Peaches
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Posts posted by Peaches
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Fix Windows 7 CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs Playing and Burning Issues Automatically
Microsoft is offering a helping hand to customers who are experiencing issues with writing and reading media on their Windows PCs.
The automated Fix It solution can be downloaded via the Microsoft Support page with the following title: “Your CD or DVD drive can't read or write media,” and is available completely free of charge to customers.
“Automatically diagnose and repair problems with your CD or DVD drive when trying to read or burn media,” reads the description of the fix from the software giant. And although the description text doesn’t feature any BD mention, the fact of the matter is that the Fix It solution also covers Blu-ray discs.
The Redmond company enumerated some of the problems that the download is designed to resolve: “Your CD or DVD Drive does not read or write and is shown as disabled; the media in your CD or DVD drive cannot be read; the media cannot be written to by your CD or DVD drive.” In addition, according to Microsoft, the Fix It should also be deployed by Windows customers that have come across error messages such as:
More details here: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fix-Windows-7-Playing-and-Burning-CDs-DVDs-and-Blu-ray-Discs-Issues-Automatically-209598.shtml
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How to deal with a failed Windows update
Coping with 'Failure reverting changes'
If your PC delivers an error message about Windows Updates configuring, it may mean that an important update has been missed. Here's what to do.
Windows Update normally works very well, but it can occasionally get itself into a mess. This can happen when an individual update fails, and other updates can be installed only with that first update in place. Sometimes, Windows can attempt to apply such updates in the wrong order, which results in the repeated failures you describe.
To resolve this issue, we first need to find out which updates have failed and apply them manually. Open the Control Panel, then select Windows Update, 'View Update History'. All successfully installed updates will be displayed, along with any that have failed.
Each update will be listed with its associated Knowledge Base number. This takes the form of a numerical code preceded by the letters 'KB'. Head to the Microsoft Download Center (microsoft.com/downloads) and enter into the website's Search box the Knowledge Base number (including the 'KB') for each failed download in the list. This will take you to an article that explains the purpose of the update and provides a link to manually download it.
Check the update history after each update you install to verify its success.
If an update fails, move on to the next and try it later. Eventually, you will have performed all the required updates and your PC will start up as normal.
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iOpener
How safe is your iPhone data?
The greatest current risk for iPhone owners is not viruses or malicious web pages, it is the danger that the phone might fall into someone else's hands. Although iPhones do offer elaborate security mechanisms, these mechanisms won't stand up to an imaginative hacker.
At worst, losing an iPhone also means losing all the data stored on it. And the data won't just be gone – it could also be in someone else's hands. This doesn't only affect such readily accessible things as address book entries or stored documents, it also includes passwords and other access codes. For instance, a brief inspection of an iPhone that had been in use for about a year produced various long-forgotten Wi-Fi passwords and the access credentials for email, Facebook, eBay and other accounts.
Since the iPhone 3GS, all device data has been hardware encrypted; the method used is 256-bit AES in cipher-block chaining mode. However, this almost uncrackable encryption technology won't protect users' data, because it doesn't present any access hurdles: The keys that are used are all stored on the device and, in regular operation, the system decodes all data transparently.
Full details here: http://www.h-online....ta-1266713.html
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Three iPhone and iPad security tips
Use the code lock
Without a passcode, all your iPhone data is easy prey for thieves, If you want to be extra safe, switch off "Simple Passcode" and use more than four numbers. The "Erase Data" option will delete the data on the iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts. Before that, there will be warnings and short input blocks
Encrypt your backups
This is particularly relevant if you sync your iPhone with iTunes on a Windows PC. The backup copies made by iTunes contain a lot of personal, and potentially sensitive, data. For instance, in tests, we have found bank transfer data and even TAN lists that were stored on the iPhone in plain text by online banking apps. If your PC catches a trojan, an iPhone backup without encryption will provide just what the trojan is looking for.
Implement a kill switch
Private users can create a free MobileMe account for this purpose. This account must then be added as a new email account, and "Find My iPhone" must be enabled. Users can then locate their iOS devices via Apple's me.com site, or the "Find My iPhone" app, at any time
Full details here: http://www.h-online.com/security/features/Three-iPhone-and-iPad-security-tips-1271477.html
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Spammers Already Spoofing Google+ Emails
Security researchers warn that spammers have already begun sending fake Google+ emails that direct users to rogue pharmacy sites.
According to security experts from Sophos who intercepted the spam campaign, the notifications purport to be welcome emails to Google's new social networking platform.
It seems the attackers took a real Google+ notification sent when a user shares a post with someone who is not yet on the network, and modified the links.
