SECURITY...

• Google Nukes Santy Worm, But Threat Remains - Google began filtering the worm's queries late Tuesday night, effectively stopping the Santy propagation on vulnerable Web forums running the freely distributed phpBB (code) software. However, according to an advisory from Kaspersky Lab, the Google filtering is not enough to solve the problem. "The author can always release new versions that use other search engines - MSN or Yahoo, for instance," the anti-virus research firm said in the advisory.
• PHP v4.3.x exploit for Windows - This "Proof of Concept" exploit is only for Win2k SP4 + PHP 4.3.5 on Apache 2.0.49.
• "Metal Gear" Symbian OS Trojan Disables Anti-Virus - Security experts at anti-virus company Symworks have discovered a new trojan horse program for Series 60 smartphones that they've dubbed "METAL Gear.a" that uses a two-pronged attack to infect both the local phone and nearby phones via Bluetooth. METAL Gear.a purports to be a Symbian OS-port of the PC and console game title "Metal Gear Solid" with an installation file named METAL Gear.sis. When installed, however, the trojan immediately disables specified anti-virus software on the phone, as well as all file explorers and various other applications. It then installs a variant of Cabir.c, the previously reported "Skulls" trojan.
• Teen virus writer dodges prison -  British teenager has received a six-month suspended sentence for releasing a worm designed to turn victims' PCs into spam generating stations. The 16 year-old was sentenced in South Cheshire Juvenile Court in Crewe for releasing the Randex worm, which installed a Trojan onto computers that allowed them to be used by spammers. A combined operation between New Scotland Yard, the FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police led to his arrest, along with two Americans and a Canadian.
• DRM at its worst? Here's a prime example - Hardware Analysis reports on a horror story of someone picking up a DVD recently and having to go through an agonizing process of installing DRM-enabled applications to even get it to play on his computer.
• Are Security Vendors Tricking XP SP2? - Microsoft says its Service Pack 2 update adds an additional layer of security to Windows XP-based PCs. However, recent PCW tests seem to show that at least two major security suites are crippling SP2's ability to offer users accurate security information.
• Linux lasting longer against Net attacks - Unpatched Linux systems are surviving longer on the Internet before being compromised, according to a report from the Honeynet Project released this week.
• Worst spyware queues up - CoolWebSearch is the most dangerous program on Webroot's latest list of the 10 worst spyware and adware threats. Webroot's list of top 10 threats also includes PurityScan, Transponder (vx2), KeenValue, and Perfect Keylogger.
• Movie file-sharing hubs poised to decentralise - The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), a lobby group representing major US film studios, filed lawsuits against several popular movie sharing "hubs" on 14 December. A week later many of these sites had closed down.

OFF-TOPIC...

• Teen sues over topless pictures in video game - A teenage girl who was photographed topless, apparently during Spring Break at South Padre Island, is now a "prize" in a video game that rewards players by revealing images of topless women. "The Guy Game," available for about $40 for the popular Xbox and Playstation game consoles, touts "over 60 smokin' coeds" in its advertising, which plays to the "Girls Gone Wild" set: "Real video of actual Spring Break Hotties." The problem is, the girl was 17 when she was photographed, which not only raises questions about the legality of the material, but renders moot any consent she may have given, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Travis County District Court.
• Car-To-Car Ad-hoc WLAN to be created by 2006 - Car makers BMW, Audi, Daimler Chrysler, Volkswagen, Renault and Fiat have won a German government grant to help develop the basis for a standard method for car-to-car wireless data. NOW is focusing on 802.11 technology and IPv6 to develop "inter-vehicle communication based on ad hoc networking principles". Essentially, it's exploring ways that moving vehicles can automatically set up temporary links with other cars, bikes and trucks in the vicinity, and share traffic information. With routing capabilities, the whole thing could become a huge "automobile Internet", with vehicles warning each other - and their drivers - about slow-downs, bad weather, accidents and other road problems.
• Mobile Phone Radiation Harms DNA, New Study Finds  - Radio waves from mobile phones harm body cells and damage DNA in laboratory conditions, according to a new study majority-funded by the European Union, researchers said on Monday. The so-called Reflex study, conducted by 12 research groups in seven European countries, did not prove that mobile phones are a risk to health but concluded that more research is needed to see if effects can also be found outside a lab.
• Scientists build nanoscale "jigsaw" puzzles made of RNA - Scientists working at the leading edge of bionanotechnology, are using assembly and folding principles of natural RNA, or ribonucleic acid, to build beautiful and potentially useful artificial structures at the nano-scale. Possible applications include the development of nanocircuits, medical implants, and improved medical testing.

