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Spyware Fighters
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126818-page,1/article.html

Five antispyware programs focus on tackling the latest threats.
Narasu Rebbapragada
Friday, August 25, 2006 02:00 PM PDT
Click to view full size image.

The question is when, not if, adware and spyware will strike your PC. That's why you need a good antispyware program, and several companies specialize in delivering just that.

We tested three paid products (two of which were in beta) and two popular free products. Our chart lists the names and versions of the packages, with links to full reviews, test reports, and vendor sites or download pages.

To evaluate each program, we looked at price, features, ease of use, and performance. We contracted German research company AV-Test.org to evaluate each products ability to detect and disinfect 20 adware and spyware applications. AV-Test.org also pitted the apps against nine rootkits, programs that allow malware to install and operate clandestinely. Analysts tested the products' ability to provide real-time defense on contact with threats, as well as their propensity to falsely identify harmless files.

The beta version of Webroot Software's Spy Sweeper 5.0 emerged as our Best Buy. It earned the top scores in our detection and disinfection tests, and it offers protection against rootkits and phishing sites. It also includes conveniences such as the ability to choose between a fast system scan that takes priority over other work and a slower but less intrusive scan.

Spyware Doctor 3.8 came in a close second overall and in performance. It fought active rootkits the best, and its scanning interface offers results that are easy to read, understand, and act on.

The beta version of CounterSpy 2.0 didn't fare as well as expected. This perennial top contender offers solid malware detection and real-time protection, but it struggled with disinfection.

Of the two free programs, Ad-Aware SE Personal 1.06 produced better results, ranking fourth in performance. As the app lacks real-time protection, however, it makes a great choice for a second opinion but not much more.

The popular Spybot did the worst. One of the first antispyware programs, it was built in the proverbial home basement. It has deep, detailed settings, but these days it is just not competitive with the other options here.
Spyware, Adware, and Rootkits
Click to view full size image.

In detecting actively running adware and spyware samples, Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor tied for first place, catching 90 percent of our test set. CounterSpy and Spybot brought up the rear, nailing 80 percent. In detecting a collection of inactive adware and spyware (apps that sit dormant on your PC until activated), Ad-Aware scored first by far, detecting 69 percent of 837 samples. At the other end, Spybot caught a mere 2 percent of samples.

Three of the five apps--CounterSpy, Spy Sweeper, and Spyware Doctor--profess to fight an increasingly important category of malware known as rootkits. Spyware Doctor detected all nine of our actively running rootkits, and Spy Sweeper detected four. CounterSpy managed to nab only two. The free tools caught none. All five programs--regardless of their rootkit capabilities--found one or two inactive rootkits. According to AV-Test.org, the apps' standard code-based scanning can detect inactive rootkits, but they need special routines to find the active ones.

Detecting malware is one thing; cleaning it thoroughly from your system is another. We tested these products' abilities to remove files and Registry changes caused by ten pieces of adware and ten pieces of spyware.

Disinfecting the spyware proved difficult: To elude security software, spyware writers continually change the way their malware behaves. In our spyware disinfection tests, Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor ranked first, disinfecting 65 percent of the files. Spybot came in last, disinfecting merely 20 percent of the files. (Our chart combines adware and spyware disinfection results.)

Evaluating the disinfection of adware apps is more complicated, because their changing behavior can cause antispyware firms to modify policies on them. Take the free version of HotBar, an ad-supported toolbar for Internet Explorer. Webroot classifies HotBar as adware; in contrast, PC Tools no longer does and therefore won't disinfect it, as our tests confirmed.

Overall, Spyware Doctor cleaned up adware the best, disinfecting 50 percent of the files and Registry entries. Spybot and Ad-Aware tied for second, disinfecting 45 percent of samples. CounterSpy came in fifth with a 35 percent disinfection rate. Sunbelt Software says that CounterSpy's low score is due to the beta status of the program.
Click to view full-size image.

All of the products have real-time adware and spyware protection except Ad-Aware; that protection is available in the Ad-Watch feature in Lavasoft's $27 Ad-Aware SE Plus. Spy Sweeper and CounterSpy detected all changes to HKCU and HKLM Run keys (Registry keys targeted by many malware threats), Windows Startup, and the Hosts file, as well as Internet Explorer Home and Search pages. Spyware Doctor missed some Hosts file and IE Search page changes. Spybot failed to catch Startup changes. See our chart for more test details.
Extra Tools
Click to view full-size image.

Spyware doctor has the best selection of features, with full startup, scheduled, and custom-file scanning options. It lets you set a system restore point in case you accidentally delete important files. Its also the only product to scan within some IM clients. Spyware Doctor's antiphishing protection guards you as well, by preventing access to known bad sites.

The second most feature-rich program, Spy Sweeper, kicks up the antiphishing protection a notch by analyzing suspect Web sites on the fly. In version 5.0, Webroot has removed Spy Sweeper's ability to set a system restore point and relies instead on the restorative features of the app's Quarantine (where you decide whether to remove questionable files found in scan results). Spy Sweeper also adds itself to the Windows Explorer contextual menu for quick scanning of files and folders.

While CounterSpy lacks a startup scan and antiphishing utilities, it has system restore features and four privacy tools that we didn't test for this story: My PC Explorer, My PC Checkup, History Cleaner, and Secure File Eraser.

Spybot lacks antiphishing capabilities, but it offers solid scanning, CPU-usage, and system restore options.
Giving Advice
Click to view full-size image.

All five products proved easy to use, but CounterSpy, Spy Sweeper, and Spyware Doctor did the best job of identifying potential pieces of malware, explaining them, and presenting options for action. I preferred Spyware Doctor's brightly colored bars and detailed levels of threat classification. Collapsible check boxes reveal the exact names and paths of suspected files and Registry entries. Highlighting the name for a threat brings up its description and advice for action.

One gripe: Spyware Doctor counted 287 doctor-themed "infections" but categorized the vast majority as low-level advertising and tracking cookies. While it took me only a few seconds to realize that most weren't dangerous, the growing count during the scan did quicken my pulse.

CounterSpy also has a good threat classification, explanation, and color-coding system, though this beta software's alert dialog boxes werent fully complete as of press time.

Spybot's scan results are full of information about potential threats and recent changes in adware policies, but Spybot stops short of the bonehead-simple "Get rid of this" type of advice that the paid applications give you.

Our recommendation is to run Spy Sweeper--our Best Buy and top performer--or Spyware Doctor, which has thorough rootkit protection. However, the results of our disinfection tests suggest that one product can't do it all, and that adding a second antispyware product, such as the free Ad-Aware Personal or a spyware scanner in an all-in-one security suite makes a nice two-fisted defense.
Antispyware Software (chart)

Click here for our chart with links to full reviews, test reports, and vendor sites or download pages.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126890/article.html



Antispyware Software
Five antispyware programs focus on tackling the latest threats.
Narasu Rebbapragada
Friday, August 25, 2006, 02:00 PM PDT
Test Center About the Test Center
How We Test • What Our Ratings Mean • How the Charts Work
Compare
Use the Check Boxes to See a Side-by-Side Comparison
Rank Name PCW Rating
Antispyware Software
1
Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.0 Beta
Webroot Spy Sweeper 5.0 Beta
• Price when rated: $30
• Renewal price when rated: $30
• PCW rating: 87 Very Good
• Performance rating: Very Good
• Design rating: Superior
• Features rating: Superior
• Download
Vendor's Web site
Our top choice combines excellent spyware and adware detection with smart antiphishing protection and helpful conveniences.
(Last Rated: August 24, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

Pending
2
PC Tools Spyware Doctor 3.8
PC Tools Spyware Doctor 3.8
• Price when rated: $30
• Renewal price when rated: $30
• PCW rating: 85 Very Good
• Performance rating: Very Good
• Design rating: Very Good
• Features rating: Superior
• Download
Check latest prices
Feature-rich program has a good graphical display for scan results and offers solid active-rootkit detection. (Design and Features scores reflect the attributes of Spyware Doctor 4.0.)
(Last Rated: August 23, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

Pending
3
Sunbelt Software CounterSpy 2.0 Beta
Sunbelt Software CounterSpy 2.0 Beta
• Price when rated: $26 (download $20)
• Renewal price when rated: $10
• PCW rating: 76 Good
• Performance rating: Good
• Design rating: Very Good
• Features rating: Fair
• Download
Vendor's Web Site
CounterSpy was better at detecting adware and spyware than at disinfecting a PC of them. Program bundles useful privacy utilities.
(Last Rated: August 24, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

Pending
Spy Sweeper - Anti-Spyware
Webroot Spy Sweeper safely detects and removes all forms of spyware, including Trojans, adware, key loggers and system monitors.
www.webroot.com

Anti-Spyware Download
Free Anti-Spyware scan. Winner of Best Anti-Spyware by PC Magazine.
www.pctools.com

Stop Spyware Now
Protection Control Center - Now with Attack Shield.
www.zerodayprotection.com/

4
Lavasoft Ad-Aware Personal 1.06
Lavasoft Ad-Aware Personal 1.06
• Price when rated: Free
• Renewal price when rated: Free
• PCW rating: 64 Fair
• Performance rating: Fair
• Design rating: Good
• Features rating: Poor
• Download
Vendor's Web Site
While a solid on-demand scanner, this product lacks real-time protection, so it shouldn't be your sole antispyware application.
(Last Rated: August 23, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

Pending
5
Safer Networking Spybot-Search & Destroy 1.4
Safer Networking Spybot-Search & Destroy 1.4
• Price when rated: Free
• Renewal price when rated: Free
• PCW rating: 63 Fair
• Performance rating: Poor
• Design rating: Good
• Features rating: Fair
• Download
Vendor's Website
This antispyware veteran has settings for very deep scans but performed poorly in our malware detection and disinfection tests.
(Last Rated: August 24, 2006)
Full Review • Test Report

GO HERE TO READ ALL THE INFO
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126890/article.html

 

80 security cameras in Bumf*ck, Alaska
$202,000 of your tax dollars for Homeland Security

"80 Cameras for 2,400 People

This story is about the remote town of Dillingham, Alaska, which is probably the most watched town in the country. There are 80 surveillance cameras for the 2,400 people, which translates to one camera for every 30 people.

The cameras were bought, I assume, because the town couldn't think of anything else to do with the $202,000 Homeland Security grant they received. (One of the problems of giving this money out based on political agenda, rather than by where the actual threats are.)

But they got the money, and they spent it. And now they have to justify the expense. Here's the movie-plot threat the Dillingham Police Chief uses to explain why the expense was worthwhile:

"Russia is about 800 miles that way," he says, arm extending right.

"Seattle is about 1,200 miles back that way." He points behind him.

"So if I have the math right, we're closer to Russia than we are to Seattle."

Now imagine, he says: What if the bad guys, whoever they are, manage to obtain a nuclear device in Russia, where some weapons are believed to be poorly guarded. They put the device in a container and then hire organized criminals, "maybe Mafiosi," to arrange a tramp steamer to pick it up. The steamer drops off the container at the Dillingham harbor, complete with forged paperwork to ship it to Seattle. The container is picked up by a barge.

"Ten days later," the chief says, "the barge pulls into the Port of Seattle."

Thompson pauses for effect.

"Phoooom," he says, his hands blooming like a flower.

