.
* Email that refers to you as "Dear Customer" or "Dear User" rather than including your actual name.
* Email that warns you that an account of yours will be shut down unless you reconfirm your billing information immediately.
* An email threatening legal action.
* Email which comes from an account similar, but different from, the one the company usually uses.
* An email that claims 'Security Compromises' or 'Security Threats' and requires immediate action.
If you suspect that an email is a phishing attempt, the best defense is to never open the email in the first place. But assuming you have already opened it, do not reply or click on the link in the email. If you want to verify the message, manually type in the URL of the company into your browser instead of clicking on the embedded link.
15. Sending personal and financial information via email.
Banks and online stores provide, almost without exception, a secured section on their website where you can input your personal and financial information. They do this precisely because email, no matter how well protected, is more easily hacked than well secured sites. Consequently, you should avoid writing to your bank via email and consider any online store that requests that you send them private information via email suspect.
This same rule of avoiding placing financial information in emails to online businesses also holds true for personal emails. If, for example, you need to give your credit card information to your college student child, it is far more secure to do so over the phone than via email.
16. Unsubscribing to newsletters you never subscribed to.
A common technique used by spammers is to send out thousands of fake newsletters from organizations with an "unsubscribe" link on the bottom of the newsletter. Email users who then enter their email into the supposed "unsubscribe" list are then sent loads of spam. So if you don't specifically remember subscribing to the newsletter, you are better off just blacklisting the email address, rather than following the link and possibly picking up a trojan horse or unknowingly signing yourself up for yet more spam.
Avoiding malware
17. Trusting your friends email.
Most new internet users are very careful when it comes to emails from senders they don't recognize. But when a friend sends an email, all caution goes out the window as they just assume it is safe because they know that the sender wouldn't intend to hurt them. The truth is, an email from a friend's ID is just as likely to contain a virus or malware as a stranger's. The reason is that most malware is circulated by people who have no idea they are sending it, because hackers are using their computer as a zombie.
It is important to maintain and keep updated email scanning and Anti-virus software, and to use it to scan ALL incoming emails.
18. Deleting spam instead of blacklisting it.
An email blacklist is a user created list of email accounts that are labeled as spammers. When you 'blacklist' an email sender, you tell your email client to stop trusting emails from this particular sender and to start assuming that they are spam.
Unfortunately, new internet users are often timid to use the blacklist feature on their email client, and instead just delete spam emails. While not every piece of spam is from repeat senders, a surprising amount of it is. So by training yourself to hit the blacklist button instead of the delete button when confronted with spam, you can, in the course of a few months, drastically limit the amount of spam that reaches your Inbox.
19. Disabling the email spam filter.
New email users typically do not start out with a lot of spam in their email account and thus do not value the help that an email spam filter can provide at the beginning of their email usage. Because no spam filter is perfect, initially the hassle of having to look through one's spam box looking for wrongly blocked emails leads many new email users to instead just disable their email spam filter altogether.
However, as an email account gets older it tends to pick up more spam, and without the spam filter an email account can quickly become unwieldy. So instead of disabling their filter early on, new internet users should take the time to whitelist emails from friends that get caught up in the spam filter. Then, when the levels of spam start to pick up, the email account will remain useful and fewer and fewer friends will get caught up in the filter.
20. Failing to scan all email attachments.
Nine out of every ten viruses that infect a computer reach it through an email attachment. Yet despite this ratio, many people still do not scan all incoming email attachments. Maybe it is our experience with snail mail, but often when we see an email with an attachment from someone we know, we just assume that the mail and its attachment are safe. Of course that assumption is wrong, as most email viruses are sent by 'Zombies' which have infected a computer and caused it to send out viruses without the owner even knowing.
What makes this oversight even more scandalous is the fact that a number of free email clients provide an email attachment scanner built-in. For example, if you use Gmail or Yahoo! for your email, every email and attachment you send or receive is automatically scanned. So if you do not want to invest in a third-party scanner and your email provider does not provide attachment scanning built-in, you should access your attachments through an email provider that offers free virus scanning by first forwarding your attachments to that account before opening them.
Keeping hackers at bay
21. Sharing your account information with others.
We've all done it ? we need an urgent mail checked, and we call up our spouse or friend and request them to check our email on our behalf. Of course, we trust these people, but once the password is known to anybody other than you, your account is no longer as secure as it was.
The real problem is that your friend might not use the same security measures that you do. Your friend might be accessing his email through an unsecured wireless account, he may not keep his anti-virus software up to date, or he might be infected with a keylogger virus that automatically steals your password once he enters it. So ensure that you are the only person that knows your personal access information, and if you write it down, make sure to do so in a way that outsiders won't be able to understand easily what they are looking at if they happen to find your records.
22. Using simple and easy-to-guess passwords.
Hackers use computer programs that scroll through common names to compile possible user names, and then send spam emails to those usernames. When you open that spam email, a little hidden piece of code in the email sends a message back to the hacker letting him know that the account is valid, at which point they turn to the task of trying to guess your password.
Hackers often create programs which cycle through common English words and number combinations in order to try to guess a password. As a consequence, passwords that consist of a single word, a name, or a date are frequently "guessed" by hackers. So when creating a password use uncommon number and letter combinations which do not form a word found in a dictionary. A strong password should have a minimum of eight characters, be as meaningless as possible, as well as use both upper and lowercase letters. Creating a tough password means that the hacker's computer program will have to scroll through tens of thousands of options before guessing your password, and in that time most hackers simply give up.
23. Failing to encrypt your important emails.
No matter how many steps you take to minimize the chance that your email is being monitored by hackers, you should always assume that someone else is watching whatever comes in and out of your computer. Given this assumption, it is important to encrypt your emails to make sure that if someone is monitoring your account, at least they can't understand what you're saying.
While there are some top-of-the-line email encryption services for those with a big budget, if you are new to email and just want a simple and cheap but effective solution, you can follow these step-by-step 20 minute instructions to install PGP, the most common email encryption standard. Encrypting all your email may be unrealistic, but some mail is too sensitive to send in the clear, and for those emails, PGP is an important email security step.
24. Not encrypting your wireless connection.
While encrypting your important emails makes it hard for hackers who have access to your email to understand what they say, it is even better to keep hackers from getting access to your emails in the first place.
One of the most vulnerable points in an emails trip from you to the email recipient is the point between your laptop and the wireless router that you use to connect to the internet. Consequently, it is important that you encrypt your wi-fi network with the WPA2 encryption standard. The upgrade process is relatively simple and straightforward, even for the newest internet user, and the fifteen minutes it takes are well worth the step up in email security.
25. Failing to use digital signatures.
The law now recognizes email as an important form of communication for major undertakings such as signing a contract or entering into a financial agreement. While the ability to enter into these contracts online has made all of our lives easier, it has also created the added concern of someone forging your emails and entering into agreements on your behalf without your consent.
One way to combat email forgery is to use a digital signature whenever you sign an important email. A digital signature will help prove who and from what computer an email comes from, and that the email has not been altered in transit. By establishing the habit of using an email signature whenever you sign important emails, you will not only make it harder for the other party to those agreements to try to modify the email when they want to get out of it, but it will also give you extra credibility when someone tries to claim that you have agreed to a contract via email that you never did.
For a quick primer on digital signatures, you can read YoudZone and Wikipedia's articles on the subject.
This article is intended to provide you with the basic information you need to avoid many of the email security pitfalls that frequently trip up new email users. While no single article can cover even the basics of email security, avoiding the 25 common mistakes listed in this article will make a dramatic difference in improving the safety and security of your computer, your personal information, and your emails.
http://www.itsecurity.com/features/25-co...istakes-022807/
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2. March 2007 @ 13:50 |
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Quote:
Disk Drive Failures 15 Times What Vendors Say
Posted by Zonk on Friday March 02, @04:15PM
from the cough-sputter-wheeze-choke dept.
Data Storage Hardware
jcatcw writes "A Carnegie Mellon University study indicates that customers are replacing disk drives more frequently than vendor estimates of mean time to failure (MTTF) would require.. The study examined large production systems, including high-performance computing sites and Internet services sites running SCSI, FC and SATA drives. The data sheets for the drives indicated MTTF between 1 and 1.5 million hours. That should mean annual failure rates of 0.88%, annual replacement rates were between 2% and 4%. The study also shows no evidence that Fibre Channel drives are any more reliable than SATA drives."
Disk drive failures 15 times what vendors say, study says
Drive vendors declined to be interviewed
Robert L. Scheier
March 02, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Customers are replacing disk drives at rates far higher than those suggested by the estimated mean time to failure (MTTF) supplied by drive vendors, according to a study of about 100,000 drives conducted by Carnegie Mellon University.
The study, presented last month at the 5th USENIX Conference on File and Storage Technologies in San Jose, also shows no evidence that Fibre Channel (FC) drives are any more reliable than less expensive but slower performing Serial ATA (SATA) drives.
That surprising comparison of FC and SATA reliability could speed the trend away from FC to SATA drives for applications such as near-line storage and backup, where storage capacity and cost are more important than sheer performance, analysts said.
At the same conference, another study of more than 100,000 drives in data centers run by Google Inc. indicated that temperature seems to have little effect on drive reliability, even as vendors and customers struggle to keep temperature down in their tightly packed data centers. Together, the results show how little information customers have to predict the reliability of disk drives in actual operating conditions and how to choose among various drive types (see also "Hard data ").
Real world vs. data sheets
The Carnegie Mellon study examined large production systems, including high-performance computing sites and Internet services sites running SCSI, FC and SATA drives. The data sheets for those drives listed MTTF between 1 million to 1.5 million hours, which the study said should mean annual failure rates "of at most 0.88%." However, the study showed typical annual replacement rates of between 2% and 4%, "and up to 13% observed on some systems."
Garth Gibson, associate professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon and co-author of the study, was careful to point out that the study didn't necessarily track actual drive failures, but cases in which a customer decided a drive had failed and needed replacement. He also said he has no vendor-specific failure information, and that his goal is not "choosing the best and the worst vendors" but to help them to improve drive design and testing.
He echoed storage vendors and analysts in pointing out that as many as half of the drives returned to vendors actually work fine and may have failed for any reason, such as a harsh environment at the customer site and intensive, random read/write operations that cause premature wear to the mechanical components in the drive.
Several drive vendors declined to be interviewed. "The conditions that surround true drive failures are complicated and require a detailed failure analysis to determine what the failure mechanisms were," said a spokesperson for Seagate Technology in Scotts Valley, Calif., in an e-mail. "It is important to not only understand the kind of drive being used, but the system or environment in which it was placed and its workload."
"Regarding various reliability rate questions, it's difficult to provide generalities," said a spokesperson for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies in San Jose, in an e-mail. "We work with each of our customers on an individual basis within their specific environments, and the resulting data is confidential."
Ashish Nadkarni, a principal consultant at GlassHouse Technologies Inc., a storage services provider in Framingham, Mass., said he isn't surprised by the comparatively high replacement rates because of the difference between the "clean room" environment in which vendors test and the heat, dust, noise or vibrations in an actual data center.
