Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

Patch Tuesday is March 14. Looks like 2 security updates, one for Office (which is "Critical") and one for Windows (which is "Important"). And, the normal Malicious Software Removal Tool, which I thought was Defender now? Or is that the subscription version? Please post in comments, if you know.
--MissM
Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

Alienware announces Aurora ALX with quad SLI - Engadget

You thought dual SLI cards was enough? Already they've been passed by a QUAD SLI!. Alienware strikes again with bleeding edge, kewl, top of the line computers. And their cases, are just too kewl :)

Fans of excessive computer performance and palpatation-causing pricetags, steel yourself for Alienware’s latest, the Aurora ALX (big time flash hog, consider this a warning), featuring quad SLI NVIDIA GeForce cards. They're claiming full 2560 x 1600 resolution gaming (that'd be native res on Apple's 30-inch Cinema Display and Dell's 3007WFP) on the dual-core AMD Athlon 64 FX-60-based box, which also features (surprise, surprise) a liquid cooling system. How much? Well, uh, it starts at $6,929, but we configured one online to just shy of $8,800 (without monitor and peripherals). So, just how much do you love gaming?

I'm reminded of spending $300 on a video card, to play a $50 game. ;)
Direct Link to Build your own, which has specs and a gallery, etc., etc.
--MissM
Alienware announces Aurora ALX with quad SLI - Engadget

RIAA Says Future DRM Might “Threaten Critical Infrastructure and Potentially Endanger Lives”

Even so, the RIAA and such want research into DRM by security analysts forbidden by the DMCA. It's pretty scary. Best have a look at this one.

Jack

Google buys Web word-processing technology

A while back, I wrote about Writely a web-based word processing application. I said it was a good chance to try a web-based app and reasonably functional.

Lots of folks must have felt that way because the site (which is still technically in beta testing stage) has a waiting list for prospective users. Just last week, I joined a collaborative book project and we intended using Writely as repository and tool for the entire project, until we learned that the beta has a 500 kb file size limit, which simply doesn't suit our project's needs. Yes, we could have worked around that, but decided not to, in an attempt to avoid confusion.

Today it was announced that Google bought Writely. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and even the co-founder of Writely is not yet sure what it all means, according to her blog on the Writely site. Plus, Google is hiring coders to work on improving Open Office. Evidence is piling up and, frankly, no one can tell me Google is not planning some offering in this sphere. They're pouring in too many resources to have any other plan.

Jack

Extend Your Windows Clipboard

The link is to a TechNewsWorld.com review of ClipMate, a fairly pricey, but very nice clipboard extender for Windows XP.

I have applications for just that purpose I use in Linux. It is amazing how much having a small selection of items in the clipboard can speed some work. Those are fairly simple and usually hold 10 items or so. That's all I need. Real power users might want something like ClipMate, but there are also myriad alternatives at places like SnapFiles.com and NoNags.com that provide various levels of services. In Windows, I seem to drift between one app and the next, never really settling on any one for the long term.

I'd recommend you read the review to get an idea of what is available and, should you decide ClipMate is more power than you need, go find another application at no cost.

Jack

The Battle of the Duelling Toolbars?

It's about Microsoft's new search abilities at their "Live" site. The author has obviously not become immune to hype yet, and depicts the whole thing as a battle between MS and Google. While it is that, right now it's more about delivering a decently comprehensive search result from the new site.

The FireFox support is not quite there yet so don't bother trying it, but I actually did do some searches using IE 6 and found it to be okay. Perhaps a bit slower than Google, but as I was searching for two really obscure Linux files (that I have not been able to find using Google) that may be forgiven.

Yes, I found my files and got what I consider to be fairly good results on several other searches, as well.

Jack

How-To: Make a surface mount soldering iron - Engadget

In MAKEzine spirit, Engadget has spec'd out a do it yourself SMT soldering iron, for under $20 they make a simple reflow tool. I admit I thought of Jack first.
No telling what this tool will motivate him to do.

