TouchSmart tx2 has been launched by HP and it is their first multitouch laptop available for consumers. It is designed for Windows 7 which will have touch screen capability.

The senior VP and GM of HP said, “Breezing through websites and enjoying photos or video at the tap, whisk or flick of a finger is an entirely new way to enjoy digital content on a notebook PC.”

The screen measures 12.1″ and the cost for the base specification is $1,149. It is equipped with AMD dual core Turion processors.

Source: Vnunet

Sometimes, a user comes across a webpage that is no longer available. In that case, he or she will see an error. A few days ago, F-Secure posted a blog entry about a fake error message which tries to convince the user to download a file to be able to see the webpage.

The article includes a screen shot of what it looks like and it shows which domain name attempted this trick. FraudTool.Win32.Agent.eh is the name of the file that users would have or could have downloaded if they fall for the trick.

Source: F-Secure

Windows Live OneCare will no longer be available according to Microsoft who announced a statement today. The company will release a free security solution instead and its codename is Morro. This software will be released next year.

The article at Ars Technica notes that OneCare subscription service and OneCare for Server will end on the last day of June next year. Emil Portalinski, the writer of the article, notes that this decision by Microsoft makes the company look unreliable.

OneCare users can switch to Morro when it becomes available.

Source: Ars Technica

A new version of Apple’s web browser has been released. Safari 3.2 was released for both Windows and Mac operating systems. According to the article at Earthweb.com, this version fixes at least 11 flaws.

The flaws were discovered by Apple, Microsoft, and Google researchers. One of the flaws is about a TIFF image exploit. When this flaw is exploited, the system could crash or lead to an arbitrary code execution. The one who discovered this specific flaw is Robert Swiecki.

A new feature in this software is an anti-phishing function. This protects users on giving away their information on fake sites.

Source: Earthweb.com

There are hidden features on the Windows 7 alpha build according to an article that was posted earlier today at PC World.

A programmer named Rafael Rivera posted his discoveries about the new features two weeks ago. According to him, the next Windows operating system checks the domain and username of the user to see whether he or she is a full time worker.

The features that were locked includes a dynamic desktop slideshow and multi-touch gestures. Microsoft is still working on these features which is why these features are protected.

Source: PC World

There is a spam about Google Adwords that Sophos has detected. The spam is notifying that the user’s account has been inactive and in order to activate their account, they must click the link that is included in the email. It consists of at least four paragraphs.

Sophos notes that the link doesn’t go where it is supposed to go and that the address of the website registration is Shady Lane.

The message also provided an alternative that in case the link does not work, then the user should copy the URL on their browser and press Enter.

Source: Sophos

Some computers that the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine personnel will be upgraded from Windows XP operating system to Windows Vista. These computers will also get Office 2007.

The computers that are not capable of running Vista will be upgraded to a special Windows XP version instead.

The upgrades will be complete by February according to the article at Information Week. Approximately 30,000 computers will be upgraded.

Most government agencies decided to bypass Vista and will wit until Windows 7 is released.

Source: Information Week

Microsoft released patches today for four vulnerabilities.

One of the two updates fixed three flaws in XML Core Services. “This is a core service for all versions of Microsoft Windows, and it will certainly be a source of research for attackers,” said the director of security operations at nCircle Network Security Inc.

One of the three bugs is a bug that is known since 2007.

The other update, MS-08-068, is a fix for a bug that exists since 2000 according to Ben Greenbaum who is the senior research manager at Symantec Corp.

Source: COMPUTERWORLD

A problem has been reported by various sites about a recent update of the AVG antivirus software. The update incorrectly deletes a critical file in Windows XP.

The PC could no longer boot without the system file that it deletes which is user32.dll. The company admitted that it was detected as a false positive and that some users on the AVG forums offered step-by-step solutions. The solution requires the Windows installation disk.

The spokesman said, “We have immediately released a new virus update (270.9.0/1778) that removes the false positive detection on this file. Please update your AVG and check your files again.”

Source: Vnunet.com

A new version has been released for the virtualization software called Parallels. Version 4.0 features better performance security enhancements.

The new version also reduces power consumption between 15 to 30 percent according to Bill Portin who is the vice president of sales and operations for Parellels.

The cost of Parallels 4.0 is $79.99 and it is available on online stores such as Amazon, Apple, and Best Buy. At the moment, it is only available in English language. However, according to the article at CRN.com, other languages such as Chinese, French, and Japanese are being worked on by the company.

Source: Channel Web