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Don't Force Safe Mode on Infected PC

One of the standard instructions when trying to CLEAN an infected computer has been to use safe mode to do the repairs.

More and more of today's new malware deletes or alters the safeboot key in the registry rendering the user unable to reboot into safe mode. The important notice here is that you do not want to use the System Configuration Utility (msconfig) method to force safe mode when a user reports problems BOOTING into safe mode as it could bring about disasterous results!

Based upon findings posted by Blender at SpywareWarrior, who is a Microsoft MVP-Security, this is info you need to know when instructing a user to boot into safe mode if you are dealing with an infected computer.

I'm changing canned speeches and FAQ regarding booting to safe mode for the instructions and Urls/links to NOT use the System Configuration Utility (msconfig) method for booting to safe mode.

For instance, I had been using Symantec's instruction for the longest time, however, recently learned that they have CHANGED their instruction to the msconfig method only for XP! Following is some important info helpers need to know.


http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18150258"One of the standard instructions when trying to clean an infected computer has been to use safe mode to do the repairs".

great find/ research * I see you on this(anti-virus) stuff a lot, thanks*
new and improved info on the hope=page! yea i love virus and the lot and computers in generalQuote from: unlovedwarrior on April 11, 2007, 08:51:36 PM

yea i love virus and the lot

been using the 15 in 1 defender thing from walmart (like all the neat tools it comes with) and using FIREFOX!!!! I have been real lucky, nothing but the few annoying cookies in last 6 months!!

raptor whats up

Look at my magnificent shining circle! BEHOLD! Oh, I'll hold it still...

I haven't had a spyware/virus infection for well over a year.

Use Firefox with Noscript. Oh, and common sense. Which unfortunately is not yet available for download.

Beta tester for what? FF?

Quote from: Raptor on April 23, 2007, 05:33:43 AM

Beta tester for what? FF?

Common Sence

Chris

I haven't had a spyware/virus infection for well over a year.

Use Firefox with Noscript. Oh, and common sense. Which unfortunately is not yet available for download.

Noscript --> Go to Tools --> Add Ons --> click get extensions and search for it in the web page.
It's an extension, so not built into Firefox.
I can give you a list of other useful extensions if you like?
Safety, functionality, annoyances, etc.

I haven't had a spyware/virus infection for well over a year.

Use Firefox with Noscript. Oh, and common sense. Which unfortunately is not yet available for download.

Quote from: soybean on August 25, 2008, 02:24:23 PM

Yes, it's very DISTASTEFUL but I think foreigner's don't try to see this through our eyes. The plain fact is, if we are not VIGILANT in our security measures, we CERTAINLY will be attacked again.

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai authorities banned the Grand Theft Auto computer game on Tuesday, after a disturbed teenager allegedly killed a taxi driver in a copycat crime.

Following news earlier Tuesday that the game's distributor would no longer stock the game, Thai police told AFP they had OFFICIALLY banned it because of "obscene" content.

"The police are empowered to immediately arrest shopkeepers if they find any GTA (Grand Theft Auto) games on sale," Ruangsak Jaritake, a police spokesman, told AFP.

"GTA is banned mainly because of its obscene content -- under the criminal law article 287 that prohibits reproduction, distribution or possession of such material," he said.

He said the police will work with the Culture MINISTRY to check that online gaming sites are properly licensed and will block websites which offer violent games.

Any game seller found stocking the game could be sentenced to three years in prison and a fine up to 6,000 baht (180 dollars).

Stricter penalties are in place for online sellers who could receive five years imprisonment and a 100,000 baht (3,000 dollars) fine.

An 18-year-old high school student has been charged with robbery and possession of a weapon, and could face the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted.

Police said the teenager had become incensed when he could not afford to play the game, which encourages gamers to kill and steal cars in order to accrue points.

The teen was arrested on Sunday after police found the bloody body of a 50-year-old Bangkok taxi driver slumped in his cab.

The Grand Theft Auto computer game series, which has sold about 70 million copies, has come under fire for its graphic depiction of casual violence, drug dealing and prostitution.

The New Era Interactive Media company, the only legal distributor of the games, said earlier Tuesday it would remove the game from sale in Thailand.

"We have stopped selling Grand Theft Auto and inform all legal vendors to withdraw the game from their shelves," the company said in an online statement.

"The company will not import GTA 4 (the next in the series) to distribute in Thailand," it added.

The company also warned people to be careful about the types of computer games they buy and urged friends and relatives of gamers to watch their behaviour closely when playing.

Wefro...

