iMT320 delivers stylish design and quality sound on-the-go

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – 4 May 2010 – Altec Lansing today announced the local availability of the most portable member of its inMotion line, the inMotion Compact (iMT320). The inMotion Compact folds to the size of a book for portable quality sound and is compatible with the latest iPhone and iPod versions including the iPhone 3GS.

Acoustically, the inMotion Compact portable design packs a big punch with its front firing ports for enhanced low frequency sound, and dual drivers delivering a rich, well balanced sound. Similar to its predecessor, theiM310, the inMotion Compact includes great audio performance, battery and AC operation and is compatible with all iPod and iPhone models. Receiving a new look, the inMotion Compact includes a soft, leather- like cover that doubles as a speaker stand.

“We know that modern consumers like to take their music with them. Altec has designed the most portable dock with the iPhone certification,” explained Chris Brown, Regional Sales Director, Altec Lansing, Australia, New Zealand. “We incorporated the latest design and technology so our users can enjoy their music on the go. In addition to looking great, the attached wrap-around cover offers a new level of travel protection for your dock.  You’ll be surprised by how much great sound this small form factor delivers.”

Features

• “Works with iPhone” certification – Ensures crystal clear sound without annoying GSM buzz and avoids having to switch to “airplane mode”
• Improved contemporary design – Soft, leather like cover that doubles as a stand
• Front firing ports – Enhanced low-end sound
• AC or battery-operated – Runs off AC adapter or 4 AA batteries
• Folds as small as a book for easy portability– It’s the perfect music companion around the kitchen, bedroom, or workshop.
• Input jack – 3.5mm jack for second device connection, including computers, CD, DVD, and MP3 players.

Pricing and Availability
The Altec Lansing inMotion Compact (iMT320) is available now for a recommended retail price of $149.00. Please contact Amber Technologies for your nearest stockist. For more information visit www.AltecLansing.com.au.

About Altec Lansing
For more than 70 years Altec Lansing has been viewed among audiophiles as one of the world’s most valuable and innovative audio brands and boasts a unique history of innovation that includes the introduction of first talkie film speakers, the first iPod docking station and the first “Works with iPhone” speaker system. Altec Lansing makes a wide range of audio systems for the home and office; a line of headphones for personal listening; and the popular line of inMotion speaker systems for portable digital players. Altec Lansing LLC is headquartered in Milford, PA.

Connect with the Altec Lansing team:
http://twitter.com/alteclansing_au

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/alteclansingau?ref=ts

http://www.flickr.com/AltecLansing
http://www.youtube.com/AltecLansingSpeakers

Logitech Harmony 600 Remote Simple to Set Up, Easy to Use

SYDNEY, Aust., — May 4, 2010 — Nearly all of the entertainment devices in today’s living rooms use remote controls, so for most people a remote that simplifies complex home-entertainment systems is essential to performing even the simplest of activities, such as watching TV. Today, Logitech Australia added to its award-winning line of Logitech® Harmony® remotes by unveiling the Logitech® Harmony® 600 Remote. Giving you one-click control over your favourite activities, the new remote is simple to set up, simple to use, and can replace up to five other remotes.

“Why have one remote for the TV, one for the DVR, one for your DVD player and one for your A/V deck?” asked Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech’s digital home group. “A Logitech Harmony remote brings it all together, making entertainment fun and simple for you, your family or anyone who picks up the remote.”

When you’re gathered around the TV with your friends and family, a Logitech Harmony remote makes everything simpler. To automatically turn on the right devices and select the appropriate input settings, the Logitech Harmony 600 remote offers one-click activity buttons. After completing the online setup, you just click what you want to do — such as “Watch a DVD” — and your Logitech Harmony remote automatically turns on the right devices and selects the right inputs.

With the Logitech Harmony 600 Remote, you’ll see the commands you need for the devices you’re using, such as power and volume, on the monochrome backlit screen. The smart display can even provide help if you need it — just select the Help button and answer the questions that follow.

The new remote joins the ever expanding line of Harmony remotes, an award-winning family that includes the Logitech® Harmony® 700 Remote — which controls up to six devices and is rechargeable — and the iconic Logitech® Harmony® One with its stunning touch-screen display.

