Saturday, March 26, 2011

VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

Google Picasa Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Highly critical
Impact : System access
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: Google Picasa 3.x

Description:
A vulnerability has been reported in Google Picasa, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system.

The vulnerability is caused due to the application loading libraries in an insecure manner. This can be exploited to load arbitrary libraries by tricking a user into e.g. opening certain files located on a remote WebDAV or SMB share via the "Locate on Disk" functionality.

Successful exploitation may allow the execution of arbitrary code.

Solution:
Update to version 3.8.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Makoto Shiotsuki via JPCERT/CC.

Original Advisory:
JVN#99977321:
http://jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN99977321/index.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/43853/

Reply 1 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Highly critical
Impact : System access
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: Google Chrome 10.x

Description:
Some vulnerabilities have been reported in Google Chrome, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system.

1) An unspecified buffer error exists in the handling of base strings.

2) A use-after-free error exists within the frame loader.

3) A use-after-free error exists within HTMLCollection.

4) An error when handling CSS can lead to a stale pointer.

5) An error when handling broken node parentage can be exploited to corrupt the DOM tree.

6) An error within the handling of SVG text can lead to a stale pointer.

The vulnerabilities are reported in versions prior to 10.0.648.204.

Solution:
Update to version 10.0.648.204.

Provided and/or discovered by:
The vendor credits:
1) Alex Turpin.
2) Slawomir Blazek.
3-6) Sergey Glazunov.

Original Advisory:
http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.com/2011/03/stable-channel-update.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/43859/

Reply 2 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Exposure of sensitive information
DoS
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Unpatched

Software: Python 2.6.x
Python 2.7.x

Description:
A security issue has been reported in Python, which can be exploited by malicious people to disclose potentially sensitive information or cause a DoS (Denial of Service).

The security issue is caused due to the urllib/urlib2 redirect handling allowing "file://" URL schemes, which can be exploited to e.g. disclose potentially sensitive information or cause a high resource consumption by returning specially crafted HTTP redirect responses to a Python application using the urllib or urllib2 module.

Solution:
Restrict "file://" URL schemes using a firewall with filtering capabilities.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Reported to the vendor by an unknown person.

Original Advisory:
Python Bug #11662:
http://bugs.python.org/issue11662

http://secunia.com/advisories/43831/

Reply 3 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Exposure of sensitive information
DoS
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Unpatched

Software: Python 3.x

Description:
A security issue has been reported in Python, which can be exploited by malicious people to disclose potentially sensitive information or cause a DoS (Denial of Service).

The security issue is caused due to the urllib.request redirect handling allowing "file://" URL schemes, which can be exploited to e.g. disclose potentially sensitive information or cause a high resource consumption by returning specially crafted HTTP redirect responses to a Python application using the urllib.request module.

Solution:
Restrict "file://" URL schemes using a firewall with filtering capabilities.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Reported to the vendor by an unknown person.

Original Advisory:
Python Bug #11662:
http://bugs.python.org/issue11662

http://secunia.com/advisories/43883/

Reply 4 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Less critical
Impact : DoS
Where : From local network
Solution Status : Unpatched

Software: Avaya IP Office Manager 8.x

Description:
A vulnerability has been discovered in Avaya IP Office Manager, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service).

The vulnerability is caused due to an error when processing TFTP requests and can be exploited to cause the service to terminate via a specially crafted packet.

Successful exploitation requires the Manager application to be running.

The vulnerability is confirmed in version 8.1 (5). Other versions may also be affected.

Solution:
Restrict access to trusted hosts only (e.g. via MAC-based network access control lists).

Provided and/or discovered by:
Craig Freyman

http://secunia.com/advisories/43819/

Reply 5 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

Linux Kernel "iriap_getvaluebyclass_indication()" Buffer Overflows

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Less critical
Impact : DoS
System access
Where : From local network
Solution Status : Unpatched

Operating System: Linux Kernel 2.6.x

Description:
Two vulnerabilities have been reported in the Linux Kernel, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service) and potentially compromise a vulnerable system.

The vulnerabilities are caused due to boundary errors within the "iriap_getvaluebyclass_indication()" function in net/irda/iriap.c, which can be exploited to cause stack-based buffer overflows via overly long names or attributes.

Solution:
Do not use IrDA to interface with untrusted devices.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Dan Rosenberg

Original Advisory:
http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.network/190145

http://secunia.com/advisories/43841/

Reply 6 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

SyndeoCMS Cross-Site Scripting and SQL Injection Vulnerabilities

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Moderately critical
Impact : Cross Site Scripting
Manipulation of data
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Unpatched

Software: SyndeoCMS 2.x

Description:
Some vulnerabilities have been discovered in SyndeoCMS, which can be exploited by malicious people to conduct cross-site scripting and SQL injection attacks.

1) Input passed to the "speed" parameter in starnet/addons/scroll_page.php is not properly sanitised before being returned to the user. This can be exploited to execute arbitrary HTML and script code in a user's browser session in context of an affected site.

2) Input passed to the "loc_id" parameter in starnet/addons/page_slideshow.php and in starnet/addons/tv.php is not properly sanitised before being returned to the user. This can be exploited to execute arbitrary HTML and script code in a user's browser session in context of an affected site.

3) Input passed to the "user_username" parameter in index.php (when "option" is set to "userlogin" or "save_new_password") is not properly sanitised before being used in a SQL query. This can be exploited to manipulate SQL queries by injecting arbitrary SQL code and e.g. log-in as an arbitrary user.

The vulnerabilities are confirmed in version 2.9.0. Other versions may also be affected.

Solution:
Edit the source code to ensure that input is properly sanitised.

Provided and/or discovered by:
High-Tech Bridge SA.

Original Advisory:
High-Tech Bridge SA:
http://www.htbridge.ch/advisory/multiple_xss_vulnerabilities_in_syndeocms.html
http://www.htbridge.ch/advisory/sql_injection_in_syndeocms.html
http://www.htbridge.ch/advisory/xss_in_syndeocms.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/43834/

Reply 7 : VULNERABILITIES / FIXES - March 25, 2011

Release Date : 2011-03-25

Criticality level : Less critical
Impact : Cross Site Scripting
Where : From remote
Solution Status : Vendor Patch

Software: netjukebox 5.x

Description:
AutoSec Tools has discovered a vulnerability in netjukebox, which can be exploited by malicious people to conduct cross-site scripting attacks.

Input passed to the "skin" parameter in message.php is not properly sanitised before being returned to the user. This can be exploited to execute arbitrary HTML and script code in a user's browser session in context of an affected site.

The vulnerability is confirmed in version 5.25.4. Prior versions may also be affected.

Solution:
Update to version 5.26.

Provided and/or discovered by:
AutoSec Tools

Original Advisory:
http://www.autosectools.com/Advisories/netjukebox.5.25_Reflected.Cross-site.Scripting_140.html

http://secunia.com/advisories/43868/

My downloads will not complete!!

I am having a problem today with downloads, using Chrome.



I download a file and it gets to 100% (i.e 34.4Mb of 34.4Mb 0 Sec remaining), and just sits there!



I have tried cleaning all my Temporary Internet files, caches, etc.



I have even went from Stable to Beta Chrome to see if that solves the problem?



AHHHHH Opera is doing it too!



