What a deal - 19" LCD Flat panel or $189 (after rebates)

19" Flat Panel LCD Monitor - $189

This is just too good to pass up if you need a 19" LCD flat panel monitor.

Act fast... rebates expire in a week.

Hyundai B90A 19in LCD Monitor 700:1 contrast, 8ms, 3yr warranty $349.99 - $40 off Code: 50236261 Exp 2/28 - $60 rebate - $60 rebate = $189.99AR

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?id=544430

Windows Vista Versions Unveiled - 6 Versions

Windows Vista Versions Unveiled

Posted by Harry McCracken
Monday, February 27, 2006, 08:54 AM (PST)

So the rumors are true: Microsoft is saying that it'll release six different editions of Windows Vista when the OS--due to show up late this year--arrives. (Actually, there will be twelve versions, since everything will be available in both 32- and 64-bit editions.) The company will aim three versions of Windows at home users (all of the descriptions that follow are Microsoft's, not mine):

-Windows Vista Home Basic: For consumers that want to simply use the PC to browse the Internet, correspond with friends and family over email or perform basic document creation and editing tasks, Windows Vista Home Basic will deliver a safer, more reliable and more productive computing environment.

-Windows Vista Home Premium: Will help consumers utilize mobile or desktop PC functionality more effectively while enabling the enjoyment of new, exciting digital entertainment experiences – all with the benefit of added security and reliability. Windows Vista Home Premium includes everything in Windows Vista Home Basic, plus the Windows Vista Aero™ and Media Center and Tablet PC capabilities.

-Windows Vista Ultimate: Windows Vista Ultimate is the edition of Windows Vista that has it all. It is the first operating system that brings together all of the consumer-oriented features available in Windows Vista Home Premium with all of the business-oriented features available in Windows Vista Business.

Two versions will cater to businesses:

- Windows Vista Business: For small to medium size businesses, Windows Vista Business will help keep PCs running smoothly and securely so they are less reliant on dedicated IT support. For larger organizations, Windows Vista Business will provide dramatic new infrastructure improvements that will enable IT staff to spend less time focused on day to day maintenance of PCs and more time adding strategic value to the organization.

-Windows Vista Enterprise: To better address the needs of large, global organizations and those with highly complex IT infrastructures, Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to significantly lower IT costs and risk. In addition to all of the features available in Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to provide higher levels of data protection using hardware-based encryption technology.

And one version will target particularly price-sensitive parts of the world:

-Windows Vista Starter: Helps users in emerging technology countries be more successful by providing an affordable, easy to learn and use computing experience. It is compatible with latest applications and devices, and more reliable and secure because it is part of the Windows Vista family of products.

'First Apple virus' could be first of many

'First Apple virus' could be first of many
By Rhys Blakely
Times Online
February 17, 2006

A computer virus, thought to be the first to attack Apple’s Mac OS X operating system, has been identified by internet security companies.

The Leap-A, or Oompa Loompa, virus is a potentially malicious program that is disguised as a simple image file. Experts are worried that its discovery will prompt hackers to mount the first serious campaign againt Apple users.

The news is a blow to Apple’s reputation for security and to users of its Macintosh computers, which have long been regarded as far less vulnerable to virus attacks than PCs.

"Some owners of Mac computers have held the belief that Mac OS X is incapable of harbouring computer viruses, but Leap-A will leave them shellshocked," Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, the web security firm, said.

"Mac users shouldn't think it's okay to lie back and not worry about viruses."
He added that an online poll had found that most people thought the discovery of the Leap-A virus could lead to more attacks on Apple machines.

"The bad news is that most people think the situation is going to get worse for Macintosh users, and more threats will be targeted against the Apple community.

Full article here.

Microsoft vs. Blackberry?

