Giant Internet worm set to change tactics April 1

SAN FRANCISCO - The fast-moving Conficker computer worm, a scourge of the Internet that has infected at least 3 million PCs, is set to spring to life in a new way on Wednesday — April Fools' Day.

That's when many of the poisoned machines will get more aggressive about "phoning home" to the worm's creators over the Internet. When that happens, the bad guys behind the worm will be able to trigger the program to send spam, spread more infections, clog networks with traffic, or try and bring down Web sites.

Technically, this could cause havoc, from massive network outages to the creation of a cyberweapon of mass destruction that attacks government computers. But researchers who have been tracking Conficker say the date will probably come and go quietly.

More likely, these researchers say, the programming change that goes into effect April 1 is partly symbolic — an April Fools' Day tweaking of Conficker's pursuers, who for now have been able to prevent the worm from doing significant damage.

"I don't think there will be a cataclysmic network event," said Richard Wang, manager of the U.S. research division of security firm Sophos PLC. "It doesn't make sense for the guys behind Conficker to cause a major network problem, because if they're breaking parts of the Internet they can't make any money."

Previous Internet threats were designed to cause haphazard destruction. In 2003 a worm known as Slammer saturated the Internet's data pipelines with so much traffic it crippled corporate and government systems, including ATM networks and 911 centers.

Far more often now, Internet threats are designed to ring up profits. Control of infected PCs is valuable on the black market, since the machines can be rented out, from one group of bad guys to another, and act as a kind of illicit supercomputer, sending spam, scanning Web sites for security holes, or participating in network attacks.

The army of Conficker-infected machines, known as a "botnet," could be one of the greatest cybercrime tools ever assembled. Conficker's authors just need to figure out a way to reliably communicate with it.

Infected PCs need commands to come alive. They get those commands by connecting to Web sites controlled by the bad guys. Even legitimate sites can be co-opted for this purpose, if hackers break in and use the sites' servers to send out malicious commands.

So far, Conficker-infected machines have been trying to connect each day to 250 Internet domains — the spots on the Internet where Web sites are parked. The bad guys need to get just one of those sites under their control to send their commands to the botnet. (The name Conficker comes from rearranging letters in the name of one of the original sites the worm was connecting to.)

Conficker has been a victim of its success, however, because its rapid spread across the Internet drew the notice of computer security companies. They have been able to work with domain name registrars, which administer Web site addresses, to block the botnet from dialing in.

Now those efforts will get much harder. On April 1, many Conficker-infected machines will generate a list of 50,000 new domains a day that they could try. Of that group, the botnet will randomly select 500 for the machines to actually query.

The bad guys still need to get only one of those up and running to connect to their botnet. And the bigger list of possibilities increases the odds they'll slip something by the security community.

Researchers already know which domains the infected machines will check, but pre-emptively registering them all, or persuading the registrars to neutralize all of them, is a bigger hurdle.

"We expect something will happen, but we don't quite know what it will look like," said Jose Nazario, manager of security research for Arbor Networks, a member of the "Conficker Cabal," an alliance trying to hunt down the worm's authors.

"With every move that they make, there's the potential to identify who they are, where they're located and what we can do about them," he added. "The real challenge right now is doing all that work around the world. That's not a technical challenge, but it is a logistical challenge."

Conficker's authors also have updated the worm so infected machines have new ways to talk to each other

growth of iPhone gaming submitted by iGames Summit

When the iPhone was first announced, few people would have anticipated the waves the device would make in the gaming community.

 Now, only a few days before San Francisco’s Game Developers Conference, a separate iGames Summit addressed the growing popularity of the iPhone gaming platform.

Australian Internet prompts `blacklist'

SYDNEY, Australia - A whistle-blower organization claims a secret list of Web sites that Australian authorities are proposing to ban includes such innocuous destinations as a dentist's office.

iPhone offer Cut and paste enhancements to up coming version

Apple Inc. is updating its software for iPhones so that users can cut, copy and paste text — a basic computing feature that was missing from the gadget that seems to do everything.

At an iPhone event for journalists Tuesday at Apple headquarters, the company also pledged to broaden the way that third-party software programmers can build and sell content for the device.

Among other things, software developers now will be able to create applications that have items for sale within them, such as electronic books or additional levels of a video game. And developers will be able to access the music within users' iPhone libraries, so songs they own can be included in games, for example.

