Sapphire Technology has just announced its ATOMIC Edition of the HD 4890 – delivering the fastest single GPU graphics card available based on ATI/AMD technology. Building on its success with Special Editions based on its Vapor-X Vapor Chamber Cooling technology introduced over a year ago, the SAPPHIRE HD 4890 ATOMIC Edition will be a limited edition product aimed at the enthusiast looking for the maximum performance straight out of the box.

The Sapphire HD 4890 ATOMIC achieves the fastest speeds available on current technology. It is the first card on the market with a core clock speed of 1GHz as well as 1GB of GDDR5 memory with clocks of 1050MHz, making it the fastest ATI-based single core graphics card on the market. Its distinctive silver box features an enhanced accessory bundle including HDMI cable for connection to a suitable display.  A launch promotion on www.sapphireatomic.com gives users a chance to win one of these exciting cards as well as related prizes.

The Sapphire HD 4890 series is based on a new GPU core from the ATI division of AMD. This features the same graphics architecture as the successful HD 4870 series, with 800 stream processor units, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface and integral hardware video decoder. It also features improved memory management architecture, and technical innovations that allow higher clock speeds and reduce standby power levels.

This series uses the PCI-Express Gen2 interface, and features dual connectors for CrossFireX cables, allowing two or more cards to be used together on a CrossFireX compatible mainboard for even higher graphics performance.

About Vapor-X

Sapphire was the first company to introduce Vapor Chamber Technology to its cooling solutions for graphics. The Vapor-X cooler was first seen on the Sapphire HD 3870 ATOMIC and TOXIC Editions over a year ago and is now in production on the HD 4870 512MB and 1GB TOXIC Editions and Vapor-X series cards.

Vapor-X is a Vapor Chamber Technology based on the same principles as heatpipe technology.  A liquid coolant is vaporised at a hot surface, the resulting vapor is condensed at a cold surface then the liquid is returned to the hot surface. The recirculation process takes place inside an evacuated chamber and is controlled by a complex wick system. In Sapphire Vapor-X systems, the whole chamber is very slim and is mounted in contact with the surface of the graphics chip. More details are available at www.sapphiretech.com

The ATOMIC and TOXIC series of high performance overclocked products incorporate a hybrid cooling system combining Vapor-X at the core to remove heat efficiently from the graphics processor together with heatpipes and heatsinks. These are cooled by a fan to carry away the heat from the vapor chamber, memories and other components and give more headroom for higher levels of performance. Sapphire Vapor-X and hybrid cooling systems are very efficient, so they can use low air flow rates – and therefore low speed, low noise fans

Smooth Video and Streaming

All Sapphire graphics cards in the HD 4800 series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo HD Technology for enhanced Video display and feature a new generation built in hardware UVD (Unified Video decoder) considerably reducing CPU load and delivering smooth decoding of Blu-ray and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files. In addition to two, dual-link DVI outputs, and TV-Out, a dedicated HDMI adaptor delivers both audio and video output on a single cable for direct connection to an HDMI ready display.

Sapphire HD 4800 series graphics cards are Microsoft Windows Vista Premium certified and supported by the ATI Catalyst suite of software, ensuring customers have ongoing access to software updates for performance, stability and added features. Like the previous generation, these cards support DirectX10.1 for enhanced rendering performance and lighting effects. With the latest drivers, the Sapphire HD 4800 series also offers ATI Stream processing for the acceleration of video transcoding and other supported applications.

Sapphire will be announcing further models in its HD 4890 series in the coming weeks.More details are available at www.sapphiretech.com.

iAM Interactive, the Philippine game publishing company behind the hit games Lineage II and Exteel, together with Radiance Digital Entertainment, will begin the Closed Beta Testing (CBT) period of their new online racing game Go Go Racer on May 13, 2009. The launch is in line with the company’s goals of harnessing the vast market potential in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore territories.

Gogo Racer is the second free-to-play game to be added on iAM Interactive’s growing lineup of games. It is a next-gen online casual racing game that boasts a wide array of cool features such as anime-inspired graphics, real physics engine, and countless customization options for karts and avatars, just to name a few.

The Go Go Racer CBT will provide the gamers firsthand experience on how to play the new game. CBT testers will be acquainted with the game’s features early on, thus giving them a headstart. The CBT will also serve as the groundwork for the creation of racing gamers’ communities.

