It's that time again, the MaximumPC annual Geek Quiz

For those of you who truly want to know what knowledge you will get from a Computer Science degree from Carnegie Mellon, take this quiz and find out all the tidbits you never knew and will never understand.  Let me just tell you one thing up front, if you get more than 5 right, consider yourself knowledgable.  You probably will not get five right, but feel good if you do.  The other 40 or so questions, don't worry about it, if you knew those answers, you would probably be sitting in the Google Cafe on your break, enjoying the finer side of working for Google.  Take the quiz here.

Windows Surface RT takes a tremendous drop in price...To Buy or not?

I bought one when they first arrived, so I am not the one to tell you no, but apparently even at this price, there may be a reason to take a pass.  Trusted Windows guy Paul Thurrott, apparently hates the device and provides substantial reasons on why you should pass on it.  Read his blog entry here.   Have to say that I do not disagree with anything he said, but I still like the device, even if nobody else does, lol. 

Windows 8.1 almost here

There's no use twiddling your thumbs, biting your fingernails, or engaging in other habits you might have while anxiously waiting for a product release. Yes, Windows 8.1 is coming, but you probably won't see the final version before the end of summer, so go ahead and venture outside to catch some sunshine. According to Windows Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Tami Reller, Microsoft will finalize Windows 8.1 in August, at which time it will be made available to PC makers.

Reller revealed the time frame while speaking at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), The Verge reports. It's not clear when end users will be able to download the Windows 8.1 update, though with PC makers getting first dibs by the end of August, machines running the newest version of Windows will likely be available to purchase in time for the holiday shopping season.

One of the big features being introduced in Windows 8.1 is the return of the Start button, though the Start menu won't be tagging along. It will also bring about more tile sizes, better multitasking support, Internet Explorer 11, tethering support, and more.

Apple Users beware, they are coming after you now..

The number of spam emails containing links to fraudulent websites is increasing as the theft of Apple IDs and credit card information escalates, warns Kaspersky Lab.

According to Kaspersky Lab, the number of phishing attempts involving copies of Apple's official website, apple.com, is up from 1,000 attempts a day in 2011 to an average of 200,000 a day now.

Researchers note enormous daily fluctuations, with cyber criminals appearing to time phishing attempts to coincide with Apple’s marketing campaigns.

On 6 December 2012 – immediately after the opening of iTunes stores in India, Turkey, Russia, South Africa and an additional 52 countries – Kaspersky Lab detected a record of more than 900,000 phishing attempts on Apple users in a single day.

Cyber criminals are using tried and tested methods to access Apple user data, including emails purporting to come from service@apple.com or Apple Customer Support.

These emails are usually professionally written, feature the Apple logo, and may even include links to “Frequently Asked Questions” to convince sceptical users.

The emails also contain links to faked Apple websites, where users are requested to enter their Apple ID and/or password. This information is then stolen and misused by cyber criminals.

In another variation, Apple customers have their credit card data stolen directly. This is done by sending users an email requesting they verify the credit card information attached to their Apple IDs.

They are then asked for their credit card type and number, as well as its expiry date, the card verification code, their date of birth and other identifying details.

One way to distinguish between real websites and counterfeits created for phishing purposes is to look at the address bar, said Kaspersky Lab.

While most counterfeit sites have the word “apple.com” as part of their address (URL), experienced users should be able to detect forgeries by examining the complete address.

But this is more difficult when the address bar cannot be seen, such as when the Safari browser is used on mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Fraudsters can also construct websites in such a way that the genuine address is incorporated into the site as an image, which is displayed at the top of the screen as expected.

According to Kaspersky Lab, users should first check whether any emails they receive requesting them to enter certain information actually come from Apple. By mousing over the address field, recipients can see if the true sender is Apple or not.

To guard against fraud attempts, Apple also provides a two-step authentication process for Apple IDs. This process involves sending a four-digit code to one or more previously selected devices belonging to the user.

This serves as an additional verification and prevents undesired changes being made on the “my Apple ID” site or, for example, third parties making unauthorised purchases using your Apple ID. However, it does not prevent cyber criminals from using stolen credit card data.

Kaspersky Lab recommends that users should not follow links in questionable emails to access websites. Instead, they should manually enter website addresses into browser windows. Users who still want to use such links should carefully check their content and the address of the website they link to and install a security software package.

AdBlock Plus apparently doesn't block everything....

If you work for a company that depends on advertising revenue, you won’t hear people talk that often about using Adblock Plus, but it’s something that millions of consumers probably can’t imagine their Internet browsing without at this point. It manages to block out most ads on websites, providing a relatively clean experience that’s sometimes night and day from the standard web.

The thing is, some ads do get through, and Google at least appears to be paying to make that happen, according to a new report that’s prompting a lot of discussion on Hacker News. Adblock Plus has an “acceptable ads” filter that allows certain content by default, and the company makes no secret that it charges big companies for whitelisting services – it mentions it right in its FAQ.

AdblockPlus says this fee is about helping it to maintain its filter list, which also whitelists some small websites and blogs for free, in addition to charging those larger companies like Google that participate. But it’s easy to see Google and others  buying the right to put ads in front of web-browsing users, with Adblock Plus essentially acting as a gatekeeper meting out access to that sizeable chunk of consumers. Which gives Adblock a lot of power, and companies like Google that can pay a sizeable advantage over mid-sized competitors who can’t.

Games are the target of most malware

Games are the most common form of malware-infected app, according to Mobile Security: McAfee Consumer Trends Report for June 2013.

Cybercriminals abuse app permissions to install malware and use innocent victims to be lured into scams by encouraging them to try free apps.

Consumers are attracted by the idea to use free apps and unknowingly agree to invasive permissions giving scammers full freedom to deploy malware. These free apps succeed in extracting personal information from users that can be used for fraud.

"Mobile consumers are unknowingly letting their personal and private information slip into these cybercriminal's hands, opening up endless doors for scammers," said Stephan Perchard, vice president, Consumer and Mobile, Asia Pacific, McAfee.

McAfee reports that 26 percent of these apps are more than just adware and findings of the study indicate that SMS scams and rooting exploits were one of the most popular types of threats seen across a range of apps.

The McAfee study shows that consumers often overlook the issue of protecting their privacy when downloading apps and the reason is they do not clearly understand the level of damage that can be done by giving this kind of permission.

Personalization, tools, music, lifestyle, and TV were found to be the most popular apps that carry malware after games.

This report carefully examines Fake Installer and FakeRun. The former is a piece of SMS malware disguised within a free app with the ability to sends up to seven messages.

FakeRun is a malware that lures users in the United States, India, and 64 other countries into giving an app a five-star rating on Google Play.

A high rating for an app establishes trust for the app developer who can then serve as a jumping board for the criminals to distribute even more malware for the consumers.