SECURITY...

• Worm plays games with victims - The worm, known as Cellery.A, uses a playable version of the Russian video game to attract victims. While people play Tetris, the worm attempts to spread to networked hard drives and other accessible systems on a company's network that use the Microsoft Windows operating system, the firm stated in an advisory.
• Froogle/Gmail Hack Warning - An Israeli hacker has uncovered a flaw in Froogle, Google's price-comparison service, which could allow access to users' Gmail accounts. Nir Goldshlager, who discovered the flaw, warned that URL-embedded Javascript could end up causing personal information to be revealed. If users execute the script by clicking a link, they would be redireted to a malicious website. From there, hackers can read a user's cookie. It may contain personal information, such as purchase histories, or the username and password used to access Google services - such as Gmail.
• Are feds spying on web users' browsing?  - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI and other divisions of the Department of Justice (DoJ). The EFF said that it wants to the government departments to disclose whether they have been using provisions of the US Patriot Act to spy on Internet users' browsing without taking out a search warrant. In a statement, the EFF said that Section 216 allows the government to track pen registers or trap and trace devices, known as pen traps. These pen traps collect information about phone numbers dialled, but don't record their content.
• Microsoft: No Plans to Tweak DRM Download Mechanism - Microsoft Corp. says it has no plans to change the way its Windows Media Player handles the download of DRM licenses. Security experts warn that crackers are rigging .wmv files to use the DRM (digital rights management) features of Windows Media Player to browse sites infested with malware. The WMP software includes an option to "acquire licenses automatically for protected content." When a user tries to play a DRM-protected file, the software triggers an Internet Explorer browser session and walks the user through the installation process.
• Secure your Emails - for FREE - Munich-based Company Ciphire Labs today released a new version of their "Ciphire Mail". This is an email-encryption tool, which uses standard, well-known cryptographic algorithms.  It works in conjunction with your existing email client. Ciphire Mail operates seamlessly in the background and does not interfere with normal emailing routines. It encrypts and decrypts email messages, and can digitally sign each message to provide authentication and guard against identity theft. Ciphire Mail is the first out-of-the box solution to match power with ease of use.
• FBI May Have to Scrap New Computer Program - The FBI said on Thursday it may have to scrap a new $170 million computer program designed to allow agents to share information instantly and fix a main problem identified after the Sept. 11 attacks. The software is already outdated and inadequate, with the bureau able to use only about one-tenth of the program, an FBI official said on condition of anonymity.

OFF-TOPIC...

• Upgrade Planned To "Tron" V2.0 - Dark Horizons is reporting that there will be a remake of "Tron" movie, the 1982 film about a computer programmer who gets sucked into the world of a computer program. Lee Sternthal said the new conceit is that the computer programmer gets trapped in a cyberworld, so that the film can utilize the Internet.
• Boring Becomes Elektra - It's not as bad as Catwoman, but the superhero/martial-arts flick Elektra certainly could use a little more juice.
• Titanic Voyage Reaches Its End - After a seven-year trek covering 2 billion miles, the Huygens probe lands on Saturn's mysterious moon Titan. Now a short period of intense work begins
• "Smashing hole" in comet may reveal key to solar system - The "smashing" of a hole in a far away comet by a NASA spacecraft July 4 this year might reveal frozen remains from the early years of the formation of the solar system, reports Xinhua.  According to scientists, NASA's 'Deep Impact' spacecraft will "smash" a hole in Comet Tempel 1, which is about 132 million km away from the earth, at a speed of 37,000 kmph. The craft, launched Wednesday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, will release a 372-kg projectile one day before the craft runs into the comet.

TECHNOLOGY...

