Technology Vault - NewsBytes

Thursday 29 May, 2003

AVG Update for Holar by @ 9:52 pm

Grisoft have released an update that covers the Holar worm virus reported in our previous story.

The file update is 1320.3kb and a restart is not required.

Download this update now to keep your pc safe from Holar.

A new threat on the net by bluetracker @ 5:32 pm

Microsoft have patched the faulty patch with a patch. by @ 1:24 pm

Microsoft claim to have fixed the patch with another patch to correct problems that the original patch patched. Or to put it another way...

Microsoft says: Microsoft re-issued this bulletin on May 28, 2003 to advise on the availability of an updated Windows XP Service Pack 1 patch. This revised patch corrects the performance issues that some customers experienced with the original Windows XP Service Pack 1 patch.

Microsoft originally issued this bulletin on April 16, 2003. Subsequent to that date, Microsoft has received reports of performance problems with the patch from some Windows XP customers. Microsoft has investigated this issue and confirmed that there can be performance problems when the patch is applied to Windows XP Service Pack 1 systems. Microsoft is actively working on a revised patch for Windows XP Service Pack 1 and will re-issue that patch when it has been completed and fully tested. The existing Windows XP SP1 patch does address the security vulnerability discussed in this security bulletin.

Windows XP Service Pack 1 customers are encouraged to review this security bulletin – and in particular the Severity Rating matrix and assessment below - to assess whether their particular environments demand that the patch should be applied immediately or whether their particular level of risk permits delaying deployment of the patch until it is revised and the performance problem corrected. If your environment demands that the patch is installed before it is revised and the performance problem corrected, it is recommended that you test thoroughly to ascertain if your particular environment is affected by the performance issue. Microsoft has published a Knowledge Base article, 819634, that describes the known circumstances that can cause the performance problems to manifest themselves, and what affected users can do to reduce the impact of the problem. The Windows kernel is the core of the operating system. It provides system level services such as device and memory management, allocates processor time to processes and manages error handling.

There is a flaw in the way the kernel passes error messages to a debugger. A vulnerability results because an attacker could write a program to exploit this flaw and run code of their choice. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to take any action on the system including deleting data, adding accounts with administrative access, or reconfiguring the system.

For an attack to be successful, an attacker would need to be able to logon interactively to the system, either at the console or through a terminal session. Also, a successful attack would require the introduction of code in order to exploit this vulnerability. Because best practices recommends restricting the ability to logon interactively on servers, this issue most directly affects client systems and terminal servers.


Head on over to Windows Update to get patched;-)

Wednesday 28 May, 2003

New Windows Update available by @ 10:31 pm

Microsoft tells us of a Unchecked Buffer In Windows Component Could Cause Server Compromise. This affects Windows NT, 2000 and XP.

The update is available from Windows Update and is 525kb in size. Microsoft says: Microsoft originally released this security bulletin on March 17, 2003. At that time, Microsoft was aware of a publicly available exploit that was being used to attack Windows 2000 Servers running IIS 5.0. The attack vector in this case was WebDAV although the underlying vulnerability was in a core operating system component, ntdll.dll. Microsoft issued a patch to protect Windows 2000 customers shortly afterwards, but also continued to investigate the underlying vulnerability. During the course of that investigation, Microsoft found that Windows NT 4.0 also contains the underlying vulnerability in ntdll.dll, however it does not support WebDAV and therefore the known exploit was not effective against Windows NT 4.0. In addition, Microsoft has recently been made aware of this vulnerability as well in Windows XP. However, like Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP does not install Internet Information Services (IIS) by default. Microsoft has now released patches for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows XP.

Microsoft Windows 2000 supports the World Wide Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol. WebDAV, defined in RFC 2518, is a set of extensions to the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that provide a standard for editing and file management between computers on the Internet. A security vulnerability is present in a Windows component used by WebDAV and results because a core operating system component, ntdll.dll, contains an unchecked buffer.

An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially formed HTTP request to a machine running Internet Information Server (IIS). The request could cause the server to fail or to execute code of the attacker’s choice. The code would run in the security context of the IIS service (which, by default, runs in the LocalSystem context).

Although Microsoft has supplied a patch for this vulnerability and recommends all affected customers install the patch immediately, additional tools and preventive measures have been provided that customers can use to block the exploitation of this vulnerability while they are assessing the impact and compatibility of the patch. These temporary workarounds and tools are discussed in the “Workarounds” section in the FAQ below.

Mitigating factors:

- URLScan, which is a part of the IIS Lockdown Tool will block this attack in its default configuration
- The vulnerability can only be exploited remotely if an attacker can establish a web session with an affected server
- Windows NT 4.0 and Windows XP do not install Internet Information Services by default.
- Windows NT 4.0 does not support WebDAV

For full details about this patch CLICK HERE

Visit Windows Update to download this critical patch now.

Tuesday 27 May, 2003

Nvidia Detonator 44.10 released by @ 9:14 pm

Just got word that 3DChipsets have put up Detonator driver version 44.10. These are an English only file. Head on over to www.3dchipset.com to download them.