He also said he has seen overall drive quality falling over time as the result of price competition in the industry. He urged customers to begin tracking disk drive records "and to make a big noise with the vendor" to force them to review their testing processes.
FC vs. SATA
While a general reputation for increased reliability (as well as higher performance) is one of the reasons FC drives cost as much as four times more per gigabyte than SATA, "We had no evidence that SATA drives are less reliable than the SCSI or Fibre Channel drives," said Gibson. "I am not suggesting the drive vendors misrepresented anything," he said, adding that other variables such as workloads or environmental conditions might account for the similar reliability finding.
Analyst Brian Garrett at the Enterprise Storage Group in Milford, Mass., said he's not surprised because "the things that can go wrong with a drive are mechanical -- moving parts, motors, spindles, read-write heads," and these components are usually the same whether they are used in a SCSI or SATA drive. The electronic circuits around the drive and the physical interface are different, but are much less prone to failure.
Vendors do perform higher levels of testing on FC than on SATA drives, he said, but according to the study that extra testing hasn't produced "a measurable difference" in reliability.
Such findings might spur some customers to, for example, buy more SATA drives to provide more backup or more parity drives in a RAID configuration to get the same level of data protection for a lower price. However, Garrett cautioned, SATA continues to be best suited for applications such as backup and archiving of fixed content (such as e-mail or medical imaging) that must be stored for long periods of time but accessed quickly when it is needed. FC will remain the "gold standard" for online applications such as transaction processing, he predicts.
Don't sweat the heat?
The Google study examined replacement rates of more than 100,000 serial and parallel ATA drives deployed in Google's own data centers. Similar to the CMU methodology, a drive was considered to have failed if it was replaced as part of a repair procedure (rather than as being upgraded to a larger drive).
Perhaps the most surprising finding was no strong correlation between higher operating temperatures and higher failure rates. "That doesn't mean there isn't one," said Luiz Barroso, an engineer at Google and co-author of the paper, but it does suggest "that temperature is only one of many factors affecting the disk lifetime."
Garrett said that rapid changes in temperature -- such as when a malfunctioning air conditioner is fixed after a hot weekend and rapidly cools the data center -- can also cause drive failures.
The Google study also found that no single parameter, or combination of parameters, produced by the SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) built into disk drives is actually a good predictor of drive failure.
The bottom line
For customers running anything smaller than the massive data centers operated by Google or a university data center, though, the results might make little difference in their day-to-day operations. For many customers, the price of replacement drives is built into their maintenance contracts, so their expected service life only becomes an issue when the equipment goes off warranty and the customer must decide whether to "try to eke out another year or two" before the drive fails, said Garrett.
The studies won't change how Tom Dugan, director of technical services at Recovery Networks, a Philadelphia-based business continuity services provider, protects his data. "If they told me it was 100,000 hours, I'd still protect it the same way. If they told me if was 5 million hours I'd still protect it the same way. I have to assume every drive could fail."
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?...110259&from=rss
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 15:13 |
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Great Graphics for Free
These four free programs can help you wrangle your digital media.
Preston Gralla
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 01:00 AM PST
Preston Gralla is filling in for Laura Blackwell, who is on maternity leave.
Got plenty of photos and other media on your PC? Then you know that the graphics tools built into Windows won't exactly knock your socks off. And looking at the price tags on some add-in photo and media programs might send you into sticker shock.
But you don't need to pay a bundle for solid media tools--in fact, you don't need to spend a penny. We've rounded up four freebies that do a great job of helping you master your media.
StudioLine PhotoBasic
http://www.studioline.biz/EN/downloads/photo-basic/default.htm
Click for enlarged image.
Don't be fooled by StudioLine Photo Basic's name: This image managing and editing program is anything but basic. It's a kind of jack-of-all-trades for handling digital photographs.
The program bills itself as a photo archiving tool, and while it does a good job of that, it does a lot more. It has all the archiving tools you'd expect; you can use it to browse and reorganize your photo and image collection, including organizing your photos into albums.
A particularly useful feature is its ability to create what it calls "Web galleries." These are HTML-coded Web pages, complete with navigation links to your photos, that you can publish on your own Web page, or to a CD or DVD. And there are plenty of other archiving tools as well.
The program also includes a surprisingly robust set of editing tools. You'll find the common standbys for red-eye removal, cropping and rotating, changing the color balance, hue, saturation, and tone, and so on. But there are surprisingly sophisticated ones as well, such as a very useful "Despeckle" tool that removes speckles and spots from old photographs. You can also add a wide variety of special effects, including embossing and adding sepia tones.
In fact, there's so much packed into this program that your greatest problem will be finding it all: The interface is not the most intuitive. Still, this is a surprisingly powerful program that just may be the only photo management and editing tool you'll need.
Microsoft Photo Info
http://www.studioline.biz/EN/downloads/photo-basic/default.htm
Click for enlarged image.
One of digital photography's many benefits is that it enables you to embed metadata into each digital photograph--information such as the time and date the picture was taken, the camera model number, the exposure time, the ISO speed, keywords, a category, and a description.
Unfortunately all that metadata is difficult to attach to the photo. By default, most cameras embed only very basic metadata, such as camera model number, exposure time, and ISO speed. There's no easy way to include more-descriptive information such as category, keywords, and the location where the photo was taken.
Microsoft Photo Info fills this need--and it integrates directly into Windows Explorer. Right-click any photo, choose Photo Info from the resulting context menu, and you'll see a preview of the photo, along with multiple tabs for inputting metadata. Simply type in the data, click OK, and you're done. Many applications, including Windows Search (you can search by metadata) and photo organizers such as Media Purveyor 3 (see below), can use the metadata to help you find, sort, and organize your photos.
FastStone MaxView
http://www.faststone.org/
Click for enlarged image.
Sometimes you don't want a graphics or photo program with lots of fancy-pants extras; you just want to view a file quickly. For those times, try FastStone MaxView. This small viewer loads quickly and can handle 19 different graphics file types, including .jpg, .gif, .png, .pcx, and .tif.
Though it's small and fast, MaxView does more than just let you view and print files. Its panoply of photo manipulation tools includes software for rotating, flipping, resizing, blurring, and changing the saturation of your image.
You can also use MaxView to convert graphics files to different formats: Simply open the file and save it in the desired format.
If you're looking for a full-blown image editor, this isn't the program you want. But for fast and easy file viewing, with a few extras thrown in, it's an admirable package.
Media Purveyor 3
http://www.mediapurveyor.com/
Click for enlarged image.
Looking to organize and browse a big media collection, including music, videos, photographs, and other graphic images? Give Media Purveyor a whirl. This all-in-one tool lets you do everything from organizing and sorting media to searching for, displaying, playing, and editing it. Like Microsoft Photo Info, it's a metadata editor as well.
The program gives you multiple ways to organize your media, including via a traditional folder structure, as bookmarks, and as albums (which the program calls collections). Media Purveyor's image-editing tools are surprisingly powerful for a free program. In addition to providing 43 editing effects, the software supports special effects that you can add to your photos.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128839-page,1/article.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 15:31 |
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Motherboards: Power at the Right Price
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128615-page,1/article.html
If you want the newest CPU, graphics, and storage technologies, you need a motherboard that can support them all. Our lab tests reveal great boards that won't break the bank.
Jon L. Jacobi, Testing by William Wang
Monday, February 26, 2007 03:00 PM PST
A new motherboard can provide cool new technologies that your PC might be missing: faster, second-generation SATA connections, which currently reach 3 gigabits per second (gbps); gigabit ethernet; high-definition audio; and even dual-card graphics (SLI or CrossFire).
We evaluated 14 standard-size motherboards by building systems using each board, running our Windows XP-based WorldBench 5 benchmark, and then installing Windows Vista Ultimate to check for compatibility problems.
Rather than make an apples-to-oranges comparison between AMD- and Intel-equipped motherboards, we split our roundup into two groups: seven boards based on AMD's socket AM2 (for use with AMD chips requiring DDR2 memory) and seven boards employing Intel's socket LGA775 (for use with that company's dual-core and quad-core processors). The Intel boards' WorldBench 5 scores were nearly 15 percent better than those of the AMD group, thanks to the advantage the Core 2 Duo CPU holds over the Athlon 64 X2 processor running at the same clock speed, though the Intel chip we tested costs around $200 more. Performance within each group varied little, however, so once you decide whether to choose an AMD or an Intel CPU, selecting a board largely comes down to assessing its features.
See our chart, "Features Set Motherboards Apart."
Top Motherboards
Performance within each group varied only slightly, so components and connections should guide your buying decision.
Edited by Danny Allen
Monday, February 26, 2007, 03:00 PM PST
Test Center About the Test Center
How We Test ? What Our Ratings Mean ? How the Charts Work
Compare
Use the Check Boxes to See a Side-by-Side Comparison
Rank Name PCW Rating
INTEL-BASED MOTHERBOARD
1
Asus P5N-E SLI
Asus P5N-E SLI
? nVidia nForce 650i SLI chip set
? 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
? 4 SATA, 2 PATA ports
? 4 + 2 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 eSATA ports
? Price when ranked: $149
Check latest prices
This impressive all-around SLI board has two ATA channels and an eSATA port, though only x8. You'll need a rear-panel breakout to get 7.1-channel analog output.
Test Report
Pending
2
ECS nForce 570 SLIT-A (v5.1)
ECS nForce 570 SLIT-A (v5.1)
? nVidia nForce 570 SLI chip set
? 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 3 PCI slots
? 8 Serial ATA, 1 PATA ports
? 4 USB ports
? Price when ranked: $95
Check latest prices
Easily the lowest-priced SLI board on the chart, this model is a very good performer. A lack of FireWire ports and limited x8 SLI are the only nits to pick.
Test Report
Pending
3
MSI P965 Platinum
MSI P965 Platinum
? Intel P965 chip set
? 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 2 PC slots
? 7 SATA, 1 PATA ports
? 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 2 FireWire ports
? Price when ranked: $135
Check latest prices
The best performing board, this model also offers a full complement of cutting-edge and legacy features. Only the lack of dual graphics kept it out of the top spot.
Test Report
Pending
4
Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6
Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6
? Intel P965 chip set
? 2 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
? 8 SATA, 1 PATA ports
? 4 USB, 1 FireWire, 0 + 4 eSATA ports
? Price when ranked: $198
Check latest prices
Another board with a complete set of legacy ports and state-of-the-art features. We love the friendly color scheme, but the price--not so much.
Test Report
Pending
5
Abit AB9 Pro
Abit AB9 Pro
? Intel P965 chip set
? 1 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
? 8 SATA, 1 PATA ports
? 4 + 2 USB, 0 + 2 FireWire, 1 eSATA ports
? Price when ranked: $150
Check latest prices
This great performer has contemporary ports to spare: ten USB (six on headers), eight SATA, and a single eSATA port. But a lack of legacy ports dropped its ranking.
