SECURITY...

• Microsoft to add "black box" to Windows - In a move that could rankle privacy advocates, Microsoft said Monday that it is adding the PC equivalent of a flight data recorder to the next version of Windows, in an effort to better understand and prevent computer crashes. The tool will build on the existing Watson error-reporting tool in Windows but will provide Microsoft with much deeper information, including what programs were running at the time of the error and even the contents of documents that were being created. Businesses will also choose whether they want their own technology managers to receive such data when an employee's machine crashes.
• Microsoft delays most of its NGSCB security plan - Microsoft has postponed most of its Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) security plan, company officials confirmed. Only a sliver of it will appear in the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, due out late next year
• Highly critical flaw reported for Netscape software - An unpatched flaw in some versions of the Netscape browser could let an attacker into vulnerable systems, security company Secunia has warned. The vulnerability is "highly critical," according to an advisory released by the Danish company late Tuesday. Version 6.2.3 and 7.2 of Netscape are affected and other versions may also be susceptible, the company said.
  The flaw could allow a hacker to launch a buffer overflow attack, which could crash the browser or enable the attacker to execute code on the compromised system. A patch has not been created, according to Secunia.
• Adobe Issues Fix for Reader, Acrobat Flaw - Adobe Systems Inc. earlier this month sneaked out a fix for the vulnerability and recommended that users upgrade to versions 7.0.1 of the freely available programs. Hyperdose Security, the company credited with finding and reporting the bug, said an attacker could target the "Safe for Scripting" method in the Adobe programs to direct unsuspecting users to a malicious Web site.
• Yager Buffer Overflow (Exploit) - A vulnerability in Yager allows remote attackers to cause the program to overflow an internal buffer and in turn cause it to execute arbitrary code. The following exploit can be used to test your Yager installation for the mentioned vulnerability
• Most computer hacking an 'inside job' - The vast majority of computer hacking is done by current and former employees, according to the Metropolitan Police. In a panel session at this year's InfoSecurity Europe conference, Detective Inspector Chris Simpson of the Metropolitan Police Computer Crime Unit told delegates that one of the first steps in any investigation is to check employee details.

OFFTOPIC...

• Hacker deletes own hard drive - A chat channel spat ended when a wannabe hacker was duped into deleting his own hard drive (log) The 26 year-old German claimed he was the baddest hacker in town and threatened to attack a moderator on #stopHipHop's RC Channel because he thought he'd been thrown out. He demanded the moderator cough up his IP address and prepare to be hacked. The moderator sent back a bunch of numbers and there then followed a period in which the moderator assumes all manner of hack tools were unleashed at the IP address. Finally the hacker declared success."I can see your E: drive disappearing, he gloated, "D: is down 45 percent!" he cried, before disappearing into the ether. ROFL! :)
• Why I Fired My Secretary - A nice story :)
• Serenity Trailer - The trailer for Joss Whedon's Serenity, based on his unjustly cancelled Firefly television series, was released on Quicktime's Movie Trailers page.
• Banderas Joins Lopez in Bordertown - Antonio Banderas (The Legend of Zorro) is set to join Jennifer Lopez in the independent thriller Bordertown, says The Hollywood Reporter. Set on the U.S.-Mexico border, the film centers on a journalist who investigates a series of murders that take place in the vicinity of some U.S.-owned factories in the region.
• More Join Silent Hill Adaptation - Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates and Tanya Allen have joined the cast of Christophe Gans' horror film Silent Hill, which started shooting in Toronto on Monday with Radha Mitchell in the lead role.

TECHNOLOGY...

