blocking

Microsoft explains seven-year patch delay

Microsoft has offered an explanation as to why it took the company seven years to issue a patch for a known vulnerability.

The flaw, which lies in the Microsoft Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, was addressed Tuesday in Microsoft security bulletin MS08-068. The flaw could enable an SMB Relay attack, which would allow an attacker to install programs; view, change or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

Christopher Budd, a security program manager in the Microsoft Security Response Center, said in a blog post Thursday that while Microsoft had been aware of the vulnerability, fixing it … Read more

Video: An intro to Gymkhana with Ken Block

As you can probably tell from Monday's video and various "On the Road" segments of the Car Tech Podcast, I love burning a little rubber. So when I saw this video floating around the blogosphere of Ken Block drifting his Crawford Performance Subaru Impreza around a rather unconventional course, my jaw literally dropped. Here's a guy who elevates the simple act of turning tires into white clouds of smoke to an art form.

It's called Gymkhana and it is a sporting event popularized in Japan and practiced in the United States and the UK. The … Read more

All-in-one fom Auslogics

BoostSpeed is an effective all-encompassing utility suite, combining some of Auslogics' popular freeware titles such as Disk Defrag and Registry Defrag with services that they don't offer elsewhere. There's an uninstall manager, a startup manager for boot cycle customizations, RAM and browser optimizers, file shredder, DirectX diagnostic, Windows tweak manager, and several mini apps to manage Windows settings. It also comes with a rescue center that can back up any settings before you change them. No doubt, BoostSpeed gives you your money's worth, at least in terms of services provided. Upgrading also only costs $10, for those … Read more

Shine a light on this germ killing knife block

Germs. Those nasty little pests that seems to crawl up into anything and everything. To make matters worse, we can't even see them, lurking there in the dark. Well, now we can fear them no longer. Shine a light (literally) into those dark corners and 99.99 percent of the little bugs will be gone. At least gone from your knife set if you use The Germ Eliminating Knife Block from Hammacher Schlemmer.

The knife block uses UV-C light to disrupt the nasty goings-ons of microscopic critters like salmonella, listeria, and staphylococcus. This is the same method that hospitals … Read more

Knife block has a sense of humor about relationships

I've never been the kind of person to seek revenge on people I've dated, but if you've recently been snubbed, there's a kitchen gadget that might ease the pain. Dubbed The Ex, this knife block lets you take out your frustration about love lost by letting you stab your kitchen knives into it.

Made out of abs plastic, the block was featured in Time Magazine as a gadget for cooks with a sense of humor. When you slip your knives into the voodoo doll body of the knife block, they stay put thanks to magnets. You … Read more

Ion Block Rocker invites public humiliation

The world is overrun with bookshelf speaker systems for the iPod, but finding a powerful, portable iPod boom box is surprisingly tough. The Ion Block Rocker isn't the prettiest thing we've seen, but it is one of the most practical and affordable ways to blast your music outdoors.

For better or worse, the Block Rocker also does a damn fine job as a mobile karaoke machine (as I skillfully demonstrate in this video). Along with a few pints of liquid courage and an iPod stocked with pop music, this thing is humiliation on wheels.

To learn more, check … Read more

MP3 Insider 118: MP3 Insiders get silly

Donald and Jasmine intersperse the silliness with details on the latest iPod Classic review, as well as information on the Sony E-Series Walkman and a very special member of the S-Series family. Also on the table: a super durable portable party speaker, a chat about podcast support, and free stuff!

Listen now: Download today's podcast… Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week brings us another rhythm game for WiiWare along with a pair of Turbografx 16 imports for the Virtual Console.

WiiWare

Groovin' Blocks (Empty Clip Studios, 800 Wii points): Groovin' Blocks is one part puzzler, one part rhythm game where following the beat of a song will help you reach a higher score. Play through up to 27 levels, all with their own beats. Virtual Console

Final Solider (1991, Turbografx 16, 700 Wii points): Final Solider is a top-down shooter released within the Star Solider series. Play through various levels or try your skill at a 2- or 5-minute … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

Virtual Console

Samurai Shodown (1993, NeoGeo, 900 Wii points): Samurai Shodown is a fighting game that lets you choose between 12 characters each with their own moves and special abilities. Fans of the Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter franchises are sure to enjoy this title.

WiiWare

Block Breaker Deluxe (Gameloft, 800 Wii points): Block Breaker Deluxe is a brand new take on the classic brick-breaking arcade and portable games. Cocoto Fishing Master (Neko Entertainment, 700 Wii points): Cocoto is a fishing master in search of five legendary fish. Use your Wii remote and nunchuk to reel them in while you … Read more

The Wii needs a storage solution--and fast

With yesterday's launch of the WiiWare service, it's now easier than ever to fill up your Wii to the point of full capacity. It doesn't take much to fill up those 2,163 blocks (about 512MB)--between additional channels, the virtual console, and now WiiWare, you're going to need to be doing some serious maneuvering if you want to experience everything the Wii has to offer. So why hasn't Nintendo come up with a solution that can allow owners to expand the storage capacity?

While the SD card slot is nice, for many Wii owners it has become strictly a way to back up game saves. You can't directly access it in-game nor can you play virtual console or WiiWare games directly off of it. Why not enable this? Surely this can be accomplished with a Wii system update. And by limiting the memory capacity, Nintendo is essentially preventing customers from buying more virtual console and WiiWare titles.

Rumors of a storage add-on have come and gone, with nothing ever manifesting. If Nintendo plans on adding a new WiiWare title every Monday--in addition to the new virtual console titles they release each week as well--something needs to be done to address this growing concern.

While we'd all like for the SD card slot to allow in-game read and writing capabilities, or for the ability to connect a USB flash-drive, we're guessing it will probably be a Nintendo-branded… Read more