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Tuesday 31 December, 2002

Scezda worm could be the most destructive computer virus ever! by @ 11:01 pm

A Hacker has threatened to unleash the "Most destructive computer virus ever" if Iraq is attacked.

23 year old Malaysian-based Vladimor Chamlkovic, who uses the name "MelHacker", named one of his previous virus' "Osama Bin Laden".

Melhacker started a group in 1995. He says "Actually my realname is Vladimor Chamlkovic. My pet's is virus. I have programming skill in VB, VBS, VBA, C\C++, Batch, JS, some in Delphi, some in Assembly and maybe some more I forgot. Melhacker has a website. If you try to visit some of it's hidden pages you get the following pop up message warning:

MelHacker website warning


I haven't included his new website address and advise you don't go looking for it. He also says on his website:

Coming Soon! New project has been release and ready to launch it. I named it Scezda Worm. This worm are mass-mailer and can spread via mIRC, pIRCH, KaZaA, and create Open Network Shared. It also contain a MIME engine. This worm release in 5 different version and technic. This was updated on 15th November 2002.

I did a search on the Symantec data base for Scezda worm and this is the only page that is found CLICK HERE

I bring your attention to the section near the end that says: Melhacker is also reportedly working on a new mega-worm that has been referred to as a "3-in-one." According to iDefense's director of threat intelligence, Jim Melnick, the worm will supposedly combine features of SirCam, Klez and Nimda and will be named Scezda

He also provides download links to his viruses on his website. Other viruses credited to him are: W32.Kamil, W32.Cbomb, W32.BleBla.J.Worm, VBS.Melhack@mm, VBS.Melhack.B, VBS.Melhack.C@mm and many others.

So this guy isn't joking when he makes his threats.

In an Email to the New York Post he said "I hate war. I hate people die" and he refused to say what the virus would do.

Internet Security firms and Anti-Virus software vendors are taking the threat seriously with fears that it could cause Global economic damage and leave thousands of home users with large repair bills or unusable PC's.

NewsBytes strongly recommends that you keep your Anti-Virus software up to date and check for updates on a daily basis. We also urge you not to open any unsolicited attachments and be vigilant and sensible about which emails you open.

If you don't have Anti-Virus Software then you can get some absolutely free from Grisoft

You have been warned!!

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Planet Loop by Madwizards is a winner by @ 12:57 am

Christmas time is party time and the results and files from the many demoscene parties are coming in thick and fast. Newsbytes takes a look at the winner of The Ultimate Meeting 2002 held in Germany called Planet Loop by Madwizards which stands out from the crowd.

Parties come and parties go, and I download many demos. But just once every so often something special happens. Out of the many 100s of average demos sometimes one will stand out above all the crowd. Planet Loop by Madwizards is just one of these special demos. It keeps your interest with constant changing scenes and it has been made with such style and an eye for detail, it makes you wonder how they make such a fine demo in such a short space of time (Go on, tell us this one was done just 2 hours with 2 minutes to spare at the end!).

The attention to detail is second to none. It runs silky smooth from start to finish. Although the demo runs at a 640x480 screen resolution, it's so well crafted that you would never know it. Full screen antialiasing removes all signs of a jagged line.

It was a well deserved win with 212 points.

In fact, all the enties at The Ultimate meeting are of a very high standard. Smash designs pc demo, Darkstar has some outstanding models and a great soundtrack even though it came third. Farbrausch has done it again this year with their 64k intro called dopplerdefekt. Well, I say 64k, they did it in 48k. 3D glasses at the ready, this intro is a stunner in 3D. I understand 3d glasses were handed out to all the party gowers. And I must not forget Suspeckt The Moles by Abductees Mutter/Speckdrumm who took second place in the pc demo section. You can find all the results of The Meeting 2002 HERE.

Scene.org have the results and files to download for this The Ultimate Meeting 2002 held in Germany, Compusphere 2002 held in Sweden and for the well known Danish party called The Party 2002.

I've had a look at the demos from The Party 2002, but compared to other years I felt that many of the entries were weak at best. Some catagories were cancelled and to be honest, what I did see was trash (to keep it clean). I think there must have been more sex, drugs and rock and roll than keyboard crunching going on. But hay, it's Christmas, so who can blame them.

