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35% of computers run at least one illegal program

IT security and control firm Sophos is warning businesses of the security and productivity risks of allowing counterfeit software programs to run on their company networks. The warning follows research from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) that revealed that more than a third of PCs worldwide are running pirated software.

According to the research, 35% of computers run at least one illegal program, with computer users in China and Russia the worst offenders (with over 80% of computers running pirated software). Sophos experts note that pirated software can leave business networks open to attack as cybercriminals are provided with an additional route to infection.

"Putting aside the obvious legal issues, piracy can have a real impact on a company in terms of security," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "It's not enough to make sure that all PCs are running legitimate copies of Word, businesses must also control what programs their employees are downloading, installing and running. Patching against software vulnerabilities is key to any good IT security policy, but with pirated software this becomes near impossible. Pirated software downloaded from dodgy websites or bought from a man in an alleyway will not come with technical support, and may even be virus infected."

Software piracy rate by region


Software piracy rate by region. Source: BSA.

According to Sophos, running pirated software on corporate networks can also have severe repercussions on the network infrastructure, hogging valuable bandwidth and network resources.

"Businesses simply cannot afford to ignore piracy," continued Cluley. "The corporate network is the backbone of any company and if you allow users to run anything they like on it, whether illegal or not, you shouldn't be surprised when it breaks."

Read more about BSA's research into software piracy around the globe

Sophos recommends companies protect their desktops, servers and gateways with a consolidated solution to thwart the threats of viruses, spyware, phishing, hackers and spam, as well as controlling which applications are authorized to run on the network.

Source: http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2007/05/piracy.html
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Using a watermark on photos that you plan to email or display on your Web site will help identify them as yours. It also discourages people from copying them or claiming them as their own. Here's a simple and easy way to add an editable text watermark in Adobe® Photoshop®.

To Add a Watermark in Photoshop

1. Open the photo.

2. From the Tools palette, select the type tool and type any text you want to use for a watermark. (For example, your name or your company’s name)

3. Before you close the type tool dialog box, select the color swatch, and set the color to 50% gray. (RGB values 128-128-128).

4. Click OK.

5. Resize and position your text to display the way you want it.

6. From the Layers palette, select the text layer.

7. From the Layers drop-down menu, select Layer Style, then Bevel and Emboss.

8. Adjust the setting to your liking. (Recommendation: Inner Bevel and the Technique: Smooth)

9. Click OK.

10. In the Layers palette, use the drop-down list tochange the blend mode for the layer type from Normal to Hard Light.

11. You can also adjust the Opacity of the watermark.

Tips:

• Use a color other than gray for your text.
• Import a logo or symbol to use as a watermark instead of text.
• If you plan to use the same watermark often, save it to a file that you can drop into an image. Remember, it's always editable!

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Microsoft has to think outside the box

By Theo Valich: Thursday 10 May 2007, 09:24

IN AN INTERVIEW with the San Jose Mercury News Peter Moore, corporate VP of Microsoft's entertainment business unit admitted that Microsoft was somewhat caught out by Sony's PS3 Folding@Home client. He said even Bill Gates had a conversation about "applying philanthropic processing power to big problems".

But he souldn't resist a jab at Sony's endeavour. "I’m not quite sure yet whether we’re seeing real tangible results from the PlayStation 3 Folding@Home initiative," he suggested.

Microsoft knows all the deficiencies of IBM's sluggish in-order triple-core PowerPC that is built inside its own console, and does not want to get soundly beaten by IBM's Cell. However, it is unclear whether the Vole of Redmond is aware that it has something far more powerful inside its own boxes.

The Geforce 7900 inside the PS3 is no match for Xenos in the Xbox. Even the Sony Cell would probably end beaten by 48 vec4+scalar units hidden inside Xbox's 360 graphics chip. Folding@Home is Stream Computing at its finest, and six/seven/eight SPE units can flourish in the CPU. But when compared to the GPU, the Xbox 360 GPU would probably run in circles around Cell CPU.

And then Microsoft's marketing machine might get interested in touting Folding@Home for the Xbox 360 console, since it would no longer be a race between a snail and a rabbit, as far as protein folding performance is concerned.

The next question would then be, could Brook get set up running on a Xbox 360 GPU with all the limitations that Microsoft environment is using?

Source: http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39508
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By Tony Stockill

THE PROBLEM

You landed after a rough flight, got the last rental car, battled the snowstorm, and finally arrived at the Holly Inn. It's nice and warm in there, you can relax, ready for the conference tomorrow.

Out of the elevator, of course your room is at the far end of the corridor. No matter, the heating is turned up and you are looking forward to a good night's rest. You make it to the room door feeling very sleepy. You reach out for the door handle when...Zap! It gets you every time!

THE CAUSE

Static electricity. Everyone knows about it, harmless really, happens when you get out of the car as well. Synthetics are particularly good for generating a good one, along with a dry atmosphere.

Thousands of volts - harmless? just a little shock? To you, maybe, to an electronic circuit static discharge is - death. Not necessarily instant, more likely a weakening effect, causing intermittent failures, the most difficult to catch, until the final solid fault.

THE EFFECT

The problem for an electronic circuit is that they work on 2 or 3 volts at low currents, so when a kilovolt charge turns up, the current which flows is many times more than it is designed for. The effect can be like a fuse, a connection to a microcircuit melts, or is badly damaged. For us there is millions of times less current than would be required to damage any tissue.

The voltage doesn't need to be enough to cause a zap, an electronic circuit can be damaged by just handling it, touching metal parts. The potential for damage has been growing since transistors, and, particularly integrated circuits were introduced. Vacuum tube circuits used much higher voltages, such that the circuit was more likely to zap the careless technician than the other way round!

