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3rd February 2010 Archive

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  • Stubborn trojan stashes install file in Windows help

    Can't muster rejection

    Security researchers have spied malware that stashes a copy of itself in a Windows help file to ensure victim computers remain infected. The trojan, dubbed Muster.e by anti-virus provider McAfee, infects a Windows file called imepaden.hlp so it stores the main components of the malware in encrypted form. In the event the …

    Security 3 Feb 06:02

  • SGI biz still kinda lumpy

    But getting smoother

    When Rackable Systems bought defunct supercomputer maker Silicon Graphics and took its name last year, it got a radically expanded customer base and a shot at evening out its own lumpy business among hyperscale Internet companies with SGI's equally bumpy HPC business. The idea - and it may prove to be a sound one in the long run …

    HPC 3 Feb 06:02

  • Google calls time on Blogger FTP

    Host with us or nothing

    Google will no longer allow FTP publishing on its Blogger service beginning March 26. The company announced the change with a Tuesday blog post and emails to existing users. According to Blogger product manager Rick Klau, only about one half of one per cent of the service's active blogs are published via FTP. "FTP remains a …

    Applications 3 Feb 07:02

  • Microsoft's IE 8 misses Windows 7 updraft

    Down dooby doo down down

    Internet Explorer has continued its gentle drift southwards, having missed any boost from last year's release of IE 8 and the sales onslaught behind Windows 7. Meanwhile, rival Firefox saw its forward market-share march apparently halted by continued uptake of Google's Chrome for the month of January. Netmarketshare numbers …

    Applications 3 Feb 07:02

  • Makara's do-it-yourself platform cloud

    Like Google App Engine. Without the Google

    So, you want to use so-called platform cloud like Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine, or Engine Yard? But you want more choices and more control than these application clouds offer, and you don't want to have to monkey around and build a virtual data center yourself using Amazon's EC2 or a number of infrastructure clouds? A …

    Developer 3 Feb 08:02

  • Google mystery server rooted in Apache

    Oompa Loompas go for GFE

    The Google Web Server - a custom server used only by Google itself - was originally built from open-source Apache code, according to a former Google employee. However, over the past several years, the server has been so heavily modified that it now bears little resemblance to the ubiquitous Apache server. It is so tightly tied …

    Applications 3 Feb 08:02

  • NotW reporter accused of hacking over 100 mobiles

    Guardian gnaws at old bones

    Disgraced former News of World royal correspondent, Clive Goodman, and a private eye accomplice, Glenn Mulcaire, allegedly tapped into the voice-mail records of far more celebrities and public figures than previously admitted according to mobile phone records. The pair were jailed in 2007 after both pleaded guilty to hacking …

    Mobile 3 Feb 09:48

  • Dell floats new line of lighter, pared-down servers

    Little fluffy CloudEdge

    Dell is planning a line of stripped down CloudEdge servers - standardised versions of its custom hyperscale data centre servers - for applications that work round fail-in-place hardware. As reported the new servers will be pared down for lower operational and acquisition costs by foregoing things like redundant power supplies …

    Servers 3 Feb 09:51

  • Fujitsu strike is off

    For now, while talks continue

    The Unite union has called off Friday's Fujitsu strike. The 24-hour walkout has been cancelled as a gesture of goodwill while talks continue. The two sides are at ACAS to try and find agreement - next Monday's action is still due to go ahead. Over 450 staff are involved in the row over pay, pensions and redundancies. Although …

    IT Director 3 Feb 09:54

  • Warez backdoor allows hackers to pwn Twitter accounts

    Micro-blogging freetards in mass hack attack

    Twitter has lifted the lid on its recent advice to many users to reset their passwords for the micro-blogging site. Originally, it was thought that the guidance had come in response to a common or garden phishing attack. In a post on Tuesday, Twitter explained that the attack was actually far more devious and elaborate. …

    ID 3 Feb 10:03

  • Record year for online tax filing - and phishing mails

    Scammers rev up for tax season

    Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is celebrating another record year for online tax returns, over six million people filed online this year. By the 31 January 6,429,899 people had filed returns online - three quarters of the total returns received. This is up 12 per cent from last year when 5.8m used HMRC's website. The …

