SECURITY...  

• MSIE 6.0 Embedded Content Cross Site Scripting (GIF) - The problem lies in the handling of the content of such files (e.g. a picture). In the first place the usual file header (e.g. for GIF files) is provided - The remaining content of the file could be usual html data. Therefore embedding script code in the latter may be possible. This injected code is executed by the HTML rendering engine of the web browser. In the proof-of-concept by Sven Vetsch and the examples of scip AG a GIF file is used (see chapter III). But it seems other files that could be embedded in an html file could be used too (e.g. JPG, WAV, AVI, RM/RAM).
• Google fixes Web site security bug - The flaw, known as a cross-site scripting vulnerability, existed on the Web site for Google's AdWords advertising program and a customer training site, according to security company Finjan Software, which discovered the problem. Attackers could have exploited the flaw to hijack Google accounts, launch phishing scams or even download malicious code onto users' computers, according to Finjan.

CRIME...

• Ex-Microsoft worker who stole software gets 21/2 years in prison  - A former Microsoft Corp. employee convicted of stealing software from company offices and selling it for personal gain has been sentenced to 21/2 years in prison.
• British Hackers Jailed for Worm - Two British men who pleaded guilty to charges they helped create the "TK worm" were sentenced to prison Friday in Newcastle Crown Court. The worm infected thousands of computers, including two owned by the Department of Defense.

OFF-TOPIC

• Games industry to sue California - The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) said that it will file a lawsuit against the statute recently signed by Governor Schwarzenegger regarding game sales to minors.
• Microsoft Windows Freak - Judging by the folds in the paper, it looks like someone has actually turned their window into 'Windows'
• Hearing experts say 3 in 4 music lovers risk ear damage by 30 - Hearing experts say it is absurd that industrial workers wear ear protection but those attending booming concerts and clubs are often unprotected. Studies have shown workers constantly exposed to 85 decibels are at risk of hearing problems. Some clubs and concerts blast music at a level 35 decibels louder than that and the spread of the MP3 player has also caused concern. The ubiquitous Apple iPod is able to deliver up to 100 decibels straight into a listener's ears. That volume can completely drown out a jackhammer just five metres away...cough WHAT??!! Can you hear me now?..:))
• Eating fish keeps older people brainy - Eating fish at least once a week may keep you brainy in old age, new research suggests. A study of about 4000 senior citizens of Chicago in the US showed that all of them lost some cognitive sharpness - such as memory and speed of thinking - as the years passed

TECHNOLOGY...

• Windows Vista Build 5231 and WMP 11 Screenshots - Windows Vista Build 5231 and Windows Media Player 11 screenshots have leaked. Windows Media Player looks to be getting a major overhaul with an entire new interface.
• Windows Vista Client/Server Product Key SKUs Revealed - Rafael Riverra found some interesting product key SKUs...
• Yahoo unveils blog search tool - The company launched a test version of the new tool on Monday, saying it aims to give consumers a more complete view of the news. Yahoo! has also introduced Yahoo! Podcasts - a new podcast download, search, rating and review service.
• Preview of New MSN Hotmail  - Here is a Preview of a new MSN Hotmail system, using AJAX. Currently in Beta testing.
• Microsoft switches on virtual licensing - Effective from 1 December 2005, organisations running Windows Server 2003 'Release 2' (R2) will be allowed to run up to four instances of the software on one physical server. R2 is a free upgrade of the server operating system which is scheduled for availability later this year.
• Digital cameras start dying - In the past week, four major camera makers have quietly published service advisories admitting their digital cameras are dying. In each case, the flaw appears to involve Sony CCD sensors using epoxy packaging that eventually lets in moisture. Sony's own cameras are among those affected, and the company also has dozens of affected camcorder models.
• Seagate announces Barracuda 7200.9 - Unlike the 7200.7 and 7200.8 series, which focused low and high storage densities, respectively, the 7200.9 family covers capacities from 40GB to 500GB. Drives will be available with 2MB, 8MB, or 16MB of cache, with the largest cache available on 300, 400, and 500GB Serial ATA drives. Plenty of cache and a half-terabyte top capacity are nice, but the 7200.9's most impressive feature may be its ultra-dense 160GB platters, which have a much higher areal density than platters offered by other manufacturers.

HARDWARE... 

