Imagine having a form of windows that would run on the first versions of the P4 Intel Chip or on a Celeron, or the newer EEE’s and Ultraportables, wouldn’t that be a greener proposition than having to send tons upon tons of old computers to the recycling center (chips, computer chips are one of the most polluting products on earth due to the strict environment controls and exotic materials that are used in making them. The bad thing is that they’re so well made, recycling them to recover the precious metals can only be done through incineration to vaporize most of the packaging just to get to that precious couple of milligrams of silicon, lead or gold (plus many other exotic stuff they now use on these microprocessors).
Microsoft might still have it’s place in one of the most used Operating Systems but it’s time surely is numbered if they fail to follow suit on the open-system bandwagon which can have a basic web-server running on an old Pentium systems up and running in no time. Vista’s a flop (no doubt about it) and the announcement of a new OS from the software giant has put off more from shifting (even with the announcement of the mandatory phase-out of the selling of new machines bundled with XP). The genius of Bill might be needed (even though he has left the helm of the company again to come up with some concoction that would maintain the company’s grip on the industry it has so benefited from. “You see that light flashing in the corner of your eye? That’s your retirement light, and it’s flashing a bit faster every day)!!”
Heavyweight Windows – Imploding?? (Part 1)
Many have been saying that time will come when the grip of Microsoft’s Windows on the market would be threatened by its own weight, the time is now. Gone is the time of the one size fit’s all philosophy and this is evident in their introduction from XP to Vista which not many prefer. The main reason, reliability of XP that has evolved since it was first introduced way back 2003. The OS has become so stable that it took the place of Windows 98′ as the preferred OS with all the right stuff in one neat package. That monopoly which has been held by the market is based on a one product fits all (through trim down versions and other editions such as the Media Center from 2005 which capitalized on the area of multimedia) This goes for all applications, from the home desktop, office laptop and desktops to server OS systems that are now feeling the crunch as people shift to more open-systems such as Ubuntu and Linux.
Why shift from a stable system developed by the industry’s largest and best developer, well, first they’re not the best anymore for the open-systems have gained ground allowing older PC’s to work at par as the latest multi-core driven computer systems. These alternate Operating Systems are developed and maintained by a group of industry experts and all users get to voice their needs and initiate changes according to relevance. The control Windows had with all the support and software updates coming from one big global company which sometimes doesn’t get what the user really wants (well, mostly really) has fed up most of us. Useless updates that make old systems slower, excessive overhead (in terms of disk space, memory and processor needs) and the notion that software drives the hardware development industry hand in hand rather than the hardware doing the same.
Economics – the driving force of Mobile Spying Malware
Experts have said it again and again and history has shown us that money is the root of all evil and so it goes the same for the development and eventual spread of more sophisticated malware intended for the ever growing mobile computing environment. Current malware is simple yet experts are warning users and other experts alike that it would only be time before some hacker develops a more robust and discreet form of malware that would circumvent standard virus scanners. As we have seen and read in news articles, these viruses, Trojans and other forms of malware are evolving so fast that removal and detection experts are finding it very hard to get one step ahead of them. In the time it takes to read this post, about 35 or so new types of malware would have been released into the wild to infect any of the millions of unprotected systems over the internet. The problem has gone into the pandemic stage that no system is safe for long. The soonest a new and more robust intrusion prevention and security system is in place, several new vulnerabilities in the computer systems we use are found and immediately exploited by hackers and their minion.
Economics or the promise of earning a buck from such malware creation and spreading is the major motivation for hackers. Say you get into the cell phone of your favorite Celebrity and get hold of private pictures, or get hold of a confidential report which lists the amount of funds along with the corresponding account information and much more information that one can sell quite profitably over the internet.
