ups

Sites of UPS, Acer, others redirected in DNS attack

A U.K. domain name registrar confirmed today that an attack on its system redirected traffic for some of its customers' sites to a Web page controlled by hackers.

Fewer than a dozen domain names registered by NetNames were affected by the attack, which occurred on Sunday, according to Stuart Fuller, a spokesman for NetNames parent Group NBT. He declined to name the sites that were redirected.

A list on Zone-H, which retains copies of Web defacements, shows seven sites registered by NetNames or affiliate Ascio that were affected by the Domain Name System (DNS) redirect attack on Sunday, including … Read more

Disable the Skype Home window pop-up

"Oh, hey there, Skype Home window. I was going to watch this movie but I see you've decided to randomly open a window over it instead. Thanks!" Sound familiar? If you're a Skype user who's updated to version 5.5, you've probably come across this issue (only happens if you use Compact mode). There isn't a way to disable the pop-up in the application (yet), so follow these steps if you'd like to get rid of it:

Step 1: Download and install the Kill Skype Home program from SourceForge.

Step 2: … Read more

Deutsche Telekom: We are entitled to a breakup fee

Deutsche Telekom said today it would be entitled to a breakup fee if AT&T's planned purchase of T-Mobile USA falls apart, refuting an earlier report that it could potentially end up with nothing.

Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported yesterday that AT&T may be off the hook for paying a $6 billion breakup fee to Deutsche Telekom under certain conditions. But Deutsche Telekom said today that isn't the case.

"The story from Reuters misstated the facts," Deutsche Telekom representative Andreas Fuchs told CNET today. "The breakup fee was agreed to precisely to … Read more

T-Mobile may miss out on AT&T break-up fee, report says

AT&T may not have to pay T-Mobile USA's parent, Deutsche Telekom, the $6 billion break-up fee even if the mega-merger between wireless carriers falls apart, according to Reuters.

AT&T may not be on the hook for the fee under certain conditions, a source told Reuters in a story that ran today.

Spokesmen for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Deutsche Telekom didn't immediately respond to CNET's requests for a comment.

AT&T and T-Mobile were thrown for a loop last week when the Department of Justice sued to block AT&T's planned acquisition … Read more

Replica of Disney-Pixar 'Up' house for sale in Utah

In the Disney-Pixar animated movie "Up," Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) and wife Ellie dream of traveling to Paradise Falls, South America. When Carl takes that trip by using thousands of helium balloons to lift his home right off its foundation, the house takes quite a beating.

A home builder in Utah has created a full-scale replica of that charming home--firmly fixed to the ground--in the city of Herriman, about 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Related story • Balloons float real-life 'Up' house near LA

The builder, Bangerter Homes, has re-created several rooms from the 2009 film in retro detail--down to the wallpaper, light switches, and custom-made fireplace mantel, which is currently adorned with some very "Up"-like knick-knacks. … Read more

Must-have MacBook Air accessories

The MacBook Air is Apple's new mainstream MacBook, and though the latest version is undoubtedly the best, there are still aspects of this slim laptop that could do with accessories. The Air achieves an excellent balance of design, performance, and battery life, but it still leaves out some features that many people consider essential to their laptop experience.

Consider these accessories a way of mending the missing pieces and providing true MacBook Air road warriors with all the tools needed for a worry-free Air-based lifestyle.

Click through for our picks. Did we miss any? Are there even better examples … Read more

Twitpic founder says Heello to Twitter clone

Noah Everett is looking to take out the bird with one clone. The Twitpic founder appears to be serving up a bit of revenge with his latest venture, Heello, a feature-for-feature Twitter clone, right down to the "@" symbol and the pastel tones.

The start-up may or may not be motivated by vengeance, but it's tough to ignore the fact that Heello was launched a day after Twitter announced its own photo-sharing service, which competes directly with third-party photo services built on Twitter's API like Twitpic.

Still, Everett claims the launch date has more to do with a certain anniversary than a jab at the blue bird.

"We launched Heello the company one year ago today and today we're launching Heello the service," he pinged to his Heello listeners earlier today. Pings are the Heello equivalent of tweets and a listener is the same as a Twitter follower.

CNET has contacted Everett for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

Everett tells VentureBeat that the project started last year as a way to make Twitter "suck less" and revolve more around e-mail, but later opted to stay closer to Twitter's social formula.

If Heello's initial offering is any indication, they didn't change much in the formula, but Everett says video and texting integration are on the way, as well as a feature called "channels" that allows listeners to be grouped together in a manner that sounds awfully similar to Google+ circles.

Perhaps Everett really has no score to settle with Twitter. He's likely more focused on celebrating today anyhow--aside from the launch, it's also his 27th birthday, or so he just notified all his fans... on Twitter. … Read more

AutoPilot and more in Bitdefender Total Security 2012

The bottom line: Bitdefender Total Security 2012 makes a convincing pitch as an easy Windows security option. It's got an enormous selection of features, but the best one means you'll never see another security notification again unless you get infected. However, the fact that you can get the same feature even in Bitdefender's basic antivirus suite means you ought to think twice before getting this superhigh-end version.

Review: Bitdefender Total Security 2012 presents a convincing alternative to its better-known competitors. It's a strong program, with all the major tools that users expect, and some additional useful … Read more

Mac Trojan Horse poses as Adobe Flash Installer

The latest attempt from digital wrongdoers to infect your Mac has been spotted taking on the look and feel of Adobe's Flash Installer.

Despite your feelings on whether you like Flash on your Mac, this Trojan poses a fairly serious threat to those unsuspecting users who may think they are simply updating Flash Player.

F-Secure has named the Trojan Bash/QHost.WB and have provided some insight as to how it works.

Once installed, the Trojan adds entries to the hosts file to hijack users visiting various Google sites (e.g., Google.com.tw, Google.com.tl, et cetera) … Read more