SECURITY...

• CIA Researching Automated IRC Spying - CNet News is reporting that the CIA has been quietly investing in research programs to automatically monitor Internet chat rooms. In a two year agreement with the National Science Foundation, CIA officials were involved with the selection of recipients for research grants to develop automated chat room monitors. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute received $157,673 from the CIA and NSF for their proposal of 'a system to be deployed in the background of any chat room as a silent listener for eavesdropping ... The proposed system could aid the intelligence community to discover hidden communities and communication patterns in chat rooms without human intervention.
• Hacking tool "draws FBI subpoenas" - The author of the popular freeware hacking tool Nmap warned users this week that FBI agents are increasingly seeking access to information from the server logs of his download site, insecure.org. "I may be forced by law to comply with legal, properly served subpoenas," wrote "Fyodor," the 27-year-old Silicon Valley coder responsible for the post scanning tool, in a mailing list message. "At the same time, I'll try to fight anything too broad... Protecting your privacy is important to me, but Nmap users should be savvy enough to know that all of your network activity leave traces."
• Tools Let Spyware Slip Through Cracks - Just days after hackers seized control of a banner ad server and used it to load malicious programs on vulnerable machines, researcher Eric Howes issued failing grades on all anti-spyware scanners he tested during a two-week stretch in October. Howes, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, found that the best-performing anti-spyware scanner failed to detect about 25 percent of the "critical" files and registry entries installed by the malicious programs.
• Winamp - Buffer Overflow In IN_CDDA.dll - Security researchers are warning of a serious - and unfixed - security hole with the popular Winamp media player. They discovered a remotely exploitable stack based buffer overflow in winamp version 5.05. It is possible that earlier versions are also vulnerable and we recommend all users to upgrade to the latest version. The overflow can be caused in various ways, the most dangerous though is through a malformed .m3u playlist file. When hosted on a web site, these files will automatically downloaded and open in winamp without any user interaction. This is enough to cause the overflow that would allow a malicious playlist to overwrite EIP and execute arbitrary code.
• Limited buffer-overflow in Star Wars Battlefront 1.11 - If a client uses a too big nickname causes a limited buffer-overflow in the server. "Limited" because doesn't seem possible to overwrite important memory zones and, so, to execute remote code.
• Sun moves to eclipse Java hackers - Sun Microsystems has moved to patch a potentially devastating flaw in the Run Time Environment of its Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that security experts warn could leave millions of desktops open to hack attack. The Java giant said that it is aware that a "possible security vulnerability in the JVM" has been found by IT security firm Secunia. The company added that it has been collaborating with the engineers who uncovered the flaw to "quickly address the issue".
• MS Drops Windows 2000 SP5 - According to WindowsITPro, the Update Rollup will contain all security-related updates produced for Windows 2000 between SP4 and the time when Microsoft finalizes the contents of the Update Rollup, and a small number of important non-security updates. Because Microsoft believes the Update Rollup will better meet the needs of customers than a new service pack, there will not be a Service Pack 5 (SP5) for Windows 2000. Therefore, SP4 becomes the final service pack for Windows 2000.
• UK not ready for biometric ID cards - Although the Queen's Speech confirmed the government's determination to push forward with national ID cards, industry experts warned that major technological issues could derail the scheme.

OFF-TOPIC...

• JFK Reloaded Game Causes Controversy - Traffic Management Limited, a Scottish video game company, released JFK Reloaded earlier this week. The game re-creates the assassination of JFK, and lets players take the role of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. The game depicts the presidential limo as it cruises through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, and allows the player to fire at the president from Oswald's perch in the school book depository building. After shooting at Kennedy, the player sees a slow motion replay and an analysis of where--and who--the bullets hit. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), brother of the late president, has condemned the game. His spokesperson calls it "despicable."
• Fuel Cell Powered Scooter - In an article by Fuel Cell Works, Samsung Engineering announced that they've developed a Hydrogen-based scooter which can go 140Km on 6 liters of hydrogen. The downside? The process that produces the hydrogen uses a component in short supply.
• Can People Really Program 80+ Hours a Week? - A question in light of the EA controversy. I'm an academic researcher who does his own programming -- I have to eat what I kill. In my 35 years of coding experience, any time I try to work on a complex program for more than, say, 60 hours a week (coding, not just showing up) for a couple weeks at a time, I'm just asking for trouble: I generate buggy code and debugging it only makes it buggier....
• Dutch actress to authenticate breasts online - Outraged Dutch actress Georgina Verbaan is to publish x-rays of her assets online after speculation that she underwent a breast augmentation in advance of a EURO200,000 appearance in the December issue of Dutch Playboy. The implant-free mams will reportedly appear sometime this week on her website.
• Mystery of world's tallest sand dunes solved - The world's tallest sand dunes, some half a kilometre high, survive in a windy desert in northern China because water cements them together, a new study suggests. The researchers that made the discovery in the Badain Jaran desert suspect the water seeps up from a vast underground reservoir which is replenished by snow melting on distant mountains.