--MissM
How-To: Make a surface mount soldering iron - Engadget

IBM will not use Windows Vista - but will move to Linux desktops

Several years ago, IBM said they would quit using Windows in their daily business. They waffled for a while, then admitted it wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Well, the time has finally come. IBM has decided to bite the conversion bullet.

Make no mistake about it; there are high costs to be paid in converting from Windows desktops to Linux and GNU software or any other scheme. And IBM doesn't get off any easier because they are a heavily biased Linux user and seller. Still, once those costs are paid, the savings will take over and reflect the wisdom of your choice forever after.

In my experience, when compared to XP Pro, Linux does not offer all that much of a performance benefit, nor a reliability benefit. That, of course, is ignoring the costs of virii, worms, etc. that plague Windows. Eventually, I'm sure Linux will have some of the same problems in this area, but for now it does not and I specualte it's more secure design may well keep it from being the stationary malware target Windows has been for many years now.

In servers, Linux often delivers a reduction in the amount of active administration needed per machine. I doubt that will carry over to the desktop realm. Users are users and some of them can screw up an anvil. Nothing is proof against these people.

Every Linux booster I know is heralding this move by IBM as the death of Windows on the corporate desktop. Nothing could be further from the truth. But it is a step in the right direction and will bring desktop Linux closer to the fore than it has been.

Jack

Mac OS X patch faces scrutiny

While not the tempest in a teapot Apple seems to think this is, neither is it something that can be ignored. Mac users need to know about this, for sure. And it just might be that everyone should read this and learn a little bit about security.

Jack

Scientist: Complexity causes 50% of product returns

How many VCR's still don't have the clock set?

The offensive rests!

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 03-05-06

This is a repost of the On Computers Radio Show Podcast for 03-05-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 03-05-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 03-05-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

Perils of Personal Pages, outlined by SANS.

Wow, this is something that grabbed my attention, and since I mentioned live.com which "qualifies" though its not mentioned specifically. As always Caveat Emptor, even if you haven't "bought" anything.
--MissM


SANS - Internet Storm Center - Cooperative Cyber Threat Monitor And Alert System

Official Google Blog: Robots and writers and Googlers, oh my!

Google has been videotaping the presentations that have been offered for their employees, and now they are available at google video.

Now, with Google Video, we finally have the opportunity to share many of these "from the Googleplex" presentations with the world. They include our Authors@Google talks (don't miss "How to survive a robot uprising" author Daniel Wilson) and the regular engEDU tech talks. Grab coffee and get comfy for this one on "Scalable Learning and Inference in Hierarchical Models of the Neocortex," for example.

the post closes: "Of course, you can access them all on your own schedule. And if you want to see them in person, feel free to check out our recruiting video."
--MissM
I know that this is a broadband brat post, but I think that most of our readers have broadband. And might enjoy it. :)
Official Google Blog: Robots and writers and Googlers, oh my!

Settlement ends Blackberry case

From the BBC:
The maker of the Blackberry e-mail device has reached a $612.5m (£349m) settlement to end a dispute that could have closed the service in the US.

Why Everyone Hates The Music Industry

The link above will take you to an opinion piece at TechWeb.com's site by Fredric Paul.

Remember when CDs were just coming in? The music companies told us that once the format was established and manufacturing costs came down, prices would fall and artists would receive an increased percentage of revenues. Really, they did! And in front of Congressional committees, if I recall correctly. Did any of that happen? Nope! Not a bit of it. Their promises were conveniently forgotten, though the conditions forecast to lower costs came true in spades.

Our listeners probably already know everything that is in this article. But there are a lot of folks who simply don't get what the fuss is all about. If you know one or more of them, send them this link and explain that what we are seeing from the music and other content companies is simply a refusal to accept reality and get on with business in a different way.

Jack

Recent Apple Security Issues Put in Perspective

Yes, Apple does indeed have security issues. However, it appears even my low-key assessment of them was overstating the case(s).

