The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section ransomware is a computer infection that displays a screen requesting money before it allows you to access your Windows desktop. This screen locker pretends to be an alert from the FBI that states they have detected that you have been viewing child pornography, using unlicensed software, or distributing copyrighted files. They further state that in order to avoid federal prosecution you must pay a fee of $300 in the form of a MoneyPak voucher within 72 hours to gain access to your computer again.

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A planned Windows 8 update to address complaints and confusion with Microsoft's new operating system will be made available for free this year, the company says. Not charging extra for Windows 8.1, previously code named "Windows Blue", is consistent with the company's practice of offering "decimal point" updates to operating systems for free. But when Microsoft announced the update last week, it didn't say that it would be free. Tami Reller, the marketing and financial chief for Microsoft's Windows business, said the company wants to assure customers that they can buy Windows 8 now and still get the benefits ...

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Seriously...The Onion got hacked...The Onion...seriously...explains how it was done...seriously   How the Syrian Electronic Army Hacked The Onion - Onion Inc.'s Tech Blog   QUOTE from link above: .........At this point the editorial staff began publishing articles inspired by the attack. The second article, Syrian Electronic Army Has A Little Fun Before Inevitable Upcoming Deaths At Hands Of Rebels, angered the attacker who then began posting editorial emails on their Twitter account. Once we discovered this, we decided that we could not know for sure which accounts had been compromised and forced ...

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On May 3rd, Microsoft released an advisory about a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 8 that could allow specially crafted code to execute commands on your computer. It was later confirmed that there was actual exploits available on the Internet and that this vulnerability was actively being used by malware developers to infect your computer. The good news is that only Internet Explorer 8 is affected and that IE 7, 9, & 10 are not vulnerable.If you are using Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft released a Fix It today that resolves this issue until a security update is released. This Fix It is labeled ...

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Microsoft Says Goodbye Hotmail::Brought to you by TechWeb   QUOTE from link above: "Hotmail was still one of the most widely used services, with over 300 million active accounts," he wrote. "This made the magnitude of the process incredible, maybe even unprecedented. This meant communicating with hundreds of millions of people, upgrading all their mailboxes and making sure that every person's mail, calendar, contacts, folders, and personal preferences were preserved in the upgrade. Of course, this had to be done with a live site experience that was handling billions of transactions a day." So, ...

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The long awaited transition from Windows Live Messenger to Skype begins today. The next time Windows Live Messenger users attempt to login, they will be greeted with a message message stating a new version is available and that you must update in order to continue. This new update, though, is not for Live Messenger but rather to install Skype 6.3, which you will now be forced to use. Those using 3rd party programs, such as Trillian or Pidgin, will still be able to communicate via the Messenger network until April 30th when it is slated to be shutdown.

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Twinkies are back: Hostess plant in Columbus, Ga., will reopen in July

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