Carlo Orlando

Mon
02
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

Police Raid Store Selling Pirated Microsoft Software

Security officials in one African country are helping to solve an ongoing problem for Microsoft: piracy and the sale of counterfeit software. Police in Ghana have recently announced a successful raid on the premises of Skynet Computers and ... Accessories, discovering and seizing more than three dozen allegedly counterfeit copies of Microsoft software the company had stored at that location. All the illegal copies found during the raid were confiscated and removed from the Skynet facility (a total of 39 units of suspect pirated material), but local authorities believe the original source of the ... (view more)

Tue
27
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Warns: 'PC Maintenance' Phone Call a Scam

Only days after uncovering a major international ransomware problem , Microsoft has once again issued a new security warning involving a holiday hoax. This time, scamsters are cold-call dialing people at home, claiming to be legitimate ... representatives of Microsoft. The tactic has been used before, though it involves a slightly new twist. Microsoft Affiliation Validates Scam Those affected by the swindle say that they received a cold-call from a third-party claiming to be a Microsoft representative, a Microsoft-affiliated brand, or of a third party contracted by Microsoft. The victim was asked ... (view more)

Fri
23
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Uncovers International Ransomware Scam

Microsoft has issued a warning about a new form of malware that locks users out of their computers. Dubbed 'ransomware,' the malicious software demands immediate financial compensation from its victims in order to get their machines working again. ... Generally, the scam is presented with a genuine-appearing on-screen message that implies the website they were trying to visit was secretly linked to illicit images of children, and that the user has already been identified as if searching for such material. A different but similar version of the scam suggests that the user has been identified as ... (view more)

Tue
22
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

PETA Says Super Mario Murders Animals for Fur

Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. is one of the most successful (and recognizable) video game franchises ever marketed. But as Nintendo attempts to move forward with their latest Mario adventure, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has ... stepped in to try and make some changes to lovable plumber's wardrobe. Sadly, Mario is learning that his early 90's style is not "politically correct" in 2011 society. Raccoon-Suit No Longer "Politically Correct" Back in 1990, when Super Mario Bros. 3 was first released in the United States, the protagonist sported a distinctive raccoon-like suit that ... (view more)

Wed
09
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Offers Free Music, Movies for IE9 Downloads

With the holiday season right around the corner, Microsoft is set to launch a new campaign designed to entice those who do not run Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) to try out the new browser in exchange for free music and movies. However, critics suggest ... the campaign has little to do with the Christmas spirit of giving. That's because the whole idea appears targeted at helping IE regain lost market share. In fact, a recent study suggests that Google's Chrome has gained a significant share of the browser market, while Internet Explorer has steadily (and continues to) decline. (Source: winsupersite. ... (view more)

Fri
28
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Lithuanian Company Develops 'Gesture-Based Banking'

A Lithuanian software company has created a new Kinect-based, motion-activated user interface that lets people manipulate and manage their bank accounts with a flick of the wrist. Microsoft released its Kinect software developer kit free for ... download last June, allowing developers to create Windows-based applications that can interact with Kinect hardware. Since the kit release, literally thousands of applications have popped up, taking advantage of the Kinect camera- and microphone-based input. Banking does have to be among the most surprising applications, however. A New Spin on "Casual ... (view more)

Thu
20
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Seeks Patent for Age Detection

Microsoft is proposing a new patent that would see its Xbox 360 peripheral, the Kinect, take on the role of a virtual babysitter. It works by automatically restricting a child's access to certain television shows or video games that carry a mature ... content rating. Through the use of its 3D depth camera, the Kinect would be able to measure the bodily proportions of a user and detect whether or not a child is in the room. The entire concept is based on parental control and would be treated as a manageable feature. The system could also be further tweaked to specify certain restrictions and ... (view more)

Mon
17
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Scientists: Table Salt to Increase Storage Density

A tandem of researchers in Singapore claim to have discovered a way to use table salt as a means to increase the density at which bits of data can be stored on a hard disk drive platter. Early projections indicate that this 'salty' method is ... actually 5 times more efficient than current hard disk densities. The method was first introduced by Joel Yang, a scientist at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) at Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research. Yang was able to hone his method using an extremely high-resolution e-beam lithography -- the same process by ... (view more)

Fri
14
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Researchers to tie Animals, Facebook using 'Smart Collars'

Wildlife researchers have created the first ever "smart" collar for animals in the wild that is able to track and record their daily patterns in ways never before thought imaginable. Thanks to a series of tests featuring a ten-year-old captive ... female mountain lion, researchers were able to develop a "library of signatures" to identify nearly every kind of animal movement. The collar itself utilizes a combination of global positioning technology and accelerometers to measure the metabolic inner life of the animal when leaping, running or sleeping. The end result, as University of California ... (view more)

Fri
07
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Security Officials Unsure What to Make of Massive Botnet Army

Security officials have discovered a new botnet of infected computers capable of tremendous online destruction. Computers around the world have become infected in droves thanks to a steady stream of malicious email attachments that have continued to ... be released on a daily basis since August. At its most volatile, a record high 25 billion malicious attachments were sent out in a single day in August, alone. Botnet Delivers Altered Scam Those responsible for the attacks have had to alter their deceitful strategies several times to expand their list of victims. The first wave of malicious emails ... (view more)

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