Back to the champion on this years Christmas party demos, Planet Loop, I will leave you with a few screen shots to wet your appetite. The demo seems to be in two destinct parts. The first 4 shots are from the first scene and the last two from the second. If you would like to give Planet Loop a run, you can download it from this page at Scene.org. The file is named Ploop and it is 9.6mb in size. It's well worth the wait if your on a modem. Enjoy!

Ploop
Pocket watch scene from the demo - Planet Loop


Ploop
Abstact scene from the demo - Planet Loop


Ploop
Industrial cityscape scene from the demo - Planet Loop


Ploop
Eye glass scene from the demo - Planet Loop


Ploop
Petrol station scene from the demo - Planet Loop


Ploop
Futuristic Tube Station scene from the demo - Planet Loop


A few final notes. You can visit the Madwizards website HERE. According to the information on their site, Planet Loop was their very first pc demo. Also, according to ojuice.net some people have had sound problems with the demo. Madwizards will be bringing out a patch to fix this. Keep an eye on their website.

The demo works fine on Nvidia cards (Geforce3+) but you are advised to make sure you are using 40.72 drivers or later. Finally, well done Madwizards, your first pc demo is a stunner. A very well deserved win.

I've just read that a patch for Radion cards is due out soon as well, so keep an eye on their website for that if your a Rad user.

I've just had an email from the guys at Madwizard which says: mega thanx for your review of our Planet Loop demo. This is indeed our first PC production, however, you may expect more stunning releases in the year of 2003. No problem guys, can't wait!!!

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Monday 30 December, 2002

AVG Update by @ 6:58 pm

AVG


Grisoft have just updated their free anti-virus software AVG. Download the update now to keep your pc safe.

Grisoft tells us that this update adds detection of I-Worm/Yaha.L, Worm/Tulu and new variants of I-Worm/Duksten.

If you use the Outlook Express plug-in you should see the following message at the end of your emails: Version: 6.0.435 / Virus Database: 244 - Release Date: 30/12/2002

The size of the update file is 901.9kb and a restart of your system is not required.

Many thanks to forum member triplea for sending Newsbytes this news.

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Sunday 29 December, 2002

Codename: Dashboard Update by @ 4:16 pm

Another update for Codename: Dashboard. The Dashboard was updated on 22 December with version 5.0. Yesterday, version 5.5 was released.

Codename: Dashboard is a new tool that gives you the same sort of features we will find in the next generation operating system from Microsoft. Longhorn, which is the current name for WindowsXP's replacement has a control panel which keeps you up to date with the latest news from your favourite news websites. Current news features include theregister, bbcnews, tech-Critic, Google and C-Net. You can have up to the minute weather reports, a real clock, slideshow, notepad etc. More and more features and tools are being added.

Here is a screenshot of what Longhorn will look like, showing the side bar which can be on the left or right of the screen.

Longhorn
The Longhorn desktop


You will need Microsoft's .NET installed to run Dashboard. To read more about this project (which is still at the beta stage) visit the Codename: Dashboard website HERE

To install Microsoft's .NET Framework CLICK HERE

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New Nvidia Detonator drivers available by @ 3:55 pm

Nvidia

A number of new Detonator drivers where released over the Christmas period. Version 42.01 for Windows 2000/XP and version 32.20 for Windows 2000/XP and 98/ME...

Thanks to Warp2search who have listed a number of mirror sites, you can download these new drivers from one of the listed sites HERE

The Detonator 42.01 for Win2k/XP dated 11th of December 2002 have full multilanguage release supporting all released nVidia cards to date. They are DirectX9 compatible drivers.

The Detonator 32.20 for Win9x/ME and Win2k/XP dated 8th of November 2002 these are a non-multilanguage version and also supports all nvidia cards released to date. DirectX8.1 only.

Nvidia Control Panel
The New Nvidia Control Panel


As far as I can tell, these are the same as the drivers we told you about last week apart from the fact these have Nvidia's own branding while the others had Creative's branding. They benchmark the same and both seem to solve most of the compatibility problems some users (including myself) had with Nvidias earlier 40.xx series drivers.

Many thanks to forum member Fitsy for telling Newsbytes about these drivers. I have also updated the GeforceFAQ with this information.