    Crime 3 Feb 10:14

  • Netbooks to see speed boost this year

    Updated Atom CPUs to get DDR 3 support

    Expect to see Atom-based netbooks speed up a little in the latter half of the year when Intel releases upgraded Atom CPUs able to talk to faster memory than the current lot can manage. Today's top-of-the-line netbook Atom, the 1.66GHz N450, connects to DDR 2 Ram through its built-in memory controller. Later this year, Intel …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 10:21

  • Apple updates iPhone OS

    Firmware 3.1.3 released

    Apple has posted an iPhone firmware update that, it claims, delivers improved battery analysis on the 3GS, while also fixing bugs. Version 3.1.3 – also compatible with the iPod Touch – improves the 3GS’ ability to detect how much battery power it has left, Apple said. The update – which supersedes version 3.1.2, released back …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 10:33

  • Michigan man in DIY rocket sled explosion

    Second-degree burns for Darwin Award hopeful

    A Michigan man required hospital treatment when a rocket sled stunt went explosively wrong, ClickOnDetroit reports. The unnamed 62-year-old was holding a "sledding party" at his Independence Township home last Saturday night, and after a few liveners decided it was a really bright idea to assemble an improvised go-faster …

    Bootnotes 3 Feb 10:34

  • BT rolls back the night

    Early to bed? Bill's gonna rise

    BT has shifted night time by an hour, deciding that peak rate should run from 0700 to 1900, rather than the six-to-six with which we're all familiar. It seems people are working later, or at least making calls later, which has prompted the shift in the time at which calling rates drop, though BT's not alone in defining evening …

    Small Biz 3 Feb 10:41

  • Time running out for OFT T-Orange intervention

    Or it'll be over to EU

    The FT reports that the Office of Fair Trading is about to grab the T-Orange investigation, though the regulator still has two days to make the decision. According to the report, the OFT will today formally petition the European Commission to have the case referred. This will allow local evaluation of how the merger of T- …

    Mobile 3 Feb 10:51

  • Disk capacity growth rate slowing

    TDK reveals coming per-platter capacities

    Hard disk drive capacity growth rates are slowing and two 2.5-inch drive capacity increases are in qualification with drive manufacturers, according to TDK. The firm is a major hard disk drive head manufacturer and its read/write heads have to match the areal density capabilities of the media they are moving across. In its …

    Storage 3 Feb 11:14

  • Police have more than 10,000 ANPR cameras

    ACPO data centre processing up to 14 million images per day

    Police have confirmed that forces in England and Wales are passing up to 14m reads per day from automatic numberplate recognition cameras to a national database. All but two of England and Wales' police forces are passing data to the National ANPR Data Centre, run by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on behalf of …

    Policing 3 Feb 11:19

  • Manchester cops recover from Conficker

    Strangeways, here we come

    Manchester police were once again able to run inquiries on the Police National Computer on Wednesday morning, after techies purged a Conficker worm infection from the force's network. The malware infection left cops unable to run PNC checks on suspect persons or vehicles between Friday evening - when a decision to disconnect …

    Malware 3 Feb 11:28

  • Hubble snaps space conker bonk aftermath

    Pic 'Comet like' dino-snuff astro lump bump sensation

    The Hubble space telescope has snapped a pic believed to show the results of two dinosaur-biffing asteroids smacking into each other in a hypervelocity collision - faster than two cannon shells fired from supersonic jet fighters hitting one another head on*. In space, nobody can hear you bonk The hubble snap shows a space …

    Space 3 Feb 11:39

  • Nikon names world's slimmest 10x zoom shooter

    Coolpix pair presented

    Nikon has developed what it claims is the world’s slimmest compact camera with a wide-angle lens and 10x optical zoom. Nikon's S8000 Coolpix: slim body, 10x optical zoom The S8000 Coolpix measures 27.3mm from front to back and manages to cram in a 3in LCD screen. Images snapped on the S8000's 14.2Mp image sensor are fed …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 11:41

  • Medion E54009 multi-touch monitor

    Review Go touchscreen without buying a new PC

    Love or scoff at the idea, Windows 7’s touchscreen features need to be experienced first-hand, and jabbing away at a demo machine at PC World doesn’t really count. The problem is that buying in to touchscreen technology for the home is an expensive experiment: you would normally need to invest in a brand new touchscreen notebook …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 12:02

  • ASA bites PETA over Baby P billboard

    Watchdog unhorses animal rights group

    The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) not to re-run a billboard campaign featuring Steven Barker, the man who tortured 17-month-old Peter Connelly and was subsequently found guilty of "causing or allowing" the infant's death. The ASA received one complaint …

    Music and Media 3 Feb 12:11

  • Apple vs the iPad Bedwetters

    The iPad? It's the end of the world as we know it!