Must be something else!! I have Windows 7 x64 SP1, running NOD32 Antivirus and Comodo Firewall!



This is driving me crazy!



Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this and how I can diagnose / fix it?



Stew

Reply 1 : My downloads will not complete!!

Could be some problem with the scan it's presumably calling from the AV software?



Try reinstalling NOD32.

Reply 2 : My downloads will not complete!!

Hmm...does this only happen with Google Chrome? Have you tried other browsers?

Reply 3 : My downloads will not complete!!


Quote:








Originally Posted by Vergil_Sparda
View Post

Hmm...does this only happen with Google Chrome? Have you tried other browsers?



Have you read his post?

Reply 4 : My downloads will not complete!!

Oh sorry, I didn't see opera. If reinstalling NOD32 still does this, maybe you should try a different AV.

Reply 5 : My downloads will not complete!!

How long have you waited? I had that happen a couple of times with MSE on Vista 32Bit, but after a little while sitting like that the download completed fine.



What could be happening is, that the download speed drops extremely for some reason.

Maybe monitor your bandwidth while you download. You know Task Manger can display how much you are receiving/sending?

Reply 6 : My downloads will not complete!!

Come to think of it, I have experienced this downloading problem with Google Chrome. I'm not too sure about Opera but it does not happen on Firefox. Do you have any other browsers aside from Chrome and Opera?

Reply 7 : My downloads will not complete!!

I just tried the same file in FireFox and Chrome - in Chrome, it took about 15 Minutes to go from 100% to actually complete?



I am still waiting on firefox to finish, but it has said "A few seconds remaining" for the past 5 minutes.



It just seems to be .zip and .exe files that seem to be affected?



Thanks



Stew

Reply 8 : My downloads will not complete!!

Happens to me with .zip and .exe files too. Are you sure the link you downloaded it from is 100% ok? It usually happens to me when the link has gone bad. File seems corrupted and won't finish. Maybe you could try looking for some other source for what you're downloading?

Reply 9 : My downloads will not complete!!

Strange. I have encountered the "100%" complete yet it never actually finishes scenario, but not recently. Firefox usually names partially downloaded files with *.part extensions - close the web browser and rename that file with the correct extension and it might work.

Satellite Pro L650-1CH Motorboating/BSOD

Hey guys, I have an issue with my notebook (mentioned in the title), namely, occasionally it hangs up for a second or a half, and makes a sort of motorboating sound. Usually, it's not much of an issue, although I believe it is related to my second problem; I haven't encountered it with any other videos or flash content, but whenever I try to watch the video on main page on Charlie Sheen Official Website | Home, my computer at first starts playing the sound with the video still loading, then turns to a black screen for a moment (sometimes with a similar motorboating sound), and goes back to normal (although some graphical glitches occur both in the browser and other programs running in the background, which usually go away after minimising and maximising), giving me a message:



The sound keeps playing through most of this, although after the initial black screen, it just turns into green box (all the movie controls such as play or pause are still there though) and the sound works fine. When try playing the video in Safe Mode with Networking, it works just fine.



Afterwards, if I try running the video again (or any other flash-based content) it just gives me a BSOD, then restarts.



Help would be appreciated, and NO, this is not a joke topic, it just happens that it's the only video which causes such errors

Reply 1 : Satellite Pro L650-1CH Motorboating/BSOD

Maybe download the latest drivers from Ati and see if it solves the problem.



AMD Graphics Drivers & Software ? Download the latest drivers for your graphics products

Friday, March 25, 2011

Best portable keyboard needed

Hi guys! I need a nice lightweight portable keyboard to use with my g53.. I usually connect my laptop with the tv and so dont wanna be sitting near my laptop all the time.. Budget 30-40usd thanks for your replies

Reply 1 : Best portable keyboard needed

Try to look for a bluetooth keyboard for max range

Reply 2 : Best portable keyboard needed

Do you want a touch bad or a trackball or both? I personally like the Logitech diNovo Mini but I couldn't afford it so I went with a Rii that works pretty well too.

Reply 3 : Best portable keyboard needed


Quote:








Originally Posted by gamingfanz
View Post

Do you want a touch bad or a trackball or both? I personally like the Logitech diNovo Mini but I couldn't afford it so I went with a Rii that works pretty well too.



Get this



Lenovo's Paddle-shaped Mini HTPC Keyboard with Trackball

Reply 4 : Best portable keyboard needed

Lenovo Support - TrackPoint USB Keyboard - Overview this.



Variants... http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index...id/0/id/222140 quite a few. It's the same really.



There are a few on eBay always. Search for ibm space saver.

Reply 5 : Best portable keyboard needed

Thanks for the input guys! But i use the tv to play games and the htpc mini keyboard is too small.. Basically i need a portable/foldable lightweight keyboard.. Touchpad or trackball is a plus though not essential.. I like the lenovo will take a look at it!

Hard Drive that will work with XP

I have been looking at the reviews of hard drives, and many of them have reports from people saying that they can't use it with XP. I have Windows 7 Pro on my current hard drive, and need to run the Virtual XP mode for work, and it's just not working out very well due to the multiple applications that I have to run. I read that if I was to install a second hard drive, and install XP on it, that I could set it up so that when I boot up my PC, it will ask me which OS I want to use, or which drive.

Can anyone reccomend a hard drive, internal or external, that would be capable of running XP on it? I need a SATA II with at least 250GB on it. My PC is a Gateway DX4831/Intel Core I5/3.2GHz/8GB RAM/64 bit.

Thanks!

strange problem while gaming

Hi guys,



first my specs



720 processor

8gb of ram

260 card

microsoft wireless mouse 5000

Stealth mode OFF

latest drivers from dell



I tried 2 different games and got the same problem. One was CoD:black ops and the other was Americas Army. I was getting what seemed to be excessive lag just in the menu areas. I would almost describe it as mouse lag. Here is what I tried



Loaded the game (mouse receiver plugged into a USB hub) ran like poop

closed the game

unplugged the hub and tried the touch pad, ran like poop

closed the game

plugged the mouse receiver into the pc directly and tried again ran like poop.



does anyone have any idea what is going on here?

Reply 1 : strange problem while gaming

Try turning off v sync, it causes mouse lag in the menus in a few games

Reply 2 : strange problem while gaming


Quote:








Originally Posted by Ldmoose
View Post

turn off v sync, it causes mouse lag in the menus in a few games. And make sure stealth mode is off.



i specifically noted that stealth mode was OFF

vsync was off as well

Reply 3 : strange problem while gaming

im sure ur power plugged.....

1 do a powerdrain

2 make sure power plan is on high preformance aswell as CCC is on power play enabled

3 toggle stealth mode on/off

4 check gpu z to see if your card is achieving max settings. either thru game or furmark. And check your temps

Reply 4 : strange problem while gaming


Quote:








Originally Posted by Mexic00ls
View Post

im sure ur power plugged.....

