Saturday Tech Madness - tech
(hx) 01:55 PM CET - Dec,06 2003
- Post a comment / read (2)
- Vulnerability in Yahoo! Instant Messenger -
A vulnerability in Yahoo Messenger can result in the execution of
arbitrary code on the vulnerable system. Yahoo Messenger's yauto.dll
ActiveX/COM component is registered under a ProgID called YAuto.NSAuto.1.
Inside this component, a function named Open(String URL) can cause a buffer
overflow if an attacker sends a long stream of data in the form of a URL.
Because yauto.dll is an ActiveX component, the attacker can exploit the
vulnerability simply by creating a Web site with the correct ActiveX class ID
(CLSID) and calling the function directly. The company said it immediately
began working to validate the flaw and address the issue, so keep checking
their
security page for updates.
- ASA slaps .eu domain name seller - The Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) has
ordered a
Cambridge-based company to stop sending emails implying that it is
accredited to offer .eu domain names. .EU Registry Services claimed it was the
operator of the .eu suffix, which is actually the responsibility of a
non-profit organisation, the European Registry of Internet Domain Names
(Eurid).
- Police hit in iPlod spam attack - Cambridgeshire Police is
investigating what it describes as "a deliberate attempt" to affect its
services, after being inundated with phone calls when its number was listed in
a hoax email. The
email claims to be an invoice for a 40GB iPod music player and tells the
recipient that their credit card will be debited L399.95. It then directs
customers with questions to call a 'customer services' number.
- Microsoft warns on Xbox prize hoax -
Microsoft is
warning of a hoax email which claims that the recipient has won an Xbox
games console. The email from US based company Prize-Giveaway.com says:
'Congratulations on winning, from Microsoft and the Prize-Giveaway.com team!'
The lucky 'winners' are then directed to the company's website.
- Humans and computers compete in virtual creature game - An
online game that lets contestants build and race virtual beasts is being used
to pit humans against a variety of artificial intelligence algorithms.
The objective of Sodarace, which started at the end of November, is to
construct a two dimensional creature that can travel over a certain type of
terrain in the shortest possible time. Each creature is constructed of "mass",
muscles", "limbs" and "joints" which control the way it moves. These creations
can then be raced over a piece of terrain. Creatures can have many limbs or
none at all and can walk, wriggle or even jump along. It is relatively simple
to construct a creature by hand. But the game has been written so that a
creature's key parameters can easily be fed into another computer program and
artificial intelligence (AI) programmers are being invited to take part.
- Off-topic: The best physics humour ever - Robert P Crease selects
the
funniest jokes about physics and physicists from his readers' poll.
- FAT File System Technology and Patent License -
Microsoft is offering to license its FAT file system specification and
associated intellectual property. With this license, other companies have the
opportunity to standardize the FAT file system implementation in their
products, and to improve file system compatibility across a range of computing
and consumer electronics devices. For example, a license for removable
solid state media manufacturers to preformat the media, such as compact flash
memory cards, to the Microsoft FAT file system format, and to preload data
onto such preformatted media using the Microsoft FAT file system format.
Pricing for this license is US$0.25 per unit with a cap on total royalties of
$250,000 per manufacturer.
- Taiwan second-tier makers hope to turn out 8x DVD+R/-Rs in 1Q 2004 -
Taiwan's second-tier optical disc makers are preparing to
begin production of 8x DVD+R/-R discs in the first quarter of 2004. The
top three makers indicated that they have started or will start production of
8x DVD+R/-R discs this month.
- Smart Phones May Go Wi-Fi - Chip design company SyChip is testing
software for
its secure digital I/O (SDIO) wireless LAN card so it can be used to add
Wi-Fi capability to smart phones. With the card and the software, smart phones
will be able to use a WLAN to transmit data and double as a cordless Voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone when linked to a corporate IP telephony
service, says Navi Miglani, SyChip's director of marketing.
- The Fujtisu Lifebook-P5010 review - The sleek, diminutive
Fujitsu Lifebook P5020 is one of the most feature-rich laptops in the
sub-notebook market. If you prize the portability and uniqueness of a
sub-notebook laptop but have hesitated to give up on features, the 3.7lb
Lifebook P5020 might be what you are looking for. It is a tiny laptop that
still packs in Wi-Fi, a CDRW/DVD combo drive and five hours of battery life.
Priced starting at $1,549, this is one laptop built for the road, similar to
the Sony VAIO TR2A.
- Pinnacle ShowCenter: Symbiosis Between PC And Hi-Fi Device -
The device is hooked up to a television via S-VHS or SCART and imports all
data - video, audio and photos - from a PC. Data transfer occurs via either
100 Mbit/s Ethernet or wireless WLAN. For that reason, it doesn't need
mechanical components such as a DVD drive or hard disk.
- Soltek SL-87CW-EL Motherboard review - Soltek are a company
who are known for producing many different value-end motherboards. TweakTown
have got their
SL-87CW-EL motherboard based on the Intel Canterwood chipset for the
Pentium 4 on the test bed which offers great value for money.
- VIA PT880 Reference Preview -
Performance was very impressive, and more so when you consider VIA's
history with pricing. If they can get these boards to market at a competitive
price, Springdale boards are going to have a real fight on their hands.