This one's for you: http://www.saviourpc.com/forums/index.php/topic,15.0.html

The UPS trojan must have been a big hit.

http://blog.trendmicro.com/bogus-fedex-notifications-new-malware-courier-of-choice/

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Remember the UPS spam runs that were popular last month (see PREVIOUS blog posts here and here)? Spammers have CHOSEN a different courier this time, but the message was basically the same:

Posing as FedEx notifications, these email messages have the same format as their earlier UPS counterparts: tracking number (perhaps to make the message APPEAR authentic), message body informing recipients that there was a problem with the delivery of a package, and a message URGING the recipient to print the attached “invoice” to claim the “package”.

Even the attachment is of the same file type as those seen in the previous spam runs. The .ZIP file is an info stealer detected by Trend Micro as TSPY_ZBOT.MCS. ZBOT spyware are infamous keyloggers that are known to steal confidential information, such as those related to online banking credentials.

Our users are already protected by the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network. While our experts are still doing their analysis on this case, everyone should remember that nothing is free these days - even if malicious emails posing as the world’s largest couriers tell you otherwise.

Another fine mess from AVG. It has been fixed but it shouldn't have happened to start with.

http://freeforum.avg.com/read.php?12,142806,backpage=,sv=

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Currently the update for AVG Free v8 is corrupted... you will have to wait for AVG Technologies to address the issue with the update.

Reporting the issue again by other users here will not do any good util it is resolved.

The updates that your AVG currently have will still provide the protection it is setup to detect. In otherwords, not being able to get this update will not make your AVG Free ineffective and as SOON as AVG Tech resolves the issue you will be able to update to the current virus definitions at that time.

So in short... PLEASE do not post to report the issue, its already known. Also please be patient until AVG Technologies can address the issue.

Also... for those user that did report the issue... THANKS for the info.

As Elaine states below, this update issue has been resolved so this is now removed from the sticky POSTS.

Back to the concept of fabbers...

If you can make the "resolution" very fine (like atoms) you can make anything, out of anything.

Think about it.i want one! so can you like PRINT computer parts? like a hard drive or a MOTHERBOARD or something? do they make REALLY big ONES so you can like print out a car or a boat or something or a 112" tv LOLor like a jackhammer subwoofer? i would like 2 of those for my roomwoa look at this link!!! https://www.nextengine.com/indexSecure.htm?gclid=CMHTrI_cmJUCFRJ4xgodQS2wEw woops thats a scanner

Well, I tried this out. LUCKILY I THOUGHT to turn down my sound and work my way up...

It doesn't seem to like my SB Live! 24-bit very much (or WinAmp). Loads of very loud crackling. Nothing I changed in the settings made any difference.Sorry to hear that...

Not to imply that you didn't, but did you follow the directions to the letter? If so, were you able to revert BACK to your previous settings?

Sorry it didn't work out for you...Yeah, went through the directions. I don't have a LOT of time to mess with it now though. I was able to remove it until I get time to look at it again on Sunday.

Quote from: Salmon Trout on November 17, 2014, 12:24:28 PM

Well, I have had an Inbox invite, and do you know what? There are 2 versions, one for Android and one for iOS! It's just a phone app! What was all the fuss about?

Geek should read more carefully before posting nonsense...

Gmail is the world's most popular email service, and the iPhone, as if this week didn't make it ABUNDANTLY clear, is the world's most popular smartphone. The two have been around for years and years, however the experience of using them together has never been particularly good. *censored*, let's be honest, if you're relying on Google's own email apps on the iPhone, your experience is doubleplusungood. But there are plenty of alternatives in Apple's App Store, and it just so happens that the best among them now bears the name of Microsoft Outlook.

So the new Gmail is now Outlook?

The full head reads:
Lenovo slipped 'Superfish' malware into laptops
Like:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/19/technology/security/lenovo-superfish/index.html?section=money_latest
Short summary:
The Superfish has now been removed. **
The new story comes from CNN and appears to be credible. They say that the famous laptop make has shipped a number er of its products with a know spyware already loaded into the system. But the manufacture claims no harm was done and the inclusion of the unwelcome program was to make SHOPPING easier for users.
But just read it for yourself.

** Whether or not it is malware is debatable.Just to flesh that out a bit- SuperFish is a piece of marketing software that sort of works in a way similar to google's analysis of browsing habits via it's various network services.

Now, the BIG difference is that SuperFish is installed locally, but furthermore that it has access to all your TRAFFIC. It installs itself as a trusted, root certificate authority on the system, and if using a browser with the add-on installed (Both chrome and IE are pre-installed on the noted systems with the SuperFish add-ons) this means that all Secure connections are done through SuperFish.