1 do a powerdrain

2 make sure power plan is on high preformance aswell as CCC is on power play enabled

3 toggle stealth mode on/off

4 check gpu z to see if your card is achieving max settings. either thru game or furmark. And check your temps



power plan is on high performance

jesus tapdancing christ. i think saying that in the first GD post and then in the third and now in this one should be enough to satisfy that. i appreciate the people trying to help, but it seems that no one is even reading what is written.

my temps are under control, i don't see anything odd in gpuz and i get a rather high futuremark score.



this seems like mouse lag to me, but i dont have a wired mouse around to test it out. basically its just like what this guy is getting



YouTube - Dead Space - Mouse Lag



and here



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbd9yGTvNIw



and



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_53-E-at-k



and



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWP1rzTRMf4



i will try to take a video of it on my puter.



edit:which benchmarking tool should I use? the last time I did it I was on the phone with the alienware guys and they sent me one. i remember having a score over 10,000.



in the meantime here are some things











and a video of whats happening



View My Video

Reply 5 : strange problem while gaming

Have you updated to the latest bios? Latest drivers?

Reply 6 : strange problem while gaming

Yeah, what Bios do you have?



And about stealth mode... even if you think it's of, sometimes it activates itself for no reason, then you have to tap twice on the speedometer to solve it... that's always worth a try even if you think it's off.



Black Ops has a laggy main menu, I can have constantly 60fps in the game (with vsync on) but only about 30-40 fps in the menu...



For BO also check your config files and make sure multiGPU is disabled and multithreading enabled.

Laptop docking - 120hz monitor

Hey. I've decided on docking my Acer Aspire 5741G with a 120hz LCD monitor.

It has a NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU and a HDMI - 19-pin HDMI Type A output. It doesn't have DVI at all, so monitors like Syncmaster 2233rz won't work. I also looked into LG W2363D, but in a review I found it says it doesn't support 120hz through the HDMI (1.3).

"Also, remember that even though the monitor has HDMI 120 Hz is not enabled from these and you need a dual-link DVI input to run in 120 Hz and get a 3D picture. This also means that you cannot use W2363D as a 3D gaming monitor together with PlayStation 3 - only from a PC."

My GPU is listed as Blu-ray 3D playback on NVIDIA's site, but not under any other category.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-requirements.html

Can I get my laptop running with a 120hz monitor that actually provides 120hz through HDMI?
Can I convert the HDMI into Dual-link DVI? (Which would've made things alot easier)
Does it need to be HDMI 1.4 to get 120hz?
Does my laptop have 1.3 or 1.4 HDMI output?

Thanks in advance!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

my Rift review

Heres my Rift review for you all



Of course this is a MMO and it cant truly be stacked against others in in type for some time but I thought it might be nice to give an overview of the game and some personal opinions based on my many hours played to date.







Rift: Planes of Telara is a MMORPG, where players in small parties, groups, raids or solo adventure to save a world being torn apart by magical rifts that unleash deadly planar invasions, the world of Telara rests at the intersection of several powerful planes of reality, the very forces that make up all existence. The planes form a nexus of energy around Telara, and it is this unrivaled power that first attracted the mighty elemental gods of the Blood Storm.



Led by Regulos, god of Death, the Blood Storm devoured countless worlds in its unending hunger for conquest. But when these baleful gods moved toward Telara, the Blood Storm turned upon itself; each sought not to destroy Telara, but to rule it, and in this mistake the lands where given the time to fight back and call forth fallen heroes of the past to strive to gain control of the balance of the land bringing harmony back to the world.



The rifts themselves can be made up of one of many different unstable elements namely:



* Life, Death, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.











And each brings a unique type of enemy that strives to gain a foothold and then spread out to invade surrounding areas, making a once peaceful town or village a centre of fighting and bloodshed.



The concept works very well and the regularity of the invasions are dependent on the population of the server and area at the time, rewards for closing the Rifts and defeating the commanders vary from a type of currency used to buy specific items, unique items etc.



The joyful thing about these Rifts is you can engage or choose to carry on questing the choice is yours.



Rift has all of the traditional quests and deep story arcs you expect from a fantasy MMO role-playing game and add to that the actual rifts makes for a fun and varied journey, add to that the dungeons that are scattered around the different zones makes for a lot to keep you occupied in-game.



The dungeons themselves vary in difficulty depending on the number you take into the raid, as well as rank specific dungeons that are in the different areas, they are fun and the loot is varied and enough to keep you going back more than once.



There is a tonne of loot In this game and they are level based so you are always looking out for a new piece to complement your toon.



As well as that there are shops galore to buy items from drinks, food, potions, gear, to dyes to change your gear appearance etc etc..as well as that there is an auction house for selling and buying player based gear.







There is also various crafting that you can specialize in and each is unique enough to be less of a grind and complementary enough to want you to focus on all three of your crafting/gathering skills.



Of course there are companions and pets that you can collect as well as mounts to move around with.



There are teleport locations which use gold to travel between, which varies in price depending on locations traveling from and to.



Joining parties is easy and there is also an pop-up join public party allowing you to enter a party when you arrive at a rift or invasion, so all and all the group thing is very well handled in the game.







When you die, you can Soul-walk once every hour and other than that take rebirth at a resurrection temple, each time you die you lose stamina and at some point you will have to visit a healer and pay to have it restored to 100%.



As well as that you can use a soul recall function to tele from anywhere to a bound soul location and this feature has a 1hr cool-down time.



Now down to the fractions in the game, when you start out you can choose either Guardian or Defiant. Each race will offer players its own set of advantages and disadvantages during gameplay.



On the Guardian side of things the three races you can choose from are:



High elves, Mathosian and Dwarves



And on the Defiant side:



Bahmi, Eth and Kelari



Within each of the fractions you can also choose from one of 4 different classes and then again each class has specific sub-classes which you can focus on:



Warrior

Weapons, tactics, and combat are the mainstays of a Warriors life.

The Warrior classes are: Champion, reaver, paladin, warlord, paragon, riftblade, void knight.



Cleric

Clerics are renowned for their powerful support magic, able to repair the most grievous injuries or cure the deadliest diseases.

The cleric classes are: purifier, inquisitor, sentinel, justicar, shaman, warden, and druid.



Rogue

Rogues are most at home skulking around the edges of battle, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with overwhelming force and minimal chance of counterstrike

The rogue classes are: Nightblade, ranger, blade dancer, assassin, riftstalker, marksman, and saboteur.



Mage

Devastating long-range combatants, the arcane powers Mages wield can tear through any opponent, regardless of armor

The mage classes are: elementalist, warlock, pyromancer, stormcaller, archon, necromancer, and dominator.



Now when the fun starts you can choose 3 sub-classes for each class and then spend points within those skill-trees as you level up you can also create more jobs which allow you to switch out souls to change from say a warrior DPS to a warrior tank, you can apply this method to four different soul-specs so the options are nearly limitless with-in the given class.











As well as the normal quest lines there are also guild specific quests which allow you to rank up and give perks to all guild members, for example extra gold looted from enemiesits these little things that make me enjoy the game all that much more.



battles are full and can get very challenging as you level-up....



There are artefacts to collect, achievements, notoriety and a whole bunch of other quirky things to keep you running madly around







So anyway, how can I review a full MMO experience, better to finish up here and let you enjoy it yourselves



The graphics are very good, with lovely effects and lighting as well as detailed and varied zones which range from lush green Elvin forests, mountain ranges etc etc







Sound effects are good and the music is also very good, voice acting is ok.

There are plenty of servers and heaps of people playing them, making for an enjoyable time.

