South African Tech News
Software
PayPal opens up a Developer Challenge
Aug 3rd
According to ITWeb this morning:
PayPal, in association with eBay and Yahoo, has opened its annual Development Challenge, in which developers are invited to create an innovative PayPal application. The winner will walk away with $100 000.
The prize for the South African winner is a fully paid trip to the Innovate Conference in San Francisco in October.
PayPal is looking for mobile and computer apps which can integrate payments, handle split payments, initiate refunds, obtain pre-approvals and help customers create all types of accounts. The application must also be fresh, marketable and innovative.
Examples of previous entries include innovations such as biometric analysis technology payment systems, offline payments, and transfers via text messaging.
Spam Alert – Adobe Acrobat Reader Update Email Misleading People To Download an Alternative Product (PDF Reader Writer)
Jun 1st
Dear Readers
A new spam email is circulating under the disguises of an update to Adobe Acrobat Reader. First of all Adobe never emails its users when updates are available which is what made us investigate this message immediately. It turns out the message links to a web site www.adobe-acrobat-reader.com which is a web site not owned or operated by Adobe Systems Inc. The web site markets an alternative PDF reading and writing product but the email is clearly designed to confuse owners of Adobe PDF Reader to download an alternative product which for all we know may contain other unwanted bits of software which may put your machine at risk., We advise all clients to simply delete the email and not visit the web site. I am sure Adobe will take action against this as the domain registration alone violates Adobe’s registered Trademarks.
The email being circulated reads as follows: (links have been removed)
A better way to connect people, ideas and information.
Adobe Solutions is pleased to announce new version of Acrobat Dynamic PDF Reader 2010 which enables you to:
+ Connect, interact, and engage in powerful new ways; Streamline how you
+ work, collaborate more easily, and create high impact communications;
+ Designed to meet the needs of today’s business.
+ Reliably create and distribute PDF documents and forms.
+ Secure documents and accelerate information exchange with PDF.
+ Deliver the richest, most engaging PDF communications anytime, anywhere.
Acrobat Dynamic PDF Reader 2010 helps you get more done – easier, faster, better.
To learn more about new features and how to install this state-of-art application, you can:
+ Go to : http://www.adobe-acrobat-reader.com
+ Get your options, download, install and boost your works productivity.
As a complementary, you are offered a chance to get a full version of Office suite for your office work convenience.
DOWNLOAD ACROBAT DYNAMIC PDF READER 2010 TODAY
http://www.adobe-acrobat-reader.com
Thank you for choosing us, the worldwide leading PDF Solution provider.
With best regards,
Danny Brooks
Adobe PDF Reader 210
84 Cassperon Rd | Deston | CA | 96434 | USA Website : http://www.http://www.adobe-acrobat-reader.com
If you no longer wish to receive similar emails, please send a REPLY with UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line.
McCrappy (McAfee) Antivirus Update Infects Thousands Of PCs
Apr 25th
Thousands of PC’s worldwide have been left useless by a faulty antivirus update, according to reports.
Users found their computers endlessly rebooting after the update from security firm McAfee confused a Windows file for a virus.
Hospitals, universities, businesses and other non-domestic users of Windows XP were apparently hit by the fault on Thursday.
McAfee quickly released an update to fix the issue, but the damage to their reputation was already done, analysts say.
“It is not often that a security vendor takes out a large number of their clients,” said Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.
“Customers don’t forget this stuff any time soon. This is going to hurt McAfee,” he added.
The Internet Storm Centre, which monitors the web for problems, had reports of “networks with thousands of down machines and organisations who had to shut down for business until this is fixed”.
Yet McAfee said it was not aware of a significant impact on consumers.
“We believe that this incident has impacted less than one half of one percent of our consumer base and enterprise accounts globally,” a company statement said.
But one technology blogger was less convinced. Ed Bott tweeted: “I believe McAfee’s statements on this issue are composed of equal parts BS (b******t) and CYA (cover your a**). Spun, not stirred.”
Hackers added insult to injury by tricking users into visiting fake websites offering fixes – but those who took the bait had their computers infected with viruses designed to steal sensitive information.
Firefox The Worlds Best Browser Now Broken By Version 3.6 Update (aka FriedFox)
Mar 13th
The worlds most popular browser Firefox which has remained a stable trustworthy and secure product for many years now was today broken by a suggested upgrade to their new version 3.6. Users who have come to trust Mozilla Firefox will awake today and simply apply the update and then only afterwards encounter many problems like:
- Session Data (Last Open Tabs) Lost
- Session Manager losing data repeatedly
- Java broken
- Stored passwords Lost
- Firefox closing down unexpectedly
- Problems with Toolbar Display
- Problems with Track-Point scrolling
- Unable to open Firefox after upgrade
- Add-ons broken
The list is going to be endless and the list above is only some of what’s already surfaced in the last few hours of this morning as the world awoke and trustingly installed the update. Quite simply Version 3.6 of Firefox should be renamed to Friedfox, the greatest and most trustworthy browser has been broken by it’s very creators. This kind of shoddy programming I’ve not seen for some time so there is definitely something very wrong at Mozilla for them to have rushed an untested buggy piece of software to the very competitive browswer market. I for one have been using this browser since day one and my trust in the product is GONE !!!. If these are the bugs that have surfaced in a mere few hours I can only imagine what other bugs will rear their heads in the next 24 hours. More importrantly what underlying security holes has 3.6 introduced? Can I really trust that this is a secure product anymore? My faith in the product has been broken.
Mozilla, sorry guys but you have lost the plot. Your programmers who said this version was ready should be axed, this product was not tested by any means or standard and you’ve broken trust that has taken you years to establish, I for one simply do not believe your product is secure anymore.
You can keep a watch on the growing list of bugs at: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/forum/1