Test Report
Pending
Motherboard
Find Intel, Soyo, Gigabyte & More - Shop Today for Motherboards Today.
www.TigerDirect.com
AMD & Intel Motherboard
Get motherboards at Newegg.com. Super deals for AMD & Intel models. Same-day shipping.
www.newegg.com
Motherboards Direct
Low prices on brand-name Motherboards, toll-free suppport, and three-year warranty.
www.motherboardsdirect.com
AMD-BASED MOTHERBOARD
1
Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5
Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5
? nVidia nForce 590 SLI chip set
? 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x8, 1 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
? 8 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
? 4 USB, 1 FireWire, 0 + 2 eSATA ports
? Price when ranked: $170
Check latest prices
Like its 965-based sibling on the Intel portion of the chart, this model has all the legacy ports and cutting-edge features you'll need--but at a better price.
Test Report
Pending
2
Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
? nVidia nForce 590 SLI chip set
? 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 1 PCI slots
? 6 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
? 4 + 2 USB, 0 + 2 FireWire ports
? Price when ranked: $170
Check latest prices
This board performed well at specified speeds and was born to overclock. If you don't need legacy parallel or serial ports, it's a terrific deal.
Test Report
Pending
3
MSI K9A Platinum
MSI K9A Platinum
? ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200
? 2 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 2 PCI slots
? 4 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
? 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 1 FireWire ports
? Price when ranked: $130
Check latest prices
This very solid offering mixes all of the newest and oldest technlogies, but it performed a tad slowly in our testing, which kept it from the top of the chart.
Test Report
Pending
4
Asus Crosshair
Asus Crosshair
? nVidia nForce 590 SLI chip set
? 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x4, 3 PCI slots
? 6 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
? 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 1 FireWire ports
? Price when ranked: $249
Check latest prices
A tweaker's delight, with a ton of techie-oriented lights and other features. It's pricey if your needs are basic, but it's a great board for overclocking enthusiasts.
Test Report
Pending
5
Sapphire Pure CrossFire PC-AM2RD580
Sapphire Pure CrossFire PC-AM2RD580
? ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 (AMD 580X)
? 2 PCIe x16, 1 PCIe x1, 1 PCI slots
? 8 SATA ports, 1 PATA ports
? 4 + 2 USB, 1 + 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA ports
? Price when ranked: $130
Vendor's Web Site
The classy, retro pale green look belies a true overclocker's heart. But this board could use better SATA connectors, and Sapphire's support policies are stingy.
Test Report
Pending
Compare
Use the Check Boxes to see a Side-by-Side Comparison
CHART NOTES: We tested all boards with a 256MB EVGA GeForce 7800GT graphics board, 2GB of Kingston PC-6400 DDR2 memory, and two 250GB Western Digital hard drives configured in a striped RAID array. We tested Intel boards with a 2.66-GHz Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU. We tested AMD boards with a 2.6-GHz Athlon 64 X2 5200+ CPU. The first number listed for peripheral ports indicates those located on the back panel of the motherboard; the second number (following the "+") indicates ports located on included expansion brackets (which will occupy an expansion bay in the case). Most boards also have additional internal port headers to which additional expansion brackets can be connected.
go here to see more info
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129265/article.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 15:38 |
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Useful Upgrades That Will Outlast Your Aging PC
Plus: Setting up simultaneous audio channels, and a USB/FireWire hub that offers plenty of ports.
Kirk Steers
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:00 AM PST
Often the best way to get an old system up to speed is to stay outside the box. Spending a few extra dollars now on an external hard drive or other outside-the-case component can save you time and trouble--and maybe a little money--when you finally do buy a new PC. Not only do external devices offer quick and easy upgrades, but they'll also work with your future PC, so you can subtract those items from the new system's invoice.
Consider buying a bare Serial ATA hard drive, even if your current PC lacks SATA support. Put the drive in a USB enclosure like Addonics' $60 External Drive Enclosure UF, and you'll have an external device that can boost your storage now and easily move on to your next PC as well. Then your SATA drive can move into the new machine, while your old parallel-ATA drive heads to the enclosure. For a quiet external drive, look for a heat-dissipating aluminum housing that doesn't require an additional fan. If you hunt around for an affordable bare drive, you should be able to build an external drive for less than you'd pay for a comparable preconfigured external storage device.
Your system will talk to external USB 2.0 and FireWire drives more slowly than to internal drives connected to the PATA or SATA bus (although these drives are quick enough for most backup and other data storage tasks; see Figure 1). External SATA drives are comparable in speed to internal models, however. You can add an external SATA port to an older PC by installing a host adapter, such as the $40 eSATA II-150 PCI i/e from SIIG.
Buying a "SATA II" product is not essential because no current hard drive can sustain a data-transfer rate sufficient to saturate the 150-megabits-per-second bus on a SATA device as it is. Having the 300-mbps bus supported by the SATA II spec matters only when you are using a multidrive RAID setup. If you buy a SATA II controller card, however, it will support both generations of SATA drives.
An external sound card such as the $80 Audio Advantage SRM from Turtle Beach can improve sound quality and add such high-end audio features as 5.1 or 7.1 surround-sound audio to a ho-hum, value system with mediocre audio capabilities.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128543-c,upgrading/article.html
Double Up on Audio
I'd like to listen to music through my external speakers and use my Skype headset for VoIP calls at the same time, but Windows doesn't support such simultaneous audio channels. Is there a quick fix?
Jan Holt, Tampa, Florida
Click Start, Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices (in Categories view click Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices first). Choose the Audio tab. To play MP3 files through your speakers, which use the sound card, and to simultaneously use a VoIP headset, which uses its own audio processor, launch your MP3 player, select the sound card as the playback device under 'Sound playback' and 'Sound recording', and then launch your VoIP software and change the playback device settings again. For both, make sure 'Use only default devices' is unchecked. This also works to switch playback between your headphones and speakers.
A USB/Firewire Hub With Plenty of Flexibility
Sometimes thinking outside the box means getting rid of the box altogether. That's what LaCie has done with its $80 Hub, a spherical combination USB/FireWire hub. It looks like a large white onion that has sprouted four USB 2.0 ports and two FireWire 400 ports, each sitting at the end of its own inches-long tentacle. The device's rounded shape makes it easy to tilt in any direction. This hub is a great solution for anyone who has struggled to plug a gadget into an overcrowded conventional hub.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128543...ng/article.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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2. March 2007 @ 15:42 |
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Spyware Fighters
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126818-page,1/article.html
Five antispyware programs focus on tackling the latest threats.
Narasu Rebbapragada
Friday, August 25, 2006 02:00 PM PDT
Click to view full size image.
The question is when, not if, adware and spyware will strike your PC. That's why you need a good antispyware program, and several companies specialize in delivering just that.
We tested three paid products (two of which were in beta) and two popular free products. Our chart lists the names and versions of the packages, with links to full reviews, test reports, and vendor sites or download pages.
To evaluate each program, we looked at price, features, ease of use, and performance. We contracted German research company AV-Test.org to evaluate each products ability to detect and disinfect 20 adware and spyware applications. AV-Test.org also pitted the apps against nine rootkits, programs that allow malware to install and operate clandestinely. Analysts tested the products' ability to provide real-time defense on contact with threats, as well as their propensity to falsely identify harmless files.
The beta version of Webroot Software's Spy Sweeper 5.0 emerged as our Best Buy. It earned the top scores in our detection and disinfection tests, and it offers protection against rootkits and phishing sites. It also includes conveniences such as the ability to choose between a fast system scan that takes priority over other work and a slower but less intrusive scan.
Spyware Doctor 3.8 came in a close second overall and in performance. It fought active rootkits the best, and its scanning interface offers results that are easy to read, understand, and act on.
The beta version of CounterSpy 2.0 didn't fare as well as expected. This perennial top contender offers solid malware detection and real-time protection, but it struggled with disinfection.
Of the two free programs, Ad-Aware SE Personal 1.06 produced better results, ranking fourth in performance. As the app lacks real-time protection, however, it makes a great choice for a second opinion but not much more.
The popular Spybot did the worst. One of the first antispyware programs, it was built in the proverbial home basement. It has deep, detailed settings, but these days it is just not competitive with the other options here.
Spyware, Adware, and Rootkits
Click to view full size image.
In detecting actively running adware and spyware samples, Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor tied for first place, catching 90 percent of our test set. CounterSpy and Spybot brought up the rear, nailing 80 percent. In detecting a collection of inactive adware and spyware (apps that sit dormant on your PC until activated), Ad-Aware scored first by far, detecting 69 percent of 837 samples. At the other end, Spybot caught a mere 2 percent of samples.
Three of the five apps--CounterSpy, Spy Sweeper, and Spyware Doctor--profess to fight an increasingly important category of malware known as rootkits. Spyware Doctor detected all nine of our actively running rootkits, and Spy Sweeper detected four. CounterSpy managed to nab only two. The free tools caught none. All five programs--regardless of their rootkit capabilities--found one or two inactive rootkits. According to AV-Test.org, the apps' standard code-based scanning can detect inactive rootkits, but they need special routines to find the active ones.
Detecting malware is one thing; cleaning it thoroughly from your system is another. We tested these products' abilities to remove files and Registry changes caused by ten pieces of adware and ten pieces of spyware.
Disinfecting the spyware proved difficult: To elude security software, spyware writers continually change the way their malware behaves. In our spyware disinfection tests, Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor ranked first, disinfecting 65 percent of the files. Spybot came in last, disinfecting merely 20 percent of the files. (Our chart combines adware and spyware disinfection results.)
Evaluating the disinfection of adware apps is more complicated, because their changing behavior can cause antispyware firms to modify policies on them. Take the free version of HotBar, an ad-supported toolbar for Internet Explorer. Webroot classifies HotBar as adware; in contrast, PC Tools no longer does and therefore won't disinfect it, as our tests confirmed.
Overall, Spyware Doctor cleaned up adware the best, disinfecting 50 percent of the files and Registry entries. Spybot and Ad-Aware tied for second, disinfecting 45 percent of samples. CounterSpy came in fifth with a 35 percent disinfection rate. Sunbelt Software says that CounterSpy's low score is due to the beta status of the program.
Click to view full-size image.
All of the products have real-time adware and spyware protection except Ad-Aware; that protection is available in the Ad-Watch feature in Lavasoft's $27 Ad-Aware SE Plus. Spy Sweeper and CounterSpy detected all changes to HKCU and HKLM Run keys (Registry keys targeted by many malware threats), Windows Startup, and the Hosts file, as well as Internet Explorer Home and Search pages. Spyware Doctor missed some Hosts file and IE Search page changes. Spybot failed to catch Startup changes. See our chart for more test details.
Extra Tools
Click to view full-size image.
Spyware doctor has the best selection of features, with full startup, scheduled, and custom-file scanning options. It lets you set a system restore point in case you accidentally delete important files. Its also the only product to scan within some IM clients. Spyware Doctor's antiphishing protection guards you as well, by preventing access to known bad sites.
The second most feature-rich program, Spy Sweeper, kicks up the antiphishing protection a notch by analyzing suspect Web sites on the fly. In version 5.0, Webroot has removed Spy Sweeper's ability to set a system restore point and relies instead on the restorative features of the app's Quarantine (where you decide whether to remove questionable files found in scan results). Spy Sweeper also adds itself to the Windows Explorer contextual menu for quick scanning of files and folders.
