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Archive for April, 2009

Bluetooth 3.0 promises to be faster by 8x

April 27th, 2009

bluetooth 30 8th times faster 300x207 Bluetooth 3.0 promises to be faster by 8xThe new Bluetooth specification launched this week promises the new version will be eight times faster than its predecessor.

The new protocol will help mobile device manufacturers who adopted the low-power, limited range Bluetooth for its support of device sync and peripheral connections. Using Bluetooth 3.0, those vendors will be able to use 802.11 radio circuitry to extend data throughput without using WiFi networking, which many handsets lack.
It’s been known for a while now that the specs for Bluetooth 3.0 will be officially announced on 21st of April and they arrived on schedule. The specification are now known as Bluetooth 3.0 High Speed and for good reason – it promises up to 8 times the speed of version 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced data rate) for a theoretical maximum of 24Mbps.

For starters, the obvious use is to download a huge media library between a phone and a computer. And with the increase in capacity of memory cards transferring sizeable music collections is common, but quite slow over Bluetooth.

The speed increase to 24Mbps is done in part by combining the power of Bluetooth with the power of WiFi. For example, when transferring files using Bluetooth 3.0, a temporary WiFi connection will be made between the two devices to give the transfer that extra speed boost. That WiFi connection will only exist for enough time so that the transfer can be completed and will be ended before it’s noticable to any other nearby device.

For iPhone and iPod touch fans, this is exciting news. Progress on Bluetooth technology is important to anyone who uses their phone with a Bluetooth hands-free headset or would like to use their phone to quickly transfer contacts or files to another phone. Don’t expect Bluetooth 3.0 to start hitting devices soon though; the Bluetooth special interest group has said they don’t expect the new technology to be available to consumers for another 9 to 12 months – which is just in time for the 4th generation iPhone to be introduced!

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Confiker – The April’s fool virus

April 7th, 2009

confiker computer worm

confiker computer worm

On April 1, the April fools virus is doing rounds in cyber world.

It’s also called the April fools day virus- the Confiker virus that reportedly hits the computers once in a few years.

Though not much among the lay users the conficker worm is causing quite a stir among computer security experts who are hurrying against time to minimise the impact of the virus ready strike on April 1.

Computer users around the world are holding their collective breaths as April 1 arrives, to see whether the Conficker.c  virus takes control of as many as 10 million infected computers–and what it will do then.

No agenda has been announced by the creators of the virus, and this is one of the points that makes it most worrisome to experts.

“The program could delete all of the files on a person’s computer, use zombie PCs — those controlled by a master — to overwhelm and shut down Web sites or monitor a person’s keyboard strokes to collect private information like passwords or bank account information,” experts told CNN.

More likely, however, “the virus may try to get computer users to buy fake software or spend money on other phony products.”

Infection of Microsoft-Windows accessible Conficker.c has been spreading since late last fall. The first wave targeted machines and dug in to software, hiding in wait, and was first discovered in November. The second wave began distributing copies of itself in December 2008, and the most recent in March 2009, is able to transfer itself through removable media, such as thumb drives, making it possible to infect any machine the user plugs into.

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