Sober worm cracked

Finnish security firm F-Secure has cracked a code used by the Sober worm, potentially allowing the company to block the worm from receiving updates, reports Techworld.

One of the features, which made Sober so dangerous, is its ability to download new variants, instantly infecting large numbers of machines, say security experts. The current variant is expected to reactivate itself on 5 January, according to iDefense.

The downloading pattern stumped anti-virus researchers for a time because a secret algorithm created the URL used. F-Secure said that it has cracked that algorithm, allowing it to figure out the URLs the worm variants will attempt to download from. This should allow the hosting providers involved to block the sites, as well as giving system administrators a list of sites they should block at the corporate firewall, the company said.

Creative Technology, a company geared toward digital entertainment via PC platform, has announced the most recent addition to its line of Zen Vision PMPs (portable media players).

According to PCmag, the 30GB Zen Vision M, which the company said it designed to give Apple`s iPod some Creative competition, offers a number of features including MP3 and video player, photo viewer and FM tuner.

"We designed the Zen Vision M to display four times the colour of the 30GB iPod that plays video, and to provide twice the battery life for video playback," said Sim Wong Hoo, Creative`s CEO. The Vision M, which includes a vertical touch pad, boasts a 2.5-inch high-res 262 144 colour LCD display. The device weighs about five ounces and measures 4.1" x 2.4" x 0.7".

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 has been released to manufacturing, and that the product will be in customers hands within 60 days. This release includes new features in the areas of storage management, identity management, remote server management and Unix interoperability, according to IT Jungle.

R2 brings better monitoring of disk space usage, the capability to control the use of disk space through directory quotas, new file screening and easier configuration of storage area networks, says Microsoft. New single sign-on capabilities are available through new features called Active Directory Federation Services, Active Directory Application Mode and Identity Management for Unix.

Faster file replication through new compression algorithms is expected to benefit R2 users by decreasing their bandwidth usage. Microsoft says users can expect a 10% reduction in their bandwidth-related costs as a result of the new file replication capabilities in R2.

Apple is about to drop FireWire - the connectivity standard it created and for so long fostered - from the Mac line-up. That`s what Apple notebook-orientated Web site O`Grady`s PowerPage suggests, without citing specific sources. Apple has already dropped FireWire from the latest iPods, so it`s clearly shifting its allegiance to USB 2.0, which, while technologically inferior to FireWire, is fast enough for almost all PC-peripheral connections, says The Register.

According to O`Grady, the upcoming Intel-based iBooks will lack FireWire and x86 PowerBooks will have a single FireWire 800 port for digital video enthusiasts and professionals to make use of, but 1394, as it`s also known, will continue in non-PC applications.

High street stores are facing a tough Christmas with more shoppers turning to the Internet, a report has said. According to the BBC, a survey of 1 000 people by analysts Mintel suggests almost 40% of British adults will buy some of their gifts online - up from 22% four years ago.

The survey suggests 15% of people now prefer to do their Christmas shopping online - up 5% on last year. Insurance firm Axa says British people will spend an average of lb600 on gifts, with only Americans spending more. The UK figure is twice as high as that for people in Germany and France.