*HOT* Tech News And Downloads, I Would Read This Thread And Post Any Good Info

Firefox Is Doing So Well It's Now A Malware Target

ffox You've come a long way, baby. Mozilla has arrived in a big way, with the 200 millionth download of the Firefox browser on Monday, less than two years after Firefox made its debut.

It's also seen its first serious malware exploit.

An exploit named Infostealer.Snifula first came to the attention of virus detection labs late last month. It uses an exploit in the Firefox browser in the cross-platform component object models (XPCOMs). XPCOMs are used for developing the extensions that have made Firefox so popular in the first place. Firefox Is Doing So Well It's Now A Malware Target Linked by shanmuga Thu Aug3 2006 1:36am EDT

August 2, 2006
Firefox Is Doing So Well It's Now A Malware Target
By Andy Patrizio

You've come a long way, baby. Mozilla has arrived in a big way, with the 200 millionth download of the Firefox browser on Monday, less than two years after Firefox made its debut.

It's also seen its first serious malware (define) exploit.

go here to read the article
http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3624071

 

Hijacking a Macbook in 60 Seconds or Less

laptop If you want to grab the attention of a roomful of hackers, one sure fire way to do it is to show them a new method for remotely circumventing the security of an Apple Macbook computer to seize total control over the machine. That's exactly what hackers Jon "Johnny Cache" Ellch and David Maynor plan to show today in their Black Hat presentation on hacking the low-level computer code that powers many internal and external wireless cards on the market today.

The video shows Ellch and Maynor targeting a specific security flaw in the Macbook's wireless "device driver," the software that allows the internal wireless card to communicate with the underlying OS X operating system. Hijacking a Macbook in 60 Seconds or Less - Security Fix Linked by shanmuga Thu Aug3 2006 1:31am EDT

go here to read it all
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2006/08/hijacking_a_macbook_in_60_seco_1.html

 

Breaking into a laptop via WiFi

wireless Flaws in the software that runs wireless networking hardware could let an attacker break into a PC over WiFi, security researchers warned Wednesday.

An attacker could gain complete control over a laptop by sending malformed network traffic to a vulnerable computer, David Maynor, a senior researcher at security service provider SecureWorks, said in a presentation at the Black Hat security event here.

Maynor, along with researcher Jon "Johnny Cache" Ellch, showed a video of a successful attack on a MacBook, made by Apple Computer. However, the attack is possible also on other computers, both laptops and desktops, and not just MacBooks, the researchers said. Breaking into a laptop via Wi-Fi | CNET News.com Linked by shanmuga Thu Aug3 2006 1:28am EDT

go here to read it all
http://news.com.com/Breaking+into+a...3-6101523.html?part=rss&tag=6101523&subj=news

 

Strong iced coffee after a three mile walk in blistering heat...and it's only 8:00 a.m. This is going to be an interesting day as the office is closed for the anual company pic-nic and I'm the only one here.

With so many recent lay-offs, everyone has office politics on their minds. No one wanted to go; they're all going out into the middle of nowhere to eat hamburgers, hotdogs and watermelon in 100 degree heat with no air conditioning anywhere. Given recent gong-on in the organization, a certain amount of a$$ kissing is called for but I went about it differently but in a manner few can really get away with ... one of the few privileges of having been working here forever and knowing everybody who's worth knowing.

The Human Resourses Department, in its usually efficient manner, sent me an email telling me that they've decided to cancel the weekly staff meeting as I would be the only one in attendance. I don't plan to be totally lazy though. Having inhereted the work and files of half a dozen people, it will give me the chance to clean and organize in air conditioned comfort while my co workers enjoy group recreation they do not want.

 

Scratched CD? Hair gel to the rescue
August 4, 2006 7:00 AM PDT

As much as we try to be progressive with technology, some of us at Blogma just can't bring ourselves to abandon our CD collections. So we were delighted upon finding this post on Om3ga, which claims to have found a sure-fire way to repair scratched CDs and DVDs. The secret ingredient in his magic solution: hair gel.
http://www.om3ga.co.uk/2006/07/27/scratched-cds-no-problem/

GO HERE TO READ AND SEE THE PRETTY PIXS
http://www.om3ga.co.uk/2006/07/27/scratched-cds-no-problem/


yes, hair gel, and guess what… It worked!

I applied it in much the same way as the toothpaste, except I didn’t dribble water on it. I rubbed it first. Even though I applied it to one area, it ended up evenly spread around the whole disc. I then dribbled water on to loosen it up so I could rub the excess off.

