Google Chrome OS Announced

After eons of speculation stating that Google is secretly working on an OS, they finally are, except it’s not so secret anymore.

Google has just announced the Google Chrome OS, which is targeted towards netbooks and, as the name may hint to you, mainly intends on providing you with a more web-integrated OS solution with easy access to Google’s vast and widely used online suite of services.

Google Chrome OS will be a lightweight and open source operating system that is going to be powered by the Linux kernel. It will run on both x86 and ARM chips. As more and more people are turning away from software and looking to the web to do more and more of their daily tasks, especially now with cloud computing and the ability to store your data on the cloud and access it anywhere, such as OS that is integrated with said tasks may come in handy for netbook users who need to do just this and don’t need the wide array of features provided by “competitors” such as Windows and OS X.

As stated on the Google blog, this will be a simple, lightweight browser specifically made to browse the web that is tied into the cloud so that your documents are synced and accessible anywhere somehow. Not much was said about the exact features that will be implemented in Chrome OS, but I’m interested in seeing what said features will be and how this will stack up to some of its real direct competitors such as Gazelle, Microsoft’s own attempt at the browser + OS fusion.

source: geeksmack.net

Technorati Tags: Google,Chrome,Operating System

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Microsoft Working on Patch for IE ActiveX Vulnerability

Microsoft has warned of an Internet Explorer vulnerability involving its Video ActiveX Control that could let an attacker take control of a PC. Microsoft said the vulnerability affects Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

It offered a workaround to the IE ActiveX hole that it said should also be used for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Microsoft Relevant Products/Services has warned of a vulnerability in its Video ActiveX Control that affects Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The software giant said there have been limited attacks exploiting the vulnerability.

The flaw could be exploited by a visit to a malicious Web site and allow an attacker to take control of a PC. Microsoft said it is working on a security Relevant Products/Services update, and meantime advised that users prevent Microsoft Video ActiveX Control from running in Internet Explorer.

The steps to stop the control in IE are a bit complex, but Microsoft offers a "Fix it for me" option at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972890.

Microsoft also recommends users of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 take these steps.

The Microsoft Video ActiveX Control connects DirectShow filters for video and is used in Windows Media Center. When the control runs in Internet Explorer, it can corrupt the system so that an attacker can run arbitrary code.

Security vendor Symantec said the vulnerability affects IE6 and IE7, but not IE8.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Internet Explorer,Security,ActiveX

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Subsonic 3.0 Released!

SubSonic is A Super High-fidelity Batman Utility Belt that works up your Data Access (using Linq in 3.0), throws in some much-needed utility functions, and generally speeds along your dev cycle.

SubSonic 3.0 is the latest version of SubSonic and was released in June of 2009. Work on SubSonic 3.0 lasted close to a year, and revolved mostly around supporting Language-integrated Query, also known as LINQ.

The focus of SubSonic 3.0 is to provide tools, not guidance or an overall mindset/approach. There are a number of things in SubSonic that allow you to move faster while applying whatever patterning floats your boat. We're not as complete as NHibernate, but you'll work faster with less concept count. We're not as deep as Linq to SQL, but you can use our stuff on most databases.

Linq

SubSonic 3.0 supports Linq with a core Expression Parser that turns System.Linq.Expressions into SQL. In addition, our 2.0 Query Tool (now called SimpleQuery) can use Lambda expressions to simplify some tasks.

All of the templates we use build on top of our core parsers and query tools, and you can build on top of these quite easily.

Simple Query Tool

The Simple Query Tool works almost exactly as it did with SubSonic 2.x - as a fluent "SQL-style" query tool that allows you to query the database almost as if you're using SQL.

The additions to this tool include Expression support for Where's as well as a "ToList<>()" method that will execute a query and load an object for you.

Utilities

SubSonic also comes with a number of utility methods expressed as Extension Methods. This is SubSonic's Sugar Utility Library and has a number of things to save you time, including File IO, string methods, date math, number utilities, and Object parsing.

Download Subsonic 3.0

Technorati Tags: Subsonic,.NET,LINQ,Programming

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Ex-boyfriend convicted of stalking Marin woman and hacking into her computer

After more than three years of legal maneuvering, a Las Vegas man was convicted of stalking a Corte Madera woman, breaking into her home and hacking into her computer.

Robert Charles Sudar, 56, faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 9 before Judge Paul Haakenson.

Sudar, who was free on bail during the protracted case, was booked into Marin County Jail late Tuesday afternoon, shortly after a jury convicted him of all counts. His bail is set at $1.5 million.

"It's the best possible outcome," said Deputy District Attorney Yvette Martinez, who prosecuted Sudar.

Sudar, a computer technician, was first arrested Nov. 26, 2005, after the Corte Madera woman told police a man she dated for about a year was stalking and harassing her.

