SECURITY...

• Melbourne police burn $1.3 million pirated DVDs - Coppers have organised a bit of a barbie in Melbourne and chucked more than $1.3 million illegally copied DVDs on to the grill.
• Chip and Pin will force fraudsters online - The roll out of chip and Pin credit and debit cards in the UK will lead to an explosion in internet fraud, a recent study has claimed. According to a newly published survey by CyberSource International, in association with Retail Logic, UK retailers fear that the enhanced security features will lead to criminals increasingly targeting e-businesses.
• CA slaps spyware label on Kazaa - Through its PestPatrol research, CA found that Kazaa posed a greater threat than other programs in its top five spyware list because of its widespread popularity. Kazaa claims that its software has been downloaded 214 million times.
• Microsoft offers IE IFRAME patch soon  - The Finnish website that reported the other day that a regulatory authority had recommended people not use Internet Explorer until a major bug was fixed has some more news on the case. It reports that the security manager of Microsoft Finland said a fix for the IFRAME bug is still in the coding phase, and will likely take a few weeks more before users can download it.
• A gang of hackers is actively considering attacks based on the IFRAME bug - check it out! You can also download the complete rundown in PDF format - detailing the server exploit, the packet injection process, the malware downloads, infected sites, how to protect your server and desktop PC: Xpire/Splitinfinity Exploit: Server hack / Malware install analysis ([email protected])
• Winamp IN_CDDA.dll Remote Buffer Overflow Exploit - As we reported on Thursday, Winamp IN_CDDA.dll Buffer Overflow, a vulnerability in Winamp's IN_CDDA.dll allows attackers to cause Winamp to execute arbitrary code by overflowing an internal buffer. This exploit code can be used to test your system for the mentioned vulnerability.
• SecureCRT Remote Command Execution - SecureCRT is an extremely customizable terminal emulator for Internet and intranet use with support for Secure Shell (SSH1 and SSH2) as well as Telnet and rlogin protocols". Unsafe handling of a URL handler (telnet://) in SecureCRT allows a remote attacker to run arbitrary code on the target machine.
• Soldier of Fortune II Broadcast Memory Corruption Bug - A denial of service attack is possible on the server when issuing a very large but valid query, the effects of which are an immediate match interruption and possible crash of the server itself.

OFF-TOPIC...

• Rough Reception for DNA Law - California voters approve an aggressive DNA-collection program -- basically anyone held in connection with a felony will be tested -- and that has privacy advocates worried.
• "Suicide tree" toxin is "perfect" murder weapon  - A plant dubbed the suicide tree kills many more people in Indian communities than was previously thought. The warning comes from forensic toxicologists in India and France who have conducted a review of deaths caused by plant-derived poisons. Cerbera odollam, which grows across India and south-east Asia, is used by more people to commit suicide than any other plant, the toxicologists say. But they also warn that doctors, pathologists and coroners are failing to detect how often it is used to murder people.
• NASA plans trip to Moon - NASA has put forward proposals for a series of unmanned missions to moon between 2008 and 2011 to collect data and pick a landing site. They are later planning to send robots between 2011 and 2015 that will further help to prepare the site for a permanent manned base between 2015 and 2020.

TECHNOLOGY...

• Whatever Happened to SGI? - SGI now focuses on supercomputers, but there's a tiny coterie of fans dedicated to keeping the company's aging but high-powered workstations alive. Playing around with an old SGI Indy workstation, novices can learn Hollywood techniques at Peoria prices. An Indy, which in the early 1990s cost around $14,000, can be picked up on eBay these days for maybe $40, plus another $200 for a monitor 
• Researchers envision 3-D hologram phone - Now, two Japanese scientists have developed technology they hope will one day turn the humble telephone booth into a high-tech chamber for beaming holographic images. At a Tokyo University laboratory, a woman stands inside a booth where a 360-degree digital camera surrounding her face sends data to a cylindrical tube. Soon, she appears to be staring out from the tube. Viewed from the side, only the side of her head is visible. Go round to the back, and only.
• Microsoft upgrade knocks out 80,000 government PCs - Some 80,000 computers at the Department for Work and Pensions went down during 'a routine software upgrade' of its Microsoft machines this week Staff at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were unable to use their PCs this week after a routine software upgrade knocked out 80 percent of the PC in the sprawling department, which numbers some 100,000 employees.
• AMD to migrate all CPU production to 90nm SOI process in 2005 - AMD is expected to migrate all of its CPU production to 90nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) processes in early 2005, according to sources at Taiwan motherboard makers, citing AMD's latest roadmap. AMD also plans to release its next-generation Sempron processors based on the Palermo core at a 90nm process in the first half of 2005. AMD has also updated its public roadmap. The biggest change: the death of its Athlon XP brand.

HARDWARE...