The file size is only 6.06mb in size. The inf file is dated 24th May 2003. These drivers are in English only, the language files have been removed.

The GeForceFAQ has been updated with the information.

Please Note: These drivers are bets drivers. This means they may have flaws and need further testing. Only download them if you know what your doing.

AVG Update by @ 8:47 pm

Grisoft has released an update for their popular FREE AVG anti-virus software. Download the file now to keep your pc safe.

The file size (XP users) is 1320.1kb which takes just over 5 minutes on a dial-up modem. A restart is not required.

Grisoft tells us that this update adds detection of new virus Trojan PWS.Rit and new variants of I-Worm/Naco, Backdoor.Litmus, Backdoor.Servu, Trojan Dialer, Downloader.Inor, Win32/Deloder.

Saturday 24 May, 2003

Dawn Demo now on ATi Radeon by @ 5:37 pm

Thanks to the guys at Rage3D, we ATi Radeon users can now enjoy Nvidia's Dawn on our ATi cards. Funny thing is, it runs better on ATi cards, it's faster and has higher quality images.

Well, you may have thought I had been a bit quiet around these here parts, well, that due to downloading the Nvidia Dawn demo on my dial-up which took all of 8 hours. But hay, it was well worth the wait.

Thanks to Rage3D who have added an OpenGL wrapper (it's a little file you add to the bin folder of the Dawn demo) users with ATi's Radeon 9700/9800 cards can now enjoy Dawn in all her splendor.

nZone: Nvidia Launch Broadband Only Website by @ 6:26 am

Nvidia have launched a broadband only website for 3D enthusiast called nZone. The site uses the latest Flash Player and offers enthusiasts downloads of games, screensavers and demos amongst other 3D community related content.

Wednesday 21 May, 2003

Getright 5.1 Update by @ 8:40 pm

The popular download manager 'Getright' has been updated to version 5.1. Getright have added lots of new features and fixes in this version.

GetRight is a Download Manager program to help you download files from the Internet. It allows you to easily download files and recover (resume downloading) if errors occur and has many other advanced features.

Here is the list of changes in version 5.1:

• Changed how the speed limit works a bit to avoid some rare crashes when using it.
• In Server Synchronizer, added to allow the usual Date special values. %YYYY% for year, etc.
• Added a /PAUSEALL command line item to pause/stop all downloads in progress.
• Fixed for some people, the Save As window choped off the extra GetRight stuff.
• Added "Copy URL to Clipboard" option to the Right click menus when in History mode on the Download Status.
• Fixed browser crash when handling processing many subdirectories.
• Fixed Windows XP Hot/Mouseover highlighting on some buttons.
• Fixed a display thing that could show negative speed at the very end of a file.
• Fixed (?) delay for some people when starting Automatic mode...wasn't doing modem-connected checks right.
• Fixed to handle %20 type things in Server Sync better.
• Fixed for Smaller download windows so height for mirror details is higher (still to do, make it sizeable)
• Added extra checking to make sure folders exist before downloading to them.
• Added some extra things for affiliates to give more choices (and less likely the affiliate info will get lost from Cookie cleanup tools, etc.)
• Fixed so Verify URLs works right with logins.
• Fixed so View Transfer Details window does same smart loading for Rich Text control as the GetRight Browser: Use it if it can find it, otherwise just use a plain text box so it always works.
• Fixed that sometimes it could get reset to the wrong tray icon look.
• Fixed one cause that made the "last save-to directory" get lost. (Adding things as mirrors could do it).
• Fixed (?) the problem that was causing the tooltips to not always show for Windows XP. (Weird, changing the order of some things seemed to do it...)

Getright is now totally free of spyware,adware and bundled features like gator. I get the impression that Getright really regrets getting mixed up with such things a while ago which didn't do the reputation of their fine product any good at all.

You can read more details and download your update from HERE

Tuesday 20 May, 2003

New Via Hyperion drivers 4.47 available by @ 10:17 pm

Via today, released a new set of Hyperion drivers for all Via chipsets. Version 4.47 is now available for download. Install the latest version of these chipset drivers to keep your system up-to-date and running at it's best.

I am at this time of writing this newsbyte unable to tell you what enhancements, if any these new chipset drivers give you as the page with the details on at Viaarena is down.

One point to note, if you are running an older operating system like Win95/98/98SE, Via tells you:

Win95/98/98SE are now relatively old operating systems, and drivers are no longer optimized for those operating systems. Many users of VIA chipsets who run Win95/98/98SE report that using an older version, such as VIA 4in1 version 4.35, they experience a more responsive system.

You can download the latest verion direct from THIS LINK. It's a tiny file just over 1.3mb in size.

New Microsoft Virus Alerts by @ 9:18 pm

Microsoft have teamed up with Network Associates and Trend Micro to provide Windows users with the latest virus alerts.

You can visit the new pages HERE

Just for your information, the latest threat is the new virus: W32/Palyh@mm

This virus affects Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, and Web-based e-mail. The PSS team says:

W32/Palyh@MM is a worm that spreads via e-mail and network shares. The Microsoft Product Support Services Security Team is issuing this alert to advise customers to be on the alert for this virus as it spreads in the wild. Customers are advised to review the information and take the appropriate action for their environments.