I came from FFXIV so i guess this is really my first MMO I cant and wont compare it to any others but im having a blast with the game, its a heap of fun and to date is jam-packed with things to do.

Im running the game on an Alienware M17x with ultra-settings and shadows turned off and get around 45 FPS.



Minimum specs required:

OS: Windows XP, Vista or 7

Processor: Dual Core 2.0 GHz or better

Memory: 2 GB

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce FX 5900, ATI/AMD Radeon X300, Intel GMA X4500 or better.

DirectX: 9.0c, June 2010 update

Hard Drive: 15.0 GB available

Sound: DirectX 8.1 compliant card

Other: Broadband internet connection (DSL, cable modem or other high speed connection)



Recommended:

OS: Windows XP, Vista or 7

Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or better

Memory: 4 GB

Desktop Graphics: Nvidia GTS 250 or better

Notebook Graphics: Nvidia GTX 200M series or better

DirectX: 9.0c, June 2010 update

Hard Drive: 15.0 GB available

Sound: DirectX 8.1 compliant card

Other: Broadband internet connection (DSL, cable modem or other high speed connection)



well sorry if i missed a lot out, its a huge game and i was only trying to give a general idea of the game, i did seem to get carried away....sorry about that...



again if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Reply 1 : my Rift review

Excellent review +1 !

Reply 2 : my Rift review

Great review! I am thoroughly enjoying the game myself

Reply 3 : my Rift review

Rift is the only other MMO I've truly enjoyed since WoW.

Reply 4 : my Rift review

Rift is an ok game, but seems like too much of a watered down WoW with ok graphics and some bugs. My experience is mostly limited to the beta. It might get better.

Reply 5 : my Rift review

not really sure what that has to do with the game but anyway i have to disagree with you, my experience with creating an account and billing information has been great, they have informed me along the way, and when i changed my billing information i received an email straight away informing me of the change.



so im sorry you have had a bad experience, but in all honesty the only part that i find helpful to this thread is "I played the beta, but really hated the game" as its a game review not an account review

Reply 6 : my Rift review

yeap and i understand your frustration, but i was trying to keep this as a game topic/review rather than get into the other aspects of a company business, so i wasn't trying to sound disrespectful to you or your situation, just wanted to stay on topic.......



i doesn't bother me you stating your dislike/reasons for not liking the game, but i think the other aspect of you original comments may not have a place in this thread.....



thanks and hope you get it sorted soon.

Reply 7 : my Rift review

I'm I missing something? All i can find is a description of the game...



edit:

O found it... the review is the few lines above the sys requirements (i think)

Reply 8 : my Rift review

nice review! i skimmed through it just now, and will definitely read it more thoroughly in a bit.

Reply 9 : my Rift review

Nice Review, I like Rift. Have played all the rest, Rift seems to be the next step in MMO's. Hardly any issues at launch, that tells you something about the people behind it.

Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

So, windows update... won't. And the repair tool they have delivered didn't work either. So next thing up is a re-install.





I don't have nearly enough space on my external hard drive to back everything up that I have on my m11x, so I want to do a repair install of the Windows 7 so I can get the service pack and other updates.



So... how can I?



If I get an ISO of Windows 7 w/ SP1 from a friend or something, can I use daemon tools to run it from Windows 7 itself to do a repair? Or will it move everything to windows.old and try a fresh install?



I don't want to do anything that will cause me more of a headache, and I REALLY don't want to have to do a clean install during midterm crazy-week. Or at all during this semester, really.





Edit:

I also found a guide on google with this: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...r-install.html



but I'm not sure if it applies, because to find a version that is the same/newer (IE With SP1) I don't know if I can use the key that's on the bottom of my M11x...



So can anybody give me some pointers? Or is this impossible?

Reply 1 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

I can't get windows update to run either... were you able to fix this?

Reply 2 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

Did you disable any Windows services in 'services.msc' ?

Reply 3 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

I haven't disabled anything... it looks like my m11x isn't able to run updates out of the box...

Reply 4 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?


Quote:








Originally Posted by Jrcampb
View Post

I haven't disabled anything... it looks like my m11x isn't able to run updates out of the box...



Can you be more specific with regard to what is happening? Any exact error messages, etc. would be helpful.

Reply 5 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

It says "checking for updates" for a very very long time and then displays some basic error. I ran the "update tool fixer" and it said it repaired it, but I don't think it actually did and I'm pretty sure it still isn't working.



I started it a minute ago and will wait for it to time out and post the error.





"An error occurred while checking for new updates for your computer. Error(s) found: Code 80072EE2 Windows Update encountered an unknown error. "

Reply 6 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?


Quote:








Originally Posted by Jrcampb
View Post

It says "checking for updates" for a very very long time and then displays some basic error. I ran the "update tool fixer" and it said it repaired it, but I don't think it actually did and I'm pretty sure it still isn't working.



I started it a minute ago and will wait for it to time out and post the error.





"An error occurred while checking for new updates for your computer. Error(s) found: Code 80072EE2 Windows Update encountered an unknown error. "



Its possible you failed an update somewhere. Look in your update log to find out which ones failed and I would suggest manually re-installing them... Also are you plugged in when you are running updates and what type of internet connection are you using? (wireless? how strong is the signal strength?)

Reply 7 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

How would I do it manually?



I thought you could download them online but it just says "GO TO CONTROL PANEL AND DO UPDATES" on the microsoft site.

Reply 8 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

This is often a sign of malware - disabling Windows Updates is often one of the first things they do. Do you see anything out of the ordinary in your C:WindowsSystem32driversetchosts file?

Reply 9 : Unable to do windows update--Repair install help?

I have this issue every time I try to manually update. I have found a solution that works for me every time. When the red error comes up, there is a link on the bottom that says "Check online for updates from Microsoft Update". I click on the link, and it almost immediately shows me the updates and allows me to download them and install them. I don't know why this occurs.



I hope this is helpful for you...

NEWS - March 22, 2011

Industrial Control Systems: security holes galore

It seems that Stuxnet has given many security experts an interest in the potential holes in industrial control and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems. Security specialist Luigi Auriemma, previously mainly known for detecting holes in games and media players, has released a list of 35 vulnerabilities in SCADA products by Siemens Tecnomatix (FactoryLink), Iconics (Genesis 32 and 64), 7-Technologies (IGSS) and DATAC (RealWin).

The expert's list includes the whole spectrum of potential security issues from remote file downloads and unauthorised file uploads to targeted attacks on services via integer, buffer and heap overflows. Some of the holes can probably also be exploited to inject and execute arbitrary code. The Stuxnet worm also exploited holes in WinCC, the successor to FactoryLink, to remotely infiltrate systems and manipulate the connected controls.

Continued : http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Industrial-Control-Systems-security-holes-galore-1212336.html

Also: Dozens of exploits released for popular SCADA programs

Reply 1 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Apple has released the final version of Mac OS X 10.6.7 . This update for Snow Leopard is available to download from Apple's web site and is 475 MB if Mac OS X 10.6.6 has already been installed; the combo update , which includes earlier updates from Mac OS X 10.6, is considerably larger, at 1.12 GB. Apple lists three central points among the new additions: fixes that improve the reliability of the Back to My Mac remote desktop service, that resolve an issue when transferring files to certain SMB servers and that eliminate "various minor" bugs in the Mac App Store ; the latter was introduced with Mac OS X 10.6.6 .

