“Nota Bene”–Eugene Kaspersky’s Blog, November 8, 2011
Do you want to know some of Microsoft’s deepest, darkest secrets?  Kaspersky Lab Chairman and CEO Eugene Kaspersky sits down with Alexey Polyakov, the head of Kaspersky Lab’s Global Emergency Response Team.  Before joining Kaspersky Lab, Alexey worked as a senior security program manager at Microsoft.  In Eugene’s latest blog post, Alexey analyzes Microsoft’s Windows 8. 

Windows 8 is coming! In line with its tendency to introduce high-profile security features in each new version of its operating system, Microsoft is unleashing some pretty interesting new protection technologies with its next OS release. In fact, some of them may dramatically change the cyber threat landscape and bring the security industry a set of very handy tools for protecting users against sophisticated threats like rootkits.

Today my “in the Spotlight” guest is Alexey Polyakov, the Head of KL’s Global Emergency Response Team, our consulting service that assists enterprises in investigating security incidents, and auditing and improving corporate security policy.

Ever since graduating from Moscow State University with an M.Sc. in Physics, Alexey’s been working in the IT security industry – now for 15 years – with a résumé featuring positions at McAfee, IBM, Symantec and Microsoft.

Prior to joining us at KL Alexey worked as a senior security program manager at Microsoft, where he became the proud founder of the Microsoft Security Response Team and was one of the key members of the company’s security development. He’s authored and co-authored security technologies protected by 12 patents, and one such technology was Secure Boot – perhaps the most ambitious advance in Windows 8 in terms of security.

Read the rest here from Eugene Kaspersky’s Blog

HP is giving away over 200 items in this years sweepstakes.

Grand Prize:

HP TOUCHSMART 520-1030 ALL-IN-ONE DESKTOP PC

The Season’s Best Party Ends Soon!

Go to HP Sweepstakes for your entry form.  Then come back here or here and sign up to receive an email from ModTek PC announcing our Holiday Giveaways starting soon.

Enter for your chance to win one of over 200 holiday giveaways!
No purchase necessary!

Chino, CA – October 25th, 2011 - Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, power supply, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer, today adds a new sibling to the Silencio Case Series, the Silencio 450.

Quiet Operation
The Silencio Series represents the best solution for sound absorption with system builds of all levels. Sound silencing foam padding seeks to severely reduce system noises produced by hard drives, numerous cooling fans, and other devices. Combine this with a solid-steel frame, vibration inhibiting rubber feet, two Cooler Master quiet-spinning fans and the Silencio 450 nearly becomes completely silent. Those that value a quiet computing space will immensely appreciate the Silencio Series. 

Intelligent Interior

Look beyond the modest exterior of the Silencio 450 to find a clean, intuitive, and spacious interior. Three 5.25”, six 3.5”, and one 2.5” hard drive bay are set inside a solid steel frame. An easily-removable hard drive cage allows users to mix and match various hard drives for maximum flexibility and drive space. Removal of the included hard drive cage opens the door for the possibility of installing high-end graphics cards such as the AMD Radeon HD 6990 or NVIDIA GTX 590. Super Speed, backwards-compatible USB 3.0 and a versatile SD card reader provides users with several ways to connect data on-the-fly. A surprisingly efficient intake-exhaust cooling system throughout the interior provides for maximum airflow. Dust filters protect precious system components from potentially dangerous dust build-up over time. These can be accessed quickly for easy maintenance. Users taking the next step in silent cooling may opt for a custom watercooling setup. The Silencio 450 includes rear retaining holes that support optional water cooling radiator installations. A switchable door hinge creates an added level of convenience as well. A clean exterior design, brimming with features and reasonable price make the Silencio 450 the perfect silent partner for any enthusiast.

The Silencio 450 will be available at online and retail locations worldwide October 2011 for $59.99 MSRP. Click here for more details.

Remember the November the 5th. Remember our 5th folk who have died for their beliefs, for those who have fought for their right to be 5th, remember that being 5th is nothing to be ashamed of. Be 5th and Be Free. Please share with us your 5th element, please tag us on that day, you being 5th.

Remember the 5th

Downloading copyright material without the permission of rightsholders is often portrayed as a heinous crime and treated as such by many judges across the United States. But what is an appropriate punishment for this apparently increasingly wicked act? Multi-million dollar fines? Jail? For one sixteen year-old girl using file-sharing software KaZaA, it was a savage beating, delivered by the leather belt of her father, Judge William Adams. And it was all caught on camera.

These days it’s a rare week if news of some insane overreaction to illegal file-sharing isn’t being reported in the media.

We’ve seen some of the worst examples – the multi-million dollar fines, the jail sentences, PROTECTIP, SOPA, right through to the ordinary guy in the street being blackmailed by copyright trolls for a few thousands dollars.

None of these ‘punishments’ can proceed without the supposedly most upstanding members of our community that we call judges signing off on them. Judges rule on these cases, they decide on the levels of fines, they sign off on the ‘John Doe’ lawsuits.

