16th October 2008 Archive

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Warezov botnet rises from the grave

Undead spam

After laying low for the better part of a year, the Warezov botnet is back - with some new tricks up its sleeve. In the past week, trojan horse programs that install the Warezov bot have been spotted on websites offering free MP3 downloads, according to Joe Stewart, director of malware research at security provider SecureWorks …

Spam 16 Oct 2008, 00:33
FCC smiles on Goo-soft's white space wireless play

Grandma's football safe from drugged WiFi

The US Federal Communications Commission has inched towards a plan that would provide high-speed WiFi-like wireless access over unused portions of the country's television airwaves. On Wednesday, the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology released a report (PDF) detailing its latest tests of so-called "white space" …

Networks 16 Oct 2008, 01:10
Liquid Computing drops IQ for Ethernet

Slushy servers for Windows, Linux

In the IT business, volume is everything. And when people talk about standardization, this is what they really mean. Liquid Computing - a company that entered the server space with such a big splash (and a very sophisticated design) - has learned this lesson the hard way. And with its second rev of products, the company has …

Servers 16 Oct 2008, 03:55
Wireless neutrality: Not if we can prevent it

Throttling on a granular scale

Partisan network enabler Camiant is to bring "real-time policy control" to a European mobile network, throttling data by application, time and location, not to mention tariff. The Boston-based outfit has signed a deal to bring "policy control" to an Eastern European network operator it'll only describe as a "challenger, not an …

Wireless 16 Oct 2008, 06:02
Hubble's 486 back-up springs into life

Updated Successful boot after extended slumber

NASA is cautiously optimistic that Hubble will soon be back in action following a boot-up of the space telescope's venerable 486 back-up system. Hubble was last month blinded by the failure of the Control Unit/Science Data Formatter (CU/SDF) in its operational Side A Science Instrument Command and Data Handling unit (SIC&DH), …

Space 16 Oct 2008, 06:29
Hands on with SanDisk's SlotMusic SD-not-CD player

First Look Crazy or canny?

SanDisk's upcoming cassette Micro SD personal stereo, SlotMusic, will be coming to the UK and the rest of Europe early next year, Register Hardware can reveal after having a play with the gadget. The ciggie-lighter sized player is a model of simplicity: a Micro SD slot at one end, 3.5mm earphone socket and power key at the …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 07:36
Google UK honours Queen Liz 2.0

Royal visit prompts 'Gawd bless yer Ma'am' logo

Google UK is today honouring Her Imperial Majestyness Queen Liz 2.0 with a royal "Google doodle" marking the monarch's visit to the search monolith's London offices. According to the Beeb, Her Maj and Phil the Greek will shake hands with Google's EMEA prez Nikesh Arora, as well as mixing with lesser mortals representing "key …

Bootnotes 16 Oct 2008, 08:47
How should software developers be paid?

Reg Reader Workshop By the line?

The success of any software development organisation depends on balancing a whole range of factors from the skill sets through tool sets to the way in which everything is managed. Over the past few weeks, you had your say on a lot of this stuff in the reader workshop we've been running. One of the sentiments that has emerged …

Workshop 16 Oct 2008, 09:13
Tata launches 'public' Cisco video conferencing

Bleeding ~~edge~~ expensive

Tata Communications and Cisco have opened public video conferencing rooms in London and California, meaning people in existing public rooms in India now have someone to talk to. They're working with luxury hotel group Taj and hope to rent the rooms by the hour to business people. Yesterday rooms opened in London and Santa …

Data Networking 16 Oct 2008, 09:27
Portsmouth seeks ISP - no net access required

Interested? Call this number...

