computer

In computer science, session hijacking is the exploitation of a valid computer session (commonly known as a "session key") used to gain unauthorized access to information or services in a computer system. For example, when a user logs in to a web ... site, the user's PC is tagged with a session key using a browser cookie (a cookie is a small file stored on the users PC that the browser reads). Any time the user requires access to a restricted area of a website (usually requiring login), the session key is extracted from the users' PC and compared to the key stored on the web server. If valid, the ... (view more)

A company that rents both furniture and PCs has been accused of spying on its customers. A lawsuit alleges Aaron's Inc remotely accessed a spy camera on a PC to take a shot of a customer using it. No Disclosure of Spy Software The claims arose in a ... case involving a customer who had taken a computer from Aaron's Inc on a rent-to-own agreement. That allows a customer to pay a monthly fee for a set period: after this period they own it outright, but before then they can also simply return it and stop paying. In the case of customer Brian Byrd, Aaron's believed he had stopped paying (which ... (view more)

Online phone service Skype is preparing to fix a bug in the Mac edition of the system that could allow hackers to take control of a computer remotely. The site that discovered the bug has accused Skype of dragging its heels on the issue. Gordon ... Maddern of purehacking.com says he discovered the bug entirely by mistake. He was talking to a colleague on a Skype connection about some code written for a client. To his surprise he was able to make the code run on his colleague's computer. Upon closer examination, Maddern discovered that the hack only worked where the recipient's computer was a Mac ... (view more)

A British organization has produced what appears to be the cheapest fully-functional computer ever made. The device, made by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, is the size of a USB stick and costs just $25. The computer, which runs the open source Linux ... system, has a particularly creative design. In effect it's a silicon chip attached to three sockets: an HDMI socket to connect to a monitor or TV screen, a USB slot to plug in a keyboard, and a memory card slot for storage. While it's small enough to carry anywhere, it carries out the same functions as a full-fledged desktop PC. $25 Pocket PC ... (view more)

Google is reportedly testing a streaming music service. It doesn't necessarily mean a public launch is imminent, however; the company would still have to reach an agreement with record labels, which may be complicated by the nature of the service. ... Google Music wouldn't be a download service in the same way as the iTunes store. Indeed, it's possible it wouldn't necessarily involve buying music at all. Streaming Music Across Devices a Possibility The idea is to provide a legal way for users to stream music from one device to another. While precise details are under wraps, it appears there would ... (view more)

In three days after its launch, Apple sold 500,000 units of its iPad 2 tablet computer. To most people, that number would seem impressive. But Microsoft's Craig Mundie is not most people. In a recent interview with Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, ... Microsoft global chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie had this to say about what appears to be a rapidly emerging tablet market: "I don't know whether the big screen tablet pad category is going to remain with us or not... Personally I don't know whether that space will be a persistent one or not." (Source: huffingtonpost.com ) Tablet ... (view more)

In the end, the battle between man and machine wasn't much of a battle at all -- Watson, the IBM supercomputer specially engineered to squash humans at trivia, earlier this week easily defeated the game show Jeopardy!'s two most prolific players, ... Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Now, the question becomes: what's next for IBM's Watson? Earlier this week the long-running and very popular trivia TV show Jeopardy! switched things up by replacing one of its human competitors with a computer built by IBM. There were three intense days of competition between Watson, Jennings and Rutter (the two human ... (view more)

A denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may ... vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person or people to prevent an Internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely. Perpetrators of DoS attacks typically target sites or services hosted on high-profile web servers such as banks, credit card payment gateways, and even root name ... (view more)

Microsoft says it's unlikely that hackers will successfully exploit a recently discovered security bug in Windows. The company says that if the bug is abused, it would likely result in a denial of service attack instead. As noted on Wednesday, the ... problem involves system files related to Windows network file and printer sharing. Hackers are often particularly interested in exploiting such system files as they are a potential entry point between a networked computer and the outside world (via the Internet). Denial of Service Risk to Windows In this case, the Windows exploit appears to have two ... (view more)

Update 2012/01/16: : The 37% discount expires this coming Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 @ 11:59PM EST. Reserve your copy before the deadline and you'll also receive System Tweaker software as a free bonus! Satisfaction guaranteed for 30 days or your ... money back. Details at the end of the review. Are you looking to speed up your computer, but are on a tight budget? Do you enjoy learning about computer hardware and how it interacts with software? If so, you'll find this software review highly informative. -- I get asked all the time, "Dennis, what can I do to make my PC faster?" The simple answer ... (view more)