The shared message is deceptively called "Welcome to the Google+ project" to suggest that it is actually part of a welcome email. However, it is followed by a link offering to "View or comment on [user's] post" and a button to "Learn more about Google+". This button should normally lead recipients to the Google+ website and allow them to sign up for an account on the network which is still in a closed beta testing phase. But all links in the rogue emails have been changed to lead to a rogue online pharmacy website, part of the Canadian Family Pharmacy affiliate program.
More details:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Spammers-Already-Spoofing-Google-Emails-209431.shtml
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Apple Websites Hit by Hackers
Hackers have identified vulnerabilities on Apple websites which gave them access to the data stored in the underlying databases.
Yesterday, the Anonymous collective disclosed an SQL injection vulnerability found in a survey script hosted on the Apple Business Intelligence (abs.apple.com) website.
The notorious group of hacktivists which is currently involved in AntiSec, a campaign to hack into government and corporate websites, leaked two dozen hashed passwords extracted from the Apple database. However, the group said that Apple is not a primary target. "Apple could be target, too. But don't worry, we are busy elsewhere," it wrote on Twitter. Meanwhile, an independent hacker known as Idahc who positioned himself against AntiSec, also disclosed vulnerabilities on an Apple site.
According to the self-confessed grey hat hacker, the Apple Consultants Network portal is vulnerable to cross-site scripting and blind SQL injection attacks. The XSS weakness can be exploited to inject iframes into the page by directing victims to a specially-crafted URL. This type of flaw can be used to enhance phishing or malware distribution attacks.
The blind SQL injection vulnerability is even more dangerous and Idahc used it to extract table and column names from the database. The information he released suggest that home addresses and phone numbers of consultants were exposed.
More here: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Websites-Hit-by-Hackers-209513.shtml
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Eclipse and Mozilla releases galore, backdoors, frontdoors and more
This week saw the annual release of Eclipse and a number of releases from Mozilla. Nokia produced the N9 MeeGo smartphone and Karen Sandler became the Executive Director of the GNOME Foundation. Bitcoin suffered many problems, Dropbox was left open for hours and backdoors were found in WordPress plug-ins. An alleged hacker was arrested in the UK and the FBI helped smash a major scareware ring.
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<h2></h2><h2>FBI Shuts Down $72 Million Scareware OperationThe FBI has shut down two international cyber crime operations focused on the distribution of scareware applications and responsible for over losses of over $74 million.Under the name "Operation Trident Tribunal," the FBI, assisted by law enforcement agencies from Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, Netherlands, Cyprus, France, Lithuania, Romania, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, have seized 40 computers, servers, and bank accounts belonging to the gangs responsible.One ring targeted by this law enforcement action is thought to have tricked 960,000 victims into buing licenses for fake antivirus programs at a price of up to $129.The gang used vario...
Read more here: http://news.softpedia.com/cat/Security/
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<h1>Report: Apple launching new iPhone in SeptemberApple will unveil its next model iPhone in September with a faster chip and a more advanced camera, Bloomberg said today, citing information from "people familiar with the plans."
Adding fuel to the latest fires about the next-generation iPhone, Bloomberg said the new phone will come equipped with an A5 processor, which Apple already added to the iPad 2 earlier in the year. Other reports have also pointed to the speedy, dual-core A5 as the chip that would power the new iPhone.
The next iPhone would also include an 8-megapixel camera, according to Bloomberg, a healthy leap from the 5-megapixel version used in the current iPhone 4.
The new iPhone will run under iOS 5, which Apple announced earlier this month at its Worldwide Developers Conference. The new OS will also be available for the iPad and iPod Touch.
Story: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20073320-37/report-apple-launching-new-iphone-in-september/
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Mac OS X 10.6.8 Brings Many Security Fixes
Apple has released a new version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard which fixes a flurry of critical vulnerabilities that could lead to arbitrary code execution.
The new Mac OS X 10.6.8 contains 28 patches for vulnerabilities in both native and third-party components. For example, the included MySQL package has been updated to version 5.0.92, which addresses eight security issues, some of which critical.
OpenSSL has been updated to version 0.9.8r, fixing five arbitrary code execution flaws. Five remotely exploitable vulnerabilities have also been patched in QuickTime. The new release contains only one kernel patch, for a denial of service issue that can only be exploited locally by an authenticated user. In addition to vulnerability patches, the release also updates the XProtect definitions to detect the latest Mac Defender variants.
"Malware is now an ongoing issue for Apple Mac users, with new threats being seen in the wild every day," says Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, one of the vendors that offer a free Mac antivirus solution. "If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend running an anti-virus on your Mac as well as applying Apple's security patches," he advises. Security experts, including Mr. Cluley, say that Mac users will be increasingly targeted by cyber criminals who are looking to expand into new markets. Mac users are particularly vulnerable to this because they aren't very used to malware, exploits or scams.