We're sure that UK councils' equal opps policies do a great deal to ensure that absolutely everyone gets a fair crack of the whip when it comes to applying for jobs or tendering for those juicy service contracts, but there are surely occasions when it is entirely justifiable to discriminate against those who do not have the …

Telecoms 16 Oct 2008, 09:28
1980s Apricot reborn in noughties as netbook seller

Biz-oriented PicoBook Pro launched

One-time UK computer industry darling Apricot has been revived as a maker of Small, Cheap Computers and is launching its first offering today. Enter the PicoBook Pro, an 8.9in netbook based on chip maker VIA's C7-M processor and OpenBook platform. The PicoBook Pro has a 1.2GHz CPU, 1GB of 667MHz DDR 2 memory and a 60GB hard …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 09:29
iSCSI dodges Fibre Channel over Ethernet noose

Storage Expo Vendors seek Fibre Channel's growth, not iSCSI's death

Fibre Channel over Ethernet may not have taken off yet, but at least it's on the taxiway. That's thanks to NetApp's launch of the first native FCoE storage subsystem, converged network adapters (CNAs) from Emulex and QLogic, and Cisco's announcement of the first FCoE switch - the Connectrix NEX-5020, which is based on its Nexus …

Storage 16 Oct 2008, 09:52
Italy, Poland threaten veto on EU green package

Eco versus economics

Italy and Poland have threatened to veto the EU's proposed new measures against climate change. The two nations argue that their economies cannot stand the costs of the green legislation as it now stands. EU Observer quotes Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, announcing his intention to block the plans, as saying: "Our businesses …

Government 16 Oct 2008, 10:06
Android comes with a kill-switch

Only for use if device discovers human emotion

Google has put itself in charge of policing Android devices. The search giant is retaining the right to delete applications from Android handsets on a whim. Unlike Apple, the company has made no attempt to hide its intentions, and includes the details in the Android Market terms and conditions, as spotted by Computer World: …

Mobile 16 Oct 2008, 10:20
Siemens shows slim, sexy solar-powered cordless concept

Siemens reckons we'll all soon be keeping our phones topped up with sunlight, and it's designed a concept handset, the Solar, to show how such a device might look. Siemens' Solar: let there be light... There's no calculator-style tiny solar panel on top of the phone - instead, it's entire face is one big panel from top to …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 10:22
PS3 must stay focused on games, says Sony

Blu-ray and movies just extras?

The PS3 and Xbox 360 are worlds apart in terms of pricing, but Sony and Microsoft do have at least one thing in common: a belief that games must always be the core focus for both consoles. Kaz Hirai, head of Sony Computer Entertainment, told Japanese newspaper Nikkei Business this week that “the main premise of the PS3 is …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 10:29
Intel: Atom chips for all!

But not until the end of Q4...

Intel has pledged to wrestle supply and demand into alignment and ship enough Atom processors by the end of the year to meet its customers' needs. Speaking during the company's quarterly pow-wow with financial analysts, CEO Paul Otellini admitted that Intel hadn't produced enough Atoms during the chip maker's third quarter. “ …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 11:00
Tarmin touts active archiving software

Storage Expo It's ILM, Jim, but not as we know it

UK-based software developer Tarmin Technologies has come out of stealth this week with an intriguing archiving tool called GridBank. As the name implies, this is grid-based and looks rather like ILM version 2.0 - but Tarmin CEO and co-founder Shahbaz Ali prefers to call it active archiving. Currently in beta and due for full …

Storage 16 Oct 2008, 11:01
Daughter cremates mom on improvised barbecue

Then fashions necklace from chunk of skull

The daughter and grandson of a Northern California woman decided to forego the usual funerary niceties when 84-year-old granny popped her clogs in December last year, and cremated her on a "improvised barbecue", LA Times reports Kathleen Theresa Allmond, 50, and her son, Tony Ray, 30, allegedly disposed of Ramona Yolanda …

Bootnotes 16 Oct 2008, 11:03
Adobe patch thwarts clickjacking attack

Flash, bang, wallop

Adobe has published an update to its popular Flash Player software, addressing a much-publicised clickjacking flaw. Clickjacking affects multiple applications (including browsers and media players) and creates a means for hackers to trick prospective marks into unknowingly clicking on a link or dialogue. Adobe Flash Player - …

