Rogue MP3 Trojan streaks across networks.
Since Friday more than half a million computers have been infected, according to McAfee. The Downloader-UA.h Trojan serves ads onto contaminated PCs as part of an apparent money-making scam.
McAfee reckons miscreants loaded hundreds of rigged MP3 and MPEG files onto popular file-swapping services such as Limewire and eDonkey. The files are all named differently (in multiple languages) and vary in size in order to make them appear like legitimate music or video files.
Attempting to play one of the malicious files will trigger the download of an application named "PLAY_MP3.exe" that serves ads onto infected Windows PCs.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Adobe's Open Future, Open Screen Project.
Adobe made huge announcements regarding opening up the Flash Player. Effective today, there will be no restrictions on the SWF specification or the FLV specifications that make up video in Flash. before you had to sign an agreement not to use it to create competing players. But, thanks to there Open Screen Project all of those restriction are bye, bye.
The goal of the Open Screen Project is to enable a consistent runtime environment across a wide variety of devices and desktops. The next release of the Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices will have no licensing fees meaning you can distribute and deploy them anywhere. As part of this, Adobe is also publishing the device porting layer APIs. The device porting layer APIs are what Adobe uses to take the core of the Flash Player and make it work on different operating systems and devices. This will blow Microsoft's Silverlight out of the water. Well done Adobe.
Adobe made huge announcements regarding opening up the Flash Player. Effective today, there will be no restrictions on the SWF specification or the FLV specifications that make up video in Flash. before you had to sign an agreement not to use it to create competing players. But, thanks to there Open Screen Project all of those restriction are bye, bye.
The goal of the Open Screen Project is to enable a consistent runtime environment across a wide variety of devices and desktops. The next release of the Flash Player and Adobe AIR for devices will have no licensing fees meaning you can distribute and deploy them anywhere. As part of this, Adobe is also publishing the device porting layer APIs. The device porting layer APIs are what Adobe uses to take the core of the Flash Player and make it work on different operating systems and devices. This will blow Microsoft's Silverlight out of the water. Well done Adobe.
10 Things You Don't Want To Hear From Technical Support.
1) "Do you have a sledgehammer or a brick handy?"
2) "That's right, not even McGyver could fix it."
3) "So -- what are you wearing?"
4) "Duuuuuude! Bummer!"
5) "Looks like you're gonna need some new dilithium crystals, Cap'n."
6) "Press 1 for Support. Press 2 if you're with 60 Minutes. Press 3 if you're with the FTC."
7) "We can fix this, but you're gonna need a butter knife, a roll of duct tape, and a car battery."
8) "In layman's terms, we call that the Hindenburg Effect."
9) "Hold on a second... Mom! Timmy's hitting me!"
10) "Okay, turn to page 523 in your copy of Dianetics."
(Bonus) "Please hold for a Microsoft attorney."
1) "Do you have a sledgehammer or a brick handy?"
2) "That's right, not even McGyver could fix it."
3) "So -- what are you wearing?"
4) "Duuuuuude! Bummer!"
5) "Looks like you're gonna need some new dilithium crystals, Cap'n."
6) "Press 1 for Support. Press 2 if you're with 60 Minutes. Press 3 if you're with the FTC."
7) "We can fix this, but you're gonna need a butter knife, a roll of duct tape, and a car battery."
8) "In layman's terms, we call that the Hindenburg Effect."
9) "Hold on a second... Mom! Timmy's hitting me!"
10) "Okay, turn to page 523 in your copy of Dianetics."
(Bonus) "Please hold for a Microsoft attorney."
Monday, April 28, 2008
Things to do on your new Ubuntu Linux 8.04
Ubuntu 8.04 was released a few days back and here is a list that helps you install all the essential codecs and applications easily on your Ubuntu 8.04 desktop saving your googling time and helping you make transition from Windows to Ubuntu. More Here
By Ambuj Varshney
Ubuntu 8.04 was released a few days back and here is a list that helps you install all the essential codecs and applications easily on your Ubuntu 8.04 desktop saving your googling time and helping you make transition from Windows to Ubuntu. More Here
By Ambuj Varshney
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It is a documented fact that Windows can...
It is a documented fact that Windows can destroy computer hardware due to virus attacks. There are some Windows viruses that can damage the hard drive by speeding wear and tear, and others can turn off the fans, thus overheating the CPU. Some viruses make the CPU run too fast, and then make sudden halts, which not only affects the CPU, but it also hurts hard drives and fans.
