Microsoft Corp. has taken the rare step of warning about a serious computer security vulnerability it hasn't fixed yet.
The vulnerability disclosed Monday affects Internet Explorer users whose computers run the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating software.
It can allow hackers to remotely take control of victims' machines. The victims don't need to do anything to get infected except visit a Web site that's been hacked.
Security experts say criminals have been attacking the vulnerability for nearly a week. Thousands of sites have been hacked to serve up malicious software that exploits the vulnerability. People are drawn to these sites by clicking a link in spam e-mail.
The so-called ``zero day'' vulnerability disclosed by Microsoft affects a part of its software used to play video. The problem arises from the way the software interacts with Internet Explorer, which opens a hole for hackers to tunnel into.
Microsoft urged vulnerable users to disable the problematic part of its software, which can be done from Microsoft's Web site, while the company works on a ``patch'' _ or software fix _ for the problem.
Microsoft rarely departs from its practice of issuing security updates the second Tuesday of each month. When the Redmond, Washington-based company does issue security reminders at other times, it's because the vulnerabilities are very serious.
A recent example was the emergency patch Microsoft issued in October for a vulnerability that criminals exploited to infect millions of PCs with the Conficker worm. While initially feared as an all-powerful doomsday device, that network of infected machines was eventually used for mundane moneymaking schemes like sending spam and pushing fake antivirus software.
Agencies
Showing posts with label PCs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PCs. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Free anti-virus software from Microsoft
Microsoft Corp is getting ready to unveil a long-anticipated free anti-virus service for PCs that will compete with products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc. A Microsoft spokesman said on Wednesday that the world's biggest software maker is testing an early version of the product with its own employees.
Microsoft would "soon" make a trial version, or product beta, available via its website, he added, but declined to provide a specific date. Symantec shares fell 1.6 percent in afternoon trading and McAfee fell 1.8 percent, while Microsoft was up 1.1 per cent.
The Nasdaq composite index was down 1.2 per cent. Investors are closely monitoring the free service, code-named Morro after after Brazil's Morro de Sao Paolo beach, amid concern it could hurt sales of products from Symantec and McAfee, which generate billions of dollars of revenue a year protecting Windows PCs from attacks by hackers.
"It's a long-term competitive threat," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, though he added that the near-term impact was minimal. Microsoft has said that Morro will offer basic features for fighting a wide-range of viruses, which would likely make it comparable to low-end consumer products from Symantec and McAfee that cost about $40 per year.
Their top-selling products are security suites that come with features including encryption, firewalls, password protection, parental controls and data backup. Three years ago, Microsoft entered that market with Live OneCare, which turned out to be a commercial flop.
It announced plans in November to kill that product suite, saying it would launch the free Morro service by the end of 2009. Analysts said they are looking forward to examining Morro's beta to see exactly how its features compare to those in products from competitors. Microsoft has said it will provide protection from several types of malicious software including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans.
Officials with Symantec and McAfee have said they do not see Morro as a threat. Joris Evers, a spokesman for No 2 security software maker McAfee, said his company is already enjoying strong growth despite competition from free anti-virus products that are on the market.
"On a level playing field, we are confident in our ability to compete with anyone who might enter the marketplace," he said. A spokesman for Symantec, the biggest security software maker, could not be reached for comment. Trend Micro Inc, the No 3 player, declined comment.
Agencies
Microsoft would "soon" make a trial version, or product beta, available via its website, he added, but declined to provide a specific date. Symantec shares fell 1.6 percent in afternoon trading and McAfee fell 1.8 percent, while Microsoft was up 1.1 per cent.
The Nasdaq composite index was down 1.2 per cent. Investors are closely monitoring the free service, code-named Morro after after Brazil's Morro de Sao Paolo beach, amid concern it could hurt sales of products from Symantec and McAfee, which generate billions of dollars of revenue a year protecting Windows PCs from attacks by hackers.
"It's a long-term competitive threat," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, though he added that the near-term impact was minimal. Microsoft has said that Morro will offer basic features for fighting a wide-range of viruses, which would likely make it comparable to low-end consumer products from Symantec and McAfee that cost about $40 per year.
Their top-selling products are security suites that come with features including encryption, firewalls, password protection, parental controls and data backup. Three years ago, Microsoft entered that market with Live OneCare, which turned out to be a commercial flop.
