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Sunday the 10th of January 2010

Welcome to the Helpforce Daily Briefing, on Sunday the 10th of January 2010

1. Virus Warnings
2. Daily Technology News
3. Latest Shareware and Freeware
4. FAQ for the day
5. Advice of the day
6. Internet Advice

This is a free service provided by Helpforce.com, to unsubscribe please visit http://www.helpforce.com
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1. Latest Virus Alerts From Sophos
---------------------------------------
Mal/Geral-A on 10 January 2010 13:12:19 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malgerala.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/FakeRean-G on 10 January 2010 13:12:19 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojfakereang.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/RegExec-A on 10 January 2010 13:12:19 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojregexeca.html?_log_from=rss
VBS/Autorun-DR on 10 January 2010 13:12:19 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/vbsautorundr.html?_log_from=rss
W32/Koobface-AF on 10 January 2010 13:12:19 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32koobfaceaf.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/FakeAV-AOU on 10 January 2010 04:14:54 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojfakeavaou.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/FakeAV-AOV on 10 January 2010 04:14:54 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojfakeavaov.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/FakeAV-AOW on 10 January 2010 04:14:54 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojfakeavaow.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/FakeRean-D on 10 January 2010 04:14:54 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojfakereand.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/MsvcrtHk-D on 10 January 2010 04:14:54 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojmsvcrthkd.html?_log_from=rss

