Mobile Phones Become Targets of Hacking

Mobile phones are becoming ever more like personal computers. That means they are also becoming more vulnerable to traditional computer menaces like hackers and viruses.
This year, the Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Lab reported on a new malicious program that stole money by taking over Nokia phones and making small charges to the owners’ wireless accounts.
Last month, an Australian student created an experimental worm that hopscotched across “jailbroken” iPhones, which are phones altered to run software Apple has not authorized. The mischievous worm did not cause any damage; it just installed a photo of the ’80s pop star Rick Astley. But to security experts, it suggested that pernicious attacks on iPhones are possible.

Where there are perceived security threats, there are always entrepreneurs and investors looking to capitalize on them — and build profitable businesses. This month Khosla Ventures, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm, led an investment group that injected $5.5 million into a fledgling security start-up called Lookout.

Lookout, based in San Francisco, was previously a consulting firm called Flexilis run by recent graduates of the University of Southern California. Now it wants to be the security giant of the mobile world, similar to the role Symantec plays in the PC market.

This year, Lookout began testing security software for phones running the Windows Mobile and Android operating systems, and it will soon introduce security applications for the BlackBerry and iPhone. The software protects phones against rogue programs and gives phone owners the ability to remotely back up and erase the data on their phones. It also lets them track the location of their handset on the Web.

A basic version of the software is free, while the company plans to charge a monthly subscription for a version with more features.

“It feels a lot like it did in 1999 in desktop security,” said John Hering, Lookout’s 26-year-old chief executive, who for years has done research demonstrating security vulnerabilities in phones. “People are using the mobile Web and downloading applications more than ever before, and there are threats that come with that.”

Lookout represents the latest attempt to build a new business that capitalizes on the surge of smartphones. Thousands of companies making mobile games, shopping tools and other programs have sprung up in the last two years as the iPhone in particular has taken off. Lookout and its investors believe this is the right time to get into the market.

“The rules of mobile are different,” said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, which also recently invested in Square, a mobile payments start-up. “This is people’s most personal computer, and it needs to be protected.”

Companies like Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, and Good Technology, a Silicon Valley-based mobile messaging firm, already offer mobile security tools, but their systems are aimed at businesses. Security firms like Symantec also have mobile security divisions, and a five-year-old company, Trust Digital, based in McLean, Va., has set its sights on this market.

Lookout says it can address the unique challenges of protecting cellphones, like preserving battery life. While the company will not give details, it says it has figured out how to get its software to work on the iPhone, which does not allow non-Apple programs to operate in the background, as security software typically does.

Mr. Hering and his co-founder, Kevin Mahaffey, 25, have been publicly demonstrating the weaknesses of mobile phones for some time. In 2005, they camped outside the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood and scanned the phones of stars walking the red carpet, using a short-range Bluetooth wireless connection. They found that as many as 100 of the phones were vulnerable to hacking over such a connection.

That year, at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, they hacked into a phone over a mile away using Bluetooth.

Lookout’s founders and backers concede that for now, snoops and bad guys pose much less of a threat to cellphones than to PCs. But they believe there is an immediate need for software that preserves and protects a phone’s data, from e-mail to corporate information, and they say current systems do not work when a family or business has multiple types of cellphones on various wireless networks.

For instance, a small business could install the Lookout software on many different types of devices, back up all the data and remotely erase a phone if, say, an employee leaves it in a cab.

Jeff Moss, a security expert and organizer of the Black Hat conference, said mobile security had historically “been a solution in search of a problem.” But he said mobile viruses had recently become more common in Asia. His own Nokia N97 phone even caught a bug recently, though software he was running from F-Secure, a Finnish security company, caught it in time.

“The tipping point will be when we’re using the phone to shop and conduct banking,” Mr. Moss said. “The more you do with the phone, the more valuable a target it becomes.”
By BRAD STONE
Article Sourch :http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/brad_stone/index.html?inline=nyt-per

Troubleshooting Security Windows Vista

Firewall troubleshooting
Windows Firewall which comes with Windows Vista really sticks in the hatch in the port. Thus you can experience some problems when you first switch to the Windows Firewall. Here are some common problems and solutions to the problem.

Some Internet applications do not work when installed on Windows Vista

Stricter security measures imposed by the Windows Firewall, some online games and other Internet programs are not working correctly. Microsoft maintains a list of these programs and ways to this problem in Knowledge Base article 842242 fixed. To access the page, scroll to http://support.microsoft.com and search for 842,242. Optionally you can access http:// support.microsoft.com / default.aspx? Scid = kb, en, 842,242 & Product = windowsxpsp2. While the previous article was based on the Windows XP Service Pack 2, a list of applications and configurations for applications that still applies to Vista.

