Halo 3 Records More Than $300 Million in First Week Sales

Redmond—Interactive entertainment will never be the same, with the launch of one title that has changed the way the world thinks about video games. Halo® 3 has captured the attention of consumers worldwide and has made history as one of the biggest entertainment launches of all time.

Microsoft today announced Halo 3 has officially become a global phenomenon, garnering more than $300 million in sales in the first week alone. The critically-acclaimed Xbox 360 exclusive, which was released worldwide on Tuesday, September 25, is the fastest selling video game ever and one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.

* Midnight Madness in Times Square as Master Chief arrives.
* Bill Gates hands out Halo 3 to lucky gamers in Seattle.

Sales of the Xbox 360 console saw a sharp increase, more than doubling compared to the weekly average before the launch of Halo 3. With games like Halo 3, Madden NFL 08, Mass Effect™ and Rock Band, Xbox 360 has the greatest lineup in the history of video games and the only console where consumers can play all of the year's biggest blockbusters.

"Halo is truly a cultural phenomenon and the launch of Halo 3 is an important milestone for Xbox 360 and for video games as a narrative art form," said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. "Halo 3 embodies our vision for the future of entertainment, where the world's greatest creators deliver a new generation of interactive storytelling."

Online Phenomena
Halo 3 is quickly staking its place as the most popular Xbox LIVE® game in history with members gathering in record numbers to play on the world's largest online gaming and entertainment network on TV. More than 2.7 million gamers have played Halo 3 on Xbox LIVE in the first week, representing nearly one-third of the seven million Xbox LIVE members worldwide. Within the first day of its launch, Halo 3 players racked up more than 3.6 million hours of online game play, which increased more than eleven-fold to more than 40 million hours by the end of the first week—representing more than 4,500 years of continuous game play.

Since Halo 3 launched, gamers have unlocked more than 30 million achievements. In its first week alone, Halo 3 drove a record number of Xbox LIVE Gold Memberships as hundreds of thousands of new members gathered online to collectively compete and complete the game.

Biggest Entertainment Launch in History
To date, over 20 million copies of the games in the Halo trilogy have been sold worldwide. The record week one sales comes on the heels of the previously announced $170 million in sales in the U.S. within the first 24 hours of the game's release, which marked not just the biggest videogame launch, but the biggest entertainment launch in history. The Xbox 360 title beat previous U.S. sales records set by blockbuster openings for entertainment events like the release of Spider-Man 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Additionally, more than 1.7 million copies of Halo 3 were preordered in the United States, making it the fasting pre-selling game in history, surpassing the previous record-setting pre-sales of Halo 2.

Microsoft Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is the next generation of the Windows Server operating system that helps information technology (IT) professionals maximize control over their infrastructure while providing unprecedented availability and management capabilities, leading to a significantly more secure, reliable, and robust server environment than ever before. Windows Server 2008 delivers new value to organizations by ensuring all users regardless of location are able to get the full complement of services from the network. Windows Server 2008 also provides deep insight into the operating system and diagnostic capabilities to allow administrators to spend more time adding business value.

Windows Server 2008 builds on the success and strengths of the award-winning Windows Server 2003 operating system and on the innovations delivered in Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 R2. However, Windows Server 2008 is far more than a refinement of predecessor operating systems. Windows Server 2008 is designed to provide organizations with the most productive platform for powering applications, networks, and Web services from the workgroup to the datacenter with exciting, valuable new functionality and powerful improvements to the base operating system.

IS IDENTITY THEFT A REALLY BIG DEAL?

Identity theft has been getting a lot of press in the past few years and the tone of some of the reports has been dramatic. In the face of so much hype, it's worth taking a look at some basic facts. The truth is that no one can reliably quantify how bad identity theft is, because some crimes-like using your credit card number to make a few bad charges-often don't get reported to the agencies that track it. Past estimates of the number of people affected range from 250,000 to 10 million per year.

Taking the biggest estimate of the problem, the likelihood you'll be a victim this year is around 1 in 26. This number includes someone using your credit card to make some bad charges-a pretty small inconvenience-as well as the more extreme cases of opening fake accounts, renting apartments, leasing cars, and filing false tax returns-a decidedly bigger deal. If you only consider the serious cases, the likelihood that you'll fall prey to an identity thief is more like 1 in 74. Clearly, it is less likely that you will suffer this kind of problem.

