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IMPERVA DISSECTS DENIAL OF SERVICE ATTACKS

Hacker Intelligence Initiative Report Deconstructs Hacktivist Operations, Analyzes Technical Tools and Discusses Detection and Mitigation Techniques

Sydney, Aust., September 21, 2012 – Imperva, Inc. (NYSE:  IMPV), a pioneer and leader of a new category of business security solutions for critical application and high-value data in the data center, today released its September Hacker Intelligence report Denial of Service Attacks:  A Comprehensive Guide to Trends, Techniques and Technologies, which details the latest methods deployed by hackers to execute distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks by analyzing the technical tools and trends employed during multiple attacks.

“Denial of service is a primitive, yet popular attack vector for politically and profit-motivated hackers,” said Tal Be’ery, one of Imperva’s senior web researchers. “DDoS can gridlock enterprise resources to a halt, just like traffic on the highway, but organizations can mitigate these effects by learning how to identify and protect against malicious traffic.”

DDoS attacks deplete enterprise resources by rallying multiple users and botnets to make superfluous requests that overwhelm critical systems. Because DDoS attacks do not seek to breach data integrity or privacy, they can be conducted without the requirement of identifying vulnerabilities to exploit the application.

Report highlights include:

  • An Overview of Application DoS: Though not new, application DoS does not address the network resources, or the bandwidth to the service, but instead focuses on the web application and the server itself.  Application DoS may be directed at specific flavors of web servers such as IIS or Apache) or to specific applications (such as SharePoint) by understanding backend architecture. 
  • Analysis of Hacktivist Operations: Examining real-word incidents, Imperva discusses how and why hacktivists utilize DDoS to support their goals and promote a message.
  • Technical Tool Group Review: Imperva research highlights the latest and most popular DDoS tools, including LOIC, SlowHTTPTest and railgun to demonstrate how black-hat hackers conduct attacks by utilizing white-hat testing tools.
  • Detection and Mitigation Techniques: Imperva discusses the characteristics at the essence of DDoS attacks and attack-specific characteristics, so that information security professionals can arm themselves with the knowledge required to identify and protect against DDoS attacks. 

Get up to date security news at the Imperva Data Security blog: www.blog.imperva.com

 
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Spy Hunter- Enemies & Weapons Trailer

The legendary combat driving game Spy Hunter is back and the G-6155 Interceptor  has been bought into the 21st century  with new technology and weapons but intel suggests so have its enemies.

On the eve of the franchise’s 30th anniversary since the original Spy Hunter was released to arcades in 1983, the new Spy Hunter races forward on its most thrilling and dangerous ride yet. The player once again takes on the role of the “Agent,” the driver of the high-tech G-6155 Interceptor supercar, armed extensively with advanced weaponry, and ready to take on a global terrorist organisation set on world domination.

The Interceptor seamlessly transforms from supercar to off-road assault vehicle to speed boat, allowing players to go where they like within the game’s branching mission tracks. Players can choose to outfit and upgrade the Interceptor’s many weapons and high tech gadgets as they like throughout the course of the game

Spy Hunter will be available on the Playstation Vita from October 10th and on the Nintendo 3DS from November 7th.

 
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COMPANY OF HEROES® 2 DIGITAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION AND PRE-ORDER INCENTIVES ANNOUNCED

Fight for the Motherland and Unlock Exclusive In-Game Content 

Melbourne, VIC. September 21, 2012 – THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced a number of pre-order incentives as well as a Digital Collector’s Edition for its upcoming strategy game Company of Heroes® 2, sequel to the highest rated strategy game of all-time.

All customers* who pre-order the game from participating retailers will receive a global pre-order bonus consisting of two vehicle skins for their medium weight vehicles, the German Rotbraun and Soviet Leningrad.

As well as these incentives customers who pre-order the game from Steam will be enrolled into the exclusive Steam Pre-Purchase Tiered Reward Program which will feature a number of rewards including unlocks for Team Fortress 2 and Warhammer® 40,000®: Dawn of War II® Retribution.

Players who choose to pre-order from Origin instead, will receive all of the global pre-order incentives as well as an exclusive Soviet Bryansk Front vehicle skin to convert their heavy vehicles.

Finally shopTHQ pre-order customers will receive the same global pre-order incentives as the other retailers as well as the Command Pass, which will entitle players to download new bonus multiplayer maps as well as take part in exclusive member’s only events. The Command Pass will also be available for purchase separately post-release.

As well as Standard Edition of the game, a Digital Collector’s Edition is also available. Included in this edition is access to the first three single player “Content Packs” when they become available as well as the Command Pass, exclusive heavy German Whitewash and Soviet Winter Cobblestone tank skins and a Veteran badge to display on the player’s in-game profile. Additionally, players will receive the award-winning original Company of Heroes base game with both its expansion packs.