    Apple's new iPad has caused an amazing outbreak of Chicken Little-ism. If the iPad is successful, it's curtains for the internet, for freedom and for humanity as we know it. Have you felt a piece of this fall on your head? Permit me to introduce you to the Professional Bedwetter. It's someone who doesn't like what they see, …

    Mobile 3 Feb 12:12

  • Michael Dell snaps up Magnum photo archive

    185,000 historic prints bound for University of Texas

    Michael Dell's investment tentacle, MSD Capital LP, has acquired the Magnum Photos agency's extensive print archive for an undisclosed sum, Bloomberg reports. The deal secures around 185,000 images representing the work of 103 photographers between the 1930s to 1998. The archive will reside for five years in the Harry Ransom …

    Music and Media 3 Feb 12:35

  • Dell unveils ultra-skinny Latitude laptop

    Adamo alternative

    Dell has taken its ultra-thin business-centric Vostro V13 notebook and tweaked it for suits. The Latitude 13 is a real “beauty” – says Dell — but one with brains. The machine contains your choice of an Intel CULV Celeron or Core 2 Duo processor, supports “remote manageability” and disk encryption through a Trusted Platform …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 12:43

  • Exploding ciggie blows out Indonesian bloke's teeth

    Warning: Smoking can seriously damage your gob

    A Indonesian man has accepted 5m rupiah (£335) compensation after an exploding cigarette took out six of his teeth, the BBC reports. Andi Susanto, 31, explained to the Jakarta Post that the Clas Mild ciggie detonated while he was riding his motorbike - evidently a bit of a shock since he'd "been smoking since he was a …

    Bootnotes 3 Feb 12:49

  • Office 2010 Release Candidate taps small pool of testers

    Microsoft edges closer to June launch

    Microsoft has pushed out a near-ready version of Office 2010 to a select bunch of testers. The company plans to ship the software in June this year, however members of Microsoft’s TAP (technology adoption programme) now have a Release Candidate copy of Office 2010. In November, MS pumped out a beta version of its bundled …

    Applications 3 Feb 12:49

  • World of Warcraft auctions coming to iPhone

    Virtual trading

    World of Warcraft fans will soon be granted access to the game’s auction houses through their iPhones. Publisher Blizzard has announced plans to add the feature to its free Mobile Armory app, which was released in July 2009. Auction houses are described as the “central hub for buying and selling goods” in WoW. Such houses …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 12:54

  • Draconian new electoral laws for South Australia?

    Say what you want - but we know where you live

    South Australians were this week up in arms at the propsect of a $5000 fine for posting anonymous comment online in respect of an upcoming state election. Posters were quick to condemn this as unprecedented state censorship. The new Australian law came into force on January 6, and makes it an offence for anyone to comment …

    Government 3 Feb 13:33

  • Microsoft wishes it could be a Google number two

    Second place wannabe plays $5bn losing game

    Microsoft's hopeless pursuit to become the world's biggest search giant took a blow from an unlikely source yesterday. The company's senior online audience biz veep Yusuf Mehdi confessed that once Microsoft closes its Yahoo! ad deal, the vendor will - by default - become "a credible number two," in that market. He told …

    Applications 3 Feb 13:41

  • Salesforce delivers rules tools for Force cloud

    Visual claims

    Salesforce.com is sinking its talons deeper into business applications with tools to build business rules in its Force.com platform. The company on Wednesday is expected to roll out the Force.com Visual Process Manager, which boasts a software-free serving of graphical process design. Salesforce joins giants like IBM, Oracle, …

    Applications 3 Feb 14:02

  • Fujitsu and Symantec tie-up storage bundling deal

    Offering protection for storage and servers

    Fujitsu and Symantec are partnering to sell product bundles combining Fujitsu servers and storage with Symantec's data protection, security and volume management software. The two will jointly identify and provide bundles integrating both of their products and services which they will sell to medium and large enterprises. …

    Storage 3 Feb 14:02

  • Alreet, Apple!

