Tech News

[yid4eva]

Just a spot for me to post some tech news that some may find interesting or useful..



Hard drive evolution could hit Microsoft XP users

Hard drives are about to undergo one of the biggest format shifts in 30 years.

By early 2011 all hard drives will use an "advanced format" that changes how they go about saving the data people store on them.

The move to the advanced format will make it easier for hard drive makers to produce bigger drives that use less power and are more reliable.

However, it might mean problems for Windows XP users who swap an old drive for one using the changed format.

Error codes

Since the days of the venerable DOS operating system, the space on a hard drive has been formatted into blocks 512 bytes in size.

The 512 byte sector became standardised thanks to IBM which used it on floppy disks.

While 512 bytes was useful when hard drives were only a few megabytes in size, it makes less sense when drives can hold a terabyte (1000 gigabytes), or more of data.

"The technology has changed but that fundamental building block of formatting has not," said David Burks, a product marketing manager for storage firm Seagate.

This fine resolution on hard drives is causing a problem, he said, because of the wasted space associated with each tiny block.

Each 512 byte sector has a marker showing where it begins and an area dedicated to storing error correction codes. In addition a tiny gap has to be left between each sector. In large drives this wasted space where data cannot be stored can take up a significant proportion of the drive.

Moving to an advanced format of 4K sectors means about eight times less wasted space but will allow drives to devote twice as much space per block to error correction.

"You can get yourself into a corner where you cannot squeeze much more onto the disk," said Steve Perkins, a technical consultant for Western Digital.

This shift also allows manufacturers to make more efficient use of the real estate on a hard drive.

"We can put more data on the disk," he said. "It's about 7-11% more efficient as a format."

Slow down

Through the International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association (Idema) all hard drive makers have committed to adopting the 4K advanced format by the end of January 2011.

Hard drive makers have begun an education and awareness campaign to let people know about the advanced format and to warn about the problems it could inflict on users of older operating systems such as Windows XP.

This is because Windows XP was released before the 4K format was decided upon.

"The 512 byte sector assumption is ensconced into a lot of the aspects of computer architecture," said Mr Burks from Seagate.

By contrast, Windows 7, Vista, OS X Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard and versions of the Linux kernel released after September 2009 are all 4K aware.

To help Windows XP cope, advanced format drives will be able to pretend they still use sectors 512 bytes in size.

When reading data from a drive this emulation will go unnoticed. However, said Mr Burks, in some situations writing data could hit performance.

In some cases the drive will take two steps to write data rather than one and introduce a delay of about 5 milliseconds.

"All other things being equal you will have a noticeable hard drive reduction in performance," said Mr Burks, adding that, in some circumstances, it could make a drive 10% slower.

In a bid to limit the misalignment, hard drive makers are producing software that ensures 512 sectors line up with 4K ones.

Those most likely to see the performance problems are those building their own computers or swapping out an old drive for one that uses the new format.

[yid4eva]

Now this sucks...no more skipping off work for some ppl...


Mobile that allows bosses to snoop on staff developed

Researchers have produced a mobile phone that could be a boon for prying bosses wanting to keep tabs on the movements of their staff.

Japanese phone giant KDDI Corporation has developed technology that tracks even the tiniest movement of the user and beams the information back to HQ.

It works by analysing the movement of accelerometers, found in many handsets.

Activities such as walking, climbing stairs or even cleaning can be identified, the researchers say.

The company plans to sell the service to clients such as managers, foremen and employment agencies.

"Technically, I think this is an incredibly important innovation," says Philip Sugai, director of the mobile consumer lab at the International University of Japan.

"For example, when applied to the issue of telemedicine, or other situations in which remotely monitoring or accessing an individual's personal movements is vital to that service.

"But there will surely be negative consequences when applied to employee tracking or salesforce optimisation."

Complex behaviour

Until now, mobile phone motion sensors were capable of detecting only repetitive movements such as walking or running.

The KDDI system, is able to detect more complex behaviour by using analytical software - held on a server back at base - to match patterns of common movements.