The link above will take you to an article at MIT's "Technology Review" web site. It's fairly easy read and I think it's the best depiction of the reality of Apple's security status I have seen. Even if you're not a Mac user, it wouldn't hurt to read this and see something of the differences between the Mac OS X and whatever you are using.

Jack

Take the Poll about Forums!

Should OnComputers have forums?
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Free polls from Pollhost.com

--MissM

TWiT.tv this week with Gina Smith!

For the long time listeners of On Computers, I thought I'd let you know that the next TWiT is at the Apple Store in San Francisco. Live!! March 3, 2006!! Check out the url in the title or at the bottom of this post for the time, and rest of the info. For those of you who've wondered what Gina's up to these days, might wanna check it out. The audio is usually up a few days before the video, if you can't make it. Other guests: "include Screen Savers Patrick Norton and Kevin Rose, Molly Wood of CNET's Buzz Report, former ABC tech reporter, Gina Smith, and Apple founder, Steve Wozniak. Special guest: Merlin Mann of 43folders."
Sounds to me like a little bit of everything for listeners of OnComputers.

--MissM


TWiT.tv

Mystery surrounds PC-to-mobile virus

This is not much of a story about malware for PC to mobile device transmission. The reason is that one of the players is not sharing the code of the virus so other firms can analyze it and guard against it.

Kinda makes me wonder what MARA is about and I'm sure it will have the same effect on you. Certainly this has the smell of hype all about it and we won't know the truth until MARA comes clean, if ever that happens.

This is one to watch.

Jack

Apple Plugs Mac OS X Worm Hole

It's just a quick story detailing what was patched and why. If you're a Mac user, you need to check out their updates pages. For the rest of us it is just a passing curiosity.

As I've said before; I don't think Apple is particularly forthcoming in matters of security. In fact; I'd rate them lower than Microsoft in this area. There is no doubt, though, that they can and often do respond quickly to a threat.

The Mac OS X is indeed coming under greater scrutiny from a security standpoint. That's good, as it will lead to holes being plugged before they become real problems. But it's also bad because malicious types can use security research as a jumping off point in finding vulnerabilities, and they will, too.

I do think the time is come for Mac users to run an anti-virus. Don't run out and spend all your dough on one. Try ClamAV, which is free and open source. For right now, that is all you need and as ClamAV is improving so rapidly, it may well be all you'll ever need.

You can find out more about ClamAV for the Mac at this url.

Jack

Internet Explorer tweak made public

Can you say "SPIN"?

What this really is is a redo of how IE executes ActiveX controls to avoid infringing upon patents held by Eolas and the University of California. It's a court-ordered fix and there is no "tweak" to it, except maybe in a legal sense.

It's there if you want it. So far, no one is forcing you to take it and, frankly, I won't apply it unless I have to. I have ActiveX turned off in IE, except when I visit Windows Update, for security reasons.

Jack

China creates own Internet domains

News of this is everywhere. The link above points to a ZDNet UK article, which I felt was one of the more balanced.

It seems China is tired of having to use English characters to access the web and so has created domains accessable by using Chinese characters.

There are a lot of nations whose people feel the same way. They want to access the net using their own language and characters. There is more to the argument than that, to be sure, but that appears to be the crux of it. In addition, nations such as China resent the control the US government has over ICANN, and ultimately over the net itself.

Much remains to be seen about China's action. This is definitely a story to watch, though.

Jack

New RedBrowser Trojan first to target J2ME

For the last 9 months, or thereabouts, we have been bombarded with news that mobile devices will be malware targets. The prediction came true.

The Red Browser sends text messages from your mobile device to premium-rate phone numbers. The article says it is relatively easy to deal with and should be regarded as a proof of concept program. The infection route is different than any predecessors I am aware of because it targets J2ME, Sun Microsystem's mobile Java implementation.

It's sure bet there is more of this "stuff" to come.

Jack

My New Home Page

PreScript: The link in the title and at the bottom (for you RSS visitors) may not work without a Passport account (which can be any hotmail account as far as I know), but the Maps do still work without logging in, or did today.