TECHNOLOGY...

• Windows Longhorn Project Schedules - According to sources close to Microsoft, recent release schedules that have popped up on the internet regarding Longhorn are inaccurate and outdated. Today Windows Client Codename 'Longhorn' hit the milestone of M8-2. The next and final milestone before a beta is released is M9 which is currently due on 16th March 2005. Beta 1 of the much anticipated OS is due within May 2005. These new dates paint a picture of Beta 1 being released at this years WinHEC 2005 (late April) if it's indeed ready. On another note, Windows Server 2003 SP1 is due to RC1 on the 6th December 2004 with an RTM due Q1 CY2005.
• Microsoft Will Replace Fake Copies of XP - The pilot program was launched Wednesday in the U.K. and is aimed at tracking down counterfeit versions of Windows XP that come preinstalled on new PCs sold by systems integrators.
• Next Opera Browser Will Resize on the Fly - Opera Software ASA wants to make horizontal scrolling a thing of the past in the Web browser. The Oslo, Norway, company announced Tuesday that its new browser release will include a feature for rendering a Web page to fit a screen regardless of the screen size. Called ERA (Extensible Rendering Architecture), the feature is available in the latest test version of Opera 7.60.
• Firefox toolbar adds search engine for royalty free content - The new Mozilla Firefox 1.0 browser ships with the Silicon Valley nonprofit's new search technology, allowing users to comb the web for royalty-free content. Creative Commons today unveiled an updated beta version of its search engine, which scours the web for text, images, audio, and video free to re-use on certain terms a search refinement offered by no other company or organization today. Creative Commons' announcement coincides with the Mozilla Foundation's release of its industry-leading browser, Firefox 1.0, which now features the Creative Commons search technology in its toolbar alongside such leading search services as Google, Yahoo!, Amazon, eBay, and Dictionary.com.
• First Mod Chip For GameCube - Viper GC is the world's first amateur coding module for NGC. The onboard flash memory allows users to boot Homebrew applications, loaders or BIOS'. A high speed parallel port programmer is provided along with the FFC cable to connect to the Viper GC main module. An intuitive PC application has been authored to facilitate easy transfer of BIOS', loaders or Homebrew applications to the flash memory. Viper Gc is based around the Actel ProAsic Plus FPGA, providing flexibility and security to ensure that the user gets the product they ordered, not a cheap clone. The viper GC's tailored PC application will enable users to transfer code via their PC Parallel port to the module's flash memory. The Viper GC has just 4 wires to solder and two connectors which could assume control of the lid sensor switch, should the appropriate commands be included in a third party BIOS release.

HARDWARE...

