John Lister

More than a thousand usernames and passwords from the United Nations (UN) have been published online by hackers. However, initial indications are the attack may not have uncovered anything particularly important. The information was published on ... Pastebin, a website commonly used by hackers releasing details, but who don't want their own sites to be swamped by high traffic. It was published in the name of 'Team Poison', arguably one of the two biggest hacking groups, alongside the better-known Anonymous. The two groups are believed to have recently formed an alliance to target financial ... (view more)

Windows 8 will apparently be much simpler to install and does not require faster hardware specifications than Windows 7, allowing some XP machines to run the new operating system (OS). The changes center around allowing most people to simply ... download Windows 8, unlike previous upgrades that involved great complexity. For example, a user might have to download and run an Upgrade Advisor tool; save files and settings; run the set-up and installation; and finally reinstall all applications and settings. A process like this might involve 60 or so separate screens, many of them repetitive. Windows ... (view more)

A flight attendant on an Australian commercial airplane saved the day after a passenger's iPhone spontaneously burst into flame. No one was harmed. As dramatic as some accounts try to portray it, the event may have been a relatively tame one. ... Reports: iPhone Exploded in Mid-Flight Several major news outlets claimed that the phone exploded, and that it did so in mid-flight. The fact is that the airline's official statement says the incident took place after the flight had landed. It also did not mention an explosion. Rather, the airline says the phone "started emitting a significant amount of ... (view more)

Web users have been warned to watch out for a bogus email claiming to offer vouchers for iTunes as a Black Friday bonus. It's actually malicious software that has been responsible for as much as 60 per cent of current online infections. The emails ... are reportedly coming from the address official@itunes.apple.com , though this is address is fake and may change. Emails have the headline "iTunes Gift Certificate" and contains a text only message claiming that users can get $50 if they use an attached code when making an iTunes purchase. Bogus File Attachment Virus-Laden Unlike many email scams, ... (view more)

An unconfirmed report claims foreign hackers were able to gain control of a US water company's pump and destroy it, remotely. If true, this appears to be the first such publicly acknowledged attack in the US. The report comes from Joe Weiss of ... Applied Control Solutions, an independent security firm for industrial control systems. Weiss says he received a government report about a water utility firm (which doesn't use ACS services), on the condition he withhold the water company's name and location. Separate reports have indicated the site was in Springfield, Illinois. (Source: theregister.co. ... (view more)

Microsoft is launching a tablet computer that isn't quite your average slate. What the Surface SUR40 lacks in portability, it makes up for with its 40-inch HD touch-screen. The price hasn't yet been confirmed, but rumors place it somewhere between ... $8,400 and $15,000. Wherever it falls in that range, the device is clearly not going to be a popular consumer product. Instead, the Surface SUR40 is expected to appeal primarily to business users and agencies involved in such sectors as education and healthcare. Microsoft says both FujiFilm and the Royal Bank of Canada plan to be among the first ... (view more)

Google is cutting the price of its very own Chromebook laptop to $299. The new $299 puts it in the same price range as netbooks, the lowest cost version of computers with a physical keyboard, designed mainly for online activity. The Chromebook runs ... the Chrome operating system (OS), which is effectively an upgraded version of the better-known Chrome web browser. The device links directly to tools such as Gmail, the Google Docs office suite, and online image editing, requiring an Internet connection. Originally, all files were stored online, though an update earlier this year added support for ... (view more)

According to Microsoft, Windows 8 will change the way users restart their computers after software updates, making life easier for home users and network administrators alike. Microsoft will be scheduling all Windows 8 software updates for the ... second Tuesday of each month. Dubbed 'Patch Tuesday,' that date already sees all Microsoft security updates. Under the new plan, only emergency security updates will be released on other days. (Source: techspot.com ) Windows Update: New Three-Day Warning Microsoft says it is also simplifying the update process. Under the new scheme, updates will ... (view more)

The first hands-on reviews of Amazon's debut tablet device, the Kindle Fire , are beginning to appear. Their general theme is that the price is great, but the device itself could use some improvement. The Fire costs $199, approximately 60 per cent ... lower than Apple's iPad, and right on the consumer electronics price point at which mass market purchasers become more willing to try out new technology. Kindle Fire: Silky Smooth But Not Ultra Fast Most of the reviews claim that Amazon's highly promoted web browser for the Kindle Fire, Silk, is too slow. The browser actually displays web pages ... (view more)