Technology Vault - NewsBytes
Saturday 31 January, 2004
Hard Hitting Advice by @ 8:20 am
Right, I'm not going to pussyfoot about, everyone needs to run 4 things on their computer. You have NO EXCUSE, these are all totally FREE and won't cost you a penny. I will not accept excuses like "I don't go online that often" or "I don't get many emails", YOU are just the sort of user attackers are looking for to spread their evil by the million.
Number 1 - Antivirus
Go to GRISOFT.COM. They have one of the best darn antivirus software package around. It is totally FREE!!! Unlike expensive 'big boys' antivirus, it doesn't slow your system down either. Get it now and run it. Check for updates everyday.
Number 2 - Firewall
You need a firewall. A firewall sits between your computer and the outside world. It controls what programs on your computer you allow to communicate with the outside world and how much the outside world you want to communicate with your PC. Run a Firewall for the first time and I bet you had no idea how many people were looking inside your computer. Again, It's totally FREE and Zone Alarm is probably the best you'll get.
Number 3 - Spyware removal
Spyware are little programs that install themselves on your PC without you knowing. It is an ever growing habit of software to intall this stuff on your PC without first telling you the user. AdAware scans your system for spyware and removes it. Run it, you've got some spyware. I've never found anyone with 'no spyware' when I've installed AdAware on peoples systems. Again, it's totally FREE, You have no excuse.
Number 4 - Windows Update
Visit Windows Update at least once a month. Open Internet Explorer, go to the TOOLS menu and pick Windows Update. Download every critical update available to keep your system up to date at all times.
These are just the basics. Please visit my TWEAKS PAGE for other free utilities and a choice of other free antivirus software, firewalls and spyware programs.
DO IT NOW!!! YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE!!! If everyone ran antivirus software these viruses wouldn't get a foot hold.
Would you have unprotected SEX with a complete stranger? No. So why go on the internet and interact with complete strangers totally unprotected? Don't get infected - Don't spread your virus - Get it sorted now!!!
A few more FREE tips for you
If you must use Outlook Express?
1. Get rid of the preview payne
2. Read and write emails in 'PLAIN TEXT' only. Turn off HTML
3. Tick the box that says 'Do not download attachments that can be potentially..." under security.
4. Save attachments to your desktop before opening. Right click and check for viruses before opening.
5. Never click on an unknown link
6. Learn how to use it properly. Don't keep old email in your inbox. Put them in folders and delete unwanted mail instantly.
Also
7. Never click on a link in a SPAM email that says 'To remove you from this mailing list click here". It's a sure way of telling them that you exist and you will end up with 100 more like it.
Tuesday 27 January, 2004
I-Worm/Mydoom warning by @ 7:57 pm
This worm spreads by e-mails as a message attachment and KaZaA
Installation:
The worm is in many cases in message attachment as ZIP archive, so the user have to extract and launch it manualy. After its launching worm copies itself as taskmon.exe into System directory and registers itself as Taskmon in Run key in Windows Registry. Worm also drops backdoor component as shimgapi.dll to System directory.
Spreading: e-mail
Worm spreads by sending itself to e-mail addresses that are taken from files with WAB, PL, ADB, TBB, DBX, ASP, STL, HTM, TXT and PHP extension.
Message could be one from the following:
Sender:
Sender address is random.
Subject:
Is generated from the following words:
Error
Status
Server Report
Mail Transaction Failed
Mail Delivery System
hello
hi
Body:
Is generated from the following text variants:
Mail transaction failed. Partial message is available.
The message contains Unicode characters and has been sent as a binary attachment.
The message cannot be represented in 7-bit ASCII encoding and has been sent as a binary attachment.
Attachment name:
Is generated from the following words:
body
message
test
data
file
text
doc
readme
document
Attachment extension could be:
bat
cmd
exe
scr
pif
Spreading: KaZaA
Worm copies itself into KaZaA directory with following names:
nuke2004
office_crack
rootkitXP
strip-girl-2.0bdcom_patches
activation_crack
icq2004-final
winamp5
DoS attack:
On the 1st of February 2004 worm starts with DoS attacks on the site www.sco.com
As you see, a nasty littl devil. AVG has provided an update today AVG 7.0 - AVI 261.7.8 and AVG 6.0 - 572. Make sure you protect yourself and stop the spread of this virus by downloading the latest update.