So, the secret to scratch free CDs is……

Hair Gel!-Ben

 

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http://www.zamaansoft.com/

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Circuit City invites wrath of the MPAA by copying DVDs

8/4/2006 10:09:44 AM, by Ken Fisher

Fair Use advocates, take notice. Circuit City is apparently putting its neck on the line to provide customers with DVD transfer services. The company is offering a "DVD video transfer service" that for all intents and purposes is illegal. The company will take commercial DVDs and rip them for use on portable devices for $10 for 1 DVD, $20 for 3 DVDs or $30 for 5 DVDs. That is, until their legal department hears what's happening.


go here to read the article
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060804-7420.html

 

"World's Worst Internet Law" ratified by Senate

The US Senate ratified the Convention on Cybercrime last night, paving the way for greater international cooperation on cybersecurity

The Convention had the backing of George Bush, but also of some industry groups like the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, composed of members like McAfee, RSA, Symantec, and F-Secure. But it aroused the ire of civil liberties groups on the left and the right, including the ACLU and the EFF (which called it one of the "World's Worst Internet Laws").
Why the worry?


go here to read it all
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060804-7421.html

 

Movies File Share Top Ten



p2pnet.net Feature:- p2pnet's regular, and unique, Movies File Share Top Ten is compiled with statistics from Big Champagne. For an explanation of how BC arrives at the numbers, here's the company's Adam Toll.

“We monitor BT sites (a constantly evolving set) and observe, in addition to all the other available information, the number of users leeching(downloading) each title at any given time. Using the information collected and processed continually, we then calculate the average number of simultaneous leechers for each period. This is a little different from the P2P measure, as explained below.

“While the P2P measure published on p2pnet.net shows the average simultaneous users who are sharing the movie on P2P networks, the BT measure represents the relatively smaller number of people who are, on average, actively downloading the movie (in other words, in the process of downloading the movie) at any given time. This is a very different statistic. These two measures are a consequence of the differences in the ways that P2P and BT work.”

With all the dross being pumped out by research and marketing firms on what's supposedly happening with p2p, it's good to have at least one firm around which shows the picture as it really is as opposed to the way the many supposedly 'independent' reports commissioned by the entertainment and software cartels present it.

Movies File Share Top Ten Downloaders ('leechers')
BitTorrent, World-wide
Current simultaneous leechers as of August 5, 2006
Ranking Movie Number of Downloads
01 >>> Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (unchanged) 48,933
02 >>> Superman Returns (unchanged) 48,796
03 >>> The Benchwarmers (new) 47,768
04 >>> Final Destination 3 (new) 45,496
05 >>> The Devil Wears Prada - 4 43,305
06 >>> Cars (unchanged) 42,763
07 >>> Nacho Libre - 3 42,021
08 >>> Click - 5 39,854
09 >>> Miami Vice (new) 39,643
10 >>> The Break-Up - 8 38,927

Movies File Share Top Ten Downloads
p2p, World-wide
Week ending August 5, 2006
Ranking Movie Number of Downloads
01 >>> Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (unchanged) 1,516,351
02 >>> Superman Returns (unchanged) 1,505,650
03 >>> The Devil Wears Prada + 5 1,464,542
04 >>> The Benchwarmers (new) 1,452,144
05 >>> Nacho Libre - 3 1,443,923
06 >>> Miami Vice (new) 1,440,095
07 >>> The Break-Up + 8 1,434,222
08 >>> Click - 5 1,399,291
09 >>> Failure To Launch + 10 1,394,506
10 >>> Final Destination 3 (new) 1,384,261

Movies File Share Top Ten Downloads
p2p, USA
Week ending August 5, 2006
Ranking Movie Number of Downloads
01 >>> Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (unchanged) 906,581
02 >>> Superman Returns (unchanged) 890,379
03 >>> The Devil Wears Prada + 4 886,557
04 >>> The Benchwarmers (new) 873,827
05 >>> Nacho Libre - 3 865,103
06 >>> The Break-Up - 5 860,134
07 >>> Miami Vice (new) 846,691
08 >>> Click - 7 844,829
09 >>> Failure To Launch - 8 843,749
10 >>> Final Destination 3 807,190

(Saturday 5th August 2006)
http://p2pnet.net/story/9511

 

LimeWire sued by the RIAA

p2pnet.net News:- Slightly more than a year ago the word was going around that LimeWire, at the time download.com’s most popular commercial p2p file sharing application, was going down.

"We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by the clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties," wrote justice David H. Souter for the US Supreme Court in the Grokster / StreamCast v MGM ruling.

Then, "Mark Gorton

, the chief executive of the Lime Group ... said he was likely to stop distributing LimeWire in reaction to the ruling," said The New York Times.

go here to read the total article
http://p2pnet.net/story/9512​

 

Cyber-libel and p2pnet

p2pnet.net News View:- The Rivoli, a well-known Toronto club, may seem like an unusual venue to consider Internet free speech. Yet, later this week, it will play host to a fundraiser in support of P2Pnet.net, a British Columbia-based website that is being sued for defamation for comments posted on the site by its readers.

