IPv6 the next generation IP at 12:40 AM | Labels: CIDR, Internet Protocol, IPv4, IPv6, network layer, windows vista

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a network layer for packet-switched internetworks. It is designated as the successor of IPv4, the current version of the Internet Protocol, for general use on the Internet.

The main change brought by IPv6 is a much larger address space that allows greater flexibility in assigning addresses. The extended address length eliminates the need to use network address translation to avoid address exhaustion, and also simplifies aspects of address assignment and renumbering when changing providers.

It is common to see examples that attempt to show that the IPv6 address space is extremely large. For example, IPv6 supports 2¹²⁸ (about 3.4×10³⁸) addresses, or approximately 5×10²⁸ addresses for each of the roughly 6.5 billion (6.5×10⁹) people alive today.^[1] In a different perspective, this is 2⁵² addresses for every star in the known universe^[2] – more than ten billion billion billion times as many addresses as IPv4 supported.

The large number of addresses allows a hierarchical allocation of addresses that may make routing and renumbering simpler. With IPv4, complex CIDR techniques were developed to make the best possible use of a restricted address space. Renumbering, when changing providers, can be a major effort with IPv4, as discussed in RFC 2071 and RFC 2072. With IPv6, however, renumbering becomes largely automatic, because the host identifiers are decoupled from the network provider identifier. Separate address spaces exist for ISPs and for hosts, which are "inefficient" in address space bits but are extremely efficient for operational issues such as changing service providers.

The Windows vista is ready for IPv6. IPv6 addresses are normally written as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits, where each group is separated by a colon (:). For example, 2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7334 is a valid IPv6 address.

Heuristic Analysis the new way of detecting unknown viruses ! at 5:26 AM | Labels: antivirus, AVG, Blood Hound, computer virus, Heuristic Analysis, Mcafee, Multi Criteria Analysis, suspicious file, Symantec

Heuristic Analysis is a method employed by many computer antivirus programs designed to detect previously unknown computer viruses, as well as new variants of viruses already in the wild.

Heuristic Analysis An expert based analysis. Expert determines the susceptibility of a system towards particular threat/risk using various decision rules or weighing methods. MultiCriteria Analysis (MCA) is one of the means of weighing. This method differs with Statistical Analysis, which bases itself on the available data/statistics.

How it works ?

Most antivirus programs that utilize heuristic analysis perform this function by executing the programming commands of a questionable program or script within a specialized virtual machine, thereby allowing the anti-virus program to internally simulate what would happen if the suspicious file were to be executed while keeping the suspicious code isolated from the real-world machine. It then analyzes the commands as they are performed, monitoring for common viral activities such as replication, file overwrites, and attempts to hide the existence of the suspicious file. If one or more virus-like actions are detected, the suspicious file is flagged as a potential virus, and the user alerted.

Another common method of heuristic analysis is for the anti-virus program to decompile the suspicious program, then analyze the source code contained within. The source code of the suspicious file is compared to the source code of known viruses and virus-like activities. If a certain percentage of the source code matches with the code of known viruses or virus-like activities, the file is flagged, and the user alerted.

Its Effectiveness

Although heuristic analysis is capable of detecting many previously-unknown viruses and new variants of current viruses, the effectiveness is fairly low regarding accuracy and the number of false negatives. This is because computer viruses, just like biological viruses, are constantly changing and evolving. Since heuristic analysis mostly operates on the basis of past experience (by comparing the suspicious file to the code and functions of known viruses), it is likely to miss new viruses that contain previously unknown code or methods of operation not found in any known viruses. Fortunately, heuristic analysis is also evolving along with the viruses. As new viruses are discovered using alternative methods of detection, information about them are added to the heuristic analysis engine, thereby providing it the means to detect any new viruses based on the previously-unknown code.

Today Many of the antivirus softwares are capable of heuristic method of analysis, like Symantec ( called Blood-Hound), Mcafee , AVG , and many more.

