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Wednesday the 21st of July 2010

Welcome to the Helpforce Daily Briefing, on Wednesday the 21st 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
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
---------------------------------------
Troj/FakeAV-BNB on 21 July 2010 09:06:26 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojfakeavbnb.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/FakeAV-BND on 21 July 2010 09:06:26 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojfakeavbnd.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/PWS-BKE on 21 July 2010 09:06:26 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojpwsbke.html?_log_from=rss
W32/Autorun-BFM on 21 July 2010 09:06:26 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32autorunbfm.html?_log_from=rss
W32/Autorun-BFN on 21 July 2010 09:06:26 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32autorunbfn.html?_log_from=rss
Mal/Swisyn-B on 21 July 2010 06:08:02 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/malswisynb.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Agent-NZW on 21 July 2010 06:08:02 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojagentnzw.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Agent-NZX on 21 July 2010 06:08:02 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojagentnzx.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/BncSc-E on 21 July 2010 06:08:02 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojbncsce.html?_log_from=rss
Troj/Hupigon-TP on 21 July 2010 06:08:02 Z
http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/trojhupigontp.html?_log_from=rss

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

-- US Senate Passes 'Libel Tourism' Bill
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/0vW0Ce1s6VA/US-Senate-Passes-Libel-Tourism-Bill)
Hugh Pickens writes "AFP reports that the US Senate has passed (by a 'unanimous consent' voice vote) a bill that prevents US federal courts from recognizing or enforcing a foreign judgment for defamation that is inconsistent with the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. If the bill becomes law it will shield US journalists, authors, and publishers from 'libel tourists' who file suit in countries where they expect to get the most favorable ruling. 'While we cannot legislate changes to foreign law that are chilling protected speech in our country, we can ensure that our courts do not become a tool to uphold foreign libel judgments that undermine American First Amendment or due process rights,' said Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy. Backers of the bill have cited England, Brazil, Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore as places where weak libel safeguards attract lawsuits that unfairly harm US journalists, writers, and publishers. The popular legislation is headed to the House of Representatives, which is expected to approve it. 'This bill is a needed first step to ensure that weak free-speech protections and abusive legal practices in foreign countries do not prevent Americans from fully exercising their constitutional right to speak and debate freely,' said Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on Leahy's committee."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Sony Patents 3D Screen-Sharing Technology For Two Players
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/5C1YhGLl8WI/Sony-Patents-3D-Screen-Sharing-Technology-For-Two-Players)
Stoobalou writes "Sony has recently published patents which will allow two-player 3D gaming on a single screen. The new technology could spell an end to split-screen gaming, but is unlikely to see the light of day for a few years at least. Sony's method would allow player one to see frames one and three whilst player two would see frames two and four. Current technology requires a display with a 120 Hz refresh rate so it seems likely that we'll have to wait for 240Hz screen technology to become commonplace before two-player 3D becomes a reality. PDFs versions of the two patents are available."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- BP Caught Photoshopping Disaster Response Photos
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/uC00RfjFyQg/BP-Caught-Photoshopping-Disaster-Response-Photos)
An anonymous reader tipped a post up on Americablog revealing that BP Photoshopped a fake photo of their crisis command center and posted it on their main site. The blogger commented, "I guess if you're doing fake crisis response, you might as well fake a photo of the crisis response center." While this story was just being picked up by the Washington Post, an Americablog reader spotted another doctored BP photo on their website, this time of a "top kill" working group. How many others?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Spore-Inspired Action RPG Darkspore Announced
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/2vEJKVzwKW0/emSporeem-Inspired-Action-RPG-emDarksporeem-Announced)
Today Electronic Arts announced Darkspore, an action RPG in development from Maxis that is inspired by Spore's creature creator technology. The game is due to launch in February 2011, and a teaser is available on the official website. A more descriptive video is available from EA's live demo (start at 8:25). Quoting Joystiq:
"...Darkspore will let up to three players traverse 'several' planets cooperatively, and while there will be PvP in the finished product, Maxis isn't providing details just yet. The basics will be the same whether going in solo or as a team: You'll be able to choose from a number (again, no specifics yet) of pre-created melee, ranged and support creatures that can have their stats and abilities augmented by equipment. ... When choosing to beam down from your starship to a planet, you will see a lineup of enemy types that you'll encounter. This gives you and your friends enough information to decide which three characters from your collection you'll want to deploy. The trio can then be switched between on the fly, albeit with a brief cool-down period afterward. The idea is to use the characters' various abilities strategically against what the Left 4 Dead-inspired 'AI director' decides to toss your way."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Driverless Cars Begin 8,000-Mile Trek
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/KaxlFWGtoVY/Driverless-Cars-Begin-8000-Mile-Trek)
apoc.famine writes "Driverless technology from the University of Parma's VisLab was deployed in a real-world test on Tuesday. Two driverless chase vehicles will attempt to follow two lead vehicles across multiple continents, from Italy to China, over the course of three months. The journey will cover over 8,000 miles, (~13,000 km) as the chase vehicles use lasers and cameras to navigate hazards along the way. The team expects to collect about 100 TB of data, which requires a hefty electronics and battery load — the scale is such that the cars can only run for about three hours before needing 8 hours to recharge the batteries. This journey is being billed as just a test, and far from a real-world application. The vehicles don't go more than about 35mph, and need a person behind the wheel to take over at a moment's notice. 'What we are trying to do is stress our systems and see if they can work in a real environment, with real weather, real traffic, and crazy people who cross the road in front of you and a vehicle that cuts you off,' said project leader Alberto Broggi. The goal is not to produce just road vehicles, but to improve the technology so it can be used in military and agricultural roles as well. The team hopes to have helped mature the technology within the next 10-20 years to the point that it can be used on the road."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Video Game Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/-Z6akNcJqww/Video-Game-Legends-To-Be-Inducted-Into-Hall-of-Fame)
killdashnine writes "Last year we discussed the creation of the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa, and a first event in 2009 which brought 3,500 people to witness it. Since then, there's been much progress toward creation of the museum, including the upcoming 'Big Bang 2010' exhibition. Their first event kicks off with formal induction ceremonies, tournaments, record-setting attempts, and an array of concerts from 8-bit music to modern rock. This serves as the first official fundraiser for this new non-profit. Iowa is positioning itself as the Video Game Capital of the World. While some sneer and scoff at this, pointing to LA or Seattle as gaming giants and rightful heirs to the title, the real goal is not to glorify software developers but rather to memorialize the 'heroes of video games,' from the iconic Pac Man to pioneers such as Ralph Baer."
Here's a list of this year's inductees. Who gets your vote for next year?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Google Up Ante For Disclosure Rules, Increases Bug Bounty
