TurkmenPost

A little-known capability in Google’s search engine has helped security vendor Websense uncover thousands of malicious Web sites, as well as several legitimate sites that have been hacked, the company said today.

By taking advantage Google’s binary search capability, Websense has created new software tools that can sniff out malware using the popular search engine. Websense researchers Googled for strings that were used in known malware like the Bagel and Mytob worms and have uncovered about 2,000 malicious Web sites over the past month, according to Dan Hubbard, senior director of security and research with Websense.

Though Google is widely used to search the Internet for Web pages and office documents, the search engine can also peek through the binary information stored in the normally unreadable executable (.exe) files that are run by Windows computers. "They actually look inside the internals of an executable and index that information," Hubbard said.

Hubbard and his team plans to share its Google code with a select group of security researchers, but it will not make the software public, for fear that the tool could be misused by the bad guys.

Virus authors, for example, could use the Websense software to search for worms and viruses to use in their attacks, Hubbard said. "Instead of buying them on the black market (an attacker) could search for them and download them on his own."

Some bloggers have pointed out that hackers might also be able to manipulate the binary search feature to trick Google users into downloading malicious software.

Hackers could add common search terms into their malicious code in order to be included in search results, for example, which would then show up alongside legitimate Web sites.

via PCWorld.

The world’s largest software maker has been briefing record companies on the proposed device that would play digital music and video files and carry wireless technology enabling users to download music without linking to a computer, according to executives who spoke on condition of anonymity because plans for the player have not been made public.

In addition, Microsoft has engaged in talks to secure licenses to sell digital content for the device, the executives said.

It was unclear if the company intended to augment its existing online music service, MSN Music, or build a new one.

Sally Julien of Edelman, one of Microsoft’s public relations firms, declined to comment Thursday.

Until now, Microsoft has stayed out of the digital music player market while licensing its Windows Media Player technology to Creative Technology Ltd., iRiver Inc., Samsung and other device manufacturers.

But those companies have struggled to compete with Apple Computer Inc.’s line of iPods, which have dominated the market partly because of their seamless integration with the iTunes Music Store.

IPods account for roughly 80 percent of the portable music player market, while iTunes has sold more than a billion tracks since it launched three years ago.

"The combination of the independent manufacturers trying to use the Microsoft technology to integrate with independent vendors such as Napster, Yahoo Music and Rhapsody … has resulted in an experience for the consumer that simply does not measure up to the experience of the iPod and iTunes," said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital Media.

The stakes for Microsoft extend beyond the online music market, Leigh said.

"It’s becoming increasingly evident that video is migrating to the Internet, and Apple is getting a lead there as well," Leigh said. "That is a lead that Microsoft cannot afford to let them build upon and maintain."

The Associated Press.

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel Corp.’s attempt to stanch the loss of market share to Advanced Micro Devices Inc., its smaller rival in the computer microprocessor business, appears to be working and may allow it to gain lost ground over the next six months, analysts said Friday.

AMD on late Thursday warned second-quarter revenue would be about $1.22 billion, or about 9 percent below the previous period. In April, the Sunnyvale-based company had forecast revenue that would be flat or slightly below first-quarter sales of $1.33 billion. It pinned the lower estimate on declining sales of processors for desktop and notebook PCs.

The disclosure came as an abrupt reversal for AMD, which over the past year has picked up about 5 points of market share, mostly at the expense of Intel, according to Mercury Research. With AMD’s share hovering around 21 percent, company executives last month said they were preparing to supply 30 percent of the market’s needs by 2008.

Steep price cuts from Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker, appear to be throwing a fork in those plans, analysts said. Over the past few months, Intel, head quartered in Santa Clara, has slashed prices for its PC processors by as much as 30 percent.

Intel, whose processors have been largely outgunned by higher-performing chips from AMD, also has been talking up future price cuts that are to coincide with the release of three new products, due by midsummer, it says will put the company back in the technological lead.

Intel’s product and pricing forecasts caused people to delay buying computers over the quarter, some analysts said.

Citigroup analyst Glen Young wrote in a report that the chances of Intel missing its forecast have decreased, but have not been eliminated, since the quarter ended in June.

The analyst speculated revenue, which in April Intel forecast would be from $8 billion to $8.6 billion, has been steadied by sales to Apple Computer Inc., which recently began using Intel processors in many of the machines it sells.

AMD shares fell 27 cents, or 1.1 percent, to close at $23.56 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Intel lost 29 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $18.56 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

 The Associated Press.

WIMBLEDON, England - So much for Amelie Mauresmo’s reputation for getting tight and failing to win big matches.

Mauresmo rallied from a set down and held firm down the stretch to beat Justine Henin-Hardenne, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday to win the Wimbledon title for her second Grand Slam championship.

“I don’t want anyone to talk about my nerves anymore,” she said.

Mauresmo became the first French women’s singles champion at Wimbledon since Suzanne Lenglen won the last of her six titles in 1925.

The top-seeded Mauresmo also stopped No. 3 Henin-Hardenne from completing a career Grand Slam. The Belgian was trying to win the only major title missing from her collection.

It was the second Grand Slam final between the two players this year — and this time there was an outright winner. Henin-Hardenne retired at 6-1, 2-0 down at the Australian Open in January, handing Mauresmo her first major title.

After Henin-Hardenne hit a forehand into the net on the first match point, Mauresmo dropped to her knees on the grass and buried her face in her hands. After the handshake at the net, she climbed into the stands and shared a long, tearful hug with her coach, Loic Courteau.

A new top-of-the-line U.S. guided missile destroyer was deployed to Japan on Saturday, amid tensions over North Korea’s missile tests.

The USS Mustin sailed into the port of Yokosuka, home to the Navy’s 7th Fleet, with a crew of 300 for permanent assignment to the region, 7th Fleet spokeswoman Hanako Tomizuka said.

The Mustin, commissioned in 2003, is one of the most advanced in the fleet. Its deployment to Yokosuka was previously planned and not in response to North Korea’s missile tests, Tomizuka said.

Pyongyang stunned the region on Wednesday by test-firing seven missiles.

In August, Yokosuka will also welcome the USS Shiloh, which last month demonstrated its ability to shoot down missile warheads in a landmark test off the coast of Hawaii.

Both the Mustin and the Shiloh are equipped with radar systems that employ so-called Aegis technology, which is geared toward tracking and shooting down enemy missiles. The system was instrumental in identifying and assessing Wednesday’s missile launc hings, which all fell apparently harmlessly into the Sea of Japan.

The U.S. Navy now has eight Aegis-equipped vessels at Yokosuka.

 The Associated Press.