Windows 7 in danger of “Unfixable Exploit” [Gasps!]

For all of the updated and extra security Microsoft is touting for Windows 7, this latest revelation doesn’t bode well for consumer confidence for Microsoft’s latest up and coming operating system.  A malicious program with such prowess and finesse must have some size behind it rigth?  Wrong!  The program responsible for attaching itself to 7 weighs in at a measly 3KB and goes b the name of “VBootki 2.0″.  According to Network World, researches have determined that your handy virus software will have a pretty tough time catching this tiny parasite, as it will attach itself to system memory during the boot up process – a time when virus scanners aren’t exactly at their strongest.  After said install, any Cybercriminal will then have complete access to do whatever he wants pretty much.  If you’re shakin’ in your boots, don’t.  VBootkit can’t be installed remotely meaning you’ll have to at least be in the same physical region as the hacker.  Whew!  That’s a relief.

Source: Gizmodo, Network World, Electronista, Engadget

Mobile Lie Detector: Putting strangers on the spot since 2009

If there was ever a time when you wanted to profusely question some random stranger on the street and put them on the spot, getting them to reveal their deepest darkest secrets, today (well yesterday) was your day.  The Portable Lie detector will bring out the private detective in all of us by allowing us to take our secret lie detecting fetish into the mainstream masses.  Said detector is fairly straight forward to use.  Upon the first time firing it up, it will want to “train” itself so that it can establish a baseline to reference to.  After the initial training you are good to go.  Besides being tiny and portable, the Portable Lie Detector has a claimed “high degree of accuracy” making this portable truth seeker even more potent.  One other added benefit is that the test subject doesn’t even have to be physically present as you can hook up  a cell phone for long distance lie seeking.  If this is exactly what you have been wondering the hallways of life for, open your wallet, and head to Brickhouse Security and plunker down $49.95 cold ones.

Source: Techchee, Coated,

DVD’s apparently aren’t yours…even after paying for them…according to the MPAA

We all know the RIAA is a poisonous cancer on this earth.  The MPAA, the evil twin of the RIAA goes head to head with RealNetworks over their completely legal RealDVD Software.  The reason for the cat fight is that the MPAA sees the circumvention of encrypted DVD’s as illegal no matter the circumstance.  Apparently we all rent our movies now.  The legal tussle doesn’t even mention the obvious fact that copying a DVD for personal use, just as everyone does with CD’s, isn’t something that should be legally allowed.  Nor the fact that the encryption to prevent personal back ups should be illegal in and of itself as it is a violation of consumers’ rights.  But like all greedy copyright corporations, the MPAA is hiding behind the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which as mentioned before, prohibits circumventing encryption software.  It really is pathetic that society here in America actually sides with these people and companies.  I mean honestly, do you really think you should have to buy five copies of a movie, (one for the house, one for the car, one for the bedroom…etc., etc.?  No.  So why is this issue still relevant?

Source: Wired, *Image Source: Blog CDN*

GoSatWatch for iPhone. Watch satellites with ease

If you are a close astronomer and love everything about space and the surrounding heavens, chances are you just may like to watch or track our very own man made satellites as they orbit by.  Doing so with the naked eye or even a fancy telescope can sometimes be difficult.  Thankfully there are creative iPhone developers who slave away in front of a computer for hours while the star gazers are outside having fun.  The fruits of their slaving?  GoSatWatch.  With this app, locating and tracking satellites is exponentially easier and even fun.  With special tabs for certain celestial objects such as the international space station make tracking the more popular objects even easier.  The app will pinpoint your location based on the iPhones built-in GPS in which you can have satellite tracks overlaid on the map showing just how close satellites are actually coming to your location.  All-in-all, star gazers and space nuts should definitely check out GoSatWatch.

Source: TUAW

*Chuckling* – “Oh Time Warner…how we hate thee…”

I’m sorry for bringing up Time Warner again and broaband caps in general, but this needs to heard so that it doesn’t happen to more people.  Last week, Time Warner decided that they  needed to “educate” the public more on tiered plans.  Because of this “re-learning process”, they were effectively postponing the rollout of anymore tiered/capped testing.  We all knew that this was merely a PR move at best and that the tiers would be back.  However, the speed and means of pushing the tiers and caps wasn’t expected in quite the way they are now attempting.  What is the basis of our government and economy?  *This is where you say “Capitalism”.  Correct!  Small companies grow big with happy customers.  New small companies come in and keep the big companies competitive and keep monopolies and anti-consumer policies away.  Apparently someone forgot to tell Time Warner how capitalism works.  Come in side for the utterly disgusting details.

“MyVerizon” released for Blackberry users

In the age of countless unlimited plans, the once great urge and need to constantly check to see how many minutes, texts, and data you had used was a very real reality that consumed countless minutes of your life that are now gone forever, never able to be reclaimed.  However, for some, they still want to know.  Not to mention, the old way of logging on to your account on a desktop computer, a location that fewer and fewer people are spending time near, means a mobile application would be a benefit of epic proportions.  Verizon Blackberry users, (Curve 8330, Pearl 8130 and 8830 World Edition), can now stay on the up-and-up with such things as voice/text/data usage, make payments, check balances, as well as changing voicemail passwords and making other changes such as adding/removing plan features with Verizon’s handy new Blackberry application, “MyVerizon”.  While it won’t keep anyone from adding/dropping Verizon service, it certainly is a nice and very handy addition.
Source: Boy Genius, Howard Forums

EU Parliament cares about cellular users, caps text/voice roaming charges

There isn’t a better example of price gouging and customer screwing than ceullar companies’ pricing on overage charges.  While the title and linked article deal with roaming charges, because of the differences in geographic locations, overage charges are more or less a this-for-that type of issue here in America.  For example, most carriers in the United States are now charging $0.45 per minute over your montly allotment.  Text messages aren’t any better ringing in at $0.15-$0.20 for overages.  Neither voice or data cost anywhere near that much to the carrier, so why do they pass it on to us?