The first problem with the movie plot is that it's just plain silly. But the second problem, which you might have to look back to notice, is that those 80 cameras will do nothing to stop his imagined attack.

We are all security consumers. We spend money, and we expect security in return. This expenditure was a waste of money, and as a U.S. taxpayer, I am pissed that I'm getting such a lousy deal."

source:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/03/80_cameras_for.html

 

please read this

RIAA's student extortion letter

p2pnet.net news:- "We urge you to consult with an attorney immediately to advise you on your rights and responsibilities."

"I hope the universities will ... assist their students in finding out what their true legal rights are."

The first quote comes from Donald J Kelso who workes for Holmes Roberts & Owen, a law firm acting for the Big 4 music cartel's RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) as the latter tries to extort American students into adding to its sue 'em all war chest, doing its and HRO's work for them, and incriminate themselves, all at the same time.

The second comes from New York lawyer Ray Beckerman who represents some of the RIAA's victims. His remark was in a comment post to p2pnet's Wednesday story which kicks off:

"If you're a p2p, file-sharing college student, here's your chance to volunteer your name, address and other personal details to the Big 4 record labels so they won't have to actually go looking for you themselves."

With that in mind, the West Virginia Herald-Dispatch yesterday carried an interesting item by Justin McElroy who says 20 Marshall University students have received blackmail letters from Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG's RIAA.

"If the RIAA goes after the students directly, we will have no choice than to give them the names," the Herald-Dispatch has Marshall's Jan Fox saying.

The story goes on:

Though the threat is clearly laid out, the music industry representatives have still left several questions unanswered.

For instance, they decline to admit the average amount of a settlement -- though most estimates put it at around $3,000. The group also isn't saying why some schools were chosen over others. Fox, however, has her own theories.

"I would guess it's name recognition," Fox said. "["We Are Marshall"] has brought us all kinds of things, and one of those is name recognition. They want a publicly-displayed university that other schools are like. You've got all these other smaller and medium-sized schools, and if they think it's only the big schools they go after, they're not going to take it seriously. These are scare tactics."

Whatever the methodology, it's hard to argue that for a college student living on Ramen Noodles, $3,000 can be a very scary sum.

As p2pnet noted recently, this latest example of RIAA extortion is more than vaguely reminiscent of the failed Clean Slate program the RIAA tried on between September, 2003, and April, 2004".

Below is the Herald-Dispatch letter. We've posted a copy here as well.

February 28, 2007
Re: Notification of Copyright Infringement Claims

CASE ID#

Dear Sir/Madam:

We have asked your Internet Service Provider to forward this letter to you in advance of our filing a lawsuit against you in federal court for copyright
infringement. We represent a number of large record companies, including EMI Recorded Music, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, as well as all of their subsidiaries and affiliates ('Record Companies'), in pursuing claims of copyright infringement against individuals who have illegally uploaded and downloaded sound recordings on peer-to-peer networks.

We have gathered evidence that you have been infringing copyrights owned by the Record Companies. We are attaching to this letter a sample of the sound recordings you were found distributing via the AresWarezUS (Ares) peer-topeer [sic] network. In total, you were found distributing 321 audio files, a substantial number of which are sound recordings controlled by the Record Companies.

The reason we are sending this letter to you in advance of filing suit is to give you the opportunity to settle these claims as early as possible. If you contact us within the next twenty (20) calendar days, we will offer to settle the claims for a significantly reduced amount compared to what we will offer to settle them for after we file suit or compared to the judgment amount a court may enter against you. If you are interested in resolving this matter now, please contact our Settlement Information Line at 913-234-8181 or, alternatively, you may settle this matter immediately online at www.p2plawsuits.com, using the CASE ID# that appears at the top of this letter.

In deciding whether you wish to settle this matter, here are some things you should consider:

* The Copyright Act imposes a range of statutory damages for copyright infringement. The minimum damages under the law is $750 for each Page 2 copyrighted recording that has been infringed ('shared'). The maximum damage award can be substantially more. In addition to damages, you may also be responsible for paying the legal fees we incur in order to pursue these claims, and are subject to having an injunction entered against you prohibiting you from further infringing activity.

* preserve evidence that relates to the claims against
you. In this case, that means, at a minimum, the entire library of recordings that you have made available for distribution as well as any recordings you
have downloaded, need to be maintained as evidence. Further, you should not attempt to delete the peer-to-peer programs from your system - though you must stop them from operating. For information on how to do this, you may visit www.musicunited.org.

This is a serious matter and to the extent you have any questions, we strongly encourage you to contact us to ask those questions. Finally, if you would like more information regarding music downloading/file sharing and peer-to-peer networks, please visit www.p2plawsuits.com.

IF WE DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU WITHIN TWENTY (20) CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS LETTER, THEN WE WILL FILE SUIT AGAINST YOU IN FEDERAL COURT.

We are not your lawyers, nor are we giving you legal advice. We urge you to consult with an attorney immediately to advise you on your rights and
responsibilities.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Kelso
This might be a good time to think about making the March Boycott the RIAA campaign, permanent. And lawyers representing RIAA victims, students or otherwise, might also like to check out the transcript from Beckerman's deposition of an RIAA 'expert'.

Stay tuned.
http://p2pnet.net/story/11515














It's March! RIAA boycott month!

p2pnet.net news:- It's March 1 and that means it's the month for NOT buying anything put out by the people who pay for the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) or any of the other Big 4 alphabet sue 'em all organizations around the world.

read it all here
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/182/322699#2871412

 

i'd like to see someone @AD do a story on popular culture & its relation to the MPAA/RIAA. When you look at all the money in Hollywood & the music industry, its sad they can't be innovative anymore. They've become very lazy & put out one worthless movie after another. Their prices are too high. They don't allow you to use your own media the way you want to.
Steve Jobs fired a warning shop at the music industry. Its about time someone here do a story on why popular culture is driven by what we think/want. How the big media companies are not only clueless but standing in the way of changing how we interact with media.
MP3 changed everything forever. Along with Xvid/DivX, we now have freedom of choice as to how we listen/watch our media. The MPAA/RIAA doesn't respect its customers & expects us to use media the way they want *us* to.
Those days are over. They can never return to the good old days of $15 CDs & $20 movies bought from the local store. Innovate or die.

 

Microsoft OneCare Last in Antivirus Tests
In tests involving worms, viruses, Trojan horses, and other malware, Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare came in dead last.
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Thursday, March 01, 2007 10:00 PM PST

Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare came in dead last out of a group of 17 antivirus programs tested against hundreds of thousands of worms, viruses, Trojan horses and other malware, an Austrian antivirus researcher reported Wednesday.

The AV Comparatives Web site, which is maintained by Andreas Cleminti from Innsbruck, Austria, posts quarterly results of tests that pit the top antivirus products against a dynamic list of nearly half a million individual pieces of malware.

Top dog, according to Cleminti's tests, was G Data Security's AntiVirusKit (AVK), which nailed 99.5 percent of the malicious code. Not far behind were AEC's TrustPort AV WS, at 99.4 percent, Avira's AntiVir PE Premium, at 98.9 percent, MicroWorld's eScan antivirus, at 97.9 percent, F-Secure's antivirus, at 97.9 percent, and Kaspersky Labs' AV, which stopped 97.9 percent of the malware.

Better known products such as Symantec's Norton antivirus and McAfee's VirusScan posted results of 96.8 percent and 91.6 percent, respectively.

Holding the bottom spot was Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare, the consumer security suite that the Redmond, Wash. developer launched last year. OneCare took care of just 82.4 percent of the malware.

Cleminti also tested the 17 products against polymorphic viruses, those which produce sometimes vast numbers of variants as they try to sneak by scanners. "The results of the polymorphic test are of importance because they how flexible an antivirus scan engine is and how good the detection quality of complex viruses is," said Cleminti in his write-up.

Only Symantec's Norton AntiVirus and ESET's NO D32 antivirus caught every variant of the 12 polymorphic families, he said. In that test, OneCare placed 15th, detecting every version of only two families, and missing seven of the polymorphic families completely.

Cleminti's report is available online.

This is not the first evaluation to give a Microsoft security program a black eye. Last week, for example, Australian security company PC Tools released research that claimed Windows Defender--Microsoft's anti-spyware title--detected just 46 percent to 53 percent of spyware.

"We are looking closely at the methodology and results of the test to ensure that Windows Live OneCare performs better in future tests," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129521-c,antivirus/article.html


go here to see the test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2007_02.php

 

FREE,Duplicate File Finder


Duplicate File Finder
License Type: Free
Price: FreeDate Added: Feb 2007


Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows 9.x, Windows Me, Windows XP


Downloads Count: 28886
Author: Rashid Hoda


Locate duplicate files with this easy-to-use tool.
Having two copies of the same file doubles the space they take up on your hard drive, and adds a dash of confusion. Duplicate File Finder locates duplicate files and folders on all drives and removable devices. This utility lets you compare and preview graphics, HTML, text, and other types of files. It also tells you how much space you'd free up by deleting the dupes.

Duplicate File Finder also lets you add search filters--something many duplicate finders don't allow. You can speed up your searches by pointing it at only the likely target folders, and protect your data by excluding important folders from your searches.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download/fid,25706-page,1-c,downloads/download.html


MAIN LINK
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,25706-page,1-c,downloads/description.html

 

Download DVD Specification Gets Approval



Martyn Williams, IDG News Service Fri Mar 2, 3:00 PM ET

A technology that allows movies to be downloaded and burned to blank DVDs using the same content-protection system as commercial discs received official approval on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT

CSS Managed Recording was approved at a meeting of the DVD Forum in Tokyo, according to a source close to the forum.

The technology will require discs that are slightly different from the conventional DVD-Rs found in shops today. The burned discs will be compatible with the vast majority of consumer DVD players, according to the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA), which proposed the technology. The DVD CCA is responsible for licensing the CSS (Content Scrambling System) copy-protection system used on most commercial DVDs.

Despite Thursday's approval, services that allow consumers to legally download and burn movies in their own homes are unlikely to appear quickly. The DVD CCA said it will be initially restricted to professional uses. These might include kiosks in retail stores where consumers can purchase and burn discs in a controlled environment.

Such a system might offer commercial movies but could just as easily offer content that is unavailable on DVD today because the market for it is too small. With custom burning it could be profitable to offer such content.

If such professional applications are successful then further services that allow consumers to download and burn in their home "are likely to follow," the DVD CCA said.

The DVD Forum could not be reached for comment.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070302/tc_pcworld/129537;_ylt=AuzNiyfxhM4R9pIWn5XFSZEjtBAF

 

XP POST-SP2 UPDATE PACK.......... This pack is designed to bring a Windows XP CD with SP2 integrated fully up to date with all of the latest hotfixes released by Microsoft since SP2's release. It accomplishes this task via direct integration, where files on the CD are directly overwritten by the updated files. This method has numerous advantages over other integration techniques.....(free).....GO THERE!
http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/updatepack.html




This pack is designed to bring a Windows XP CD with SP2 integrated fully up to date with all of the latest hotfixes released by Microsoft since SP2's release. It accomplishes this task via direct integration, where files on the CD are directly overwritten by the updated files. This method has numerous advantages over other integration techniques:

1. Since the files are being directly overwritten on the CD, there is no period of vulnerability between when the files are copied to the hard drive and the hotfixes are run. This guarantees maximum stability and security.
2. All necessary registry entries needed by Windows Update, QFECheck, and Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer are imported during Windows setup, meaning that the integration is transparent to Windows.
3. Security Catalogs necessary for Windows File Protection to recognize the updated files as digitally signed are installed, once again ensuring maximum transparency to Windows.
4. Since the updated files are being directly overwritten on the CD, this pack has the minimum possible amount of overhead associated with integrating hotfixes in comparison to other methods - both in space used on the CD and in Windows installation time.
5. This pack works regardless of whether or not the Windows installation is unattended.