Go Go Racer will aim to establish a regional bond of racing enthusiasts by engaging them in friendly in-game competitions not only in the Philippines but also in Singapore and Malaysia as well. Thus, establishing once more that iAM Interactive is the premiere regional online gaming company in the Philippines.

iAM Interactive is a game publishing company based in the Philippines. IAM Interactive channels its resources to give the gamers the best gaming experience by providing them, not only with the best gaming titles, but also top-notch services. To find out more, please visit www.iam-interactive.com.

Kaspersky Lab has implemented detection and treatment for a new variant of a unique MBR rootkit.

The new variant of Sinowal, a malicious program that is capable of hiding its presence in the system by infecting the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the hard drive, was detected by the company’s experts at the end of March 2009.

Throughout 2008, Kaspersky Lab’s analysts provided detailed reports about other variants of this rootkit: in the first quarterly report on malware evolution and in the article “Bootkit: the challenge of 2008”. However, the new variant has come as a surprise for researchers. Unlike earlier versions, the new modification, Backdoor.Win32.Sinowal, penetrates much deeper into the system to avoid being detected. The stealth method used in this variant hooks device objects at the operating system’s lowest level. This is the first time cybercriminals have used such sophisticated technologies. This explains why no antivirus products could treat computers infected with the new Sinowal modification or even detect it when it first appeared. Once the bootkit penetrates the system, it conceals the payload’s activities, which are designed to steal user data and various account details.

According to Kaspersky Lab’s experts, over the last month the bootkit has been actively spreading from a number of malicious sites that exploit Neosploit vulnerabilities. In particular, it can penetrate a system via a vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader that allows a malicious PDF file to be downloaded without the user’s knowledge.

Implementing detection and treatment for the bootkit, which is still spreading throughout the Internet, is the most difficult task that antivirus specialists have faced for a number of years. Kaspersky Lab was one of the first major antivirus vendors to incorporate both detection and successful treatment for the new Sinowal modification in its personal antivirus solutions.

To check whether the bootkit has infected a computer, users must update their antivirus databases and perform a complete system scan. If the bootkit is detected, the computer will need to be rebooted during the treatment process.

Kaspersky Lab specialists also recommend users to install all the necessary patches to close vulnerabilities in Acrobat Reader and any browsers that they use.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab delivers the world’s most immediate protection against IT security threats, including viruses, spyware, crimeware, hackers, phishing, and spam. Kaspersky Lab products provide superior detection rates and the industry’s fastest outbreak response time for home users, SMBs, large enterprises and the mobile computing environment. Kaspersky technology is also used worldwide inside the products and services of the industry’s leading IT security solution providers. For further information, please visit www.kaspersky.com. For the latest on anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and other IT security issues and trends, please visit www.viruslist.com.

Sandboxes, rock stars and clean rooms mean something entirely different at Intel Corporation, and a new integrated branding campaign by the leading silicon innovator will tell the world how.

Representing Intel’s biggest marketing campaign in nearly three years and the first that spotlights the promotion of the Intel brand and not a processor product, “Sponsors of Tomorrow” will launch May 11 in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom with limited teaser ads starting today online. Over the next month the campaign will expand to more than two dozen countries with Brazil and Japan rounding out the planned markets in the third quarter. The ambitious campaign conveys the message that gigantic advances of the digital age have been made possible by silicon – the key ingredient in microprocessors – and the vast majority of this silicon has come from Intel.

“For more than 40 years Intel has been delivering tomorrow’s ‘normal,’ and our new marketing campaign is a way for the world to be made aware of this fact,” said Deborah Conrad, Intel vice president and general manager, Corporate Marketing Group. “We’re hoping to convey that we’re not just a microprocessor company, but a move-society-forward-by-quantum-leaps company.

“Our image, our brand are far too powerful to just be a microprocessor when, in fact, the greatest strength of the Intel brand will always be what is still to come. What Intel develops today leads the path toward a better tomorrow.”

To ring in the new campaign – literally – a group of Intel employees will ring the ceremonial opening bell for the NASDAQ Stock Market at 9:30 a.m. EDT on May 11. The ceremony will be broadcast live in Times Square on the video screen of the seven-story NASDAQ building and at www.nasdaq.com.