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Spybot Update by @ 3:27 pm

Spybot 'Search and Destroy' has just had an update. Version 1.1 Release 4 is now available. Spybot is a free tool to remove spyware or adware from your system. Just visiting a few websites often installs spyware cookies which track your movements. Spybot offers an easy way to remove all instances of spyware from your system.

The control panel offers lots of options, it includes update facilities from within the program and knocks spots off of other spyware removal tools.

Spybot 'Search and Destry'
Spybot control Panel


If you use Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, I recommend that you read this story on Newsbytes.

Existing users of spybot can update their copy to the latest version simply by checking for updates within the program. If you would like to try out this program CLICK HERE

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Thursday 26 December, 2002

Stop using Lavasoft's Ad-aware by @ 11:09 pm

That is the message being given out tonight by Tech-Critic. It's out of date and it's has been proven to be dangerous we are told.

This news comes as a major shock to the 1000's of users that use Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. But Lavasoft themselves admit that the program is out of date, it has not been updated since September 24th 2002 and is nolonger supported by Lavasoft.

The Tech-Critic news report say: I truly hate that it has come to this. Lavasoft's Ad-aware used to be a fine product. Not only was it the only free solution for finding and destroying advertising spyware, it was also a good program. However, Lavasoft has abandoned Ad-aware 5.83. Support is still offered at their support forums and via email, but the program is no longer being updated to handle new spyware targets. In fact, I feel that it is necessary to recommend to everyone that they simply remove Ad-aware version 5 entirely. Using it in its current, unupdated form can be, and has been proven to be dangerous.

Lavasoft has replied to these claims on their support forums HERE. They tell us that a new version of Ad-Aware will soon be available (version 6).

So, what alternatives have we while we wait for Lavasoft to get it's act together? Well, some kind person on the Tech-Critic forums has given a link to the SPYBOT website. They also provide a program to remove spyware from our systems which is also freeware. CLICK HERE to download Spybot direct from one of the 'English' mirror sites.

You can read the original story on the Tech-Critic website if you CLICK HERE

Warning: Spybot-S&D contains some routines to find and correct invalid entries into the registry. As with any tool or utility that plays about with your registry, always make sure you have backed-up your system before hand. Use these programs at your own risk.

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Wednesday 25 December, 2002

Leadtek K7NCR18D Pro by @ 7:47 pm

Riva3D have released a review of the Leadtek K7NCR18D Pro Motherboard. It's Leadtek's latest AMD Athlon XP based offering, featuring the new nForce 2 chipset.

Jimmy over at Riva3D has sent Newsbytes news of this review which goes into great detail about this latest offering from Leadtek. Packed with helpful details, the review gives information on the features and Specifications. The review tells us about what is bundled with the package and explains about the boards overclocking potential. "Man, all those bells and whistles! On to the BIOS!"

Riva3D says: The nForce2 chipset was spoken a while ago, but in fact it was mentioned in July this year. Until now, recently, we are starting to see retail boards hit the shelves of retails stores. The first out the door is Leadtek, with their K7NCR18D Pro motherboard. Leadtek is known as a low status motherboard manufacturer. Recently they are now popping out to the eyes of the consumer market after their release of an original nForce motherboard last year. Leadtek was one of the few to actually adopt and promote their nForce board to review sites and consumers, and thus they received high praise for their product. We now take a look at Leadtek’s K7NCR18D Pro which is based on the Northbridge and the Southbridge with all the additional goodies like Firewire and nVidia 5.1 audio (MCP-T). The most surprising news over Leadtek is being amongst the first to get an nForce2 board ready when you have top motherboard manufactures like ASUS and MSI. On that note, lets take a look at Riva 3D's review on this motherboard.

To read the review and learn more about Leadtek's new motherboard CLICK HERE

Many thanks to Jimmy who sent this story to Newsbytes.

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AVG Update by @ 7:31 pm

AVG

Grisoft have just updated their free anti-virus software AVG. Download the update now to keep your pc safe...

Grisoft have just updated AVG. Grisoft says: This update adds detection of new virus I-Worm/Yaha.K 25/12/2002

Here are the details
Program Version: 6.0.434
Virus database: 243
Release Date: 25/12/2002
Size: 899.6
No restart required

Many thanks to Triplea for sending the news to Newsbytes. It's nice to know that even on Christmas Day, Grisoft are protecting us.