• Macworld Conference & Expo 2005 - The Macworld Conference and Expo 2005 opened this morning with a keynote by Apple Computer Inc.'s CEO, Steve Jobs. Jobs eased his way into the keynote with a quick update of Apple's worldwide retail presence which has grown to 101 stores since 3.5 years ago. Jobs noted that the stores serve over a million visitors a week - "that's 20 Macworlds a week," Jobs said.
• 2004 Digest: Mobile Technologies and Communications - Let's start our summary by checking how much the number of mobile users changed. If you remember, it was a mobile phone that was listed among the most unloved and still the most useful inventions of mankind.
• Samsung Phone Senses 3-D Movements - Samsung Electronics has developed a cell phone that can sense movement in three dimensions and respond to those movements by performing actions such as dialing numbers or ending a call, the company says. The SCH-S310's motion sensing system allows users to, for example, draw a number three in the air to dial a three, says Samsung. Shaking the phone twice will end a call or delete a message. Other movement functions programmed into the handset include a sharp move to the right or left to tell the built-in MP3 music player to skip forward or back a track, while drawing a "O" or "X" in the air makes the phone say "Yes" or "No" out loud, the company says.
• Sony PSP to ship in UK on 18 March - Amazon - Sony will release the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in the UK on 18 March. So claims Amazon.co.uk, which has now begun taking pre-orders for the in-demand handheld games console
• Mobile Personal Server - Dual CPUs in Your Pocket - This portable computer plugs into another computer via USB, and regardless of the host's operating system will take over the keyboard, mouse, monitor, and network connections without leaving a trace, providing access your web-enabled applications virtually anywhere. The specs are impressive for such a small unit, featuring dual 425MHz PowerPC processors, 1GB of flash or a 20GB hard drive, and 64MB of DRAM. Security is also embraced with a biometric scanner for file encryption, and a 2048-bit encrypted VPN connection to Realm System's SBOA router allows for updates (or can disable a stolen unit entirely.)

HARDWARE... 

• Intel Preps 3.50GHz Server Chips with 8MB Cache - Intel's Xeon processor family for multiprocessor (MP) applications will finally be updated in Q1 2005 with chips code-named Cranford that contain 1MB of L2 cache, but operate at 3.66GHz, much higher than today's 3.0GHz. In server environments clock-speed does not necessarily mean performance crown, as server software is seriously dependant on cache size and from that perspective Intel's Xeon MP 3.0GHz with 4MB L3 cache may be a better choice for certain types of server deployments.
• Intel's Pentium 4 570J, just shy of 4GHz - Hardware Analysis take a look at the Pentium 4 570J and try to answer the question whether 200MHz extra clockspeed helps it to reign supreme and beat the fastest Intel processor to date - the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.46GHz.
• GeIL Ultra Platinum Series PC4200 (DDR533) and PC4400 (DDR550) - These memory modules will be a gift for overclockers due to their ability to work synchronously with the FSB at frequencies up to 280-285MHz. When choosing between these two particular kits, which are actually very similar, you may want to pay special attention to their price as the guiding factor.
• G.SKILL Extreme Series PC4800 512mb Dual Channel Kit - The Extreme Series PC4800 512Mb Dual Channel DDR Kit showed tremendous potential for overclocking. The ability to run at aggressive timings at high speeds is something that overclockers have been waiting for for a long time. Running CAS 2.5-3-3-7 at DDR562 is indeed quite an achievement.
• ABIT Fatal1ty AA8XE - The AA8XE is the first motherboard from the ABIT Fatal1ty series of products with official support for Intel's latest 1066MHz based processors. If you are looking for a motherboard that is going to get you the speed crown in every "e-penis" benchmark out there, this motherboard is not for you. If you are wanting a rock solid Pentium 4 gaming platform that will allow you to overclock into MHz territory before unknown, the ABIT Fatal1ty AA8XE should be on your very short list.
• MSI NX6600GT-VTD128 Geforce 6600GT AGP Video Card - This card is compatible with 8x/4x AGP motherboards only, and will not physically fit in AGP 2X or earlier slots. It comes equipped with 128MB of Samsung GDDR3 BGA memory on a 128-bit memory bus.
• Dangerden TDX775 Socket 775 Water Block - This is the standard package from Dangerden. It's a white box that covers the block and the accessories. The block is pretty small I have to say and the question is if it will be able to cool the processor as well as the bigger Asetek block. The mounting accessories are packed in a small zip lock bag.
• Verbatim 90X Store 'n' Go PRO USB 2.0 Drive - For reliability, Verbatim's new Store ‘n' Go Pro drives feature an on-board 32 bit ARM-7 microprocessor that manages I/O operations and many of the drive's technical features. An advanced wear-leveling algorithm is used to distribute writes evenly among flash storage cells
• Aspire Chameleon Series 550w PSU - Aspire USA has produced a fine power source with the Chameleon 550w PSU. Strong stable power with a bit of panache. The changeable colors of the LED fan and UV reactive cable sheathing and connectors will be the pride of many windowed case owners. This in addition to the unit's adjustable fan speed and its ability to run virtually silent, make it a top choice for an upgrade or replacement component to anyone's system. The only real negative aspect observed was the restrictive rear exhaust.
• A4Tech Wireless Mouse -  This little optical mouse claims to use the latest wireless RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Technology and to save the environment from pollutants by never using batteries. How cool is that? This mouse gets its juice from the mouse pad via electromagnetic induction.
• HP Photosmart 8450 Printer - We were disappointed that this printer didn't achieve either its black or colour ink-yield claims, falling short by over 100 pages in each case. HP used to be very conservative in its estimates, but its new print cartridges don't hold as much ink as the previous generation and, even with the same test pages, we can't achieve the usage HP does. Even so, the printer produced a text cost of 3.4p per five per cent black page. It isn't the cheapest you can go, but is fair for the quality of print, and the figure of 33.3p for a 20 per cent colour page with photo highlights is also reasonable.
• Commodore 64 DTV - Hexus.net has posted a review of Commodore 64, or rather the new DTV which is essentially the C64 within a retro-style joystick.
• Sony Ericsson V800 cell phone - TrustedReviews take a look at Sony Ericsson V800 3G mobile phone.