The multi-million-dollar marketing campaign is the largest for Intel since “Multiply,” the September 2006 campaign that supported the then-new Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo. “Sponsors of Tomorrow” is expected to have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years, and was created by Venables Bell & Partners in San Francisco. It is the first campaign for Intel by the agency since being awarded Intel’s master brand account in January.

“Most of the world knows Intel as a huge, multi-national chipmaker, but the company is much more than that,” said Paul Venables, the agency’s founder and co-creative director. “The more we learned about Intel, the more we realized how narrow our perception had been. This company is forging the future in so many unfathomable ways, and what a shame it is that the general consumer has no idea.”

“Sponsors of Tomorrow” includes print, online, outdoor and other advertisement placements, plus such additional marketing efforts as in-store and online retail campaigns, all focused on helping consumers choose the best Intel processor that meets their needs. Global media planning was handled by OMD.

An example of a print ad debuting May 11 in the initial markets is driven by the line, “Your rock stars aren’t like our rock stars.” The two-picture visual is, at left, a grunge rock ‘n roll band looking cool in sunglasses and jeans behind bright stage lights; and, in the photo at right, two bespectacled computer engineers are sporting white lab coats in their techy environment. But these aren’t just any engineers. As the ad copy explains, they are the designers of the very first microprocessor. “Back in 1969,” the ad says, “their Intel® 4004 blew people’s minds wide open – a tradition that’s still very much alive” at Intel.

“Rock Star” also is the basis of a video for broadcast and online. For this concept and other creative in which Intel engineers are identified, the engineers are personified by hired actors, a practice common to marketing campaigns of a quirky, tongue-in-cheek nature. A bio of each engineer portrayed in the ads is on the campaign Web site, www.sponsorsoftomorrow.com, that goes live later today. The employees may be part of future campaign elements.

“Several of the engineers we’re personifying confided that acting isn’t within their comfort zone,” said Sandra Lopez, Intel’s global consumer marketing manager. “We respect that and in the spirit of developing tomorrow’s ‘normal’ we appreciate that their focus is on winning patents, not Clios,” a reference by Lopez of the global advertising awards competition.

Another video, titled “Oops,” is set at a technology convention, where Intel is about to reveal a new microprocessor to a packed auditorium. As the dramatic unveiling is about to happen onstage, Intel employees and reporters struggle to find the tiny chip on the floor, and have the impossible task of finding it. The tagline: “Our big ideas aren’t like your big ideas.”

“Clean Room” is a print ad that shows an adorable little girl beaming over how tidy her bedroom is, and to the right is another photo of technicians in a fab, all wearing special uniforms called “bunny suits” that help keep Intel’s cleanrooms 10,000 times cleaner than a hospital operating room, a critical step to reduce the chance of airborne particles harming the chips.

Out-of-home, or outdoor ads, also debut May 11 in the three initial markets. In what is likely an advertising first, a digital billboard in New York’s Times Square will feature scrolling messages from texters at the famous Manhattan intersection and those in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and other locations where storefront digital signs are linked for a multi-site, international texting experience. The campaign Web site ties the “Text for Tomorrow” effort together. Traditional billboards and bus stop shelters in various markets will bear witty factoids along with the “Sponsors of Tomorrow” slogan next to the Intel logo. Examples are “Today is so yesterday” and “Our sandbox is the size of a fingernail. And 41,000 engineers play in it.”

The phased launch begins May 11, as noted, in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. The campaign debuts in China and India later this month, and in June is scheduled to be introduced in the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. Additional parts of Latin America and Africa are scheduled for June introductions, and Brazil and Japan are slated for August and September, respectively.

Retail campaigns encompass a range of executions, from merchandising materials and in-store demos to online ads and training for retail salespeople. The essence of “Sponsors of Tomorrow” will also be incorporated into Intel’s online materials developed to assist consumers researching PC purchases. A heavy internal campaign is already underway at Intel campuses throughout the world.

Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Windows 7 will mark a dramatic improvement in the way the Windows operating system takes advantage of the graphics processing unit (GPU) to provide a more compelling user experience. And so, in conjunction with the release candidate of Windows 7, NVIDIA announced that it is the first hardware vendor to release a new Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL)-certified graphics driver for PC desktops and notebooks, offering all of the latest NVIDIA exclusive performance, features, and technology for its ION, GeForce and Quadro products.

