Harry Potter worm infecting PCs

Hackers are attempting to exploit Potter-mania with the release of a worm that attempts to infect USB memory drives.

The W32/Hairy-A worm poses as a file containing a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the eagerly-anticipated final novel in the Harry Potter series, due out on 21 July.

The infected file normally comes on infected USB drives. If users plug these drives into their Windows PCs they are liable to infect their machines, especially if they have allowed USB drives to "auto-run".

Infected drives contain a file called HarryPotter-TheDeathlyHallows.doc, a word document that contains nothing besides the phrase "Harry Potter is dead", instead of the hoped-for transcript. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the worm begins casting its malign spell. The worm looks for other removable drives to infect before creating a number of new users (Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley) that will be familiar names to fans of the JK Rowling books.

After logging in, users of infected machines will be confronted by the following message, which appears via a batch file:

read and repent

the end is near repent from your evil ways O Ye folks lest you burn in hell...JK Rowling especially.

The worm also changes the Internet Explorer home page of compromised machines to an Amazon.com web page selling a parody book of the teenage wizard series entitled Harry Putter and the Chamber of Cheesecakes.

Anti-virus firm Sophos describes the malware as an "old school" virus written to cause mischief and to show off, rather than to rake in illicit funds. Security experts advise users to disable the auto-run facility of Windows so removable devices such as USB keys and CD ROMs do not automatically launch when they are attached to a PC. Removal media ought to be checked for malware before use in order to guard against the increased use of USB devices and the like as a vector for malware distribution.

Last month, a hacker claimed to have obtained a transcript of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after compromising the PC of one or more workers at Bloomsbury Publishing, the publisher of the Harry Potter series. The claim was treated with skepticism both in the computer hacking underground and among Potter fans.

Motorola's MOTORIZR Z8

Motorola’s MOTORIZR Z8 mobile phone is a complete entertainment center, offering mobile TV, video and music.

The Motorola Z8 is a slider handset and features a large QVGA 16 million color TFT display with an 8x zoom on its 2.0 mega pixel camera with lumi LED light. In addition to the 80MB of internal memory that comes with the MOTORIZR Z8, you could use the optional 4GB MicroSD memory cards to store up to 12 full length movies or around 70 hours of music, if you require more space.

Features of the MOTORIZR Z8:
16 million color QVGA display
2 megapixel camera with 8x zoom and LED light
Media player
80MB of internal memory
MicroSD card slot for up to 4GB
Connectivity Options: Bluetooth, Infrared, USB, A2DP
Up to 5 hours talk time
Up to 16 days of stand by time
Size- 109×50x15mm
Weight- 112gms

The MOTORIZR Z8 handset ships with an S9 Bluetooth stereo headset, battery charger, microSD 512MB memory card, miniUSB cable and a software CD.

The MOTORIZR Z8 handset will soon be launched in European and Asian markets.

Andrea (Vinod Kambli's wife)

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At their wedding

Creative ZEN Stone MP3 Player launched

Creative has launched its ZEN Stone MP3 Player in India. The Creative ZEN Stone has a smooth contoured design that feels great to hold. It has a glossy finish and is available in a number of colors.

The ZEN Stone has a multi-color LED screen that provides users with a glimpse of the player’s charging status as well as its playback status. This MP3 player features ergonomically designed controls that are extremely user-friendly.

To load your favorite music all you have to do is drag and drop the music tracks to the folder. With a 1GB capacity, this player is able to store around 500 songs. You can either select the “Play” or “Random” functions to hear your music. A single charge of the ZEN Stone’s rechargeable, built-in battery offers up to 10 hours of continuous playback time.

The Creative ZEN Stone player comes bundled with the Creative Media Lite software. You could also personalize your player with attractive translucent skins that include a clip; a sporty armband and even a fashionable key chain with a tiny case that houses the ZEN Stone.

The Creative ZEN Stone is available in six colors- black, white, red, blue, pink and green. It is available for a price of Rs. 3299 (excluding taxes) and comes bundled with a free ZEN Stone key chain worth Rs.500 as well as a 1-year warranty.

USS Nimitz - Largest warship

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is a supercarrier in the United States Navy, the lead ship of its class. It is one of the largest warships in the world.

Launched: 13 May 1972
Commissioned: 3 May 1975
Decommissioned: expected 2033
Status: Active in service as of 2007.
Homeport: NS San Diego, California
Displacement: 101,000 to 104,000 tons full load
Length: Overall: 1,092 ft (333 m)
Propulsion: 2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors
4 × steam turbines
4 × shafts
260,000 shp (194 MW)
Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h)
Range: Essentially unlimited
Complement: Ship's company: 3,200
Air wing: 2,480
Aircraft carried: 90 fixed wing and helicopters

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Interesting facts
1. Nimitz reaches over 18 stories high from the keel to the top of the mast.
2. Four distilling units enable Nimitz engineers to make over 400,000 gallons of fresh water a day, for use by the propulsion plants, catapults and crew.
3. Nimitz' Food Services Department provides 18,000-20,000 meals a day.
4. Nimitz can stock at least 70 days of refrigerated and dry storage goods.
5. Literally tons of wash are done every day by Nimitz' laundry, dry cleaning and tailoring services personnel.
6. Nimitz' one barber shop trims over 1,500 heads each week.
7. The Post Office processes more than one million pounds of mail each year.
8. The Medical Department is manned by six doctors, including a general surgeon, who provide everything from surgery to hydro-therapy.
The ship also features a 53-bed hospital ward, a three bed ICU, and acts as the hospital ship for the entire Nimitz battle group.
9. Nuclear power allows the ship to store 50 percent more ammunition and almost twice as much aviation fuel as the largest conventional carrier.

(Trailer) Heyy Babyy

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan. Directed by Sajid Khan.

(Trailer) The Bourne Ultimatum

Matt Damon returns as the trained assassin Jason Bourne for the latest showdown in "The Bourne Ultimatum" in the follow-up to 2002's "The Bourne Identity" and 2004's "The Bourne Supremacy".