Read More Here: http://www.raiden.net/?cat=2&aid=307
It is a documented fact that Windows can destroy computer hardware due to virus attacks. There are some Windows viruses that can damage the hard drive by speeding wear and tear, and others can turn off the fans, thus overheating the CPU. Some viruses make the CPU run too fast, and then make sudden halts, which not only affects the CPU, but it also hurts hard drives and fans.
Read More Here: http://www.raiden.net/?cat=2&aid=307
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Shuttleworth starts countdown to Ubuntu 8.04 release
The next red-letter day for Ubuntu fans will be April 24, when Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long Term Support) arrives. Mark Shuttleworth, the CEO of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, guarantees that the next version of the popular Linux distribution will make it on time, with something for enterprise, desktop, and Internet users.
In an interview, Shuttleworth made the point that, while many executives have yet to realize it, "Open source software projects and Linux distros are actually better than proprietary companies at hitting deadlines." In particular, Shuttleworth says, "Companies are now comparing Linux with Vista, and it's clear that's Linux does a better job of meeting people's expectations.
More Here
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
The next red-letter day for Ubuntu fans will be April 24, when Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long Term Support) arrives. Mark Shuttleworth, the CEO of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, guarantees that the next version of the popular Linux distribution will make it on time, with something for enterprise, desktop, and Internet users.
In an interview, Shuttleworth made the point that, while many executives have yet to realize it, "Open source software projects and Linux distros are actually better than proprietary companies at hitting deadlines." In particular, Shuttleworth says, "Companies are now comparing Linux with Vista, and it's clear that's Linux does a better job of meeting people's expectations.
More Here
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Managing The GRUB Bootloader With QGRUBEditor On Ubuntu 7.10
QGRUBEditor is a graphical frontend for managing the GRUB bootloader. By using QGRUBEditor, you do not have to mess around with the GRUB configuration in /boot/grub/menu.lst anymore. This article shows how to install and use QGRUBEditor on Ubuntu 7.10.
http://www.howtoforge.com/managing-grub-with-qgrubeditor-on-ubuntu7.10
QGRUBEditor is a graphical frontend for managing the GRUB bootloader. By using QGRUBEditor, you do not have to mess around with the GRUB configuration in /boot/grub/menu.lst anymore. This article shows how to install and use QGRUBEditor on Ubuntu 7.10.
http://www.howtoforge.com/managing-grub-with-qgrubeditor-on-ubuntu7.10
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Mark Shuttleworth blames ISO for Microsoft's Office Open XML Win
“It’s sad that the ISO was not willing to admit that its process was failing horribly,” he said, noting that Microsoft intensely lobbied many countries that traditionally have not participated in ISO and stacked technical committees with Microsoft employees, solution providers and resellers sympathetic to OOXML. “When you have a process built on trust and when that trust is abused, [ISO] should halt the process.”
More Here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2222
By Paula Rooney
“It’s sad that the ISO was not willing to admit that its process was failing horribly,” he said, noting that Microsoft intensely lobbied many countries that traditionally have not participated in ISO and stacked technical committees with Microsoft employees, solution providers and resellers sympathetic to OOXML. “When you have a process built on trust and when that trust is abused, [ISO] should halt the process.”
More Here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2222
By Paula Rooney
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Six Future Open Source Superstars
In the world of open source software Red Hat’s crossed over from exciting leader to respectable elder statesman. The action is among the new batch of up-and-coming open source software companies who are not yet venture backed but are developing interesting technologies and services. Here are some of the companies that may well be the new open source superstars.
More Here: http://linuxbusinessnews.sys-con.com/read/529607.htm
By: Mark R. Hinkle
In the world of open source software Red Hat’s crossed over from exciting leader to respectable elder statesman. The action is among the new batch of up-and-coming open source software companies who are not yet venture backed but are developing interesting technologies and services. Here are some of the companies that may well be the new open source superstars.
More Here: http://linuxbusinessnews.sys-con.com/read/529607.htm
By: Mark R. Hinkle
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Play Windows games on Linux with PlayOnLinux
If you are an avid gamer, you probably dual-boot your favorite Linux distribution with Windows, because that's where you find most new cutting-edge games. But what if you could run your Windows games on Linux? PlayOnLinux is an open source Python-scripted front end that helps you install and play tons of Windows-only games -- and then some!
More Here: http://www.linux.com/feature/128773
By M. Sharma
If you are an avid gamer, you probably dual-boot your favorite Linux distribution with Windows, because that's where you find most new cutting-edge games. But what if you could run your Windows games on Linux? PlayOnLinux is an open source Python-scripted front end that helps you install and play tons of Windows-only games -- and then some!