• BTC 16x DVD dual drive with 7 in 1 card reader Announced - This half height drive combines the functionality of an 8 speed dual format DVD rewriter and a 7-in-1 digital card reader into one, thus allowing you to burn all popular CD (CDR, CDRW) and DVD (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL(8.5GB), DVD-RW, DVD+RW) formats as well as read from or write to all the popular memory card formats that are used in today's digital devices like digital cameras, MP3 players, etc. The drive is fully compatible with Compact Flash, Micro Drive, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital and Multimedia Card formats.
• Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4PRO DDR2 - While PCIe/DDR2 technology continues to experience growing pains, Corsair has done an excellent job with what is arguably the fastest memory on the market. At the time of writing, Corsair Twin2X1024 5400C4PRO can be purchased for $365 at Monarch Computers.
• 1GB Mushkin PC4200 DDR2 dual pack - These Mushkin modules are not quite as extreme as the Corsair PC5400 modules I reviewed last month. However, they are almost $100 US cheaper; retailing for just $290 US makes them fairly affordable DDR2 modules.
• PQI PC4000-1024DBL TURBOmemory DDR Modules - ExtremeOverclocking take a look at the PQI4000-1024DBL TURBO memory modules. These memory modules are rated to run at DDR 500MHz (PC4000) with better than average latency timings of 2.5-3-3-7, and have mirrored black copper heat spreaders. Also worth mentioning is that this memory carries a lifetime warranty.
• 10 Way 925/915 Motherboard Shootout - Motherboards based on the i915 series chipsets are faster than typical old representatives of i865, in case they use the same memory type (DDR). We recommend to buy these models, because i915+DDR2 motherboards are usually slower and are always more expensive, while i925X+DDR2 motherboards are still more expensive and provide almost no performance gain. Actually, DDR2 is of no real use these days.
• VIA K8T890 & K8T890 Pro coverage - TrustedReviews have a quick news story with some pictures of the new VIA K8T890 and K8T890 Pro board.
• Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI - The best way to look at the Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI is to see it as the SLI version of the regular and great performing K8NXP-9. The board offers the same features, the same BIOS options, the same basic layout, the same performance with a single video card, and the same outstanding overclocking that you will find with the K8NXP-9. We were definitely impressed with the Gigabyte K8NXP-9 and the SLI version is just icing on the cake.
• ABIT AV8-3rd Eye motherboard - Rage3D.com has posted a review of ABIT AV8-3rd Eye Motherboard.
• Nvidia nForce 4 SLI: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe First Look - Asus has plenty of accessories with the A8N-SLI Deluxe as you can see from the picture. You will see external game and comm ports, as well as external USB and Firewire ports. You will also find black IDE and floppy cables, 8 red SATA cables, the IO backplate, SATA power connectors, and the software and documentation. Asus also includes external SATA ports via a bracket, and you will see the small PCB that is the bridge between video cards for SLI mode.
• Biostar IDEQ 210P (small factor) - The IDEQ 200N is a worthy competitor to the Shuttle SN41G2. Finally another nForce 2 SFF is available as the chipset is tailor made for this application. Performance of the Biostar is good, its styling is sleek, and it is priced to compete directly with the Shuttle. Add in good overclocking features to the mix, and the Biostar IDEQ 200N is not to be ignored.
• NVIDIA's SLI - 6800 GT performance - In this article Hexus.net covers the 6800 GT performance.
• Hitachi Deskstar 7K250: Vancouver 3 HDD - The main innovation in the 7K250 series are the Serial ATA models, but nothing very interesting happened here, either – such solutions have the same performance as the ATA ones.
• Mad Dog MD-16XDVD9 recorder review - CD-R writing quality and speed was excellent on the discs that we tested. The writing quality on most DVD±R/RW discs is very good. We also appreciate the support for burning some 8X DVD±R discs at 16X, as well as some 4X DVD±R discs at 8X speeds; all with very good quality. The DVD+R9 DL support and writing abilities are excellent. The drive made very good quality DL discs that played back perfectly on all of our standalone players. The drive is also quieter at 16X than some other drives we have tested with.
• Logitech Z-5500 Digital 500W RMS Speakers - Just for starters, this huge box weighs in at a staggering 27.4kg (60.4 lbs.). Make sure whoever you are sending to pick this system up has a strong back. Saying this box is hard to manage up a flight of stairs is an understatement
• A4Tech NB-30: Battery Free Wireless Optical Mouse - A4Tech has recently announced their "no-battery" mouse, which is the world’s first optical mouse that operates without the use of batteries, at least to some degree. Undoubtedly this makes them unique and certainly attention grabbing, but is the innovation justifiable?
• hp Photosmart 375 Portable Photo Printer - For its size the Photosmart 375 does make a couple of compromises. It prints up to 4800 dpi, which is less than the PictureMate's 5760 dpi and supports SD/MMC, MemoryStick, CompactFlash Type I and II, SmartMedia and xD. Importantly, it does have the same additional USB port as the PictureMate allowing you to connect a CD/DVD writer or memory key to back up your photos directly. However, because the Photosmart 375 comes with a Bluetooth adapter in the box, you'll have this plugged into the USB port when you're printing wirelessly.

GUIDES...

• Guide to Memory Performance, Technology and Purchasing - This article is aimed at understanding how memory works and what to look for when buying it. We also take a look at gaming performance on the Pentium 4 platform and see how different factors such as latency, and frequency can affect it. We also cover DDR and DDR-II memory.
• Wireless Networking and Security Guide - There is "Hacking" information contained in this article for information and educational purposes only! I do not encourage any form of "Hacking" since it is against the law!
• Setting up a Wireless Network Part 2 - Alright, you have your wireless network all setup, but of course there are still some quirks you would like to iron out. If you live in a large house or a multi-floor house, you may have coverage problems. Some programs that used to worked with a direct internet connection may all of a sudden stop working. These are common problems to people using wireless routers and there are both simple and complex solutions to both.
• X-bit labs on choosing the best CPU for Half-Life 2 - The developer of Half-Life 2 game, valve Software recommends using a CPU supporting at least 2.4GHz actual clock frequency (over 2400+ performance rating). However, according to our experience, this game has already proven to be very CPU-dependent, so any additional MHz above the recommended 2400 will definitely work for the best.
• Half Life 2 Tweak Guide - This guide refers to the latest version of Half Life 2 which is Version 1.0.1.0, including the recent "Stuttering Fix". Note that most of the tweaks in this guide will also apply to other Source-based games, including CounterStrike: Source, Half Life 1: Source, Day of Defeat: Source and Vampire: The Masquerade.
• Half-Life 2 Graphics Guide - The primary purpose of this guide is to instruct the reader as to some of the visual effects that are executed when playing Half-Life 2.
• Unattended XP SP2 CD - This quick guide will show you step by step how to make your old WinXP CD (Home or Pro, with SP1 or less) into a CD that has SP2 already installed. You'll also learn how to make the CD an unattended install.
• Futurelooks presents holiday gift guide -check it out!

