526804
submission
526776
submission
GSGKT writes:
Google's Anti-Malware Team has made available some of their research data on malware distribution mechanism while the research paper is under peer review.
The lead author, Niels Provos, wrote,
"It has been over a year and a half since we started to identify web pages that infect vulnerable hosts via drive-by downloads, i.e. web pages that attempt to exploit their visitors by installing and running malware automatically. During that time (Jan 07 to Oct. 07) we have investigated billions of URLs and found more than three million unique URLs on over 180,000 web sites automatically installing malware. During the course of our research, we have investigated not only the prevalence of drive-by downloads but also how users are being exposed to malware and how it is being distributed." The technical report [PDF] is available.
Salient points in this report are:
(1) 4% of chance a URL might direct you to one of the 180 thousand malicious sites, with an average about 1.3% actually getting hit with a malicious result.
(2) The distribution sites are concentrated to a few nations: China (67.0%), US (15.0%), Russia (4.0%) and Malaysia and (South) Korea (~2%).
(3) The likelihood of a web page harboring malwares has no strong correlation to its contents. Visiting adult web pages is no more dangerous than visiting website about games, finance, online communities, etc.
(4) Malware delivery is like by mis-directing ads on web pages during ads synchronization to malware distribution sites.
526610
submission
techniscope writes:
Reuters is reporting that Toshiba indicate they will soon exit the HD-DVD buisness.
"We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business," said the source, who asked not to be identified. He added that an official announcement could come as early as next week.
526586
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
He's quickly become an Internet sensation and a celebrity in the gaming world, known as much for his spitfire sardonic delivery as for his blunt, biting reviews. Geek.com was fortunate enough to interview Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, the man famous for Zero Punctuation reviews on The Escapist. These are the fastest, funniest, more pointed videogame reviews you've ever seen.
526378
submission
Euler writes:
Mathematicians often rhapsodize about the austere elegance of a well-wrought proof. But math also has a simpler sort of beauty that is perhaps easier to appreciate: It can be used to create objects that are just plain pretty — and fascinating to boot.
The article has gorgeous pictures, along with explanations of the math behind it.
513402
submission
DaMan writes:
ZDNet takes a look at the changes that Microsoft have made to the Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy mechanism in Windows Vista and discovers that the draconian features present in Vista RTM have been replaced by nag screens and annoyances such as changing the desktop background to black.
513330
submission
fuzzyfuzzyfungus writes:
I've been forced to clean up my underground lair and I have unearthed a number of historical curiosities. Most notably a Wavemate Jupiter II computer, floppy disk peripheral, and full schematics. I've hit google and there seems to be almost no information about these things or the people who made them. Any chance that somebody here was connected to that system's history? Would people be interested in the documents if I were to digitize them?