Ballmer's Microsoft Wages War On BlackBerry
Parmy Olson, 02.13.06, 2:26 PM ET

http://www.forbes.com/2006/02/13/microsoft-blackberry-ballmer-cx_po_0213autofacescan07.html

LONDON - Easy pickings? The cutting edge of technology is a precarious place to be. Just ask Research In Motion, the company that put every exec in communication overdrive with its BlackBerry device. While RIM is currently weaving its way round a possible shut down, its most daunting challenge may yet loom: competition from Microsoft.

The software giant led by zealously communicative (perhaps he owns one?) Chief Executive Steve Ballmer announced today that it was launching Windows Mobile Email, a package that works through Vodafone (nyse: VOD - news - people ) handsets. The service would allow users to send and receive e-mails and edit Word and Excel documents.

Vodafone will be deploying a range of Windows Mobile 5.0-powered devices to small and medium sized businesses this March in France, Germany and the U.K. Microsoft said it would be an "extension" of its Office desktop environment.

The latest move from Ballmer is certainly a blow for the nearly ubiquitous BlackBerry--but might RIM have something up its own sleeve? For now there's been the announced interface with the new Sony Ericsson M600 handset and there have been tie ups with European cellular giants O2 and T-Mobile.

Microsoft made its announcement at the mobile phone industry's annual 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. Many there quietly contend that as RIM waits for a resolution to its patent infringement suit in the U.S., interest in so-called push e-mail is growing.

RIM is believed to have up to10 million mobile e-mail subscribers, but some say there could be up to 850 million push e-mail customers by 2009. Understandably there will be a lot of elbowing for a share of the market. The question is, will the BlackBerry get squashed in the process?

T-Mobile issues Blackberry News - No Worries

To ease your worries...

T-Mobile Message to BlackBerry Customerson RIM Announcement of Contingency Software Update

February 9, 2006

Dear Valued T-Mobile BlackBerry Customer:

Some of you have asked us about the patent litigation between Research In Motion Limited® (RIM®), manufacturer of BlackBerry devices and enabler of BlackBerry services, and NTP, and how it may affect you. In the lawsuit, NTP claims that RIM’s BlackBerry e-email system infringes various NTP patents, and NTP is seeking a court order that would prevent continued operation of certain aspects of RIM’s BlackBerry service in its current design.

RIM has announced it has designed and tested a software update that would allow its partners and customers to continue to use the BlackBerry service without interruption, and with no visible effect on the end users’ ongoing experience. According to RIM, the software update will only be necessary, and only be implemented, should the court issue an injunction in the current litigation involving the NTP patents. T-Mobile has been working with RIM on plans to implement this new software update, should it be necessary. T-Mobile has also been testing this software update in cooperation with RIM, and the results of such testing, to date, have verified its functionality.

How does this matter affect you? You should continue to use your T-Mobile BlackBerry as you normally do. There is no need for a software update at the present time. RIM will announce at a later time the process for downloading any necessary software update, which will be made available at no charge. T-Mobile also will keep you informed about any significant news or developments.

For additional information, please see RIM’s press release and additional information about its new software design, which is available online at www.blackberry.com/go/workaround.

T-Mobile is firmly committed to industry-leading customer care, and providing customers with innovative wireless products and services such as the BlackBerry. As always, thank you for being a loyal T-Mobile customer.

Mozilla Firefox browser: Security release update

Firefox 1.5.0.1 released

There are security updates with this release. If you've recently upgraded to Firefox 1.5 be sure to get this new update to 1.5.0.1

To download, go to: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

What's New in Firefox 1.5.0.1
Firefox 1.5.0.1 is a stability and security update that is part of our ongoing program to provide a safe Internet experience for our customers. We recommend that all users upgrade to this latest version.
Here's what's new in Firefox 1.5.0.1:

* Improved stability.
* Improved support for Mac OS X.
* International Domain Name support for Iceland (.is) is now enabled.
* Fixes for several memory leaks.
* Several security enhancements.

The Burning Edge has more detailed lists of notable bug fixes.
Release Date: February 1, 2006

Mobile Devices are IT Managers' Security Headache

Mobile devices are IT managers' security headache

René Millman 31 Jan 2006 11:19

Two-third of IT managers are still experiencing security breaches because of poor practices on mobile devices, according to new findings.