The suit, launched by Sharman Networks' Nikki Hemming, has attracted considerable attention because of the parties involved (Sharman Networks is the owner of Kazaa, the peer-to-peer file sharing service that last week agreed to pay the entertainment industry more than $100 million to settle ongoing litigation) and because it highlights the vulnerability of thousands of Canadians to defamation lawsuits merely for providing access to other people's comments.

Both Sharman Networks and Hemming sued P2Pnet last spring, claiming that an article and accompanying comments posted by readers of the site were libelous. Jon Newton, the owner of the site, has vigorously disputed the suit, pointing to the need to protect free speech and to ensure that defamation laws cannot be used as swords to create an online chill.

Sharman Networks recently dropped its claim, however the Hemming suit continues.

GO HERE TO READ THE TOTAL ARTICLE
http://p2pnet.net/story/9492

 

A WEE BIT SCIENCE

Bone marrow still juicy after 10 million years

* 15:00 05 August 2006
* From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues

While literary types try to "suck the marrow out of life", palaeontologists would like to extract it from fossil bones.

Now Maria McNamara of University College Dublin, Ireland, has found the first fossilised bone marrow in frogs that lived 10 million years ago. The discovery shows that decay-prone tissue can survive for an astonishingly long time, even in small amphibian bones.

McNamara was studying frog fossils from Spanish sulphur mines when she noticed bone marrow in a bone that had split. Curious, she examined other fossils and found preserved marrow in 10 per cent of the adult frogs. Electron microscopy verified that the original structure of the marrow was preserved, as well as giant cells called osteoclasts found at the boundary between bone and marrow.

The fossil marrow consists of sulphur-rich organic material, and tests for amino acids, proteins and, tantalisingly, DNA are in progress (Geology, vol 34, p 641).

The find suggests that palaeontologists may have missed marrow residues inside many more intact fossils. "People never tend to look inside, because the bones are so valuable for science that you don't want to smash them up," says McNamara.
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http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9679&feedId=online-news_rss20

 

Sun, sand and lots of sewage

* 12:15 05 August 2006
* Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
*

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Episodes of The OC - the teen soap about life in Orange County, California - don't usually feature mass bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting. Yet faecal contamination could be responsible for up to 1.5 million cases of gastrointestinal (GI) illness in swimmers and other recreational water users in southern California each year. The annual health cost comes in at over $400 million, according to one estimate.

Suzan Given of the department of environmental health services at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues analysed measurements of water quality from 28 beaches along 160 kilometres of coastline in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The seawater at beaches visited by more than 50,000 people a year must by law have the density of "faecal indicator" bacteria - bugs found in human guts and waste - monitored for public safety. Many are shut when health limits are exceeded. Some beaches, such as Santa Monica, log more than 6 million visitors a year.

The team plugged the data into epidemiological models to estimate how many cases of GI illness could have been caused by contact with contaminated seawater. Depending on the model used, the figure was between 628,000 and 1.5 million, with associated healthcare costs ranging from $21 million to $414 million (Environmental Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1021/es060679s).

"Sewage systems in many neighbourboods are old and may malfunction," says Given, though she points out that one of the difficulties in tackling the problem is that the sources of the bacteria are "largely unknown". Nevertheless, the team says that improvements in water quality could have substantial public-health benefits.
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Big bang pushed back two billion years

* 16:26 04 August 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Zeeya Merali

Our universe may be 15% larger and older than we thought, according to new measurements of the distance to a nearby galaxy.

Researchers led by Alceste Bonanos at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, US, used data from telescopes including the 10-metre Keck-II telescope in Hawaii, US, to measure the distance to a pair of stars in the Triangulum Galaxy.

The team used light, velocity, and temperature measurements to calculate the true luminosity of the two stars, which eclipse one another every five days. By comparing this intrinsic luminosity to their observed brightness, the team calculated that the galaxy lies 3.14 million light years away from us. Surprisingly, this is about half a million light years farther than previously thought.

Measuring astronomical distances is not simple. Distant, bright objects, for example, can look the same as closer, dim ones. So astronomers have built a ladder-like system that starts by using several independent methods to accurately determine the distance to nearby objects. They then use these measurements to define a more distant cosmic yardstick, and so on.

“In every step, you accumulate errors,” says team member Krzysztof Stanek at Ohio State University in Columbus, US. “We wanted an independent measure of distance – a single step that will one day help with measuring dark energy and other things.”
Hubble constant

Gauging distances by observing a binary star has cut out those extra steps, says team member Norbert Przybilla at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. "This is the farthest distance that anyone has been able to measure directly," he told New Scientist. "It's the cutting edge of what can be done with these telescopes."

Earlier measurements were based on calculations using the Hubble constant, a measure of the expansion rate and age of the universe. The new observation implies that the value used for the constant is off by 15%, says Przybilla.