    Apple preps Newcastle store opening

    Newcastle is to get its very own Apple Store, as soon as next week if we have parsed this report correctly. With the outlet in the Newcastle's Eldon Square Shopping Centre under its belt, Apple has retail coverage sewn up more or less in Scotland and the North, although people from Edinburgh might disagree. Currently, Apple …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 14:04

  • Think Aussie election rules are draconian? Look at the UK's

    Unbalanced bloggers must be unmasked

    Commentards looking forward to venting their spleens during the upcoming UK election could found themselves falling foul of rules designed to ensure fair and balanced coverage of the proceedings. South Australia is to levy fines of $5000 on blog posters and the like who do not disclose their names when commenting on elections …

    Government 3 Feb 14:33

  • US taxpayer funds Google raid for Twittercrat

    Lowly product manager, grand title

    Don't worry if you have never heard of Sumit Agarwal, until recently a lowly Google product manager. Not many people have. But he's the latest Googler to swap his Segway for a government paycheck, becoming the Obama administration's latest hire. Sumit will be, and take a deep breath: the deputy assistant secretary of defense …

    Government 3 Feb 14:47

  • UK suffers videogame 2009 sales blow

    PS2 popularity slumps

    The games industry is often perceived as going from strength to strength, with titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 claiming record sales figures. But 2009 actually saw UK sales plunge, market watchers said today. Over-the-counter unit sales of console games were down six per cent compared to 2008's figure. Sales of …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 15:46

  • HP turns MDS into new small EVA array

    Power-sipping system to target Cisco

    A source has revealed that HP will build a new small EVA array by combining MDS shelves with an XCS-running controller. The MDS600 is "high-density, low-cost, external zoned direct attach storage for HP BladeSystem servers." The MSA is HP's low end Modular Storage Architecture drive array and the EVA (Enterprise Virtual Array …

    Storage 3 Feb 15:46

  • Fake Firefox site bundles undead adware

    Zango crapware rises from the grave

    Adware slingers have taken advantage of the buzz around the latest version of Firefox to establish a fake browser download site. The counterfeit Firefox download site is disguised as a kosher browser download site and might easily fool the unwary. A closer look, however, reveals the version of Firefox on offer is version 3.5 ( …

    Malware 3 Feb 15:59

  • AOL hits into rough with painful independent fourth quarter

    Revs dip 17 per cent as subscribers run

    AOL saw Q4 sales drop 17 per cent in its first financial results since being spurned by one-time parent Time Warner Inc. It pulled in profit of $1.4m, or a penny per share, for the quarter ended 31 December 2009. That compared with a loss of $1.96bn, or $18.52 a share, in the same period a year earlier, when Time Warner …

    Financial News 3 Feb 16:22

  • Obama plagiarist has a legal posse

    Be sure you get the right coat, Shepard

    Artist Shepard Fairey is facing a Grand Jury probe for falsifying evidence in a copyright case. Fairey was suing Associated Press over the use of an copyright image Fairey had used as the basis for a popular Obama election poster. To the dismay of the Boing Boing crowd, Fairey turned out not to be a "copyrighting" hero, but a …

    Music and Media 3 Feb 16:25

  • Unisys lands $187m Pentagon mainframe deal

    Not exactly wild blue yonder

    Mainframe maker Unisys wants a little good news ahead of reporting its fourth quarter 2009, and the US Department of Defense was happy to oblige. The Defense Information Systems Agency, the IT arm of the Pentagon, today inked a deal to shell out $187m to provide managed services for DISA's ClearPath mainframes. The Pentagon is …

    Servers 3 Feb 16:29

  • iPad forces operators to shave their SIMs

    Big iPhone, tiny card

    O2, Orange and DoCoMo are all apparently stocking up on micro SIMs suitable for Apple's iPad, though taking a sharp knife to an existing SIM is always an option. Quite why Apple decided to use the third form factor for the iPad's 3G module isn't clear, but anyone planning to stuff an existing SIM into an iPad will need to be …

    Mobile 3 Feb 16:38

  • Yes! It's the iPad jacket!