Tuesday 20 January, 2004
New Worm on the block by bluetracker @ 7:53 am
Bagle.A (W32/Bagle.A.worm). rears it's head
This malicious code is designed to spread rapidly via e-mail and seems to be doing just that. Since being discovered just two days ago, this worm has managed to gain access to many machines. The sad fact is that many PC owners seem still to be oblivious to the dangers of opening attachments from unknown or suspicious sources. Despite the best efforts of AV vendors providing free copies of their wares, there remains those who maintain the 'cavalier' attitude that "It won't happen to me" where virus infection of computers is concerned.Consequentially once these computers are infected, everyone in the affected machines address book is sent a copy of the virus/worm.Fairly quickly thereafter, millions of the infected e-mails are found to be circulating the Internet.
Bagle.A reaches computers in an e-mail message with the subject: Hi, and
the following message body:
Test =), (there then follows a series of random characters). followed by Test, yep.
The name of the file attachment accompanying the mail (which actually contains the
worm's code) consists of a series of random characters, but always has an .EXE extension. This file is 15,872 bytes in size.
The aim of Bagle.A is to spread rapidly by creating copies of itself, which could cause computer networks to collapse. Trend Micro reports that the worm also checks the current system date. It terminates if the system date is January 28, 2004 or later plus it opens and listens to port 6777, and allows remote access to infected systems. There will also be the process:
bbeagle.exe (so that's where it went ;-) ) running and if you want to manually remove this beast, this process should be terminated first. Full instructions on how to do this are shown on the Trend Micro link above.Trend have already classified this worm as a YELLOW ALERT and judging by the number of reported instances so far, this could soon achieve a red alertstatus!
I've also noticed (on my search for info on this bug) that Panda software has issued a freely downloadable tool to remove this latest threat PQREMOVE
Once Bagle.A has been installed on a computer, it looks for e-mail addresses to send itself out to. Files with WAB, HTM, HTML and TXT extensions are the types at risk. Once it has done this, the worm sends itself out to the addresses it has found using its inbuilt SMTP engine.
Most if not all AV vendors have updated their software's definitions by this time to enable them to 'weed out' this worm. As usual you are advised to make sure that whatever flavour of Anti-Virus you use, it is completely updated and working. Don't become a statistic!
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Thursday 15 January, 2004
Here we go again by bluetracker @ 1:17 am
Another e-mail spoof raises it's ugly head
Yet another Get rich quick spoof e-mail that attempts to part you from your money...if you are gullible enough (and quite a few peeps have been).
The modus operandi of these e-mails is to attempt to pass themselves off as a genuine website or communication from your bank or building society.
Should you fall for the scam, your account numbers and passwords are sent to the person(s) that crafted the spoof mailing and they happily drain your account dry!
This latest attempt was brought to my attention by Panda software's regular Virus Alerts e-mail that lands in my inbox daily.
Please, PLEASE pay attention to the following and ensure YOU don't end up as one of those who was hoodwinked into divulging their details. I make no apologies for copying and pasting the e-mail below in its entirety......
From the Panda Virus alert Mailing........
"January 14, 2004 - Over the last few days, many users have been receiving e-mails telling them that, due to technical or other problems,they need to access a web page to validate their bank details.
One of the most widespread examples of these is one aimed at CITIBANK clients and arrives in an email with the subject "Important Fraud Alert from Citibank". The message itself says that due to a series of operations aimed at detecting illegal banking activity, users need to check if their data is correct by going to a certain website.
All these e-mails are false, and are aimed at tricking users into divulging confidential data such as account numbers, user names, passwords or other secret codes and numbers.
To do this, generally the messages have been carefully constructed in HTML to perfectly resemble genuine messages sent by the online banking service and deceive users.
These mails have been cunningly designed to exploit the URLSpoof vulnerability -as yet uncorrected- in Microsoft Internet Explorer. This flaw makes it possible to trick a user into thinking that the web page they are accessing -from a link on the e-mail- is that of a bank, when really the web page is a replica of the original, hosted elsewhere.
In this way, if the user enters the data they are asked to, this will fall straight into the hands of the malicious user that has created the e-mail and web page.
For this reason, Panda Software recommends that all users treat with extreme caution e-mails from banks requesting information, as it is highly likely that it is part of an attempted fraud. In any event, before revealing any confidential information, users should confirm authenticity of the message by contacting the bank in question.