• Apple iPod 40GB 4G Review - Everything USB just published a review of the Apple iPod 40GB 4G. The fourth iteration of Apples MP3 player, which now holds 20GB or 40GB of tunes depending on the model, is still the sleek and sexy iPod we all know and love. Besides slashing $100 off the same capacity as earlier models, Apple has revamped the navigation with a click wheel; improved the battery life by 50%; streamlined the menu functions; and lastly, become stingy on accessories.
• iRiver iFP-799 review - TrustedReviews take a look at the iRiver iFP-799 digital music player which handles all popular music formats including OGG and WMA.
• Roku Labs SoundBridge Network Music Player (M1000) - While the SoundBridge units aren't your least expensive choice for freeing your digital music library from the confines of your hard drive, they're done well. Even though some features, like the lack of support for Apple's DRM protected music files, and no support for 802.11g are a bit annoying, the overall pluses outweigh the minuses.
• ABIT AG8 915P Motherboard - Bjorn3D has posted a review of the ABIT AG8 915P Motherboard.
• Gainward 6800 GT GS - Hexus has posted a review of Gainward's GeForce 6800 GT Ultra/2400 Golden Sample card. This card has a customized cooling solution, which allows Gainward to clock the GeForce 6800 GT core to 400 MHz. They also employ 1.6ns rated memory and clocks the memory at 1.2GHz, which is a full 100 MHz over the GeForce 6800 Ultra.
• Swiftech H20-8600 AMD A64 water cooling kit - MadShrimps take a closer look at one of Swiftech's all-in-one water cooling kits. Aimed at the novice user out there it promises easy installation and decent performance.
• X-MEM External Hard Drive Review  - PDAToday have finished their mini-review review of the Targus X-MeM External HDD.
• 256MB SanDisk Memory Stick PRO Review - Adrian's Rojak Pot has posted a review of the 256MB SanDisk Memory Stick PRO.

GUIDES...

• Catalyst Driver Comparison (4.10 - 4.11 - 4.12) - ATI releases new drivers every month to the public with new features, performance improvements and ofcourse with bugfixes for games and other issues. TechConnect compared Catalyst 4.10, Catalyst 4.11 and the last beta 4.12 Catalyst driver, which ATI claimed to be the best for Half-Life 2. The following games are used to generate performance results: Doom 3, Farcry, Need for Speed Underground 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Unreal Tournament 2004 and last but not least Half-Life 2! They also selected five different timedemos for Half-Life 2, two timedemos from [H]ard|OCP and ATI and one timedemo from Anandtech.

SOFTWARE...

• PSSDIAG Data Collection Utility - PSSDiag is a diagnostic data collector for Microsoft SQL Server. It can simultaneously collect Perfmon/Sysmon logs, Profiler traces, event logs, SQLDIAG reports, and detailed blocking information. It is commonly used by Microsoft Product Support Services engineers to collect diagnostic data from end-user installations and can also be used by end-users to troubleshoot and monitor their own SQL Server installations.
• MSN Remote Record Beta - MSN are trialling a new service that enables users running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 to remotely schedule TV shows to record on their Media Center Edition-based PCs. MSN Remote Record is likely to be released as a free add-on in the form of a powertoy in early 2005. For now those wanting to get onto the beta can do the following: 1) Go to http://beta.microsoft.com 2) Sign in with your Passport ID 3) Sign in with Guest ID: myshows (all one word, all lower case) 4) Click on "MSN Remote Record Service Beta" 5) Click on "survey" on the left side of the MSN Remote Record Service Beta Program page 6) Click on "MSN Remote Record Beta Nomination Form" 7) Fill out the form and submit. ~ All valid nominations will be approved.
• Movie DB v3.20 (Build 192) - Movie DB is free program which allows you to archive and catalogue your collection of DVD, VHS, VCD and DivX. Some feature: download movie data and actor's filmography from Internet, manage covers/movies and actors images, print cd/dvd covers.
• Fresh Download 7.18 - Fresh Download is an easy-to-use and very fast download manager software that turbo charges downloading files from the Internet. This new version allows you to shutdown the PC in a specific time.
• SPAMfighter Standard 3.1.5 - If you are looking for a tool to remove spam from your inbox, look no further. Spamfighter is the tool you are looking for. Simple, reliable, and efficient. Spamfighter is using the power of more than 450.000 people that instantly report if they receive a spam mail.
• DivX Pro Plasma Alpha build 1408  - DivX is a package (download DivX Pro Plasma alpha build 1408 ~ DivX pro 5.2.1) that includes all the DivX codec, player, utilities, and documentation that you need to play DivX files. DivX codec is based on the MPEG-4 compression standard. This codec can reduce an MPEG-2 video (DVD format) to ten percent of its original size. DivX is a digital video compression technology based on the ISO MPEG-4 standard.
• ATI Tray Tools 1.0.1.410 - ATI Tray Tools is a small utility that can be found in the windows tray which then allows instant access to options and settings. Quite handy and quite a small download.
• nVidia nForce 6.25 Windows 64-bit - NVIDIA release new NForce drivers for 64-bit platforms. That these driver are intended for a 64-bit Windows 2003/XP operating ONLY. This is not intended for your regulkar 32-bit Windows.
• Sound Blaster Audigy 2/ZS Driver 5.12.05.522 - Station-Drivers.com has posted a new sets of Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Series Drivers 5.12.05.522 WHQL (download). Dated 29/10/2004 plus Creative have released a Digital Rights Management version 1.84.0055 for Sound Blaster Audigy 2 and Audigy 2 ZS series audio devices.