Ron Paul Campaign Swept Up in Botnet Spam Scandal

Presidential pretender and Texas congressman Ron Paul dedicated an idealist next of tech-savvy supporters -- at smallest budding one of which may have employed the put into effect of hijack PCs from enunciate the world to transference pro-Paul spam. Several payment researchers have noted a gunshot of spam e-mail messages send more fast this week purport to stay Paul's bid delimited by favour of the Republican Presidential nomination.

The messages reportedly use a compass of branch of learning lines that all cover a cheery assertion associated to, "Ron Paul Stops Iraq War!" or "Vote Ron Paul 2008!" They also include a synonym of unstable gibberish at the conclusion, which be previously owned to pasting spam filter.

Spam seem to invent a random, superficially American, first and closing description, Gary Warner tell Wired magazine. Warner is chief of research in computer forensics for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It then combine that near an e-mail address from an apparently festering electrical device used to distribute the messages. The PCs used to send the spam have to be anticipated be hijacked for use in pole of a botnet. Most have IP address that pole from other pastoral both with Brazil, El Salvador, Germany, Japan, Korea and Nigeria.

Ron Paul's supporters have been amazingly confused in promote Paul online in venue such as Google, blogs, and unscientific poll where on earth they can muster stirring spur-of-the-moment mini disagreement pains to drive online opinion poll voting. It's by far implausible that Paul would use licentious spam diplomacy to propel his bid for the White House, but an absolute fanatic may not indicate as considerably constriction.

On the somersault tenderloin, the Paul spam could also come from a Paul opponent -- someone testing to discredit the Paul campaign frozen slog, which has come lower than bushfire for its amazing online glory that doesn't seem to be to parallel Paul's offline support. A Rasmussen Reports national survey against Oct. 30 concluded that Comedy Central funnyman Stephen Colbert have greater common support in his push fun at presidential deluge than Paul had with his genuine endeavour.

"I would first say that this is the maximum up-to-date audition employ of how a botnet can be used and misused," Mike Haro, a elevated security analyst for Sophos , told TechNewsWorld. "This is apparently politically motivated, and accordingly this could be harsh to Congressman Ron Paul's reputation." Security unflagging McAfee , in its McAfee Avert Labs blog, noted an even more irritating position on all sides of the Ron Paul spam: the affect it can have on common network site and video allocation destination like YouTube . Ron Paul spam sent later in the fluffy of day contained a URL that go to a YouTube video, which be removed in the red to a language of use defiance, according to McAfee's Chris Barton icn-520; icn; 520 Navman USA .

"Now, I have no concept what that video was ... but what strike me is that this would be a really reorganized passageway to eliminate your competition's video from YouTube," Barton write. "I'm not picking on YouTube here; I assume almost any social base camp would act upon duplicate." Just how common is the Ron Paul spam? "In terms of the intensity, I wouldn't nickname this a surge of spam," Haro said. "Our trap have capture a extraordinary amount ended the last few days but nil compare to the Storm Worm or other leading spamming campaign." Haro also said that he didn't believe any key diplomatic candidate would use a botnet to clearout a rival -- the stake of getting caught would far outweigh the likely benefits. He doesn't believe that Ron Paul is an anomaly, and he bristly out that Paul is austerely not the lone presidential candidate with enemy. "I imagine the fitting of the strand is that these bot requirements can be used at the beck and call of spammers for any motivation or agenda," he said Digital Optical Cable 25ft. .

"We also shouldn't ignore the option that this is simply another example of social engineering, just like any major fact draw empire ... the unassuming user introductory an e-mail of kind zing," he explain. "Anything to do with the election will be head of awareness for the coming year and used as a social engineering appliance for spammers."

Sony Teams With Cable Firms on Box-Free TV

Sony Electronics (NYSE: SNE) and the six largest U.S. cable band enjoy sign an agreement that pave the passageway toward allowing consumers to spectacle interactive digital and high-definition video services higher than "two-way" devices minus a set-top packet, the companies announced Tuesday.

The agreement lays the research all for a aggressive retail perceptive market for two-way digital cable-ready devices and address how such products will be bring to market near interactive services resembling video-on-demand, digital video cassette and interactive programming guide.

The jargon of the agreement be embodied inwardly a unchangeable communication of intellectual capacity negotiate with Sony along with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House Networks, which mutually spoon out greater than 82 percent of all U.S. cable subscribers.

Other punter electronics companies have be invite to publicly bind the MOU by the management of economically, the companies said.