• CPU - ASUS CT-479 Pentium M Adapter
• Memory - Centon Advanced A2X1GS3200LLE PC3200 2GB Dual Channel RAM Kit / Crucial Ballistix PC4000 DDR RAM / Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO CAS2 / OCZ RALLY 2GB Dual Channel Thumb Drive
• Motherboard - Abit NI8 Intel SLI / ASRock 939A8X-M AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 / ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Socket M2 Upgradable Motherboard / ECS KN1 SLI Extreme(1) / Chaintech VNF4 Ultra  / ECS KN1 SLI Extreme (2) / Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS (nForce4 w/GeForce 6150) / Gigabyte GA-K8VT890-9 VIA K8T890 / Gigabyte K8N-SLI nForce4 SLI
• Complete / SFF Systems - 2partsfusion Digital Media Server 701 / Shuttle XPC SD31P SFF System / Shuttle debuts Pentium M SFF PC (system produces less than 24dB of noise!)
• Storage - Hitachi vs. Seagate 400 GB Hard Drive Comparison / Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 HDD / Icybox IB-360 External Hard Drive Enclosure || Gigabyte i-RAM - Affordable D.I.Y Solid State Storage / SanDisk Sansa e140 / SwissBit Victorinox retroALOX 1GB Thumb Drive ||  Sony DRU-810A 16x DVD±RW / Imation Disc Stakka (USB powered, stackable, and insanely expandable!)
• Video - ATI Radeon X1800 XT and XL Video Cards (23pages!) / ATI Radeon X1000 / ATI RADEON X1800 XT and XL Performance: Crushing NVIDIA's 7800? / ATI Radeon X800 XL Video Card Roundup / ATI Radeon X1000 series, X1800, X1600, X1300 / ASUS EN7800GT / Asus Extreme N7800GT / BFG 7800 GT OC Water Cooled /  Club 3D ATI Radeon X800RX (PCI Express) / Gigabyte 7800GTX / HIS Radeon X800 GTO / HIS X800 GTO IceQ II Turbo 256MB PCIe(1) / HIS X800GTO IceQ II Turbo 256MB(2)  / Hypersonic Aviator EX7: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 GTX
• Monitor/TV - Panasonic PT-AE700 LCD Projector / Samsung HPR4252 Plasma TV
• Cooling - Arctic Cooling Copper Lite Socket A Cooler / Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 (Rev. 3) 7800 GTX GPU Cooler / Asetek Vapochill Micro Ultra Low Noise Cooler(1) / Asetek VapoChill Micro(2) / Lexcool XC-801 Cooler / Scythe Katana CPU Heatpipe Cooler at Adrian's Rojak Pot / ThermalTake Big Typhoon CPU Cooler / Thermaltake Blue ORB II CPU Cooler
• WaterCooling - Thermaltake T-Type H20-temp Indicator / Vantec Stingray All-In-One water cooling kit
• Case - Antec Sonata II ATX Case / AplusCase X-Blizzard Case / Emko 141 fanless Case / MGE XG Ninja 2 Computer Case / RaidMax Ninja 918 ATX Gaming Case / Thermaltake Swing Mid-Tower Case / Xion II Steel ATX Mid Tower Case
• Modding - Chromatic Windmill full function Fan Controller / Thermaltake Tai Chi Aluminum Extrusion Case / SunbeamTech Theta Fan Controller / SunBeam Trio
• PSU - CoolMax 24-pin PSU Tester / Epower Silent Engine Tiger 550W Power Supply / Enermax ALL In One PCI Express x2 535W PSU / Nexus NX-5000, 500 Watt  / SilverStone Strider ST405 400W / Ultra Products 2nd Generation 500W X-Finity PSU
• Sound - Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi audio processor / Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS (part #1) / ProAmp 5.1 Headphone Amplifier and LTB True 5.1 Headphones / Steel Sound 5H Headphones
• Peripheral - Logitech MX610 Laser Cordless Mouse / Logitech Cordless Desktop S510 with Media Remote / Cordless Desktop S510 / Logisys Jade Curve 4 Direction LED Mouse / Microsoft Ergonomic 4000 Keyboard / Razer Copperhead High Precision Gaming Mouse || Flexiglow Cyber Snipa Gamepad
• Networking - Netgear 54 Mbps Wall-Plugged Wireless Range Extender / ZyXEL ZyWALL 5/ZyWALL Turbo Card
• Printer/Scanner - Canon Pixma iP90 Inkjet Printer / HP PhotoSmart 475 Printer
• Notebook - Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook P1510 Notebook / Sony VAIO VGN-TX1XP laptop
• Cameras, MP3/DVD players/recorders - Kodak LS753 5.0MP Digital Camera || Apple iPod Nano MP3 Player / Archos Gmini 402 (20GB) MP3 Player / Creative Zen Vision 30Gb portable media player / Creative Zen Sleek MP3 Player / Cowon iAudio X5 20GB Media Player / Frontier Labs NEX 3 Economically Friendly MP3 Player / Samsung YH-820 MC 5GB HDD Digital Audio Player

