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Monday the 12th of July 2010

Welcome to the Helpforce Daily Briefing, on Monday the 12th of July 2010

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

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
---------------------------------------
Troj/Agent-NXN on 12 July 2010 11:29:27 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojagentnxn.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Delf-FFB on 12 July 2010 11:29:27 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojdelfffb.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Iframe-EZ on 12 July 2010 11:29:27 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojiframeez.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Mdrop-CRU on 12 July 2010 11:29:27 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojmdropcru.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/PWS-BJW on 12 July 2010 11:29:27 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojpwsbjw.html?_log_from=rss
W32/Pushbot-G on 12 July 2010 11:29:27 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32pushbotg.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/Agent-BI on 12 July 2010 07:27:53 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malagentbi.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/BHO-AB on 12 July 2010 07:27:53 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malbhoab.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/Mdrop-AG on 12 July 2010 07:27:53 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malmdropag.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/VB-EH on 12 July 2010 07:27:53 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malvbeh.html?_log_from=rss

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

-- Brazil Forbids DRM On the Public Domain
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/PEcH3R26LK8/Brazil-Forbids-DRM-On-the-Public-Domain)
nunojsilva writes "Cory Doctorow reports that the Brazilian equivalent of DMCA explicitly forbids using DRM-like techniques on works in the public domain. 'Brazil has just created the best-ever implementation of WCT [WIPO Copyright Treaty]. In Brazil's version of the law, you can break DRM without breaking the law, provided you're not also committing a copyright violation.' This means that, unlike the US, where it is illegal to break DRM, in Brazil it is illegal to break the public domain."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Claimed Proof That UNIX Code Was Copied Into Linux
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/HaCJHZc69pI/Claimed-Proof-That-UNIX-Code-Was-Copied-Into-Linux)
walterbyrd writes "SCO's ex-CEO's brother, a lawyer named Kevin McBride, has finally revealed some of the UNIX code that SCO claimed was copied into Linux. Scroll down to the comments where it reads: 'SCO submitted a very material amount of literal copying from UNIX to Linux in the SCO v. IBM case. For example, see the following excerpts from SCO's evidence submission in Dec. 2005 in the SCO v. IBM case:' There are a number of links to PDF files containing UNIX code that SCO claimed was copied into Linux (until they lost the battle by losing ownership of UNIX)." Many of the snippets I looked at are pretty generic. Others, like this one (PDF), would require an extremely liberal view of the term "copy and paste."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- The Search For the Mount Everest of Caves
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/12uWYAQn1Ds/The-Search-For-the-Mount-Everest-of-Caves)
NoMeansYes writes "An interview with James Tabor, author of the new best-selling book Blind Descent, introduces a pair of accomplished scientists — American Bill Stone and Ukranian geologist Alexander Klimchouk — who are the two most prominent figures in extreme caving. Both have figured prominently in the ongoing quest to discover the deepest cave on earth. Tabor describes what conditions are like inside supercaves like Cheve (-4,869 feet) and Krubera (-7,188 feet), before discussing Stone and his far-reaching technological innovations. These include the Posideon Discovery Rebreather and NASA's ENDURANCE. Extreme caving probably won't remain underground (so to speak) much longer, however. The article notes that James Cameron is planning to release a 3D film next year about extreme cave divers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Bitcoin Releases Version 0.3
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/KvJuby5Yqj0/Bitcoin-Releases-Version-03)
Teppy writes "How's this for a disruptive technology? Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer, network-based digital currency with no central bank, and no transaction fees. Using a proof-of-work concept, nodes burn CPU cycles searching for bundles of coins, broadcasting their findings to the network. Analysis of energy usage indicates that the market value of Bitcoins is already above the value of the energy needed to generate them, indicating healthy demand. The community is hopeful the currency will remain outside the reach of any government." Here are the FAQ a paper describing Bitcoin in more technical detail (PDF), and the Wikipedia article. Note: a commercial service called BitCoin Ltd., in pre-alpha at bitcoin.com, bears no relation to the open source digital currency.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- The Verizon Wireless HTC Eris 'Silent Call Bug'
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/kJdP68_DevI/The-Verizon-Wireless-HTC-Eris-Silent-Call-Bug)
Hall writes "In the last few months some users of Verizon Wireless HTC Eris phone models have encountered what's being called the 'silent call bug' with their phones. What has happened since the update to Android 2.1 is that some phones get dead silence (can't hear the person they call nor can the other end hear you). The only solution is to reboot the phone, though the problem will re-appear after some time. VZW tech support for a while was simply swapping out Eris phones in hopes that the replacement didn't have the same issue. Too many were, though, and now some users have been told they're not swapping anymore. A couple of days ago, a user witnessed a car accident and was unable to call 911. Well, at least not until after rebooting the phone."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- The Demographics of Web Search
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/XjA0zCHQ1ug/The-Demographics-of-Web-Search)
adaviel sends a link to work out of Yahoo Research indicating that demographics can help Web searches; e.g. a women searching for "wagner" probably wants the 18th-century German composer, while for men in the US "wagner" is a paint sprayer. The Yahoo researchers claim that by taking user demographics into account, "they managed to get the chosen link to appear as the top-ranked result 7 per cent more often than in the standard Yahoo search." New Scientist mentions this research and two other innovative adjuncts to current search practice: following the mouse cursor as a proxy for eye tracking, and taking back bearings on online criminals by studying the searches they make. (The latter raises disburbing privacy questions: would you want Google trolling through your search data? How about governments?)

