A recent Prevx blogpost details information on the new TDL3 rootkit, which they have deemed, “the first x64 compatible kernel mode rootkit infection in the wild.” Followed with more information in a post today.

While much of the information presented by Prevx is highly technical, there are some takeaways for the average user. Most importantly, this 64-bit infection requires administrator privileges. The best option is to run as a standard user, but it also won’t run if User Account Control (or UAC) is activated. I run as standard user, and there is really no reason for your account to run as administrator.

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Chances are you know the rules for creating a secure password. Don’t use a dictionary word. Use upper and lowercase letters. Use at least one special character. Unfortunately, most people don’t follow even these basic rules. Recently, advances in computational power have made them as obsolete as your AOL account. Say goodbye to the old rules, and the concept of a password. Hello passphrase.

How does an attacker crack a password? Two common methods are dictionary attack, and “brute force” attack. A dictionary attack uses a database of common words and likely character sequences to guess the password. A “brute force” attack tries every possible combination of the 95 characters on a keyboard until they find the right one. Obviously, a one character password would be easy to brute force attack, as it would require a maximum of 95 attempts. Adding a character makes it exponentially more difficult (by 95 times). For example, a two character password has 95 x 95, or 9,025 possible combinations. A 3 character password 9,025 x 95 (95^3), or  857,375 combinations. Read the rest of this entry »

Two years ago Spanair flight JK-5022 crashed, killing 154 of 172 on board. According to El Paris (via Google Translate), this was at least in part due to a PC located on the ground in the headquarters of the airline. That computer was supposed to sound an alarm signal when three similar technical problems registered on the same device. While the plane that crashed had accumulated three incidents, they were not registered in time because the system was infected by malware (trojans).

Investigators believe this may be the cause of the crash. The judge said that if these three incidents had been identified earlier, the plane never would have taken off.

The big box store where you bought your HDTV might have made more on the sale of the HDMI cable than the TV. While the margins on big ticket items like HDTVs are small, the margins on smaller ticket accessories can be very fat. How do you sell a $229 HDMI cable when a $29 would work just as well? I guess you mislead consumers by mislabeling them.

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Today Intel announced plans to buy McAfee for $7.7 billion dollars. Most people are asking, “Why?”. Why would a chip maker acquire a security company?

The answer may lie within Moore’s Law. Simply stated Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors on a chip will double every 2 years. Intel seems to have difficulty figuring out what to do with all those transistors. Most computer users don’t need a quad core CPU. Yet Intel continues to roll out more cores.

However, as anyone who has installed an antivirus program knows, it’s probably the single biggest resource hog on your system. Slowing everything from email and the Internet, to startup and shutdown. What if the major components of an antivirus program could be placed in a special section of the CPU, or even its own core? Whether you’re a gamer, enthusiast, or just an average user you’d enjoy the benefits of being able to run an AV without the associated system slowdown.

Have you ever removed an antivirus, or run a system without an antivirus because of performance issues? Need a free antivirus program, check out our recommendations.

In the early days of computers and computer games, flight simulators were king. The latest versions were waited for with eager anticipation. Realism in gauges, physics and controls left even seasoned pilots impressed.

Whether it was a combat sim in an F4, F16 fighter jet or Red Baron’s bi-plane, or a realistic airplane simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator, I played a lot of these games. However, I haven’t played one for years. If this short video is any indication, that is about to change. The graphics are jaw-dropping:

Microsoft Flight announced on Tuesday as part of it’s plans for Games for Windows and Windows Phone 7. Looks like Flight will also have an online component as it will be, “Live-enabled”.