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It all began with an iPhone...
March was when my son celebrated his 15th birthday, and I got him an iPhone. He just loved it. Who wouldn't?
I celebrated my birthday in July, and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad.
My daughter's birthday was in August so I got her an iPod Touch.
My wife celebrated her birthday in September so I got her an iRon.
It was around then that the fight started...
What my wife failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean.
This inevitably activates the iNag reminder service.
I should be out of the hospital next week!!
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I suspect there would be quite a few gamers on this site - discuss which is better X-Box or Playstation.
Also, as technology increases do you feel the population will become more obese or maybe resort to more exercise?
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A Good Time to Trade in That Gently Used Car
Used-vehicle prices hit record highs; no new-car smell necessary with strong demand for fuel-efficient models.
Among the forces driving up used-car values is a shortage of many popular Japanese models due to production slowdowns following the March earthquake. And the sales collapse during the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis means fewer two- and three-year-old cars are available.
The National Automobile Dealers Association last week raised values again on many small- and medium-size cars in its latest Used Car Guide, which is widely used by dealers when deciding what to offer for cars taken as trade-ins.
A one-year-old Honda Civic that NADA's Used Car Guide valued at $14,275 in May is now estimated to be worth $15,950. "The same car," says Jonathan Banks, NADA's executive auto analyst.
KBB.com, the Web home of the Kelley Blue Book used-vehicle-pricing franchise, says a three-year-old Toyota Prius is worth, on average, $17,750 as a trade-in, up $6,050 from the value of a three-year-old Prius a year ago.
[More from WSJ.com: Shoppers Scramble for Toyota Prius as Gas Stays Pricey]
The market isn't booming for all types of vehicles. Large sport utility vehicles, such as a Ford Expedition or Chevrolet Tahoe are down less than 1% from a year ago, according to NADA's guide. Still, they are up nearly 5% from the start of the year.
Late-model, mid-size luxury cars -- a segment that includes the Mercedes E-Class and the BMW 5-series -- are worth about 6% more on average than a year ago, according to NADA.
More on this topic here: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112895/trade-in-used-car-wsj?mod=family-autos
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Updated rogue AV installs on Macs without password
A new version of rogue antivirus malware that targets the Macintosh operating system does not need victims to type in their administrator passwords to install and infect the machine, a security company said today.
The latest version of the malware has been overhauled to look like a native Mac OS X application and is using the application name MacGuard, according to an Intego blog post. But particularly concerning is the fact that unlike previous versions, which were dubbed Mac Defender, MacProtector, and MacSecurity, MacGuard installs itself without prompting for the admin password.
"If Safari's 'Open safe files after downloading' option is checked, the package will open Apple's Installer, and the user will see a standard installation screen," the antimalware company's post says. "If not, users may see the downloaded ZIP archive and double-click it out of curiosity, not remembering what they downloaded, then double-click the installation package. In either case, the Mac OS X Installer will launch."
"Since any user with an administrator's account--the default if there is just one user on a Mac--can install software in the Applications folder, a password is not needed," Intego says. "This package installs an application--the downloader--named avRunner, which then launches automatically. At the same time, the installation package deletes itself from the user's Mac, so no traces of the original Installer are left behind."
Read full details here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20066174-245.html
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<h3>Microsoft declares a victory against autorun malwareMicrosoft appears to be winning a major battle against autorun malware.
A blog post this week by Microsoft's Malware Protection Center said the company discovered 1.3 million fewer infections on Windows Vista and XP caused by autorun malware from mid-February to mid-May, compared with the three months prior.
A persistent security threat for the past several years, autorun malware typically spreads through flash drives, memory cards, and other external devices courtesy of Microsoft's autorun feature, which automatically executes a command when the device is plugged in.
Autorun has been a trigger for some of the "top families" of malware, including Conficker, Rimecud, and Taterf, according to Microsoft.
In February, Microsoft started pushing out updates for Windows XP and Vista to lock down the autorun feature. The company had already rolled out a similar update for the release candidate of Windows 7 early in 2009.
