Latest news and stories from BleepingComputer.com http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum2.html Latest news and stories from BleepingComputer.com Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:59:52 EDT http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum2.html en Windows 7 available for pre-order at significant discounts http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic236829.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic236829.html Windows 7 is being released October 22nd, 2009 and as of today, you have ability to pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional upgrades at about half off the estimated retail prices. This pre-order promotion is available through July 11 while supply lasts.

If you are planning on upgrading when Windows 7 is released, then these are some great deals. The Windows 7 Home Upgrade has a pre-order price of $49.99, compared to the normal price of $119.99, and the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade has a pre-order price of $99.99, compared to the normal price of $199.99.

Each pre-order purchase also allows you to buy up to 3 licenses, so you can upgrade all of your computers, purchase as a gift, or even sell it someone else!

However you look at it, this offer is a great deal and for those who are planning to upgrade to Windows 7, it's a sure win.

 Link: Windows 7 Pre-order Information
 Link: Pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Now
 Link: Pre-order Windows 7 Home Professional Upgrade Now
]]> Netflix is now offered through Windows Media Center http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic228275.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic228275.html Microsoft posted to their blog yesterday that as of today, more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix are now available within Windows Media Center.

The Windows blog states:

"Using the two together is easy and convenient. In Windows Media Center, a new Netflix tile will appear under “TV + Movies”. To stream movies and TV shows from Netflix, just click on the new Netflix tile and login with your Netflix account.

You will be able to search the entire Netflix library right from Windows Media Center, and manage both your Instant and DVD Queues. Windows Media Center will also take advantage of Netflix’s “recommended” categories."

Sounds like a real win for Netflix users who have a media center PC. If you plan on trying this out, please let us know how it is.

 Link: Netflix comes to Windows Media Center
]]> SOFTWARE + SKILLS + EXPERIENCE = JOBS http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic225670.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic225670.html

Improve your technical skills with the Microsoft IT Academy Student Pass.

Microsoft DreamSpark and IT Academy

The Microsoft IT Academy Student Pass is a special no-cost online learning opportunity for university students in technical studies. The IT Academy Student Pass offers 12 to 22 hours of FREE e-learning courses, aligned to the first set of topics you need to master for the first Microsoft certification exam within each track.

The Microsoft IT Academy Student Pass is a perfect entry into five different career paths:
1. Windows Developer
2. Web Developer
3. Database Developer
4. Windows Server IT Professional
5. Windows Client IT Professional


Who can take advantage of this?
This offer is available to both high school and college students, and there are some unique benefits to taking advantage of this offer. Computer science majors can get experience in technologies other than what may be offered by their university. We all know how hard it is to get real-world experience while going to school. We also know that there are so many possible career choices within computer science that it is difficult to be able to explore all available opportunities. IT Academy offers the chance to check out different areas without spending any cash.

For undeclared majors that think they may be interested in technology, here is an opportunity to take the equivalent of an elective at no cost to you. Maybe you are interested in web development, but are not sure if you have what it takes to succeed. Here is an opportunity to explore that option at no cost, plus get thousands of dollars in free software at the same time.

For high school students getting ready for college, here is a chance to learn some new skills that will set you apart from your fellow students. College costs a lot of money, and competition for scholarships is fierce. Here is an opportunity to show that you are different, that you have the initiative and motivation to learn on your own, and that you are a solid choice to receive scholarship money. Here is a no cost opportunity to do so, and get free software at the same time.

Microsoft DreamSpark and IT Academy




]]> Windows 7 Release Candidate goes public todayand#33; http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic224608.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic224608.html This week Microsoft announced that a Release Candidate version of Windows 7 had become available for subscribers of MSDN and TechNet for testing. Today, Windows 7 goes global, with availability for anyone who wants to take this sleek new version of Windows for a ride.