The woman said the ex-boyfriend, who had helped set up a computer in her home office, might have set up wireless access to the computer and was using it to monitor her computer activity.

The woman later left a wireless remote camera in her home office while she went out for the evening. The camera captured the image of Sudar entering the room and using the woman's computer, police said.

Police later arrested Sudar after a brief chase on Lucky Drive and searched his car, seizing binoculars, computer connection wires and storage devices, a Palm Pilot and mobile disk drives.

Numerous counterfeit items, including a passport, were found in a backpack along with photographs

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belonging to the woman, police said.

Sudar was released on bail, but he was arrested again the next year after police saw him driving around the victim's residence, a violation of a court protective order. He posted bail again.

Through attorney changes and legal motions by Sudar, the case dragged on for years, finally reaching trial in early June. On Tuesday afternoon, after one day of deliberations, the jury convicted him of stalking, residential burglary, unauthorized computer hacking, receiving stolen property and eavesdropping, Martinez said.

Sudar's lawyer, David Wise, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

From : mercurynews

Technorati Tags: Hack,Computer,Hacking,Security

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Windows 7 pre-orders sold out in Japan

Microsoft's upcoming Windows operating system, Windows 7, is slated for an October 22 release; however, the Redmond software giant allowed people to begin pre-ordering much earlier to beat the rush... and it seems this offer was quite well received in Japan.

According to Engadget, Windows 7 has completely sold out of pre-orderable copies in Japan, which combines sales from the 17 retailers involved with the early orders. Apparently, this is a grand total of about 30,000 copies of the operating system, and it took 1.5 days (out of the 10 that were allocated) for this event to happen. Don't think that this offer hasn't been popular in the U.S., though; Windows 7 immediately shot to the top of Amazon sales.

It's evident that this new piece of software is proving to be very popular for Microsoft, already pulling in rave reviews of the beta and release candidate builds. It will certainly provide a fresh dose of PR after the last operating system the company released. Here on Neowin, however, out of the 1396 votes (at the time of writing), only 561 people have planned to take advantage of the offer. The pre-order offer started a few days ago and will last until July 11, so if you haven't got around to it yet, it's best to do so soon.

source: neowin.net

Technorati Tags: Windows 7,Microsoft,Japan

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FBI: Top 10 Internet Auction Fraud (CyberCrime)

The latest report of the Internet Crime Complaint Center shows auction fraud is the number one complaint.

According to the FBI,  one in every four Internet crime complaints in 2008 involved auction scams such as wire transfer schemes, second-chance schemes and overpayment fraud.

The FBI has a great breakdown of the schemes and how to avoid being victimized. Check out the FBI link below .

Info:  

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june09/auctionfraud_063009.html

Technorati Tags: Top,FBI,Fraud,Internet,Crime,Cyber

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Pirate Bay founders get rich in jail

A little-known Swedish software firm has snapped up file-sharing website The Pirate Bay with the hope of turning the source of legal controversy into a money-spinner that appeals to both users and content providers.

Global Gaming Factory X AB, which operates Internet cafes and provides software, said Tuesday that it had agreed to buy Pirate Bay for 60 million Swedish crowns ($7.7 million).

The website made world headlines in April when the three Swedish founders and a financial backer were each sentenced to one year in jail and ordered to pay a combined $3.6 million in damages for breaching copyright law with the free downloading site, which was one of the biggest sites of its kind on the Internet.

Swedish News Agency TT cited one of the founders, Peter Sunde, as saying that the money would not go directly to him or any of the others sentenced in April.

Sunde told TT that the money would be placed in a company outside Swedish borders and it would be used for Internet projects other than downloading sites.

Pirate Bay could not be immediately reached for comment.

Global Gaming said it believed the website was a viable business with its plans for a new, legal business model.

"We would like to introduce (business) models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site," the company said in a statement.

USERS AS EARNERS

Global Gaming Chief Executive Hans Pandeya told a news conference that the revamped website would generate money via advertising, supplying storage space and helping telecom operators optimize Internet traffic.

He also said users would be able to earn money by supplying storage space, which would encourage people to use the site.

"That's what is interesting. If you can earn money by file-sharing, it's no big deal to pay for what you download," Pandeya said.

Analysts were unimpressed by the move, comparing it to Napster, an online file-sharing site that quickly lost popularity after it started to charge its users.

"It looks like they are going to Napsterize it," said Leigh Ellis, intellectual property partner at Gillhams Solicitors.

Mark Mulligan, vice president at research firm Forrester, said that many of Pirate Bay's around 20 million users would move on to other free downloading options.

More : reuters.com

Technorati Tags: Pirate Bay,Rich,Jail,Founder

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