The issues are pretty big- since this means that SuperFish has full access to your full, unencrypted traffic while you are accessing and working through secure connections. Considering the effort taken by SuperFish to insert itself as a root certificate authority so it can inspect encrypted traffic, I'm not clear on why they need to know how a user uses say their bank website in order to "make shopping easier".


It's also hard to ignore how the name "SuperFish" is phonetically the same as "SuperPhish".They are being lambasted for their lame response to CRITICISM...

One take on it...And Another...

This includes a fix...i don't have a new Lenovo to test it on however...Lenovo has now released a SuperFish Removal Tool that can automatically uninstall the malware for its laptops and computers.

Credit The Windows Club. SuperFish Removal Tool from Lenovo will automatically uninstall the malwareNot to be a naysayer but i read today the removal tool doesn.t get rid of it...just sayin...
I;ll post the link when i find it...Microsoft released a Windows Defender update that completely removes SuperFish. HOPEFULLY everyone still keep Windows Updates current.

I looked for articles where the removal tool doesn't work but didn't find any solid evidence. I didn't look too hard either though. Some of the comments on this topic are about as dumb as I've seen in a long time. I don't feel like weeding out the stupid today...If that includes my comments ...i apologise...Quote from: patio on February 22, 2015, 04:49:25 PM

If that includes my comments ...i apologise...

-Another was a Windows know-it-all who decided that 99.9% of Windows users are too stupid to even deserve a computer or 99.9% are just too stupid in general.

.. battery technology will have an impact on how people use devices ranging from mobile phones to electric CARS — and they'll also make it easier and cheaper to store the electrical grid power generated by solar panels and wind TURBINES. The result would be less reliance on power sources such as oil, gas, coal and nuclear — all of which are currently cheaper than renewable sources.
...
First published February 20TH 2015

14 nm is 14 nanometers. This is a reference to the width of a trace used in interconnection of areas of an large Integrated Chip chip design. A typical Core-2 CPU might use 65 nm traces and have some 800 million transistors.
Intel has a very large presence at the ISSCC 2015 in San Jose this week.
Intel at ISSCC 2015

This is hard to grasp for most of us. Making stuff smaller means HIGHER yields and higher speeds and lower cost of production. It just may be that 10 nm is the end of the road for pure silicon based transistors. (More on that later.)
Quote

It was explained that while 10nm will have more masking steps than 14nm, and the delays that bogged down 14nm COMING LATE to market will not be present at 10nm – or at least reduced. We were told that Intel has learned that the increase in development complexity of 14nm required more internal testing stages and masking implementations was a major reason for the DELAY, as well as requiring sufficient yields to go ahead with the launch. As a result, Intel is improving the efficiency testing at each stage and expediting the transfer of wafers with their testing protocols in ORDER to avoid delays. We were quoted that 10nm should be 50% faster to market than 14nm was as a result of these adjustments. So while the additional masking steps at 10nm which ultimately increases fixed costs, Intel is still quoting that their methods results in a reducing in terms of cost per transistor without needing a completely new patterning process. EUV lithography was discussed, but Intel seems to be hoping to avoid it until it is absolutely necessary, as EUV development so far has been slower to progress than expected.

Coming sooner than expected...

Full Story...Found it interesting that they are planning on this for California where there is lots of seismological activity. I suppose its no different than Japan implementing it where seismologic activity is equal to or greater than that of california.Putting it in California MAY be part of a PR idea. California needs a safe high speed mass transport system. The HyperLoop, when finished, could be economical, safe and FAST transport from northern to southern California.

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The Hyperloop is a conceptual high-speed transportation system put forward by entrepreneur Elon Musk, incorporating reduced-pressure TUBES in which pressurized capsules ride on a cushion of air that is driven by a combination of linear induction motors and air compressors.

The film An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island involves the main characters Fievel Mouskewitz and Tony Toponi exploring a series of caverns directly beneath one of the abandoned terminals for the Pneumatic Transit system.

Most semiconductor electronic components are susceptible to radiation damage; radiation-hardened components are based on their non-hardened EQUIVALENTS, with some design and manufacturing variations that reduce the susceptibility to radiation damage. Due to the extensive DEVELOPMENT and testing required to produce a radiation-tolerant design of a microelectronic chip, radiation-hardened chips tend to lag behind the most recent developments

Chip packaging materials were an insidious source of radiation that was found to be causing soft errors in NEW DRAM chips in the 1970s. Traces of radioactive elements in the packaging of the chips were producing alpha particles, which were then occasionally discharging some of the capacitors used to store the DRAM data bits. These EFFECTS have been reduced today by using purer packaging materials, and employing error-correcting codes to detect and often correct DRAM errors.