For example, the KDDI mobile phone strapped to a cleaning worker's waist can tell the difference between actions performed such as scrubbing, sweeping, walking an even emptying a rubbish bin.

The aim of the new system, according to KDDI, is to enable employees to work more efficiently and managers to easily evaluate their employees' performance while away from the office.

"It's part of our research into a total ubiquitous technology society, and activity recognition is an important part of that," said Hiroyuki Yokoyama, head of web data research at KKDI's research labs in Tokyo.

"Because this technology will make central monitoring possible with workers at several different locations, businesses especially are very interested in using such technology to improve the efficiency of their workers.

"We are now at a stage where we can offer managers a chance to analyse more closely the behaviour of staff."

KDDI says it is in talks with a Japanese employment agency that specialises in contract cleaners and security and is interested in deploying the new technology.

'Mothering system'

"Of course there are privacy issues and any employers should really enter into an agreement with employees before using such a system.

"But this is not about curtailing employees' rights to privacy. We'd rather like to think our creation more of a caring, mothering system rather than a Big Brother approach to watching over citizens."

It is not the first time remote spying technology has been enlisted by employers to keep an eye on their workforce in Japan or elsewhere.

Lorry drivers are regularly monitored through mobile phones in Japan, while salespeople have been regularly tracked by their employers using GPS since it was introduced to Japanese mobiles in 2002.

Critics of such systems accuse the makers of pandering to an over-controlling, Big Brother-type managerial class and say that with this new technology there comes the increased opportunity for abuse.

'Poor record'

"This is treating people like machines, like so many cattle to be monitored and watched over," Kazuo Hizumi, a leading human rights lawyer.

"New technology should be used to improve our lives not to spy on us.

"It beggars belief that a prominent company such as KDDI could come up with such a surveillance system. It's totally irresponsible."

Japan had a very poor record on human rights, privacy issues and consumer rights, said Mr Hizumi.

For this reason, he said, invasive technologies were readily accepted as there was little debate on their possible impact to be found in the media in Japan or among its people.

"I'm afraid ordinary citizens don't care about this lack of rights. Consequently because of technology like this, Japan is heading for the Dark Ages," said Mr Hizumi.

[P UNIT 1980]

In my job I used to have to do night shifts every so often.

I used to have to go round periodically and swipe a electronic sensor over the pegging points to show that I had been up and about instead of gettin my nut down and catching up on some late night telly.

However when I started to prepare my cheeky midnight feast of a Chicken Biriyani I accidentally stuck my pegging machine in the microwave for 10 seconds.

This had an adverse effect on the peformance of the pegging device and unfortunately for the rest of the week I as unable to peg and had to sit down, watch TV and gorge myself on microwave meals before getting my nut down and getting a reasonable nights kip.

There are always ways round things...............

[yid4eva]

Interesting concept.



'Console killer' OnLive to launch in June

A gaming service that aims to kill off the traditional gaming console will begin streaming popular games over the internet in June this year.

OnLive, which launched to much fanfare in 2009, announced details of its service at the GamesBeat conference.

Instead of games taking hours to download or buying them off the shelf, OnLive promises games on-demand.

"OnLive breaks the console cycle. We don't need new hardware devices," said company founder Steve Perlman.

That sentiment was echoed by his chief operating officer Mike McGarvey.

"We want to take your dollars from hardware and let you spend it on software. We are a new platform and we're building a network and infrastructure to last for the next 30 years of gaming, not the next five years," Mr McGarvey told reporters.

'Disruptive'

OnLive has been in development for eight years and will officially become available on June 17.

The company said it will deliver on-demand video games via the cloud to the PC, Mac or TV and that it could provide high quality gaming on low-end machines.

OnLive relies on video compression technology, which instantly streams video via the internet so if feels like the game is playing locally.

The reality is that all the heavy lifting is done by remote data centres that can be no more than a thousand miles away.

Players use a PC or TV hooked up to a broadband connection to connect to the system.

"It could be very disruptive to the console vendors," Billy Pidgeon, an independent game analyst told Bloomberg News.

"This also wouldn't be good for retailers or anybody selling physical software formats."

