Coreflood Trojan Infects Thousands of Corporate Computers

Joe Stewart, Director of Malware Research with SecureWorks has recently made public the fact that he found a stolen data cache of unprecedented size. AFcore is a Coreflood trojan that has so far been able to avoid detection, using all this time it has been hidden to gather as much private information as possible.
The trojan works by infecting a particular work station and then laying there dormant until the network admin accesses that computer. The trojan remembers all usernames and passwords so, by grabbing the admin's log-in data, it can spread throughout the entire network. SecureWorks has already come up with security solutions for the Afcore trojan and has announced all its collaborators to do the same. Law enforcement agencies have also been briefed about the current situation.

The trojan has so far been able to infect thousands of individual PCs belonging to all kinds of corporations. The purpose of the trojan is to gather the user's personal and bank information and then deliver it to the hacker. Besides user names and passwords, the virus also stores the text content of the web page the user visits, so the hacker can be able to better determine if the info is valuable or not. For example, if an employee goes online to check their bank balance or make an e-payment, the trojan will detect their username, password and all other text info. The hacker can then take a look at said text and determine if it is worth accessing the user's bank account or not. He saves huge amounts of time by accessing only certain accounts and not all of them.

SecureWorks researchers say that getting an exact figure regarding how much money the trojan has access to is a laborious and lengthy task. Keeping in mind that thousands of computers were infected, that amount could easily surpass a few million dollars.

Machine claims to get water out of thin air

With all due respector to inventor extraordinaire Dean Kamen, the notion of his "Slingshot" distillation system--which makes drinkable water from any type of liquid, including bodily fluids--has been met with more than a few squeamish responses. For those seeking a more palatable solution, the "Base 1 AirWater Machine" taps into a very different source: the air.

Its manufacturer, a Greek company called Klimatic, claims that the system can extract 5 gallons of water every 24 hours, according to Dvice, which adds: "It cleans the extracted water with an active carbon filter, runs it through an ultraviolet light chamber to kill bacteria, and then serves it up to you hot or chilled."

The question, however, is what kind of power source is needed to make the system both energy- and cost-effective. If you need something sooner--as in, an emergency--don't forget about the "LifeStraw" and the "Lifesaver" bottle.

Innings of XP is over. Vista is ahead

fter Bill Gates’ exit from Microsoft, it is now the turn of Windows XP to sign out. Windows XP (professional) is officially off the shelves, finally, with effect from June 30. Microsoft has been planning this phase out for a long time now, ever since Windows Vista hit the market in January 2007.

But Vista has so far failed to create the same buzz and hype that the XP had. Analysts attribute this to a melange of things. “Hardware requirements for Vista is higher, you need a 2GB RAM to operate Vista smoothly,” says Gartner’s principal analyst Diptarup Chakraborti. Windows XP requires 256MB to 512MB, which all Mini notebooks and older PCs have.

Microsoft is playing it safe by retaining the Windows XP (home) in the market as it can be used as an operating system (OS) for the mini notebooks. “Intel is pushing these mini notebooks and Microsoft does not want Linux to enter the market, so they have decided to delay the phase out of Windows XP (home) to 2010.” says Mr Chakraborti.

However, the XP (home) has its limitations. It does not encourage management control and restricts a user to log onto any domain.

Since its launch in January 2007, Vista has sold 140 million worldwide till date and 2 million in India. Microsoft claims most enterprises like Infosys, L&T, TCS, Satyam and other enterprises have already migrated a large number of their desktops to Vista. Mr Chakraborti, however, says many enterprises are willing to use XP and not Vista until windows 7, which is to be launched in early 2010, is on the shelves.

“There was a marketing hiccup, where many manufacturers branded their systems as Vista capable, while they could only run the most basic version (Windows Vista Basic). This made users feel cheated, when they bought Vista systems which didn’t really have the power to run Vista in its full glory. For laptop owners, another concern has been battery life. The extra features in Vista tend to drain the battery much faster than almost any other operating system on the same system,” says an analyst who did not want to be named.

“Consumers would prefer to buy Vista as it looks better than XP, but at what cost is the question. Your favourite applications may not run as they do not have drivers for them. Additionally, enterprise system engineers will have to be re-trained and software re-written for Vista,” says Frost and Sullivan Technical (insights) analyst Prithvi Raj.

So, even after it’s done away with XP may stay ahead of Vista as most users look forward to Windows 7.

Now Yoga Lessons on your Mobile

If you don't have time for an exercise regimen and are experiencing guilt pangs because of it (or the lack of), you might want to give this one a shot. Shemaroo has tied up with various mobile operators in India to offer actor Shilpa Shetty's Yoga for download to mobile customers.

Shemaroo says that the videos have been cut and edited such that each video captures one complete Asana. In Yoga, Asanas (postures) are categorized according to the benefits they provide like those for the back, stomach, neck and shoulder, and of course Pranayam (breathing exercises).
Also on offer are detailed write-ups explaining the benefits and description/s of each Asana. Apart from these videos, consumers can download Shilpa Shetty in her Yoga poses as their mobile wall-papers and screen-savers.

Vodafone is offering a pack of Rs 99, wherein the user can download unlimited Shilpa's Yoga videos in one hour. The pack also contains a step-by-step procedure for each Asana. Similarly, Airtel, Tata, Reliance, BPL, and Idea are also offering Shilpa's Yoga content for download as a value-added service (VAS). Additionally, consumers can purchase the complete DVD for Shilpa's Yoga after sampling the videos on their mobile phones. Shilpa's Yoga Mobile downloads are also available at: http://wap.shemaroo.com.