PandaLabs, the research arm of Panda Security, has warned that malware peddlers are sending out fake iTunes receipts via e-mail to lure users to download harmful software. The receipt looks authentic but is designed to make a user concerned about the total of the bill so they will click a "report a problem" link.

Clicking the link connects to a .RU site where a user will be asked to download a file. "After clicking the link, the victim is asked to download a fake PDF reader," PandaLabs said. "Once installation is complete, the user is redirected to an infected Web page containing the Zeus Trojan, which is specifically designed to steal personal data. This phishing attack was uncovered shortly after a similar phishing attack targeting LinkedIn users appeared last week, which appears to have originated in Russia."



PandaLabs is urging users to always be careful of e-mails that may hide harmless-looking but malicious links that could result in a computer becoming infected or personal sensitive information being stolen.

"Phishing is nothing new," said Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs, in a statement. "What never ceases to surprise us is that the techniques used to trick victims continue to be so simple, but the design and content is so very well-orchestrated. It's very easy to fall into the trap. When using services such as iTunes, it is absolutely crucial that users never go to the website via email, but rather from the platform itself where they can verify their account status."

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has written to both Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal to request more information about a proposed deal that would see Comcast acquiring a controlling sake in the large media company.

The letter to Comcast questions the cable operator's distribution agreements for popular cable channels that it already owns, such as E! Entertainment, the Golf Channel and Versus. It also is asking for details about Comcast's channel line-ups and for information on how it decides on programming to carry.

The letter to NBC Universal requests information about existing agreements with satellite, cable and phone companies to carry some NBC channels including Oxygen and local NBC and Telemundo stations.

Comcast is seeking approval from the FCC and the Justice Department to acquire a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal, which has sparked some fears among competitors and public interest groups. The deal would hand Comcast control over the NBC and Telemundo networks, as well as some cable channels including CNBC, Bravo and Oxygen.

Additionally, Comcast would gain control of the Universal Pictures studio and a share in the Hulu online video service. Satellite companies and cable rivals fear Comcast could use its control over NBC Universal to push up prices for must-have programming or to withhold it altogether from competitors.

Public interest groups are worried that Comcast could withhold programming from the Internet, stifling the growth of the online market, or restrict access to online content to cable subscribers.

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Have you ever hated having to update your PS3 firmware yourself? Is the task of downloading the free update or retrieving it from a game disc just too much manual labor for you to handle? If so, then Best Buy comes to the rescue as usual. Fresh from being called out for offering $40 "optimization" services for new PCs from its stores, Best Buy's geek squad has now found a way to profit from free firmware updates.

A Best Buy store in New York will add $30 to the purchase price of a new 120GB PlayStation 3 (PS3) console to update it to the latest firmware. It boasts that the update will enable the console to play _all_ Blu-ray movies and PS3 games. It will eliminate bugs and glitches and make the system run smoother too. Use Facebook? Well the update even improves that, while adding Power Save settings, a Photo Gallery and Video Editor, PlayStation Plus and improves System Settings.

Of course, any user with an Internet connection can just perform a firmware update by going to the system menu and selecting system updates, just a few button presses on a controller. The update is also free, as every PS3 user knows. Best Buy's firmware update "service" is optional for the customer, but you have to wonder how many parents buying consoles in anticipation of the holiday season will fall for such a horrid scam?

Engadget decided to confirm the story for itself and found it to be completely true (see below pic). The Staten Island, New York store would bump a 120GB PS3 price up to $329.98 including a surcharge for a firmware updating service. The remarkable part of the confirmation is that when they explained to a rep that they already had a PS3, he offered the firmware update for just $29.98.



We know times are tough, but... come on... really???

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Google has announced more partnerships today for its Google TV platform alongside a new website, http://google.com/tv.

Logitech and Sony are releasing the first Google TV hardware products, a set-top box, an HDTV and a Blu-ray player, later this month.

