15. June 2010 by Myke.

Microsoft issued a new Security Advisory for a flaw in the Windows Help and Support Center as reported by Ars Technica. The vulnerability only affects Windows XP and Server 2003, Vista and 7 are unaffected.

The worry with this vulnerability is that the help links in the Help Center can be hijacked to run executables on the victim’s computer. The details of the vulnerability and possible attack are as follows:

In Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, clicking on an hcp:// link launches helpctr.exe via a registered protocol handler; this is normally a safe way to launch help content thanks to an allow list that Help and Support Center checks before navigating to a given help page. A Google security researcher discovered, however, that a help page with a cross-site scripting vulnerability can be paired with a mechanism to abuse the allow-list functionality to access that page with an exploit querystring. Thus, clicking on a malicious hcp:// link leverages the XSS vulnerability to circumvent helpctr.exe’s safety controls and ultimately run an arbitrary executable on the machine.

Microsoft says that they are monitoring the problem and is so far unaware of any attacks in the wild. They may prepare a patch for the next Patch Tuesday or it could come earlier. Microsoft has outlined some mitigating factors which are also in the Security Advisory.

• The first is that if the attack is web-based the attacker would host a web page to exploit the vulnerability or host advertisements on another website. Victims can’t be required to visit the pages and the hacker would try to get people to visit with social engineering tactics like emails.
• The vulnerability can’t be manipulated directly from an email, the user would have to click a link.
• A hacker that successfully executed the attack could gain the same user rights as the user logged in. If users aren’t logged in as an admin the damage could be lessened.

Microsoft has one workaround where the registry is edited to unregister the HCP protocol. They detail two methods of doing this in the Security Advisory but they warn that after editing the registry it will obviously break all help links that use HCP.

This vulnerability was discovered by Google who alerted Microsoft to the problem on June 5 and then turned around and kindly disclosed it to the public on June 9. Microsoft was none too happy with Google about that and said:

Public disclosure of the details of this vulnerability and how to exploit it, without giving us time to resolve the issue for our potentially affected customers, makes broad attacks more likely and puts customers at risk.

Posted in Security, General Hardware, Microsoft, Desktops, Laptops | No Comments »

24. June 2009 by Myke.

There I was living the life of luxury with my backups running via CommVault software over to my ExaGrid disk storage and then to tape.  Backups were fast and the deduplication was AMAZING!  I basically set it then forgot about it each day.  I would get my daily reports telling me “hey, your backups worked of course and they are still kicking butt and taking names”.  Then came D-Day for my career at that job.  I walked away proud of my environment and what I left behind.  I was proud of where I took my job to, technology wise.  Servers went from white box to HP, server software went from 2000/2003 to 2003/2008.  i created virtual server after virtual server.  I put in an HP Blade Enclosure and all power was controlled via APC.  It was a true Enterprise setup for an Enterprise company.

I took the next 4-5 weeks pulling myself to the conclusion that I will never work on that equipment again.  I started with a very small group with my new career that has potential to become the largest Gold mining/production/exploration/reserve companies in the World.  Backups are controlled by an unnamed software vendor and it is not all that great.  The backups are about 30% fail to 70% complete each day and they are slow.  They eat tapes like there is no tomorrow and it is only going to get worse each day as we grow.  So what do I do to make my new job run as streamlined as my previous job?  How do I make backups a non-issue?

Simple, I work a budget that allows me to move forward with each piece one step at a time.  My first goal of 2010 will be to get ExaGrid in house to help create a disk based backup solution with some serious deduplication abilities.  The deduplication process will basically take my backups and compress them into smaller chunks of data (sorry for the non-IT explanation).  Take for instance, you have about 20TB of backup data and you run it through the ExaGrid…you will get about 15:1 (based upon my very own first hand knowledge) on space usage.  What does that mean to the non-IT person who is in charge of reducing backup costs???  That means I will get about 15TB worth of raw data and have it backed up on an ExaGrid using 1TB of actual disk space.  That’s right folks…15:1 on an average and that is being generous on the small side.  I have seen deduplication results close to 60:1 and 70:1.