In the software update notes, Apple also recommends the update "for all early 2011 MacBook Pro models". The company says that the update addresses "minor FaceTime performance issues" and improves "graphics stability and external display compatibility". Problems with the new combined DisplayPort/Thunderbolt connector causing display flickering in certain configurations had recently been reported in this context. Some users also reported problems when running their quad-core machines at full load - whether Apple has made changes to resolve these issues has yet to be confirmed.

Continued : http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Apple-releases-Mac-OS-X-10-6-7-update-1212226.html

See Vulnerabilities & Fixes : Apple Mac OS X Multiple Vulnerabilities

Reply 2 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Apple has released MacOS X 10.6.7 with several bugfixes and security-patches. This patch bundle also includes a silent update to Apple's built-in Xprotect anti-virus functionality.

Xprotect
With the release of Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) Apple introduced a basic antivirus protection called ?XProtect". It scans and detect threats when files are downloaded through Safari, Mail, iChat, Firefox and a few more and afterwards executed. The Signature-List is updated via Apples Software Update.

Till now Xprotects database contained signatures for three well-known threats:
- OSX.RSPlug.A: changes local DNS-entries, came through fake video-codecs
- OSX.Iservice: attacks websites (DDoS), came bundled with pirated applications
- OSX.HellRTS: known as HellRaiser, tool which gives the attacker full access ofver the victims system. Version 4.2 public available, version 4.4 sold for 15$ by the creator in underground forums. [Screenshot

New update
The updated signature now includes definitions for "OSX.OpinionSpy". This Trojan came bundled with screensavers and applications hosted on popular download websites for Macs mid of 2010. It is known as Opinion Spy and Premier Opinion. The main aim of the malware is to collect personal data which is sent to various servers. The Trojan runs as root, which means it's capable of doing ?anything" on your computer.

Continued : http://www.securelist.com/en/blog/6141/Apple_s_silent_updates

Reply 3 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Copenhagen, Denmark, Secunia today announced that it has joined the Microsoft System Center Alliance to further support interoperability with System Center Configuration Manager. The Secunia Corporate Software Inspector (CSI) helps System Center Configuration Manager administrators map the entire software inventory and correlate this to vulnerability intelligence to improve visibility into the vulnerability management lifecycle.

"Secunia is delighted to join Microsoft SCA and will continue to develop innovative solutions to utilise and showcase the impressive deployment technologies residing within System Center Configuration Manager. We have received positive feedback from our customers regarding their Secunia CSI solution", states Niels Henrik Rasmussen, CEO & Founder, Secunia.

The Secunia CSI forms part of Secunia's portfolio of Vulnerability Intelligence & Management solutions. It provides highly detailed software inventory which is mapped to program and plug-in vulnerability intelligence, as well as vendor supplied security updates - or 'patches'. The Secunia CSI automatically repackages these security updates and pushes them to System Center Configuration Manager, allowing users to control, manage, and monitor their update deployment using System Center Configuration Manager. The Secunia CSI inspects desktops and server systems to ensure that all updates are applied correctly and all systems are compliant.

Continued : http://secunia.com/company/blog_news/news/196

Reply 4 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Multiple Reg readers were annoyed at receiving junk mail messages on Monday from addresses they had only registered with online retailer Play.com.

Several of these junk mail sites pointed to black hat controlled domains that served up malware, heightening complaints on online forums (discussion on MoneySavingExpert here) and sparking theories that either Play.com had been hacked or its mailing list had been stolen.

Affected users were sure that Play.com must have been associated with the malware touting emails because they used a unique email address when signing up to the site.

We put in a query to Play.com on Monday but are yet to hear back. However, we have received copies of emails sent to customer by Play.com that apologised for the incident and blamed the breach on an (unnamed) third-party marketing firm.

Continued : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/22/play_malware_spam/

Reply 5 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Online retailer Play.com has named its marketing partner Silverpop as the guilty party behind the disclosure of customer names and email addresses.

The breach led to distribution of spam to email addresses only registered with the online retailer on Sunday, a development that led to howls of protest from users.

These emails offered supposed software updates from Adobe but actually linked to sites serving up malware.

The offer of the latest version of Adobe Reader X out of the blue and via email is unlikely to have taken in many, since the ruse was neither timely, subtle nor salacious.

Play.com, which issued an apology to users via email on Tuesday morning, has since come forward with an official statement from chief exec John Perkins (below) that seeks to downplay the significance of the admitted breach. In particular the online retailer stresses that the snafu only affected email details, and not credit card details or other sensitive information.

Continued : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/22/play_blames_marketing_firm_for_spam_snafu/

Also: Data loss at Play.com

Reply 6 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

From Kaspersky Lab Weblog:

Me and Slammer (Helkern) go back a long way...to 25 January 2003 to be precise. It was a baptism of fire for me in my new role as a virus analyst at Kaspersky Lab. It was a weekend and I was alone, in charge of monitoring the incoming flow of suspicious files. I had barely been at the company a month.

On that day the Internet suffered one of the biggest virus epidemics in its history - within the space of just fifteen minutes a worm using a vulnerability in MS SQL Server infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide and knocked out the Internet in South Korea for a few hours.

Those 376 bytes were the implementation of a so-called 'bodyless' virus, which does not write itself to the system but only stays in the operational memory.

That was more than 8 years ago, but Slammer is still hanging around and is constantly among the leaders in our network attack ratings. Millions and billions of malicious packets are sent out each day searching for victims and generating a considerable amount of junk traffic.

Then something strange happened on 9 March 2011. Our automated threat analysis system, Kaspersky Security Network, recorded a significant drop in the number of attacks. We received the data from our IDS (Intrusion Detection System) module which monitors network attacks. The system also determines the source of an attack.

Continued : http://www.securelist.com/en/blog/424/The_decline_and_fall_of_Slammer

Reply 7 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

"Apparent mis-translation by a German newspaper of English-speaking reports on researcher's Amazon EC2-based password-cracking tool led to raid, frozen bank account"

German researcher Thomas Roth got a phone call with some unsettling news the evening before he was to release a new hacking tool in his presentation at Black Hat DC: he had been served with an injunction for allegedly breaking anti-hacker laws in his country and law enforcement would be raiding his apartment back in Germany.

Roth, who had planned to release at the January conference his new open-source tool that uses Amazon's GPU processing services to crack SHA1-based passwords at high speeds, found himself in a legal quagmire that started with a German publication's mis-translation of English-speaking news reports on his research. The German newspaper incorrectly reported that Roth had said he would be turning a profit as a sort of hacker-for-hire. That led to a German telecommunications firm taking legal action against the researcher: "They misunderstood that I was getting money for doing this ... and illegally breaking into networks," says Roth, a researcher and consultant for Lanworks AG.

His bank account was frozen as a result, and Roth spent the past couple of months in a legal battle trying to clear his name and calling out the German newspaper article for its inaccurate translation of his research and the intent of his tool, which he describes as a quick way to brute-force hack weak, easily guessed passwords. ...

Continued @ Dark Reading

Reply 8 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Over the last few years, banks have been rolling out their new, chip-based payment cards which follow the EMV (Eurocard, Mastercard and Visa) standard to improve the security of card-based payment processing.