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/1g-zhZL_mvo/Google-Up-Ante-For-Disclosure-Rules-Increases-Bug-Bounty)
An anonymous reader writes "In a recent post by seven members of their security team, Google lashed out against the current standards of responsible disclosure, and implicitly backed the recent actions of Tavis Ormandy (who is listed as one of the authors). The company said it believed 60 days should be an 'upper bound' for fixing critical vulnerabilities, and asked to to be held to the same standard by external researchers. In another, nearly simultaneous post to the Chromium blog, Google also announced they are raising the security reward for Chrome vulnerabilities to $3133.7, apparently in response to Mozilla's recent action."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Evidence For 200-Year-Old Comet Impact On Neptune
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/CWGW8eB0-2c/Evidence-For-200-Year-Old-Comet-Impact-On-Neptune)
astroengine writes "Astronomers using ESA's Herschel space observatory have spotted evidence of a cometary impact in Neptune's upper atmosphere (publication, PDF). Whereas impact craters on rocky planetary bodies can remain for billions of years, an impact in the dynamic atmospheres of gas giants aren't obvious, especially if long periods of time have elapsed. This ultimate 'cold case' tracked the unusual distribution of carbon monoxide in Neptune's stratosphere, a sure sign it was deposited there by an external source. Once they realized they were looking at a comet impact, researchers were able to deduce when the impact occurred: 200 years ago."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Open Source Transcription Software?
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/HYIJgmVubnA/Open-Source-Transcription-Software)
sshirley writes "I am beginning to do some interviews with family members and will do some audio journals for genealogy purposes. I would really love to be able to run the resulting MP3 or WAV files through some software a get a text file out. I know that software like this exists commercially. But does this exist in the open source world?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- The Rise of Small Nuclear Plants
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/5dPWUOEK_-I/The-Rise-of-Small-Nuclear-Plants)
ColdWetDog writes "The Oil Drum (one of the best sites to discuss the technical details of the Macondo Blowout) is typically focused on ramifications of petroleum use, and in particular the Peak Oil theory. They run short guest articles from time to time on various aspects of energy use and policies. Today they have an interesting article on small nuclear reactors with a refreshing amount of technical detail concerning their construction, use, and fueling. The author's major thesis: 'Pick up almost any book about nuclear energy and you will find that the prevailing wisdom is that nuclear plants must be very large in order to be competitive. This assumption is widely accepted, but, if its roots are understood, it can be effectively challenged. Recently, however, a growing body of plant designers, utility companies, government agencies, and financial players are recognizing that smaller plants can take advantage of greater opportunities to apply lessons learned, take advantage of the engineering and tooling savings possible with higher numbers of units, and better meet customer needs in terms of capacity additions and financing. The resulting systems are a welcome addition to the nuclear power plant menu, which has previously been limited to one size — extra large.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Adobe Putting PDF Reader In a Sandbox
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/yQkRid3_CPQ/Adobe-Putting-PDF-Reader-In-a-Sandbox)
Captain Eloquence writes "The next major version of Adobe's PDF Reader will feature new sandboxing technology aimed at curbing a surge in malicious hacker attacks. The initial sandbox implementation will isolate all 'write' calls on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003. Adobe security chief Brad Arkin believes this will mitigate the risk of exploits seeking to install malware on the user's computer or otherwise change the computer's file system or registry. In a future dot-release, the company plans to extend the sandbox to include read-only activities to protect against attackers seeking to read sensitive information from the user's computer."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Swedish Pirate Party Launches ISP
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/Drrk_u55M0I/Swedish-Pirate-Party-Launches-ISP)
WillDraven writes "Torrentfreak is reporting that the Swedish Pirate Party has launched an ISP. Starting with 100 residents in a housing organization in the city of Lund, Pirate ISP hopes to gain 5% of the market in Lund before spreading to other markets. Headed by longtime Pirate Party member Gustav Nipe (video interview in English), the company aims to provide Internet service with the sort of guarantees one would expect from the Pirate Party. Most notable are the promises to keep no logs of subscriber activity and thus to provide no data to law enforcement or private corporations."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Pay-Per-View Journalism Is Burning Out Reporters Young
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/ItNLLwZoWIY/Pay-Per-View-Journalism-Is-Burning-Out-Reporters-Young)
Hugh Pickens writes "Young journalists once dreamed of trotting the globe in pursuit of a story, but the NY Times now reports that instead many are working online shackled to their computers, where they try to eke out a fresh thought or be first to report even the smallest nugget of news — anything that will impress Google's algorithms and draw readers their way. The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times all display a 'most viewed' list on their home pages; some media outlets, including Bloomberg News and Gawker Media, now pay writers based in part on how many readers click on their articles. 'At a [traditional] paper, your only real stress point is in the evening when you're actually sitting there on deadline, trying to file,' says Jim VandeHei, Politico's executive editor. 'Now at any point in the day starting at 5 in the morning, there can be that same level of intensity and pressure to get something out.' The pace has led to substantial turnover in staff at digital news organizations. At Politico, roughly a dozen reporters have left in the first half of the year — a big number for a newsroom that has only about 70 reporters and editors. 'When my students come back to visit, they carry the exhaustion of a person who's been working for a decade, not a couple of years,' says Duy Linh Tu of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 'I worry about burnout.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Facebook User Satisfaction Is 'Abysmal'
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/YGHKjY3kSRg/Facebook-User-Satisfaction-Is-Abysmal)
adeelarshad82 writes "American Customer Satisfaction Index recently conducted a survey in which they found that even though Facebook is gaining popularity, they are doing a miserable job of keeping their users satisfied. According to the survey Facebook scored 64 out of 100 for customer satisfaction, which puts the website in line with the satisfaction rates for airlines and cable companies. The survey also includes other websites like YouTube and Wikipedia (which scored considerably higher) and MySpace, which came in slightly lower. (The survey did not include Twitter since many of its members access the site through third-party sites rather than Twitter.com.) The ACSI was founded at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and is based on annual interviews with about 70,000 customers. The group has measured portals and search engines in the past, as well as news and information websites, but this is the first year the ACSI included social networking sites." UM professor Claes Fornell blogged: "Controversies over privacy issues, frequent changes to user interfaces, and increasing commercialization have positioned the big social networking sites at satisfaction levels well below other Web sites..."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-- Warships May Get Lasers For Close-In Defense
(http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/mnn7keN7U48/Warships-May-Get-Lasers-For-Close-In-Defense)
King Louie writes "Raytheon and the US Navy have successfully tested a ship-borne laser capable of shooting down aircraft. Video at the link shows the 32-kilowatt solid-state laser shooting down an unmanned aerial vehicle. The technology is apparently mature enough to be deployed as part of ships' short-range missile defenses, a role currently filled by the Basic Point Defense Missile System (based on the Sea Sparrow missile) and the Close-In Weapons System (based on a 20mm Gatling gun)."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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