AVG ‘FREE’ edition, soon to be no more? by bluetracker @ 8:22 pm

”Dear Customer Support,
I report on the UK site “technologyvault” under the alias of Bluetracker.
I wonder if you would kindly answer one or two questions regarding your Anti-virus package currently available?
From 'whispers' on the WWW I have learned that you are to discontinue support for AVG6 at the end of the year? At this time you intend a launch of AVG7.”

(I included, reproduced below, copied and pasted from ‘the site’ the following information)

“Trent McGee, Sales and Marketing Manager of Grisoft Australia, addressed the Canberra branch of the PC User Group on March 31 and advised that the free version of AVG virus protection was likely to be converted to a paid product in the near future”

I went on to ask…..

”Would it be fair to say that you will also discontinue supplying a free version of the software at the launch of AVG7?
If so what prompted this decision?”

Again reproducing material as evidence, from “the site”;

”Yes Trent is correct. Version 6 of the Free Edition will only be supported till the end of this year.
It is possible a free edition of version 7 will be released next year, but it has not been decided.
Sincerely
Lynn Pitman
Director US Operations
Grisoft Inc.”

On the face of things, the above appeared be an answer from Grisoft to a query raised by ‘the site’…I pointed out that the statement indeed implied that Grisoft were planning to ditch their support for their free edition in the very near future and I wanted to know if indeed this was so and and what did Grisoft intend to do for those who could not afford a full priced version?
Perhaps they planned a release of a 'discounted version' to cater for these people? Were they prepared to lose a goodly portion of their market following to another AV vendor who did supply and support a free AV solution? Also,(as you see from above) ‘the site’ had mentioned one ‘Mr. McGee’ who was supposedly a spokesperson for AVG in Australia. If true would seem to add credance to the story.

Peter Lipa of Grisoft Sales responded….

“To the best of my knowledge Mr McGee represents Hotline Support in Australia, and not Grisoft.”

So having already revealed one flaw in the news circulated on the site I dug even deeper and asked would he comment on Grisoft’s intentions towards the Free edition and asked for insight as to whether it would still be supported after the release of AVG7

Peter once again graciously replied, anxious no doubt to ‘set the record straight’;

“There seems to some confusion concerning Grisoft's AVG AntiVirus Free Edition. We are very satisfied with the success of the AVG Free Edition, and have no intentions at this time to discontinue its availability.”

Regarding the question of the release of AVG7 having any effect on the supply of the free edition he told me,

”The release of AVG AntiVirus 7.0 next month will not negatively impact our continued support for the Free Edition. As for any changes that may occur in the future, we will provide sufficient notification of any such changes so that all AVG Free users that keep their system up-to-date with virus and other updates will know how and when to perform any necessary modifications to ensure that they will continue to receive complete virus protection through any future releases. We will continue to support our customers and resellers in every way possible to ensure their satisfaction. AVG Free is an important component of Grisoft's success, and we hope to continue to foster the loyalty of the many customers who protect their data with AVG Free. Any help that you can give in clarifying this misunderstanding with your audience will be appreciated.”

Glad to help Peter!

So there you have it boys and girls…. given Peter Lipa’s statements, GRISOFT DOES NOT plan on ditching support for the Free version. In this day and age where viruses are rife on the Internet it’s good to know that a company such as Grisoft is still ‘doing their bit’ in supplying and supporting AV solutions FOC for those who can’t afford, or don't want to buy one.

As a footnote…
Acting on the information I supplied, Grisoft have followed it up and determined that the ‘re-seller’ who originally posted the offending article was in fact mistaken, as Peter explained…...
” it seems to have been a misunderstanding - unfortunate as that may be given the rate of speed at which rumours spread. If only good news travelled as quickly.”

Welcome and Good news indeed. Let’s hope that we can expedite its circulation via our Technologyvault Newsbytes Forum. where we always endeavour to tell it ‘as it is’ checking the facts on every ‘snippet’ that is brought to our attention.

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Thursday 15 May, 2003

Catalyst Drivers 3.4 - Initial impressions by @ 11:39 pm

Well, Catalyst Maker and his team have sure got a winner here. These are about the fastest, most stable and glitch free drivers I have ever used for any graphics card. I've only had them installed for about half an hour now, but these drivers shine.

I know this is the home of the Geforce FAQ, but when I see quality like I see in the 3.4 Catalyst drivers for ATI graphics cards, I've just got to tell the world.

It would be wrong of me to call this news report a benchmark report as I've only had these drivers installed for half an hour or so, but already running the few tests I've run with 3DMark 03 my score has jumped a massive 350 marks or so.

Lets start from the beginning. ATI have released the new Catalyst 3.4 drivers for all ATI Radeon cards. Head on over to the ATI website to grab these and the other elements that make up the ATI Catalyst 3.4 suite. Or XP users can get the just drivers direct from this address:

Catalyst Driver 3.4 Control Panel
ATI Catalyst Driver 3.4

After uninstalling the 3.2s, I loaded up the new 3.4s. A quick check of the control panel tells me I have the new 3.4s installed.

