Brandon Dimmel

Warning: If you're a REAL fan of RealPlayer, you could be in REAL trouble. That's the word coming from security experts iDefense Inc. Apparently, older versions of both RealPlayer and Helix Player are susceptible to a crucial security hole that ... could allow a hacker entry into a user's PC, whether it was running Windows, a Mac OS, or Linux. How is this possible? Evidently, it seems certain versions of the players can be subjected to buffer overflows, which by default could allow unauthorized code to be executed on a user's machine. That's enough to give an attacker control of the PC as a whole ... (view more)

No, I don't mean to offend the bright citizens of the great eastern Mountain State. Instead, the title of this article is merely an observation of the horrible Internet speeds affecting the people of that state, and a few others, across the United ... States. In fact, a recent study has found that although America leads the world in many technological spheres, when it comes to Internet speed, it is drastically falling behind. Over 80,000 U.S. Internet users took part in a survey performed by the Communications Workers of America union and Speed Matters website. In the end, the group found that ... (view more)

It was about this time last year that Microsoft began a shock-and-awe campaign against piracy. Its most coveted weapon? WGA, or the Windows Genuine Advantage, which checks the legitimacy of their software and reports back to Microsoft headquarters. ... An anti-piracy program based on a spyware-like strategy? Only Microsoft could do it! The backlash against the company was strong, and may have even kept a few users away from the much-hyped Windows Vista. However, there's still no stopping the Redmond-based firm's war on piracy. It's now going after some 23 California and Florida companies for ... (view more)

It's been over seven years since I first laughed at Diablo II players posting their weapons and other items on eBay. It seemed strange to me that anyone would pay real-world money for virtual artefacts, tools that could only help a person in that ... one specific game. It takes a very devoted player to invoke his or her everyday bank account for a simulated Blade of Fury (or something of that nature). But, people bought up these items. Diablo II remained a popular application on Blizzard's multiplayer page (Battle.net) for a very long time, and today retains a surprising following. However, it ... (view more)

Although they certainly take a lot of heat from competitors like Google, Apple, or even the Vista-buying public, Microsoft is one of the most iconic and arguably trustworthy names in tech. That's currently working against web mail users, many of ... which are being duped by a security threat that disguises itself as a Microsoft update. Compared to most spam threats, this one is particularly brilliant (and thus, dangerous). The fake emails, which carry and install malware, are actually personalized for the unlucky recipient. According to security company Internet Storm Center, the victim's first ( ... (view more)

Sony's PlayStation 2 was a dominant force. After the first Sony console trounced the Nintendo 64, third-party support flourished for its younger, sleeker, black sibling. The PlayStation 2 was home to some of the generation's most impressive games, ... including the revitalized Grand Theft Auto franchise and the story-driven Metal Gear Solid series. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Today, the next in line at Sony, the PlayStation 3, is being outsold 3 to 1 in Japan (some say 5 to 1) by Nintendo's Wii. In North America, the bleeding isn't so severe, with the PS3 selling at least half the units ... (view more)

Although chairman and recent Harvard graduate Bill Gates has bragged that Microsoft has shipped its new operating system, Windows Vista, some 40 million times, there has been much criticism of the product. That's not news. However, word that ... Microsoft will offer more simplified methods of "downgrading" new systems to Windows XP, is. Much to the company's chagrin, customers have demanded that newly purchased computers ship with the outgoing operating system XP rather than Vista, which took some ten years to create. (Source: networkworld.com ) The new, XP-friendly initiative will help customers ... (view more)

Maybe they're just getting a little older at Nvidia. The company that carved out a name for itself in the video game market is now switching gears, producing a new line of super-powerful graphics chips for use by geoscientists and molecular ... biologists. Until now, Nvidia has made its fortune as the graphical muscle behind consoles like the Xbox and PlayStation 3. The incredible sunsets that peak over canyon horizons in Motorstorm may be credited to Nvidia's hard work and impressive technology. (Source: wikipedia.org ) It only makes sense that they'd bring these tools into the scientific world ... (view more)

Although I'm neither a teenage girl nor a mother, if there's one thing TV and movies have taught me, it's that by denying that "bad boy" boyfriend, she'll only want him more. If you really think about it, that concept could easily be applied to ... Manhunt 2, the latest and already most infamous in Rockstar's line of shock 'em and rock 'em video games. Last week, Manhunt 2 was outright banned in the United Kingdom. As the ratings board there denied even setting a suggested age for the title, it effectively made it illegal for retailers to sell. Although Americans are far more accepting of good ' ... (view more)

Up until this point, it's been fairly obvious what websites users should avoid. If you're looking at naked people, you're in trouble. Downloading illegal music files? Ditto. However, few scrutinize the user-populated video site YouTube, which has ... become one of the Internet's most entertaining hotspots since Google bought it last year for over a billion dollars. Unfortunately, it may not be safe, either. Although not the first time it's been reported, the video site is again spouting a malware threat. The Zlob Glob This time the culprit is Zlob, which is a particularly dangerous form of adware ... (view more)