Given the large amount of fraudulent e-mails in circulation, Panda Software has released updates of its products to detect and neutralize any attempt to exploit the Internet Explorer vulnerability mentioned above. These can be downloaded from Panda software
Detailed technical information on the URLSpoof vulnerability is available
from Panda Software's Virus Encyclopedia, at Panda's Online Virus Encyclopedia".
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Wednesday 14 January, 2004
Redmond back-pedals! by bluetracker @ 4:16 pm
Fear not...you are fully supported
You may remember (with some trepidation) that the giant software mogul had declared their W98/98SE and ME platforms defunct as from the end of January 2004? There would be no more patches/fixes or service packs forthcoming after that date and those OS's affected by the withdrawal of support would have to stay 'broken' and vunerable to outside influences.
When this was announced the tranquility was shattered by the sound of Piggy banks all over the world being smashed in the hopes of amassing enough coin of the realm to afford an upgrade to Windows XP or Windows 2003.
CEO's began acting like the proverbial lemming and showered down like rain from high places as they feared that their signature authorising that corporate system upgrade requisition meant money down the drain.
Fear not...all is well, and all you CEO's still standing trembling on high ledges can climb back into the office safe in the knowledge that your investment is safe...at least for the time being.......
Why?
Microsoft recently announced that it will continue to support the W98,98SE and ME platforms until the middle of June 2006.
At last... some good news from the MS stable, all you home users and indeed corporations who were dreading the end of January can now breathe a sigh of relief and get out the superglue to mend 'piggy'and high ledges can be once again inhabited by the common pidgeon.
Perhaps the news of the u-turn is mere co-incidence, or maybe those worthies at Redmond are more used to treading on egg-shells and rivals' toes rather than broken bodies or pottery...Windows update will therefore be a required port of call for the masses running W98/98SE and ME for at least the next two years as more and more flaws are found and exploited by the so-called malicious user...ahh well it will keep idle hands at Redmond busy if nothing else......whatever.....
With the expected release of Microsoft's all singing all dancing Longhorn O/S scheduled to be around 2005 or 2006 (best guessers in the industry say that this is likely to be on the shelves 2008-9 ) not to mention the myriad corporate customers who's office machines are tied into such OS's as W98/98SE and ME, 'tis no wonder Microsoft 'back-peddalled' on this issue. After all they don't want to upset their valued customers do they?
Not to mention that it also means they (Microsoft) have realised they can glean 'extra coin' in the guise of corporate licences for a few more years,before effectively pulling the plug on these operating systems' support and forcing users to upgrade to either XP. Win 2003 or Longhorn if they value the security of their systems after June 2006(which means even more coin inbound to the Redmond bank account).
Meanwhile virus writers are busying themselves on the "beta" Longhorn releases that are available ...there are already pirate copies of the yet to be released OS (upto version 3 IIRC) 'out there'... I guess "Longhorn Service pack 1" is already being worked upon within the confines of Redmond...or am I being unfairly biased and paranoid? Only time will tell............................
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Tuesday 13 January, 2004
Kodak to stop selling traditional cameras by @ 10:54 pm
Just seen this story on DriverHeaven. They say: Eastman Kodak Co. on Tuesday said it will stop selling traditional film cameras in the United States, Canada and Western Europe, another move by the photography company to cut lines with declining appeal in favor of fast-growing digital products.
With sales of digital cameras poised to overtake film cameras for the first time this year, Kodak is redefining itself in an effort to keep pace.
CLICK HERE to read the full story on DriverHeaven.
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Wednesday 7 January, 2004
AVG Update by @ 11:14 pm
Gristoft has added an update for AVG6 and 7 today. grisoft says this update adds detection of new viruses Worm/Scode, Worm/Cayam, I-Worm/Memas, I-Worm/Cissi. Also Grisoft have added detection of new variants of Worm/Agobot, Win32/Quis as well as detection of new variants of trojan Dropper.Dialex, Dialer.
Keep your antivirus software up to date whatever make it is.
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Tuesday 6 January, 2004
Ad-Aware Update by @ 8:48 pm
Lavasoft have released an updated referencefile for Ad-Aware today. It's numbered 01R246. Ad-Aware with its ability to comprehensively scan your memory, registry, hard, removable and optical drives for known datamining, aggressive advertising, and tracking components, Ad-aware will provide the user with the confidence to surf the Internet knowing that their privacy will remain intact. Let Ad-aware protect your privacy.
