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Friday the 25th of June 2010

Welcome to the Helpforce Daily Briefing, on Friday the 25th of June 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
For free technical support, visit us at http://www.helpforce.com

1. Latest Virus Alerts From Sophos
---------------------------------------
JS/Sinowal-Gen on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/jssinowalgen.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/Sinowa-B on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malsinowab.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/VB-DG on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malvbdg.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Buzus-DJ on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojbuzusdj.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Mdrop-CQX on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojmdropcqx.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Nebuler-X on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojnebulerx.html?_log_from=rss
W32/Autorun-BEH on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32autorunbeh.html?_log_from=rss
W32/AutoRun-BEJ on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32autorunbej.html?_log_from=rss
W32/VB-ESQ on 25 June 2010 11:23:41 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32vbesq.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/Agent-AU on 25 June 2010 07:04:08 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malagentau.html?_log_from=rss

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

-- Senate Panel Approves Cybersecurity Bill
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/ojwdJ_wiqws/Senate-Panel-Approves-Cybersecurity-Bill)
GovTechGuy writes "A Senate Committee approved a bill that would give the president an emergency 'kill switch' over the Internet, but added some restrictions to the bill. The president may no longer simply assert that the threat remains indefinitely, he must now seek Congressional approval after 120 days. Still, privacy advocates are concerned about the government's ability to shut down private networks. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) 'said she was disappointed to read reports that the bill gives the White House a "kill switch" for the Internet, an authority she says the president already has under a little-known clause in the Communications Act passed one month after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. ... Collins [argued] the new bill actually circumscribes the president's existing authority and puts controls on its use.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- APB To Use In-Game Audio Advertisements
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/13nqX7CL3NE/emAPBem-To-Use-In-Game-Audio-Advertisements)
Rock, Paper, Shotgun reports that upcoming action MMOG APB: All Points Bulletin will use in-game audio advertisements as part of its business model. The number of ads you hear will be limited: "you'll only hear an ad when you go into a new zone, and that's only once every three hours." Nevertheless, some gamers are upset that these ads will be included on top of APB's already unusual payment plans. The game is set for release next Tuesday. Producer Jesse Knapp says of Realtime Worlds' goals for APB, "We looked at other online action games, and we saw things we felt could be better. Only 12 to 32 players in a match, bad connection due to peer-to-peer, dead cities, way too much time in lobbies, things like that. So what we set out to do was to make a game that has that online player vs. player action game experience in a large city with other players around, no lobbies, dynamic matchmaking, dedicated servers, great experience, and that's been one of the driving factors of APB from the very beginning." CVG recently previewed the game.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Google Remotely Nukes Apps From Android Phones
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/lmjnvqPiq-I/Google-Remotely-Nukes-Apps-From-Android-Phones)
itwbennett writes "Google disclosed in a blog post on Thursday that it remotely removed two applications from Android phones that ran contrary to the terms of the Android Market. From the post: 'Recently, we became aware of two free applications built by a security researcher for research purposes. These applications intentionally misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user downloads, but they were not designed to be used maliciously, and did not have permission to access private data — or system resources beyond permission.INTERNET. As the applications were practically useless, most users uninstalled the applications shortly after downloading them. After the researcher voluntarily removed these applications from Android Market, we decided, per the Android Market Terms of Service, to exercise our remote application removal feature on the remaining installed copies to complete the cleanup.' The blog post comes a day after security vendor SMobile Systems published a report saying that 20% of Android apps are malicious."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Civ 5 Will Let You Import and Convert Civ 4 Maps
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/Y4jTEF5tnj4/emCiv-5em-Will-Let-You-Import-and-Convert-emCiv-4em-Maps)
bbretterson writes "From an interview Bitmob conducted with Civilization 5 Lead Designer Jon Shafer: 'You can import Civ 4 maps into the world builder and convert them into Civ 5 maps, including all the units and cities and stuff on it — the conversion process will just do that for you automatically. We're hoping that the first week Civ 5 is out, people will use that function and port all of the Civ 4 stuff over to Civ 5, so everything will be out there already.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- WiBE Shared Hotspot Pitched For Rural Broadband in UK