Maybe they have a good idea.
Pentagon plans to replace the password
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Punching the correct code into a computer can't verify your identity. It simply shows that someone remembered – or stole – the right combination of letters and numbers.
...
Every time he logs on, the system would use the stored profile to determine whether the person at the keyboard is actually the soldier who is supposed to be using that computer. If the user’s patterns of behavior DEVIATE too much, it would raise red flags to the system operator or automatically shut down the soldier’s computer.

The New York Institute of Technology is working on a way to use people’s LINGUISTIC patterns as they type as a way to identify them – for instance, how person revises sentences and how long they take before CORRECTING typing mistakes, and the amount of time they pause before beginning a new sentence.

Four days ago:
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An update that Norton Internet Security received LAST night is causing serious issues on computers running Windows 7 and Windows 8, as new versions of Internet Explorer are no longer WORKING once the patch is deployed.
Posts on the official community forum of Norton reveal that the issue affects Internet Explorer 9 and newer, so computers powered by Windows 7 and Windows 8 are very likely to experience the same problem.

Another security flaw will threaten not only MS but Mac ALSO. See here.Mac IOS and other APPle platforms had the highest % of security BREACHES last year...The article says the weakness is DUE to US government restrictions on encryption.
Cryptography Export Restrictions
If that is the case, here is a problem. How can security be improved without exporting high quality cryptography?

The story is almost a month old. Here is one report from the Washington Post.

Forbes Web site was compromised by Chinese cyberespionage group, researchers say
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Chinese HACKERS hijacked Forbes.com and used the site as part of an attack on the U.S. DEFENSE and financial industry, according to cybersecurity researchers at iSIGHT Partners and Invincea.

For three days late last year, the news site's “Thought of the Day” widget, which appears when readers visit the site, was compromised — seamlessly redirecting visitors from certain organizations to another site where their computers could be infected with malware without their knowledge.

Researches have linked similar malware controlled by the same server used in the Forbes attack to breaches of Web sites frequented by domestic Chinese dissident groups.

This is why things like Adobe Flash and Java Applets are terrible.

Without Java, what would we use as cross-platform tool?

As for Adobe flash, Is MS Silver Light more secure?

One of the oldest and most prominent technology BLOGS Gigaom has shut down after running out of money.

The company announced it COULD not pay its creditors, who now held its assets. It said it did not know if the site could operate in the future.

Senior writer Mathew Ingram said the news "hurts more than I can say", while the site's founder Om Malik thanked its staff and readers.

Gigaom claimed to have around 6.5 million readers per month.

In a STATEMENT posted on his own website, Mr Malik wrote: "It is not how you want the story of a company you founded to end."

He said: "There will be time for postmortems, but not today. Today, I want to thank all the people who make (and have helped make) Gigaom.

"Their role in this journey was what really made it all worth it. They are great people and they will all do great work wherever they go."
'Goodnight sweetheart'

Mr Malik added that, while he left Gigaom more than a year AGO, the idea behind it "still lives in my heart... Goodnight sweetheart, I still love you!"

In a statement posted on the site, its management said: "Gigaom recently became UNABLE to pay its creditors in full at this time.


Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31816417How sad it is.
Worthwhile web sites can not raise money,
- but Cyber Crime is doing rather well.

Not really NEW, but here is the latest information about Fuels Cells for mobile devices.
Fuel cells offer instant power anywhere
If they get the price down, it could be great for laptops too.
Quote

By Martyn Williams
IDG NEWS Service | Mar 9, 2015
If there's one thing almost every smartphone USER wants, it's longer battery life.
While processors, memory and other components have advanced in LEAPS and bounds, progress in battery technology has been much slower over the last couple of decades.
All those people you see charging their phones at airports, coffee shops and other public PLACES are a testament to how often batteries die out during the day. So while engineers are fighting against basic chemistry and physics to improve current Lithium Ion cells, is there a better way to recharge?
One answer might be fuel cells, which generate electricity through a chemical reaction and provide instant power anywhere. Unlike portable battery packs, they don't need to be charged in advance. You just need a fuel cell cartridge

Past 24 hours.
Microsoft to step up the pace

The New Windows 10 Xbox App In Action

Windows 10 Update with New Features
Fascinating...