Some folks have asked if I sell ExaGrid or CommVault or if I get paid by them or receive free hardware…no.  Like we have said before, we share the truth with no biased answers or results.  We want what works best for the IT World and truthfully, ExaGrid is the King of disk based backup solutions.

Links to previous ExaGrid posts.

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/12/17/exagrid-announces-customer-focused-enhancements/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/22/exagrid-deduplication-update/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/22/exagrid-announces-enhancements-with-latest-version/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/21/exagrid-and-commvault-a-perfect-backup-solution-update/

http://homerun-networks.com/2008/07/21/exagrid-and-commvault-a-perfect-backup-solution/

p.s.  Dear ExaGrid - It would be very nice if I could borrow a couple 1TB units for about 1.5 years or so.  I promise to love and care for the units at all times. 

Posted in General Hardware, Servers, Backups, Storage | No Comments »

29. March 2009 by Myke.

There is a ton of buzz all over the media world about this worm and what it will do and how to tell if you have.  As complex as this worm is, it is also very simple to determine if you have it or not.

Step 1 - If you have Automatic Updates turned on, check to see if it is now turned off.  These reason is that this worm actually turns off updates to protect itself.

Step 2 - Manually run Microsoft Updates.  If you can run updates manually on your computer then you are okay.  This worm will actually prevent you from connecting to the update sites.

Now that we know how to check for it, how do you prevent it.  Very simple.  Keep your computer updated and make sure your anti-virus software is running and current.

What do you do if you have this worm?  You will want to contact your anti-virus software vendor and see if they can help you out.  If not and they want to charge you an arm and a leg, give it a go yourself.  There is a couple very easy to use and free tools you can use to remove it but it will take some patience.

• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware - You can grab this GREAT tool from www.malwarebytes.org.
• LavaSoft Ad-Aware - You can grab this great little removal tool from www.lavasoft.com.

Now that you have a couple of removal tools, start running them and cleaning.  A great tip is to update both pieces of this software and then run them from Safe Mode with your computer not on the network/Internet.

Good luck and happy hunting, so to speak.

Posted in Networking, Internet, Registry, Scripting, Security, Technical Questions, Laptops, Desktops, Microsoft, General Hardware, Servers | 1 Comment »

14. February 2009 by Myke.

With the upcoming release of Windows 7, there is a lot of anticipation and a lot of haters that claim we can expect another failure.  Now we personally do not feel that Vista was a failure in the IT eyes but as a consumer with moderate to no IT knowledge it was a bust.  We have been playing with Windows 7  for some time now and have been pretty impressed to say the least (Travis’s take on Windows 7).  With that we felt like we should let you know what to expect with Windows 7.  There has been quite a bit of hype from Microsoft and others but what can the average IT person and moderate end user expect?  Improved task bar, jump list, Internet Explorer 8, Windows Live, better device management and HomeGroup are the main features to look at.  But in the end we have put together a list of the ten things that should know about Windows 7.

Application compatibility- The Windows Vista operating system introduced architectural changes down to the kernel level that made the OS inherently more secure than Windows XP. However, this came at a cost; many applications needed modification to function properly in a Windows Vista environment. While at this point in the life-cycle of Windows Vista (post Service Pack 1) most applications are now compatible, deploying Windows Vista into the desktop environment early on required some “heavy lifting” and creative shimming—not to mention a few late nights.  Windows 7 is built on the same basic architecture as Windows Vista, so most applications will retain their compatibility between these operating systems. This alone will make adopting Windows 7 much less challenging than migrating from Windows XP to Windows Vista. If your organization is like many that are still standardized on Windows XP, you will need to transition to updated versions of your key applications, but the availability of Windows Vista–compatible versions and well-proven shims will make this task more manageable.