ATI Catalyst 3.4 Control Panel

The next big difference with these new Catalyst is that you get a new colour control panel to adjust the colours within 3d applications. A nice touch and very welcome.


New ATI Colour Control Panel

The first thing I wanted to do was check to see if I had any speed improvement with 3DMark 03. I ran the benchmark program at default settings without any filtering. Knowing my score with the 3.2 drivers at this setting was 4353 I was delighted with the final result of 4666. That's over a 300 point improvement.


Default 3DMark 03 benchmark score

Next was a quick test of some of my demoscene demos. I knew I had a few problems with some of my demos which I keep in a special folder marked dud demos. One of these is a demo by Yodel called '32 degrees'. It ran fine under 3.2 but I had blotches of colour that were in places they shouldn't be. But with the 3.4 Catalyst drivers the demo ran flawlessly.

The other thing I noticed while testing out my demos was that I didn't notice any stuttering. With a few of my DirectX demos, when a 3D object was close up it would jump/stutter from left to right rather than smoothly move across the screen. I didn't notice this happening.

Knowing that one of my favourite games 'Microsoft's Train Simulator' suffered badly from this effect when the outside view 4 was set, I was eager to see if these new drivers had made any improvement. Well, I gotta say the train now passes without the slightest hint of a stutter. I'm very pleased.

To sum up, I have only touch the surface of the improvements I have found with these drivers. I am sure after alot more deep testing they are going to continue to surprise me. I'm sure that my graphic images look clearer, I can see that these drivers are smoother and 3DMark proves they are faster. So far, everything I have tried and tested with these drivers show an improvement. If ever you could get close to perfection, these new Catalyst drivers is it.

It goes to show that ATI's idea of getting dedicated members of the public to beta test drivers and to work alongside Catalyst Maker and his team has paid off. These are the peoples drivers. Made with what people have asked for in a driver. I take my hat off to all of them. I'm one happy caretaker;-)

Wednesday 14 May, 2003

New build of AVAST by bluetracker @ 11:46 pm

New Avast anti-virus release Road tested



It has been a while coming, but at last users of the Alwil Avast anti-virus can breathe easy once more with this 'new improved recipe', or can they?

This release is, I know almost 5 days old at the time of writing, but as a conscientious type of guy I thought that I’d ‘road test’ it for you all before putting finger to keyboard and simply announcing it’s release.

Several problems that had been afflicting the older version have, Alwil tell us in the “News” downloaded with the build, been fixed also greater functionality added to the program.
In use however it proved (to me anyway) to be a different kettle of anchovies altogether…. read on and all will be revealed…

One of the ‘bugs’ in the older version was the instability of the Screensaver Mode function. Not being a screensaver lover, but to give the program a fair as possible ‘shake down’, I configured the Screensaver Mode function packaged with the utility.
For those not familiar with it, Avast can (or should) carry on scanning and protecting your computer whilst your ‘eye candy’ is operating. If you don’t use a screensaver then this utility is pretty useless, the always on Standard Shield will/should if configured, be running silently in the background… however………

For it to do this you have first to tell it which screensaver you are using from the drop-down Windows screensaver list that appears within the Alwil S/saver setup window, it then runs in tandem with that screensaver showing it is in fact working by generating it’s own screensaver type advice boxes randomly in concert with your ‘actual’ one.

Opening Display Properties I selected the Screensaver tab and scrolled through the list until the Avast screensaver came into view; configured it to kick in after 1 minutes inaction of the mouse/keyboard I then hit the preview button and then configured the Windows screensaver “3D text” as Avast’s ‘soul mate’…what happened next was to say the least unexpected.

On my Windows XP set-up (new installation) AMD 1200 processor, Matrox G200 graphics card, 256 MB of SDRAM, the screensaver A/V mode actually decided to ‘throw a wobbly’. My display reverted to 640x480 when actually 800x600 was supposed to be it’s lowest configured resolution and promptly reverted back again with only one of the AV’s screensaver boxes coming into view!

“How strange” said I…. once configured only a movement of the mouse or a keystroke should’ve reverted the system back into the land of the living…. this proved an unnecessary expenditure of energy.

“Maybe it’s something running in the sys tray fouling the works” sez I.
So, to test my theory, I shut down everything in the sys tray barring Avast itself and tried again…
”No not that” …”Mmmmmm there has to be SOMEWAY of getting this thing to work” sez I…. and embarked on another course of action.

Scrolling through the Settings options of the screensaver and testing each ‘saver’ listed to run as Avast’s soul mate, I discovered that as long as the one you choose isn’t 3D orientated Alwil’s screensaver mode works…EUREKA!

