• MS Shows New Wireless Platform - Microsoft officially unveiled its newest platform Tuesday for wireless communicator devices, which blend the functionality of wireless telephony and handhelds. In addition, the company also announced that Hewlett-Packard had agreed to release the first device, the HP Jornada 928 Wireless Digital Assistant, based on the Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition platform. The color device will support next-generation GPRS wireless communications, the company said.
• MVQ streaming may blow away MPEG-4 - Finnish developer Oplayo says its Java-based compression technology is up to ten times faster than MPEG-4 for delivering audio and video to mobile devices.
• PirateVideo site closed - Taiwanese attempt to run an online video on demand service without the permission of the Hollywood film studios has been shut down. Dubbed a "pirate" site by Hollywood, Movie88.com offered access to a huge library of films for just $1 each.
• BSA informant gets £1000s for piracy tip-off - An industry snitch has received a tip-off fee running into thousands of pounds after informing on Baines & Ernst Financial Management for using unlicensed software.
• David Duchovny In The X-Files Finale - David Duchovny will reprise his role as FBI Agent Fox Mulder when he stars in the two-hour series finale of THE X-FILES Sunday May 19 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
• XBox Controllers Incompatible?! - It's maybe a rumor but NCV's sources from Microsoft's X-Box division and independent developers sent a number of e-mails to NCS yesterday after they posted their little FAQ. Unfortunately, Microsoft appears to have mandated that USA XBox software titles not recognize any controllers from other territories. Japanese controllers won't work with USA XBox software. However seems this doesn't mean all peripherals will be region encoded. Apparently Joypads will work on both sides of the pond. (thanks SlashDot)
• WineX Or How Linux Learns DirectX 8 - Transgaming Technologies - a Canada based company - is developing an API called WineX that ensures compatibility of DirectX 8 games in a Linux environment.
• FujiFilm FinePix 2800Z 2.0MegaPixel Digital Camera Review - Retailing for around $790CDN the 2800 is a mid-level 2 Megapixel camera useful for images up to 1600x1200 pixels in resolution. The camera can also take small movies (90sec with 16MB card) with sound and be used for video conferencing.
• Hercules Game Theater XP Review - The Hercules Game Theater XP is a real sound station including both a PCI sound card and a powerful external rack, the Game Theater XP is the most powerful, innovative and easy-to-use solution ever offered to gamers Multiple USB and game port accessible on the front panel, lets players plug in several game peripherals simultaneously for multi player gaming Connect joysticks, wheels or gamepads. We took a look at this Hardcore Gamers dream.
• VIA Launches The KT333 Chipset - VIA Technologies today announced the launch of the VIA Apollo KT333, the first chipset to support new ultra fast DDR333 memory conforming to the JEDEC specification on the Socket A processor platform. Check coverage at AnandTech,   ViaHW, HardOCP, AMDDB, TechReport, X-BitLabs
• Prestonia Xeon 2.0 GHz vs. Athlon MP 1900+ -  GamePC has posted a comparison of two of the fastest consumer-level multiprocessing chips on the planet, Intel's "Prestonia" Xeon 2.0 GHz right alongside AMD's top of the line Athlon MP 1900+.
• Mobility Radeon 7500 Review - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a review of the Mobility Radeon 7500 GPU.
• ATi Radeon AIW 8500dv Review - 3dXtreme has posted a review of eVGA Geforce4 MX 440 video card.
• Coolermaster HHC 001 HeatPipe Review - The HHC-001 is the second CPU-Cooler from Coolermaster with a HeatPipe because the first version was not good enough. At the moment Coolermaster is the only manufacturer who produces such a System for Desktop Computers. In many laptops HeatPipes are already used for cooling.
• Vantec Rounded IDE Cable Review -  IDE cables are included with your motherboard, the flat ones, don't look good, restrict airflow and are hard to use. Rounded cables on the other hand are much easier to use than the normal flat cables and besides the practical part, they look a lot better too. Another important factor they carry, is that they do not interfere with the airflow in your case like normal cables do.
• KingMax PC2700 vs. OCZ PC3000 - I am not a geek has taken a look at two sticks of 256MB DDR SDRAM which are very popular amoung overclockers. The KingMax is true PC2700, and the OCZ PC3000 is overclocked.
• Zend Encoder 2.0 -  Zend today unveiled the new face of PHP encoding with the new Zend Encoder 2.0. Our latest PHP encoder includes the features you asked for most such as a brand new user interface, project management capabilities and seamless integration with the new Zend Studio 2.0
• DriverSpyNT 1.14 - DriverSpyNT is an advanced I/O request packet (IRP) monitoring tool for Windows NT/2k/XP. DriverSpyNT can monitor and display IRPs sent to any device on the system. Additionally, it has the powerful feature of displaying the input and output buffers of device I/O control requests. These features make DriverSpyNT an instrumental tool for debugging device drivers, discovery of undocumented IOCTLs, and learning more about the NT I/O subsystem.
• LogonStudio 0.96 - Stardock's LogonStudio is a free program that allows users to easily customize new logon screens for Windows XP. Rather than requiring a resource hacker and downloads of .EXE files, LogonStudio uses a scripting language to allow anyone to create customized .LOGONXP files (archived in ZIP format) that can be sent to other users.
• LimeWire v2.2.1 - LimeWire is compatible with the Gnutella file-sharing protocol and can connect with anyone else running Gnutella-compatible software. At startup, the LimeWire program will connect, via the internet, to the LimeWire Gateway, a specialized intelligent Gnutella router, at startup to maximize the user's viewable network space. 
• WfpAdmin 0.99 Beta - Take control of Windows File Protection with this Windows 2000/XP utility that allows for dynamic disabling of WFP and configuration of system file checker settings.
• Matrox Black Border Patches - Matrox has released a patch (Win98 / Win2k) for the G450 eTV series. The patch fixes a problems with the TV out mode and the DualHead feature.
• Video Blaster WebCam 3 Drivers - This release includes updated drivers setup and installer and is WHQL certified. It has been tested on Video Blaster WebCam 3 USB and Video Blaster WebCam Plus cameras. It works for all Windows OSes except Windows 95.

• Nasty Internet Worm Targets German Anti-Trojan Users - A destructive new mass-mailing Internet worm has been launched into the wild in the form of a Trojan horse targeting the security-conscious. The worm, which has been named "Yarner" by virus researchers, apparently got its start in a fraudulent e-mail sent sometime Monday to fans of Trojaner-Info.de, a German site specializing in information about malicious code.
• Next-gen DVD standard agreed - Manufacturers have agreed a standard for the next generation of DVDs, which will be capable of holding more information than existing discs. The Blu-ray disc, so called because it works with a blue laser that operates at a higher frequency than current technology, can store up to 13 hours of film, compared to the a limit of around 133 minutes for single-sided, single-layer discs.
• WD flogs external 120GB FireWire HDD - Western Digital is coming to market with a 120GB external Firewire hard drive (HDD) for PC and Mac. The beast incorporates a 7,200RPM platter-spinning Caviar HDD and carries a list price of $349. If you want to go large, you can stack systems together in a daisy chain.
• AltaVista puts stop on free e-mail - As part of a cost-cutting drive, the Internet search company plans to ax its free Web-based e-mail service--and it won't be keeping the archives open.
• DVD+RW Drive Review - Dan's Data checked out AOpen's RW5120A DVD+RW drive, which uses the most recent of the do-it-yourself DVD formats. The AOpen drive's fast, and not too expensive, and yes, you _can_ copy DVDs with it. That's not really its strong point, though.
• ASUS V8460 GeForce4 Ti4600 Review - T-Break has posted a review od the ASUS V8460 GeForce4 Ti4600 video card.
• NTFS chkdsk.exe XP Patch - This update resolves an issue that prevents chkdsk.exe from running at system boot. The issue can occur on systems with an IDE drive and is discussed in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article Q315403.
• Visio Professional 2002 SR1 - Microsoft Visior Professional 2002 Service Release 1 (SR-1) Update is a planned service release providing the latest product updates to Visio Professional 2002. Updates include Microsoft SharePointT Portal Server integration, Hebrew composition support, and ClearTyper control, as well as several security fixes.
• PowerStrip 3.14 Build 254 - PowerStrip provides advanced, multi-monitor, programmable hardware support to a wide range of graphics cards - from the venerable Matrox Millennium I to the latest Radeon 8500DV and GeForce3 Ti500.
• CDRWIN v4.0A Beta - Multi-Recorder support is the first new feature to be added to version 4.0A. Now you can record on a maximum of 32 recorders simultaneously (depending on system speed). At this time, only MMC compliant drives are supported (almost all recorders made in the last two years are MMC compliant). Only SCSI based recorders have been tested so far, but many IDE recorders should work as well. Download this beta here.
• FlashFXP Beta 1.4.3 Build 833 - FlashFXP is a powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Windows.
• Nvidia GeForce4 Bios - Gainward have released new Nvidia GeForce4 Bios files: Geforce4 MX420, Geforce4 MX440, Geforce4 MX460, Geforce4 TI4400, Geforce4 TI4600.
• New ATI Radeon Official Win98/ME Driver - This is a fully released and supported display driver, which supports Windows ME, Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE. DirectX 8.1 and OpenGL support are included. According to the release notes there are no issues with this driver. Download recommended Driver - 4.13.9009!

• Hackers face US bombing - The US government has warned that it could take military action against any terrorists who launch attacks through the internet. In a move that could send cruise missiles heading toward hackers' houses, a White House technology adviser says the US "reserves the right to respond in any way appropriate" to tackle the growing number of internet warriors. Advisor Richard Clarke says Iran, Iraq, North Korea, China, Russia and other countries are already having people trained in internet warfare.
• Kickme.to wins BSA court search battle - The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is vowing to fight on after the Swedish courts denied its request to obtain a civil raid permit on international redirect service, kickme.to. The Appellate Court in Skåne, Sweden upheld Landskrona District Court's decision not to grant a civil raid permit (ex-parte) at the premises of Maximiliam Andersen, kickme.to's administrator.
• FBI lets anarchist web geek go free - The 18-year-old arrested by the FBI for content published on his anarchist website was released without charge last week. Sherman Martin Austin was released on 14 February after charges against him were dropped. He had previously been flown to Oklahoma Federal Prison, in the custody of US marshals, after details about bomb making techniques were posted on his anti-government site, Raisethefist.com.
• Pirate's heaven in Vietnam - Combine a hardworking, gadget-happy population with grinding poverty and you get an explosive combination. Western corporations: Good luck. In the end, it took me about an hour, and I had to visit three stores. They charged me 30,000 VN ($2) for "Harry Potter" and $2 more for "The Lord of the Rings." The color is a bit bright on both films--the official DVDs aren't out yet--but both work. LOL nice shopping ;)
• Microsoft XP Keygen the end for Microsoft? - "As of late Neowin has become even more famous because they were one of the first sites to go into more detail about the famed Microsoft XP keygen. The keygen as we all know does work albeit it does take it a while to generate valid keys at times it does make them. This was all in a matter of time if you ask me infact I'm somewhat surprised it did not happen sooner like with Windows 98 or Me."
• MS bug busting tool is buggy - A design flaw in security tool which comes with Microsoft's development could explain why itss applications continue to be subject to buffer overflow attacks. Executable code built by using Microsoft's Visual C++.NET and Visual C++ version 7 compiler is vulnerable to a buffer overflow attack, software risk management firm Cigital reports.
• New Build 3604-SP1 of Windows XP Professional NOT! Released - It seems that there is a rumor going around that a new build of Windows XP Professional is going around... however, that is NOT the case! A new build of Windows XP for Tablet PC Professional, instead, was released.
• Latest IE Patch Can Crash Browser - Microsoft's latest security patch for Internet Explorer causes the Web browser to crash when viewing Web pages that contain a certain VBScript directive, several IE users have found. Microsoft acknowledges the problem and says Web site administrators will need to take action. "This issue does not pose a security threat to users. This issue affects stability. Normal operation can be restored by restarting IE," Microsoft said in a statement Friday. "Microsoft Product Support Services has been working with customers to implement a workaround that addresses a problem in which patched IE browsers could crash when viewing certain pages containing a specific VBScript directive."
• Mobile Phones Morph Into Credit Cards - Beginning in March, mobile-telecommunication company Vodafone Group will offer its U.K. customers the ability to use their mobile phones as a type of mobile credit card for making small purchases online. Users can use the m-pay bill service to buy items priced from $0.07 to $7 over the Internet or using a WAP phone, Vodafone spokesperson Janine Young says.
• Britney to Engage in TV "Sex" - The blond pop tart has agreed to play a man-eating temptress on the HBO series "Sex and the City." Britney - who claims she's going to remain a virgin until marriage - has been lined up to play the sex-mad niece of Samantha, portrayed by sultry Kim Catrall.
• Study Links 8 Hours' Sleep to Shorter Life Span - Contrary to popular belief, people who sleep six to seven hours a night live longer, and those who sleep eight hours or more die younger, according to the largest study ever conducted on the subject.
• Excellent Hacks to the ReplayTV 4000 - Hit this link to find links to assorted hacks done to the extremely cool ReplayTV 4000 PVR.
• Rambus Review - Tom's Hardware has posted a review of Rambus memory.
• Logitech Wheel Mouse Optical Special Edition Review - This red hot mouse utilizes the 2x optical technology which boosts the mouse with the capability of 800dpi precision scanning instead of the 400dpi precision scanning by other optical mouse. One way or another, you might say that 800dpi isn't much compared to the Razer mouses, which is available in either 1000dpi or 2000dpi! In my opinion, this mouse is well designed and the most important of all is it's cheap!
• Creative GeForce 3 Ti200 with TV Output Review - Xtreme PC UK has written a review of the Creative GeForce 3 Ti200 with TV output.
• ASUS GeForce4 MX440 Review - T-Break has posted a review of the ASUS GeForce4 MX440 video card.
• Xbox DVD Compatibility List -ActiveWin.com has posted up a newly updated Xbox DVD Compatibility list. This new update adds a few newer titles that have been causing problems on the Xbox DVD player. Remember that this list currently only contains information on Region 1 releases. If you have any other titles causing you problems on your Xbox DVD player.
• AMD Athlon XP Unlock Guide - All what we need for it is an liquid second-glue , Glue-band like Tesa (Tesa Strips), dis-lacquer or Nitro , and Silver-conductive-lacquer. Helpfully is an magnifiying Glass cause the bridges are very very small.
• Fix for "Data Invalid" error in WinXP - Here is a possible fix for the 'Data Invalid' error which dogs some Windows XP users when installing and swapping out some PCI cards.  This error appears to be due to a protection problem in the Windows registry and can occur with a variety of drivers (sound cards and SCSI drivers have been reported). (thanks Rob).
• Windows 2000 & Windows XP Group Policy Object Tool - Microsoft has released a tool that can be used by system administrators to stop the SNMP service if it is running, and disable it so that it can not be run after stopping. This tool is a logon script which can be used by the administrators to configure machines joined to a domain to not have the SNMP service running. This script/tool runs on the client only when they are started (booted).
• Clearmem - Free Microsofts's Memory Tool - This tool clears out your current data sets in RAM. Clearmem (clearmem.exe)-Forces pages out of physical memory and reduces the size of running processes' working sets to a minimum. When you run this tool, the system pauses because of excessive high-priority activity associated with trimming the working sets. To run this tool, your paging file must be at least as large as physical memory. This program works great with all versions of Windows.
• PC Card Bus Voltage Level Update for Windows 2000 - This update resolves the Toshiba PC Card Controller May Power 3.3-Volt R2 PC Card at 5 Volts issue in Windows 2000 and is discussed in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article Q265296. Download now to ensure that the bus voltage handles both 3.3-volt and 5-volt PC Cards appropriately.
• Pioneer DVD Utility - Pioneer has made a DVD Utility program available for their DVD-106S, DVD-116 and DVD-AO6S for Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP.
• DVD Decrypter v3.0.0.12 - DVD Decrypter is a free tool which enables you decrypt and copy a DVD to your PC's hard disk.
• WMA Encoder/Decoder v1.4.2a - WMA Encoder Decoder is an audio convertor that encodes AudioCD, MP3, OGG and WAV files to WMA files, and decodes WMA files back to WAV files.
• CPUCooL v7.0.12 - CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards. It works with all chipsets from Intel, ALI, VIA, AMD, and SIS 5595 motherboards.
• PowerStrip 3.14 Beta Build 252 -  Designed to complement the native Windows Display Properties sheet under Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/2000, the PowerStrip combines advanced, multi-monitor API support with extensive programmable hardware support.
• Adaptec ASPI drivers version 4.70 - ASPI drivers version 4.70 for Windows 98, NT 4, Me, 2000 and XP. Includes ASPICHK version checking utility.
• ATI Refresh Rate Fixer 0.98 Beta - This programs main function is to set refresh rates under Windows 2000 and XP in OpenGL and Direct3D modes.
• OCPad 0.6 RC6 - There's  a new version of OCpad for you, the overclockers :)
• ATI Radeon Drivers - This is the official, fully released and supported display driver for ATI Radeon Display  Drivers. DirectX 8 and OpenGL support are included. Download: ATI Radeon Driver v5.13.01.6014 (Win2k), ATI Radeon Driver v4.3.3288 (WinNT), ATI Radeon Driver v6.13.10.6015 (WinXP).
• Terratec Sound Drivers - Terratec has released new sound drivers for EWS88 MT/D, EWX 24/96, and DMX 6fire.
• Leadtek Detonators -  Leadtek have released new Detonator drivers for their video cards from the GeForce TNT Ultra to the GeForce4 MX card for Windows 9x/2K/XP.

• Humans will 'sail to the stars' - Scientists have presented new ideas for the future exploration of planets that circle far-away stars. You'll have space English and Earth English and they won't be able to communicate Prof Sarah Thompson  Unlike today's relatively small space vehicles such as the shuttle, the cosmic craft of tomorrow will have to be the size of small cities and be constructed in orbit.
• A Linux guy looks at FreeDOS - FreeDOS was a project started in 1994 to counteract Microsoft's stated intentions to do away with MS-DOS and move everyone to Windows. It employs no Microsoft code and is designed to be a work-alike equivalent to MS-DOS. FreeDOS does not guarantee that it does everything the same way MS-DOS does, but it attempts to get it all done nonetheless. The specification for FreeDOS is derived from public documentation describing MS-DOS. It is still in beta test, but the system is quite usable. Currently, FreeDOS is at version Ripcord Beta 7, aka "SPEARS."
• Microsoft must give states Windows code - Microsoft will have to supply the computer code for its Windows program to a group of states seeking stiffer antitrust sanctions against the software giant, a federal judge ruled Friday.
• Free Visual Studio .NET & WinXP for Students - All attendees will receive the full version of Visual Studio .NET Academic, a full version of Windows XP Professional, and other valuable items. Join us for an overview of the .NET Framework and a live demonstration of Visual Studio .NET. Choose the campus nearest you!
• Recovering Precious Files with FinalData - What do you do if you accidentally deleted a file? Or worse, deleted a partition or quick formatted a drive by mistake? Using SNRTEC's FinalData recovery software, you can safely recover all your files even if your Master Boot Record or File Allocation Table is damaged. With support for various file formats, including NTFS, FinalData may just be the solution for those who frequently run into such problems.
• Leadtek A170 DDR T Review - Featuring the new GeForce4 MX 440 GPU, the new Leadtek A170 DDR T is the next replacement for the previous generation of GeForce2 MX. Just how fast is the new GeForce4 MX 440 and how does it compare with the GeForce3 Ti series? Take a peek at this review to find out more.
• ATi Radeon 8500 Review - Up until now, ATI's video cards have been known for their exceptional 2D quality and video editing capablities. ATI has now unleashed a new line-up of video cards. The Radeon 7500/8500 series which have features that you will not find on a Geforce 3. The three main one's are the TRUFORM technology, SMARTSHADER technology, and SMOOTHVISION. All of these three technologies will make your gaming experience more enjoyable.
• AMD XP 1900+ Review - Inside Project has posted a review of AMD XP 1900+ CPU.
• Unchecked Buffer in SNMP Service Patches - Customers using SNMP on Windows 2000 and Windows XP should apply the patch. All other customers should disable SNMP service if running; apply patch when available. Download:  Patch for Windows 2000 / Patch for Windows XP.
• AVP Weekly Update - This will update the Kaspersky Anti-Virus (AVP) virus databases to the latest.
• Norton Antivirus Definition Update - The Norton Antivirus 4.0/5.0/2000 Definition Update has just released, release date 15 February, 2002. 
• Windows Messenger v4.6.0076 (WinXP) -  MSN Messenger is an instant-messaging program that notifies you when your friends are online so you can send messages or chat with several friends at once. In addition, MSN Messenger notifies you when you have new e-mail in your Hotmail account and allows you to access your inbox with the click of a button. This minor version includes only some fixes.
• BearShare v2.4.3 - BearShare is designed to let you share files with everyone on the Internet, and download files that other people are sharing. The latest release in the 2.4 series, this version of BearShare offers some interface changes, such as the addition of a "find more sources" option.
• LimeWire v2.2.0 Beta - LimeWire is a software package which enables individuals to search for and share computer files with anyone on the internet. LimeWire is compatible with the Gnutella file-sharing protocol and can connect with anyone else running Gnutella-compatible software. At startup, the LimeWire program will connect, via the internet, to the LimeWire Gateway, a specialized intelligent Gnutella router, at startup to maximize the user's viewable network space.
• Q3Offline! - The program offers full support for Quake III Arena, Quake III Team Arena, and Star Trek Voyager Elite Force as well as multiplayer support for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The new release also adds multiplayer support for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
• Messenger v4.6.0076 (Win9x/Me/2000) - download
• Intel Application Accelerator 2.0 -  This utility updates Windows XP, ME, 98 SE, 98, 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 to reduce the storage sub-system bottleneck - enabling faster delivery of data from the hard drive to the processor and other system level hardware. The Intel Application Accelerator replaces the Intel Ultra ATA Storage Driver.
• ZoneAlarm 3.0.070 Beta - Unlike other personal firewalls, ZoneAlarm protects automatically from the moment it's installed - no programming required. ZoneAlarm barricades your PC with immediate and complete port blocking. And, then runs in Stealth Mode to make your PC invisible on the Internet - if you can't be seen, you can't be attacked.
• Style XP Beta 8.0 - Style XP allows you to easily add new visual styles or themes to Windows XP. Style XP is not a skinning engine. It uses Microsoft's built-in visual style engine, but enhances it by providing many useful tools. Style XP can import, select, rotate, and manage Themes, Visual Styles, Wallpaper, and Logons. Future versions may support sounds, cursors, screensavers, and packages of all the above.
• NVmax 4.00.41 - This new version includes some fixes for Win9x/ME operating systems.