THE SOLUTION

We have mentioned, in the history of the computer series, the importance of power supplies and air conditioning controls. These are largely there to make sure the electronics can work in its designed range. When the engineer works on these circuits he must take precautions to ensure this range is not exceeded because of static build-up.

In the workshop, all work must be performed in a static free environment, components are to be stored in anti-static bags or containers, and anyone working on the equipment must ensure he does not allow static discharge through it.

Similarly, when working on the system in the computer room, perhaps removing or replacing a circuit board, or adjusting a circuit, the correct procedures must be followed.

THE EQUIPMENT

This has become more and more complicated as the potential for damage has grown, with the reduction in size and therefore concentration of circuitry. The replacement cost of a pcb can be several hundred thousand dollars!

The front line of defence is the Wrist Strap. This consists of a means of connection to the frame of the machine being worked on, linked to some form of bracelet or band which makes contact with the worker's skin.

The link is not a normal piece of wire, but has a resistance of 1 Megohm. This high resistance is to reduce the current when connecting to the frame, so as not to cause problems.

The wrist strap itself is usually of some stretch material, with a metal connector for the wire link, and to connect to the wrist. Alternatively, some types have an expanding metal strap, similar to a watch strap.

The connector to the frame may be a metal clip, or a plug to fit a receptacle on the machine, for this purpose.

In the workshop, all work is carried out on an anti-static mat, made of metalised rubber, so that it is conductive. This mat is grounded, and connected to the frame of the equipment being worked on. Anyone working on the equipment must first connect his wrist strap to the mat via the connectors provided.

Another anti-static mat, also grounded, is placed on the floor at the workstation to stand on.

In the computer room, a portable workbench, is provided with an anti-static mat, connected to the machine frame, to place components removed or to be installed on. Bags or containers made from conductive material are on hand, and can also be connected to the mat.

A mat is placed on the floor where work is being carried out, connected to the frame. The people working on the equipment wear anti-static coats made of conductive material. They also have ankle/heel straps. These fit around the ankle, making contact with the skin, and under the heel of the shoe, to make contact with the mat.

Components which have been replaced for suspect problems are returned to the factory for failure analysis. The failed circuit is examined through a microscope to observe the failing area, and to determine if this is a potential problem for other similar circuits. Failures due to electrostatic discharge can also be determined.

THE HOME USER

Now you know the precautions the professionals take, you can understand the necessity for care to be taken when adding memory, or opening your computer for any other reason. If you have a wrist strap, use it. If not at least touch the frame of the computer before reaching inside. And don't think you don't need to because it works OK when you close it up again. You could be getting the results of your efforts down the track!

Tony is an experienced computer engineer. He is currently webmaster and contributor to http://www.what-why-wisdom.com A set of diagrams accompanying these articles may be seen at http://www.what-why-wisdom.com/history-of-the-computer-0.html RSS feed also available - use http://www.what-why-wisdom.com/Educational.xml

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Stockill
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Greenhouse Effect Cited in Mass Decline 250 Million Years Ago

By Guy Gugliotta

Washington Post Staff Writer

Scientists call it "the Great Dying," a 250 million-year-old catastrophe that wiped out 90 percent of ocean species and 70 percent of land species in the biggest mass extinction in Earth's geologic history.

The cause of this cataclysm is a matter of great dispute among paleontologists, but research released yesterday offers new evidence that global warming caused by massive and prolonged volcanic activity may have been the chief culprit.

Huge amounts of carbon dioxide were released into the air from open volcanic fissures known to geologists as the "Siberian Traps," researchers said, triggering a greenhouse effect that warmed the earth and depleted oxygen from the atmosphere, causing environmental deterioration and finally collapse.

A second set of findings suggested that the warming also crippled the oceans' ability to refresh their oxygen supply, causing the seas to go sterile, destroying marine life and allowing anaerobic bacteria (which do not require oxygen) to release poisonous hydrogen sulfide "swamp" gas into the air.

The two reports, prepared independently, both cast doubt on another theory -- that the Great Dying was caused by the impact of an asteroid or comet such as the one that triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Both studies were published yesterday by Science Express, the online version of the journal Science.

"This is not a world that is happy and then goes 'Bang!' " said University of Washington paleontologist Peter D. Ward, leader of one of the two new studies. "This is a world that's in trouble for a long time, and then it gets in even worse trouble."

Ward led a team of scientists in a seven-year project to chronicle 126 fossil skulls in a 1,000-foot-thick deposit of sedimentary rock in southeastern South Africa's Karoo Basin. He said in a telephone interview that the samples included reptiles and some amphibians, ranging from dog-size animals to predatory gorgonopsians, which he described as "a hideous cross between a lion and a particularly nasty lizard."

Ward said the team's excavations showed a steady decline in the number of species over 10 million years, followed by a sudden plunge 250 million years ago at the boundary between the Permian and Triassic periods of geologic time. The interval corresponds to a period of prolonged volcanic activity over one-third of modern-day Siberia.

Temperatures climbed globally as carbon dioxide poured into the atmosphere and oxygen levels fell, forcing gasping animals to gather at sea level, he said. "And the plants are not dealing well with the heat" either, he added. "Eventually the imbalance reaches a critical point, and everything dies."

The warming also meant that polar oceans were not cooled as much as they are today, and the convection cycle that circulates cold, oxygen- and nutrient-rich water between the poles and the tropics was slowed and even stopped, according to the second paper by a team of researchers led by Kliti Grice of the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia.

"This has devastating effects on the marine organisms that rely on oxygen and nutrients to survive," the team said in an e-mail. "In the worst-case . . . a major part of the water column above the sea floor is devoid of oxygen."

Analyzing sulfur and carbon isotopes from core samples taken from the ocean bed off the coast of northwestern Australia, the team detected molecular traces from green sulfur bacteria, known as Chlorobiaceae, at the time of the Great Dying.