Research group NPD reported that last year, US video-game sales fell 8% to $19.6bn (£13bn).

Instant gratification

OnLive said that it was reacting to a change in gamer's habits, as they increasingly migrate online.

"There is this huge shift from download and use later to use it right now. The bytes coming in are not being stored. They are being consumed the moment they arrive," said Mr Perlman.

Dean Takahashi of website GamesBeat believes instant success is not guaranteed.

"It is going to be small at first. At the beginning it becomes one more great channel for the game companies to pursue. But at some point, yeah there is going to be a transition," he said.

OnLive will be available for a monthly rental fee of $14.95 (£9.99) for subscribers to then buy or rent games over the internet.

It will have titles such as Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia and Borderlands.

No date was given for when OnLive will be available in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

[yid4eva]

MSN Launches New On-Demand Video Player

MSN has launched a new video-on-demand service which will allow viewers in the UK to watch more than 1,000 hours of popular TV shows.

Watch free full TV series and clips on MSN Video Player UK

[yid4eva]

Well this is a total surprise to me that I initially did not believe until I searched a bit about it and found it to be true.

Energizer, the battery makers have a USB battery charger that charges batteries once it is plugged into your USB port on your PC. What Energizer failed to notify their customers is that installing the monitoring software for the charger actually infects your PC with a backdoor trojan that allows a hacker remote access to your PC without your knowledge. Hmmm a trojan via a battery charger...heard it all now..lol ..

The Energizer Bunny keeps going and going, but he picked up a nasty Trojan along the way. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security discovered that Energizer's Duo USB charger left Windows computers open to remote control, thanks to a back door in the product's battery monitoring software. Here's what you need to know:

The Energizer DUO Trojan: What You Need to Know


Anyone who may have the following is advised to update the software and scan the PC with a decent Antivirus program. The hardware alone will not infect a PC..you need to install the software that comes with the hardware.

Energizer DUO - USB Charger

[thfcire]

jesus i bought one of those formy daughter at xmas because i bought her a camera.i didnt download any software as far as i know,i just plugged it into the usb.running norton full scan as we speak.

[yid4eva]

jesus i bought one of those formy daughter at xmas because i bought her a camera.i didnt download any software as far as i know,i just plugged it into the usb.running norton full scan as we speak.

Ire all the software does is monitor the progress of the charge and it gives u a visual reference of how long is left to full charge.. Oh and it also monitors your keystrokes..lol... don't panic..if you didn't install the software that came with it you are fine.

[thfcire]

Ire all the software does is monitor the progress of the charge and it gives u a visual reference of how long is left to full charge.. Oh and it also monitors your keystrokes..lol... don't panic..if you didn't install the software that came with it you are fine.

yeah checked with the vball and chain and she says there wasnt a cd with it,so im think im in the clear as i wouldnt go looking for that stuff on the net

[yid4eva]

Apple will issue replacement iPad when battery runs out

iPad owners will pay $99 to receive a new device when they need a replacement battery

It means that iPad users will effectively have to buy a new device if their battery becomes unable to hold a full charge over time.

The iPad - which goes on sale in the United States on April 3, and in the UK by the end of next month - is a sealed unit, which means users cannot replace the battery themselves. Instead, they have to send their old iPad in to Apple, and will receive a replacement iPad in return.

"If your iPad requires service due to the battery's diminshed ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee," said Apple on its website. "The service costs $99, plus $6.95 shipping. The total cost is $105.95 per unit."

Users are urged to ensure the data on their iPad is backed up before sending it in for the iPad battery replacement service, because the replacement iPad "will not contain any of your personal data".

The move has raised eyebrows in the technology community. Several Apple products need to be returned to Apple in order for the battery to be changed, by the iPad is the first device where Apple has explicitly said it will send users a completely new unit. The iPhone, by contrast, is "serviced" by Apple before being returned to the user.

Apple has started to take pre-orders for the iPad in the United States, and the company's website has revealed more details about the touch-screen, tablet-style computer. Users who choose a 3G model and sign up to a limited-use data plan will receive on-screen alerts to warn them how much of their data allowance they have used and how much is remaining.