While CounterSpy lacks a startup scan and antiphishing utilities, it has system restore features and four privacy tools that we didn't test for this story: My PC Explorer, My PC Checkup, History Cleaner, and Secure File Eraser.
Spybot lacks antiphishing capabilities, but it offers solid scanning, CPU-usage, and system restore options.
Giving Advice
Click to view full-size image.
All five products proved easy to use, but CounterSpy, Spy Sweeper, and Spyware Doctor did the best job of identifying potential pieces of malware, explaining them, and presenting options for action. I preferred Spyware Doctor's brightly colored bars and detailed levels of threat classification. Collapsible check boxes reveal the exact names and paths of suspected files and Registry entries. Highlighting the name for a threat brings up its description and advice for action.
One gripe: Spyware Doctor counted 287 doctor-themed "infections" but categorized the vast majority as low-level advertising and tracking cookies. While it took me only a few seconds to realize that most weren't dangerous, the growing count during the scan did quicken my pulse.
CounterSpy also has a good threat classification, explanation, and color-coding system, though this beta software's alert dialog boxes werent fully complete as of press time.
Spybot's scan results are full of information about potential threats and recent changes in adware policies, but Spybot stops short of the bonehead-simple "Get rid of this" type of advice that the paid applications give you.
Our recommendation is to run Spy Sweeper--our Best Buy and top performer--or Spyware Doctor, which has thorough rootkit protection. However, the results of our disinfection tests suggest that one product can't do it all, and that adding a second antispyware product, such as the free Ad-Aware Personal or a spyware scanner in an all-in-one security suite makes a nice two-fisted defense.
Antispyware Software (chart)
Click here for our chart with links to full reviews, test reports, and vendor sites or download pages.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126890/article.html
Antispyware Software
Five antispyware programs focus on tackling the latest threats.
Narasu Rebbapragada
Friday, August 25, 2006, 02:00 PM PDT
Test Center About the Test Center
How We Test ? What Our Ratings Mean ? How the Charts Work
Compare
Use the Check Boxes to See a Side-by-Side Comparison
Rank Name PCW Rating
Antispyware Software
1
Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.0 Beta
Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.0 Beta
? Price when rated: $30
? Renewal price when rated: $30
? PCW rating: 87 Very Good
? Performance rating: Very Good
? Design rating: Superior
? Features rating: Superior
? Download
Vendor's Web site
Our top choice combines excellent spyware and adware detection with smart antiphishing protection and helpful conveniences.
(Last Rated: August 24, 2006)
Full Review ? Test Report
Pending
2
PC Tools Spyware Doctor 3.8
PC Tools Spyware Doctor 3.8
? Price when rated: $30
? Renewal price when rated: $30
? PCW rating: 85 Very Good
? Performance rating: Very Good
? Design rating: Very Good
? Features rating: Superior
? Download
Check latest prices
Feature-rich program has a good graphical display for scan results and offers solid active-rootkit detection. (Design and Features scores reflect the attributes of Spyware Doctor 4.0.)
(Last Rated: August 23, 2006)
Full Review ? Test Report
Pending
3
Sunbelt Software CounterSpy 2.0 Beta
Sunbelt Software CounterSpy 2.0 Beta
? Price when rated: $26 (download $20)
? Renewal price when rated: $10
? PCW rating: 76 Good
? Performance rating: Good
? Design rating: Very Good
? Features rating: Fair
? Download
Vendor's Web Site
CounterSpy was better at detecting adware and spyware than at disinfecting a PC of them. Program bundles useful privacy utilities.
(Last Rated: August 24, 2006)
Full Review ? Test Report
Pending
Spy Sweeper - Anti-Spyware
Webroot Spy Sweeper safely detects and removes all forms of spyware, including Trojans, adware, key loggers and system monitors.
www.webroot.com
Anti-Spyware Download
Free Anti-Spyware scan. Winner of Best Anti-Spyware by PC Magazine.
www.pctools.com
Stop Spyware Now
Protection Control Center - Now with Attack Shield.
www.zerodayprotection.com/
4
Lavasoft Ad-Aware Personal 1.06
Lavasoft Ad-Aware Personal 1.06
? Price when rated: Free
? Renewal price when rated: Free
? PCW rating: 64 Fair
? Performance rating: Fair
? Design rating: Good
? Features rating: Poor
? Download
Vendor's Web Site
While a solid on-demand scanner, this product lacks real-time protection, so it shouldn't be your sole antispyware application.
(Last Rated: August 23, 2006)
Full Review ? Test Report
Pending
5
Safer Networking Spybot-Search & Destroy 1.4
Safer Networking Spybot-Search & Destroy 1.4
? Price when rated: Free
? Renewal price when rated: Free
? PCW rating: 63 Fair
? Performance rating: Poor
? Design rating: Good
? Features rating: Fair
? Download
Vendor's Website
This antispyware veteran has settings for very deep scans but performed poorly in our malware detection and disinfection tests.
(Last Rated: August 24, 2006)
Full Review ? Test Report
GO HERE TO READ ALL THE INFO
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126890/article.html
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. March 2007 @ 15:43
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xhardc0re
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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2. March 2007 @ 22:29 |
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80 security cameras in Bumf*ck, Alaska
$202,000 of your tax dollars for Homeland Security
"80 Cameras for 2,400 People
This story is about the remote town of Dillingham, Alaska, which is probably the most watched town in the country. There are 80 surveillance cameras for the 2,400 people, which translates to one camera for every 30 people.
The cameras were bought, I assume, because the town couldn't think of anything else to do with the $202,000 Homeland Security grant they received. (One of the problems of giving this money out based on political agenda, rather than by where the actual threats are.)
But they got the money, and they spent it. And now they have to justify the expense. Here's the movie-plot threat the Dillingham Police Chief uses to explain why the expense was worthwhile:
"Russia is about 800 miles that way," he says, arm extending right.
"Seattle is about 1,200 miles back that way." He points behind him.
"So if I have the math right, we're closer to Russia than we are to Seattle."
Now imagine, he says: What if the bad guys, whoever they are, manage to obtain a nuclear device in Russia, where some weapons are believed to be poorly guarded. They put the device in a container and then hire organized criminals, "maybe Mafiosi," to arrange a tramp steamer to pick it up. The steamer drops off the container at the Dillingham harbor, complete with forged paperwork to ship it to Seattle. The container is picked up by a barge.
"Ten days later," the chief says, "the barge pulls into the Port of Seattle."
Thompson pauses for effect.
"Phoooom," he says, his hands blooming like a flower.
The first problem with the movie plot is that it's just plain silly. But the second problem, which you might have to look back to notice, is that those 80 cameras will do nothing to stop his imagined attack.
We are all security consumers. We spend money, and we expect security in return. This expenditure was a waste of money, and as a U.S. taxpayer, I am pissed that I'm getting such a lousy deal."
source:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/03/80_cameras_for.html
if you're a college student, do NOT settle with the RIAA http://tinyurl.com/37oz2z
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AfterDawn Addict
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3. March 2007 @ 05:13 |
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please read this
RIAA's student extortion letter
p2pnet.net news:- "We urge you to consult with an attorney immediately to advise you on your rights and responsibilities."
"I hope the universities will ... assist their students in finding out what their true legal rights are."
The first quote comes from Donald J Kelso who workes for Holmes Roberts & Owen, a law firm acting for the Big 4 music cartel's RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) as the latter tries to extort American students into adding to its sue 'em all war chest, doing its and HRO's work for them, and incriminate themselves, all at the same time.
The second comes from New York lawyer Ray Beckerman who represents some of the RIAA's victims. His remark was in a comment post to p2pnet's Wednesday story which kicks off:
"If you're a p2p, file-sharing college student, here's your chance to volunteer your name, address and other personal details to the Big 4 record labels so they won't have to actually go looking for you themselves."
With that in mind, the West Virginia Herald-Dispatch yesterday carried an interesting item by Justin McElroy who says 20 Marshall University students have received blackmail letters from Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG's RIAA.
"If the RIAA goes after the students directly, we will have no choice than to give them the names," the Herald-Dispatch has Marshall's Jan Fox saying.
The story goes on:
Though the threat is clearly laid out, the music industry representatives have still left several questions unanswered.
For instance, they decline to admit the average amount of a settlement -- though most estimates put it at around $3,000. The group also isn't saying why some schools were chosen over others. Fox, however, has her own theories.
"I would guess it's name recognition," Fox said. "["We Are Marshall"] has brought us all kinds of things, and one of those is name recognition. They want a publicly-displayed university that other schools are like. You've got all these other smaller and medium-sized schools, and if they think it's only the big schools they go after, they're not going to take it seriously. These are scare tactics."
Whatever the methodology, it's hard to argue that for a college student living on Ramen Noodles, $3,000 can be a very scary sum.
As p2pnet noted recently, this latest example of RIAA extortion is more than vaguely reminiscent of the failed Clean Slate program the RIAA tried on between September, 2003, and April, 2004".
Below is the Herald-Dispatch letter. We've posted a copy here as well.
February 28, 2007
Re: Notification of Copyright Infringement Claims
CASE ID#
Dear Sir/Madam:
We have asked your Internet Service Provider to forward this letter to you in advance of our filing a lawsuit against you in federal court for copyright
infringement. We represent a number of large record companies, including EMI Recorded Music, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, as well as all of their subsidiaries and affiliates ('Record Companies'), in pursuing claims of copyright infringement against individuals who have illegally uploaded and downloaded sound recordings on peer-to-peer networks.
We have gathered evidence that you have been infringing copyrights owned by the Record Companies. We are attaching to this letter a sample of the sound recordings you were found distributing via the AresWarezUS (Ares) peer-topeer [sic] network. In total, you were found distributing 321 audio files, a substantial number of which are sound recordings controlled by the Record Companies.
The reason we are sending this letter to you in advance of filing suit is to give you the opportunity to settle these claims as early as possible. If you contact us within the next twenty (20) calendar days, we will offer to settle the claims for a significantly reduced amount compared to what we will offer to settle them for after we file suit or compared to the judgment amount a court may enter against you. If you are interested in resolving this matter now, please contact our Settlement Information Line at 913-234-8181 or, alternatively, you may settle this matter immediately online at www.p2plawsuits.com, using the CASE ID# that appears at the top of this letter.
In deciding whether you wish to settle this matter, here are some things you should consider:
* The Copyright Act imposes a range of statutory damages for copyright infringement. The minimum damages under the law is $750 for each Page 2 copyrighted recording that has been infringed ('shared'). The maximum damage award can be substantially more. In addition to damages, you may also be responsible for paying the legal fees we incur in order to pursue these claims, and are subject to having an injunction entered against you prohibiting you from further infringing activity.
* preserve evidence that relates to the claims against
you. In this case, that means, at a minimum, the entire library of recordings that you have made available for distribution as well as any recordings you
have downloaded, need to be maintained as evidence. Further, you should not attempt to delete the peer-to-peer programs from your system - though you must stop them from operating. For information on how to do this, you may visit www.musicunited.org.