IBM in talks to buy Sun Microsystems

IBM Corp. is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc. for at least $6.5 billion in cash, a deal that would shake up Silicon Valley and the corporate computing market, The Associated Press has learned

Battery breakthrough promises phone

PARIS (AFP) - Think of an electric car that can accelerate swiftly to cruising speed, laptop computers that can recharge in a couple of minutes rather than hours and a generation of super-miniature mobile phones. That's the vision sketched on Wednesday by a pair of scientists in the United States, unveiling an invention that they say could lead to a smaller, lighter and more power-packed lithium battery than anything available today. Current batteries made of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) are good at storing large amounts of electricity but stumble at releasing it. They are better at dispensing the power in a steady flow than at discharging it or gaining it in a sudden burst.

Google to target ads based on Web surfing habits

Google will use the information it collects on people's Web surfing habits to show more ads tailored to their individual interests. Under the program announced Wednesday, someone who frequents sites about dogs might see more ads for flea treatment products. The program expands upon the Internet search leader's efforts to figure out which marketing messages are most likely to appeal to different people at different times. Google already makes billions of dollars showing ads tied to search requests and other content on a Web page. Now, it will analyze people's favorite Web sites to divine individual tastes and package ads falling under the same areas of interest.

Apple launches 4 gigabyte iPod shuffle

SEATTLE - Apple Inc. unveiled a minuscule new iPod Shuffle on Wednesday that takes its "smaller is better" mantra to a whole new level.





a new version of the iPod Shuffle is shown. Apple touts the new $79 device, which stores 4 gigabytes — up to about 1,000 songs — as 'significantly' smaller than a double-A battery.

AMD, Seagate Show Off 6-Gbits/s SATA

AMD and Seagate will demonstrate a next-generation 6-Gbit/s SATA interface Monday in New Orleans, the companies said. The target markets will be gaming PCs and servers, according to executives.

Motorola Announces New MC55 Business Phone

Motorola's consumer handheld business may be perpetually struggling, but the company also has a successful line of hard-core business handhelds that were formerly sold under the Symbol brand name. Motorola's EDAs (Enterprise Digital Assistants) are ubiquitous on stock floors, in the hands of FedEx deliverymen, and even among the salespeople at Apple stores.

The latest addition to the EDA family, the MC55 line, was announced Monday. The MC55 is a Windows Mobile 6.1 device that's rugged enough to drop on a concrete floor or accidentally spill cleaning fluid on.




Importantly for enterprise buyers, it comes in several different configurations. The MC5590 is Wi-Fi only, for use within your warehouse or retail store. If you need to make calls, the 5590 supports VoIP. The MC5574 includes a 2.5G GSM modem that works on AT&T and T-Mobile. The MC5590 has been on sale for a few months now, but the MC5574 is new. Both phones can come with standard numeric, QWERTY, QWERTZ (that's German) or AZERTY (French) keypads, as well as a cursor-key-centric layout for the 5590 model only.



Both models have 520 Mhz processors, 3.5" 320x240 color touch screens, a MicroSD memory card slot, Bluetooth and about six hours of talk time. As with all of their EDA models, you can get a comprehensive service and support package that includes coverage for accidental breakage, right down to the stylus and screen protector.

Microsoft to let PC users turn off IE Web browser

SEATTLE - A single check box deep in the guts of the next version of Windows is giving Microsoft Corp. watchers a peek at how the software maker plans to keep European antitrust regulators from marring a crucial software launch.

Utility energy storage plans by AEP

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Utility company American Electric Power (AEP) plans this year to place equipment in residential areas capable of storing a few hours of electricity, one of the first tests of distributed storage on the power grid.

The storage units would be the size of a relatively small "backyard transformer," each wired to provide enough electricity for four to six houses. Together, those storage units could provide back-up power to neighborhoods during outages and potentially for other applications.




Because of the high cost, energy storage devices need to be used for a number of applications to generate sufficient revenue, the speakers said. For example, a large battery could provide back-up power, do peak shaving, and be used to stabilize dips in grid signal frequency.

Microsoft wants the next version of Office will natively support the OpenDocument format

Next version of Office will the next service pack for Office 2007. As it is developing the next Office, Microsoft is also documenting every change it is making as part of its commitment to documenting all of Office's various formats and protocols. Adding support for more standards and file formats.
The browser-based Web apps will also help take Office onto the iPhone.

