General Gaming Article

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• Why Hackers Write Computer Viruses
• Researchers Find Chrome OS Vulnerability
• Steam: Savior or Slayer of PC Gaming?
• Researchers Use Webcams To Rub Poor Posture In Slouching Office Workers' Faces
• Browser Extension of the Week: Cooliris
• Researcher Unveils N00ter, A Program That Detects ISP Traffic Shaping
• Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: My Home Server
• Fancy Flash Drive Looks Like A Mini TR-808 Synthesizer
• Wikipedia's Contributors Diminishing in Number
• Barracuda Doubles Cloud Storage Space without Jacking Up the Price

Why Hackers Write Computer Viruses Posted: 04 Aug 2011 03:01 PM PDT Why do hackers hack? Why create a worm that sends out an email to everyone in your contact list, or a Trojan that deletes your term papers? Is it mischief, malice, money, or something else entirely? This is the question that was on my mind when I met with Mikko Hypponen, a legendary computer security heavyweight who has been hunting viruses for 25 years—since Brain.a, the first PC computer virus. From the plaza, I walked out to a seat by the water facing the San Francisco Bay. Hypponen was there, waiting for me. I sat down next to him. I felt like we needed code phrases. "What makes this a New Orleans iced coffee," he asked, as he accepted his drink. "It's the chicory," I replied. "Did you know the Finns drink more coffee per capita than any other nation?" "I did know that," I replied. "I know a lot about coffee." Okay! I guess we had our code phrases after all. Hypponen is the lead security researcher for F-Secure in Finland. His takedowns and diagnosis include some of the nastiest, biggest computer viruses out there: Sobig.F, Sasser, Storm Worm. PC World called him one of the 50 most important people on the Web. Hypponen was on his way to a black hat conference in Las Vegas. We met at the Ferry Plaza in San Francisco, sitting by the pier as commuter boats came and went. I wanted to ask him about the long history of personal computer viruses, now in their 25th year, from the simple to Stuxnet, and the shifting motivations that inspire virus writers to act. We had an hour. The Hobbyists 2011 is the 25th anniversary of the first PC virus. In September, 1986, two brothers from Lahore, Pakistan, Amjad Farooq Alvi and Basit Farooq Alvi, released Brain.a into the wild. Brain.a infected the boot section of computers running PC-DOS. Its authors claimed they were simply trying to target people who were infringing on their own software. But the virus spread wide across the world, and marked the beginning of the malware era in computing. Late last year, Hypponen was going through his records at F-Secure. He found a box with the 100 first computer viruses, all on floppy disks. "These are probably from five years or more," says Hypponen, "now more than that are written in one hour." He realized that the first of these, Brain, was approaching its birthday. He had a long history with it, having studied it when it was first unleashed. To mark the anniversary, he travelled to Lahore, Pakistan, in an attempt to track the Alvi brothers down. Amazingly, they still had a business at the same address they had listed in the original Brain.a virus code. So he knocked on the door. They answered. "They wanted to demonstrate that the PC system was not as secure as Microsoft and IBM said it was," he explains. "They thought it was weak, and [wrote Brain] to demonstrate that." The Alvi brothers were Unix guys. DOS seemed like a weaker system, and they thought they might be able to exploit it. They wanted to see if they could move code from one system to another, on its own. They wanted to see if it could be transmitted, like a virus. It worked! Before long the brothers (who had helpfully included their phone number in the code) were getting calls from universities and businesses all over the world, wanting to know what it was. Others began tinkering with Brain.a, releasing variants. And as time passed, more and more people began writing distinct viruses. These were for the most part, however, more of annoyances than real problems. They might mess up your system but they would not (for most people at least) ruin your life. And then came email. And that was bad. "It has changed completely now," says Hypponen. "It changed from hobbyists and old school hackers around 2002 or 2003 when the hobbyists realized they could make money." The Criminals By the turn of the century, spam was big business. But in order to send out a lot of spam, you needed a lot of computers. And to keep from getting caught, they shouldn't be your own. Enter botnets. Viruses allowed spammers to capture and control users computers remotely. They could use infected machines to ensnare other computers, sending out not just offers for herbal viagra, but phishing attacks and keystroke loggers that give them access to bank and financial data and personal information. By 2005, the point of malware writing had largely changed. Fuck proof of concept. Now it's for money. There's also another reason that malware writers have surged: Microsoft Windows XP. That ancient system is, unbelievably, still the most widely used operating system on the planet. It's installed on more than 50 percent of all machines connected to the Internet, and it's very insecure. "XP is the weakest of all systems," says Hypponen, " and it is installed on the most computers. Of course you will target that." "The source of malware today is 99 percent criminal gangs, and that's a pretty nasty development," says Hypponen. "We didn't used to have to worry in the real world. But now there are organized criminal gangs, making millions from their attacks. When we shut down their operations, they know who we are." It's not just a hypothetical fear. Ivan Eugene Kaspersky, who owns one of the world's leading anti-virus security labs, had his son Ivan snatched off the streets of Moscow earlier this year. Whether there was a revenge motivation, in addition to the ransom, is still unclear. But the fact remains that anti-virus guys are now effectively standing between the mob and big piles of money. Which is never a very safe place to be. And if that wasn't bad enough, now there's a new, potentially deadlier, source of viruses: governments. The Spies "I have Stuxnet right here with me in my bag! Do you want it?" He leans over and slaps his computer bag on the side. I decline. I know it's not, say, smallpox, but sitting next to the most sophisticated computer virus ever created is oddly worrisome. Stuxnet upped the ante. It targeted only a certain programming environment, with a certain PLC, with a certain configuration, in a certain location—which turned out to be a nuclear plant in Iran. When it went active, it recorded the normal plant operations for a few days, and then began playing them back to monitors, like a closed circuit tv camera in a bank heist film, while in actuality it was modifying the speed centrifuges spun at, causing them to break apart, most likely in violent fashion. Stuxnet, for now at least, ended Iran's nuclear ambitions. But where did it come from? "It was done by your government!" The Finn doesn't have any proof of this, but like most security researchers, he takes it as accepted wisdom. "I do believe that when in 2008, George W. Bush signed the [Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative] that the end result of that was Stuxnet." Unlike most viruses, Stuxnet didn't spread over the Internet. Instead, it spreads from one machine to another on infected USB sticks. Which means that somehow, someone had to get an infected stick into physical contact with Iran's nuclear facility in Bushier. "We don't know how it was originally planted, says Hypponen. "My guess is that they pick-pocketed workers, or broke into their homes and planted them." Stuxnet has heralded a new era. Today's sophisticated malware attacks might now just target one machine in the entire world. And employee at a certain company could get a virus targets just to that specific person. Governments, corporations, and extremist groups are already engaged in this. As Hypponen points out, Stuxnet had been in the wild for more than a year before anyone discovered it. What's out there now is an open question. Hypponen was late for another appointment. And so as we finished our coffees, I stood to leave, and began walking away from the water, back into the plaza. Hypponen stopped me. He reached out his hand, and gave me my iPod, which I'd carelessly left in my seat. He looked disappointed. Gizmodo is the world's most fun technology website, focused on gadgets and how they make our lives better, worse, and more absurd.