Unfortunately, all trends suggest that the numbers are growing and growing fast. A big study by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the government agency that enforces consumer protection laws, reports that ID thefts in 2003 were up 33 percent over the year before. If you just look at fake charges on credit card accounts, the number of problems grew 71 percent. Other studies report growth rates that are even higher. Given the current rates, identity theft could well touch 1 out of 9 Americans annually by 2007.

And here's another way to think about it. Even if you are never personally victimized by identity theft, you're definitely a victim in the aggregate. The cost of identity theft is estimated to be about $5 billion for the folks whose identity is stolen. However, for business, which absorbs the majority of the costs, the price tag is closer to $50 billion. Companies don't just pay these kinds of amounts without passing them on to you in the form of higher fees or penalties. Without even realizing it, you're already a victim of identity theft you're helping to foot the bill for it.

Finally, as you think about identity theft, it's important to consider where the real danger is. You can control some personal risk we'll talk later about how-but you can't control or often even find out about the risk that the companies you do business with expose you to. And, increasingly, that's where the real action is.

See if you think you could have protected yourself from cases like these: A theft of computer equipment (and the data it contained) from the once of TriWest Healthcare Alliance put the Social Security numbers and other highly personal information of 500,000 servicemen and women at risk. A similar theft of the laptop belonging to a consultant for Wells Fargo Bank posed a risk to the personal information of thousands of bank account holders. An insider at a data processing company sold 30,000 credit files stored on his company's computers to a ring of identity thieves for sixty dollars apiece. An accountant bled thirty-six fake tax returns using information from his company's legitimate clients. A sale of surplus computers owned by the State of Virginia exposed employee evaluations, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data of Virginia citizens, because the hard drives on these computers hadn't been wiped clean before going to auction.

This list is chilling enough, but the really scary thing to consider is that these are only the problems that we've heard about. Because most companies are under no obligation to report security breaches, and because they don't want the bad PR that goes with reporting one, the majority of companies are choosing to keep silent when information is stolen. In a survey conducted by the FBI and the Computer Security Institute, 60 percent of roughly five hundred companies inter-viewed suffered a computer security breach in the year they studied. Only one third reported the break-ins to law enforcement.

The state government of California knows all about this. In April 2002, hackers stole payroll records for 265,000 of its employees. The company housing the data for the state didn't tell anyone about the break-in-which included theft of names, Social Security Numbers, and bank account info for everybody all the way up to the governor-for three weeks. Startled by the lack of disclosure, the state legislature passed the first law in the country that requires companies to inform customers if any of their identifying information is ever stolen from databases. If you don't live in a state with a law like the one in California, it is almost impossible for you to know just how risky it is to give your information to a company.

Given the explosive growth, the fact that you're at the mercy of the companies you do business with and the fact that you pay for the crime whether you experience it personally or not, the answer to the question "is it really a big deal" is yes. It's worth your time to paid attention to what is going on.

CAN WHAT I WRITE IN AN E-MAIL BE TRACKED?

Absolutely! And you can probably bet that it is. Although there is a law that makes it illegal to read or share the contents of an a-mail, there are a couple of important loopholes.


Employers monitoring employees aren't covered (technically, they own the computer, the network, and the software, so they have a right to access the things they own. If the person you send the email to consents to share it, they don't need your permission. Or, as we have learned before, if law enforcement gets curious, they can take a peek with a court order.


Furthermore, anytime you send an a-mail from point A to point B, it goes through any number of Internet companies on its way. Each company has its own set of privacy' policies and its own interpretation of its obligations and rights. You can't even be stare that the companies are all governed by U.S. law. Finally, the biggest and most important exception is that a-mail is considered private only when it is in transit. Once the text resides on a computer somewhere for more than 1 80 days, it enjoys much less protection.


All of these exceptions mean that, if someone really wants to, he or she can most likely read your a-mail. Practical obscurity, the fact that there are too many a-mails from too many people to make yours worth caring about, will probably protect you in all but the most unusual circumstances. But the safest bet is not to count on it.