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New Detonator drivers v41.80 fix compatibility problems by @ 10:16 am

Nvidia have fixed the compatibility problems some users had with some Creative cards with the latest leaked drivers that have been found on the Creative labs servers. Version 41.80 of the Detonator drivers are now available for download.

I can confirm that Nvidia have given me the best ever Christmas gift by fixing the compatibility problems that some people had with the latest Detonator 40.xx range of drivers. As reported on Detonator Destroyed my demo fun website, some users with Creative cards had compatibility problems with the latest drivers. The site was set up to demonstrate to Nvidia what the problems were with the latest drivers by offering information with error messages and benchmark testing details. Nvidia have obviously worked hard with Creative labs and solved the problem as reported on the site.

The Detonator Destroyed site says:
25/12/02 Nvidia have just given me the best Christmas present I could hope for. Nvidia have obviously worked with creative the maker of my GeForce 3 card and have cracked the problem. I can now run all my games and demos with the latest drivers to be leaked on the Creative webspace V41.80. Well done Nvidia, it made my efforts worth while. It's got to be the best Christmas gift ever. I've spent the night testing all my demos and everyone of them now works with the latest 41.80 drivers.

The new 41.80 drivers come in 2 flavours, a version for Windows2000/XP and a version for Windows 98/ME is available.

I would like to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I have got what I wanted for Christmas, I hope you did too.

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Monday 23 December, 2002

We wish you a Merry Christmas! by bluetracker @ 7:05 pm

You too can become one of the Wise Men

To be non sexist Wise Person maybe the way to go! ;-)Dunno if there's an Equal Opportunities clause in the Bible tho'...but I digress!

With Christmas almost upon us all, the customary deluge of e-mail greetings and graphic applications with festive themes begins to reach our inboxes.

This unfortunately gives virus creators a perfect opportunity to create viruses that use these messages designed to hoodwink users into opening files which contain nasty surprises of the type Santa wouldn't be seen dead giving out!

Merry Christmas


One worm taking advantage of this is Klez.I, which is capable of modifying the subject headings of the messages it sends. This characteristic makes Klez.I difficult for users to spot, because the worm can create various subject headings from the words used in e-mails and files found in the infected computer.

Due to this, and the fact that many users send greetings messages at this time of year,many of the top AV solution vendors have received a host of e-mails with the Klez.I variant,using the following messages: "Happy Christmas", "Happy funny Christmas", "Have a funny Christmas", etc.

Another code using similar tactics to attract users' attention is Bride.B, which first appeared in November and which includes the phrase "I wish you a merry Christmas and happy new year" in the message body.In fact to the unwary this can mean many hours repairing the damage to your computers files, and far removed from the Merry Christmas the subject line conveys!

To prevent these 'camouflaged' viruses from dampening the holiday spirit,anti virus makers and us 'nice people' at The Technology Vault recommend that you keep your guard up and treat ALL e-mail messages you receive with great caution.
Basic security measures,including regularly updating your antivirus solution and scanning all attached files before opening them is the way to make sure you don't end up having a very unhappy Christmas.

Also it pays to be alert (people like 'Lerts) when browsing unfamiliar web pages, as these can be used to install malicious code -almost always Trojans onto the computers of visitors to infected web pages.

Have a Very Happy Holiday


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Friday 20 December, 2002

Update released for Winamp by bluetracker @ 10:09 pm

"Crackers" have been 'at it' but Nullsoft have it covered!



Buffer overflow vulnerabilities have been detected in the Winamp module that reads the ID3v2 Artist tag in MP3 files, which stores information about the artist or title of the album that includes the song.



It is believed the security consequences of these vulnerabilities can be severe. By exploiting these vulnerabilities, crackers could provoke a buffer overflow, thereby allowing them to run arbitrary code.

Nullsoft, developer of the popular audio player, has made updates that fix these flaws available for download HERE

For more information on the problem, read about it HERE

DirectX9 released by @ 4:09 pm

Microsoft have released the latest version of DirectX. DirectX 9 will empower the latest graphics chips like the Radeon and GeForceFX. To get the best from your graphics card, download DirectX 9 now.

Microsoft says: Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX 9.0 includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX 9.0 APIs.