A survey of 500 enterprise IT managers in the U.S., U.K., Germany and France, commissioned by Landesk software, found that companies lacked the necessary corporate policies to prevent laptops and other devices access to the network without adequate security checks.

Sixty-six percent of IT Managers surveyed experience security breaches and feel anti-virus software is not enough to keep malware out of their infrastructure. Sixty percent of respondents said their organization has no way of scanning devices connecting to their network or quarantining any system that does not meet their company's security requirements.

The results of the survey also revealed that many IT Managers are leaving the network security of their organization to chance, despite 88 percent of respondents now having a workforce that is mobile or field-based. Nearly half those surveyed (46 percent) admitted that the only way their workforce update their security settings on their laptop or mobile device is when they are physically back in the corporate environment. The results found that 23 percent said that they trusted their users to apply the security patches themselves.

When questioned as to which were the most common causes of breaches of security within their organization, the following reasons were given:

-Unauthorized mobile devices and laptops being connected to the organization's network (30 percent);
-Users making changes to, or disabling settings (33 percent);
-Out of date patches or anti-virus signatures (26 percent);

Experts said the number of vulnerabilities and increasing usage of mobile devices are exacerbating the situation.

"Most IT managers have seen an increase in the number of mobile or field workers by around a third, but despite this increase, they are expected to manage these workers with inadequate tools," said Dave Taylor, vice president of Worldwide Marketing for Landesk Software.
"Security needs to not only detect blended threats like viruses and spyware, but also automate the necessary corrective measures, quickly and effectively," he said.

http://www.scmagazine.com/uk/news/article/538706/mobile-devices-security-headache-managers/

Ultra-portable USB Hard Drive-20GB

The ultra-portable drive, Firefly, from SmartDisk is a must have. It's tiny, about the size of a credit card but a bit thicker, it's fast, it's reliable and holds 20GB of data.

Here's a bit more info from the SmartDisk website.

FAQ: How bad is this latest Virus?

From Information Week...

FAQ: How Bad Is Kama Sutra?

Sometime on Friday, computers already infected with the Kama Sutra worm will suffer potentially catastrophic damage.
Here's what you need to know.

By Gregg Keizer TechWeb News Feb 1, 2006 05:06 PM

Sometime on Friday computers already infected with the Kama Sutra worm will start writing over important documents, rendering them useless and potentially causing catastrophic damage to consumers and businesses.

The worm, though not nearly as widespread as several that hit Windows PCs in 2005, has caught users' attention for that reason. It's a throw-back to times when hackers crafted their code to destroy data, not to make a buck.

What is this worm called? Good question. According to some lists, the worm has more than two dozen monikers. The most popular, though, are Kama Sutra, Blackworm, Blackmal, MyWife, and Nyxem. It's also been dubbed CME-24 by the Common Malware Enumeration database, which is supposed to provide one name for malicious code.

What will the worm do? On Friday, the worm will write the text string "DATA Error [47 0F 94 93 F4 F5]" over all data in files with file formats from Microsoft Office (.doc, .xls, .mdb, .mde, .ppt, .pps) and Adobe (.pdf, .psd), as well as popular compression formats (.zip, .rar) and memory dumps (.dmp). The worm will seek out these files on all connected drives, including mounted network drives, USB-based flash drives, and external drives.

It also disables many popular security programs -- those from Computer Associates, Kaspersky, McAfee, Panda, Symantec, and Trend Micro -- so that users won't be able to sniff it out once it's planted on the PC.
When does it start destroying files? According to the security firms which pulled apart the worm's code, it will overwrite files on the third of each month, local time. Friday, Feb. 3, is the first such trigger. The worm will activate by looking at the PC's clock -- not, as have other worms, by synchronizing with time servers -- which is why there have been scattered reports of damage already. Helsinki-based F-Secure, for instance, has said it has received reports from users -- with incorrectly-set PC clocks -- who have had files overwritten.