- Corsair XMS 1GB DDR400 Registered Memory -
The Corsair XMS modules came in the common clear plastic clamshell that
also housed detailed directions with pictures and the first ever "Powered By
Corsair" sticker that we have ever seen. The CMX512R-3200C2PT is a 512 MByte,
registered, two-bank memory module that has been created with gamers and
enthusiasts in mind. Corsair tests their PC-3200 registered memory on
currently available platforms such as the ASUS SK8N motherboard, which just
happens to be the board that we will be using for our benchmarking.
- GeXcube GC-R9800XT 256MB ATI R9800XT VGA review - How can you
improve one of the best gaming VPU on the planet? The short answer is to raise
the clock and memory frequency. That's the basic philosophy behind ATi's
latest VPU, R9800XT.
Let's take a look at the clock speed of the R9800 and R9800XT series.
- Gigabyte GeForce FX 5950 Ultra Review - HardwareZoom has posted
a review of Gigabyte GeForce FX 5950 Ultra video card.
- Black Iceman Gaming mousing surface review -
The Icemat
comes with what it calls "Pad Surfers". These are strips of Teflon with
adhesive on one side that allows smoother movement of the mouse. The company
suggests you should stick strips of them over the bottom of your mouse. It
also includes instructions on how to apply the Pad Surfers.
- Razer Boomslang Boomer Speed (2100) - With an "opto mechanical"
interface (the ball is still there, but so is an optical system, which reads
the movement of the ball) the
Boomer Speed has a maximum DPI of 2100. This statistic alone is promising,
but how did it fair when I got it on the desk?
- How to Volt-mod your ATI Radeon videocard - Right out of the box,
Radeon 9700s (and upwards) are extremely fast cards and will, according to
John Carmack, run next generation games such as Doom 3 just fine. If you
decide to go with the mod you should be aware of the fact you may turn up with
dead board,
they recommend you to follow this guide closely and verify at least twice
your own readings and calculations. This mod can very well be performed by you
as long as you are cautious.
- Build It: A Speedy PC for $800 - Extremechech has posted
a guide how to build the best PC for just $800.
- Tutorial on how to burn an ISO image - This article will cover
how to burn the ISO image of the distro that you chose.
- ACDSee 6.0.2 (SHW) -
ACDSee makes it easy to get, view, organize, print, enhance, and share
your digital photos. I used in the past (v.3.1), but now it is a horrible
piece of bloatware :( I rather recommend you to try
IrfanView which is
smaller, faster and free.
- Fresh UI 6.70 -
Fresh UI (download)
is the fresh solution for configuring and optimizing Windows. Loaded with
hundreds of useful hidden settings, this software covers the customizing and
optimizing technique that you'll be glad to know: Customizing Windows User
Interface, Optimizing system settings, Optimizing hardware settings,
Customizing Windows application settings, and Control user environment with
policies.
- MS Autoplay Repair Wizard - The Microsoft's
AutoPlay Repair Wizard (Windows Server 2003, Windows XP) scans your
computer devices to find defective AutoPlay settings, and attempts to fix
those it finds.
- SecureCRT 4.1 Final (SHW) -
SecureCRT
(download)
gives you an encrypted SSH session with both SSH1 and SSH2t servers. SSH
security goes far beyond the basic secure logon, rerouting data or local
applications using TCP/IP ports through an encrypted channel. The VCP utility
secures file transfers using SFTP.
- SecureFX 2.2 Final (SHW) -
The SecureFX (download)
lets you choose between SFTP or FTP over an encrypted SSH2t connection for
secure transfers, or standard FTP for non-secure transfers.
- AntiVir Personal Edition 6.22.09.09 -
The AntiVir Personal Edition
(download) offers
the effective protection against computer viruses for the individual and
private use on a single PC-workstation. In order to make possible an easy
operation, the AntiVir Personal Edition is developed to the essential points.
- MySQL 4.1.1 Alpha -
MySQL (download)
is the world's most popular open source database, recognized for its speed and
reliability.
- Koepi's XviD-1.0-Beta1-30112003 -
XviD (download)
is a video codec just like DivX. Most new movies and videos are being encoded
with XviD.
- Total Commander 6.01 -
A new version of
Total Commander v6.01 has been just released. This upgrade corrects some
problems, mainly with the new functions introduced with Total Commander 6.0.
- Win9x/ME nForce System Drivers -
A new Nvidia nForce system drivers (v3.75 for Win9x/ME) are available on
the MSI site. This nForce Win9x driver package contains the below components:
Audio driver 3.62 (WHQL), Audio utilities 3.62, Ethernet driver 3.13 (WHQL),
GART driver 3.34 (WHQL), Memory controller driver 3.38 (WHQL), SMBus driver
3.38 (WHQL) and Installer 3.42. (thanks
Warp2Search).
- Nvidia ForceWare Driver 52.18 - Station-Drivers have posted a new
set of
Nvidia ForceWare drivers 52.18 (13.8MB) for Windows 2K/XP. The drivers can
be also found at
HardwareOnline.dk.
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Updated:03:04 PM CEST Jun,20
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