Following the updates ... Read full post & comments - http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20071962-83/microsoft-declares-a-victory-against-autorun-malware/
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The five best free security downloads
Protect your PC without spending your dosh
By PC Advisor staff | PC Advisor | 06 June 11
Protecting your PC from threats on the web has never been more important. However, you don't need to spend lots of cash to make sure your PC is secure. Here are five security downloads that are free and have been given five stars, proving they're well worth downloading.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 v10.0.1375
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 is the latest version of AVG's popular malware detector. At the program's heart is a strong core antivirus engine, which monitors incoming and outgoing emails, as well as every file you access, detecting and blocking threats before they can cause any damage. There's a new focus on performance in this version, though. Like some of the competition, AVG Anti-Virus Free now checks known safe files just once, rescanning them only if they've changed: once that initial check is out of the way, scans can be much faster than in previous versions.
Comodo Internet Security 5.4
Comodo Internet Security 5 includes the company's free firewall and antivirus program, which together do a good job of keeping your PC safe from even the very latest in malware threats. Reboot after installation and the program will immediately go to work, popping up alerts about any of your applications that want to go online, or otherwise behave in a suspect way. If you recognise the program and know it's safe, though, just click Allow, Comodo will remember your decision and you won't be asked again. So after a few minutes the pop-ups die down and you can carry on as normal. (Except, of course, now you know you're protected by a tool that's keeping a very close eye on everything your programs do.)
PC Tools Firewall Plus 7.0.0.123
The Windows Firewall is apable of monitoring outbound as well as in-bound connections but the outbound protection is switched off by default and is so complicated to configure there's little point in trying to persevere with it.
However, PC Tools Firewall Plus is a sensible third-party firewall that's easy to configure and ensures known applications and programs with valid digital signatures are automatically allowed an appropriate level of access, which helps keep the number of unwanted popups to a minimum.
Secunia PSI 1.5.0.2
Keeping Windows up-to-date should be a key part of every PC owner's maintenance routine: it's vital that you block any security holes just as soon as you can.
However, there's no need to waste time wandering around web sites looking for upgrades, though - especially when Secunia PSI can automate the process for you. Launch the program and it will scan your PC, looking for installed applications and components. When it's finished you'll get a full report on any programs that have missing security patches, or are end of life (that is, aren't supported by the author any more).
WinPatrol 20.5.2011.1
WinPatrol takes a snapshot of key system areas and then alerts you whenever a program tries to make significant changes. The program monitors your startup programs, ActiveX controls, IE addons, file associations, HOST file, Windows update and UAC settings, and more. This isn't enough to stop a serious virus attack, but it will alert you to the behaviour of many spyware and adware programs, as well as regular software that just likes to install a lot of junk. And this monitoring requires very little in the way of system resources. On our test PC the background WinPatrol process required only a little more than 3MB of RAM, and the main program only needed about 6MB.
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Microsoft Windows 8 review
Microsoft Windows 8 will have to be good: and the early signs look like it will be exactly that, as it takes the fight to Google Android, Linux, and Apple's Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. Here's our first-look review of Microsoft Windows 8.
Yes, Microsoft is late to the game in tablets. Redmond tried pitching Windows 7 for touch screens without a lot of success, and refused to port Windows Phone 7 to tablets, insisting that a full desktop operating system was needed. And by the time Windows 8 comes out - probably next year - Apple's iPad and Google's Android will probably have the market cornered. But that doesn't mean Windows 8 for tablets won't be good. It's hard to know exactly how it will work in practice. For example, will Windows 8 tablets take forever to start up like Windows desktops do?
Windows 8, which will work with mouse and keyboard or touch, gives you applications in mosaic tiles, rather than Microsoft's traditional windows. Each tile shows a bit of the application's personality, sort of like an Android widget, and once you get into the apps you can swipe from one to the other.
The twist is that you can have two applications running on the screen simultaneously, and resize them to your pleasure, just like you can on a Windows desktop. While my only view is from a four-minute video, I'm assuming (hoping) this means you could, for example, type in a document on one side of the screen while using the Web browser on the other.
Story & screenshot: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/windows/3284198/microsoft-windows-8-review/?cmpid=HTML-DN060611&olo=daily%20news
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<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"> <br style="mso-special-character:line-break">Fake LinkedIn Invitations Lead to Drive-By Downloads
A new wave of rogue emails posing as LinkedIn invitations is directing recipients to a page hosting an exploit pack that drops malware on their computers.
The messages bear subjects of the form "[Name] at [Company] wants to connect on LinkedIn" and have forged headers to appear as if they originate from a @linkedin.com email address.
It seems the attackers used a legit LinkedIn email template and replaced the target link of the confirmation button.
The body message is LinkedIn's default "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn" phrase.
However, the spammers did overlook some details. For example, the name in the subject doesn't match the one in the message. According to security researchers from messaging security vendor M86, the confirmation button takes recipients to a malicious page on the salesforceappi.com domain name [notice the double p].
The legit salesforceapi.com [single p] belongs to CRM and cloud computing vendor Salesforce and is used to provide information about its API.