"The beauty of these [bacteria] is that they require sunlight and an anoxic [oxygen-free] environment," said team member Steven Turgeon, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory geochemist. "Because they live so close to the surface, we're pretty sure that what's beneath is anoxic."

This combination of factors, which has also been detected in waters off southern China, indicates that large swatches of ocean below a depth of 300 feet -- the deepest that significant light can penetrate -- became sterile, and that the entire ocean may have been oxygen-free.

Just as important, the bacteria derive energy from sulfate compounds in seawater and vent poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas into the air, Turgeon noted in a telephone interview.

The Grice team did not address the cause of the lethal warming, but Ward said his team found no evidence of the residue that would have fallen after a comet or asteroid impact threw tons of dust into the air to trigger a sudden and catastrophic greenhouse effect.

Still, University of Rochester earth scientist Robert Poreda, a proponent of the impact theory, noted that the "absence of evidence" at Karoo Basin "does not constitute evidence of absence."

"We propose there was preexisting volcanism" that became much worse because of the seismic energy released by the asteroid or comet impact, he said. "Some people have thought it feasible, while others have been adamantly opposed."
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The climate is crashing, and global warming is to blame

Time.com -- No one can say exactly what it looks like when a planet takes ill, but it probably looks a lot like Earth.

Never mind what you've heard about global warming as a slow-motion emergency that would take decades to play out. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the crisis is upon us.

From heat waves to storms to floods to fires to massive glacial melts, the global climate seems to be crashing around us.

The problem -- as scientists suspected but few others appreciated -- is that global climate systems are booby-trapped with tipping points and feedback loops, thresholds past which the slow creep of environmental decay gives way to sudden and self-perpetuating collapse. That's just what's happening now.

It's at the north and south poles -- where ice cover is crumbling to slush -- that the crisis is being felt the most acutely.

Late last year, for example, researchers analyzed data from Canadian and European satellites and found that the Greenland ice sheet is not only melting, but doing so faster and faster, with 53 cubic miles draining away into the sea last year alone, compared to 23 cubic miles in 1996.

One of the reasons the loss of the planet's ice cover is accelerating is that as the poles' bright white surface disappears it changes the relationship of the Earth and the sun. Polar ice is so reflective that 90 percent of the sunlight that strikes it simply bounces back into space, taking its energy with it. Ocean water does just the opposite, absorbing 90 percent of the light and heat it receives, meaning that each mile of ice that melts vanishes faster than the mile that preceded it.

This is what scientists call a feedback loop, and a similar one is also melting the frozen land called permafrost, much of which has been frozen -- since the end of last ice age in fact, or at least 8,000 years ago.

Sealed inside that cryonic time capsule are layers of decaying organic matter, thick with carbon, which itself can transform into CO2. In places like the southern boundary of Alaska the soil is now melting and softening.

As fast as global warming is changing the oceans and ice caps, it's having an even more immediate effect on land. Droughts are increasingly common as higher temperatures also bake moisture out of soil faster, causing dry regions that live at the margins to tip into full-blown crisis.

Wildfires in such sensitive regions as Indonesia, the western U.S. and even inland Alaska have been occurring with increased frequency as timberlands grow more parched. Those forests that don't succumb to fire can simply die from thirst.

With habitats crashing, the animals that call them home are succumbing too. In Alaska, salmon populations are faltering as melting permafrost pours mud into rivers, burying the gravel the fish need for spawning. Small animals such as bushy tailed rats, chipmunks and pinion mice are being chased upslope by rising temperatures, until they at last have no place to run.

And with sea ice vanishing, polar bears are starting to turn up drowned. "There will be no polar ice by 2060," says Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation. "Somewhere along that path, the polar bear drops out."

So much environmental collapse has at last awakened much of the world, particularly the 141 nations that have ratified the Kyoto treaty to reduce emissions. The Bush administration, however, has shown no willingness to address the warming crisis in a serious way and Congress has not been much more encouraging.

Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman have twice been unable to get even mild measures to limit carbon emissions through a recalcitrant Senate.

A 10-member House delegation did recently travel to Antarctica, Australia and New Zealand to meet with scientists studying climate change. "Of the 10 of us, only three were believers to begin with," says Rep. Sherman Boehlert of New York. "Every one of the others said this opened their eyes."

But lawmakers who still applaud themselves for recognizing global warming are hardly the same as lawmakers with the courage to reverse it, and increasingly, state and local governments are stepping forward.

The mayors of more than 200 cities have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging, among other things, that they will meet the Kyoto goal of reducing greenhouse emissions in their own cities to 1990 levels by 2012. Nine northeastern states have established the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative for the purpose of developing a program to cap greenhouse gasses.

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Rice is the staple food in much of the world

Researchers have genetically engineered a more nutritious type of rice which could help alleviate the serious problem of vitamin A deficiency.

It is estimated 124 million children worldwide lack vitamin A, putting them at risk of permanent blindness and other serious ailments.

The scientists, based at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, inserted three genes into rice that make the plant produce beta-carotene.

This is the substance all mammals, including humans, must take into their bodies to make vitamin A.

Beta-carotene, or provitamin A as it is known, gives the new rice a golden colour.

The team, whose research is reported in the journal Science, says breeding lines of the plant are now being established and the seeds will be made freely available to farmers in developing countries.

This will please aid organisations who have expressed concern that the new plant technologies will be priced beyond the reach of the world's poorest farmers.

Biochemical pathway

Commentators say the science represents a "technical tour de force" as it is the first time a plant has been engineered with a complete biochemical pathway - that is to say, all the different steps an organism must complete to make a particular product.

Professor Ingo Potrykus, one of the rice researchers, told the BBC many scientists did not believe it would be possible when work began on the project eight years ago.