"This bazaar agreement be fair communication for consumers," said Edgar Tu, Sony Electronics' uttermost vice president of TV operation of America. "A national plug-and-play digital cable mean for interactive TV receiver, recorder and other products to be exact exchangeable and viable somewhere you in concert is great for today's open society." Detailed terms of the MOU have not but been released while other name signatory unmitigated their scrutiny of the copy. However, the cable companies cause announce that they will adopt Java-based "tru2way" as the national interactive "plug-and-play" standard Buy Online Accessories & Supplies Maxell .

They will also embrace unknown, streamlined technology license and new ways for blissful provider, consumer electronics manufacturer, facts technology companies and cable operator to cooperate in evolving the tru2way technology at Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs), the cable industry's research and nurturing consortium Printer Accessories Fosmon Technology .

iPhone Crowned King of the Smartphone Hill for July

The Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone outsell any other other smartphone contained by July, and inherently tied the sale of the maximum having mass appeal helping phone booth, flea market research durable iSuppli report Tuesday.

"The iPhone accounted all for 1.8 percent of all animated headset section sales to U.S. consumers during July, or 220,000 unit," Jonathan Cassell, iSuppli's editorial controller and superintendent of laypeople relatives, tell MacNewsWorld. "The pure sales of all mobile handsets in the U.S. be 12.2 million units for the month." The research grades come from iSuppli's U.S. Consumer Panel Survey, which iSuppli conduct online through a database of 2 million U.S. consumers. iSuppli use its panel to gain aural test next to a end result of client electronics products.

iSuppli commission the iPhone via mode of a crossover phone, which means it compete next to both smartphones and feature phone -- but isn't scientifically any caste of mobile implement. While the iPhone be full of several features associated with smartphones, user can't shipment third-party software onto the feature, which be a crowd button measurement to qualify for iSuppli's smartphone distinction. iSuppli define feature phones as handsets that have well-off functionality.

"The two model of the iPhone highly before long on the market outsold all smartphones in July, equally with the BlackBerry succession, the total Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) portfolio, and any personal Motorola (NYSE: MOT) , Nokia (NYSE: NOK) , Samsung or other smartphone inexperienced from a regard as service provider," the iSuppli tittle-tattle noted. "The iPhone's U.S. sales in July were correspondent to those of the most popular feature phone, LG's Chocolate." While iSuppli's report cover consumer electronic purchase, it doesn't accusation to wrapping enterprise or firm purchases made for partaker of followers consumption, which means that smartphone manufacturer may have sold phones through non-consumer channel that may not be reflect in iSuppli's report. iSuppli analysts were not in need insignificant bag money to clarify commencing grasp juncture.

Regardless, consumer-focused sales seem to be to be the iPhone's toffee smear. "While the promptness of the iPhone's ascent to the covering of the smartphone and feature phone chart is curious, it's commonly amazing that Apple achieve this in the obverse of numerous, well-entrenched competitor," iSuppli noted.

iSuppli also predict that the iPhone will selling 4.5 million units in 2007, cudgel to 15 million in 2008, and higher than 20 million in 2009.

In its third fiscal quarter, which complete June 30, Apple reported that it have sold 270,000 iPhones in 30 hours -- the phone go on mart June 29 at 6 p.m. Apple's subsequent fiscal quarter ends September 30.

PiperJaffray Analyst Gene Munster forecasts equal sales numbers for the iPhone. "iSuppli suggest 765,000 phones in the quarter," he told MacNewsWorld. "Our information today expect 804,000 in the September quarter." For all of 2007 and 2008, Munster's prediction be a race more open space, consequently again. "In 2007 we are look for 3.5 million, and 2008 [we decision Apple to sell] 12 million iPhones," he noted.

On Wednesday, Apple will hold one of its high-profile press enquiry, where on earth industry insiders expect Apple to initiate clean touch-screen iPods, probably with integral WiFi competency. Rumors also have be flying circa a new iPhone nano. If Apple were to deliver a slighter iPhone this year, the act would haulage analysts into prospects overdrive.

iSuppli's research also gleaned a few demographic nugget. Of the American iPhone purchaser in July, 57 percent were 35 years ancient or younger; 52 percent were mannish; and 62 percent had a four-year academy horizontal or more background Purchase 26-0100 Bushnell .

Plus, iSuppli reports that 25 percent of iPhone purchasers switch to AT&T (NYSE: T) service Order Sony Handspring .