Researchers Find Chrome OS Vulnerability Posted: 04 Aug 2011 02:49 PM PDT With the Black Hat security conference going on right now, it's the season for new hacks. Although, we didn't really expect Google's cloud-based Chrome OS to be a star this year. Google highlighted the increased security of Chrome OS when it was announced, but a team of security researchers has managed to use web tools to gain access to user data. Matt Johanson and Kyle Osborn spent a few months looking at Chrome OS, eventually finding a flaw in the ScratchPad extension included on ever ChromeBook. ScratchPad is used to take notes and save them to the cloud. The exploit allows the hacker to access a user's cloud data like Gmail, contacts, Docs, and Google Voice messages. Google has been working on improving security in Chrome extensions, so hopefully this type of attack won't be repeated. Johanson and Osborn demoed the hack live on stage. Despite the gasps of the assembled crowd, many researchers are not surprised. They worry that the use of techniques like XSS and clickjacking will result in more exploits in Chrome OS. Do you think the lack of a real on-disc operating system will make Chrome users more secure, or is this just the beginning?

Steam: Savior or Slayer of PC Gaming? Posted: 04 Aug 2011 01:00 PM PDT Is Valve's dominant digital platform the future? Or does it herald the end of PC gaming as we know it? Steam. Publishers and rival digital distributors want to be it. Gamers and developers want to be with it. And animals lacking opposable thumbs want to learn how to use computers just to use it... or so Valve would have you believe. But all isn't as rosy in the land of PC gaming as all that, and as Valve's digital gaming platform has picked up more and more, well, steam, it's garnered its fair share of backlash as well. With Valve's recent tiffs with EA over their upstart Origin distribution platform, never before has the community been so polarized by Steam. Will Steam continue to dominate the PC gaming landscape? And if so, what does this mean for gamers? First off, let's dispel the myth that Origin is a rival to Steam. Perhaps it will be in time, but as it stands now, EA's digital marketplace is just that - a digital store front for EA published titles. For the moment EA is content in simply bypassing Steam, in order to sell their products directly without losing revenue to a rival distributor. So, no, Origin is NOT in direct competition with Steam, but neither are any of the other PC digital distributors. And I don't mean 'no competition' in the 'we're kicking your ass in marketshare' kind of way. No, I mean they're literally not selling competing products—they simply lack the depth and breadth of what Steam has to offer. Whereas Origin, Impulse, Direct2Drive, GoG, GamersGate and others are all perfectly valid online stores and distributors, they aren't what Steam is: a unified, managed gaming platform for the PC.  And therein lies the true heart of the Steam debate: is the establishment of this type of system beneficial to the PC market? The Birth of Steam And on the 12th day of September, in the year of 2003, the Steam client was released. And it was good. And, lo, on that day Steam reached out its pipey appendage to the huddled masses of PC gamers and delivered them from suffering and into salvation. So goeth the gospel of Steam. But Steam's origins are more humble than that. While Valve may or may not have had more grandiose plans in mind for Steam from the beginning, the original client (beta clients were available as early as mid-2002) was intended merely as a patch delivery system and anti-cheating measure for its popular online shooters like Counter-Strike. Valve quickly recognized the platform's value as a content delivery system and started pushing mods such as Day of Defeat down the Steam pipeline. It wasn't until late 2004, and the release of Half-Life 2 that Steam started seeing widespread adoption. Half-Life 2 was the first game that required online authentication, and hence Steam, to play. While backlash was initially strong against a required client and online connection for authentication, the auto-patching and ability to download levels, mods, and mod tools quickly endeared the fans toward Steam. Fastforward seven years and Steam now dominates the PC gaming landscape, with over 30 million users, over 3.5 million concurrent users online at peak times, and a whopping 50-70% (or more) of marketshare in the digital distribution realm. Valve is obviously doing something right. Steam the Savior Doomsayers have been decrying the death of PC gaming for practically as long as PC gaming has been around. But it's really been the last decade where the PC has been fighting for its life in the gaming sphere. Despite the proliferance of personal computers of all shapes and sizes, rising piracy issues and increased developer focus on the consoles has pushed the PC from the dominant platform to an almost forgotten afterthought. In the malaise of the mid aughts, with the PS2 and X-Box dominating the scene and the 360 and PS3 looming large on the horizon, PC gaming looked to be headed toward extinction. Enter Steam. While correlation should not be confused with causation, the rise of Steam and the coinciding resucitation of the PC gaming scene can't be overlooked. Since the beginning, the PC has been seen as an enthusiast's platform, with a high barrier to entry, in both time and money. But Steam has gone a long way to addressing many of the issues that have plagued PC gaming from time immemorial. Click Play to Play Let's not forget the original purpose of Steam: to quickly and easily deliver and install content. In the past, searching for patches was the bane of many PC gamers. Patches were often missing from the developers' website, could have slow download times, or long download queues. Applying them could be equally arduous. They wouldn't properly detect installed games, they'd be incompatible with previous saves, they'd have driver conflicts, and many other equally irksome issues. While Steam doesn't entirely mitigate all of these issues, it has vastly simplified and improved the patching process. Valve verifies the stability of patches, serves them up themselves, and delivers and installs the patch content automatically. Also, Steam's initial install process is typically way simpler than the myriad of bloated and annoying Windows installers - plus the lion's share of game data is stored within the Steam folder instead of separated in various folders across your hard drive. Sure the constant DirectX and C++ Redistributable Library installs for each new Steam install are annoying, but you'll get that installing games off Steam as well (blame Microsoft). Cheapskate Paradise Perhaps the greatest draw of Steam is its huge library of ridiculously cheap games. Despite Valve being in a position to control and inflate prices, they've done the exact opposite; they've made gaming more affordable than ever. Log on during one of Steam's much anticipated summer or Holiday sales and prepare to be amazed by the availabilty of games discounted as much as 75-90%. Steam also tends to be - at worst - on par with retail and online shops for new releases and pre-orders, and at best far cheaper—often featuring game specific sales and significant price drops well before the usual six month "clearance" model that drives retail pricing. Of course this is from my perspective as an American gamer. Unfortunately pricing isn't quite as competitive in Europe and other territories. Steam also provides one of the first legitimate methods of buying older games. Due to the nigh non-existence of used PC game sales, snagging old games in the past meant either trusting in shady eBay auctions, or worse, turning to piracy. Since Steam is digital, it makes it possible to buy new old games, and as a bonus, the developers still get to see some of that money. Though still far from perfect, Steam's patching system and focus on compatibility also means there's a better chance  the game will run on a modern system than a copy ran "out of the box." Manage my Management And now for the elephant in the room: DRM. While gamers are almost universally united in their hatred of DRM, it's more about the implementation than its mere existence. Handled poorly DRM is a pair of digital handcuffs, a set of rules imposed by the powers that be that tell you how, when, why, and where you can enjoy the content that you paid for and supposedly own. The more obnoxious DRMs on the market restrict the number of installs, require a constant internet connection, and may just destroy your computer. In a perfect world DRM wouldn't exist at all, but let's face it, some amount of online security is inevitable, and given the current strategies of many publishers, DRM isn't going anywhere any time soon. Perhaps it's the lesser of many evils, but Steam DRM is DRM done right. For games that use Steam as their DRM method, a one-time validation is required after purchase, keys are automatically applied to the game and its DLC, and the game can be installed and uninstalled as many times as you want, and on any computing device that runs your Steam account. After that validation, games are available to play in offline mode. It's all pretty painless, really, and is no more restrictive than the requirement of needing a physical disc to play a physical copy. Of course many Steam games require Steam validation in addition to other forms of proprietary DRM used by the publisher, which may impose more limitations, but you can hardly blame Valve for that. In fact, the stark contrast between Steam's lightweight DRM and that of its competitors simply bolsters the case for Steam as the DRMM, or digital rights manager manager, of choice. You Got Server'd Of course, to play a game online, a connection to a server is required. Well, games that choose to use Steam as their prime distribution method connect and authenticate through Steam servers, which pose a significant advantage over many other hosts: stringent anti-cheating measures (in games that support it), a proven track record of stability, and an as-yet-unbroken promise from Valve that the servers will stay online and supported and never be shut down.     