He said: "When we started the project, and throughout the progress of this project, the scientific community was convinced that it could not work because nobody previously had been able to engineer a complete biochemical pathway."

The technology is being given to a number of rice institutes around the world, where traditional breeding methods will be used to integrate the beta-carotene genes into local varieties.

Professor Potrykus said: "We are already starting to do the same with wheat. We are close to doing the same with cassava.

"We will probably also introduce it to barley. We have initiated collaborations to put the same genes into banana and sweet potato. The number of important core plants which don't have enough or any provitamin A can be engineered now to achieve the same."

Iron-rich

The team has also managed to insert two genes into rice which make it iron-rich, something that could have serious impact on tackling anaemia around the world.

But this has not been as successful as the beta-carotene project as rice naturally prevents iron absorption in the gut.

Dr Manju Sharma, secretary of the Indian Government's Department of Biotechnolgy, told the BBC the new rice could have very important implications.

He said: "Rice is a strategic crop. A very large population of India is dependent on rice.

"We would like to improve the nutritional quality of rice so as to combat a number of deficiencies like the vitamin A deficiency, which causes blindness to millions of children."

Roughly half of the world's population, including virtually all of East and Southeast Asia, is wholly dependent upon rice as a staple food.

This compounds health problems because the edible part of rice grains, the endosperm, lacks several essential nutrients.
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The answer to this question is "yes". The answer is also "no"! The full answer is that, like all human beings, babies do need to take in water in order to survive.

But they don't actually need to drink water in fact, pediatricians advise against giving your baby plain or distilled water until he or she is six months old. Babies get their water needs met by drinking breastmilk or formula, both of which are mostly water.

The reason your doctor will tell you not to feed your baby plain water is that it's easy to fill up an infant's stomach; a few little ounces will do the job. Babies should be filling up on nourishment getting the nutrients they need from each feeding. Once your baby has been teething, he or she will need fluoride to support the new teeth, so giving drinking water is a good way to meet that need. But until then, let your baby get water in his or her usual feedings of mother's milk or formula.

If your baby is running a temperature, your pediatrician may advise you to give him or her more liquids. Usually, your doctor will suggest a liquid like Pedialyte, which contains nutrients to restore the balance of your child's electrolytes. Again, don't give your infant water instead of other liquids unless the doctor advises it.
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WHG FTP Backup is a utility for Cpanel and Linux server owners to make a backup of Cpanels daily backup files to a remote FTP server for safe keeping. It can be scheduled to run how often you like via a Cron job.

Requirements
Linux Cpanel Web Server with backup option enabled to second drive.

Why Don't I use Cpanel's Built in FTP?
I made this script because I found the Cpanel backup script is flawed for Remote FTP backup - it checks the local servers backup directory for existing -- not the remote server.

Also with our backup script you can do both, remote and local backups. Plus you can schedule the local and remote backups at different times.
EG: Backup local daily
Backup remote FTP every 3 days.

The script is lightweight and very simple to setup!

Current Version: 1.0
Cost: Free - donations appreciated

Download the current release of WHG FTP Backup
http://www.webhostgear.com/projects/ftpbackup.tar.gz

We would like your feedback on this please:
http://www.webhostgear.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200

Source: http://www.webhostgear.com/174.html
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by Steve Gold
May 21st, 2007

Reports from Thailand over the weekend suggest that a major scam involving pre-pay GSM SIM cards has been busted.

Newswire reports say that Taweesap Lalitsasiwimol, aged 34, was arrested late last week in connection with the alleged hacking of mobile phone company AIS’ computer systems.

Taweesap is alleged to have master-minded the sale of forged prepay mobile phone cards worth almost 50 million baht (around £770,000 in UK quidlets -Ed).

During the raid, police say they seized a couple of laptops, a portable hard drive and a copy of a book - Plon Yiab Mek (High-Profile Robberies) - in which Taweesap was ranked the third biggest crim.

Allegedly.

News reports suggest that records on the AIS database initially led investigators to a number of Internet cafes, but examination of CCTV footage revealed this to be a false clue trial.

Taweesap was caught, however, when police realised the AIS scam has a similar MO to a fraud involving another mobile carrier, TA Orange, back in 2005.

An arrest warrant was then issued for Taweesap, who was on bail for allegedly hacking into the TA Orange computer system and increasing the value of its phone cards, leading to losses of 105 million baht.

That case is, apparently, pending prosecution.

Police claim that Taweesap has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University and can hack into any computer system in less than 10 minutes.

Kevin Mitnick eat your heart out…

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How many times have we all done the sending off an email with no attachment trick? Too many times, I tell you. Well, Tricks of the Trade has a practical way to get past this once and for all:

If you are sending an email with an attachment, add the attachment first, then compose the message, and then add email addresses to the send line. Now there's no chance you'll have to send the ever-popular "whoops, forgot to attach the file" follow-up.

I actually started doing this a while back after then 842nd time I left the attachment off; I'm a fast learner, you see. What are some ways you've managed to dodge the always awkward "forgot attachment!" follow-up email? Thoughts in the comments. — Wendy Boswell

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By Matt Brooks

In the realm of car audio, the possibilities are endless. There are hundreds of brands and thousands of products out there. Majestic Modifications would like to help restore some order to the chaos of building your system. Lets look at some of the components that make up a car audio system.

The Head Unit

The Head Unit is the brains of the operation. Without this component, your car audio system can't and won't work. The head unit is the central processing device in the system. The head unit controls all the functions in your car audio system. Music too loud? Turn down the volume. Too soft? Turn it up. Want more bass? Add bass input. In addition to volume, bass, etc., the head unit may contain other systems within its casing. These include: tuner, cassette, equalizer, CD or amplifier.