2. Latest Technology News From Slashdot
-----------------------------------------------

-- Live Intel WiDi Demonstration At CES 2010
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/X3KMa0JP988/Live-Intel-WiDi-Demonstration-At-CES-2010)
MojoKid writes "As we saw earlier this week, Intel's new WiDi (Wireless Display Interface) technology will start to be bundled with various Core i5 and Core i3 notebooks later this month, promising to address the Home Theater and Multimedia PC markets with a solution that enables wireless connectivity of your notebook over HDMI to an HDTV using standard 802.11n wireless technologies for transmission of the data. Intel was also demonstrating this technology live at CES 2010 and HotHardware captured video of the technology in action, with Intel Product Manager Joshua Newman. This new technology is obviously fairly mature at this point with retail products waiting in the wings, just a few weeks away."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Prions Evolve Despite Having No DNA
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/wx40Ii5kvzk/Prions-Evolve-Despite-Having-No-DNA)
An anonymous reader writes "Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have shown for the first time that 'lifeless' organic substances with no genetic material — prions similar to those believed responsible for Mad Cow disease and similar, rare conditions in humans — are capable of evolving just like higher forms of life. The discovery could reshape the definition of life and have revolutionary impacts on how certain diseases are treated."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- A Peek Into Netflix Queues
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/_xxvTMUou5o/A-Peek-Into-Netflix-Queues)
margaret writes "The New York Times has an interactive Web app where you can map the popularity of various Netflix titles by neighborhood, in a dozen different cities. Invasion of privacy or harmless voyeuristic fun? Either way, it's pretty interesting."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Gallery of Past Tech (and Other) Advertising
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/31q_dHHYOk0/Gallery-of-Past-Tech-and-Other-Advertising)
theodp writes "The Vintage Ad Browser takes you back to the days when Google conjured up images of Barney Google (1948). When the hip music player was a Walkman (1982). When Osborne meant state-of-the-art in computing (1982). When Big Picture TV meant 12" (1948). When compact camera referred to a Pocket Instamatic (1972). And when wireless meant getting phone calls 300 feet from the house (1982)."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- The Murky Origins of Zork's Name
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/RsPPwaZXHJY/The-Murky-Origins-of-emZorksem-Name)
mjn writes "Computational media researcher Nick Montfort traces the murky origins of Zork's name. It's well known that the word was used in MIT hacker jargon around that time, but how did it get there? Candidates are the term 'zorch' from late 1950s DIY electronics slang, the use of the term as a placeholder in some early 1970s textbooks, the typo a QWERTY user would get if he typed 'work' on an AZERTY keyboard, and several uses in obscure sci-fi. No solid answers so far, though, as there are problems with many of the possible explanations that would have made MIT hackers unlikely to have run across them at the right time."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Futuristic Sex Robots Now Just "Sex Robots"
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/spRZ1EaVPmQ/Futuristic-Sex-Robots-Now-Just-Sex-Robots)
High-C writes "With apologies to Futuristic Sex Robotz, the future is here, and her name is Roxxxy. Truecompanion.com has revealed their answer to the Real Doll, and it looks nice. The site is short on details, pictures, pricing info, but wow." NOTE: some of the above links are not work-safe, for many values of work. I stopped by this exhibit today at the AVN Expo (not officially a part of CES, but by curious coincidence scheduled to coincide; the old saw that porn drives tech isn't without merit). Roxxxy, though, was rather unsexily posed on a couch, not moving a bit — downright creepy, in fact.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- OpenShot Video Editor Reaches Version 1.0
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/tLOs21BvZok/OpenShot-Video-Editor-Reaches-Version-10)
An anonymous reader writes "After only one year of development Jonathan Thomas has released version 1.0 of his impressive NLE for Linux. Based on the MLT Framework, OpenShot Video Editor has taken less time to reach this stage of development than any other Linux NLE. Dan Dennedy of Kino fame has also lent a helping hand ensuring that OpenShot has the stability and proven back-end that is needed in such a project."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Why Programmers Need To Learn Statistics
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/ZbzQqnP44cg/Why-Programmers-Need-To-Learn-Statistics)
David Gerard writes "Zed Shaw writes an impassioned plea to programmers: Programmers Need To Learn Statistics Or I Will Kill Them All. Quoting: 'I go insane when I hear programmers talking about statistics like they know s*** when it's clearly obvious they do not. I've been studying it for years and years and still don't think I know anything. ... I have taken a bunch of math classes, studied statistics in grad school, learned the R language, and read tons of books on the subject. Despite all of this I'm not at all confident in my understanding of such a vast topic. What I can do is apply the techniques to common problems I encounter at work. My favorite problem to attack with the statistics wolverine is performance measurement and tuning. All of this leads to a curse since none of my colleagues have any clue about what they don't understand. I'll propose a measurement technique and they'll scoff at it. I try to show them how to properly graph a run chart and they're indignant. I question their metrics and they try to back it up with lame attempts at statistical reasoning. I really can't blame them since they were probably told in college that logic and reason are superior to evidence and observation.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Psystar Activation Servers Down?
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/w4QyIuWBWlg/Psystar-Activation-Servers-Down)
An anonymous reader writes "I purchased Rebel EFI in support of Psystar's crusade back in October. Just 3 short months later, I have no support. I found this out when I upgraded my hard drive and installed Snow Leopard using Rebel EFI. The program can no longer 'phone home' to activate or download/install drivers. This is a direct contradiction to Psystar's promise posted on their website: 'Psystar will continue to support all of its existing customers of hardware and software through this transitional period. Warranties on hardware will continue to be honored as long the customer has a valid warranty. Rebel EFI support for existing customers, as always, will remain exclusively available through email and the built-in ticket interface.' Has anyone else run into this issue? It has been 9 days with no response from Psystar by e-mail or phone."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Tegra 2 Tablets/Slates Impress At CES