Steam: Not Just a State of Matter, but a State of Mind Of course many, if not all, of the advantages listed so far aren't exclusive to Steam. Many other digitial distributors can claim similar boons to PC gaming. Steam, however, is the only platform to have it all, and, for the low, low price of zero dollars. "But wait, there's more!" Steam's most important, and possibly most divisive, feature is the client itself, which takes Steam out of the realm of distribution outlet and patch delivery system, and into the realm of unified gaming hub and bona fide social network. What many enjoy about Steam is its one-stop-shop approach to PC gaming. A way to conglomerate and streamline their game collection, manage online cloud saves between multiple machines, stay connected to their friends and fellow players, and stay apprised of the latest news and updates. The Steam client allows for all that and more. When first logging on to Steam you'll be greeted by the entry portal of your choice, be it the storefront, your games library, the community page, or your list of friends. The client comes equipped with a simple but effective buddy list, an IM interface with voice chat capability, and community features that offer achievements, stat tracking, screenshot libraries, and user created blogs, minisites, and fangroups. The client allows you to view what games your friends are playing, invite them to play the game you're playing, and use the Steam IM window to chat without having to fully taskswitch out of a fullscreen game. The game's built-in browser also lets you view the latest news or patch information on a game by game basis as well as the option to buy DLC. Steam's exuberant fanbase embraces all these features, and once getting used to such a robust feature set, many find themselves immersed in the Steam community, with little need to run a separate IM client, voice server, or even internet browser while gaming. Some might even say the more enthusiastic fan(boys) are more like full-blown initiates in the cult of Steam, who wish for all their friends to join the flock and for all games launched now and in perpetuity to include Steam support (cue the angry mob of Steam gamers lustily shouting for Battlefield 3 support and threatening boycott). Steam the Slayer And therein lies the dilemma, many of Steam's perceived features and benefits may be beloved by many, but they also represent a fundamental shift in PC gaming as we know it. See, I mentioned earlier that there is no direct competition to Steam in the digital marketplace, but that only pertained to the PC. Steam does have direct competition: X-Box Live and the PlayStation Network. Does this mean that Steam is attempting to make the PC become, gasp, consolized? Are words like 'streamlining,' 'management' and 'community' code for' dumbing down,' 'controlling,' and 'data mining'? Steam detractors would say yes. Freedom Ain't Free For better or worse the main advantage of PC gaming has always been freedom. Freedom to run or not run any program or mod you want on whatever hardware you want (and can get working). Steam's controlled approach to game management could easily be construed as a constraint to freedom in how you run your games. While modding has always been a do-at-your-own-risk proposition, for some, Steam's executable process has turned this into simply 'don't do.' Users run the risk of failing Steam authentication for games that are heavily modded, which could mean anything from just the game not running, to Valve suspending or even shutting down the offending Steam account. Furthermore, the auto-patch process can lead to mods, or even entire games not working. And with no easy way to roll back patch revisions, some users find themselves with games that won't work due to save or driver incompatibilities, even with unmodified games. Gone is the art of tweaking every aspect of an .exe or .ini file. Sure, you won't run into problems a good majority of the time, but with auto-patching and authentication, free-for-all tweaking is a thing of the past. Managed Evil is Still Evil Again, one of the main issues with Steam is its included DRM. Proponents may say that Steam is the lesser of all evils, but detractors claim that all DRM is unjust and Steam is still a major part of the problem. The music industry went through its draconian DRM phase before the free usage wave caught on. While the games industry is still somewhere in the shifty planes of DRM limbo, free usage advocates are hoping game DRM will also go the way of the dodo. This means no authentication, no validation, no required client to install and play a game that you rightfully bought. Sure, Steam is fairly liberal in their policies, but the fact that their client is required and that they hold the right to revoke access to content you (maybe, possibly, who-knows-according-to-the DMCA) own still brings up the nagging question of true digital content ownership. Accepting a non-invasive DRM "solution" may simply perpetuate a system where end users are merely licensees of content, and have no true rights or ownership of the content. Where does this lead the consumer five, ten years down the road? If Steam no longer exists we may not have access to any of the content we bought (or perhaps more appropriately, "leased"). Wait, Aren't Monopolies Bad? Another word you hear bandied about in regards to Steam is monopoly. Steam may or may not be a monopoly, but as their marketshare grows, so too does their control over not just the digital marketplace, but the PC platform at large. While Valve's practices thus far have been fairly honorable in terms of doing right by both the customers and developers, what would happen if The Republic decided to become The Empire? The key term here is 'could,' we're talking in pure hypotheticals, but Steam could dominate to such a degree as to control pricing, availability, and distribution of all online games. Steam's power in the PC landscape is already felt, as games promoted on the Steam store or in Steam sales provide massive sales boosts. Steam could easily decide to twist this influence to promote only the games they want to promote, corner the market on genres where Valve-developed games have a strong presence, and essentially extort developers and publishers just to be distributed in the first place. Steam may be the darling of indy developers now, but if Valve demands more of a percentage and takes a harsher line on which games are "allowed," not to mention promoted, on Steam, the once free marketplace could quickly become a stifled, cutthroat environment with less titles and higher prices. Which brings us back to Steam's ongoing feud with EA. All sources indicate that the yanking of many high profile EA games from Steam was Valve's decision, not EA's, as EA's DLC practices violate Steam's terms of service. Regardless of who's at fault, the reaction from the Steam community has largely been "f- EA, I'm boycotting that game." The fact is, whether by means of high-minded gamers boycotting on principle, or simply through lack of convenience, advertising and exposure, publishers that decide to forgo Steam WILL sell less copies, and this effect only increases the more dominant Steam is. What will the publisher response be? Will it be for each major publisher to create their own storefront like EA has done with Origin, creating an even more fragmented PC market? And if high profile titles don't sell on the PC, will publishers capitulate to Steam, or just cut their losses and give up on PC gaming entirely? It's tough to say, but given the climate of AAA publishing on the PC, it's not inconceivable that publishers would cut their losses entirely and double-down on console markets with their own more publisher-friendly distrubution models. Savior or Slayer So, is Steam the savior or the slayer of PC gaming as we know it? Quite possibly both. One thing is for sure, Steam has forever changed the face of the digital marketplace, and PC gaming in general. The industry is on the verge of a massive shift, as digital distribution becomes the new dominant force, and the Steam experiment has proven two key points: How do you fight piracy? Aggressive and reasonable pricing structures. As the music industry learned (eventually), piracy may be impossible to eradicate, but with a more sensible pricing model, with lower entry-level price points and more pricing variety, people will still gladly pay money for content. Steam's successes with their holiday sales, bundles, and many games starting in the low-to-mid ranges have reduced piracy and proven that the standard two-point pricing system of full price and budget price is a woefully antiquated model. PC gamers want a simpler, more unified experience. The verdict is in: people like using Steam. Why? Cause it's easy, it's lightweight, and it can work on multiple platforms. PC is an incredibly broad term, with just about everyone owning and operating a personal computing device of some sort. If Steam can bring more first-time gamers to the table, it's to the benefit of everyone. And those who bemoan the good old days when the barrier of entry involved being able to run multiple memory managers, making sure your IRQ ports didn't conflict, and having to know the port configuration of your soundcard, you're living in the past. It may not be the PC gaming you grew up with, but, for good or for ill, Steam just may be ushering in the new Golden Era of PC Gaming, the age of usability and portability.

