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Microsoft warns Windows users of two security holes already under attack
Today, Microsoft warned billions of Windows users that hackers are actively exploiting two critical zero-day vulnerabilities that could allow bad actors to take complete control of targeted computers. According to a security advisory, the vulnerabilities are being used in "limited targeted attacks," and all supported Windows operating systems could be at risk.
How to: Listen to your Amazon Cloud Player music on your iOS device
[H/t to Mashable's Christina Warren, who wrote this up yesterday. We independently arrived at the same place and had not seen Christina's writeup. - Ed.] Have you signed up for Amazon Cloud? It's a newly launched service that offers 5 GB of free online cloud storage and affordable paid plans up to 1 TB. Competing with Dropbox, Amazon Cloud takes measures one step further -- integrating with its online store to provide over-the-air media access, like SugarSync, Mougg and AudioBox. Unlike those latter services, however, Amazon Cloud provides media storage for free -- so long as you purchase that media from the Amazon store. Your Amazon music will not eat away at the free 5 GB that come with the basic plan. If you're hoping to play your Cloud music on your iPhone or iPad, you might be put off by the user interface, which offers an MP3 icon but no play/pause button -- the way that it does on your Flash-enabled home computer. Fear not. There is a workaround.
Simple hack keeps Netflix Watch Now from tracking your minutes?
Remember how back in the day -- before software developers got wise to this sort of thing -- you could extend the life of some shareware indefinitely by simply winding back your machine's calendar every so often? Well according to tipster "Livesunkept" (a pseudonym, we suspect), a similar jury-rigged hack is all it takes to vastly extend your monthly allotment of viewing hours for Netflix's new Watch Now streaming video service. Normally Netflix keeps track of how long you've been watching, and correlates that number to the fee you pay each month, subtracting from your bank of minutes based on your subscription level (i.e. an $18 plan might give you 18 hours of streamed viewing). Always looking for a way to beat the system, Livesunkept discovered that if you disconnect your network adapter after a given movie has finished downloading (usually 15 to 20 minutes), and then clear your cache and cookies before reconnecting it at the end of the flick, Netflix will only charge you for a few minutes of viewing time even though you rightfully owe about two hours worth of credits. Now we don't really have time to watch movies around here -- thus no Netflix / Blockbuster subscriptions -- so we haven't been able to try this workaround out for ourselves and verify that it works. That's why we have commenters. So if you're a member of the Netflix posse, please do us a favor and report back after you've given this hack a whirl -- don't tell anyone else, though, or you'll risk ruining the supposed loophole for all the hard-working cheats and cheapskates out there.[Thanks, Livesunkept]