Finally! Something that's worth signing in with my Passport from Microsoft, except Security Updates. OK, that makes two. I can't tell you how irritated I was that you needed a passport account to get the security updates. But, I thought it was a necessary evil. Anyway, back to the good stuff. I am hooked on Windows Live, you can put RSS feeds in (hint, hint) you can drag items around, its very similar to the Google personalized homepage, with one important difference. The pictures on the feeds rotate, which is very kewl, and a feature that really draws my eye. I have weather, movies, and of course the On Computers Blog. You need a passport account to get there now, I believe, when it was early beta, anybody could use it, but I had trouble before getting an invite to the beta hotmail [(yes 2GB of storage, no extra invites, but I notice that I have 0, which leads me to believe, at some point, I'll get some)] signing up, then progressing from there.


One other favorite part of Live.com is Maps! The aerial view resolution seems a lot better than google's currently. They have very high resolution pictures of many places, one of which is Las Vegas, they call em bird's eye views, its on the left side column (Its a javascript link, or I'd paste it) At least, the places I'm looking for geocaches. :) To get an overview of all of the Live Beta ideas, check this out. I know there are similarities to what Google is doing, (although to be honest, "Who's on first?" is unknown for me, its so dynamic. I think the competition is good for the Microsoft, Google, and us! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, no?

Which leads me to the picture below. I captured my screen with Einstein beside OnComputers. It didn't occur to me when I did it, but since we only have one picture, Einstein shows up with the OnComputers Feed. ;)

Hmmm, posting this picture is gonna make it show up too, But Einstein Listens is the last post that shows, so I bet that "big einstein" moves off the page :( and this one shows up.
I guess my point was made ;)

--MissM
Windows Live
update: According to TechCrunch : Killer New Live.com Service: Street-Side, Live Expo has gone, well, live. ;)

Mike Arrington continues:

Searches can be made by address or business name, and you can “drive” around the city using the arrow keys. See the screen shot below for a visual.

See Robert Scoble’s Channel 9 Video for his interview with the team.

The service will initially target San Francisco and Seattle only due to the massive number of images needed to support make it work (rumors are 10 million + images per city).

Encyclopodia - the encyclopedia on your iPod

Courtesy of Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing, a way to install Wikipedia on your ipod.
Its free software, there's installation instructions for Windows or Linux & Mac.
Since the Wikipedia is everchanging, I wonder if that would just add to the list of "chores" necessary on a regular basis, with computers. How large a file is that? I was thinking of how frequent the updates would be, if they were "podcast" or updated automagically with RSS, maybe by subject? To minimize the size and maximize the "freshness".
One way to "freeze" wikipedia for whatever reason. Lots of potential, here.

--MissM
OT: Leo Laporte's podcasts from KFI are delayed by a week, at best, couple weeks, at worst. I sometimes feel that tech news is dated, but Leo proved me wrong. ;)
I was listening to his Jan. 28th podcast today, and I learned something new! Apparently Mandrake has been reborn under the name of Mandriva, that maybe old news for those fans of Mandrake, but just in case, I thought I'd pass it on. :)

Encyclopodia - the encyclopedia on your iPod

Corsair XMS vs. Value Select Memory (RAM)

Here's a recent article that is much very in line with what we discussed on Sunday's show about selecting RAM.

It is also right in line my own experience with brand name, but the value lines of RAM. If you are not overclocking it is a great way to go.

It's the Power Supply !!

While we were talking about building your own computer, this last Sunday, we were trying to convey (among other things) that you are building a system, which is more than an assemblage of components.

Here's a cautionary tale from The Inquirer where the very type of power supply (single rail versus dual or multiple rail) makes a huge difference to the quality of performance of other components.

Jack

Microsoft unveils Vista editions

Okay, now we finally know. The magic number is 6.

Microsoft said the six versions were designed to match the demands different users have for its software. No details have been given about the pricing of the separate versions.

