Windows was built over the foundation of the DOS disk operating system that shipped with the very first PCs from IBM in the early 1980s. This brought with it several problems, many of which still exist today. The biggest issue is the need to maintain compatibility with legacy hardware and software. DOS did not support or need to support multiple users or multitasking. Support for these has been added with later versions of Windows.
As computers have changed in the last 30 years, and with the introduction of new technologies such as the Internet, the need for extra security has come to the forefront of operating system design. Unfortunately, this has meant having to build security over the top of the existing Windows system. This has inevitably led to some compromises and security flaws, which have been exploited by the authors of malicious software. With Windows 8, it is rumored that the legacy support will be moved into a virtual machine. This means that the security subsystem in Windows 8 will be able to be treated differently, making it much more secure.
Most other desktop and server operating systems, including Linux, Apple OS X, and Google Chrome OS, are all built on top of an operating system called UNIX. This operating system was developed in 1969 and was initially designed to accommodate multitasking and multiusers on mainframe computers.
This means that user permissions and overall operating system security have always been handled differently in UNIX, with users never being given default administrator access to the operating system files. UNIX has slowly made its way from mainframe and minicomputers over the years to the desktop market, during which time this security system has remained unchanged.
None of this means that Windows 7 is an insecure and unstable operating system, quite the opposite. It is the most secure and stable operating system that Microsoft has ever released, and many experts believe it to be every bit as secure as a UNIX-based operating system. It is the vast popularity of Windows that has made it such a security target in the past.
Source of Information : Microsoft Press - Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out
The Windows 7 File and Folder Structure
Windows runs from a series of files and folders on your computer�s hard disk. The basic folder structure is extremely logical and has been simplified immensely over the years. There are three basic Windows 7 folders with some extra folders for user and configuration data and temporary files.
� Program Files. This is where all the files for any programs and software you install in Windows 7 sit. There are two Program Files folders in the 64-bit version of Windows 7: Program Files x86 for 32-bit software and Program Files for newer 64-bit software. Each program sits in its own custom folder under one of these folders. In the 32-bit version, there is only a Program Files folder.
� Users. This is where, by default, all of your documents and files sit, and it is also the location of the Windows registry, the database of settings for Windows and your software. Within the main Users folder, there is one subfolder for each user and another folder called Public, where shared files and folders are kept. There are also hidden user folders called Default and All Users.
� Windows. This is the main folder into which the operating system is installed.
Windows also installs hidden system files across the disk, including the Root folder.
These hidden files and folders are where Windows stores operating system recovery software and folders to support legacy software, including Documents and Settings and the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files that date back to the earliest versions of DOS.
Inside the main Windows folder are a great many different folders, some of which exist to maintain compatibility with legacy hardware and software and some of which service specific features within the operating system.
All of these files and folders are essential, and you should not move, rename, or delete any of them. Folders you might find of particular interest include the following.
� Globalization. This is where you will find the desktop wallpapers in Windows.
� Resources. This is a similar folder to Globalization but is for Windows desktop themes.
� System32. The main operating system files, including hardware device drivers, are located in this folder.
� Program Files. This is where all the files for any programs and software you install in Windows 7 sit. There are two Program Files folders in the 64-bit version of Windows 7: Program Files x86 for 32-bit software and Program Files for newer 64-bit software. Each program sits in its own custom folder under one of these folders. In the 32-bit version, there is only a Program Files folder.
� Users. This is where, by default, all of your documents and files sit, and it is also the location of the Windows registry, the database of settings for Windows and your software. Within the main Users folder, there is one subfolder for each user and another folder called Public, where shared files and folders are kept. There are also hidden user folders called Default and All Users.
� Windows. This is the main folder into which the operating system is installed.
Windows also installs hidden system files across the disk, including the Root folder.
These hidden files and folders are where Windows stores operating system recovery software and folders to support legacy software, including Documents and Settings and the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files that date back to the earliest versions of DOS.
Inside the main Windows folder are a great many different folders, some of which exist to maintain compatibility with legacy hardware and software and some of which service specific features within the operating system.
All of these files and folders are essential, and you should not move, rename, or delete any of them. Folders you might find of particular interest include the following.
� Globalization. This is where you will find the desktop wallpapers in Windows.
� Resources. This is a similar folder to Globalization but is for Windows desktop themes.