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Saturday 3 January, 2004
Amaze your friends and scare your enemies by @ 2:45 pm
One of the most feared colors in the world is blue. The infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) will pop up on any system whenever something has gone terribly wrong. Bluescreen is a screen saver that not only authentically mimics a BSOD, but will simulate startup screens seen during a system boot.
- On NT 4.0 installations it simulates chkdsk of disk drives with errors!
- On Win2K and Windows 9x it presents the Win2K startup splash screen, complete with rotating progress band and progress control updates!
- On Windows XP it present the XP startup splash screen with progress bar.
Bluescreen cycles between different Blue Screens and simulated boots every 15 seconds or so. Virtually all the information shown on Bluescreen's BSOD and system start screen is obtained from your system configuration.
Well, it can be fun. Visit and download HERE
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D3D RightMark by @ 10:47 am
D3D RightMark Beta 3 has been released. Features of D3D RightMark Beta 3 include:
- Open source code for shaders and benchmarking modules;
- Latest DirectX 9 technologies;
- Flexible and deep control of all benchmarking parameters;
- Pixel Filling Test;
- Geometry Processing Speed Test;
- Hidden Surface Removal Test;
- Pixel Shader Test;
- Point Sprites Test;
- Experimental State Profiling Test;
- Wise choice of shaders - FFP, 1.X, 2.X and HLSL;
- Updated DirectX 9 Shader Compiler;
- Hardware feautures list (driver CAPS tree);
- Intuitive shell with extensive batching facility;
- Detailed HTML and XLS (Microsoft Office XP compatible) result reports;
- Modular structure (new tests can be easily integrated into shell);
To learn more and download the latest beta 3, visit the D3D RightMark CLICK HERE
End of Year Demoscene Parties by @ 8:48 am
Scene.org have the last demoscene party results of 2003. Flashparty in Buenos Aires, The Ultimate Meeting (TUM) in Germany and Deadline Reloaded in Sweden, Scene.org has all the results and downloads.
Oh yeah, party in Buenos Aires! This shows that the demoscene is alive all over the planet. Anyhow, this Argentenian party was held from 19th of december till sunday 21st of december and now you can download and watch all releases and results right here!
Last weekend was the last German party of 2003 held: The Ultimate Meeting 2003 or maybe better known as tUM*03. Now you can download all releases and the official results from our archive!
The Swedes also ended their demoscene year in style with one last party last weekend: Deadline Reloaded 2003. As always you can find all releases and the results in our party archive.
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Are You A Gadget Addict? by @ 8:32 am
Skiving work, shunning an evening ‘down the pub’ with your mates, racking up credit card debt – are these the lengths you go to just to get your hands on the latest hi-tech gadget? A survey released by TDK Recording Media Europe looked at the impact of technology on our lifestyles and found trends which indicate that technology is more than revolutionising our lives, we are actually becoming addicted to it.
Gadget addiction is making us increasingly anti-social, with over a third of Europeans admitting they would rather stay in and play with their new tech toys than go out. Additionally one in ten Europeans confess they would pull a sickie in order to play with their newly purchased gadgets instead of going to work. TDK’s survey also finds that our technology purchases are no longer driven by issues of functionality and necessity – they are increasingly emotionally driven with a quarter of Europeans buying for the buzz it gives them, or to show off to their mates.
Europe’s increasing infatuation with gadgets, ranging from laptops and digital cameras, to DVD players and mobile phones, is reflected in the high priority they are given on the typical consumer’s shopping list. TDK asked respondents what they would forgo in order to buy a new gadget. Nearly 20 per cent would give up CDs and make-up, 14 per cent would not go out all week and 6 per cent would even forgo a holiday in order to afford the latest gadgets.
Survey conducted by Benchmark research June- August 2003. Sample 1200 interviews split equally across UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. Sample pre-selected for likely technology users.
For some, gadget addiction is a little more extreme, remember the frantic scenes as the Playstation 2 launched? We might well see them again, as two per cent of Europeans admit to being so desperate to get their hands on the latest gadgets, they will even queue all night. The down side to gadget addiction is that like all addictions, the buzz soon wears off; 12 per cent admit to being disappointed with their purchases after only a short time.