Researchers Use Webcams To Rub Poor Posture In Slouching Office Workers' Faces Posted: 04 Aug 2011 12:47 PM PDT Whether you're chatting it up with a far-away friend or, um, hanging out in a Google+ Hangout, we all know that webcams can supply tons of digital video fun. But did you know webcams can improve your health, too? Neither did we, at least not until we heard of a nifty project involving webcams, 60 office workers, and a research team from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. Sit up and pay attention! The researchers first showed those 60 office workers an image of proper sitting posture, PC World reports. Some custom software used the webcam to snap periodic pictures of those workers in their chairs, then displayed the picture on screen side-by-side with the reference picture – you know, so the workers could see how they should be sitting. The researchers reported sustained posture improvement throughout the study, as opposed to the measured, yet brief improvement that occurs after a typical in-office posture training session. Guys are the most hard-headed (or dedicated) slouchers; women and old folks proved most responsive to the project. The team hopes that offices can use webcam posture programs to help reduce the rate of musculoskeletal disorders over the long term – which should help lower insurance rates. Win-win! Image credit: thebackuniversity.com

Browser Extension of the Week: Cooliris Posted: 04 Aug 2011 11:54 AM PDT Microsoft is everywhere. One form or another of Windows can be found on most computers in the world today. Redmond is rocking most people's work rigs and if you're a serious gamer, the odds very good that your last computer wasn't designed in Cupertino. For most folks, software conformity is a given. They accept that with the exception of their wallpaper, their graphical user interface most likely is identical to that of their neighbors. A few of us however, refuse to fall into line, preferring instead to tweak, preen and modify the looks of our Windows GUI until it can hardly be recognized as such. If you're interested in taking a first bold step into something a little snazzier than your computer's stock aesthetics have to offer, you could do a lot worse than downloading Cooliris. Available to both Explorer, Chrome and Firefox users, Cooliris not only pretties up your browser with some sweet, modern 3D visuals, it also makes your browsing a more visual visceral experience. Instead of trawling yards of search returns comprised of text, CoolIris gives users something pretty to look at, and provides search results in a scrolling wall of images, video and headers, designed to make hunting down a topic a pleasure. The extension even offers a number of channels, such as news, entrainment and games, ensuring that it's not just another pretty face, but also a respectable information aggregator to boot. Be sure to check back next Thursday for another edition of Maximum PC's Browser Extension of the Week.

Researcher Unveils N00ter, A Program That Detects ISP Traffic Shaping Posted: 04 Aug 2011 10:54 AM PDT Sorry, optimists. If the net neutrality law working its way through Washington ends up getting approved, that doesn't necessarily mean that ISPs will stop traffic-shaping on their networks. Even the government realizes that; the FCC chairman created the "Open Internet Challenge" earlier this year with the sole purpose of creating apps that detect naughty neutrality-hating ISPs red-handed. That competition's been a bust, but researcher Dan Kaminsky's announced a free new app at the Black Hat conference in Vegas that promises to dothe same thing. He calls it N00ter, and that makes us smile. The software can determine when an ISP artificially alters traffic speed to a website, Forbes reports. How's it work? We're glad you asked. Nooter acts like a proxy VPN. When you connect to a website, N00ter can spoof the incoming data to look like it's coming from another website entirely. You can then turn off N00ter, then connect to the same site and measure its download time. If there's a mismatch, the ISP is shaping traffic to one of the websites. In other words, you connect to Google, but N00ter tells the ISP you're getting data from Bing, instead. The Google data that the ISP thinks is Bing data is downloaded and timed. You then connect to Google normally, with N00ter turned off, and time how long it takes to download the page. The exact same data is downloaded from the exact same server both times – only the first time around, your ISP thinks you're connecting to Bing. That's the key to N00ter, and to detecting traffic shaping. "All the other sources of change disappear and we're left with the one cause, the ISP," Kaminsky said. And in case nefarious ISPs try to get tricky and work around Nooter by filtering upstream traffic only, Kaminsky's throwing together a N00ter companion program – the awesomely named Roto-N00ter – which spoofs traffic headed upstream to websites, rather than the data coming in from them. Kaminsky plans on releasing N00ter for free within a couple of weeks.

Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: My Home Server Posted: 04 Aug 2011 10:38 AM PDT There is a lot to be said for companies that innovate by integrating with their own products. Windows Home Server is one of the more functional tools that Microsoft has built for people with a home network. The additional power and flexibility you get with a Windows Home Server is enough to make it something worth considering for power users at home.    Now Microsoft is offering a free application that integrates your Windows Home Server (2011) with Windows Phone 7. My Home Server is available from the Windows Phone Marketplace and allows you to view the music, pictures, and videos you have stored on your server. In addition to remotely accessing your media library, My Home Server allows you to manage and configure your Windows Home Server. User configuration, device management, backups, and even alerts are accessible from your Windows Phone. In addition to the Windows Phone application, the server-side Windows Server Solutions Phone Connector Add-in must be installed to allow access to the server. The Phone Connector Add-in is a standard .wssx add-in package and also works with Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.

Fancy Flash Drive Looks Like A Mini TR-808 Synthesizer Posted: 04 Aug 2011 10:12 AM PDT You're a Maximum PC reader: there's a decent chance that you have the biggest, most badass custom build in town, full of water-filled tubes and blazing-fast GPUs and spiffy low-profile RAM kits. After dropping all that dough and spending all that time on your PC, plugging a standard flash drive into its USB 3.0 port just won't cut it. If our DJ-tech feature got you in a musical mude, maybe Alkotabeats' flashy TR-808 flash drive will tweak your tune. It's modeled after the paradigm-breaking drum machine that's so awesome, Kanye named an album after it. "Hip Hop heads, Electro Heads, Synth Freaks, and more will all appreciate the detail put into this novelty 8GB USB Flash Drive," Alkotabeats' website boasts, and that's a good thing, because you'll need a baller-sized wallet in order to afford this thing – buying the 8GB drive will set you back $40. All right, maybe that's not so bad, but since you can pick up a basic 8GB drive for under $10 online, we'd kind of expect the ability to play some tunes on this thing for $40. And you can't – the TR-808 is just a dumb, albeit flashy, flash drive. It does support USB 3.0, though. That being said, it's still cool. If it's your type of cool, you can preorder it now on the Alkotabeats website and expect it in your mailbox sometime near the beginning of October. They've also got a few other soundboard-inspired USB drives on their site for similar prices. Thanks to Engadget for pointing this out!