Error message "Windows Firewall has blocked this program to accept connections"

This message is just a warning. With the assumption that you are familiar with the FTP site and the confidence of the owner, you can block and continue uploading the file (s).

Can not adjust the Windows Firewall for AOL dial-up connection

AOL does not follow the same standards of other ISPs do, so you can be the firewall to enable access America Online. (It's risky business and you might want to consider to contact AOL about a better solution, or consider switching to another ISP.) If you disable the Windows Firewall to get online, follow these steps:

1. If you are online, the connection to the Internet.

2. Press the Windows key, type in seconds, and then click the Security Center. Or click on the Start button and choose Control Panel -> Security -> Security Center.

3. In the Windows Security Center window, select the Windows Firewall from the left column.

4. Click Change settings. Raise your rights by clicking Continue or by entering the password of the administrative account.

5. Click on (not recommended).

6. Click OK.

7. Close all open windows. You should be able to get online. The AOL would be better to find an alternative solution that allows you to get online without Windows Firewall. Hopefully there will be a better solution at the time you read this, because it will be online without a firewall to significant security risks to your system cause.

Phone dialer does not work after you install Windows Vista Windows Firewall is blocking TCP port 1720, which is used by many phone calls program. This was done to prevent unauthorized calls from the program connected to the network without your knowledge. For your phone to dial into work, you must open these ports as follows:

1. Click the Start button and choose Control Panel -> Security Center. Or press the Windows key, type in seconds, and then click the Security Center.

2. In the Windows Security Center window, select the Windows Firewall from the left column.

3. In the left column, click Allow a program through Windows Firewall, and lift your rights by clicking OK or by entering the password for the administrative user.

4. In the Windows Firewall Settings dialog that opens, click the Exceptions tab.

5. Click the Add Port.

6. Type in what you name as the box, as Dialup Port 1720. 7. Type the number in 1720 as a port and select TCP.

8. Click OK in each dialog box that appears.

9. Close the Windows Firewall and Security Center window.

Opening port 1720 allows the voter to call via this link, even programs that are not valid can be a conscious act by the Internet. These ports to block, return to the Exceptions tab of the dialog box and uncheck the box to the left of the name you specified in step 6 of the series of the previous steps.

Antivirus Software Troubleshooting

If you have problems installing antivirus program, make sure you get the version for Windows Vista is installed. Safety programs written for Windows XP or other Windows versions do not work with Vista, because Vista is the operating system is much different. Check your antivirus program website publishers to update and additional information about the product on Windows Vista.

Problems Automatic Updates

Automatic Updates has changed many times over the years and continue to grow to this day. Your best bet for solving problems with the automatic update is straight to the source of current information. Click the Start button and select All Programs -> Windows Update. In the left column of the Windows Update page that opens, click on Updates: frequently asked questions. Scroll to the bottom of the Help window open and click on the Problems with installing updates.

Problems with Windows Defender

Your best resources for Windows Defender will of Defense website, visit www.microsoft.com / defender.

Troubleshooting ActiveX Control Downloads

Windows Firewall blocks ActiveX controls downloaded. If you click on a link does not provide the desired results, look at the information bar of Internet Explorer for more information. With the assumption that you consider safe ActiveX controls, click the Run bar and select Install ActiveX control or ActiveX controls.

Article Sourch :http://www.web-articles.info/e/a/title/Troubleshooting-Security-In-Windows-Vista/

A Place in the Sun for Apple’s MacBook

By STEPHEN WILLIAMS

Pay your money and take your choice: a solar-powered battery charger for an Apple MacBook for $1,200; or a new Apple MacBook for $200 less.

A Kansas company called QuickerTek has just announced the Apple “Juicz,” for those who just can’t find an AC outlet nearby, but can find the sun (the company claims someone took a Mac and a Juicz on a visit to Mount Everest and it worked well—closer to the sun, I guess).

The $1,200 lightweight, flexible panel puts out 55 watts and supposedly fully recharges just about any current Apple laptop in six hours, plugging into the Magsafe port. A bargain model for $700 has 27 watts and takes about twice as long to recharge the MacBook.

It’s a serious device, but at this price, one would have to be either committed to going green full time, or just committed. After all, AC outlets are…well, ubiquitous. As one reviewer noted, $1,200 could buy one heck of an extension cord.