� System32. The main operating system files, including hardware device drivers, are located in this folder.
Source of Information : Microsoft Press - Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out
Other Offline TCGs
I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Instead of talking about Forge's great features and its great gameplay and its great AI and its great new cards, I figured I would mention a few other trading card games (TCG) that you can play offline against the AI. Please keep in mind that none of these games are as good as Forge but they try :-)
Blue Moon is a traditional card game where you choose from one of several decks and then play against the AI. There are 8 decks that you can use and play against. The AI is very sophisticated and uses neural networks. (Download links are at the bottom of the page.)
Another traditional card game (from the same programmer) is Race for the Galaxy. Instead of having individual decks, both player draw from the same deck. (Download links are at the bottom of the page.)
Both of these games have a nice user interface and a challenging AI opponent. The rules for the two card games are very complicated and while I have mastered the rules of Magic, I have yet to master the rules for Blue Moon or Race for the Galaxy. It's not that the rules are bad but they have many details like Magic.
While this next program isn't a card game, it has many related elements. Carcassonne is a board game where you draw a game piece and build town and roads. The rules are very simple while mastering those rules is challenging.
After you draw a random board piece you have to add it to the current map while keeping all roads and cities connected, which restricts you from adding a piece anywhere that you want to. After you place your map piece, you may put a settler on that piece. The program has a good AI and lets you play against one or more AI opponents. The programmer also lets you play against other people on the Internet and writing network code is never easy.
I have yet to win a game against the AI even though I enjoyed the fun aspects of creating a new map. I find myself wanting to be able to play a shorter game against the AI so I can evaluate my progress quicker. Playing a game that uses all 60 pieces can be long, especially if you are losing.
All three of these games are quite good and will consume many hours. Please tell me if you happen to beat the AI in any of these three games.
Blue Moon
Windows Executable
GTK Library (required)
Rules
Programmer Homepage
Race for the Galaxy
Windows Executable
Rules
Programmer Homepage - Also has a Mac OS X version that you can download.
Carcassonne
JCloisterZone - requires Java
Programmer Homepage
Keep on forging (my new catch phrase),
mtgrares
Blue Moon is a traditional card game where you choose from one of several decks and then play against the AI. There are 8 decks that you can use and play against. The AI is very sophisticated and uses neural networks. (Download links are at the bottom of the page.)
Another traditional card game (from the same programmer) is Race for the Galaxy. Instead of having individual decks, both player draw from the same deck. (Download links are at the bottom of the page.)
While this next program isn't a card game, it has many related elements. Carcassonne is a board game where you draw a game piece and build town and roads. The rules are very simple while mastering those rules is challenging.
After you draw a random board piece you have to add it to the current map while keeping all roads and cities connected, which restricts you from adding a piece anywhere that you want to. After you place your map piece, you may put a settler on that piece. The program has a good AI and lets you play against one or more AI opponents. The programmer also lets you play against other people on the Internet and writing network code is never easy.
All three of these games are quite good and will consume many hours. Please tell me if you happen to beat the AI in any of these three games.
Blue Moon
Windows Executable
GTK Library (required)
Rules
Programmer Homepage
Race for the Galaxy
Windows Executable
Rules
Programmer Homepage - Also has a Mac OS X version that you can download.
Carcassonne
JCloisterZone - requires Java
Programmer Homepage
Keep on forging (my new catch phrase),
mtgrares
What Is Windows 7 ?
Windows 7 is the latest edition in a series of desktop operating systems and graphical user interfaces (GUI) from Microsoft. Windows 1.0 was released in 1985 as a GUI that sat on top of Microsoft�s popular DOS disk operating system. Over the years Windows has been changed and refined, finally subsuming DOS and becoming a full operating system in its own right with the launch of Windows 98.
Windows 7 was released in October 2009. It is not exactly the seventh version of Windows. Rather it is the seventh version from its particular branch of the software. There have been two branches of Windows: the original consumer versions and the New Technology (NT) business versions. The original consumer lineup included the popular Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows 98. It ended with Windows Me. The NT series began in 1993 as an offshoot of Windows 3.1, with much of the underlying code reengineered to make it more stable and suitable for business users. This NT development tree has split off further with the Server, Desktop, and Home Server variations of the operating system. In turn, the NT branch spawned various server versions of the operating system and then Windows XP, Windows Vista, and most recently, Windows 7.