Google TV will launch with channels from Netflix, Pandora, Amazon, YouTube, Turner Broadcasting, CNBC, the NBA, USA TODAY and the New York Times.

Logitech will show off their "Revue" set-top on Wednesday.

So far there is no word on pricing, but many analysts expect the set-top to retail for $200 and the Blu-ray player to retail for $300.

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AT&T and T-Mobile USA have each signed 10-year pacts with Transit Wireless today, the wireless company in charge of building a wireless network that will be available at a number of subway stations in New York City.

Six stations will be wired by the end of 2011, and the networks will work on the platforms and in the stations, but not on the moving trains.

Then entire subway system is expected to be wired by 2016.

The deals will give T-Mobile and AT&T subscribers access to the wireless network when it is up-and-running.

Verizon and Sprint have also been contacted for similar contracts.

"The network is designed and planned to carry many carriers," adds Transit Wireless CEO Chris Jaeger. "Our aim is to have discussions with other carriers to see if they are interested parties in coming on to this network."

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has confirmed today that the company, along with AT&T, will hold a press conference on October 11th to unveil the initial lineup of Windows Phone 7 devices.

Says Ballmer of the devices: "We've got to move forward, not shoot for yesterday. We've got to shoot ahead in a way that's delightful to users, accessible to developers and prioritize everything else we do around those elements."

Microsoft's smartphone business has been lackluster, to say the least, over the past few years with the icing on the cake being the failed Kin series which lasted two months in stores while selling under 10,000 units.

The company's smartphone market share has dived in the past few years, falling to under 12 percent in the United States as of this summer. RIM, Android and the iPhone account for the top 80 percent.

Samsung, LG, Dell and HTC are expected to launch Windows 7 phone devices by the end of the year.

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LG Electronics has said today that it has dropped all plans to release an Android 2.2-based tablet this year, instead delaying their tablet release until the Q1 2011.

"We plan to introduce a tablet that runs on the most reliable Android version ... We are in talks with Google to decide on the most suitable version for our tablet and that is not Froyo 2.2," added LG.

With that quote, it appears that LG is waiting for Android 3.0 Gingerbread, which is expected to be the most stable version of the operating system yet. It is also expected to be optimized for tablets.

By the first quarter of next year the tablet market will be very crowded, with the highly anticipated releases of the RIM PlayBook, a second-generation iPad and the Samsung Tab.

LG is the world's third largest mobile phone maker.

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T-Mobile USA has announced today their second HSPA+ smartphone, the MyTouch, which is an evolution of the MyTouch 3G and MyTouch 3G Slide.

Unlike the recently launched 3G slide, the MyTouch offers high-end specs, along with the support for T-Mobile's fast data network.

On the aesthetic side, the MyTouch is all metal, moving away from the plastic look and feel of its predecessors.

Inside is a second-generation, 1Ghz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon processor, HSPA+ 14.4Mbps networking, Android 2.2 Froyo, HTC Sense, a 5MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front facing camera for video conferencing.

The screen is 3.8-inches with an 800x480 resolution. Swype, Adobe Flash 10.1, Wi-Fi calling and "Rock Band" for Android are all pre-loaded.

The phone also has an updated Genius Button, which allows for hands-free calling, texting and writing.

Additionally, despite lacking an HDMI-out port, the phone has DNLA for media sharing.

Furthermore, the device has T-Mobile TV, which has streaming content from ABC, Fox, PBS, Disney, and Univision. T-Mobile's "Media Room" has Slacker and and FM radio built-in.

No word on pricing, but expect $200 and $550 for on-contract and off.

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Made available in-stores at Target on Sunday, the Apple iPad has now made its way to giant e-tailer Amazon, placing the "Kindle-Killing" tablet right next to the very popular Kindle e-reader.

Amazon is now the second online retailer to offer the tablet besides Apple itself.

The e-tailer is carrying all six models of the device, the 16/32/64GB Wi-Fi models and the 16/32/64GB 3G/Wi-Fi models.