    Wear your Kindle tablet with pride

    ‘Is that an iPad in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?’ If you’re wearing the latest gadget jacket from geek clothing firm Scottevest then your answer will probably be the former. Scottevest's Travel Vest: the World's first iPad compatible coat? That’s because the company’s Travel Vest - North American for ' …

    Reg Hardware 3 Feb 18:02

  • IBM Initiates master data buy

    Healthcare and gov play

    IBM said today that it plans to acquire Initiate Systems, one of the few master data management (MDM) vendors that hadn't yet been gobbled down by a software megafirm. Chicago-based Initiate specializes in MDM software for healthcare and government organizations. Big Blue's purchase arrives on the heels of MDM rival …

    Financial News 3 Feb 18:33

  • Google pushes new multitouch onto Nexus One

    Updated Alongside 3G 'fix'

    Google has pushed out a software update for its Nexus One phone that attempts to improve 3G connectivity while adding "pinch-and-zoom" multitouch to a trio of applications where the navigate-with-your-fingers technology was conspicuously absent. The update - which Google began distributing to existing phones yesterday - also …

    Mobile 3 Feb 18:40

  • Researchers penetrate last bastion of Windows security

    With a little help from Adobe

    Security researchers have defeated vulnerability protections baked into the latest versions of Internet Explorer, demonstrating that it's possible to poke holes in a safety net that's widely relied on to keep end users safe from drive-by exploits. By exploiting weaknesses in Adobe Systems' Flash Player, researchers have devised …

    Security 3 Feb 21:19

  • Google's Android code deleted from Linux kernel

    'Go fork yourself!'

    After removing Google's Android driver code from the Linux kernel, Novell Fellow and Linux developer Greg Kroah-Hartman has argued that the mobile OS is incompatible with the project's main tree. Kroah-Hartman deleted the Android drivers on December 11 - Android code is no more as of version 2.6.33 of the kernel release - and …

    Operating Systems 3 Feb 21:23

  • Microsoft's SVG talk a prelude to IE support?

    Reach for your shades

    Microsoft is making positive noises on SVG, raising the possibility it wiil support the 2D graphics specification in Internet Explorer. The company has said that since joining the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) SVG working group in January, it has been working on ironing out ambiguities in the spec. The IE team …

    Applications 3 Feb 21:50

  • Apple: popularity, not problems, caused iMac delays

    Flickery fix in play, lemony fix AWOL

    Apple says that the shipment delays of its top-of-the-line 27-inch iMacs aren't because it has halted production while it works to correct the big boy's display problems. The real reason for the delays? "The 27-inch iMac has been a huge hit with customers and we are working to increase supply to meet up with strong demand," the …

    Music and Media 3 Feb 22:18

  • Intel mobile graphics in 3x boost

    If only briefly

    Intel uncloaked a few more details on Wednesday about its line of consumer-level 32nm Westmere processors, which were previewed late last year and formally announced at last month's Consumer Electronics Show. While most details of the Westmere consumer processors - known in marketing parlance as the Core i3/i5/i7 line - were …

    Mobile 3 Feb 22:30

  • Fugitive VoIP hacker admits 10 million minute spree

    When revenue is profit

    A Miami hacker has admitted he pocketed more than $1m by selling millions of minutes of voice over IP calls and surreptitiously routing them through the networks of telecommunications companies. Edwin Andrew Pena pleaded guilty to two felonies in connection with the hacking spree, which spanned the years 2004 through 2006, …

    Crime 3 Feb 22:40

  • Intel sneak peeks Westmere EP server silicon

    Four and six cores, Turbo Boost, AES

    With IBM and Intel gearing up the high-end Power7 and "Tukwila" Itanium launches for next Monday, Intel's preview of its "Westmere-EP" processors for servers and workstations and a slew of research projects was always going to get lost in the shuffle. The preview is set for Monday as the International Solid State Circuits …

    Servers 3 Feb 22:55

  • Cisco books back in the black

    Chambers hails 'second phase of economic recovery'

    Cisco System's quarterly profit surged 23 per cent as renewed interest in corporate infrastructure upgrades saw the network giant post its first sales increase in a year. Chief executive John Chambers heralded the financial results as a "clear indication" that we're entering "the second phase of the economic recovery." In …

    Financial News 3 Feb 23:34