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Climategate and the Need For Greater Scientific Openness
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/R1wYSYP4jCc/Climategate-and-the-Need-For-Greater-Scientific-Openness)
The Guardian follows up on the recent news that CRU climate scientists were cleared of scientific misconduct with an article that focuses on how the controversy could have been avoided, and public trust retained, had the scientists made more of an effort to be open about their research. You may recall our discussion of a report from Pennsylvania State University; that was followed by another review with similar conclusions. Quoting:
"The review, led by Sir Muir Russell, does not mention the media. Instead, it examines the reaction of the scientists at the UEA's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) to the pressure exerted by bloggers: 'An important feature of the blogosphere is the extent to which it demands openness and access to data. A failure to recognize this and to act appropriately can lead to immense reputational damage by feeding allegations of cover-up.' The review adds: 'We found a lack of recognition of the extent to which earlier action to release information might have minimized the problems.' Pressure on the scientists, whose once esoteric work creating records of past temperatures had gained global significance, was intense. In 2005, CRU head Phil Jones replied to a request: 'We have 25 or so years invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it?' But, the review implies, the more they blocked, the more the Freedom of Information requests flooded in."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Teaching With Robots
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/gvl4XD2P9Vw/Teaching-With-Robots)
theodp writes "If you're a math, CS, or engineering grad, odds are you've seen your share of robot-like teaching — but never an actual robot teacher. Now, that's starting to change. Computer scientists are developing robots with social components that can engage people and teach them simple skills, including household tasks, vocabulary, elementary imitation and taking turns. Several countries have been testing teaching machines in classrooms. At USC, researchers have had their robot, Bandit, interact with autistic children. South Korea is 'hiring' hundreds of robots as teacher aides and classroom playmates and is experimenting with robots that would teach English."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Zynga Investment May Herald Google Games
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/kZKiyXfY5h0/Zynga-Investment-May-Herald-Google-Games)
A post at TechCrunch claims knowledge of large investments from Google into social game company Zynga, makers of FarmVille and Mafia Wars. The amount of money involved is not small — somewhere in the $100-200 million range — and could facilitate Google's expansion into the games market. Quoting:
"The investment was made by Google itself, not Google Ventures, say our sources, and it's a highly strategic deal. Zynga will be the cornerstone of a new Google Games to launch later this year, say multiple sources. Not only will Zynga's games give Google Games a solid base of social games to build on, but it will also give Google the beginning of a true social graph as users log into Google to play the games. And I wouldn't be surprised to see PayPal being replaced with Google Checkout as the primary payment option. Zynga is supposedly PayPal's biggest single customer, and Google is always looking for ways to make Google Checkout relevant."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- ESA Releases Lutetia Flyby Images
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/2E9X4m2UR6I/ESA-Releases-Lutetia-Flyby-Images)
The European Space Agency has released images from yesterday's close approach of asteroid 21 Lutetia by the Rosetta probe. At its closest, the probe was a mere 3,162 km from the asteroid, passing at 15 km/s and snapping photos sharp enough to make out features as small as 60 meters.
"Rosetta operated a full suite of sensors at the encounter, including remote sensing and in-situ measurements. Some of the payload of its Philae lander were also switched on. Together they looked for evidence of a highly tenuous atmosphere, magnetic effects, and studied the surface composition as well as the asteroid’s density. ... The flyby marks the attainment of one of Rosetta's main scientific objectives. The spacecraft will now continue to a 2014 rendezvous with its primary target, comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It will then accompany the comet for months, from near the orbit of Jupiter down to its closest approach to the Sun. In November 2014, Rosetta will release Philae to land on the comet nucleus."
There is also a replay of the media event webcast on the ESA's website.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- The Creativity Crisis
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/NXTy2rYSvUQ/The-Creativity-Crisis)
An anonymous reader writes with this quote from an article at Newsweek:
