Over 10,000 XP machines attacked by unpatched vulnerability + Everyone's favourite fruit might be coming to a living room near you

Users of Windows XP may want to double down on security until Microsoft deals with a recently identified flaw (CVE-2010-1885). A Google engineer found the hole last month and at first, Microsoft said it only saw "legitimate researchers testing innocuous proof-of-concepts" – but it didn't take long for malicious hackers to prey on the vulnerability.

The hole apparently lies in the Windows Help and Support Center software that is included with Windows XP. Attackers are using various methods to take advantage of the bug, and payloads vary greatly. Microsoft has released a list of some of the payloads detected so far.

To date, Microsoft believes over 10,000 separate machines have been attacked at least once by means of the flaw. Those systems are scattered all around the globe, with attacks logged in about 20 countries. The largest number of attacks are taking place in Portugal and Russia – about ten times the global average (where the US sits), to be precise.

According to the security advisory posted for CVE-2010-1885, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows XP Professional x64 SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2003 x64 SP2, and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based systems are all affected. However, in the executive summary, Microsoft says Windows Server 2003 systems are not currently at risk.

The company is working on a fix and may release an out-of-band patch, but until then, users can use a one-click Fix-It tool to disable the Help Center.

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Everyone's favourite fruit might be coming to a living room near you



The New York Times seems to think that Apple is due to re-enter the living room, this time in a big, big way. Apple isn't known as a true player in the home media sector. The company currently offers Apple TV, which is virtually a stripped down Mac Mini with TV connections and an clunky OS. Steve Job has stated in the past that he would like to see "4 pillars" make up the Apple business model.

"We’ve got two strong legs on our chair today — we have the Mac business, which is a $10 billion business, and music, our iPod and iTunes business, which is $10 billion. We hope the iPhone is the third leg on our chair, and maybe one day Apple TV will be the fourth leg."

Apple has apparently hired a swarm of new staff, only they haven't placed them in any of their current project groups. The new hires are mostly television and broadcast professionals, along with those that specialize in design for the television industry. This vaguely points to an all new product rather than another reiteration of the current Apple TV.

Common speculation states that rather than provide a new topless solution, Apple intends to create an all-in-one device for the living room. This would encompass a television with an specially developed version iOS preloaded. Cross-compatibility with current apps is also forecasted, although developers would have to adapt their current software to the new size format. This would allow users the opportunity to utilize services such as Netflix or Hulu. If Apple enabled streaming from the iTunes store as well, they might just have a true winner on their hands.

Many have tried, but most have failed to enter the the direct-to-living-room streaming market. With a completely integrated solution, Apple might be able to ride their iOS package right into the center of living rooms everywhere; with this product, Apple may finally have the leverage they need to successfully dominate the sector. They'll need it as Google is also anticipated to enter the market with "Google TV".