New Mac OS malware threat masquerades as antivirus software
Mac users are once again being warned about malware targeting the operating system, although its spread looks limited and requires interaction by the user in order to be installed. Called "MACDefender," the malware is currently being spread by malicious websites claiming the user's computer is infected.
JavaScript in the page's coding downloads a zip file automatically, which if a user has the option within Safari to automatically open 'safe' files after downloading would decompress and open the installer. The user then must proceed through the installation process which will place a Trojan horse on the user's computer.
How did you learn about Osama bin Laden's death?
There will be many postmortems written this week about social media's role disseminating news that U.S. special forces killed terrorist Osama bin Laden. For Betanews readers, I'd like to start the process informally, by simply asking how you heard the news. Please answer in comments and take the poll below.
I also think the discussion may be cathartic for some of you. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that brought down the Twin Towers and destroyed part of the Pentagon were a national trauma. For many people, the death of bin Laden, architect of those attacks, is a moment of national jubilation -- of closure. The spontaneous crowds that gathered on Pennsylvania Ave. outside the White House or Ground Zero in New York overnight show the national euphoria and relief.
Memonic remembers the web, so you don't have to
Gathering information online used to mean saving folders full of images or copying and pasting text into a word processing documents, but then web clipping services such as Evernote made it easier than ever to collect together information and organize it however you wanted. Evernote is an undoubtedly powerful tool, but for many people its features may be a little over the top and the interface somewhat overwhelming. Memonic is an alternative tool that keeps things simple and yet retains the most useful note management features.
The service can be used via the Memonics web site, using a Windows program, with browser extensions or by making use of an iOS app. Almost anything you encounter online, from text to images, can be clipped and saved to your notes and organized in a variety of ways in a customisable and searchable database.
Wuala for Android outpaces iOS version
Wuala, the online backup arm of hard-drive manufacturer LaCie, has announced the immediate availability of Wuala for Android, an app for accessing Wuala storage accounts on the Android platform.
Following hot on the heels of Wuala for iPhone and iPad, the Android app allows users to both access files already backed up to their Wuala account, plus upload files to their backup space from the phone. This latter functionality is currently exclusive to the Android app -- iPhone/iPad users can only access existing backups, not add new files from the iOS device.
Todo Backup Home adds network support, image viewing
The free backup utility EASEUS Todo Backup Home has been updated to version 2.5, seeing the addition of a number of important new features. What started life as a fairly simple disk imaging tool has gradually evolved into a complete backup solution suitable for use by experts and beginners alike. As backing up data is a task that no one can claim to enjoy, anything that helps to simplify the process is to be welcomed, and Todo Backup Home may be just the tool you have been looking for.
Version 2 of the program saw a move to image-only backups to file and folder based backups, and added the option to add to backup incrementally to help speed things up. We took a look at this version of Todo Backup at the end of 2010. New in version 2.5 is the ability to create incremental backups of not only files and folders, but also entire disk and partition backups.
PlayStation Network will be back up this week, with subscriber freebees
Today, Sony issued an official statement about the resumption of PlayStation Network services, starting soon. The company also revealed plans to compensate subscribers with some freebees as part of the "Welcome Back" program, which include 30 days free PlayStation Plus and Qriocity music streaming services. Sony will reveal further details about the freebees on a region-by-region basis.
I attempted to log into PSN early this afternoon Eastern Time, and the service was still down. However, instead of the immediate appearance of the "PlaySation is currently undergoing maintenance" screen, about 10 seconds passed first. That could be sign of nothing, but it's the most response I've seen from PSN in about 12 days.
With PlayStation Network still down, will you switch to Xbox?
It's time to publicly pose the question that many of PSN's 77 million subscribers must be asking privately. Should they just give up and buy Xbox 360 and subscribe to Xbox Live, possibly giving up hundreds, even thousands of dollars, in games and peripherals? As the outage goes on -- 10 days now -- and the news grow grimmer, it's not unreasonable to wonder when enough is enough.
Hackers broke into PSN between April 17-19 and stole massive amounts of personally-identifying user data. On April 20, Sony voluntarily took down the network, after discovering the hack. The action may have helped prevent further data losses and allowed Sony, third-party security investigators and law enforcement to begin a forensic analysis of the hack. Meanwhile, Sony works to restore the service with improved security.
3 things I like and dislike about Xbox Live
In November 2009, I purchased my first Xbox 360. A year later I bought the Kinect bundle, and I have been more than pleased with my purchase. Recently, PlayStation Network outages got me to reflect about my decision to choose Microsoft's game console -- to appreciate how important Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are to my TV watching habits.