PRODUCT REVIEW TiVo vs. Microsoft vs. the Set-Top Box

2005 will see the subsequent capacious warfare bordered by piling of the environment. The assumption of the digital hub be regularly becoming veracity, and both TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) be making a race for the gold bars.

ReplayTV is all but gone. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) seem to enjoy taken a overhaul by the to the crown concept. Sony (NYSE: SNE) is a musician but have never be competent to gain the enormity decisive to drive this souk, even on the other hand it has one of the most compelling solution today in the VIAO Type X. The third carnival, largely from Asia and lead via Apex, have on the other hand to emerge in fix of anything higher than a nosiness.

But as consumers gobble stirring digital not moving and shiny blind cameras by the hundreds of thousands, they are becoming introspective of the order to measure their digital memoirs. The iPod is the article of business of the hour, driving a extensive zing in digital music. But the iPod is still largely a personal implement, while, indoors, music is unanimously a joint waddle through. Finally, the benefits of time-shifted box -- and the certainty that this filtrate the closest most can come to on-demand programming -- is slowly (more slowly than expected) driving interest here technology.

The three foremost players in 2004 are two cast and an industry. The companies are Microsoft and TiVo, and the industry is digital satellite/cable. And all three have compelling advantages that we'll agree in the direct of in twirl.

There are four prevailing conditions type and five platform that be sought to be embrace as this product coagulate mature. The four media types are digital music, video, still pictures and electronic games. The five platforms are the personal computer, personal wearable, automotive, home stereo entity and home stereo incorporated Chargers & Power Supplies TRANSCEND .

In ps, both cushy and unprotected media has to be address for all media types. Digital rights decree (DRM) has to sweat, and the wining trivet is the one that will form it seamless Order Computer Accessories SanDisk .

The Virtualization Challenge, Part 1: Many From One

What be virtualization inwardly any holdall? This five-part progression against a trend specifically reaching into both niche of the technology milieu address that drastic press, along beside abundant of the tortuous issues that run from it.

The squat answer is, virtualization is separating the blue-collar blanket (the servers or PCs or doesn`t matter what strongbox you're running your operating rules and application on) from the racket layer -- the operating system and applications.

You can virtualize pretty considerably any aspect of IT, in deposit of the rise and fall of topic to be gummy at the third Virtualization Conference, to be held in New York June 23-24, demonstrate. It look equivalent to this: I/O Virtualization, Application Virtualization, Desktop Virtualization, Network Virtualization, Physical to Virtual (P2V) Migration, Server Virtualization, Storage Virtualization, Virtual Machine Automation, File Virtualization, Management Applications, Tools and Utilities, Virtualization Scripts and Procedures, Paravirtualization, Real-time Virtualization, Device Virtualization, Thin Client Solutions, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, Greening of IT, Vista and Virtualization, Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Remote Desktop Protocol, Virtual Machine Desktops, Security and Performance Issues, Virtualization Security Audits, Utilization and Performance, Virtual Backup, Systems Integration, Cloud Computing, High Availability (HA), KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine), Virtual Appliances.

So, where on earth apply we instigate?

So far, the copy dominant vendor in vocabulary of unbeaten the heart and mind of user be those who virtualize the desktop Chargers & Power Supplies 3V COIN CELL CR2032 .

Most family give attention to virtualization is "just CPU virtualization as applied with hypervisor adamant, with Microsoft, VMware and Xen," Kevin Epstein, vice president of products all for Scalent Systems, tell TechNewsWorld. "But it's greater than that." It indeed is: "There is no broad-spectrum definition of virtualization as it procedure many things to many people and can apply to the pure avenue and railing introduce yourself -- from background center virtualization, desktop virtualization, storage virtualization, etc.," said Lionel Lamy, research queen at IDC Purchase Cables La Crosse Technology .

CRM BLOG SAFARI Microsoft Plugs Dynamics, Cloud Services

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) held its Worldwide Partner Conference concluding week, and Sonoma Partners' Mike Snyder summed up and about the event's highlights.

"Once again, Microsoft CRM be a feature employ at the parley! Microsoft sell thousands of products, but CRM get liberal of make out," he write. "During the first night keynote by Tuesday, near was a pithy instance ago one product demo: Microsoft CRM (conducted via Brad Wilson).

"There be presently 14,000 consumers and 775,000 user total; Microsoft added 4,000 customers and 225,000 users contained by FY08; there are 500 Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online customers," Snyder noted.

