Nightly Tech Reading - tech
(h) 02:39 AM CET - Feb,25 2004
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- Netsky.B infections spread -
The
worm first appeared on February 17 and appears to have originated in the
Netherlands. MessageLabs, an e-mail management company, claims to have stopped
more than 1.3 million e-mail since the virus started spreading, and believes
the infection rate is increasing rapidly. Symantec has rated the worm as
severe. This means the worm is a dangerous threat and is difficult to contain.
The worm does require the user to open the attachment with the e-mail.
Netsky.B scans the hard drives and shared drives of an infected computer for
e-mail addresses and then uses its own SMTP engine to mail itself to those
addresses. The worm also searches for folder names containing "share" or
"sharing" and copies itself to those folders using a variety of file names.
- Despite bounties, no virus arrests yet - A trio of bounties
Microsoft placed on the heads of virus writers has generated a variety of
investigative leads,
but still no arrests, a top security official from the software giant said
on Tuesday. In November, Microsoft created a $5 million fund to pay ordinary
computer users for tips leading to the arrest and prosecution of the creators
of computer viruses and worms that use its ubiquitous Windows operating system
to wreak havoc online. Microsoft issued three separate $250,000 bounties
for information on the whereabouts of the authors of the SoBig, MSBlast (also
known as Blaster) and MyDoom viruses over the past three months.
- Gates unveils Windows Security Center - Microsoft on Tuesday
showed
off a forthcoming update to Windows designed to make the operating system
more secure and proposed a caller ID-like system for e-mail that could help
curtail the growing spam problem. Speaking at the RSA Conference here,
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates previewed several new features that will be
added to Windows XP as part of a major midyear update to the OS. Among the
enhancements that will be part of Service Pack 2 will be an expanded firewall
and a pop-up ad blocker within Internet Explorer.
- 3Com DSL Router Administrative Interface Long Request DoS -
OfficeConnect is a router widely used in the world. The router can be rebooted
due to a flaw in its web administration interface. As no authentication is
needed,
every LAN user can cause a crash and reboot of the router, stopping
internet connection for one or two minutes.
- AOL Instant Messenger/Microsoft Internet Explorer Remote Code Execution
-
There is a problem in Internet Explorer where a file can be displayed as
HTML even though it is not an HTML file. The file can be run in the My
Computer zone which has less restrictions. AIM buddy icons can be used to
upload a file into a permanent and known location on a victim's hard drive
which can then be "executed" by directing the victim to a page that launches
the file.
- Off-topic: Eminem Sues Apple - Rapper Eminem's music publisher
is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming the company used one of the hip-hop
superstar's songs in a television advertisement without permission.
- NVIDIA Adopts TSMC's 0.11 Micron Technology -
NVIDIA
today confirmed that it will be one of the first semiconductor companies
to manufacture select up-coming graphics processing units (GPUs) at TSMC's
0.11 μm (micron) process technology.
- Motorola Unveils Microsoft Phones - Motorola launched its first
Microsoft-based smartphone, the MPx200, last fall. Now it is adding
the MPx and MPx 100 handsets to its "MotoPro" product series. Both new
handsets are due out in the second half of the year. The MPx is a dual-hinge
clamshell style phone that opens vertically for traditional phone operation
and horizontally for use as an e-mail device, Motorola said. It sports a
QWERTY keyboard, a 16-bit color touch-screen display with 320 pixel by 240
pixel resolution, integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and an SD (Secure Digital)/MMC
(Multi Media Card) slot for up to 1GB of additional memory, Motorola says.
- Hard Drives Go Biometric -
A biometric hard drive capable of delivering the storage power of a PC in
a pocket-sized data device is being launched by Memory Experts International
here at the RSA Conference this week. The biometric secured hard drive will
come in a 20GB version priced at $450, and a 60MB model priced at $650. It is
ruggedized to withstand a ten-yard drop, he says. Memory Experts targets the
device at road warriors looking to keep their information secure.
- Card maker pre-announces Nvidia GeForce FX 5700LE - Taiwanese
graphics card maker Sparkle has neatly announced a pair of products that
utilise Nvidia's upcoming -
but as yet unannounced - GeForce FX 5500 and 5700LE chips. According to
Sparkle's published specifications, the 5500 is clocked at 270MHz, while the
memory runs at 400MHz across a 128-bit bus. The part is believed to be based
on the NV31 core, which formed the basis of the old GeForce FX 5600. The
board, the SP8855-DT, features 128MB of DDR SDRAM and a 350MHz RAMDAC. It has
TV out, DVI (1600 x 1200) and analog VGA ports. It's an AGP 8x board.
- Back On The MP3 Road With Rio - Rio is back! The high-end
MP3 leader has unveiled a new and complete range of flash memory and
hard-drive players that represent more than additional cool MP3 players on the
market from which to choose.
- Five External Sound Cards for Easy USB Listening - USB sound cards
have changed from peripheral devices to essential must have equipment, aided
in part by eroding laptop prices and the emergence of new and popular
multimedia applications. By reviewing five new USB sound cards,
THG shows USB external audio's limits and possibilities.
