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Security

Submission + - Waledac Botnet Now Completely Offline, Experts Say (threatpost.com)

Trailrunner7 writes: After Microsoft's actions to take down the Waledac botnet last month, there was some question about whether the operation was much more than a grab for headlines that would have little effect on actual spam levels or malware infections. But more than three weeks after the takedown, researchers say that Waledac has essentially ceased communications and its spam operations have dropped to near zero. One researcher said that Waledac now seems to be abandoned. "It looks crippled, if not dead," said Jose Nazario, a senior security researcher at Arbor Networks.
Windows

Submission + - Mark Russinovich about Vista network slowdown 1

koro666 writes: In his latest blog post, Mark Russinovich analyzes the network slowdown experienced by some users when playing multimedia content. "Tests of MMCSS during Vista development showed that [...] heavy network traffic can cause enough long-running DPCs to prevent playback threads from keeping up with their media streaming requirements, resulting in glitching. MMCSS' glitch-resistant mechanisms were therefore extended to include throttling of network activity. It does so by issuing a command to the NDIS device driver [...] [to] pass along, at most 10 packets per millisecond (10,000 packets per second)."
Privacy

Submission + - Judge orders TorrentSpy to turn over "RAM" (zdnet.com)

virgil_disgr4ce writes: "In a monumental example of the gap of understanding between legal officials and technology, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian "found that a computer server's RAM, or random-access memory, is a tangible document that can be stored and must be turned over in a lawsuit." ZDNet, among others, reports on the ruling and its potential for invasion of privacy."
Software

Submission + - Nerdy photo in Vista DVDs thwarts disk pirates

maximus1 writes: Microsoft says that the tiny photo on the Windows Vista business edition installation disks is an antipiracy feature. The tiny photo of three grinning men — less that 1 mm in size — is one of several images incorporated into the hologram's design intended to make it harder to replicate a Vista DVD, according to Nick White on Microsoft's Vista team blog. "The real story is interesting, but conspiracy theorists will be disappointed to learn that it is not the result of a deliberate attempt to deceive," White wrote.
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Woz on the Apple II at 30

turnitover writes: eWEEK has an interview with "the other Steve" — that is, Woz — who holds forth on what his greatest desire for the Apple II was, whether it was fulfilled, and where he sees great ideas coming from today. Hint: it's not from MBAs. This is in the context of the 30th anniversary of the first Apple II shipping (even though it was first unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in April 1977). There's also an overview of the history of the Apple II to put it all in context. Nice tidbit: how important the floppy drive was to sales. Happy birthday, Apple II!
Data Storage

Submission + - RAID vs. JBOD vs. Standard HDD's

Ravengbc writes: Hey everyone, I am in the process of planning and buying some hardware to build a media center/media server. While there are still quite a few things on it that I haven't decided on, such as motherboard/processor, and windows xp vs. Linux, right now my debate is on storage. I'm wanting to have as much storage as possible. At first I was thinking about just putting in a bunch hdd's and leaving it at that. Then I started thinking about doing a RAID array, looking at RAID 5. However, some of the stuff I was initially told about RAID 5, I am now learning to be not true. Such as, RAID 5 drives are limited to the size of the smallest drive in the array. And the way things are looking, even if I gradually replace all of the drives with larger ones, the array will still read the original size. For example, say I have 3x500gb drives in RAID 5 and over time replace all of them with 1TB drives. Instead of reading one big 3tb drive, it will still read 1.5tb. Is this true? I also considered using JBOD simply because I can use different size hdd's and have them all appear to be one large one, but there is no redundancy with this, which has me leaning away from it. If y'all were building a system for this purpose, how many drives and what size drives would y'all use and would y'all do some form of RAID or what? Also, if anyone has suggestions on motherboard/cpu thoughts, I'm open to suggestions. Thanks guys.
Wii

Submission + - Wii to Get New Hardware: Possibly Hard Drive

HoboBob writes: "It has been suggested that Nintendo will be unveiling some new hardware for the Wii at E-3, and some are speculating that it could be a hard drive. According to the article: 'Confirmation back in April that Neo Geo games will begin being added to Wii's Virtual Console download service adds weight to the speculation, considering Neo Geo games are huge — some clocking in it at up to 330MB. One of those bad boys would put serious strain on the Wii's memory.'"
Security

Submission + - Germany declare hacking tools illegal (arstechnica.com)

dubbelj writes: Germany have updated their computer crime law to declare "hacking tools" illegal. This will make most of the network admin and computer security people in a gray area at work. How will this affect Linux distribution in Germany as most of standard Linux distributions come with these kind of "hacking tools" installed by default? How will the rest of EU member countries react on this law, will there be lobbying for the other countries to implement this kind of laws also? Articles in ars technica and The Register.
Software

Submission + - New Gentoo 2007.0 release gets mixed review

lisah writes: "Gentoo's recently released version 2007.0 gets a fair-to-middling review from Linux.com. Installation was a headache from the live CD and DVD versions, but the Gentoo Linux Installer saved the day and gets high marks for being 'far better than it's predecessor.' The user experience is also mixed — on the one hand, the distribution boots quickly, has great hardware support, and new, user-friendly artwork. On the other hand, 'for some strange reason, the installed Gentoo doesn't allow normal users to run any administrative applications.' Overall, it doesn't look like Gentoo offers any compelling reasons to switch to 'Secret Sauce' if they're happy with their current, uh, flavor."
Businesses

Submission + - Best Buy Accused of Overcharging

An anonymous reader writes: Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has accused Best Buy of overcharging. It is said that, customers would see one price on Best Buy's website, but when they got to the store the salesscum would show them a different internal site from a kiosk. Best Buy denies the charges. Link
Privacy

Submission + - Bill bans NSA eavesdropping

Anonymous Coward writes: "The US house of representatives today passed a bill outlawing illegal domestic wiretapping by the government. Now Bush can pry into your private communications only under terms of FISA.

The ACLU noted that, despite many recent hearings about "modernization" and "technology neutrality," the administration has not publicly provided Congress with a single example of how current FISA standards have either prevented the intelligence community from using new technologies, or proven unworkable for the agents tasked with following them."
Space

Submission + - Remains of James Doohan lost after landing

caffiend666 writes: "According to a Space.com news article the cremated remains of 200 people were lost in mountains after trip to space. 'The search for the UP Aerospace payload of experiments and the cremated remains of some 200 people — including "Scotty" of Star Trek fame, as well as pioneeering NASA Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper — continues within rugged New Mexico mountain landscape.' Is it just me, or does it appropriate that they lost the landing party? He wasn't wearing a red shirt, was he? Here's to a safe recovery!"

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