Today, May 5th 2009, Microsoft will make the Release Candidate available for download from the Windows 7 site linked below to anyone who wants to test it. This version is a full-featured edition, similar to the Ultimate version of Windows Vista. Some of the major changes and new features include:

  • Prompting whenever the User Account Control level is changed. There were quite a few blog posts in the past about how not being notified when UAC is changed can be a security risk. Whether or not this aspect of UAC was changed because of these posts, I leave up to you.

  • NO MORE AUTORUN FOR NON-OPTICAL DRIVES! This is a big one for security nuts as autorun will no longer be enabled for devices such as external hard drives and USB drives, but only for optical media such as DVDs and CDs. This is a huge security hole that has now been eliminated and should severely reduce the spread of removable media infections.

  • More functionality in Thumbnail Overflow Lists. These lists are created when you have significant amounts of windows of the same program open. Now these lists allow you to close windows directly from the list or get sneak peeks of the window by hovering your mouse over one.




  • Further optimization of Windows Touch and Gestures. A gesture guide can be seen below:




  • Refinements and modifications to Windows Media Player features. These include the new Now Playing mini-player that shows the current song and its album art, support for most .MOV files created by digital cameras, and a new significant enhancement called Remote Media Streaming. Remote Media Streaming allows you to access your digital library over the Internet from any other Windows 7 based computer outside of the home. We will provide more information about this feature in later articles.




  • Windows XP Mode is a downloadable add-on that allows you to run older Windows XP files that do not run properly in Windows 7. It does this by creating a virtual PC running the Windows XP operating system. Using this Virtual PC, you can now launch any legacy Windows XP applications. Even nicer is the fact that the running XP program will appear as a normal program running from your Windows 7 desktop, rather than one running in a Virtual Machine. I will be providing in-depth coverage of this feature and how to use it in the near future.


All-in-all there are a lot of new, exciting, and fun features in the Windows 7 Release Candidate and I hope to bring you in-depth coverage of them in the near future. So stay tuned for some more articles coming soon.

 Link: Windows 7 Site - Download Windows 7 Here!
]]> Judge Sentences Pirate Bay Employees http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic221838.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic221838.html http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20090417/bs_nf/...1o7f7Y9bR4jtBAF]]> Conficker comes alive to promote Spyware Protect 2009 http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic219131.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic219131.html Conficker had started to wake up and is downloading malicious software on to infected computers. It has been a mystery, up until now, as to how the virus writers would benefit from their creation. Was it for fame or was it just a big Aprils Fools joke? Now we know that it's real purpose was to make money and lots of it.

The malicious software that is being downloaded consists of malware that uses your computer to send out spam emails. This in itself is a huge money generator. It is also downloading Trojans that display fake security alerts stating that your computer is infected and then suggesting you purchase the rogue software called Spyware Protect 2009. Rogue software is big business for malware writers with incredible earning potential. In fact, Brian Krebs reported that certain affiliates for Antivirus 2009 and Antivirus 360 were generating close to $330,000 in a month. Imagine the amount of money that could now be generated with over 8 million computers infected and displaying alerts suggesting you purchase it.

So, if find yourself receiving alerts for Spyware Protect 2009, please do not fall for the scam and purchase the program. Instead use the removal guides listed below to remove these infections for free.


 Guide: How to remove the Downadup and Conficker worm
 News: How to remove Spyware Protect 2009 (Uninstall Instructions)
]]> What do you think Conficker will do on April 1st? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic215768.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic215768.html One of the hottest topics in the media right now is the Conficker worm that is poised to perform some sort of action tomorrow, April 1st. There has been a lot of buzz about this worm, but most of it is speculation. What we do know is that millions of PCs are infected, their owners probably do not know, and tomorrow the worm will receive instructions to do something. As you can see, there is really not a lot to go on.

Now, if we listened to the media, this is Y2K redux; when the worms receive their commands the world will shake, buildings will topple, and the Internet will cease to exist as we know it. In reality, though, we have absolutely no idea what this worm will do and, in my opinion, there is a good chance that April 1st will come and go with nothing more than your normal April fools stories rather than with a big bang. In fact, isn't it interesting that this worm is slated to perform an action on April 1st? Could this just be one big April fools joke against the computer security industry.

