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Windows 7 Release Candidate Leaked Online
by admin on Apr.25, 2009, under Computer, OS
In what has become a regular occurrence, another version of Windows 7 has leaked to file-sharing sites. The latest version is reportedly Win 7 Release Candidate built 7100, which is slated for an official Microsoft launch in early May.
Some bloggers who’ve had a chance to examine the alleged bootleg of RC 7100 are convinced it’s the real deal. Long Zheng of the istartedsomething blog believes the latest Win 7 code, accessible via your favorite “content hub” (P2P site), is real if unspectacular:
“The highly anticipated release candidate (RC) build of Windows 7 has been leaked and its authenticity is entirely undisputed. First looks reveal nothing significantly new or different, but if you’ve been wanting to get a vibe of how far Windows 7 has come since the public beta, especially performance, this is the build to get.”
Lee Mathews of Download Squad has a similar take: RC 7100 is real, but not that thrilling: “Visually not much has changed, so don’t expect to see anything Earth-shattering.”
And Windows 7 News is displaying 50 screenshots of the alleged RC 7100. The site asked readers to comment if they’ve “spotted anything out of the ordinary like new features or changes.” But thus far all indications are that RC 7100 doesn’t bring dramatic changes, such as a rumored new interface.
If anything, it appears that RC 7100 is very close to the finished product. Microsoft hasn’t announced a release date for Windows 7, although industry watchers expect it to ship later this year. Win 7′s most prominent improvement will be a less-intrusive User Account Control, or UAC, a security feature designed to prevent rogue code from hijacking a PC. Microsoft recently that stated that Windows 7 users will see nearly a third fewer UAC prompts than Windows Vista users.
Auto Context Firefox Addon Powers Up Highlighted Text
by admin on Apr.19, 2009, under Diary, Experience
When you highlight text, chances are you want to do something with that text. That’s the idea behind Auto Context, a free Firefox add-on. The biggest downside to this app is that it doesn’t work in more applications.
Once you install the add-on to your Firefox browser, it goes to work. Whenever you highlight any text on a Web page, Auto Context automatically displays a pop-up menu that offers easy access to some of the tasks you’re most likely to need. You can, for example, copy the text (as plain text, HTML, real HTML), print it, open it as a URL, save it to a file, search for the term in Google, or search for the term at various Web sites, like eBay and Wikipedia.
And that’s not all. You can customize Auto Context to your liking. You can set it to search your preferred search engine, or to search additional sources, such as Google Maps or BabelZilla Glossary. You also can set it so that the pop-up menu doesn’t automatically appear. In addition, you can decide whether or not Auto Context will work with editable text.
Auto Context does not work with any text that’s part of a hyperlink, which is too bad. But beyond that, its biggest weakness is that you can’t use it in more applications. A version is available for the Thunderbird e-mail client, but beyond that it’s for Firefox only. I think its features would be even handier in applications like Microsoft Word.
Is Conficker Finally History?
by admin on Apr.06, 2009, under Diary
Is it time to put Conficker in the history books? Is Conficker really a dud? The truth is, nobody knows. Conficker gained so much attention in part because of the sheer number of computers it was able to infect. But nobody knows for sure what Conficker can accomplish. However, at the time of this writing no Conficker-related catastrophes have surfaced and some think the threat never will. So as attention shifts away from Conficker, it’s important to know where we stand against the world’s most famous piece of malware.
How big is the Conficker threat?
The general consensus seems to be that approximately 3 million computers are infected on any given day. The number 15 million gets thrown around a lot as well, but that number includes computers that were infected and then scrubbed clean of the malware. Keep in mind that the actual number of infected computers is also very hard to ascertain since security experts can only count infected Internet protocol (IP) addresses and not individual computers, according to Roel Schouwenberg, a security expert with Kaspersky labs. Since an entire company could be behind one IP, the number of infected devices remains a bit of a mystery.
The Vietnamese security company Bkis (which offers the pie chart below, of infections by country) says approximately 2.2 million computers are currently infected with Conficker A and B, and about 1.2 million computers carry Conficker C, the latest version of the worm, according to reports. The Conficker C number is the most worrisome since that is the version that can most effectively update itself through p2p networking with no need to phone home for an update.
The world’s biggest problem areas for Conficker infections are in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America, although there seems to be some disagreement on which countries are the hardest hit.
How important is Microsoft’s Conficker Patch and who can get it?
