December 2nd, 2009
Recently, I discussed a problem some people have been experiencing with black screens. I had reported that a company, Prevx, had identified that Microsoft’s recent patches were responsible for black screens. Prevx and Microsoft both have further examined the condition and determined that the black screens were not caused by Microsoft’s security updates as previous believed, but by malware, such as Daonol. Once again, Microsoft’s patches are safe and are not the cause of these black screens.
The fix that Prevx had provided, and I had included on my previous entry, didn’t fix the problem in all cases. The fix apparently works if the black screen began within the past couple of weeks, after running security software. Some users had to resort to reloading Windows to repair the issue.
Prevx identified ten different scenarios that could trigger the black screens, and most have been available for years. All Windows Operating Systems from NT to 7 can be affected by the problem, which is potentially million of computers world wide.
Tags: black screens, Daonol, Microsoft, Microsoft Update, patches, Prevx, update issues, updates, windows 2000, windows 7, Windows NT, Windows Update, windows vista, windows xp
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December 2nd, 2009
Comcast is testing a new service in Portland, Oregon that tracks the total traffic each cable modem on its network generates and throttles back on the user’s bandwidth once it hits the 250 GB mark. With the Comcast Usage Meter, customers can view their usage and make their own decisions to avoid high-traffic activities. The service is being directed to the 1% of customers that go well beyond the 250 GB limit allowed by Comcast’s usage policy.
Some examples of high-traffic activities may include: VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), streaming HD content and videos, peer-to-peer file sharing and downloads, newsgroups, and online gaming.
I’m a high-traffic Internet user because of my business and all of the entertainment options for my household are exclusive to the web. I am not a Comcast customer. But, I am fearful that if Comcast begins to throttle back on their customer’s Internet usage, other companies will follow. I’d hate to have to run out of bandwidth while helping a customer over the Internet just because I watched an HD movie on NetFlicks the night before.
Tags: 250 GB, bandwidth throttling, Comcast, Comcast Internet, Comcast Usage Meter, downloads, file sharing, HD content, ISP, Netflicks, newsgroups, online gaming, peer-to-peer, Portland Oregon, streaming video, VoIP
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December 1st, 2009
A Microsoft representative has confirmed that Office 2010 will be released in June. Although some details prices have not been revealed, Microsoft has stated that the online (cloud-based) version of Office 2010 Web Apps will be an ad supported, striped down version that will be available to the casual home user looking to send a quick letter. For students and more advanced home users, Microsoft’s best selling version, the Home and Student edition, will include all of the advanced features that students will require for lengthy documents such as term papers.
Tags: Available in June, Office 2010, Office Home and Student, Office Web Apps
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December 1st, 2009
New Zealander Lance Atkins and his accomplice in the US Jody Smith were fined $15 million by a New Zealand court for sending billions of deceptive spam email messages pushing prescriptions drugs including Viagra and Cializ. The unsafe and unapproved drugs sold by HerbalKing were imported from India and advertised as generic versions of legitimate medications. The FTC also claimed that they willfully misrepresented the security used to process customer payments putting customer identities and financial records at risk. Jody Smith will be sentenced later this month after pleading guilty to trafficking counterfeit goods and may receive up to five years. Shane Atkins has also be fined $112,00 for sending out spam. This group of spammers constituted the largest spam network and produced about a third of the world’s junk email since 2005.
Tags: Cializ, FTC, identity theft, junk email, junk mail, New Zealand court, prescription drugs, prescription spam, prescriptions, spam, spam email, spam network, spammers, Viagra
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November 30th, 2009
Prevx was alerted by their customers recently that the latest batch of updates from Microsoft are responsible for some PCs to sieze up and display black screens on Windows 7, Vista and XP systems. The updates made changes to the Access Control List (ACL) that affects a portion of the registry responsible for making certain desktop features visible on the desktop.
Prevx has developed a fix and has submitted it to Microsoft. If you’re affected by the problem, you can get the fix here. According to the company there are ten issues that can cause the black screen problem. I had experienced the problem this weekend on a windows 7 computer when I ran Windows Media Center. Ill have to forward the fix to my brother.
Tags: black screens, Microsoft Update, update issues, Windows Update
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