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/twGOyg88ZhQ/WiBE-Shared-Hotspot-Pitched-For-Rural-Broadband-in-UK)
justice4all writes "A British company claims to have solved the problem of delivering a reliable broadband connection to people in rural communities. Deltenna has developed a small, self-installable gadget called the WiBE (Wireless Broadband Enabler) that uses the 3G mobile network to create a 2Mbps web hotspot. The device sounds similar in concept to devices like Novatel's MiFi, but Deltenna claims it works even in places where a 3G mobile phone wouldn't register a signal. The WiBE has five times the range of a 3G dongle, and can deliver 30 times data throughput compared to a 3G USB modem dongle, Deltenna believes."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- 1,400 Megapixel Pan-STARRS Telescope Comes Online
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/2q-7cy2iSZQ/1400-Megapixel-Pan-STARRS-Telescope-Comes-Online)
ElectricSteve writes "Astronomers in Hawaii have announced they've successfully managed to boot up the Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) telescope. Working from dusk to dawn every night, Pan-STARRS is able to map one-sixth of the sky each month, allowing astronomers to track all moving objects, calculate their orbits, and identify any potential threats to Earth. There are four Pan-STARRS cameras in total, each capable of capturing around 1.4 billion pixels over a sensor measuring 40 centimeters square. The focal plane of each camera contains an almost complete 64x64 array of CCD devices, each containing approximately 600x600 pixels, for a total resolution of 1.4 gigapixels."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- World's First Solar-Propelled Blimp To Cross English Channel
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/ycxabMgIIvI/Worlds-First-Solar-Propelled-Blimp-To-Cross-English-Channel)
An anonymous reader writes "Can a blimp propelled entirely by solar power cross the English Channel? We're about to find out! Nephelios, the world's first solar blimp, was built by Projet Sol'r — a collaboration between students at engineering and technical schools in France. Now, almost a year after its debut (and a year after it was supposed to launch), the helium-filled airship is ready for action, with its inaugural flight set to take place next week. The blimp is covered in semi-flexible solar cells that can generate up to 2.4 kilowatts — enough to keep the blimp moving at 25 mph as it crosses la Manche."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- SanDisk WORM SD Card Can Store Data For 100 Years
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/KoqX6Ug2M9Y/SanDisk-WORM-SD-Card-Can-Store-Data-For-100-Years)
CWmike writes "SanDisk has announced a 1GB Secure Digital card that can store data for 100 years, but can be written on only once. The WORM (write once, read many) card is 'tamper-proof' and data cannot be altered or deleted, SanDisk said in a statement. The card is designed for long-time preservation of crucial data like legal documents, medical files and forensic evidence, SanDisk said. SanDisk determined the media's 100-year data-retention lifespan based on internal tests conducted at normal room temperatures. The company said it is shipping the media in volume to the Japanese police force to archive images as an alternative to film. The company is working with a number of consumer electronics companies, including camera vendors, to support the media."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Twitter To Establish Information Security Program
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/Izxj4b97LTQ/Twitter-To-Establish-Information-Security-Program)
An anonymous reader writes "Twitter has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers and put their privacy at risk by failing to safeguard their personal information, marking the 30th case the FTC has brought targeting faulty data security, and the agency's first such case against a social networking service. Under the terms of the settlement, Twitter will be barred for 20 years from misleading consumers about the extent to which it maintains and protects the security, privacy, and confidentiality of nonpublic consumer information, including the measures it takes to prevent authorized access to information and honor the privacy choices made by consumers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Nokia Trades Symbian For MeeGo In N-Series Smartphones
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/eSBgulhyu7Q/Nokia-Trades-Symbian-For-MeeGo-In-N-Series-Smartphones)
An anonymous reader writes "Nokia announced that moving forward, MeeGo would be the default operating system in the N series of smartphones (original Reuters report). Symbian will still be used in low-end devices from Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. The move to MeeGo is a demonstration of support for the open source mobile OS, but considering the handset user experience hasn't been rolled out and likely won't be rolled out in time for its vague June deadline outlined at MeeGo.com, could the decision be premature?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Tracking Down a Single-Bit RAM Error
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/Zs2W_cxAJ0k/Tracking-Down-a-Single-Bit-RAM-Error)