You see, in a home music system, where you have much more room, many stereo setups will include a separate box for each one of these components -- CD, cassette, etc. You may have a home system like that yourself. In a car, with its space limitations, these components are often crammed into one box -- the head unit. This depends upon a number of factors, such as heat, space, cosmetic design and other concerns, and every car is different.

The Amplifier

All car audio systems have an amplifier, even if it's a small one. Occasionally the amplifier will be attached to the rear of the head unit; however, in most systems it is hidden elsewhere in the car to better dissipate heat. Signal amplification is actually a two-stage process, handled by two separate components. These are the preamplifier and the power amplifier.

The preamplifier (preamp, for short) is a very tiny signal coming directly from the head unit. Whether it's reproducing a cassette signal, a CD signal, or an FM broadcast, the preamp puts out a signal that the amplifier can use. This is where the power amplifier takes over. It's the power amp's job to take the signal from the preamp and boost it into the audible range. We'll cover this in more depth in our Amplifier column in this series. Again, because of heat, most amplifiers are located away from the head unit.

The Speakers

The speakers take the boosted signal from the power amp and create sound waves. Essentially, speakers transform electrical energy (the amplified signal) into mechanical energy (the motion of the speaker cone). For now, know that all sound is vibration, which is a chain of frequencies in the air that eventually vibrate the membranes in your eardrums. Sound energy is measured in wavelengths, known as hertz, with the audible range falling between 20 to 20,000 cycles. A cycle is the distance from the top of one wavelength to the top of the next.

There are three types of speakers that produce sounds across the audible spectrum: woofers, tweeters and midrange drivers. As the name implies, the woofer reproduces the lower frequencies. The tweeter, also aptly named, replicates the highest register. The midrange handles the frequencies in between.

Auxiliary Input Devices

Components such as CD changers and equalizers, not to mention cell phones, navigation systems, MP3 players and many of the newer technologies, interface with the head unit for amplification and signal processing.

With a little knowledge of car audio components, it's time to start searching for your own car audio system!
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So far this is the best lemon bar recipe that we have come across. A lemon meringue pie in the form of a cookie would be an adequate description.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 large egg 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Lemon Curd Layer:
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons salted butter, softened

Topping:
Powder sugar

Hardware:
Whisk
Spatula
Medium bowl
Medium sauce pan
8x8 inch baking pan
Mixer

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Prepare the Crust:
Step 1: Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high.
Step 2: Add vanilla and mix until combined.
Step 3: Add flour and mix at low speed until fully incorporated.
Step 4: Press dough evenly into bottom of an 8x8 inch baking pan. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 30 minutes. Prick crust with fork and bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Step 5: Cool on rack to room temperature.

Prepare Cream Cheese Filling
Step 1: Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth in a medium bowl with electric mixer on high.
Step 2: Add egg and lemon extract and beat on medium speed until smooth. Cover bowl and refrigerate.

Prepare Lemon Layer:
Step 1: Blend the egg yolks with the cornstarch and sugar in a medium nonstick sauce pan.
Step 2: Place over low heat and slowly whisk in water and lemon juice.
Step 3: Increase heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Step 4: Remove from heat. Add lemon zest and butter and cool for 10 minutes.

Assemble the Bars:
Step 1: Spread chilled cream cheese filling evenly over cooled crust with spatula.
Step 2: Spread lemon layer evenly over cream cheese layer.
Step 3: Place in center of oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown.
Step 4: Cool at room temperature, then place in refrigerator for 1 hour before cutting.
Step 5: Dust bars with powdered sugar.

This lemon bar recipe makes about 16 bars.

Source: http://www.kicked-up-cookie-recipes.com/lemon-bar-recipe.html
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Podcast is nothing but a means that can be used to publish audio files on the web for broadcasting purposes. So for cricket fans this is a wonderful opportunity through which they can come to know all information about the events that are taking place in a tournament that is being played. Well anyone who loves to follow a game is very particular to know about what all things are happening on the field. Whenever a tournament is underway at any place in the world, the only thing that is uppermost in the minds of the fans is to gather as much information as they can about the matches that are being played in the tournament. Often it is not possible to catch up with the live matches on the field or on televisions and here cricket podcast is what can let them know all about the tournament.

Cricket podcast about various important tournaments can be easily found on websites that work dedicatedly towards providing all information about cricket to fans. Now that the world cup is over and Australia has won the title there are many fans of the Australian cricket team who would love listening to podcast about the progress of their team in the entire tournament. The Aussies were the only team in the world cup that was uneaten during the entire tournament. In fact they had come to the tournament after losing five games in a row to England and New Zealand. They did not have their best bowler Bret Lee in the team and the entire team was not in its peak form, yet they went on to win the title without coming across any real challenge put up by any team.

The podcast available on these online sites are a wonderful source through which one can actually relive those wonderful moments when their favorite players or teams had performed exceptionally well and gone on to win a major title or tournament. Cricket podcast mostly has discussions about a tournament where in all the aspects of the event are discussed thoroughly by some experts. The podcast can include discussion about the controversies that may happen in tournament. When there was the Oval test fiasco this was one topic that was discussed at great lengths by all the experts.

In some cricket websites, you have to get registered to the site to be eligible to listen to the podcasts. But in some sites you do not need to get registered, you can just listen to the podcast without any worries. You just need to have access to a computer that is internet enabled and listen to as many podcast as you wish. Fans throng to these sites whenever a tournament is underway to stay informed about all the latest which is happening on the field. Cricket podcast provided by cricket sites has in fact come as a blessing in disguise for all those cricket fans that are crazy about the game.

