Spybot Search&Destroy Now Detects Rootkits

We’re excited to tell you that we have improved the scanning for rootkits. Beginning with the first updates in march we have added new anti rootkit plugins for Spybot – Search & Destroy. Apart from that we have also developed a new tool – the RootAlyzer

Rootkits are a technology that is more and more often used by malware to hide themselves on system level, making themselves invisible to standard tools. Our new plugins help Spybot-S&D to detect this malware, and our RootAlyzer shows you anything that uses certain rootkit technologies, even if it’s not in Spybot-S&Ds detection database.

You can apply the new plugins for the rootkit search by just updating your Spybot-S&D as usual.

The RootAlyzer is a single tool which goes through the file system, the registry and process related lists. When you start RootAlyzer, it performs a very quick scan of a few important places, taking about a second on modern machines. To check the full system, you have the possibility of choosing a Deep Scan.

Currently, the RootAlyzer is a work in progress (with a new project tools category in our forum to track bugs and feature requests), but it’s already helping to easily locate most of the current malware rootkits. It is compatible with Windows NT/2000/XP/2k3 and Vista.

Source: Spybot Search&Destroy Forums

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Graphic Cards

In many businesses today, graphics play an increasingly important role. TV, movie, and video game production companies are obvious examples of businesses which require high quality graphic cards to support their needs. Other, less obvious, examples require the same attention be paid to their graphic cards. Some of these businesses might be large industrial companies which require complex control and monitoring system. These systems are, more and more, incorporating complex graphics, charts, and video, which leads to the need for adequate graphic cards.

Other businesses are beginning develop a requirement for high performance graphic cards as well. This is due, in large part, to the growth in online meeting and collaboration tools. Whatever the business your network enables it is important for the network administrator to have a good understanding of graphic cards. Even if the business does not fall into any of the categories I’ve mentioned above, it is important to be knowledgeable of graphic cards so that you will purchase the equipment suitable for your network.

The advantage a graphic card gives your computer is that the processing of all graphics happen off of the motherboard. Many motherboards do have a built in capability to handle two dimensional images. This is sufficient for web-browsing and creating documents and is probably adequate for many business needs. Some businesses require more.

Moving the processing of graphics off of the motherboard requires a separate printed circuit board which connects to the motherboard. The graphics printed circuit board (at what point does it become a graphics card?) connects to the motherboard in the same way as I described in a previous article titled, Memory and Storage – Part 3: Bus Specifications.

To make this printed circuit board a graphics card we need a few things. Most importantly we need a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The GPU is very much like the computer’s CPU except that is optimized for the mathematical operations commonly seen while processing graphics. This optimization is the main difference between many GPUs on the market. To be honest, only the most demanding graphics needs would require you to pay much attention to these differences. Simply having the graphics processed in a GPU which has been optimized at all will most likely give you all that is needed.

Another element required by graphics cards is memory. The GPU uses this memory to temporarily store information it needs to process the graphics in an efficient manner. This memory can also be used as a buffer to store images which need to be displayed soon. The amount, and type, of memory used by the graphics card is important. To read about the right memory that can provide performance improvements, see my previous articles titled, Memory and Storage.

A graphics card also needs a way to connect to the monitor. Most graphic cards have a RAMDAC. The RAMDAC is a dedicated Digital to Analog (DAC) for the RAM to connect to an analog monitor like the traditional CRT monitors. The RAMDAC, as its name implies, converts the digital information into an analog signal. Some graphic cards may even have multiple RAMDACs which allow the card to support multiple monitors.

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New Technique Eases Encryption for Databases

Voltage Security offers to make deploying encryption at the database level less painful with a technique called Format-Preserving Encryption.

Shocking the encryption market is not easy to do, but officials at Voltage Security must hope their new approach to encryption will do exactly that.

The company’s flagship SecureData product uses a cryptographic technique Voltage Security calls Format-Preserving Encryption. SecureData was first released to the public in fall of 2007, though the company waited until now to speak about it publicly.

The overall aim of the approach is to ease the process of encrypting databases. Unlike traditional algorithms that expand data into binary fields, Format-Preserving Encryption, or FPE, allows encrypted data to keep its original format on a character-by-character basis, so that the data fits in existing fields and there is no need for database schema changes. It also preserves referential integrity, which enables encryption of foreign and indexed keys and ensures internal consistency in masked data, company officials said.

With other approaches to encryption, a nine-digit Social Security number or a 16-digit credit card number, when encrypted using regular AES, produces binary blocks of data much larger than nine or 16 digits. Longer strings require changes to the database size, which means database schema changes.

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WD Ships 640-Gbyte Hard Drives

Storage provider Western Digital is set to begin shipping 640-Gbyte 3.5-inch hard drives, known as the WD Caviar SE16.The new high-capacity drives are based on the 320GB-per-platter technology the company introduced in January. The new platform was designed for cool and quieter computing. Western Digital is rolling out the new technology across its product lines, including desktop, enterprise, and external hard drives.

The drives are targeted toward users of data-intensive applications, thanks to “performance with their extreme areal density, 3GB-per-second transfer rate, and Native Command Queuing (NCQ),” according to the company.

“The 640GB capacity point will be an important one for our desktop customers, and WD is leading high-volume shipments to the channel and OEM customers,” said the general manager and vice president of the company’s desktop business unit, Don Bennett, in a statement. “Two-platter hard drives have always been the perfect balance of value, capacity and performance for many of our customers. Today’s common two-platter drives are limited to 500 GB, but we are expanding capacity by 28 percent on the same design with WD’s leading technology heads and disks.”

The new 640GB drive is available now for a suggested price of $139.99.

Source: PC Magazine

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Set Internet Explorer and Firefox to maximize your security

Modern browsers are much better than their predecessors at keeping your Web activity private and your data safe. Still, you may not have your browser configured to provide optimum security. Take a few minutes to give Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 a safety check.

Batten down IE7’s hatches
The version of IE7 for Vista adds the Protected Mode, which allows Web sites to access only the Temporary Internet Files folder on your PC. According to Microsoft, this feature is on by default for the Internet, Intranet, and Restricted zones, but disabled for the Trusted Sites and Local Machine zones. On my machine it was enabled for all zones. You’ll see “Protected Mode: On” in the status bar when it’s active, or click Tools > Internet Options > Security, and make sure “Enable Protected Mode (requires restarting Internet Explorer)” is checked at the bottom of each zone.

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