I Got the Surabaya Virus!
Unfortunately, my PC got infected with the so-called Surabaya virus yesterday. It happened when my sister wanted to transfer something onto her USB removable drive from my computer. I learned afterwards that this virus spreads through USB devices, so take care when you’re using a USB drive that has been used on someone’s else computer.
The darn virus affects all drives, and hides all folders within. You cannot unhide them using the ‘Show/hide’ command in Folder options. It slows down the computer a lot. It also does the following:
- Disables Task Manager.
- Disables Regedit.
- Deletes all previous restore points in System Restore.
- Closes all processes (programs) that have the words ‘anti’, ’spyware’,…etc.
That’s in order to prevent any attempt of removal.
You know you have this virus when you get this message on Windows start-up:
Surabaya in my birthday
Don’t kill me, I’m just send message from your computer
In addition to a paragraph of indonesian text. Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia, so the origin of the virus is most likely from there.
I’m now trying Windows Live OneCare safety scanner. I hope it sorts things out.
Sony® Portable Reader System (PRS-500)
The Sony Reader PRS-500 is a breaktrhough because it sports an all-new display technology called e Ink® (or electronic ink). That display, according to Sony.com is about the following:
Instead of rows of glowing cells, e Ink® microcapsules actually appear as either black or white depending on a positive or negative charge determined by the content. The result is a reading experience that’s similar to paper – high contrast, high resolution, viewable in direct sunlight and at a nearly 180-degree angle, and requiring no power to maintain the image.
Such display is strikingly similar to a real book. Retailing for around $350, the Sony Reader is considered a bargain if you’re a big book-fan. Plus, electronic books are sold for very low prices at the Sony CONNECT store. The Da Vinci Code, for instance, is being sold for only $5.59.
But beware! The display is not back-illuminated. You’ll need a well-lit room, or at least a desktop illumination, in order to be able to read easily. Why not,… isn’t it supposed to be a… book?!
African Nations Soccer Cup, Egypt 2006
This year it’s in Egypt. African Nations Soccer Cup hasn’t always been so popular in continents other than Africa. However, after a lot of African teams have reached World Cup and showed great talents, Africa’s soccer teams are now more known than before. Though Egypt hasn’t qualified to World Cup since 1990 in Italy, a lot of predictions point out that Egypt has become stronger this year, esp. after couch Shehata took over training of the team, giving many hopes of qualifiying to the next World Cup in 2006, Germany.
Egypt defeated Senegal yesterday 2-1 and qualified to the final round. It will play against Côte d’Ivoire in Feb 10, 2006. Who wins in that match gets the cup.
Update : Egypt won — Congrats!
One of the most famous Egyptian soccer player is Ahmed Mido Hossam, who plays in Tottenham Hotspur. He’s been world-famous since he started playing alongside Ajax Amsterdam.
Know more:
- Egypt
- African Nations Soccer Cup
- Ahmed Mido Hossam
- Egypt 2006 (from wikipedia)
- Egypt 2006 official
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