Enterprise Security 16 Oct 2008, 11:08
Vint Cerf declares for Obama over net neutrality

Reminds US citizens to turn up on polling day

Vint Cerf has declared for Obama in the US Presidential race, after carefully considering the issues – you know, war, global and domestic poverty – and deciding that what the world needs now is network neutrality. To drive home the point, Cerf posted his manifesto on YouTube – thus reaping the twin benefits of getting his …

Telecoms 16 Oct 2008, 11:11
HP readying touchscreen laptops, phones

Range of sensitive products in the works

Hewlett Packard is planning to embrace touchscreen devices more ferociously and is thought to be on the verge of launching both a touchscreen laptop and a series of touchscreen phones. A spokeswoman for the PC giant confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that it’s “building a whole family of touch devices”. Although the …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 11:19
Oracle discharges monster bug fix

Three dozen bulletins - multiple critical vulns

It's no-questions-asked overtime for data centre staffers again, after Oracle published its latest monster update batch on Wednesday night. The October update covers vulnerabilities across Oracle's full software product range which is, of course, extensive. There are 36 bulletins in total. Among them are 15 updates for Oracle …

Developer 16 Oct 2008, 11:41
Google calls on developers to polish Chrome

That tinkering feeling

Google yesterday released an update to its Chrome web browser that fixes a number of known glitches and crashes in the software. The search engine giant said Chrome 0.3.154.3 fixes a crash when using the spell check “add to dictionary” function, as well as a browser crash on tablet PCs running Microsoft Windows Vista. Other …

Applications 16 Oct 2008, 11:43
Nokia tries to smile as profits slump

Says less money from fewer phones no big deal

Nokia's third quarter results show the company feeling the credit crunch and losing ground to competitors with cheaper handsets, but still chipper about the future. Overall revenues in the quarter were €12.2bn, down 5 per cent on the year, or 1 per cent in constant currency. Operating profits came in at €1.5bn 21 per cent less …

Financial News 16 Oct 2008, 11:50
SpringSource makes OSGi components pledge

Free for all

SpringSource is taking steps towards becoming an online destination for those hunting open-source Java components guaranteed as OSGi-compliant. The company is today expected to launch the dm Server and Enterprise Bundle Repository with 400 OSGi components for server-side and interface Java apps, hosted on Amazon's S3 cloud. …

Developer 16 Oct 2008, 12:02
Wacky Jacqui's yoof ID site goes silent

Updated Open debate on shut website

The Home Secretary's opinion-harvesting site for young 'uns, mylifemyid.org, has shut up shop and looks likely to drag its feet on publishing the research. Jacqui Smith launched the site back in July to kickstart debate amongst the yoof about government ID cards. The only trouble was that opinions expressed by those using it …

Government 16 Oct 2008, 12:24
Nokia 6650 clamshell phone

Review Full-featured Symbian job on a budget?

On the surface, the Nokia 6650 is a rather unassuming clamshell phone that borrows a lot from the Motorola Razr's book of styling. As it uses the third edition of the Symbian S60 operating system, we can't help but compare it to the Nokia N95 and N96, and surprisingly, feature-wise it's not that far off – with Wi-Fi being one …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 12:37
Parliament to probe military kit issues

Troops, taxpayers should definitely write in

A new inquiry has begun into the way the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) procures and maintains the nation's defence equipment. Parliament's Defence committee - a cross-party group of fourteen MPs - says it's happy for people to email them with information of interest. According to the Committee's announcement the inquiry will …

Government 16 Oct 2008, 12:37
The secret history of the internet & its founders

Geeks Guide₂ 40% off at Reg Books

It’s time for the second edition of GG2 and this week we move from the (not so) wonderful world of Wikipedia to a biography of our beloved internet with On The Way To The Web. The World Wide Web has become the social backdrop for modern day living. You can buy the latest music, chat to friends, moan on El Reg or - for the …

