Tag: Arstechnica

Microsoft kills a fake antivirus tool from 994,061 computers!

Paul

According to Arstechnica and I’ll quote:

[ad#ad2-left]Win32/FakeSecSen has gone by various names, including Micro Antivirus 2009, MS Antivirus, Spyware Preventer, Vista Antivirus 2008, Advanced Antivirus, System Antivirus 2008, Ultimate Antivirus 2008, Windows Antivirus, XPert Antivirus, Power Antivirus, and Ultra Antivirus 2009. Furthermore, it is skinnable, so each of these variants has a different GUI, although the basic functionality is the same: bother users with warnings of malware until they pay up.

The Microsoft Malware Protection Center recently released some data on how the removal tool performed this month: FakeSecSen was removed from 994,061 machines. That number isn’t the highest Microsoft has recorded before, and the number of removals depends on which malware Microsoft adds each month and how widespread it is.

[via Arstechnica]

This seemed to of happened this month with the usual Windows update.  If you haven’t updated your system just yet you should.   This troublesome fake virus seems to have been killed  from several systems.  This could effectively make it harder for these guys who ever designed this program to make money.  I hope microsoft does even more virus removals in next month.  If you still want to try to get rid of these viruses don’t forget to check out my tips on Virus removal.

NBC-Vista copy-protection snafu reminds us why DRM stinks

Paul


The serves as a unsettling reminder that broadcasters can give instructions to the software built into DVRs, although they almost never do. Many DVRs and other, similar devices appear to be aware of the content-restriction flags set by broadcasters, even if they’re not programmed to “obey” them by default. Still, broadcasters would love to have the power to stop users from recording their shows, watching them later, and most importantly, skipping commercials when they do it.

[Via Arstechnica]

Yes that is right DRM does stink, I found this article to be a great reminder of how unrealistic it is that we should need DRM. Oh well, I’m just going to have to live with DRM!!

Dell XPS phase-out symptomatic of declining PC gaming sector

Paul

Dell currently offers two desktop product lines. The lower tier (Inspiron), is meant for cost-conscious buyers, with entry prices as low as $379, while the upper tier (XPS), further bifurcates into XPS Performance/All-in-One and XPS Gaming PCs. Out of this group, only the XPS Gaming tier is being eliminated, and Dell apparently intends to continue using the XPS brand on mainstream desktops and higher-end laptops. As for the reason why Dell chose to eliminate its XPS gaming division, the numbers below paint a sobering picture.

[Via Arstechnica]

I am asking the question of how stupid could they be, they will loose a bunch of customers because of this. Although most people don’t release how hard the economy is hit with this recession but I will improve sooner or later!!

Is HD Players Really Dead?

Paul


Now in an article I read Blue Ray Takes the Lead by a blog called ITola. I was reading this and had to ask myself some questions and try to figure out some answers.

Is HD Players really Dead?

My Answer is : “NO”

I don’t say that lightly for several reasons. Recently today Arstechnica states that Universal and Paramount haven’t changed there stance on switching to Blu-Ray. Now why is that a big deal, it just proves that there is something that Blu-Ray Founders don’t know . Here’s what I know, having thought about this for several days. If cable companies start offering Blu-ray HD movies in there service that is some major bandwitdth. Even though HD DVDS are 15 GB and Blu-ray DVD’s are 20 GB, Blu-ray Movies would take some time to download or stream it. Blu-ray would have to compresse the file into small pieces to even view the movie. Although HD movies are a little smaller they require less bandwitdth and in doing so are faster and easier to watch on Hulu and other sites like that. They have a HD Gallery that is really nice to watch on my intel and seems to work really well for an example of the HD Horton Hears a Who! – Trailer to see what I mean by the HD. I love how they stream it without much of a problem. Now if that was going to be a Blu-Ray HD movie it would be crazy to try to stream it. I think HD will not die, it will however change if needed into a way to stream really good video and movies on the internet. I think we haven’t seen the HD and Blu-ray Wars going way soon. It will continue without much help from anyone. The way I see it, the world will always change and go about it’s business. I know there is always going to be a choice and I hope to see this type of competition more often with players.

Hot, sexy bot sweet-talks personal data out of chatters

Paul1 Reply

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Security software company PC Tools warns that the bot can easily be used for malicious purposes. The company said that the program’s ability to mimic human behavior to dupe chatters is worrisome, and could readily be used to collect all manner of information. “As a tool that can be used by hackers to conduct identity fraud, CyberLover demonstrates an unprecedented level of social engineering,” said PC Tools senior malware analyst Sergei Shevchenko in a statement. “CyberLover has been designed as a bot [robot] that lures victims automatically, without human intervention. If it’s spawned in multiple instances on multiple servers, the number of potential victims could be very substantial.”
[Via Arstechnica]

This is really a security issue here. Never give out your personal information online. I just want to post this to remind people not everything online is safe.