Microsoft Security Essentials vulnerability reminds that security risks are everywhere

Microsoft recently delivered a patch for its malware and antivirus tools, including Security Essentials, Windows Defender, MSRT, and Forefront -- its enterprise antivirus solution. The patch addresses a flaw in Microsoft's scanning engine which could allow an attacker who had a valid username and password to gain elevated rights on a system.

As is often the case with these flaws, the fact that the attacker has valid credentials is arguably a bigger problem than the vulnerability itself. However, there's an important takeaway: at any time, any program on your computer could be putting you at risk. Even your antivirus or anti-malware app.

It's important (and imperative) to keep your operating system and apps as up-to-date as possible. It also helps to know what other programs you can use to ensure your system is safe. Free Windows programs like Secunia PSI -- which scans your system for vulnerable programs -- and Returnil's System Safe -- which lets you complete roll back changes to your computer, including those made by malware -- can be a big help in locking down your system.

Microsoft Security Essentials vulnerability reminds that security risks are everywhere originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/26/microsoft-security-essentials-vulnerability-reminds-that-securit/

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Store Your Data in Retro Style

An Etsy store called 8BitMemory converts old NES games into external hard drives.  They use Toshiba 2.5″ drives for the conversion.  You can get a 500GB for $129.99, 750GB for $149.99, or a 1TB drive for $179.99.  These drives are fully USB-powered.  A Star Wars game is shown here, but many others are available.  You [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/02/23/store-your-data-in-retro-style/

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Visualized: the HTC keyboard slider family

Clockwise from the top left, that's the the Sprint Arrive, the likely-for-Verizon Merge, the Sprint Evo Shift 4G, and the T-Mobile G2. If we had to rate them, we'd say the Arrive has the best key feel, followed by the Merge, the Evo Shift, and finally the cramped G2 -- although the super cheap-feeling hinge on the Evo Shift knocks off several points. We'd also say the physical keys on the G2 feel better than the mushy keys on the Merge, but the G2's cramped layout doesn't do it any favors. In any event, picking one of these is a pretty great problem to have, don't you think?

Visualized: the HTC keyboard slider family originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/25/visualized-the-htc-keyboard-slider-family/

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Nintendo 3DS launches in Japan, populace tears through initial 400,000 unit shipment

You won't be able to snap one up at your local GameStop for a full month, but the Nintendo 3DS had a solid launch in Japan today, reportedly liquidating nearly its entire initial shipment of 400,000 spiffy stereoscopic gaming handhelds by the end of the day. Some of those sales were to customers waiting in a few lines up to 2,000 persons long, but those lines were exceptions to the norm -- several publications note that very few stores actually had any lines to speak of, as most Japanese electronics retailers sold out when the 3DS went on pre-order over a month ago. Get a refresher on what to expect from the system here (and here) or read all about the surprisingly orderly Japanese launch at our source links.

Update: Our friends at Engadget Japanese were on hand for the 3DS launch, and picked up a pair of systems themselves -- get a closer look at one of the first retail 3DS units in the gallery below!


Nintendo 3DS launches in Japan, populace tears through initial 400,000 unit shipment originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink NeoGAF, PC World  |  sourceNikkei Shimbun, Andriasang  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/D9AMHkLfN8g/

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How Hollywood Studios Harness Your Brainwaves to Win Oscars [Video]

One thing you aren't likely to hear Sunday night from the Oscar-winning producer after accepting the trophy for Best Picture: "I'd like to thank my neuroscience partners who helped us enhance the film's script, characters, and scenes." More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/AV4xEE6pL0U/how-hollywood-studios-harness-your-brainwaves-to-win-oscars

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Five privacy protection Firefox add-ons for Data Privacy Day

dataprivacyday
Happy Data Privacy Day! While Lee already published one roundup showing a multitude of various tools, this post is all about Firefox!

If you're reading Download Squad, you already know all of these classics. Kudos to you! Now go ahead and let your less computer-savvy coworkers or family members read this list, and make sure they install at least one of these if they use Firefox at all.