What's Included Latest Version: 2.1.7
Windows XP Hotfixes
KB873339 - Vulnerability in HyperTerminal could allow code execution
KB884575 - Battery power may be drained more quickly than expected on Windows XP-based laptop
KB885626 - Computer stops responding after restarting to complete SP2 installation
KB885836 - Vulnerability in WordPad could allow code execution
KB886677 - DBCS characters appear corrupted when browsing site using Shift-JIS encoding
KB887472 - Security update to Microsoft Windows Messenger
KB887606 - Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) uses cached credentials incorrectly
KB888111 - Universal Audio Architecture High Definition Audio Class Driver Version 1.0a
KB889016 - Cannot obtain debug information about the resource objects of Application Verifier stop errors
KB889320 - Computer Browser service stops and Event ID 7023 is logged after Windows Firewall service disabled
KB889673 - DEP-enabled computer may unexpectedly quit after resuming from standby or hibernation
KB890830 - Malicious Software Removal Tool 1.26
KB890859 - Vulnerabilities in Windows kernel could allow elevation of privilege and denial of service
KB892489 - Antivirus scan may increase the number of open handles for the svchost.exe process
KB893008 - PAL format digital video cameras are incorrectly detected as NTSC format digital video cameras
KB893756 - Vulnerability in Telephony service could allow remote code execution
KB893803 - Windows Installer 3.1 (v2)
KB894395 - IME Composition or Candidate window remains visible even after losing focus when using Japanese IME
KB895961 - Terminal Server Service update (From KB900325 Package)
KB896256 - A Windows XP SP2-based computer that has multiple processors exhibits decreased performance or unexpected behavior
KB896344 - Can't transfer files and settings from computer running 32-bit Windows XP to computer running Windows XP x64
KB896358 - Vulnerability in HTML Help could allow remote code execution
KB896423 - Vulnerability in Print Spooler service could allow remote code execution
KB896428 - Vulnerability in Telnet client could allow information disclosure
KB896626 - Windows XP TV tuner program stops responding or displays corrupted video
KB897338 - New language locales for Windows XP Service Pack 2
KB897663 - Exception may not show up in the Windows Firewall GUI the exception is created by modifying the registry
KB898461 - Permanent copy of the Package Installer for Windows version 6.2.29.0
KB898543 - Cannot correctly install security fixes in Windows XP Starter Edition
KB899271 - Updated USB Video Class (UVC) driver for Windows XP
KB899409 - 20-second delay when trying to access a redirected folder by logging on to computer
KB899591 - Vulnerability in Remote Desktop Protocol could allow denial of service
KB900485 - 0x0000007E stop error in Windows XP SP2
KB901017 - Vulnerability in the Microsoft Collaboration Data Objects could allow code execution
KB901190 - Vulnerability in the Korean Input Method Editor (IME) could allow elevation of privilege
KB901214 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Color Management Module could allow remote code execution
KB902149 - FTP client may echo account information back to the screen
KB902845 - Computer stops responding during text-mode Setup when you try to install Windows XP
KB902853 - An unnecessary restore operation may be started on a RAID group when computer is put in hibernation
KB903234 - Update to optimize the way that the Volume Shadow Copy Service client accesses shadow copies
KB903250 - Song titles are copied to a recordable CD after cancelling a burn operation in Windows Media Player 10
KB904412 - SBP-2 device does not work when it is connected to a Windows XP SP2-based computer
KB905414 - Vulnerability in Network Connection Manager could allow denial of service
KB905749 - Vulnerability in Plug and Play could allow remote code execution and local elevation of privilege
KB906216 - The Dhtmled.ocx ActiveX control doesn't work as expected after a program changes the Visible property of it
KB906569 - Update to add the Tools tab to the System Configuration utility in Windows XP Service Pack 2
KB906866 - 0x00000035 NO_MORE_IRP_STACK_LOCATIONS stop error when trying to log on to a domain
KB907865 - IPSec Policy Agent update
KB908519 - Vulnerability in embedded Web fonts could allow remote code execution
KB908531 - Vulnerability in Windows Explorer Could Lead to Remote Code Execution
KB908536 - Horizontal scroll bar used in forms may not respond to mouse controls or actions when using themes
KB909441 - In Control Panel, "Sounds and Audio Devices" does not correctly display the setting in "Speaker Setup" list
KB909520 - Software update for Base Smart Card Cryptographic Service Provider
KB909608 - Access violation when using /integrate switch to integrate KB900725 into Windows XP SP2 installation source files
KB909667 - Computer stops responding during standby or hibernation operations or trying to use the Shut Down command
KB910437 - Access violation error occurs when Windows Automatic Updates tries to download updates
KB911066 - Computer may unexpectedly quit and access violation error may occur in msctf.dll when repeatedly starting and stopping program
KB911280 - Vulnerability in Routing and Remote Access could allow remote code execution
KB911562 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) function could allow code execution
KB911564 - Vulnerability in Windows Media Player plug-in with non-Microsoft Internet browsers could allow remote code execution
KB911927 - Vulnerability in WebClient could allow remote code execution
KB911990 - Connection to the Sony Media Changer/Recorder is lost
KB912024 - Update Rollup 2 for eHome Infrared Receiver
KB912461 - Cannot obtain information about specific events when you program against the DVD Nav control in Windows XP
KB913296 - Jet 4.0 data engine update fixes issues that may occur
KB913580 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator could allow denial of service
KB914388 - Vulnerability in the DHCP Client Service could allow remote code execution
KB914440 - Network Diagnostics for Windows XP
KB914463 - WMI causes object access failure events when an SACL is applied to the HKEY_USERS registry subkey
KB914841 - Simplify the creation and maintenance of Internet Protocol security filters
KB914906 - "Unsupported State(2)" error message when a Windows XP Starter Edition-based computer continuously restarts
KB915378 - Update for Add New Hardware Control Panel
KB915865 - XmlLite update package for Windows XP Service Pack 2
KB916595 - 0x000000D1 DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL stop error on a Windows XP SP2 computer
KB916846 - SMB communication between a client and server isn't completed if signing settings are mismatched in Group Policy or in the registry
KB916852 - TCP packets are retransmitted if the TCP acknowledgement packet is delayed for more than 300 milliseconds
KB917140 - Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit detailed log entries cannot be logged
KB917275 - Windows Rights Management Services for Windows XP SP2
KB917730 - You cannot create a network connection when you are starting a Windows XP SP2-based computer
KB918005 - Battery power may drain more quickly than you expect on a Windows XP SP2-based portable computer
KB918033 - Certain Windows dialog boxes may not retain the focus as expected
KB918118 - Vulnerability in Microsoft RichEdit could allow remote code execution
KB918334 - Error message when running a Win32 program that makes CreateFile function calls from a client computer to a server
KB918439 - Vulnerability in ART image rendering could allow remote code execution
KB918997 - Developers can't create wireless client programs that manage wireless profiles and connections over the Wireless Zero Configuration service
KB919007 - Vulnerability in Pragmatic General Multicast (PGM) could result in remote code execution
KB920183 - A Kerberos client tries to log on multiple times with the same key despite bad password errors that are returned to the workstation
KB920213 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Agent could allow remote code execution
KB920342 - Upgrade PNRP to PNRP version 2.0
KB920670 - Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Hyperlink Object Library could allow remote code execution
KB920683 - Vulnerability in DNS resolution could allow remote code execution
KB920685 - Vulnerability in Indexing Service could allow cross-site scripting
KB920872 - Audio playback does not play file from correct position after pausing, and Stop error message randomly received when trying to play audio files
KB921401 - A non-paged pool memory leak occurs when you capture specific MIDI SYSEx messages in Windows XP
KB921411 - USB devices no longer work correctly after installing the Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility
KB922120 - Network Map in Windows Vista does not display computers that are running Windows XP
KB922582 - 0x80070002 error message when trying to update a Microsoft Windows-based computer
KB922668 - Windows XP COM+ Hotfix Rollup Package 14
KB922819 - Vulnerabilities in TCP/IP IPv6 could allow denial of service
KB922859 - Some complex Chinese characters appear as rectangles when printing from a Microsoft Office application or Notepad
KB923154 - EAP reauthentication may not occur and the Wireless Zero Configuration service may not work correctly when using a third-party application
KB923191 - Vulnerability in Windows Explorer could allow remote code execution
KB923232 - Computer using Intel dual-core processor stops responding when trying to resume from standby
KB923414 - Vulnerability in Server Service could allow denial of service
KB923694 - Cumulative security update for Outlook Express (December, 2006)
KB923980 - Vulnerability in Client Service could allow remote code execution
KB924191 - Vulnerabilities in Microsoft XML Core Services could allow remote code execution
KB924270 - Vulnerability in Workstation Service could allow remote code execution
KB924667 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Foundation Classes could allow for remote code execution
KB924867 - Programs unexpectedly stop during initialization after installing MS06-051 security update
KB924941 - Update to resolve timing issues resulting in race conditions when using Bluetooth devices connected via USB
KB925398 - Vulnerability in Windows Media Player 6.4 could allow remote code execution
KB925623 - The Wmiprvse.exe process may experience a memory leak when WMI services and RPC services are extensively used
KB925720 - Windows CardSpace hotfix rollup package
KB925876 - Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 Client
KB926239 - Windows Media Player 10 may close unexpectedly
KB926255 - Vulnerability in Windows could allow elevation of privilege
KB926436 - Vulnerability in Microsoft OLE Dialog could allow remote code execution
KB926646 - Can't increase the limit concurrent SMB command in the Windows XP Professional Server service
KB927544 - Can't create an AVI larger than 512GB and can't play an AVI larger than 800 GB using DirectX
KB927779 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Data Access Components could allow remote code execution
KB927802 - Vulnerability in Windows Image Acquisition Service could allow elevation of privilege
KB927880 - Can't log on to a device that has both a blank user name and password using Internet Explorer 7
KB928090 - Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer (February, 2007)
KB928255 - Vulnerability in Windows Shell could allow elevation of privilege
KB928843 - Vulnerability in the HTML Help ActiveX control could allow remote code execution
KB929280 - Microsoft Management Console 3.0 does not correctly display 32-bit color snap-in icons
KB929969 - Vulnerability in Vector Markup Language could allow remote code execution
KB931125 - Microsoft Root Certificate Update (January 2007)
KB931836 - February 2007 cumulative time zone update

Other Updates
Adobe Flash Player 9.0.28.0 ActiveX Control
Macrovision SafeDisc Driver Fix 4.00.060
Microsoft European Union Expansion Font Update 1.1
Microsoft Qfecheck 6.1.0.0
Microsoft Update 5.8.0.2496
Microsoft Web Folders 9.60.6715.0 (KB892211)
Microsoft Windows Script 5.6.8831 (Includes KB917344 Hotfix)
MSXML 4.0 SP2 (Includes KB927978 Hotfix)
MSXML 6.0 (Includes KB927977 Hotfix)

Registry Tweaks
DSO Exploit registry fix that Spybot Search & Destroy complains about
KB873374 - Microsoft GDI+ Detection Tool

 

Did i see a question regarding pop culture and RIAA/MPAA ?