There is some debate about whether Windows 7 really is the seventh iteration of the NT family, but it�s not the most important concern facing the world today. Windows 7 is officially the seventh iteration if you follow the tree Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows NT 3.1, Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Depending on your view, there have been as many as 28 versions of Windows since it first launched, up to 2010. Windows in its various versions is currently used by approximately four billion people worldwide.
Source of Information : Microsoft Press - Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out
Windows 7 was released in October 2009. It is not exactly the seventh version of Windows. Rather it is the seventh version from its particular branch of the software. There have been two branches of Windows: the original consumer versions and the New Technology (NT) business versions. The original consumer lineup included the popular Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows 98. It ended with Windows Me. The NT series began in 1993 as an offshoot of Windows 3.1, with much of the underlying code reengineered to make it more stable and suitable for business users. This NT development tree has split off further with the Server, Desktop, and Home Server variations of the operating system. In turn, the NT branch spawned various server versions of the operating system and then Windows XP, Windows Vista, and most recently, Windows 7.
There is some debate about whether Windows 7 really is the seventh iteration of the NT family, but it�s not the most important concern facing the world today. Windows 7 is officially the seventh iteration if you follow the tree Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows NT 3.1, Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Depending on your view, there have been as many as 28 versions of Windows since it first launched, up to 2010. Windows in its various versions is currently used by approximately four billion people worldwide.
Source of Information : Microsoft Press - Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out
Computer Forensic Source: Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year
Merry Christmas! Hopefully, you've enjoyed a great Christmas with family and friends. God bless the men & women in our military, law enforcement, emergency personnel, and others that are serving their country or community!
2010 has been a great year for the Computer Forensic Source blog and I thank you for following the blog and providing feedback, which motivates me to keep the forensic content fresh. The tweets, comments, CFS blog references and links are appreciated [Keep those coming] :)
I'm excited about 2011 and thank each of you for a great 2010 and your continued support into the new year. The most viewed CFS blog post this year was my SANS Computer Forensics and Incident Response blog article on Intro to Report Writing in Digital Forensics. There will be a part II that is in queue, and just needs to be edited, so stay tuned. If you have any feedback regarding the CFS blog, please send e-mail to info-at-computerforensicsource-dot-com.
2010 has been a great year for the Computer Forensic Source blog and I thank you for following the blog and providing feedback, which motivates me to keep the forensic content fresh. The tweets, comments, CFS blog references and links are appreciated [Keep those coming] :)
I'm excited about 2011 and thank each of you for a great 2010 and your continued support into the new year. The most viewed CFS blog post this year was my SANS Computer Forensics and Incident Response blog article on Intro to Report Writing in Digital Forensics. There will be a part II that is in queue, and just needs to be edited, so stay tuned. If you have any feedback regarding the CFS blog, please send e-mail to info-at-computerforensicsource-dot-com.
Social engineering � the hidden cyber threat
During the cold war spies were used to infiltrate governments, the military, businesses and other organisations. Their job was to steal information (both non-classified and classified) that might prove valuable to another nation-state. There were some people who did this for individual financial gain, but in the main it was governments who wanted to learn about some new technology or secret weapon to find a way of developing it themselves.
This is still going on today but has evolved into more than just cyber spying � there is also something called social engineering. This is where one individual attempts to trick someone else (through manipulation) into letting them inside a network for example to crack the system (rather than attempting to hack in from the outside).
Social engineering is often misunderstood and not considered as part of corporate and government security policies. It is without doubt one of the biggest risks to a nation-states and business security.
Think about two-factor authentication in IT security � the same principles can be applied to individuals but the real advantage is that individuals can be convinced into sharing authentication details � it also will take a lot less time to extract. Social engineers would be well versed in how to extract sensitive information from individuals (people traits and behaviour patterns are good starting points). Social engineers (often referred to as security crackers) use the telephone system to learn company or corporate lingo (and they will search the Internet for additional company or corporate data to assist their knowledgebase) and weave their way in to the IT security department. Once in the security department a security cracker could impersonate someone from that department and ask for the remote login credentials. It has been done.
Why not Google Kevin Mitnick?