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/hTYGzgkQzFA/Tegra-2-TabletsSlates-Impress-At-CES)
MartinSchou writes "At this year's CES it seems that everybody and their cousin are talking about tablets, slates or smartbooks. This year, however, might be the year of Linux — if not on the desktop, then at least on your other computing devices. Amongst this years top contenders are slates running nVidia's Tegra 2 chipset, boasting 10+ hours worth of 1080p playback, with entries from Quanta, Mobinnova, ASUS, MSI and Boxee (though this is a media computer). Notion Ink have brought their Adam slate, complete with a Pixel Qi transreflective, multi-touch capable screen."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Wireless Power Group Sees Standard Within 6 Months
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/eu4zJ_DktY0/Wireless-Power-Group-Sees-Standard-Within-6-Months)
alphadogg writes "The group developing a standard for wireless charging expects to complete its first specification within six months, opening the door for makers of cell phones, digital cameras and other devices to bring compatible products to market. Wireless charging lets consumers place gadgets on a mat that plugs into a wall outlet, and have the devices recharge automatically without needing to plug in each one. Apart from the gee-whiz factor, it's supposed to make life more convenient by letting people walk into their home or office, toss their gadgets onto a mat to recharge and forget about them."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Google Seeking Patent On Ads For Street View
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/JmK_75dPbsI/Google-Seeking-Patent-On-Ads-For-Street-View)
theodp writes "CNET reports that Google is 'musing' about placing ads in Street View. The search giant reportedly floated the idea in a presentation to marketing and ad agency types in Europe a few months back. So will virtual billboards be popping up in Google Street View? A Google rep said the company had no current plans to put ads in Street View, but you might want to take that with a grain of salt. On Thursday, the USPTO revealed that Google is seeking patent protection for Claiming Real Estate in Panoramic or 3D Mapping Environments for Advertising. From the patent application: 'The street view display server can locate an ad image within the image database and overlay the region of interest with the associated ad image.' Connect the dots, and it sure sounds like a plan, doesn't it? Selling the Brooklyn Bridge is a pretty good scam — selling a view of it is even better!"Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Samsung Develops a Transparent OLED Laptop Screen
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/tXr-QQkld5Q/Samsung-Develops-a-Transparent-OLED-Laptop-Screen)
Dyne09 writes "The Design blog has posted an entry on Samsung's new laptop with a transparent OLED screen. The photos show a dark-tinted and dimly-lit screen that is fully see-through. While the utility of a see-through laptop probably isn't that high for the average user, several medical and industrial industries could greatly augment design work or frame 3-D models over real life in real-time."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- The Gradual Erosion of the Right To Privacy
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/1xHLZGPp96o/The-Gradual-Erosion-of-the-Right-To-Privacy)
PeteV writes "There is an interesting article on the BBC's website based around research carried out by Dr. Kieron O'Hara of Southampton University. He points out that under British law, an individual's right to privacy is being eroded by the behavior of those who have no qualms about broadcasting every intimate detail of their life online (via social networking sites) because the privacy law is predicated in part upon the concept of a 'reasonable expectation of privacy.' I think his request 'for people to be more aware of the impact on society of what they publish online' is likely to fall on deaf ears, but in effect what he is saying is that the changing habits of the world-wide community of social networkers is likely to have an effect upon English law and how it is interpreted. Given that the significant bulk of social networkers are American, this might mean 'American behavior' could cause changes in the interpretation of English law (which is not to say English people don't also post their intimate details on Facebook)."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- KIA Bringing News & Social Media To Your Car
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/4qJQl5mQXCA/KIA-Bringing-News-amp-Social-Media-To-Your-Car)
thecarchik writes "Earlier this week KIA made some major announcements about their future cars. They shed some light on the details of their new UVO system, which lets you answer and place phone calls, send and receive SMS text messages, and access music via voice commands. Moreover, their new widget-based system for the on-screen controls lets you include RSS news, financial information, and weather reports, along with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn updates. If there is one thing we can take away from this and Ford's recent announcement about the MyFord Touch system, it is that we'll see some heated internet technology battles between car manufacturers." The NY Times pointed out a few days ago that many companies are already turning their attention to dashboard computing, much to the dismay of those who warn against distracted driving.Read more of this story at Slashdot.

3. Latest Shareware from Planet-Shareware
-----------------------------------------------

4. FAQ of the day from Helpforce
-----------------------------------------------

-- How can I obtain Netscape 4.76?
(http://www.helpforce.com)

Question: Hi: I have just purchased a new computer with Xp which came with Internet Explorer. I wish to download a version of Netscape as well and I would prefer to have the older version Netscape 4.76. However from my research on the net , it appears that this older version is not compatible with XP. Please correct me if I am wrong. Yours truly: campbeld

Answer: Hi Duane:NS 4.76 will work, but.....I ended up getting rid of it as it locked quite frequently.I didn't like the other NS offerings and ended up with IE 6.x like everyone else.NS 7.2 seems to work, but it has changed so much from my 4.7 that I refuse to use it.Stick with IE or go to NS 7.2 and save yourself some hassle.Good LuckGeorge

5. Advice of the Day from ask-leo
-----------------------------------------------

6. Internet Advice
-----------------------------------------------

-- The Best Internet Memes(http://netforbeginners.about.com/b/a/258223.htm)

Memes are viral bits of culture, spread around the world through email and instant messaging. Commonly, memes are jokes and urban legends. Sometimes, memes are also music and language...

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