Comments Off on Hacker Writes Trojan For Apple’s Mac
As Apple’s popularity continues to increase, so too does the malicious interest of hackers in their famed products. Researchers at Sophos say they’ve uncovered a new Trojan horse program written for the Mac.
It’s called the BlackHole RAT (the RAT part is for “remote access Trojan”) and it’s pretty easy to find online in hacking forums, according to Chet Wisniewski a researcher with antivirus vendor Sophos. There’s even a YouTube video demo of the program that details what its capable of doing.
Sophos hasn’t seen the Trojan used in any online attacks -it’s more a bare-bones, proof-of-concept beta program right now – but the software is pretty easy to use, and if a criminal could find a way to get a Mac user to install it, or write attack code that would silently install it on the Mac, it would give him remote control of the hacked machine. Read More….
Globally semiconductor revenue is expected to increase this year, with Samsung gaining noticeable ground on top semiconductor company Intel in market share, Gartner said in a study released Wednesday.
Revenue is expected to reach a “landmark” US$300.3 billion in 2010, up 31.5% from 2009, according to preliminary results released by Gartner. The semiconductor market has been rebounding after the worldwide recession curtailed chip revenue in 2009, when year-over-year revenue declined by 10%.
As the economy stabilized this year, semiconductors manufacturers quickly added capacity to meet the growing demand of parts from system makers. But semiconductor demand started weakening again starting in the third quarter this year, Gartner said. Read More……
According to a study of over 16,000 mobile YouTube users conducted by Google, 75% of respondents said that mobile is their primary way of accessing YouTube. At first glance, that figure may come as no surprise – after all, how shocking is at that a survey of mobile users finds that they watch a lot of YouTube Mobile? However, it’s actually a rather telling number.
For some of us, watching YouTube on a mobile device is an additionalway to watch video, not the primary way. But for a large majority of mobile video users, it’s completely the opposite.
The survey found that 70% of the respondents reported visiting YouTube Mobile at least once per day and, while there, 58% spent more than 20 minutes per visit. 38% even when as far as to report that they feel like YouTube Mobile is replacing their desktop video usage entirely.
As noted by the Google Mobile Ads blog post reporting this data, these figures aren’t really a surprise. It referenced a recent Nielsen survey that found that YouTube Mobile is the number one mobile video viewing site in the U.S., with more than 7.1 million uniques.
Of course, Google is revealing this news to pique the interests of mobile advertisers – the post mentions that advertisers can now buy a “daily roadblock” which allows them to own all available ad impressions for 24 hours. Those ads would run on the Search, Browse and Home pages of the mobile website. Read More……
Comments Off on Apple Previews New Operating System
Apple today released a preview version of Mac OS X 10.7, also known as Lion, to developers, who can download the new operating system from the Mac App Store.
The preview is developers’ first look at the upgrade scheduled to reach consumers sometime this summer.
Included in the preview, and to be bundled with the operating system when it ships, is Lion Server, Apple’s new server software. One analyst saw that move as an admission by Apple that it hasn’t been able to make inroads into the corporate server market.
“They’ve recognized they’re not going to break into the data center,” said Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research. “They’re admitting that what server sales they’ve made in the past have been to very small businesses.”
Currently, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is sold separately from the general-purpose edition for $499.
Late last year, Apple killed its Xserve line of rack servers, halting sales of the hardware on Jan. 31, 2011. Instead, Apple now steers customers toward Mac Pro and Mac Mini systems with Leopard Server pre-installed. The bundling of Lion Server with Mac OS X 10.7 will save customers hundreds of dollars, said Gottheil, assuming Apple sticks to its traditional $129 price point for Lion next summer.
“A very small server should cost about $700 [this summer], not the $1,000 [a server-equipped Mac Mini] costs now,” said Gottheil.
Comments Off on Windows 7 SP 1 Released Into The Wild
As we have stated in the past, Microsoft officially rolled out the final release of Windows 7 yesterday to the general public.
Microsoft says Windows 7 SP1 includes all the previous security, performance and stability updates, as well as some major improvements to features and services to make Windows 7 perform even better. Microsoft advised users to use the regular Windows update process, although manual download will probably be the faster way to go. Read More……
Comments Off on Microsoft Offers Windows Azure Trial
Microsoft is offering up to 750 free hours of use on its Azure service to lure developers into trying cloud computing, the company announced Tuesday.
“This extended free trial will allow developers to try out the Windows Azure platform without the need for up-front investment costs,” a Microsoft blog entry explained.
The offer arrives but a few weeks after Microsoft promoted Satya Nadella to head its $15 billion server and tools business, which includes the Azure offering. The company raved about Nadella’s experience in ramping up large-scale consumer-focused cloud services like Bing and hoped he could bring the same magic to getting Microsoft cloud services into the enterprise as well.