Trojan Hits Windows Mobile
McAfee, one of the industry’s leading software developers of anti-virus software have through its Avert Labs has discovered a new Trojan that infects WindowsCE which was developed for the Microsoft PocketPCs. The Trojan, disables data and network security rendering it useless and can be installed via memory card. The Trojan has the nasty ability to defy removal through software methods with the exception of a total re-format and re-installation of the applications and OS from a secure and safe source. Infected users are also asked not to use flash drives or memory sticks with saved data for they can also contain the code which spreads the trojan.The Trojan was discovered in China and makes itself the home page of the heavily reliant PocketPCs on the web. Information regarding the device, serial number and other personal information are then sent to the author of the Trojan leaving it open to future attacks and installation of malware due to security that has been turned off by the said Trojan.
The Trojan has been found contained snugly within legitimate installers and Asia being one of the fastest growing areas for mobile devices it would only take a little time before the said Trojan aptly named InfoJack spreads and wreaks havoc on Asia’s growing mobile PC community. The US-CERT or Computer Emergency Readiness Team has already taken notice of the said Trojan and is closely monitoring for further developments. Them along with anti-virus developers are currently developing methods of defeating the perpetrator and hopefully also capture the crook who designed the said malware.
OS Updates, Patches and Service Packs – What they’re not telling you (Part 2)
Some of these updates and patches are well publicized and known to media and IT circles while others are not. The real truth, not all users want to know the details of the several updates and patches that are being installed as long as they get to use the internet and other software without issues. This is a dangerous tightrope to walk for like the Facebook incidents and MySpace problems, and yes even Google (with their customer purchase tracking system which they took out of service as people took notice and were pissed they were being monitored as to shopping habits etc).
Even the most popular web search engines have come under fire when people took notice of their tracking systems and how that information is used to target them for advertising campaigns. The web is a true and proven signal of unparalleled freedom for it allows you to get information all with the press of a few buttons. But the battle begins at your desktop or laptop where the OS resides and is installed on making it the root of all possible problems. Yes, Attacks do come from the net but they are targeted at your home or office desktops using them as propagation tools to spread them all over the globe. Privacy and the right to know is quite battered on these fronts with many problems being discovered at every turn. People love intrigue and they will continue to scrutinize and criticize the work of others may they be friends or foes. On goes the OS wars and we are on the sidelines waiting to suffer all the fallout of their drive to be the first to release the most innovative and feature loaded software (with bugs and system crashes all bundled and included in the box, well till they release the respective fixes and patches to remedy them).
OS Updates, Patches and Service Packs – What they’re not telling you (Part 1)
Everybody on this earth who uses the internet has to begin with a device (PC, Laptop or Mobile Phone) that has a form of operating system that gives the machine (computer/device) the ability to function as it does. May it be from Microsoft (Windows XP or Vista), Apple (OS X Leopard and prior versions) or Linux-Based operating systems, all these programs get their fair share of patches and bug fixes that are essentially damage control measures that hopefully correct programming errors before they cause too much harm to the user and the computer they are installed on.
These patches and updates are available for free for most licensed users but for those who still use bootlegged software, well, they are a bit too difficult to get hold of for the move of OS manufacturers to install (sometimes without you even knowing it), validation tools that check via the internet if the copy of your OS is licensed and legit. These underground updates are not always so discreet for some do get out and are found by users, programmers and other people who rely heavily on their computers for their everyday existence. Some get blown out of proportion sending them into the headlines as unwanted and unauthorized processes that you get to see on CNN and the BBC.
Software development firms are businesses and they do try their best to keep ahead of the pack (competitors) when it comes to the complexity and capabilities of their products. The competitiveness goes as far as the early release of a product before all testing and real-world simulations have been completed opting for patches and updates to correct them well after the product has been released into the wild (for public use). Some problems associated with them are so critical that the developers are so ashamed to admit they overlooked them that they opt to update these files without the user’s knowledge (have you ever seen your OS getting updates from the web as you get to go on your coffee break, sometimes so discreetly you even fail to notice, returning to a computer that tells you your system has been updated and a restart is needed for them to take effect?)