Equally, some of them have even ruled against cruel and unusual punishments for file-sharers but not so Texas Judge William Adams, who prefers to administer punishment himself, in his own home, savagely – with a leather belt.

Below we have embedded a video shot in 2004, apparently just uploaded to YouTube by Adams’ then 16-year-old daughter Hillary Adams, the target of the cruel punishment.

“Aransas County Court-At-Law Judge William Adams took a belt to his own teenage daughter as punishment for using the internet to acquire music and games that were unavailable for legal purchase at the time,” the video’s description begins.

“She has had ataxic cerebral palsy from birth that led her to a passion for technology, which was strictly forbidden by her father’s backwards views.”

Hillary had been using the KaZaA file-sharing software to obtain music and games, a point mentioned by her mother towards the end of the video.

Gawker spoke with Hillary’s friend J. Andre Bardin who confirmed the man in the video is Judge Adams.

“That’s his voice, that’s his mannerisms, and that is his house,” Bardin said.

Hillary, who is now 23, says she decided to release the video because her father is up for re-election next week and she doesn’t want that to happen. A Facebook page called “Don’t Re-Elect Judge William Adams” can be found here.

A Reddit thread, dissecting Judge Adams’ life and rulings in the way only they know how, can be found here.

Of course, it would be completely unfair and wrong to suggest that this sort of disgusting behavior is common among judges. Many of them are upstanding citizens whose judgment is highly valued in a civilized society and this guy would have probably behaved the same way if he had pursued another profession.

Warning: Some will find the video extremely upsetting.

I awake each day with a smile
And greet it with a laugh;
The world is a treasure to me
…Because of you.

Every time I think of something sad,
I replace the thought- with you!
My mind is instantly changed
And my heart is filled with gladness.

Every breath I take is meant for you,
I live this life surrounded in joy
And I bathe in the promise of your love,
My soul belongs to you.

Each time I see something beautiful
I want to take it and bring it to you;
My life has so much meaning now
All because of you…

~ Kate Reneigh Woodruff

City of Industry, CA – October 21, 2011 – The process and anticipation of upgrading to the latest processor have always been some of the most exciting times for every PC enthusiast. But along with the excitement, users are often faced with various decisions such as which motherboard to get, is a memory upgrade needed or will a new CPU cooler have to be purchased?  While Thermaltake cannot make most of those decisions for you, if you currently own or are planning to purchase any of the following Thermaltake performance coolers listed below, you will be in good hands. In order to better serve our customers, Thermaltake is proud to announce the Thermaltake FreeUp Program.

The upcoming Intel® Sandy Bridge-E processors will be based on socket LGA-2011 as evident from the recent Intel® Developer Forum (IDF) conference. Thermaltake is here to ensure that our current and future customers of Thermaltake cooling solutions will have access to the newest technology without the hassle of trying to mock up new mounting or purchasing a new cooler entirely. The LGA-2011 upgrade mounting hardware will be provided free of charge to anyone who has purchased a qualified cooler on or after September 1st 2011. Thermaltake will be incorporating the new LGA-2011 kit into all LGA-2011 compatible coolers in both retail and e-tail space once the Intel® Sandy Bridge-E processor launch is confirmed, but this program is to ensure that anyone who supports Thermaltake brands by choosing the qualified cooler as their solution will have the LGA 2011 mounting available to them when they make their purchase or in the case that the cooler may have been in store before the changeover. Thermaltake wants to ensure you can upgrade and use your recently purchased cooler with no worries about future compatibility.

For those who have purchased a LGA 2011 qualified coolers prior to September 1st, 2011 and are planning on upgrading, Thermaltake will also be making the LGA-2011 kit available for purchase separately. This will ensure that no matter the timeframe, anyone can upgrade to the newest platform with a minimum amount of hassle.

LGA1366

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Among various physical attribute changes, the most notable difference is that there are no “pass-through” holes for the mounting mechanism.  On the LGA-1155/1156 and LGA-1366 motherboard, the mounting retention would pass through the motherboard and be retained by either plastic push pins or a variation of backplate and mounting screw combination depending upon the cooler used.  With the LGA-2011 socket, the main load mechanism to retain the CPU in the socket also has threaded tabs which are where the cooler will be mounted.  This will require a change to present cooler mounting for compatibility and Thermaltake has a solution to ensure you can upgrade to this socket with just a minor hardware change.

Intel® LGA-2011 compatible coolers:

• Thermaltake Bigwater 760 Plus
• Thermaltake Frio OCK
• Thermaltake Frio
• Thermaltake Contac 30

To claim your free LGA-2011 mounting upgrade kit:
1) To apply, please visit

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/LGA2011CoolerUpgradeProgram/LGA2011CoolerUpgradeProgram.aspx

2) Submit required information to claim your mounting hardware kit

Intel® LGA-2011 compatible coolers:

1) FreeUp product will be shipped shortly after launch of the LGA 2011 processor
2) FreeUp eligibility requires proof of purchase of: a. Qualified Thermaltake LGA 2011 compatible cooling solution b. LGA-2011 compatible motherboard or processor
3) FreeUp product can take up to 2 weeks for shipping depending upon location
4) Qualified Thermaltake product must be purchased on or after September 1st 2011 to qualify for the FreeUp program
5) The Thermaltake FreeUp Program is only available for customers in North America.

