october

'Red October' malware spies on governments worldwide

Kaspersky Lab has discovered yet another worldwide spying campaign that targets governmental bodies, political groups and research institutions.

On par with the memorable Flame malware, Kaspersky and a number of Cyber Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) discovered the malware -- known as Rocra or Red October -- which mostly targets institutions based in Eastern Europe, former USSR members and countries in Central Asia.

Kaspersky says that Red October has been gathering data and intelligence from "mobile devices, computer systems and network equipment" and is currently still active. Data is gathered and sent to multiple command-and-control servers which the security … Read more

Crave pumpkin-carving contest yields amazing art

Come closer -- if you dare. We want to show you a curious collection of pumpkin carvings that celebrates the geeky side of All Hallow's Eve.

Several weeks ago, we kicked off Crave's first-ever Carve a geeky pumpkin. An impressive number of creative Cravers responded to our call for geeky or technology-inspired pumpkin carvings, vying for a mysterious prize and eternal recognition in a gallery featured on the Web site. … Read more

iPad Mini: What we don't know

The so-called "iPad Mini" is the Sasquatch of the gadget world. Rumored for years, the smaller iPad looms ever closer to reality, with rumors of an imminent announcement and release ramping up nearly every day.

The gadget blogosphere, bolstered by a recent flurry of leaked photos and specs, seems to be taking the existence of the iPad Mini as an inevitability. But even assuming that the Mini is real -- and that it's coming soon -- there are some key unknowns. Here are the biggest and most important ones.… Read more

Surface to arrive with Windows 8 on 10/26, says Microsoft

Though it's not exactly an earth-shattering revelation, Microsoft has confirmed that Surface tablets will arrive October 26 along with Windows 8.

"The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012. At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices," Microsoft said in its annual report filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Microsoft has said before that Surface products "would be available the same time that Windows 8" was launched, but it's reassuring to … Read more

Macs get more like iPads

A few months ago, we wondered how iOS could make its way into OS X. Apple was clearly thinking the same thing, because the summer 2011 release of OS X Lion looks like it's going to make Macs very iPad-like indeed.

First and foremost, an App Store will be hitting the Mac "within 90 days" according to today's Apple keynote, with software updates and much of the same look and feel as what exists on the iPad. It looks as if the Mac App Store will focus on Mac-specific apps, but it can't require too … Read more

New Nook coming soon?

For those of you who like to keep track of release dates, the Barnes & Noble Nook was announced on October 20, 2009. Almost to the day, Barnes & Noble has sent out an invite to members of the media, requesting their appearance at an event next Tuesday, October 26th in New York. We presume--but can't confirm--that this is for the launch of a next-generation Nook e-reader.

We'll be covering the event and will have more details as soon as they emerge. Until then, feel free to speculate on what type of e-reader Barnes & Noble might announce. … Read more

This month in video games: October 2009

It's official: the floodgates have opened. October brings us some of the year's most anticipated titles, including the sequel to the PlayStation 3 exclusive smash hit, Uncharted.

Jack Black lends his voice in Brutal Legend, the next game from acclaimed director Tim Schafer (Psychonauts, Grim Fandango). There's more from Hollywood this month as the "SAW" horror franchise gets its first video game adaptation.

Sports fans will be able to play in next year's Winter Games with the help of Mario & Sonic; soccer fans can kick off with FIFA Soccer 10; and both NBA … Read more

Get your new Windows 7 PC a few days early...maybe

Dying for a new desktop or laptop with a fresh, factory-installed copy of Windows 7 on it? We all know the official start date for the Win 7 era is October 22, but some small custom PC makers are claiming they'll start shipping systems with the new OS as early as October 13.

Puget Systems, a custom PC maker in Seattle, says the following on its Web site:

Customers who place orders for a full personal computer system, and who select Microsoft Windows 7 as their OS of choice, will be immediately placed in queue for shipment which will … Read more

Rumor redux: Apple Netbook coming in October?

We get a lot of e-mails from folks asking us when to expect a Netbook from Apple. Let's make something absolutely clear: despite all the previous rumors, we have no idea if, or when, such a product will exist. But we will let report to you when a new (or recycled) rumor pops in the blogsphere.

The latest: the Mandarin-language publication Chinese Times is reporting that Apple will release a Netbook in October. We tend to put a question mark on our rumor headlines, but there doesn't seem to be any question mark in the reporting here--at least … Read more