CLICK HERE to read full details and to load the web loader to install DirectX 9. A tip, make sure you do a back-up of your current set-up just in case things do go wrong. DirectX 9 cannot be uninstalled easily and usually requires a reinstall of the operating system.

Use the TechnologyVault forums to discuss DirectX 9.

Many thanks to Slarty for pointing us to this eagerly awaited update.

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2 New Critical updates for Windows XP by @ 5:45 am

Windows Update

Microsoft have released 2 new critical updates for Windows XP. Get better support with if you use other browsers other than Internet Explorer and fix an Unchecked Buffer in Windows Shell.

Hyperlinks Open in Internet Explorer Instead of in Default Browser or Help and Support Center
Microsoft says: This update contains several fixes to Windows components to better support default Web browsers other than Internet Explorer, as described in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) Article 810565. Download now to improve the interaction of certain Windows components with default web browsers other than Internet Explorer.

When you click a link in any of the following locations
- the Help and Support Center
- the Accessibility Wizard
- the Magnifier
- the Narrator
- the On-Screen Keyboard
- the File and Settings Transfer Wizard
- your Active Desktop

The link may open in Microsoft Internet Explorer instead of in your default browser or in the Help and Support Center.


Unchecked Buffer in Windows Shell Could Enable System Compromise (329390)
Microsoft says: An identified security vulnerability in Windows XP could enable an attacker to compromise a user's Windows-based computer and gain complete control over it, if the user visited the attacker's web site or took other, less likely, actions. You can help protect your computer from this and other identified security concerns by installing this update.

This update is a very important update which fixes a major flaw in the Windows XP Shell. Every user with Windows XP should get this one fixed.

The security update is 282kb in size and the default browser update is 5.3MB. Visit the Windows Update site to update your computer now. You can use the Windows Update feature built into Windows XP or visit THIS LINK

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Thursday 19 December, 2002

ADSL shambles by @ 11:38 pm

adsl

Can you get adsl or not? Newsbytes looks at the world of ADSL. We tried out our number in the 'online availability checkers' from a number of ISPs and got a mixed bag of results.

OK, I've wanted ADSL for a long time. I have tried three times with BTOpenworld only to find that I live too far away from my enabled exchange. I find this extremely frustrating especially as neighbours within a very short distance of me have it, use it and gloat over it's speed. A fellow work colleague who just happens to live further away from my exchange claimed today that he can get ADSL now. So this evening I have spent most of the evening trawling lists of ISPs to see what their 'online availability checkers' claim.

Now if after the first 2 or 3 ISPs I found that they all said that ADSL was unavailable I may well have left it at that. But I got such a mixed response from these online checkers that I continued to trawl and got further confused along the way.

As the world of high technology seems a bit quiet at the moment, I thought you might be interested in seeing my results. My conclusion is that I'd wish these ISPs would get their act together. See what I mean...

Tiscali - Fantastic news - your line has passed the initial line check indicating that you can receive Tiscali Broadband.

V21 - You cannot continue the sign-up process because: Enabled for Telephone Number 01424 xxxxxx

ADSL NOW - Congratulations, ADSL-NOW is in your area!

BTOpenworld - We are sorry but our records show that although broadband is available at your exchange, you are too far away from the exchange for us to provide the service

Andrews & Arnold - Based on the postcode ########, you may be able to get 500K RADSL service

AOL - We are very sorry but unfortunately you cannot order AOL Broadband due to the fact that you live too far away from your local telephone exchange.

Bulldog - Congratulations! Our records indicate that ########### is connected to the HASTINGS exchange. Based on the availability checker data, you should be able to get Bulldog’s Off-Net ADSL broadband products and services

eclipse - Sorry, ADSL is unlikely to be available on your line If you wish to proceed with your order please be aware that it may fail

freedom2surf - Congratulations! Your number has passed the initial ADSL tests

freeserve - Unfortunately you are too far from the telephone exchange to receive Freeserve Broadband

Telecom+ - The checker indicates that Broadband is available in your area

i2 network - Your local exchange is in HASTINGS Our checks indicate: BT has enabled your exchange for ADSL services. I also got an error message with i2 Warning: Undefined index: erridin /usr/local/apache /htdocs/adslorder /adslchecker.php on line 190

Onetel - same as BTOpenworld message

RedDSL - same as BTOpenworld message

Supanet - Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that we will be able to provide you with supanet broadband Internet access.