Broadband for all by 2012 (Reported by Interim Digital Britain)

Lord Carter's eagerly awaited interim Digital Britain report arrived today, promising broadband to every house in the land by 2012. First impressions are that the report is more than a little vague, and although we were surprised by such a concrete commitment to universal broadband access, we're left with as many questions as answers. Such as whether we really need broadband for all? How will it work? Is 2012 realistic? And the elephant in the room: who's going to pay for it? There is a recession on, after all. Bear in mind this is only a precursor to a final report due in late spring. Objectives include 'upgrading and modernising our digital networks



-- wired, wireless and broadcast', which is what's been grabbing the headlines. Other goals are to encourage UK investment and content, advance universal access and necessary IT skills, and push online interaction with public services and government. But what will Carter the Unstoppable Techs Machine actually be doing? Well, we're getting a strategy group and an umbrella body -- hurrah! You can never have too many of those -- and before the final report appears, everyone involved has promised to have a jolly hard think. Mainly about how they can get someone else to pay for all this, we'd imagine. The report includes a hint at a possible digital switchover for radio, after television moves over from analogue. And there's more on the hot-button issue of copyright, piracy and the surrounding brouhaha. A rights agency is mooted, crucially to be funded 'through a modest and proportionate contribution' by 'distributors and rights-holders'. Meanwhile, Action 13 of the report sets out the intention to legislate against copyright infringers, including a requirement for ISPs to collect data on 'serious repeat infringers', whose personal details will only be made available to rights-holders on receipt of a court order. But it's universal broadband that has us talking, with the report anticipating a 2Mbps connection to every house by 2012. It's starting to look like 2012 will be make-or-break time for UK plc, with the country's economy, international standing and public consciousness invested so heavily in the Olympics and its associated hoopla. Who's paying for it is unclear, as is how those currently paying for broadband will react to possibly subsidising or paying more than others. Meanwhile, some are unconvinced as to whether we really need universal broadband.



As fully paid-up Net nerds, we're on board with the idea of superfast connections we can push to the limit with cloud computing, Web video, downloading and sharing content -- wherever we are, and whatever device we're using. But our dear old mums just want to check their email, and of the 17 million people who aren't online, how many simply don't want to be? So the idea of broadband being as important as electricity, water and gas seems a stretch right now. But then people probably said that about TV and even the telephone, and the idea of providing Internet access to the less well-off or less educated is a noble one. We're not sold on the report's argument that a universal broadband infrastructure will lift us out of recession and make us greener, but the idea of future-proofing the nation is squarely in our wheelhouse. Early adopters already get TV, music and on-demand content via the Web, as well as working, VoIPing, and interacting with companies and services. The report includes an ominous mention of public-sector 'efficiencies', which hopefully for the sake of those who aren't so online-inclined won't mean real-world public services will be efficiencied out of existence in favour of virtual versions. We hope the idea of universal broadband is more sustainable than, say, universal healthcare. Still, as the online generation matures, we'll all grow into silver surfers, and the notion of separate TVs, phones and computers will be as quaint as black-and-white TV or gas lighting. Hopefully we'll have hoverboards by then too.

Logitech Harmony 1100

Touchscreen, tablet-style universal remote control

When Logitech brought out its touchscreen, tablet-style Harmony 1000 in 2007, it was clearly taking a stab at the high-end of the universal-remote-control market. We liked the 1000, but it did have a few kinks. Enter the Harmony 1100, an upgrade to its older brother. The 1100 is available now for around £350.

Design:
The 1100 is about twice the size of a typical smart phone, at 140mm by 18mm by 104mm, but feels pretty light. The screen measures 89mm (3.5 inches) diagonally and features QVGA resolution (320x240 pixels). That's not super-sharp, but, considering you're not watching video on the screen, it looks very good. The brightness is adjustable, and, even at a moderate setting, the screen is easily viewable. On the surface, the biggest differences between the 1100 and 1000 are that the 1100 is black instead of silver; has a white, instead of blue, backlight for illuminating the buttons in the dark; and the volume and channel buttons have swapped places in response to "customer research". Logitech has also added small, tactile guides on the side of the screen to make it easier to find the right button. We're not sure what the point of this is, since you're dealing with virtual buttons.


Although the 1100 is a touchscreen remote, you'll find a handful of hard buttons on the device for frequently used functions -- such as moving the channel or volume up and down -- and a five-way navigation pad to get through menus. All of these buttons, including the small 'activities' button just below the screen, are backlit. As with many remotes, the identically sized channel and volume buttons are right next to each other, so we occasionally hit one when we meant to hit the other. Like some of Logitech's more expensive Harmony models, the 1100 includes a docking station -- the same one that comes with the 1000 -- for charging its removable lithium-ion battery. The 1100 also has a motion sensor -- when you pick up the remote, it automatically turns on. Logitech has designed the remote to have a maximum of four layers of menus, so users don't get buried in an over-complicated menu tree. All in all, it seems like a good system but, as with any new remote, it will take some getting used to.