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

-- I am building my own computer and it wont startup
(http://www.helpforce.com)

Question: Recently I built my own computer.The relevant specs (I think) are:CPU: AMD AthlonXP 2100Motherboard: Shuttle AK35GT2PS: Allied 400WRAM: Multiwave 512MB PC2700 DDRVideo card: PNY Geforce3 Ti200Sometimes my computer starts sometimes it does not. When it does work, everything works properly. When it does not work, there is nothing displayed on the screen and no beeps are made. All fans spin, the hard drive light lights and goes out, and the CD drive light lights and goes out. All connections are secure and were checked numerous times. Clearing the CMOS seems to help the computer work, but not immediately. The computer seems to work the least in the morning, and tends to stay working all day if it starts working. The video card is not the problem, as I tested it numerous times while the computer was down (both the new video card in an old PC, and an old video card in the new PC, the old video card failed in the new PC although it works in the old PC).

Answer: hi there, i have built many many computers and this is a common problem, generaly i think that will find that the problem is related to an earth loop, dont laugh or say 'I havnt changed anything' becuase i would put money on this being the problem, the solution is to take everthing back out the case (sorry!) and set it all up on a table (net metal :-) ) and try running the computer like that to see if it then works!If / when it does, check all the screw holes in the case to make sure that nothing is sticking up, then put everything back in again, dont screw the motherboard in to tight, but enough to hold it in place.Hope this helps and let us know if it works or you need more help.

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

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

-- How to Spot Fake Torrent Files(http://netforbeginners.about.com/b/2010/07/21/how-to-spot-fake-torrent-files.htm)

If you are a P2P downloader, you'll want to heed these warnings.Â WMV files, unusually-high numbers of seeds, .Rar files,Â release dates... all of these can be telltale signs that...

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