Now color me skeptical, but I think this has much more to do with maximizing profit than with user experience.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-26-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-26-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

JBoss is not Linux

There are an awful lot of people who don't understand how one can make money using open source products. It's usually just said the predominant business model is "services" and let it go at that. For those of you who don't know and who want to know, here is a one page, relatively dense, description of JBoss, a company who made enough of a success servicing their open source Java application server to become a desireable target for purchase by larger firms.

This really is worth a read. It's an opinion piece, to be sure, but packed with facts and opinion is clearly delineated from fact.

Jack

Explorer vulnerability posts copy text to web

IE users need to pay heed to this. Luckily, the fix is very easy. Anyone can manage it in a minute or two.

Jack

Browser News

The above link is to eWeek's notice that the SeaMonkey browser suite has been released in version 1.0. It contains a nice, concise summary of what SeaMonkey is and offers.

Here is eWeek's summary of the Maxthon browser, which is an IE derivative with some special features and which might be worth a look by those wedded to IE.

Jack

Einstein Listens!

See! Its on the internet, it MUST be true ;)

--MissM
Where I created it. [Cause I can't lie to y'all]

A Solid That's Light As Air

This is the coolest stuff!! I had first read about aerogel at BadAstonomyBlog, when the Stardust mission landed, January 15th.
From Wired:

Holding a piece of aerogel is an uncanny experience. It's so light it feels nearly weightless, like a chunk of solidified fog or smoke. It feels a bit like Styrofoam, and it squeaks when you rub your finger on it. It's strong enough to support many times its own weight if the load is distributed evenly. But bend it or squeeze it too hard, as one Wired News editor discovered, and a chunk of aerogel will shatter into tiny fragments.

The Bad Astronomer (Phil Plait) also remarked on how light it is.

At 3 milligrams/cc, aerogel is pretty thin stuff; water is over 300 times denser. A cubic meter of aerogel would only weigh 3 kilograms, less than, for example, my cat. A cubic meter of water weighs a ton, by the way.

He called it solid smoke. :)

Extremely kewl stuff.
--MissM
Wired News: A Solid That's Light As Air

Alex Barnett blog : OPML sampling

One of the nice things about sharing our OPML is the ability to sample feeds you've not tried before, but this can be hard work.

Example: Pete Cashmore and Chris Anderson (editor of Wired) have made their RSS feed subscriptions available for others to import / surf and sample. The idea is that there are some feeds I like to look of and then subscribe to these myself. In Chris' case, this is 150 separate feeds he's tracking. So for me to sample these properly it would take me at least an hour to go through each feed, find any relevant posts (to me) and then subscribe. You'd have to sample 450 of mine if you wanted to be thorough. 1,500 if Robert Scoble's. That's hard manual labour.

I find RSS fascinating, as a subset of this I have tried the OPML editor
The learning curve has been steep for me, but I'm more of a hardware geek,
not a software geek. Posting wasn't a problem for me, it was more formatting
of a "blogroll" or crude River of news, didn't work. There have been several
improvements lately that I've not had a chance to try, but look forward to
getting on the River of News bandwagon.
What is a River of news? Dave Winer explains it:

Sure sign that Rex uses a poorly designed RSS aggregator. It shouldn't make you feel guilty. You should have easy access to news, and stuff you missed while you were away is nothing more than stuff you missed. Let the news flow by you and relax like someone sitting on the bank of a river [Firefox attempts a connection, but one is not allowed here, not sure what's up, but in case you can get there, I definately wanted to post it.] looking for something interesting as you while away the time. That's how news works, and RSS is, emphatically, for news.

My first project with the OPML editor was importing my RSS feed. Sage's
export function messes with the OPML file, in a way that makes it unimportable.
I worked around that (not sure how, its been many months), then I was dragging the
feeds to different categories. I then tried to put that in my blogroll, but it didn't
work. I see more and more adoption, which leads me to believe that it is easier, or
that perhaps there is somebody who would want to use this tool, or does and has tips
and tricks?? I look forward to the time I have more opportunity to "play" with it. :)

--MissM

Another OPML guru (if I may) is Amyloo. She has an OPML blog, that is a lab to
experiment, and I enjoy observing her experiments. :)

Alex Barnett blog : OPML sampling

Intel Viiv is stupid and broken ?????