"The bogus link salesforceappi[dot]com leads off to a server hosting an exploit kit, which automatically attempts to load malware onto the victim’s computer by using one of a number of ‘canned’ exploits targeting known vulnerabilities," M86's lead security researcher, Phil Hay, warns.
Exploit kits normally target vulnerabilities in popular software like Java, Adobe Reader, Flash Player, or the operating system itself. The exploitation attacks are called drive-by downloads and are very effective because they are usually completely transparent to the victim. Of course, this is not the first time when spam emails are being passed as official LinkedIn communications. Some of the previous campaigns we reported distributed a variant of the notorious ZeuS banking trojan.
More plus screenshot: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fake-LinkedIn-Invitations-Lead-to-Drive-By-Downloads-204477.shtml
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Adobe Fixes Actively Exploited Flash Player XSS Flaw
Adobe has released a new update for Flash Player in order to address a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that is being actively exploited in the wild.
"This universal cross-site scripting vulnerability (CVE-2011-2107) could be used to take actions on a user's behalf on any website or webmail provider, if the user visits a malicious website," Adobe warns in its security bulletin.
There are reports of this vulnerability being exploited in email-based attacks that try to convince users to click on maliciously-crafted links.
While attacks that include XSSed links in socially engineered emails have been described as proof-of-concept for cross-site scripting exploitation many times in the past, the technique has rarely been spotted in the wild.
This means the attacks mentioned by Adobe, which are targeted in nature, are rather unusual. The vulnerability is rated as "important" and Adobe recommends users to upgrade to Flash Player 10.3.181.22 for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris and 10.3.181.23 for ActiveX. The update for Android is expected later this week.
Usually, Flash Player vulnerabilities also impact Adobe Reader and Acrobat because of the bundled AuthPlay.dll component that enables Flash playback support in PDF documents.
More details here: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Adobe-Fixes-Actively-Exploited-Flash-Player-XSS-Flaw-204376.shtml
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June 6, 2011 10:23 AM PDT
E3 2011: Live TV coming to Xbox this fall
-Microsoft said this morning at its E3 Xbox press conference here that Xbox is going to have Live TV starting this fall.
Mark Whitten announced the service briefly but with few details. He said more content partners would be added later.
Xbox Live is also getting a few more features to beef up the entertainment experience. The service is going to get YouTube, Bing for search, and voice control to control all of it.
You'll be able to use Bing to find more content to watch, by searching the Web, YouTube, Live TV, and all the services on Xbox Live, including existing ones like Netflix and Hulu Plus. And voice control will let you speak your search item, such as the name of a movie, TV show, or game.
That means less time fiddling around with a controller. "You no longer have to navigate through the menus to find content," said Mark Whitten, head of Xbox Live.
Whitten said Microsoft plans to increase its partnership "by a factor of 10."
"This is only the beginning," he said.
Full coverage: http://reviews.cnet.com/E3/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20069346-260/e3-2011-live-tv-coming-to-xbox-this-fall/
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Here is a game to play that you might enjoy. This is how it goes - remember the opposite word must always be only 4 letters. Whoever answers the question will also ask the new question.
Example:
Me: What is a 4 letter word that is the opposite of fat"
Your Answer: Slim
You ask the new question - What is the 4 letter opposite word of covered?
Anyone would answer: Bare
Now I will ask the 1st question & you all can take it from here.
What is a 4 letter word for the opposite of acknowledge?
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There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoebox in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about. For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day, the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs,the little old man took down the shoebox and took it to his wife's bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted doilies and a stack of money totaling $25,000. He asked her about the contents. "When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you I should just keep quiet and crochet a doily." The little old man was so moved, he had to fight back tears. Only TWO precious doilies were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving.
He almost burst with happiness. "Honey," he said, "that explains the Doilies, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"
"Oh," she said, " that's the money I made from selling the doilies."
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Microsoft to launch Office 365 on June 28
Microsoft is holding its official launch of its cloud-hosted application suite, known as Office 365, on June 28.
June 28 also may be the date when the Office 365 service becomes generally available. (I’ve asked Microsoft for confirmation on this. It looks like Office 365 general availability on June28th was confirmed by the head of the Microsoft partner organization, no less — thanks @tomwarren.) I’ve heard recently that Microsoft is planning to sign off on the final version of the service in early June — possibly even next week — and to make it generally available in late June.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-to-launch-office-365-on-june-28/9603
Me & My Computer
in Open Chat
Posted
Here is a wee poll to pass the time away and discuss. You have more than one choice in the last 2 questions and only one choice in the first question. Have fun!!