In theory, the intelligence of a semiconductor chip should be able to defeat many of the card skimming attacks that were possible with the classic magnetic stripe technology of the older chip-less cards.

A brief look at the back side of the new cards reveals, however, that the magnetic stripe is still present. Apparently it is still necessary to maintain backwards-compatibility with card reader devices that don't support the new technology yet.

In 2006, Cambridge researchers showed that the PIN may be grabbed in clear text by an interception device that eavesdrops the communication between a Point Of Sale (POS) terminal and the chip.

Continued : http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/03/22/chip-and-pin-compatibility-leads-to-insecurity/

Reply 9 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

"Study says proliferation of vendors, lack of user awareness are top challenges for security pros"

The sheer complexity of managing the enterprise security environment has become one of the chief obstacles to building a secure environment, according to a study published last week.

An overabundance of vendors and regulatory requirements -- as well as the continuing problem of end user ignorance -- are combining to prevent many large enterprises from building an effective security defense, according to Understanding Security Complexity in 21st Century IT Environments, a new study published by the Ponemon Institute and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

According to the survey of over 2,400 IT security administrators around the world, managing complex security environments is the most significant challenge facing organizations today, with over 55 percent of companies using more than seven different vendors to secure their networks.

"A lot of companies would like to consolidate vendors, but it's easier to get budget if you present a problem and then purchase a single product to solve it," notes Larry Ponemon, founder and CEO of the research firm. "Ironically, consolidation is harder to cost-justify than point solutions, because there is a cost associated with consolidation projects. But having so many vendors can be an administrative nightmare on the back end."

Continued : http://www.darkreading.com/security/security-management/229400023/has-complexity-become-security-s-chief-nemesis.html

Reply 10 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

From the Bkis Global Task Force Blog:

Not long ago, my colleague (Nguyen Hong Quang) wrote an entry about a cyber fraud by Russian hackers . Reading that entry, I supposed hackers would continue to expand this fraud in the coming time. As I expected, recently our HoneyPot has collected numerous virus samples used for such sort scams, but with a completely new scenario and on a much larger scale.

If previously, such malwares fake porn videos, this time, they forge the installer and updater of established software like Adobe Flash player, Firefox. Credulously running the "software", you will notice a warning "Windows license locked" upon your next startup. However, this warning is actually a fake notice created by the malwares. This window emerges right after you log onto the system, and it is set at full screen mode, which debars you from closing or switching to other windows, including Windows' task manager. Your computer then no longer can be used. [Screenshot: Warning windows set at Top mode, unable to close]

Still threatening words in the window: "Windows license locked? system reinstallation may lead to the loss of personal data", but this menace is unreal. Such warning, if previously is merely in Russian, this time it appears in various languages, showing hackers' increasing "ambition".

After "threatening" words is the instruction how to escape the trouble, in return for money. This time, the prank fakes Microsoft's Windows Activation by phone: [Screenshot]

In this window, hacker provides quite detailed instructions from how to make a call from home phone, from mobile phone to how to enter the code correctly with a view to fool users more easily.

Curious about this system, I turn myself a prey, making a call. After a while trying all the numbers provided, finally, I managed to connect to a number with Danish country code. I heard a female voice from the switchboard:

Continued : http://blog.bkis.com/en/ransomeware-faking-microsoft-to-blackmail-users/

Reply 11 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

"Music and film groups in talks with broadband providers over code that would bar access to sites such as The Pirate Bay"

Rights holders from across the music and film industries have identified about 100 websites - including The Pirate Bay and "cyberlocker" sites - that they want internet service providers such as BT to block under new measures to tackle illegal filesharing.

Under a voluntary code that is under discussion, content owners would pass evidence of illegal filesharing sites to ISPs, which would then take action against those sites.

However, the proposals are fraught with complications. ISPs are understood to be open to the idea of cutting off access to some infringing sites, but argue that an impartial judge should decide which get blocked. It is also unclear whether content owners or ISPs would be liable to pay compensation to a site that argues that it has been unfairly censored.

The communications minister, Ed Vaizey, is leading a series of talks with rights holders and ISPs, including BT and TalkTalk, aimed at developing voluntary code on internet policy, including site blocking.

Continued : http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/22/isps-urged-to-block-filesharing-sites

Also:
100 Domains On Movie and Music Industry Website Blocking Wishlist
UK ISPs in talks to block The Pirate Bay and other filesharing sites

Reply 12 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Leicester City Council has become the latest organisation to tell to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that it has lost a USB stick containing sensitive personal data.

The drive appears to have contained not only the personal records of 4,000 elderly and vulnerable people in the city but, worse still, the codes to 2,000 small safe boxes on the outside of social housing used to store building keys.

In the light of the immediate security risk, the council is now in the process of changing the codes to counter the possibility that these might fall into the wrong hands.

Exactly what has happened to the drive remains a mystery. The drive reportedly never left the council offices and staff are said to be still hunting for it. Normally used as a backup drive and stored in a safe after use each night, the drive was last seen on Friday 4 March and reported as missing the following Tuesday.

A key issue will be whether the data on the drive was encrypted. A statement by a council spokesperson implied that it had been but this has yet to be confirmed.

Continued : http://www.csoonline.com/article/677785/council-loses-usb-stick-used-to-store-security-codes

Reply 13 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

A former high school senior from Orange County, California, has pleaded guilty to charges that he installed spyware on school computers in order to boost his grades.

Omar Kahan, of Coto de Caza, California, was one of two Tesoro High School students arrested three years ago in connection with the incident. The other student, Tanvir Singh, pleaded guilty in September 2008. Khan's guilty plea came as his trial was finally set to start this week.

Prosecutors say that in his senior year of high school, Khan developed a habit of breaking into school offices to steal tests and mess with the school's computers. He "installed spyware devices on the computers of several teachers and school administrators throughout his senior year," the office of the Orange County District Attorney said in a news release.

These passwords gave him access to the tests and the ability to boost his grades. Khan changed his Spanish, calculus and English grades from C's and D's to A's and a B+ and altered the grades of 12 other students, prosecutors said.

Continued : http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9214898/Student_used_spyware_to_steal_passwords_change_grades

Reply 14 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Second-hand mobile phones sold on by their owners often contain extensive personal and sensitive data that leave sellers open to identity theft and other privacy risks.

Pre-owned mobile phones and SIM cards purchased on eBay or from shops were checked using readily available equipment to see what personal information was left on the handsets. Around half the handsets and chips examined by ethical hacker Jason Hart still held sensitive information.

Hart was able to recover all sorts of interesting nuggets using a mobile phone SIM Reader (something that can be bought from most electric stores), SIM recovery software and forensic examination software.

A total of 247 pieces of data were recovered from a total 19 of the 35 mobile phones and 27 of the 50 SIM cards. Data left on these handsets and communication devices included many photos (including pornographic images), bank details, login details for social networking sites and PIN numbers as well as private texts and emails.

Continued : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/22/sensitive_data_ebayed_mobiles/

Reply 15 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

The developers at Mozilla have released the final version of Firefox 4 after over eight months in beta. The new version boasts a streamlined user interface and support for various HTML5 features. Other new features include Panorama, a new way to manage multiple tabs; app tabs, smaller persistent tabs for frequently used web applications; Sync, a web-based bookmarks (and more) synchronisation service; and, an integrated web developer console.