IS ONLINE SHOPPING SAFE?

Given all of the ways that we've talked about tracking, how' can it be safe to input your credit card into a Web site and shop online?

First, consider that most tracking occurs by and for advertisers. It is created by companies and carried out only with the collaboration of a series of other companies. Annoying? Possibly. But criminal? No. Although theoretically the tracking tools that you undoubtedly have on your computer would allow unauthorized capture of your credit card number as you type it in to a Web site form, it just doesn't make sense for advertisers to disrupt the system for a relatively small amount of money.

Second, remember that your financial liability from misuse of your credit or debit card number is small to none. With credit cards, if someone steals your number but not your card, you have no liability at all. Since online shopping never evolves your physical card, you have no financial exposure if someone steals your credit card number and uses it.


Third, the truly dangerous thing about online shopping has absolutely nothing to with your own computer. There has never been a case where someone's credit card number was stolen while an order was being placed. When you input sensitive information into a Web page, chances are very good that the seller has programmed its site to offer you protection by encrypting any data that you're sending it--a Web page that will encrypt information as it travels the Internet is identified by an icon of a key or lock in the bottom corner of your browser window.


More importantly, you are protected by sheer randomness. Of all the trillions of bits being shot back and forth over the Internet at any one time, what are the odds that someone is going to tag the ones coming from you? Most thieves will concentrate their efforts on bigger fish.


In this case, the Big Fish is the company you're doing business with. The Internet Security Alliance, which teaches businesses how to protect sensitive information, suggests that a company's computers, chock full of your credit card info and all of their other customers, are the ones that you really have to worry about. The bad guys who want to commit fraud are much less interested in tracking you individually than they are in breaking into a shopping site's database that stores your number along with about a million other people's. Before you give your credit card number to a Web site, you might want to know more about how they are making sure that your information won't be stolen and sold to criminal rings.


If it's a big player like Pottery Barn or the Gap, chances are good that the info you provide online is just as safe as the info stored in their databases when you buy over the phone or at their store. If the company is a smaller Internet-only operation, you might want to do a little checking. Call customer service. Look for a Better Business Bureau or TRUSTe seal. Once you recognize where the danger of online shopping lies, you can see that the question to answer is not "is online shopping safe" but rather "is online shopping with this Web site safe?" In most cases, the answer is yes.

How to Get Rid of a Computer Virus

Introduction

Computer viruses come in many forms and can cause various kinds of damage to your system. Fortunately, most viruses are easily dealt with and effective methods for eliminating them are often developed as soon as the viruses are discovered. If you think your computer may be infected, take any necessary steps to clear your system and avoid infecting other computers.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Steps

Step One

Visit your virus-scan software manufacturer's Web site and install any virus updates that are available. Then run the software. The software may not be able to delete the virus, but it may be able to identify it.

Step Two

Search the Web for information regarding your specific virus by typing the name of the virus or its associated file into a search engine followed by the word "virus." For example, "Melissa virus," "BubbleBoy virus," etc.

Step Three

Download and install any patches or other programs that will help you eliminate the virus. Or follow any instructions you find on deleting the virus manually.

Step Four

Run another virus scan to make sure the virus has been dealt with properly.

Tips & Warnings

• If you think your computer was affected with an e-mail virus that mails itself to people in your e-mail address book, contact those people and tell them not to open the messages or attachments.
• Generally, deleting the file that caused the virus isn't sufficient to eliminate the problem, since many viruses can create new files or corrupt existing files. Your best bet is to use anti-virus software or specific online instructions.
• Avoid sending out any e-mails until you have properly eliminated the virus. Many viruses can attach themselves to outgoing messages without your knowledge, causing you to unwittingly infect the computers of your friends and colleagues.

Protect PC from bo:heap virus

Click here to download HJTsetup.exe

• Save HJTsetup.exe to your desktop.
• Double click on the HJTsetup.exe icon on your desktop.
• By default it will install to C:\Program Files\Hijack This.
• Continue to click Next in the setup dialogue boxes until you get to the Select Addition Tasks dialogue.
• Put a check by Create a desktop icon then click Next again.
• Continue to follow the rest of the prompts from there.
• At the final dialogue box click Finish and it will launch Hijack This.
• Click on the Do a system scan and save a log file button. It will scan and then ask you to save the log.
• Click Save to save the log file and then the log will open in notepad.
• Click on "Edit > Select All" then click on "Edit > Copy" to copy the entire contents of the log.
• Come back here to this thread and Paste the log in your next reply.
• DO NOT have Hijack This fix anything yet. Most of what it finds will be harmless or even required.