Does Microsoft have the power to stop Conficker dead in its tracks? Common sense seems to say yes, because if everybody had Microsoft’s Conficker patch the problem would be solved, right? Not so, says Schouwenberg. Even though Conficker-infected regions contain a high amount of computers with pirated Windows software, the blame should not be placed at Microsoft’s feet.
Microsoft allows both pirate and genuine Windows users to download critical security updates. However, most pirate users have Windows’ automatic updates turned off to avoid Microsoft’s piracy detection tool. Pirate users could get the software from Microsoft’s download center, but it’s unknown how many users are actually doing that.
Another problem, Schouwenberg says, is that Internet service providers in problem regions are not as security conscious as they are in the United States. If the ISPs are not actively monitoring security on their networks and blocking the necessary ports that Conficker can sneak onto, then unpatched computers remain at risk.
But the Conficker patch and port blocking are not cure-alls. According to Schouwenburg, the security patch is most effective against Conficker A, but since Conficker has three main flavors (A, B and C), patches are not the only answer. As always, the best defense is to make sure your antivirus programs are up to date and to do a full security scan regularly. If you’re worried that you might be infected, the Conficker Working Group has a simple test that can help.
If you are a pirate Windows user, you have amnesty for critical downloads so get the Conficker patch as soon as possible. Remember, we may be forgetting about the worm, but Conficker’s authors still have the capability to inflict harm. Whether that will happen is anybody’s guess, but making sure your computer is secure is always the best policy.
Verizon ready to hawk Netbooks?
by admin on Mar.27, 2009, under Diary
Verizon Wireless is poised to sell at least one Netbook in the next few months, according to reports in Bloomberg and TheStreet.com.
Both outlets cite unnamed sources, but Bloomberg’s source, said to be someone close to the project at Verizon, says a partnership is being negotiated with more than one PC maker. No word on what the service contract for a Netbook from Verizon would entail.
Is Verizon getting ready to sell 3G-enabled 
Netbooks?
(Credit: Dell)
Currently, Verizon doesn’t sell a 3G-enabled Netbook, but chief rival AT&T does. AT&T sells Acer Netbooks for $99 with service through RadioShack, and also sells Dell Mini Inspirons through the wireless provider’s Web site. Though Verizon isn’t confirming the report, a move to sell Netbooks is widely seen as a way to keep up with its rival.
The report suggests Verizon is working with more than one PC vendor, and Dell seems like an obvious candidate as one of them, though a Dell representative did not have an immediate comment. Dell already has a relationship with Verizon parent company Vodafone, which has sold Dell Netbooks in Europe since September 2008.
So who could be the other Netbook maker? A similar rumor floated around the Web last week regarding HP hooking up with Verizon. HP had no comment, but provided a statement from Kevin Frost, HP’s general manager of consumer notebooks: “It’s natural for carriers the world over to be interested in HP’s broad portfolio of thin and light minis. We are talking with carriers all over the world. We are talking with carriers all over the world.”
Netbooks are the fastest-growing category of PCs in the last year. Starting from virtually zero in late 2007, 10 million Netbooks were shipped by the end of 2008, accounting for 7 percent of all portable PCs shipped.
The limited capability of Netbooks is also intended to be their appeal: they’re basically good for getting online and doing light word processing. But their small size makes them easily transportable, and having the ability to access the Web easily and from anywhere only increases their value. Though the bundled Internet-service model has failed in the U.S. in the past, our reliance on the Web makes it seem like this model could fare better this time around.
Visual CertExam Manager
by admin on Mar.25, 2009, under Downloads, Experience
“It is designed for taking tests created with Visual CertExam Designer.”
BrothersoftEditor: Visual CertExam Suite is a test engine designed specifically for certification exam preparation. It allows you to create, edit and take practice tests in an environment very similar to a real exam. Visual CertExam Suite includes two applications:
Visual CertExam Designer allows you to create and edit your own professional practice exams. It is designed, first of all, for authors involved in practice exam development.
Visual CertExam Manager is designed for taking exams created with Visual CertExam Designer. The application interface provides the most realistic simulation of the real certification exam.
VCE Testing System
VCE Testing System is a software solution that allows you to create, manage and give tests (exams, quizzes) over a network. It includes three applications:
VCE Exam Designer allows you to create and edit question banks (files with the .vce extension).
VCE Server is a server application that is used to store and manage exam banks, students lists and exams results. A computer where VCE Server is running plays a role of a testing server.
VCE Client is an application that allows students to connect to a testing server, choose a test and take it.
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