Warning On Office 2007 "Try-Before-You-Buy"

In fairness, I have not used the trial version of Office-2007. But, after my experience with the trial version of Office-2003, I would touch it with a ten foot pole. Please make sure your friends don't touch it either.

Slashdot | Warning On Office 2007 "Try-Before-You-Buy"

Googling "how to crack a safe" nets robbers $12,000

Googling "how to crack a safe" nets robbers $12,000

These burglars may not have been the sharpest tacks in the box to begin with; they attempted to cover a security camera lens not with spray paint or some other opaque agent, but the clear, cleaning properties of WD-40, and attempted to do the same to a fire alarm that they thought was a camera. But at least they were resourceful; after spending an hour and 15 minutes attempting to unsuccessfully crack the safe using their handy passcodes, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette, they used the computer in the next room to search Google for "how to crack a safe."

The Google search proved fruitful for the two burglars, as they were able to get the information they needed and walk away with $12,000 in cash as well as a PlayStation and a laptop. And despite their inept attempts to outwit the security cameras, they have not yet been arrested.


Googling "how to crack a safe" nets robbers $12,000

Hotlan Trojan defeats captcha

Hotlan Trojan defeats captcha

A new Trojan horse that sends spam through Hotmail and Yahoo email accounts has antivirus companies worried that the commonly used "captcha" system, used to prove new members are real people, may have been compromised.

Captcha systems typically use a selection of alphanumeric characters that have been distorted and presented in a graphic with other elements designed to confuse character-recognition software. The idea is that, as only a person can read it and type in the correct sequence, spam bots and other malware can be stopped from automatically setting up accounts.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39287905,00.htm
Hotlan Trojan defeats captcha - ZDNet UK

New IBM supercomputer achieves petaflop

The petaflop era has begun.

IBM has devised a new Blue Gene supercomputer--the Blue Gene/P--that will be capable of processing more than 3 quadrillion operations a second, or 3 petaflops, a possible record. Blue Gene/P is designed to continuously operate at more than 1 petaflop in real-world situations.

Blue Gene/P marks a significant milestone in computing. Last November, the Blue Gene/L was ranked as the most powerful computer on the planet: it topped out at 280 teraflops, or 280 trillion operations a second during continuous operation.

Put another way, a Blue Gene/P operating at a petaflop is performing more operations than a 1.5-mile-high stack of laptops.

New IBM supercomputer achieves petaflop | CNET News.com

Dell apologizes for remove-this-blog-post-or-else nastygram

A blog post at Consumerist.com offering tips on buying from Dell drew a nasty cease-and-desist letter from the company's attorney and then, in quick succession, a chastened apology from a Dell manager.

The original post, titled "22 Confessions Of A Former Dell Sales Manager," appeared last Thursday. The same afternoon, Dell attorney Tracy J. Holland sent a nastygram to Consumerist saying the post must be deleted because "it contains information that is confidential and proprietary to Dell."

Dell apologizes for remove-this-blog-post-or-else nastygram | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

BBC, Yahoo invite developers to hack Web apps

BBC, Yahoo invite developers to hack Web apps

The event is a series of open days held around the world by Yahoo for anyone such as computer programmers and developers to attend and come up with new innovative applications.

The latest event has been held over the last 24 hours in London, staged by Yahoo and the British Broadcasting Corporation for anyone to develop new projects that use either of the media group's programs.

BBC, Yahoo invite developers to hack Web apps | CNET News.com

New Gimp packages fix arbitrary code execution

A buffer overflow has been identified in Gimp's SUNRAS plugin in
versions prior to 2.2.15.  This bug could allow an attacker to execute
arbitrary code on the victim's computer by inducing the victim to open a
specially crafted RAS file.

For the stable distribution (etch), this problem has been fixed in
version 2.2.13-1etch1.

New Gimp packages fix arbitrary code execution