• MS to block internet apps by default in .NET - Microsoft is to implement a switch in default security settings in a forthcoming service release for the .NET Framework. As shipped, the default policy will be not to allow managed code to run from the Internet. Think about that one for a moment and then think about what you thought .NET was supposed to be about, folks - but don't worry, you can always switch it back on.
• Hotmail Hole Patched - The recent exploit allowing hackers to bypass the country, state and zip code part of the password reset feature in Hotmail has been fixed. Hackers used this exploit to get desired E-Mail addressess from Hotmail by guessing easy secret questions after the bypassing of the country, state, and zip code.
• AMD 760MP/Geforce problem fixed - TheInquirer.co.uk has learned that the problems with NVIDIA 23.11 drivers that affected AMD MP systems have been fixed.
• January 2002 3Digest - Monthly 3D Digest is the project of iXBT.com devoted to releases of new drivers for popular videocards (released since December 20, 2001 to January 20, 2002). As usual, there will be many diagrams containing the information on changes in operation of videocards at change to last version drivers, and also summary diagrams of popular modern videocards perfomance.
• Wi-Fi Security Cracked - A University of Maryland professor and his graduate student have apparently uncovered serious weaknesses in the next-generation Wireless Fidelity security protocol known as 802.1x.
• Creative GeForce 4 lineup - Creative announces the launch of the first three products in its new range of graphics cards based on the NVIDIA GeForce4 graphics processing unit (GPU). The products - the 3D Blaster 4 Ti4400, 3D Blaster 4 MX440, and the 3D Blaster 4 MX420.
• Gainward 128MB Ti200 Review - HardOCP has posted a review of Gainward 128MB Ti200 video card.
• MSI GeForce3 Ti200 Pro-TD Video Card Review - Currently on the market are three types of GeForce 3 chipsets: Ti200, GeForce3, and Ti500. You can safely bet the Ti500 will set you back more. That said, the Ti200 is a video card that performs extremely well, and won't cost an arm and a leg!
• High-End IDE RAID Controllers Roundup Part #2 - In this article we will compare all the currently available IDE RAID 5 controllers on all RAID levels supported. They are the new Adaptec 2400A, 3ware 7810 and Promise SuperTrak SX6000, and the already reviewed Promise SuperTrak100, Adaptec AAA-UDMA and 3ware 6400. 
• Intel P4 Northwood CPU Reviews - 1.8GHz at OCAddiction.com and 1.6GHz at Gideontech.com.
• A Comparison Of 14 LCD Monitors - Tom's Hardware has posted a comparison of 14 LCD monitors!
• Data invalid fix for WinXP problem - Not can we guarantee it works, although several people swear by it after swearing at it (XP).  This error appears to be due to a protection problem in the Windows registry and can occur with a variety of drivers (sound cards and SCSI drivers have been reported). To fix this problem, go to Start, Run... and type "regedit" without the quotes to run the Registry Editor. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetENUMPCI   and you will see a number of keys of the form "VEN_xxxx", where xxxx are strings like "1102&DEV_0004&SUBSYS_00011103&REV_04". Under each of these folders will be another folder with a long numerical name. Open each folder and look for the "DeviceDesc" which matches the hardware you are trying to install. Right Click on the "VEN_xxxx" for that device and select 'Permissions' and then tick "Allow" for "Full Control". Close Regedit and then continue with the installation of your device. (thanks NeoWin)
• Windows XP Detonator Database - Tweakers Asylum has updated their XP NVIDIA detonator database.
• SNMP Self-Test Tool - SANS has released a scanning tool called SNMPing which will find SNMP daemons running on a TCP/IP network. It defaults to port 161, but you can enter the port of your choice. To get a copy, email [email protected]. You will get a note back with data on how to get the tool. SANS is using this method for distribution to inform you when any updates are provided in the tool.
• Active Network Monitor 1.0 Beta 2 - Active Network Monitor (ANM) is a tool for the day-to-day monitoring of computers on a network. ANM runs under Windows NT/2000/XP. It lets Systems Administrators gather information from every computer (even Windows 9x/Me computers) on the network without installing server-side applications on any of these computers.
• O&O Defrag V4 V4.0.472 - With O&O Defrag V4 you achieve maximum performance under Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP - with minimum effort!
• Audiotools v3.70 Interim 2 - Audiotools is a direct-to-disk recording tool with the facility to automatically split a recording into tracks to the hard disk without having to use much memory.
• WinDVD Tweaker 2.6 -  WinDVD Tweaker is designed to allow users of the WinDVD playback software to enable some hidden settings and allow for maximum playback pleasure.
• NETObserve 2.0 - Have you ever needed to monitor your computer while you were away? Are you suspicious of what your spouse, child, or co-workers are doing on your PC while you are not around to moderate their PC usage?
• MemStat XP 1.5.0.0 - MemStat XP is utility that monitors physical memory in Windows systems. With this little tool you can track usage of memory in your system and easily free it if needed. It has also some unique features like memory status logging or customizable tray icon.
• Radeonator v1.50 - Radeonator is a tool for tweaking your ATI Radeon 8xxx/7xxx/64DDR/LE/VE/32DDR cards.
• AMD Power Management Setup v1.22 Driver - AMD have released a new Windowsr 98/98SE/ME/2000 Power Management Setup - Driver, Version 1.22 for Motherboards with the AMD-768T, AMD-766T, or AMD-756T Peripheral Bus Controller.
• AMD IDE Bus Master Driver v1.43 - AMD have released a new IDE Bus Master Version 1.43 for Motherboards with the AMD-768T, AMD-766T or AMD-756.
• Nvidia Nvflash - Download Nvidia Nvflash utility version 3.19b/4.13.

• Outlook will see non-existing attachments - The message contains a header with Carriage Return (0x0d or <CR>) characters. Outlook incorrectly interprets these as end of line (Carriage Return/Line Feed combinations, or <CRLF> as per rfc2821/2822) delimiters.  A message can be formatted so that Outlook starts parsing message content prematurely. Outlook may even read attachments that are not actually there. Thus, Outlook will see things that a content scanning Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) does not scan for. This bug could be misused to send viruses to Outlook users behind a corporate firewall. Both UUencoded and MIME encoded attachment are affected by this bug.
• Keygen routine producing valid WinXP product keys? - A cracking system for Windows Product Activation publicised this week may present Microsoft's anti-piracy system with its most serious problem yet. It takes the form of a key generator which appears to produce valid activation keys for Microsoft products, and if this really is the case, it is difficult to see how Microsoft can differentiate between keys issued with legal product, and keys generated by the keymaker.
• FBI Says It's Monitoring Internet Vulnerability - The FBI said on Tuesday it was monitoring "potential vulnerabilities" in computer networks that could leave portions of the Internet open to disruption by hackers. "We're aware of potential vulnerabilities ... and to date there have been no confirmed exploitations of these vulnerabilities," said Steven Berry, spokesman for the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center.
• Only seven hackers jailed in two years - Industry experts are calling for a revamp of the Computer Misuse Act after the government revealed that only seven hackers have been imprisoned in the past two years.
• States want Windows source code - The state attorneys general still pursuing the antitrust case against Microsoft have asked a federal judge to force the company to show them the inner workings of the Windows operating system.
• Microsoft's new "compiler" program has security flaw - Researchers at Cigital, of Dulles, Va., said they discovered the problem in a compiler that comes as part of Visual C++.NET, a new version of a popular Microsoft programming tool. Compilers help translate code that programmers write into a language that computers understand. Microsoft modified the compiler to help prevent what are called buffer overflows, a common hacker attack that makes it possible to replace instructions in a program with malicious code.
• XP users angered by reinstall - Windows XP users have been frustrated by problems which force a complete operating system reinstall if system boards are changed.  To date, the only solution to a 'Data Invalid' error when swapping out system boards has been a complete reinstall of XP, much to the chagrin of users. The problem appears to be with the Hardware Abstraction Layer (Hal) of the XP operating system, which is a set of drivers on which the Windows NT kernel is based. If the installed Hal is incorrect, which may be the case after changing system boards, users may experience problems ranging from certain settings not working to Windows not booting.
• Windows XP from a Mac Perspective - This is not an objective analysis of Windows XP. Instead, this article reflects a view of Microsoft's latest OS compared to my experiences with Mac OS X and Windows 98. Even though Mac OS X is my preferred operating system, I work in Windows too. Over the last few months I had grown really tired of Windows 98 and its oddities, so I placed my hopes in XP that it might deliver a better computing environment. Here's what happened.
• IBM GXP Problems: The Truth Exposed and Possible Fixes -  For months now users of IBM manufactured hard disk drives based on the Deskstar 60GXP and 75GXP models (and possible even older models) have been experiencing substantial frequent fail rates and data loss of that compared to competitor hard disk drives - I recently fell victim myself. This has lead to a lot of headaches and RMA returns, and neither happy nor satisfied customers. Something needs to be done, people need to know what is happening; it's their right to be informed, wouldn't you agree?
• ASUS A7V333 KT333 board Review - As much as we love our Athlons, we have to agree that the P4 runs cooler and is less likely to burn. When AMD released the Athlon XP, they offered a way for SOME kind of protection through the on-die temperature sensor that could be used to prevent overheating. However, almost all motherboard manufacturers have still not implemented this feature. Now on the A7V333, ASUS offers a feature called C.O.P. or CPU Overheating Protection and although nowhere does ASUS mention about C.O.P. taking the reading from the Athlon XP's on-die temperature sensor, we have a feeling that it does because ASUS clearly states in the manual that it only works with the Athlon XP CPU and we couldn't find any thermal sensor under the CPU socket.
• Eclipse S Case Review - LittleWhiteDog has taken a look at one of the many cases offered by the folks over at ColorCases.com - the Eclipse S. This case offers an impressive set of unique features to help improve the appearance of the case, without hindering its functionality.
• Prolink GeForce4 MX440 Review - TweakTown has posted a review of the Prolink GeForce4 MX440 Video Card.
• MSI K7T266 Pro2-RU KT266A Review - The K7T266 Pro2-RU is a good, solid motherboard, offering good performance for a good price. It is loaded with features: 8 USB ports, USB 2.0, Smart Key, onboard stuff, D-LED, D-Bracket, onboard RAID, and if there is something missing on this board, please feel free to inform me what it is because I couldn't think of anything.
• JAVA v1.4 - A release of the JavaTM 2 Platform, Standard Edition version 1.4 software for Windows, Linux, and SolarisTM is now available to the Java community.
• Norton Antivirus Definition Update - The Norton Antivirus 4.0/5.0/2000 Definition Update has just released, release date 13 February, 2002.
• McAfee DAT and SuperDAT 4186 - McAfee Virus definitions has been updated to version 4186.
• NTREGOPT v1.0 - Similar to Windows 9x/Me, the registry files in an NT-based system can become fragmented over time, occupying more space on your hard disk than necessary and decreasing overall performance. You should use the NTREGOPT utility regularly, but especially after installing or uninstalling a program, to minimize the size of the registry files and optimize registry access.
• ERUNT v1.0 - There are a few ways to backup the registry with different programs, but they are either not straight-forward to use (REGBACK, REGREST from the NT resource kit) or do registry backups just as a side-effect among other things (NTBACKUP in Windows 2000, System Restore in Windows XP). And though the registry in an NT-based Windows is less likely to become corrupted than in other versions, it can still happen, and for these cases NT is simply missing an option for easy registry backup and restore as there is in Windows 9x/Me, to get the system up and running again in no time. Download.
• Customizer XP 1.7.6 - Customizer XP is an integrated suite of programs that can help you to tweak your Windows 2000/XP to its fullest potential performance or just keep it running like new.
• MSN Messenger v4.6.0076 -  A new build of Windows/MSN Messenger has been release for various versions of Windows.
• SMS-it v2.0 - Freeware SMS-it! allows you to send a short message (SMS = Short Message Service) to a mobile phone using your computer. SMS-it supports Picture messages, Caller Group Graphic, Operator Logo, Ringtones and Flash SMS.
• HyperSnap-DX v4.30.01 - HyperSnap-DX 4 is a screen capture and image editing tool for MS Windows. This news version features Button capture function under "Capture" menu, more options on "View & Edit" tab of "Capture Settings", new File/Acquire Multiple Images function and more.
• Winamp 3 Beta 3.0 - This new beta features video playback! (still experimental), ogg vorbis, MIDI and MOD support, popup menus work better, faster startup, etc, etc, etc ;)
• Nero Burning ROM InCD v3.23.1 - With this version an error has been fixed, which caused a problem with installed CD/DVD drives under certain circumstances. The drives were displayed with an exclamation mark in the device manager and were deactivated after the installation of the previous InCD version.
• ATI 3D Demo - With great graphics and great music to boot, there is really no reason why you shouldn't check this demo out.
• Animate Quake2 Characters On Your Desktop - amorMD2, "Amusing Misuse of Resources -- MD2 edition" reads Quake 2 character files and makes them dance around your desktop for your amusement. It will run on any Posix system which has KDE/Qt installed (ie, most Linux distros, BSD's, etc).
• Updated(?) NVIDIA Detonator XP 27.42 Drivers - Rob sent me an email that updated detonators are out. The OpenGL libraries are actually dated 14.02.2002. Later I noticed at Guru3D.com:" I compared the drivers with those from last week and found out they are newer (save date) and belong to the series 25 driver set. These are the "golden" drivers sent in for WHQL certification and I have replaced this version with the ones from last week." - These are not newer perhaps just recompiled. That's all!
• ATI Radeon 8500 Official Drivers - ATI has released new official drivers for the ATI Radeon 8500: WinXP 6.13.10.6015, Windows 2000 Driver - 5.13.01.6014, Windows NT4.0 Driver - 4.3.3288.
• Asus 27.42 Nvidia Detonators For Win2k/XP - These DO NOT fix the following bugs: AMD 760MP Memory Parity errors  The problem I have (and I assume most others that think the 27.20 and these drivers are very slow) where AGP memory is disabled (reported as "none"); If you find these drivers very slow, please check to see if you have any AGP memory on the info tab. If not, please let me know. It has been reported that these drivers are very fast. I assume that IF they work fine for you, then they are. However leech v27.42 Nvidia Detonator Drivers Win2k/XP 

• MSN Virus! - if you recieve message : "URGENT - Go to http://www.rjdesigns.co.uk/cool Now" , don''t go there! This link takes over your MSN messenger and sends it to all your contacts....
• PROTOS Remote SNMP Attack Tool - This tool (may be circulating in the computer underground) has the immediate ability to crash SNMP daemons and hardware devices running SNMP. The circulation of this tool may lead to a widespread use of new exploits to crash or compromise vulnerable systems. SNMP is ubiquitous as a network management protocol on the Internet. Nearly every operating system, router, switch, cable or DSL modem, and firewall is shipped with an SNMP service.
• Dot-US Addresses Coming Soon - NeuStar Inc., the Washington-based company that last year won the government contract to operate dot-us, this week said that rank-and-file U.S. Internet users could start registering addresses ending in dot-us on April 24.
• Windows XP Cracks Circulating - Two different programs, that can activate Windows XP without Microsofts blessing are circulating. The Patch made by the group Sad Team consists of a 700 KByte EXE-file that contains an Installer.
• Four 5-Megapixel Cameras In Review - Though they are much more expensive than conventional film cameras, digital cameras have rapidly gained market popularity. And while they do not necessarily outsell in numbers, they are certainly market winners in terms of money. Anyone can find a good reason for succumbing to their charms. First of all, because they don't require film, there are no development costs. Secondly, they have features not found in conventional cameras - for instance, a Webcam mode or the ability to produce short movie sequences. In short, digital cameras strive to combine the quality of a film camera with the immediacy of a Polaroid. 24-hour, or even 1-hour photo development is thus rendered obsolete; photos can first be viewed on the monitor at the back of the camera, then on a computer.
• Wireless LAN Jukebox Review - Want to be able to walk the entire range of your wireless LAN and control your MP3 jukebox? Set your killer speakers on the deck and have a bonfire in the back yard. Forget running up to the house to change CDs or waste time listening to the DJ on the radio. With our Wireless LAN Jukebox software you can control your MP3 jukebox with your Pocket PC using your wireless LAN.
• CPU Price Guide - Hardcoreware has posted their weekly CPU price guide.
• Liteon 32X CDRW Review - T-Break has posted a review of Liteon's 32X CDRW.
• PleXWriter PX-W4012A IDE CDR-W Review -  Plextor's latest model with the codename PX-W4012A is the first ever recorder that supports 40x writing race and leads the writing race. At the same time frame, where the majority of other manufacturers have already or are about to ship their 32x writing proposals, Plextor moved ahead and presents a recorder that supports the faster recording speeds at both CD-R and CD-RW formats.
• Inno3D Tornado GeForce4 MX 440 Graphics card review - The Inno3D GeForce4 MX 440 comes bundled with the usual Inno3D goodies which include a fairly well written manual, an Inno3D mousepad (not pictured), A/V cables and the Inno3D MegaPack Bundle which consists of their universal driver CD and various other software.
• 4-Way GeForce4 MX Shootout - Taking many of the same board-level features of the GeForce4 and throwing in the sub-$150 video card market has generated a lot of interest in the boards. Unfortunately, with all the coverage that this chip has garnered, a certain amount of questionable press has arisen as of late.
• 3DMark SE + GeForce 4 benchmarks - While new 3DMark SE (review) is out, there are some GeForce 4's scores at  NVNews (AMD Athlon XP 1800+, nForce Motherboard, GeForce4 Ti 4600, Detonator 27.30 drivers).
• WinMX v3.0 beta 4 - WinMX is a file-sharing program. In addition to letting you share MP3s and other types of files, WinMX allows you to connect, simultaneously, to many established networks based on the OpenNap and Napster protocols. (thanks Rob)
• ObjectBar 1.0 - ObjectBar is a brand new program that allows users to replace or extend their Windows Start bar. For all users, it provides a faster, more powerful, and much more productive way to interact with the Windows desktop. For Windows 98/ME/2000 users, ObjectBar could be used to have the Windows XP start bar. And for Windows XP users, they gain the ability to have personalized menus even when using the new XP Start menu.
• SQLXML 3.0 RTM - SQLXML enables XML support for your SQL Server Database.
• Excel 2002 Add-in: ODBC - The Excel 2002 Add-in: ODBC contains the SQL.REQUEST worksheet function. The SQL.REQUEST worksheet function is used to link to an external data source, run a query, and return the result of a query to the worksheet. Once your query is complete, you can use Microsoft Excel's many features to analyze your data.
• XP Antispy Version 3.41 - I didn't check it yet, but feech new version   here.
• GIMP 1.2.3 (Linux/Unix only) - The long awaited version 1.2.3 has been released. This is a bugfix release in the stable 1.2 series.
• Free RealOne Player - The free RealOne Player features our best media player, music jukebox, and a built-in media browser to play the widest variety of streaming media formats on the Web. The free RealOne Player does not include access to exclusive RealOne channels or programming, premium player features, or RealOne member services.
  But you must register if you want te use it. Mirrors: Mirror 1, Mirror 2 , Mirror 3.
• CDCheck v3.0.0.27 - CDCheck is utility for prevention, detection and recovery of damaged files with emphasis on error detection. It supports CRC files and binary compare.
• Nvidia nForce Driver For Linux - Nvidia Corp. released the first   nForce 220D/420/420D Linux driver.
• KatMouse v1.0 - The prime purpose of the KatMouse utility is to enhance the functionality of mice with a scroll wheel, offering 'universal' scrolling: moving the mouse wheel will scroll the window directly beneath the mouse cursor (not the one with the keyboard focus, which is default on Windows OSes). IMO this is a major increase in the usefullness of the mouse wheel.
• Nero Burning Rom Recorder Patch v5.5.7.2 - Ahead Software released a patch for Nero Burning Rom which adds support for AOpen 24X10X40 CD-RW, AOpen 24X10X48 CD-RW and  Plextor CD-R PX-W1210S.
• XPBench 1.03 - XPBench is specifically designed to query which Windows XP features a video card/driver combination supports and then to demonstrate the performance improvements supporting the XP API's makes.
• V.Control Version 1.70 Beta - V.Control is a free software which gives direct hardware control to your video graphics adapter; enabling custom refresh rates in increments of 1 Hz, over clocking without rebooting windows, and modifying PCI/AGP hardware configurations. Also provided are various registry tweaks. Currently supported are: 3dfx Voodoo Banshee, 3dfx Velocity, 3dfx Voodoo3, 3dfx Voodoo4, and 3dfx Voodoo5 (Voodoo5 6000 is untested).
• GeForce Tweak Utility 3.2 t19 Beta - This utility allows you make a lot of modifications to the registry settings of any GeForce videocard. GeForce256 DDR, GeForce2/MX/Pro/Ultra, GeForce3, Quadro, Quadro2/Pro/MXR, Quadro DCC.
• The ultimate Voodoo5500 XP drivers - Download 'em from VoodooFiles.com.