Hanji writes "We have discussed here before the potential effects of and protections against cosmic ray radiation, but for the average computer user, it's an obscure threat that doesn't affect them in any real way. Well, here's a blog post that describes a strange segfault and, after extensive debugging, traces it down to a single bit flip, probably caused by a stray cosmic ray. Lots of helpful descriptions of Linux debugging techniques in this one, and a pretty clear demonstration that this can be a real problem. I know I'm never buying a desktop without ECC RAM ever again!" The author acknowledges that it might not have been a cosmic ray-based error, but the troubleshooting steps are interesting no matter what the cause.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Rats Breathe Air From Lungs Grown In the Lab
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/_3h0lVmZBYw/Rats-Breathe-Air-From-Lungs-Grown-In-the-Lab)
cremeglace writes "'For the first time, an animal has drawn a breath with lungs cultivated in the lab.' Although preliminary, the results might eventually lead to replacement lungs for patients. Researchers at Yale University have successfully applied a technique called decellularization that involves using detergent to remove all of the cells from an organ, leaving a scaffold consisting of the fibrous material between cells."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Google Considers China's "Web Mapping License"
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/Nbo1JRQGBO4/Google-Considers-Chinas-Web-Mapping-License)
eldavojohn writes "Back in May, China rolled out new laws requiring online mapping services to be 'certified' by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. The laws appear to go into effect this month. Today an AFP article outlines Google's consideration of these rules and notes that it's unlikely Google will meet the qualifications to become certified as all of its servers holding the mapping data are outside of China. The AFP also reported that 'Foreign firms wanting to provide mapping and surveying services in China are required to set up joint ventures or partnerships with local firms.' Unless large changes are made, Google's services might get a lot more stunted as China regulates onward."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- ICANN Likely Finally To Approve .xxx For Porn Sites
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/PSK3QwQ6Jz4/ICANN-Likely-Finally-To-Approvenobr-wbrnobrxxx-For-Porn-Sites)
shmG writes with this from the International Business Times: "The company that oversees Web addresses is expected to give the go-ahead on Friday for the creation of a .xxx suffix for websites with pornographic content, company officials indicated on Thursday. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the Internet on behalf of the US government, has in the past resisted creating a .xxx generic domain name system akin to those for .com and .net."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Stand-Alone Antivirus Software?
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/iYsHehK5BXI/Stand-Alone-Antivirus-Software)
An anonymous reader writes "I work for a company that repairs specialty devices that have an embedded Mini-ATX motherboard without a CD-ROM drive and run Windows XP Home. And while the USB flash drives we insert into them have a physical write-protect tab, we still encounter a (rather annoying) display dialog from malware/viruses to remove the write-protect so the malware can infect the flash drive. We don't remove the write-protect, obviously, but would like to offer our customers the option of removing the malware/virus without having to install any software. We would rather not install/uninstall antivirus software even for one-time use, due to various licensing issues, nor do we want to connect to the Internet to use web-based online scanners. Is there any stand-alone anti-virus/anti-malware software for Windows that can be run directly from the write-protected flash drive itself?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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

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

-- I keep getting hits on different ports on my computer
(http://www.helpforce.com)

Question: I recently installed a firewall on my computer and ad-aware. I am connected to the internet through a dsl cable. since installing the firewall and have noticed hundreds of hits on numerous ports on my computer. The most hits are on 1616, 137,139, & 80. my question is this, is this just background noise or actual hack attempts? These hits are continuous averaging 100+ per hour. Is there a downloadable program out there to trace these events, or is there anything else i can do to protect myself from being hacked.

Answer: What firewall do you use? Try one (e.g. zonealarm) which monitors which programs are using which ports and then asks whether or not they should be allowed. This will stop spyware or trojans. Apart from that, I would suggest keeping your IP address a secret. If you use IRC try to get a VLine or mode +x if the network supports that.

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

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

-- Why Is My Highspeed Internet So Slow?(http://netforbeginners.about.com/b/2010/06/25/troubleshoot-your-slow-internet-connection.htm)

Slow Internet happens for various reasons. You might have poor hardware connecting your machine to the wall. Maybe your modem-router is not configured correctly. Perhaps you have dishonest people leeching...

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