So it would appear (or not, as in this case) if you like your 3D fishes or Windows’ own 3D offerings (apart for the ‘Starfield’ one which worked OK) this ‘feature’ of the program won’t work for you.
Not what Alwil had planned I’m sure, and may warrant further tweaking by them to get this function working correctly with the myriad of 3D ‘eye candy’ that permeate the WWW for your download pleasure and delight!
Then again it may prove to big a task and the Screensaver mode abandoned as a bad idea by Alwil in future updates to the program interface. Yours truly for one will not lament it’s passing!
To make sure it wasn't the action of 'Previewing' the s/saver I also allowed it to kick in automatically after the allotted minute, with the same results. In addition, on a keystroke or mouse movement the Windows screensaver ‘retired gracefully’ whilst it took several seconds for Alwil to realise it wasn’t needed anymore and stop displaying it’s little boxes on my desktop!

It has to be said in fairness to Alwil that the strange misbehaviour of the screensaver mode I experienced may be system orientated as I don’t have a ‘top of the range’ graphics card, I don’t need one (despite shouts of the contrary from younger members of Bluetracker Towers), but many others may have a similar graphics capability and wish to avail themselves of Avast’s screensaver functions.

If you HAVE a decent graphics card and use Alwil’s Avast anti virus and happen to find everything works OK on your system then please let us know on the forums? I’m sure Alwil would be interested in your findings on the stability (or not as the case may be) of the program under a wider range of set-ups. Don’t forget to tell us your system specs when reporting back!

Also in Alwil’s favour is the fact that the problems users of the program often faced in the configuration of the Boot-time scan is now a thing of the past with this release. With this function you should’ve been able to configure Avast to run before a virus was loaded into memory at startup. Designed to stall the normal Windows boot process and scan for viruses waiting to go resident was a handy enough little feature which one or other AV’s don’t or are not capable of doing.

AVAST users may recall that this function didn't like Windows XP too much, if at all, and often refused to run causing (dependant on your systems settings) the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death!
I can now inform you all that this HAS been ‘sorted’ and is working fine, or at least did so in the testing I carried out.

Other ‘improvements’ to this release are…

Bugs found in Session results and column sorting in the Enhanced User interface have become a thing of the past.

Control of Simple User interfaces is reportedly now completely configurable via the keyboard. Not being wild about keyboard operation of the utility I didn’t explore this to any degree…but what I did seemed OK.

Mail alerts (Pro version only) can now be set to be generated in both Screensaver and Quick scanning modes.

Alwil have also an added a function that generates extra confirmations when the user opts to delete potentially dangerous files (mail archives etc)

Basically IMHO these are just ‘icing’ on the cake and barring the last offering in the above selection of improvements and additions are rather a waste of space. Far better they (Alwil) had focussed their efforts on providing an impregnable Anti-virus solution (if such a thing is possible in these virus ridden times) rather than waste time ‘prettying up’ the package itself. Whilst aesthetically pleasing the addition of ‘skins’, sound effects or other added user configurable functions don’t stop a virus attacking your computer.

How I wish AV vendors would design their products do exactly what the users want them to do, which is to reliably find, eradicate and protect against virus infection. I for one don’t need all these ‘bells and whistles’…………..
But then again “Gifts” and “Horses mouths” spring to mind especially as I’m using the freebie version…
”Now what to choose as my Logon jingle for tomorrow?”

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Official Nvidia Detonator FX drivers 44.03 by @ 8:23 pm

Nvidia have released version 44.03 Detonator FX drivers for all Nvidia graphics cards and platforms.

2 drivers are available. One for Windows 95/98/ME at 18.5mb and one for Windows 2000 at 18.8mb. Both are multi-language drivers.

Head on over to the Nvidia driver page and pick your flavour.

The GeForce FAQ database has been updated with the information.

Nvidia says:

Release Highlights:

- Delivers an incredible 30% increase in performance over previous Detonator 40 drivers**
- The industries only true Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) – supports over five generations of NVIDIA GPUs - from TNT to GeForce FX -all in a single driver binary
- The industry’s best Microsoft® DirectX® 9 support
- Ultimate “The Way It’s Meant to be Played” experience
- nView™ 2.0 multi-display technology increases productivity and provides the necessary tools to control the way users access and view applications.
- NVRotate™ enabling image rotation on today’s advanced flat panel displays.
- NVKeystone™ allows for real-time image correction on portable projectors and heads-up displays.
- Digital Vibrance Control™ 3.0 allows users to adjust color controls to achieve accurate, bright colors under all conditions.

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ATi Catalyst 3.4 drivers will be released tomorrow by @ 8:01 pm

According to our friends at Rage3D, Terry Makedon, the man in charge of the driver team at ATI has announced the release date of the long awaited Catalyst 3.4s.

Tony Makedon (Catalyst Maker) says: CATALYST 3.4 will go live some time tomorrow and will include updates to three of the four CATALYST components. First and foremost we will update the driver to version 7.88 (with some cool performance boosts, and other new features), we will update multimedia center to version 8.5 (with a brand new user interface option), and we will update the Remote Wonder software (used in conjunction with the remote control we sell).

Head on over to Rage3D to read the full details and to check when the drivers are released.