The link is to a Charlie Demerjian rant at The Inquirer. Rant is the right word, too.

It seems you are not going to be able to build an Intel "ViiV" platform on your own, though there are a huge number of components that say they are compatible and apparently a lot of folks are buying them with the expectation of building a machine to the "ViiV" specs. The reality is that to be ViiV compatible, you're going to have to buy an OEM machine. If you build, you will at best be in violation of the MS EULA and at worst won't be able to get the desired functionality.

More to come on this, I'm sure.

Jack

More on Apple Security

I refused to use the title TechNewsWorld had on this, which was "Apple Security Woes Deepen". That's not true. Someone wrote that to grab attention, not to transmit information.

There is simply another security concern regarding Apple's Mac OS X. The world is not falling in. Secunia has found some things in the OS and it's Safari browser that need attention, as they can be used to run malicious code. That's all.

Apple is drawing the attention of the crooks and the malware authors they employ to a much larger degree than before. Apparently, a small portion of their vaunted permission structure can be warped to no good. Linux and the other *nixes have had the same sort of thing in the past and no doubt will have them again. It's serious enough to warrant Apple getting after it quickly and I have no doubt they will. So rather than being alarmed, read this one for your own information. There is a larger picture shaping up, here, and all will become clearer as time goes on.

Jack

On Computers Server Downtime - Advanced Notice

I have been notified that our hosting center will be shutting down our server on Sunday, March 19, 2006 from Midnight CST to 6:00AM CST to perform some power upgrades.

Please be aware that during this time all services that are housed on this server will be unavailable during this time. This includes the chat server, the newsgroups, On Computers Show Archives, email, and web pages that are hosted on this server.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me.

Aaron

Microsoft gives glimpse of eight Vistas | News.blog

Eight plus 2 "N" versions without Media Player for the EU. So that actually makes ten. Perhaps they are aiming for a slot on David Letterman's Top 10 list -- all 10 slots that is.

MS says this is still "not definitive". But I say it is still confusing. Stay tuned for more -- versions that is.

The USB 2.0 power bug is back. (And it’s bigger than before.)

Jack talked about this on Sunday's show. This article gives some additional background.

The bug will ultimately have a fix, which Microsoft now says it is preparing.

That’s the good news. However, the bad news is that it appears to be a fairly widespread issue and, for some, unavoidable.

The issue comes down to the way Windows XP Service Pack 2-equipped notebook PCs react to the presence of USB 2.0 devices. With a one of the devices attached, the machines basically burn more power and thus, when switched to battery power, don’t run for the same length of time on a battery charge.

The cause is rooted in the intricate way in which USB 2.0 devices interact with ACPI, the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface power management software included with Microsoft’s Windows XP Service Pack 2, hardware testers who discovered the issue report.

What Will Apple Do When the Malware Comes?

The link above is to a Larry Seltzer opinion piece at eWeek.com.

In it, he speculates that the Apple user community and indeed the company itself are ill-prepared to face an onslaught of malware, should one arise. The two pieces of malware discovered last week could be a passing hit and miss attack or the harbinger of things to come.

While it is true that the Mac OS X, along with Linux and all the other *nixes are much less prone to allow malicious software installations, it can happen and, as Seltzer notes, the Mac user community is ill-prepared to deal with it. Because the Mac user community feels so well protected, they may well be more easily "socially engineered" into running malicious code. I have a feeling that that speculation is about to be tested, as more and more malware appears for Macs (and other alternative operating systems).

Apple has traditionally not been very forthcoming on security issues and if they decide to maintain that silence, it is quite possible their users could be hung out to dry. Somehow, I don't think that will happen, but it is a possibility. I think that in the face of any real threat (meaning it has to be a lot worse than the two little examples of last week) Apple will step right up and inform their users so they can protect themselves.