More Here: http://www.linux.com/feature/128773
By M. Sharma
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Good malware hunting for Linux
Linux has proved to be much more resistant to malware than Windows, especially when it comes to viral infections, but any remote exploit makes it just as susceptible to worms, trojans, and rootkits as any other platform. Given all the fuss in the news recently about compromised Linux/Apache servers being responsible for infecting Windows users with malware when they visit those compromised sites, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at three of the best rootkit/malware detection tools available for Linux desktop and SOHO users. Here's a brief comparison of three popular choices: Chkrootkit, Rootkit Hunter, and Ossec.
Read more and get it here:
http://www.linux.com/feature/128450
Linux has proved to be much more resistant to malware than Windows, especially when it comes to viral infections, but any remote exploit makes it just as susceptible to worms, trojans, and rootkits as any other platform. Given all the fuss in the news recently about compromised Linux/Apache servers being responsible for infecting Windows users with malware when they visit those compromised sites, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at three of the best rootkit/malware detection tools available for Linux desktop and SOHO users. Here's a brief comparison of three popular choices: Chkrootkit, Rootkit Hunter, and Ossec.
Read more and get it here:
http://www.linux.com/feature/128450
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Software Freedom Law Center
Publishes Legal Guide on Free Software
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), today published a legal guide which acts as an in-depth introduction to the legal issues surrounding FOSS.
The guide, written by members of SFLC's staff, covers a variety of legal topics and their practical application to free software development. These topics include copyrights and licensing, organizational structure, patents, and trademarks.
The guide is available at: http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/foss-primer.html
Publishes Legal Guide on Free Software
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), today published a legal guide which acts as an in-depth introduction to the legal issues surrounding FOSS.
The guide, written by members of SFLC's staff, covers a variety of legal topics and their practical application to free software development. These topics include copyrights and licensing, organizational structure, patents, and trademarks.
The guide is available at: http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/foss-primer.html
Monday, February 18, 2008
Turn your computer into an internet TV
Miro ROCK'S under LINUX! And, yes there is a Windows Version...
Play virtually any type of video file - Quicktime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, XVID, and more. Browse your collection, make playlists, stay organized.
Your computer screen is a high-definition display. Miro gives you access to more free HD content than any other video player. Sit back and watch gorgeous HD video fullscreen.
Subscribe to any video RSS feed, podcast, or video blog. Explore and subscribe to over 2,500 free channels with the built-in Miro Guide. New channels added daily.
Download and save videos from YouTube, Google Video, Dailymotion, and more. You can even save a search term and automatically get new videos as they are posted.
"Free and open-source, because open media matters."
Get it here: http://www.getmiro.com
Miro ROCK'S under LINUX! And, yes there is a Windows Version...
Play virtually any type of video file - Quicktime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, XVID, and more. Browse your collection, make playlists, stay organized.
Your computer screen is a high-definition display. Miro gives you access to more free HD content than any other video player. Sit back and watch gorgeous HD video fullscreen.
Subscribe to any video RSS feed, podcast, or video blog. Explore and subscribe to over 2,500 free channels with the built-in Miro Guide. New channels added daily.
Download and save videos from YouTube, Google Video, Dailymotion, and more. You can even save a search term and automatically get new videos as they are posted.
"Free and open-source, because open media matters."
Get it here: http://www.getmiro.com
Lunar Eclipse: This Wednesday..
A total eclipse of the Moon will occur this Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event will be visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia (on Feb. 21). During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray.
Details at NASA's Website :
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html
A total eclipse of the Moon will occur this Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire event will be visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia (on Feb. 21). During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray.
Details at NASA's Website :
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html
Friday, February 15, 2008
How to recover your boot password under Linux
you can recover using the following steps
Turn on computer
Press ESC at the grub prompt
Press e for edit
Highlight the line that begins kernel ………, press e
Go to the very end of the line, add rw init=/bin/bash
press enter, then press b to boot your system.
The system will boot up to a password-less root shell
Type in passwd username
Set your password
Type in reboot
That's it.... It's fixed...
you can recover using the following steps
Turn on computer
Press ESC at the grub prompt
Press e for edit
Highlight the line that begins kernel ………, press e
Go to the very end of the line, add rw init=/bin/bash
press enter, then press b to boot your system.
The system will boot up to a password-less root shell
Type in passwd username
Set your password
Type in reboot
That's it.... It's fixed...
