Two updates has been released recently by Apple. One of them is about their multimedia software, Quicktime. The new version, 7.3.1, fixes at least three bugs. Criminals started exploiting the bugs two weeks ago by enticing users to visit malicious websites.

The update that pops up on a user’s machine does not mention anything about security vulnerabilities according to The Register’s article

The second update is about an updated Java runtime for Mac OS X 10.4. The bug that existed let a criminal to remotely control someone else’s computer.

Source: The Register

An article has been posted at Vista.blorge.com about a program that cleans up errors that occurs during an installation process. The program is called Windows Installer Cleanup which is a program from Microsoft.

The basic function of the program is that it repair files on incomplete operations and users can go to the Control Panel to install, repair, or uninstall a program successfully after running this program. It can also clean up errors in reinstallation processes.

It works from Windows 95 up to and including Vista which is the latest operating system from Microsoft.

Source: Vista.blorge.com

TMCnet has reported that Microsoft is no longer offering free copies of Office 2007 and Windows Vista Ultimate for users who are interested on letting Microsoft to install a software which track their activities such as which software has been opened, the current number of files in a user’s PC, and the PC’s processor speed and type.

The original statement from Microsoft’s site read, “If you are a Windows Vista or Windows XP user and decide to join and participate in both programs, we will send you a free Microsoft product when you participate in the program. Limit one gift per person. This offer is nontransferable. This offer expires on 12/31/07, while supplies last and is not redeemable for cash. Taxes, if any, are your sole responsibility.”

Source: TMCnet

A report has been released by The Register that a company called Ipower had a problem recently on some sites that it is currently hosting.

The problem is that these sites redirect visitors to other sites that attempts to install malware on computers.

“This isn’t a couple of script kiddies out defacing websites. It appears to be a very sophisticated attack,” said Franklin Veaux who was credited by The Register as the person who reported what is going on with some Ipower-hosted sites.

Source: The Register

It is pretty much standard that all new computers come with a one-year warranty. Some computer parts such as brand name RAM often have lifetime warranties, and some hard drive brands like Seagate have a 5 year warranty. As small businesses, should we pass on the extend warranties of certain parts to our customers?
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Sophos has posted an article in their website titled “Coincidence or Shameless?” which is about a job scam fraud. What makes this interesting is that it involves a name that headlined recently in the press.

The name is Robert Dzekanski and he was the polish man who died recently at an airport by the use of tasers from police officers as he was being detained.

There is an image on the article of what the email looks like. Onur Komili, the writer of the article, is not sure whether this was just a coincidence or whether a scammer is pretending to be Dzekanski.

Source: Sophos

Back when I asked our members “What do you want us to write about?” a few of them wanted to know how to get their business setup legally. Here’s our guide for how to get it started.
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A new batch of patches has been released today by Microsoft. The patches fix holes on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista operating systems as well as Internet Explorer 6 and 7 softwares.

The most critical patch is the one for Internet Explorer since it has the potential to affect most users.

These eleven patches were packaged in seven different bundles. Only two of those bundles do not affect Vista systems.

Two fixes on how Windows process audio and video files were also included. The bugs are related to files that end .asf and how DirectX handles some video formats.

Source: Washingtonpost

CodecInstaller is a freeware application that detects what audio and video codecs are installed on a system, analyzes what codecs a certain file needs and suggests you install them. An advanced feature this application has is called the “Filter Mappings Editor” which will let you change the priority and the types of media a filter will process. This helps in solving issues created by filters where the creators made with too high of a priorty or make them try and decode formats they cannot handle perfectly.
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New Exploit In Media Players

Symantec has released an alert last saturday about a vulnerability in mp4 codec which affects Microsoft’s Windows Media Player,Windows Media Player Classic, and Winamp.

“Exploitation of this vulnerability allows the attacker to run arbitrary code in the context of the media player. No patch is available for the vulnerability, making this a high-threat issue. To mitigate this issue until a patch is available, customers are advised to remove the MP4 codec until patches are available, disable media players that use the MP4 codec and be cautious while accessing e-mail, Web content and other means of distributing media files,” said a Symantec analyst.

Source: PC World