Hardware compatibility and requirements- Much like the application compatibility issues, adopting Windows Vista early-on was a challenge because of the higher system requirements—such as RAM and graphics.  On the flip side, Windows Vista provides manageability and security that just isn’t available on Windows XP, and with more capable hardware, Windows Vista is able to perform a number of useful functions that improve productivity (such as Windows Search 4 and the Windows Aero desktop experience) and increase PC responsiveness (the ReadyBoost technology launches applications more quickly by maintaining a portion of frequently used applications in memory).  Windows 7 was designed to perform well on the same hardware that runs Windows Vista well, while delivering additional performance and reliability improvements. The design team for Windows 7 had a specific focus on the fundamentals—as well as maintaining compatibility with existing applications and hardware. In operation, you will find that Windows 7 boots faster and has a smaller memory footprint than Windows Vista.

 Best relationship with Server 2008- One of the key benefits of the modern operating system is that Windows 7 and the Windows Server 2008 operating system share a common code base, and are maintained with a single servicing model. This servicing model means updates and security updates are shared across both client PCs and servers, simplifying the process of maintaining an up-to-date infrastructure.  In addition, environments with both Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 unlock capabilities that extend functionality and help ensure a more secure environment. One example is DirectAccess, which allows management and updating of remote mobile PCs that are connected to the Internet, even when they are not connected to the corporate network. This capability helps ensure that remote users receive security patches on a timely basis, and allows IT to update configuration setting via Group Policy. For the end user, DirectAccess allows access to locations on the corporate network without using a virtual private network (VPN) connection. (In addition to Windows Server 2008 R2, DirectAccess requires IPSec and IPv6 implementation.)

Data encryption extended to removable media- News reports are rife with stories about companies losing control over sensitive information. In some industries, this is an issue with grave legal implications, while in other situations the issue is inconvenience. Regardless, smart compliance policy dictates that sensitive information be safeguarded in the event of a lost or stolen laptop. Further, preventing sensitive information from being removed from corporate resources is a pillar of effective compliance management.  Windows 7 includes BitLocker technology, first implemented in Windows Vista, which now provides full encryption of all boot volumes on a PC; along with introducing BitLocker To Go that offers data protection on portable storage, such as USB flash drives. In addition, BitLocker Drive Encryption and BitLocker To Go can be managed via Group Policy, placing more control over sensitive information in the hands of the professionals.

AppLocker- Windows 7 features AppLocker, a new capability that allows IT administrators to specify which applications are permitted to run on a laptop or desktop PC. This capability helps you manage license compliance and control access to sensitive programs, but also importantly, it helps reduce the opportunity for malware to run on client PCs. AppLocker provides a powerful rule-based structure for specifying which applications can run, and includes “publisher rules” that keeps the rules intact though version updates.  To see how AppLocker is set up and managed, click herefor a screencast demonstration.

Scripting with PowerShell 2.0- To help IT administrators better maintain a consistent environment and improve personal productivity, Windows 7 includes an updated graphical scripting editor, Windows PowerShell 2.0—a powerful, complete scripting language that supports branching, looping, functions, debugging, exception handling, and internationalization.

• PowerShell 2.0 has an intuitive, graphical user interface that helps make script generation easier, especially for administrators who are not comfortable in command-line environments.

• PowerShell 2.0 supports two types of remoting—fan-out, which delivers management scripts on a one-to-many basis, and one-to-one interactive remoting to support troubleshooting of a specific machine. You can also use the PowerShell Restricted Shell to limit commands and command parameters to system administrators, and to restrict scripts to those who have been granted rights.

• PowerShell 2.0, with the Group Policy Management Console (available as a separate download), allows IT professionals to use scripting to manage Group Policy Objects and to create or edit registry-based group policy settings in Windows 7. Similarly, you can use PowerShell to configure PCs more efficiently, using richer logon, logoff, startup, and shutdown scripts that are executed through Group Policy.

Click hereto take a quick tour of PowerShell 2.0.

Troubleshooting made easier - Windows 7 provides rich tools to identify and resolve technical issues, often by the end users themselves. If a help desk call is unavoidable, Windows 7 includes several features and troubleshooting tools to help speed resolution.

• The Problem Steps Recorder allows end users to reproduce and record their experience with an application failure, with each step recorded as a screen shot along with accompanying logs and software configuration data. A compressed file is then created that can be forwarded to support staff to help troubleshoot the problem.