  • HTTPS Everywhere is an add-on by the beardies over at the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). It forces Firefox to communicate using HTTPS (secure HTTP) with a number of major websites, such as Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, PayPal and others.
  • Ghostery focuses on those corporations and institutions bent on tracking your movements around the Web (or on their own websites). It detects when you're being tracked by Google Analytics, Facebook and over 400 other ad networks, and provides an easy way to block those tracking mechanisms while leaving all other JavaScript functionality intact.
  • Web of Trust provides a clear "traffic light" indication showing which sites you can trust with your credit card details, and which sites you should be leery of. The ratings are user-generated, and you don't have to access the actual website in question to view them - they show up right on the search results page when you use Google, Yahoo!, Bing and even Wikipedia.
  • NoScript is somewhat similar to Ghostery mentioned above, in that it also blocks JavaScript. But it's a more extreme solution: Rather than just block trackers, it implements a "white list", blocking all JavaScript except for scripts running on domains you trust. One of its many advantages is that it protects against cross-site scripting attacks.
  • BetterPrivacy protects you against a different kind of cookie - one that you can't flush just by clearing your browser history. These cookies are called Local Storage Objects, or Flash cookies, and are put on your computer using the Flash plug-in. BetterPrivacy scrubs these cookies off your system every time your exit your browser.
Did I miss any of the must-have privacy add-ons for Firefox? Share your recommendations in the comments!

[Image credit: dcJohn]

Five privacy protection Firefox add-ons for Data Privacy Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/28/five-privacy-protection-firefox-add-ons-for-data-privacy-day/

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Shopping List Manager for Windows Phone 7 organizes your grocery runs

The number of apps available for Windows Phone 7 is starting to climb sharply and we've seen more good apps of late, too -- not just soundboards and wrappers around mobile websites. If you're after a nice WP7 app to manage your grocery store excursions, check out Shopping Lists Manager.

Create a list, add items, and you'll get a checklist to mark off items as you add them to your grocery basket (or cart, if that's how you roll). Shopping Lists Manager will also optionally hide checked items so they're not cluttering up your list view. Better still, you can register and then sync your lists between two devices -- very handy if you and your roommate or significant other want to collaborate on purchase planning.

Download Shopping List Manager for Windows Phone 7

Shopping List Manager for Windows Phone 7 organizes your grocery runs originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/24/shopping-list-manager-for-windows-phone-7-organizes-your-grocery-shopping/

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Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game

shotshotpirate
Shot Shot Pirate is very satisfying, because each level is short and to the point. You know what you have to do and you just do it.

As you may have gathered from the name, you're cast in the role of a pirate. Your goal is to shoot at a diamond and make it fall off a tower of bricks. The height of the tower changes as you progress through the levels. It's not enough to just make the diamond fall off the tower of bricks - it has to fall below a certain line (drawn on the screen) for the level to be completed.

There are also different kinds of bricks, with some heavier than others, and different kinds of ammo. You only get a certain amount of ammo for each level, and when it's gone, you lose. But don't worry! If you don't make it on the first try, it's very easy to restart the level and just give it another shot (or three).

All in all it's a cute game. I've seen similar games with better graphics and music, but the game delivers on its main promise - a few minutes of pure time wasting!

Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/24/shot-shot-pirate-is-a-fun-simple-physics-game/

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Opera 11.10 Barracuda incoming

With nothing more than the most tantalizing of teasers, the Opera team has just announced that an early build of Opera 11.10, codenamed Barracuda, will emerge "in the near future."

As far as Barracuda's feature set is concerned, all we know is that "another popular Opera feature will be taken to the next level."

If any of Download Squad's seven Opera users are out there: shall we take some bets on which feature the Opera team is hinting at? Our money's on hardware acceleration, though that doesn't really fit with Opera's hint...

Opera 11.10 Barracuda incoming originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/15/opera-11-10-barracuda-incoming/

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Calm Down, Apple Isn't Starting a Real Streaming Music Service [Apple]

For a long time now, many have speculated Apple might start their own "all you can eat" streaming music service to compete against the likes of Rdio, MOG and Rhapsody. But anonymous industry sources are telling the Financial Times that Apple has no plans to "cannibalize" their iTunes download service, and that the technology they acquired in their 2009 purchase of Lala will be used for "insurance." More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KjIJ9guAmcY/calm-down-apple-isnt-starting-a-real-streaming-music-service

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