There is anti-virus protection available for Macs (and the *nixes). I insist every machine on our network be equipped with it, regardless of operating system, if only to prevent infecting the Windows machines. (It just wouldn't look good if a client machine comes away from here infected with anything other than an inflated bill.)

All this is worth thinking about now, before the "stuff" hits the fan. I'll be getting a Mac soon, and running the Mac OS X on it (instead of Linux). I'll let you know how the anti-virus protection offerings from both proprietary outlets and ClamAV work on it.

Jack

Why did SCO depose Intel?

Jack talked about this on the show yesterday. We hadn't talked about SCO for a very long time, but it is getting interesting again.

The short story for those not reading along with PJ, Darl and the gang is this, SCO faced a discovery cutoff in late January, and by all accounts had little or no evidence as the curtains were being drawn. It was desperate for an extension to keep on fishing, or as some suggest, to keep the FUD cloud hanging over Linux. Either way, SCO wanted more time.

Touch Rubik's Cube

The Touch Rubik's Cube puts a new twist on the classic puzzle game. It uses six different materials: metal, wood, textile, stone, rubber, and plastic, engaging users to use their senses.

This is too kewl, and I couldn't help but think of Riley. Bet he has missed playing w/a rubik's cube :)

--MissM

read more | digg story

Linux worm targets PHP flaw

Not much to this one. It's about like the recent Mac malware discoveries.

Back in the days of Red Hat 5.2 (my first Linux distro) Deepak and I would debate out loud how long it would take malware writers to target Linux and the Mac OS X. The general consensus was that it would not be too long. I believe it is starting to happen, years after we thought it would.

When there gets to be a considerable amount of malware for the alternative operating systems, we'll all get to make more of a "head-to-head" comparison of the security of those versus Windows. I wonder how that will come out? There's no telling, right now, though I will note we are a long ways from having a community of script kiddies salivating over the prospect of their own personal piece of badness infecting machines, as Windows has had for years, now.

Stay tuned.

Jack

Microsoft Is Upset Over Bounties Paid for Finding Flaws in Their Products

The link above is to a short article at The Inquirer.

It seems iDefense, a security firm, pays bounties to finders of major or "critical" flaws in lots of software, but the publicity is of course focused on Microsoft's offerings. You can net a neat $10k (USD) for one that gets a "critical" rating from Redmond. As a matter of fact; that figure was just raised in something of a price war for flaw finders.

I like the idea. So many times researchers who help keep us safe go unrewarded because they are not "professionals" and they deserve some reward. Ten grand seems a bit steep, but who am I to set the prices, right?

You can read more about it here, here, here, and here.

Jack

Dvorak in a straight jacket ;)

Courtesy of TwiT:


I love Leo crying lol
--MissM
OT: I couldn't post the picture via the blogger button on my google toolbar, didn't that used to be there?
789.gif (GIF Image, 636x624 pixels)

Don't Forget About Opera

I'm just a bit disenchanted with FireFox, this week. It's a bit slow and jerky in it's latest incarnation. Not terribly noticeably in Windows, but very much so on the several Linux distributions I have running here.

Don't get me wrong, here. I'm not dumping FireFox, but I have been paying attention to and using Opera 8.5 on Windows lately and I'm very happy with it. Yeah, it doesn't have all the nifty extensions and the layout is ever so slightly counter-intuitive. But on Windows, it's a fine browser, since they quit putting ads up in the corner.

Opera on Linux is a bit problematic, depending very much on distribution used and tweaking skills of the user. Not my cup of tea, though I do keep trying it there. Linux has plenty of alternative browsers, so avoiding Opera there is easy.

But right now, for the kind of wholesale surfing I do when perusing all those news sites, Opera is my champion. FireFox will probably get right again with the next version, but for now, I'm avoiding the aggravation; minor as it may be.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-19-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-19-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

The Ig® Nobel Prizes

Just for fun, I post the Ig® Nobel Prizes. Not new news, but there is another ceremony this October.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology.

