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In a recent article written by Bruce Schneier, noted cryptographer from e-media mag Wired.com, the author examines the research (PDF) of security experts Niels Ferguson and Dan Shumow, presenters at the CRYPTO 2007 conference this past August. ... Ferguson and Shumow suggest that an algorithm for generating random numbers included in an official standard document (PDF) by the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) contains a weakness that can only be described as a backdoor . Earlier this year the U.S. government released a new official standard for random-number generators that ... (view more)

ZDNet is reporting that Windows Vista users have been receiving "out of memory" and other errors when copying and moving data, especially large numbers of files, making it difficult to track down the problem. Windows Vista users running Kaspersky ... Anti-Virus 6 or 7 trying to copy a large number (16,400) of files, or smaller groups of files that in total exceed 16,400 files have received the "out of memory" error. Once the error occurs, a range of other errors can occur such as menus and tabs disappearing, reboots and Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) also occur. The Kaspersky Anti-Virus isn't the ... (view more)

Since the introduction of Windows Vista, a lot of the emphasis has been on Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) and little has has been mentioned regarding Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows XP. It was originally assumed that Windows XP SP3 would simply ... be a rolled up collection of bug fixes and patches but there reportedly seems to be more to it than that. Recently, Microsoft released a beta of Windows XP SP3 to a select group of testers reportedly labeled as build 3205, weighing in at 334.92 MBs. Originally reported by NeoSmart , XP SP3 contains 1,073 hotfixes and patches released since XP SP2 ... (view more)

When Windows Vista was released to the public in January of this year, it was expected to replace Windows XP. Unfortunately for Microsoft, businesses and consumers have been avoiding Vista like the plague for a wide variety of reasons, and it seems ... the over-priced, overrated operating system won't be improving a whole lot in the near future. A recent article from Tech Blorge listed four signs indicating Microsoft will continue to support Windows XP for a while to come. After the four reasons given by Tech Blorge, I've added a few other reasons as well. Here are the four signs given by Tech ... (view more)

A stealth update deviously deployed in July and August by Microsoft without user permission has broken Windows Update, preventing updates from being installed after a "repair" of Windows XP is performed. The problem was first reported by Scott Dunn ... from Windows Secrets , then confirmed by ZDNet . Originally thought to be harmless, the recent download of new support files, known as version 7.0.600.381 for Windows Update, prevents Windows XP users who perform repair installations from a genuine XP CD-ROM (not an OEM restore CD), from installing at least 80 updates and patches from Microsoft. ... (view more)

Google has vehemently denied allegations that the company has entered into secret deals with UK news companies for the rights to use the companies' material on Google News. The allegations were sparked from an article published in Scotland's Sunday ... Herald newspaper. The article claimed that Google had made arrangements with several large news groups in the UK over how Google would carry their content on Google News. The article further asserted that "the deals are reputedly being kept strictly secret for fear that Google will end up having to pay for similar licenses with all of the 4500 news ... (view more)

One day after the release of Microsoft's 6 billion dollar operating system, and there are already reports from UK's PC Advisor that the Windows Vista DRM is being cracked by a Canadian kernel developer. On the eve of the Windows Vista launch, ... numerous retailers opened their doors at midnight. However, very few consumers actually showed up for the event. The excitement and hoopla surrounding the launch seems to have disappeared. The Dallas Morning News and numerous other sources are reporting the luke warm response to the official Vista launch. Upgrading To Vista Unless you're running Windows ... (view more)

Are you being scammed? Need to know the definitive answer right now? Rest assured, the answer lies on this page. Please read the below article carefully. Please also note that I will NOT answer personal questions pertaining to scams because I have ... yet to encounter a question which has not already been answered on this page. Thank you for your understanding. You are, however, more than welcome to email me if you found this page helpful. ;-) -- Infopackets Reader John Doe writes: " Dear Dennis, I found your web site through Google when searching for eBay and SquareTrade. Question: we are ... (view more)

Today's article was submitted by Bill Hudgins and is the 1st Place Winner of our Editorial Contest . The original article was put forward by one of our contributors (Sheila Foss), only a few days before the contest began. With Sheila's permission, I ... edited the article to include erroneous mistakes and later used the composition as the inspiration for the contest. If you would like to compare the contest article before reviewing the winning submission [below], you can do so by clicking here (recommended). Without further adieu, here is the Bill Hudgins' version of the article, "Make it a ... (view more)

As promised, today's newsletter will announce the winners of our Editorial Contest. To recap: On September 23rd , I announced that infopackets would be opening its doors and allow new contributors to submit articles to our audience of 250,000 ... Readers. On November 30th , a contest was held (lasting only 5 days) for a seat on our Editing Team. From that point forward, I've been implementing many changes to the web server to accommodate our new contributors and editors. Moving on -- With so many volunteers cramming for a seat on the Editing Team, I knew it was going to be difficult trying to ... (view more)