• Windows 7 includes a suite of troubleshooting packs, collections of PowerShell scripts, and related information that can be executed remotely by IT professionals from the command line, and controlled on the enterprise basis through Group Policy Settings.

• Windows 7 also includes Unified Tracing to help identify and resolve network connectivity issues in a single tool. Unified Tracing collects event logs and captures packets across all layers of the networking stack, providing an integrated view into what’s happening in the Windows 7 networking stack and aiding analysis and problem resolution.

Deployment image servicing and management- Windows 7 includes several tools to streamline the creation and servicing of the deployment image, and to get users up and running as quickly as possible.  The Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool in Windows 7 provides a central place to build and service Windows images offline. With DISM, you can perform many functions with one tool: mount and unmount system images; add, remove, and enumerate packages and drivers; enable or disable Windows features; configure international settings, and maintain an inventory of offline images that contain drivers, packages features, and software updates. Windows 7 also enables the same processes and tools to be used when managing virtual machine (VHD) and native file-based (WIM) image files.  Windows 7 also includes Dynamic Driver Provisioning, where device drivers are stored independent of the deployed image and can be injected dynamically based on the Plug and Play ID of the hardware, or as predetermined sets based on information contained in the basic input/output system (BIOS). Reducing the number of drivers on individual machines reduces the number of potential conflicts, ultimately minimizing setup time and improving the reliability of the PC.  When you are ready to deploy Windows 7, Multicast Multiple Stream Transfer enables servers to “broadcast” image data to multiple clients simultaneously, and to group clients with similar bandwidth capabilities into network streams to permit the fastest possible overall transfer rate while optimizing bandwidth utilization.  Watch a screen cast demonstration of the deployment tools for Windows 7 here.

User state migration tool- Windows 7 includes enhancements to the User State Migration Tool (USMT), a command-line tool that you use to migrate operating system settings, files, and other user profile data from one PC to another. In Windows 7, USMT adds a hardlink migration feature for computer refresh scenarios, a capability that stores user data and settings in a common place on a drive, eliminating the need to “physically” move the files during a clean install.

BranchCache- Windows 7 introduces BranchCache, a technology that caches frequently accessed content from remote file and Web servers in the branch location, so users can access this information more quickly. The cache can be hosted centrally on a server in the branch location, or can be distributed across user PCs. One caveat: to take advantage of BranchCache, you will need to deploy Windows Server 2008 R2 on the related servers.

I would like to thank Microsoft for the information within this article.

The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, this document should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented. This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Posted in General Hardware, Microsoft, Desktops, Laptops | No Comments »

27. January 2009 by Myke.

So you know that your hard drive will die sooner or later, but how do you proactively figure that out?  Magic 8-ball used to be the best method but as of recently we can do a much better job.

The standard IDE/SATA hard drive today is still the most mechanical piece of equipment sitting in your present day PC. And this will continue to be the case until solid state drives become much cheaper and much more compatible for present day hardware. The most unfortunate part of the problems with these drives, is how incredibly critical they are to the state of your computer. A hard drive failure means a dead computer - unless you are lucky enough to be running in some type of RAID environment, which most home users won’t be.

So those of us here at Homerun decided maybe we should put together a list of tools to help everyone else out that would like a better Magic 8-ball.  Below you will see our four choices and a brief description of the tool.  One thing to remember, these are Windows based tools and they are to be used at YOUR own risk, not ours. 
Crystal Disk Info

CrystalDiskInfo is a S.M.A.R.T. based utility that supports not only internal drives, but both USB and IEEE1394’s as well. It displays an incredible amount of simple and advanced disk information, and may always be running in the background. This includes temperature readings, read/write errors and power management tools, running at all times of the day.

General Drive Info

Advanced Diag of your drive

 HD Tune

HD Tune is a much simpler hard drive disk scanning utility that has benchmarking, advanced diagnostics, similar to Crystal and a disk scanning utility, very similar to the Windows version, but can be run in real-time. It also includes real-time temperature monitoring.

