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Homer's blog

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Return of the Sony Rootkit

Oh oh ... looks like Sony are up to their old tricks again.

F-Secure : News from the Lab

This USB stick with rootkit-like behavior is closely related to the Sony BMG case. First of all, it is another case where rootkit-like cloaking is ill advisedly used in commercial software. Also, the USB sticks we ordered are products of the same company — Sony Corporation.

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Windows By Stealth: The Updates You Don't Want

On the back of the recent WGA fiasco, further research has revealed yet another citation of what I already knew to be true: Windows updates itself without explicit permission, even if you turn off automatic updates.

NEW! ... Further proof, confirmation, and details of this has been provided by Scott Dunn of Windows Secrets, and Adrian Kingsley-Hughes of ZDNet.

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Windows XP EULA in Plain English

LinuxAdvocate.org - Linux information, advocacy, reviews and tips for everyone.

Windows XP EULA in Plain English

This is the EULA for Windows XP Home Edition. EULA stands for “End-User Licensing Agreement.” Let's break that down:

  • End-User – The person who purchased and is using Windows XP Home.
  • Licensing – When someone buys Windows XP Home, they do not own anything. Instead they are licensing it from Microsoft.
  • Agreement – A legally binding contract between the person and Microsoft.

What does this document contain? Most people don't know, because it is written in legal-speak. Still, you are expected to read it and are required to agree to it before using Windows XP Home. Even if you don't read it, you are still bound by it, so it's good to know what's in there.

Let's take a look at just what rights a user of Windows XP Home has given up. In the “What it Says” column we have reprinted the text exactly as it appears in the EULA (obtained from Microsoft's website at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/eula.mspx). In the “What it Means” column, we summarize what it means in plain English.

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Can Netcraft Be Trusted?

If Netcraft is to be believed, Microsoft's IIS Web server deployment is rising rapidly, at the expense of the previous de facto standard Apache. But how accurate are those figures, and should GoDaddy parked domains, that were essentially "bought" by Microsoft (probably for no other reason than to skew Netcraft stats) even be counted? AFAIAC that is little more than cheating, but then should we be surprised ... this is Microsoft we're talking about, after all.

However, despite what Netcraft might like you to think, they do not in fact have a monopoly on site statistics, and security auditing and research company, Security Space, has a rather different story to tell.

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Gateway Anti-Linux Bigotry

Here's a question for Gatway: What the Hell has the Operating System got to do with warranty support for hardware?

Bigots!

Installing Linux on Gateway systems VOID your warranty... - Ubuntu Forums
23 Aug 2007 13:49:53 Warren_GWPR264 says: Your inquiring if what will happen to your system's warranty if you install Linux is this correct?
23 Aug 2007 13:50:23 Linux User says: Correct, and what would happen with my support? Will I still be able to obtain support from Gateway, for hardware, etc?
23 Aug 2007 13:53:49 Warren_GWPR264 says: I am sorry if you install Linux and a hardware component of your system became defective. The warranty will not cover its part replacement or service for the system.
23 Aug 2007 13:54:33 Linux User says: Okay, well Linux is an OS, ie software, it will not cause the device to become defective. Or any sort of failure.
23 Aug 2007 13:54:59 Warren_GWPR264 says: You won't be able to get support if Linux if you installed in your system.
23 Aug 2007 13:55:18 Warren_GWPR264 says: Since Gateway only support Microsoft Operating System.
23 Aug 2007 13:56:21 Linux User says: I understand that software support is only supplied for Microsoft products, but hardware is OS/Software independent. Obviously you will not support drivers, etc for Linux. But how does the OS affect the hardware support?
23 Aug 2007 13:57:59 Warren_GWPR264 says: We won't able to trouble shoot your hardware components. Since were only given information for Microsoft Operating System. So definetly no support for your hardware components once Linux is installed.

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