Bye-bye hard drive, hello flash

Bye-bye hard drive, hello flash

The world as notebook users know it is about to change in a flash. Manufacturers of NAND flash memory say they will expand the market for their chips over the next few years and colonize devices that now rely on hard drives or other types of memory. In turn, this could mean phones that can record several hours of video, or smaller notebooks with twice or more the battery life. The NAND noise will be particularly strong at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, with manufacturers showing off the solid-state technology as an increasingly important component in cell phones and talking up how it will find its way into notebook hard drives in 2006.

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The Print Shop: Linux Drivers Made Easy

The Print Shop: Linux Drivers Made Easy

A small but growing percentage of computer users today reap the benefits that Linux offers: cost savings, improved security, and more flexible, customized working environments. Linux has long included strong support for PostScript-based printers (which includes most laser models), because PostScript is the default printing subsystem on UNIX, the operating system from which Linux is derived. But while most PostScript printers are generally supported under Linux, some advanced features can sometimes be missing because the manufacturers don't always make specific drivers available. However, the necessary drivers are now finding their way into Linux distributions.

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NSA inadvertently uses banned 'cookies'

NSA inadvertently uses banned 'cookies'

The National Security Agency's Internet site has been placing files on visitors' computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite strict federal rules banning most of them. These files, known as "cookies," disappeared after a privacy activist complained and The Associated Press made inquiries this week, and agency officials acknowledged Wednesday they had made a mistake.

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VMWare: Virtual Machine Security Flaw 'Very Serious'

VMWare: Virtual Machine Security Flaw 'Very Serious'

Virtual infrastructure software maker VMWare Inc. has rushed out fixes for a "very serious" security flaw that put users of its product line at risk of code execution attacks. The vulnerability, which affects both Windows and Linux systems, affects VMware Workstation 5.5, VMware GSX Server 3.2, VMware ACE 1.0.1 and the free VMware Player 1.0. All previous versions of these products are also affected. VMWare, of Palo Alto, Calif., acknowledged the vulnerability in a published advisory and warned that it is possible for a malicious guest using a NAT networking configuration to execute unwanted code on the host machine.

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Santa Claus worm strikes IM clients

Santa Claus worm strikes IM clients

We've had Dasher trying to disrupt computers over the Xmas period, now Santa Claus himself is trying to get in on the action. Rather than targeting Windows machines though, the new IM.GiftCom.All worm is using instant messaging to spread its unjolly message. The worm promises to take users of AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft's IM software to a festive Santa site. But clicking on the link will take users to a different site where a malicious file is downloaded to your computer. The file is difficult to detect with conventional anti-virus tools and also attempts to shut down anti-virus software while it collects personal information, then redistributed over the Internet.

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Microsoft's latest IE fix is glitchy

Microsoft's latest IE fix is glitchy

Last Tuesday's "critical" security fix for Internet Explorer is causing trouble for users who have been testing the new IE 7 browser. Microsoft has received "scattered reports of users experiencing odd browser behaviour" after installing the latest security update, Jeremy Dallman, project manager for Internet Explorer security at the company, wrote in a Friday posting to a corporate blog. Three different problems have been reported: the browser could crash right after starting up; links may come up blank; or multiple windows may open when the browser is initiated, according to the posting.

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Firefox is streets ahead of IE on European computers

Firefox is streets ahead of IE on European computers

Mozilla's Firefox browser is now ahead of the Internet Explorer in terms of usage on European computers. A study by technology company AdTech says that the popularity of the open-source browser has grown by 40 percent over the last six months. Plus Firefox has managed to increase its market share from 8.96 percent to 12.41 percent in the same six-month period between March and October this year. The main reason for users shunning Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the dodgy security in the latter. That is not to say that Firefox is not vulnerable to being attacked.

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Microsoft to move graphics outside OS kernel

Microsoft to move graphics outside OS kernel

Microsoft will move the graphics for its next version of Windows outside of the operating system's kernel to improve reliability, the software giant has told Techworld. Vista's graphics subsystem, codenamed Avalon and formally known as the Windows Presentation Foundation, will be pulled out the kernel because many lock-ups are the result of the GUI freezing, Microsoft infrastructure architect Giovanni Marchetti told us exclusively yesterday. The company has already announced to developers that most drivers, including graphics, will run in user mode - which means that they don't get access to the privileged kernel mode (or Ring 0). At this level, a process can do anything it likes, including overwriting memory that doesn't belong to it.

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Certification Helps with Path to Linux Jobs

Certification Helps with Path to Linux Jobs

You don't have to have a Linux certification to get a job working with Linux, but it can't hurt. Simply working on Linux is easy. Join a Linux community like The Debian Project, Red Hat's Fedora, Novell's OpenSUSE, or half-a-hundred projects and go for it. Of course, you won't get paid, and 95 percent of the work on Linux projects is programming. So, if you want a salary, and your skills lie in system administration or network management, it behooves you to look into Linux certifications.

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Wireless Hackers 101

Wireless Hackers 101

Attacks on wireless LANs (WLANs) and wireless-enabled laptops are a quick and easy way for hackers to steal data and enter the corporate network. IT departments must have a pre-emptive plan of action to prevent these malicious and illegal attacks, which compromise an organization’s data privacy and can wreak havoc on network infrastructure. Network security managers need to plan for, monitor, and recognize potential network breaches as well as react quickly when any breach occurs. To ensure effective, automated, wireless threat protection, companies and government organizations should implement a wireless intrusion detection and prevention (WIDP) solution that enables them to detect vulnerabilities, assess threats, prevent attacks, and ensure ongoing compliance — easily and cost effectively.

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