Benchmarking

Disk Scanning

HDD Health

HDD Health is another similar product. It includes temperature and real-time monitoring, but includes a health indicator, simply by percentage and nothing more. It does include the same advanced diagnostic tools as the other SMART utilities as well.

General Information

Extended Drive Information

HDD Scan

HDD Scan not only includes many SMART diagnostic utilities, but other disk utilities as well. It includes many advanced testing modes, such as reading, writing and erasing in linear. In comparison to the other products, HDD Scan might get you more bang for the free buck.

Various HDD Scan Tools

Available Surface Tests

Manufacturer Specific Products

Some people might trust products designated for their specific hard drive more then any other. So I’ve provided a list of all the major manufacturers with a link to their diagnostic tools. A few of these may even support different manufacturers.

Fujitsu - Supports all forms of internal connection and is capable of doing in depth surface and diagnostic testing.

Hitachi - Several diagnostic tools for Hitachi drives. Analyze, optimize and protect your drive from failure.

Samsung- The Samsung utility will only work with Samsung drives and is an offline bootable disk that can be run no matter what the state of your drive.

Seagate/Maxtor- The Seagate tools, also known as Seatools, are Windows specific tools that can quickly and comprehensively determine the state of your present Seagate or Maxtor hard drive.

Western Digital - In order to determine your appropriate tools, you’ll first have to select your specific product and browse to a compatible ‘Data Lifeguard Diagnostic Tools’. Thorough test and repair utilities for West Digital drives.

All of the tools above may or may not be able to resolve serious disk errors on your drive. But if you are worrisome about the state of your current HDD and you’d like to confirm it, these tools will help to do so. It will force you to begin transferring data, or backing up your data on a regular basis before the inevitable happens. Play with each of tools, and find the best that suits your situation.

Posted in Microsoft, General Hardware, Desktops, Laptops, Backups, Servers, Storage | No Comments »

20. January 2009 by Myke.

Within the next few months, Cisco Systems, the largest maker of networking equipment, plans to release a product that threatens to shake up the technology industry and put the company on a collision course with traditional partners like Hewlett-Packard and I.B.M.

The product — a server computer equipped with sophisticated virtualization software — is a bold but risky move by Cisco into an unfamiliar, intensely competitive market that typically produces far lower profits than Cisco makes from network gear. But it reflects the company’s ambition to grow beyond its roots as the so-called plumber of the Internet to offer everything from instant messaging software to digital stereos.

For years, Cisco remained content to sell the switches and routers that direct the rivers of data flowing between computing systems. It dominates that market, making most of its $40 billion a year in revenue, and 65 percent gross profit margins, from such products.

The other major makers of computer hardware, including H.P., I.B.M. and Dell, have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the company, which is based in San Jose, Calif.: Cisco sells networking gear, while they sell personal computers, servers, storage systems and software.

Industry experts say that Cisco’s push into the server market will disrupt that comfortable symbiosis and could cause an all-out war among the tech titans for one another’s customers.

“This will be the most important and most talked-about product of the year,” said Brent Bracelin, a hardware analyst for Pacific Crest Securities. “There will be massive competitive reactions from both I.B.M. and H.P., and we expect this will lead to a new wave of industry consolidation.”

Cisco executives played down the potential for serious conflict. “We see this not as a new market, but a market transition,” said Padmasree Warrior, the company’s chief technology officer. “Any time there is a major transition occurring, there will be large companies that have to compete in some areas.”

The technology driver behind this transition, according to Cisco, is virtualization software.

Over the last decade, virtualization software has experienced a meteoric rise. Virtualization products let companies run numerous business applications, rather than just one, on each physical server, allowing them to save electricity and get more out of their hardware purchases.

Recently, however, virtualization technology has started to have a more significant impact on business computing systems as a whole. New tools developed by VMware, the market leader, make it possible to shuffle business applications around a data center just by pointing a computer mouse at an icon on the screen. The mobility of the software has broken some of the traditional, linear connections among computers, storage systems and networking hardware.