He�s one of the world�s leading social engineering wizards and has managed to crack many a system just using social engineering techniques. Individuals are the weakest link in the cyber security strategy but with good education and motivation it is possible to reduce the risk of this attack vector.
Source of Information : Hakin9 November 2010
This is still going on today but has evolved into more than just cyber spying � there is also something called social engineering. This is where one individual attempts to trick someone else (through manipulation) into letting them inside a network for example to crack the system (rather than attempting to hack in from the outside).
Social engineering is often misunderstood and not considered as part of corporate and government security policies. It is without doubt one of the biggest risks to a nation-states and business security.
Think about two-factor authentication in IT security � the same principles can be applied to individuals but the real advantage is that individuals can be convinced into sharing authentication details � it also will take a lot less time to extract. Social engineers would be well versed in how to extract sensitive information from individuals (people traits and behaviour patterns are good starting points). Social engineers (often referred to as security crackers) use the telephone system to learn company or corporate lingo (and they will search the Internet for additional company or corporate data to assist their knowledgebase) and weave their way in to the IT security department. Once in the security department a security cracker could impersonate someone from that department and ask for the remote login credentials. It has been done.
Why not Google Kevin Mitnick?
He�s one of the world�s leading social engineering wizards and has managed to crack many a system just using social engineering techniques. Individuals are the weakest link in the cyber security strategy but with good education and motivation it is possible to reduce the risk of this attack vector.
Source of Information : Hakin9 November 2010
Numerical Methods For Partial Differential Equations
Lecturer: Dr Tim Warburton
Books
Finite Element Method: Linear Static and Dynamic Finite Element Analysis,
Thomas J. R. Hughes
(Dover Publications)
Thomas J. R. Hughes
(Dover Publications)
Finite Volume Methods for Hyperbolic Problems,
by Randall J. LeVeque, D. G. Crighton (Series Editor)
(Cambridge Texts in Applied Mathematics)
by Randall J. LeVeque, D. G. Crighton (Series Editor)
(Cambridge Texts in Applied Mathematics)
Time Dependent Problems and Difference Methods
by Bertil Gustafsson, Heinz-Otto Kreiss, Joseph Oliger
(Pure and Applied Mathematics: A Wiley-Interscience Series of Texts, Monographs and Tracts)
by Bertil Gustafsson, Heinz-Otto Kreiss, Joseph Oliger
(Pure and Applied Mathematics: A Wiley-Interscience Series of Texts, Monographs and Tracts)
Free online: Finite Difference and Spectral Methods for Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations
Lloyd N. Trefethen
Lloyd N. Trefethen
Links to some useful Unix tutorials
Links to some quick introductory guides for the text editor Emacs:
Week 1
Syllabus and Lecture 1 (syllabus: doc tentative) (syllabus: pdf tentative)
Week 2
Lecture 2: stability of Euler-Forward and introducing AB2 time stepping
Lecture 3: stability of AB2, AB3. Method order accuracy. Consistency. Convergence of linear multistep time stepping. Homework 1 due 01/27/05 beginning of class.
Week 3
Lecture 4: one-step time stepping schemes. Runge-Kutta methods
Lecture 5: summary of stability/consistency and introduction to difference formulae for derivatives (homework)
Week 4
Lecture 6: analyzing the spectrum of some finite difference operators (introduction to numerical dispersion and dissipation)
Lecture 7: demonstrations of the effects of numerical dispersion and dissipation. Homework 3 due 02/10/05
Week 5
Lecture 8: overview of convergence and accuracy for finite difference schemes, brief discussion of boundary conditions via the energy method
(see Lecture 7 for correction to Q1f initial condition)
(see Lecture 7 for correction to Q1f initial condition)
Lecture 9: full description of solutions for hw3
Week 6
Lecture 10: Basic finite volume method
Week 7
Lecture 11: higher-resolution finite volume methods, basic limiter.
Lecture 12: flux limiter functions, Sweby TVD stability diagrams, Harten Theorem.
(homework 4, due 03/03/2005).
(homework 4, due 03/03/2005).
Week 8
Lecture 13: scalar nonlinear conservation laws (MIT notes).
Lecture 14: finite volume methods for scalar nonlinear conservation laws, conservation property, Lax-Wendroff theorem (MIT notes). No homework this week, have good spring break.