Good Enough ?

 

30 Days With Ubuntu Linux

Posted by Hemos on Monday March 05, @10:29AM
from the making-the-switch dept.
Linux
jkwdoc writes "Vexed by Vista's hardware requirements and product activation issues, many have claimed on various boards that they plan to 'switch to Linux.' [H] Consumer spent 30 days using nothing but Ubuntu Linux to find out if this is truly a viable alternative for the consumer. Linux has indeed become much more than the 'Programmer's OS.'"

go here to read the total article
http://consumer.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI5OCwxLCxoY29uc3VtZXI=


Date:
Monday , March 05, 2007
Category:
Editorials
Manufacturers:
Linux
Author:
Brian Boyko
Editor:
Jason Wall

ntroduction

Complaining about Windows Vista is a national past time on Internet forums these days. Windows Vista "costs too much," "has onerous product activation," "requires too much hardware," etc. These complaints are often followed up by a very simple boast: "I'm just going to switch to Linux (or Mac)."

But in today's landscape, how viable is that statment? Is the threat to switch to Linux an empty one, or is it entirely possible? Linux on the desktop has been viable for years, especially for programming gurus who can solve their Linux problems by simply writing new software. It also seems to be viable for “Mom and Pop” end-users who just want a machine to write letters, send email, and browse the Web (although, admittedly, a guru will probably have to set it up for them).

But what about power users, such as the typical audience of HardOCP - those who know how to build their own computers, but not compile their own programs? Or people who may not know how to do something, but aren't afraid of taking the time to figure it out? Is Linux truly an alternative? Can they do everything they did in Windows? The truth is, we didn't know, but we very much wanted to find out.

To properly explore these issues, we took a cue from Morgan Spurlock and made the decision to use Ubuntu Linux as our home operating system for 30 days.

The Rules:

1) I’ll start testing on Ubuntu Linux 64-bit. Vista is available as a 64-bit operating system, (although it also comes in 32-bit) and, should we look at Vista 64 in the future, we want to be able to compare apples-to-apples. However, I’ll also test the 32-bit version of Ubuntu and compare not only the 32- and 64-bit versions of Ubuntu, but will also be able to compare my observations to a 32- and 64-bit Vista should the opportunity arise.

Note: In this evaluation, you can assume that anything I write applies to both 64-bit and 32-bit Ubuntu unless I specifically state the results were in one of the two kernels.

2) I would try to test out as many "typical end-user" applications and activities as possible. Digital photography and video, burning and ripping DVDs and CDs, email, Web browsing, gaming, word processing, MP3 playing and organizing, instant messaging & IRC chat, scanning, movie watching, etc. I'd also plug in as many hardware components as possible, from my own collection of hardware - none of which were bought with the idea that they would be Linux compatible, some of which is years old, and some of it brand new - a typical real-world situation. The devices are listed below.

3) I would use Ubuntu Linux on my home machine as the sole operating system for 30 days.

4) I would not go into this blindly. Before giving up on a problem, I would consult a few sources - most notably the Ubuntu Forums and a book called Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks, written by Rickford Grant. I'd also check out the #ubuntu and #linux-help channels on the Freenode IRC network if I really got stuck.

5) I will go into detail on some applications that you would find surprising. I won't go into detail over other applications that many people mention. Specifically, you won't find a detailed critique of AbiWord, OpenOffice, Gaim, and the Gimp. This is because these programs have been extensively reviewed elsewhere and they are really not the focus of this editorial. Even more importantly, AbiWord, OpenOffice, Gaim, and the Gimp all have Windows versions functionally identical to the Linux counterparts. If you want to know how a particular program behaves, you can download those programs yourself and test them before moving to Linux.

Applications that will receive more attention will be Rhythmbox and Evolution, for example, as those programs are more likely to be used only on Linux.

6) Since there are many applications which can do the same job in Linux, I'd keep trying until I found one that meets my needs - starting with the Ubuntu defaults, then moving to a Gnome application before using a KDE-based program.

While KDE is available for Ubuntu (and the base of the Kubuntu distribution), I stuck with Gnome for two reasons: It's the default, and it seems to work well for what I want it to do. As a corollary, there may be better applications out there, but I stuck with what worked for me first. Many prefer Amarok to Rhythmbox, for example, but Rhythmbox did everything I needed to as a default.

7) I would test on two different computers. The first, and the majority of the test would be on a lower-end computer, which I have named "Whakataruna." This system represents the previous generation of hardware, and is perhaps very much like what a consumer would have bought one year ago.

One year sounds ancient when you live on the bleeding edge of the hardware market, but when you think of your parents or your non-techie friends, one year is practically brand new to them. In our opinion, these are the folks that are most affected by the Vista vs. Ubuntu vs. stick with XP decision, as their computer has a borderline hardware profile for being able to run Vista. While their computer is likely serving them very well and they question the need to upgrade the hardware since the computer is still “new,” they are most at risk for taking the leap to Vista with the notion that their computer should be able to run it fine.

To make sure the problems I experienced are with the software, and not with the computer, we will also mirror our testing on a current mid-range computer. This computer represents what a consumer would have bought within the last few months in the expectation that they would be set for the next couple of years. The prospective owner of a configuration such as this would have bought this system in anticipation of running Vista on it and made component choices reflective of that goal. This system was graciously provided by Puget Custom Computers and represents a solid mid-range machine that should be able to run Vista, should the owner decide to upgrade.

As an aside, Puget is one of the few OEM system vendors out there that is willing to ship a computer with Linux pre-installed. Although we were sent a computer with a blank hard drive so that we could install our applications fresh, we wanted to make sure that we were getting a computer from a company that is at least familiar with providing Linux configurations. Puget prefers to install SuSE Linux, but it also offers Ubuntu and RedHat as configuration options.

For the purposes of the article, we dubbed Puget's computer "Pugetina."

AS I SAID ABOVE
GO HERE

http://consumer.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI5OCwxLCxoY29uc3VtZXI=

 

Spring forward on Sunday? Try 'winter forward'


Last Updated: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 7:03 AM ET
CBC News

As of this weekend, Canadians resetting their clocks will have to remember a new saying: "Winter forward, fall back."

Canadians won't be "springing forward" in the spring anymore, because provincial and territorial governments have opted to go along with the United States in 2007, starting daylight time three weeks earlier than previously.

For the parts of Canada that observe daylight time, clocks have traditionally gone forward one hour in early April, just after the start of spring.

In 2007, the change will occur in the early hours of Sunday, March 11 — still in the dying days of winter.

Each observing province officially changes its clocks at 2 a.m., except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which moves ahead at one minute past midnight local time.
Intended as energy-saving measure

The change was made south of the border under the American Energy Policy Act, first signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005.

Among other things, the act provides tax credits for Americans who purchase fuel-efficient cars and energy-saving appliances.

The part of the act that affects Canadians is the legislated change in daylight time, a move meant to save energy on the assumption that people won't use their lights as much if the sky doesn't darken until later in the day.

Since time management falls within provincial jurisdiction, each Canadian province and territory made its own decision whether to go along with the U.S. change.

Saskatchewan does not observe daylight time, nor do some parts of B.C., Nunavut, Ontario and Quebec.
'Smart move for businesses'

Whether the change will result in energy savings is still being debated, but that's not why Canada is changing daylight time at the same time as the U.S.

"It's a smart move for businesses like tourism, travel and telecommunications, and means we will be in sync with much of the country and our biggest trade partner — the United States," B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said in a news release as he announced his province would observe the altered time-change schedule.

Provincial and territorial officials across the country generally agreed that being out of sync with the U.S. could be disastrous.

"Not changing would likely result in difficulties for our agricultural and fisheries producers, causing transportation, shipping and border difficulties," Ontario Justice Minister Murray Scott said.
Y2K revisited?

The time change has given rise to concerns of computer chaos. Most computer systems have internal clocks that automatically adjust for daylight time. As of 2007, they'll be doing it on the wrong date.

Some computer experts have flagged the problem as a "mini-Y2K," a reference to late-20th-century fears that chaos would strike computer-dependent systems worldwide as Dec. 31, 1999, clicked over to Jan. 1, 2000.

It was widely believed computers systems would not be able to differentiate between 2000 and 1900, a design flaw that could trigger catastrophic large-scale computer failures.

Partly as a result of months of advance warning that let computer specialists adjust their systems, few such failures were reported on New Year's Day of the year 2000.

The time change on March 11, 2007, could cause smaller headaches for those relying on electronic organizers or computer calendars, most of which are programmed for the old daylight time.

To prevent such problems, most computer manufacturers have produced software patches to fix the problem and they are easily accessible online.

May not be a permanent change

The time change gives Canadians about a month of extra daylight time in 2007. The "spring forward" occurs on March 11, three weeks earlier than usual, while the "fall back" is on Nov. 4, one week later than usual.

The extended daylight time may not be permanent.

The U.S. Congress retains the right to revert to the original clock-changing schedule if no great energy savings result or if the change proves unpopular with the American public.

So next year, Canadians may be springing ahead in the spring once more.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/03/05/daylight-time.html

 

Another AACS Device Key Found; How Will Studios Respond?
By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews
March 5, 2007, 5:28 PM

Another user of the Doom9 Forum, whose members have been actively working to develop a system to subvert AACS copy protection, has apparently discovered in a memory dump a legitimate device key - the cryptographic element licensed to components in order to obtain the volume key automatically from high-definition HD DVD discs, according to a post yesterday. The source of the key appears to be CyberLink PowerDVD; and another forum user was able to use a published AACS formula to validate its authenticity.

At this rate, it may only be an academic matter before programmers there refine a method by which an independent program uses this or some other device key to decrypt and even play high-def content on computers, without the intervention of a licensed program.

In the DVD world, independents can develop software like ZoomPlayer that use published methods for invoking codecs and playing content, without developers fearing that the creation of such programs might be illegal or a violation of copyright.

In the high-def DVD world, content is encrypted, and content providers currently consider it a violation of copyright for individuals to subvert copy protection, even if they have no motive to distribute copied material to others.

A bill re-introduced in the US House of Representatives would make exceptions to the law so that individuals could subvert copy protection for personal purposes only, which would make it impossible for studios to prove copyright infringement violations against individuals unless they could prove their copying falls outside of fair use provisions.

With legislation such as the FAIR USE bill having a better chance of passage than ever before, content providers will certainly be searching for new legal precedent for charges against suspected violators. So yesterday's discovery of a real AACS-licensed device key lurking in memory could actually have some ominous portent, especially as Doom9 Forum users discuss the possibility of discussing the creation of freely distributed high-def disc players: Are device keys provided by the AACS Licensing Authority private property?

It will be difficult to prove they're not. After all, content providers are redistributing a segment of code for which they paid a fee. But an examination of the AACS LA Interim Content Provider Agreement indicates that the licensing authority considers the fee to be in exchange for the rights of so-called "adopters" to use the keys; they don't appear to be considered owners of the keys themselves, and the intellectual property foundation for their creation is certainly considered the property of AACS LA.

