Sophos notes that there was a malware campaign with the subject “Statement of fees 2008/09″.

It consists of three sentences that are separated into three different paragraphs. The first statement tells the reader that there is an attachment of a statement of fees that the reader requested. The second sentence notes that the sender passed the user’s request to another section.

The attachment was detected as Mal/EncPk-ES. Richard Cohen who is the author of the blog entry about this issue notes that users should not open the attachment if they did not order anything that is related to the email such as tickets or a package.

Source: Sophos

In the past we have had a few articles featuring what you take with you to computer repairs. For this article, I wanted to show you my Technician gear. I have taken two photos of my Technician bag and the parts that I take onsite with a description for each item. Hopefully this helps some beginner techs create their own.
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Computerworld has reported that Microsoft made an announcement regarding the compatibility of Windows Live Mail with Internet Explorer version 8 beta 2. The company said it made a mistake when they labeled their email software as incompatible with the latest beta version of their web browser.

“This was actually an inaccuracy on our end that has since been fixed. Live Mail will work just fine for IE8 Beta 2 users,” said a spokeswoman for Microsoft.

The other incompatibility warnings are correct including problems with Hotmail, Netflix, and Skype. The article at Computerworld describes what will happen when these programs are used with IE8 beta 2.

Source: COMPUTERWORLD

There is a bug in Internet Explorer version 8 beta 2 that affects Windows XP SP3 users. The bug occurs when the user make the following procedure:
1. Install IE8 Beta 1
2. Install Windows XP SP3
3. Install IE8 Beta 2

When a user follow these instructions, he or she cannot uninstall either Windows XP SP3 or IE8 at a later time according to the article at TG Daily.

Jane Maliouta of Microsoft said, “If you chose to continue, Windows XP SP3 and IE8 Beta2 will become permanent.”

“You will still be able to upgrade to later IE8 builds as they become available, but you won’t be able to uninstall them,” she added.

Source: TG Daily

As most technicians should know, “Java” by Sun Microsystems is a platform that allows certain programs to run (such as Azureus) and certain website applets to play. As with any web-capable technology, it is frequently being updated because of security exploits constantly being discovered. However, when you update Java it doesnt uninstall the old version which still leaves you vulnerable.

This is where JavaRa comes in. JavaRa is a small, freeware application designed to do two tasks. First, to check for any Java updates. And second, to uninstall any old versions of Java.

Although not very exciting, this tool is very important to computer security and should be added to your kits.

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The second beta version of Internet Explorer version 8 has been released earlier today.

One of the new features in IE8 is “smart address bar” which can be used by users to search for sites that they visited previously by typing in phrases or words in the bar.

James Pratt who is part of the browser’s development team demonstrated the new functionality by searching items in Amazon.com. Not only did the search show item results, it also showed artwork and prices.

Both consumers and business users are encouraged to download this new beta version. The browser can be downloaded on the Download Center of Microsoft’s website.

Source: COMPUTERWORLD

An updated software that checks whether the user’s copy of Windows XP Pro is a genuine product. Alex Kochis who is the Microsoft director of product marketing and management said in a blog post that the change only affects XP Pro since it is “the product edition that is most often stolen.”

The article at PC World notes the two features in this update. First, the desktop screen background will be black the next time the user logs on his or her system if his or her copy is found to be pirated. The other feature is that it will display a banner which says that his or her operating system is not genuine.

Source: PC World

A new update has been released for Boot Camp which is a software that enable Intel-chipped Macs to run a Windows operating system.

This new version fixes bugs and one of the main features of it is that it supports the upcoming third service pack for Windows XP.

A software called Parallels which function very similar to Boot Camp has sold its millionth copy. This news was released before the Boot Camp update.

Users should download this new version if they are planning on installing Service Pack #3 for Windows XP.

Source: Half Life Source

Yesterday I recieved an email from a Technibble reader who had seen my web hosting prices and thought they extremely overpriced. He said that he pays $6 a month and gets much more space than the $15 per month plans that I had on offer. He said he thought Technibble preaches to provide value and not fleecing our customers.

It was a totally valid email that had a good observation and Im glad he sent it. This article is about why I charged more than most other web hosts.
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A new spam about Fedex has been circulating the web last thursday according to a blog entry at Sophos. The title or subject line of the spam is Tracking N (plus random digits).

It notifies the user that their package was not delivered to a recipient because the recipient’s address is incorrect. Then, it instructs the user to print the invoice copy which is attached in the email.

The attachment is a zip file with an executable file. Sophos detects this file as Troj/FakeAV-BY and they posted the message in their blog entry to show what it looks like.

Source: Sophos