Participants of the free trial can choose one of two options: 750 hours of use on an Extra Small Compute Instance, or 25 hours on a Small Compute Instance. An Extra Small Compute Instance offers the equivalent of a 1GHz processor with 768MB of working memory, which normally costs $.05 an hour. The Small Compute Instance has a 1.6GHz processor, 1.75GB of working memory, and typically costs $0.12 an hour. Read More…..
Comments Off on Acer Returning To Server Market In U.S.
Acer, the No. 4 PC maker in this country, has released a line of servers and storage products for the United States market.
The launch marks the company’s return, or reinvestment, in the U.S. as a server vendor. Acer sells consumer PCs and related devices under its own name, as well under Gateway, eMachines, and Packard Bell brands.
It had previously sold servers in the U.S., but it let that business dwindle over the last few years. The company said it has made a major investment in this market.
It said it has expanded its support and service capabilities, and will manufacturer its server products in the U.S. through third-party makers.
“I want to make sure that we can we build very, very quickly and deliver much faster than everyone else,” said Todd Mottershead, senior manager for servers and storage at Acer.
IDC ranked Acer No. 3 worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010, following Hewlett Packard and Dell. In the U.S., Acer is the fourth largest vendor; HP has 28.6% of the U.S. market; Dell about 22%; Toshiba, about 10%; and Acer 9%.
Acer has been selling servers outside the U.S.
For its U.S. reintroduction, Acer has released a tower rack, blade system, and systems especially designed for cloud computing, all with a number of configurations, as well as network attached storage products. Prices range from $721 for a tower to $10,499, for storage. Acer will be selling through channel partners. Read More…..
Comments Off on Goo.gl Link Spreading Malware via Twitter
As if we don’t have enough to worry about when it comes to potential attacks of all kinds. First there were reports about the social media site Facebook and its highly infected news feeds now there appears to be yet another mischief seeking internet fiend sending out infected Goo.gl links via Twitter. Users are being warned not to click these suspicious links as they might direct you to malicious sites.
Comments Off on 80 Million Tablet Sales Expected By 2015
The fortune tellers at Juniper Research have looked into their crystal ball and project that the number of annual shipments of tablet devices will reach 81 million by 2015.
The assumption is based on the fact that more consumer electronics and handset manufacturers will enter the market.
It claimed that Android is allowing both new and existing device manufacturers to enter the market and products have been launched already by companies such as Dell with the Streak, Maylong’s M150 and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.
Anthony Cox, senior analyst at Juniper Research said that competition for Apple is likely to arrive in earnest in 2011.
Earnest may be a small town in Hicksville USA. Cox thinks that by then Jobs’ and Co. will have launched another version of the iPad and will still be upping the bar.
Apple, as first to market with its compelling hardware and content combination, will maintain its market lead for the medium term, Cox said.
Products using QNX for Blackberry smartphones, Windows Phone 7 and MeeGo will come to market in 2011 and of course the netbook market will be pressured. However Juniper thinks that netbooks will remain resilient in the business market. Read more….
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As Apple’s popularity continues to increase, so too does the malicious interest of hackers in their famed products. Researchers at Sophos say they’ve uncovered a new Trojan horse program written for the Mac.
Globally semiconductor revenue is expected to increase this year, with Samsung gaining noticeable ground on top semiconductor company Intel in market share, Gartner said in a study released Wednesday.
According to a study of over 16,000 mobile YouTube users conducted by Google, 75% of respondents said that mobile is their primary way of accessing YouTube. At first glance, that figure may come as no surprise – after all, how shocking is at that a survey of mobile users finds that they watch a lot of YouTube Mobile? However, it’s actually a rather telling number.
Apple today released a preview version of Mac OS X 10.7, also known as Lion, to developers, who can download the new operating system from the Mac App Store.
As we have stated in the past, Microsoft officially rolled out the final release of Windows 7 yesterday to the general public. 
Microsoft is offering up to 750 free hours of use on its Azure service to lure developers into trying cloud computing, the company announced Tuesday.
Acer, the No. 4 PC maker in this country, has released a line of servers and storage products for the United States market.
As if we don’t have enough to worry about when it comes to potential attacks of all kinds. First there were reports about the social media site Facebook and its highly infected news feeds now there appears to be yet another mischief seeking internet fiend sending out infected Goo.gl links via Twitter. Users are being warned not to click these suspicious links as they might direct you to malicious sites.
The fortune tellers at Juniper Research have looked into their crystal ball and project that the number of annual shipments of tablet devices will reach 81 million by 2015.