A device key may very well be someone's private property; the AACS LA would probably be first to lay claim to it.

Still, in the absence of a legal foundation for copyright infringement -- assuming the FAIR USE bill passes and is signed into law -- content providers may still attempt to make the case that the use of someone else's pilfered device key in an unauthorized freely distributed high-def media player could constitute a misappropriation of stolen property - even if it's not their own, and even if the end use of that property is exempt from legal infringement.

It would be uncharted waters for both plaintiffs and defendants in this hypothetical situation. Yet given that legislators may be on the verge of removing from the content industry's reach the most potent prosecutorial tool it has ever been given -- the far-reaching language of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- even the most well-meaning reverse-engineers cannot expect the content industry to respond by just shrugging its shoulders and walking away from the fight.

Other members of the Doom9 Forum over the past few days have expressed concern over whether AACS LA would invoke its revocation key to render devices whose keys have been exposed - including software using those keys to pretend to be those devices - incapable of playing discs. While knowledgeable members of the forum state that this is indeed possible, the makers of the popular shareware AnyDVD are reassuring users that its software has somehow been immunized by any revocation that AACS LA attempts, though the authors are not divulging how.

A new revision of AnyDVD now claims to be able to back up Blu-ray discs in addition to HD DVD, when the volume keys of those discs have been located.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Another_AACS_Device_Key_Found_How_Will_Studios_Respond/1173133515


Dear valued customer,

we would like to inform you, that a new version of AnyDVD
has been released. Here the list of fixes and improvements:

6.1.3.0 2007 03 05
- New: Added Blu-Ray support
- New: Added removal of Blu-Ray region code
- Change: Automatic update notification is now less intrusive
(it uses a ballon tool tip) on Windows XP and Vista
- Change: I/O on 64bit OS (WinXP64/Vista64) moved to kernel mode
- Updated ElbyCDIO layer, fixes "cannot get exclusive access" in
CloneDVD and CloneCD under XP64 and Vista64
- Change: ElbyCDIO uses less CPU cycles under Windows XP and Vista
- Change: After using CloneCD or CloneDVD, AnyDVD does no longer
rescan the disc under XP64 and Vista64.
- Fix: HD DVDs without iHD menus did not work
- Fix: AnyDVD did not shut down properly when user logged off
- Fix: AnyDVD could be unintentionally disabled for some drives
- Fix: AnyDVD could detect Arccos copy protection on short multi
angle titles (e.g., extras on Monster House, R4) by mistake
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages

The update is free for all registered customers, of course.
Just install the new version on top of your current version,
regardless which version you have installed:
http://www.slysoft.com/download.html


Have fun with AnyDVD!


Gordon Reeves
Customer Care Center

http://static.slysoft.com/SetupAnyDVD.exe

 

FREE,PC Tools Firewall Plus 2.0

Author: PC Tools
Date: 2007-03-05
Size: 3.64 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win NT/2K/XP/2003

PC Tools Firewall Plus is a powerful personal firewall for Windows that protects your computer from intruders and controls the network traffic in and out of your PC. By monitoring applications that connect to the network Firewall Plus can stop Trojans, backdoors, keyloggers and other malware from damaging your computer and stealing your private information.

PC Tools Firewall Plus is advanced technology designed specially for people, not experts. Powerful prevention against attacks and known exploits is activated by default and advanced users can also easily create their own packet filtering rules to customize the network defenses. All you need to do is install it for immediate and automatic ongoing protection.

That’s why PC Tools Firewall Plus provides world-leading protection, backed by regular Smart Updates, OnGuard™ real-time protection and comprehensive network shielding to ensure your system remains safe and hacker free. PC Tools products are trusted and used by millions of people everyday to protect their home and business computers against online threats.

Main Features:
- Protects your PC as you are working, surfing and playing.
- Intelligent automatic protection without all the questions.
- Easy to use. Designed for both, novice and expert users.
- Advanced rules to protect your PC against common attacks.
- Best of all it’s FREE. No catches, limitations or time-limits.

DOWNLOAD HERE
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5470.html

 

Hollywood muscles Canada

p2pnet.net news:- The major Hollywood studios are pulling out all the stops to muscle Canada into changing its copyright laws to suit them before a new administration takes over; one that may not be as cooperative as George W. Bush's.

According to Hollywood, we're the hotbed of illicit underground movie production.

Now US ambassador David Wilkins says Canada must strengthen its copyright laws, "to prevent illicit pirating of American music and films," says Agence France-Presse, quoting him as also stating:

"There's a lot of pirating that goes on, a lot of counterfeiting of movies and songs" and "it really does cost the Canadian economy a huge amount every year, estimated to be from some 10 to 30 billion (dollars) per year. It's not some effort to protect some high-paid Hollywood star or studio. It's about ensuring that Canadian and American innovators and entrepreneurs are encouraged and protected so they will continue to make North America competitive in the world marketplace."

His figures come from Hollywood's MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), which routinely produces unsupported statistics to suit the occasion.

Wilkins, "indicated Washington was working closely with the Canadian government, as well as the Canadian motion picture, sound recording and computer software industries to solve the inadequacy of the legal protections," adds AFP.

Earlier, "The time has come for the United States to send a stern warning to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, which has failed to deliver on a promised overhaul of copyright laws and a policing crackdown," The Globe and Mail had the so-called International Intellectual Property Alliance saying.

"The industry groups feel very strongly that we need to ratchet this up," IIPA legal counsel Steve Metalitz said. "The disturbing thing is that the Canadian government doesn't seem to take this very seriously."

Two US senators are also horning in. Dianne Feinstein (upper right) and John Cornyn decided it was for time for them to personally represent Hollywood to Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, "calling his attention to the dramatic increase in movie piracy that has occurred in Canada since the United States enacted tougher laws and penalties".

They're demanding he, "enact a law similar to one they introduced in 2003 to crack down on video and audio piracy, specifically banning the recording of movies before they are released to video".

The law they're referring to is their infamous Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act (S. 1932) . Under it, "theater owners and employees would be legally able to 'detain' anyone they thought was trying to illegally record a movie with complete immunity from any civil or criminal liability that resulted from the 'detention'," p2pnet posted, continuing:

"The (ART Act) carries up to $250,000 in fines, three years in jail for first time 'offenders,' five years if they're caught distributing for profit and 10 years inside for repeat offenders."

Says Canadian Net law expert Michael Geist:

The letter pulls out all the usual suspects - the 20th Century Fox claims that Canada is responsible for 50 percent of camcorded movies, the claims that Canadian copyright law is unable to deal with the issue, and the argument that Canadian camcordings are "higher quality."

The Senators also suggest that the alleged growth of Canadian camcording is a direct result of their U.S. anti-camcording legislation (ie. camcording moves north due to fear of the U.S. rules). Of course, they do not mention that the U.S. National Association of Theatre Owners has commented on the spread of camcording within the U.S. (then again, there is unsurprisingly no reference to data that calls into question the severity of the problem and its economic impact).

The letter concludes by warning that "if Canada does not criminalize illicit camcording, we are afraid that illegal pirating will continue to mushroom in your country." This issue continues to play out in an entirely predictable fashion - threats from U.S. movie studios, reports from U.S. lobby groups, and now letters from U.S. politicians. Up next will be a much harsher warning from the U.S. Trade Representative, which will cite these developments and follow the IIPA recommendations in its Section 301 Report that will be released next month.

Below is the Feinstein / Cornyn letter, funded by American tax-payers and the constituents of the two US politicians, in full:

They also tell Harper to feel free to contact them should he need their help in any way.

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.,
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister:

We are writing to call your attention to the explosive growth of pirating of movies from theaters through the use of hand-recorders known as 'camcorders.' The theft and sale of newly-released movies has always been a serious threat to the motion picture industry. Now, the advancements of digital technology and improved camcorder capabilities have compounded the problem.

Camcorders on the market today are easily concealable and have more advanced technological capabilities. An individual can use these sophisticated hidden cameras and take advantage of sound jacks in theaters meant for hearing-impaired moviegoers to produce a high-quality copy of a film. It is no surprise that these copies are now the source of more than 90 percent of counterfeit DVDs of newly-released movies.

Walking into a cinema and surreptitiously videotaping a movie is clearly wrong, clearly inappropriate, and something that should clearly be prohibited. However, until two years ago it was not a federal crime in the United States and only illegal in four of our 50 states. In response, we offered legislation in the U.S. Senate which has been enacted into law that protects artists by making it a federal crime to use camcorders and other recording devices in movie theaters.

The law we authored does two things to combat the problem. First, it makes it illegal to make an unauthorized recording of a motion picture in a movie theater, for any reason, punishable by up to 3 years in prison and/or a fine. Second, it makes it illegal to make pre-released versions of movies, including movies that have not yet been commercially-released on DVD or video, available on the Internet without authorization punishable by up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine. (A copy of the statute is enclosed).

Unfortunately, since the United States has enacted tougher laws and penalties against piracy, including camcording piracy, it seems that much of this illicit business has simply moved north. According to a report issued by the U.S. Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, piracy in Canada has grown since the U.S. enacted its law in 2005. In fact, Canadian-sourced camcordings rose by 24 percent in 2006 from 2005.

We are told that Canadian camcordings tend to be much higher quality; and therefore, they are in greater demand and responsible for a significantly higher percentage of pirated works around the world. Films illegally recorded in Canada have been found in no fewer than 45 countries. Twentieth Century Fox has reported that, at one point during 2006, Canadian theaters were the source for nearly 50 percent of illegal camcorded recordings across the globe. However, it is still not a criminal offense in Canada to make an unauthorized recording of a film in a movie theater. That means there is no law against what is essentially the theft of property.

We understand that to criminally prosecute a pirate for camcording in Canada there must be proof that the copy of the film being recorded is being made for commercial purposes. This loophole allows a person caught camcording a film in a Canadian theater to simply claim that they are making the copy for personal use. Theater owners can do little more than tell pirates to leave since there is no clear violation of the law.

It has been reported that enacting a federal law in the United States has provided an important deterrent and allowed the movie industry and theater owners to effectively attack this problem here. It has enabled American theater owners to post signs stating that camcording is a federal criminal offense and, should the warnings be ignored, notify law enforcement of violations. With a clear-cut statute in place, authorities can more successfully prosecute violators.

The digital recording of movies before or during their initial theatrical release is one of the most serious piracy problems faced by the motion picture industry. In fact, six out of ten movies never recoup their original investment. This is not just a problem for the United States and its motion picture industry. A worldwide study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) concluded that in 2005 movie piracy cost the Canadian film industry and your government $225 million and $34 million, respectively, in lost revenues.

If Canada does not criminalize illicit camcording, we are afraid that illegal pirating will continue to mushroom in your country. While a new law will not stop the worldwide-problem of film camcording, it will certainly help end this most egregious form of copyright piracy. It is bad enough when artists must compete with pirates to sell their products; it is far worse when pirates steal artists’ creations and then sell them before the artist has even had the chance to recover their costs.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter of utmost importance. If we can be of any assistance to you or your cabinet ministers, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

John Cornyn
United States Senator

When we wrote about ART in 2004, "Coincidentally, so far this year Feinstein has received entertainment industry support to the tune of $269,566," we said. This became $284,844 for 2006, says OpenSecrets.