Nasty Thumb Drive.... draws POWER from USB port and then discharges a high voltage spike to USB controller and everything down stream in the path.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/12/this-usb-drive-can-nuke-a-computer/This story is credible.
This link claims to be the original:
*Blocked RUSSIAN URL*/post/251451/
With translation here:
http://kukuruku.co/hub/diy/usb-killer
Interesting. It says "Since a lot of USB controllers are built directly into the main processor… bye bye computer." Which doesn't make sense to me. I don't think the CPU has ever had USB Controllers built into it, and it has always been part of the chipset- Though perhaps this has changed, especially with stuff like Graphics being integrated into the CPU die.

On the other hand, This isn't notable, IMO; You can also directly connect AC wall current to the USB connector on a PC to fry it. And anybody intending to destroy my PROPERTY in this manner is unlikely to be a person from whom I would trust USB Drives from.Right, BC.
Most ,motherboards have some kind of protection from external mishaps. Many have separate USB controllers, which wold become trans if 110 volts was applied. But if the USB is part of the southbridge, that would go out making the PC near useless.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southbridge_%28computing%29
The southbridge has many items needed for normal PC operation, including the BIOS and the PCI.

So never plug an unknown USB device into a PC you want to keep.

EDIT: With regard to USB hazardous voltages. There is no protection specified.
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Ethernet standards require electrical isolation between the networked device (computer, phone, etc.) and the network cable up to 1500 V AC or 2250 V DC for 60 seconds.[143] USB has no such requirement as it was designed for peripherals closely associated with a host computer, and in fact it connects the peripheral and host grounds. This gives Ethernet a significant safety advantage over USB with peripherals such as cable and DSL modems connected to external wiring that can assume hazardous voltages under certain fault conditions.[144]

The story is carried by AP and ABC and others.
Research Firm IDC Outlook for Sales in 2015
The topic compares sales of desktop units to PORTABLE devices. What these devices have in common is they can 'connect' with the World Wide Web.

But overall growth is slowing down. This shouldn't be a surprise. There are now more mobile devices in the world than people. Most of these have some ability to connect with services other than t telephone.
Quote

IDC predicts desktop PC shipments will DROP 6.2 percent and laptop shipments will fall 3.9 percent this year.
Earlier Thursday INTEL cut its first-quarter revenue forecast, partly because demand for business desktop PCs was weaker than it expected.

While many people probably are opting for smaller portable devices. I have to disagree that the PC is dying. Dying generally means obsolescence in near future, but there are so many uses for a PC that a small portable tablet, iPhone, etc just can not replace.

Even gaming consoles are not a threat to the PC as for many good games are PC based or available for both Gaming Console(s) and PC.

If anything the PC's have saturated the market, and computers from Pentium 4 era or newer can still work perfectly fine online and even older systems can continue to work flawlessly as stand alone offline, so why replace a computer if it does everything you need it to do. If you use a computer for just web surfing and e-mail, a Pentium 4 may be plenty of processing power, however if you play modern video games, and always introduce newer titles its a vicious cycle of having to replace older hardware with newer -or- stretch the life of existing hardware through overclocking, more memory, and video card upgrades, but at some point you hit a performance limitation to where there system can not perform any better and have to replace the motherboard, CPU, and RAM or buy a new computer with specs matching what you need to have another say 5 years of gaming.

If anything I will AGREE that the sales may not come back to the record high that they may have been at because of this saturation and fact that some people are opting for just a small portable device vs a bulky desktop or space saving laptop. Additionally many many people are addicted to the social networking texting and playing online games etc on the go or at work when they should be working but got sidetracked. There have been countless times that I have been in a restroom and you start hearing people in the stall(s) over fumbling with their iPhone etc playing a game or texting as well when of all places they should be concentrating on getting in and out of there after relieving themselves vs turning the bathroom into a bunch of internet cubicles with ability to multitask bodily functions at the same time.

Many people have asked me why I dont have a portable device with internet like so many other people. My only portable device is a trak phone that is just a cell $10 cell phone. It stays powered off 99% of the time to save the battery life for when i need it, and avoid calls that i dont want from telemarketers, and thats all I need any portable communication for is calling my wife to check to see what we need at the food store before shopping so i can avoid a 2nd trip out the same night for a needed item to make dinner etc. I have no use for texting and playing small games on a 3 inch display. I have no need to be addicted to having to check a small portable device frequently through my day as I see others a slave to. And most importantly I enjoy my weekends away from work, and not owning one of these portable devices allows for me to say on monday, sorry you didnt get a hold of me to work saturday, I dont have a iPhone or anything like that. My boss once asked me to get one and I said is the company going to supply it, and pay the $100 a month for its service, and compensate me for the time daily to check it when not at work from home etc.... he said no and walked away. Meanwhile others who have these devices get trapped into having to take the call and the employer just about knowing that they are failing to answer a phone call or text message if they dont answer to it when the employer knows that they always go everywhere with their portable device. So not answering to it can lead to problems. So I enjoy my disconnection from work when its my time to be away and relax vs available within seconds with a text message etc, and not owning one of these devices gives me a free ticket out of a discussion about ignoring them. There is no ignoring assumptions if you cant be physically reached to begin with.