Entire article here.

Concern Grows over Blackworm, Kama Sutra virus

Be warned, update your anti-virus and backup your data. Do not open attachments you are not expecting.
--------------

Concern Grows over Kama Sutra Computer Virus
02.01.06

By Michael Kahn, Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO—A destructive worm posing as a pornographic e-mail may already have infected hundreds of thousands of computers and could erase many everyday files on Feb. 3, security experts warned on Tuesday.

The "Kama Sutra" worm, which targets popular Microsoft Corp., Adobe Systems Inc. and ZIP files, is a threat because many users will not know the virus has infected their computers until it is too late, security experts said.

They also estimate that the worm—which spreads by e-mailing itself to addresses in an infected computer's mailbox—may already have slipped onto 275,000 to 500,000 machines and is now simply waiting to obliterate files on Friday.

The virus, also known as Grew.A or MyWife, tricks users by appearing as an e-mail attachment with subject lines such as "Hot Movie," "give me a kiss" and "Miss Lebanon 2006."
Some variations refer to the ancient Kama Sutra guide to elaborate sexual positions in order to attract attention and convince victims to open.

"It claims to be a movie or picture with some sort of sexual content," said Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer at the nonprofit SANS Institute research group. "That is how it tricks you."
The virus causes a keyboard and mouse to freeze up and then disables anti-virus programs when the computer is restarted, leaving a machine vulnerable, said Ken Dunham, rapid response director at VeriSign Corp.'s security unit iDefense. The attack is scheduled to begin at midnight on Feb. 3.

The virus mainly has infected computers of vulnerable consumers and small businesses, which are far less likely to have up-to-date security software, he said.

The Kama Sutra worm also stands out because its primary purpose is to destroy files rather than to seek financial gain or to take control of a computer, security experts said.
Dunham said any users who suspect they may have triggered the worm should reinstall an anti-virus program and make sure the virus has been removed.

"It is already under way and will be activated unless people get removal tools," he said. "If you have opened an e-mail and your computer froze up, you should be very concerned."

Article from PCMag.com.

It's Not All Good Technology...

Good Technology faces patent suit from Visto
By Grant Gross, IDG news service
01 February 2006

Visto has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Good Technology, saying its push e-mail services contain patented Visto technology. Visto will seek a permanent injunction against Good Technology's push e-mail service, which is used in several mobile devices, Visto said.
Visto has filed a lawsuit in US District Court in the Eastern District of Texas. Visto said its lawsuit alleged that Good Technology products, including its push e-mail service GoodLink, violate patents Visto has held for nine years.

Good Technology has allegedly violated four Visto patents, including a patent for synchronising e-mail between a client site and a central site and a patent for using a workspace data manager to access and synchronise network data.

The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against GoodLink and what it claims to be Good’s other infringing technology, which has been used to power several mobile devices including Palm's Treo, Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ hw6500 and Motorola's MPx220. The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages. Visto has some history: it's already sued Microsoft for patent infringement.
A Good Technology spokeswoman said the company didn't have an immediate comment on the substance of the lawsuit. "Until we have an opportunity to see and review this complaint, we're not in a position to comment on it," she said.

In another patent lawsuit, filed by NTP, Research in Motion (RIM) faces a potential ruling barring the company from selling its BlackBerry e-mail devices in the U.S. With that threat, it's important for Visto to protect its own intellectual property as an alternative to RIM's technology, said Brian A. Bogosian, Visto chairman, president and chief executive officer.

"There are justifiable marketplace jitters about whether BlackBerry service will be shut down by a federal court next month," Bogosian said. "With Visto, all users, including BlackBerry users, have a safe harbour alternative to RIM that offers protection from intellectual property risks. Good Technology, like other late entrants to this market, has no patents directed to wireless e-mail and very clearly infringes on our long-held intellectual property."

Entire article here.