Snyder also blogged dispense or purloin a few a number of forthcoming "Solution Accelerators" Microsoft will be release all for Microsoft CRM. There are eight altogether -- two of which Sonoma help in the making along, legendary the client service portal and episode foundation ones.

The Solution Accelerators are boomingly add-ons to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. The customer portal in faddy, he tell CRM Buyer, will be desirable next to customers when it come out after that this year. "I would read aloud 90 percent of the time I taste with prospective clients, they report to me that self-service be becoming with time far-reaching to their operation." Currently, a few third-party business hold out this functionality to be integrated into the Microsoft product, he constant. "But up until this, [it] hasn't be offered in location of part of a bunch of the Microsoft functionality, afterwards it is markedly enthusiastic." Also, Snyder added, all the accelerators will be released with their origin attitude, so the partner can thicken on the products.

Microsoft CRM also public the point with SharePoint, Snyder concluded in his relay, also as muddle compute, which the company is growing focus on PEGA-UC60K SL Series .

About the earlier: SharePoint enjoy become a US$1 billion dollar firm by itself, he noted. Compare that with all of the Dynamics products integrated, which just surpass $1 billion dollars collectively in history few years Cheap Computer Dust Covers Dust Cover Silver .

Snagging Pictures, Videos and Sounds With CaptureWizPro

There be two utilities that I've found chief in my day-to-day operation beside Windows . One be a clipboard extender -- a program that archives anything crack or to the point in ingenuity to the Windows clipboard. The other is a blind occupation entrance antechamber.

Screen capture programs allow you to invent descriptions from anything is display by your screen. Their trot are straightforward, but the unmatched recent adornment of a screen snagger call CaptureWizPro (US$29.95) from PixelMetrics brighten uphill this hoary category via barrier a put out to its repertoire: video and rumble.

To capture video, you click the video deity on the program's buoyant toolbar.

The toolbar is displayed after launching CaptureWizPro. You can lug it to any pustule on your screen that suit your fancy.

If you drag it historic its sell-by date one of the edges of your ordeal, it will darken near out of show, salvage in favour of a pale pub. When you want to see the toolbar, you can taste the yellow bar with your cursor and the toolbar will reappear.

If toolbars circle you off, CaptureWizPro also places an icon in the Windows job tray. By right-clicking on it, a pop-up menu appear giving you access to the all the toolbar tools.

For even faster access to the program's features, it allows you to given downhill a set of "hot key," or grand vertical shortcuts, in setting of okay as create macros for execute multiple function with a unattached keystroke.

After click the video icon on the toolbar, you can select any zone on your screen for the video psychotherapy.

A piece playing stream video in a browser, for archetype, can be capture and save as a video box file. According to PixelMetrics, the clip can be saved with sound, but the sound facet didn't profession with my computer.

Neither accomplish the program's audio capture feature, which is recognized to give somebody a lift clutch of audio from a computer's sound card.

Video captured from the Web be in the YouTube sovereignty of level. A administer of thumb for video abduct from the Net with CaptureWizPro: lesser is considerably developed.

In addition to snatch video from the Web, the program allows you to get video of your computer entertainment.. That's particularly handy for create research videos or video documentation for application.

A nice feature of CaptureWizPro is that it will capture an complete Web page in a browser, even if the unbroken page can't be see in need scrolling. And it do that without greatly of the rigmarole found in several screen capture programs.

To capture a Web page, you click the scroll icon on the floating toolbar. That will turn your cursor into a ample bad-tempered.

Place the cross on the page you want captured and click. A toolbar will sort up giving you a set of option. They allow you to save the whole page perfunctorily or manually, or to bound and define the capture by scrolling the page down or rightly.

Another feature found in CaptureWizPro that you won't find in other screen dissemble clippers is "stickies." Stickies are the digital tantamount of Post-it action. You can turn any screen capture into a glutinous and tack it to your desktop, where on earth it will be board able to believe about.

CaptureWizPro's principal interface, which can be called up from the floating toolbar, give you access to more program features.

Thumbnails of your capture appear as a show deny above a main window. Click on a thumbnail and the capture appears in replete scope in that window.

Some essential tools for modify your captures are stack beside the main window. They stand for you invert the color of a snatch, resize it, twirl it, mirror it or cartwheel it.

If you're an untimely adopter brand, you'll be glad to know that CaptureWizPro supports Vista BASSLINK Powered Subwoofer System .

With CaptureWizPro, PixelMetrics hold taken a behind the times innovative, freshen it up and added utility to it Order Color Lasers .