Vergin net - We have checked the phone number and postcode that you entered against information provided by BT and unfortunately, you are unable to receive a broadband service at the moment.

Vispa - Good news! The checker indicates that Broadband is available in your area and that the preliminary check on your line suggests that you should be able to receive Broadband ADSL at speeds from 512kilobits per second to 2Megabits per second downstream and 256kilobits per second upstream.

Zen - same as BTOpenworld message

Well, as you can see, some I can and some I can't. All these 'online availability checkers' ask for either a telephone number (the one I want ADSL on) or postcode or both. As far as I can see, all these checkers do, is prove how useless they are. It makes you wonder how many ISPs spend on valuable time trying to connect people that their checkers tell them that they can have ADSL when in fact, they can't.

Never mind, one day I might be able to get broadband via my Electricity supplier. I still have some hope, not much, but some. So if their are any Electricity companies out there that want me to sign up with them (and take on my gas and water), the first company to offers me fast always-on Broadband can have ALL my business;-)

Finally, to rub salt in the wound, my local newspaper published that everyone in Hastings could get ADSL apart from people with a telephone number that started with 85####. Yippee, my number doesn't start with that, my number starts with a 7. Can I get it? No.

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Nero update by @ 5:54 am

Thanks to Slarty who noticed that warptosearch has posted a news item about a new version of Nero. You can read the story and catch the download link HERE

Warptosearch says: The Nero and Ahead webpages have not yet been updated. A changelog is also yet to be published.

Many thanks Slarty.

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Wednesday 18 December, 2002

Update for The Cleaner available by bluetracker @ 12:58 am

The Cleaner

12-16-2002 460k

The Cleaner a popular anti trojan detection and cleaning utility from Moosoft has an update for the utilities' database.

This latest release from adds protection against three more Trojans; Hanuman, ItADeM and Redeemer
It also has an updated signature file for MoSucker

As always you can get this update by the use of Moolive Updater from within the program itself, or by logging onto the Moosoft website.

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Tuesday 17 December, 2002

AVG Update by @ 10:03 pm

AVG

Grisoft have just updated their free anti-virus software AVG. Download the update now to keep your pc safe.

The file size is 889.4kb and a reset is not required.

If you use the Outlook Express plug-in you should see the following message at the bottom of your emails:

Version: 6.0.431 / Virus Database: 242 - Release Date: 17/12/2002

Grisoft tells us that this new update gives protection for the virus I-Worm/Galil.

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Monday 16 December, 2002

Macromedia Flash by bluetracker @ 9:03 pm

Macromedia has recently issued a warning to users of FLASH that they have become aware of a vulnerability where a hand edited malformed Macromedia Flash movie (SWF) header can be exploited to cause a buffer over-write issue which could potentially lead to execution of arbitrary code.

According to the Macromedia site, this can only occur with Macromedia Flash movies (SWF) that have been hand edited with a binary editor; Macromedia Flash the authoring tool will not output movies with this vulnerability.

They advise users to download the latest Macromedia Flash Player (Version 6,0,65,0 or later) which is available for download on the Macromedia Player Download Centre.
When the download is completed, you will need to restart your computer for the new settings to take effect.


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Sunday 15 December, 2002

Mozilla 1.3 Alpha Released by @ 1:01 pm

Mozilla

Mozilla have released an alpha version of their new browser. This alpha version has basic junk mail classification capabilities. This means you can train your client to distinguish between good mail and junk mail.

This alpha version 1.3a of Mozzila is for test purposes only.

This release also has Message View. This will help you locate, organise and prioritize mail messages. To read what's new in this alpha version CLICK HERE. It also has the instalation details. You can download version 1.3a from HERE for Windows, HERE for MacOS X and HERE for Linux

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Saturday 14 December, 2002

Hush, it's an Atlantis by @ 8:32 pm

Due out any day now is the all new RADEON 9700 ATLANTIS PRO Ultimate Edition graphics card from Sapphire. First shown at Comdex, this card will be the first card to have silent running. The card has no noisy fan to upset the neighbours. Which is pretty amazing considering the speed of this card.