Amazon's move to offer the device should help them increase Kindle e-book sales, as Amazon has made the Kindle app available in the iPad App Store.

Most users seem to prefer the Kindle store to Apple's own iBook store, although both are very similar.

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South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., is showing its progress in the future of WiMAX technology at CEATEC in Tokyo, Japan. With UQ Communications, Samsung is demonstrating WiMAX 2, based on IEEE 802.16m, that can achieve speed of 330Mbps. Using the WiMAX 2 system and device, Samsung and UQ are showing Full-HD 3D videos and 16 Full-HD videos on 4 LFD TVs simultaneously.

"It is expected that the demands for Wireless Broadband will exponentially grow. In this regard, the recognition of real worth of Mobile WiMAX, a true 4G technology, will increase not only in Japan but also around the world," said Akio Nozaka, President of UQ Communications. "Through this demonstration at CEATEC, we aim to show the excellences of new world by Mobile WiMAX, in cooperation with Samsung."

WiMAX 2 standards are expected to be finalized by November 2010. Samsung is seeking to take the lead in its rapid commercialization and deployment and show itself to be a leading system and device provider for Mobile WiMAX. Samsung plans to introduce the first commercial solutions of WiMAX 2 in the end of 2011.

"Technology never stops evolving. As the demand for data bandwidth and speed grows exponentially, technology has needed to respond. Mobile WiMAX opened up the era of Mobile broadband and is already component of many optimized solutions." said Woonsub Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of the Telecommunication Systems Business of Samsung Electronics.

"We strongly believe WiMAX 2 will deliver even richer communication services to customers while unlocking a potential opportunity for service providers. Through the collaborations with our partners in the WiMAX ecosystem, Samsung has devoted its efforts to developing the most advanced solutions at the right time so that customers can maximize the benefits of using Mobile WiMAX." Kim added.

WiMAX 2 enables more efficient, faster and more converged data communications, which providing strong integration compatibility with deployed Mobile WiMAX stations. Current operators can migrate to WiMAX 2 by upgrading channel cards or their system software, and subscribers using Mobile WiMAX devices can communicate through the new WiMAX 2 system.

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Rumors suggest that Western Digital has overcome some technical hurdles and will be able to deliver 3TB hard drives to retail soon. According to Tech Arp, Western Digital will be updating its Caviar Black, Caviar Blue and Caviar Green lines, adding models with 3TB capacity. The drives are reportedly being prepared for retail after WD solved some compatibility problems with 32-bit Windows.

Tech Arp's source claims that the launch will happen sometime in mid-October. Seagate launched a 3TB external FreeAgent hdd during the summer, but has not followed up with a discrete drive yet. Due to 32-bit addressing in 32-bit operating systems, problems arise attempting to use an internal hard drive with more than 2TB storage capacity.

WD's new 3TB drives will use larger 4KB storage sectors as part of the Advanced Format Sector Disk technology, and most systems should be able to use the 3TB models for storage. UEFI will be required instead of a standard BIOS however to boot from a hard drive with over 2TB capacity.

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Microsoft has said this week that it will be bringing back the popular Windows 7 Family Pack, a $150 bundle that gives users three upgrade licenses to Windows 7 Home Premium.

For the upgrade to work, the computers must already be running XP or Vista and have Windows 7's minimum hardware requirements.

If you were to purchase three licenses separately, the cost would be $320.

Microsoft has made the bundle available online and at participating retailers. Amazon, for example, has the bundle on sale for $140.

Just like last time, the bundle is available "while supplies last."

Starting on October 22nd the pack will go international to Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, and Australia.

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The basic input/output system (BIOS) used in most shipped commercial PCs is way past its use-by date according to many within the industry. As computer technology improves, some problems can arise due to the continued use of BIOS, such as drive size limits. For this reason, the industry is moving increasing toward the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).

"Conventional Bios is up there with some of the physical pieces of the chip set that have been kicking around the PC since 1979," said Mark Doran, head of the UEFI Forum. He said that creators of the original BIOS only expected its lifetime to extend to about 250,000 machines. "They are as amazed as anyone else that now it is still alive and well in a lot of systems. It was never really designed to be extensible over time."

