Monday, June 15, 2009

China Orders Patches to Planned Web Filter

BEIJING — A designer of Internet filtering software that is required to be preinstalled on computers sold in China has been ordered by the Chinese government to fix potential security breaches, according to a report Monday in China Daily, the official English-language newspaper. The official order is an indication that the government still supports use of the program despite heated debate over it.

The proposed software, called Green Dam-Youth Escort, has come under attack from many computer users in China for both political and technical reasons. Critics say that although the Chinese government insists the software will be used only to block access to pornographic Web sites, the software’s actual use will be to block sites with political content, like those that discuss the Tibet issue or the crackdown during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

The government says all computers sold in China after July 1 must have the software installed. Some computer experts who have studied the software said last week that the software is so flawed that it can allow hackers to monitor a user’s Internet activity, steal data or plant viruses. One expert, J. Alex Halderman, a computer science professor at the University of Michigan, has posted on the Internet a report on its vulnerabilities.

Rather than agreeing to scrap the software altogether, the Chinese government has responded to the technical criticisms by ordering that the potential security breaches be eliminated.

“The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told us to make the software safer as soon as a series of security vulnerabilities were found,” Zhang Chenmin, the general manager of Jinhui Computer System Engineering, which helped design the software, told China Daily.

Mr. Zhang acknowledged that the software had systemic flaws that would allow hackers to attack computers that used the program, “just like any other software of this type.”

Mr. Halderman said last week that it had taken only a few hours for him and his students to infiltrate a computer loaded with Green Dam and force it to crash. A skilled hacker could take over the computer to mine personal data or hitch it to other infected machines in a malevolent network, he added.

Debate about the software exploded on the Internet last week as Chinese “netizens” learned more about the software requirement issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. China Daily reported Monday that surveys done by four of China’s most popular Web portals showed that four in five netizens would not use the software or would have it uninstalled.

Early reports had indicated that the government might simply require Green Dam to be included on a CD packaged with new computers. But it became apparent last week that the government was insisting that all computer makers pre-install the software by July 1.

Foreign computer makers learned of the requirement three weeks ago and have been asking the Chinese government to reconsider the rules.

Meanwhile, Solid Oak Software, a company based in Santa Barbara, California, has accused the designers of Green Dam of stealing programming code from a piece of software developed by Solid Oak that blocks Web sites deemed to be pornographic, violent or offensive. Solid Oak says that some of the “blacklist” files used by Green Dam had been originally developed for its program, which is called Cybersitter.

“I cannot deny that the two filters’ databases of blacklisted URL addresses might share similarities,” Mr. Zhang was quoted as saying in China Daily. “After all, they are all well-known international pornographic Web sites that all porn filters are meant to block. But we didn’t steal their programming code.”

By: EDWARD WONG

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Tetris Turns 25: Is it the next Olympic Sport

In 1984, Russian mathematician Alexey Pajitnov was playing with one of his favorite puzzles when he had an inspiration: How about creating a computer version?

Pajitnov wrote the program in his spare time, simplifying the idea to make it easier for those of us who aren't math geniuses.

He used shapes made of four squares -- hence "Tetris," which comes from the Greek word for four, "Tetra."

In the game, players must position and stack blocky shapes to fill a grid without leaving spaces in between. Successfully completed sections disappear. The more sections the player completes without reaching the top, the higher the score. The faster players accomplish this, the higher their score. iReport: 25 years of Tetris

Steadily, the game worked its way around the world. Millions of people found themselves glued to their computers and game players -- hearts racing and screaming in frustration -- all over getting a simple horizontal line of digital squares to disappear.

"I would just play it for hours and hours," said iReporter Joel Vetsch of New Haven, Connecticut, who got addicted to Tetris on a Game Boy when he was 10. "I'm 29 now, and I still love it." See Vetsch's iReport here

Vetsch became so obsessed with Tetris that the game even showed up in his dreams.
"I'd go to sleep and in my head I'd see blocks. . .going into each other," he told CNN. "It was weird."

More than 125 million Tetris products have been sold, and Guinness World Records' 2009 Gamers' Edition book ranked Tetris No. 2 on its list of the top 50 console games of all time, behind Super Mario Kart.

Twenty-five years to the month after Tetris was born, CNN spoke with Pajitnov and Henk Rogers, CEO of Blue Planet Software, the company that manages the exclusive licensing rights to the game.

The two men talked about what makes Tetris so addictive, how they believe the game can help unite the world, and -- no joke -- why they want a Tetris competition in the Olympics.

By : Josh Levs CNN

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Sunday, April 12, 2009

Google Chrome, New Browser From Google

Google has launched its newest browser, Google Chrome. This browser is designed to run web applications (email, office applications, banking, etc.) better. In fact there is no feature that is very new as compared to other browsers, but Google's attempt to take the features of the best browser available at this time. This browser is open source, and developed based on the Webkit engine used by Safari. Some interesting features are:

1. Multiprosess: if one tab (one page) takes a lot of resources, only the tab with problems that need to be closed, another page will not be affected.
2. New JavaScript Engine: various web applications that rely on JavaScript (such as google docs) will be running more flawless.
3. Security is higher: The browser automatically downloads information on the hazardous sites, each plugin is also running in a separate process so that more secure.

Currently the browser is only available for Windows, but instruction is available to compile this program in Linux (although that can be compiled only modules only). Although designed to be secure and stable, this weakness has been found that can make this Google crash when visiting a specific URL. Source: Google and MilW0rm

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Windows 7

On Monday (06 / 4) then, Microsoft has confirmed that his side will be the ability to offer customers that want to buy a PC for Windows 7 to downgrade to Windows XP, the same as that done to Windows Vista. "We will give the user the right to men-to be able to downgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 in the same way as Windows Vista. Volume license customers also become a choice for the customer who will downgrade to a version of Windows 7 before. "Said the Microsoft.

Microsoft, as quoted Channelweb, customer can install Windows 7 is Windows Vista system to delete it first, if already installed in your PC. Announcements are also virtual provide warranty if companies want to use the Windows 7 and Windows Vista as a whole.

At this time Microsoft has not set a deadline right downgrade Windows 7. However, according to AppleInside, Windows 7 will be present in October, and at that time Microsoft will make the OEM (Original Equipment Manufaturer) to downgrade to Windows XP Professional 7 to 30 April 2010.

Meanwhile, Todd Swank, vice president of Nor-Tech in Minnesota revealed that the right downgrade Windows 7 is still strong, proving the existence of Windows XP on the customer. While the upcoming April 14, Microsoft will stop bidding patch for a bug free version of retail customers and Windows XP. After that date, XP users have to pay support for the improvement bug incident, although Microsoft still sends security update to XP for free in 2014.

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About Me

There was a time it when you called the very top and miss you for hoping to do it from your dreams' n hug him in real life .. I dreamed I dreamed I know, go where you go expecting, but Be Anything you want cOz you only have a single life and are a chance to do all I know make..

Fall Heart

Sometimes I want to get away from you, And has further to run, but there is a feeling you want to lose you, there is a feeling you want to always have, I love you my dear.. I was scare to lose you..

Special For My Mom

My mother is always with me. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks. She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home. She's the map you follow with every step that you take. She's your first love and your first heart break. And nothing on earth can separate you. Not time.. Not space.. Not even death.. will ever separate you from your mother. You carry her inside of you. I love you a lot and always will. We know that you'll always love us too, you'll always care for us, no matter what the age. Just know no matter what you do, no one will be able to replace you. Thank you mom for everything that you have done and keeping doing for me.

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