As a result, companies like Cisco see an opportunity to produce a new, potentially disruptive class of hardware and software management systems that span an entire data center. With customers looking to manage their data centers as a single entity rather than separate units, the world’s largest technology companies must now fight to secure the most prominent, central position possible.

Cisco’s newfound aspirations stretch well beyond the $50 billion server market to include management software and possibly even storage.

“Our vision is, how do we virtualize the entire data center?” Ms. Warrior said. “It is not about a single product. We will have a series of products that enable us to make that transition.”

Cisco could show off the first of its new systems as early as March. The company would not disclose the exact nature of the product, although people with knowledge of Cisco’s plans said it would sell a server bundled with networking hardware and virtualization software from both Cisco and VMware.

Rather than working as a general purpose system, the Cisco product will cater just to virtual applications. (Cisco owns close to 2 percent of VMware, a public company that is majority-owned by EMC, a maker of computer storage systems.)

Cisco’s diversification into the server market is fraught with risk. Cisco boasts gross profit margins of close to 65 percent, while companies selling basic servers tend toward gross margins closer to 25 percent on those products.

Ms. Warrior maintained that by bundling various hardware components with software, Cisco would earn higher profits than are typical for servers. But Wall Street remains skeptical.

“It will certainly be a challenge for Cisco to get the new products to the same margin levels as its current products,” an analyst with Signal Hill, Erik Suppiger, said.

At best, analysts estimate, Cisco could obtain 50 percent gross margins with the server product. Such a figure, combined with Cisco’s probable modest start in this new business, would not affect its bottom line in the near term. Eventually, however, Mr. Suppiger and others say the move could lower Cisco’s overall profitability and change how investors view the company.

Perhaps more significant over the long term is the alteration of Cisco’s relationship with its longtime allies.

Mr. Bracelin expects I.B.M. and H.P. to consider acquiring networking start-ups and begin developing products similar to Cisco’s forthcoming system. They are also likely to direct business to other networking companies, like Juniper Networks and Brocade.

However, Cisco may have little choice other than to invade its rivals’ turf. Its core business is slowing, and for the company to meet Wall Street’s demands for growth, it must look to new lines of business.

Besides, its competitors are eyeing Cisco’s lucrative networking business for themselves. When Carleton S. Fiorina was chief executive of H.P., she sat on Cisco’s board, and her executive team encouraged H.P.’s sales force to promote Cisco products ahead of H.P.’s own ProCurve networking gear.

Under H.P.’s chief executive, Mark Hurd, that strategy ended. H.P. has made ProCurve a crucial piece of its growth strategy, priding itself on undercutting Cisco’s prices. With gross margins of close to 50 percent, ProCurve stands as one of H.P.’s most profitable businesses, second only to printer ink.

I.B.M., meanwhile, has long had a strong relationship with Brocade around storage networking products, and I.B.M.’s labs are working on their own networking hardware projects.

H.P. and I.B.M. declined to comment for this article.

Cisco dismisses the suggestion that it is fomenting war with longtime partners. The company is merely adjusting to a change in technology, and the other companies will do so as well, according to Ms. Warrior.

Cisco already battles Microsoft, another longtime partner, in the market for collaboration software that helps workers communicate on projects. In addition, Cisco sees opportunities in the consumer realm, playing off the home networking products it acquired through the purchases of Linksys and the set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta.

With close to $27 billion in cash on hand, Cisco could buy its way deeper into the data center as well, perhaps through an acquisition of VMware or even all of EMC, analysts say.

“Everybody is trying to get to the same point in the future,” said James Staten, an analyst at the research firm Forrester. “It’s inevitable that as they all get larger, they start crossing over into each others’ territory more and more.”

Posted in General Hardware, Servers | No Comments »

11. December 2008 by Myke.

If you are the proud owner of any Lexmark product you may wonder why you have a program called lx_Cats on your PC.  Well after further investigation and tracking what this file does, it is Spyware.

A user calling himself “Commander” has posted to the printer-focused Usenet group, comp.periphs.printers, that:

“Just the other day I purchased a new Lexmark X5250 All-in-one printer. I installed it as per the instructions and monitored the install with Norton as I do with all new software.