Ella Wilson is a cricket fanatic. She simply loves the game and tries to catch live action no matter where she is.At Stickiewicket she works on Online cricket score,live cricket score, worldcup schedule and cricket podcast among other things.You can see her works at www.stickiewicket.com

Source: http://www.articleworld.net/articles/16358/1/Cricket-Podcast-Covers-All-Aspects-Of-A-Cricket-Event
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The 'ransomware' wants $10.99 sent via Western Union

April 27, 2006 (IDG News Service) -- A new kind of malware circulating on the Internet freezes a computer and then asks for a ransom paid through Western Union Holdings Inc.'s money-transfer service.

A sample of the Trojan horse virus was sent yesterday to Sophos PLC, said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at the U.K.-based security vendor. The malware, which Sophos named Troj/Ransom-A, is one of only a few viruses so far that have asked for a ransom in exchange for releasing control of a computer, Cluley said.

The new Trojan falls into a class of viruses described as "ransomware." The schemes had been seen in Russia, but the first one appeared in English just last month.

"It is a new kind of malware with a particularly nasty payload," Cluley said.

It's unclear how the Trojan is being spread, although Sophos is investigating, Cluley said. Viruses can be spread in several ways, including through spam or a so-called drive-by download that exploits a browser vulnerability when a user visits a malicious Web site.

Once run, the Trojan freezes the computer, displaying a message saying files are being deleted every 30 minutes. It then gives instructions on how to send $10.99 via Western Union to free the computer.

Hitting the Control, Alt and Delete keys will not affect the bug, the virus writer warns. Sophos provides further details online.

The virus writer even offers tech support, Cluley said. If the method of unlocking the computer doesn't work after the money is sent, the virus writer promises to research the problem and includes an e-mail address.

Last month, a Trojan horse emerged that encrypts a user's documents and then leaves a file demanding $300 in exchange for the password to access the information. Victims were instructed to send money to one of 99 accounts run by e-gold Ltd., a company that runs a money-transfer site.

The password, however, was contained on the infected computer. Sophos cracked it and publicly released it.

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,110923,00.html
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It's because phones interfere with airplane electronics, right? Wrong.

April 06, 2007 (Computerworld) -- How many times have you heard this?

"At this time, all electronic devices, including cell phones and two-way pagers, must be turned off and put away. After takeoff, I'll let you know when you may use approved electronic portable devices."

Of course, those "approved electronic portable devices" won't include your cell phone, not until after you land.

The reason is that cell phones interfere with the airplane's electronics, right?

Well, no, actually. The risk posed by cell phones to airplane equipment is unknown, and will remain unknown for as long as possible.

Phones are banned for two official reasons:

1. Cell phones "might" interfere with the avionics (aviation electronics) of some airplanes.
2. Cell phones aloft "might" cause problems with cell tower systems on the ground.

Both of these risks are easily tested, yet somehow neither the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nor the Federal Communications Commission has been able to get a definitive answer in the past 20 years as to whether phone calls in flight cause these suspected problems. (The FAA is responsible for the flight safety portion of all this, and the FCC is responsible for the cell tower part.)

The government's dirty little secret is that it cultivates uncertainty about the effects of phones in airplanes as a way to maintain the existing ban without having to confront the expense and inconvenience to airlines and wireless carriers of allowing them.

Why airlines want the ban

The airlines fear "crowd control" problems if cell phones are allowed in flights. They believe cell phone calls might promote rude behavior and conflict between passengers, which flight attendants would have to deal with. The airlines also benefit in general from passengers remaining ignorant about what's happening on the ground during flights, including personal problems, terrorist attacks, plane crashes and other information that might upset passengers.

One way to deal with callers bothering noncallers would be to designate sections of each flight where calling is allowed -- like a "smoking section." But the ban is easier.

Also: If real testing were done, and the nature of the problem fully understood, it would become obvious that airplanes could be designed or retrofitted with shielding and communications systems that would enable safe calling through all phases of flight. But that would cost money. The ban is cheaper.

However, the airlines know that some kind of plane-to-ground communication is coming, and they want to profit from it. Simply allowing passengers to use their own cell phones in flight would leave the airlines out of the profit-taking. Airlines would prefer that phones be banned while they come up with new ways to charge for communication, such as the coming wave of Wi-Fi access. Meanwhile, the ban is potentially more profitable.

Why carriers want the ban

Cell phone and tower designs are based on the assumption that at any given time, only a few cell towers will be close to any specific phone. So any given tower will use different channels than those used by other towers closest to it, but will use the same channels as towers farther away. However, when a phone is used in an airplane, it might have roughly equal access to two or more towers that use the same channels, which confuses the carriers' computer systems. This situation might result in interrupted calls, reduced system capacity and other problems.

Of course, this could be fixed in any number of ways, including an overhaul of the software used to manage calls between towers, but the fix would cost money. The ban is cheaper.

Why the government wants the ban

Cell phones and other electronics vary in how much they could interfere with avionics. If it's determined that some devices do cause problems, all gadgets would have to do extra certification testing, which the government doesn't want to spend the money to do. The ban is cheaper.

Also: No FCC or FAA chairman wants to sign off a change in the rules because if a cell phone does cause either an airplane crash or a cell tower computer system crash, they don't want to be blamed. Keeping the ban is the safe decision for the politically ambitious. The ban is easier.

What are the facts?

DVD players, laptops, portable game machines, CD players, MP3 players all radiate energy, and theoretically could cause interferences with GPS systems, communications equipment and the airplane's interaction with distant navigational systems.

U.S. airlines alone carry on average some 2 million passengers per day. If just 1% of these passengers accidentally or deliberately leaves their cell phones on, that means some 20,000 cell phones remain on during flights every single day. Despite this, no crash has ever been definitively attributed to cell phone or gadget interference.

Many headsets used by private pilots come with jacks for using them with cell phones. The manufacturers say they're for use on the ground only. But many private pilots use them in the air without incident.

Cell phones are used in airplanes every day, and no crash has ever been definitively attributed to cell phone or gadget interference.