Wikipedia's Contributors Diminishing in Number Posted: 04 Aug 2011 09:52 AM PDT Here's a challenge if you're looking to kill some time. Look up a topic on Google -- any topic -- and see if Wikipedia doesn't make the front page. This isn't exactly an impossible mission, but by and large, Wikipedia makes its presence known nearly every time we search for something, which is partially the result of an army of volunteers adding and editing content on everything under the sun. But what would happen to Wikipedia if it was suddenly starved for writers? The open online encyclopedia hopes to never find out, however Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales recently lamented to The Associated Press his site is losing contributors. "We are not replenishing our ranks. It is not a crisis, but I consider it to be important," Wales told AP. In an effort to retain members, Wales said he hopes to make the process of submitting and maintaining content easier than it is, which he admits is "convoluted" in its current state. The other problem, as Wales sees it, is that there are simply less new topics to write about than there were 10 years ago when the site went live. Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, says there's an effort to get universities more involved through a program that would have professors hand out Wikipedia writing assignments to students. Image Credit: Wikipedia

Barracuda Doubles Cloud Storage Space without Jacking Up the Price Posted: 04 Aug 2011 09:27 AM PDT Barracuda Networks obviously wasn't paying attention to the mobile phone industry when it announced the doubling of cloud storage space to its customers. You see, the wireless industry has trained us to expect when changes are made to service plans, it's often because they're taking something away, like unlimited data. Barracuda, however, just doubled up the amount of storage space its cloud customers have access to, and did so without raising prices. "Data usage is increasing quickly while IT budgets are falling under considerable pressure," said Guy Suter, general manager of the Barracuda Backup Service. "Barracuda Networks is once again raising the bar on storage requirements and deliverables. We make the choice simple for customers transitioning from old tapes to modern backup technology by doubling the cloud storage available for the same low cost." Barracuda's $50/month plan now includes 200GB of online storage, up from 100GB. That breaks down to $0.25/GB per month, plus unlimited backup and restore bandwidth. The new price applies to both new and existing service customers, so there's no need for businesses to wait for a contract renewal. We say "businesses" because Barracuda's service isn't really targeted at home consumers. There's a one-time hardware purchase that will set customers back at least $1,000 -- ooph! Image Credit: Barracuda Networks

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MMO News

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• Raven arrives in Elsword
• Age of Conan Gameplay – First Look HD
• Grand Chase announces Harbinger
• The Chosen
• Silkroad Online launches eighth expansion
• Hellgate now available through YNK
• Florenia reveals new expansion details
• Karma Online begins open beta
• Combat Arms releases New Blood
• Community Event Announcement – Team Fortress 2

Raven arrives in Elsword Posted: 03 Aug 2011 02:30 PM PDT Elsword has gained a new fighter today: Raven. Raven is a human melee fighter, specializing in attacking with metal claws and blade skills. He makes the fourth character to join Elsword. New screenshots below show off some of Raven’s skills. Elsword is published by Kill3rCombo. Elsword- Raven Screenshots: 12► Source: New Character with Shadowy Past Kicks Ass in the World of Elsword Manga-inspired online beat-'em-up, Elsword, introduced a bold new melee fighter to its free-to-play online game today. Raven, a human fighter reborn with Nasod improvements, slices and dices his enemies with giant metal claws and finishes them off with swift blade skills, all in an effort to protect the people of Velder. "Our goal is to make the best multiplayer online beat 'em up experience out there and to make sure every player has a way to enjoy the game," said Ben Colayco, CEO of Kill3rCombo. "The introduction of Raven demonstrates our commitment to keep bringing new and varied experiences to Elsword players." Raven joins his friends Elsword, a master swordsman; Aisha, a mage; and Rena, a trained marksman on an adventure to find the legendary El.

Age of Conan Gameplay – First Look HD Posted: 03 Aug 2011 01:13 PM PDT To Learn More About the Game, Check out our Age of Conan Page. Age of Conan is a 3D fantasy MMORPG published by Funcom – the Norwegian game developer behind Anarchy Online and Bloodline Champions. As the name implies, Age of Conan is based off the “Conan” franchise and set within the content of the Hyborian Kingdoms. The game was originally released back in may of 2008 and the game was launched as “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures”. Since its release in 2008, it has enjoyed numerous updates as well as the expansion “Rise of the Godslayer” in May, 2010. Age of Conan is one of the only “mature MMORPGs” on the market. The game features a LOT of gore and some nudity. The game originally launched as a pay to play subscription based game but eventually went free to play (The same way Everquest 2, Champions Online, The Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online did). To learn more about Age of Conan check out the official MMOHut Age of Conan page which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

Grand Chase announces Harbinger Posted: 03 Aug 2011 01:06 PM PDT A new class will arrive on August 9 in Grand Chase: Harbinger, a job for Ley. To celebrate the new arrival, players will be able to earn 10% bonus experience when they find Ley’s emblem in dungeons. Daily logins will grant players Love Ley’s Orb, that can be forged into a pet accessory, as well as Fusion Chests, which will give players a Tropical Paradise Fusion Set. A special Rock Paper Scissors game is also available when logging in, where players earn rewards based on how many boss pets they defeat in the game. These events will run until August 16 (August 9 for the Tropical Paradise set), in addition to special purchases available in the cash shop. Grand Chase is published by SG Interactive, which also publishes Trickster Online and Pangya. Grand Chase: Harbinger Job Art Source: SG Interactive, developer and publisher of popular free-to-play games, today announced that Ley, Grand Chase: Chaos' ageless sorceress, will soon be learning a new job! Ley will receive the Harbinger job class, a specialized summoning class, on Aug. 9, 2011. Starting today, players may pre-purchase unique packages that include the new class, as well as a number of bonus items. For more information on Ley's new job and these special packages, please visit www.Grandchase.net. SG Interactive is celebrating the forthcoming job update with a trio of in-game events: Ley's Emblem Event – Through Aug. 16, players will receive a 10 percent experience point boost for simply seeing Ley's emblem in dungeons. Furthermore, logging in to the game each day during the event will net players a Love Ley's Orb, which can be forged into a unique pet accessory. Tropical Paradise Swimsuit Event – Through Aug. 9, Grand Chase fans will receive a Fusion Chest the first time they log in each day. The Fusion Chest can be applied to a character of players' choice, and will immediately grant a swanky Tropical Paradise Fusion Set. Rock Paper Scissors Mini-Game – Through Aug. 16, players can participate in a special Rock Paper Scissors mini-game. Simply log in to Grand Chase, receive the game and click "Play." Players will take on five different boss pets, with different rewards distributed based on how many pets are defeated. Check out a trailer for the new job at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4R8XoxsBN0. For more information on Grand Chase, including Ley's update and events, please visit http://grandchase.ntreev.net/.