Week 9
Spring break
Week 10
Lecture 15: 2D finite-volume on triangle meshes. Project. Topology and geometry of triangle meshes, computing connectivity.
Lecture 16. Project 1: background material
Project 1: Matlab code example
Week 11
Lecture 17: Interpolation on the triangle (Proriol's orthonormal polynomial basis). Integrating and differentiating interpolants on the triangle. Brief derivations of discontinuous Galerkin for the advection equation.
To run under *nix:
> unzip umSYMB.zip
> cd umSYMB
> matlab
>> umSYMBDEMO2d
To compute the (n,m)'th orthonormal Proriol basis function expansion in Matlab:
>> umSYMBPKDO2d(n,m)
Examples:
>> umSYMBPKDO2d(1,0)
ans =
1/2*3^(1/2)*(1+2*r+s)
>> umSYMBPKDO2d(3,2)
ans =
1/32*21^(1/2)*(s^2+8*s+10*r*s+10*r+1+10*r^2)*(1+2*r+s)*(19+70*s+55*s^2)
Lecture 18: Building blocks for discontinuous Galerkin on a triangle grid.
Week 13
Project 2: Final project description
Lecture 19: Notes on a basic, Bubnov-Galerkin, linear finite element method in 1D.
2010 Graphics Cards You Care The Most About
For Nvidia, 2010 was the year of Fermi, the GPU architecture found on the GeForce GTX 480, 470, 465, 460, and 580 graphics cards. Earlier, AMD launched the Radeon HD 5670, 5570, and 5450, which were designed to appeal to the budget gamer and HDTV crowd. We also saw the Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity Edition, which allows for sixmonitor gaming setups. Recently, AMD released the 6870 and 6850 to compete at the midrange level.
Winner: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 (1GB)
$199.99; www.nvidia.com
The GeForce GTX 460 was a top midrange performer in 2010, and it helped show what Nvidia�s Fermi architecture is capable of. The GTX 460 is built using the GF104 GPU, which is an update from the GTX 480 and 470�s GF100 GPU. As a midrange card, it features two GPCs (Graphics Processing Clusters)�whereas the GTX 480 had four�but compared to the GF100 GPU, Nvidia has improved the GPCs by adding an additional 16 CUDA cores and twice the number of special function units and texture units. The result is an affordable graphics card that still provides you the ability to play today�s newest games at high frame rates.
Nvidia offers two versions of the GTX 460, one with 768MB of GDDR5 memory and one with 1,024MB. The 1GB version offers 32 ROPs and a 256-bit memory controller, while the 768MB version features 24 ROPs and a 192-bit memory controller. Core (675MHz), shader (1,350MHz), and memory (1,800MHz) frequencies are identical on both versions. There are 336 stream processors and 56 texture units to improve your computer�s ability to process large amounts of parallel tasks.
For outputs, the GTX 460 offers two dual-link DVI ports and a mini HDMI port. Those with limited space in their case will also like that the GeForce GTX 460 is only 8.25 inches long. It requires two 6-pin PCI-E power connectors, and Nvidia suggests that your power supply should be 450 watts or greater.
First Runner-Up: AMD Radeon HD 6850
$179.99; www.amd.com
In late October, AMD released the Radeon HD 6800 series, and the Radeon HD 6850 was a top performer in terms of price/performance. The Barts GPU found in the Radeon HD 6850 is a redesigned version of the Cypress GPU found in the 5800 series. The Barts GPU took 25% of the engines for compute, shader, and texture performance and reassigned them to handle rasterization, tessellation, and ROP. The changes meant that even though the Radeon HD 6850 offers a half a billion fewer transistors than the 5850, it can deliver gaming performance close to what you experience with the 5850, and you�ll pay $50 to $70 less for the 6850.
The Radeon HD 6850 features a core clock of 775MHz and 1GB of GDDR5 memory that runs at 1,000MHz. There are 960 stream processors, 48 texture units, and 32 color ROP units. AMD also improved the technology for video outputs. There�s a DisplayPort 1.2 connector that allows a max resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 per display, and the HDMI 1.4a port allows for stereoscopic 3D and high bit-rate audio. There are also two dual-link DVI outputs. The Radeon HD 6850�s integrated audio controller can provide 7.1-channel surround sound over either the HDMI or DisplayPort connections. Finally, the card features support for DirectX 11, Shader Model 5.0, OpenGL 1.4, and AMD�s Eyefinity.