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Tuesday 13 May, 2003

Another AVG Update Today by @ 9:21 pm

AVG, the popular free antivirus software from Grisoft has an updated definitions file available.

The file size is 1268kb and a restart is not required.

Grisoft says that this file adds detection of new variants of I-Worm/Lovegate

Check for updates now to keep your pc safe and free from nasties!


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WORM_LOVGATE.J by @ 9:03 pm

This malware is currently rapidly spreading in Korea, from where TrendLabs has received a significant number of infection reports. As of Tuesday, May 13, 12:46 AM (US Pacific Time), Trend has declared a Medium Risk Alert to control the spread of this malware.

This worm propagates via shared network drives and via email. It searches for all shared folders with read/write access in the same network and drops copies of itself into these folders. It propagates via email by replying to all new messages received in Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.

This worm runs on Windows NT, 2000, and XP.

TrendLabs is currently analyzing this malware and will be providing more information.

WORM_LOVGATE.J is detected by pattern file 534.

For more information on NAME please visit our Web site at: Trend Labs

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New TVTool version 7.1 by @ 4:49 am

Our friend Jochen Buehner has send word that a new version of the popular utility TVTool is now available. New features include 'True Multi-Monitor' support so you can watch DVD's on the TV while working in front of your monitor. Here's what he says:

Version 7.1 (Beta) is ready for download. With this version true multi monitor support is introduced. This makes it possible on appropriate graphics cards to change the TV mode resolution without affecting the resolution of the monitor. So you can watch a DVD on the TV while working in front of the monitor.

Also there is a member area now, where you can download the latest version. Further the userdata can be requested or your email address can be changed any time.

You can visit the HOT (Home of the TVTool) website HERE. Registered users should get an email with the download link.

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Monday 12 May, 2003

AVG Update by @ 9:37 pm

AVG, the popular free antivirus software from Grisoft has an updated definitions file available.

The file size is 1260kb and a restart is not required.

Grisoft says that this file adds detection of the new virus I-Worm/Fizzer and new variants of I-Worm/Cydog, Worm/Agobot, Backdoor.Litmus

Check for updates now to keep your pc safe and free from nasties!


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WORM_FIZZER.A warning! by @ 12:37 pm

Trend Micro tells us this malware is currently rapidly spreading in Japan and they have declared a Yellow Alert to control the spread of this malware.

W32/Fizzer-A, Fizzer, I-Worm.Fizzer, W32.HLLW.Fizzer@mm, W32/Fizzer@MM

This is a mass-mailing worm that spreads via email, using its own SMTP server.

It sends an email message of varying formats to all the addresses found in Windows Address Book and Microsoft Outlook. An example of the email is shown below:

Subject: Fwd: moin lim
Message body: I sent this program (Sparky) from anonymous places on the net.
Attachment: Elizab71.pif

The worm arrives as a file attachment with a .EXE, .PIF, .COM, or .SCR extension.

The malware also has the ability to propagate via Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing network. Furthermore, it can connect to IRC servers and join channels so that it can perform its backdoor routines.

It runs on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP.

For full details of this malware and how to remove it from yout system, visit this Trend Micro webpage.

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Sunday 11 May, 2003

SpywareBlaster Update 5/11/03 by @ 9:08 pm

A new update today for SpywareBlaster.

The definitions file is 92kb and the info file is 20kb. Just press 'check for updates now', check all and press protect all checked items. The new updates add protection against spyware on your system and stored cookies.

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Saturday 10 May, 2003

Microsoft release patch for ATA problem by @ 6:58 pm

Microsoft have released a patch to fix a problem for computers with multiple ATA drives. If a computer with multiple ATA drives enters the S1 power state, you may experience a number of problems.

Microsoft says:

SYMPTOMS
If your Windows 2000-based or Windows XP-based computer with multiple ATA drives enters the S1 power state, you may experience one of the following symptoms:

Windows does not recognize the ATA drives when you resume your computer from sleep or standby.

You may receive the following error message:

Unsafe Removal of Device:

You have unplugged or ejected a device without stopping it.

Unplugging or ejecting devices without first stopping them can frequently cause your computer to crash and loose valuable data.

Windows may stop responding (hang).

CAUSE
This problem occurs partly because the IDE storage driver stack incorrectly accesses registers that are required for a software reset. This leaves the host controller or device in a hung state. This problem does not affect computers that are using ATA Host controllers that are configured for Legacy mode operation. Although this issue has been identified on the Intel ICH5-based chip set, it is not limited to this hardware.

RESOLUTION
A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this fix.

Download the WindowsXP version CLICK HERE
Download the Windows 2000 version CLICK HERE

Visit the Knowledge Base HERE

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DirectX 9.0a Redistributable Package by @ 6:41 pm

Microsoft have released DirectX 9.0a in a redistributable package for software Developers. It also comes in handy to pop on a CD for those occasions when you have to do a reinstall of your system.