The Chosen Posted: 03 Aug 2011 09:20 AM PDT The Chosen is free to play fantasy themed MMORPG loosely based on the epic Three Kingdoms saga. Players become heroes fighting for their empire's reign in a war between Good and Evil. Kill bandits to zombies and battle other players in intense Arena challenges. Train mystical beasts as pets to assist in combat. Fulfill your destiny as a legend in ancient China. Publisher: Snail Games Playerbase: Low Graphics: Low Type: MMORPG EXP Rate: Medium PvP: Arena Battles/ Duels /Nation Wars Filesize: 1.46 GB Pros: +Plenty of quests. +Extensive battle system. +Cool pet merging & training options. +Marriage feature. +Good skill progression. +Crafting. +Varied mounts. +Lots of scheduled events. Cons: -Excessive amount of grinding necessary. –Slow paced gameplay. –Graphics could be better. –Small community. -Players must be level 90 and up to use most of the game's features. Overview The Chosen Overview The Chosen is a fantasy MMORPG set in a war-torn China. The powers of Light and Dark are battling for control. Players are chosen as heroes to help end the chaos and bring order back to the land. Comparable to games like Heroes of Three Kingdoms and Warriors of the Three Kingdoms factions are represented by the five historic Chinese Dynasties. Fight for Qin, Ming, Song, Tang, or the Han Dynasty. Complete endless quests. Slay beasts in animal and human form. Challenge others on the PvP battlegrounds or participate in a full-fledged war. Train and summon a variety of pets to aid in combat. Join guilds, get married, and save the world from eternal darkness. There's also six weapon based classes each with their own set of unique skills. Classes: Blade – Masters of close range combat this class is notorious for their speed and accurate hits using various blades. Weapons include Long Sabers and the mighty Silver Blade. Sword – Expert swordsmen. This class has an arsenal of highly crafted swords with the potential of wielding massive amounts of damage. Bow – This class shoots arrows that harness the power of nature's thunder. Weapons range from the traditional Shortbow to the damaging Thunderbow. Fan – Uses an assortment of attractive enchanted fans once owned by royalty but deadly in the proper hands. Spell – These heroes use encrypted charms capable of eliminating evil and destroying enemies simultaneously. Flute – Flutes play the melodies of past legends to succumb foes. Ignite tunes using Emerald to Snake Bone infused flutes. The Chosen Screenshots The Chosen Featured Video Click here to view the embedded video. Full Review The Chosen Review By Ange Perdu The Chosen is a 2D fantasy MMORPG where players step into the role of an awaken hero destined to save their dying empire. Similar to the popular Three Kingdoms series each warrior must follow their predetermined path to glory. Complete various tests in the form of quests. Fight ferocious beasts, the walking undead, and bandits affiliated with the Dark World. Challenge others in PvP battles and participate in scheduled resource wars. Execute powerful skills, cast spells, or summon a pet to assist in combat. The game's comprehensive battle and social features allow players to create their hero's legacy as they see fit. Slay monsters with friends, chat, duel, and even get married. Become one of the bravest warriors ever to live or make history as part of a team of comrades that accomplished great feats. Path of the Chosen Noob, the Gameplay Most of the gameplay involves completing quests and monster killing. Players start out as a Chosen Noob in a remote village on a mission to help stop the conflict between the worlds. Quests are delegated through NPCs scattered throughout the territories. These tasks vary but usually consist of fighting creatures or human enemies. Complete missions by delivering packages, mining for ore, slaying mountain monkeys, taking out bandits, and defeating the leader of the zombies. There are plenty of quests. Players have to tackle storyline based, daily, and pet tasks. Every hero receives a fairy companion to train and assist in combat. As players level up they can adopt more pets and summon them at will. Pet quests require characters to fight various foes with the help of their mystical comrade. Fighting missions often require killing a large number of beasts.Players may be asked to destroy 50 Water Ghost Frogs or slay 70 Phosphorous Snakes. There's a massive amount of grinding necessary to level up which makes the game feel very repetitive at times. Similar Warriors of the Three Kingdoms players can engage in mounted combat if they possess them. Clicking on an enemy initiates combat. Players can use their mouse to move and designated hot keys to execute spells. Each class has a wide assortment of skills. Perform the Blazing Strike to overwhelm enemies with a burst of flames upon every strike. Cast the Bear Magic spell which boosts a character's constitution by 20 points or paralyze foes with the Immortal of Thunder enchantment. Many of the quests and PvE challenges require a team effort. Players have to join forces with others or summon one of their pets to assist in killing high level boss characters. Tackling team based quests can be difficult at times since the community is relatively small. The gameplay often feels slow paced especially if a player doesn't have a group of friends to grind with. Soul Caliburs & Marriage The integrated pet system in this game is impressive. Heroes can own multiple pets, train them to assist in battles, and even merge with their companions for triple the strength during combat. There's a wide variety of pet companions available. As players advance they can acquire more powerful pets such as the Firebird, Scorpion King, Butterfly, Mengmeng Dog, King Kong, and Soul Calibur. Each pet has a distinct skill set and specific attributes that makes them stand out. Pets are trained through the completion of daily tasks and by fighting alongside their master. When a pet reaches level 30 or higher they can participate in treasure hunts to locate blessing stones and spiritual trinkets. Another cool feature is the ability for a character to physically merge with their pet. This action not only alters a hero's appearance but allows them to perform the special skills of both species. Skills and special buffs are also rewarded to couples. Once a player reaches level 50 they can get married. Surprisingly the marriage feature in The Chosen is very Sims-like. Players have a traditional ceremony at the church. The characters attending have to dress up. It's not what you'd expect from a historic China themed game. Similar to real life the divorce procedure is a hassle. Players have to have a talk and agree to part ways or pay a hefty fee of coins. The extra XP, equipment, and boosts that married players receive can provide an edge in many of the events and battles held. Rosefinch Battlefield The battle system is rather unique. Players have a variety of PvP arenas, battlefields, resource events, and PvE combat to participate in regularly. Each designated zone has its own requirements for entrance and various rules. To fight other players in the arena heroes must be level 31 or higher and apply within the appropriate time frame. Battles are held every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday with warriors from all five dynasties. Players with the most kills receive special awards and bonus experience. The PvP battlegrounds are similar to Heroes of Three Kingdoms. In the Rosefinch Battlefield heroes are divided into colored teams and given random numbers. When a specific number is called out that player must charge to the opposing team's side and attempt to stay alive as long as possible. Teams earn points for every minute each of their members is able to survive. It's an interesting twist. The game also features two slightly different resource wars as well. In the National Resource War players level 31 and up have to attempt to take out opposing factions' Dragon Pillars. Heroes must kill other players protecting their dynasty's pillar. The first group to completely destroy it wins. In the Dragonvein Resource War only players that are level 100 or higher can participate. Instead pillars it's a free-for-all session in an opposing faction's territory. The main objective is to steal colorful blessing stones called Dragonvein from others by PK. As warriors advance more zones become available. Slaying monsters and boss characters in certain PvE areas like the Lava Palace often provides players with additional bonuses or hard to acquire items. Stalls O'Plenty All the weapons, equipment, and potions in the game are level based making it mandatory for players to upgrade their character's gear upon leveling. Neglecting to do so will result in an annoying pop-up notice each time the outdated item is used. There's only a handful of apparel sets. Heroes' customization is limited. Most of the items are general like hats, helmets, sleeves, armor, capes, trousers, boots, belts, and jewelry. There's not a wide selection in any particular category. Potions come in various sizes to increase health or mana. Depending on player's class there are several weapon options. Equip warriors with the Long Sword, Short Saber, Bi Xie Sword, Iron Bow, Ink Charm, Golden Sword, Bronze Blade, Hunting Bow, Peach Blossom Fan, Mao Shan Charm, Wood Grain Charm, Bamboo Flute, and White Jade Flute. As heroes level up their previous weapon becomes obsolete. Items can be earned through kills, purchased at NPC merchant shops, or through a fellow hero's stall. Stalls function as mini-merchant shops that users can set up to sell unwanted items. Players have to click on individual stalls to view their products. The booths are clustered together like a flee market. Occasionally heroes can find rare equipment for cheap but the entire process is a bit more tedious than the average auction feature. Final Verdict: Fair The excessive grinding, high level cap for battle arenas, and sub-standard graphics keeps The Chosen from reaching it's full potential as a great MMORPG. Most of the features are exceptional but the time it takes to actually get to them can defer new players from discovering what the game has to offer. To really explore and conquer players have to surpass level 60. For competitive PvP challenges its level 100. To become a legendary hero a player must fight off hordes of mystical beasts and human foes alongside their trusted pet companion. Train and merge with pets, tackle missions, reform tools, ride mounts, master hundreds of skills, dance, chat, and even fall in love. Gamers that don't mind rolling up their sleeves for some intense grinding and avid fans of the Three Kingdoms saga will enjoy fighting for their empire's honor in this fantasy inspired MMO. Screenshots The Chosen Screenshots 12345► Videos The Chosen Videos Links The Chosen Links System Requirements The Chosen System Requirements Minimum Requirements: OS: Windows XP or Vista 32 CPU: Intel Pentium 4 class processor or AMD Athlon XP, at 1.5 GHz or faster RAM: 512MB of RAM or more HDD: 5 GB Free Space Graphics Card: GeForce FX class or ATI Radeon 9600 with 128MB of dedicated VRAM or better Recommended Specification: OS: Windows XP/ 2000 / Vista CPU:Intel Pentium 4 Class Processor Dual Core at 2.0 GHz or faster RAM: 1GB of RAM or more HDD: 1.8 GB of HDD space, plus additional for new game content Graphics Card: GeForce XT Class with 256MB of dedicated VRAM or better