Article Sourc :http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/a-place-in-the-sun-for-apples-macbook/

Dell Adds Firepower to Its Workstation Line

By STEPHEN WILLIAMS

With netbooks and ever-slimmer notebook computers attracting the lion’s share of consumers’ attention this holiday, Dell apparently believes there’s still room for workhorse PCs, even if — at about nine pounds — they defy current fashion. Enter the Precision M6500 “mobile workstation.”

Workstations are just that: monster-spec machines made for high-performance and powerhouse applications (although it still runs user-friendly Microsoft’s Windows 7, among other operating systems). Dell’s just-released package, priced to start at $2,750, is structured around an advanced Intel Core i7 quad-core processor — among the first mobile PCs to use that chip — and a 17-inch, 1920-by-1200 LED-lighted screen. There’s a gaudier variation, the Covet, in hot copper orange ($4,220), that makes the Apple MacBook Pro look like the Fisher Price version.

While the base version is loaded with only 2 gigabytes of memory — not nearly enough for a computer with this potential — it will accommodate up to 16 gigs in four memory slots, a feature normally found on desktops, not on laptops. The nine-cell battery should run strong, although its life on the road depends on how the PC is configured. The M6500 began shipping on Dec. 1.

Article Sourch :http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/dell-adds-firepower-to-its-workstation-line/

Norton Antivirus 2010

The New Ultimate Security System For Your PC

The presentation of Norton Antivirus 2010 will open a new chapter in protection system with the lightest and fastest antivirus application created on the line of revised technology based on experience.

Hackers and spammers would be away with the uninterrupted protection with Symantec intrusion detection system. It prevents and stops viruses and spyware.Positive action eliminates open threats and bars fresh threats promptly to safeguard your PC.

Norton Antivirus 2010 works with minimum memory requirement and its intrusion detection system detects hidden spiteful symbols before its invasion. Norton's updating system ensures that you are always covered by Symantec security network with regular updates that are affected within minutes.

The new Version works on the principle of intelligence based technology to speed up the scanning process and thereby takes shorter effective times for scanning. It goes on examining the complete online intelligence network in actual duration to detect the trustworthiness of files present in the system.

It clearly defines the nature of files to be trusted or left out and performs the scanning of doubtful files.This is employed at a very fast speed consuming negligible time for scanning and you use your PC for more time. The files at risk are scanned with lightning speed.

Norton Antivirus 2010 is efficient to provide clean performing process and identifies threats clearly. It is able to provide all the information regarding the CPU including the memory resources utilized by several applications present in the machine for functioning of your PC.

It provides a clear picture of the threats that it recognizes the source and the subsequent effect the threats could bring upon the machine. You are therefore cautioned about threats. You are able to prevent them to infect your machine just by avoiding them. It has the system to update the PC frequently to identify the current threat positions to maintain a perfect security of the system.

Norton Antivirus 2010 has the facility of the real time SONAR2, a competent device that is the online network and advance research system to detect upcoming threats in a quick manner. It continuously watches every file and each process separately to keep the PC free from any kind of threats.

Download now your Free Norton Antivirus 2010 Trial Version and test it yourself.

By Adrian Keating
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Keating

Beat the Heat

Effective Cooling Strategies For Today's Datacenters

Datacenter cooling is the main concern for many datacenter managers. Excess heat in a server room adversely affects equipment performance, shortens its lifespan, and leads to a premature end of life for equipment. Keeping a server room at the recommended 68 ° to 77 ° F (1) is not an easy task. There are many factors that make cooling today’s datacenters a significant challenge, including high-density computing clusters and rapid changes in technology.

High-Density Computing Clusters

The rise in the use of blade servers and virtual servers has greatly increased the potential amount of power consumed per rack, as well as the resulting heat output. While the heat dissipated by a 2 ft by 2.5 ft rack is currently about 10 kilowatts or more, experts estimate that designs for future equipment will require dissipations of 30-50 kW in the same rack space.(2) The trend toward increased power consumption has been documented in several studies, including one recent five-year study of 19 computer rooms that showed that power consumption rose by 39% from 1999-2005.(3)

Changes in Technology

Traditionally, advances in technology have occurred at an extremely rapid rate, as illustrated by “Moore's Law,” which predicts the doubling of semiconductor performance approximately every 24 months. Historically, increased computational abilities have led to increased power consumption and heat loads. Datacenter managers should take these trends into account when planning for future expansion. According to Gartner Research, "Without careful planning and coordination between the data center facilities staff and the server procurement staff, data centers will not be able to increase power or cooling in line with increases in server deployments…through year-end 2008, heat and cooling requirements for servers will prevent 90 percent of enterprise data centers from achieving the maximum theoretical server density." (4)

Isolating Hot Spots

Hot Spots are areas in a datacenter that are not properly cooled, often resulting in temperatures that exceed recommend conditions for maximum equipment reliability and performance. Hot spots are not necessarily caused by a lack of cooling capacity and commonly occur in datacenters with sufficient or excess cooling capacity, but can be caused by poor circulation or improper air flow.