"For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. ... Like intelligence tests, Torrance's test — a 90-minute series of discrete tasks, administered by a psychologist — has been taken by millions worldwide in 50 languages. Yet there is one crucial difference between IQ and CQ scores. With intelligence, there is a phenomenon called the Flynn effect — each generation, scores go up about 10 points. Enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling. Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William & Mary discovered this in May, after analyzing almost 300,000 Torrance scores of children and adults. Kim found creativity scores had been steadily rising, just like IQ scores, until 1990. Since then, creativity scores have consistently inched downward. 'It's very clear, and the decrease is very significant,' Kim says. It is the scores of younger children in America — from kindergarten through sixth grade — for whom the decline is 'most serious.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- What Developers Think About Apple's iAd
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/qKMTRWdo6B8/What-Developers-Think-About-Apples-iAd)
Nemilar writes "It's been about a week since Apple rolled out its new advertising platform, and developers of iPhone apps are watching the earliest returns to see how much money they can expect to make from these ads. One developer reported Thursday that he earned $1,400 in one day for his flashlight app. The amount iAds pay is 'a high number when you get it, but you don't get it very often,' said Dave Yonamine, the director of marketing at MobilityWare. The article discusses revenue potential in relation to the only other mobile ads platform, AdMob for Android, and claims that iAd paid as much as $148 for the same number of ads as $1 on AdMob; but this extreme ratio is likely to erode as the novelty wears off."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Fastest Graphics Ever, Asus ARES Rips Benchmarks
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/yJbh7hJ10ys/Fastest-Graphics-Ever-Asus-ARES-Rips-Benchmarks)
MojoKid writes "Over-the-top, killer graphics cards are always fun to play with, though they may not be all that practical. With a pair of ATI Radeon HD 5870 GPUs on a single PCB and 4GB of GDDR5 graphics memory on board, the recently released Asus ARES is one such card that can currently claim the title of being the fastest single gaming graphics card on the planet. This dual-GPU-infused beast rips through benchmarks, besting even the likes of a Radeon HD 5970 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480. You can even run a pair of them in CrossFire mode, if you're hell-bent on the fastest frame rates money can buy currently."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- China Says US Uses Facebook To Spread Political Unrest
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/uKx0wysokCI/China-Says-US-Uses-Facebook-To-Spread-Political-Unrest)
crimeandpunishment writes "A Chinese government-backed think tank says the US and other western governments use Facebook and other social networking sites to spread political unrest. Their report says, 'We must pay attention to the potential risks and threats to state security as the popularity of social-networking sites continues to grow,' and calls for increased scrutiny of the sites."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- SVG and the Indexing of Web Standards
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/yfDx2gzkNCk/SVG-and-the-Indexing-of-Web-Standards)
wombatmobile writes "The world's most popular search engine company is a leading supporter of open standards. It pours money and people into initiatives that promote, assist, support and implement Web standards. As a core foundation of is mission statement, all web assets should ideally be of a kind that it can work with. Strange then, that the world's most popular search engine doesn't index all of the current important Web standards formats. Doug Schepers of W3C blogs about how Scalable Vector Graphics content is recognized and not recognized by search engines, currently and historically." Readability really helps out on this site.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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

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

-- I can get only 16 colors and my screen area is only 640 X 480
(http://www.helpforce.com)

Question: I formatted my hard drive and reinstalled windows ME. When I open up display properties, settings, I get only 16 colors and my screen area is only 640 X 480. I went through the help troubleshooter and am still unable to get the right color. Is there something wrong in my BIOS? Or is there another solution?

Answer: Nothing wrong with your bios.If you know the make and mode of your video card, then....Right click on any clear area of your "desktop"Left click on the menu option "Properties"Left click on the "settings" option of the dialog box.Under the monitor in the newly displayed box will be the name of your monitor and video card.If the video card is incorrect, dig out the CD that came with your video card (or possibly your motherboard) and reinstall the video card drivers.If the video card model is correct, check the colors dropdown box. If there is an option for more colors then bump the colors to 16 bit or high 32 bit.***************************************If you can bump the number of colors up, but the video refuses to go any higher, then most likely the video drivers are damaged and just reinstall them.****************************************

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

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