That suggests the universe is 15% larger, and 15% older than previously thought. Recent estimates have put the age of the universe at 13.7 billion years, and the new research suggests it may actually be 15.8 billion years old.

"Our result hints that there may be something interesting happening with the Hubble constant," says Przybilla. But he cautions that the study reports only one distance measurement. "We need to follow this up with more measurements."
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9676-big-bang-pushed-back-two-billion-years.html

 

NOTE
if a story says copyrighted ye will get part of the story
with a sourse to go to..
if the story does not say copyrighted i will post the total article

 

New Protocol To Boost BitTorrent Speeds
Posted by l33tdawg on Saturday, August 05, 2006 - 02:52 AM (Reads: 876)
Source: GigaOM
http://www.hackinthebox.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=20872

BitTorrent, a San Francisco-based peer-to-peer networking start-up is working with Cachelogic of Cambridge, UK on a new protocol called the ?Cache Discovery Protocol? or CDP, which supposedly will act like DHCP for peer to peer networks. DHCP assigns IP addresses to devices on a network automatically, without much mucking around on the end user part. Similarly, the new CDP would allows BitTorrent client to auto discover better seeds that have been cached on the network, and allow faster downloads of the files. The new technology is especially helpful in situations where there are only a handful of seed files. This is not the frist time BitTorrent and Cachelogic have teamed up. The two companies have a history of working together and did a large scale trial for UK-based broadband provider, ntl. Though, not all details are available at this point, my understanding is that the caching of these seeds addresses will address some of the issues around BitTorrent?s performance, especially where there is very limited upstream speed available.


go here to read the total article
New Protocol To Boost BitTorrent Speeds
http://gigaom.com/2006/08/04/cachelogic-bittorrent/

 

August 04, 2006, 3:00 PM ET
Major Labels Sue LimeWire

By Susan Butler, N.Y.

The major record labels have sued peer-to-peer service LimeWire and executives Mark Gorton and Greg Bildson for copyright infringement and unfair competition today (Aug. 4).

The suit, filed in federal District Court in New York, claims that since August 2000 the defendants designed, distributed and promoted the LimeWire software and network for its "superior infringement capabilities." The defendants allegedly profited by receiving payments from third parties for advertisements, bundling third-party software with LimeWire, and a shopping function in LimeWire Basic software.

"Despite numerous efforts to engage LimeWire, the site's corporate owners have shown insufficient interest in developing a legal business model that adequately respects copyrights," says an RIAA spokesperson. "While other services have come productively to the table, LimeWire has sat back and continued to reap profits on the backs of the music community. That is unfortunate and has left us no choice but to file a lawsuit to protect the rights and livelihoods of artists, songwriters and record label employees, as well as those companies building legitimate businesses based on music."

The labels seek an injunction and damages of at least $30,000 for every infringement of every recording and at least $150,000 for every willful infringement if each recording.

Last week Sharman Networks and others involved with P2P network Kazaa settled with the labels for $115 million and agreed to go legit. A similar deal was struck last year with Grokster.

StreamCast, the operator of Morpheus, is still part of the MGM Studios vs. Grokster litigation pending in Los Angeles. The labels have not yet sued the operators of BitTorrent and eDonkey. Last week, Sam Yagan, president of MetaMachine which distributes eDonkey, was reported as saying that he was looking for a positive resolution for all parties in the near future.

LimeWire, Gorton and Bildson could not be reached for comment.

http://www.billboard.biz/bb/biz/new...article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002950680

 

Vista hacked at Black Hat

update LAS VEGAS--While Microsoft talked up Windows Vista security at Black Hat, a researcher in another room demonstrated how to hack the operating system.

Joanna Rutkowska, a Polish researcher at Singapore-based Coseinc, showed that it is possible to bypass security measures in Vista that should prevent unsigned code from running.

And in a second part of her talk, Rutkowska explained how it is possible to use virtualization technology to make malicious code undetectable, in the same way a rootkit does. She code-named this malicious software Blue Pill.


go here to read the article
http://news.com.com/Vista+hacked+at+Black+Hat/2100-7349_3-6102458.html?tag=nl

 

Ray tracing soon to go real-time for 3D rendering

8/5/2006 9:35:15 PM, by Jon Hannibal Stokes

Ray tracing is something of a holy grail in graphics processing. By using standard optics equations to calculate the paths that light takes in a scene, a 3D renderer can produce scenes that are much more realistic than those produced by the kind of raster graphics that powers all 3D games and most computer-animated movies. What puts ray tracing out of reach for most rendering applications is the sheer amount of processing power that it takes to determine the correct behavior of the billions of beams of light that can illuminate a large, complex scene. Fairly recently, it was thought by most graphics experts that while ray tracing might see more widespread use in computer animation, it would remain forever out of reach of real-time 3D rendering on standard PC hardware.


go here to read the article
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060805-7430.html