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Editorial

AGAIN A WARNING!!! - we have more reports that customers' have been caught in a domain name renewal SCAM (make sure you know who manages your domain name account) - 'Domain Registry of America' are on the lookout for unsuspecting people who have forgotten or just don't know who manages their domain name renewals. The will send you an impressive renewal notice with an even more impressive inflated renewal price. People are being caught by 'Domain Registry of America' every day. The Australian Government has already closed them down on one occasion but they are back with a vengeance. The have a Melbourne address and a Melbourne phone number, but no human there.

Those who have there domains managed by Engadine Web Services are protected.

Remember, if you receive a letter from 'Domain Registry of America' assist our environment and recycle it. You really should know the renewal date for your domain names also who would be managing and invoicing you for the renewal. If you need help contact me any time.

Bruce Beresford, Manager & Editor

In this Issue:

• Featured Site - Audio Visual Integration
• Microsoft allows pirate XP users to download IE7
• Intel launches quad-core Tigerton
• Spammers leveraging YouTube e-mail address
• Woman to pay for Kazaa offence
• Quotes of the day

Featured Site  

Audio Visual Integration

With all new and exciting advancements in technology, how do you choose a company to design your home theatre, multi-room audio or home automation and how can you be sure they know how to bring out the best in today’s highly sophisticated systems for your home's unique needs?

Audio Visual Integration is a select group with proven expertise in their field who are committed to providing peace of mind to their clients regarding accurate product choice, design, development and installation of audio visual equipment. We strive to ensure that your investment in audio visual equipment will be of the highest standard.

All new installations undertaken conform to comprehensive design standards which ensure quality, uniformity and reliability.

Visit the Audio Visual Integration website...

Microsoft allows pirate XP users to download IE7  

Microsoft is to allow pirated copies of Windows XP to download and install Internet Explorer 7 without gaining Windows Genuine Advantage authentication, which is a move to boost security but not encourage piracy, according to the software giant.

Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) is part of Microsoft's Genuine Software Initiative. It is intended to help prevent the distribution and use of unauthorised versions of Windows. Previously, to download Internet Explorer 7, users had to authenticate to WGA.

"With today's 'Installation and Availability Update', Internet Explorer 7 installation will no longer require Windows Genuine Advantage validation and will be available to all Windows XP users," wrote IE7 programme manager Steve Reynolds in a blog post on Thursday.

Microsoft said that it had dropped the requirement for WGA for security reasons.

"Microsoft takes its commitment to help protect the entire Windows ecosystem seriously, and we're taking a step to help make consumers safer online," said a spokesperson. "We feel the security enhancements to Internet Explorer 7 are significant enough that it should be available as broadly as possible, and this means removing WGA validation." ZDNet Australia October 2007. >>> more

Intel launches quad-core Tigerton  

The chip-maker has launched its new line of quad-core Xeon products for the multiprocessor server market.

Codename "Caneland", its much-awaited Xeon multiprocessor 7300 server platform comprises the new "Tigerton" quad-core Xeon 7300 series chip, as well as the "Clarksboro" 7300 chipset.

Adesh Gupta, regional platform architecture manager for the Server Platform Group at Intel Asia-Pacific, said in an interview that the new products are designed for multiprocessor servers -- systems with between four and 32 CPUs -- that run software like ERP, and applications in virtualised environments for server consolidation.

Caneland completes the chipmaker's transition to the Core microarchitecture, its latest chip design adopted across its PC and server processors.

Available in six iterations, the 65-nanometer Tigerton chip is said to deliver more than double the performance and more than triple the performance per watt ratio over Intel's previous generation dual-core products. ZDNet Australia September 2007. >>> more

Spammers leveraging YouTube e-mail address  

Spammers are abusing the “Invite Your Friends” system to send out “massive quantities of spam,” according to content security outfit Marshall. The facility was intended to allow users to invite their friends to view videos that they they find interesting or have posted.

It looks like spammers are taking advantage of YouTube’s own Help Centre recommendation to system administrators that the service@youtube.com e-mail address be excluded from spam filtering.

According to The Register:

The messages, which all come from service@youtube.com, have the same appearance as a legitimate YouTube invite, except they contain pitches for tat such as penis pills and get quick schemes instead of links to online video tat. Both could be considered forms of junk anyway, which partly explains why cybercriminals have adopted the tactic.

Bradley Anstis, Marshal’s director of product management, notes, “Spammers are doing this to defeat spam filters and to lower the recipient’s guard by making it look as though the messages are coming from a perfectly innocuous e-mail address.” TechRepublic October 2007.

Woman to pay for Kazaa offence  

IN the first US trial to challenge the illegal downloading of music on the internet, a woman was ordered to pay more than $US220,000 ($245,000) for sharing 24 songs online.

Jammie Thomas, 30, a single mother from Minnesota, was the first among more than 26,000 people sued by the world's most powerful recording companies to refuse a settlement after being slapped with a lawsuit by the Recording Industry of America and six major music labels.

She turned down an offer to pay a few thousands dollars in fines and instead took the case to court.

Unlike some who insist on the right to share files over the internet, Thomas says she was wrongfully targeted by SafeNet, a contractor employed by the recording industry to patrol the internet for copyrighted material.

Her lawyer said earlier this week that she had racked up some $US60,000 in legal fees because she refused to be bullied.

And while Thomas insisted that she had never downloaded or uploaded music, her lawyer tried to convince jurors there was no way to prove who had uploaded songs on the Kazaa file sharing network.

A jury took just five hours to decide that evidence provided by the music labels showed otherwise and found Thomas guilty of copyright infringement, court records showed.

Ms Thomas was ordered to pay a $US9,250 fine for each of 24 shared songs cited in the case, including Godsmack's "Spiral," Destiny's Child's "Bills, Bills, Bills" and Sara McLachlan's "Building a Mystery".

It could have been a lot worse.

Had the record companies sued her for all 1,702 songs found in the online folder the fine could have run in the millions.

"This does send a message, I hope, that downloading and distributing our recordings is not OK," Richard Gabriel, the lead attorney for the music companies, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Mr Gabriel said jurors had not explained how they had come up with a fine of $US9,250 per song out of sentencing guidelines which range from $US750 to $US150,000.

Ms Thomas and her lawyer declined to comment as they exited the courthouse, the paper said. Australian IT October 2007.

Quotes of the Day  

I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting. Ronald Reagan (1911 - 2004)

Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others. Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. Hunter S. Thompson (1939 - 2005)

If you live to be one hundred, you've got it made. Very few people die past that age. George Burns (1896 - 1996)

Brought to you by The Quotations Page

Have any questions relating to the internet or your computer? Let me know and I will research an answer and use this for future entries in our newsletter. Pass on your questions via the Enquiry Form on our Web-Site or send me an email.

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