Silkroad Online launches eighth expansion Posted: 02 Aug 2011 04:37 PM PDT The Mysterious Temple of Jupiter, Silkroad Online’s eighth expansion, is now live. The update increases the level cap to 120, adds new Chinese and European art skills, and introduces 60 quests, 100 monsters, dungeons, and a revised low- and mid-level player experience. Several events coincide with the expansion’s launch, including the Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves event (letting players collect Thief Tickets to exchange for weapons), the Famous event (rewards for increasing abilities), and the Seal Collection (get a voucher for an 11th Grade Power Weapon). Silkroad Online is published by Joymax, which also publishes Karma Online. Silkroad Online Gameplay Screenshot Source: JOYMAX LAUNCHES SILKROAD ONLINE, MYSTERIOUS TEMPLE OF JUPITER TODAY EXPANSION BRINGS EXCITING NEW CONTENT INCLUDING NEW LEVEL INCREASES, MORE QUESTS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS FOR PLAYERS Seoul, KOREA – August 2, 2011 – Joymax, a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced that it has launched Silkroad Online, Mysterious Temple of Jupiter, its eighth expansion for one of the company’s most popular franchises. The update to the Silkroad Online series delivers character and skill mastery level increases, as well as new quests and upcoming events to keep players enthralled with tons of new content to explore. “We are pleased that today marks the eighth expansion for Silkroad Online”, said Nam-chul Kim, CEO of Joymax. “Mysterious Temple of Jupiter is exactly what our loyal fans and players have been asking for, and between the level increase to 120, an explosive amount of new quests, and engaging events, our users will continue to come back for more for the foreseeable future.” One of the new updates includes players having the ability to reach level 120, an increase from the current 110 levels, and brand new skills are added for each skill class, such as Chinese and European arts.  The expansion adds more than 60 new quests as part of the exploration of the mysterious temples dedicated to Jupiter, as well as dungeons and hunting grounds, although players must be at least level 111 to enter.  There’s also plenty of content for low to mid-level characters, with a streamlined and improved enemy monster AI which provides a more active, tactical experience. This content is in addition to more than 100 new monsters now inhabiting the Jupiter universe, including the new dungeons, waiting to pounce on the nearest character. Coinciding with Ramadan, the ninth or “blessed” month in the Islamic calendar, the launch of Mysterious Temple of Jupiter brings several new events for Silkroad’s players to immerse themselves with, including a two-week event beginning today through August 16. The Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves event will have players collecting Thief Tickets and Boss Thief Tickets to exchange them with useful weapons. From August 16 through August 23, the Famous event will take place where Famous items are rewarded to players for increasing abilities such as strength and intelligence or experience. Beginning August 23rd and running through the 30th, the Seal Collection event means that players who talk to the NPC will receive a voucher for an 11th Grade Power Weapon. Players can check out the official Legend VIII teaser site at http://www.joymax.com/silkroad/, or receive  updates on the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/officialsilkroad and Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/SilkroadOnline

Hellgate now available through YNK Posted: 02 Aug 2011 04:24 PM PDT Hellgate, recently republished through T3Fun, is now available through publisher YNK Interactive’s gaming portal (PlayRohan). Players playing through the new YNK portal can use the same login and currency for all of YNK’s offered games, including Hellgate. The portal currently offers Rohan Online and Hellgate, while K.O.S. Secret Operations and Seal Online will relaunch on August 23. Special launch events will be held for Hellgate, and YNK Interactive will also offer conversion discounts and 10% off RP purchases for the coming weeks. Hellgate Gameplay Screenshot Source: HELLGATE LAUNCHES IN NEW PLAYROHAN PORTAL Joins YNK Interactive's Free Online Game Lineup ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Aug. 1, 2011 – Online PC game publisher YNK Interactive announced the release of T3's action RPG, Hellgate, on the new PlayRohan portal. "The long awaited release of Hellgate is a great addition to our game list, which will take our new portal to its projected heights," says Mariness Didulo, Marketing Manager of YNK Interactive. "Hellgate, R.O.H.A.N, Seal, and K.O.S. accessible in one place, will surely satisfy any gamer's appetite for a fun online gaming experience." Hellgate is an action RPG in first or third person perspective available to play online.  There are six different classes to choose from to battle solo or in a party.  Players combat monsters for the survival of the human race in a futuristic and gory environment.  There is also a player-vs.-player mode if players prefer battling one another in settings like Death Match mode in the Dual Area, where players fight opposing teams for PvP points that are redeemable for in-game items like pets and accessories.  Players are also able to dismantle unwanted armor and weapons for scrap metal, while enhancing weapons with upgrades and relics. In the new PlayRohan Portal, players will be able to login and use the same RP currency throughout all offered games, including R.O.H.A.N.: Blood Feud and Hellgate.  The re-launch of the action First Person Shooter game, K.O.S.-Secret Operations, and the update of the Anime MMORPG, Seal Online: Eternal Destiny, will be released in the PlayRohan Portal on August 23, 2011. Open registration for Hellgate begins August 1, 2011 on the new PlayRohan portal.  Current R.O.H.A.N.: Blood Feud players will automatically be registered for Hellgate.  All gamers are invited to enter the gates of hell for a chance to receive exclusive prizes from the launch events.  Conversion discounts applied for the first two weeks and 10% off on RP purchases from Playspan's Ultimate Points all throughout August.  For more details, visit www.PlayRohan.com.