This is a serious matter and to the extent you have any questions, we strongly encourage you to contact us to ask those questions. Finally, if you would like more information regarding music downloading/file sharing and peer-to-peer networks, please visit www.p2plawsuits.com.
IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU WITHIN TWENTY (20) CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS LETTER, THEN WE WILL FILE SUIT AGAINST YOU IN FEDERAL COURT.
We are not your lawyers, nor are we giving you legal advice. We urge you to consult with an attorney immediately to advise you on your rights and
responsibilities.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Kelso
This might be a good time to think about making the March Boycott the RIAA campaign, permanent. And lawyers representing RIAA victims, students or otherwise, might also like to check out the transcript from Beckerman's deposition of an RIAA 'expert'.
Stay tuned.
http://p2pnet.net/story/11515
It's March! RIAA boycott month!
p2pnet.net news:- It's March 1 and that means it's the month for NOT buying anything put out by the people who pay for the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) or any of the other Big 4 alphabet sue 'em all organizations around the world.
read it all here
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/182/322699#2871412
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xhardc0re
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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3. March 2007 @ 09:15 |
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i'd like to see someone @AD do a story on popular culture & its relation to the MPAA/RIAA. When you look at all the money in Hollywood & the music industry, its sad they can't be innovative anymore. They've become very lazy & put out one worthless movie after another. Their prices are too high. They don't allow you to use your own media the way you want to.
Steve Jobs fired a warning shop at the music industry. Its about time someone here do a story on why popular culture is driven by what we think/want. How the big media companies are not only clueless but standing in the way of changing how we interact with media.
MP3 changed everything forever. Along with Xvid/DivX, we now have freedom of choice as to how we listen/watch our media. The MPAA/RIAA doesn't respect its customers & expects us to use media the way they want *us* to.
Those days are over. They can never return to the good old days of $15 CDs & $20 movies bought from the local store. Innovate or die.
if you're a college student, do NOT settle with the RIAA http://tinyurl.com/37oz2z
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lastest Nero Ultra 7 & Alcohol 120% ~ This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 3. March 2007 @ 09:23
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AfterDawn Addict
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3. March 2007 @ 11:19 |
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Quote:
Microsoft OneCare Last in Antivirus Tests
Posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday March 03, @10:53AM
from the not-so-great-expectations dept.
Microsoft Security
Juha-Matti Laurio writes "PC World has a story reporting that Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare came in dead last out of a group of 17 antivirus programs tested against hundreds of thousands of pieces of malware. The report of an Austrian antivirus researcher was released at the AV Comparatives Web site this week. Several free AV products were included in the test as well." While the top dog was able to find 99.5% of the malicious code, OneCare clocked in at 82.4%. Of course, there's no metric for the severity of the malware in the 17% gap.
Microsoft OneCare Last in Antivirus Tests
In tests involving worms, viruses, Trojan horses, and other malware, Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare came in dead last.
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Thursday, March 01, 2007 10:00 PM PST
Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare came in dead last out of a group of 17 antivirus programs tested against hundreds of thousands of worms, viruses, Trojan horses and other malware, an Austrian antivirus researcher reported Wednesday.
The AV Comparatives Web site, which is maintained by Andreas Cleminti from Innsbruck, Austria, posts quarterly results of tests that pit the top antivirus products against a dynamic list of nearly half a million individual pieces of malware.
Top dog, according to Cleminti's tests, was G Data Security's AntiVirusKit (AVK), which nailed 99.5 percent of the malicious code. Not far behind were AEC's TrustPort AV WS, at 99.4 percent, Avira's AntiVir PE Premium, at 98.9 percent, MicroWorld's eScan antivirus, at 97.9 percent, F-Secure's antivirus, at 97.9 percent, and Kaspersky Labs' AV, which stopped 97.9 percent of the malware.
Better known products such as Symantec's Norton antivirus and McAfee's VirusScan posted results of 96.8 percent and 91.6 percent, respectively.
Holding the bottom spot was Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare, the consumer security suite that the Redmond, Wash. developer launched last year. OneCare took care of just 82.4 percent of the malware.
Cleminti also tested the 17 products against polymorphic viruses, those which produce sometimes vast numbers of variants as they try to sneak by scanners. "The results of the polymorphic test are of importance because they how flexible an antivirus scan engine is and how good the detection quality of complex viruses is," said Cleminti in his write-up.
Only Symantec's Norton AntiVirus and ESET's NO D32 antivirus caught every variant of the 12 polymorphic families, he said. In that test, OneCare placed 15th, detecting every version of only two families, and missing seven of the polymorphic families completely.
Cleminti's report is available online.
This is not the first evaluation to give a Microsoft security program a black eye. Last week, for example, Australian security company PC Tools released research that claimed Windows Defender--Microsoft's anti-spyware title--detected just 46 percent to 53 percent of spyware.
"We are looking closely at the methodology and results of the test to ensure that Windows Live OneCare performs better in future tests," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129521-c,antivirus/article.html
go here to see the test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_02.php
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AfterDawn Addict
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3. March 2007 @ 13:52 |
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FREE,Duplicate File Finder
Duplicate File Finder
License Type: Free
Price: FreeDate Added: Feb 2007
Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows 9.x, Windows Me, Windows XP
Downloads Count: 28886
Author: Rashid Hoda
Locate duplicate files with this easy-to-use tool.
Having two copies of the same file doubles the space they take up on your hard drive, and adds a dash of confusion. Duplicate File Finder locates duplicate files and folders on all drives and removable devices. This utility lets you compare and preview graphics, HTML, text, and other types of files. It also tells you how much space you'd free up by deleting the dupes.
Duplicate File Finder also lets you add search filters--something many duplicate finders don't allow. You can speed up your searches by pointing it at only the likely target folders, and protect your data by excluding important folders from your searches.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_do...s/download.html
MAIN LINK
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fi...escription.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. March 2007 @ 08:40 |
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Quote:
Download And Burn Movies Available Soon
Posted by Zonk on Sunday March 04, @06:15AM
from the oh-css-is-there-nothing-you-can't-do dept.
Encryption The Internet Movies Media
An anonymous reader writes "According to an article from PC World, a source close to the CSS Managed Recording forum said that technology which allows movies to be downloaded and burned to blank DVDs, using the same content-protection system as commercial discs, received official approval on Thursday. 'The technology will require discs that are slightly different from the conventional DVD-Rs found in shops today. The burned discs will be compatible with the vast majority of consumer DVD players ... Despite Thursday's approval, services that allow consumers to legally download and burn movies in their own homes are unlikely to appear quickly. The DVD CCA said it will be initially restricted to professional uses. These might include kiosks in retail stores where consumers can purchase and burn discs in a controlled environment.'"
Download DVD Specification Gets Approval
Martyn Williams, IDG News Service Fri Mar 2, 3:00 PM ET
A technology that allows movies to be downloaded and burned to blank DVDs using the same content-protection system as commercial discs received official approval on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
CSS Managed Recording was approved at a meeting of the DVD Forum in Tokyo, according to a source close to the forum.
The technology will require discs that are slightly different from the conventional DVD-Rs found in shops today. The burned discs will be compatible with the vast majority of consumer DVD players, according to the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA), which proposed the technology. The DVD CCA is responsible for licensing the CSS (Content Scrambling System) copy-protection system used on most commercial DVDs.
Despite Thursday's approval, services that allow consumers to legally download and burn movies in their own homes are unlikely to appear quickly. The DVD CCA said it will be initially restricted to professional uses. These might include kiosks in retail stores where consumers can purchase and burn discs in a controlled environment.
Such a system might offer commercial movies but could just as easily offer content that is unavailable on DVD today because the market for it is too small. With custom burning it could be profitable to offer such content.
If such professional applications are successful then further services that allow consumers to download and burn in their home "are likely to follow," the DVD CCA said.
The DVD Forum could not be reached for comment.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070302...pIWn5XFSZEjtBAF
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. March 2007 @ 04:46 |
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XP POST-SP2 UPDATE PACK.......... This pack is designed to bring a Windows XP CD with SP2 integrated fully up to date with all of the latest hotfixes released by Microsoft since SP2's release. It accomplishes this task via direct integration, where files on the CD are directly overwritten by the updated files. This method has numerous advantages over other integration techniques.....(free).....GO THERE!
http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/updatepack.html
This pack is designed to bring a Windows XP CD with SP2 integrated fully up to date with all of the latest hotfixes released by Microsoft since SP2's release. It accomplishes this task via direct integration, where files on the CD are directly overwritten by the updated files. This method has numerous advantages over other integration techniques:
1. Since the files are being directly overwritten on the CD, there is no period of vulnerability between when the files are copied to the hard drive and the hotfixes are run. This guarantees maximum stability and security.
2. All necessary registry entries needed by Windows Update, QFECheck, and Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer are imported during Windows setup, meaning that the integration is transparent to Windows.
3. Security Catalogs necessary for Windows File Protection to recognize the updated files as digitally signed are installed, once again ensuring maximum transparency to Windows.
4. Since the updated files are being directly overwritten on the CD, this pack has the minimum possible amount of overhead associated with integrating hotfixes in comparison to other methods - both in space used on the CD and in Windows installation time.
