Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Trillian "critical" patch released


Yesterday, Cerulean Studios, the maker of the multi-protocol chat software Trillian, issued a "critical" patch for Trillian 3.1.5.1, earlier versions of the software are also vulnerable to the attack. This vulnerability is in the character encoding in Trillian, mainly in the the word-wrapping handling of UTF-8, which is the Unicode Transformation Format used for encoding characters in e-mail, instant messages and Web pages. If an attacker takes advantage of this vulnerability, the attacker could then potentially launch a buffer overflow which would allow them to, remotely gain control of a user's system. The vulnerability can be exploited if the user views a malicious message which contains an unusually long UTF-8 string. The patch released on Monday updates Trillian to version 3.1.6.0, so make sure you update to fix the security flaws. To Learn more visit C|NET's News.com for a more detailed article.

If you aren't familiar with Trillian, from Cerulean Studios, it's a multi-protocol chat client. It enables users to use their Yahoo's Instant Messenger, AOL's AIM, MSN Messenger, IRC, and ICQ accounts all in one client. Which makes signing-in to multiple IM accounts very simple and convenient, ridding the user of launching all the various clients. I've used it for quite a while and I recommend it, if you want to give it a try visit their site for the download.
[via C|NET's News.com]

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Windows Home Server RC1 Released


Reaching yet another milestone, Microsoft's Windows Home Server release candidate 1(RC1) was released today. Many have taken part in the beta program for WHS and all of those beta testers, along with new sign-ups will be able to get their hands on the RC. If you are intrigued by the whole concept of the WHS give the RC a go. As for me I'll have to scavenge a system to try this on, and when I do I'll report back to you. Remember to report those bugs, doing that will help make the leap to the next milestone...Release to Manufacture(RTM). Happy testing!!! [Windows Home Server Blog]

Its Patch Tuesday!!


Today, is the second Tuesday of the month, better known as "Patch Tuesday". On the second Tuesday of every month Microsoft releases patches for its Windows OS, and its become quite a ritual for a Windows users. But most don't even notice that these patches are release due to the fact that many have automatic updates turned on, ensuring they are always patched and protected from the insecurities of the web.

This month, Microsoft has fixed 15 flaws with six patches, four of those patches are being considered to be critical by Microsoft. Two of the released patches affect Microsoft's Windows Vista, one critical patch is for Internet Explorer, and one patch also affects Microsoft Office. I'll give you a brief description of each of the critical patches, for more information on the rest of the patches check out this article at C|NET's News.com. Don't forget to patch your systems!!

  • MS07-031: Critical
    Entitled "Vulnerability in the Windows Schannel Security Package Could Allow Remote Code Execution (935840)," this bulletin affects users of Microsoft Windows 2000, XP SP2, XP Professional x64, and Windows Server 2003 (SP 1 and 2, x64, and Itanium-based systems) but does not affect Windows Vista, and it addresses the vulnerabilities detailed in CVE-2007-2218. Successful exploitation could lead to remote code execution.
  • MS07-033: Critical
    Entitled "Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (933566)," this bulletin affects users of Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista, running Internet Explorer 5.01, 6.0, and 7.0 and addresses the vulnerabilities detailed in CVE-2007-0218, CVE-2007-1750, CVE-2007-1751, CVE-2007-1752, CVE-2007-3027, and CVE-2007-0222. Successful exploitation could lead to remote code execution.
  • MS07-034: Critical
    Entitled "Cumulative Security Update for Outlook Express and Windows Mail (929123)," this bulletin affects users of Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista, running Outlook Express 6 and/or Windows Mail but does not affect Windows 2000 systems running Outlook Express 5.5 or 6 and addresses the vulnerabilities detailed in CVE-2007-2111, CVE-2007-1658, CVE-2007-2225, CVE-2007-2227. Successful exploitation could allow information disclosure.
  • MS07-035: Critical
    Entitled "Vulnerability in Win 32 API Could Allow Remote Code Execution (935839)," this bulletin affects users of Windows 2000, Windows XP (all editions), and Windows Server 2003 (all editions) but does not affect Windows Vista and addresses the vulnerability detailed in CVE-2007-2219. Successful exploitation could allow remote code execution or elevation of privilege.

Monday, June 11, 2007

06-11-07 Episode 09

On todays podcast, we let you know what's going on in the tech world and show you how to create Fire-Text in Photoshop.
large wmv download
small wmv download
small mp4 download
mp3 download



Show Notes:

Todays tech stories:
Microsoft Surface - surface and gesture based computing lands
Microsoft Surface hands-on
What lurks below Microsoft's Surface? A brief Q&A with Microsoft
Wi-Fi memory cards coming to cameras
TorrentSpy ordered to start tracking visitors
BitTorrent site ordered to enable server logs, turn them over to MPAA
MPAA accuses TorrentSpy of concealing evidence
Russian ATM runs on unactivated copy of Windows
OpenOffice worm Badbunny hops across operating systems
MIT Dudes Develop Mind-Boggling Wireless Electricity
Ars System Guide: June 2007
First look: Firefox 3 alpha 5

Todays Photoshop Tip: Fire-Text
Photoshop Techniques: Fire-Text

We're back!!!!


Yup, thats right we're back, from our extremely long break. These last few months have been extremely chaotic which is the reason we haven't produced any new shows since February. But now that schools out for the summer, we'll be back in full force with new episodes coming to you two times a week, depending on how slow the news is. We'll kick our return off with a new episode today...so tune in!!!