Second Runner-Up: Nvidia GeForce GTX 580
$499; www.nvidia.com
The GeForce GTX 580 is the newest iteration of Fermi, and it attempts to make amends for the heat and noise problems found in the GTX 470 and 480. The GeForce GTX 580 also captured the single GPU performance crown over the GTX 480, because it offers more stream processors, faster clock speeds, and more texture units.
Overall, clock speeds are around 10% faster than the GTX 480. Even better, Nvidia claims that the GTX 580 offers lower power consumption than the GTX 480, so you�ll battle fewer heat issues. In terms of specs, the GeForce GTX offers 512 CUDA Cores, 1.5GB of GDDR5, and a 384-bit memory controller. It supports DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.1, and Shader Model 5.0.
2010 Motherboards You Care The Most About
Source of Information : Computer Power User (CPU) January 2011
Winner: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 (1GB)
$199.99; www.nvidia.com
The GeForce GTX 460 was a top midrange performer in 2010, and it helped show what Nvidia�s Fermi architecture is capable of. The GTX 460 is built using the GF104 GPU, which is an update from the GTX 480 and 470�s GF100 GPU. As a midrange card, it features two GPCs (Graphics Processing Clusters)�whereas the GTX 480 had four�but compared to the GF100 GPU, Nvidia has improved the GPCs by adding an additional 16 CUDA cores and twice the number of special function units and texture units. The result is an affordable graphics card that still provides you the ability to play today�s newest games at high frame rates.
Nvidia offers two versions of the GTX 460, one with 768MB of GDDR5 memory and one with 1,024MB. The 1GB version offers 32 ROPs and a 256-bit memory controller, while the 768MB version features 24 ROPs and a 192-bit memory controller. Core (675MHz), shader (1,350MHz), and memory (1,800MHz) frequencies are identical on both versions. There are 336 stream processors and 56 texture units to improve your computer�s ability to process large amounts of parallel tasks.
For outputs, the GTX 460 offers two dual-link DVI ports and a mini HDMI port. Those with limited space in their case will also like that the GeForce GTX 460 is only 8.25 inches long. It requires two 6-pin PCI-E power connectors, and Nvidia suggests that your power supply should be 450 watts or greater.
First Runner-Up: AMD Radeon HD 6850
$179.99; www.amd.com
In late October, AMD released the Radeon HD 6800 series, and the Radeon HD 6850 was a top performer in terms of price/performance. The Barts GPU found in the Radeon HD 6850 is a redesigned version of the Cypress GPU found in the 5800 series. The Barts GPU took 25% of the engines for compute, shader, and texture performance and reassigned them to handle rasterization, tessellation, and ROP. The changes meant that even though the Radeon HD 6850 offers a half a billion fewer transistors than the 5850, it can deliver gaming performance close to what you experience with the 5850, and you�ll pay $50 to $70 less for the 6850.
The Radeon HD 6850 features a core clock of 775MHz and 1GB of GDDR5 memory that runs at 1,000MHz. There are 960 stream processors, 48 texture units, and 32 color ROP units. AMD also improved the technology for video outputs. There�s a DisplayPort 1.2 connector that allows a max resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 per display, and the HDMI 1.4a port allows for stereoscopic 3D and high bit-rate audio. There are also two dual-link DVI outputs. The Radeon HD 6850�s integrated audio controller can provide 7.1-channel surround sound over either the HDMI or DisplayPort connections. Finally, the card features support for DirectX 11, Shader Model 5.0, OpenGL 1.4, and AMD�s Eyefinity.
Second Runner-Up: Nvidia GeForce GTX 580
$499; www.nvidia.com
The GeForce GTX 580 is the newest iteration of Fermi, and it attempts to make amends for the heat and noise problems found in the GTX 470 and 480. The GeForce GTX 580 also captured the single GPU performance crown over the GTX 480, because it offers more stream processors, faster clock speeds, and more texture units.
Overall, clock speeds are around 10% faster than the GTX 480. Even better, Nvidia claims that the GTX 580 offers lower power consumption than the GTX 480, so you�ll battle fewer heat issues. In terms of specs, the GeForce GTX offers 512 CUDA Cores, 1.5GB of GDDR5, and a 384-bit memory controller. It supports DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.1, and Shader Model 5.0.