Ron Moravek, Executive Vice President of Production commented, “We are dedicated to delivering a worthy sequel that improves on the experience delivered by Company of Heroes. We are delighted to be able to reward our most dedicated fans with these unique pre-order incentives to help them stand out from the crowd.”

The original Company of Heroes was released in 2006 to critical acclaim and is currently the highest rated strategy title on Gamerankings.com (with more than five reviews) with an average of 93.82% based on 56 reviews. The game features similar acclaim on Metacritic.com with a Metascore of 93% based on 55 reviews.

Company of Heroes 2 is scheduled to be available for PC in early 2013. For more information check www.companyofheroes.com .

 
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New trailer defines the Fundamentals of Warfare in Carrier Command: Gaea Mission

Sydney, Australia Friday 21st September 2012

Just eight days away from launch, Bohemia Interactive has released a brand new trailer for their upcoming Windows PC & Xbox 360® video game, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission. The new ‘Fundamentals of Warfare’ trailer highlights the core mechanics to showcase the refreshing gameplay contained within the game.

Based on the groundbreaking classic from 1988, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission blends first- and third-person vehicular combat with tactical and strategic elements. Set in a massive game environment – consisting of 33 unique islands hosting 6 distinct climatic zones – players are put in command of a futuristic military carrier holding a multitude of remotely controllable and customizable units. By traversing the seas and establishing a strategic network of island bases for mining, production and defense, players will set out to destroy the enemy carrier and conquer the archipelago on planet Taurus.

The game features the Gaea Mission campaign, in which players follow a rich storyline involving Lt Myrik, a soldier of the United Earth Coalition who has been sent on a mission to defeat the Asian Pacific Alliance. Alternatively, people can go head on with a mode similar to the original Carrier Command. This mode, named Strategy Game, enables players to set starting parameters such as enemy strength and available resources, which determine the difficulty and length of a game.

Bohemia Interactive’s Carrier Command: Gaea Mission will be in stores for Windows PC on September 27, 2012 in Australia and New Zealand. The Xbox 360® is scheduled for release October 11, 2012.

 
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Trainz Simulator – the longest running train simulator franchise is now available at Simulator Central.

Brisbane, – 21st September, 2012: Developer and publisher N3V Games today announced massive discounts on a huge range of Trainz Simulator 12 and associated Trainz products. Selected products are up to 75% off the original prices, with Trainz Sim 12 marked down from $49.99 to just $12.48 and add-on content marked down from $19.99 to $4.98. These prices are sure to be popular with many of the 500,000 registered Trainz community members. In addition, this is a great opportunity for all simulator fans to discover the magic of trains and Trainz.

Just some of the items on sale include:

  • LMS Duchess in Crimson and Brunswick Green with 36 road      numbers and 24 carriages. Was $19.99 Now $4.98!
  • Heritage Mega Pack: ES44AC & SD70Ace each in 10      different liveries. Was $69.90 Now $17.48!
  • PRR T1 Prototype and Production models with a huge      number of scripted extras and awesome interiors. Was $19.99 Now $4.98!
  • Settle & Carlisle, the famous scenic British route      complete with Britannia and A3 Pacific locos, semaphore signalling, AWS      for the diesel locs. Was $19.99 Now $4.98!

The promotion, which runs for a week, is to designed to help N3V Games stress test the new SimulatorCentral.com webstore which opened recently (replacing the old auran.com/shop website. A number of additional features such as User Reviews, Custom Coupons and Featured Titles will be added to the SimulatorCentral store prior to the “Grand Opening” later in the year. With 150+ simulator products ranging from trains to planes to ships to battlefields already available, SimulatorCentral will soon be increasing the range and depth of simulator content.

 
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Konami @ TGS 2012 – New Metal Gear Rising trailer!

 
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2K Games and Gearbox Software Announce Borderlands® 2 Now Available in Australia and New Zealand

Cooperative shooter-looter franchise returns with bigger, better, more badass mayhem; Receives outstanding reviews and critical acclaim 

Sydney, Australia, 20th September, 2012 2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today the much anticipated Borderlands® 2 is now available in Australia and New Zealand for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. The four-player cooperative shooter-looter already has critics raving, with perfect 10 out of 10s from PC PowerPlay and GameArena, a 9.5 out of 10 from GamePlanet and a 9.2 out of 10 from Ausgamers.

Borderlands 2 is a game made by gamers for gamers,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “The unique visual art style, all-new characters, loads of loot, 87 bazillion guns, and role-playing-shooting combine for a truly addictive experience, especially when played with three other friends. The initial response from the press has been fantastic and the game is poised to be one of the highest-rated titles in the history of 2K.”

Developed by Gearbox Software, Borderlands 2 features all-new characters and skill trees, diverse new environments, missions and enemies, as well as weapons and equipment with more personality than ever before. Players will also experience an all-new story that takes place five years after the events of the original game. Four friends can team up online to journey through the huge, open world of Pandora to take down the notorious Handsome Jack and his corrupt Hyperion Corporation.