Under the hood, Firefox 4 includes JaegerMonkey, a faster JavaScript engine; hardware accelerated rendering and a new Add-on SDK which allows for updates without restarting the browser. There are also privacy protection features such as the "Do Not Track" header which is sent to web sites to request that the site does not track the user's activity; this has yet to be implemented by any sites but is part of various proposals to the US authorities to address privacy issues.

For more about Firefox 4, see our feature article "What's new in Firefox 4". Firefox 4 is available to download in over 80 languages and for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Firefox-4-finally-finished-and-freed-1212643.html

Reply 16 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Last week there was widespread media coverage of a successful effort by Microsoft and US Marshals to take down the command and control capabilities of the Rustock botnet. At the time some sources announced a significant drop in spam volumes related to that event. Although X-Force noticed a 35% drop in spam volume on March 16th, spam volumes can fluctuate within a large range on a day to day basis and so this reduction in the volume did not initially appear to be outside of the normal amount of fluctuation that occurs.

Now that several days have passed, this drop seems more significant, as the spam volume has stayed down between 35 and 40% versus its previous average volumes for several consecutive days. It appears that the Rustock takedown likely had a sustained impact on the total volume of spam. It is worth noting, however, that this reduction is only about half as big as the drop that occurred over Christmas, when spammers appeared to have gone on holiday. [Screenshot]

Continued : http://blogs.iss.net/archive/RustockSpam.html

Reply 17 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

Nearly 13 million American adults who use social networks are more than willing to accept friend requests from strangers of the opposite gender, a new survey from Harris Interactive has found.

According to Harris Interactive, 18 percent of men will accept a woman's friend request, even if they do not know the person. About 7 percent of women will accept an unknown man's friend request. A total of 5 percent of U.S. adults will accept every friend request they receive.

Only 50 percent trust that their connections will keep their information private. Yet more than 24 million Americans leave their personal information "mostly public" on social networks.

The results are based on a survey last month of 1,011 Americans 18 and over, including 387 who are on social networks. ID Analytics, a consumer risk-management firm, commissioned the survey, which was released today.

Leaving personal information public and allowing practically anyone to view your profile is a dangerous prospect, Harris Interactive observed. The company said that the basic information found in a social profile can help "build the dossiers [that criminals] need to beat challenge questions and other security measures on financial accounts." It's a sentiment with which ID Analytics agrees.

Continued : http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20045787-17.html

Reply 18 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

The veil surrounding the group Anonymous may be falling, now that a group claiming to have defected from the ranks of the online mischief making group has begun publishing what it claims are the identities of the hacker collective's leadership and their roles in recent high profile hacks, including the theft of e-mail from security firm HBGary Federal.

Late Monday, the group, dubbed Backtrace Security" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Backtrace Security, published a PDF that claimed to identify- or partially identify close to 80 members of Anonymous's leadership by name, and provide mailing addresses, e-mail and social networking accounts for many of those members. The release of the document on the Website, Anonymousdown is the latest in a string of efforts in recent days to poke holes in the wall of anonymity that shields the group's members.

According to the published list, Anonymous's top ranks are made up of some eighty individuals scattered mostly across the U.S., Canada and Western Europe, and as far away as Australia and New Zealand. Some of the identities floated in the list have appeared in print before in connection with the group. For example, the record for 'Kayla,' an Anonymous member who claims to be a teenage girl identifies the user of that 'nick,' or IRC ID, as a New Jersey based hacker Corey Barnhill. That name turned up in a recent Forbes.com profile, as well.

Continued : https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/splinter-group-says-document-outs-anonymous-members-032211

Reply 19 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

To infect a mobile device, the Rootcager/DroidDream Trojan used two known exploits: exploid and rageagainstthecage. If the first one failed to root the device, the malware would attempt to use the second one.

According to researchers from Lookout, another malicious application that uses the exploid exploit has turned up masked as a legitimate calling plan management application on unofficial Chinese app markets.

What's more, a version of the app has also been spotted on the Android Market. But, while the first one contains a binary called zHash that attempts to root a device using the aforementioned exploit, the one found on the official market has the same binary but lacks the code required to invoke the exploit.

Continued : http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1672

Reply 20 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

From the Sunbelt Blog:

Looks like they're starting early with these scams, seeing as Easter isn't until April 24th.

Patrick Jordan came across some dubious links while digging around for printable Easter Cards on .pl domains. These redirect links are lurking at the top of search results, and there seem to be quite a few URLs involved. [Screenshot] [Screenshot]

In the above examples, end-users would hit one of the "it's a trap" landing pages, then be redirected to sites pushing the System Defender rogue. [Screenshot]

Cue Patrick:

"1. Site/url changes almost every 24 to 48 hours.
2. Can make only one run as it then rotates to ad site for 24 hours unless you change your IP.
3. Also, for the last two site/urls they are in the #1 position in the Google results
"

If you accidentally hit one of these scam sites, don't panic and DON'T open up any executable files presented in the middle of an entirely fake system scan. Just close the prompt, leave the site (shut down your browser with CTRL+ALT+DEL if you have to) and walk away - whistling optional.

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/rogue-av-shows-up-in-easter-card.html

Reply 21 : NEWS - March 22, 2011

From the Sunbelt Blog:

Here's a freshly minted scam mail doing the rounds - this time, claiming to be a victim trying to escape Japan and needing a cool $1,600 to do it.

From: jamainelecottATyahoo.com
Subject: Please Help Life, From Jamaine Lecott

Hello Dear Friend

My Name is Jamaine Lecott

i am in hurry writing you this message and i hope you get it on time, there was very hard quake here in my country northeastern coast in japan. It has been a very sad and bad moment for me and my family here, the present condition that we found myself is very hard for me to explain.i want us to be out of the country immediately i am asking for help of ($1,600 ) only to raise our ticket charge and some other expenses to leave here I will appreciate whatever you can afford to assist me and my family so that we can have food and eat to be out of the country i will be very happy for that , we lost every thing we have Please send the money via Western Union money transfer channel because that is the only way we could be able to get the money fast and leave. which country are you transferring the money from please help us with thanks GOD will help you also and bless you...

ADDRESS.NO A14 Tokyo. northeastern coast japan
My Honest Regard,
Jamaine Lecott


Needless to say, you should not get involved in this.

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/help-us-escape-japan-scam-mail.html

Spyware-infected keylogger executable

i just downloaded Revealer Keylog and my norton security blocked a spyware baddie trying to get my computer (D: gasp). i have a screenshot of the norton File Insight (for those of you who dont know, thats like a summary of the virus, like where it came from and such) to prove it, but i cant seem to put it in here. if someone could direct me as to how to put a jpeg on this forum post, i would appreciate it. i just want to notify you of this, thats all.

2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics

I just recieved my Macbook in on Friday, and today I did a few graphics card tests.



OS: Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit.



Idle Temp is 45-50C(CPU) and 57-61C(GPU).

Hotest temp I've seen is in MW2 which is 74C(CPU) and 84C(GPU).