Anandtech’s Ryan Smith and Gary Key put the new driver through a full test and reported that “NVIDIA promised performance gains with Windows 7 over Vista and they delivered.” They went on to add “…performance was rock solid and the compatibility/stability aspects of the driver far exceeded our expectations… they pretty much nailed their first full driver set for Windows 7 with all features working.” As a result, Anandtech asserted that “Windows 7 will be a very solid
gaming platform.”

By taking advantage of the GPU for both graphics rendering and parallel computing, Windows 7 with DirectX Compute will not only ensure that greater clarity and focus are inherent in the look, feel, and functionality of the desktop experience, but it will also provide the speed and responsiveness to delight customers.

“Windows 7 users now have the absolute latest in performance and support for features including SLI, PhysX, 3D Vision, and DirectX Compute,” said Dwight Diercks, vice president of software engineering at NVIDIA. “For gaming, video transcoding, and an overall better computing experience on Windows 7, users now have the peace of mind knowing that we have the official
Microsoft WHQL stamp of approval.”

Version 185.85 WHQL drivers support Microsoft’s new Windows 7 display driver model WDDM v1.1. Powered by NVIDIA’s DirectX 10 GPUs, WDDM v1.1 drivers provide a premium visual experience in Windows 7.

To download the new Windows 7 WHQL drivers for NVIDIA GPUs, please visit: www.nvidia.com/drivers. For more information on Windows 7 and the release candidate, please visit: www.microsoft.com/windows7.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) is the world leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, a high-performance processor which generates breathtaking, interactive graphics on workstations, personal computers, game consoles, and mobile devices. NVIDIA serves the entertainment and consumer market with its GeForce® products, the professional design and visualisation market with its Quadro® products, and the high-performance computing market with its Tesla products. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas

Given the title “world’s lightest and slimmest 13” notebook” at its debut in CES January 2009, the MSI X340 is 6 mm at its thinnest and 20 mm at its widest, weighing 1.3 kilograms with battery.

MSI makes its fashion statement through the X-Slim series. The chic design of the X340 frees notebooks from the monotone and makes them works of art, attracting media eyes worldwide, and making MSI more a notebook boutique than an IT manufacturer.

The X-Slim embraces a simple and modern design concept and meanwhile features the most advanced multimedia and power saving technologies.

The First 13” Notebook Equipped with a 16:9 Wide Screen
The X340 has a 13” LCD display instead of the usual 12” or smaller sizes. This provides more comfort in reading and operation as well as lighter weight compared to 14” models.

The 16:9 theater ratio provides larger visual area. When watching movies, the black bars on the top and bottom usually found on screens with the 16:10 aspect ratio screen are avoided. This is perfect for playing HD videos at any possible angle, and is ideal for total visual enjoyment.

The X340 is embedded with the LED power-saving backlight technology, which also provides better color fullness and brightness, elevating the total quality of imagery. Furthermore, the lower power usage gives a longer operating time.

Full I/O Ports in a Notebook measured 6mm at its thinnest
The X340 includes full I/O ports to provide users a full connectivity and ease of use. There are two USB sockets, one HDMI, a MIC-in, Headphone Out, D-Sub (VGA), an RJ-45 LAN port and a card reader.

The MIC-in port supports microphone or headphone by auto-detecting which device is used. The friendly design makes exclusive vocal enjoyment sharable. HDMI Digital Terminal Interface offers more than 5 GB of transmitting bandwidth and also removes the complications of multiple cables.

Five Alternatives for Power Saving
The X340 is equipped with MSI’s ECO Engine power management system. Users are free to select from five different modes — office, gaming, movies, presentation, and turbo battery. Through various conditions such as the brightness of the screen and standby timeframe, the power consumption can be much more flexible, providing much more uptime. This escalates the productivity and convenience for users of the X340.

The X340 features the latest Intel® Centrino® Processor Technology, which uses Intel® Core 2 Solo ULV Processors and the Intel® GS45 + ICH9M-SFF Chipset, to deliver long battery life.

All-around, Wireless Connectivity
The X340 is embedded with an IEEE 802.16e WiMAX™ wireless module (optional), which elevates the X340′s wireless performance and allowing the user’s online experience to be faster and more mobile. Users can access the Internet world through WiMAX™, never missing the latest information.

The X340 also has 802.11b /g/n Wi-Fi® wireless capability, covering all the bases when it comes to wireless connectivity protocols.

