LulzSec - Modern Day Robin Hoods?

I can't help but compare the LulzSec group to that of Robin Hood and his merry men.  Ditching the bows and arrows (and hopefully the green tights, I can't confirm), they've taken to the digital world of hacking.

As everyone is aware (or should be for that matter), LulzSec, the anonymous hacking group has been DDoSing web sites - CIA, Westboro, US Senate, and hacking into servers owned by Sony and Bethesda - to name a few.  What started out as an apparent crusade against large companies that made very public moves which the consumers didn't enjoy - Sony for example getting rid of the "OtherOS" feature in their PS3.  But after a few weeks that spread to government agencies and eventually the US Senate.

What I find interesting is that the types of hacks they're doing are pretty rudimentary against these large entities which we would assume had decent network security.  The most common are simple SQL injections which allows them to run any query which can grant them full access to a server.  What's even more alarming is that the data stored on these servers are not encrypted - usernames, passwords, private information - and they dump the data onto their own servers and are gone.

The public perception of LulzSec is that they're doing it to get back at big business and the government.  I'm not quite buying it.  After all, they did break into a company's web site who was offering a $10,000 prize for anyone/group to do so - they did and refused the reward.  Money aside, they really do appear to be doing it because they can and are making the hackee's look bad.  I'd assume tech people are starting to hate LulzSec but why?  If they are easily hacking into servers and taking information, your information, with relative ease, wouldn't you be upset with the company rather the hackers?  Such little concern is cared for when it comes to data and network security.

I really hope companies take a good hard look at their security practices, update them, and maintain.  Not enough emphasis can be put on that but over the years it was put on the wayside.  The only thing we can hope for is that these series of hacks do not bring about new legislature regarding privacy (read - Patriot Act for the Internet!).

Windows 8 Leaked Photos - System Restore

Leave it to our good friends at win7china.com, generally a reliable source, for showing the location of the Original Factory Settings restore button found in Windows 8 - which is rumored to release sometime in Q1 2012.

It's refreshing to see Microsoft making positive advancements in their Windows operating system.  Windows 7 is widely accepted so Windows 8 will be much anticipated and the bar to be "better" than its predecessors is quite high.


Link to source article

Windows 7 Theme - Simple, Beautiful - Elune

Elune is a simple and beautiful theme for Windows 7 that was released by minhtrimatrix.  If you're looking for an attractive visual style that is easy on the eyes, download Elune and see for yourself.

DOWNLOAD


[Installation]
1. Install Universal Theme Patcher, re-patch again if you updated to SP1.
2. Copy everything in themes folder (Elune folder, Elune 1(Bottom), Elune 1 (Top)...) into C:\Windows\Resources\Themes
3. Take Ownership, rename the orignal to back up and replace modified explorerframe.dll in System32 folder.
4. Restart Windows & then select this theme in Personalize Menu

FireFox 4 Released!

The anticipated release of FireFox 4 has been out for only a day and has been making a big splash in the browser wars.  To the point, here are some new features found in FireFox 4:

App Tabs
Take sites you always keep open—like Web mail—off your tab bar and give them a permanent home in your browser.

Switch-to-Tab

As you’re opening a new tab or typing in the Awesome Bar, Firefox will check to see if you already have that site open. If you do, you’ll be directed to the existing tab so you don’t open a duplicate.

Organize your Tabs with Panorama

Too many tabs? Reclaim your browser from tab clutter! Panorama lets you drag and drop your tabs into manageable groups that you can organize, name and arrange in a fun and visual way. To get started with Panorama, simply select the Tab Groups icon when you customize your Navigation Toolbar or right click any tab to Move to Group.

Reopen Closed Tabs and Windows

If you accidentally close a tab or window, you can reopen it in one click. Just view Recently Closed Tabs or Recently Closed Windows in the History menu and select the tab or window you’d like to reopen.

Smooth Scrolling

Like to have all 20 of your favorite pages open at once? An elegant new feature lets you scroll through tabs easily to see them all and access the one you want quickly.

Download FireFox 4 now!

Dell UH2311H - 23" Widescreen Gaming Monitor for Eyefinity and NV Surround

In today's age of fast computers, high-end graphics and video cards, we're always looking to get the most out of our computer hardware.  As enthusiasts, we look to push the limits of what we have until we're somewhat satisfied with the end result.  But how often do we hit the proverbial technology brick wall and say to ourself, "What else?"  I was asking myself this same question and was wondering how I could get even more out of my computer experience.

I'm an avid reader on the Hardforums.com web site (sub domain of HardOCP.com, an extreme technology enthusiast forums and web site) when I was browsing their main forum topic on news.  What caught my eye immediately was the topic on Battlefield 3 - that's not a typo, you're reading that right.  Little was known about Battlefield 3 from DICE (the developers of the BF2 game which we all love and enjoy), but I saw visual chocolate - actual game play.  The opening sequence and aftermath blew my mind.  I was questioning whether or not it was real game play video but after much reading, it really was.  When the video ended, I loaded up Steam ready to give them any amount of money to pre-order but nothing was there.  I known beforehand as the release date is slated for fall 2011 but excitement took over.  So there I was with only two videos to look at, a release time frame that's a little less than a year away, and I asked the question, "What else?"

Battlefield 3 Game play:

That question was shortly answered when I saw a post on Slickdeals about Dell's U2311H monitor.  Having seen this monitor many times before, the price tag on it was a bit more than I'd really wanted to spend as I had a great monitor currently.  The reviews by web sites and individuals all raved about it and how it produces a phenomenal picture so I kept it in the back of my mind... until that post on Slickdeals.  It's going for $315 on Dell's web site but they had a special promotion code that took 25% off select monitors and as fate dictated, the U2311H was part of this promotion.  I opened up a new Chrome tab to Dell's web site, put in U2311H and made three separate purchases - I had to do this to get the 25% off per monitor.  Seven business days later, they arrived.

I kept tracking the shipments everyday, at work, at home - practically everywhere.  I never really was excited about getting a monitor before but this was a special occasion.  Three monitors at an unbelievable price and the setup would dramatically enhance my movie and game playing on my computer.  I unboxed the monitors, set them up on my desk, and made the configurations to get it properly setup and then it was game time.  I loaded up Battlefield Bad Company 2 to get a teaser to what BF3 might feel like and I had a visual-gasm.  The Eyefinity setup I was using had me feeling as if I was really there running, getting shot at, getting away from mortar strikes, and ultimately, dying.

While playing a few other games (TF2, Mass Effect 2, LFD2), I knew I had answered that question, "What else?"  Going with an Eyefinity setup with the Dell U2311H monitors made the biggest difference and improvement I've ever done with a computer.  Finally after experiencing this surreal effect, I'm now going to be an avid promoter for Eyefinity or NV Surround setups with this Dell monitor.

Question:  Do you currently have an Eyefinity or NV Surround setup?