10785230
submission
nandemoari writes:
A problematic update for the popular BitDefender antivirus software appears to be causing quite a bit of trouble for users running 64-bit versions of Windows. Rather than save users from infection, the update released this past weekend is actually labeling important Windows files as malware threats.
The problem has been extremely confusing for users of Windows 64-bit operating systems.
According to reports, the BitDefender security update identifies vital Windows files as malware and then eliminates them altogether. The deletion of critical executable files has forced many users to re-install their entire operating system and remove BitDefender.
9187392
submission
nandemoari writes:
A 26-year-old who made cash on the side by selling cable modems he'd hacked now faces a potential prison sentence longer than those handed down to murderers. New Bedford, Massachusetts' Matthew Delorey faces up to forty years behind bars.
Delorey began his campaign by posting ads for the modified cable modems on Craigslist, followed by an even more tempting series of YouTube videos featuring names like "How to Get Free Internet Free Cable Internet Comcast or any Cable ISP--100% works," and "How to bypass Comcast registration page with premod cable modem SB5100, SB 5101." This wasn't exactly the work of a smooth criminal.
8144706
submission
nandemoari writes:
Here's a piece of advice for thieves this holiday season: if you steal a game console, don't go online to play games with your crooked friends. Doing just that helped cops find a stolen Xbox 360 over the weekend.
Twenty-two-year-old Jeremiah Gilliam is facing huge larceny charges this morning after cops found a veritable pile of stolen electronics in his Bronx home. According to police, Gilliam had an incredible collection of global positioning systems (GPS), video game consoles, laptop computers, cellphones and other electronic devices in his home.
Usually these kinds of repeated petty crimes are difficult for police to sniff out, but thanks to some very smart cops (who I think might be gamers themselves), a game console was used to help nab Gilliam.
8144286
submission
nandemoari writes:
When security officials decide to "go after" computer malware, most conduct their actions from a defensive standpoint. For most of us, finding a way to rid a computer of the malware suffices — but for one computer researcher, however, the change from a defensive to an offensive mentality is what ended the two year chase of a sinister botnet once and for all.
For two years, Atif Mushtaq had been keeping the notorious Mega-D bot malware from infecting computer networks. As of this past November, he suddenly switched from de½Âfense to offense. Mega-D had forced more than 250,000 PCs to do its bidding via botnet control.
6808934
submission
nandemoari writes:
According to reports, Britain will spend 200 million British Pound Sterling per year (equivalent to $330M US Dollars, or $627 per minute), in a massive expansion of its surveillance networks. The new funding is intended to give officials access to details of every Internet click — on top of the email and telephone records that are already available — made by every British citizen.
According to the UK's Daily Mail newspaper, one request to spy on phone records and email accounts of its citizens is made every minute. Every day, 1,381 snooping missions are carried out by police, town halls and other government entities. An average of 11 million British Pound Sterling ($18M US) a year is paid to phone companies and Internet service providers for keeping and providing private information about their customers
6667647
submission
nandemoari writes:
As part of the Japanese Science and Technology Agency's "Erato" project, students at Keio University have created a robot designed to alleviate the burden of performing one specific household chore: folding the laundry.
"Foldy" the robot works with a camera mounted above a flat surface, like an ironing board. A person comes along and places an article of clothing on the surface where its image is captured and displayed on a PC. The person then draws digital fold lines onto the computerized image of the clothing piece and, with the click of a button, the robot does the actual folding.
6667279
submission
nandemoari writes:
The body that controls the way website addresses work plans to allow non-English characters to be used in domain names. The move follows increasing demand for the change, thanks to the rapid growth of Internet use in largely non-English-speaking countries, like China.
ICANN approved the principle of extending names to other alphabets last year but had been exploring the possible technical solutions for some time. It now has a plan for introducing the changes.
The plan would mean individual countries will be able to apply for recognition of the language and alphabet they use. If approved, there will then be a separate register of domain names under that alphabet. If the plan gets the go-ahead at a conference this week, countries will be able to apply to have their alphabet recognized from November 16th, 2009.
6625977
submission
nandemoari writes:
In the aftermath of the much-anticipated Windows 7 release, a large number of users are complaining that their copy of Windows 7 downloaded from Digital River will not install correctly. Many believe the problem has something to do with the Digital River's .BOX file format.