Users will also need to download and install the iBooks application on their iPad via the App Strore. Users can add bookmarks to the books they are reading, look up any word in a document using the iPad's built-in dictionary, and even have their books read aloud to them using the iPad's VoiceOver tool.

And Apple has also added a screen rotation lock to the device, enabling users to "fix" the screen in landscape or portrait orientation, which is useful when reading lying down.

Apple is yet to announce UK pricing details for the iPad, or the cost of the battery replacement service for British consumers.

[yid4eva]

Chuck Norris Virus Attacks Broadband ISP ADSL Routers

Ah Chuck Norris, perhaps one of the greatest film and TV stars who ever lived [ED: In a parallel universe] and the only person we know who could kill a man at 50 paces with only the hair of his beard (MacGyver could probably beat that), has now been immortalised again by a new virus that attacks broadband ISP DSL routers and modems.

The Chuck Norris Virus (hehe) takes advantage of the fact that many broadband ISP routers are configured to allow remote access. It abuses this feature by randomly guessing the default admin password and thus infecting the device remotely, effectively bypassing the PC itself.

Once infected the router becomes part of a wider botnet, which can be abused by hackers to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. It's understood that routers where the default admin password has not been changed are most vulnerable. Routers manufactured by D-Link are also known to be particularly susceptible.

The easiest solution is to set a new password for your router, which must be a hard to guess mix of largely random alphanumeric characters. It's also a good idea to disable remote access, although some ISP supplied routers may require this feature to keep your hardware up to date.

FYI: The virus gets its name because the author added this comment into its source code - "in the name of Chuck Norris".

[yid4eva]

02 condemns file-sharing letters

Mobile firm O2 has stepped into the row over thousands of controversial letters that are being sent to alleged illegal file-sharers in the UK.

It condemned the attempts "by rights holders and their lawyers to bully or threaten our customers".

The row centres around UK law firm ACS:Law and its client DigiProtect, a anti-piracy firm which represents a series of content owners.

ACS: Law denies that its letters are bullying in nature.

"Neither we nor our clients threaten or bully anyone. We send out letters of claim to account holders of internet connections where those internet connections have been identified as being utilised for illegal file-sharing of our clients' copyrighted works," said Andrew Crossley of ACS: Law.

"Our letter makes an enquiry in that regard and invites the recipient of our letter to respond to this evidence. In addition they are invited to enter into a compromise to avoid litigation," he added.

The firm is in the process of contacting thousands of alleged UK pirates and offers them the chance to settle out of court for around £500 per infringement.

02's broadband customers are among those sent letters.

"Where we are legally obliged to provide information and the correct paperwork is presented, we will comply with the law," said an O2 spokesman.

"But we prefer the 'win-win' approach of encouraging the development of new business models that offer customers the content they want, how they want it, for a fair price," he added.

One-off payment

ACS: Law says it has so far identified around 60,000 different UK IP addresses, which reveal the identity of individual computers.

It is in the process of applying for court orders which would force the internet service provider behind the IP address to hand over the physical address of the individual connected to the computer.

Not all IP addresses will result in a physical address because one machine can generate more than one IP address and, in some cases, the ISP is unable to find the real address.

ACS: Law estimates that for every 1,000 IP addresses it requests court orders for it will get around 400 actual addresses.

Investigation

Many of the case already underway were passed on to ACS: Law by another law firm Davenport Lyons, which originally began the claims.

Davenport Lyons has been subject to an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its role in sending letters to alleged pirates.

The SRA confirmed to the BBC that two of the partners, Brian Miller and David Gore, have been referred to its disciplinary tribunal.

"We are very aware of the public and parliamentary concern about the issue behind the Davenport Lyons complaint," said a SRA spokesman.

ACS: Law is also being investigated by the SRA.

ACS: Law declined to say how many of the cases it is pursuing have been settled out of court or how many have been dropped but Mr Crossley said that "some are in court at the moment".

The process used by ACS: Law has courted controversy because the accuracy of methods used to identify pirates.