No More Entering Codes
Setting up a Logitech Harmony remote is a snap. Simply connect the remote to your computer, go to www.logitech.com/MyHarmony, and download the software. You’ll then be prompted to enter the make and model number of your entertainment devices — the Logitech Harmony software does the rest. From Betamax to Blu-ray™, you can be sure the Logitech Harmony remote can control virtually any IR home-electronic device.

Logitech supports more than 250,000 home-entertainment devices from more than 5,000 brands. Our database of devices grows every day, so you can be confident your remote will work with what you own today or what you might buy in the future.

Pricing and Availability
The Logitech Harmony 600 Remote will be available in Australia from early May for a suggested retail price of AUD$99.95 inc GST. The Logitech Harmony 700 Remote and the Logitech Harmony One Remote are available now worldwide for a suggested retail price of AUD $299.95 inc GST and AUD $499.95 inc GST, respectively.

About Logitech
Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

Palevo worm wrecks havoc using backdoor, removable drives, peer-to-peer and Autorun exploits

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND – May 4, 2010 – BitDefender has found an aggressive worm spreading via a wave of automatically generated spam this week. Dubbed Palevo by BitDefender researchers, the worm opens a backdoor on the infected system that allows the attacker to install additional malware, steal passwords or files, or launch spam or other malware attacks on contacts in the user’s IM list.

What’s worse, Palevo is also spreading via network and removable USB drives using the Autorun feature. When an infected USB stick is inserted into a computer with Autorun enabled, the machine becomes automatically infected.

The unsolicited messages prompt recipients to click a link accompanied by a grinning smiley face emoticon, which purports to lead them to images hosted online. But instead of opening the image collection, users are tricked into saving what seems to be a .JPG file which is, in effect, an executable concealing the malicious payload – Worm.P2P.Palevo.DP.

First and foremost, the worm creates several hidden files in the Windows folder: mds.sys, mdt.sys, winbrd.jpg, infocard.exe, whilst modifying registry keys to point towards these files in order shut down the operating system’s firewall.

The Palevo worm is then capable of intercepting passwords and log-ins that are either stored or entered into Mozilla® Firefox® and Microsoft® Internet Explorer® Web browsers, which makes activities such as online banking or shopping extremely dangerous.

The worm also affects users of peer-to-peer sharing platforms by adding its code to shared files. Platforms at risk include Ares, BearShare, iMesh, Shareza, Kazaa, DC++, eMule and LimeWire.

“We recommend IM users to be extremely cautious of links they receive in an instant message, particularly if they point towards either a file or web link download. It’s worthwhile to double-check the legitimacy of the message with the sender before opening a link, in order to confirm whether they had purposely sent the message themselves,” said Catalin Cosoi, senior researcher at BitDefender.

Industry leading eLearning software solution now also available for Mac OS

SYDNEY, Australia — 4^th May 2010 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® eLearning Suite 2, a significant upgrade to its tightly integrated, end-to-end solution for easily creating, reviewing and maintaining eLearning content. The suite, now natively compatible with Mac OS in addition to Windows, enables eLearning professionals, educators and trainers to turn creative ideas into dynamic eLearning materials that engage learners with multimedia and interactivity. eLearning Suite 2 — anchored by the new Adobe Captivate® 5 — includes Adobe Flash® Professional CS5, Adobe Dreamweaver® CS5, Adobe Photoshop® CS5 Extended, Adobe Acrobat® 9 Pro, Adobe Presenter 7 and Adobe Soundbooth® CS5.

“Today’s educational and professional learning departments are under enormous pressure to deliver impactful content quickly and efficiently,” said Naresh Gupta, senior vice president, Print and Publishing at Adobe. “eLearning Suite 2 is a major leap forward in eLearning content creation. It addresses the challenge with its tightly integrated toolset that allows content creators to develop powerful media-rich eLearning experiences without the time and expense of programming.”

Adobe eLearning Suite 2 enhances productivity with smarter aggregation capabilities included in Adobe Captivate 5, eLearning extensions for Dreamweaver and Flash, and new application round tripping workflows between authoring and asset creation tools. For example, a course designer can now insert Adobe Photoshop CS5 (PSD) files as smart objects into an Adobe Captivate project and update the images with one click should the original files change without having to resave and reinsert images. Similar workflows exist between the other eLearning Suite components including Adobe Captivate, Soundbooth and Flash.