• WinHEC 2005 Coverage - WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) 2005 has now begun and Microsoft have given the Longhorn preview build to attendees today ~ Live keynote / videoclips / Neowin's blog : "Joe confirmed that for current systems Longhorn will not be a problem. 256MB RAM min and 512MB RAM recommended is likely to be the specification model alongside a 1GHZ processor. Any driver level improvements and even XP drivers themselves will be supported in Longhorn, meaning, Longhorn will support legacy XP drivers. Currently 5048 does not support this but this will be fixed by beta 1." More Longhorn bits can be found here. / Tablets, Auxiliary Displays, and Distributed PCs @ ExtremeTech
• Microsoft aims "Metro" at Adobe - The next version of Windows will include a new document format, code-named "Metro," to print and share documents, Microsoft said Monday. Metro appears to rival Adobe Systems's PostScript and PDF (portable document format) technologies.
• Nokia smart phones capture Yahoo!'s imagination - Nokia has begun selling advanced mobile phones with Yahoo! messaging, search and web browsing software embedded inside, with the aim of boosting wireless data usage and sales of smart phones.
• Satellite Radio: The Waves Of The Future? - Satellite radio is a new service being offered by two companies, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Both companies are offering over 100 channels of streaming music and entertainment. Is this the wave of the future?
• RealNetworks unveils Rhapsody, offering free songs - Digital music service RealNetworks (RNWK) has unveiled a new software, dubbed Rhapsody 25, and will offer 25 songs for free each month
• TV Torrents closed down permanently - A message on the site from the operator said sorry to its users closing down but that it had became necessary (due to legal action / threats). The owner of the site is asking for donations to help pay for the pending legal settlement: "Sorry, but TVTorrents is down. No, I will not return. Sorry for any hassles. Thanks for all the memories and good times we had together in tvtorrents. Again, sorry for having to leave, but it became necessary. If you can donate to help with the pending settlement, please do so!"
• Corel Unveils WordPerfect E-Mail Client - Corel plans to announce a small business version of its WordPerfect Office 12 suite that includes a new WordPerfect Mail e-mail client. The e-mail client is based on Bloomba, which was distributed by San Mateo, California-based Stata Labs until that company was acquired by Yahoo last October. Bloomba was lauded by reviewers as being efficient and easy to use, but it lacked a high profile. Yahoo discontinued distribution of Bloomba after it bought Stata Labs.
• Google tests out blog ad service - The Mountain View, Calif.-based search company is testing a new variation of its AdSense program for publishers that allows sites to display text or image ads related to their content and get paid by the click.
• Starforce launches new universal software protection platform - The company has announced the StarForce Protection Studio which is targeted to various groups. These are e.g. developers and publishers of games and other software, companies that deliver software over the internet and those who want to release only small batches of their software.
• NEC signs up to provide Xbox 360 eDRAM - Japanese semiconductor giant NEC has announced that it has been tapped to provide embedded DRAM chips for Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console, which will be used as part of the graphics solution in the system.

HARDWARE... 

• Sony introduces new DRU/DRX 800 series DVD-burners; DVD-R DL support - The internal DRU-800A and external DRX-800UL are amongst the first drives to support both DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL (dual layer) disc recording, widening the media choice for consumers and ensuring playback compatibility with the majority of DVD-ROM drives and DVD players.
• AMD Turion 64 - The Turion64's low power consumption and heat production attributes finally give AMD a viable competitor to Intel's Pentium-M processor, which has dominated the mobile arena with its efficient architecture. Battery life between Turion64 and Pentium-M systems should be very similar, assuming both mobile systems are equipped with similar hardware and batteries. While the Pentium-M delivers better performance per clock over the Turion64, the Turion64 does have some fairly significant features which should not be overlooked. The Turion64 has an integrated memory controller, for smoother application performance, in addition to DDR-400 memory support (opposed to DDR-333). The Turion64 also has the ability to execute 64-bit code, whereas the Pentium-M does not.
• Opteron 275 Dual Core - If you do fit the profile of a user who can benefit from 4P power, however, dual Opteron may offer absolutely unbeatable performance in a much lower price bracket than ever existed before. Its not just the CPU's that are exciting here--its the entire performance you can wrap around them.
• ABIT AX8 VIA KT890 Mainboard - ABIT has taken VIA's K8T890 core-logic and engineered a stable, fast, and inexpensive motherboard that carries a reasonable feature-set. Presentation, as usual, is excellent, and enthusiast-orientated options are up to ABIT's usual standards. L79 buys you a decent introduction to S939, and performance, coupled with any compatible CPU, is always going to be impressive, especially so in gaming.
• MSI P4N Diamond motherboard - T-Break has posted a review of the MSI P4N Diamond motherboard.
• PowerColor RADEON X800 XL AGP - The X800 XL AGP delivers excellent performance for these consumers. Its 16 pixel pipeline architecture and 400MHz clock speed deliver fill rates superior to GeForce 6800 GT, and is supplanted by a robust memory subsystem. In our performance results, the two cards delivered very competitive performance with one another, with both cards winning their fair share of benchmarks.
• S3 GammaChrome S18 Pro Video Card - If  you are looking for a high-performance part in the S3 GammaChrome, you'll be disappointed. Fortunately, the GammaChrome is not targeted to this market. With a MSRP of under $100, the competition to the GammaChrome S18 Pro is the 6200 with Turbo Cache and the X300 video card from ATI.
• High-Capacity Hard Drive Roundup - ExtremeTech takes a look at three high capacity desktop drives: the 250GB Western Digital WD2500SD, 300GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10, and a 400GB Seagate 7200.8.
• Ultra X-Connect 500 Watt PSU - This PSU bridges the gap between looks, functionality and performance.
• The 20" LCD Shootout: Dell versus Apple - The Apple Cinema 20" display is also an incredible unit. In fact, if both monitors cost the same, it would be very difficult to choose either display; Apple clearly has the aesthetic edge over its Dell counterpart and cable management is second to none. The Cinema display had no problem producing extraordinary results in all of our benchmarks. However, we did look at two displays today and although the Apple Cinema display brings new features to the display like Firewire 400 pass through, Dell is the 800lbs gorilla when it comes to displays.
• ViewSonic VX924 19-inch 4ms TFT LCD - There you have it, the fastest monitor to hit the market. It is unbelievable that within six months of the 8ms LCD debut, ViewSonic has not only halved the typical response time, but has achieved the same speeds for GTG timing as well. The VX924 is set to be extremely fast, this we have no doubt.