Site News 16 Oct 2008, 13:02
Sharp to ship 'world's first' Blu-ray recording TV

Blu-ray on-board

Sharp has taken the wraps off its latest range of Aquos tellies, which, it claims, are the world’s first LCD TVs to feature integrated Blu-ray Disc recorders. Sharp's Blu-ray recorder TVs will ship next month Each of the 16 new models work with BD-RE 2.1 single- and dual-layer discs, in addition to BD-R 1.1 single- and …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 13:05
Toshiba hints at sooner-rather-than-later fuel-cell debut

Ahead of its own timescale?

Toshiba has hinted that it may introduce fuel cell-based products on a commercial scale within the next few months. In an interview with Register Hardware, Thomas Teckentrup, Toshiba's European General Manager for Computer Systems Marketing and Business Development, said that, although the company still has some issues to iron …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 13:10
LSI snares tier one OEM for SAN SW

Who is the mystery SVM shopper? UPDATE: It's HP.

A mystery OEM shopper has signed up to take LSI's SVM SAN virtualization software. LSI has just announced a major release for the software. SVM was originally developed by StoreAge, a clever Israeli-based company which LSI bought in late 2006. Since then LSI has been re-architecting the product, adding thin provisioning and …

Storage 16 Oct 2008, 13:31
PayPal glitch freezes sellers' cash for weeks

Cock-up not conspiracy

A problem with some PayPal payments being held by the company was just a glitch, not a cunning plan to claw more money out of buyers. Earlier this year PayPal introduced a scheme to flag certain transactions it regarded as suspicious. Payment for items where eBay determined the buyer might be dissatisfied would be held for 21 …

Small Biz 16 Oct 2008, 13:36
Audit Commission coughs to Iceland investments

Blush much at economic watchdog?

The Audit Commission - the "independent watchdog, driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local public services" - has admitted to depositing £10m in Icelandic banks this year. The Commission made two deposits - one of £5m in Landsbanki Islands in April 2008 and another £5m in July in Heritable Bank. Several local …

Government 16 Oct 2008, 13:39
Man buys new MacBooks, pulls them to bits, takes pics

Autopsy conducted

Hardware hackers have already got their mitts on Apple's latest MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops - and taken the new notebooks to bits. Top: Flip up the catch (highlighted) to reveal the battery and HDD Then the innards... Pictures courtesy iFixit.com Actually, it looks quite easy: push in a flip-up catch to release the …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 13:57
Motorola touts touchscreen phone tech to Trekkers

Krave phone features interactive, clear, flippy thing

Touchscreen phones are ten-a-penny nowadays, so Motorola is fighting back by crafting a handset with not one but two touch-sensitive panels. Motorola's Krave ZN4: Star Trek obsessives rejoice! The Krave ZN4 packs what Motorola calls an “interactive clear flip” that folds down over the main touchscreen. No mere see-through …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 14:10
Das überdatabase: Inside Wacky Jacqui's motherbrain

Analysis A two-pronged assault on civil liberties or a necessary upgrade?

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith isn't known in these pages for the clarity of her pronouncements on technology. And yesterday, as she confirmed the government's plan to proceed with the Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP), she limited herself to the spin of building a universal communications surveillance apparatus. The …

Government 16 Oct 2008, 14:24
Dell adds 12in notebook-not-netbook to support site

Launch imminent?

