Friday Tech Reading - tech
(hx) 05:42 PM CEST - Sep,30 2005
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SECURITY...
- Microsoft probes report of IE flaw -
A
new flaw in Internet Explorer could be exploited to launch spoof-based
attacks, or access and change data on vulnerable PCs, security experts have
warned. The problem lies in the way Microsoft has implemented a JavaScript
component in its Web browser, security researcher Amit Klein wrote in a
research document. Internet Explorer does not validate some data fields
provided by a PC when the component, called XmlHttpRequest, is used, he wrote.
- AntiVirus Filename Bypassing -
Several AntiVirus programs do not scan filesnames that contain
non-printable ASCII characters, in addition instead of blocking them they are
simply ignored.
- The VIA StrongBox at Hack in the Box - From the annual Hack in the
Box conference in Malayisa,
Tim Brown reports on attempts to hack the VIA StrongBox security software
for a $5000 prize reward.
- Visa delays plan to cut ties with CardSystems - Visa USA Inc. plans
to
delay by three months its plan to cut ties with CardSystems Solutions
Inc., the payment processor hit by a large security breach earlier this year.
- IPSec Policy Agent updated on XP/Server 2003 platforms - Install
this update (WinXP
/
Win2k3 server) to address multiple issues in the IPSec Policy Agent. The
IPSec Policy Agent (IPsecsvc.dll) manages Internet Protocol security policy
CRIME...
OFF-TOPIC
- Road rally hawks hydrogen cars - No more oil changes. No more
pricey gas. No more trips to the service station. That is, unless your car
needs its fuel-cell stack adjusted. Most drivers would call this crazy talk,
but it's the sales pitch for hydrogen-powered cars coming from big carmakers
such as General Motors, Honda, Volkswagen, Toyota and Nissan. From Thursday to
Saturday,
the companies are driving $1 million-plus prototypes of fuel-cell cars, or
the "car of the future" as they call it, throughout Northern California,
promoting the benefits of fuel cell technology, which among other things if
widely adopted, would remove U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
TECHNOLOGY...
- Analysts predict Xbox 360 will beat PlayStation 3 -
Through to
2008, the analysts predict that the Xbox 360 will shift 19.6 million units
whilst the PlayStation 3 will lag behind with 15.5 million units, and
Nintendo's Revolution will shift only 5 million units, based on late 2006
releases for both the PS3 and the Revolution.
- RIAA vs. Online Music
Stores- What For? - The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)
is yet again up to no good. They are seeing that lots of money can be made
from the online music store business
and they want a bigger piece of it. So the RIAA is "rethinking" its deal
with Apple and other online music stores. Some RIAA members think that Apple
is getting double the profits that they should be getting because they sell
the iPod and then the music to go on the iPod and the RIAA thinks that that
isn't fair. Come on, the RIAA is sounding like a big baby here.
- US
rejects changes to net control -
The US has rejected calls by European Union (EU) officials to give control
of the net over to a more representative United Nations (UN) body.
- Sony
cracks down on PSP hacks - Sony is engaged in a tug-of-war with hackers
who keep cracking its PlayStation Portable software to unlock the device and
run their own applications on it.
The company is preparing another update to the PSP firmware to fix a recently
disclosed bug that lets hackers downgrade the PSP system software and run
their own, so-called homebrew code on the device, a Sony representative said
Thursday. "It is not...what the device was designed for," said Patrick
Seybold, a spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We plan to
deal with this issue with the next system update." He declined to say when
that update would be ready.
- New Skype for Windows gets off ground -
Skype for Windows 1.4, first available in beta in August, lets callers
forward incoming Skype calls to another Skype account for free. Users can also
forward calls to up to three landline or mobile numbers for as little as 2
cents a minute, depending on the country, according to the company's chief
marketing officer, Saul Klein.
- Toshiba confirms US HD DVD delay -
Toshiba yesterday confirmed its next-generation optical disc format,
HD DVD, will not launch in the US until "February or March". The
technology had previously been expected to hit the market before the end of
this year. However, HD DVD players will ship in Japan, as set down in the
original launch timetable.
