A report has been released that Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger contained an ad which tries to install malware to users who are using the Messenger program.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and are reviewing our advertisement approval process to reduce the chance of an occurrence such as this happening again,” said Whitney Burk who is a PR manager with Microsoft.

The advertisement displayed a program called Errorsafe. This program advertises itself that it can detect and repair computer problems.

Winfixer, along with Errorsafe, are programs that are listed by most security vendors which are security risks or unwanted programs.

Source: Computeractive

Ever had your 10gig worth of files stop copying halfway because there was a file that couldn’t be read? Unstoppable Copier is a tool that allows you to recover files off a failing hard drive that has problems such as a physical damage, bad sectors, errors reading data etc.. The program will attempt to recover every readable piece of a file and put the pieces together. The name Unstoppable Copier comes from its ability to skip files that cannot be read. It will just report which file couldn’t be copied and continue on its way.
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David Short of IBM says that Windows Vista’s minimum requirement of 512 MB “really isn’t realistic.”

He says that users who wants to achieve optimum performance when using Microsoft’s latest operating system should have 4 GB of RAM on their PCs.

Short warned that those who have 512 MB should not install or use Vista since its performance will be “sub-XP.”

2 GB of RAM is the “sweet spot” in his opinion while a 4 GB of RAM would be “Nirvana.”

On Dell’s website, they mentioned that some of their Windows Vista compatible PCs are “Great for … Booting the Operating System, without running applications or games.”

Source: Computerworld

As most computer users already know, you need a good antivirus to help keep your computer safe. Anti-virus programs such as Norton and AVG usually do a good job at getting rid of them. However, sometimes the antivirus cant completely delete the virus. In this tutorial we show you how to delete those undeleable viruses, trojans and malware.
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DriveSentry Inc. has released a report that about half of pirated copies of Vista contains malware.

These copies are typically distributed on peer-to-peer programs according to John Lynch who is the vice president of sales and marketing for DriveSentry. Lynch also said that hackers are posting on message boards and they are offering the cracked versions of Vista.

One crack called “Windows Vista All Versions Activation 21.11.06,” has been identified as a malicious program. Malicious programs are known as Trojans criminals also used this in the past for Windows XP. Key-logging software and spyware may be installed on cracked copies.

Source: Computerworld

A new test conducted by Symantec and the University of Indiana shows that an attacker with a malicious JavaScript code can take over one’s computer if the user has not changed the default password on their router for internet connection.

The two things that must be in place in order for this to hapen is that first, the attacker must lure an internet user on his or her webpage which contains a malicious JavaScript code. Then, that user’s router password must be the same as the password that was provided by the manufacturer of the router.

These attacks can be malware, identity theft, and denial of service.

Source: Computerworld

A new flaw has been found on the Microsoft Office software versions 2000 and XP.

Just like the previous flaws that was patched in Office, this flaw lets attackers execute a code into someone’s PC if a person opens a malicious Office document. Microsoft just released a package of patches last Tuesday which fixes various Windows and Office flaws and they may not released a new patch to fix this specific issue for a while.

Microsoft advises people to be careful on opening files if they do not know where the file specifically came from.

Source: The Register

Microsoft has released twelve patches which fixes twenty vulnerabilities on their Windows operating system. Eleven of those patches are rated as critical and one of them is designed to patch the malware scanning engine which is used by various security softwares from Microsoft such as Windows OneCare and Windows Defender.

“The vulnerability is in the malware engine, which is part of Defender, which is part of Vista. So, yes, you can say that Vista [itself] is vulnerable,” said Mark Griesi who is the security program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center.

Source: Computerworld

As a freelancer, you have worked, I imagine, on your own, singing and dancing to your own tune for many months, if not years. And if you are ‘busy busy busy’, with no time to take on new customers, your phone ringing off the hook with missed opportunity or maybe having to turn away trade because it’s not in your area of specialism, you might be thinking about taking on a partner. Alternatively, you could enter into an alliance/arrangement with another freelancer.

You should also, after reading this guide, seek legal and financial advice to ensure your assets and business is protected if you’re going to look at expanding or branching out. This is not an instructional guide on developing your business, but is a ‘get started common sense’ view of things for you to consider before finding out more.
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Epson, makers of many computer peripherals such as printers, scanners, and all-in-ones, has released updated drivers which lets their products be fully compatible with the new Vista operating system from Microsoft.

This news refers to the release of the various Vista operating systems in Singapore last week. Those who have Epson products in Singapore can download the drivers at Epson’s Singapore website right now at http://www.epson.com.sg/vista.shl and they can also contact Epson for more information and assistance at 6586 3111.

The new drivers has been available since two days ago.

Source: Hardwarezone