Of all Europeans, the British suffer most from gadget addiction – they are the nation most likely to get themselves into debt as they satiate their desire for new tech toys. Generally Europeans are sensible with their cash, 80 per cent only spend when they can afford it, and only seven per cent will use a credit card to support their spending. However a third of Brits put gadget purchases on a credit card and 20 per cent borrow the money. In materialistic terms, Brits are almost twice as likely as the European average to buy gadgets in order to show off to their mates. Along with the French and Germans, the look of a gadget is very important to the English – approximately half buy based on looks.
Least bothered by the gadget revolution are the Spanish, who remain consistently indifferent – 98 per cent are not concerned about being the first to get their hands on a new gadget. Neither, like their European neighbours, are they strongly influenced by the look of the product, only 9 per cent state that this influences their buying.
Other findings:
• Buying gadgets is a serious business for Europeans. Over a quarter spend several days looking at specialist magazines talking to shop assistants and friends to make their decisions, whilst nearly a third spend several weeks doing their homework.
• Only 6 per cent of Europeans feel guilty for buying new tech toys
• Of all gadgets, mobile phones have the highest penetration rates across Europe, closely followed by CD players. Over 90 per cent of Europeans own these
• Digital cameras top the list of ‘must buy’ items in Europe, nearly a third of Europeans have these at the top of their wish lists
• Laptops and PC’s are classified by almost half of Europeans as essential items
• Women in Europe are most dependent on their mobile phones, whereas European men are more dependent on their laptops
TDK have a complete website about the problem. CLICK HERE to visit Gadgetaddicts.com, TDK's new website dedicated to gadget addicts.
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Friday 2 January, 2004
AVG Update by @ 8:15 pm
Grisoft have updated AVG6 and AVG7. Grisoft says this update adds detection of new viruses Win32/Ennum, Win32/Kility, I-Worm/Golin and new variants of Worm/Spybot, Worm/Agobot.
Files versions are AVG 7.0 - AVI 261.5.6 and AVG 6.0 - 558
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Highway Pursuit by @ 11:17 am
Highway Pursuit is a modern game taking its inspiration from a number of classic arcade games. Featuring diverse landscapes and scenery, a variety of enemy vehicles, multiple weapons, weather effects, radio communications from your HQ, 3d sound effects, configurable support for keyboard, joysticks and steering wheels, Highway Pursuit is a road trip you shouldn't miss.
The game features Fast-paced action-packed arcade action, A variety of enemy vehicles with their own attack patterns, Multiple weapons: machine guns, oil slick, smoke screen, surface-to-air missiles, Radio communications from your HQ keep you informed of dangers ahead and Automatic highscore storage and internet upload feature. The game can be controlled by keyboard, gamepad, joystick or steering wheel.
The game has excellent music and 3d sound effects. But that's not all... This game is totally free. No adware, spyware or nags, 100% totally free!!
For a free game, it takes some beating. You can download your copy HERE or see some screenshots and learn more about the game from the makers website HERE
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Thursday 1 January, 2004
Jitux.A worm by @ 5:11 pm
Pandasoft have released details of a new virus. Jitux.A worm is a malicious code designed to send messages via MSN Messenger, which contain a link to download a file called jituxramon.exe from a web page.
This file actually contains the worm’s code. So if the user runs the file, Jitux sends new messages containing the link every five minutes to all contacts stored in MSN Messenger. However, this worm has no other destructive effects, nor does it cause changes to the system configuration.
In any event, and due to the fact that Panda Software's International Technical Support network has already detected some incidents involving this worm, the company advises users to update their antivirus solutions as soon as possible. Panda Software has already made the updates to its products available to users to ensure their solutions can detect and eliminate Jitux.A.
This worn links you to http://www.home.no/ / jituxramon.exe. Do not download this file or install it.
Whatever antivirus software you use, keep it updated!
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Ad-Aware Update by @ 1:11 pm
Laversoft have issued the latest update for it's ad and spyware removal tool Ad-Aware. Update 01R243 31.12.2003 is now available for download.
Lavasoft tells it's customers: With its ability to comprehensively scan your memory, registry, hard, removable and optical drives for known datamining, aggressive advertising, and tracking components, Ad-aware will provide the user with the confidence to surf the Internet knowing that their privacy will remain intact.
You can visit the Lavasoft website HERE
Happy New Year by @ 1:07 pm
We would like to wish all our forum members and visitors a very happy and prosperous New Year. Lets hope 2004 will be a good one!
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