“Timely, effective training on the use of our products is critical for us and our customers to meet compliance requirements,” said Mary McGivern, Instructional Designer, Omnicell, a leading provider of comprehensive, technologically advanced automation that enables healthcare facilities to acquire, manage, dispense, and deliver medications and supplies more effectively. “The new user interface in Adobe Captivate 5 lets me work more efficiently and is now similar to other Adobe products. This will speed up my workflow and help me meet timelines more effectively.”

Introducing Captivate 5

Adobe Captivate is the industry-leading, rapid authoring solution for developing demonstrations, application simulations and branching scenarios – without requiring programming expertise while not compromising quality. Version 5, which introduces the software to Mac OS, offers exciting new features that allow users to do more complex tasks faster such as enhanced importing and round tripping for Microsoft PowerPoint.

The new user interface — similar to the Dreamweaver CS5, Flash CS5 and Photoshop CS5 interfaces — lets users create and revise content faster and more easily than ever before by supporting multiple document editing and personalised workspaces. The Properties Inspector tool also boosts time-savings, as course authors can edit object properties in fewer steps. Additionally, eLearning professionals can leverage an expanded asset library and use customisable widgets to quickly create tables and design graphical buttons. Other major enhancements include support for rich animation effects, the ability to import videos in popular formats (AVI, MOV, FLV, MPEG) and synchronise video across multiple slides.

For more effective collaboration, Adobe Captivate 5 customers can upload, exchange and review content, as well as track and report learner scores by signing up for Adobe’s online productivity software, Acrobat.com (available separately). Also, a new widget lets students and educators interact via Twitter, facilitating online Q&As and group discussion. 

To ease the process of maintaining content, Adobe Captivate 5 introduces Object Style editing, which facilitates changes project-wide with just a few clicks, allowing content creators to easily define and modify the look and feel of buttons, text, images and other elements. eLearning designers can also create Master Slides with preset themes and styles for text, shapes and graphics. This accelerates authoring as contributors can focus on content rather than formatting details, and ensures that the look and feel of an organisation’s presentations are preserved. Once eLearning content is published, training and learning professionals can track and report key performance metrics via Acrobat.com or their own Web server.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe eLearning Suite 2 and Adobe Captivate 5 are expected to be available via Adobe Authorised Resellers, the Adobe Australia Store and the Adobe New Zealand Store in June. Customers can pre-order Adobe eLearning Suite 2 and Captivate 5 today. Estimated street price for the eLearning Suite 2 is A$3,008; upgrade pricing starts at A$1,003. Estimated street price for Adobe Captivate 5 is A$1,337; upgrade pricing starts at A$502. Educational pricing is available for both products.

Both products are compatible with Mac OS X v10.5.7 or v10.6, Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended), Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 or Windows 7 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7). The Mac OS version of eLearning Suite 2 does not contain Adobe Presenter.

Helpful Links

eLearning Suite 2 and Captivate 5 Customer Quote Sheet
eLearning Workflows in eLearning Suite 2
eLearning Suite 2 home page
What’s new in eLearning Suite 2 (On-demand seminar)
Top new features in Captivate 5
Captivate 5 home page
What’s new in Captivate 5 (On-demand seminar)

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionises how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

The debut tease trailer for this year’s most anticipated release, Call of Duty: Black Ops, is now available. To watch the trailer, please go to www.callofduty.com/blackops.

Melbourne, 28 April 2010.  There are myriad ways that viruses, Trojans and other types of malicious code can get into your business and it pays to be up on all of them. Security company AVG (AU/NZ) offers some advice.

Did You Know:

• Social networks are a valuable tool for today’s businesses but open up significant security risks
• Phishing and other social engineering tricks can (and do) fool even the smartest people
• Even Instant Messaging isn’t safe

Completely blocking users’ access to the Internet would go a long way towards keeping viruses and other malware out of your company, but it wouldn’t do a whole lot of good for your business. So you need to be aware of – and take steps to protect – the ways the bad guys get access to your valuable information.
Here’s an overview of the main threats and how to protect against them.