Experts argue that an IP address cannot be used as evidence in court because it is not proof that the owner of the PC was actually responsible for the downloading.

Hundreds of people have complained to consumer watchdog Which?, saying that they have been wrongly accused, including pensioners who claim they don't know how to download content.

It has caused distress to some of the accused, particularly as some of the content they are accused of downloading is hardcore pornography.

'Scared'

"My clients are losing money because of copyright infringement and they are equally upset that their copyright is being stolen," said Mr Crossley.

He declined to identify any of the clients represented by DigiProtect, beyond saying "there are a variety, some in music, some computer games and some in adult content movies".

In the UK the government has toughened its stance on illegal downloading and its new policy, if approved by the parliament, will see letters sent to people believed to be involved in illegal downloading

"The notifications will "guide recipients towards legal services" and "may refer to the prospect of court action", according to UK music industry representative BPI.

The BPI said it has no intention of following a similar path to ACS: Law.

But Mr Crossley threw down the gauntlet to other rights holders.

"I think the BPI is letting its members down. I think they are scared of alienating their customers," he said.

"My clients don't have the same fear. They take the view that the people they target aren't their customers because they are stealing from them," he said.

Mr Crossley said that the copyright owners got a fair share of the revenue generated by the process.

"After my expenses the copyright owner is the largest single beneficiary," he said.

Another law firm has recently begun issuing similar letters.

[yid4eva]

Fake Facebook Support Warning

If you didn't ask to have your Facebook password reset, think twice before opening an email that looks like it's from Facebook's support team. A lot of these fake password-reset emails have been going out lately, and the attachments they contain can take over your computer and add it to the Bredolab botnet.

Your first clue that these emails are fake is that they contain a zipped .exe file, which is an insecure and inefficient way to send an account password. Although the mail looks like it comes from support @facebook.com, the address is just spoofed to trick you. The botnet behind this attack, Bredolab, is reportedly involved in some large-scale spamming and identity theft activities, so don't risk letting your computer become part of it.


Trojan.Bredolab - Removal
Trojan.Bredolab Removal - Removing Help | Symantec

[RiverWire]

Fake Facebook Support Warning

If you didn't ask to have your Facebook password reset, think twice before opening an email that looks like it's from Facebook's support team. A lot of these fake password-reset emails have been going out lately, and the attachments they contain can take over your computer and add it to the Bredolab botnet.

Your first clue that these emails are fake is that they contain a zipped .exe file, which is an insecure and inefficient way to send an account password. Although the mail looks like it comes from support @facebook.com, the address is just spoofed to trick you. The botnet behind this attack, Bredolab, is reportedly involved in some large-scale spamming and identity theft activities, so don't risk letting your computer become part of it.


Trojan.Bredolab - Removal
Trojan.Bredolab Removal - Removing Help | Symantec

Ive been getting around 4 of them emails a day (infact another one just came in) for the past month maybe longer, Nod Zaps them as soon as they come in, another one very similar to look out for is the UPS Package delivery , Basically an email saying UPS has missed you while you were out , Same kind of attachment .

I normally get most emails like that before most since my email address is all over the net because of my sites lol

[yid4eva]

Microsoft announces Windows 7 SP1

Microsoft today announced service packs for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, but declined to set a release date or a schedule for getting a beta in users' hands.

According to a company spokesman, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will primarily contain "minor updates," including patches and hotfixes that will have been delivered earlier via the Windows Update service, rather than new features. One of the latter: an updated Remote Desktop client designed to work with RemoteFX, the new remote-access platform set to debut in SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows Server 2008 R2 will also be upgraded to SP1, Microsoft said, presumably at the same time as Windows 7 since the two operating systems share a single code base. Besides RemoteFX -- which Microsoft explained yesterday in an entry on the Windows virtualization team's blog -- Server 2008 R2 will also include a feature dubbed "Dynamic Memory," which lets IT staff adjust guest virtual machines' memory on the fly.

Microsoft did not spell out a timetable for the service packs, saying only that it would provide more information as release milestones approach.