- Corsair TwinX XMS4400 review -
TwinX memory
from Corsair is tested before packaging as a pair at its maximum rated
speed using an Asus P4C800 and in this case is rated at 275MHz, or 550MHz DDR,
at 3-4-4-8 latencies and 2.75v. This provides a theoretical maximum of
4.4GB/sec or 8.8GB/sec when used in a dual channel configuration.
- Gigabyte 8TRS300M ATi 9100IGP Mainboard review -
The GA-8TRS300M also provides a variety of features such as 6 USB 2.0
ports, 6-channel audio, 10/100Mbps network connection, and high speed ATA100
interface. The GA-8TRS300M delivers the best all-in-one solution and fulfills
the requirements for a full range of applications today and for the future.
There is also an AGP 8x slot which you could upgrade with another 3D
performance accelerator graphics card.
- VIA Epia TC10000 Mini-itx Mainboard review - Epiacenter.com take a
look at the brandnew
VIA Epia TC10000 mini-itx mainboard.
- NVIDIA GFX Roundup - Digital Daily has published
a comprehensive roundup of NVIDIA based GeForce FX cards ranging from the
high-end GeForce FX 5950 Ultra to the low-end GeForce FX 5200.
- Asante FriendlyNET GX5-424W Gigabit Switch review -
This switch is squarely aimed at the small and medium size business market
with 24 10/100 switch ports, 2 10/100/1000 switch ports, and 2 GBIC ports for
a combined total of 4 Gigabit ports. They have included many advanced features
that business will find very useful and a price of just over $16 per port.
- Logitech MX 900 Bluetooth Wireless Mouse review - LANAddict has
posted a review
of Logitech MX 900 Bluetooth Wireless Mouse.
- Critical Update for Microsoft XML 2.5 / 2.6 / 4.0 - This update
(XML
2.5 /
2.6 /
4.0) contains Microsoft XML (MSXML) functionality that will allow
applications using MSXML to continue to function correctly after security
update 832894, Security Update for Internet Explorer, has been applied.
- W32.Mydoom@mm Removal Tool 1.0.6.0 - Symantec Security Response has
developed
a removal tool to clean W32.Novarg.A@mm, W32.Mydoom.B@mm, and
W32.Mydoom.F@mm infections.
- Sony DRU700a dual layer info -
doom9.net is reporting
that the
Sony
DRU700a burns dual layer DVD+R at 2.4x, DVD±R at 8x, DVD±RW at 4x and
CD-R/W at 40x/24x. Packaged with Nero it will retail for 199 Euro in Q2 2004.
- DVD Shrink 3.1.6 -
DVD Shrink 3.1.6 fixes
some encoding bugs, fixes a problem ripping from Pioneer 120S drives and can
change the region of an RPC-2 drive.
- CDBurnerXP Pro 2.1.9 -
CDBurnerXP Pro is an easy to use CD burning software, that can write CD-R
and CD-RW discs. The program can also write disks directly from an ISO image
file, and save image as an ISO image file (*.iso).
- DeepBurner 1.1.0.110 -
DeepBurner is a new
CD/DVD burning software that utilize power and effeciency. With DeepBurner you
can create data, bootable, and audio CDs as well as data DVDs.
- WinZip 9.0 Final (build 6028) -
WinZip (what's
new ~ download)
is the original and most popular of all Windows Zip file utilities. Combining
power and flexibility with ease of use, WinZip appeals to the entire spectrum
of data-compression users. First-time users are comfortable with the intuitive
WinZip Wizard, while power users appreciate WinZip's seamless Windows Explorer
interface and choose the award-winning WinZip Classic interface for their most
sophisticated compression needs. In addition to basic zipping and unzipping,
features include tight integration with Windows Explorer, support for most
Internet file formats, advanced AES encryption, and much more.
- CleanCache 2.08 -
CleanCache 2.0 is
a free (for 1 - 2 systems), very powerful Internet Explorer 6.0 and Windows XP
cleaner.
- TaskInfo 2003 v5.0.1.104 -
TaskInfo2002 (download)
is combination of Task Manager and System Information Utility, It visually
monitors different types of System information in Microsoft Windows
95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
- MyIE2 v0.9.17 -
MyIE2 (download
lite -
combo)
is a multi-tabbed browser based on the IE core (IE5.x or above required). It
can open multiple web pages within one browser window, and uses little system
resources. This new version adds better XP VS support in Tab and status
progress bar in no skin mode and much more.
- AIDA32 3.93 -
AIDA32 (download)
is a professional system information, diagnostics and benchmarking program
running on Win32 platforms. It extracts details of all components of the PC.
It can display information on the screen, print it, or save it to file in
various formats like HTML, CSV or XML. For corporate users, AIDA32 offers
command-line switches, network audit and audit statistics, remote system
information and network management.
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Updated:03:04 PM CEST Jun,20
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