- No AGP for Radeon X1800 - The Inquirer is
reporting that
ATI will
not make an AGP version of its R520-based Radeon X1800. It's expected that
the upcoming Radeon X1300, and possibly even X1600, will be available for PCI
Express and AGP, but ATI appears content with PCI-E-only for the high end.
-
ATI X1800, X1600, X1300 (R5XX) Pricing -
The
top dog X1800 XT with 512MiB of memory will be priced at $549, with a
256MiB variant weighing in at $499, while the X1800 XL 256MiB will cost $449.
A quick check of a popular US online retailer showed NVIDIA's GeForce 7800 GTX
selling around the $460 mark, with the 7800 GT costing ~$360
HARDWARE...
GUIDES...
-
BIOS Optimization Guide Rev. 8.3.5 -
This guide serves as a repository of knowledge on various BIOS options. It
also serves as a guide on how best to optimize your BIOS. Every system is
different and every user has different requirements.
-
Data Compression Explained -
Compression is quite common these days and is used transparently in many
computer systems. A simple example for using compression is the web, in which
every time we view an image, we in fact decompress it.
SOFTWARE...
-
Norton AntiVirus 2006 - Symantec has released
Norton Antivirus 2006.
-
OpenOffice.org For Windows 2.0 RC1 -
OpenOffice.org is the
open source project through which Sun Microsystems is releasing the technology
for the popular StarOffice productivity suite. It is an international office
suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all
functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file
format.
-
XP Firewall Control 1.6.029 ($19.95) -
XP firewall
control (for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows) uses all the present
abilities of the firewall and extends them with application level security
model. XP firewall control introduces per-application named security zones and
allows security zone management at application level.
-
Kerio Personal Firewall 4.2.1 Final -
Kerio Personal Firewall (download)
helps users control how their computers exchange data with other computers on
the Internet or local network. Kerio Personal Firewall is a necessity for all
desktop computers connected to broadband Internet, using DSL, cable, ISDN,
WiFi or satellite modems.
-
Fasterfox 0.6.5 -
Fasterfox -
Performance and network tweaks for Firefox. Fasterfox allows you to tweak many
network and rendering settings such as simultaneous connections, pipelining,
cache, DNS cache, and initial paint delay.
-
MSN Messenger 7.5.0306 (Bug fix update) -
With MSN Messenger you can chat online via text, voice, mobile phone or
even video conversation -- in real time -- with your friends, family, or
colleagues.
-
Skype 1.4.0.71 - Skype
(download /
changelog) is a little program for making free calls over the internet to
anyone else who also has Skype.
-
DivxToDVD 1.99.19 -
DivxToDVD (download)
is a 1 click solution to convert and burn your movie files to a compatible DVD
playable on any home DVD player.
-
PSP Media Player v0.0.5 for PSP -
PSP Media Player is a media player which is capable of playing AVI
(DivX)/OGG/WMA files, especially DivX AVI files at 480x272 full resolution of
the PSP.
-
Virtual Hypnotist 5.3 -
Virtual Hypnotist
is a free, open source, interactive hypnosis program. It includes
features such as voice recognition, speech synthesis, subliminal messages,
completely customizable scripts (featuring a unique scripting language),
videos, audio, and lots more. Its purpose is to simulate a real hypnosis
session as much as possible.
-
Serious Samurize 1.63a -
Samurize (download)
is a system monitoring utility with outstanding configuration power. The
configuration program is totally separated from the client for minimal memory
usage. The program displays almost any kind of information right on your
desktop/taskbar and homepage.
-
ForceWare 81.26 Win2000/XP WHQL - Station drivers got hold of
the WHQL version of these 81.26 ForceWare drivers. The binaries themselves
are dated at August 26, 2005 and 100% similar to the previous beta release,
mind you that to preserve the Microsoft WHQL tag only GeForce 6 and upwards
are supported in this release
-
ForceWare 81.33 Windows 2000/XP - Station drivers got hold of
the 81.33 version of these new ForceWare drivers. Pretty much all GeForce
2 GTS and upwards cards are supported in this release.
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Updated:05:35 PM CEST Jun,04
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