• Stem-Cell Method May Cheat Death - The approach would involve removing one cell from a very early embryo that has developed to about eight cells (called a morula), and deriving stem cells from that single cell. The embryo would still have the potential to develop into a human if implanted into a womb. The only thing preventing the scientists from trying the process is money, said Dr. Yury Verlinsky, director of RGI.

• Heavy-lift rocket's debut a partial success - The first in a new generation of US heavy-lift rockets, the Boeing Delta 4 Heavy, made its maiden flight on Tuesday, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. However, the launch was only a partial success. The rocket got off the ground safely after several days of delays. But a problem with the first stage engine burn meant the two small satellites the rocket was carrying did not reach geosynchronous orbit.

• NASA's Explorer Finds "Newborn" Galaxies - NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer has discovered three dozen galaxies emitting ultraviolet light at levels that indicate stars still are forming and supernovas still are exploding

TECHNOLOGY...

• Microsoft Plans New Windows Version in January - Microsoft will provide a stripped-down version of Windows from next month while it decides whether to appeal against a European Union court order, its general counsel said on Wednesday.
• AOL gets ready to launch free Web e-mail - America Online is testing a Web-based e-mail service that will compete with Yahoo Mail, Microsoft's Hotmail and Google's Gmail. The service, dubbed "AOL Mail on the Web," is expected to officially debut early next year for members, and later in the year for the public.
• Downloadable movies coming to the PSP - Starting December 24, PDA Cinema Contents will distribute four movies in the MPEG-4 format that the PSP employs. PSP owners will be able to purchase the movies and can then download them onto a Memory Stick Duo, which can then be inserted into the handheld. Each movie costs between 294 yen ($2.82) and 399 yen ($3.82), and because the movies can be purchased with a credit card, it will more than likely be possible for PSP owners who live overseas to purchase and watch the movies, provided they speak Japanese.
• iBook replacement scheme extended - Apple's iBook Logic Board Replacement scheme has been extended once again, this time until March 18. The scheme means owners of iBooks manufactured between May 2002 and April 2003 who experience a logic board failure leading to video display can have their Macs repaired for free, even when they are no longer under warranty.

HARDWARE...