And, "Hollywood's main man, MPAA boss Dan Glickman, is doing his best to convince the world his employers, the immensely wealthy major studios, Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney, are being ruined by file sharers who camcord movies in Montreal, Canada, and then upload them," posted p2pnet recently, going on:

"In his mind-bending diatribes, he always conveniently forgets to mention Hollywood insiders have starring roles in getting movies online."
http://p2pnet.net/story/11546

 

AVG Anti-Virus Updates March 6, 2007


Author: Grisoft, Inc.
Date: 2007-03-06
Size: 6.6 Mb
License: Freeware
Requires: Win All


Editors Note: Grisoft tends to silently update, so if you receive an error downloading, you can download the latest update directly from Grisoft here.

In order to provide the highest level of antivirus protection for users of AVG Anti-Virus, GRISOFT continuously develops information about new viruses. This information, as well as product improvements, is provided to the users of AVG Anti-Virus in the form of Updates. Timely virus database updates are the critical component for the effectiveness of any antivirus program. In order to ensure that your AVG is providing the maximum amount of antivirus protection, your AVG Anti-Virus System must be kept up-to-date.

Download the latest AVG Free from MajorGeeks.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4478.html

 

Music Service Lets Customers Set Prices
By Ed Oswald, BetaNews
March 6, 2007, 12:04 PM

Amie Street has signed a deal with Nettwerk Music Group that will bring several major bands to a music service without DRM, and where popularity determines the price. But the first order of business appears to be obtaining more bandwidth.

Attempts by BetaNews to connect to Amie Street resulted in waiting times for page loads of one minute or more - and in some cases not at all. Much of the issues could be likely attributed to its Nettwerk announcement.

The agreement will bring DRM-free music from several major acts, a large portion of them in the electronic genre. The first album to be made available through the agreement with Nettwerk is the Barenaked Ladies' Barenaked Ladies Are Men.

Amie Street has been around since last July, however up until recently it had only dealt with independent acts. With the addition of material from labels, the visibility of the site is likely to increase dramatically.

Over the next several months, the entire Nettwerk catalog will be uploaded, which includes acts like Avril Lavigne, BT, Dieselboy, Gabriel & Dresden, Junior Jack, Paul Van Dyk, Sarah McLachlan, and Tiesto, among others.

Pricing of each song is directly determined by its popularity on the service. All tracks start out at free, and rise to a top price of 98 cents. Thus, less popular tracks would be cheaper, and popular ones more expensive. Amie Street keeps 30 percent of the final price, while the remainder goes to the artist or label. Unlike other services, purchased songs have no copyright protection.

"The price increases work based on a market penetration equation. Right now it takes a little under 100 buys for a song to get to 98 cents. We are talking with many different record labels of all sizes and are excited about bringing on their content in the future," an Aime Street spokesperson told BetaNews. "Yet some of the best selling songs on Amie Street have come from unsigned artists and we will continue to improve on being the best discovery engine for new music."

DRM is becoming an increasingly divisive issue in the music industry, especially since Apple CEO Steve Jobs came out against it a month ago in an open letter on the Apple Web site.

Labels like EMI have been reported to be considering moving their catalog to DRM-less MP3, and many executives reportedly think the current structure is too restrictive. However, not much movement has been seen in getting rid of copyright protection.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Music_Service_Lets_Customers_Set_Prices/1173200684

 

Switching your Linux systems to the new DST


"Spring forward; Fall back," That's the way the saying goes. Some years I get it backwards, but I eventually catch on. I've never had to worry about my PCs getting it wrong before, though. Now, with the recent changes in the Daylight Savings Time (DST) rules, I do.

Fortunately, there are ways to make sure that both my Linux computers and I get the new rules right.

Spread the word:
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Until now, most of us in the U.S. would set our clocks forward an hour in April and back an hour in October. However, in 2005, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which amended the Uniform Time Act of 1966. This turned our old, reliable Daylight Savings Time completely inside-out. The change goes into effect this year.

From now on, instead of DST starting on the first Sunday in April, it starts on the second Sunday of March. (This year, that's March 11.) Come Fall, Daylight Savings will end on the first Sunday in November -- November 4, this year -- instead of the last Sunday of October.

That means one big mess for many pre-2005 programs and operating systems, which have the old April/October DST rules hardwired into them.

Now, unlike Windows, Linux and the rest of the Unix operating system family don't have Daylight Savings Time innately. Instead, they use an entirely different way of telling time.

Most Linux systems have two clocks. The hardware clock, a.k.a. the "CMOS clock," is present in most x86-based systems. The CMOS, a battery-backed time clock located on the motherboard, runs 24/7. The system clock, on the other hand, starts when you boot up your system. This is the clock used by most internal Linux programs and Linux applications.

By default, the system clock takes its cue from the CMOS. A far better way to set up the system clock, if you have an Internet connection (and who doesn't?), is to use a program like ntpd. This program uses the NTP (network time protocol) to obtain the correct time from an NTS (network time server).

Some older Linux and Unix systems required you to use a program called ntpdate to actually set the time manually. Now, that functionality is included in the ntpd package.

The system clock, no matter how you update it, doesn't keep time the way most of us do. For Linux, the universe began at midnight UTC (a.k.a. Coordinated Universal Time), or 12:00 a.m. on Jan. 1, 1970. The system clock tells time by counting the number of seconds since the Linux "universe" began. This method of telling time is referred to as the Unix Epoch.

(As an aside, since most computers store the Epoch's number of seconds as a 32-bit signed integer, the "End of Time" will come at 03:14:07 UTC on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2038. That, however, is a problem for another day.)

Notice something missing? In all this talk of timekeeping, there's no mention of DST -- or of time zones, for that matter. That's because Linux doesn't track those with its time programs. Instead, Linux stores its time zone and DST information in the specific file, /usr/share/zoneinfo. Older Linux systems may store the information in the file, /usr/lib/zoneinfo, instead. The local time zone and DST are both determined by a symbolic link to /etc/localtime.

To make sure your Linux system knows when DST is, this year and ever on, you need to update your zoneinfo file, or replace it with one that contains the new rules.

If you've been keeping your system updated, most modern Linuxes will have automatically updated your computer with the correct DST information. If you haven't updated your computer for a while with the latest patches, do it now.

Some (but not all) Linux and Unix distributions give instructions on how to use their update tools to set your system up with the new DST. The ones we're aware of at this time are AIX, Debian Testing, Debian Unstable, FreeBSD, Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise, Red Hat Linux, and Solaris.

Once you've done that, it's time to check to see if you have the right DST settings. How do you make sure? Unfortunately, you can't just look at your zoneinfo files; they're not human-readable.

Instead, you need to use the zdump command from a shell interface. Zdump prints the current time in each zonename named on the command line. For our purposes, you'll need to run the following command:

zdump -v /etc/localtime | grep 2007

If you don't get any result from the zdump command, your system may need you to specify your time zone information.

For example,

$ zdump -v /etc/localtime EST5EDT | grep 2007

is what you would use for the U.S. Eastern time zone. If you're in the Central time zone, use CST6CDT; in the Mountain time zone use MST7MDT; and in the Pacific time zone, use PST8PDT.

If your system is set up properly, it will return a display that starts with two lines containing "Sun Mar 11". If, instead, you see a pair of lines with "Sun Apr 1" within them, you'll need to do a manual update.

This will take a little time at your shell interface, but it's not difficult.

First, use your Web browser to check for the most up-to-date time zone and DST information files at the site:

ftp://elsie.nci.nih.gov/pub/

When I checked on it, on March 5, the most current data file was tzdata2007c.tar.gz.

Next, if you don't have a directory you already use for temporary files and downloads, set one up. A good name for such a directory in this case might be tzdata. You can make this directory, and then move to it with the following commands:

$ mkdir tzdata
$ cd txdata

Now, download it to your system with at ftp utility. If nothing else, you almost certainly have a copy of wget. Run:

$ wget ftp://elsie.nci.nih.gov/pub/tzdata2007c.tar.gz

Once you have the file in hand, decompress it with an archive utility such as tar:

$ tar -xzvf tzdata2007c.tar.gz

Now that you have the chronological information you need, it's time to put it in the proper format. You can either switch to the root user, or use the sudo command, to run the following:

# zic -d zoneinfo northamerica

# cd zoneinfo

# cp -r * /usr/share/zoneinfo/

Zic will transform the data into the form Linux needs; and the other commands will copy the new information to the proper directory. If you're using an older version of Linux, you may need to place the file in that directory like so:

# cp -r * /usr/lib/zoneinfo/

All done? Now, let's check to make sure we're set up properly with the new DST by going back and using our zdump routine again:

zdump -v /etc/localtime | grep 2007

All set? Great! I told you it wasn't too hard.

The final touch is to make sure all your daemon services know about the DST change. Many important background applications, like sendmail, postfix, and BIND named, only load /etc/localtime -- that is, they only check the date and time -- when they're starting up. Rather than track such applications down, the best thing to do is to simply reboot the system. That way, all the services will start fresh, with the correct DST time information safely locked into your CMOS clock.

At this point, your PC should be fine until either Congress changes the DST rules again, or we reach the Epoch. Here's hoping that it will be the Epoch, and not another government mandated time change.

Hey, look on the bright side: at least it's not Y2K!

-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS6300294422.html

 

Hollywood reports record revenues

p2pnet.net news:- Hollywood is practically in its death throes, according to MPAA boss Dan Glickman.

His employers, Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney, are beset on all sides by counterfeiters, file sharers and Montreal-based crooks with camcorders, he cries at every opportunity, painting tragic pictures of out-of-work support workers and revenue losses in the billions of dollars.

So just how terrible is it?

Well actually, things aren't too bad at all. In fact, they're pretty darned good and ironically, it's the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) which says so.

In its annual theatrical market statistics report, global film audiences, "boosted the worldwide box office to an all-time high of $25.8 billion, compared to 23.3 billion in 2005," an 11% increase, crows Hollywood's MPAA delightedly.

The US box office, "rebounded in 2006 to finish the year at $9.49 billion in revenues compared to $8.99 billion in 2005 - a 5.5% increase from the previous year, with 1.45 billion movie tickets sold in the U.S., ending a three-year downward trend in ticket sales," it says.

In 2006, 63 films grossed more than $50 million at the box office, a 12.5% increase from the previous year, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest exceeded the $400 million mark.

And far from seeing a drop in the number of movies produced because of hard times, Hollywood output, "has been steadily growing over the last several years with total releases topping another all time high of 607 in 2006, compared to 549 in 2005, an 11% increase," says the MPAA, adding:

"Movies continue to be the overwhelming choice for entertainment drawing more people to movie theaters than theme parks and the major professional sports leagues combined."

Don't trouble to stay tuned.

Slashdot Slashdot it!

Also See:
crooks with camcorders - Hollywood muscles Canada, March 6, 2007
The Toronto Star - Canada has most positive image worldwide: Survey, March 5, 2007
http://p2pnet.net/story/11552

 

Wine titan Ernest Gallo dead at 97
Ernest Gallo, with his brother Julio, took a debt-ridden family vineyard and turned their name into a worldwide wine icon. Family wealth was estimated at $1.2 billion. He died Tuesday at age 97.
By JOHN HOLLAND, J.N. SBRANTI and TIM MORAN
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: March 7, 2007, 02:22:35 PM PST

Ernest Gallo, who with his brother Julio built their Modesto winery into an international powerhouse, died Tuesday. He was 97.
Gallo died early in the afternoon of natural causes, surrounded by family at his Modesto home, company spokeswoman Susan Hensley said.