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Google intros Team Apps edition to bypass the IT department..
Google released a new edition of its hosted applications suite that end-users can bring into the workplace without the involvement of their IT department.
The new release, called Google Apps Team Edition, is available for free. It is aimed at employees who are interested in using Google Apps but whose employers haven't signed up for it.
So far, more than 500,000 mostly small organizations have signed up for Google Apps, but the other versions -- Standard, Education, Partner and Premier -- require IT to implement the suite because its services are linked to an organization's Internet domain.
Once signed up with Team Edition, people can see who else in their organization's Internet domain is also a user, and invite those who aren't.
Read more here:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/020708-google-intros-apps-edition-to.html
Check it out here:
http://www.google.com/apps/business/index.html
Google released a new edition of its hosted applications suite that end-users can bring into the workplace without the involvement of their IT department.
The new release, called Google Apps Team Edition, is available for free. It is aimed at employees who are interested in using Google Apps but whose employers haven't signed up for it.
So far, more than 500,000 mostly small organizations have signed up for Google Apps, but the other versions -- Standard, Education, Partner and Premier -- require IT to implement the suite because its services are linked to an organization's Internet domain.
Once signed up with Team Edition, people can see who else in their organization's Internet domain is also a user, and invite those who aren't.
Read more here:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/020708-google-intros-apps-edition-to.html
Check it out here:
http://www.google.com/apps/business/index.html
Monday, February 11, 2008
Firefox: a toolbar trinity.
Firefox rocks because it acts like a Lego set -- you have your base module, and then you can stick extensions on it. Some of the most obvious extensions are toolbars. Unlike the embedded-application extensions like Chatzilla or FireFTP, toolbars actually modify your interface.
A toolbar can contain search engine interfaces, bookmarks, RSS feeds, or extra tools for managing content. A lot of toolbars are very specialized -- tools for multimedia producers, musicians, and even Mormon theology students. Here are three more general toolbars that any net junkie will find useful.
Read more here: http://www.linux.com/feature/126291
Firefox rocks because it acts like a Lego set -- you have your base module, and then you can stick extensions on it. Some of the most obvious extensions are toolbars. Unlike the embedded-application extensions like Chatzilla or FireFTP, toolbars actually modify your interface.
A toolbar can contain search engine interfaces, bookmarks, RSS feeds, or extra tools for managing content. A lot of toolbars are very specialized -- tools for multimedia producers, musicians, and even Mormon theology students. Here are three more general toolbars that any net junkie will find useful.
Read more here: http://www.linux.com/feature/126291
Friday, February 08, 2008
10 secrets you should know about being in IT...
10.) The pay in IT is good compared to many other professions, but since they pay you well, they often think they own you...
9.) It will be your fault when users make mistakes...
8.) You will go from hero to zero multiple times within any given day...
7.) Certifications won't always help you become a better IT person, but they can help you land better pay...
6.) Your nontechnical co-workers, friends and family will use you as their own personal technical support pee-on for their home and business systems...
5.) Most vendors will take all the credit when things work well and then blame you when things screw up...
4.) You'll spend far more time babysitting old technologies (can you say XP) than implementing new ones (can you say Linux)...
3.) Veteran IT (Old Warhorse) professionals are often the biggest roadblock to implementing new technologies (can you say XP again)...
2.) Some IT professionals deploy technologies that do more to consolidate their own power than to help the business (not me)...
1.) IT frequently use jargon to confuse nontechnical business people to hide the fact that they screwed up (can you say not me again)...
10.) The pay in IT is good compared to many other professions, but since they pay you well, they often think they own you...
9.) It will be your fault when users make mistakes...
8.) You will go from hero to zero multiple times within any given day...
7.) Certifications won't always help you become a better IT person, but they can help you land better pay...
6.) Your nontechnical co-workers, friends and family will use you as their own personal technical support pee-on for their home and business systems...
5.) Most vendors will take all the credit when things work well and then blame you when things screw up...
4.) You'll spend far more time babysitting old technologies (can you say XP) than implementing new ones (can you say Linux)...
3.) Veteran IT (Old Warhorse) professionals are often the biggest roadblock to implementing new technologies (can you say XP again)...
2.) Some IT professionals deploy technologies that do more to consolidate their own power than to help the business (not me)...
1.) IT frequently use jargon to confuse nontechnical business people to hide the fact that they screwed up (can you say not me again)...
Friday, February 01, 2008
A few stories about the Microsoft embrace and extend Yahoo nightmare..
Euro lawyers see tortuous road ahead for Microsoft's Yahoo! bid..