• Serious network security holes surface - A slew of security vulnerabilities in implementations of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) may allow unauthorised privileged access, denial-of-service attacks, or cause unstable behaviour, security clearing house CERT has warned.
• Torvalds automates Linux tweaks - Linux founder Linus Torvalds starts using software to automatically apply patches and updates to the open-source OS after receiving complaints that the process was too slow.
• Suit says Xerox stole software - Xerox is accused in a lawsuit of stealing printer software from the University of Texas at Austin and giving it to unsuspecting clients, including the city of Seattle and Gannett's flagship newspaper, USA Today.
• Exploding star strafed Earth - The explosion of a dying star could have ended much of marine life on Earth two million years ago. The supernova could have strafed the Earth's atmosphere with cosmic rays, severely damaging the ozone layer and exposing living organisms to high levels of the Sun's hazardous ultraviolet rays, US researchers propose.
• Shuttle AK35GTR Review - With the ever popular KT266A at the core of this motherboard, we knew from the start that it would probably be a great performer. Throw in an integrated High-Point 372 RAID controller and the AK35GTR is primed for some serious performance. Needless to say, we ran the board through its paces to see what it was made of. Through out the review we encountered a number a surprises that helped this motherboard stand out from the rest.
• GlobalWin TAK68 Dual Fan HSF Review - Tweakers Australia has posted a review of GlobalWin TAK68 Dual Fan HSF.
• GlobalWin ISTORM-II Hard Drive Cooler Review - Tweakers Australia has posted a review of GlobalWin ISTORM-II Hard Drive Cooler.
• Corsair XMS-2700 DDR Review - Serial Addiction has posted a review of Corsair's top of the line XMS-2700 DDR memory.
• Pentium 4 1.6A GHz Northwood Review -  This article is not an attempt to review the new Intel Pentium 4 1.6A GHz processor. The following is just to show what kind of performance is possible with the P4 1.6A. Is it the next Intel Celeron 300A? You make the call...
• Hellstorm 3000 Case Review -  Enter the realm of the HellSTORM Case. An improvement on the Tornado series cases since the HellStorms are equipped with true automotive paint. These cases are sanded, primed, painted, clear coated then baked to perfection. The colors are the exact same as found on exotic vehicles such as Lamborghini and Ferrari. This is the same brand paint and the same exact finish you would expect. According to 3DCOOL.COM Inc each case involves close to 8 hours of labor in order to achieve its perfection.
• Water-Cooling Hard Disk Water Block - So how do you cool two hot disks with water? Well, some imspection of my Seagate Barracuda's revealed that there's what appears to be a large aluminium heat-transfer block that runs right through the disk. This is the bit you normally attatch to your case. So, the best option I figured would be to bolt a couple of plates to this and cool them with water.
• Optimize Your Internet Connection - Tweaking your Internet connection is one of those subjects that has become cluttered with misinformation, rumor, and confusion. It's like souping up your car -- if done right, you can get real benefit from it. However, there are more ways to do it wrong than right, and doing it wrong can do more harm than good.
• miTweak XP 2.2.1 - miTweak-XP is one of Viettre.NET featured software that is in its development phase. The primary goal of miTweak-XP is to help the end-users who are running Windows XP to unleash the hidden features of Windows XP that your system's performance will be maximize and give you the maximum speed. Because miTweak-XP uses the latest programming technology of Microsoft .NET framework. Therefore, its usablity and stability is very high.
• FlashFXP Beta 1.4.3 Build 832 - FlashFXP is a powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Windows.
• Suma GF3 Ti 200 64MB SE Overclockable BIOS - Suma have released a GF3 Ti 200 64MB SE overclockable BIOS.
• Inno3D Detonators v27.30 - Inno3d  have released v27.30 Detonator drivers for Windows 2000/XP/98
• eVGA Detonators - eVGA have released v27.30 Detonator drivers for Windows 95/98/ME/NT 4.0 and v27.30 Detonator drivers for Windows 2000/XP. (You must be registered with eVGA to be able leech it)

3DMark2001 SE runs a wide range of tests to measure both overall 3D performance and speed, analyzing and displaying all system specifications from the driver versions to the exact hardware components of the PC. A completely new test utilizing pixel shader 1.4 has been incorporated in the new SE version. An updated ‘System Info’ now also detects installed hard drives as well as AGP settings that are crucial for 3D performance. The upgrade detects all the latest processors such as the AMD Athlon XP, Intel Pentium 4 and the Mobile Intel Pentium III Processor-M.

• Microsoft plugs six browser holes - The "11 February 2002 Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer" update eliminates all known security vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer 6, as well as six new vulnerabilities, and is discussed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-005. Download now to protect your computer from these vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could allow an attacker to run code on your computer.
• The Valentine's Day virus massacre - The recently discovered San VBS worm attempts to tempt users into visiting a Web site harbouring malicious code using a Valentine's Day message, written in Spanish. Another worm, Zacker-C, attempted to pass off a malicious attachment as a New Year greeting card. (theregister.co.uk)
• Deadlier Klez worm on the prowl - The latest version of the Klez worm is so tenacious that an antivirus company is posting free tools to fight it. The virus overwrites victims' files with random content.
• MS server bugs open the door to hackers - Holes in Exchange 2000 and Windows 2000 could allow hackers to view the system registry or gain control of servers. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to struggle with its reputation for lax security.
• IEEE 802.11 Technology - The Microsoftr Windowsr XP and Windows .NET server operating systems include support for secure access to the network via IEEE 802.1X, providing support for wireless LANs and Ethernet. This support includes automatic network detection and configuration, and network identification and mode selection (Infrastructure/ad hoc) for IEEE 802.11 LANs.
• Server Tualatin CPU Review - Do you plan a new server? If you do, Digit-Life has written an interesting review of   Server with Tualatin CPU.
• Dacris Benchmarks 6 Announced - Dacris Software has announced a major revision to its flagship product, Dacris Benchmarks. Code-named "Dacris Benchmarks 6", this entirely new product will integrate the best features from Dacris PC Designer and Dacris TweakWiz into an application service framework which is currently being referred to as Dacris Framework.
• 3.2 GHz Athlon Power: Dual Boards From ASUS and MSI - Tom's Hardware has posted a review of Athlon dual motherboard from ASUS and MSI.
• EagelTec Combo Card Reader Review - EagleTec's ET-FPTM USB memory card reader-writer has slots for CompactFlash, SmartMedia _and_ MultiMediaCard. And it costs less than twice as much as the average single-slot regular card reader. And it's about as small as it can be, considering its three card slots. And you can use all three slots at once. And with current Windows versions, it doesn't need a driver.
• Sony MP3 Discman DCJ-01 Review - While WinAmp killing my CPU, CoolHardwarez has posted a review of Sony MP3 Discman DCJ-01.
• Nvidia Detonator 27.42 XP Comparison - The review is in German, but the benchmarks are understandable...
• Radeon Drivers Comparision -  Heh again, the review is in German, but the benchmarks are understandable...
• 128 tweaks for XP loosers - There's over 128 tweaks (or tips for a few) on how to get Windows XP runnin the way you like, I stumbled upon it and it was interesting. (thanks Jack)
• NVIDIA GeForce4 MX To Quadro4 MOD - It is reported that GF4MX440 cards on Akiba market are the same and using the reference board design. In GeForce2 series, Quadro ID are Pin 18 and 19 of BIOS Flash memory chip. So at this time, in GeForce4MX, I tried removing and re-soldering resistor chips located near BIOS Flash memory, and finally I found the position which turns GeForce4MX to Quadro4...As a result of these changes, during reboot the system detected a new graphics card and offered to install divers for it. I applied Detonator-27.20 which contains the description of GeForce4 & Quadro4 series. My NV17 card is recognized as Quadro4 550XGL!
• How to add Linux to the NT Bootloader - In this article I will give you a simple step by step guide on adding an entry for linux on Windows NT/2000/XP bootloader. This method has been tried on Mandrake Linux 8.1, Red Hat Linux 7.0/7.1/7.2 and SuSE Linux 7.3, it will probably work on most distributions that allow you to choose where the bootloader is installed.
• Make an Office XP CD with Integrated SP1 - For those of you running Office XP, you're probably aware, or at least you should be, that Microsoft has released Service Pack 1. For me, this patch solved more problems than it created, so in my opinion, this is a must have patch. It's available for download, and you can choose to download the full 17MB patch, or simply use the the Office Update Page. For those of you on dial-up, you can order the sevice pack on CD for free in the US and Canada. Finally, there is another downloadable, which is the Administrative Update. It's a big one, 39.1MB, but it will update any version of Office XP you may have.  Read more at ViperLair.com
• Microsoft Convert Number Smart Tag for Word 2002  - The Microsoft Word Convert Number Smart Tag add-in automatically detects and tags numbers in a Microsoft Word 2002 document. You can then use the smart tag to convert the number to text. For example, the smart tag might detect the number 1,234, and you can click the smart tag to convert it to one thousand two hundred thirty-four.
• S/N For MS Project 2002 Beta 3 -Microsoft has posted a S/N for Microsoft Project 2002 Professional Beta 3, Please type in the following Product Key: G3B9H-X2382-9HTRD-XKDQV-VYPF8
• Opera 6.01 Build 1041 - A new build of Opera Software has been released : without Java / with Java
• Kazaa Media Desktop v1.5 - The KaZaa Media Desktop is a second-generation peer-to-peer file-sharing program that lets you search and download media files from other KaZaa users. You can also organize and play/view your media files through an integrated media jukebox, publish your own work, reach an audience, and communicate with other KaZaa users. KaZaa supports audio, video, software, games, images, and documents.
• XP Antispy 3.4 - This new version added functionality to disable creation and sending of errorreports, if an OfficeXP application crashes, ded functionality to disable bandwidth-reserving in networks, which is caused by the QoS (Quality of Service) and the program can be controlled by commandline.
• CPUCooL 7.0.11 & CPUFSB 2.2.4 - CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards. It works with all chipsets from Intel, ALI, VIA, AMD, and SIS 5595 motherboards. CPUFSB is a small version of CPUCooL. It is for changing the FrontSideBus only. So you have a small tool only one of the the most important freatures of CPUCooL. Changing the FrontSideBus enables you to set the frequency of your CPU up to the limits.
• AGP PCI Latency Utility - Use this utility is to reduce the number of clks that AGP video cards are taking. According to the PCI Latency Timer Howto, 248 clks (a typical value for AGP vid-cards) is about 4 times too much time for any device to grab the bus.
• Radeonator v1.40 - Radeonator is a tool for tweaking your ATI Radeon 8xxx/7xxx/64DDR/LE/VE/32DDR cards.
• Leadtek Winfox tweaking utility v2.204 - I have noticed over at FDRsoft.com a new version of Leadtek's Winfox Tweak utility v2.204.
• WinXP Refresh rate fix for 27.42 drivers - Many of you may have noticed that the Nvidia refresh rate fix does not work with the latest 27.42 dets. This is because Nvidia has changed the way the registry stores the refresh rate information. Here's how to fix it:
  -Install any det version between 23.11 and 27.20. Apply the refresh rate fix as normal.
  -Using Regedit go to the key HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/nv/Device0
  -Using the Export Registry Key function copy all values from the Device0 key.
  -Uninstall the drivers using Add/Remove programs.
  -After reboot install the 27.42 drivers. Go to the same Device0 key and delete it.
  -Create a new Device0 key and import the saved values. (thanks Rob)

• Malaysian held in Japan over ISP hacking - A 24-year-old Malaysian electronic engineering student in Japan has been detained by police for investigations into the hacking of a Japanese Internet service provider. A report on a news website, Asahi.com, said yesterday that the student was detained after he was alleged to have used his personal computer to send "a huge volume of data into a website, causing it to malfunction, and later hacking into it."
• MadOnion Interview - T-Break has conducted an interview with Patric Ojala of MadOnion.com.
• Crucial 256mb PC2100 Memory Review - SubZeroTech has posted a review of Crucial 256mb PC2100 memory.
• Blizzard Z4 Water Cooling Kit Review - Water cooling, two words that mean a lot. Here's a water cooling kit that is by far one of the cheapest and most effective ways to cool down computer components. This kit, however, is a lot different than most we've seen on the market. The Blizzard Z4 consists of very few parts, is easy to install, and is 100% internal. The best part about the Blizzard Z4: it's hand-made by OverclockersHideout!!
• Windows XP Home Networking Guide - Do you have a couple of computers sitting around and have toyed with the idea of a home network? Never fear, as this extensive guide will help explain just how easy it is to establish a home network with Windows XP and a bunch more of information on general networking.
• WinRoute Pro 4.2 now supports XP -  The new version supports Windows XP and solves an issue with IP address renewal in cable-modem internet environments. 
• mIRC v6.01 - Several more or less annoying bugs have been fixed; a socket bug which that very likely caused the crashes some of you have been reporting, a connection retry bug which may have resulted in wrong nicknames, channel prefixes and nick mode prefixes, etc Download this baby now!
• CPU Burn - Danger Toy! - These programs are designed to load x86 CPUs as heavily as possible for the purposes of system testing. They have been optimized for different processors. FPU and ALU instructions are coded an assembler endless loop. They do not test every instruction. The goal has been to maximize heat production from the CPU, putting stress on the CPU itself, cooling system, motherboard (especially voltage regulators) and power supply (likely cause of burnBX/MMX errors).

• IE bug allows full MSN Messenger hijack - Among the fun and games one can have with a vulnerable Messenger user are such sports as impersonating the victim and sending spoof messages and spoof e-mail memos to his contacts, and scouring his local drive for interesting files to share around. In other words, you can do anything with the victim's Messenger client that the owner can do. A demonstration has been set up here. They promised a patch soon, so check  the MSN Messenger site from time to time.
• Proof that Windows XP is a "ripoff" of OS9/X - I noticed it at NewsGeek. Seems someone has compiled an image of all the components of Apple's OS9/X that Windows XP has supposedly ripped off :) Pretty cool!!
• Dissection of a Hard Drive - Remember when you were a kid, and used to pull apart your toys just for the hell of it? I do, and I often ask myself why I still do it! In fact, here's a whole article dedicated to the utter destruction of a hard disk drive. Although this type of behavior might seem destructive, it can be educational as well as fun.
• ISS Issues Patch for Hole in BlackICE Firewall Software -   Internet Security Systems Inc. has released a patch to fix a hole in its firewall software that could allow malicious hackers to take over the computer.
• Windows .NET Server Build 3604 available to testers -  This is an interim build between Beta 3 and RC1 is not considered "Beta quality". This build is intended as a preview of our progress post Beta 3 and to allow you to regress bugs fixed since Beta 3.
• KT333A renamed as KT400? - Unconfirmed news from OCWorkBench.com source reveals that there will be no more KT333A. The version which with improves the performance from KT266A will be named KT333CE. The version with AGP8X and Vlink 533 will be named KT400.
• IBM Deskstar 120GXP HDD Review - X-bit labs has reviewed a new really long-awaited IBM HDD: DeskStar 120GXP with 80GB storage capacity and 7,200rpm spindle rotation speed. 
• Kingmax DDR-333 (PC2700) Memory Review - TweakTown has posted a review of Kingmax DDR-333 (PC2700), along with cool benchmarks. "Here is a closer look at the chip itself. 4ns rating allows this memory to run at 400MHz level. While supporting this speed, we haven't seen any motherboards to allow this feature yet. When we get some motherboards with dividers for 166Mhz FSB, we will put this RAM to the test". (thanks Rob for tip)
• Mother Board Monitor 5.1.0.6 Beta - Motherboard Monitor (MBM) is a tool that will display information from the sensor chips on your motherboard in your Windows system tray. MBM supports a wide range of Chipsets & Sensor Chip combinations.
• Customizer XP v1.7 - Customizer XP is an integrated suite of programs that can help you to tweak your Windows 2000/XP to its fullest potential performance or just keep it running like new. This new version adds  Control Panel manager, Processor info into System Info and  ideo Card info into System Info.
• Abit KG7 BIOS - Abit has released a new BIOS (KG7 Series BIOS 68 #1 / KG7 Series BIOS 68 #2) for the complete KG7 series. This new BIOS adds support for AMD Athlon XP 2000+ and Morgan Duron 1300, Fixes ACPI error message in Windows XP Event Viewer, adds support for 3.5GB memory while four sticks of 1G DDR memory installed. and many more.

• STM Says Good Bye -  STMicroelectronics has announced that it is withdrawing from the PC Graphics Accelerator IC market and is currently seeking a buyer for the related assets and activities of its PC Graphics business, which accounted for approximately $15 million of ST's $6.36 billion revenues in 2001. The potential sale is in line with ST's objective of focusing its R&D efforts on market areas that are strategically important to the Company, notably: communications, automotive, computer peripherals, smart cards and digital consumer. In the digital consumer market, ST will continue to emphasize set-top box, DVD and digital TV applications, in which the Company holds worldwide leadership positions.
• Sony fights against PS2 mod chips - Sony wants the use of modification chips for the PlayStation2 stopped in Australia, but a government agency has stepped in. It's a challenge to regional coding for DVDs too.
• Airport security in a blink - London's Heathrow airport launched the five-month scheme on Friday at terminals from where British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operate transatlantic routes. The automated iris recognition stations have been placed in the immigration halls of Terminals Three and Four at Heathrow.
• What is Lesbian GNU/Linux? -  Lesbian is a free operating system (OS) for your computer. An operating system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. Lesbian uses the Linux kernel (the core of an operating system), but most of the basic OS tools come from the GNU project; hence the name GNU/Linux.  Lesbian GNU/Linux provides more than a pure OS: it comes with more than 10000 packages, precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine :P
• Nvidia to phase out GeForce3 - Nvidia is to phase out its GeForce3 line of graphics chips entirely as it makes room for the the Geforce 4, the company said on Wednesday. Instead, its low-end product will become the GeForce2 MX, complementing the midrange GeForce4 MX and the high-end GeForce4 Ti.
• Intel 845G chipset postponed - Sources close to motherboard manufacturers have now confirmed a Digitimes report earlier this week suggesting that Intel's 845G (for graphics) chipset will now be launched along with its 845E on May 20th.
• Budget Video Shootout - ATi versus Nvidia - Thus, this article will serve to cater to those who want the best "bang for the buck." So, let's take a look at what performance can we expect from a sub-$100 video card based on ATi and Nvidia graphic chipsets.
• Monitor Roundup - If you've been staring at the same monitor for the last 3 years, its colours are probably starting to fade and start up is probably taking longer than ever so it's about time to put that baby to sleep. But cheer up, because there are limitless flavours of monitors out there at extremely affordable prices. Whether you primarily use your monitor to view documents, still photos, live video or play games, a new monitor will bring new life to your existing computer. 
• FlashDioTM USB Drive (64MB) Review - 3D Game Man has posted a FlashDioTM USB Drive (64MB) video review.
• GeForce4 Review -  Tecnations has written a pretty comprehensive review covering all the aspects of GF4 lineup (there's also another GF4 review at XBit-Lab)
• ABIT KR7A-RAID Review - Overclocked Cafe has posted a review of ABIT KR7A-RAID motherboard.
• Modifying Boot.ini on Windows XP - Microsoft has added a new user tip to its WindowsXP Expert Zone that shows how you can modify the boot.ini without having to enable "Show hidden files and folders " in "Folder options".
• Win2k Security Patch: Interix Patch For Telnet Bulletin - Microsoft has released a patch that resolves the "Unchecked Buffer in Telnet Server Can Lead to Arbitrary Code Execution"" security vulnerability in Windows 2000 and Interix 2.2, and is discussed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-004.
• WinXP Patch: Dynamic Update 1.2 - This update provides a solution for corporate administrators who download Dynamic Update, and is discussed in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article Q314582. Corporate administrators can download Dynamic Update 1.2 to a network installation share, so users can install Windows XP with the updates included in Dynamic Update 1.2.
• Microsoft Network Security Hotfix Checker 3.32 - HFNetChk is a command-line tool that enables an administrator to check the patch status of Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP machines. HFNetChk can be run from Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP systems, and will scan either the local system or remote ones for patches available for the following products: Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Internet Information Server 4.0 and 5.0, SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 (including Microsoft Data Engine), and Internet Explorer 5.01 and later.
• Trillian 0.724 - Resolving the latest round of AIM issues, Trillian now supports server side contact lists on AIM. Additionally, we've modified the reconnection routines so they don't rapid-fire-reconnect and changed a few other connection-related settings. Download full install from here or here.
• NVIDIA BIOS Editor v1.0 RC2 rev130 - NVIDIA BIOS Editor enables you to do virtually anything with your graphic card BIOS (as long as it's NVIDIA's). Now, it's simply a must have for me and according to the forum, for many other people, too. It enables you to change the sign-on message text & color, GPU & memory clocks, hidden features like SBA (Side Band Addressing) and much more.
• Radeonator v1.30 - Radeonator is a tool for tweaking your ATI Radeon 8xxx/7xxx/64DDR/LE/VE/32DDR cards.
• Matrox G200 5.72.021 Drivers -  Matrox has released new Windows 2000/XP drivers for G200 and G200 MMS products, except Marvel.
• Adaptec USB 2.0 Drivers - Adaptec has released the latest version of their proprietary USB 2.0 drivers for Windows 98SE, Windows ME and Windows 2000. These drivers are specifically written for the Adaptec USB 2.0 DuoConnect and USB 2 Connect brands of USB 2.0/PCI cards.
• Gainward Detonators - Download W2k/XP 27.20 / W9x/ME 27.30.
• Detonators 27.42 Beta -  A new beta Detonator driver v27.42 for Windows 9x, ME, 2000, and XP is out. Mirrors: Guru3D, DetonatorXP 27.42 for Win2k/XP, DetonatorXP 27.42 for Win9x/ME.