1. Web Surfing and Social Networking – It’s the Wild Web Out There

The web is a cyber criminal’s dream come true. It’s instantaneous. It’s anonymous. And it’s very, very easy to fool people. A web site that looks at first glance to be your bank’s web site can easily be a clever forgery. And that video-viewing download you’re being offered? Chances are you don’t need it – and you certainly don’t need the spyware that may well be hidden behind a realistic-sounding application name.

“The Web has become the attack vector of choice. With e-mail, attackers had only a limited number of ways to a computer: either with an infected attachment, or with a link to a web page which would deliver the malware. While attackers still use e-mail, they have discovered that the Web in general – and social networks in particular – provides them with a much broader range of options,” according to AVG (AU/NZ)’s Marketing Manager, Lloyd Borrett.
Social networking sites are of particular concern when it comes to malware distribution, according to the recent “Trial By Fire” survey conducted by consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC). (See http://www.pwc.com/us/en/it-risk-security/publications/trial-by-fire.jhtml)
“Today a new generation of employees worldwide is accessing social networks from work in great numbers, often without the knowledge of the IT department – and in circumvention of the traditional countermeasures employed by many,” the PWC report states.

Traditional virus/malware protection was not designed to cope with the here today, gone tomorrow threats that typically infect social networks. And you can be sure those thousands of Facebook application developers are not focusing their efforts on the security of their applications.

Blocking social networks is no longer feasible – they’re an integral part of marketing and recruitment programs in many companies today. A more equitable solution can be found in technologies like AVG LinkScanner®, which checks web pages for security risks before allowing the page to download to the user’s browser. LinkScanner is included in AVG’s business security products.

See also:

• Social Networking Poll Shows Users More Vulnerable Than Ever
• Top 10 Tips To Stay Safe on Facebook from AVG

2. E-mail and Spam – Oldies But Still Baddies  

For many years, the virus writers’ distribution method of choice was e-mail attachments. Although still a popular method of attack, e-mail is a far less effective way to fool people into opening things they shouldn’t. The bad guys have learnt that using the world wide web to deliver attacks is more efficient. “When e-mail was the primary attack vector, simply installing an anti-virus and exercising caution when opening attachments mitigated the majority of threats,” explains Borrett.
In addition to installing a reputable security solution and keeping it updated, educating employees on responsible e-mail behaviour is fundamental to e-mail security efforts. One important reminder comes from the Australian government web site “Stay Smart Online”, www.staysmartonline.gov.au. “Many viruses can ‘spoof’ the return address [in an e-mail], making it look like the message came from someone else. If you recognise the return address but weren’t expecting the message, check with the person who supposedly sent the message to make sure it’s legitimate before opening any attachments,” the organisation advises.

You might also want to consider configuring your e-mail system to block the automatic downloading of attachments; this will have the added benefit of discouraging employees from overloading the e-mail network with unnecessary attachments.
3. Instant Messaging – Chatting Your Way To Trouble

While not yet as ubiquitous as e-mail, instant messaging (IM) is gaining momentum as a business communications tool, and carries many of the same risks as e-mail, as well as some unique to the IM environment. Viruses and other malware can be hidden in files sent over IM. Links embedded in messages can lead to infected web sites.

IM even has its own version of spam, sometimes called SpIM – Spam over Instant Messaging. Microsoft warns users to be aware that “Some IM services link your screen name to your e-mail address when you register. The easy availability of your e-mail address can result in an increased number of spam and phishing attacks.” So users should take care when they register for an IM account that they don’t inadvertently advertise their e-mail address.

About AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd — www.avg.com.au 

Based in Melbourne, AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd distributes the AVG range of Anti-Virus and Internet Security products in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. AVG software solutions provide complete real-time protection against the malware, viruses, spam, spyware, adware, worms, Trojans, phishing and exploits used by cyber-criminals, hackers, scammers and identity thieves. AVG protects everything important and personal inside computers — documents, account details and passwords, music, photos and more — all while allowing users to work, bank, shop and play games online in safety. AVG provides outstanding technical solutions and exceptional value for consumers, small to medium business and enterprise clients. AVG delivers always-on, always up-to-date protection across desktop, and notebook PCs, plus file and e-mail servers in the home and at work in SMBs, corporations, government agencies and educational institutions.