GUIDES...

• Driver XP - A Windows XP Driver Guide v1.0.0 - Installing the latest drivers improves system performance and application compatibility. Updated drivers include numerous bug fixes as well as system optimizations. It is recommended for optimal system stability to only use Official drivers and not Beta or Prerelease versions. Performance differences between driver versions including Beta or Prereleased drivers is negligible

SOFTWARE...

• Microsoft Windows Anti-Spyware (beta) Software Review  - Where the Microsoft beta stands head and shoulders above at least the free antispyware apps is in the area of prevention. The real-time protection agents block vulnerable system areas from being subverted by spyware, malware and browser hijacking programs, hopefully preventing most future spyware infestations. This seems like it would be very effective, especially coupled with the (we assume) frequent updates and feedback from the SpyNet community.
• Ciphire Mail tool - Ciphire Mail operates seamlessly in the background and does not interfere with normal emailing routines. It encrypts and decrypts email messages, and can digitally sign each message to provide authentication and guard against identity theft. Ciphire Mail is the first out-of-the box solution to match power with ease of use.
• FirePanel XP 1.5.7.0 - FirePanel XP is an extension of the Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 firewall that uses a kernel-mode, stateful packet inspection method.
• VMware 5.0 Build 11888 - VMware Workstation (download) is powerful virtual machine software for the desktop. Optimized for the power user, VMware Workstation runs multiple operating systems -- including Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Novell NetWare -- simultaneously on a single PC in fully networked, portable virtual machines.
• MP3 Goes 5.1 - Fraunhofer has released its new MP3 Surround codec (download), allowing full 5.1 audio to be easily compressed and downloaded. And to encourage use of the new format, free encoders are being made available until the end of the year.
• DivXToDVD 0.4.0.67 - DivxToDVD converts your movie files from a wide range of formats (AVI, XVID, MPEG, and DIVX) to compliant DVD structures (VOB and IFO). You can then burn them with CopyToDVD (or other DVD burner) and watch the movie via a DVD Player. At this time DivxToDVD allows to convert a .AVI or .DIVX etc to a compliant DVD format set of files. This way you can watch a Divx or a AVI on a regular home DVD Player.
• OPN64 v0.3.0 - OPN64 (download) is an intelligent program designed specifically to translate the three codes found on, or around the core of AMD Processors. What you can expect the program to do, can be found in either or the screenshots in the screenshots section.
• ForceWare 71.40 Win2000/XP beta  - This is the absolute newest set of unofficial NVIDIA drivers available. The drivers are date stamped on the 16th of December.