Idle for 30 minutes Temps:





Here's 3dmark06 using the Nvidia drivers(196) that come on the bootcamp DVD:



[IMG][/IMG]



Here's 3dmark06 using the latest Nvidia drivers(260.89):



[IMG][/IMG]



UPDATE 10/17/2010 3dmark06 with latest 260.99 drivers:







Here's the temp's after 45 Minutes in MW2:



[IMG][/IMG]



And now the frames per second(FPS). I played MW2 set to 1280x800 res, no AA, advanced video settings all set to normal. I played around 45 minutes.



[IMG][/IMG]



Just Cause 2. At 1280x800, 2x AA & AF, everything else set to medium-high. The FPS were in the high teens, low 20's.









All right per user request, here is the CoD 5 Temps. The game was set at 1280x800, normal texture's, no AA( when I had AA at 2X, I was getting lag). I was getting between 20 and 30 FPS. I played the first mission.







UPDATE 10/27/2010 MW2 (with latest Nvidia 260.99 drivers) on the highest settings + 2X AA, I was getting in the high teen's low 20's FPS. A few times it dipped to 8 and 9 FPS, but if I turn AA off it doesn't. Here are the temps, I played the first mission:







Screen Shot:















Oh yes and the greatest benchmark of all time, WEI:



[IMG][/IMG]



UPDATE 10/27/2010 WEI with latest 260.99 drivers(not much changed)







Call Of Duty: Black Ops:



Temps after 1 hour:





FPS after 30 minutes (Ok I had it at 1280x800, no AA, no shadows(I heard shutting it off stops some lag), and textures at normal.):





If you have any special request for certain game's, benchmarks, etc, just let me know.



A word on Windows 7 battery life:



In Windows 7, screen dimmed to lowest, backlight off, bluetooth on, surfing the net I get a little over 4 hours.

Reply 1 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics

why does running windows 7 make the laptop hotter than just using snow leopard?

Reply 2 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics


Quote:








Originally Posted by Naix
View Post

why does running windows 7 make the laptop hotter than just using snow leopard?



Snow Leopard's uses less resources, doesn't use the video card or CPU as hard as Windows. I also think Snow Leopard is more optimised for the Macbook. Also the drivers Apple provides are not fully optimized for Windows and Macbook.

Reply 3 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics


Quote:








Originally Posted by tHE j0KER
View Post

Snow Leopard's uses less resources, doesn't use the video card or CPU as hard as Windows. I also think Snow Leopard is more optimised for the Macbook.



fo' sho.



better performance than I expected.

Reply 4 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics

Actually its more that Apple provided terrible drivers for power management. I did a full driver update(intel chipset, GPU, wifi, bluetooth ect) at work on a 13in and gained about 15-20min in battery just from those. I wouldn't be surprised if I played with the power settings in Windows to make up for the drivers Apple provides that I could get 4:30/4:45.



Lets not forget that the same laptops with a smaller battery and 9400m was rated 4hrs only a year or so ago under OS X. Apple how ever never changed really any drivers except the included GPU driver for Bootcamp, so all Windows knows is that the battery is now bigger.



With proper driver support and a good power setting it could easily get 5hrs out of this. Unless Apple has a way of telling the 320m to downclock when not in use, that Windows doesn't have.

Reply 5 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics


Quote:








Originally Posted by altecX
View Post

Actually its more that Apple provided terrible drivers for power management. I did a full driver update(intel chipset, GPU, wifi, bluetooth ect) at work on a 13in and gained about 15-20min in battery just from those. I wouldn't be surprised if I played with the power settings in Windows to make up for the drivers Apple provides that I could get 4:30/4:45.



Lets not forget that the same laptops with a smaller battery and 9400m was rated 4hrs only a year or so ago under OS X. Apple how ever never changed really any drivers except the included GPU driver for Bootcamp, so all Windows knows is that the battery is now bigger.



With proper driver support and a good power setting it could easily get 5hrs out of this. Unless Apple has a way of telling the 320m to downclock when not in use, that Windows doesn't have.



Easily this. When a simple driver update results in a 20 minute extension on battery life you know something is wrong with the driver. More likely than note Apple just did not bother writing their Windows drivers with efficiency in mind.

Reply 6 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics

sweet laptop!

Reply 7 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics

thanks for those numbers. Yeah I've had the 320m for awhile and I LOVE the card, even though it's integrated it feels beastly for a 13" laptop. I'm glad you posted MW2 settings as I feel Black Ops will run about the same so glad to know I can rock some native res and play at a decent 30fps. thanks again y0!

Reply 8 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics


Quote:








Originally Posted by Greg Ross
View Post

Easily this. When a simple driver update results in a 20 minute extension on battery life you know something is wrong with the driver. More likely than note Apple just did not bother writing their Windows drivers with efficiency in mind.



Agreed, but I suspect that Apple deliberately sabotages its own Windows drivers in order to degrade the experience of the MBP with any other OS than their own.

Reply 9 : 2010 Macbook Pro 13 Graphics


Quote:








Originally Posted by Bog
View Post

Agreed, but I suspect that Apple deliberately sabotages its own Windows drivers in order to degrade the experience of the MBP with any other OS than their own.



I don't think it's that they sabotage it so much as refuse to spend a dollar more than is necessary to achieve acceptable performance.

Ipad2 Pics

Got my Ipad in the mail a few days ago and had a photo shoot with it today. Click on the images for bigger versions.







Reply 1 : Ipad2 Pics

My wife got one and has already discarded with the smart cover and gone thru 2 other cases for it until she found an all pink one that she fell in love with

Reply 2 : Ipad2 Pics

Very nice pics. Thanks for including pics of the new cover in various positions.

Reply 3 : Ipad2 Pics

To the OP, how is the backlight bleed issue on yours?

Reply 4 : Ipad2 Pics


Quote:








Originally Posted by ATC
View Post

To the OP, how is the backlight bleed issue on yours?



There is some leak on a black screen and viewing it at an extreme angle.

Reply 5 : Ipad2 Pics


Quote:








Originally Posted by Mandrake
View Post

There is some leak on a black screen and viewing it at an extreme angle.



So nothing you can see under normal usage (and not worse than LCD light leek in general in different products, notebooks, tvs, etc) ?

Reply 6 : Ipad2 Pics

I can chime in, it's about the amount of laptops.



To be honest, I do notice the bleed if the screen is black,



but it isn't that significant of a bleed.

Reply 7 : Ipad2 Pics


Quote:








Originally Posted by lenardg
View Post

So nothing you can see under normal usage (and not worse than LCD light leek in general in different products, notebooks, tvs, etc) ?



It's not noticeable in my usage at all.




Quote:








Originally Posted by Ryan
View Post

I can chime in, it's about the amount of laptops.



To be honest, I do notice the bleed if the screen is black,



but it isn't that significant of a bleed.



I agree.

Reply 8 : Ipad2 Pics

Mandrake, I noticed that the smart covers do real scratches on the sides that contain the magnets.



At first it was just a scratch, but it's becoming more and more significant.



How's your end coming?.. I can't really recommend this cover to anyone any more..



Reply 9 : Ipad2 Pics

i spent 3 hours in line on launch day to get one but sold it due to bad light leakage... it was much much worse then the lighting on my ipad 1...



i would like to get one again in the future though.. might just wait it out till the new revision