5. This pack works regardless of whether or not the Windows installation is unattended.
What's Included Latest Version: 2.1.7
Windows XP Hotfixes
KB873339 - Vulnerability in HyperTerminal could allow code execution
KB884575 - Battery power may be drained more quickly than expected on Windows XP-based laptop
KB885626 - Computer stops responding after restarting to complete SP2 installation
KB885836 - Vulnerability in WordPad could allow code execution
KB886677 - DBCS characters appear corrupted when browsing site using Shift-JIS encoding
KB887472 - Security update to Microsoft Windows Messenger
KB887606 - Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) uses cached credentials incorrectly
KB888111 - Universal Audio Architecture High Definition Audio Class Driver Version 1.0a
KB889016 - Cannot obtain debug information about the resource objects of Application Verifier stop errors
KB889320 - Computer Browser service stops and Event ID 7023 is logged after Windows firewall service disabled
KB889673 - DEP-enabled computer may unexpectedly quit after resuming from standby or hibernation
KB890830 - Malicious Software Removal Tool 1.26
KB890859 - Vulnerabilities in Windows kernel could allow elevation of privilege and denial of service
KB892489 - Antivirus scan may increase the number of open handles for the svchost.exe process
KB893008 - PAL format digital video cameras are incorrectly detected as NTSC format digital video cameras
KB893756 - Vulnerability in Telephony service could allow remote code execution
KB893803 - Windows Installer 3.1 (v2)
KB894395 - IME Composition or Candidate window remains visible even after losing focus when using Japanese IME
KB895961 - Terminal Server Service update (From KB900325 Package)
KB896256 - A Windows XP SP2-based computer that has multiple processors exhibits decreased performance or unexpected behavior
KB896344 - Can't transfer files and settings from computer running 32-bit Windows XP to computer running Windows XP x64
KB896358 - Vulnerability in HTML Help could allow remote code execution
KB896423 - Vulnerability in Print Spooler service could allow remote code execution
KB896428 - Vulnerability in Telnet client could allow information disclosure
KB896626 - Windows XP TV tuner program stops responding or displays corrupted video
KB897338 - New language locales for Windows XP Service Pack 2
KB897663 - Exception may not show up in the Windows firewall GUI the exception is created by modifying the registry
KB898461 - Permanent copy of the Package Installer for Windows version 6.2.29.0
KB898543 - Cannot correctly install security fixes in Windows XP Starter Edition
KB899271 - Updated USB Video Class (UVC) driver for Windows XP
KB899409 - 20-second delay when trying to access a redirected folder by logging on to computer
KB899591 - Vulnerability in Remote Desktop Protocol could allow denial of service
KB900485 - 0x0000007E stop error in Windows XP SP2
KB901017 - Vulnerability in the Microsoft Collaboration Data Objects could allow code execution
KB901190 - Vulnerability in the Korean Input Method Editor (IME) could allow elevation of privilege
KB901214 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Color Management Module could allow remote code execution
KB902149 - FTP client may echo account information back to the screen
KB902845 - Computer stops responding during text-mode Setup when you try to install Windows XP
KB902853 - An unnecessary restore operation may be started on a RAID group when computer is put in hibernation
KB903234 - Update to optimize the way that the Volume Shadow Copy Service client accesses shadow copies
KB903250 - Song titles are copied to a recordable CD after cancelling a burn operation in Windows Media Player 10
KB904412 - SBP-2 device does not work when it is connected to a Windows XP SP2-based computer
KB905414 - Vulnerability in Network Connection Manager could allow denial of service
KB905749 - Vulnerability in Plug and Play could allow remote code execution and local elevation of privilege
KB906216 - The Dhtmled.ocx ActiveX control doesn't work as expected after a program changes the Visible property of it
KB906569 - Update to add the Tools tab to the System Configuration utility in Windows XP Service Pack 2
KB906866 - 0x00000035 NO_MORE_IRP_STACK_LOCATIONS stop error when trying to log on to a domain
KB907865 - IPSec Policy Agent update
KB908519 - Vulnerability in embedded Web fonts could allow remote code execution
KB908531 - Vulnerability in Windows Explorer Could Lead to Remote Code Execution
KB908536 - Horizontal scroll bar used in forms may not respond to mouse controls or actions when using themes
KB909441 - In Control Panel, "Sounds and Audio Devices" does not correctly display the setting in "Speaker Setup" list
KB909520 - Software update for Base Smart Card Cryptographic Service Provider
KB909608 - Access violation when using /integrate switch to integrate KB900725 into Windows XP SP2 installation source files
KB909667 - Computer stops responding during standby or hibernation operations or trying to use the Shut Down command
KB910437 - Access violation error occurs when Windows Automatic Updates tries to download updates
KB911066 - Computer may unexpectedly quit and access violation error may occur in msctf.dll when repeatedly starting and stopping program
KB911280 - Vulnerability in Routing and Remote Access could allow remote code execution
KB911562 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) function could allow code execution
KB911564 - Vulnerability in Windows Media Player plug-in with non-Microsoft Internet browsers could allow remote code execution
KB911927 - Vulnerability in WebClient could allow remote code execution
KB911990 - Connection to the Sony Media Changer/Recorder is lost
KB912024 - Update Rollup 2 for eHome Infrared Receiver
KB912461 - Cannot obtain information about specific events when you program against the DVD Nav control in Windows XP
KB913296 - Jet 4.0 data engine update fixes issues that may occur
KB913580 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator could allow denial of service
KB914388 - Vulnerability in the DHCP Client Service could allow remote code execution
KB914440 - Network Diagnostics for Windows XP
KB914463 - WMI causes object access failure events when an SACL is applied to the HKEY_USERS registry subkey
KB914841 - Simplify the creation and maintenance of Internet Protocol security filters
KB914906 - "Unsupported State(2)" error message when a Windows XP Starter Edition-based computer continuously restarts
KB915378 - Update for Add New Hardware Control Panel
KB915865 - XmlLite update package for Windows XP Service Pack 2
KB916595 - 0x000000D1 DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL stop error on a Windows XP SP2 computer
KB916846 - SMB communication between a client and server isn't completed if signing settings are mismatched in Group Policy or in the registry
KB916852 - TCP packets are retransmitted if the TCP acknowledgement packet is delayed for more than 300 milliseconds
KB917140 - Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit detailed log entries cannot be logged
KB917275 - Windows Rights Management Services for Windows XP SP2
KB917730 - You cannot create a network connection when you are starting a Windows XP SP2-based computer
KB918005 - Battery power may drain more quickly than you expect on a Windows XP SP2-based portable computer
KB918033 - Certain Windows dialog boxes may not retain the focus as expected
KB918118 - Vulnerability in Microsoft RichEdit could allow remote code execution
KB918334 - Error message when running a Win32 program that makes CreateFile function calls from a client computer to a server
KB918439 - Vulnerability in ART image rendering could allow remote code execution
KB918997 - Developers can't create wireless client programs that manage wireless profiles and connections over the Wireless Zero Configuration service
KB919007 - Vulnerability in Pragmatic General Multicast (PGM) could result in remote code execution
KB920183 - A Kerberos client tries to log on multiple times with the same key despite bad password errors that are returned to the workstation
KB920213 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Agent could allow remote code execution
KB920342 - Upgrade PNRP to PNRP version 2.0
KB920670 - Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Hyperlink Object Library could allow remote code execution
KB920683 - Vulnerability in DNS resolution could allow remote code execution
KB920685 - Vulnerability in Indexing Service could allow cross-site scripting
KB920872 - Audio playback does not play file from correct position after pausing, and Stop error message randomly received when trying to play audio files
KB921401 - A non-paged pool memory leak occurs when you capture specific MIDI SYSEx messages in Windows XP
KB921411 - USB devices no longer work correctly after installing the Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility
KB922120 - Network Map in Windows Vista does not display computers that are running Windows XP
KB922582 - 0x80070002 error message when trying to update a Microsoft Windows-based computer
KB922668 - Windows XP COM+ Hotfix Rollup Package 14
KB922819 - Vulnerabilities in TCP/IP IPv6 could allow denial of service
KB922859 - Some complex Chinese characters appear as rectangles when printing from a Microsoft Office application or Notepad
KB923154 - EAP reauthentication may not occur and the Wireless Zero Configuration service may not work correctly when using a third-party application
KB923191 - Vulnerability in Windows Explorer could allow remote code execution
KB923232 - Computer using Intel dual-core processor stops responding when trying to resume from standby
KB923414 - Vulnerability in Server Service could allow denial of service
KB923694 - Cumulative security update for Outlook Express (December, 2006)
KB923980 - Vulnerability in Client Service could allow remote code execution
KB924191 - Vulnerabilities in Microsoft XML Core Services could allow remote code execution
KB924270 - Vulnerability in Workstation Service could allow remote code execution
KB924667 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Foundation Classes could allow for remote code execution
KB924867 - Programs unexpectedly stop during initialization after installing MS06-051 security update
KB924941 - Update to resolve timing issues resulting in race conditions when using Bluetooth devices connected via USB
KB925398 - Vulnerability in Windows Media Player 6.4 could allow remote code execution
KB925623 - The Wmiprvse.exe process may experience a memory leak when WMI services and RPC services are extensively used
KB925720 - Windows CardSpace hotfix rollup package
KB925876 - Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 Client
KB926239 - Windows Media Player 10 may close unexpectedly
KB926255 - Vulnerability in Windows could allow elevation of privilege
KB926436 - Vulnerability in Microsoft OLE Dialog could allow remote code execution
KB926646 - Can't increase the limit concurrent SMB command in the Windows XP Professional Server service
KB927544 - Can't create an AVI larger than 512GB and can't play an AVI larger than 800 GB using DirectX
KB927779 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Data Access Components could allow remote code execution
KB927802 - Vulnerability in Windows Image Acquisition Service could allow elevation of privilege
KB927880 - Can't log on to a device that has both a blank user name and password using Internet Explorer 7
KB928090 - Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer (February, 2007)
KB928255 - Vulnerability in Windows Shell could allow elevation of privilege
KB928843 - Vulnerability in the HTML Help ActiveX control could allow remote code execution
KB929280 - Microsoft Management Console 3.0 does not correctly display 32-bit color snap-in icons
KB929969 - Vulnerability in Vector Markup Language could allow remote code execution
KB931125 - Microsoft Root Certificate Update (January 2007)
KB931836 - February 2007 cumulative time zone update
Other Updates
Adobe Flash Player 9.0.28.0 ActiveX Control
Macrovision SafeDisc Driver Fix 4.00.060
Microsoft European Union Expansion Font Update 1.1
Microsoft Qfecheck 6.1.0.0
Microsoft Update 5.8.0.2496
Microsoft Web Folders 9.60.6715.0 (KB892211)
Microsoft Windows Script 5.6.8831 (Includes KB917344 Hotfix)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (Includes KB927978 Hotfix)
MSXML 6.0 (Includes KB927977 Hotfix)
Registry Tweaks
DSO Exploit registry fix that Spybot Search & Destroy complains about
KB873374 - Microsoft GDI+ Detection Tool
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The_Fiend
Suspended permanently
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5. March 2007 @ 08:21 |
Link to this message
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Did i see a question regarding pop culture and RIAA/MPAA ?
Good Enough ?
irc://arcor.de.eu.dal.net/wasted_hate
Wanna tell me off, go ahead.
I dare ya !
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. March 2007 @ 14:11 |
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30 Days With Ubuntu Linux
Posted by Hemos on Monday March 05, @10:29AM
from the making-the-switch dept.
Linux
jkwdoc writes "Vexed by Vista's hardware requirements and product activation issues, many have claimed on various boards that they plan to 'switch to Linux.' [H] Consumer spent 30 days using nothing but Ubuntu Linux to find out if this is truly a viable alternative for the consumer. Linux has indeed become much more than the 'Programmer's OS.'"
go here to read the total article
http://consumer.hardocp.com/article.html...CxoY29uc3VtZXI=
Date:
Monday , March 05, 2007
Category:
Editorials
Manufacturers:
Linux
Author:
Brian Boyko
Editor:
Jason Wall
ntroduction
Complaining about Windows Vista is a national past time on Internet forums these days. Windows Vista "costs too much," "has onerous product activation," "requires too much hardware," etc. These complaints are often followed up by a very simple boast: "I'm just going to switch to Linux (or Mac)."
But in today's landscape, how viable is that statment? Is the threat to switch to Linux an empty one, or is it entirely possible? Linux on the desktop has been viable for years, especially for programming gurus who can solve their Linux problems by simply writing new software. It also seems to be viable for ?Mom and Pop? end-users who just want a machine to write letters, send email, and browse the Web (although, admittedly, a guru will probably have to set it up for them).