Download and unzip the following to a new folder:
http://metallica.geekstogo.com/findlop.zip

Inside the folder locate findlop.bat

Double click it and it will create the file C:\findlop.txt
Find that file and copy and paste the contents into your next post.

Also, copy the part in bold below into notepad and save it as direxie.bat
Set File type to "All files"


cd\
cd C:\Documents and Settings\%UserName%\Application Data
dir /x > C:\directory.txt
cd C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
dir /x >> C:\directory.txt
cd C:\Program Files
dir /x >> C:\directory.txt
start notepad C:\directory.txt


Start the file by double clicking direxie.bat
That will open a file called directory.txt. Post the content of that file.

Copy everything inside the quote box below (starting with @)and paste it into notepad. Go up to "File > Save As", click the drop-down box to change the "Save As Type" to "All Files". Save it as remlop.bat on your desktop.

@echo off
d C:\WINDOWS\Tasks
ttrib -r -s -h 96498A2D92125659.job
del 96498A2D92125659.job
exit

Double-click remlop.bat A window will open a close quickly, this is normal.


Click Here and download Killbox and save it to your desktop but don’t run it yet.


Rescan with HijackThis, close all browser windows except HijackThis, put a check mark beside these entries and click fix checked.


O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [KernelFaultCheck] %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 -k

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [corndupefindcopy] C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\send mags corn dupe\Bows Delete.exe

O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sign 4] C:\DOCUME~1\TAKUMI~1\APPLIC~1\WINGPL~1\copygreatooze.exe


Then boot to safe mode:


How to restart to safe mode


Double-click on Killbox.exe to run it.

• Put a tick by Standard File Kill.
• In the "Full Path of File to Delete" box, copy and paste each of the following lines one at a time:

• 
  

• C:\Documents and Settings\Takumi Fujiwara\Application Data\Win gpl junk

• C:\Program Files\Win gpl junk

• C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\send mags corn dupe

• 
  

• 
  

• 
  
• Click on the button that has the red circle with the X in the middle after you enter each file.
• It will ask for confirmation to delete the file.
• Click Yes.
• Continue with that procedure until you have pasted all of these in the "Paste Full Path of File to Delete" box.
• Killbox may tell you that one or more files do not exist.
• If that happens, just continue on with all the files. Be sure you don't miss any.
• Next in Killbox go to Tools > Delete Temp Files
• In the window that pops up, put a check by ALL the options there except these three:
  • XP Prefetch
  • Recent
  • History
• Now click the Delete Selected Temp Files button.
• Exit the Killbox.

Boot back to Windows normally and post another HijackThis log please.


Scan Your Computer with Antivirus .

IF the Above Method Don't work For You Then Do The Following :

Now you should turn system restore off to flush out all previous system restore points, then turn it back on and create a new restore point:

To turn off system restore, on the Desktop, right click on My Computer and click on Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
Check Turn off System Restore.
Click Apply and then click OK.

Restart your computer, turn System Restore back on and create a restore point.

To create a new restore point, click on Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools and then select System Restore.

In the System Restore wizard, select Create a restore point and click the Next button.

Type a name for your new restore point then click on Create.


I also recommend downloading SPYWAREBLASTER for added protection.

Read here for info on how to tighten your security.



Delete your temporary files:

In safe mode navigate to the C:\Windows\Temp folder. Open the Temp folder and go to Edit - Select All then Edit - Delete to delete the entire contents of the Temp folder.

Go to Start - Run and type %temp% in the Run box. The Temp folder will open. Click Edit - Select All then hit Delete to delete the entire contents of the Temp folder.

Finally go to Control Panel - Internet Options. On the General tab under "Temporary Internet Files" Click "Delete Files". Put a check by "Delete Offline Content" and click OK (this option does not exist in IE7). Click Apply then OK.

Empty the recycle bin.