AVG products actively protect over 110 million users worldwide, including more than 4.6 million users in Australia and New Zealand.

AVG (AU/NZ) has more than 3000 resellers across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

BRISBANE, Queensland–May. 03, 2010—EB Games, Australia’s largest video game and entertainment software retailer, today announced that over the next week they aim to raise over $300,000 to brighten the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised kids.

EB Games will be holding a national week of fundraising for the Starlight Children’s Foundation in their 352 stores nationwide, where they aim to outdo last years result of $300,000 raised.

“We are now in our 3^rd year of the EB Games Starlight week event and this year we aim to beat last years total of $300,000” Debra McGrath, EB Games National Brand and Marketing Manager stated.

Debra continued: “Starlight week is something that all our people really look forward to, as it is our unique way of really giving back to our local communities and showing our support for the amazing job that the Starlight Children’s foundation do.”

Starlight Children’s Foundation Queensland State Manager, Alison Dart, believes that the EB Games campaign is pivotal to the success of Starlight Day nationally.  “Without their extraordinary support, we would struggle to be able to continue to deliver the wonderful, uplifting programs that brighten the lives of seriously ill and hospitalized children around the country.”

EB Games have been overwhelmed by the support they have received by the local gaming industry for Starlight Week. “Anyone that works in gaming has experienced the joy that video games can provide. This week gives us all a chance to give back. It is fantastic to see the support that we have been able to receive from the local gaming industry with contributions from EA, Nintendo, Ubisoft, THQ, Sega, Bluemouth, Activision Blizzard, Namco Bandi, Take 2, Warner and Game Informer”  Debra stated.

EB Games is calling on all of us to get involved and come up with something special to encourage people to dig deep and help out.

According to Debra, “Like many of us, Starlight are really feeling the pinch so to help drive donations, we put together a massive prize pool valued at over $80,000 that people have the chance to win by contributing to this special cause”.

Debra believes getting involved and winning couldn’t be easier. “All customers have to do for their chance to win over $80,000 worth of amazing prizes is simply donating over $5, trade in of their old games/consoles or buying selected products at any EB Games store or online at www.ebgames.com.au”

Some of the prizes being given away include an action packed Gold Coast family holiday, a weekend in a luxury BMW, Samsung TV and phone, the ultimate Warner Bros game and blu ray library, a year’s worth of Domino’s pizza, 90 double passes to the A-Team movie, 8000 Game Informer magazines as well as loads of games and consoles including a new DS XL, Wii and XBOX 360 consoles.

There will be plenty going on in store with free balloons, colouring and Starlight tattoos for the kids as well as special celebrity and character appearances in selected stores.  For example, meet Brisbane’s own 3-time Premiership winning champion Luke Power at Westfield Chermside or get your photo taken with the world’s most famous gaming character Mario in our Swanston street store in Melbourne CBD.

EB Games Starlight Week runs from Monday 3^rd – Sunday 9^th May. For a full list of prizes, details of celebrity instore appearances and full donation details visit: http://starlight.ebgames.com.au

About EB Games

EB Games Australia head office is located in Queensland, with retail stores operating in every Australian State and Territory. EB Games Australia is part of GameStop Corp. Currently EB Games have 352 retail stores in Australia. The Company sells new and preowned video game software, hardware and accessories for video game systems from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. In addition, the company sells PC entertainment software, related accessories and other merchandise. General information on EB Games can be obtained at the company’s website: http://www.ebgames.com.au.

    About Starlight

* Starlight’s programs include Starlight Express Rooms, Starlight Fun Centres, Starlight Escapes and Starlight Wishgranting to brighten the lives of sick children and their families at a time when they need it most.

* Starlight’s programs are an integral part of the total pediatric care of these children. 

* There are over 600,000 child admissions to Australian hospitals every year and currently Starlight is only able to reach “1 in 3”. Starlight’s ultimate goal is to enable every seriously ill child the opportunity to access and benefit from Starlight’s innovative programs. 

* Starlight relies solely on the generosity of individuals, community groups and businesses to exist.