You can grab a copy for Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows XP from HERE

For full install instructions CLICK HERE

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Friday 9 May, 2003

NT Hell (again?) by @ 11:41 pm

NTL dial up users who are signed up to the Freedom package are being forced to download and install NTL's new dial up software. An email sent out to customers over the past few days reads:

Dear Customer,

It is vital that you download the new Internet Connection Kit to allow you to continue benefiting from this service. We will soon be changing your existing Internet connection number in order to introduce a range of numbers to ensure you get connected to the Internet every time.

This free piece of software only takes a few minutes to download. The first time the connection kit is used, up to 4 attempts to connect to the Internet will be made while it searches for the best number to dial from your location.

Please follow the link below to download. (URL removed)

However, it appears that some people who have downloaded the software are experiencing problems with it and many others have memories of their "GearBox" software, which also caused a lot of problems with PC's, and are reluctant to install it. Over at the NTHellworld forums some people have even threatened to look for another ISP.

It does appear that a few people have been able to create a DUN (Dial Up Network) connection using the new numbers without installing the software but it remains to be seen whether or not it'll still work when the old numbers go dead and the new system goes completely live.

NTL have seen more than one rebellion from their customers recently when they decided to cap Broadband users' bandwidth usage. A protest site was set up at dont-pay-ntl.co.uk

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Official Audigy 2 DriverPack 3 (WDM Drivers) released by @ 9:20 pm

Creative have added new drivers for improved performance of your Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy(TM) 2, Audigy 2 Digital Audio, Audigy 2 Platinum and Audigy 2 Platinum eX sound cards.

Creative tells us: This update contains fixes to improve the performance of your Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy(TM) 2, Audigy 2 Digital Audio, Audigy 2 Platinum and Audigy 2 Platinum eX.

Fixes included in this update

Optimizes EAX 3 performance
Improves CMSS2 performance
Adds Audigy 2 Platinum support for pre-installed/system integrated Audigy 2 cards

Before installing this update

Be sure that you have: Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000 or Windows XP installed, Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 or Audigy 2 Platinum eX audio card installed

Note: This update contains only the WDM drivers. There will not be future updates to the VXD drivers, which are no longer supported by many third-party applications. For the best user experience on the Audigy 2 series, please use the WDM drivers.

You can pick up the new drivers on the Aisa-Creative website
CLICK HERE

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Codename: Dashboard 1.1 Public Beta version 10 released by @ 9:02 pm

Danny Smurf has released Codename: Dashboard 1.1 Public Beta version 10. This version has the following fixes:

1. PIMSXML 2.0 won't install bug fixed
2. Slideshow no longer defaults to My Docs/My Pictures if it's not there
3. News Aggregator minimize bug has been fixed
4. WMP9 auto-video fixed
5. Email checker random crash bug (hopefully) fixed
6. Memory usage drastically reduced
7. Multi-user capabilities fixed
8. (a late addition) The MFC not found error should be fixed, for people having that problem.

Two versions are available:

.NET Framework version 1.0 CLICK HERE

.NET Framework version 1.1 CLICK HERE

This is what version 1.1 looks like...

Codename: Dashboard 1.1 beta 10

Enjoy!

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Wednesday 7 May, 2003

SONY launch new MINI DV camcorder package by bluetracker @ 10:56 am

DCR-PC105 Mini DV Handycam® camcorder

Just when you've packed the last of yer holiday togs into the suitcase, invited the whole family to sit on the case to ensure the zips meet...you get all the baggage together, do the 'light fantastic' on and off the bathroom scales with it to check you aren't over the flight baggage allowance; along comes Sony to put the 'mockers' on your carefully laid plans.

Well, almost...... the sacrifice of a couple of yer favourite T-shirts or a pair of Jesus sandals ...oh, and approximately £620 ($1000)of your 'spends' is all that is required to take this baby with you...Descisions, descisons!



Weighing in at almost 1 pound (16 ounces), (perhaps the T-shirts and sandals get to stay at home?) this new compact camcorder has, Sony tell us, "a one-megapixel imager with Carl Zeiss® optics to produce video with 520 lines of horizontal resolution that has crisp detail and colour clarity".

It also sports an 'intelligent' pop-up flash to ensure that the still images (1152 X 864) are captured even if the 'Meths' flame circle fades during the shooting of Greek dancing or even nocturnal activities of the animal kingdom...whatever.

It's sleek toned down profile (memories of hours in the gym flood back as I tried in vain to achieve the impossible 'Adonis-like' profile to upgrade me 'Beach cred'..decided on the more 'homely' look this year instead!) is finished in a two tone silver and metallic blue, for those who prefer looks of an article as opposed to it's functionallity. (I did however splash out on a new 'hanky' neatly knotted in each corner to compliment my 'enforced' image ;-))


Simple Touch-Screen Navigation


"For convenient access to the camcorder's numerous modes and features, the camcorder offers a touch panel 2.5" SwivelScreen"
Nifty but not very good for those "ham-fisted" types, as I would imagine too much applied pressure would undoubtedly break the screen which is liable to be an expensive item to replace. But for those of us that are a little less "ham fisted" and I don't include Yours Truly in this category; a handy feature indeed that saves pouring through an endless menu clicking OK at every choice before reaching the desired setting.