• $1 films spook Hollywood - A Taiwanese Web site is offering hundreds of videos on demand for just $1 each, trumping Hollywood's plans to deliver similar services and raising the specter of a new round of international copyright battles. Despite claims that their Movie88 site is following all local copyright laws, the owners of this new venture are drawing scrutiny from a skeptical Hollywood. Meanwhile, Web surfers drawn by free or cut-rate movies are flocking to the site, overloading servers and clogging data pipes.
• Mac Office vulnerable to hacks - Microsoft warns Mac Office users that hackers could use the product serial number as a weapon to shut down copies of Office v. X on a network or connected to the Internet. (patch)
• New Twist On Web-Forms Hack Scarfs Browser Cookies -  An independent network security researcher has uncovered a new way to steal the secret browser "cookies" of Web surfers with the help of Internet servers that were never intended to communicate with browser software. In a demonstration of the exploit, which Obscure calls the Extended HTML Form Attack, a POP3 (post office protocol) e-mail server at Ebay was used to divulge the browser cookies of users who had visited the auction giant's Web site.
• Teen Anarchist's Supporters Accuse FBI Of AIM Hack - The FBI declined to comment Wednesday on allegations that federal agents have commandeered online chat accounts belonging to the teen-aged operator of anti-government site Raisethefist.com. However, the agency denies allegations that it has harassed associates of 18-year-old self-proclaimed anarchist Sherman Martin Austin. According to several of Austin's supporters, someone has repeatedly logged into the teen's accounts on America Online's AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) real-time chat service while he was in police custody.
• How to hack unbreakable Oracle servers - Security researcher David Litchfield has identified a vast number of attacks against Oracle application servers and has written them up in a paper which includes defensive strategies as well. From this we learn, contrary to Oracle President Larry Ellison's claims, that Oracle is vulnerable to buffer overflow attacks, DoS attacks, and remote exploitation to name but a few difficulties.
• NY sues NAI so you can say McAfee sucks - The State of New York has filed suit against Network Associates over outrageous EULA terms forbidding users and journalists to speak ill of the company's McAfee anti-virus product, Reuters reports. NAI has the nerve to require the company's consent before anyone can publish reviews of its products or disclosing with any third party the results of benchmarks comparing NAI products against the competition, the wire service says.
• First MPEG-4 Decoder Card Announced - Sigma Designs announced the first MPEG-4 client player add-in card for the PC. Marketed under the name REALmagic XcardT, Sigma's newest MPEG-4 offering turns a PC into a home theatre solution, providing TV playback of top entertainment content from DivX Networks, DVDs and new Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA) compliant video streams. Sigma's REALmagic Xcard will retail for $99.95 and will be available initially from the company's REALmagic Online store at www.buyrealmagic.com starting March 2002.
• GeForce 4 Cards Attack! - Elsa (Gladiac 925VIVO), PNY (Verto GeForce4 Ti 4600), Leadtek (WinFast A250 Ultra TD, WinFast A170 DDR T), eVGA (GF4 MX, e-GeForce4 MX 440, Asymmetric Cooling System, nView), ACS, Prolink (GeForce4 MX PR), Asus (GeForce4 Ti & MX).
• ATI RADEON 7500 Review - Xbit-Labs reviewed ATI RADEON 7500, which is a very interesting card providing marvelous graphics quality, wholesome support for dual-monitor configurations, TV and digital monitor output.
• GeForce4 interview - CVG has posted an interview with nVidia's Dan Vivoli, regarding their just-announced GeForce 4.
• NV GF4 Launch Event Photo Mania - Hot Hardware has posted up a few photos from the NV GF4 Launch Event hosted on Tuesday in San Francisco at the Palace of the Fine Arts.
• Samsung 52x Max CD-ROM Review - IamNotaGeek.com has posted a review of Samsung 52x Max CD-ROM. 
• Intel Northwood 2.2GHz Preview - Hardware Mania has written a preview of Intel Northwood 2.2GHz.
• Budget Video Shootout - ATi versus Nvidia - The Budget Video Shootout: ATi versus Nvidia is an article that rounds up nine sub-$100 ATi and Nvidia video cards and compares their performance and features against each other. The last page rates each card based on its price, performance, and feature set. These video cards are: ATi Radeon 7500, Radeon 7200, Radeon 7000, Radeon SE, Radeon LE, MSI G2TiVX Pro-VT, Chaintech GeForce2Ti, Visiontek Xtasy 5632, and Jaton 3Dforce2 MX-32TV. Who will be the winner?
• Linux On The NT Bootloader Guide - In this article I will give you a simple step by step guide on adding an entry for linux on Windows NT/2000/XP bootloader. This method has been tried on Mandrake Linux 8.1, Red Hat Linux 7.0/7.1/7.2 and SuSE Linux 7.3, it will probably work on most distributions that allow you to choose where the bootloader is installed.
• Exchange 2000 System Attendant Incorrectly Sets Remote Registry Permissions - download patch.
• RivaTuner 2.0 RC 10 - RivaTuner is a powerful tweaking utility for NVIDIA based cards and will help you to change all undocumented registry entries.
• ZoneAlarm 3.0 Beta - ZoneAlarm makes it easy. Unlike other personal firewalls, ZoneAlarm protects automatically from the moment it's installed - no programming required.
• Cacheman 5.11 - A new version of Cacheman is out. The Cacheman utility is designed to improve the performance of your computer by optimizing the disk cache, memory and a number of other settings.
• miTweak XP 2.2 patch - This patch  adds: Some bug fixes, Added Window Logon Screen Random Selector.
• XP LogMod 2.0 - XP LogMod is a program designed to give your computer a more dynamic feel. This is accomplished by changing your Logon screen that Windows XP comes equipped with. It eliminates the tiresome and potentially unsafe task of manually editing certain parts of the Operating System. XP LogMod provides fast and easy managementchanging of multiple LogonUI screens to help your computer come to life!
• Opera 6.01 - Opera Software has released Opera 6.01 (with JAVA).
• CloneAD's CladDVD XP v1.2 - CladDVD XP is a FREE 'DVD Ripper', meaning it decrypts the encrypted VOB files off the DVD and saves them to your hard drive. The files can be ripped in a standard way preserving the original content along with the IFO, useful when you use or need to use a 3rd party application to process the VOB files. CladDVD XP also allows you to rip using 'IFO Parsing' which will allow you to select certain ProGram Chains like the main movie or a certain version of the movie, this is definately the recommended option, you can also rip extra features apart from the main movie.
• HyperSnap-DX 4.30.00 Beta 7 - HyperSnap-DX 4 is a screen capture and image editing tool for MS Windows. This new beta adds a new function under File menu added: "Acquire Multiple Images..." and many more.
• VIA PCI RAID Patch 1.02 - VIA Area has released a new VIA PCI RAID patch.
• Highpoint HPT 372 BIOS & Driver 2.31 - New BIOS&Driver features improved perfomance, Fix BIOS compatibility issue with Adaptec SCSI, Show capacity by 1G=1,000,000,000 Bytes,  Fix BIOS bug "drive capacity incorrect after deleting a broken array"
• ATI Radeon Drivers - These babies supports all radeon cards to date also including support for R300. Download: ATi Radeon 5.13.01.6022 Windows 2000 driver dated 01/16/2002,  ATi Radeon 6.13.10.6022 Windows XP driver dated 01/16/2002. ATi Radeon 4.3.3288 Windows NT driver dated 01/16/2002.
• NVIDIA 27.30 Detonators - I just saw them at WinXP, WinXP multilanguage, Win9x/ME (thanks MediaXplosion)

• Microsoft game is a code-eating battle - Terrarium is not a virus, says Microsoft, which created the game to show what can be achieved in peer-to-peer applications, particularly those using the company's .Net Framework, but it does share some similarities with the way viruses work. For instance, the object is to propagate as many pieces of code (or creatures)  as possible in the three weeks that the competition will last for.  And although it is just a game for now, it does show the possibilities of peer-to-peer computing.
• AMD, Ferrari's new F1 sponsor - Ferrari will be launching their new 2002 contender, the F2002, in less than an hour and just prior to the unveiling the Italian team announced that they have signed a new sponsorship agreement with AMD for the upcoming 2002 and 2003 seasons.
• Police call for ban on Mafia computer game - Italian police are trying to ban a new computer game which encourages players to climb the ladder of the mafia.
• Morpheus Security Hole a Hoax? - According to MusicCity.com, the report is not true - the report of a security hole in Morpheus is FALSE.
• Socket423 Died. Officially... -  So, Intel officially announced the beginning of their discontinuance program for all mPGA423 Pentium 4 processors with 1.5Ghz-2GHz core frequencies. This way they have completely shifted to a new Socket478. At the same time they announced the discontinuance of their 0.18micron (Willamette) mPGA478 Pentium 4 2GHz. Instead they will offer Pentium 4 2A (built on 0.13micron Northwood core).
• ATI releases new 128MB graphics card - It's not surprising that ATI is moving to 128MB of memory on its performance cards. Some third-party card makers not long ago released 128MB GeForce3 cards, and in part, it's a drop in memory prices that has made this feasible. This is the most concrete change to the updated Radeon 8500 over the cards released last year, but don't expect current games to get much, if any, performance benefit from having more memory. While the previous move from 32MB to 64MB was partly driven by the buffer requirements of high 1600x1200 resolutions and anti-aliasing, the amount of memory on current cards isn't holding back performance even at high resolutions. But in the future, game developers will adapt games to take advantage of the extra local memory.
• Google Programming Contest - Google has just announced its first annual programming contest! The objective is to write a program that will do something "interesting" with the about 900,000 Web pages' worth data that's Google provides. In addition to writing the program, contestants also have to convince the judges why their program is interesting (or useful) and why it will scale (that is, handle a constantly increasing load of data that grows as the Web grows). The prize is US$10,000 in cash, a V.I.P. tour of the Google facility in Mountain View, California and possibly a chance to run their program on Google's complete billion-Web-page store.
• Intel developing cellular Internet chip in Israel - Intel Corporation is developing in Israel a new laptop computer that incorporates a chip system enabling users to connect to the Internet via any available cellular network.
• IBM to unveil index card-size computer prototype - IBM research division says it has developed a prototype of a portable computer module that is the size of a small pad of paper and has the computing power of a typical notebook or desktop computer. The portable computing device, which IBM Research will unveil on Feb. 11 at a technology conference in Phoenix, Arizona, includes 128MB of dynamic random access memory, a 10GB hard drive and a microprocessor that runs at 800MHz.
• MS .NET vulnerable to attack - Microsoft ASP.NET is vulnerable to cross-site scripting (CSS), according to a recent post by Johannes Westerink to the BugTraq mailing list.
• DVD Ripping Guide v2.2  - There are some simple instructions which should start you out with all the neccessary knowledge to on how to rip DVDs effectively.
• Daisy, an Open Source Windows 2000 Security Utility - Daisy is a program that reviews your system for service pack and OS level, determines what hot fixes the base OS needs, and downloads and installs them in a correct and consistent manner. It checks that the hot fixes installed on the system are installed correctly. Command line and initialization file settings for Daisy, along with defining a Task Scheduler job for Daisy can automate the tedious processes of hot fix downloading, installing, verifying, and rebooting.
• MSIE 6.0 SP1 beta leaked - Download Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 (build 6.0.2813.3000) - Mirror1, Mirror2. Note:After install the Internal Windows Update link id pointed to a MS secure beta site, to revert back to normal run this regfile. These FTPs seems to be pretty overloaded right now, that's why these links doesn't work. So be patient and try luck a bit later. The newly leaked build doesn't sport any changes apart from a bunch of bug-fixes, but still it seems to be worth a try for users of Win2k/XP.
• CladDVD XP v1.2 - CladDVD XP is an Windows XP DVD ripper, completely redesigned for the XP environment, with IFO parsing capabilities.
• Customizer XP 1.7 Beta - Tweak Now has released a beta of Customizer XP 1.7.
• Tiny PersonalFirewall 2.1 Beta2 - Although the official website hasn´t been updated yet, a new beta version of the freeware TinyPersonal Firewall has been released.
• Nvidia GeForce4 Goodies - Nvidia have released some trailers and demos for the Launch of the GeForce4 today: GeForce4 Video Demo Collage featuring the song Elevation by U2, Demos: Twister and Demos: Grace.
• Detonator 27.30 For W2k/XP - Oh yeah, nVidia Detonator 27.30 for Win2k/XP is finally out :)
• Nvidia Detonator Driver 27.20 at Gainward - Gainward FTP has official Nvidia Detonator Driver 27.20 for Windows 2000.

GeForce4 Ti

GF3 Ti 500/GF4 Ti 4600

GeForce4 MX 460

• GeForce4 Ti 4600, 4400 and 4200 - The GeForce4 Ti GPU is the first consumer GPU capable of driving complex geometries and character animations. With its advanced nfiniteFX(TM) Engine, superior Accuview Antialiasing techniques, and flexible nView multidisplay technology, the GeForce4 Ti GPU allows end users to experience radically immersive graphical environments, complete with unique visual effects and the most realistic, life-like images ever.
• GeForce4 MX 460, 440 and 420 - The GeForce4 MX GPU brings new levels of graphics performance and display flexibility to the mainstream desktop PC. By incorporating NVIDIA's innovative nView multidisplay technology, highly efficient Lightspeed Memory Architecture(TM) (LMA) II and advanced Accuview Antialiasing techniques, the GeForce4 MX GPU is the most feature-rich, cost-effective, highly integrated GPU available for the mainstream market.
• GeForce4 440 Go and 420 Go - The mobile GeForce4 GPUs integrate innovative power management techniques for unsurpassed battery life, a Video Processing Engine and revolutionary antialiasing technology for superior display quality, and an ultra efficient memory architecture for the fastest computing experience ever realized on a mobile PC platform.

• Nasa hacker thrown in the slammer - 20 year-old hacker who broke into computers at Nasa's Jet Propulsion laboratory has been sentenced almost four years after the event. Jason Allen Diekman was sentenced yesterday (4 February) to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $88,000 for breaking into Nasa in 1998.
• Virus Can Exploit Long Path under NTFS to Evade Detection - The NTFS file system seems to be a hiding place for viruses if they utilize a file path that exceeds 256 characters. This vulnerability allows virus writers to store infected files in directories that would not be checked by the antivirus, and therefore will not be detected or removed.
• Vulnerability in Black ICE Defender - When the sender of the flood is running BID, the machine quickly suffers a
  BSOD, exception 0x1E, in blackdrv.sys. Exception 0x1E occurs when a kernel-mode exception is not handled, indicating poor coding practice or insufficient testing within a kernel-mode driver.
• Another mIRC bug - I mentioned html bug in mIRC yesterday, but I missed another one - if a compromised server sends a name that is more than 200 characters long to a chatter's computer, the data causes a memory problem, called a buffer overflow, that allows code appended to the data to be executed on that computer. Typically, such a hidden command causes a malicious program to be downloaded and installed. The flaws only affect versions of mIRC up to, and excluding, the latest release, version 6.0.
• Chinese SMS can crash Siemens mobiles - Siemens is evaluating the impact of a security bug that allows malicious hackers to crash phones by sending a malformed SMS message in Chinese. The flaw, which affects Siemens 3568i (or below) mobiles but not Siemens 6688 phones, involves a bug in the way exceptional characters are displayed, Chinese researchers xfocus advise.
• Lindows preview--good, bad or ugly? - A preview edition of the Lindows OS offers insight into how the software will aim to combine the benefits of Windows and Linux. But it still leaves many unconvinced.
• Microsoft pushes Flash for interactive TV - Macromedia announced an agreement with Microsoft on Monday to increase support for Macromedia's Flash animation player in Microsoft TV, the software giant's interactive TV software.
• Maxtor goes large with external HDDs - Maxtor is inching its way into Iomega territory, by tripling the disk size for its Personal Storage 3000LE USB 2.0 external hard drive line. The latest 120GB model ships in the US 'in early February' and carries a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP)of $299.95. You can buy it also online through MaxtorDirect. Maxtor is retaining the 40GB Personal Storage model - this has an MSRP of $199.
• Geforce4 preoders & preview-  Somene sent me an email that some vendors are taking pre-orders for GF4 MX440 based cards. In addition you can check this NVIDIA GeForce 4 preview at NvMax.com
• Hercules 3D Prophet FDX 8500LE 64MB card - Rivastation.com has posted  the first pictures of the new Hercules 3D Prophet FDX 8500LE 64MB card.  The letters FDX stand for "Full Direct X" :P
• Gainward Powerpack ti450 Review - BurnoutPC reviewing a Gainward Ti-450, which is a GeForce 3 Ti -200 based card from their Golden Sample series of products. Gainward claims their cards to be highly overclockable, lets take a look.
• Windows 2K Detonator Driver Database - The Windows 2k NVIDIA Detonator Driver Database contains performance data on most of the Windows 2k NVIDIA Detonator Drivers. For each set of drivers listed we have included performance data from the Mad Onion 3DMark2000 benchmark, Unreal Tournament - Kenguru Demo, Quake 3 Arena Demo, and the MDK2 Demo.
• New Build of IE6 SP1 released to testers -  The Internet Explorer Team is pleased to deliver the second beta release (build 1330) of Internet Explorer 6 SP1! As always, we recommend that you uninstall any beta versions of Internet Explorer before installing Internet Explorer 6 SP1.
• Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP - As a special thanks for fans of the Windows XP digital media experience, we offer the Windows Media Bonus Pack for Windows XP! Jam-packed with utilities, PowerToys, visualizations, skins, sound effects, and much more, the free Windows Media Bonus Pack installs on your Windows XP-based PC and lets your personality and creativity shine.
• Microsoft Network Security Hotfix Checker v3.32 - HFNetChk is a command-line tool that enables an administrator to assess patch status for computers that are running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, as well as hotfixes for Internet Information Server 4.0 (IIS), Internet Information Services 5.0 (IIS), SQL Server 7.0, SQL Server 2000 (including Microsoft Data Engine [MSDE]), and Internet Explorer 5.01 or later. Version 3.31 is an updated version of 3.3 that will properly identify SQL Server 7.0 systems.
• Mozilla 0.9.8 - The opensource browser Mozilla has updated to version 0.9.8. (Windows, Linux, MacOS, OS/2)
• Serv-U v4.0.4 - Serv-U is a powerful, easy to use FTP Server. Serv-U is the ideal solution for anyone that needs an FTP server for any reason. Serv-U features  support for SSL FTP transfers.
• Access Folders 2.0 -  The program integrates into Windows' standard Save As/Open dialogs which are used by most applications. By right-clicking the question mark (?) button at the top-right hand side of this window, the program's menu pops-up to provide access to favorite folders. You can select a folder and the dialog will immediately jump to the directory.
• MiTweak-XP v2.1 - The primary goal of miTweak-XP is to help the end-users who are running windows XP to unleash the hidden features of Windows XP that your system's performance will be maximize and give you the maximum speed. Because miTweak-XP uses the latest programming technology of Microsoft .NET framework/
• Virtual CD v4.0.4 - Virtual CD copies your favourite audio-, data- or video-CD/DVDs as compressed image files on the hard disk and emulates up to 22 CD drives to access and to run the CD applications.
• NVmax v4.00.40 - This new version fully supports Detonator 27.xx.
• Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility 3.30.1010 - Supported Chipsets: (810/815/820/830/840/845/850/860) + Intel FWH (i82802), (430TX/440EX/440LX/440ZX/440BX/440DX/440MX), Older Chipsets are already supported by Operating System, download now!