• New DVD recorder from KiSS supports Nero Digital files - The DP-558 DVD recorder manufactured by KiSS Technology truly leaves nothing at all to be desired - direct access to PC files, live television, unlimited, comfortable recording of TV programmes as well as online applications such as WebRadio and online games that can be enjoyed on the television screen. It is easy to experience Nero Digital file formats live on TV with this unit: Simply install the Nero Recode 2 CE DVD transcoding software on your PC. In related news, in Q1 2005 KiSS Technology launches a new range of LCD- and High definition Plasma-TVs which will match the Digital Home of tomorrow perfectly, with WLAN connections and support for multiple digital formats including Windows Media HD
• Commodore 64 reincarnated on a chip - Ellsworth has squeezed the entire circuitry of a two-decade-old Commodore 64 home computer onto a single chip, which she has tucked neatly into a joystick that connects by a cable to a TV set. Called the Commodore 64--the same as the computer system--her device can run 30 video games, mostly sports, racing and puzzles games from the early 1980s, all without the hassle of changing game cartridges. Sold by Mammoth Toys, based in New York, for $30, the Commodore 64 joystick has been a hot item on QVC this Christmas season, selling 70,000 units in one day when it was introduced on the shopping channel last month.
• ATI prepares two new chipsets - ATI is working to improve two chipsets. Its RS480 and RX480 families had some features that could certainly do with a sound tweaking. Both chipsets suffered from USB 2.0 slowdown, lack of LAN and Azalia-like audio.
• Epson releases a new multi-format photographic flatbed scanner - The Perfection 4990 Photo is aimed at photo enthusiasts and professionals, looking for the best in fast, multi-format film scanning technology. It offers 4800 x 9600 dpi resolution and has several features to facilitate scanning large archives of prints and films. A built-in transparency unit for 35mm film, medium and large format film allows you to scan entire photo contact sheets in one batch. While the integrated LED allows you to track the progress of the film scanning, preventing you from inadvertently interrupting the scanning process before completion.
• Iomega Continues Rollout of New Hard Drive Lineup - Several best-in-class features distinguish Iomega's triple-interface drives, which range in capacity from 160GB to 400GB*. All are 7200 RPM drives and are whisper-quiet in operation. All include USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed USB), FireWire? 400, and FireWire 800 interfaces.
• WD Ships New Large HDDs with Caching Enhancements - The new WD Caviar SE 320GB features 7200rpm motor, 8MB buffer and 3.5” form-factor. The Caviar 320GB boasts with 748Mb/s buffer to disk transfer rate, 1200Mb/s buffer to host transfer rate, 4.20ms nominal average latency, 8.90ms read seek time, 10.9ms write seek time, 2.0ms track-to-track seek time and 21ms full stroke speed. The new 320GB HDDs will be available for Parallel ATA and Serial ATA interconnections. WD said it had implemented advanced the caching algorithms in the new and improved Caviar family of hard drives, which makes 8MB buffers as efficient as 16MB buffers.
• Motorola E1000 3G Mobile Phone review - The first thing you notice about the E1000 is the large screen and at 34 x 44mm, with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, this 16bit display is excellent in use and very clear and easy to read. The second thing you notice is the odd button layout - there's a row of four buttons on each side of the display, which is similar to the design of the Siemens SX1, although not quite as brave as having the whole keypad down the side of the phone.
• Rock Quaddra 64 3.7 Laptop review - All in all, Rock's Quaddra 64 3.7 is a tasty desktop-replacement laptop that oozes power. An AMD Athlon 64 3700+ makes short work of 2D tasks and a 128MB Mobility RADEON 9700 takes most games in its stride. For the asking price of £1408 (inc. VAT) I'd like to see Rock specify 802.11g Wireless connectivity as standard, and, perhaps, a touch more system RAM. Christmas is just around the corner. Perhaps it's time to ask Santa for something special, courtesy of Rock?
• Intel 925XE Express Chipset review - That 1066 MHz FSB offers roughly 10-15 percent more performance over that previous 800 MHz FSB product. Gaming wise, well .. you'll not see a huge difference at all, 5 percent maybe if you graphics card isn't limiting you that is. Intel still has a difficult time battling AMD's Athlon 64 price and performance in that area. But let's not forget that Intel offers these small things we take for granted so easily, Hyper-Threading for your multitasking intensive applications for example.
• Seagate External 200GB Hard Disk Drive review -  Seagate's new drive features a very original design and a universal connectivity thanks to the support of two interfaces. As for the performance factor, our tests reveal some unpleasant things like surprisingly low results in WinBench 99 when FAT32 is in use. This is probably due to incorrect operation of the drive's controller or firmware with this particular benchmark. For example, we didn't have the same problem in FC-Test.
• Thermaltake Big Water 12cm water cooling kit - Big Water is most definitely an entry-level system; it was, however; constructed of high-quality materials usually found in higher-performance H20-kits. The system is unobtrusive, easy to install, and is very quiet during operation. If you're an overclocking fanatic, seeking high-performance cooling I wouldn't expect too much from Big Water, although it did take me places stock air-cooling could not.
• OCZ ModStream Power Supply Roundup - In this roundup, CoolTechZone have OCZ's 450W and 520W ModStream modular power supplies for evaluation.
• D-Link Gigabit Wired/108Mbps Wireless Gaming Network - While the D-Link wired/wireless gaming network components haven't been perfect or flawless, they have been great and easy to work with. I am much happier with the D-Link DI-624 router than I was with my previous router and am very pleased with how much more flexible and capable my network is now. You get a plethora of excellent features with these devices, especially for their price range, and most of them come with free 24/7 tech support and a good warranty.
• Razer Diamondback Gaming Mouse - With 1600 DPI and many other features, any fanboy will be hooked.
• BTC 9019URF Wireless Keyboard - Depending on what your needs are, the BTC 9019URF keyboard may or may not be for you. For office work, the keyboard responds as a laptop would. Short, low-profile keys keep the strokes quiet and quick. If gaming is your thing, a wireless combo with separate mouse and keyboard would be a better decision due to the sluggish response and button placement.
• A.C.Ryan LAN.Ranger CAT6 Network Cable - In a nutshell, the LAN.Ranger is a CAT6 cable with silver EMI shielding beneath a clear shell. The cable also happens to be UV-reactive. For those unaware of CAT6, as the name implies it's the 6th generation of twisted pair Ethernet cables. CAT5 is still the predominant type and supports Fast Ethernet (100Mbps). Although it usually contains 4 pairs of twisted copper wire, only two are utilized. CAT5 enhanced (CAT5e) supports short range Gigabit Ethernet (1000Mbps) by using all 4 pairs of wires. CAT6 also supports Gigabit Ethernet like CAT5e, but it allows for communications at twice the speed.
• Samsung 730MP LCD TV/Monitor - TrustedReviews have posted a review up of the Samsung 730MP LCD TV/Monitor which is a 17in TFT display with a built in TV tuner and a multi format memory card reader.