It's by no means picture-perfect entertainment, but awfully good. Here, I share what three things make Xbox and Xbox Live a central element in my living room, and what three things I think Microsoft should change.
A dozen downloads you missed this week
After a quiet start to the week, today saw a rush of new releases and updates to popular software. This week Google Chrome 11 FINAL was introduced to the stable channel. The primary new feature is the addition of speech support, plus a brand new flatter icon. Exciting times. Still, it's good to see healthy competition between the four primary web browsers.
Paragon Software released Hard Disk Manager 11 Professional, and it's our disk management and maintenance suite of choice. Everything you need to backup, copy, partition, restore or manage your drive or disk partition. There's also cheaper Hard Disk Manager 2011 Suite. If you only need to backup your files, EASEUS ToDo Backup 2.5 is a simple free backup tool.
Despite Sony's claims, PSN hackers may have credit card numbers
The question of whether or not PlayStation Network users' credit card information had indeed been compromised was still unanswered Friday, closing in on two weeks after the breach had occurred. On the one hand, Sony was telling customers it had "no evidence" of the data being taken, but press reports suggest otherwise.
Trend Micro senior security researcher Ken Stevens tweeted that a purported database with PSN users' personal data was apparently up for sale on the web. "The hackers that hacked PSN are selling off the DB. They reportedly have 2.2 million credits cards with CVVs," he tweeted on Thursday.
USB Immunizer: Last defense against auto-run malware?
Security firm BitDefender's report for Q1-2011 highlighted autorun-based exploits as one of the most exploited PC security vulnerabilities. But there's no need to panic, just yet. The company has conveniently just released a free USB Immunizer tool that promises to address the issue.
The program is easy to use, essentially just creating an Autorun.inf folder on your chosen drive, which in turn contains additional files and a hidden folder. So if you plug the device into an infected PC, and something attempts to write a new Autorun.inf file, then it won't be able to do so. Or, at least, that's the plan.
Granola: Save money, power and the environment
Surely everyone likes the idea of saving money -- and if it can be coupled with doing something that might help to save the planet, so much the better. It is this philosophy that helps to explain the success of energy saving light bulbs; as well as helping to reduce energy consumption, and, therefore, carbon production; they also help to reduce electricity bills. The same philosophy may help the energy-saving app Granola to succeed.
Despite the name, this is not an app that has been designed to appeal solely to the crunchy granola brigade. The notion of being green and helping to do one's bit for the environment is universally appealing, particularly if it involves very little effort. Granola makes it as easy as it can possibly be to reduce the energy consumption of your computer.
Nokia's problems are a whole lot worse than you think
"Increasingly, smartphones will drive market growth. This means feature phone makers will either need to become smartphone dependent or consolidate that part of the market." That statement, from Kevin Restivo, IDC senior research analyst, describes the outlook for the global handset market in 2011. If he's right, and by every indication he is, Nokia will likely lose more market share during the Windows Phone transition. Perhaps more than Gartner and IDC already have forecast.
Nokia's dominance is driven by sales of feature handset and dumb phones, particularly in emerging markets. But those same markets have started adopting smartphones at brisk pace, according to IDC. The handset manufacturer's core problem is threefold:
Verizon iPhone ate into Android dominance, NPD says
Research firm NPD Group said Thursday that the introduction of the iPhone on Verizon did help Apple to eat into at least some of the Android platform's dominance of the smartphone industry in recent quarters. Additionally, the higher sales made Apple the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the United States.
The iPhone 4 was the best selling phone in the United States, followed by the iPhone 3GS, the Motorola Droid X, HTC Evo, and the HTC Incredible. The fact that the 3GS -- now a nearly two year old device -- still is one of the top selling smartphones in this country goes to show that rumors of Apple's downfall in this sector may be greatly exaggerated.
Microsoft Q3 2011 by the numbers: Record $16.43B, Windows revenue declines
Today, after the closing bell, Microsoft answered an oft-asked question: What would the quarter be with no new major products in the pipeline? Would Windows 7 and Windows Server R2 (released October 2009) and Office 2010 (released May 2010) provide enough sales tailwinds?
For fiscal 2011 third quarter, ended March 31, Microsoft's revenue rose 13 percent to $16.43 billion, year over year. Operating income: $5.71 billion, or 10 percent increase. Net income rose 31 percent to $5.23 billion, or 61 cents a share. Earnings per share rose by 36 percent year over year.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.