It announced plans in November to kill that product suite, saying it would launch the free Morro service by the end of 2009. Analysts said they are looking forward to examining Morro's beta to see exactly how its features compare to those in products from competitors. Microsoft has said it will provide protection from several types of malicious software including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans.
Officials with Symantec and McAfee have said they do not see Morro as a threat. Joris Evers, a spokesman for No 2 security software maker McAfee, said his company is already enjoying strong growth despite competition from free anti-virus products that are on the market.
"On a level playing field, we are confident in our ability to compete with anyone who might enter the marketplace," he said. A spokesman for Symantec, the biggest security software maker, could not be reached for comment. Trend Micro Inc, the No 3 player, declined comment.
Agencies
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Has Conficker attacked thousands of PCs globally?
A malicious software programme known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said.
Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, is quietly turning thousands of personal computers into servers of e-mail spam and installing spyware, they said.
The worm started spreading late last year, infecting millions of computers and turning them into "slaves" that respond to commands sent from a remote server that effectively controls an army of computers known as a botnet.
Its unidentified creators started using those machines for criminal purposes in recent weeks by loading more malicious software onto a small percentage of computers under their control, said Vincent Weafer, a vice president with Symantec Security Response, the research arm of the world's largest security software maker, Symantec Corp.
"Expect this to be long-term, slowly changing," he said of the worm. "It's not going to be fast, aggressive."
Conficker installs a second virus, known as Waledac, that sends out e-mail spam without knowledge of the PC's owner, along with a fake anti-spyware program, Weafer said. The Waledac virus recruits the PCs into a second botnet that has existed for several years and specializes in distributing e-mail spam.
"This is probably one of the most sophisticated botnets on the planet. The guys behind this are very professional. They absolutely know what they are doing," said Paul Ferguson, a senior researcher with Trend Micro Inc, the world's third-largest security software maker.
He said Conficker's authors likely installed a spam engine and another malicious software program on tens of thousands of computers since April 7.
He said the worm will stop distributing the software on infected PCs on May 3 but more attacks will likely follow. "We expect to see a differen
t component or a whole new twist to the way this botnet does business," said Ferguson, a member of The Conficker Working Group, an international alliance of companies fighting the worm.
Researchers had feared the network controlled by the Conficker worm might be deployed on April 1 since the worm surfaced last year because it was programmed to increase communication attempts from that date. The security industry formed the task force to fight the worm, bringing widespread attention that experts said robably scared off the criminals who command the slave computers.
The task force initially thwarted the worm using the Internet's traffic control system to block access to servers that control the slave computers. Viruses that turn PCs into slaves exploit weaknesses in Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Conficker worm is especially tricky because it can evade corporate firewalls by passing from an infected machine onto a USB memory stick, then onto another PC.
The Conficker botnet is one of many such networks controlled by syndicates that authorities believe are based in eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, China and Latin America.
Agencies
Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, is quietly turning thousands of personal computers into servers of e-mail spam and installing spyware, they said.
The worm started spreading late last year, infecting millions of computers and turning them into "slaves" that respond to commands sent from a remote server that effectively controls an army of computers known as a botnet.
Its unidentified creators started using those machines for criminal purposes in recent weeks by loading more malicious software onto a small percentage of computers under their control, said Vincent Weafer, a vice president with Symantec Security Response, the research arm of the world's largest security software maker, Symantec Corp.
"Expect this to be long-term, slowly changing," he said of the worm. "It's not going to be fast, aggressive."
Conficker installs a second virus, known as Waledac, that sends out e-mail spam without knowledge of the PC's owner, along with a fake anti-spyware program, Weafer said. The Waledac virus recruits the PCs into a second botnet that has existed for several years and specializes in distributing e-mail spam.
"This is probably one of the most sophisticated botnets on the planet. The guys behind this are very professional. They absolutely know what they are doing," said Paul Ferguson, a senior researcher with Trend Micro Inc, the world's third-largest security software maker.
He said Conficker's authors likely installed a spam engine and another malicious software program on tens of thousands of computers since April 7.
He said the worm will stop distributing the software on infected PCs on May 3 but more attacks will likely follow. "We expect to see a differen
t component or a whole new twist to the way this botnet does business," said Ferguson, a member of The Conficker Working Group, an international alliance of companies fighting the worm.
