Worm appears as Microsoft antipiracy program

Worm appears as Microsoft antipiracy program
(InfoWorld) - Security analysts have detected a new piece of malware that appears to run as a Microsoft program used to detect unlicensed versions of its operating system. The malware has been classified as a worm and spreads through AOL's Instant Messenger program, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, a security vendor. Sophos is calling it W32.Cuebot-K, a new variation in the Cuebot family of malware. The worm has a range of malicious functions. After it's installed, the worm immediately tries to connect to two Web sites, a sign it may try to download other bad programs on the machine. Cuebot-K can disable other software, shut off the Windows firewall, download new malicious programs, perform basic DDOS (distributed denial of service) attacks, scan local files and spawn a command prompt, Sophos said. Worms that spread through instant messaging programs often appear as messages or links sent from friends, which trick a user into executing the program. Cuebot-K propagates by sending itself as a file named "wgavn.exe" to more people in the user's "Buddy List" but without a message, Cluley said. If installed on a computer, Cuebot-K is registered as a new system device driver service named "wgavn." When a list of services running on the computer is summoned, the worm appears as "Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Notification" Sophos said. Cuebot-K's registry entry appears as HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wgavn\. The worm's ironic ruse comes as Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program is being criticized for functioning like spyware. WGA collects hardware and software data on a user's computer and compares it to a database of licensed operating systems. If an improper copy is detected, Microsoft warns the user and cuts off some free downloads.
Source: www.infoworld.com

How to Restore Your Outlook Express Backup
Assuming you've followed the steps in my article on How to Backup your Outlook Express, You should have a folder on your desktop called Mail Backup that contains the various files we will need to restore your backup e-mail messages, accounts, and new...http://free-backup.info
Source: free-backup.info

Telstra threatens to scrap $2.2B broadband network
(InfoWorld) - The head of Australia's largest telecommunications company has threatened to scrap an A$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) national high-speed, fixed-line broadband network. Telstra Corp. had proposed to build a next generation fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) wireline network to cover Australia's five major cities initially, then extend it to smaller towns later. But government regulations could require the company to allow its rivals to use the network free or at low rates, something the company won't stand for. "We will not invest in FTTN unless we achieve regulatory settings that will permit Telstra?s 1.6 million shareholders to earn a competitive return that they expect and they deserve," said Sol Trujillo, chief executive officer of Telstra, in a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday. The company released written copies of the speech. The company used to be Australia's national carrier, but has been undergoing a long privatization process. It is supposed to sell more than 6 billion shares to investors later this year in a public offering valued at around A$24 billion. Australia's FTTN, which is a kind of high-speed, fiber-optic network that goes to the neighborhood but not directly to the home, is expensive because of the vast distances between cities in the nation and its relatively small population. The initial plan to set up the system in the five biggest cities would ensure the network covers around half of Australia's population. "Unlike our competitors, Telstra stands ready to make these investments if the regulatory settings do not require us to give away our assets owned by our shareholders, and enable a reasonable commercial return," Trujillo said, adding that the company is serious about scrapping the FTTN plan. "I want to be clear about something I keep on reading about -- that we?re bluffing. If there?s any belief in the room let me dismiss that belief," he said. Use of the network would be offered to competitors at commercial rates, he said. He also said the company's national wireless high-speed 3G (third-generation) mobile network is already half built. The 3G network is slated to be in place by the first of 2007, when it will reach 98 percent of the country's population.
Source: www.infoworld.com

Update and Refine the Disaster Recovery Plan
Data keeps changing with passing time, which makes keeping pace with the changing data one of the most important challenges before data security/disaster recovery officials.http://free-backup.info
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A Few Simple Steps to an Outlook Express Backup
Despite being one of the most, if not the most commonly used e-mail clients; outlook express was designed for non-profesional use and does not have any built in backup.http://free-backup.info
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Microsoft readies Team Foundation Server service pack
(InfoWorld) - Microsoft is working on a service pack for its recently released Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server software, with improvements planned in areas such as authentication and data warehousing, Microsoft officials write in their blogs. Team Foundation Server is the collaboration component of the company s Visual Studio 2005 Team System ALM (Application Lifecycle Management) platform. A beta release of the service pack is due in the near future, according to Microsoft's Rob Caron, a content architect for Team System. The service pack will include fixes and improvements, such as basic authentication support for accessing Team Foundation Server over the Internet. It also will have updates for using Team Foundation Server with Windows Vista and Office 2007, Caron said. Enhanced performance and scaling in the areas of data warehousing, version control, and work item tracking are planned for the service pack, Microsoft's Brian Harry, a product unit manager for Team Foundation Server at Microsoft, said. Extranet support in the service pack features an ISAPI (Internet Server API) filter and the ability to deploy Team Foundation Server more easily in environments where people on the Internet need to access the server without having a VPN. Work Item Type (WIT) support, meanwhile, will provide a mechanism for designing work item forms that host custom controls. "The data behind the controls can either be persisted in WIT fields or elsewhere," Harry said in his blog. "I'm hoping people go crazy with it and build some awesome custom controls." Separately from the service pack, Microsoft is planning a new version of the Microsoft Source Code Control Interface (MSCCI) provider. MSCCI connects development tools to version control providers such as Team Foundation Server. The new provider will feature improvements such as the ability to modify work items in the checkin window. Team Foundation Server began shipping in March. A Microsoft representative said the feature set of the service pack could change based on customer feedback following the beta release.
Source: www.infoworld.com

Terrorism Sabotage and Your Data Backup Strategy
Since November 11th there has been a growing awareness that data backup plans built to avoid and recover from random mishap are probably not sufficient to defend against intentional disasters such as international terrorism, internal sabotage, or eve...http://free-backup.info
Source: free-backup.info

Why Do I Need to Backup My Files?
Backup should be an essential part of your computing experience if you spend great amounts of time on your computer and/or use your computer for important personal or business dealings.http://free-backup.info
Source: free-backup.info

Using the Undelete Command in Windows 98/95, DOS
Early Windows users, as well as DOS users have a really great undelete tool built in to their systems. A lot of computer users are still running Windows 98, or below.http://free-backup.info
Source: free-backup.info

Tags: Backup Backup Restore File Recover File Recovery System Update Back Up
Tag: Backup Backup Restore File Recover File Recovery System Update Back Up
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