The brothers founded E.&J. Gallo Winery as Prohibition ended in 1933, using $5,900 and a winemaking pamphlet from the Modesto Public Library to produce their first batch in a shed at Ninth and D streets. The winery grew to become the world's largest by volume, a title since taken by Constellation Brands of New York. Gallo remains second, selling an estimated 75 million cases a year worldwide under about 100 labels.
"My brother Julio and I worked to improve the quality of wines from California and to put fine wine on American dinner tables at a price people could afford," Gallo told The Bee on the occasion of his 90th birthday in 1999. "We also worked to improve the reputation of California wines here and overseas."
The Gallo fortune stood at an estimated $1.2 billion a year ago, Forbes magazine reported. He was involved well into his 90s in the company, which is family-owned.
Industry and community leaders Tuesday recalled Gallo's charitable spirit as well as his impact on the wine business.
"We've really lost a giant," said Bette Belle Smith, a longtime colleague in Modesto-area causes. "He was part of the landscape, a very vital part of our landscape. What an impact he made on this community, this era."
The Gallo family provided a $10 million endowment for the Gallo Center for the Arts, set to open in downtown Modesto this fall, and supported health care, education and other causes.
The winery long was known for its low-priced jug wines from the valley, but it added premium brands, notably the Gallo of Sonoma line, in the past few decades.
"Mr. Gallo and his brother were true pioneers," said Robert Koch, president of The Wine Institute. "They built their company from scratch, and in turn were instrumental in building the American wine industry. It's a wonderful American success story."
In a statement, Gov. Schwarzenegger said, "Ernest's entrepreneurial spirit and extraordinary innovation made him instrumental in establishing California as a world leader in winemaking."
Julio Gallo, who died in a Jeep accident in 1993, oversaw the vineyards and winemaking. Ernest Gallo handled sales with tenacity, visiting stores unannounced to see if the wine was getting good display.
Although reluctant to discuss the company in detail with the media, Ernest Gallo was a pioneer of wine advertising on television. He also led the way in establishing national and global sales forces.
Until as late as last year, Gallo would drop in occasionally at the office he kept at winery headquarters off Yosemite Boulevard, Hensley said.
The operations will be closed Friday in his honor, said a letter to employees from Joseph Gallo, his son and chief executive officer at the company.
"My father always enjoyed walking through the buildings, meeting with people, asking questions, overcoming challenges, problem solving and seeing the commitment of all of us to grow, produce and market the highest-quality wines in the world," he wrote.
Gallo employs 4,600 people, about 3,000 of them in Modesto and the rest in Livingston, Fresno, Sonoma County and elsewhere. The Modesto complex no longer crushes grapes, but does blend, bottle and age wine. It also has a bottle plant and research center.
Gallo's death came less than a month after another brother, Joseph Gallo, died at 87. Joseph Gallo had been estranged from Ernest and Julio because of a legal dispute that arose in the 1980s over Joseph's use of the family name on cheese he produced in Atwater and his claim to a share in the winery. Joseph Gallo lost in court on both issues.
"Ernest lived a long, very active life with many great accomplishments," said Mike Gallo, son of the elder Joseph Gallo. "I'm sure his family is very proud of him, and they should be. He had an impact on the wine industry and the whole state. He was a dynamo."
The son of Italian immigrants, Ernest Gallo was born March 18, 1909, in Jackson, a year before Julio. The family lived for a time in Antioch and Escalon before moving to Modesto in 1924.
Ernest Gallo worked in the Maze Boulevard vineyard owned by his parents, Joe and Susie Gallo, while attending Modesto High School. The grapes were sold in Chicago for home winemaking, which was allowed during Prohibition. Gallo showed his salesman's skills early, traveling to the Midwest at 17 to complete a deal.
He graduated from Modesto High in 1927 and earned a degree from Modesto Junior College.
He married Amelia Franzia, daughter of the founders of Franzia Winery near Ripon, in 1931. Amelia Gallo died in 1993.
Gallo Winery arose amid tragedy. In June 1933, Joe Gallo, despondent over business troubles, shot and killed his wife and then himself.
The Gallo brothers inherited the debt-ridden vineyard and, later in 1933, started the winery with working capital borrowed from Ernest Gallo's mother-in-law, Teresa Franzia.
The Gallos sold their first batch — 177,847 gallons of blended red table wine — for 50 cents a gallon to a Chicago distributor, turning a profit. Theirs was one of hundreds of wineries launched at the end of Prohibition, and one of the few to survive.
Ernest Gallo recognized early on that the California wine industry's practice of selling bulk wine to East Coast bottlers had to change. The state's wineries at the time were wholesalers and had little control over quality or how the final product was marketed.
The Gallos worked to improve their wine, introducing filtering techniques, using stainless steel tanks and blending wines to gain consistent quality.
"Gallo pioneered the improvement of the varieties of grapes being planted," Ernest Gallo said in the 1999 interview, conducted in writing in keeping with his publicity-shy nature. "Another important step was our development of scientific methods for quality control so that consumers could count on every bottle of wine being sound and enjoyable when they bought it. This continues at a very high level. These things contributed to the development of American wines that rival any in the world."
Gallo trained an army of salespeople to convince grocery stores that they should make room on their shelves for his bottles at a time when wine was not popular.
He would inspect store displays in small towns throughout the country, critiquing the way Gallo wines were presented and peppering store managers with questions.
Gallo's size made it a dominant player, but it was reined in somewhat via an antitrust complaint from the Federal Trade Commission. The company signed an agreement that restricted its relationships with its distributors for 10 years.
Gallo also drew complaints at times from California grape growers, who said the prices the winery paid were too low. And the company was hit by a national boycott by the United Farm Workers union in the 1970s.
Through it all, the winery grew and prospered, thanks in part to Gallo's knack for anticipating public whims.
The company sold sweet dessert wines in the 1930s and 1940s to a consumer market reacquainting itself with wine. Jug wines abounded in the 1950s and 1960s. Sweet carbonated apple wine came along in the 1960s and 1970s, followed by Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers in the 1980s.
Gallo has made a big splash in Sonoma County in the past decade with its higher-end Gallo of Sonoma wines. It also bought several well-regarded wineries, such as Louis M. Martini in the Napa Valley, and imported wines from Italy, Australia and elsewhere.
The Gallos built a vertically integrated company, including vast vineyards, the bottle plant, an art department to design bottles and labels, and a plant to make screw tops.
The hard-driving personality that helped make his wines so successful also made Gallo a difficult taskmaster. The winery developed a reputation for hiring promising young marketing graduates from the top universities, riding them hard for a few years and burning them out.
Many went on to become executives at other beverage companies, and they admit that the Gallo experience was a valuable crash course in marketing. The winery's training program is sometimes referred to as "Gallo University" within the industry.
Some pointed out that Gallo didn't ask them to work any harder than he did. It's just that very few could keep the pace he set for himself.
Gallo was a vigorous defender of the wine industry against what it calls "the neo-Prohibitionist movement."
Yet he also donated $3 million to establish the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California at San Francisco to seek a solution to alcohol abuse. The clinic does research on the genetic, biochemical and neurobiological aspects of alcohol abuse.
Over the decades, Gallo was honored many times. In 1964, he won winemaking's highest honor, the American Society of Enologists Merit Award for outstanding leadership in the wine industry. He also won the Gold Vine Award from the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine wine fraternity and the 1983 Distinguished Service Award from The Wine Spectator.
In recent years, the winery has been lauded for its upscale wines. It was named Winery of the Year in 1996 and 1998 by the San Francisco International Wine Competition and has garnered top awards in competitions in France, England and Italy. The Los Angeles County Fair wine competition named Gallo the Winery of the Century.
Today, E.&J. Gallo Winery employs children and grandchildren of the founders in key positions. Ernest Gallo assured that it will remain family-owned "as a result of the estate planning steps he took during his lifetime," his son Joseph said.
"My father's passion for the wine industry was matched only by his passion for life and for his family," he said. "He adored his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and he believed his family was his greatest legacy and success. My father died knowing that he had lived life to its fullest."


THE ENTIRE FIRST SECTION OF THE MODESTO BEE WAS DEVOTED TO THIS STORY...14 COMPLETE PAGES...He was the last G1 of the Gallo Family...Family Members are ranked according to how far away they were from Ernest & Julio...G2...G3...G4...The Gallo Family put Modesto on the Map...The only thing that will probably ever top this...in Modesto...will be when George Lucas passes away...

George Lucas is by far...Modesto most Famous and Beloved Son...

I KNOW THIS IS NOT TECH NEWS...It was just an impressive amount of a Major Newspaper devoted to one story...

 

Five Things You Can't Discuss about Linux
Posted by CmdrTaco on Friday March 09, @10:08AM
from the but-what-if-i-wanna dept.
Linux
gondwannabe writes "Here are Five Things You Aren't Allowed to Discuss About Linux. With considerable chutzpa, an insightful Rob Enderle takes on what he considers five dogmas in the OSS community and explains why they're wrong. Examples: Linux is secure, "communes" actually work in the long haul, and that Linux is "pro-developer."

:: Rob Enderle ::
The Real Truth about Technology and IT
The Five Things You Aren’t Allowed to Discuss About Linux
Posted by Rob Enderle on Monday 26 February 2007 at 7:44 pm

I started writing about Linux not because I thought it interesting, fascinating, or even because I liked to code (I don’t).

I started writing about Linux because I was told I couldn’t and the more people told me I couldn’t, and particularly when they said “or else,” the more the Linux dirty laundry became attractive to me. In short, if anyone bothers to look at the sequence of events, they will see that the Linux community pushed me down this path. Granted I didn’t fight much, but I have this thing about cover-ups. I believe they can lead to disasters both within a company and across a nation; here in the U.S. this last point, whether it be Global Warming or Iraq, would seem self evident.

So this time I’d like to talk about the five things you can’t talk about without being attacked by OSS supporters. I’ll take the heat, and as always, I’m not suggesting you stop deployment of Linux, I’m just suggesting you intelligently cover your backside.

One: Is Linux a Myth?

This strikes me as both the most obvious and the least talked about. We talk about Linux like an operating system when we compare it against Windows, we talk about it as a company when we compare it against Microsoft, and when we describe its attributes it almost seems super-human or god like.

Linux isn’t a thing, and it sure isn’t a god. When we compare an operating system to another we should be comparing the specific distribution, which is a thing. When we compare it to Microsoft we need a company to do that; Red Hat, Novell and now Oracle provide us with a framework so that we can intelligently compare one to another and assess the differences.

The reason Linux has been abstracted into a concept is so it doesn’t have to compete on merit. It can be anything, in concept, it needs to be to win a deal. But we live in the real world where there needs to be a real product and a real support structure behind it. If we are actually doing an evaluation we have to evaluate what we are actually going to end up using and it isn’t generic “Linux.”

This isn’t to say Linux can’t or doesn’t win in real comparisons, only that the majority I’ve seen weren’t real comparisons. As a ex-auditor I care less about who wins than I care about the process that determines the winner. I’ve seen too many instances where decisions were made on products, including proprietary products, based on what appears to be graft. One CIO even won a Mercedes Benz for making the “right choice” – we’ll talk about that in a future post.