But what about power users, such as the typical audience of HardOCP - those who know how to build their own computers, but not compile their own programs? Or people who may not know how to do something, but aren't afraid of taking the time to figure it out? Is Linux truly an alternative? Can they do everything they did in Windows? The truth is, we didn't know, but we very much wanted to find out.
To properly explore these issues, we took a cue from Morgan Spurlock and made the decision to use Ubuntu Linux as our home operating system for 30 days.
The Rules:
1) I?ll start testing on Ubuntu Linux 64-bit. Vista is available as a 64-bit operating system, (although it also comes in 32-bit) and, should we look at Vista 64 in the future, we want to be able to compare apples-to-apples. However, I?ll also test the 32-bit version of Ubuntu and compare not only the 32- and 64-bit versions of Ubuntu, but will also be able to compare my observations to a 32- and 64-bit Vista should the opportunity arise.
Note: In this evaluation, you can assume that anything I write applies to both 64-bit and 32-bit Ubuntu unless I specifically state the results were in one of the two kernels.
2) I would try to test out as many "typical end-user" applications and activities as possible. Digital photography and video, burning and ripping DVDs and CDs, email, Web browsing, gaming, word processing, MP3 playing and organizing, instant messaging & IRC chat, scanning, movie watching, etc. I'd also plug in as many hardware components as possible, from my own collection of hardware - none of which were bought with the idea that they would be Linux compatible, some of which is years old, and some of it brand new - a typical real-world situation. The devices are listed below.
3) I would use Ubuntu Linux on my home machine as the sole operating system for 30 days.
4) I would not go into this blindly. Before giving up on a problem, I would consult a few sources - most notably the Ubuntu Forums and a book called Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks, written by Rickford Grant. I'd also check out the #ubuntu and #linux-help channels on the Freenode IRC network if I really got stuck.
5) I will go into detail on some applications that you would find surprising. I won't go into detail over other applications that many people mention. Specifically, you won't find a detailed critique of AbiWord, OpenOffice, Gaim, and the Gimp. This is because these programs have been extensively reviewed elsewhere and they are really not the focus of this editorial. Even more importantly, AbiWord, OpenOffice, Gaim, and the Gimp all have Windows versions functionally identical to the Linux counterparts. If you want to know how a particular program behaves, you can download those programs yourself and test them before moving to Linux.
Applications that will receive more attention will be Rhythmbox and Evolution, for example, as those programs are more likely to be used only on Linux.
6) Since there are many applications which can do the same job in Linux, I'd keep trying until I found one that meets my needs - starting with the Ubuntu defaults, then moving to a Gnome application before using a KDE-based program.
While KDE is available for Ubuntu (and the base of the Kubuntu distribution), I stuck with Gnome for two reasons: It's the default, and it seems to work well for what I want it to do. As a corollary, there may be better applications out there, but I stuck with what worked for me first. Many prefer Amarok to Rhythmbox, for example, but Rhythmbox did everything I needed to as a default.
7) I would test on two different computers. The first, and the majority of the test would be on a lower-end computer, which I have named "Whakataruna." This system represents the previous generation of hardware, and is perhaps very much like what a consumer would have bought one year ago.
One year sounds ancient when you live on the bleeding edge of the hardware market, but when you think of your parents or your non-techie friends, one year is practically brand new to them. In our opinion, these are the folks that are most affected by the Vista vs. Ubuntu vs. stick with XP decision, as their computer has a borderline hardware profile for being able to run Vista. While their computer is likely serving them very well and they question the need to upgrade the hardware since the computer is still ?new,? they are most at risk for taking the leap to Vista with the notion that their computer should be able to run it fine.
To make sure the problems I experienced are with the software, and not with the computer, we will also mirror our testing on a current mid-range computer. This computer represents what a consumer would have bought within the last few months in the expectation that they would be set for the next couple of years. The prospective owner of a configuration such as this would have bought this system in anticipation of running Vista on it and made component choices reflective of that goal. This system was graciously provided by Puget Custom Computers and represents a solid mid-range machine that should be able to run Vista, should the owner decide to upgrade.
As an aside, Puget is one of the few OEM system vendors out there that is willing to ship a computer with Linux pre-installed. Although we were sent a computer with a blank hard drive so that we could install our applications fresh, we wanted to make sure that we were getting a computer from a company that is at least familiar with providing Linux configurations. Puget prefers to install SuSE Linux, but it also offers Ubuntu and RedHat as configuration options.
For the purposes of the article, we dubbed Puget's computer "Pugetina."
AS I SAID ABOVE
GO HERE
http://consumer.hardocp.com/article.html...CxoY29uc3VtZXI=
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. March 2007 @ 02:42 |
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Spring forward on Sunday? Try 'winter forward'
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 7:03 AM ET
CBC News
As of this weekend, Canadians resetting their clocks will have to remember a new saying: "Winter forward, fall back."
Canadians won't be "springing forward" in the spring anymore, because provincial and territorial governments have opted to go along with the United States in 2007, starting daylight time three weeks earlier than previously.
For the parts of Canada that observe daylight time, clocks have traditionally gone forward one hour in early April, just after the start of spring.
In 2007, the change will occur in the early hours of Sunday, March 11 ? still in the dying days of winter.
Each observing province officially changes its clocks at 2 a.m., except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which moves ahead at one minute past midnight local time.
Intended as energy-saving measure
The change was made south of the border under the American Energy Policy Act, first signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005.
Among other things, the act provides tax credits for Americans who purchase fuel-efficient cars and energy-saving appliances.
The part of the act that affects Canadians is the legislated change in daylight time, a move meant to save energy on the assumption that people won't use their lights as much if the sky doesn't darken until later in the day.
Since time management falls within provincial jurisdiction, each Canadian province and territory made its own decision whether to go along with the U.S. change.
Saskatchewan does not observe daylight time, nor do some parts of B.C., Nunavut, Ontario and Quebec.
'Smart move for businesses'
Whether the change will result in energy savings is still being debated, but that's not why Canada is changing daylight time at the same time as the U.S.
"It's a smart move for businesses like tourism, travel and telecommunications, and means we will be in sync with much of the country and our biggest trade partner ? the United States," B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said in a news release as he announced his province would observe the altered time-change schedule.
Provincial and territorial officials across the country generally agreed that being out of sync with the U.S. could be disastrous.
"Not changing would likely result in difficulties for our agricultural and fisheries producers, causing transportation, shipping and border difficulties," Ontario Justice Minister Murray Scott said.
Y2K revisited?
The time change has given rise to concerns of computer chaos. Most computer systems have internal clocks that automatically adjust for daylight time. As of 2007, they'll be doing it on the wrong date.
Some computer experts have flagged the problem as a "mini-Y2K," a reference to late-20th-century fears that chaos would strike computer-dependent systems worldwide as Dec. 31, 1999, clicked over to Jan. 1, 2000.
It was widely believed computers systems would not be able to differentiate between 2000 and 1900, a design flaw that could trigger catastrophic large-scale computer failures.
Partly as a result of months of advance warning that let computer specialists adjust their systems, few such failures were reported on New Year's Day of the year 2000.
The time change on March 11, 2007, could cause smaller headaches for those relying on electronic organizers or computer calendars, most of which are programmed for the old daylight time.
To prevent such problems, most computer manufacturers have produced software patches to fix the problem and they are easily accessible online.
May not be a permanent change
The time change gives Canadians about a month of extra daylight time in 2007. The "spring forward" occurs on March 11, three weeks earlier than usual, while the "fall back" is on Nov. 4, one week later than usual.
The extended daylight time may not be permanent.
The U.S. Congress retains the right to revert to the original clock-changing schedule if no great energy savings result or if the change proves unpopular with the American public.
So next year, Canadians may be springing ahead in the spring once more.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/03/05/daylight-time.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. March 2007 @ 02:47 |
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Another AACS Device Key Found; How Will Studios Respond?
By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews
March 5, 2007, 5:28 PM
Another user of the Doom9 Forum, whose members have been actively working to develop a system to subvert AACS copy protection, has apparently discovered in a memory dump a legitimate device key - the cryptographic element licensed to components in order to obtain the volume key automatically from high-definition HD DVD discs, according to a post yesterday. The source of the key appears to be CyberLink PowerDVD; and another forum user was able to use a published AACS formula to validate its authenticity.
At this rate, it may only be an academic matter before programmers there refine a method by which an independent program uses this or some other device key to decrypt and even play high-def content on computers, without the intervention of a licensed program.
In the DVD world, independents can develop software like ZoomPlayer that use published methods for invoking codecs and playing content, without developers fearing that the creation of such programs might be illegal or a violation of copyright.
In the high-def DVD world, content is encrypted, and content providers currently consider it a violation of copyright for individuals to subvert copy protection, even if they have no motive to distribute copied material to others.
A bill re-introduced in the US House of Representatives would make exceptions to the law so that individuals could subvert copy protection for personal purposes only, which would make it impossible for studios to prove copyright infringement violations against individuals unless they could prove their copying falls outside of fair use provisions.
With legislation such as the FAIR USE bill having a better chance of passage than ever before, content providers will certainly be searching for new legal precedent for charges against suspected violators. So yesterday's discovery of a real AACS-licensed device key lurking in memory could actually have some ominous portent, especially as Doom9 Forum users discuss the possibility of discussing the creation of freely distributed high-def disc players: Are device keys provided by the AACS Licensing Authority private property?
It will be difficult to prove they're not. After all, content providers are redistributing a segment of code for which they paid a fee. But an examination of the AACS LA Interim Content Provider Agreement indicates that the licensing authority considers the fee to be in exchange for the rights of so-called "adopters" to use the keys; they don't appear to be considered owners of the keys themselves, and the intellectual property foundation for their creation is certainly considered the property of AACS LA.
A device key may very well be someone's private property; the AACS LA would probably be first to lay claim to it.
Still, in the absence of a legal foundation for copyright infringement -- assuming the FAIR USE bill passes and is signed into law -- content providers may still attempt to make the case that the use of someone else's pilfered device key in an unauthorized freely distributed high-def media player could constitute a misappropriation of stolen property - even if it's not their own, and even if the end use of that property is exempt from legal infringement.
It would be uncharted waters for both plaintiffs and defendants in this hypothetical situation. Yet given that legislators may be on the verge of removing from the content industry's reach the most potent prosecutorial tool it has ever been given -- the far-reaching language of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- even the most well-meaning reverse-engineers cannot expect the content industry to respond by just shrugging its shoulders and walking away from the fight.
Other members of the Doom9 Forum over the past few days have expressed concern over whether AACS LA would invoke its revocation key to render devices whose keys have been exposed - including software using those keys to pretend to be those devices - incapable of playing discs. While knowledgeable members of the forum state that this is indeed possible, the makers of the popular shareware AnyDVD are reassuring users that its software has somehow been immunized by any revocation that AACS LA attempts, though the authors are not divulging how.