Features:
With the 1100, Logitech has boosted users' ability to customise commands on every screen. While you can't exactly create your own interface -- you can't upload your own button images, for instance -- you can customise labels and choose from the 90 icons provided by Logitech. Plus, you can add favourite-channel icons.


To customise the look of your screen, you can add your own digital image as a background, but we preferred to stick with one of the several monochrome backgrounds that Logitech offers. You can also add a series of images that will appear in a slide show when your remote goes into a screensaver-style mode. In most other respects, the 1100 is very similar to the 1000, so much of what we said about that earlier model applies to this one as well. We're still disappointed that Logitech has yet to upgrade the desktop software to allow you to store all your Harmony remotes in one master account and easily clone settings, so you can swap in a new remote without completely having to reprogram it. Logitech does offer some cloning features, but since the 1100 has a totally new operating system, we couldn't just copy over our old settings from the 1000, or any other Harmony remote, to this model. As with other Harmony remotes, you program the 1100 by connecting it to your Internet-connected Windows PC or Mac via the supplied USB cable, installing the model-specific version of Harmony software, and answering a fairly simple online questionnaire.

Nokia Smart phone - E71

Feature-packed smart phone with a Qwerty keypad


The Nokia E series has traditionally been an uninspiring collection of boxy phones, but last year saw a dramatic upturn in its fortunes. The Nokia E51 and E65 took the market by storm -- and it wasn't just businessmen buying them. The E series is beginning to look as attractive as its multimedia N-series siblings. The Nokia E71 is the Finnish giant's latest addition to the E series and will be available in July. Pricing is set to be around €350 (around £280) SIM-free, and it will most likely be free on a monthly contract.

Design:
The E71 is one of Nokia's most attractive smart phones to date. Many phones with Qwerty keypads lack a certain finesse, but the E71 wouldn't look out of place in an Aston Martin. Not only does it look good, its attractive metal casing feels very classy and it's not too heavy or too light. A 10mm thick profile ensures it fits inside a pocket comfortably, even though it's wider than your average handset. The screen and Qwerty keypad are well laid-out -- a series of shortcut keys below the screen make it easy to access your emails, calendar and contacts.

Although the keys are small, they're very usable, because each is raised, making it easy to distinguish between them. In fact, the E71's keypad is one of the best Qwerty keypads we've ever laid fingers on. We inadvertently dropped the E71 a few times from waist height and it carried on working as if nothing had happened, thanks to its resilient casing. It truly is a stunning looking phone that will stand the test of time.

Features:
Email-centric, business-oriented phones can be dull as ditchwater, but the E71 isn't lacking exciting features. Like the Nokia E90, this smart phone boasts more features than your average Nokia. Having said that, it gets the basics right first. We can happily say that setting up your personal email, such as Gmail or Yahoo, is really easy. All you have to do is put in your email address and password -- that's it. The E71 also supports Microsoft Exchange, although it's a little harder to set that up, so you might want to get some help from your office IT guy, depending on your phone skills.

Connecting to the Internet to receive emails and browse Web sites is possible almost everywhere you go, via HSDPA (3.5G) or Wi-Fi. Using the built-in Wi-Fi scanner, it's easy to find a hotspot and connect to it.


To save battery life, you should turn off Wi-Fi scanning when you're not using it. Surfing the Net is better than with most built-in browsers. Pages are displayed in full and, interestingly, the E71's browser supports Flash and lets you watch YouTube videos, although it's fairly sluggish -- audio streams faster than video.

Nokia E63

Smart phone with full Qwerty keypad


Last year, Nokia announced the E71, a superb phone that provides tonnes of features in a great-looking, compact package. This year, Nokia is launching the E63, a less expensive version of the E71, with a few tweaks here and there. But is it as good? We took the E71 look-alike on the road to see if it delivers as good an experience.