2010 Motherboards You Care The Most About
Source of Information : Computer Power User (CPU) January 2011
China and Russia � politically motivated cyber attacks
China as previously discussed, has the potential to wreak havoc so it�s no surprise to understand that is has developed a comprehensive cyber espionage programmes (which targets for example computer hardware and software); created citizen hacker groups; established cyber warfare units (very much like many other nation-states) and embedded logic bombs and trap doors in many nation-state infrastructure networks and computer software. Chinese warfare strategy is very much politically driven.
China has developed a detailed cyber warfare strategy which works very closely with private hacker groups. To date there are probably 2-300 hacker groups working directly with the Chinese government. Take into account that they now have the Microsoft source code; they can now fully understand the security vulnerabilities long before they are identified and fixed by Microsoft. The Chinese government do not use Microsoft software for their networks � rather they use open source software called Kylin. The reason for this is clear � they plan to use their knowledge of Microsoft to inflict sabotage and or exploit as yet unidentified software vulnerabilities on those nation-states that use Windows operating systems.
Russia however, still remains the biggest threat in cyber space according to leading US security researchers and the US government. After all this is the land of the chess masters. In January of 2009 the world witnessed the third successful cyber attack against a country (all cyber attacks by this time had been committed by Russia). The target was the small country of Kyrgyzstan. The country is only about 77,000 square miles in size with a population of just over 5 million. The attackers focused on the three of the four Internet service providers. They launched a distributed denial of service attack traffic and quickly overwhelmed the three and disrupting all Internet communications.
The IP traffic was traced back to Russian-based servers primarily known for cyber crime activity. Multiple sources have blamed the cyber attack on the Russian cyber militia and/or the Russian Business Network (RBN). RBN is thought to control the world�s largest botnet with between 150 and 180 million nodes. In this particular cyber attack it is believed that the Russian government wanted to put itself an arm�s length away from the hostile act.
Did you know? The Russian Business Network (RBN) is a cybercrime organization specializing in and in some cases monopolizing personal identity theft for resale. It is the originator of the MPack exploit kit and alleged operator of the Storm botnet. (Reference:Wikipedia/edited)
Source of Information : Hakin9 November 2010
China has developed a detailed cyber warfare strategy which works very closely with private hacker groups. To date there are probably 2-300 hacker groups working directly with the Chinese government. Take into account that they now have the Microsoft source code; they can now fully understand the security vulnerabilities long before they are identified and fixed by Microsoft. The Chinese government do not use Microsoft software for their networks � rather they use open source software called Kylin. The reason for this is clear � they plan to use their knowledge of Microsoft to inflict sabotage and or exploit as yet unidentified software vulnerabilities on those nation-states that use Windows operating systems.
Russia however, still remains the biggest threat in cyber space according to leading US security researchers and the US government. After all this is the land of the chess masters. In January of 2009 the world witnessed the third successful cyber attack against a country (all cyber attacks by this time had been committed by Russia). The target was the small country of Kyrgyzstan. The country is only about 77,000 square miles in size with a population of just over 5 million. The attackers focused on the three of the four Internet service providers. They launched a distributed denial of service attack traffic and quickly overwhelmed the three and disrupting all Internet communications.
The IP traffic was traced back to Russian-based servers primarily known for cyber crime activity. Multiple sources have blamed the cyber attack on the Russian cyber militia and/or the Russian Business Network (RBN). RBN is thought to control the world�s largest botnet with between 150 and 180 million nodes. In this particular cyber attack it is believed that the Russian government wanted to put itself an arm�s length away from the hostile act.
Did you know? The Russian Business Network (RBN) is a cybercrime organization specializing in and in some cases monopolizing personal identity theft for resale. It is the originator of the MPack exploit kit and alleged operator of the Storm botnet. (Reference:Wikipedia/edited)
Source of Information : Hakin9 November 2010
Introduction to Data Mining
Course Description
Data Mining is the nontrivial extraction of implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful information from data. It has gradually matured as a discipline merging ideas from statistics, machine learning, database and etc. This is an introductory course for junior/senior computer science undergraduate students on the topic of Data Mining. Topics include data mining applications, data preparation, data reduction and various data mining techniques (such as association, clustering, classification, anomaly detection)
Textbooks and References
Textbook
- Jiawei Han and Micheline Kamber. Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2006, Second Edition.