• Two men plead guilty in Internet piracy scheme -  Prosecutors say 30-year-old Kentaga Kartadinata and 26-year-old Mike Nguyen, both of Los Angeles, were members of a gang known as DrinkorDie. They face between 27 and 33 months in prison, each, when they're sentenced at a later time. Nguyen, a computer programmer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), managed several of the group's file servers containing thousands of pirated software titles. Federal prosecutors say they expect to indict at least 50 other DrinkorDie members soon.
• Dangerous hole discovered in Morpheus - A new security hole has been discovered in the peer-to-peer file-sharing application, which allows a random list to be generated of people using the service. A malicious hacker could then access the computers of those users and copy files from anywhere on their hard disk.
• mIRC 5.90/5.91 Vulnerable To New Attack - An HTML page can cause mIRC to launch automatically. This includes HTML e-mail when read from within Outlook Express. Under some circumstances mIRC will automatically connect to the server specified within the HTML page, other times mIRC will ask if the user wishes to open another copy of mIRC or use the current one. The flaw has been corrected in mIRC version 6, which was released.
• Intel WLAN Driver Stores 128bit WEP-Key in Plain Text - The Intel WLAN Driver stores the WEP-Key in plain inside the registry. Further, the permission settings of the specific key are weak enough to allow anyone with local user to read it via regedit.exe or an equivalent tool. Drivers from other vendors (for example Actiontec PrismII) store the 128bit key in its encrypted form. if you look at registry under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\
  Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0008].
• Inside Intel's monster 5GHz chip - Intel's McKinley chip will be a whopping 464 square millimeters and will include a 3MB level three cache, a 256KB level two cache and a 32KB level one cache. Read another article at TheInquirer.co.uk. (pictures: Detailed picture of the McKinley die, Intel block layout for the 5GHz processor, Intel's 4MB test die )
• Gates warns US lags behind in broadband - Microsoft is not expecting to adapt its software and services for broadband internet access for about five years, according to company chairman Bill Gates.  Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Gates told political and business leaders that the high price of broadband access in the US was stifling demand. Gates said US broadband would lag behind European and Far Eastern countries by "five to six years". He slammed US telecom providers and cable networks for recently increasing prices. Until uptake of broadband improved, Microsoft would concentrate on providing products for slower, narrowband services, he added.
• Studios race to choke DVD copying - Tron is the author of a piece of software called SmartRipper, which allows DVDs to be copied fairly easily to a computer hard drive, and from there burned onto recordable DVDs. So far, it's hardly a threat on the level that Napster once was. But cross Tron and his peers with rapidly falling prices of DVD burners, and it's easy to see why Hollywood executives are nervous.
• IBM erases pen-based notebook - ThinkPad TransNote, a portable PC that also captures notes jotted on paper, has been discontinued due to sluggish sales. Is this bad news for Microsoft's Tablet PC?
• 8500 LE 128MB - ATI will now offer a retail graphics board featuring its RADEONT 8500LE chip. Based on the award winning RADEONT 8500, and priced at an unprecedented $199, the RADEON 8500LE is the first and only graphics card to bring full hardware DirectXr 8.1 support to mainstream users, allowing them to enjoy the same leading-edge features and effects previously the exclusive domain of enthusiasts.
• KT266A Roundup - Now that it's been about 4 months since VIA has launched their KT266A boards and most companies have already released their KT266A products, it's about time to have a roundup with most of the KT266A boards available on the market varying from budget low end no frills to fully loaded board with USB2.0 and RAID.
• Cooler Roundup - GideonTech has posted a cooler roundup.
• 3-Way Chipset Cooler Roundup: Crystal Orb, Blue Orb, Copper VGA - Well well well, look what we have here...the returning champ: the Blue Orb. Now it has some competition. One competitor is actually its newest brother in the Thermaltake orb family, the Crystal Orb. The other competitor comes from Titan, called the "Copper VGA Cooler"..read more.
• Badge Lite (Illuminator) Review - SubZeroTech take a look at the Badge Lite. With this thing, you can illuminate the whole area around the case badge of your choice, adding a very nice look to your case. It came in this nice hard tube straight from GamerZ Stuff.
• DDR Performance Guide - GyroTweak has gathered up some PC1600, PC2100, PC2400, and some PC2700 to do this article. In this article they'll be comparing performance between the different memory speeds, and hopefully help a buyer make a decision on the proper memory purchase.
• Pentium 4 Scaling with DDR Memory - HardwareAnalysis take a look at just how well the performance of the Pentium 4 platform has scaled along with clock speed, from 1.4 GHz up to 2 GHz on current SDRAM and DDR platforms, as well as upcoming DDR platforms (DDR333).
• Basic Celeron Overclocking - At home I got my 866MHz Celeron running stable at 960MHz, and CPU temp barely reaches 40 degrees Celsius. But of course if you want your computer to double up as a heater in winter then by all means go for the AMDs. But summer you'll need an extra air conditioner.
• How to change the Win2k Boot Logo - LittleWhiteDog.com has just posted a follow-up article to their guide on How to change the Windows 2000 Boot Logo.  They've also done some major updating to their Boot Logo Gallery, which now features over 500 images that you can easily use on your system by following their easy-to-use guide.
• Tom & Xbox - Tom's Hardware published an extensive guide about the Xbox. The Xbox is more or less a closed, non-evolutionary PC. This choice is an obvious one, and besides, other console manufacturers will inevitably follow Microsoft’s lead.
• PowerStrip 3.14 Beta Build 249 - PowerStrip provides advanced, multi-monitor, programmable hardware support to a wide range of graphics cards - from the venerable Matrox Millennium I to the latest Radeon 8500DV and GeForce3 Ti500.
• Teleport Pro v1.29.1820 - Teleport Pro is all-purpose high-speed tool for getting data from the Internet. Launch up to ten simultaneous retrieval threads, access password-protected sites, filter files by size and type, search for keywords, and much more. What's new: Improved faulty server support, now correctly closes connection on servers that send unmodified files, Fixed bug, could read incorrect location or file size from some headers.
• mIRC v6.0 - As I mentioned above, the previous version has nasty vulnerability. For a complete list of what's new in this version you can see it here. I strongly recommend you to leech this fixed version 6.0.
• Fraps v1.6A - Fraps is a tool that lets you monitor current framerates in a corner of the screen for programs utilising DirectX or OpenGL technology. It also allows you to easily take screenshots of games, and manually determine the average framerate between two points.
• DVD2SVCD v1.0.6 Build 3 - DVD2SVCD is a completely automated frontend for converting DVD, PVA and AVI files to SVCD. By completely automated, I mean, you just select the file or dvd you want converted and hit GO, everything else is taken care of by the frontend.
• Easy CD-DA Extractor v4.6.9 - Easy CD-DA Extractor is a powerful and easy digital audio extraction utility that makes digital copies from audio CDs and saves as audio files such as MP3, Windows Media Audio and Windows Wave.
• Hardware Info v4.83 / Hardware Info32 v1.05 - Hardware Info  is a powerful system information utility designed especially for detection of hardware. New versions fixes clock ratio for Tualatin CPUs, adds support of Clock Multiplier and Max,  Allows Freq. for Northwood, Adds detection of SiS 315 video chipset and many others.
• Hot CPU Tester Pro 3 - It is a system health and stability tester, now officialy released for public.
• 27.30 Detonators Beta for Win9x/ME - Rob informed me that 27.30 nVidia beta drivers have just appeared on-line for Windows 9x/ME only at this time. Don't forget that because the nvcpl.dll file is of older date, u might not be able to see any nvidia display properties in the display panel.
• SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Software Update Win9x/ME - This web release is a standalone package (19MB) of Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 meant for existing 5.1 card users who have lost their installation CD. (For Windows 95, 98/98SE and Millennium).

• So What's This .NET Thing? - What is Microsoft .NET? To oversimplify, .NET for IT includes services, development tools and systems, and servers. Clients are part of it too where there is direct user interaction. The remainder of this note describes .NET and how it might touch IT. Part 2, coming shortly, is an overview of the various components from an IT perspective, with links to technical/IT information. In Part 3, which likely will follow Part 2, I'll offer some concrete examples based on experience with real-world businesses.
• YaWPS better than PHPNuke? - YaWPS (Yet another Web Portal System) is a lightweight content management system for medium- or small-sized Internet- or Intranetsites written in Perl. Some of YaWPS currently implemented features are newssystem, forum, user management, link database, site stats, theme selection, search engine. YaWPS is completely maintained via a webinterface and uses textfiles to store its data. A working demo of YaWPS can be found here. If you have problems, please report them at the tracker or in the support-forums.
• Geforce4 info from PC Gamer - According to PC Gamer there are only 2 chipsets. This GeForce 4 Ti4400 wasn't even mentioned let alone those other 3 variations that you have seen. Maybe Nvidia added those extra strings to the drivers because they knew that the drivers would have been leaked? Maybe to throw us off of what is really going to be announced on Feb 5th? But PC Gamer noted that the GeForce 4 is mainly a speed, not a process upgrade for gamers.
• MSI GeForce4 MX440 - First Look -  Thus it comes as no surprise that an MSI GeForce4 card is the first one to enter t-break labs. Just like nVidia will be releasing three versions of the GeForce4 MX chip, MSI will be manufacturing three GeForce4 MX cards- the G4MX420, the G4MX440 and the GFMX460.
• Everglide Gaming Mat Review -  TweakTown take a look at the latest addition to the Everglide range, the Everglide Gaming Mat. It has some innovative features that may help you get that vital edge when you get into your next rigorous Deathmatch.
• Overclocking the XP1600+ - The XP1600 coupled with a good motherboard such as the Asus A7V266-E, results in a very 'overclockable' sub-system. Im almost 100% positive that the FSB overclocking experiment was not fulfilled by the CPU reaching it's maximum, but by the other components such as the RAM or AGP card reaching theirs. If I had the resources, the patience and the confidence to successfully unlock the multiplier then without a doubt I could of obtained a much higher CPU speed in conjunction with raising the voltage level.
• Windows XP Services removal guide - Overclockers Club has published pretty useful Windows XP Services removal guide.
• Macromedia Flash 6 Player Beta -  If you cannot wait for new version of Flash, this page provides free downloads of the Macromedia Flash Player 6 public beta.
• Remote Task Manager 3.7.2 - Remote Task Manager is a systems control interface that can be run from any remote Windows XP/2000/NT computer. This enables a Systems Administrator to control most aspects of a remote environment.
• miTweak XP 2.0.1 - The primary goal of miTweak-XP is to help the end-users who are running Windows XP to unleash the hidden features of Windows XP that your system's performance will be maximize and give you the maximum speed.
• Nero InCD 3.21 - This updated version now includes support for Windows XP.
• Plextor updates -  Adds support for PX-W4012TA, download: PlexTools v1.12 Upgrade, CDR Info v1.14, PX Info v1.14.
• Drive Region Info V2.1 - This simple tool allows you to check to see if your DVD Drive is regionlocked or regionfree.
• DivX 4.50 is fake! - According Div X official website, there is an IRC Trojan Horse that is calling itself "DivX 4.50 Patch." DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS PATCH. There is no official DivX 4.50 release.
• Detonators comparison - guyes at 3dgamers.ru spent some hours to test last detonators (22.50, 23.10, 26.35, 26.53, 27.20) in Windows XP. Using Quake as OpenGL and 3DMark 2000 & 2001 as D3D.
• Radeonator v1.25 -  Rage3d.com's Radeonator is a tool for tweaking your ATI Radeon 8xxx/7xxx/64DDR/LE/VE/32DDR cards.
• Intel 830M/830MG Chipset Graphics Driver - Intel have released new VGA drivers (Win9x/ME / Win2k/XP ) for Intel's 830M and Intel 830MG chipset Version 10.2.1.

• Interview with an ex-hacker - According to the defacement archive at Alldas.de, the hacker group known as the 'sm0ked crew' only terrorised websites throughout February of last year. But that was maybe enough for one member of the crew, Splurge, who decided to call it quits and go straight in the security industry. Eighteen-year-old Splurge, who withheld his real name, contacted vnunet.com to tell us his story. What prompted him to switch from a life of box breaking and defacing, to the somewhat more acceptable career of a security consultant selling denial of service (DoS) filter systems?
• Microsoft's New Security Chief Was Hacker Hunter - Microsoft's new security czar may not be an expert in patching holes in software, but he has experience in hunting down and prosecuting hackers who like to exploit such vulnerabilities. Scott Charney, who Microsoft named Thursday as its chief security strategist, spent most of the 1990s at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he headed the division responsible for computer crimes.
• Top News Sites Close Script Hacking Hole - A security flaw at leading online news providers MSNBC.com, NYTimes.com, and WashingtonPost.com could have allowed attackers to generate bogus articles using the sites. The security glitch, known as cross-site scripting (CSS), opened the door to what experts call subversion of information attacks. Such attacks can be used to spread false information, manipulate stock prices, and perform other malicious acts.
• FBI closes anarchist website -  Armed FBI agents have raided the home of an 18 year-old Los Angeles geek and confiscated computer equipment used to run an anarchist website.  Although the Raisethefist.com site is no longer online, a report from the site's owner, Sherman Martin Austin, is in circulation.  "Heavily armed with high-powered machine guns, shotguns and hand guns, the FBI, Secret Service and Los Angeles Police Department surrounded the founder of Raisethefist.com in his house. Within seconds a swarm of FBI raided the house with automatic weapons and shotguns," said Austin's statement. All computers on a network within the house were seized, including those serving the Raisethefist.com website via a DSL connection. Austin also hosted other anarchist sites including LAanarchists.org, which was also disrupted.
• D-VHS format better than DVD - 20th Century Fox, Universal, DreamWorks, and Artisan said Wednesday they plan to release feature films in D-VHS format, videocassettes that offer better images than standard VHS or even than DVD can now provide. Initial titles will include The Terminator movies, Die Hard, X-Men,  and  U-571.  The D-VHS tapes will be aimed at those who own high-definition televisions, whose crisp digital images are set to replace the old standard of analog TV. D-VHS machines also will be able to play standard VHS tapes. The four studios will release films on a digital VHS system created by JVC, whose current D-VHS player has a list price of just under $2,000. 
• Fujitsu Siemens drops PPC 2002 bomb - Fujitsu Siemens' German branch today issued a press release stating that the company will be launching a new handheld at CeBIT 2002.  Named Pocket LOOX, the new handheld is the successor to Fujitsu-Siemens' SX45 device which features the Pocket PC 2000 operating system and built-in GSM/GPRS wireless capabilities. Like its predecessor, the Pocket LOOX has a CompactFlash Type II slot, but an in addition a SD Card expansion slot has also been placed on the left side of the device.
• Win a Nokia 5510 mobile phone - This funky new phone from Nokia lets you play up to two hours of CD-quality music or listen to the built-in FM radio. Enter the competition.
• Intel McKinley details leak - In the presentation, Intel reveals details of its next generation McKinley 64-bit processor, which as we noted in a report on the Solid State Conference the other day, will use low latency level three cache design. It will also use next generation non volatile memory. And Intel claims McKinleys in the future will run at .13 micron and at 5GHz at normal room temperature, because of the low power circuits it will use.
• ATA Hard Disk Shootout - Even while IDE drives are still stuck at 7,200 RPM spindle speeds, the other major factors contributing to good overall disk performance have gradually gotten better with time.
• VisionTek Geforce3 Ti200 Review - Looking for an upgrade from your measily ATI rage 128? :) Then look no further. The Geforce 3 ti 200 from Visiontek has got to the best buy for upgrading your video card to date. The price clocking in at 150$ with a good deal doesn't come with any strings attached, just one hell of a nice card, not to mention its flawless drivers from nVidia.
• Abit KR7A-RAID KT266A Review - In the scheme of things then, where does the Abit KR7A-RAID motherboard stand? It's performance is just as good of the Soyo Dragon Plus motherboard, which we previously had known as the best KT266A chipset motherboard. The fact that the Abit board can beat the Dragon in some tests shows the time that Abit spent on the motherboard was well used. It is fair to say the Abit KR7A-RAID is the fastest single processor motherboard we have seen for the AMD platform thus far.
• ATI RADEON 8500 vs NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti500 in 3ds max 4 - What is the difference between RADEON 8500 and GeForce3 graphics processors and the graphics cards based on them from the point of view of a 3ds max user?
• The Pencil Trick For The Radeon 8500 - The Radeon 8500 is an extremely fast card at stock speeds but I was excited on the thought overclocking it to make it even faster. However, it turned out that my Retail ATI Radeon 8500 was a lousy overclocker, hitting its max overclock at 312 MHz core and 292 MHz memory from a stock speed of 275 MHz / 275 MHz. I thought that was all I could get until I read something at the Rage3D forums that turned out to be a little gem of a mod. Apparently it's possible to voltage mod the Radeon8500 with a simple pencil!
• Tyan Tiger MPX dual Athlon Motherboard Review - The most important features of the MPX chipset is the addition of 66Mhz 64-bit PCI slots. While this doesn't seem particularly impressive, it really is the next logical step since the regular MP chipset left us with regular 33Mhz 64-bit PCI.
• Intel Northwood Pentium 4 vs. AMD Athlon XP 2000+ - Hardcoreware take a look at both current top end CPU's: Intel's Pentium 4 2.2 GHz, and AMD's AthlonXP 2000+.  Will extra cache and a die shrink give the P4 enough to run away with the lead in performance? Which CPU is the best buy today?
• Microsoft MapPoint .Net Beta Signup - The beta testing period is important in finalizing the MapPoint .NET Web Service and in getting your feedback for future releases. Login: MPNETBETA / FEB02
• APK Windows 2000 Tools 7.2000 - APK Windows 2000 Tools is a fine utilities package for Windows 2000/NT users. It provides a number of useful system tools and gives you fast access to internal networking commands, resulting in greater control over your system from one location.
• Microsoft Games SafeDisc Windows XP Fix - Problem: When running a restricted user account with fast user switching under Windows XP, some games will not start correctly. The game requests that the original disk be placed in the drive, even if it is already present. To fix this issue, download and run this patch.
• Kaspersky (AVP) Weekly Update - This will update the Kaspersky Anti-Virus (AVP) virus databases to the latest (February 01, 2002).
• Advanced StartUp Manager 1.35 -  Advanced StartUp Manager is program that allows you to control what programs run at system startup when you turn on or logon to your computer. It supports Registry, StartUp folders in the Start menu and Win.ini file.
• Style XP Beta 6.0 - This new version supports   Logons - you can  import, delete, rename, preview, and manage Logons.
• Exact Audio Copy v0.9 beta 2 -  EAC is a new audio grabber for CD-ROM drives. It works with a new technology, reading audio CDs almost perfectly.
• BearShare v2.4.2 - BearShare is designed to let you share files with everyone on the Internet, and download files that other people are sharing. The program works with all types of files, and lets you search for files that contain specific words or phrases. BearShare is built on the Gnutella protocol.
• HyperSnap-DX Pro v4.30.00 beta 6 patch - HyperSnap-DX 4 is a screen capture tool for Windows. What's new : New function under "Options" menu - "Image Position and Background",  Still more options on "Capture Settings" - "View & Edit" tab. For "Paste onto the current image" with "Extend drawing space" options, you may now choose to tile new images captured horizontally or vertically, with optional margin between them - or preserve the relative on-screen position of captured pieces, as in Beta 4, Fix for "Quick Save" problem, Scary! This is the first build with Microsoft new C++ compiler from Visual Studio.NET release. With better code optimizations this build is slightly smaller than previous versions, even though new code (new features) are added.
• VIAs official patch, Version 1.04 - According to VIA, the new version of their patch will increase performance with RAID cards from ACARD, Adaptec and Highpoint and not only with Promise-cards anymore. We did a few test with all these cards. In addition to that, we also checked the new patch with the Advance 29133, another Ultra-ATA/133-PCI-Controller, which is not on VIAs list yet.