Users Can Easily View Their Entire Photo Collection Stored on Their My Book World Edition or WD ShareSpace Network Drives

Sydney, Australia: May 2, 2010 – WD®, the world’s leader in external storage solutions, today introduced WD Photos photo viewer, an iPhone®/iPod Touch® app for use with its My Book® World Edition ™¹ and WD ShareSpace network drives, that lets users access up to 250,000 of their favorite photos from anywhere in the world. The WD Photos photo viewer app allows users to easily log in to their drive from anywhere so they can view their entire photo library.

Users’ photos remain private, safe and secure in full high resolution format, on their network drive, eliminating the need for painstaking uploads to costly online photo services and the need to choose which pictures to sync to their iPhone – with WD Photos photo viewer, they’re all instantly and easily accessible. The app’s powerful search tools, thumbnail previews and viewing options make it easy to find that special picture to show a friend at a coffee shop or remember a special moment. 

With more than 50 million iPhones sold as of Apr.  2010 (Apple®), the iPhone has become one of the fastest growing smart phones in the market and is used every day by consumers to access and share their photos.

According to research firm Parks Associates (Mar. 2010), the number of network storage drives worldwide is projected to increase from 2.6 million units sold in 2009 to more than 18 million units by year-end 2014 as consumers realize the value of having one central place to store and share all their media. In 2009, 56 percent of households rated remote access of their network storage an important feature. Combining the centralized storage and remote access benefits of the My Book World Edition network drive with the iPhone is a natural fit with this rapidly growing consumer behavior.  
 
Users can view up to 250,000 pictures on their iPhone or iPod touch by simply copying their pictures into the “Shared Pictures” folder on their My Book World Edition network drive. A unique application that runs directly on these WD network drives automatically creates optimized versions of users’ photos ahead of time, enabling fast viewing on an iPhone or iPod touch without having to wait for the photos to load.

Available now at the Apple iTunes App Store, the WD Photos photo viewer app is free. Registration with MioNet®, WD’s secure remote access service (included with My Book World Edition), is also free and required to use this app. WD Photos photo viewer also works with WD ShareSpace network storage systems.

“Home networks are becoming prevalent in many parts of the world, and WD’s My Book World Edition network drives are the easiest way to create one place for all your photos that is accessible to everyone from within the home, and securely from outside the home,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group. “With the WD Photos photo viewer app and a WD My Book World Edition network drive, users can access all of the photos from their collection via their iPhone without syncing, without extra organizing and without paying a fee. Photos are available instantly making it easy to relive those great memories or share them with friends.”

WD Photos Photo Features & Compatibility
Features of the WD Photos photo viewer app for iPhone and iPod touch devices include:
     – Access to all the photos in the “Shared Pictures” folder of users’ My Book World Edition network drives and WD ShareSpace network storage systems;
     – Photos are automatically resized for perfect viewing on iPhone or iPod touch, leaving originals in full resolution;
     – Smart filtering to find the photos you want — view photos by album, folder or all images and search by date, folder name or file name;
     – Access previously viewed photos offline;
     – E-mail a photo to a friend;
     – Assign a photo to a contact;
     – Add a photo to the Camera Roll;
     – View a slideshow; and,
     – Set slideshow duration. 

WD Photos photo viewer app is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch OS 3.1 or later and works with WD’s My Book World Edition network drives and WD ShareSpace network storage systems. Users must register with WD’s free MioNet remote access service to use the app.

Product Summaryand Supporting Material
Manufacturer: Western Digital
Product Name: WD Photos
RRP: Free
Support Videos:
WD Photos Demo Video
WD Photos How-to Video
Website: www.westerndigital.com
Availability: Now   


About WD
WD, one of the storage industry’s pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users’ data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems, and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and media products.
WD was founded in 1970. The company’s storage products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company’s Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

¹My Book World Edition network drives second-generation with white light on the front

Melbourne, 3 May 2010 – AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd, the distributor for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific of the award-winning AVG Anti-Virus and Internet Security software, explains how one of the most successful pieces of malware out there, codenamed Zeus, has managed to stay alive for such a long time.