Brian Richardson, head of the technical marketing team at BIOS software developer AMI, said that BIOS is starting to hamper development as 64-bit computing becomes more common. "Drive size limits that were inherent to the original PC design - two terabytes - are going to become an issue pretty soon for those that use their PC a lot for pictures and video," Richardson said.

BIOS expects a machine to have the same basic internal setup as the first PCs. Adding support for extra peripherals has not been as easy or straight-forward as would be expected, and is not as efficient as it could be. UEFI does not require a computer to have this same basic blueprint that anything new has to adapt to or work around.

It does not have a specific port for a keyboard for example, or expect that a keyboard device be connected in any one way. "All it says is that somewhere in the machine there's a device that can produce keyboard-type information," said Mr Doran. This helps with the use of soft keyboards, touchscreens and other input devices.

"The extensible part of the name is important because we are going to have to live with this for a long time," Doran said. System administrators responsible for many remote machines could benefit from the widespread change in many ways, as UEFI can easily support more basic net protocols, making remote management easier from the "bare metal" upwards.

For consumers, the biggest noticeable change would be the start-up time of the computer. "At the moment it can be 25-30 seconds of boot time before you see the first bit of OS sign-on," he said. "With UEFI we're getting it under a handful of seconds."

"In terms of boot speed, we're not at instant-on yet but it is already a lot better than conventional Bios can manage, and we're getting closer to that every day."

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Toshiba has used the CEATEC 2010 event in Japan to show off its first commercially available 3D televisions that do not require a viewer to wear 3D glasses. The 12-inch and 20-inch televisions will be available in Japan in December, aimed at early adopters. Additionally, Toshiba also showed off a laptop prototype featuring a 12-inch 3D display that doesn't require glasses for the effect.

The technology uses an internal imaging system that provides nine different perspectives (parallaxes) of each single 2D frame which the viewer's brain superimposes to create a 3-dimensional impression of the image. Toshiba engineers developed a powerful engine and an algorithm to extrapolate these perspectives out of the 2D frame and used a perpendicular lenticular sheet, an array of lenses, that enable the viewer's brain to superimpose the perspectives.

The screens reportedly offer a wide viewing area in front of the display and allows for eye movement and head movement without disrupting the 3D image. Viewers can switch between 2D and 3D easily. "With its new 3D TVs without glasses Toshiba once again aims to offer the highest possible picture quality" says Sascha Lange, Head of Marketing, Visual Products, Toshiba Europe.



The company admits however that larger affordable 3D televisions that require no glasses will take years to develop.

"The commercial launch of our 12-inch and 20-inch 3D TVs without glasses in Japan is a first step into the 3D future in the consumer home cinema market," Lange said. "But it will take several years to develop larger 3D TVs without glasses with screen sizes of 40-inch and more at a yet reasonable price point. Those who want to enjoy the 3D home cinema experience on a large screen already today are well served by 3D TV using active shutter glasses like the models of our WL768 series."

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Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced today that Spotify is now available for Windows phones 6.X. The announcement was made at an event at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology. The popular legal music streaming service had previously promised to add more devices to Spotify mobile, and has worked with Microsoft to port to Windows phones over the past few months.

The full list of features for Windows Phone includes:

• Search, browse and play millions of tracks
• Stream over WiFi or 2.5/3G - All your existing playlists are available
• Offline playlists - Play your music without an internet connection
• On-the-fly sync - Every track you add to a playlist appears on mobile and computer
• What's New tab
• Wirelessly sync your local files to your phone
• Starred tracks - tag all your favourites into a special list

Spotify on Windows Phone demo

Users of Windows phones can download the new app directly by visiting m.spotify.com, and will become available from the Windows Marketplace for mobile soon. It was also revealed today that Spotify will be available for the upcoming Windows Phone 7.

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