• FBI Raid Silences Teen Anarchy Site - In a case that may test limits on Internet free speech in the wake of Sept. 11, armed federal agents last week raided the home of a Los Angeles teenager suspected of hacking into several Web sites to post anarchist messages and using his own site, Raisethefist.com, to publish bomb-making information. Sherman Martin Austin, 18, is believed to have violated federal computer fraud and abuse laws, as well as statutes prohibiting the distribution of bomb-making information, according to an FBI affidavit. FBI agents conducted the raid on the afternoon of Jan. 24 at the Sherman Oaks residence owned by Austin's mother after receiving a federal warrant. The agents seized several computers and documents, according to an FBI spokesperson.
• Microsoft Exchange servers dodge worm - In the somewhat calm wake of the MyParty virus, security experts have considered the possibility that, for once, users of Microsoft Exchange servers may have been better off.  A discussion thread on the Virus Focus mailing list suggested that the reason the MyParty virus and its subsequent variant didn't have a high spread ratio is because it couldn't propagate via Exchange servers. According to research, the virus uses SMTP commands like 'HELO' and 'RCPT TO' to propagate itself, but Exchange doesn't use these commands when communicating with an Outlook email client.
• Crackers exploit Cisco LAN switch flaw - A buffer overflow vulnerability in Telnet option handling can be used to crash the process and force a Catalyst switch to reload. This operation could be repeated by an attacker to produce a denial of service attack. Cisco Catalyst switches, series 4000, 5000 and 6000 and also 2948G and 2900 models, running CatOS are affected by the flaw, which Cisco warns has already been exploited. Other Cisco LAN switches and routers are immune.
• China Develops Technology to Access Internet Via Power Lines - Developed by the Fujian Electric Power Testing and Research Institute and known as 10Mbps digitized power line (DPL), the technology enables computers to access the Internet via a USB power line communication adapter. The special modem required will cost around RMB500 (US$60.24) in mass production, which is about the same cost as conventional modems.
• Consortium releases Linux standards - In an effort to make it easier for software companies to bring their programs to Linux, the Free Standards Group has released new standards to deal with Linux language barriers.
• Samsung To Showcase New Handsets at Olympics -  Samsung will be using the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, to showcase six of its newest data-enabled cellular phones, including several that have yet to reach retail shelves.
• Sonicblue to combine DVR, DVD player -  The new recorders, which are set to hit the market in the second half of the year, will be similar to the ReplayTV 4000 machines but will have smaller hard drives and will feature DVD playback. Potashner wouldn't specify the price of the low-end machines but asserted that they will be below any DVR currently on the market. Philips, for example, sells a DVR with TiVo's service for $199.
• AOL blocks Trillian IM access - Media conglomerate AOL-TW has blocked access to its instant messenging service from one of the most popular access clients, Trillian. Trillian offers Windows users an all-in-one client which provides access to the AOL, ICQ, Microsoft Messenger and Yahoo! Instant messanger networks, alongside IRC.
• "BattleChair (Ultimate Gaming Chair)" - Looking for a new gaming chair? Or maybe you want a comfy chair for your lan party's that you attend? I think I have found the solution for you! The Battle Chair! The Battle Chair provides the ultimate interative audi experience. Features: 8" Subwoofer Built-in, 3D Surround Sound Speakers, Super Comfortable.
• Office XP Add-in: Extended Alerts Button - The Microsoft Office XP Extended Alerts Button add-in adds a button to several of the most frequently occurring and difficult to troubleshoot Office alerts. The additional button is either More Information or Report to Microsoft depending on the Office alert that is displayed. Both buttons connect you to a Microsoft Office Web site where you can provide feedback about the alert. The More Information button also connects you to a Web site that provides you with additional information about the Office alert.
• ODBC .NET Data Provider - Microsoft has released ODBC .NET Data Provider.
• Tweaking your system startup/booting - This guide will take you through configuring Windows 9x, Me, 2000 & XP to load as quickly as possible & also have the benefit of loading with more memory available for use.
• EZ Install Boot Disk - Have you ever started an installation of Windows and then feel like it dominates the next few hours of your life? Would you like an easy and fast way to start an installation in only a few minutes and then be able to walk away and come back later to a completed install of Windows? Well, we at PCHelpLIVE may have the answer for you... We have a MULTI OS Unattended Installation diskette for you to download for FREE. This diskette will allow you to provide the Windows XP Home, Pro, Windows 98, Windows ME, 2000 installation with all of the necessary information up front so that you don't have to babysit the installation process. Imagine all the free time you will have!!! You can finished that novel you've been working on... or devise a workable plan for world peace!!! What will you do with the time you save?!?
• Norton Antivirus Definition Update - The Norton Antivirus 4.0/5.0/2000 Definition Update has just released, release date January 30, 2002. This is the latest virus definition data file update for Norton Antivirus 4.0/v5.0/2000.
• McAfee DAT and SuperDAT 4184 - leech it!
• Trans-XP 1.01 - Trans-XP, the software to make any application window and most of all parts of Windows XP transparent. Transparent windows help you to keep your desktop organized - there's no need to minimize or to move a window to see the content of a window lying under the topmost window. Make the topmost window transparent and you can see through it.
• Microsoft USB 2.0 Driver - According to USBMan, Microsoft has released USB 2.0 drivers on the Windows Update website.
• Daemon Tools 3.02 - DAEMON Tools is an advanced application for multiprotection emulation. It is further development of Generic Safedisc emulator and incorporates all its features. This program allows running BACKUP copies of SafeDisc (C-Dilla), Securom or Laserlock protected games. Also included is a Virtual DVDROM drive (V386 STEALTH DVDROM) enabling you to use your CD images as if they were already burned to CD! DAEMON Tools works under Windows9x/ME/NT/2000/XP with all types of CD/DVDROM drives (IDE/SCSI) and supports nearly any CD protection. What's new.
• SYSmark2002 -  SYSmark 2002 provides an application-based benchmark that accurately reflects usage patterns for business users in the areas of Internet Content Creation and Office Productivity.   SYSmark 2002 supports WinXP (Professional and Home), Win2k and WinME. What's new
• WinMX 3.0 Beta 1 - This new version of WinMX is based on a completely new architecture which has not been widely tested. There are many new features, and many new places for things to go wrong. Because of this, we anticipate there may be minor or perhaps major issues with the software, and we may be releasing newer revisions for beta testing on an hourly basis. As with all our software, you use it at your own risk. If you are uncomfortable with this, please be patient and wait a few days for us to finish testing and release a final version 3.0 to the public.
• Opera 6.01 Beta Build 1033 - No word on whats new yet - leech it.
• NVmax v4.00.35 - AC has released a new NvMax and it's version 4.00.35 which supports Detonator 27.xx for Windows 9x/ME.
• Creative PlayCenter 2 v2.52 Upgrade - This package will upgrade your existing PlayCenter 2 (v2.00 to v2.52) to PlayCenter 2 v2.52.17. This package is meant for Creative NOMAD users only.
• Radeon Beta Drivers  - ATi has released new drivers (7.66-040122x-2501E) : WinXP Beta Driver,  Win2000 Beta Driver, Win9x/Me Beta Driver.

• Confiscated PC Reveals Terrorist Focus On Water Supply - The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) said it has uncovered evidence that terrorists may have planned attacks on water supply systems in the United States and abroad. According to a bulletin issued by the NIPC Tuesday and labelled as of "high" importance, a computer, owned by an individual with indirect links to Osama bin Laden, was found to contain several software programs used for structural engineering of "dams and other water-retaining structures."
• Top Security Sites Easy Prey To Script Attacks - Web sites operated by several leading Internet security organizations are vulnerable to an old but serious security flaw known as the cross-site scripting (CSS) attack.
• Latest hacker toy? Web-enabled Lego - We've seen web servers that fit into matchboxes, but now a protocol hacker has created the world's first web-enabled Lego brick. By porting the extremely small uIP TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/internet protocol) stack to the Lego Mindstorms platform, Olaf Christ has set the foundations for a Lego brick web server. In a posting to the LegOS newsgroup on Monday, Christ said: "I've got the very first and only TCP/IP enabled RCX [Robot Command eXplorer] in my room, cool, eh?"
• The Adobe Altercast Released - Adobe is now shipping Adobe AlterCast, its new dynamic imaging  server software. Built on award-winning Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
  technology, Adobe AlterCast automates time-intensive image production  tasks, allowing businesses to dynamically update their Web sites with personalized graphics for more effective communication. 
• Some T65s hum (but no Ericsson recall) - Ericsson has denied media reports that it has begun the recall of a line of GPRS phones which showed performance problems late last year.
• Dead Satellite Heads for Pacific Splashdown - An out-of-use NASA satellite is expected to fall into the atmosphere, with pieces surviving re-entry predicted to hit the Pacific Ocean at 11:30 pm EST, about 3,000 miles east of Australia. The estimated debris field is expected to be 800 to 1,000 kilometers (500 to 625 miles). "[Debris] should land in an uninhabited region of the South Pacific in the vicinity of the Cooke Islands," Bob Sodano of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center told Wireless NewsFactor. The prediction is not hard and fast,
• Windows 2000 security fixes released - SRP1 is a cumulative collection of security fixes released since Microsoft issued Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 in May. Service packs are collections of fixes and enhancements periodically released for Windows. Service Pack 3 for Windows 2000 is currently in beta testing. To install this rollup package, you must have Windows 2000 Professional, Server, or Advanced Server with SP2 installed.
• OfficeXP Update: Alternative User Input Update - The Office XP Alternative User Input Update: January 24, 2002 updates the framework that is used to support advanced text services in Microsoft Office XP. Examples of advanced text services include speech, handwriting, and East Asian keyboard input services.
• Preventing Messenger from starting in Windows XP - This article describes how to prevent Windows Messenger from running. By default, Windows Messenger is installed by Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition, and the user interface does not provide a way to remove or to uninstall Windows Messenger.
• VIA C3 933MHz Processor Review - Hardware Extreme has posted a review of the VIA C3 933MHz Processor. They tested the VIA C3 on a Shuttle SV24 Mini Barebone System, the best combo available for this processor which requires only passive cooling. This setup up is very affordable for those who want a PC for surfing the web, watching DVD movies, e-mail, and MP3's or and anything else you want. You do not need a 2GHz CPU to do this. Overall, this system is for casual computing.
• iFree RF Black PS2 Wireless Keyboard review - The RF Wireless Keyboard comes with many features, the biggest is its wireless capabilities. Included in the box is the keyboard, antenna, receiver, 2 floppies, one for 98/ME users, the other for Windows 2000 along with the instructions. ..Overall I am very happy with the keyboard and just hope I never have to sit thru that slow floppy disk install again (I put floppy's on a CD).
• Overclocking Asus V8200 T2 GeForce3 Ti 200  - Ingredients Required: Asus V8200 T2 GeForce3 Ti 200 Pure card, Thermaltake Crystal Orb, Thermaltake Memory Heatsink & Heat Spreader Kit, Arctic Silver 2 thermal paste. Hehe Rock&Roll :)
• 3Com Betas Modem Turbo Charge, Offers Free Hardware - 3Com Corp. is looking for beta testers to evaluate new V.92 modem software that offers 30% to 40% higher throughput with the new V.44 compression standard, quicker connection times, and a Modem on Hold ability, which allows you to "pause the Internet connection on an incoming call for a short period of time, then resume it when you are done talking," according to 3Com. Testers who have the 3C3FEM656C, 3CXFEM656C, CXSH654B or 3C3SH654B PC Cards are specifically being targeted for this beta.
• WD400 vs Maxtor D740X-6L comparison - The Western Digital WD400BB and the Maxtor D740X-6L 40GB drives are both considered to be 'performance ATA desktop drives' by their respective manufacturers. Both drives spin at 7200rpm. The Western Digital WD400BB is an ATA100 drive where as the Maxtor D740X-6L is an ATA133 drive. I'm running both drives on my trusty KG7-Raid using the onboard HPT370 raid controller. Since the HPT370 is only capable of ATA100 this is still a fair comparison.
• CPU cooler roundup - While the fan of the original Zalman CNPS coolers had an optional noiseless mode by using a resistor to slow down the fan, these new models have an adjustable fan speed connector (FAN MATE 1). Now you're able to adjust the RPM of the fan to fit your needs. More airflow for a faster CPU, less airflow to get a more quiet system. That's nice huh! ;)
• AOpen AK77Plus(A) KT266A Review - Today's review victim, the Aopen AK77 Plus(A), is basically their previous offering, the AK77 Plus, with the addition of VIA's new revision KT266(A) chipset. I found the previous board to be a great one. With onboard overclocking features, plenty of expansion, and onboard RAID, let's see what the new chipset brings to bear.
• PC Accelerator XG released -  Pc Accelerator XG Professional is a program designed to get the most speed out of your Windows system as possible by tweaking the internal structure of Windows and other programs; and including CPU priority optimizations and Memory optimizations. They want money for this baby, but you can download a trial version. (thanks Bob)
• GoZilla Free v4.11 -  GoZilla is an Internet file management and retrieval system that lets you gather URL links for files you want to download simply by dragging them from your browser. It also lets you instantly see file sizes, estimated download times, and network connection performance. Add as many different download locations for a file as you can find--when GoZilla retrieves the file for you, it will check all available locations and deliver the fastest possible connection.
• LogonStudio 0.93 XP - Stardock's LogonStudio is a free program that allows users to easily customize new logon screens for Windows XP. Rather than requiring a resource hacker and downloads of .EXE files, LogonStudio uses a scripting language to allow anyone to create customized .LOGONXP files (archived in ZIP format) that can be sent to other users.
• Trillian 0.721 - Trillian v0.721 has been released. It fixes the AOL Connectivity Bug, it adds AIM Mobile Contacts and Trillian Auto-Update, along with many bug fixes.
• Nero ASPI Drivers 2.0.1.43 - This new version solves the problem in not finding any cd-drive after the installation of Virtual CD.
• ATI RefreshFix Version 0.95 - This baby let's you set custom refresh rates for D3D and OpenGL, games at 60Hz suck my brain :)
• MSI nForce BIOS Version 2.3 - MSI have released another BIOS update for there nForce motherboards.
• Abit Siluro GeForce 3 Ti500 /Ti200 BIOSes - Abit Siluro GF3 Ti500 BIOS ver 3.20.00.28.00, Abit Siluro GF3 Ti200 64MB BIOS ver 3.20.00.28.00, Abit Siluro GF3 Ti200 128MB BIOS ver 3.20.00.28.00, Abit Siluro GF3 Ti200DVI 64MB BIOS ver 3.20.00.28.00, Abit Siluro GF3 Ti200DVI 128MB BIOS ver 3.20.00.28.00.

• Windows NT/2000 DoS via Stream3 Flood Attack  - Stream 3 is flood attack of identical empty TCP packets with ACK and FIN flags. Dark Zoro and Error discovered unpatched Windows leaks the memory from non-paged kernel space during stream 3 attack against NetBIOS (TCP/139) port.  Hehe sounds like soap opera isn't it? :)
• Intrusion Software Maker Snorts At Security Alert - The developer of Snort, a popular open-source intrusion detection system (IDS), downplayed reports of a security flaw that could enable attackers to disable the software. According to an alert released Monday by Internet Security Systems (ISS), Snort versions 1.8.3 and earlier are susceptible to a denial of service attack.
• Passport glitch hits Microsoft game site - The Zone suffers another glitch in its switch to Microsoft's Passport identification system, logging subscribers on to a bogus Hotmail e-mail account.
• Compact Disc Recorded in Windows XP Is Missing Files or Folders, or Is Unreadable - When you copy files or folders to a compact disc-recordable (CD-R) or a compact disc-rewritable (CD-RW) by using a compact disc recorder, any of the following behaviors may occur...
• US and Israel the cyber crime kings - The US is the largest mass producer of cyber attacks, according to security expert Riptech, with Israel producing the most attacks per capita.  In its report out today (28 Jan) Riptech, which investigated over 128,000 cyber attacks in an analysis of 5.5 billion log entries over the six months to December, found that hi-tech, financial, power and media companies were the most likely to suffer.
• Asus jumps gun on Geforce 4 - ASUSTeK Computer Inc., today announced the most comprehensive graphics card lineup based on the advanced NVIDIA GeForce4 GPU (graphical processor units) family: ASUS V8460 Series GeForce4 Ti 4600 Graphics Card, (ASUS V8460Ultra)  Core clock speed of 330MHz, memory clock speed of 660MHz, combined with 128MB DDR SDRAM; ASUS V8440 Series GeForce4 Ti 4400 Graphics Card, (ASUS V8440) Core clock speed of 300MHz and memory clock speed of 550MHz, combined with 128MB DDR SDRAM;
  ASUS V8170Pro GeForce4 MX Pro Graphics Card, (ASUS V8170Pro) Core clock speed of 300MHz, and memory clock speed of 550MHz, combined with 64MB of DDR SDRAM; ASUS V8170DDR GeForce4 MX DDR Graphics Card, (ASUS V8170DDR) Core clock speed of 270MHz and memory clock speed of 400MHz, combined with 64MB of DDR SDRAM; ASUS V8170SE GeForce4 MX SDR Graphics Card, (ASUS V8170SE)  Core clock speed of 250MHz and memory clock speed of 166MHz, combined with 64MB of SDRAM. ASUS graphics cards based on GeForce4 technology will be shipping in quantities late February 2002.
• Iwill XP-333 Review - Some time back we had taken a look at an Engineering Sample of the Iwill XP-333-R Motherboard and were impressed by it. It was the first board to feature ATA-133 as well as DDR-333 support for the AMD platform- although unofficially.
• Creative's Nomad 3 Info - The Nomad 3 looks very much like the older Nomad Jukebox and comes with a 20GB hard drive. The most notable feature about this unit is that it has added a FireWire port to go with the USB port for transfering files from PC to player. This addition is obviously an answer to the success of Apple's iPod, the first MP3 portable to use FireWire. The Nomad 3 will be the first player for the PC to offer this feature (unless the poeple at Apple release a Windows version of the iPod within the next couple of months).
• Creative Extigy Review - Extigy, as you may have heard over the past few weeks is Creative's new sound card/amplifier device than can either be hooked up to your PC or be separately used as an amplifier. This is another example of the trend we've been observing in the technology sector in the past few months- the convergence of consumer devices and PC devices. Like the Acer MiniDVD Player we reviewed a few days ago. Lets take a look at some of the specifications of Audigy. 
• GeForece2Go Review -  While the current GeForce2Go is one of the top performers in the notebook market, the name still says it all. GeForce 2 Go. The GeForce2's day in the sun is long past, as the GeForce3 and GeForce3 Titanium families are also nearing the end of their product cycle. Considering nVidia has all but passed up the opportunity for a GeForce3Go (or perhaps, GeForce3-2-Go?), we're betting that nVidia's next generation mobile chip (codenamed NV17-M) should be hitting markets fairly soon with a new name attached.
• Athlon XP 2300+ vs. Pentium 4/3000 Comparison - TomsHardware have probed the limits of both the Athlon XP 2000+ and the Pentium 4/2000 (Northwood core). The Athlon XP 2300+ cannot quite keep apace of the Intel Pentium 4/3000, but the values that we measured are very impressive. In order to outperform the Intel Pentium 4/3000, AMD must switch over to 0.13 Micron in order to enable higher clock speeds.GF4 MX Performance -  Apple has published Quake 3 benchmarks for their Power Mac G4 which include results from a GeForce4 MX.
• Top 10 Graphics Boards for Gamers - In PCWorld tests, ATI's card wasn't the fastest (that honor goes to VisionTek's Xtasy 6964 card, which is based on NVidia's GeForce3 Ti 500 graphics chip), but the Radeon edged its competitors in overall image quality.  In most test games, the VisionTek Xtasy 6964 (GeForce3 Ti 500) and Xtasy 6564 (GeForce3 Ti 200) achieved similar frame rates at all but the highest 1600 by 1200 resolutions. The VisionTek Xtasy 5864 and Gainward's GeForce2 Ti/500 (both GeForce2 Ti cards) kept up with those boards in test games at lower resolutions, but dropped farther back at the highest resolution.
• Monthly Value Gaming System Buyer's Guide - Configuring a value gaming system is not simply a process of picking the best components, but one of concessions made in your choices. After all, you could buy a high-end Pentium 4-2.2 GHz and a 21" monitor but have little cash left for the other required components. In SharkyExtreme Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide, they attempt to find a happy medium between spending a fortune on a new PC and buying sub-par components just to hit a certain price.
• MouseBoots HowTo - Today in the gaming world, people want to get the most out of their mice. There are many different types of products you can buy to decrease the friction between your mouse, and the surface it sits upon. Well fret no more. If you have $1, then you, yes you can make your very own MouseB00tz.
• Microsoft Office XP Developer SP1 - This Service Pack provides compatibility with new technologies, such as Microsoftr Windows XP and Office XP Service Pack 1, and improvements in reliability of the Digital Dashboard design surface and the scalability of the Workflow Designer for SQL Server.  Important: To install this Service Pack, you must have access to the original Office XP Developer CDs or the network from which you installed Office XP Developer.
• CorelDraw 10 SP2 - CorelDRAW 10 Service Pack 2 adds the latest enhancements and fixes to your existing copy of CorelDRAW 10. It updates the English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Italian releases of CorelDRAW 10 Graphics Suite 10.427 (Service Pack 1) and CorelDRAW 10 Graphics Suite.
• AnalogX PortBlocker - AnalogX PortBlocker lets you block the Internet port of most servers, making them unreachable to other computers on the Internet. In addition to blocking your ports, you can log any access attempts made by other machines. The program is configured to block the most common types of servers, so it will not require any modification for most users.
• SpyStopper 1.75 - When you use your computer and Internet, you may be monitored, tracked, and profiled without your knowledge or explicit permission. Hackers, advertisers, and corporations may use Web bugs, spyware, cookies, worms, advertisements, and scripts to gain access to your information and invade your privacy - download.
• Fraps 1.6 - A new version of the FRAPS benchmark utility is now available. The program is designed as a generic tool to monitor framerates in DirectX games. The name itself is derived from the term Frames Per Second (FPS) which is what the program displays in the corner of the game's screen. It measures the framerate by monitoring calls to flip the screen at the end of each render.
• Secure FTP Server Beta 1 - GlobalSCAPE has released Secure FTP Server Beta 1 for WinNT/2k/XP.
• NVmax 4.00.30 - A. Charnley has released a new version of his Nvidia graphics card tweaker.
• CpuIdle 5.9 final beta - CpuIdle lowers the CPU temperature. This enhances CPU life (a decrease by 10°C doubles the life span) and cuts power consumption.
• SiS 1.09 AGP/IDE Driver - SiS has released new AGP/IDE drivers.
• MSI nVidia 27.20 2k/XP Detonators  - 3D Chipset has posted new MSI nVidia 27.20 detonator drivers.
• Creative Webcam Drivers - Creative Labs has released WinXP updates for their PC-CAM 300, WebCam Go ES, WebCam Go Plus, WebCam Go and WebCam.
• NVIDIA Detonator 26.25 & 26.53 for Win2K/XP - Max Reboot has some working download locations for these two NVIDIA Detonator drivers (download the 26.25 version here and the 26.53 version here) Check the first comparison at Warp2Serarch.

