"Apple iPod" Shipped with Virus

First of all, let's clarify a matter: because you may ask "what's with the quotes in the title?" I must explain you one thing. This article is not about one of those popular MP3 players manufactured by the Cupertino-based company, it's actually about a crappy device probably made by some Chinese firm which attempted to lure more consumers by using Apple's logo and product name (some of you may consider that the "d" at the end of iPod looks like an "a" but, what the heck, it's obvious the manufacturers wanted to take advantage of Apple's success on the market). Although it's obviously a trademark infringing case, we're not here to talk about legal disputes but about some security issues recently discovered.

As you know, more and more computer infections attempt to propagate themselves by copying their files on USB removable drives and, once connected to a clean computer, they install and compromise the system. But, what's worse is that some devices which provide USB connectivity are shipped with pre-installed viruses, probably due to the ignorance of the manufacturer or to some errors in the scanning process made before shipping. It happened in the past with digital photo frames and it also happened one week ago with HP's flash drives.

However, it seems like MP3 players are also affected by this issue. And this is the time when we start talking about that fake Apple iPod (which by the way, says it provides 1 GB of storage space) because, according to Michael of Viruslist.com, it has been shipped with a pre-installed virus. Just like usual, the infection was detected once the USB connection was established, the installed Kasperksy Internet Security identifying and blocking the threat.

So, in a era when more and more threats affect the USB-based devices and when such products are shipped with all kinds of accessories, including headsets, connectivity cables, viruses and Trojan horses, antiviruses are simply a must-have...

Windows XP SP3 RTM Build 5512

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RTM is finally available for download. Microsoft released the service pack to manufacturing, at the beginning of this week, on April 21, 2008 and is now making headway towards the general availability of XP SP3. Officially, the final version of XP SP3 is scheduled for delivery starting with the end of this month. However, Windows XP SP3 RTM Build 5512 has been leaked and is already up for grabs, ahead of the release timetable outlined by the Redmond company.
At the start of this week, Chris Keroack, Release Program Manager Windows Sustainability Microsoft, announced the RTM of XP SP3, and pointed to April 29 as the date when end users would be able to access the service pack via both Windows Update and the Download Center. The Redmond company planned to serve the gold bits of Windows XP SP3 starting on May 2 to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, following general availability on April 29. Microsoft cited high demand for Windows Vista SP1 and the need to optimize the available bandwidth, in order to explain why it was not pushing XP SP3 via the MSDN and TechNet delivery channels ahead of WU and the Download Center.

Since that point in time, input from IT professionals and developers, namely the traditional subscribers of MSDN and TechNet, caused Microsoft to make a 180 degree switch. As a direct consequence of that, XP SP3 RTM Build 5512 is being rolled out to MSDN and TechNet subscribers as of April 23. The Redmond company explained that it managed to introduce nothing short of creative solutions together with bandwidth and system partner companies in order to accommodate both the distribution of Windows XP SP3 RTM and Windows Vista SP1 RTM. Microsoft is currently serving the gold bits of the third and final service pack for Windows XP only to a limited pool of customers, but the English version of XP SP3 Build 5512 can also be grabbed by the general public.

HOW-TO: Adobe Photoshop CS2 on Ubuntu - 8 steps!

This HOW-TO covers up the whole process of installing Adobe Photoshop CS2 on a Ubuntu box in a few simple steps. This method has been tested only on Ubuntu, but it should work on any other linux flavor. Any questions or feedback leave them in the comments.

What you need?

• A fresh install of Ubuntu Dapper + all the updates
• A Windows box with a fully installed and activated version of Adobe Photoshop CS2

- Fire up a terminal session and type the next commands;

TIP: Instead of using apt-get, you can install them with the Synaptic Package Manager located in the System/Administration menu

• $ sudo apt-get update
• $ sudo apt-get install wine and then type “yes”
• $ sudo wine /*To create the wine file structure*/
• $ sudo apt-get install recode and then type “yes”

- Then you need to copy all the necessary files from the Windows box;

• Copy the whole Adobe folder from “c:\Program Files\” to “/home/YOURNAME/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/”

- Now you need to export the registry keys of the Adone Photoshop CS2;

• In your Windows box, type “regedit” in the command-line and export the whole “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Adobe/” to “adobe.reg”.
• The next step is to copy that file to your Ubuntu box and convert it to the encoding of YOUR system. For example, if your Ubuntu box has as default charset ascii and your Windows box has ucs-2 then “$ recode ucs-2..ascii adobe.reg” would do the trick. After you converted your adobe.reg file, type “$ sudo wine regedit adobe.reg” to import it to wine.
• That’s it! Type “$ sudo wine –winver winxp “[path to Photoshop]/photoshop.exe” or create a launcher and enjoy Adobe Photoshop CS2 on Ubuntu

System Settings for a Gaming Machine

If you are a hardcore gamer then the below tweak is for you. Below are a list of windows services that we recommend you change to the manual setting.


Routing and Remote Access
Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service** (only if firewll is not used)
Application Management
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
ClipBook
COM+ System Application
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Help and Support
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service** (only if do you not use the cd-rw xp record suport)
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider
Net Logon
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
NT LM Security Support Provider
Performance Logs and Alerts
Portable Media Serial Number
QoS RSVP
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
Remote Registry
Removable Storage
Server
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
SSDP Discovery Service
System Restore Service
Telnet
Themes
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Volume Shadow Copy
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
Windows Installer
Windows Management Instrumentation Driver Extensions
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adapter
Fast User Switching Compatibility ** (only if fast user shiching is not used or the machine have one user only)
Protected Storage
Windows Time
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Task Scheduler
Secondary Logon
Print Spooler ** (only if the pc do not have or use a printer)
Indexing Service
Error Reporting Service
Computer Browser
Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) / Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

Have Fun!

Disabling Automatic Updates properly

A lot of people already know about Automatic Updates and how to disable them by selecting the appropriate option from within the Automatic Updates tab in My Computer. A lot of you might not realize this, but the Automatic Update service still runs even when you select to disable it here. To turn it off completely and for good do as follows:

1. Go into Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.

2. Highlight the service called "Automatic Updates". You will know when you have the correct one because you will see a description about it telling you what it does.

3. Right click once highlighted and click stop to terminate the service.

4. Right click on it again and go to Properties. Half way down the first tab there is "Startup Type:" change this to disabled.

Congratulations! You have now disabled Automatic Updates service. Not only will this make certain the service won't run, but by disabling it properly you are freeing up system resources as they won't be diverted to running a service that you don't use.

Enjoy.