Somehow I don’t think this is exactly what Energizer had in mind…
Users of Energizer’s USB DUO Battery Charger are going to want to sever all connections to their computers ASAP. According to the US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team), USB DUO installs a silent yet rather nasty trojan virus that effectively turns your PC into a bot, allowing outsiders access to your PC and digital belongings, and ultimately, gives them total control.
Woried users should pay close attention to a file named “Arucer.dll” using port 7777 as that is the main culprit. The first step is to completely remove the Energizer program, which will effectively cut off the automatically updating trojan. But if I were you, I’d go the extra mile and toss the “Acrucer.dll” out the window too. You can find it in the windows32 folder. You can’t ever be too careful.
Let’s hope next time Energizer is a bit more meticulate in coding and releasing software that is free from viruses, eh?
Slashdot > Computer World
- December 30, 2009 12:45 pm
As much as I’d love to, I simply won’t be in Times Square for the big ball drop into 2010. But just because I’m not there doesn’t mean I’m missing out. Some would argue that staying home (or at least indoors) is a much better experience as you get the benefit of countless camera angles, more coverage of the event, and of course a surrounding air temperature above freezing. The latter of which is a big one for me seeing as how I hate the cold.
Since most party goers will start arriving late tonight/early tomorrow for the festivities and taking into account they’ll have to remain motionless to keep their spots as close to the excitement as possible, boredom will no doubt set in. On a completely different and unrelated sidenote: Powering that giant 9,500 LED strong dropping ball takes a fair amount of juice even considering the LED, eco-friendly/hug a tree technology.
Energizer has a solution to kill two birds with one stone — enter the Smart Power Lab. Energizer is setting up a mobile pedal powered smart lab (say that ten times fast) that will give bored/cold onlookers the chance to supply energy to power the ’09/’10 ball. Simply give a few minutes of your time and have the energy created stored for later use tomorrow night. The coolest part is that their are screens showing you how much energy your currently producing as well as telling you overall how much you’ve produced.
It’s a novel concept to say the least. One which goes to show how clever advertising and customer involvement can better market a brand.
Anyone headed to the Big Apple within the next 24 hours care to share a few snapshots of the events and a few of yourself on the mobile power lab bikes?
Engadget >
Inhabitat
Gadgets take electricity. It’s the nature of the beast. Naturally, running around the world with gadgets in tow means bringing tons of mobile energy. Whether it be solar chargers, wind power, or good ‘ol classic battery power, we need a way to bring energy on the go. Similarly, Energizer has been a household name for decades, providing reliable energy on the run. But is their credibility about to take a major turn downward? Apparently, Energizer’s “High Capacity” “D” sized batteries are no more than “AA” batteries encased in a cheap plastic shell to make them look bigger. While this may not be new news to you, it certainly is to me. While I always read technical specs and dig deeper than the average consumer, I haven’t purchased a “D” sized battery in over 8 years so I don’t even remember what was on their labeling that long ago. But the here and now is a different issue. Just look at the image above. The dishonesty isn’t anything new from a large company though still is disturbing.