“Zeus is probably the malware most used by cyber criminals specialising in financial fraud,” said Lloyd Borrett, Marketing Manager at AVG (AU/NZ). “It’s a do-it-yourself crimeware kit responsible for millions of dollars in losses by consumers and businesses.

“Once your computer is infected by Zeus it becomes part of a criminal botnet,” Borrett continued. “It can steal information such as your banking details, credentials for social networking sites and e-mail accounts. It is truly a global threat.”

Although you may have read about Zeus (also known as Zbot) in the past, that was probably about Zeus 1.0 or its many sub-versions 1.2, 1.3, etc. that have spread all over the web for several years now. This article is about the latest Zeus version that hit ‘the market’ recently – Zeus 2.0.

The fact that Zeus keeps developing and new releases are still coming out from its developer/s indicates the amount of money involved. The provider of Zeus obviously makes enough money to keep funding ongoing development, otherwise this project would have been dead a long time ago, as has happened to other less successful malware threats.

The latest version of Zeus introduces new features and enhancements to make the work of security vendors even more challenging to detect it.

Here are some ‘improvements’ in the new Zeus 2.0 that AVG Technologies found in the samples they analysed:

• Zeus 2.0 incorporates new encryption layers to hide its data and communication. Those of you that found ways to break the 1.x encryption and get the keys may find v2.0 much more challenging.

• In v2.0 the binary is installed in “%APPDATA%\{random chars}\{random chars}.exe”. Zeus 1.x was using a hardcoded filename and was usually installed under %WINDIR%\System32.

• While Zeus 1.x infected the whole PC if it had sufficient permissions, Zeus 2.0 by-design infects only the current user. That’s also the reason why file paths and registry entries have changed. This new behaviour makes Zeus 2.0 less detectable but also limits the damage if several people are using the same PC.

• Zeus 2.0 registers itself in HKCU\..\Run key while Zeus 1.x normally registered itself in UserInit Key.

• Zeus 2.0 binaries and configuration files are no longer protected by ring-3 rootkit.

• Zeus 2.0 does not hook code in svchost.exe, lsass.exe, services.exe.

• Since v1.3, Zeus Builder is protected with “hardware-based licensing system”, thus fighting “malware piracy” and preventing AV researchers from analysing the builder engine.

• In v2.0 Mutex and event names are now pseudo-random GUID strings. Zeus 1.x used hardcoded mutex names like _XXXX_2109, __SYSTEM__64AD0625__, etc.

This change is probably business-driven, as it allows several copies of Zeus from different “vendors” (infections) to co-exist on one PC. This maximizes the monetisation of a single infected PC by various hackers – each can steal the bank credentials of the same user and cash out.

These are not all the changes in Zeus 2.0; however, they ensure that even users with very limited rights on their computer will get infected.

Zeus 2.0 commands for botnet were completely changed. The new commands are much more descriptive:

user_flashplayer_remove; user_flashplayer_get; user_ftpclients_get; user_homepage_set; user_url_unblock; user_url_block; user_certs_remove; user_certs_get; user_cookies_remove;

user_cookies_get; user_execute; user_logoff; user_destroy; fs_search_remove; fs_search_add; fs_path_get; bot_httpinject_enable; bot_httpinject_disable; bot_bc_remove; bot_bc_add; bot_update; bot_uninstall; os_reboot; os_shutdown;

What should we expect to come on the next Zeus update? Here is our guess:

The following commands are present in the  malware body but are not implemented yet: bot_httpinject_disable; bot_httpinject_enable; fs_path_get; fs_search_add; fs_search_remove; user_destroy.

As long as Zeus continues to make money for its developer/s, we will continue to find new releases and new features in the market.

Preventing the infection from such malware requires more than just one security technology. AVG uses multiple security layers: proactive, reactive, real-time and reputation-based technologies to provide its free and paid users with the most advanced protection against the most advanced malware threats out there, including Zeus 2.0.

About AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd — www.avg.com.au 

Based in Melbourne, AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd distributes the AVG range of Anti-Virus and Internet Security products in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. AVG software solutions provide complete real-time protection against the malware, viruses, spam, spyware, adware, worms, Trojans, phishing and exploits used by cyber-criminals, hackers, scammers and identity thieves. AVG protects everything important and personal inside computers — documents, account details and passwords, music, photos and more — all while allowing users to work, bank, shop and play games online in safety. AVG provides outstanding technical solutions and exceptional value for consumers, small to medium business and enterprise clients. AVG delivers always-on, always up-to-date protection across desktop, and notebook PCs, plus file and e-mail servers in the home and at work in SMBs, corporations, government agencies and educational institutions.

AVG products actively protect over 110 million users worldwide, including more than 4.6 million users in Australia and New Zealand.

AVG (AU/NZ) has more than 3300 resellers across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

New Mixes from Worldwide Superstars Danny Byrd, Darude, Josh Wink, and Wolfgang Gartner Challenge Fans and Expand DJ Hero’s Award-Winning Soundtrack 

Sydney, AUSTRALIA. May 3^rd 2010 – Master turntablists may have met their match with the Domination Mix Pack, a trio of hot new house and electronic music mashups, joining over 100 exclusive mixes currently available for the most diverse set list in music gaming, Activision Publishing Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) DJ Hero™ – the #1 new videogame intellectual property of 2009.   Available for download today and featuring tracks from some of the world’s biggest DJs and producers, budding beat chemists can test their turntable talents against their friends as they spin, scratch and battle to:

“Sandstorm” by Darude Mixed With “Higher State of Consciousness” by Josh Wink

“Wolfgang’s Fifth Symphony” beat juggle by Wolfgang Gartner

“Red Mist VIP” beat juggle by Danny Byrd

“Since DJ Hero’s launch, we’ve delivered what dance and hip-hop music fans have wanted with the David Guetta and JAY-Z vs. Eminem downloadable content,” said Jamie Jackson, Creative Director at FreeStyleGames.  “We’ve found that the most difficult on-disc mixes are the most played, so DJ Hero fans looking for a challenge will have fun spinning exactly what they want in the upcoming Domination Mix Pack.”

The Domination Mix Pack is available now on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 640 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $12.95.  All mixes will be released today as downloadable singles for Wii™ for 300 Wii Points each.

The DJ Hero Extended Mix Pack 01, featuring two party rockin’ grooves: 50 Cent featuring Mary J. Blige “All Of Me” mixed with Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga” and “DARE” by Gorillaz vs. Public Enemy’s “Can’t Truss It;” the David Guetta Mix Pack 01  containing remixes of his hot tracks “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland, the chart-topping “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon and “On The Dance Floor” featuring will.i.am and apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas; and the JAY-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack showcasing hits from two of the biggest artists in music: “Shake That” by Eminem Mixed With “Show Me What You Got” by JAY-Z, “Without Me” by Eminem Mixed With “Encore” by JAY-Z and “Can I Get A…” by JAY-Z Mixed With “Lose Yourself” by Eminem; are available now.  For information on how to connect your console and access DJ Hero downloadable content, please visit: http://www.djhero.com/support/.

The #1 new videogame intellectual property by revenue in the U.S. and Europe for calendar 2009, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK, DJ Hero delivers an all-new interactive music experience that allows players to start the party and not only experience, but to hear music in an all-new way. Featuring mixes created by DJ AM, Cut Chemist, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, J. Period, DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip and more, spinning over 100 individual songs, highlighted in 93 unique never-before-released mixes that blend genres of music, including hip-hop, pop, rock and dance, DJ Hero delivers the most diverse and international collection of music ever assembled in a music game by incorporating anthems from legendary artists.  Created exclusively for DJ Hero, the turntable controller immerses fans into DJ culture and a sea of music as they utilize and master various DJ techniques including scratching, crossfading and sampling, while leaving room for creative expression with a variety of effects and player chosen samples and scratches, transforming a face in the crowd into the life of the party.

The DJ Hero Renegade Edition includes a copy of the game, a premium Renegade turntable controller, hardshell turntable carrying case that converts to a performance-ready DJ stand, and an exclusive JAY-Z and Eminem 2-CD pack featuring “best of” and new, unreleased material.

Available now, DJ Hero was developed by FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems and the Wii™ system from Nintendo.  For more information about DJ Hero, please visit djhero.com, facebook.com/djhero and twitter.com/djhero.