WikiPedia, the collaborative encyclopaedia has been attacked by spammers attempting to spread malware.
A page was created on the German version of WikiPedia linking to a fake fix for a new version of the Blaster worm, which affected over 50,000 Windows computers in the summer of 2003.
Fortunately action was taken by WikiPedia and its less nefarious editors to remove the page, but not before the spammers had sent out an email, claiming to be from WikiPedia, suggesting readers should go and download the fix.
“The good news is that the authorities at Wikipedia quickly identitifed and edited the article on their site,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. “Unfortunately, however, the previous version of the page was still present in the archive and was continuing to point to malicious code. The hackers were thus able to send out spam pointing people to the page on Wikipedia, and try and lead them into infection.”
That archived page has now also been killed, meaning that the incident is hopefully over. However, this has yet again illustrated the vulnerability of user-edited content on the web. WikiPedia content has in the past been rewritten by users attempting to massage the truth by covering up a dodgy past history, or trying to create one for a rival.
November 6th, 2006
Panasonic has announced the availability of its new line-up of 1080 progressive scan full HD pro plasmas. The 65″ TH-65PF9UK is available now and will be followed by the 103″ TH-103PF9UK (the world’s largest plasma) and the 50″ TH-50PF9UK.With 2.07 million pixels (1,920 x 1,080) of resolution, these 1080p HD pro plasmas offer about twice the resolution as standard high-definition models, and produce the entire color range specified in the HDTV standard (ITU-R, BT709), for ultraaccurate, natural-looking images that remain truly faithful to the original HD source. The 1080p HD models feature a high contrast ratio of 5,000:1 and 16-bit processing to reproduce super-crisp motion pictures with an astounding 4,096 steps of gradation. For the full 1080p models, Panasonic has developed a Super Cinema mode, whereby the Digital Color Reality feature accurately reproduces the warmth of light and delicate shading in each scene by continuously adjusting the white balance and performing gamma correction as the image changes. Digital Color Reality is four times more precise in the digital control of color and brightness compared with standard HD plasmas.
“Panasonic continues its leadership in professional large screen displays with these new 1080p HD models that produce the highest HD image quality available,” said Robert Harris, Vice President of Marketing, Panasonic Broadcast. “Our future-ready full 1080p plasmas make incredible, spectacular images, and offer the industry’s best expandability so video professionals can equip each display with the options that best meet their application.”
Harris added that Panasonic 1080p HD plasmas are already drawing rave reviews, as two pre-delivery 103″ TH-103PF9UK plasma displays are playing an integral role on NBC’s new Sunday evening Football Night in America studio show.
From production studios to command and control, presentations to digital signage and from videoconferencing to media facilities, customizable terminal boards for the Panasonic 1080p units allow these displays to become super-flexible, “all-in-one” installations. The 1080p plasmas have three, interchangeable multifunction slots (on the back) to equip the units with a wide range of terminal boards to assure their usage in virtually any AV, PC or interactive environment. Each 1080p HD model comes standard with the new TY-FB9HDD UXGA / WUXGA compatible DVI-D board and 1080p compatible TY-42TM6A Component Video terminal board. A new option is the TY-FB9HD, an HD-SDI board that supports 1080p 50/60 formats and is ideal for production studios and postproductionscreening applications.
Additional advanced technologies incorporated to allow the 1080p plasmas to deliver their phenomenal image quality include a new Motion Pattern Noise Reduction system to provide a consistently sharp image across the entire image during fast-paced scenes, a Contrast Management system that perfects the color of each individual portion of the image displayed, and a 1:1 pixel mode, which maps the 1920 x 1080 one-to-one to 1080p pixels to display 100 percent of the original content.
The 1080p HD plasmas can display a full range of HD/SD signals including 1080/60p/50p, 1080/60i/50i/24p/24sF/25p/30p, 1080/50i, 720/60p/50p 480/60i/p, and 575/50i/p. The 1080p models also feature Advanced Dual Picture Mode, which allows users to combine video/audio clips with text from a computer in picture-in-picture and picture-out-picture modes for presentations. For easy setup of multiscreen systems, the 1080p plasmas feature a built-in image-enlarging functions to enlarge images up to four times normal size vertically and horizontally while maintaining image quality, and can be configured in a variety of different combinations (from 1×4 to 2×3, up to a 4×4 construction).
Also, with the new PLUG-VC251 PC board, Panasonic’s 1080p plasmas can become a turnkey computer system. With the PC board, these large screen displays can be updated with content and controls instructions from a centrally located system. The PC board is compatible with Windows XP and XP-embedded operations systems and a wide variety of Windows-based applications software.
In addition, for long distance transmission, a new CAT-5e transmitter with a switcher function (model KE811CT) allows a user to send high-resolution video signals to a 1080p plasma up to 500 feet away from a separate command center, as well as to control up to 128 plasmas simultaneously from a single location. A new CAT-5e switcher allows the user to change the plasma display’s input from presentations to live video and more, reducing the cost of set-up time and allowing greater flexibility in placement. When equipped with the HD-SDI board, the 1080p plasmas can be easily integrated into broadcast systems that use HD-SDI in their studio or control rooms.
The 65″ TH-65PF9UK is available now at a suggested list price of $10,995. The 103″ TH-103PF9UK will be available by the end of the month at a suggested list price of $69,999.95. The 50″ TH-50PF9UK will be available in November at a suggested list price of $5,995.
November 4th, 2006