GUIDES...

• How to secure a wireless home network - The manual and the terminology of network security seems too daunting to tackle for a lot of people. After you read over this guide, however, you will feel confident enough to at least change the SSID and enable MAC address filtering giving you a decent level of security against low-grade casual hackers seeking a free internet connection.
• How Gigabit Ethernet Works - Ethernet Cat 5 cables have eight wires (four pairs), but under 10BaseT and 100BaseT standards (10 Mbps and 100 Mbps, respectively) only four (two pairs) of these wires are actually used. One pair is used for transmitting data and the other pair is used for receiving data.
• Firefox Tweak Guide (updated) - Whether you're a first-time user or a veteran, this Firefox Tweak Guide brings together all the major tips, tricks and tweaks for Firefox. From the basic to the advanced, the following 11 pages of information are sure to enhance your Firefox experience.
• The Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide Revision 8.4.1 - Adrian has updated his premier BIOS optimization guide.
• Who has the best Registry Cleaner? - check it out
• Setup a Recording Studio on Your Computer - check it out

SOFTWARE...

• Nero Launches Nero 7 - official announcement - Nero has officially unveiled the much-anticipated Nero 7, the ultimate all-in-one integrated digital media and home entertainment software solution. (ed.note: Nero7 looks nice but I'll stay with 6.x which meets my needs VERY well...)
• Windows XP SP2 Dual Core Performance Hot Fix - This fixes performance issues with systems running XP and using a dual core CPU with Cool 'n Quiet enabled. You must also modify the registry.
• FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder 20051009 - FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder is a DirectShow decoding filter for decompressing DIVX movies, picture postprocessing, and show subtitles.
• Firefox 1.5 beta 2 - The Mozilla Foundation has released a second beta of the Firefox 1.5 web browser that, like the first version released last month, focuses on tackling nagging security issues. Mozilla noted on its Web site that the latest beta "does not contain any major new features since Beta 1. Improvements to automated updated system, Web site rendering and performance, along with several security fixes, are included in this release."
• Thunderbird 1.5 beta 2 - The final beta of Thunderbird 1.5 is available. There are no new features to the update but it does have improvements to auto complete, an enhanced automated update system, and performance and security updates.
• Fasterfox 0.7.5 - Fasterfox allows you to tweak many network and rendering settings such as simultaneous connections, pipelining, cache, DNS cache, and initial paint delay.
• Google Toolbar 3.0.126.3 - The Google Toolbar (download win2kxp / win9x/me) increases your ability to find information from anywhere on the web and takes only seconds to install. When the Google Toolbar is installed, it automatically appears along with the Internet Explorer toolbar. This means you can quickly and easily use Google to search from any website location, without returning to the Google home page to begin another search.
• uTorrent 1.1.4 - The wait is over! 1.1.4 is here at last! Boasting many fixes and improvements, it should now behave well with many firewall/antivirus combinations.
• WinRAR 3.51 - The compression utility WinRAR is an archive manager with support for packing RAR and ZIP archives and unpacking RAR, ZIP, ZIP64, 7Z (7-Zip), CAB, ARJ, LZH (Lempel-Ziv-Huffman), TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR (Java Archive developed by Sun Microsystems) and ISO (ISO9660) archives
• [!] VIA HyperionPro 5.04A - There are three main differences between a VIA Hyperion 4in1 driver package (WinXP page) and a VIA HyperionPro package, detailed here.
• XTreme-G 81.84.v2  - TweaksRUs has finally released their modded version of nVidia's Forceware 81.84 -> the XTreme-G 81.84.v2 drivers (download)