Gaming Sony announces 250GB PlayStation 3, due November 3

F
ollowing the successful launch of a slimmer PlayStation 3 model back in September, Sony has announced a beefier 250GB variant of the console is due to hit U.S. stores next month priced at $350. Besides upping storage capacity
, the new system will be otherwise identical to the existing 120GB version which sells for $50 less.

The move comes as expected after leaks suggesting a larger-capacity PS3 would arrive sometime in October. Contrary to some rumors, however, for now the 250GB console has not been announced as part of any bundle like we've seen elsewhere -- Japan will be getting a Final Fantasy XIII bundle in December, for example, while customers in Europe can now get the new 250GB model packed alongside Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2. Hopefully Sony will announce a similar deal for U.S. customers in time for the holiday season.

Those who recently bought the 120GB version, and PS3 owners in general, might be interested to know that you can also swap out the 2.5-inch SATA drive yourself without voiding the warranty on your PlayStation 3. A quick search online shows that a 320GB hard disk drive can be had for around $56 and a 400GB model for $70, so you'll have to pay a little a premium assuming you even need more storage capacity.

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Fake antivirus software posing large security threat to users

W
ith the Internet evolving, the security risks users face on a day-to-day basis have become increasingly complicated. Security vendors are the most aware of this, challenged with protecting people's PCs from ever-expanding threats without turning a computer into an inert hunk of plastic. Their most difficult challenge yet may be one that has began to emerge relatively recently, in the form of fake anti-virus suites that try to convince people they are real -- usually to bleed money from them.

Just how big of a problem are fake anti-virus programs, though? Comparing 2008 to 2009, there has been a reported five-fold increase in the number of fake A/V detections. The primary reason for this right now is cited as a constant-changing checksum on a tainted piece of software, leading to hundreds of thousands of variants -- making it more difficult to detect amongst a wide array of machines. One particular security group, APWG, believes that as this evolution of fake software continues, the demand placed on real anti-virus scanners may become overwhelming.

One of the real problems, they noted, is that most software today relies on signature-based detections. Software which changes itself on a per-download basis is easily able sneak past this. It's further complicated because many of these fake programs often try to use a bit of social engineering to accomplish their goals -- convincing people they are real, which would get past virtually any software protection. APWG also indicated that the number of machines being infected year by year is actually going up, as opposed to going down. Are malicious software writers getting that much better, or are security vendors slipping? It has always been an interesting battle to watch -- unfortunately, end users are caught in the middle.

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