GUIDES...

• Optimizing PC Hardware for Gaming - Well optimized hardware will not only make the computer run much faster, but also more efficiently. Often the well known blue screen of death or even random resets is a direct result of poorly configured hardware
• How to unlock your "cut down" video card - What we consider as a "cut down" version of a video card is a product that uses the same GPU chip (Graphical Processing Unit) a high-end card has, but placed on a low-end card with some functions of the chip disabled. An example of this is the 6200-based series video cards that are actually using a standard 6600/6600GT core, but instead of 8 pixel pipelines, on the 6200 only half of them are working, the other four are disabled.
• The Tweaking Experience Registry Guide 4.0 - The Tweaking Experience Registry Guide 4.0 provides an extensive range of registry tweaks, tricks & hacks for optimizing, enhancing and securing the Windows XP, 2000 and 2003 Server.
• Securing IE for Today's WW(Infected)W -  If you are one of those users who have not found the calling to switch to Firefox and are still using IE, here is a quick guide to safer browsing on the World Wide (infected) Web. We have compiled a set of tips and tools that will help shield your big blue E from malicious spyware and adware that’s waiting to hitch a ride on your PC. Because this guide would not really make any sense if we listed any paying programs to keep you browsing in a safe manner, (since Firefox is free); all the tools listed in this guide are freeware.
• The Stubborn Paging File Guide -  If you have already read our Virtual Memory Optimization Guide, you might have already created and optimized your own semi-permanent paging file. But before you rub your palms in glee, reboot your system and check the paging file size. Don't be surprised if you find your paging file magically enlarged to over 1.5GB!
• The Windows XP Tweaking Companion (XPTC) Released - TweakGuides.com's Windows XP Tweaking Companion (XPTC) is the complete Windows XP and system optimization guide. No longer do you have to put up with so-called 'XP Tweak Guides' which have a handful of Registry tweaks and some vague optimization advice - the XPTC brings an enormous range of detailed descriptions and resources together in one free 170 Page downloadable PDF file.
• Windows XP SP2 may cause digital camera performance problems - Is your digital camera acting strangely since your XP SP2 upgrade? Things not quite right on the 1394 device front? If so, then you may need the Microsoft KB885222 update, which addresses these issues.
  Microsoft have confirmed that after an SP2 install, users may experience problems with the performance of 1394 devices, including performance degradation
• Advanced Guides: Unattended Windows 2000/XP Installations - Make a customized Windows Install CD with all the drivers already included. Let the install process go ahead 100% unattended, so you can get down to some real work, and leave the "click ok" job to the non-IT folks. - Version 1.0.0.
• MOM 2005 guides - The Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Operations Guide includes guidance and recommended best practices for backing up and restoring, maintaining, optimizing and monitoring Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (MOM) in an existing IT infrastructure
• Open Discussion on Windows and Linux - Learn about the comparative differences between Windows and Linux and other open-source alternatives. This broadcast focuses on three key scenarios: total cost of ownership (TCO), security, and risk management.
• New Year, New PCs? - Consumers thinking about buying a new personal computer in 2005 might be better off putting off their purchase until 2006. With few major changes in PC hardware or software due over the next year, the PC of 2005 is likely to look awfully similar to the PC of today.

