computers

Wed
25
Nov
John Lister's picture

Dell Ships PCs With Massive Security Risk

Dell has confirmed it shipped computers with a major built-in security flaw. The unintentional move could expose users to a significant risk of hackers accessing their personal data. The issue at hand deals with an exploit in the secure sockets ... layer (SSL). Specifically, Dell has inadvertently shipped PCs and laptops with both a trusted root certificate and key, when only the trusted certificate should have been allowed. The idea behind the mishap was to help identify Dell computers when they were connected to Dell's online support service. In this case, the computer's model number could be ... (view more)

Tue
31
Mar
John Lister's picture

Windows 10 Laptops Start At $149

Microsoft is reportedly planning to sell two new Windows 10 laptop models for as little as $149. It's seen as yet another attempt to combat the boom in low-cost machines such as Google's Chromebook. The report comes from Digitimes, an industry ... journal for the electronics business in Asia. It's usually reputable as it has sources from manufacturers of components for computers and other devices who naturally have advance notice of machines that are in the works. (Source: digitimes.com ) Both laptops will have 11.6 inch screens, which are very small for 'fully featured' ... (view more)

Tue
03
Feb
John Lister's picture

$35 Bare-Bones PC Will Run Windows 10

A credit-card sized PC costing just $35 will be able to run a dedicated version of Windows 10. It's by no means a practical choice for most users, but is a sign that Microsoft is continuing to make its flagship operating system sleeker and more ... efficient. The computer in question is the Raspberry Pi 2. It's the latest in a series of devices originally designed to make computers cheap enough that schools can buy them in bulk in order to teach children coding and programming skills. In terms of hardware specifications, there's nothing glamorous about the Raspberry Pi. It doesn't ... (view more)

Mon
02
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Can CryptoLocker Infect Shared Drives, Files, PCs?

Infopackets Reader Michael C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a USB drive attached to my router. This drive is shared by several computers through the router on my home private network. My question is: if one of my computers became infected by a file ... locking virus such as CryptoLocker , would the network drive or the connected computers become infected or encrypted? If so, is there a way to prevent this? " My Response: It is possible for a virus to self replicate and infect other computers on the network, but that depends on the type of virus. At the time of writing, CryptoLocker is not a self ... (view more)

Fri
13
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Windows 7 PCs Could Be Sold After October 2014

Microsoft has withdrawn a deadline that would have blocked retailers from selling new Windows 7 computers. But it's sticking to another key deadline: that ending support for the Windows XP operating system (OS). Last week Microsoft posted a note on ... its website saying that computer manufacturers would no longer be able to ship computers running Windows 7 after October 2014. The statement is consistent with previous release schedules for Windows. In the past, retail copies of earlier editions of the OS (like Vista) were sold for one year after a new system was released. Meanwhile, OEMs (or ... (view more)

Thu
12
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Desktop Computers 'Not Dead' Yet, HP CEO Insists

Hewlett-Packard (HP) chief executive officer Meg Whitman says her firm isn't about to give up on 'traditional' computers, like desktops. In a recent interview, Whitman said she believes "desktops are not dead". Whitman made that comment in a CNBC ... interview published earlier this week. When asked whether her firm would focus more on mobile hardware, like tablet computers, Whitman had this to say: "In the commercial business, we've got a tremendously strong lineup, because we can go all the way from virtual desktop to workstations to desktops -- by the way, desktops are not dead -- to laptops ... (view more)

Fri
04
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Symantec Saves 500,000 PCs From Massive Botnet

Security firm Symantec says it has disabled roughly 500,000 computers hijacked by a major botnet. Unfortunately, the botnet -- known as ZeroAccess -- still has around 1.4 million machines under its control. A botnet is a network of machines that ... have fallen victim to malicious software. This allows the cybercriminals running the network to combine the machines to create a powerful weapon. Sometimes botnet operators will use the computers to spread more malicious software, attack a business or government agency, or bring a website down. Infected Machines Used For Bogus Ad Clicks In this case ... (view more)

Thu
02
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Internet's Very First Website Brought Back to Life

Twenty years ago this week the World Wide Web's technology became publicly available. To mark the event, the first-ever website has been recreated and republished. The web began at CERN, a research facility for particle physics in Switzerland. In ... recent years it has become well known for housing the Large Hadron Collider instrument used to hunt down the Higgs Boson, a previously undetected particle that could help explain how the universe works. Back in 1989 Tim Berners-Lee, one of the people working at CERN, came up with the idea of the web as a way to make it easier for researchers to share ... (view more)

Wed
24
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft: Shocking Number of PCs Vulnerable

Microsoft says that approximately one in four computers around the world are completely vulnerable to cyber attack. That finding is one part of Microsoft's newest Security Intelligence Report. According to the fourteenth volume of Microsoft's ... Security Intelligence Report, 24 per cent of all computers worldwide are not protected by up-to-date antivirus or anti-malware software. The problem with that, Microsoft says: "Computers without antivirus software are 5.5 times more likely to be infected." (Source: digitaltrends.com ) Microsoft's report also highlights the dangers posed to computers ... (view more)

Thu
18
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

HP Bringing Motion Control Hardware to its PCs

Hardware manufacturer Hewlett-Packard (HP) plans to begin adding motion control sensors to some of its computers. Although it will initially be aimed at gamers, the motion control technology could allow for some other high-tech uses, including ... remote surgery. The technology is from Leap Motion, which already produces a standalone accessory that plugs into computers. HP says it will begin bundling the accessory with some new computers shortly. It will then release computers with the technology built-in later this year. In the long run, it's possible HP will use the technology in other devices ... (view more)

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