Researchers had feared the network controlled by the Conficker worm might be deployed on April 1 since the worm surfaced last year because it was programmed to increase communication attempts from that date. The security industry formed the task force to fight the worm, bringing widespread attention that experts said robably scared off the criminals who command the slave computers.
The task force initially thwarted the worm using the Internet's traffic control system to block access to servers that control the slave computers. Viruses that turn PCs into slaves exploit weaknesses in Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Conficker worm is especially tricky because it can evade corporate firewalls by passing from an infected machine onto a USB memory stick, then onto another PC.
The Conficker botnet is one of many such networks controlled by syndicates that authorities believe are based in eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, China and Latin America.
Agencies
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
What is hot in the memory chip sector?
Taiwan is setting up a new company to pull together six struggling computer memory chip makers and bring in technology from Japan's Elpida or US-based Micron in a sector suffering from its worst ever slump.
The government expects the move to fend off the industry's dominant players, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor of South Korea.
Following are answers to key questions about the market for DRAM or dynamic random access memory:
What does this mean for the global industry?
The consolidation led by Taiwan will leave the $25 billion sector with four major DRAM makers globally -- Samsung, Hynix, "Taiwan Memory Co" and one other company that would be left out of the Taiwan consolidation (either Micron or Elpida).
The reshaped landscape might help Taiwanese suppliers -- which make nearly a quarter of all the world's DRAM memory chips -- to get a stronger grip on output, especially after companies recklessly built up output in the last many years. Elpida may need funds before the Taiwan plan can be implemented.
What is the outlook for Taiwanese chipmakers?
There's likely to be no impact in the short term because it will take about six months to set up the new company, while chipmakers, including ProMOS and Powerchip are still strapped for funds.
The government did not give any specifics on how the new company can bring local DRAM makers together, but any de-listing of a company in such a consolidation could face opposition from shareholders.
In the long term, some analysts say this move might force some of the debt-ridden chipmakers to consolidate their capacity into the new company. Taiwan Memory Co could become a centralised foundry and DRAM makers would diversify into sales and marketing.
The six chipmakers to be involved in the plan are: Powerchip, Nanya Technology, ProMOS, Inotera Memories -- joint venture between Nanya and Micron -- and Rexchip, unlisted joint venture between Powerchip and Elpida.
Is this a chance or threat for Samsung, Hynix?
Benefiting from more advanced production technologies, Korean makers such as Samsung and Hynix could further tighten their grip on the industry, while Taiwan Memory struggles to slowly integrate several companies and technologies into one entity.
Taiwan Memory could end up becoming a formidable threat to No. 2 Hynix, which may have to seek more funding for technology investments. Still, analysts say whether Taiwan's government can inject more funds into Taiwan Memory remains a question.
What is the outlook for DRAM prices?
Even after the government's move, any significant recovery in memory chip prices is unlikely in the short term. So far this year, memory chip prices have been flat but slumped about 50 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year as a global economic slowdown hurt spending on personal computers and other gadgets that use memory chips to store data.
Analysts' forecasts for global PC shipments in 2009 vary, but many expect sales to fall. Research firm IDC expects PC shipments to drop 4.5 per cent this year.
Agencies
The government expects the move to fend off the industry's dominant players, Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor of South Korea.
Following are answers to key questions about the market for DRAM or dynamic random access memory:
What does this mean for the global industry?
The consolidation led by Taiwan will leave the $25 billion sector with four major DRAM makers globally -- Samsung, Hynix, "Taiwan Memory Co" and one other company that would be left out of the Taiwan consolidation (either Micron or Elpida).
The reshaped landscape might help Taiwanese suppliers -- which make nearly a quarter of all the world's DRAM memory chips -- to get a stronger grip on output, especially after companies recklessly built up output in the last many years. Elpida may need funds before the Taiwan plan can be implemented.
What is the outlook for Taiwanese chipmakers?
There's likely to be no impact in the short term because it will take about six months to set up the new company, while chipmakers, including ProMOS and Powerchip are still strapped for funds.
The government did not give any specifics on how the new company can bring local DRAM makers together, but any de-listing of a company in such a consolidation could face opposition from shareholders.
In the long term, some analysts say this move might force some of the debt-ridden chipmakers to consolidate their capacity into the new company. Taiwan Memory Co could become a centralised foundry and DRAM makers would diversify into sales and marketing.