Zone Hot Spots can be present over fairly large areas in a datacenter and occur when the temperature at all air intake levels of a rack or cabinet are too hot, due to expelled air flow that is not properly routed.

Vertical Hot Spots occur over a small area and often affect a single server rack. They occur when equipment at the bottom of a rack consumes the available supply of cold air and devices higher up in the rack pull in the hot air exhaust of adjacent equipment or ambient air.

Strategies to Improve Datacenter Cooling

Datacenter managers can take several steps to meet datacenter cooling challenges, including choosing the right rack, increasing datacenter energy efficiency, using liquid cooling units, and taking advantage of environmental monitoring.

1. Select The Right Rack And Accessories

To fully maximize equipment cooling, when selecting a server rack consider intelligent and space-efficient design features that various rack models offer, including frame profile and capacity for increased packing density. Use blanking panels to manage air flow efficiency and select a rack with built-in channels for better cable management and improved air flow. Fully perforated doors and top panels can help improve ventilation as well. Also consider server rack accessories that will improve cooling, including fans, enclosure blowers, and rack air conditioners. In addition, consider using energy-efficient power supplies, such as 220V power, which significantly increases available amperage into the server rack, using fewer circuits while providing a more balanced power load. This can reduce the overall number of PDUs needed to power equipment, leaving more space for airflow.

2. Aim for Energy Efficiency

There are several steps you can take to reduce overall energy consumption and resulting heat loads in your data center. To begin with, consider hiring an expert to conduct room diagnostics, measure airflow, and correct any cooling problems identified. Next, conduct a thorough audit of your equipment and determine if any servers can be consolidated or discarded—this process can cut power consumption in some organizations by up to 30%. (5) Finally, clean up any clutter under your datacenter floor, including cabling, that might be impeding air flow.

3. Deploy Liquid Cooling Units

As power-intensive applications and server densities have increased, Liquid Cooling Packages (LCPs) have become a valuable alternative to ambient air cooling and can better meet the cooling challenges presented by high-density computing clusters. These modular, temperature-neutral high-density cooling solutions utilize air/water heat exchangers to provide uniform, effective cooling. Liquid cooling units use a special horizontal airflow with constant-temperature cold air provided at the front intake and hot air removed from the rear of the enclosure. They can be mounted at the rack base, in a rack “side car.” Fully-loaded LCPs have a 30kW cooling output with three cooling modules possible per equipment rack, and controlled variable speed fan and water flow based on actual heat load generated in a cabinet.

4. Use Environmental Monitoring

These devices allow administrators to proactively monitor rack and server room temperature, including hot spots, at any time and from anywhere and provide protection to mission-critical applications. They also allow administrators to continuously monitor amperage draw per circuit, water leaks, and physical security and can send alerts automatically via SMTP/SMS/SNMP when conditions exceed established thresholds. This allows IT managers to quickly respond to any irregularities before they become larger problems. Environmental monitoring devices also help administrators in future planning, as they provide valuable data that can be used for trending analysis.

When considering datacenter management, cooling is only one piece of the puzzle. Other key considerations include intelligent power management and KVM console management tools. The team at 42U specializes in assessing needs, creating solutions, and supporting our clients, to ensure that IT professionals maximize their use of current technologies to improve overall business performance.

References:

(1) Flaherty, Escott, Soucey and Khankari. (2005). “Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments” (2004) referenced in “CFD Simulation Helps Optimize DataCenter Cooling Performance.” Datacenter Journal.

(2) Brill, K. (2005) “2005-2010 Heat Density Trends in Data Processing, Computer Systems and Telecommunications Equipment.” Uptime Institute.

(3) Brill, K. (2005) “2005-2010 Heat Density Trends in Data Processing, Computer Systems and Telecommunications Equipment.” Uptime Institute.

(4) Connor, D. and Mears, J. (2004). “Blades won't cut it unless you keep them cool.” TechWorld. Quoting Gartner Research (2004).

(5) Mitchell, R. (2006) "Sidebar: Eight Tips For a More Efficient Datacenter.” Computerworld.