Design:
From the front, the E63 looks similar to the E71. There's a wide screen and a full Qwerty keypad. Unlike the E71, however, the E63 comes in a red or blue plastic casing, instead of a metal one. The E63 is also chunkier, but not so large that it doesn't fit into a pocket comfortably. One of our favourite E71 design features is its easy-to-press Qwerty keypad, and we're glad to report that the E63's keypad is also a winner, delivering a satisfying typing experience. Each key on the keypad is raised, making them easy to press, and there's enough space between each key so that you don't feel too cramped when tapping out long messages. The keypad feels a little less slippery than the E71's and the thicker design means there's more phone to hold on to -- something you may or may not like. While it doesn't have the finesse of the E71, the E63 looks good overall, and it certainly delivers when it comes to messaging. With a more colourful casing, the E63 looks less serious than the E71, and will most probably appeal to you if you want a phone that stands out from the crowd.



Features:
You might think that a thicker casing would mean additional space to cram in more features, but the E63 actually has fewer features than its predecessor. There's no HSDPA (3.5G), no GPS and no infrared. If the lack of those features doesn't bother you too much, the rest of the E63 delivers an almost identical experience to the E71. You can browse the Web relatively quickly thanks to the phone's 3G capability and, if you want a faster experience, the E63 comes with Wi-Fi.

The E63's browser lets you see full Web pages, popping up an overview window when you're scrolling around so that you can see where you are in relation to the rest of the page. We also downloaded the third-party Opera Mini browser onto the E63. That worked really well. Setting up email is fairly straightforward. The E63 supports Microsoft Exchange but doesn't support Exchange folders, which is very annoying if you need access to them. A massive improvement on the E71 is the E63's 3.5mm headphone jack, which lets you plug your own headphones straight in. The E63's music player has a straightforward interface and supports a variety of formats, including MP3 and AAC. We like that you can search tracks by typing in the one you're looking for. When it comes to the E63's photography capabilities, a 2-megapixel camera delivers okay pictures for small prints and MMS messages, but don't expect photos to look sharp when you view them on a large screen. In low light, the LED photo light doesn't illuminate objects very well, and only works properly at close range. Other noteworthy features include the ability to download podcasts, watch YouTube videos, and listen to FM radio and Internet radio stations. A microSD slot lets you add more memory for storing songs and pictures. Although there's no GPS, the E63 comes with Nokia Maps and you can hook it up to a Bluetooth GPS receiver if you want.





Performance:
Audio during calls sounded clear, with no noticeable muffling or distortion. The loudspeaker is loud enough to use as a temporary hands-free solution but you're better off using a Bluetooth headset. Battery life lasted for over a day, but will vary depending on what features you use -- using 3G and Wi-Fi will drain the battery more.

Canon Digital IXUS 80

8-megapixel ultracompact with optical image stablisation


One of the most popular cameras of last year wasn't a big fancy digital SLR or a pimped-out superzoom -- it was Canon's somewhat understated Digital IXUS 70. Its combination of a nice -- though not extravagant -- feature set, small size and relatively low price proved quite appealing to camera buyers. This year, with the £170 Digital IXUS 80 IS, Canon has updated the aesthetic design, switched to a slightly different zoom range and most importantly, added optical image stabilisation. Of course, the company has also raised the resolution to 8 megapixels from last year's 7.1 megapixels and refined some of the camera's other features.

Design:
Last year's model evoked the design of the original film version of the IXUS, with its black circle around the camera's lens and squared-off edges. This year, Canon brings this model back in line with more recent designs without abandoning its tiny stature and is offering it in silver, caramel, chocolate and pink. The tweaked design is just slightly thicker than last year's and sports rounded edges and a slightly curved indent on the right-hand side that provides a perfect nook for a middle finger when gripping the camera.

Features:
Canon doesn't include manual exposure controls in its Digital IXUS line, but you will find an ample array of preset scene modes and some features that make automatic shooting simpler. As with a lot of compact cameras, the IXUS 80 IS includes face detection. This year, Canon has extended this function to let it set not only focus and exposure, but also flash output and white balance, so the camera should be less likely to blow out the details on your friend's face with the flash and should be better able to keep skin tones neutral in varied light sources. To help combat confusion when setting ISO, the IXUS 80 IS includes Motion Detection Technology, which raises the ISO setting if there is a moving subject when you have the camera set to High ISO Auto mode. By raising the ISO, the camera can shoot at a faster shutter speed to freeze the action. Canon did add optical image stabilisation, however, which should help if you often shoot stationary objects in low light. Since the lens isn't all that wide, you might find the optical viewfinder helpful to bring the camera further back when trying to frame a shot, or in situations where you don't want to have the bright LCD turned on.