Even if the instructions the worms receive are malicious in intent, most of the infected users will turn on their computer and go about their day to day activities none the wiser. Their Internet will be a lot slower because the worm may be DDOSing some company or organization, but you the consumer will be mostly unaffected. That does not mean that this worm may not cause issues, but it probably won't cause issues for the majority of people. For those, though, who are concerned that their computer may be infected with Conficker, I created a guide back in January for testing your computer, which I linked to below.

Now, when it comes down to it, everything I said is all speculation, but isn't all of the reporting on Conficker? What are your thoughts? What do you think Conficker will do tomorrow?


 Guide: How to remove the Downadup and Conficker worm
 News: Latest Conficker News
]]> The secret recipe for Antivirus XP Pro http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic213472.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic213472.html Vundo uses a formula of constant security warnings, desktop hijackings, and Internet Explorer hijackings to foist Antivirus XP Pro on to your computer. Recent installs of Vundo have been showing an increasing amount of advertisements for Antivirus XP Pro, so we should expect to see quite a few computers infected with this malware.

The formula consists of a healthy dose of Internet Explorer hijackings:



Internet Explorer Hijack #1 advertising Antivirus XP Pro
Internet Explorer Hijack #1 advertising Antivirus XP Pro



Internet Explorer Hijack #2
Another Internet Explorer Hijack

Add a dose of fake security warning:

Fake Security Warning
Fake Security Warning

A sprinkle of desktop hijacking:

Desktop Hijacking
Desktop Hijacking
 

Finally, stir a little Vundo to glue it all together in, and you have Antivirus XP Pro.




Antivirus XP Pro
Antivirus XP Pro
 

Unfortunately, Google Trends data corroborates what I am seeing as shown by the graph below. This graph shows a recent increase of activity for the search keyword Antivirus XP Pro.

 

Google Trends graph for the keyword Antivirus XP Pro
Google Trends graph for the keyword Antivirus XP Pro


So, if you are one of the unlucky ones who has Antivirus XP Pro installed, please ignore the warnings, and instead use the guide linked to below to remove it for free.

 

 Guide: How to remove Antivirus XP Pro
]]> IE8 released http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic213045.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic213045.html IE8 download
Just a note, Windows 7 is not quite ready for IE8, which is not surprising considering that Windows 7 is not even a release candidate yet.

Microsoft has decided to move their parsing engine more towards a standards compliant model which once again will put them in the unenviable position of "dammed if you do, dammed if you don't". They are "dammed if you do" because some websites are not going to work properly. That is not Microsoft's fault; that is the fault of the developer who chose to not create web pages that consisted of properly formed and validated HTML. Here is a blog post that sums it up quite nicely:
IE8 Blog

One of my favorite features is Web Slices:
QUOTE
Using Web Slices, you can keep up with frequently updated sites directly from the new Favorites Bar. If a Web Slice is available on a page, a green Web Slices icon will appear in the upper-right hand corner of the browser.
]]> WinPC Defender and Anti-Virus Number 1 removal guides http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic211959.html Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic211959.html Two new rogue anti-spyware programs were released in the past two days called Anti-Virus Number 1 and WinPC Defender. Both of these are advertised via Trojans.

Anti-virus Number 1 is a clone of the Anti-virus 1 and Antivirus 2010. Like its predecessors it uses false reviews as described here to promote itself. WinPC Defender is a clone of XP Police Antivirus and, with XP Police in mind, it will most likely be a widely spread rogue.



Anti-virus Number 1
Anti-virus Number 1



WinPC Defender
WinPC Defender

We have removal guides for both of these infections below:

 Guide: A guide on how to remove Anti-Virus Number 1
 Guide: How to remove WinPC Defender


]]>