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/no-really-pc-dying-not-coming-back/?mbid=social_fbI just now did a Google search on "PC Is Dying" and found this at the bottom of the page.
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In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org.

Market research outfit IDC has revised its prediction of PC shipments in 2015 downward. It’s projecting a drop of nearly 5 percent this year, worse than its earlier forecast of a 3.3 percent decline. In all, IDC expects 293.1 million PC units to ship this year.

To put that figure in perspective, Apple sold more than 74 million iPhones during the last quarter alone. At an annualized rate, that would put iPhone sales alone above IDC’s prediction for the entire PC market.

And not just in terms of the number of devices moving. The PC industry is also losing money. According to IDC, the PC market shrank 0.8 percent last year to $201 billion. This year, it expects that number to balloon to 6.9 percent. By 2019, the firm expects the overall market to shrink to $175 billion, or several billion less than Apple’s 2014 revenue ($183 billion).

Apparently saying "PC Is Dying" violates some kind of digital rights.

The result that was removed was a download/torrent site link for the "Into The Storm" movie. the DMCA takedown was issued by Warner Brothers.

Of course, if you had clicked the link in the text you quoted, you'd know that...

Did I miss something?

A long-running tribute to late fantasy AUTHOR Sir Terry Pratchett is being staged with the help of some of the web's servers.
Many administrators have added an entry to the text sent to every visitor that includes the writer's name.
Instructions about how to include it in software for more than a dozen server operating systems are being shared widely online.
The tribute is inspired by a scene in one of the late writer's books.
Unseen code
In the Discworld novel Going Postal, Sir Terry, who died aged 66 on Thursday, wrote about the way that the murder of an operator of a semaphore tower, John Dearheart, was marked by his colleagues.
His name was included in admin messages (known as overhead) sent around the semaphore or "clacks", network prefixed with three control characters, GNU, that kept it circulating forever.
In a similar way, many net server and website administrators are adding the text "X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett" to the HEADERS their machines share with every computer that requests web pages from them.
Headers give web-browsing programs valuable information about the data they are about to be sent but are generally not seen when people visit a site.
An extension for the Chrome browser has been made that can SPOT when people visit a site taking PART in the tribute.
The idea to mimic the Discworld tribute was first floated on social news site Reddit, which has acted as a hub for supporters of the idea.
There is also now a subreddit dedicated to gathering information about it.

Full STORY: http://m.bbc.com/news/technology-31907768

Not quite sure if I understand why they would automatically make a pirated copy legal?

““We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10.”

“We believe customers over time will realize the value of properly licensing Windows and we will make it easy for them to move to legitimate copies.”


http://www.eteknix.com/pirated-copies-of-windows-10-will-get-the-upgrade-free-too/Here is the problem:

Image from www,trinitysupplies.com

In China many are still using Windows XP, legal or not. MS wants all to have the same code base. It was said this somehow helps MS have large user base.

Can't say I understand this.
Absolutely no way i can follow your logic this time Geek...Quote from: patio on March 19, 2015, 08:42:58 PM

Absolutely no way i can follow your logic this time Geek...

Well.. I did say I can't understand it. The article claims that this will help MS wean China users away from Widows XP. Hard to understand the logic.

it's because with most pirated copies, it is not possible for Microsoft to easily tell whether the activation is hacked or not.

hmm... I figured the WGA was enough to counter the hacked activations etc. But reading the wiki on this it looks like MS dropped the WGA after Vista since there is no info here about 7 or 8. I thought they were still testing validity. But not having any illegal activations of my own , I wasn't aware that it looks like they may have done away with WGA blats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Genuine_Advantage

Do you worry about running out of juice in your electric?
Do you avoid long trips in the country?
Wired says Elon Musk will TAKE away your CONCERNS with a software update.
Huh?
Here is the story:
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/teslas-plan-kill-range-anxiety/
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With the new UPDATES, Musk says, “It’s basically impossible to RUN out.”