The X340 also provides Bluetooth capability which can be connected to cellular phones, earbuds, PDAs, and other gadgets. Say goodbye to the fuss of lines and cables!

Pricing
Estimated pricing for MSI X340 when it hits the stores soon is Php 49,999.00. If you need more product information, please visit www.msi.com.tw or call NetEssentials, MSI Notebook’s exclusive distributor in the Philippines at (02) 721-1981 to 83.

Memory maker A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd. has introduced its new XPG Gaming Series DRAM module in DDR2-1066, available in dual channel 2GBx2/1GBx2 and single channel kits up to 2GB. Designed for consumers who want to enhance their gaming ability, the XPG Gaming Series DDR2-1066G DRAM module provide CL6-6-6-18 timing at 2.0V±0.1V for delivering outstanding performance, speed, and gaming experience.

Optimized for the latest gaming platforms, the XPG Gaming Series DDR2-1066G DRAM module delivers the perfect blend of performance, durability, and stability with low power consumption. It is an affordable midrange offering for gamers and professionals that demand the latest DDR2 technology.

The XPG Gaming Series DRAM module line is customized to fulfill gamers’ need of performance, speed, and stability. A-DATA invests not only in quality-checking but also in cooperation with online gaming companies to ensure its XPG Gaming Series DRAM module meets the performance and reliability standards.

The XPG Gaming Series DRAM module is guaranteed to satisfy the needs of the most demanding multiple online gamers and professionals.

Features:
-All memory chips are verified using rigorous criteria for better quality.
-High quality 6 layers PCB (Printed Circuit Board)
-Optimized for 64-bit OS (operating system)*
-Backward compatible with DDR2-800/667/ 533MHz
-Lifetime limited warranty
* 32-bit OS environment has 4GB memory addressing barrier which results in 2.5~3GB memory accessibility.

Specification:
-1GB/2GB single channel and 2GB/4GB dual channel module kits are tested at 1066MHz
-Tested at latency settings 6-6-6-18 at 1.9V-2.1V
-SPD (Serial Presence Detect) programmed at JEDEC standard DDR2-800 with latency settings at 5-5-5-15 for basic system booting

About A-DATA
A-DATA is the world’s second largest vendor of memory modules (DRAMeXchange, July 2007), 2007 Taiwan Top 20 Global Brands as well as Emerging Brand (Interbrand, July 2007). The company’s main product lines include memory modules, Flash memory drives/cards, and multimedia application products. A-DATA’s corporate philosophy emphasizes constant innovation, first-rate quality and superior product performance; its innovative products have led the way in the memory industry. A-DATA products have won many major Taiwanese and international awards, including Germany’s iF Design Award and Reddot Award, Japan’s Good Design Award, TAITRA’s Best Choice Product Award, and Taiwan Excellence Gold Award. To find out more about A-DATA and its products, please visit the A-DATA website at www.adata-group.com and OC.adata.com.tw.

SINGAPORE — MAY 5, 2009 — NVIDIA and its partners today announced the immediate availability of the Tesla GPU Preconfigured Cluster, a ready-to-power-up, off-the-shelf solution that enables researchers and IT managers to easily add GPU computing capabilities to their existing datacenter systems.

Tesla GPU Preconfigured Clusters provide up to 30 times the performance of CPU-only solutions,enabling IT managers to deploy smaller, more computationally dense systems. These consume

substantially less power – which creates substantially lower costs – while still meeting the increasing demands of such applications as computational fluid dynamics, molecular dynamics, seismic processing, and financial computing.

French banking giant BNP Paribas’ Corporate and Investment Banking division recently replaced 500 traditional CPU cores, consuming 25 kW, with a smaller cluster consisting of CPU servers and two Tesla S1070 1U systems, which consume only 2kW. Taking into account the dramatic acceleration achieved using Tesla GPUs, the lower power cluster enabled BNP Paribas to consume 190-times less electricity than before.

The increasing momentum being experienced by GPUs in the high performance computing segment today demonstrates a clear industry need for accessible computing solutions.

“There are 15 to 20 million engineers, scientists and researchers around the world struggling for time on supercomputers, which has led to a huge pent-up demand for computation,” said Andy Keane, general manager of the Tesla business at NVIDIA. “With the launch of the Tesla Preconfigured Cluster, every one of them can easily deploy a GPU-powered supercomputing cluster that dramatically reduces their power consumption while still advancing the pace of their work.”