The TV show MythBusters "busted" as a myth the conventional wisdom that phones interfere with avionics.

However, a Carnegie Mellon University study conducted some four years ago found that portable electronics interfere with airplane systems -- especially GPS -- even more than previously feared.

The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), a nonprofit corporation that advises the FAA, studying the effect of phones on avionics. The RTCA is also looking at technologies that would minimize any disruption, including the use of ultrawideband frequencies and extremely low-power cellular phone systems. They're predicting a definitive answer to all this, but don't hold your breath.

Just this week, the FCC officially dropped its inquiry into lifting an existing ban on using cell phones during commercial flights. The FCC said after the ruling that "given the lack of technical information in the record upon which we may base a decision, we have determined at this time that this proceeding should be terminated."

So the ban remains in place because the government can't seem to come up with definitive answers.

But does that even matter? Interference problems could be overcome with well-understood techniques of shielding, reprogramming and other technology designed to facilitate safe calls.

(When I say "we," I mean we Americans. In Europe, they're working on both legalizing and facilitating calls on airplanes.)

What's wrong with the ban?

The government's reasoning for banning cell phones in airplanes is weak, lame and evasive.

Don't buy the government's bull about electronic interference. The truth is that the ban is cheaper and easier for airlines, carriers and the government than mustering the political will and leadership to make in-flight cell calls a reality.

Here's another problem with the government's abdication of responsibility on this question: Either phones and other gadgets can crash airplanes or they can't. If they can, then we've got a serious problem on our hands, and airplanes need to be upgraded to protect the public safety.

What's to stop terrorists from testing various gadgets, finding the ones with the highest levels of interferences, then turning on dozens of them at some crucial phase of flight, such as during a landing in bad weather?

If gadgets can't crash planes, then the ban is costing billions of hours per year of lost productivity by business people who want to work in flight.

For the government to avoid knowing the answer is incredibly irresponsible.

Clearly, using cell phones is a public benefit, not to mention a business benefit. Shouldn't the airlines and the regulatory agencies figure out how to make that happen?

We can put a man on the moon -- and let him chat with his friends in Houston for the whole trip. Surely, we can solve the problems associated with in-flight cell calls.

Mike Elgan is a technology writer and former editor of Windows Magazine. He can be reached at mike.elgan@elgan.com or his blog: http://therawfeed.com.

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9015839
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One of the most common, but most overlooked problems with the Windows operating system are shut down problems. People tend to place a low priority of fixing Windows shutdown problems, but these problems can be symptoms of something more serious. In this article, I will explain how to diagnose a Windows shutdown issue.

Have you ever tried to shut down Windows, only to have the shutdown sequence hang, or to have the computer reboot instead of shutting down? Shut down problems are one of the most common types of problems with the Windows operating system. At the same time though, they are also one of the problems that is most seldom resolved because shut down problems tend to take a back seat to more serious issues. Troubleshooting operating system shut down problems is easier than you might think though. In this article, I will share some techniques with you that you can use to resolve shut down problems on machines in your office.

Before I Begin

Before I get started, I want to point out that the techniques in this article are intended for use primarily on Windows XP. You can probably get away with using most of these techniques on Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 systems as well, but these techniques will not work on Windows 95, 98, or ME. If you need to troubleshoot shut down problems on an older version of Windows then I recommend consulting the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com

Rebooting Rather Than Shutting Down

By far the most common shut down problem is that the system will reboot rather than shutting down. In most cases, the reboot is triggered because Windows XP is designed to reboot after a critical failure. To put it simply, if something were to go wrong during the shut down sequence, Windows may interpret the problem as a crash, and reboot the system as a result.

If you just want to band-aid the problem, you can disable the restart on system failure setting. To do so, right click on My Computer and select the Properties command from the resulting shortcut menu. When you do, you will see the System Properties sheet. Click the Advanced tab and click the Settings button found in the Startup and Recovery section. Finally, deselect the Automatically Restart check box, shown in Figure A, and click OK.


Figure A: The Automatically Restart check box allows Windows to automatically reboot after a failure

The technique that I have just shown you will prevent the system from rebooting itself, but it still doesn’t get rid of the root cause of the problem. There are several known causes of Windows shutdown problems.

Roxio Easy CD Creator

One of the most common causes of Windows shut down problems is a bug in Roxio’s Easy CD Creator (particularly version 5). Roxio does have a patch available at http://www.roxio.com/en/support/ecdc/software_updatesv5_2.jhtml Keep in mind though that the patch has been known to disable Roxio’s Take Two backup software that came with Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum. You should also keep in mind that version 5 is an old version that Roxio no longer supports. The current version is Easy Media Creator 7. If you suspect that Easy CD Creator may be causing your problem, then I recommend upgrading to a newer version rather than patching an old version.

Wake On

Another common cause of system restarts is the Wake On setting. The Wake On setting allows a computer to be automatically booted if it receives LAN packets intended for it, or if the modem line rings. Typically, the Wake on LAN settings would be adjusted through your computer’s BIOS setting. If you have checked the BIOS though and the Wake On LAN setting is disabled, it is possible that Windows might be responsible for waking the system up. To find out, open the Device Manager and locate your system’s network card. Right click on the card and select the Properties command from the resulting shortcut menu. When you do, you will see the network card’s properties sheet. Now, select the Power Management tab and verify that the Allow This Device To Bring The Computer Out Of Standby option is deselected, as shown in Figure B.


Figure B: Certain types of network traffic can wake a computer up

Hardware Issues

Another common cause of reboots during shutdown are minor hardware incompatibilities. Microsoft maintains a hardware compatibility list for Windows XP. Only hardware appearing on the list is guaranteed to be 100% compatible with Windows XP. Even so, most people don’t pay any attention to the hardware compatibility list. Most of the time, minor hardware issues go unnoticed, but they can manifest themselves in the form of reboots during shutdown.