Dell hasn't launched its anticipated 12in notebook-not-netbook, the Inspiron Mini 12, but that hasn't stopped the PC giant adding the machine to its support pages. Alas, once there, there's not actually an awful lot to look at, which is why this story is devoid of pictures. But the fact it's mentioned at all suggests that the …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 14:35
Microsoft's Fast charged with 'accounting fraud'

Oslo police raid web firm's HQ

Norwegian economic crime police have raided the headquarters of Microsoft-owned Fast Search and Transfer and charged the firm with accounting fraud. Police attorney Baard Thorsen told Reuters that evidence was being sought following allegations that Fast inflated its revenues prior to Microsoft’s $1.2bn buyout of the company …

Financial News 16 Oct 2008, 14:40
AVG tags ZoneAlarm as Trojan

AV software meets firewall, has meltdown

A dodgy anti-virus update from AVG wrongly flagged up the popular ZoneAlarm firewall as a Trojan on Tuesday. The mis-firing AVG definition file tagged components of ZoneAlarm as infected with the Agent_r.CX Trojan horse and quarantined important files. As a result users running the popular antivirus package alongside security …

Malware 16 Oct 2008, 14:41
Abu Dhabi emir rescues Thames Estuary mega-windfarm

Wind jobs windfall forecast

The government of Abu Dhabi has stepped in to rescue the financially-troubled London Array mega-windfarm project, intended to build a massive forest of turbines in the middle of the Thames estuary. In a deal inked today, the Masdar Initiative of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC) acquired 20 per cent of the Array …

Environment 16 Oct 2008, 15:01
Logic3 lets loose line up of iPod accessories

Apple iPod accessory maker Logic3 launched a number of new devices yesterday at the Digital Winter event in central London. Logic3 Valve80 amp and speakers First is the Valve80 peaker set built around a vacuum tube amplifier and with piano black Kevlar speakers. Delivering 80W RMS of impressive sound - as Register Hardware …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 15:07
Premium rate watchdog chief quits

090-GOOD-BYE

George Kidd, boss of the premium rate regulator PhonepayPlus, has resigned. No official details have been given on the reason for his departure, but it's understood to be timed ahead of a series of new rules PhonepayPlus will impose in the next few months. Kidd led the regulator formerly known as Icstis for eight years, …

Telecoms 16 Oct 2008, 15:08
McCain gets pair of personal cellphone towers

USA '08 AT&T and Verizon very obliging

Verizon and AT&T have both located temporary cell sites near presidential-candidate John McCain's Arizona ranch, to better connect the good Senator, his supporters and security staff. The news comes from the Washington Post, which established that Cindy McCain, the senator's wife, offered some land on the ranch to Verizon …

Mobile 16 Oct 2008, 15:22
MS hit with Red Ring of Death lawsuit

Californian complaint seeks refunds

Just four words can send a Microsoft Xbox 360 executive running for the hills. And they’ll be getting their trainers on now, because a Red Ring of Death lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft. A report by DailyGamesNews states that the lawsuit alleges Microsoft knew about the infamous RRoD problem as far back as 2005, but …

Reg Hardware 16 Oct 2008, 15:51
Platform, Dell push open source cluster management

And now Red Hat is now in there, too

Platform Computing, one of the pioneers in parallel supercomputer management, this week rolled out the next edition of its open source parallel cluster management tools, Open Cluster Stack 5. The launch comes just a few weeks after commercial Linux distributor Red Hat stole a little thunder by announcing its own bundle of RHEL …

Servers 16 Oct 2008, 16:05
Shiny phones lead to rash of rash

Too much yakking = spotty teenagers

The British Association of Dermatologists is warning that excessive mobile phone use can lead to an unsightly rash across the face and ears and wants doctors to look out for it. The problem is caused by metal cases, which are increasingly popular as fashion becomes more important than function. Rubbing nickel-heavy alloy …

Mobile 16 Oct 2008, 18:23
Scammers making '$15m a month' on fake antivirus

Real scareware threat spawns questionable figures

Figures suggesting that fake anti-virus packages are allowing cybercrooks to make more than €10m a month are been described as little better than guesswork. Vendors across the industry are warning that scarewore packages - which attempt to trick would-be marks into handing over their hard-earned cash for packages that claim to …