SOFTWARE...

• Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003 update - When you click a button on a Web page, Microsoft Internet Explorer may quit unexpectedly and you may receive the following error message: "Microsoft Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.  To see what data this error report contains, click here."
• Update for Windows 2000/2003(KB883114) - This update (win2k ~ win2003) addresses an issue when you use a USB CD-ROM device to install Windows. When the BIOS is not enabled for IDE CD-ROM devices, the computer may not start after you install the operating system and you may receive an error message. Install this update to help prevent this issue. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
• Microsoft CRM 1.2 to Operate on Windows XP SP2 - Installing Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) will prevent Microsoft Business Solutions CRM version 1.2 from running correctly. Microsoft CRM version 1.2 requires updates to both the Microsoft CRM Server and the Outlook client and several manual configuration workarounds to operate properly.
• PHP 4.3.10 RC1 - PHP 4.3.10RC1 (win32 ~ linux) has been released for testing. This is the first release candidate and should have a very low number of problems and/or bugs.
• MAME 0.89b - MAME (download) stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, and currently runs 1800+ classic (and even some not so classic) arcade games.
• 3d Traceroute 2.0.0:1 - Replace all your ugly ping plotters and traceroute programs with a full blown three dimensional traceroute program.
• VisNetic Firewall 2.2.5 - VisNetic Firewall (download trial) is a stateful packet level firewall solution built to protect Windows-based Servers, telecommuters / mobile users, and LAN workstations not currently protected by a firewall. VisNetic Firewall is more secure than application-based personal firewalls, yet less expensive than high-end firewalls, providing peace-of-mind through comprehensive intrusion protection.
• Dekart Key Formatting Utility - Dekart made its popular Key Formatting Utility available for FREE download and unlimited usage. The Key Formatting Utility allows preparing the card for use with the following three-factor authentication applications: Dekart Private Disk Multifactor - a 256-bit disk encryption software, Dekart Logon - a software providing secure access to Windows machines, and Dekart Logon for Citrix ICA Client - a secure login software for Citrix servers.
• PowerArchiver 2004 9.1 - PowerArchiver (download) is an archive utility for the Windows family of products that provides support for most compressed and encoded files, as well as access to many powerful features and tools though an easy to use interface that seamlessly integrates with Windows Explorer
• F-Prot Antivirus for Windows 3.16a  - This newest version of F-Prot Antivirus for Windows (download trial) fixes a minor bug in the handling of so called "archive bombs".
• Symantec Trojan.Vundo Removal Tool 1.0.3  - This tool is designed to remove the infections of Trojan.Vundo.
• AntiVir Personal Edition 6.28.00.10 (free) -  The private and individual use of the AntiVir Personal Edition is completely free of charge. This version detects and removes more than 50,000 viruses.
• CloneDVD v2.5.4.3 - Elby has today released an updated version of their CloneDVD software.
• SpeedFan 4.18 - SpeedFan is a freeware program that monitors fan speeds, temperatures and voltages in computers with hardware monitoring chips.
• ThrottleWatch: CPU Throttling Detection - ThrottleWatch is a utility for detecting and reporting the CPU throttling activity in Pentium 4, Xeon, and Pentium M processors.
• ATI and NVIDIA - Optimized Drivers - TCMagazine informed us they have posted some ATI (v1.7a) and NVIDIA (v0.3) - Optimized Drivers.
• [!] VIA 4in1 Drivers 4.55vp1 - These drivers can be used on any VIA chipset based system running any Microsoft Windows 32 bit operating system, but they are recommended especially for systems running WinME, Win2K and WinXP and using KT400, KT400A, KT600, KT880, KM400, KN400, K8T800, K8T800Pro, K8M800, K8T890, K8T890Pro, P4X400, P4X400A, PT800, PT880, PM800, PM880, PT894.