A new revision of AnyDVD now claims to be able to back up Blu-ray discs in addition to HD DVD, when the volume keys of those discs have been located.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Another_...pond/1173133515
Dear valued customer,
we would like to inform you, that a new version of AnyDVD
has been released. Here the list of fixes and improvements:
6.1.3.0 2007 03 05
- New: Added Blu-ray support
- New: Added removal of Blu-ray region code
- Change: Automatic update notification is now less intrusive
(it uses a ballon tool tip) on Windows XP and Vista
- Change: I/O on 64bit OS (WinXP64/Vista64) moved to kernel mode
- Updated ElbyCDIO layer, fixes "cannot get exclusive access" in
CloneDVD and CloneCD under XP64 and Vista64
- Change: ElbyCDIO uses less CPU cycles under Windows XP and Vista
- Change: After using CloneCD or CloneDVD, AnyDVD does no longer
rescan the disc under XP64 and Vista64.
- Fix: HD DVDs without iHD menus did not work
- Fix: AnyDVD did not shut down properly when user logged off
- Fix: AnyDVD could be unintentionally disabled for some drives
- Fix: AnyDVD could detect Arccos copy protection on short multi
angle titles (e.g., extras on Monster House, R4) by mistake
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages
The update is free for all registered customers, of course.
Just install the new version on top of your current version,
regardless which version you have installed:
http://www.slysoft.com/download.html
Have fun with AnyDVD!
Gordon Reeves
Customer Care Center
http://static.slysoft.com/SetupAnyDVD.exe
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 6. March 2007 @ 02:50
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. March 2007 @ 04:39 |
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FREE,PC Tools firewall Plus 2.0
Author: PC Tools
Date: 2007-03-05
Size: 3.64 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win NT/2K/XP/2003
PC Tools firewall Plus is a powerful personal firewall for Windows that protects your computer from intruders and controls the network traffic in and out of your PC. By monitoring applications that connect to the network firewall Plus can stop Trojans, backdoors, keyloggers and other malware from damaging your computer and stealing your private information.
PC Tools firewall Plus is advanced technology designed specially for people, not experts. Powerful prevention against attacks and known exploits is activated by default and advanced users can also easily create their own packet filtering rules to customize the network defenses. All you need to do is install it for immediate and automatic ongoing protection.
That?s why PC Tools firewall Plus provides world-leading protection, backed by regular Smart Updates, OnGuard? real-time protection and comprehensive network shielding to ensure your system remains safe and hacker free. PC Tools products are trusted and used by millions of people everyday to protect their home and business computers against online threats.
Main Features:
- Protects your PC as you are working, surfing and playing.
- Intelligent automatic protection without all the questions.
- Easy to use. Designed for both, novice and expert users.
- Advanced rules to protect your PC against common attacks.
- Best of all it?s FREE. No catches, limitations or time-limits.
DOWNLOAD HERE
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5470.html
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. March 2007 @ 06:26 |
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Hollywood muscles Canada
p2pnet.net news:- The major Hollywood studios are pulling out all the stops to muscle Canada into changing its copyright laws to suit them before a new administration takes over; one that may not be as cooperative as George W. Bush's.
According to Hollywood, we're the hotbed of illicit underground movie production.
Now US ambassador David Wilkins says Canada must strengthen its copyright laws, "to prevent illicit pirating of American music and films," says Agence France-Presse, quoting him as also stating:
"There's a lot of pirating that goes on, a lot of counterfeiting of movies and songs" and "it really does cost the Canadian economy a huge amount every year, estimated to be from some 10 to 30 billion (dollars) per year. It's not some effort to protect some high-paid Hollywood star or studio. It's about ensuring that Canadian and American innovators and entrepreneurs are encouraged and protected so they will continue to make North America competitive in the world marketplace."
His figures come from Hollywood's MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), which routinely produces unsupported statistics to suit the occasion.
Wilkins, "indicated Washington was working closely with the Canadian government, as well as the Canadian motion picture, sound recording and computer software industries to solve the inadequacy of the legal protections," adds AFP.
Earlier, "The time has come for the United States to send a stern warning to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, which has failed to deliver on a promised overhaul of copyright laws and a policing crackdown," The Globe and Mail had the so-called International Intellectual Property Alliance saying.
"The industry groups feel very strongly that we need to ratchet this up," IIPA legal counsel Steve Metalitz said. "The disturbing thing is that the Canadian government doesn't seem to take this very seriously."
Two US senators are also horning in. Dianne Feinstein (upper right) and John Cornyn decided it was for time for them to personally represent Hollywood to Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, "calling his attention to the dramatic increase in movie piracy that has occurred in Canada since the United States enacted tougher laws and penalties".
They're demanding he, "enact a law similar to one they introduced in 2003 to crack down on video and audio piracy, specifically banning the recording of movies before they are released to video".
The law they're referring to is their infamous Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act (S. 1932) . Under it, "theater owners and employees would be legally able to 'detain' anyone they thought was trying to illegally record a movie with complete immunity from any civil or criminal liability that resulted from the 'detention'," p2pnet posted, continuing:
"The (ART Act) carries up to $250,000 in fines, three years in jail for first time 'offenders,' five years if they're caught distributing for profit and 10 years inside for repeat offenders."
Says Canadian Net law expert Michael Geist:
The letter pulls out all the usual suspects - the 20th Century Fox claims that Canada is responsible for 50 percent of camcorded movies, the claims that Canadian copyright law is unable to deal with the issue, and the argument that Canadian camcordings are "higher quality."
The Senators also suggest that the alleged growth of Canadian camcording is a direct result of their U.S. anti-camcording legislation (ie. camcording moves north due to fear of the U.S. rules). Of course, they do not mention that the U.S. National Association of Theatre Owners has commented on the spread of camcording within the U.S. (then again, there is unsurprisingly no reference to data that calls into question the severity of the problem and its economic impact).
The letter concludes by warning that "if Canada does not criminalize illicit camcording, we are afraid that illegal pirating will continue to mushroom in your country." This issue continues to play out in an entirely predictable fashion - threats from U.S. movie studios, reports from U.S. lobby groups, and now letters from U.S. politicians. Up next will be a much harsher warning from the U.S. Trade Representative, which will cite these developments and follow the IIPA recommendations in its Section 301 Report that will be released next month.
Below is the Feinstein / Cornyn letter, funded by American tax-payers and the constituents of the two US politicians, in full:
They also tell Harper to feel free to contact them should he need their help in any way.
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.,
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
We are writing to call your attention to the explosive growth of pirating of movies from theaters through the use of hand-recorders known as 'camcorders.' The theft and sale of newly-released movies has always been a serious threat to the motion picture industry. Now, the advancements of digital technology and improved camcorder capabilities have compounded the problem.
Camcorders on the market today are easily concealable and have more advanced technological capabilities. An individual can use these sophisticated hidden cameras and take advantage of sound jacks in theaters meant for hearing-impaired moviegoers to produce a high-quality copy of a film. It is no surprise that these copies are now the source of more than 90 percent of counterfeit DVDs of newly-released movies.
Walking into a cinema and surreptitiously videotaping a movie is clearly wrong, clearly inappropriate, and something that should clearly be prohibited. However, until two years ago it was not a federal crime in the United States and only illegal in four of our 50 states. In response, we offered legislation in the U.S. Senate which has been enacted into law that protects artists by making it a federal crime to use camcorders and other recording devices in movie theaters.
The law we authored does two things to combat the problem. First, it makes it illegal to make an unauthorized recording of a motion picture in a movie theater, for any reason, punishable by up to 3 years in prison and/or a fine. Second, it makes it illegal to make pre-released versions of movies, including movies that have not yet been commercially-released on DVD or video, available on the Internet without authorization punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine. (A copy of the statute is enclosed).
Unfortunately, since the United States has enacted tougher laws and penalties against piracy, including camcording piracy, it seems that much of this illicit business has simply moved north. According to a report issued by the U.S. Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, piracy in Canada has grown since the U.S. enacted its law in 2005. In fact, Canadian-sourced camcordings rose by 24 percent in 2006 from 2005.
We are told that Canadian camcordings tend to be much higher quality; and therefore, they are in greater demand and responsible for a significantly higher percentage of pirated works around the world. Films illegally recorded in Canada have been found in no fewer than 45 countries. Twentieth Century Fox has reported that, at one point during 2006, Canadian theaters were the source for nearly 50 percent of illegal camcorded recordings across the globe. However, it is still not a criminal offense in Canada to make an unauthorized recording of a film in a movie theater. That means there is no law against what is essentially the theft of property.
We understand that to criminally prosecute a pirate for camcording in Canada there must be proof that the copy of the film being recorded is being made for commercial purposes. This loophole allows a person caught camcording a film in a Canadian theater to simply claim that they are making the copy for personal use. Theater owners can do little more than tell pirates to leave since there is no clear violation of the law.
It has been reported that enacting a federal law in the United States has provided an important deterrent and allowed the movie industry and theater owners to effectively attack this problem here. It has enabled American theater owners to post signs stating that camcording is a federal criminal offense and, should the warnings be ignored, notify law enforcement of violations. With a clear-cut statute in place, authorities can more successfully prosecute violators.
The digital recording of movies before or during their initial theatrical release is one of the most serious piracy problems faced by the motion picture industry. In fact, six out of ten movies never recoup their original investment. This is not just a problem for the United States and its motion picture industry. A worldwide study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) concluded that in 2005 movie piracy cost the Canadian film industry and your government $225 million and $34 million, respectively, in lost revenues.
If Canada does not criminalize illicit camcording, we are afraid that illegal pirating will continue to mushroom in your country. While a new law will not stop the worldwide-problem of film camcording, it will certainly help end this most egregious form of copyright piracy. It is bad enough when artists must compete with pirates to sell their products; it is far worse when pirates steal artists? creations and then sell them before the artist has even had the chance to recover their costs.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter of utmost importance. If we can be of any assistance to you or your cabinet ministers, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
John Cornyn
United States Senator
When we wrote about ART in 2004, "Coincidentally, so far this year Feinstein has received entertainment industry support to the tune of $269,566," we said. This became $284,844 for 2006, says OpenSecrets.
And, "Hollywood's main man, MPAA boss Dan Glickman, is doing his best to convince the world his employers, the immensely wealthy major studios, Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney, are being ruined by file sharers who camcord movies in Montreal, Canada, and then upload them," posted p2pnet recently, going on:
"In his mind-bending diatribes, he always conveniently forgets to mention Hollywood insiders have starring roles in getting movies online."
http://p2pnet.net/story/11546
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. March 2007 @ 08:26 |
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AVG Anti-Virus Updates March 6, 2007
Author: Grisoft, Inc.
Date: 2007-03-06
Size: 6.6 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All
Editors Note: Grisoft tends to silently update, so if you receive an error downloading, you can download the latest update directly from Grisoft here.
In order to provide the highest level of antivirus protection for users of AVG Anti-Virus, GRISOFT continuously develops information about new viruses. This information, as well as product improvements, is provided to the users of AVG Anti-Virus in the form of Updates. Timely virus database updates are the critical component for the effectiveness of any antivirus program. In order to ensure that your AVG is providing the maximum amount of antivirus protection, your AVG Anti-Virus System must be kept up-to-date.
Download the latest AVG Free from MajorGeeks.
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