GUIDES... 

• NCQ / TCQ & nForce 4 Data Corruption - The Fix - AMDGamer has posted an interesting article on problems with NCQ/TCQ and nForce4 - check it out.
• Windows XP 64-bit, a virtual minefield? - If that isn't a virtual minefield I don't know what is. You risk to go from a perfectly working system running 32-bit Windows XP, to a non working 64-bit Windows XP and lose your 32-bit Windows XP product key in the process without the ability to go back. To further frustrate end users Microsoft makes very clear that the installation of Windows XP 64-bit will void any support with your PC manufacturer. One free support call will be provided by Microsoft for any installation-related issues whereas additional calls to Microsoft support will be available on a pay-per-incident basis. If that doesn't convince you to steer clear of Windows XP 64-bit for now you must either be really foolhardy or be feeling exceptionally lucky today,
• How to Set Up a Home Windows Server Guide Part 2 - AuphanOnline.com published part 2 of their "How to Set Up a Home Windows Server Guide" series

SOFTWARE...

• Spybot Search and Destroy Detection Update April 27th  - Update your Spybot S&D detections without the need for the included WebUpdate.
• P3dO Explorer 1.7.7 - P3dO Explorer (download) image viewer screenshots manager for your digital imagery. View, organize, edit, print your pictures. Save time with a fast, enhanced graphic navigator.
• FileZilla Server 0.9 - FileZilla (download) is a fast FTP and SFTP client for Windows with a lot of features. FileZilla Server is a reliable FTP server. This new version adds an option to force explicit SSL.
• Alleycode 2.15 - Alleycode (download) is a fast, sleek and highly productive award winning HTML editor with unique features.
• MagicDisc 2.1.28 - MagicDisc (download) is freeware. It is very helpful utility designed for creating and managing virtual CD drives and CD/DVD discs
• VSO Inspector v1.0.8 - VSO-Inspector is a free add-on to report various information about your hardware configuration. Using this freeware, you can check the listed cd and dvd readers and writers connected to your computer, check the firmware used. The details about the media used and the speed supported by a given writer with this media. Also you can scan a burnt media for read errors and be confident about the readibility of your fresh backup.
• PeerGuardian for Windows 2000/XP/2003 2.0 Beta 5b - PeerGuardian is a premier IP blocker for Windows. With features like support for multiple lists, a list editor, automatic updates, and blocking all of IPv4 (TCP, UDP, ICMP, etc), it is the safest and easiest way to protect your privacy on P2P. Plus, by integrating with Blocklist.org lists are built custom just for you.
• ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5.094.000 - ZoneAlarm (download) includes five interlocking security services that deliver easy-to-use, comprehensive protection. Unlike any other security utility, it incorporates a firewall, Application Control, an Internet Lock, dynamically assigned Security Levels and Zones.
• CPU-Z 1.28.6 - CPU-Z is a diagnostic tool that provides information on your CPU, including processor name and vendor, core stepping and process, processor package, internal and external clocks, clock multiplier, partial overclock detection, processor features, supported instructions sets, L1 and L2 cache information, location, size, speed, and technology.
• RadLinker 2.033 - RadLinker (download) is new tweaker/linker for ATI Radeon based graphics cards.  This new version adds suppport for up to three ATI graphics boards.
• Nec 3520A firmware - Nec 3520A has received a firmware update (download) to support DVD-R Dual Layer media. The update follows other manufacturers such as BenQ, Plextor who add extra format and speed support to their drives via firmware updates.