Borderlands 2 is a Gearbox team passion project through and through,” said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. “Borderlands 2 is a must-play, one-of-a-kind single-player game and the best-in-class cooperative experience. Bring friends!”

Like the original game, Borderlands 2 will be supported with four add-on content campaigns. These four add-on content campaigns will be available individually or as a combined purchase of the Borderlands 2 Season Pass. This special offer, available starting on September 18, includes nearly $65.00 of add-on content and will be available for $39.95 (PlayStation®Network) / 2400 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network) / $39.95 (Windows PC). Once purchased, the Borderlands 2 Season Pass enables gamers to download all of the announced add-on content campaigns for free as they become available on the PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE and Windows PC. All four add-on content campaigns are scheduled to be available by June 2013. 

Borderlands 2 is rated MA15+ by the OFLC and is available now on Xbox 360, PS3™ and Windows PC. For the latest Borderlands 2 news and information, please visit www.borderlands2.com. Check out Borderlands 2 on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/borderlandsgame.

2K Games is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

 
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Crysis 3 Sizzle Trailer

 
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Photo Call – Melbourne: DOGGY DAY OUT AND GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

DOGGY DAY OUT AND GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

WHAT: PURINA® BARK IN THE PARK®
WHEN: Saturday 22nd September 2012
WHERE: Princes Park, Carlton, VIC 3054
TIMES: 10am – 2pm

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY OVERVIEW:
Thousands of dogs of all shapes and sizes will be bringing their owners along to the fabulous PURINA® BARK IN THE PARK® in Melbourne – the doggie social event of the year!

Photo Ops Include:

* • Steve Jacobs (Ch9, Today Show) and Dr. Lisa Chimes (Ch10, Bondi Vet)
* • Guinness World Records, Record Attempt (see below)
* • Doggy Fashion Show
* • Dog and Owner Lookalike Competition
* • Funny Pet Tricks
* • Dog Washing
* • Grooming Classes

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT – FIRST-TIME ATTEMPT IN AUSTRALIA

TAKING PLACE @ 12.45pm @ PURINA® BARK IN THE PARK®

For the very first time in Australia, the dogs and their owners will also be attempting to break the Guinness World Records® record for the Loudest Bark by a Group of Dogs. The record is being facilitated by celebrity animal behaviourist Dr. Joanne Righetti and visitors will be able to participate by gold coin donation with all funds going to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital and Animal Welfare League Australia. This will provide some great angles and filming opportunity for news teams.

PURINA® BARK IN THE PARK® is presented by Steve Jacobs from Channel Nine’s Today Show and Dr. Lisa Chimes from Channel Ten’s Bondi Vet and will feature a range of completely free and fun doggie activities which will provide some great shot opportunities including:

* • 11.10 – 11.20am – Wagwear Doggie Fashion Parade on the ‘Dogwalk’
* • 11.25 – 11.35am – Dog / Owner Lookalike Competition
* • 12.15 – 12.25pm – Best Dressed Pet
* • 12.45pm – World’s Loudest Bark Record Attempt
* • 1.40 – 1.55pm – Funny Pet Tricks

Throughout the event there will also be the following filming opportunities:

* • Dog Washing
* • Grooming Classes
* • Family Photo with your Dog
* • Expert Advice on Dog Behaviour, Feeding and Training
* • Live Entertainment from Rising Stars Toucan

 
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BRAVE THE FROZEN PERILS OF ARGUL’S TOMB

First Expansion for Darksiders® II Available to Download Late September 

Melbourne, VIC. Sep 20, 2012 – THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that the first downloadable content pack for its critically acclaimed title Darksiders II will be available to download later this month on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network, Playstation® Network and Windows PC.

Argul’s Tomb is a new gameplay zone, which includes two challenging new dungeons, new enemies to best and unique legendary loot to collect. Tailored towards players that have finished at least the first three zones of the main game, Argul’s Tomb adds an additional challenge for gamers of all levels.

Any new purchaser of the Limited Edition version of Darksiders II will find a unique code in their game box entitling them to download this first content pack for free. Users should follow the instructions on the card to redeem their content. For all other customers Argul’s Tomb is available to download for 560 MS Points / $9.29.

The content will be available to download on Xbox 360 and PC worldwide as well as PS3 in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday 27th September.

Argul’s Tomb will be included on the disc at launch for Wii U along with additional bonus content.

Darksiders II follows the exploits of DEATH, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, in an action-packed tale that runs parallel to the events in the original Darksiders game. This epic journey propels DEATH through various light and dark realms as he tries to redeem his brother WAR, the horseman blamed for prematurely starting the Apocalypse in Darksiders.

Darksiders II is available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and PC, with a WiiU version scheduled for release at launch of the WiiU. For more information check www.Darksiders.com .