Unfortunately, I can’t possibly tell you every piece of hardware out there that’s known to cauyse reboot problems. What I can tell you though is that pariphrial devices are especially notorious for causing the problems. This is especially true of high end keyboards and mice with lots of extra features, and of various USB devices. I have even heard of cases in which USB devices would cause the reboot problem if they were plugged directly into the system’s USB port, but the problem would go away if the devices were plugged into a USB hub instead.

Unfortunately there is no quick fix to minor hardware compatibility issues. If you think that your system’s hardware may be to blame then you will have to use trial and error to locate the offending device (or devices).

I recommend starting by unplugging any external devices. If you have a high end keyboard or mouse, then temporarily replace your keyboard and mouse with a generic set. Now boot the computer up and try to shut it down. If the system shuts down properly, then one of the devices that you disconnected was causing the problem. If the system does not shut down properly, then I recommend leaving those devices disconnected during the rest of the testing for the purpose of simplifying the system’s configuration.

The next thing that I recommend doing is to open the device manager and make note of the make and model of your system’s major hardware components. Specifically, you should pay attention to things like network cards, video cards, sound cards, and modems. After you have documented the make and model of each device, then turn off and unplug your computer. At this point, you should remove the computer’s case and verify that the hardware listed in the device manager is what’s actually in your system. Windows XP is notorious for misidentifying hardware devices. For example, I recently helped a friend install Windows onto a new computer. Windows identified his system as having a D-Link network card. When I couldn’t get the card to function, I removed the case and realized that his system actually had a Net Gear card instead.

After you have verified that the hardware listed in the device manager is what’s actually in your system, then I recommend putting your computer back together and going online. I recommend visiting each hardware manufacturer’s Web site and downloading the latest driver for the corresponding hardware device. Hardware manufacturers frequently revise drivers when bugs are discovered. While you are at it, try visiting the Web site for your system’s motherboard manufacturer. It could be that an updated BIOS is available.

Extremely Slow Shutdown

Probably the second most common shut down problem for Windows XP is that the shut down takes an excessive amount of time to complete. To understand why this happens, you must remember that the Windows operating system is not a single program, but rather a collection of individual services. Each of these services must be stopped during shut down. Therefore, a glitch related to any one of the services may prolong the shut down process or cause the shut down process to fail completely.

Many people have claimed that the Nvidia Driver Helper Service (used with Nvidia video cards) causes extremely slow shut downs. However, this is one of those cases in which an updated video driver usually solves the problem. Other people have mentioned that disabling the terminal services greatly expedites the shut down process. The Terminal Services are used for remote assistance, remote desktop, and fast user switching. If you do not use any of these features, then the Terminal Services can be safely disabled. You can access the services console by entering the SERVICES.MSC command at the Run prompt.

Another potential cause of slow system shut downs is that Windows contains an option to erase the system’s virtual memory and system hibernation cache at shut down. These security features are disabled by default because they take a long time to complete, and cause the system shutdown to look like it has frozen. Although these features are disabled by default, some privacy software will enable it.

To determine whether or not these features are enabled on your PC, enter the GPEDIT.MSC command at the Run prompt to load the Group Policy Editor. Now, navigate through the console tree to Computer Configuration | Windows Settings | Security Settings | Local Policies | Security Options. At this point, locate the Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile option in the column to the right and verify that it is disabled, as shown in Figure C. If this option is enabled, you can disable it by double clicking on the setting and choosing the Disabled option.


Figure C: Clearing the virtual memory file during shut down takes a lot of time.

Conclusion

In this article, I have explained that the two most common types of shut down problems are shut down reboots and shutdowns that take a long time to complete. I then went on to demonstrate various troubleshooting methods.

Source: http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Troubleshooting-Windows-Shutdown.html
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Is nothing safe?

Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 22 May 2007

A new variant of the Russian Gozi Trojan has been discovered that is capable of stealing data during secure socket layer (SSL) transactions.

The Trojan is one of the most sophisticated yet found and has a variety of features designed to make it difficult to locate. When it detects an SSL transaction it activates and begins key-logging the infected computer to steal account details.

In addition the Trojan makes itself difficult to detect by constantly changing its coding so that signature-based systems will not detect it.

It also has its own compression software and will compress and extract portions of its code to further disguise itself.

"It is bad enough that this new version of Gozi can encrypt and rotate its program code to bypass conventional signature detection," said Geoff Sweeney, chief technical officer at security analysis software company Tier-3.

"But the fact that it can switch a key-logging function on and off when the infected PC reaches an e-banking web page makes it almost undetectable using conventional IT security technology.

"My understanding of this new version is that behavioural analysis technology is the only way of preventing an infected PC user's e-banking data from being logged and compromised."

The Trojan was discovered by Don Jackson, a researcher at SecureWorks in the US, who found that even with a malware signature, not all antivirus packages could detect the Trojan, although a few identified it as a suspicious file.

Jackson back-traced the IP address of the server to which it was sending the information and found that the details of over 5,200 home PC users, with 10,000 account records, had been compromised.

Account and log-in information for applications offered by over 300 organisations had been stolen through these infected home PCs.

"The information contained everything from bank, retail and payment services account numbers, as well as social security numbers and other personal information," said Jackson.

"The records retrieved included account numbers and passwords from clients of many of the top global banks and financial services companies (over 30 banks and credit unions were represented), the top US retailers, and the leading online retailers.

"The stolen data also contained numerous user accounts and passwords for employees working for federal, state and local government agencies, as well national and local law enforcement agencies."

Source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2190402/malware-steals-ssl-streams
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Windows XP starts a lot of different services, as engine of the whole Windows system. However, some of them won't be of any use for