About Thermaltake

Started from the Passion of the DIY (Do It Yourself) concept and the desires for “Delivering the perfect user experience.” Thermaltake Technology was established in January, 1999 and has been promoting to the world with “Thermaltake” brand name ever since. To achieve greatness, Thermaltake has the Courage to explore and experiment with new possibilities, especially with outstanding technical expertise and integration of immense skill which makes Thermaltake the authority in the market. Moreover, with Thermaltake’s Perseverance, we not only listen to our consumers requirements, Thermaltake will take lead users’ advice into consideration as well to design a better quality and aesthetic product for the user. With innovative design and unique style, Thermaltake products spread rapidly among the enthusiasts and DIY markets and soon become the number one choice for PC DIY enthusiasts worldwide.

Thermaltake characteristics are Unique, Aggressive, Vivid, and Stylish which make Thermaltake an expert in creating Exciting products and a Fascinating environment for gamers and enthusiasts around the world.

For further information online about Thermaltake, visit http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/press201110021.aspx

Our first reviews of the Holiday Season will be coming soon.  We are starting this year off with the Fuzion Hi-Tail Scooter and Fish-Eyes Rod and Reel from NextSport.

Check back often as we will also be announcing our first giveaways of the season!!

NextSport is a California based Company that designs, develops and manufactures superior next generation sporting goods products.

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Introduces New Multi-Touch Magic Trackpad

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today updated its all-in-one iMac® line, widely praised as the world’s best desktop computers, with the latest Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors and powerful new graphics. Starting at $1,199, the new iMac line is the fastest ever with dual-core processor speeds up to 3.6 GHz, quad-core speeds up to 2.93 GHz and discrete graphics including the powerful ATI Radeon HD 5750. The new Magic Trackpad, with a smooth glass and aluminum design, gives iMac users the same intuitive Multi-Touch™ gestures that Mac® notebook customers have come to love and is available separately for $69.

“We took the world’s best all-in-one and made it even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the latest processors, high-performance graphics and signature aluminum and glass design, customers are going to love the latest iMac.”

Dual-core Intel Core i3 and Core i5, and quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 processors set a new benchmark for iMac performance. The processors feature an integrated memory controller to access the system memory directly, allowing the new iMac to take full advantage of its faster 1333 MHz memory. New discrete ATI Radeon HD processors deliver incredibly smooth, crisp graphics for the most demanding 3D games, creative software and technical applications. iMac displays feature IPS technology to deliver a brilliant image across a wide 178 degree viewing angle. The SD card slot on the iMac now supports the SDXC format to handle the latest high-capacity storage cards. Customers of the 27-inch iMac have the option to order a 256GB solid state drive (SSD) as a primary or secondary drive. The iMac SSD supports up to 215 MB/s data transfer rates for faster startup and application launch times.

Every iMac comes with Apple’s innovative Magic Mouse and customers can also order the new Magic Trackpad as an option. The Magic Trackpad brings the intuitive Multi-Touch gestures of Mac notebook trackpads to the desktop. With its glass surface, the wireless Magic Trackpad enables users to scroll smoothly up and down a page with inertial scrolling, pinch to zoom in and out, rotate an image with their fingertips and swipe three fingers to flip through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Trackpad can be configured to support single button or two button commands and supports tap-to-click as well as a physical click.

Continuing Apple’s commitment to the environment, Apple’s desktop lineup is a leader in green design. The iMac meets stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.* iMac features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iMac uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants, uses highly recyclable materials and features material-efficient system and packaging designs. A new Apple Battery Charger provides a convenient and environmentally friendly way to always have a fresh set of batteries for your Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard. The Apple Battery Charger is available for $29 and comes with six long shelf life rechargeable batteries.

Every Mac also comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, with breakthrough ways to organize and manage your photos by who appears in them and where they were taken; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which offers a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Pricing & Availability

The new iMac line is shipping now and available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

• 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM;
• 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight® video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one SDXC SD card slot;
• one FireWire® 800 port;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include up to 8GB of RAM.

The new 21.5-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

• 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
• 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• one SDXC SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a faster 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive and up to 8GB of RAM.

The new 27-inch 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:

• 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
• 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• one SDXC SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.

The new 27-inch 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

• 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
• 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 5750 discrete graphics with 1GB GDDR5;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for audio and video input and output (adapters sold separately);
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• one SDXC SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Configure-to-order options include a 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, a 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.

Additional accessories include: Magic Trackpad, Apple Battery Charger, wired Apple Mouse, wired Apple Keyboard, wired Apple Keyboard with numeric keypad, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, the AppleCare® Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of iWork®, Logic® Express 9, Final Cut® Express 4 and Aperture® 3.

*EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iMac, Multi-Touch, Snow Leopard, iLife, iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Apple Store, SuperDrive, AirPort Extreme, iSight, FireWire, AppleCare, iWork, Logic, Final Cut and Aperture are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.