References
- Ian H. Witten and Eibe Frank. Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques with Java Implementations. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
- Chakrabarti. Mining the Web: discovering knowledge from hypertext data. Morgan Kaufmann , 2003. Available on line at FIU Library .
| No | TOPOC (Click to Download PPT) |
| 1 | Course Organization, Introduction (Lecture Slides) |
| 2 | Ch1: Data Mining Introduction, Data Pre-processing |
| 3 | Weka Introduction I (Lecture Slides) (Please bring your laptop to work in class) |
| 4 | Ch2: Data Introduction (Lecture Slides) |
| 5 | Ch2: Data Similarity (Lecture Slides) Quiz 1 |
| 6 | Ch2: Data Cleaning and Transformation (Lecture Slides) Quiz 2 |
| 7 | Ch2: Data Reduction (Lecture Slides) Quiz 3 |
| 8 | Ch2: Data Reduction (Lecture Slides) |
| 9 | Ch3: Data Warehouse (Lecture Slides) |
| 10 | Ch5: Association Mining (Lecture Slides) |
| 11 | Ch5: Association Mining (Lecture Slides) |
| 12 | Ch5: Association Mining (Lecture Slides) |
| 13 | Ch5: Association Mining (Lecture Slides) Ch8.3: Mining Sequential Paterns (Lecture Slides) |
| 14 | Ch8.3: Mining Sequential Paterns (Lecture Slides) |
| 15 | Ch6: Classification and Prediction (Lecture Slides) |
| 16 | Ch6: Decision Tree Classifer (Lecture Slides) |
| 17 | Ch6: Naive Bayes Classifer and Rule Based Classifier(Lecture Slides) |
| 18 | Ch6: Nearest Neighbor Classifier, SVM (Lecture Slides) |
| 19 | Ch6: Classifier evaluation and Ensemble Classifer (Lecture Slides) |
| 20 | Ch 7: Clustering Introduction (Lecture Slides) |
| 21 | Ch 7: Partitional and Hierarchical Clustering (Lecture Slides) |
| 22 | Ch7: Density-based Clustering (Lecture Slides) |
Machine Learning, Tom Mitchell, McGraw Hill
Book Description:
Machine Learning is the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience. Applications range from datamining programs that discover general rules in large data sets, to information filtering systems that automatically learn users' interests.Slides for instructors:
The following slides are made available for instructors teaching from the textbook Machine Learning, Tom Mitchell, McGraw-Hill.
- Ch 1. Introduction. ( postscript 3.8Meg), ( gzipped postscript 317k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 2. Concept Learning. ( postscript 347k), ( gzipped postscript 100k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 3. Decision Tree Learning. ( postscript 530k), ( gzipped postscript 143k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 4. Artificial Neural Networks. ( postscript 1.83Meg), ( gzipped postscript 329k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 5. Evaluating Hypotheses. ( postscript 212k), ( gzipped postscript 67k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 6. Bayesian Learning. ( postscript 261k), ( gzipped postscript 81k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
see also slides on learning Bayesian networks by Friedman and Goldszmidt. - Ch 7. Computational Learning Theory. ( postscript 160k), ( gzipped postscript 50k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 8. Instance Based Learning. ( postscript 138k), ( gzipped postscript 39k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 9. Genetic Algorithms. ( postscript 245k), ( gzipped postscript 72k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 10. Learning Sets of Rules. ( postscript 185k), ( gzipped postscript 57k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 11. Analytical Learning. ( postscript 261k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 12. Combining Inductive and Analytical Learning. ( postscript 419k), ( gzipped postscript 103k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
- Ch 13. Reinforcment Learning. ( postscript 172k), ( gzipped postscript 40k) (pdf ) ( latex source )
Additional tutorial materials:
Support Vector Machines:
- Tutorial information on Support vector machines
- Freeware implementation : SVM Light by Thorsten Joachims.
- K.-R. M�ller, S. Mika, G. R�tsch, K. Tsuda, and B. Sch�lkopf. An introduction to kernel-based learning algorithms. IEEE Neural Networks, 12(2):181-201, May 2001. (PDF)
see also slides on learning Bayesian networks by Friedman and Goldszmidt.
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