Microsoft Windows 10 for Phones, Universal Apps Preview and Project SPARTAN
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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is now AGGRESSIVELY developing stuffs RELATED to its new ‘One for all devices’ operating system Windows 10, such as technical previews, Windows 10 Maps, Universal Apps Preview and IE-replacer Project Spartan. Project Spartan will not be the Internet Explorer killer, as Microsoft will be continuing to SUPPORT the IE11 (latest version) for approximately 8 more years along with its Spartan BROWSER platform.

Twitter is to act against a wider range of VIOLENT threats as part of renewed efforts to tackle abuse.
The social network has acknowledged that its PREVIOUS rules, which said a threat needed to be "direct" and "specific" to justify its intervention, had been too "narrow".
The firm will still require a complaint to be made before it blocks an account.
But it said it was also attempting to automatically make a wider range of abusive tweets less prominent.
Its actions follow a series of high-profile cyberbullying incidents.
Earlier this month, TV host Sue Perkins stopped posting to Twitter after reporting that her timeline was "full of blokes wishing me DEAD", following false claims that she was to present the TV show TOP Gear.
Shaun Himmerick, producer of the video game Mortal Kombat X, also recently stopped using the network after he said users had threatened his WIFE and daughter.

Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32392811

Two updates came to me just now and one has nothing to do with SECURITY or stability.

Windows 8.1 - 03/24/2015


Microsoft has made some pretty good decisions recently but it looks LIKE some bad habits are hard to break.Skype updates appear in Windows Update as optional updates if Skype is detected as being installed, similar to Office updates.I don't have Skype installed. Windows Defender definition updates also show as optional updates...Quote from: evilfantasy on March 24, 2015, 12:38:17 PM

I don't have Skype installed. Windows Defender definition updates also show as optional updates...

Microsoft does it? Bloatware.

Could be a Windows Update oddity related to the DataStore cache or something.

This may be hard to believe...
Gigabyte ARM motherboard


[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]I don't find it hard to believe at all, ARM is a perfect MATCH for many servers since it requires so little COOLING and power meaning that more disks can be FITTED in a server instead (as that article shows) or more separate servers can be fitted in the same sort of space.

I'm actually really excited by this and really hope that ARM motherboards come onto the general retail market as well as in premade servers. Given how good the power to performance ratio of most ARM CPUs are, just think of the power they can GET out of them in applications where more power is available!Google is also set to produce an ARM server MBoard...may not be for general consumption though...I have been running an ARM based server since 2012But do you have as many HDD's as Geeks pic he posted ? ?... Quote from: patio on March 25, 2015, 07:57:57 PM

But do you have as many HDD's as Geeks pic he posted ? ?...

This is from PC World magazine published this week. The original title is:
US lawmakers push for auctions of gov't spectrum

Not everybody thinks this is a good idea. They want to sell a resource that might more socially valuable the the price they might get.
Quote

Thursday’s bill would allow federal agencies to SHARE in auction proceeds from spectrum they give up. Agencies could use the funds to pay for spectrum relocation costs or to offset congressional budget cuts.
Some lawmakers, tech vendors and mobile companies have been pushing government agencies for years to turn over spectrum for commercial uses. After the auctions of TV spectrum in 2016, there will be little new spectrum in the desirable lower bands to convert to commercial uses, other than government spectrum, lawmakers said during a Thursday HOUSE hearing on spectrum.

The creator of software that stops adverts from appearing on websites has defeated two news publishers that want to prevent its tech being used on their pages.
The owners of Germany's Die Zeit and Handelsblatt had claimed that AdBlock Plus's product was anti-competitive and threatened their ability to make money.
But a court in Hamburg ruled that users do have the right to use the plug-in.
The judgement has implications for other disputes involving the tool.

Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32409952Thanks for the information. I am going to get the Firebox plug-in and try it.
With my limited vision, pop-up ads are very intrusive and make it hard for me to read. IMO, pop-up ads ought to be judged by a court. They confuse and ms-direct users.
This is the official web site. They have a short video.
https://adblockplus.org/
Quote

What is Adblock Plus?
Adblock Plus lets you block annoying ads, tracking, malware and other things you may not want in your browser. Adblock Plus is an open SOURCE project created by Wladimir Palant in 2006. Eyeo was founded in 2011 by Wladimir Palant and Till Faida to make its development sustainable.