Florenia reveals new expansion details Posted: 02 Aug 2011 04:03 PM PDT Florensia is planning another major update soon, and the details have been revealed today. No date has been given for the update’s launch. Combat Pets will gain skills in the new update, that include attack, defense, and healing. Pets will have skill trees and new skills can also be purchased in the item shop. Players with regular attendance who check in with the town manager can earn rewards with the new “attendance system,” which grants bonuses including experience buffs. Finally, the Harbor Occupation War will return in Roxbury, Castle Hall, Glostem, and Cherrytown, granting winning guilds the right to levy taxes on the NPC citizens. Florensia is published by alaplaya, which also publishes Avalon Heroes and S4 League. Florensia Gameplay Screenshot Source: New Bundle of Updates Floats Ashore in Florensia Latest Update Features New Combat Pet Skills, Attendance System, and the Return of the Harbor Occupation War MUNICH – August 1, 2011 alaplaya, the leading international free-to-play gaming portal, today announced details of its next major update for maritime fantasy MMORPG Florensia. The latest expansion features new Combat Pet skills, an "attendance system," and the return of the long-awaited Harbor Occupation War. With this upcoming installment, Florensia' s cute-yet-deadly Combat Pets can now use skills! Ranging from attack and defense to healing skills, a combat pet will prove to be the best companion a player can have on land or on sea. Players will also be able to fully customize their pets' skill trees and purchase new skills from the Spirit Manager or the Florensia Item Shop. In addition, a new "attendance system" will be introduced to the world of Florensia, which is designed to track players' regular attendance and reward them for their dedication. By performing a simple check-in with the town manager, players can easily benefit from valuable bonuses such as a 20% EXP buff for 1 hour. The epic battle that shakes the world of Florensia – the Harbor Occupation War – is also making its return. Relying on teamwork and strategic decisions, all guilds can participate in this epic 24 vs. 24 player event to fight for the ownership of harbors in Florensia's big cities: Roxbury, Castle Hall, Glostem, and Cherrytown. Guilds that emerge victorious will be in control of the harbor they battled for, and will also have access to new features such as levying taxes on NPCs. Best of all, victors will earn bragging rights and can freely rub it in the faces of fellow Florensians. Round up your best mates and get ready to fight for glory, fame, and honor! For more information on this massive update for the world of Florensia check out the official site at http:/florensia.alaplaya.net.

Karma Online begins open beta Posted: 02 Aug 2011 03:20 PM PDT Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead begins its open beta today, which will last until August 16. The game will officially launch in the following weeks. The new update that comes with the launch of open beta includes ten new maps, plus two new characters: Gunter, a son of a German Army officer, is a member of the elite troop SS Fallschirmjager, and Karl, a perfectionist son of a German noble. Joymax also publishes Silkroad Online. Karma Online Gameplay Screenshot Source: JOYMAX LAUNCHES KARMA ONLINE: PRISONERS OF THE DEAD OPEN BETA TODAY More Information Revealed On Two Characters, Gunther And Karl, Official Launch To Follow Shortly After Open Beta Wraps Up Seoul, Korea, August 2, 2011 – Joymax, a leading online game developer and publisher, announced today that its upcoming World War II game, Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead, has launched its open beta test which runs through Tuesday, August 16th. Additionally, Joymax has revealed information on two new characters, Gunther and Karl, who are now playable in the open beta. The launch of Karma Online will follow shortly after the open beta testing ends. To participate in the testing, or learn more about the game, players can visit http://www.joymax.com/karma/ "Karma Online's popularity has continued to grow in recent months, and we are so excited for the continued momentum and interest in our game," said Joymax CEO, Nam-chul Kim. "We are very confident with the stability we have seen during the beta phase and with the official launch of the cash shop following soon after the open beta testing ends, we are looking forward to players experiencing a seamless gaming experience." Besides ten new maps in the open beta, two new characters Gunther and Karl, are now available to players who have not yet been able to play as them until now. Gunther, the son of an officer of the German army, has been sent by his father to the glider flying club which would form a regiment of fallschirmjager, also known as 'parachute hunters' later in time. His unit, known as SS Fallschirmjager, is one of the elite troops in the German army, where he is the best in his unit. Gunther’s facial expressions and gestures show his pride as a member SS Fallschirmjager, where it has managed to outperform others. However, as the skies over the Reich become the turf of Allied aircraft, he was transferred to the eastern front, though this time, without the parachute. A descendant of one of the prominent noble houses of old Germany, Karl voluntarily joined the army and graduated from military academy with excellent records. His holier-than-thou attitude is hardly noticeable in his speech, but he believes deep in his heart the superiority of the Arians and is a perfectionist to the bone. Although less experienced than his peers, this dark horse has already made an impressive debut on the eastern front. Many expect that his career in the military will eventually bring him to the top echelons. Karl's looks may be deceiving – he may appear a thin man with a face that resembles that of a hawk, but he packs more muscle than one might expect. Developed in conjunction with Dragonfly, and published by Joymax, KARMA Online: Prisoners of the Dead is the newest installment in the KARMA Online series, the top online first-person shooter series in Korea. Players go back in time to World War II, where they must choose to side with the Axis or Allied powers and join the fight for global victory – with a zombie twist.  In this virtual and historical simulation, players will be up against enemy troops as well as hundreds of the walking dead from the remains of the catastrophic battle. KARMA Online: Prisoners of the Dead will be available in English, German, Spanish and Turkish. To become a fan of Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead, players can visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/KarmaPOD or http://twitter.com/karmapod and http://www.youtube.com/user/KarmaPOD

Combat Arms releases New Blood Posted: 02 Aug 2011 02:31 PM PDT “New Blood” is the latest update to hit Combat Arms this summer, and introduces a new map and game mode, available now. The new mode, “Hired Guns,” pits teams against each other as they strive to rob a bank. The mode has multiple stages, and along each way, teams can hire mercenaries to help them along the way. Its first map debut is “Blood Money,” which lets teams of up to 8 players seek to steal gold from NEMEXIS, while NEMEXIS offers a mercenary team a reward to secure the gold instead of letting it be stolen. The New Blood update has also increased EXP and GP rates for all missions, and increases the number of weapons that can be upgraded to Mark II at the Gun Emporium – as well as introducing new weapons to be created and customized. Combat Arms is published by Nexon, which also publishes Vindictus and Dungeon Fighter Online. Combat Arms Blood Money Screenshots: Source: Nexon releases Combat Arms video of newly released New Blood update Combat Arms soldiers ready for a new challenge can jump into the game and experience team versus team mode and a new map in the newly released New Blood update. The update introduces Blood Money, an urban city-style map, along with the Hired Guns game mode, where players can hire and control mercenaries. In the new Hired Guns mode, teams of players will put their combat skills to the test as they compete to rob a bank and make a clean getaway before the opposing team pulls off their own heist. Players will be challenged to work together to clear objectives in order to earn the funds necessary to hire additional mercenaries and progress to the next objective. Blood Money is the first map designed for the Hired Guns mode, pitting one team of up to eight players against another team in a race to steal a load of gold from the multi-national corporation, NEMEXIS. Command believes that they can deal a devastating blow to NEMEXIS by stealing the gold reserves the company uses to secure credit lines from an international bank. Unfortunately, NEMEXIS has learned about the operation and is offering a huge reward to the mercenary team to secure their gold before it can be stolen. Players must break into the bank, use their hired mercenary forces to secure the facility and swipe their prize before the other mercenary team can get to it. Players can now also enjoy increased EXP and GP rates for all missions in the game, giving players an even greater incentive to level up their characters. In addition, the improvements to Gun Emporium now allow players to upgrade more NX and GP weapons to Mark II versions and new weapons that can be forged and customized. For more information on Combat Arms, or to download and play for free, go to: www.combatarms.nexon.net. To follow Combat Arms on Facebook, visit: http://www.facebook.com/combatarms

Community Event Announcement – Team Fortress 2 Posted: 02 Aug 2011 12:52 PM PDT To Learn More About the Game Check out our Team Fortress 2 Page. Team Fortress 2 is a MMOFPS developed by Valve, long ago released as a full-feature game, and now released to the free to play market. The players play the role of one of 9 classes divided in two teams (RED and BLU) as they fight over a variety of objective in a plethora of different modes. Team Fortress 2 holds the reputation of being one of the best online FPS currently available, and boasts a complete item and crafting system to boot. Its cartoon-y action is fast, deadly, and incredibly addictive!

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