OK, Sapphire don't make any claims that this card is suitable for overclockers but if your fed up with the sound of a fan whizzing away all the time, then the RADEON 9700 ATLANTIS PRO Ultimate Edition graphics card could be for you.

One downside of having such a card would be the size of the heat sink. It might stop you being able to use some cards in your first PCI slot.

RADEON 9700 ATLANTIS PRO Ultimate Edition
RADEON 9700 ATLANTIS PRO Ultimate Edition


Some reports around the web though say that this card is in fact an amazing performer and is well suited to be overclocked. By sticking a fan on it's massive heat sink (completely going against it's purpose and will surely invalidate any warranty) it is said that this card can be clocked to very high rates and remain very stable.

It is a first. If you would like to find out more details about the RADEON 9700 ATLANTIS PRO Ultimate Edition graphics card CLICK HERE. We don't have any details about it's UK release yet, but I'm sure it's not far away.

Many thanks to Slarty for telling us about this card.

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Friday 13 December, 2002

New Detonator 41.34 drivers leaked by @ 11:38 am

A new set of Detonator drivers have been leaked to the web. Version 41.34 will soon be available for download according to NVPlanet who will publish the download link shortly. Many users are very happy with the latest 41.09 drivers but a few users seem to have problems running them as outlined by the Detonator Destroyed website. It is hoped as these will be the first drivers released by Nvidia since these problems were highlighted and that Nvidia have found a fix. Only time will tell.
NVplanet has announced the leakage of these drivers yesterday and said they will post the drivers as soon as they have them. You will need to keep an eye on the NVPlanet news pages for the announcement.

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2 New Critical Windows Updates by @ 11:21 am

Windows Update

Time to pop over to Windows Update again. Microsoft have released 2 new critical Windows updates. One to fix a problem with MS VM and the other to stop an attacker modifying a network's security policies with Windows 2000 and XP.

Security Update for Microsoft Virtual Machine
Microsoft says: A set of security issues has been identified in the Microsoft® Virtual Machine (Microsoft VM), which enables Java programs to run on Microsoft Windows®. The most serious of these issues could enable a Web site to compromise your system and take actions such as changing data, loading and running programs, and reformatting the hard disk. You can help protect your computer by installing this update.

Security Update for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP
Microsoft says: An identified security issue in Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and Windows XP could enable an attacker to modify a network's security policies. Network administrators can help protect their networks by installing this update from Microsoft. This update only affects networks running Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Home users and those using workstations on corporate networks do not need this update.

Either pop over to the Windows Update site by using the Windows Update feature with Windows or you can read up and manually download the updates from HERE or the VM update or HERE for the Windows 2000/XP security fix.

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Thursday 12 December, 2002

Netscape update by @ 10:32 pm

Netscape have added a minor update to their popular browser 7 product. Netscape 7.01 is now available for download. Forum member eggz says: Netscape 7.01 is based off the Mozilla 1.0.2 branch, and includes a number of security fixes.

One of the most noteable additions to Netscape 7.01 is a fine grained pop up blocker. Rather than refuse pop ups completely, Netscape 7.01 lets you 'whitelist' domains (i.e. you can chose to block pop up entirely, except for at site x , y and z).


Thanks eggz!

You can look at the release notes for Netscape 7.01 HERE

To download the latest version CLICK HERE

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Tuesday 10 December, 2002

New Via Hyperion 4in1 drivers by @ 10:57 pm

Via Hyperion

Via have a new name for their chipset drivers. Via 4in1 is to be phased out and the new name Via Hyperion will take it's place. Via have released these new drivers for their latest chipsets today.

These unified drivers will update the drivers for ALL of Via's range of chipsets. The latest drivers are VIA Hyperion 4in1 v4.45.

Via shows off the performance improvements with these new drivers for motherboards fitted with Via's KT400 and P4X400 chipsets on this page. They test the latest drivers with 3dmark 2001 and Quake3 benchmarking tests and compare results with their previous 4in1 drivers v4.43.

These new drivers are for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP. Included in these Hyperion drivers are Via's IDE Filter driver 1.20a, IRQ 1.3a (Windows 98 only), Inf driver and AGP v4.40.

Visit Viaarena for further details and to download the drivers.