A number of recent articles bear on this topic.
Start with this:
Innovation in the 3.5 GHz Band: Creating a New Citizens Broadband Radio Service
by: Tom Wheeler, FCC Chairman
March 27, 2015 - 03:51 PM
Quote

... In the REPORT, it identified the 3550-3650 MHz band as a potential opportunity for future commercial use. At the time, there was relatively little commercial interest in this band...
The 3.5 GHz band is an innovation band. As a result of technological innovations and new focus on spectrum sharing, we can combine it with adjacent spectrum to create a 150 megahertz contiguous band previously unavailable...
...Spectrum Access System. The SAS takes an age-old role in spectrum management – the frequency coordinator – and UPDATES it for the 21st century through the use of cloud computing technology...

Recently, Apple has can out with their astonishing new MacBook from late 2014 to early 2015. This MacBook has got a lot of updates since the last MacBook. The bottom palette of the MacBook where the keyboard is has a diameter of 13.1 mm thick. The thickness isn't all to this new INNOVATION, it has a new face lift to the keyboard keys. INSTEAD of the fluttery old scissor mechanism this has a new butterfly mechanism where if you press the edges it doesn't twist and turn like the scissor mechanism. It's ready for you to slam for fist all up in it (do no ATTEMPT). It cant have as much RAM as the MacBook Pro that you can have 16 GB but this one, you can only have 8 GB which is great for WORK and gaming. I'm not comparing Windows to Macintosh but I personally like the Mac because there only has been 80 viruses every recorded in history. You can choose a finish of Space Grey (grey), Silver and Gold. This new product starts at $1,299 USD.

Thank you for reading this article, please do not be rude this is my first article.No...it's actually your 2nd article....and it's pretty much not a subjective post that would make me wanna go and buy one today...however if you like it then good on you...

BTW your "virus" comment is the most ridiculous piece of nonsense i've heard so far this year...It's true.When you make claims like that you need to provide evidence... It's waayy far from true...but we'll patiently await you providing a reliable source though...Quote from: JacobRocks12 on April 24, 2015, 10:27:34 AM

I personally like the Mac because there only has been 80 viruses every recorded in history.

New Rasberry PI with display is no joke.

Earlier this month, on April 1, PCworld did an article about the Rasberry Pi and how great is is now.
Well, that was not really an April FOOLS joke.

Raspberry Pi 2 laptop coming
Quote

The popular $35 Raspberry Pi 2 is an uncased computer that is already being used in drones, ROBOTS, gadgets, tablets and even desktops. The otherwise stationary computer can be transformed into a laptop even by beginners with no hardware assembly experience.

Percheron is just shy of its $15,241 Kickstarter goal and has already sold out two early bird rounds. The E-Paper HAT Display is currently available for a low of 39 UK Pounds (about $57) or 69 Pounds ($101) for a two-pack. Shipments are due in September.
The board complies with the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) stacking add-on board standard, which we recently saw in Pimeroni’s Explorer HAT IoT and motor control add-on. The HAT support extends to matching the “device tree configuration of the required GPIO pins by the HAT EEPROM,” says Percheron. One of the main benefits of using the HAT format is that it’s more compact and portable, and you avoid cable tangle

It's not earth shattering...it's a Pi fer cryin out loud.

Emergency Alert on Cell Phones has been around for awhile. But now there are some new concerns about the USEFULNESS of the national system.

In the USA and other places there is an Emergency Alert System that warms local residents of a threat or crisis. Sadly, many do not understand how this works. Some do not like it.

The technology is ALREADY in place to have your PC, Tablet or Smartphone get alerts over wireless network. Some TV sets also have this.

Here are a list of recent ITEMS about the Emergency Alter in the USA.
Who makes the decision to send emergency alerts to your phone
FEMA to conduct statewide test of Emergency Alert System Wednesday
People upset over cell phone Amber Alert.
White Cloud losing tornado warning siren
Anaheim to participate in AlertOC drill on April 7
Wireless Emergency Alerts FAQs - Verizon

I hope this will help make more aware of the system. There was a tornado alter in my area today. GOT it on the cell phone.
Do you get alters in your area?

Yeah, it is an old story. But just now there was a new spark pf PR from MS.
Here was the old story:
Quote

Jan 21, 2015
Microsoft’s event has finally revealed all its secrets surrounding Windows 10; some were expected, while others not so. There is clearly something to appeal to everyone in this major update, whether you are a heavy Internet browser or a gamer. Microsoft’s focus seems to be set on providing cross-platform access to a variety of users and obviously, winning back haters of Windows 8. Have a look through some of the main new features of Windows 10 and decide for yourself whether it will be a success. Perhaps the new HoloLens will grab your attention or the new, confirmed browser Spartan. Whatever the case, Windows’ 10 success will no doubt hinge on whether these new updates, additions and enhancements are enough to entice everyone to USE them and put Microsoft’s operating system back on top again. ...