I shudder to think of the picture opportunities that peeps must have missed because setting up the camera took too long.
If only I had had that 'touch screen' tech on my camcorder, then Aunty Flo's emergance from the 'Ladies' with her dress tucked in the back of her....I digress....You get the picture...unfortunately I didn't!

USB Streaming

The now commonplace USB connection is also a feature on this model. Which in essence enables you to stream live or recorded video of your day at the beach (or Auntie Flo's antics)by connecting the camcorder to a PC with Internet access, using a proprietary Vido Conferencing utility such as Windows NetMeeting Share the experiece worldwide. Although expect to be struck off 'Aunties Christmas card list' if you do!


MPEG1 Without Limits

Equipped with MPEG Movie EX, which allows it to capture mini-movies with audio onto Memory Stick® media up to the length of the media's capacity. Video clips can either be captured directly onto Memory Stick media, or recorded on tape and later converted in-camera to MPEG1. These clips can be easily shared with friends as an e-mail attachment or included on Web sites and office presentations.


Sony tells us that this new Handycam camcorder also features:

InfoLithium® Rechargeable Battery With AccuPower Meter System - All Sony Handycam camcorders conveniently indicate the remaining minutes of battery life on the LCD or viewfinder display, allowing users to keep an accurate and constant reading of remaining battery power. In addition, Sony has incorporated a new "Battery Info" button on its camcorders. Even when the camcorder is off, simply press the button and the battery charge level and remaining recording time is quickly displayed.
Sony don't however, disclose any details of what can be expected by way power consumption of the package in normal use. One suspects that for many of us in the Digital photographic world, the supplied battery will prove to be insufficient for extended use and the optional extra of a larger battery pack will prove a neccessary pre-requisite.

Even more features!

10X Optical/120X Precision Digital Zoom = less distortion than conventional digital zooms.

Super NightShot® 0 Lux/Color Slow Shutter Recording System = Ability to capture video in total darkness up to 10 feet away by using an advanced infrared system.

Super SteadyShot® Picture Stabilization= motion sensors to compensate for camera shake, Especially useful after quaffing copious amounts of 'Ouzo'!

The DCR-PC105 model will be available in June (ESTIMATED..July-August in the UK) ...unpack those T-shirts and sandals in preparation!

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AVG Update by @ 4:25 am

AVG, the popular free antivirus software from Grisoft has an updated definitions file available.

The file size is 1260kb and a restart is not required.

Grisoft says that this file adds detection of new viruses I-Worm/Morbex, Worm/Opex and new variants of IRC/BackDoor.SdBot, Worm/Agobot, Worm/Deborm, Worm/Kwbot, Worm/Loxar, Worm/Sambud, Worm/Sddrop, Worm/Shower, Worm/Sytro, Win32/Deloder, I-Worm/Ardurk, I-Worm/Cult, I-Worm/Gibe, I-Worm/Naith.

Check for updates now to keep your pc safe and free from nasties!


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Tuesday 6 May, 2003

New Sound Blaster Audigy 2 driver by @ 4:03 pm

Gateway have released a new Sound Blaster Audigy 2 driver version 5.12.0001.0324 for Windows 2000 and XP.

The file size is 14247KB and the driver is dated 22 April 2003. The file is for Sound Blaster Audigy II Audio with IEEE 1394 Sound Card and users with Windows 2000 and XP.

You can visit the download page of Gateway HERE

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Monday 5 May, 2003

Spywareblaster Update by bluetracker @ 12:28 am

Thanks to forum member Triplea for posting the info in the forum.

Keenvalue exploit added to database

Spywareblaster has added 16 ...yes that's right 16 entries to it's database for the Keenvalue exploit.

The More info blurb from within the program tells us that KeenValue collects alarmingly large amounts of personal data, displays annoying advertisements, and also can read third-party cookies and transfer that information back to the maker.

Make sure you dowload the update NOW

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Saturday 3 May, 2003

Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 6 Update by @ 5:05 am

Lavasoft have released an update for Ad-Aware 6. OR139 02.05.2003 is the update version.

Pless 'check for updates' to download this update on the main control panel.

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ATi Catalyst drivers 3.3 cancelled by @ 4:32 am

ATi's Catalyst drivers version 3.3 which failed Microsoft's testing earlier this month have been cancelled. Beta 3.4 drivers have been passed on to testers and are expected to be released now on or around the 12th May 2003.

A number of rumours had done the rounds about this on the web but according to Terry Makedon (Catalyst Maker) at Rage3D it's now official.

Terry said: CATALYST 3.3 has been cancelled and will not be posted. We will jump over to CATALYST 3.4 this time and the time frame we are looking at right now is May 12th-15th (now do NOT hold me to that) Its not a promise just that is what the schedules are looking like at the current time. These drivers are currently in the hands of our beta testers and going through the final run through. If all goes well you guys will get them in the time frame I mentioned above and you will be very happy with them. They will have performance boosts across the boards, some bug fixes, some new features, and of course the best image quality in the business!

We will post the news as soon as the long awited replacement to Catalyst 3.2 is released.

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