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NVRT is back! by @ 10:35 pm

Nvidia Refresh Rate Tool

The Nvidia Refresh Rate Tool is back with a new version that supports the latest Detonator 40.xx drivers.

NVRT says: NVRefreshTool is a utility used to fix the problem in Windows 2000/XP that sets your refresh rate to 60Hz when you play ANY game. This problem occurs whether or not you have a higher refresh rate set in your Display Properties of Windows.

NVRefreshTool is simple and easy to use. Just load up the NVRefreshTool program and it will automatically detect the maximum refresh rate at each resolution that your monitor supports. If you're an advanced user, you can customize each refresh rate at each resolution.

Currently NVRefreshTool supports all Detonator versions.


Head on over to the NVRT website for full dtails and the download link. CLICK HERE

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Monday 9 December, 2002

Christmas listings by @ 5:44 am

Digiguide claims to be the first to publish this years full Christmas listings for their electronic TV guide beating any printed magazine or Newspaper. Digigude have uploaded to their servers the full tv listings guide for the Christmas period. The listings include all the films and programmes fron 21st December till 6th January 2003.

The Digiguide product comes in two flavours, a free web based TV listings service and a downloadable program for pc.

Digiguide
This is what Digiguide looks like!


Digigude now supports Terrestrial, Sky Digital, NTL, Telewest, FreeView, DISH, C-Band and nearly all other providers. The search, highlights and reminders are very useful. It's just taken me 20 seconds to search through 186,000 tv listings. Try getting Sky's electronic onscreen EPG to do it at that speed.

With Christmas just around the corner it makes it an ideal time to give it a try. You can read the full details on their website, just CLICK HERE

You will also find many websites that use their free web based guide that includes the same listings.

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Saturday 7 December, 2002

ZoneAlam Pro update available by bluetracker @ 2:44 pm

Zonealarm

Thanks to Triplea for the 'heads up' on this release


Zone labs, the makers of ZoneAlarm® have released an update to the Pro version of their Firewall product.

According to their websites' ZoneAlarm® Pro Release History
the new release (version 3.5.166) includes these "New and improved features "

New 3-step network configuration wizard
Enhanced security protection
Improved PrivacyAdvisor
Improved Web site exception list
Improved AlertAdvisor


To update your copy please visit the ZoneAlarm® website or use the Update function from within the program itself.


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Friday 6 December, 2002

AVG Update by @ 8:15 pm

AVG


Another update from Grisoft, this time they have added detection of I-Worm/Galil.

The file size is 847kb and a restart is not required. This update is dated 6th December 2002. Run your AVG control center now to grab the update.

Thanks again to Clive and Sparky for sending in the details.

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Wednesday 4 December, 2002

New Windows Upates for December by @ 11:45 pm

Windows Update

Microsoft have added some new updates for December on Windows Update. The updates include a critical security update for Internet Explorer 6 with SP1 and a few other goodies.

The critical update is a Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1. Microsoft say:

A security vulnerability has been identified in Internet Explorer that could allow an attacker to compromise your Windows-based computer and, possibly, read files on it. You can help protect your computer from this specific vulnerability by installing this update.

Also available on Windows Update is a patch that addresses a problem that causes games on WindowsXP to hang when a video clip is played.

Another recommended update is for a problem where preview is unavailable in fax console on WindowsXP and service pack 1.

Microsoft have also added a download for Windows Journal viewer. This program allows users who do not have a computer running WindowsXP tablet edition to view files that were created in Microsoft Journal on a tablet pc.

For these and many other updates, visit Windows Update to keep your computer safe and secure.

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Tuesday 3 December, 2002

AVG Update by @ 6:31 pm

AVG


Grisoft have just updated their popular free antivirus software AVG.

The file size is a little ove 800k and a restart of your computer is not required.

If you use the Outlook Express plug-in you should see the following message at the bottom of your emails:
Version: 6.0.426 / Virus Database: 239 - Release Date: 02/12/2002

Grisoft tells us that this update has added detection of I-Worm/Deltad, I-Worm/Fusic, W97M/VD, Worm/Loxar, X97M/Adversary and new variants of Win32/Borges, I-Worm/Pluto, I-Worm/Roron, W97M/Title.

Many thanks to Slarty and Clive who told Newsbytes about the update.

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