Presenting the products and companies in abstract was actually rather brilliant, however, I can’t find a Steve Jobs-like person I can congratulated for this excellent work. It just seems to have happened that way naturally, but, if you are going to be successful, your justification needs to be solid and for that you’ll need the specifics.

Linux is a grown up product; it isn’t for everything or everyone though. Do your assessment with a real product against real metrics. SuSe and Red Hat are both capable enough to compete without cheating.

Two: Is Linux Secure?

I already said there is no “Linux,” so how can I now treat it like a thing? The easy path here would be to present the different security models for the different distributions but, for this purpose, I’m going to leave Linux in abstract and talk about the unique security problem it represents. I’m not saying Windows is more secure either; I’m saying the products are so different from each other that comparisons may not actually make much sense, which is why there are reports supporting both sides of this. So, let’s start by saying nothing is secure enough if people are involved.

Long before IT stopped being just “it,” security had three aspects: Physical Safety, Possession Protection, and Intelligence. The way security was breached in all cases was physical; people came in and did harm, stole, or deployed “spies.” They didn’t need viruses or hacks, they just pitted their intelligence against yours and, if they won, you lost and, in the case of harm, that loss could be terminal.

We know that crooks generally are crooks because they didn’t do well in school, not because they graduated from the top of their class at MIT (though clearly this “rule” has been broken from time to time). We also know that the most successful kind of attack to get “intelligence” is a phishing attack, and what brought this into the news recently was HP’s pretexting problem.

Linux is surrounded by people who generally don’t even use real names and often “exaggerate” what they do for a living. Wonder over on Groklaw and you’ll see a lot of legal experts, a few months back I corresponded with one. His legal “expertise” came for a class on contracts, and I’m not kidding, he took in high school. PJ, the woman who allegedly heads up this legal resource, is currently ducking service from SCO and lord knows what she is covering up (and I don’t think it is that she works for IBM; they aren’t that stupid).

We also know that when someone gets access to information it generally isn’t reported anyplace, primarily because, at least until we figure the Quantum thing out, the activity itself doesn’t prevent subsequent use by anyone else. For instance, after the Cold War ended, we were amazed at how much of what we had the Russians had copied. What drove our suspicions was the similarity in what resulted, and the fact we also had spies looking at their stuff.

Linux exists in an environment where there is broad collaboration, but no effort to validate the collaborators so the opportunity for traditional, old style, data breach is immeasurable.

We know that pretexting is wide-spread, how much easier (and harder to catch and convict) if the person doing the pretexting doesn’t even have to come up with a real fake identity?

If you are using Linux and haven’t done a physical security audit in a while and specifically looked at who is collaborating with whom, I would say it is likely well past time.

By the way, this is true whether you are using Linux or not; we generally are not focusing enough on physical security right now, particularly in home and branch offices. But that is for another time; a good resource is “Security Dreamer,” which focuses on the topic of physical security in general; the author, Steve Hunt, is one of the best in the business.

If you are using UNIX, Linux, Windows or Apple, you need to ensure they are secure. OSs aren’t security products; none of them are secure enough.

Three: Do Communes Work?

If you step back and look at Linux from a distance it actually looks like this idea of community works, there is progress, and UNIX has been taking it in the shorts. But, when you get close, you see a political nightmare that can make the bureaucracy at IBM and Microsoft seem simple and almost streamlined by comparison.

Let’s take the GPL; this is like watching a government working. This is the license that defines how you will use the product and what you will “pay” for it. Right now they can’t even agree if they need a new one, and the two sides have, as they seem more than willing to do, degraded into name-calling. This has gotten to the point where Linus Torvalds, one of the nicest guys, has been called some rather nasty things, not by Microsoft, but by other Linux users.

The reason Communes do not work is a few do the work of many and aren’t compensated for it. In general, the few are increasingly upset that others are benefiting from their efforts and the many get upset when they see things done they didn’t want done.

The GPL 3.0 is a good example; a few are doing the work of many, and the end result is clearly, on my reading, anti-business. In fact, a committee had been put together with some of the largest and most powerful supporters of Linux, and because the framers disagreed with what the committee recommended, it was disbanded and the recommendations, apparently, will be disregarded.

Sounds like a government doesn’t it? Everyone, and I mean everyone, who uses Linux will be impacted by the license. You’d better read it, and you’d darned well better make sure it is what you want it to be. There is one word for people that let any group or company unilaterally write a contract they have to live under, yet I’ve seen that word applied to the people who don’t participate in communal efforts (and yes, voting is a communal effort, given how few participate in that, there should be no surprise we are in the mess we are in).

Now, if you wanted to participate but were blocked from participating, don’t you think that speaks directly to whether an effort is, in fact, communal? Could I now argue that Linux is simply another name for OSF? Really, look at the language in GPL 3. If you have intellectual property to protect, your attorneys should have a major cow with regard to what is in that puppy. But they should read it regardless. Now there is a question of whether Linux will adopt it, but if you use a Linux based product, this is a question you should help answer.

If you are going to use Linux, you should get involved, even though the Free Software Foundation may not listen.

Four: Is Linux Pro-Developer, or Pro-You?

Maybe if you live in a Third World country and like to work for peanuts. Linux throws off very little cash; much of the revenue that comes from it is tied to services and hardware, and these services are generally, though not always, discounted below what they would be for a “proprietary” product. The applications that go on top of the platform are also discounted, many of them being “free” as well. Now Google is proving every day that the advertising model works and it can be very lucrative, but it may not work for you if you are an inside IT resource (though selling ads for you HR internal website would be a creative way to get more income for your department).

Employees often are valued based on the cost of what they work with. The higher the cost, the easier it is to justify an employee’s salary. More important, if a product is expensive, the focus is often on the cost of the product, but if the product is free, the focus is on the cost of the employees.

Let’s move out of industry where the example is clearer. If you are a Ferrari mechanic you make substantially more (I worked as a Jaguar mechanic while in college) than if you are a Chevy Mechanic. You may not be able to find work (not a lot of Ferrari dealerships), but you’ll make a lot more money. Companies typically don’t reduce salaries; they either get rid of the expensive people or outsource or both.

When I first started writing about Linux, I heard from over a thousand people that they disagreed, some rather violently, with what they thought I had written. For many, once they realized I’d actually not said what the excerpts they had read had implied, they actually entered into very real discussions.

Over the last two years the vast majority of them have lost their jobs due to outsourcing after their companies moved to Linux from UNIX. While I don’t have enough to do more than suggest there is a cause and effect here, I can say that the use of Linux neither protected their job nor made them more valuable to their employer; in fact it seemed to have done the opposite.

Recently, outsourcing has slowed; I think this is because companies finally realized that sending a critical part of the firm to the Third World made execution all but impossible. However, have you noticed that Sun has started to come back?

While we were all distracted by the whole Microsoft vs. Linux BS, the real fight wasn’t between Windows and a Linux distribution; it was between Linux and HP-UX, Solaris, and AIX instead. IBM and HP did both, and are complex companies which conceal the impact of the move, but Sun is simple and arguably the strongest UNIX firm. As companies bring IT back from the Third World, UNIX appears to be coming back as well, and I think that is partially because developers understand that it is a vastly more financially beneficial platform. I also think CIOs are starting to remember that being in the software development business carries with it too much risk, and that depending on vendors like Sun, EMC, HP, and IBM provides a more sure result.

In any case, if we accept (and OSF in particular would not agree to this) that financial success is the primary measure of a successful platform, Linux has done very poorly historically against the alternatives, and both UNIX and mainframes seem to be coming back as a result.

By the way, Google is a really good example of how to use Linux and make tons of money doing so, so I’m not saying it is anti-business, as I mentioned above; it is FSF that appears doing that. I’m not sure Linux is pro-anything, though it is clearly positioned most often against Microsoft.

Products have implications that go beyond code; they have implications for organizational structure, for salaries, and for best use. Before you advocate anything new, you may want to think a bit on the secondary impacts; the grass may be greener, but it may be wise to also watch where you step. (I have three dogs, and they suggested I mention this).

Is Linux is “Open”?

How can anything be “Open” if honest discussion isn’t allowed?

If you think a Microsoft product sucks you can say that to great detail without having to be afraid of your job, apparently even if you work for Microsoft (which I kind of find surprising). But if you suggest that Linux isn’t ready for the desktop — which I do often because it isn’t – you’ll have folks coming after your job and, sometimes, suggesting you won’t be long for this world. Some of the mail has been rather nasty (though I do admit it has moderated of late).

No product is perfect for everything. What made Windows good for the desktop is largely what makes Linux a better product for some servers, and the opposite is true. I think that Microsoft made a huge strategic mistake when it merged the workstation/server code base with the desktop code base. They optimized for them and forgot about the customer. I could say that then, and I can say that now without any concern for my safety.

As an analyst I actually had to quit my job to have the same freedom of speech with Linux. According to The Register, there is actually some kind of a strike team that comes after me every time I say something positive on Microsoft or negative on Linux. And I’m not alone: Laura DiDio at Yankee gets sexual harassed, and Dan Lyons over at Forbes is attacked regularly, although he does have supporters as well.

Let’s take indemnification; this should be a topic every company should suddenly be looking very closely at. Microsoft just got nailed with a whopping $1.53 Billion, that’s with a “B”, judgment for the use of a common music standard. They did this because they indemnified Dell and Gateway, the companies initially targeted. If they had used Linux instead of Windows, it would be Dell and Gateway hit with some fraction of this judgment (and even a fraction of $1.52B is a big number). So where is the coverage? Don’t you think it should be a hot topic right now, so where is the chatter?

There are at least two sides to everything. What I’ve observed with OSS in general and Linux in particular (and this applies to Apple as well) is there is a distinct effort to make sure only the popular side can speak.

I think the thing that bothers me the most about Linux is IT advocacy. IT shouldn’t be an advocate of any product, because it needs to make determinations between them. Whether it is Microsoft, Apple, or Linux, once IT takes a side it is no longer capable of properly assessing a solution based on the needs of the business. And that is the job.

IT needs to ensure, not prevent, discussion so that the best product, company, or service is chosen, and when they can’t do that, they should find other jobs.

When only one side is heard, you don’t have “Open,” and you sure as heck don’t have “Free” as in Freedom, which, to me is more important than “Free” as in “Free Beer.” If, to get “Free” Software, we give up “Free” Speech the cost, at least to me, is way the heck too high.

Wrapping Up:

I stopped at 5 things but there are clearly more we could chat about.

Like why don’t we talk about Apple vs. Linux? In the last trial I participated on for the desktop, Windows won, Linux missed by a mile but Apple only by a hair (and Apple will be pulling that hair next month).

Does the Free Software Foundation own Linux? They appear to be trying to rename it.

Who’s side is Steve Ballmer or Richard Stallman on? (I would argue it is Stallman and the GPL 3.0 do more to kill Linux than anthing Microsoft could conceive of, and that Ballmer’s statements generally benefit, though unintentionally, Linux).

When I was growing up a popular T-Shirt Slogan was “Question Authority.” Take a look around, what are people afraid to ask questions about, what isn’t being discussed that should be? I believe in preventing mistakes, not constantly finding creative ways to blame someone else. Ask questions, get answers.
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/rob/?p=9