Security 16 Oct 2008, 18:28
Adobe redirects web surfers to nefarious links

Six days of Serious ~~Magic~~ Malware

Adobe has been caught hosting a web page that redirects unsuspecting visitors to websites that attempt to install malware on vulnerable machines. The company was informed of the problem on Friday, but six days later, it still hasn't been fixed. The infection, which resides at hxxp://www.seriousmagic.com/help/tuts/tutorials.cfm …

Security 16 Oct 2008, 18:41
Oracle shareholders enhance Ellison's package

Room for more

Larry Ellison has not only survived a plan that could have put Oracle shareholders in charge of his annual compensation, he's in line for a bigger payout. Oracle's chief executive stands to receive a total bonus of $13.62m in fiscal 2009, a 25 per cent increase over last year's maximum rewards package of $10.89m. The …

Financial News 16 Oct 2008, 18:44
Internet searches stimulate brain more than books

Assuming good Google-fu

Searching the Internet may stimulate and help improve brain function more than reading a book. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have found that searching the web triggers centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning in middle-aged and older adults. But while web browsing may …

Music and Media 16 Oct 2008, 19:40
Ballmer stirs excitement with Yahoo! comments

'Call me sometime'

Investors desperate for a scrap of good news have been buoyed by comments from Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer that a Yahoo! still makes sense. Shares in Yahoo! jumped to more than $13 from their recent low of $11.50, and Microsoft was up over one per cent to more than $22.00 after Ballmer uttered his fateful words. …

Financial News 16 Oct 2008, 19:47
Verari previews SSD for blades

It's all about the IOPs

Boutique blade server maker Verari Systems was on hand at the Storage Networking World trade show in Dallas this week to preview its foray into solid state drives (SSDs) for its blade servers, which will come to market at the end of the year. Like other server makers, Verari is trying to figure out how to leverage the high- …

Servers 16 Oct 2008, 19:56
Obama spews ads onto Xbox Live

Politics in a Burnout Paradise

In an effort to reach young American males whose interests don't even extend to television, US presidential candidate Barack Obama is now placing ads inside online video games. As reported by Reuters, Obama has slotted ads into 18 games on Microsoft's XBox Live service, trumpeting the voter registration and early balloting …

Music and Media 16 Oct 2008, 21:20
Ralsky confidant agrees to rat out notorious spam gang

Second co-defendant said to plead guilty

A woman accused of aiding notorious spam kingpin Alan Ralsky in a relentless junkmail torrent has admitted to sending tens of millions spam messages and agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of her boss. A second defendant is expected to plead guilty on Friday. Judy M. Devenow, 56, of Lansing, Michigan, pleaded guilty to …

Crime 16 Oct 2008, 22:06
US Air Force outlines combat raygun safety

Exposure to death ray may cause death

Just because the US Air Force wants to arm itself with deadly combat rayguns doesn't mean it's about to skimp on safety. No sir. With great power (say, a weapons grade 100 kilowatt blaster cannon) comes great responsibility (a 32-page safety manual). A recently published Air Force Instruction paper has established a safety …

Science 16 Oct 2008, 23:00
Google: 'We are Meltdown proof'

Economy sagging? Crank the money machine

Defying a melting economy, Google racked up $5.54bn in revenues during Q3, a 31 per cent leap from a year ago. But that's hardly a surprise. This summer, during a conference call announcing ho-hum Q2 earnings, co-founder Sergey Brin left little doubt that the online ad broker would soon crank the dial on its top secret money …

Financial News 16 Oct 2008, 23:24
Servers take dive in IBM's third quarter

Big boxes can't pull 'em up

When IBM pre-announced its revenues and earnings as the market was swooning two weeks ago, in an effort to calm a staggering and falling Wall Street, the company's overall numbers gave the impression that Big Blue was weathering the financial storm. While this may be true in the aggregate, to IBM's, er, credit as an IT supplier …

Financial News 16 Oct 2008, 23:39