This article was written by Lauren Nowenstein, with guidance and input from DirectNET's team of technical sales engineers. If you would like to send us feedback about this article, or have any questions, please write to us.

By Lauren Nowenstein
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lauren_Nowenstein

Finding The Right Driver For Your Laptop

Getting the right driver is essential for your computer and your peripherals. It might even be detrimental to the health of your entire network. In this article you will learn about what a driver is, what you need to know to determine what driver you need and where you can get the right device drivers for you computer.

What is a driver anyway? A driver is a small piece of software that is installed on your computer. It is software that “drives” a device. Your computer needs to know how to get each individual device working, whether it’s installed or plugged in, so if you consider the driver as the instructional manual that your computer reads, you can get the picture. You need the right device driver for your computer, because not all device drivers are created equally.

The device is based upon both your device and your operating system. A printer driver won’t be the same for your Vista machine as a video card driver. Without the right device driver, the computer becomes illiterate. If you have drivers for the same device but on two different operating systems, there are differences. Some people will also describe a driver as a liaison or a translator between the computer and the peripheral. Anything you add onto your computer can require a driver. Some items are considered plug and play but many require just a small program to act as that translator or instruction manual.

You may need device drivers when you install a piece of hardware or plug it in. You may also need device drivers when you do an operating system upgrade or a hard drive formatting. Sometimes our drivers are not compatible with new systems and other times we need new copies just because there was something corrupt on our computer that disrupted the integrity of the driver or deleted the software.

If you don’t install the right driver, not only will your device be unlikely to work but you could cause other problems. When a computer is looking for a device to initialize or command and it cannot find it, it can cause other networking problems including fatal errors. Be sure that when you download a driver, not only does the manufacturer and model number of the peripheral match but also that the operating system matches as well. This is something that is discussed in more detail on the website http://www.laptopdriverstoday.com, which is filled with information on how to find the right driver for your laptop.

There are programs that can help you find the right drivers whether you are having problems with your computer after an upgrade or if you are determining what your requirements for upgrading an operating system will be. Beyond this, manufacturers and third party websites exist to guide you and help you find the right driver.

You might require drivers for any number of devices including: monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner, plotter, USB port, Bluetooth device, video cards, PCMCIA cards and other hardware as well. But whatever you need it for, the golden rule is to make sure that the device driver is the right one or you could end up with malfunctioning equipment, not to mention a bad headache.

Carl Formby writes for http://www.laptopdriverstoday.com a website packed with resources on how to find the best laptop drivers, including the right laptop display drivers. Get Your Laptop Driver Now....!!!

By Carl Formby
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carl_Formby

Using a Registry Cleaner to Speed Up Windows 7

Using a registry cleaner has its risks and rewards, but if you want to speed up your PC, it's something that many people are interested in trying. Luckily, we've been using registry cleaners for a long time and the good news is that they do work very well to make Windows 7 run faster.... but as you're about to find out, you need to be careful when using them. Contrary to popular belief, registry cleaners don't actually work to speed up your PC in the typical sense. They do the opposite - they 'cleanse' your computer of junk files and errors, in order to make it run more reliably and efficiently. It's basically like cleaning out your closet - your PC is able to find all the files it needs & run the programs it wants extremely quickly. This means that if you use a registry cleaner to make your PC run faster, you need one which is going to be able to fix the most problems that are causing it to slow down.

The problem with many registry tools is that they remove the wrong parts of your system, meaning that they delete perfectly healthy files & settings, making Windows run even slower. They work by basically scanning through your 'system files' of your PC, which is where Windows keeps its most important information and settings, and then removing any of the erroneous or junk files that are in there. What happens with Windows (and this is still a problem with Windows 7), is that whenever you use your PC, many files are saved in the wrong way, making them unable to be processed quickly enough, which slows your PC down. Over time, this makes Windows run at a snail's pace and generally makes your system unusable.

Registry utilities fix this by cleaning out all the causes of problems on your PC... however, because Windows Seven is so new, many registry tools do not recognize many of its new features & files, making them delete a lot of "healthy" files on your system. This means that if you want to speed up Windows 7 with a registry cleaner, you really just need to get the best one for that operating system, install it and then let it remove the errors it finds. You should also use the backup feature it has before removing any problems that it will find, which is a feature all good registry tools have.

Using a registry cleaner to speed up Windows 7 is one of the most beneficial and effective ways to do it. However, to speed up your PC the most, you need to use the best registry cleaner. From our experience, the best registry cleaner is a tool called "RegAce".

By James Henry Johnson
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Henry_Johnson