”Time on a supercomputer can be extremely difficult to get, especially since some of our computations run for weeks to months. Also, buying a supercomputer is expensive for every university research group,” said Axel Kohlmeyer, associate director at the Center for Molecular Modeling at the University of Pennsylvania. “Since we got access to a Tesla GPU enabled cluster, we can run our molecular dynamics algorithms up to 100X faster and more importantly run bigger and more complex simulations and do research that was impossible to do before – this is game changing for us.”

Tesla Preconfigured Clusters consist of x86 CPU servers coupled with Tesla S1070 1U GPU systems. Configurations start at 16 Teraflops of performance, delivered by four Tesla S1070s, each containing four Tesla 10-series GPUs. All systems include host servers, infiniband switches, cabling, and are fully customisable to suit individual customer needs.

Tesla GPU Preferred Partners around the world including AMAX, Appro, CADNetwork, Colfax, Cray, Dep, FluiDyna, HPC Technologies, Inspur, JRTI, Megware, Microway, NetWeb, PCPC, Penguin, Silicon Mechanics, Sprinx, T-Platforms, Viglen, and Xenon are offering Tesla Preconfigured Clusters today. For more information on their products and services, please visit: www.nvidia.com/object/tesla_wtb.

About NVIDIA

NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) is the world leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, a high-performance processor which generates breathtaking, interactive graphics on workstations, personal computers, game consoles, and mobile devices. NVIDIA serves the entertainment and consumer market with its GeForce® graphics products, the professional design and visualisation market with its Quadro® graphics products, and the high-performance computing market with its Tesla™ computing solutions products. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.

The first Top Twenty is based on data collected by Kaspersky Lab’s version 2009 antivirus product. The ranking is made up of the malicious programs, adware and potentially unwanted programs most frequently detected on users’ computers.

Position / Name
1 Net-Worm.Win32.Kido.ih
2 Virus.Win32.Sality.aa
3 Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Flystud.ko
4 Trojan.Win32.Chifrax.a
5 Trojan.Win32.Autoit.ci
6 Trojan-Downloader.Win32.VB.eql
7 Packed.Win32.Krap.b
8 Worm.Win32.AutoRun.dui
9 Exploit.HTML.CodeBaseExec
10 Packed.Win32.Black.a
11 Virus.Win32.Sality.z
12 Virus.Win32.Virut.ce
13 Trojan.JS.Agent.xy
14 Worm.Win32.Mabezat.b
15 Virus.Win32.Alman.b
16 Packed.Win32.Krap.g
17 Packed.Win32.Klone.bj
18 Worm.Win32.AutoIt.ar
19 Exploit.JS.Agent.agc
20 Email-Worm.Win32.Brontok.q

Making an impression this month were two newcomers, Virus.Win32.Virut.ce and Exploit.HTML.CodeBaseExec.
Virut.ce entered near the top of our second ranking in February and now looks set to dominate the first ranking as well. New versions of the virus are appearing every day, which suggests that cybercriminals are monitoring how and when the malware is detected by antivirus programs and trying to increase the size of the botnet made up of infected machines. The epidemic caused by this virus is gaining momentum and May could well see Virut.ce moving several places up the rankings.

The second newcomer is a little piece of malware history – the first version of this program was detected by Kaspersky Lab way back in 2004. It featured regularly in our malware rankings in 2006, but is now flagged as a newcomer because the format and methods used to compile our Top Twenty rankings have changed. The malware exploits a simple vulnerability in versions 5.01, 5.5 and 6.0 of Internet Explorer. It seems that the cybercriminals are hoping that there will still be a significant number of people who have not installed the relevant security updates or who still use older versions of Internet Explorer.

Trojan.Win32.Chifrax.a dropped out of our ranking last October but has now returned and gone straight in at number four. This Trojan, like RaMag.a, is a modified WinRAR archive, which in this instance is a self-extracting archive.

The April ranking includes two script downloaders – Trojan.JS.Agent.xy and Exploit.JS.Agent.agc – that are perfect examples of the type of programs used in drive-by downloads, a topic they recently published a paper on (http://www.viruslist.com/en/viruses/analysis?pubid=204792056).