• Don't Look At 'Party' Pictures - Watch out for an e-mail with the subject line "My Party." It contains an attachment that contains a virus ... but nobody clicks on unsolicited attachments any more, do they? More Info : McAfee: W32/Myparty@MM,   Symantec/SARC: W32.Myparty@mm, Sophos: W32/MyParty-A.
• Russian hacks into US bank - Identified only as Nikolai, the suspect was arrested in Surgut, Siberia on 15 January after breaking into the web server of Online Resources, a company that provides online banking services. According to police, the hacker used this information to access a bank in New York. Nikolai then threatened to publish account details unless the bank agreed to pay him $10,000. To add to his threat, Nikolai published 1,500 account details online. The bank agreed and paid the money in December last year. But Moscow police were able to track him by his IP address on emails back to his house in Siberia.
• Odd Behavior in Windows XP Home - An unexpected behavior has been observed when configuring Windows XP Home Edition. It appears that disabling the Guest account (from the User Accounts tool) only removes the Log-On Local right. Guest users are still able to connect to shared resources across the network.
• More Online Security Woes For FBI's Data Firm -  A page at the vulnerable site, located at http://www.lienguard.com, claimed the service allowed ChoicePoint customers to log in through a "highly secure" system and to access a database of legal documents maintained by ChoicePoint. Before it was patched this afternoon by ChoicePoint, the site, which runs Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) software, was vulnerable to several widely known security exploits, including one that enables attackers to run operating system commands on the server.  A patch for the hole, referred to as the "Double Decode" flaw, was released by Microsoft last May.
• XP successor Longhorn goes SQL, P2P - Microsoft leaks - Sources close to Microsoft confirm that The Beast is set to include a new relational file store at the core of its next version of Windows. Some roadmap slippage has apparently occurred, too, as the database core will be introduced into Longhorn, and Blackcomb has been pushed further back. That leaves a gap for a point revision of XP next year, although there's no sign of this on the roadmap just yet.
• Intel, AMD cut PC chip prices - The chipmakers trims prices for desktop PC processors by up to 19 percent:: P4 1.6GHz now $133 (-18%), P4 1.7GHz now $166 (-16%), P4 1.8GHz now $199(-14%), P4 1.9GHz now $241 (-12%), Celeron 1.GHz now $69 (-7%), Celeron 1.1GHz now $79 (-11%), Celeron 1.2Ghz now $89 (-14%), Celeron 1.3GHz now $103 (-13%), Xeon 1.7Ghz with 256k cache now $224 (-13%), Xeon 2GHz with 256K cache now $396 (-13%), Pentium III-S 1.13GHz now $170 (-16%), Pentium III-S 1.16GHz now $202 (-16%).
• GeForce4 Pricing And Clock Speed Info - According to the ReactorCritical.com, GeForce4 Ti4400: Core clocking: 350 MHz, Memory configuration/clocking: 64 MB DDR SDRAM @ 275 (550) MHz; Approximate MSRP price: $399, GeForce4 Ti4600: Core clocking: 350 MHz; Memory configuration/clocking: 128 MB DDR SDRAM @ 325 (650) MHz; Approximate MSRP price: $399, GeForce4 MX460: Core clocking: 300 MHz; Memory configuration/clocking: 64 MB DDR SDRAM @ 275 (550) MHz; Approximate MSRP price: $199, GeForce4 MX440: Core clocking: 270 MHz; Memory configuration/clocking: 64 MB DDR SDRAM @ 200 (400) MHz; Approximate MSRP price: $149, GeForce4 MX420: Core clocking: 250 MHz, Memory configuration/clocking: 64 MB SDR SDRAM @ 166 MHz, Approximate MSRP price: depending on configuration from $69 to $99.
• Maxtor's ATA133: Good Marketing or Bad Timing? - A few months ago rumors started flying around about a new IDE standard that was causing some trouble in the hard drive industry. Its name was ATA133 and it!¦s still causing trouble. Maxtor, one of the largest world-wide manufacturers of hard drives seemed to be the only guys on board to develop the new standard. Why? The world may never know, but it probably has cost them a ton of money and in the end they will have little to show for it. Read more at AMDMB
• New Power Macs break 1GHz barrier - Apple Computer releases new top-of-the-line Power Macs packing two 1GHz PowerPC G4 processors. Analysts and Mac users say this could close the 'gigahertz gap' with PCs.
• Palm launches the i705 - The Palm i705, set to replace the Palm VII model, uses the Palm.Net network to access e-mails and stripped down Web pages via a built-in antenna. The Palm.Net service for the new handheld is provided via Cingular Wireless' US nationwide mobitex-based packet data network. The Palm i705 will sell for about $450.
• High-Speed Wireless Network to Debut - Sprint Corp. recently announced plans to initiate nationwide service this summer. Verizon's service initially will be available along the East Coast from Norfolk, Va., to Boston, and include the San Francisco Bay area and Portland, Maine. Subscribers who want the new offering, called Express Network, will have to buy a $300 adapter card for laptops and PDAs.
• AMD SledgeHammer Preview - Hardware Mania has posted an AMD SledgeHammer preview.
• Protector XP Review - The use of shims began in the days of CPU core-cracking due to sloppy cooler installations or coolers that exerted too much pressure upon the fragile CPU cores. Typically, a heatsink-fan combo can exert so much pressure on the core before it exceeds the weight limit and clip-force specifications set out by both AMD and Intel. In the case of AMD CPUs, the weight limit is 300 grams. As such large and heavy copper coolers typically exceed that weight - shims have become the staple in the modern overclocking world.
• Logitech ClickSmart 510 Review - While Logitech is very well known for their mice, they have their hands in many other devices, and recently took the dive into the somewhat absent dual cam market with the introduction of the ClickSmart 310 and ClickSmart 510, the latter being focused on here.
• ATi Radeon 7500 Review - Radeon 7500 was not the fastest video card to come out in 2001, but it was certainly one of the best value buys.
• ELSA GF3 Ti200 & Ti500 Review - Hardware One has posted a review on the Elsa GF3 Ti200 & Ti500 based video cards.
• AVC Copper Skived Cooler Review -When I first saw the AVC I was quite pleased. This is one nice looking unit. I have to admit that this is the first copper finned cooler that I have seen and the change from the standard aluminium is great. This cooler has a clear plastic fan with a nice holographic logo in the middle (not the blue and white label pictured). Looks are secondary right? Lets find out how well it works shall we.
• Make a remote LCD case for $20 - This is using an LCD from Matrix Orbiatal, but any LCD could be used. I used CAT5 to carry the voltage because I have an abundance of it from an interesting mission my roomate and I went on one night, but any cable could be used.
• Windows Media "Corona" Preview - Microsoft introduced "Corona," its next generation of Windows Media technologies, at the Streaming Media East 2001 conference in New York, but because of the surprise early birth of my second child, Kelly, I wasn't able to attend. So I got a Corona demonstration a month later at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and came away impressed. Here's what I found out.
• Microsoft Personal Collection 2002 - As the cornerstone of Personal Collection, Personal Portfolio offers families more than 600 helpful templates for Word, Excel, the PowerPointr presentation graphics program and the Outlookr messaging and collaboration client by giving them creative suggestions, options and ideas to personalize any task. Portfolio and Collection will help consumers complete personal projects, as well as those for school or a club, quickly and affordably. Personal Collection 2002 is currently available in stores for an estimated retail price of $54.95 (US). 
• Mandrake Linux 8.2 Beta 2 - MandrakeSoft has released the second beta of Mandrake Linux 8.2 Download
• ePSXe v1.5.0 - ePSXe is a new freeware Sony Playstation(PSX) emulator that takes advantage of the PSEmu Pro plugin system. It is one of the best freeware Sony Playstation emulator
• Norton Antivirus Definition Update - The Norton Antivirus 4.0/5.0/2000 Definition Update has been released, release date January 28, 2002.
• Motherboard Monitor 5.1.0.5 Beta - Motherboard Monitor (MBM) is a tool that will display information from the sensor chips on your motherboard in your Windows system tray. MBM supports a wide range of Chipsets & Sensor Chip combinations.
• WinRAR v3.00 beta 2 - This beta release represents a milestone in WinRAR functionality combining significant increases in compression capability, major ease-of-use additions and a dramatic drop in end-user pricing. However it's still only beta :)
• CladDVD XP v1.0 - CloneAD's CladDVD XP is a DVD ripper for Windows XP, works on all DVD's from any region and is completely FREE and CladMdec v1.6 is for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2K/XP. Like many CD/DVD based programs, CladDVD XP and CladMdec require a valid ASPI layer to perform certain operations correctly. If you don't have an up to date ASPI layer installed then download Compel WinASPI v4.60 (1021)
• Windows XP USB 2.0 Driver - USBMan.com has posted MS USB 2.0 Drivers for WinXP. The Windows XP and Windows 2000 drivers are two different drivers. XP Final Release Version and 2000 Beta RC2. Although, the drivers are closely related, the drivers are not interchangeable.
• NVIDIA 27.20 Win9x/ME Detonators - The driver is dated 01/15/2002 (15th January 2002) and seems to perform better then the 23.11 driver in OpenGL and Direct3D. Expect increase in image quality as well.
• Radeon XP Driver - Club3D has Windows XP Ati Reference Driver for Radeon. This Driver is for All ATI Radeon Cards. Download wxp-ref-7-60-010914b-1827c.exe.
• NVIDIA BIOS Editor v1.0 RC2 Rev120 - This new minor version fixes bugs with Signon messages on nonreference bioses, Adds option to change OEM Revision and multilingual support.

• RealNetworks Reveals Exploit on RealPlayer 8 - Morgan said the Real Media file format contains a variety of strings in its header. By manipulating the way a file is formatted, it is possible to overflow memory buffers which store these strings. This could let an attacker run arbitrary code on a user's machine. "As it turns out, RealPlayer blindly trusts the number in front of the string to indicate the true length of the string, and doesn't check to see if this number is smaller than the allocated buffer length," Morgan explained. "Thus, with certain strings, it is very easy to cause RealPlayer to crash consistently by making the two bytes in front of a string 0xFFFF."
• BIOS Guide and FAQ - AMD World has published a BIOS Guide and FAQ.
• AOpen CDRW 3248 announced - AOpen announced its CRW3248 CD-RW drive, writing CD-R disc at 32X,CD-RW disc at 12X Speed, and reading CD disc at up to 48X speed. AOpen CRW3248 drive uses Just Link, Just Speed technologies to prevent Buffer under run error and disc writing errors.
• CPU Review Mania - AMD Athlon XP 1800+ cpu at Viper's Lair, AMD Athlon XP 1900+ cpu at PC Stats, AMD Duron 1.3 GHz cpu at Hexus.net, AMD Duron 1.3 GHz cpu at Tech Hard.
• Mandrake Linux 8.2 Beta 1 - MandrakeSoft S.A. has released the first beta of Mandrake Linux 8.2 Download: CD1 / CD2.
• Helium2 v1.1 - Helium² is the ultimate MP3 management system. Catalog your growing MP3 collection, create tags and playlists, or use Helium²'s unique collection of tools and wizards to manage even the largest MP3 collection. Helium² supports playlist formats as m3u, pls, bpl all with extended information for import and/or export.
• StyleItXP v1.0 - It's a New Application (FREEWARE) Designed to Add Visual Styles Support to Old Executables (for example mIRC). The Process Only Take a Second And It's Fully Compatible With Any App.
• CDRWIN 3.8G & CDRWIN 4.0A Beta - New versions of CDRWIN has been released, but I don't know what is changed.
• Geforce Tweak Utility 3.2t17 Beta - Johannes Tuemler has just released version 3.2t17 Beta of his extremely popular GeForce overclocker/tweaker.
• OCPad 0.5 RC5 - it calculates most needed values for overclockers - Memory bandwidth, fillrate, memory speed by NS rating and it will have more features in next releases. You will be able to calculate results of your overclocking and understand speed of future pre-released hardware. Overclocker's Pad understand SDR, DDR memory as well, as future QBM and even un-anounced DDR-III. And best of all - it's FREE!
• CPUCooL Version 7.0.10 - CPUCooL is a program that monitors temperature, fan speed, and voltages for many motherboards. It works with all chipsets from Intel, ALI, VIA, AMD, and SIS 5595 motherboards.
• VCool v1.8 Beta 6 - This utility will cool your Athlon/Duron processor on Via KT133 or KX133(A) (VT8363, VT8361, VT82C691/693A/694 or VT8371 +VT82C686x) chipsets during idle.
• VIA Audio Driver AC97 v1.60 WDM - This new version supports Apollo Pro266(VT8633 + VT8233), Apollo KT266(VT8366 + VT8233), Apollo KT266A (KT266A + VT8233C) and Apollo P4X266 (VT8753 + VT8233/8233C)/
• Promise RAID 0/1 IDE Driver v2.00 for XP - Asus released a new PROMISE RAID 0/1 IDE Driver (build 13) for Windows XP.
• New NVIDIA WHQL Certified Drivers 27.00 via Windows Update -  Windows Update now offers brand new NVIDIA Detonator 27.00 WHQL Certified for download. Those drivers were published on January 23th 2002, WHQL certified on January 16th 2002 and are dated December 19th 2001. These new drivers apparently support only the forthcoming NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX440/460, Quadro 4 200/400NVS and Quadro 4 500XGL. (thanks ActiveWin)

• CERT reports ICQ security hole - America Online has modified the ICQ server infrastructure to filter out code that exploits the vulnerability, but users are advised to upgrade to the latest client.
• Ask your machine what's wrong - Siemens is taking off-the-shelf technologies to let engineers fix mechanical problems by pointing a portable camera at bar code-like identifiers--then tapping into a database.
• Palm to unveil wireless device - The company will unveil on Monday its second-generation wireless handheld, according to sources familiar with the product.
• Hackers' mirror shattered - The hacker community received a blow today when defacement mirror Safemode.org closed its doors. Safemode was the last major site to record the web pages of the rich and famous after they had been defaced by hackers and before they were taken down and repaired.
• Set a hacker to catch a hacker -  Pimpshiz, the hacker who rose to notoriety in 2000 during a pro-Napster defacement spree, has gone straight. Although his case is still pending in the US judicial system, Robert Lyttle, as he is now known, is trying to make a break as a security expert.  With a string of website defacements under his belt including military, FBI, and Nasa sites, Lyttle has started up a security company, Sub-Seven Software. He believes that the security industry could do with a word of advice from the dark side of the hat.
• Telstra Broadband - According to recent surveys, more Australians use Telstra BigPond than any other Internet provider. Providing a large range of dial-up, cable, ADSL and satellite plans to choose from - it's no wonder that they enjoy this large market share. But unfortunately for their consumers, things have taken a turn for the worse.
• Intel Expected to Cut Pentium 4 Prices Over Weekend -  Intel is expected to cut prices on its highest-performance Pentium 4 processors and other chips over the weekend as the world's largest chipmaker passes on cost savings from new manufacturing technologies, analysts said.
• GeForce4 Pictures - SavageNews re-posted sweet pictures of  GeForce4 board!
• LindowsOS  preview - The installation was too easy. I didn't get any options and had nothing to configure. No language selection, no time zone, not even the X11. And it didn't take long. From the time I clicked on the hybrid lawyer-speak license-that-mentions-the-GPL-but-doesn't-like-it-much, to the time the GUI fired up, no more than ten minutes passed. A friend who signed up as a "Lindows Insider" and agreed to share his LindowsOS experiences with us if we didn't use his name said his installation went the same as mine: Easy, but very limited.
• 3D Blaster GeForce3 Ti 500 review - At this moment, actually just a few weeks before the announcement of GeForce4 the GeForce3 Ti500 is the fastest 3D Graphics consumer videocard available to date. The last products we reviewed from Creative was their GeForce3, performance was right on par with the NVIDIA reference design. Basically a very good product but what I missed and noted in that review was some custom made items like ram sinks and high-performance cooling, I recall it overclocked like a lunatic despite whose missing features
• SQL Server Text Formatting Functions Contain Unchecked Buffers - Use of an invalid format type character may allow SQL Server to overwrite an internal buffer that may overwrite an address in the SQL Server process space with arbitrary data. If SQL Server overwrites an address in the SQL Server process space with arbitrary data, SQL Server may potentially allow you to execute arbitrary code within SQL Server or the SQL Server process may abnormally terminate.
• Perl2Exe - Perl2Exe is a command line program for converting perl scripts to exe files. This allows you to create stand alone programs in perl that do not require the perl interpreter. You can ship the exe file without having to ship your perl source code.
• Apache 1.3.23 Out - The latest Apache HTTP server -- Apache 1.3.23 -- fixes a number of bugs. It fixes the incorrect "Content-Length" header in the 416 response and reverts mod_negotiation's handling of path_info and query_args to the 1.3.20 behavior. It also prevents an Apache model from being loaded or added twice due to duplicate LoadModule or AddModule directives. As for new features, 1.3.23 adds HTTP/1.1 support for mod_proxy and makes a number of other mod_proxy improvements.
• Antivirus Updates -  AVP Weekly Update (January 25, 2002), McAfee VirusScan 4.x and 5.x DAT File v4183, McAfee VirusScan SuperDAT File v4183 (engine v4160), Norton Antivirus Definition Update (01/25/2002).
• MSN Explorer 7.0 (Build 2118) - Microsoft has released a new build of the MSN Explorer 7.0.
• NVmax 4.00.26 - Looks like another silent update - download
• Nvidia nView - nView is a set of desktop tools designed to help you be more productive when using a Nvidia GPU - based card.
• Style XP Beta 5.2 - Fixes import, delete, faster, and ui window size (minor bugs), download
• DVD Decrypter v3.0.0.11 - DVD Decrypter is a free tool which enables you decrypt and copy a DVD to your PC's hard disk.
• Winamp 2.78c - Winamp 2.78 has been updated to 2.78c, the files are dated 01/24/2002.
• Opera 6.01 build 1030 - Another build is out, but no release notes included.

• Pre-order the Geforce4 MX for $118/$115! - Although nVidia hasn't officially announced it yet, you can pre-order this card at PCMall and ECost.
• Intel chipsets could boost USB 2.0 -  USB 2.0, the standard for connecting peripherals to PCs, is expected to get a significant plug once it is integrated into Intel chipsets by mid-year.
• Security Hole Found In Some Sony Vaio Computers - Sony Corp. today warned owners of some recently purchased Vaio computers that a software glitch could open a hole for intruders via the Internet or e-mail. "If the Vaio is attacked in this way, it may result in stored data being overwritten, erased or copied," said a security advisory on Sony's Web site. "In this instance, running regular anti-virus software will not protect the affected models of Vaio."
• NTT researchers predict 10Gbps wireless - NTT Corp, Japan's incumbent telco, claims to have raised the ceiling on wireless bandwidth, after achieving a peak data transfer rate of 2.5Gbps in laboratory trials. The previous highest wireless transfer rate was 1Gbps, but NTT's researchers believe they can ultimately take wireless communications up to 10Gbps.
• Software Tool From CNet Opens Security Hole - CNet Catchup, a popular Windows software update utility, contains a security vulnerability that could enable a remote attacker to run malicious code on the user's computer. According to CNet Networks' Catchup Dispatch newsletter, distributed Jan. 23, the vulnerability affects all previous versions of Catchup and allows an attacker "to launch Catchup and execute arbitrary code on a user's system."
• Serious Security Hole In AOL's ICQ - Yet with ICQ, a person who wishes to establish a direct connection to a machine running the vulnerable ICQ program can simply query an ICQ server for the IP address and listening port of the victim. For that reason, CERT said blocking requests through a central server is not a completely effective solution, because ICQ requests can be sent directly from one client to another. AOL has not yet devised a "patch" for the security hole. Rather, the company is urging all ICQ users to upgrade to a new beta version.
• Microsoft .Net Beta Signup in February - Microsoft will be accepting applications in February to join the Mappoint .Net beta team for the Mappoint .Net SDK (which will be released in March) among other things.
• Radeon 8500XT soon? - According to SavageNews, ATi is going to release this card pretty soon. A few days before, or after the announcement of NVIDIA's GeForce4. The RADEON 8500 XT will works at 300MHz (core/mem) and may feature the usual goods from ATi - TV-Out and HydraVision (Dual Display).
• Samsung Syncmaster 171MP LCD-HDTV Review - What first appears to be just a very smart looking 17" TFT LCD manages to pack in HDTV compatibility an optional TV tuner for cable Television and if that weren't enough by itself, the 171MP also sports built-in speakers, RCA video and S-Video inputs. This LCD TV quite capable in the home, office, or multimedia studio. Stereo audio via RCA input and a mini-head phone jack are also cared for if headphones are you method of choice.
• Pentium 4 Chipset Performance Shootout - GamePC has written  a Pentium 4 Chipset Performance Shootout.
• Next-Generation Game Performance with the Unreal Engine: 15-way GPU Shootout - Armed with a true next-generation game engine we have compared everything from the original GeForce 256 to the Radeon 8500. Find out how today's cards will perform in tomorrow's games.
• MouseMan Dual Optical Review - In an effort to quell the masses with a better gaming mouse, Logitech went to work on the drawing board to attempt to recreate a newer and better optical mouse. Needless to say, many months later, they unearthed a shiny new testament to the input control Gods. In what may become the 'reference standard' for optical mice, Logitech devised the MouseMan Dual Optical mouse.
• Belkin USB Dual Media Reader&Writer Review - Digital cameras, PDAs and MP3 players mostly use either SmartMedia or Compact Flash for storage. Evidently, they seem to be rather slow at transferring files despite of the fact that they all come with a standard USB interface. Belkin Dual Media Reader & Writer, a USB flash card reader, will speed up the process for $35.
• Building an overclocked PC Part #1 - To summarize, if the only PC you have to overclock is one you rely on for making a living, spend some money and upgrade to a off-the-shelf factory computer that's more powerful. If you are willing to accept the inherent risks (and rewards) from overclocking read on, if not, you should hop in the car and ride down to your local electronics retailer and buy a high end Pentium 4 or Athlon XP rig off the rack.
• 3DMark2001 Tweak Guide - PC Stats has posted a 3DMark2001 Tweak Guide.
• Windows XP Modem Tweak Guide - Windows XP much like other Windows OS, offers several improvements over the previous release & XP is no exception, offering some nice updates to the Networking features.  3D Spotlight's WinXP Modem Tweak Guide will take you through optimizing the performance, reliability & security of your Dial-up connection in Windows XP as well as several other misc. tips.
• Kyro Bios Guide - It contains step by step guides for flashing the Bios and what to do when it goes wrong as well as a list of the Kyro Bios's and what's new in each one. At the moment we only have Vivid! and Vivid!XS bios's but soon the other cards will be added.
• Norton AntiVirus Virus Definitions - Download Norton AntiVirus Virus Definitions January 23, 2002
• Microsoft Network Security Hotfix Checker v3.31 - HFNetChk is a command-line tool that enables an administrator to assess patch status for computers that are running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, as well as hotfixes for Internet Information Server 4.0 (IIS), Internet Information Services 5.0 (IIS), SQL Server 7.0, SQL Server 2000 (including Microsoft Data Engine [MSDE]), and Internet Explorer 5.01 or later. Version 3.31 is an updated version of 3.3 that will properly identify SQL Server 7.0 systems.
• Drive Rescue - The Data Recovery Tool v1.8 Beta 3 - Freeware Drive Rescue (WinALL) can Find any lost and deleted data on your drive (e.g. hard disk) even if the partition table is lost or the hard disk has been quick-formatted. Lost Data, that is the result of a system crash can also be recovered.
• WinCommander v5.0 -  Windows Commander 5.0 is now available for download. The most important new features are: Support for Windows XP themes, Internal TAR and GZ packers, Background download manager, SOCKS4+5 proxy support in the FTP client, Create CRC-Checksum files in SFV format, FTP+HTTP in background: Set speed limit for up- and downloads, Pause button for background operations: FTP, HTTP, copy, pack, unpack, Many detail enhancements, see history.txt in the program directory.
• Opera 6.01 build 1029 - Go grab it from here, but no release notes yet...
• FlashFXP v1.4.2 Final - FlashFXP is a powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Windows. (changelog)
• DVD Decrypter 3.0.0.10 - DVD Decrypter is a free tool which enables you decrypt and copy a DVD to your PC's hard disk.
• Detonators 27.10 hidden features - NVNews has received   a registry entry file which enables certain hidden features  for the leaked 27.10 Detonator drivers. The registry update enabled the popular "Clock Frequencies" panel, and added the "Hardware Options" and "Display Orientation" panels on his GeForce3 Ti 200. Click here to grab it.
• NVIDIA BIOS Editor V1.0 RC2 -  This new version features fixed bug with SignOn message on non reference BIOSes, added option to change OEM Revision, added multilingual support German, Spanish, French, Croatian languages are included, and also included non translated files for other languages
• NVmax 4.00.21 - NVmax 4.00.21 has been released.
• Asus BIOSes non-beta - Download: Bios P4B-M 1002 Final / Bios P4B-FX 1002.A Final
• VIA AGP Driver - This AGP driver v4.10., not currently in the 4in1 service pack, awaiting some Microsoft WQHL process.
• Creative Webcam Go Drivers - This is a new release of Video Blaster WebCam Go Control (English) for users running on Win98/98SE/ME/2K/XP only.  This release includes support for Windows XP and is meant for all WebCam Go series except Video Blaster WebCam Go Mini. It also includes the following: Better snap button functionality in Windows XP guest mode, Improved performance in WebCam Go ES or WebCam Go series when changing modes from 'Single snapshot' to 'Multiframe snapshot' in Undocked Settings.