Can A Mac Get A Virus ? Are Apple Computers Virus Safe ??? at 9:31 AM | Labels: apple, apple computers, computer virus, computer viruses, computers, kernel, Mac, mac computers, pc virus, virus

The long and short to this question is yes and no. Confused yet? The yes part of the answer comes from the fact that any computer can get a virus; the no part comes from the fact that it is much more difficult for Macs to contract a virus. There are many reasons for this discrepancy.

To begin with, the new Apple operating systems, like Mac OS X are built based on the UNIX kernel, which has been around the longest, and is the safest operating system available. UNIX is an operating system that was developed in the 1960s by Bell Labs, and believe it or not, was used to play a game called Space Travel after being booted off of the creator’s regular systems. A kernel is another word for operating system; it is technically the first piece to load into memory during a startup. It is usually responsible for things like managing disk drives and handling memory.

The next reason very few Apple users get viruses is basically because when compared to Windows users, there just aren’t that many of them out there. If someone is out to write a damaging computer virus, they want to write one that is going to impact the largest amount of users, and those users are not Apple users. It is estimated that somewhere around 400 million people use the Windows operating system, while Mac users are somewhere in the ballpark of 25 million. To break this down even further, of that 400 million, over 80% of them are home users, the rest use the system for businesses or other uses. On the other hand, for Mac users, nearly 90% of them use their Mac for business use. Movie producers, sound engineers, and graphic artists are some of Mac’s demographic users. Students and recreational users make up a large part of Windows’ demographics.

Along the same lines, more virus authors are familiar with the Windows operating system, enabling them to develop viruses for that system easier and more quickly. There is no need to learn a complicated new system and develop a virus around it, even if it will gain you 25 million more victims; it is just too much work. Many of the tools used and scripts written that help virus writers create their mayhem are designed specifically for Windows, so half of the work is already done for them.
It is good to note that those individuals that own a Mac and run the Windows operating system on it as a cross platform machine are vulnerable to Windows viruses, and those systems should be protected with antivirus software, even though they are not factory-genuine Windows models.

For now, Mac users are safer from viruses than Windows users are; many Mac users don’t even have antivirus protection on their computers. Who is to say that in the future they will not be just as vulnerable as Windows users, but for now, they seem to have the antivirus upper hand.

Must Haves For Your Cellphone at 9:14 AM | Labels: 3G, AOL, EDGE, google maps, google talk, GPRS, GPS, ICQ, IM, mig33, mobile applications, msn, opera mini, phone internet browser, series 60, SMS, Symbian, yahoo go

Today's spotlight is on the applications that you MUST have on your Cellphone.

Here are some symbian applications that will make your life easy.

You Should have a GPRS/EDGE/3G connection on your mobile...

Compatible devices: S60 3rd Edition, Nokia N-Series, Nokia E-Series. (as per my current knowledge)

Opera Mini

It is a great software that is one of the most used and downloaded mobile apps. Opera mini is simply a phone internet browser, which is multipurpose; it is a feed reader, a browser through which you can see the webpages in their original size, because it has a zoom utility that lets you zoom you web pages, You can browse all it'sfeatures at it's official site

Mig33

Company claims that "With mig33, you can chat and send instant messages and emails, make inexpensive international phone calls, share photos, connect with old friends and even meet new ones. Think of it as an addition to your phone's existing service."
Which I also agree!!, it's a great tool; the thing in it which i like is that it supports MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ , AOL, Google Talk, SMS, to name a few.

Google Maps For Mobile

Download Google Maps for mobile to get maps, directions, and business listings, right on your mobile device. Google Maps on your phone makes it easy to:

• Determine your current location with or without GPS
• Get driving and transit directions
• Get phone numbers and addresses for local businesses

Yahoo go !

Yahoo! Go is today’s essential solution for anyone with a mobile phone. It’s an all-in-one offering that lets you enjoy the best of the Internet on your phone—for free. Send an email, upload photos, download a map, search for answers, check stock quotes, or get breaking news—all that and much more is available through Yahoo! Go.