Microsoft is likely to face a torrid time from European regulators before it can even think of closing its proposed takeover of Yahoo!. A leading UK competition lawyer told the Reg today: "Any big Microsoft acquisition is likely to be looked at very carefully, especially if it is in an area where they have been complaining about their rivals - I wonder if there is anything in the documents Microsoft filed in its complaint to the EU about Google which they are now regretting."
Read more about here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/01/ms_yahoo_competition
Yahoo! buy would give Microsoft ownership of open source e-mail & projects. Ugh.
Let’s forget about search for a moment, and Microsoft’s obvious need to buy a leading online company or face extinction. Microsoft’s proposed $45 billion buy of Yahoo would give the Redmond, Wash company control over a top open source e-mail company, open source projects and an open source infrastructure. On September 17 of 2007, Yahoo bought Zimbra for $350 million. Yahoo’s infrastructure is built on BSD. Yahoo has released a myriad of software to the open source community and even sponsors some open source projects. So this deal would put Microsoft directly into the open source software business.
Read more about here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=1962
Will The Open Source World Welcome Microsoft-Yahoo Combo?
Microsoft has confirmed that it’s seeking to acquire Yahoo! Some folks — you know, the open source crowd — will likely bash a proposed Microsoft-Yahoo combo. The VAR Guy, however, is willing to give Microsoft a chance to explain the proposed business combo. Here’s why. First, a little background. Search engine giants like Google and Yahoo rely heavily on Linux, the LAMP stack and custom open source projects. And Microsoft has been trying to re-invent the LAMP stack with WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, and related tools), notes Mary Jo Foley’s Microsoft Watch blog.
Read more about here:
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/02/01/will-open-source-world-welcome-microsoft-yahoo-combo
Zimbra Proponents Fear Microsoft-Yahoo Combo
When Yahoo acquired Zimbra in September 2007, some Zimbra backers worried Yahoo would mismanage the open source email asset. Fast forward to the present, and some Zimbra proponents have gone from concern to outright panic over Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo (and, by attachment, Zimbra).
Read more about here:
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/02/01/zimbra-proponents-fear-microsoft-yahoo-combo
Our only hope is that the EU will kill this deal.....
Euro lawyers see tortuous road ahead for Microsoft's Yahoo! bid..
Microsoft is likely to face a torrid time from European regulators before it can even think of closing its proposed takeover of Yahoo!. A leading UK competition lawyer told the Reg today: "Any big Microsoft acquisition is likely to be looked at very carefully, especially if it is in an area where they have been complaining about their rivals - I wonder if there is anything in the documents Microsoft filed in its complaint to the EU about Google which they are now regretting."
Read more about here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/01/ms_yahoo_competition
Yahoo! buy would give Microsoft ownership of open source e-mail & projects. Ugh.
Let’s forget about search for a moment, and Microsoft’s obvious need to buy a leading online company or face extinction. Microsoft’s proposed $45 billion buy of Yahoo would give the Redmond, Wash company control over a top open source e-mail company, open source projects and an open source infrastructure. On September 17 of 2007, Yahoo bought Zimbra for $350 million. Yahoo’s infrastructure is built on BSD. Yahoo has released a myriad of software to the open source community and even sponsors some open source projects. So this deal would put Microsoft directly into the open source software business.
Read more about here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=1962
Will The Open Source World Welcome Microsoft-Yahoo Combo?
Microsoft has confirmed that it’s seeking to acquire Yahoo! Some folks — you know, the open source crowd — will likely bash a proposed Microsoft-Yahoo combo. The VAR Guy, however, is willing to give Microsoft a chance to explain the proposed business combo. Here’s why. First, a little background. Search engine giants like Google and Yahoo rely heavily on Linux, the LAMP stack and custom open source projects. And Microsoft has been trying to re-invent the LAMP stack with WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, and related tools), notes Mary Jo Foley’s Microsoft Watch blog.
Read more about here:
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/02/01/will-open-source-world-welcome-microsoft-yahoo-combo
Zimbra Proponents Fear Microsoft-Yahoo Combo
When Yahoo acquired Zimbra in September 2007, some Zimbra backers worried Yahoo would mismanage the open source email asset. Fast forward to the present, and some Zimbra proponents have gone from concern to outright panic over Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo (and, by attachment, Zimbra).
Read more about here:
http://www.thevarguy.com/2008/02/01/zimbra-proponents-fear-microsoft-yahoo-combo
Our only hope is that the EU will kill this deal.....
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