• Fight flaws with laws - The National Academy of Sciences is urging lawmakers to hold software makers liable for security holes that lead to system break-ins. And that's not all the group's calling for.
• Net Users Warned To Beware Sites With Scripting Holes - The failure of major Web sites to fix an old but serious security flaw has prompted the Computer Emergency Response Team to issue a new warning to Internet users: Self-defense may be your only protection against privacy- and security-stealing cross-site script attacks.
• Send your photos by SMS - According to the research house, the next-gen multimedia messaging services (MMS) market will be worth $10bn in Europe by 2006.  Nokia says that half of its handsets will be MMS-enabled by 2003
• Rambus To Demo 1200Mhz RDRAM - Rambus announced today it will demonstrate the first PC running 1200MHz RDRAMr memory at the Platform Conference in San Jose, California. In addition, Rambus will present a comparative analysis of memory solutions. The analysis shows RDRAM is an excellent choice for high bandwidth PCs now and in the future.
• Macromedia Flash 6 Beta screnshoots - If you love Flash - and I know you do! - You will be interested to see some screenshots from the Flash 6 beta (thanks ibelite.com) If you know you way around the web or know the right people - you may even be able to find a copy of it - The versions out there are expired but some people have been cracking them.  It's interesting to see some really cool new features. See Flash6 : Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2,  Screenshot 3, Screenshot 4, Screenshot 5, Screenshot 6.
• Win2k SP3  SP3 Setup Error Message patch - A debug version of Windows 2000 that has been upgraded to Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2), you may receive an error message. This problem occurs because a registry key that is set during the installation of Windows 2000 SP2 conflicts with the Update.exe install program. Microsoft has released a script that you can run before you apply Windows 2000 SP3 that removes the registry key. Download now to prevent this error from occuring.
• Java v1.4 RC Released -  Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SETM) software is the premier solution for rapidly developing and deploying mission-critical, enterprise applications. Version 1.4 builds upon Java technology's cross-platform support and robust security model with new features and functionality, enhanced performance and scalability, and improved reliability and serviceability. Version 1.4 advances rich client application development and provides the foundation for standards-based, interoperable Web services that can be built and deployed today! Download version for Solaris, Windows or Linux .
• FlashFXP 1.4.2 Build 830 - FlashFXP is a powerful and popular FTP & FXP Client for Windows
• Easy Free WebCam v2.5.8 - With Easy Free Web Cam you can have your very own easy to use web cam on the Internet. It's easy to set up and run . You can alter the image compression to save uploading time, use easy setup wizards for popular web space providers and alot more.
• SnagIt v6.0.1 - SnagIt v6.0.1 has just been released. SnagIt allows users to capture, manage, manipulate, and print images, text, and video. Users are given the option to capture an entire screen, a window, or an arbitrary selection. SnagIt features support for capturing menus, the entire contents of scrolling windows, DOS screens, and desktop-animation sequences.
• Easy CD-DA Extractor v4.6.1 build 69 - Poikosoft has just released Easy CD-DA Extractor v4.6.1 build 69. With Easy CD-DA Extractor you can make great-sounding direct digital copies from audio compact discs.
• Opera v6.01 beta build 1027 - Opera v6.01 beta build 1027 has just been released. This is an in-development, beta version of Opera. Opera is a user-friendly, versatile, and fast Internet/intranet browser that also includes a newsreader. The keyboard plays an integral role in surfing, which can make moving around the Web easy and fast. You can run multiple windows, even at start-up, and special features are included for users with disabilities. Opera supports CSS, Java (through the Sun Java plug-in), JavaScript SSL (128-bit), TLS (Transaction Layer Security), and more.
• ObjectBar 0.95 - ObjectBar is a brand new program that allows users to replace or extend their Windows Start bar. For all users, it provides a faster, more powerful, and much more productive way to interact with the Windows desktop. For Windows 98/ME/2000 users, ObjectBar could be used to have the Windows XP start bar. And for Windows XP users, they gain the ability to have personalized menus even when using the new XP Start menu.
• Ahead Nero 5.5.7.2 - Ahead has released a new version of Nero v5.5.7.2, though no change log is available yet. Download mirrors: mirror1, mirror2, mirror3, mirror4.

• Europe foots the Xbox bill for Microsoft  - The latest company to catch flak over this attitude is Microsoft, whose Xbox is (finally) launching in our neck of the woods on March 14th at a price of L299 / €479, compared to the US list price of $299 (L210 / €340) and the recently announced Japanese launch at Y34,800 (L185 / €300).   This means that Europeans will be paying significantly more for their Xboxes /WTF?! :(/, despite the fact that Microsoft has a dedicated factory pumping out the consoles in Hungary, a country not renowned for its high labour costs.
• Anthrax researchers want your PC - Individuals can participate in the project by downloading a screensaver at Intel's Philanthropic Peer-to-Peer Program and donating their PC's spare resources to build a virtual supercomputer capable of analyzing billions of molecules in a fraction of the time it would take in a laboratory, the group said.
• Accused Ebay Hacker To Defend Himself From Jail -  22-year-old computer expert accused of hacking into Ebay  and other companies has fired his lawyer and will represent himself in court, his father said today.
• Kimble/Schmitz deported - Kim Schmitz, the founder of a group that made unsubstantiated claims to have hacked a Sudanese bank with bin Laden accounts, faces insider dealing charges in Germany after his fast-track deportation from Thailand.
• Intel Unveils Seven New Mobile Chips, Completes Transition - Intel Corp. has announced seven new mobile processors built on its new 0.13 micron manufacturing process. The company's entire mobile product line now has been upgraded from the previous technology, which used the 0.18 micron process.
• Netscape Sues Microsoft - Netscape Communications, a division of AOL Time Warner, filed suit against Microsoft on Tuesday, claiming that the software giant's business practices have harmed it.
• Philips joins copy protected CD fracas - Philips, the Dutch company which co-created the Compact Disc format along with Sony almost 20 years ago, is standing defiantly against the industry's use of copy-protected CDs.
• Sybase unveils new software - Sybase unveiled its Business Process Integrator Suite, which features both integration and "business process" software. Integration software enables companies to link their business software together so they can communicate. Business process software allows companies to choreograph how an e-commerce site functions and how information is passed through computing systems to complete a transaction.
• DVD players ready for a makeover - The market is getting so competitive and profit margins are thinning so quickly that companies are starting to combine DVD playback with other features.
• ATI ships Radeon 7500 All-In-Wonder (in North America) - ATI is shipping the All-In-Wonder Radeon 7500 in North America. Carrying a list price of $199, the multimedia graphics card is choc-ful of PC-on-TV features.
• Global Win YCC-61F1 Case Review - HardwareExtreme has posted a review of  top end server case called the YCC-61F1.
• Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Review - Cordless devices yield many benefits for users, such as freedom from tangled cables and increased comfort while using the computer. Throughout the years many keyboard and mouse packages have been introduced. Logitech has broken the ice and released their Cordless Freedom Optical package. This combo includes the Logitech Cordless Desktop Navigator Keyboard and the Logitech Cordless MouseMan Optical.
• ATI vs NVIDIA - It goes without saying that ATI and Nvidia are locked in a battle for the desktops, notebooks, game consoles, TV tuners, and hearts of consumers. As in any good fight, sometimes it's not the combatants that decide the contest, but a bystander taking an interest in the outcome. Whether it's an OEM partner, software developer, or even CPU vendor, the idea is to not take a pummeling while a third party holds your arms behind your back.
• Geforce 4 MX Specs - Guys at Reactor Critical has posted some specifications about the Geforce 4 MX: 0.15 micron. 2 rendering pipelines, 2 TMUs each. Various core-clokings from 250 to 300 MHz depending on the version of the GPU. According to several sources, the clockings will be as follows: GeForce4 MX420 - 250 MHz. GeForce4 MX440 - 275 MHz. GeForce4 MX460 - 300 MHz.
• Network Cards & Overclocking - PC Stats has posted an article about how Network Cards (NIC's) handle overclocking, and if they might be the thing that's holding you back from getting higher speeds. As you already know, every peripheral in the PCI slots of your computer is linked to the FSB, and when you're going past 133 MHz (with most boards) you're going to be running the PCI bus out of sync. This means the PCI cards will no longer running at their specified speeds - they willl be running faster then the are supposed to.
• Duron 1300 vs. Celeron 1300 - Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a comparison review between the AMD Duron 1.3GHz and the Intel Celeron 1.3GHz CPUs.
• Microsoft Begins DirectX 9.0 Beta - Beta testers have begun to receive word of the impending first beta release of DirectX 9.0, the multimedia foundation behind Windows. DirectX 9 first made headlines at Meltdown 2001 last summer and is expected to feature advanced pixel shading and gamma correction.
• XP Hotfixes veryfier - Microsoft has released a command-line tool that easily enumerates all of the installed fixes by Microsoft Knowledge Base article number. Customers can then confirm that they have installed the appropriate set of fixes before using a valuable support incident and potentially experiencing unplanned down time. Download Q282784_WXP_SP1_x86_ENU.exe (185kb, WinXP home&professional),   Q282784_WXP_SP1_ia64_ENU.exe (309kb WinXP 64-bit).
• Cool Desk v.3.85 - Cool Desk is a virtual desktop manager. Ever wish to have several screens on your computer? Cool Desk creates up to 9 virtual desktops and allows you to have different windows in each of them.
• WinOnCD 5 SP1 - The first service pack for the popular CD mastering program WinOnCD 5 has been released.
• GeForce Tweaking mania - Download: RivaTuner 2.0 Release Candidate 9 & GeForce Tweak Utility 3.1.2 (3.2t16), NVmax 4.00.15 Alpha 2.1
• ATI BIOS Editor RadEdit v0.99 - This is the first universal bios editor for Radeon-based videocards. This program let you modify clock speeds and BIOS fonts for any videocard based on R100, RV100, RV200, R200 chips.
• Inno3D Savage2000 AGP Drivers -  InnoVision has released new Inno3D Savage2000 AGP drivers for Windows XP.
• Windows XP Driver Updates - Go baby go :) Microsoft has released some new WHQL drivers for WinXP: Ati Technologies Inc. Display Driver Version 6.13.10.6014, Realtek Net Driver Version 5.397.0104.2002, Creative Media Driver Released on November 15 2001 and Epson Printer Driver Version5.20.00.00.
• D-Link DI-704 Firmware -  D-Link have released an updated firmware v257b3 for their DI-704. This update supports packet filtering.
• Detonator 27.10 for Win2K/XP - Warp2Search has Detonators 27.10, the first driver release for the GeForce4 cards!

• AMD Duron 1.3Ghz Announced - AMD today announced a new desktop processor for the mainstream PC market, the 1.3GHz AMD Duron processor. You can check some reviews at AMDMB, Tech-Report, 3DVelocity.
• Samsung retains XBox DRAM - Samsung has retained the contract to supply memory for the Microsoft Xbox games 'puter and is so pleased that it has issued a press release to celebrate.  Each box is supplied with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, assembled in four 128Mb (4Mx32) DDR SDRAM devices, so that will keep the Samsung production line busy.
• AOL not bidding for Red Hat - How I supposed, AOL Time Warner apparently is not making a bid to buy Linux manufacturer Red Hat, said sources familiar with the matter.
• Two year old bug bites Linux users - An almost two-year old bug in AMD's Athlon and Duron processors has been found to trip up Linux users. Users of the 2.4 kernel have been informed that a problem exists in the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) video functionality when used in conjunction with an Athlon or Duron processor. The problem is that x86 systems have typically managed memory in 4Kb pages, but when the Pentium processor was introduced Intel added a feature called extended paging which allowed 4Mb pages to be used instead.
• Windows wipe utilities fail to shift stubborn data stains - Several Windows file-wiping utilities fail to completely wipe some files on Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP that use NTFS file systems, security researcher Kurt Seifried has discovered. In an advisory, security researcher Kurt Seifried details how file wiping utilities, such as PGP Wipe, BCWipe or East-Tec Eraser, fail to implement alternate data stream-wiping properly.
• SafeAudio V3 announced - SafeAudio is a 100% software-based, audio copy protection solution for music CDs, jointly developed by Macrovision and TTR Technologies. SafeAudio ensures excellent playability across all playback platforms and causes unauthorized copies to lose their entertainment value. Version 3 offers the following new features: New patent-pending "AudioLok" technologies offer increased protection and finely tunable multi-level security options, Support for multi-session CDs with third party Digital Rights Management (DRM) options, allowing "fair use" by consumers on PCs and digital audio players and an enhanced mastering, verification and testing tools requiring no change or addition to existing production lines.
• Win2k SP3 Info - SP3 is in beta testing right now and it is expected that at least one more "build" or update to the SP3 beta will be released. (there has only been a single version released to the technical beta testers so far, and that was in December). It looks clear that there will be another version sometime soon, and that MS is planning at least one more chat session with SP3 testers.
• Gainward Geforce 3 TI500 Card Review - Hexus has posted a review of the Gainward Geforce 3 TI500 Card.
• ATI R200 vs NVIDIA NV20 comparison - Just by looking at the heading, you my think that this is just a comparison review of only ATI8500LE and NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti500. In fact this review is also including the performance comparison of the four highest performance (and of course the highest price) graphic cards. These four cards are ATI8500LE(250/250MHz), GeForce3 Ti500(240/250MHz), GeForce3 Ti200(175/200MHz) and a standard GeForce3(200/230MHz).
• Kenwood DPC-MP922 Portable MP3 CD Player Review - NeoSeeker has posted a review of Kenwood DPC-MP922.
• Everglide Gaming Mat Review - TargetPC reviewed quite a few gaming products from Everglide. Everything from mats to gadgets to keep your mouse in its place. What struck my about the press release for their new Gaming Mat is that this particular mat is flexible like a normal mouse pad but it isn't made out of the ordianary materials found in mouse pads (mice pads?). What is also really neat about this product is that the mats come with pictures on them. Pretty cool way to set off your gaming area I thought. I wanted to know what material they were using with this new product and if I should consider replacing my solid plastic gaming surfaces.
• pcAnywhere Beta 10.5.1 - Symantec Corp. is seeking beta testers to scrutinize its new XP-compatible update to pcAnywhere, the company's popular PC remote control software. Version 10.5.1 adds full support for Microsoft's new Fast User Switching, a feature notably missing from the current release. pcAnywhere will be able to remotely access a Windows XP machine even through a fast user switch, an ability Symantec says that not even Microsoft's Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance can claim.
• NDIS Test Tool for Windows .NET Server Family - The NDIS Test tool tests the interface for network drivers used in Windows operating systems.
• HyperSnap-DX v4.30.00 Beta 4 Patch - HyperSnap-DX 4 is a screen capture and image editing tool for MS Windows. If you are running the last beta, leech this patch.
• PHP Nuke 5.4 Final - Download PHP Nuke 5.4 Final.
• Fantom CD v1.1.9 Build 1321 - Fantom CD is a software for reading CDs and running CD programs without a CD by creating a virtual CD-ROM drive on the hard disk using software methods. This emulator allows you to run CD-ROM applications from your hard drive or network server.
• Padus DiscJuggler v3.50.830 - DiscJuggler is the first professional software-only Compact Disc Duplication application for CD-Recordable drives. The new version features DVD writers with support for writing to CD-R and CD-RW media are now seen as compatible CD-R/RW devices, Removed Optimum Power Calibration from the beginning of the write process and fixed error  "Illegal field in command descriptor block" in the Verify process.
• WinRAR v3.00 beta 1 -WinRAR v3.00 beta 1 has just been released to public..WinRAR is a 32-bit Windows version of RAR Archiver, the powerful archiver and archive manager. The developer of WinRAR claims it allows higher compression ratios than other archiving tools, especially on executable files, object libraries, and large text files.
  This release represents a milestone in WinRAR functionality combining significant increases in compression capability, major ease-of-use additions and a dramatic drop in end-user pricing.
• CDCheck v3.0.0.22 RC2 - CDCheck is utility for prevention, detection and recovery of damaged files with emphasis on error detection. It supports CRC files and binary compare.
• CPUCOOL 7.0.9 - New version features KT266(a)/SIS635/NForce 420/AMD760 chipset bugfixes, new cooling server for KT266(A)/AMD760, Spanish language addes, bug fixes
• Tweak XP 1.26 - Totalidea Software has released Tweak XP 1.26.
• NVmax 4.00.15 alpha 2.1 - leech it! You wanted 23.xx support so now you got it. This new version corrects many issues over ALPHA 1 released yesterday. Web driver update should be working also.
• Advanced WMA Workshop 1.55 - Pretty useful tool with Explorer-like interface, allowing you to convert WAV, MP3, OGG files to WMA 8, convert WMA 8 to MP3 and OGG, decode WMA, MP3, OGG files to WAV PCM. Tool also include built-in batch processing, supports ID3v2 Tag edition and CD Ripping.
• LAMEr v1.2beta -LAMEr is a Win32 GUI front end for the LAME freeware MP3 encoder.LAMEr takes out all the hazzle of encoding files with LAME - including ID3 tagging of the encoded files.
• Stinkys' MMC 7.5 Registry Tweaker v0.91- This useful regtool that can tweak your ATI MMC 7.5.
• Windowblinds v3.1a final -  WindowBlinds is the first utility of its kind. It extends Windows XP, Windows 98, ME, NT, and 2000 to have a fully skinnable user interface. You can change the style of title bars, buttons, toolbars and much more. It gives you total control over your graphical user interface.
  What's new in version 3.1a : fixed a bug under Windows 98 when rendering skins with 32-bit bitmaps.
• ABIT KR7A BIOS - A new BIOS for the ABIT KR7A motherboard has been released.
• Creative Audigy Drivers - Please ensure that you have installed the Sound Blaster Audigy installation CD before you run this update (AUDRVWDM.EXE). You will also need to have PlayCenter Ver 2.20 and above pre-installed on your harddrive for this update to run properly.