Rather than providing customers with a standard DVD file in .ISO (disc image) format, Digital River delivered an .EXE (executable file) named "Win7-P-Retail-en-us-x64.exe" and two additional files with the .BOX filename extension. When users launched the .EXE file in the hopes of unpacking the .BOX files, they were met with the elusive error message.
According to the Microsoft Answer page, another possibility exists. "Consumers are encountering difficulties installing Windows 7 where the customer is currently running a 32 bit version of Windows such as Windows Vista, but purchased the 64 bit version of Windows 7."
6574249
submission
nandemoari writes:
A major anti-corruption crusade has taken shape in Nigeria, formed in the hopes of cracking down on Internet scammers throughout the country. The campaign recently shut down 800 scam websites and busted 18 networks used by email fraudsters.
According to Farida Waziri, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) boss, "Over 800 fraudulent email addresses have been identified and shut down. There have also been 18 arrests of high profile syndicates operating cyber-crime organizations."
6514171
submission
nandemoari writes:
Security firm Symantec estimates that 93% of computer users who wind up with 'scareware' on their machines have intentionally downloaded it. Symantec also believes some people distributing the scareware could be earning more than a million dollars each year. Symantec says it has found more than 250 different bogus programs. That's because the real goal of the exercise is to get hold of the credit card details of the user when they buy the sham security software.
6430407
submission
nandemoari writes:
A recent survey conducted by online retailer Retrovo reveals that the majority of PC buyers will take a "wait-and-see" approach before buying Windows 7. Microsoft insists that many of the problems plaguing Windows Vista have been fixed with Windows 7, but that remains to be seen.
Of the 448 respondents polled, 47 per cent of the PC users surveyed plan to read reviews of Windows 7 before upgrading their machines to Microsoft's new operating system. About 12 per cent of respondents plan to definitely upgrade and 38 per cent said they would not. A total of 3 per cent responded that they had already upgraded to Windows 7.
6429757
submission
nandemoari writes:
T-Mobile is taking a huge financial hit in the fallout over the Sidekick data loss. But Microsoft, which bears at least part of the responsibility for the mistake, is paying the price with its reputation.
As reported earlier this week, the phone network had to admit that some users' data had been permanently lost due to a problem with a server run by Microsoft-owned company, Danger. The handset works by storing data such as contacts and appointments on a remote computer rather than on the phone itself.
BBC news reports today that Microsoft has in fact recovered all data, but a minority are still affected out of 1 million subscribers.
Amidst this, Microsoft appears not to have suffered any financial damage. However, it seems certain that its relationship with T-Mobile will have taken a major knock. The software giant is also the target of some very bad publicity as critics question how on earth it failed to put in place adequate back-ups of the data. That could seriously damage the potential success of the firm's other "cloud computing" plans, such as web-only editions of Office.
6374577
submission
nandemoari writes:
A British hacker accused of infiltrating computers at NASA and the Pentagon has failed in his most recent attempt to evade extradition to the United States. Gary McKinnon may soon be making his way across the pond to face charges stateside.
For some time McKinnon has been lobbying London's High Court in a desperate attempt to avoid being extradited to America. Unfortunately for McKinnon, the High Court has refused to even hear the case, pointing out that it did not meet "points of law of general public importance." In other words, the case simply doesn't warrant a halt on the extradition.
6321815
submission
nandemoari writes:
It looks almost certain that Microsoft will be redesigning European editions of Windows 7 and its predecessors to offer users a clearer choice of which Internet browser they'd like to use. However, the changes won't be introduced until well past the October 22 launch of the new operating system (OS).
Under the proposed system, when people use a new Windows computer for the first time, they'll see a page explaining what a browser is. The user will then be presented with a list of 12 browsers, each with a link to information about what it offers. The user can choose to either install one browser or to install several browsers and designate one as their default option.
Interestingly, a demonstration screenshot shown by the EU only displays the five main browsers on screen at once, with the rest accessible by scrolling a horizontal toolbar. This doesn't appear to be coincidence as the five appear in alphabetical order, which would suggest they are being given a deliberate advantage rather than the entire list simply appearing in order of market share.
6321195
submission
nandemoari writes:
In a poll conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, the word "whatever" received 47 per cent, almost half, of the total votes when subjects were asked to choose from a list of the most annoying popular phrases. It beat out equally ambiguous phrases "you know" and "it is what it is," which placed second and third, respectively.
