Many people may remember what happened the last time this situation occurred. Back in October of 2006 when Microsoft released its upgrade program from Windows XP to Windows Vista many people were left waiting a long time for their upgrades. Many consumers waited weeks or months for their upgrade DVD’s and many consumers were very upset at the time it took for them to be delivered.

Although there’s nothing official from Microsoft yet it’s speculated that there’s going to be a similar program for Windows 7 as well. The speculation is that the program will begin July first and run through January of 2010. However, some companies are jumping to release their own promotions similar to this.

For example, one company in Seattle is planning on allowing users to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 for free. There are a few requirements for this such as you have to buy a PC that’s $1,000 or more and it has to have the 64 bit edition of Windows Vista on it. However, the deal overall is a good one as they will upgrade the PC to the 64 bit Windows 7 Ultimate version. The company is doing this to help boost PC sales as consumers are holding back buying PC’s until Windows 7 releases. The company is expecting it to be a break even exchange as their profit will go into giving consumers the new operating system for free however it will allow the company to get some exposure as well. Currently the company is offering the program through June 15th. The reason for the expiration date being set then is to avoid Microsoft’s upgrade program. The advantage for the consumers who buy through an upgrade program such as this is that they will avoid any type of delay that Microsoft’s upgrade program may have.

Source: Computer World

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Scared that you might get fooled by a worm on April Fool’s Day?

Security alerts have been blinking since last week, warning users of another strike by a new strain of the Conficker worm on the first day of April. The C-strain is expected to be more resilient than the previous ones, making it hard to detect or remove. An infection will most probably be fatal as it would require you to reformat your hard drive in order to completely eradicate the bug.

While antivirus and anti spyware makers are sounding the alarm, all you need to do in order to avoid being a victim is to be extra vigilant in checking the files that you download, the Web sites that you visit, and the portable storage devices that you attach to your computer via USB or Bluetooth.

Microsoft has already released patches and updates that could ward off a Conficker attack. If your OS is receiving automatic updates from its maker, then chances are is that you’re already protected. Of course, Windows cannot stave off an attack alone. A good and reputable antivirus software would be an excellent (and indispensable) complement to the built-in defenses of your operating system.

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As the computer industry grows the demand for more materials rises. A semiconductor company in Taiwan has welcomed this growth and is one of the few companies that are able to meet the new demands. There limited companies who are prepared to make factories for semiconductors due to the high costs and risks involved. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. has turned into the largest producer of the chips and expects to see a 20% increase in sales, with $234 billion product sales in the U.S. alone.

The excitement started when Taiwan Semiconductor manufacturing Corp. reported a 229% percent increase in its net worth over a year. A company that was previously worth 5 cents a share rose to 17 cents and the profit rose to $769 million. Fabrication facilities, also known as “fabs”, are often considered a high risk investment, costing anywhere from 2-5 billion each. While other companies are wary of the investment TSMC is snatching up factories to meet the new demand.

The semiconductors are made from silicon and other metallic materials. These chips are found in almost all modern electrical devices from computers to radios. A current is passed between the conductor and insulator of the chip to regulate the flow of electrons. The different types of metals added to the silicon effect the conductivity of the semiconductor.

Now that TSMC has become established, it is helping newer companies overcome the financial difficulties of starting a fab. Designers are able to make samples of each semiconductor in order to generate new business. This leap in innovation is expected to bring a further rise to the already growing company. In turn, industries that use these semiconductors are expected to grow as well. Graphics companies, communication companies, and all divisions of computer companies will be seeing this increased growth within a few short years.

Source: CNET

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It’s the 21 century and everyone has a computer and many of those people use cable modems or home routers. Recently a worm has been found that can attack various routers and modems. There’re a total of 55 modems and routers that are at risk. Even if you have a top name brand router such as Linksys you could still be at risk.

The codename for the worm is Bluepill or psyb0t. Surprisingly it’s the first of its kind that is actually able to infect home networks. The worm uses a database of over 6,000 usernames and 13,000 passwords to try to get into your network. While this may not seem like much of a threat at first glance, the reality is that it’s a huge threat to your personal privacy. This is because your home network (both the router and the modem) run 24/7. They also allow unlimited chances for you to get the username and password right.

Therefore the worm can run 24/7 until it cracks your system. You may be asleep at the time and not even notice it happening. While this may not seem like much of a threat at first glance, the reality is that it’s a huge threat to your personal privacy. This is because your home network (both the router and the modem) run 24/7. They also allow unlimited chances for you to get the username and password right. If that wasn’t bad enough the worm is designed to execute any code that is programmed into it. Bluepill has been suspected of being in over 100,000 systems. Many users that have their computers infected don’t even know it!

To help avoid getting hacked you should use an advanced username and password that is random and extremely uncommon. If you think that you’ve already been infected then you may want to reset your hardware to get rid of the worm.

Source: PCWorld

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Should you get excited over the impending release of Internet Explorer 8?

Microsoft says that you should. For one thing, it claims that IE 8 outpaces and outshines the other browsers in terms of security. Redmond also boasts that it’s definitely faster than its predecessor, IE 7.

Of course, we all know that Microsoft will say anything to catapult their new browser to the top of the chain. Bill Gates’ guys will be harking hallelujah today until next week over the birth of their new creation. However, it’s very likely that they’ll tone down by the end of the month when bugs begin to surface. By April, tech bloggers might start to encourage people to go back to IE 7.

I’m not saying that IE 8’s edge over IE 7 is only skin-deep. Indeed, the guys working for Bill didn’t spend years mulling over 0s and 1s just to come up with new cosmetics for Internet Explorer. There is definitely an improvement in security and speed.

While many of you may have apprehensions on upgrading to IE 8, a greater number of Web surfers are eager and curious to give the new browser a try. I’m one of them. We might end up complaining to Microsoft about crashes and slow browsing speeds, but in the end, giving IE 8’s maker a daily piece of our mind will eventually benefit us in the long run as patches will surely be released to appease us.

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When shopping for a wireless router, the first detail that you’ll most likely look for is its signal strength. Indeed, you wouldn’t want any dead spot ruining your 50-gigabyte download. The good news is many of today’s routers can easily blanket your house with Wi-Fi. They’re already so powerful and efficient that your next door neighbor could effortlessly pick up signals from your overzealous Wi-Fi distributor.

Unless your neighbors are as trustworthy as your dog, sharing wireless Internet with them may not be exactly a wise move. For one thing, having too many computers sipping through your router may slowdown your surfing speed. Some ISPs are also setting limits on monthly bandwidths, so you might end up hitting your quota in just a week if you continue to be a good Samaritan to them.

But the strongest argument against sharing Wi-Fi with neighbors is the possibility of data theft. The fact that they could access your router or wireless Internet means that they could also very possibly access your computer, too.

This doesn’t mean that you should buy routers that have weak signals. If you want to rival Starbuck’s Wi-Fi strength, then by all means buy the best router that your budget allows. Just make sure that you limit the number of persons who could have access to your personal network. You could easily do this by setting up a password for your router. Another method by which you could restrict or regulate access is by pre-defining the hardware which could access your network.

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