Microsoft said it plans next week to start pushing its Internet Explorer 8 browser to consumers who have Windows’ automatic-update feature turned on. The software maker released the browser for download at last month’s Mix conference and had said it planned to start pushing the browser out in the coming days. Continue reading Microsoft to start pushing IE 8 browser
Conficker turns on its scareware
The Conficker botnet has stirred to life, using its peer-to-peer communication system to update itself and download scareware (fake anti-virus programs) to millions of infected Windows PC’s.Which means that millions of Conficker-infected machines will start getting pop-ups pushing a fake $49.95 security scanner.
Conficker Virus Test
Here is a simple method to determine if your PC is infected with the Conficker Virus. The conficker virus will prevent a PC from accessing the security websites. Joe Stewart is the director of malware research at SecureWorks, and he has created a neat Web page that instantly and visually tells you if you’re likely to be infected by the Conficker worm.
http://www.joestewart.org/cfeyechart.html
Simple. Very nice.
Wireless use is increasing….bandwidth use is increasing.
We are seeing more guests, devices connected to our clients wireless networks. Bandwith is getting pounded. Rate control, bandwidth monitoring and managability is becoming very important.
Next iPod Touch may be extremely wireless:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12519_7-10213039-49.html
As programmers continue to pick apart the code underlying Apple’s iPhone 3.0 OS, more details are surfacing that point to possible new hardware features for both the iPhone and iPod Touch. One of the first details
unearthed from the code is the addition of stereo Bluetooth audio streaming–a feature that current (second-generation) iPhone and iPod Touch owners will be able to take advantage of, once the new OS
is available this summer. Continue reading Next iPod Touch may be extremely wireless:
Heavy Users Tax Hotel Systems
The tweens taking up the seventh floor are instant-messaging while listening to Internet radio and downloading a pirated version of “Twilight” to watch later. The 200-person meeting in the ballroom has a full interactive multimedia presentation going for the next hour. And you do not want to know what the businessman in room 1208 is streaming on BitTorrent, but it is probably not a productivity booster.
These are just a few of the guests eating bandwidth at hotels today, and it is enough to break the average network backbone, or at least create bottlenecks. And no one—not those multitasking kids, not the conference attendees and certainly not the businessman on the top floor—is happy when that happens. Continue reading Heavy Users Tax Hotel Systems
Conficker Confused:
he Conficker worm mostly spreads across networks. If it finds a vulnerable computer, it turns off the automatic backup service, deletes previous restore points, disables many security services, blocks access to a number of security web sites and opens infected machines to receive additional programs from the malware’s creator. The worm then tries to spread itself to other computers on the same network.
How does the worm infect a computer?The Downadup worm tries to take advantage of a problem with Windows (a vulnerability) called MS08-067 to quietly install itself. Users who automatically receive updates from Microsoft are already protected from this. The worm also tries to spread by copying itself into shared folders on networks and by infecting USB devices such as memory sticks. Continue reading Conficker Confused:
QR codes and mobile web content
A QR Code (quick response) is a two-dimensional bar code created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. Initially used for tracking parts QR codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging).
QR codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards or just about any object that users might need information about. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader software can scan the image of the QR Code causing the phone’s browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL.
Users can also generate and print their own QR Code for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR Code generating sites.
http://searchengineland.com/what-is-a-qr-code-and-why-do-you-need-one-27588