The six chipmakers to be involved in the plan are: Powerchip, Nanya Technology, ProMOS, Inotera Memories -- joint venture between Nanya and Micron -- and Rexchip, unlisted joint venture between Powerchip and Elpida.
Is this a chance or threat for Samsung, Hynix?
Benefiting from more advanced production technologies, Korean makers such as Samsung and Hynix could further tighten their grip on the industry, while Taiwan Memory struggles to slowly integrate several companies and technologies into one entity.
Taiwan Memory could end up becoming a formidable threat to No. 2 Hynix, which may have to seek more funding for technology investments. Still, analysts say whether Taiwan's government can inject more funds into Taiwan Memory remains a question.
What is the outlook for DRAM prices?
Even after the government's move, any significant recovery in memory chip prices is unlikely in the short term. So far this year, memory chip prices have been flat but slumped about 50 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year as a global economic slowdown hurt spending on personal computers and other gadgets that use memory chips to store data.
Analysts' forecasts for global PC shipments in 2009 vary, but many expect sales to fall. Research firm IDC expects PC shipments to drop 4.5 per cent this year.
Agencies
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Own a personal supercomputer!
US technology firm NVIDIA rolled out high-performance “personal supercomputers” that let desktop workstations handle mind-boggling tasks once far beyond their capabilities.
Computers built with innovative NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) are capable of handling calculations typically relegated to expensive supercomputing “clusters”, a technology breakthrough the company says could soon bring lightning speeds to the next generation of computers aimed at the consumer market.
NVIDIA’s Tesla Personal Supercomputers deliver approximately 250 times the processing power of current computer workstations for similar prices, according to the California-based company. “This changes everything. This supercomputing power is being brought to the workstation,” Tesla computing products general manager Andy Keane said.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other universities and research facilities are already using GPU-based personal supercomputers. “GPU-based systems enable us to run life science codes in minutes rather than the hours it took earlier,” said Jack Collins of the Advanced Biomedical Computing Centre in the US state of Maryland. “This exceptional speedup has the ability to accelerate the discovery of potentially life-saving anti-cancer drugs.”
NVIDIA, founded in 1993, became renowned for GPUs that drive sophisticated computer game and video hardware. While CPUs typically handle tasks in a linear style, zipping from start to finish in series, GPUs work on tasks simultaneously in order to do things such as get colour pixels together on screens to present moving images. Sets of NVIDIA chips built for speed, power, and superior graphics production are built into upgraded Macintosh notebook computers recently rolled out by Apple.
GPUs that could do parallel computing mathematics at lightning speed were engineered by NVIDIA to make Tesla chips that put desktop workstations on par with supercomputers at one 100th of the price. “You can’t ignore the GPU; you can’t say it is just a game chip,” Keane said.
Computers built with innovative NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) are capable of handling calculations typically relegated to expensive supercomputing “clusters”, a technology breakthrough the company says could soon bring lightning speeds to the next generation of computers aimed at the consumer market.
NVIDIA’s Tesla Personal Supercomputers deliver approximately 250 times the processing power of current computer workstations for similar prices, according to the California-based company. “This changes everything. This supercomputing power is being brought to the workstation,” Tesla computing products general manager Andy Keane said.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other universities and research facilities are already using GPU-based personal supercomputers. “GPU-based systems enable us to run life science codes in minutes rather than the hours it took earlier,” said Jack Collins of the Advanced Biomedical Computing Centre in the US state of Maryland. “This exceptional speedup has the ability to accelerate the discovery of potentially life-saving anti-cancer drugs.”
NVIDIA, founded in 1993, became renowned for GPUs that drive sophisticated computer game and video hardware. While CPUs typically handle tasks in a linear style, zipping from start to finish in series, GPUs work on tasks simultaneously in order to do things such as get colour pixels together on screens to present moving images. Sets of NVIDIA chips built for speed, power, and superior graphics production are built into upgraded Macintosh notebook computers recently rolled out by Apple.
GPUs that could do parallel computing mathematics at lightning speed were engineered by NVIDIA to make Tesla chips that put desktop workstations on par with supercomputers at one 100th of the price. “You can’t ignore the GPU; you can’t say it is just a game chip,” Keane said.
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