SOFTWARE...

• Outpost Firewall Pro - Lifetime Upgrades, free of charge - Anyone who purchases Outpost Firewall Pro from December 20th through January 10th will get Lifetime Upgrades, free of charge. This would save annual spending of 19.95 for future upgrades of Outpost protection.
• RivaTuner 2.0 RC15.3 Next Week - Public release is scheduled on 29th-30th of December! (thanks Warp2Search)
• SpoofStick for Firefox 1.04 - SpoofStick for Firefox is a simple browser extension that helps users detect spoofed (fake) websites. A spoofed website is typically made to look like a well known, branded site (like ebay.com or citibank.com) with a slightly different or confusing URL.
• SpoofStick for Internet Explorer 1.02 - SpoofStick for MSIE is a simple browser extension that helps users detect spoofed (fake) websites. A spoofed website is typically made to look like a well known, branded site (like ebay.com or citibank.com) with a slightly different or confusing URL.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 - Adobe Reader 7.0 software lets you view, print, and search PDF files on a variety of devices and operating systems with faster launch time and real-time zooming and panning. As with earlier versions of Adobe Reader, the free Adobe Reader 7.0 software allows you to open and read any PDF document and fill in PDF forms. But Adobe Reader 7.0 also offers significant new features and enhancements that greatly extend the flexibility of Adobe PDF documents.
• UltraEdit-32 v10.20d (shw) - UltraEdit-32 (download) is a Windows text editor with support for unlimited file sizes, a spell checker, drag and drop, full HEX editing capabilities, user configurable syntax highlighting (pre-configured for HTML, Java, C/C++, VB, Perl), column editing, sorting, and a configurable toolbar.
• Opera 8 beta 1 - Opera Software has released the First Beta release (direct link) of Opera 8.
• PhaseOut 5.2  - PhaseOut is freeware multiple tabbed Browser (download) with Full Clean up control and Smart PopUp blocker, Flash Skin manager, Photomail: send webcam instant pics, Controller for full screen navigation, Advanced Search tools, Favs and History organizer, Professional Customizations, Company Logo and style, customized e-mails, channels and ads remote administrator management, hard coded Proxy setting, parental control, System access prevention
• Glonim 1.32 available - Glonim is a realtime patch for Windows that adds many "cool" features to the operating system, some probably never seen before. It can: Add animations in many styles to when most windows open and close. Tile your own bitmap images on the back of windows and application backgrounds and much more...
• nLite 0.99.5b3 - Due to some annoyances and bugs, mainly in Tweaks deployment, here is one release mainly filled with fixes.
• CCleaner 1.16.084 - CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimisation tool. That removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing it to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less that a second to run) and Free.
• Koepi's XviD Codec 1.0.3 - XviD (download) is an ISO MPEG-4 compliant video codec.
• ACE Mega CoDecS Pack 6.03 - In this codec pack you will find plenty of usefull CoDecS (CoderS/DeCoderS), Media Player FilterS, Media Players and other UtilitieS.
• NVIDIA DVD Decoder 1.00.67 - NVIDIA DVD Decoder enables the industry's highest quality DVD and MPEG-2 playback and rich surround sound audio for Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center Edition. Featuring Dolby  Digital surround sound audio and hardware acceleration for compatible graphics processors, the NVIDIA DVD Decoder delivers unmatched color fidelity and smooth DVD, video, and TV viewing.
• HOC Half-Life 2 Benchmark - This is a new program that allows you to benchmark your system with today's most popular FPS-game, Half-Life 2. The program does not modify any registry-entries or configuration files, so it is completely safe to use. It contains 5 built in demos; you can set filtering methods, resolutions and much much more.
• FarCry Benchmarking Utility - The HardwareOC FarCry Benchmark is an easy-to-use tool, that makes Far Cry video card benchmarking fast and easy.
• Plextor PX-716 DVD-R DL beta firmware - This firmware allows users to burn DVD-R dual layer discs at 2 speed. Plextor Japan warns that this is a beta firmware and therefor doesn't guarantee that one will be able to actually burn DVD-R dual layer discs. The firmware also disables SecuRec, GigaRec and VariRec. In mid. January 2005 the final version of this firmware should become available.