All malicious, advertising and potentially unwanted programs in the first Top Twenty can be grouped according to the main classes of threat detected. In the past few months, the changes in the balance between these classes have not exceeded 5%.
TrojWare – 25%
VirWare – 45%
MalWare – 30%
A total of 45190 unique malicious, advertising, and potentially unwanted programs were detected on users’ computers in April. This figure is almost exactly the same as last month’s.

The second Top Twenty presents data on which malicious programs most commonly infected objects detected on users’ computers. Malicious programs capable of infecting files make up the majority of this ranking.

Position / Name
1 Virus.Win32.Sality.aa
2 Worm.Win32.Mabezat.b
3 Virus.Win32.Virut.ce
4 Net-Worm.Win32.Nimda
5 Virus.Win32.Xorer.du
6 Virus.Win32.Sality.z
7 Virus.Win32.Parite.b
8 Virus.Win32.Virut.q
9 Virus.Win32.Alman.b
10 Virus.Win32.Small.l
11 Email-Worm.Win32.Runouce.b
12 Net-Worm.Win32.Kido.ih
13 Trojan-Downloader.HTML.Agent.ml
14 Virus.Win32.Virut.n
15 Virus.Win32.Parite.a
16 Virus.Win32.Hidrag.a
17 Worm.Win32.Fujack.k
18 P2P-Worm.Win32.Bacteraloh.h
19 Trojan-Clicker.HTML.IFrame.acy
20 Virus.Win32.Virut.av

There was little change to the second Top Twenty ranking in April. The only real activity of note was the appearance of another Virut modification in the ranking – Virus.Win32.Virut.av. This virus was first detected by Kaspersky Lab in 2007 and is still active.

It means the Virut family claims four places in this Top Twenty, which amounts to 20% of the self-replicating programs in our second ranking.

About Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab delivers the world’s most immediate protection against IT security threats, including viruses, spyware, crimeware, hackers, phishing, and spam. Kaspersky Lab products provide superior detection rates and the industry’s fastest outbreak response time for home users, SMBs, large enterprises and the mobile computing environment. Kaspersky technology is also used worldwide inside the products and services of the industry’s leading IT security solution providers. For further information, please visit www.kaspersky.com. For the latest on anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and other IT security issues and trends, please visit www.viruslist.com.

SAPPHIRE Technology is now shipping the SAPPHIRE HD 4770 – a powerful midrange graphics card that brings new levels of graphics and video performance to enthusiasts on a budget.

The new SAPPHIRE HD 4770 is the first card in its class to use GDDR5 memory and is based on the first ever GPU built in 40nm process technology. It uses the powerful graphics architectures from the ATI division of AMD, incorporating multi-purpose stream processing units and improved memory management architecture.

With 640 stream processors – twice as many as previous generation mid-range cards – and core clock speed of 750MHz, together with 512MB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 800MHz (3200MHz effective), the SAPPHIRE HD 4770 delivers stunning performance for gaming or image rendering. It delivers an outstanding computational performance of 960Gflops, memory bandwidth of 51.2GB/s and texture fill rates of 24GTexels/s.

The new 40nm core technology delivers all of this with reduced power consumption, making the total power requirement of the card only 80Watts and typically less in operation as a result of dynamic power management. The first cards to market use a conventional two slot fan assisted cooler and offer dual DVI and TV-Out on the bracket, as well as support for HDMI (with Audio) over a dongle. SAPPHIRE will be introducing additional models – including some Special Editions – in the coming weeks.

Like the previous generation, SAPPHIRE HD 4770 supports DirectX10.1 for enhanced rendering performance and special lighting effects now being implemented in the latest games. The SAPPHIRE HD 4770 series uses the PCI-Express Gen2 interface, and features connectors for CrossFireX bridge cables, allowing two cards to be used together on a CrossFireX compatible mainboard for higher graphics performance.

SAPPHIRE graphics cards in the HD 4000 series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo™ HD Technology for enhanced Video display. They feature a new generation of built in hardware UVD (Unified Video decoder) considerably reducing CPU load and delivering smooth decoding of Blu-ray™ and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files. Integrated upscaling technology delivers the best quality DVD video images. With the latest drivers, the SAPPHIRE HD 4770 also offers ATI Stream processing for the acceleration of video transcoding and other supported applications.

SAPPHIRE HD 4000 series graphics cards are Microsoft Windows Vista™ Premium certified and supported by the ATI Catalyst® suite of software, ensuring customers have ongoing access to software updates for performance, stability and added features.