On reviewing the install log I noticed a program called Lx_CATS had been placed in the c:program files directory. I investigated and found a data log and an initialisation file called Lx_CATS.ini. Further investigation of this file showed that Lexmark had, without my permission, loaded a Trojan backdoor on to my computer. Furthermore, it is embedded into the system registry, so average users would likely never know it was there and active.”

Commander noticed that the spyware was programmed to surreptitiously report back to a URL, www.lxkcc1.com, every thirty days. lxkcc1.com is registered to Lexmark International, Inc..

When Commander called Lexmark to demand an explanation, the company first denied that they had installed any spyware at all. Ultimately the person with whom he spoke conceded that Lexmark installs “tracking software” on their users’ computers“to report back on printer and cartridge use for survey purposes.” While the Lexmark representative avowed that they did not transmit any personal information, they also admitted that the program does transmit the printer’s serial number, which of course is registered to the user. No personal information my foot!

Rumours of the installation of spyware along with their printer software have swirled around Lexmark for several years, and posts to Usenet complaining of Lexmark spyware date from as early as 2001. Some users complain of their computer trying to connect to the Internet every time they print a document; others worry that the program is reporting not only their cartridge usage, but whether they are using non-Lexmark cartridges, or even refilling their own cartridges, thus possibly setting the stage for a denial of warranty service.

According to “Commander”, the offending files include a program file called lx_CATS, and a related .ini file, lx_CATS.ini, as well as 2 DLL files in the c:program fileslexmark500 folder.

In order to remove Lexmark’s spyware from your system, delete the file (probably in your c:program directory) called “lx_cats.exe”, and also search for and remove a file called “lx_cats.ini” (and, for that matter, any other file including the term “lx_cats”).

Nice job Lexmark…really.

posted by: Myke Reinhold

Posted in Security, Internet, Rant, General Hardware, Desktops, Laptops | No Comments »

3. December 2008 by Myke.

ASUS ROG Rampage II Extreme Smashes World Record in CPU Frequency on Latest Intel Platform

The release of the Intel® Core™ i7 has set the overclocking arena abuzz with excitement in anticipation of new world records. Armed with the ASUS ROG Rampage II Extreme motherboard that supports the newest Intel platform, the Japanese overclocking enthusiast duck smashed to the top of the overclocking charts and notched in a world record for Core i7 CPU frequencies. He managed to record an exceptional score of 5510.09 MHz—clearly laying down the gauntlet to future challengers to the throne. A veteran of overclocking CPUs, duck still holds the world’s highest frequency for overclocking a Pentium 4 631 CPU to a staggering 8180.4MHz last year.

The successful breaking of the world record was in no small part thanks to the overclocking-oriented features found on the new Rampage II Extreme motherboard. TweakIt, an easy-to-use joystick-like control on the motherboard, enables overclockers to make real-time changes to their systems’ core frequency, voltage and other parameters—even while the benchmark utility is running. At no point does software come into play, as the tweaking is completely hardware-based. With such hassle-free tweaking, coupled with information like the system frequency relayed to overclockers in real-time via the LCD Poster, changes could be on-the-fly during CPU tests and result in extraordinary benchmark scores.

Posted in Intel, General Hardware, Desktops | No Comments »

15. August 2008 by Myke.

Yes, you heard right folks, there is now a $1000 computer case for sale (well, September 1, 2008 anyways).  HP will sell 25 of it’s Blackbird cases on a first come first serve basis on September 1, 2008.  If you are interested in ordering one, please feel free to call HP at 1-877-776-4752…if you do not mind, I would like one too.  I can give you a post dated check for say 2025 if you do not mind waiting. 

Posted in General Hardware, Desktops | No Comments »

15. August 2008 by Myke.

Everyone in the IT world that has ever support hardware, built hardware or used it is going to celebrate the 30th birthday of x86 next month.  Little did Intel know back in 1978 that they would be birthing the beginning of computers world wide.  Without the x86, there is no telling where we would be today.

 Happy Birthday x86!

Posted in Intel, General Hardware | No Comments »