Improbable Research

Also: Podcast promo's potentially posted (I had to stop, I couldn't think of anymore "p" words lol).
In no particular order (nor any guarantee the promo was played):
The SG Show
Ask Leo
ChuckChat
Podcacher
Skepticality
Mike Tech Show
PodcasterNews

--MissM
Ig® Nobel Prizes

2nd Mac virus that spreads over bluetooth.

Today we got a sample of rather interesting case, a Mac OS X Bluetooth worm that spreads over Bluetooth.

OSX/Inqtana.A is a proof of concept worm for Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). It tries to spread from one infected system to others by using Bluetooth OBEX Push vulnerability CAN-2005-1333.

If you are using OS X 10.4 make sure that you have latest security patches installed and you are safe from Inqtana.A and any future worm that tries to use same exploit.

Inqtana.A has not been met in the wild and it uses Bluetooth library that is locked into specific Bluetooth address and the library expires on 24. February 2006. So it is quite unlikely that Inqtana.A would be any kind of threat.

F-Secure : 2nd Mac virus

--MissM

Google rips Justice Department in court papers

Right after I posted this, I ran across this USA Today article, and applaud Google. :)

Google rips Justice Department in court papers
By Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Google criticized the Bush administration's demand to examine millions of its users' Internet search requests as a misguided fishing expedition that threatens to ruin the company's credibility and reveal its closely guarded secrets.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company delivered its indignant critique Friday in a 25-page brief that marked its initial legal response to the U.S. Justice Department's attempt to force the online search engine leader to comply with a 6-month-old subpoena.

--MissM
USATODAY.com - Google rips Justice Department in court papers

Update: The Official Google Response to the DoJ motion
It includes a link to the 25 page pdf response from Google.

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Google's Private Lives - Technology Review

Google's Private Lives

Its new desktop search application would make your personal files available for government searches without your knowledge.

By Dylan Tweney

A new search technology from Google makes it possible for law enforcement officials to examine personal documents from your hard drive, without your knowing it, according to the digital-rights advocacy organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Released last week, Google Desktop 3, the latest version of the company's desktop search utility, adds a "Search Across Computers" feature that automatically uploads files from a user's computer onto Google's servers. Then, when a search is performed on any computer owned by the user, Google Desktop will pull search results from both the Web and information stored on all the user's computers.

Certainly, such a feature will be handy for anyone trying to coordinate a project from different locations. Yet the idea of turning over private files to a public company is worrisome to privacy advocates. In fact, in a press release, the EFF has urged consumers to avoid the Search Across Computers feature because it would make consumers' files more vulnerable to subpoenas from government investigators as well as private litigants.

Of course, it's headlines news that Google (as well as its competitors) has already given in to pressure from a national government, by excluding censored content from its Chinese portal (Google.cn). Although so far the company has resisted a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena asking it to turn over logs for millions of recent search terms, smaller subpoenas -- such as those for the search history of a particular user's IP address -- don't make the news, because they're often sealed.

This spells out the creepy feeling google desktop has always given me....

--MissM
The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Google's Private Lives

PlayStation 3 costs $900, sez Merrill Lynch mob

I was reminded of how much Microsoft is losing on the hardware for the XBOX360.
So if you were gonna get a PS3, how much would you pay? Microsoft's plan on making business on the software side, seems to work for them.

--MissM
Engadget is a great geek site, and they have a podcast that I listen to regularly.
PlayStation 3 costs $900, sez Merrill Lynch mob - Engadget

Fixing It With Knoppix

The link above is about fixing a Linux installation with Knoppix, even if it's not a Knoppix installation.

There is also one about fixing a Windows installation here.

Both are at Extreme Tech.

So, if those of less geeky inclination are wondering why we are always talking about using Knoppix or similar live cds to repair filesystems, I recommend these two articles as a good place to start.

Jack

Lavasoft's ARIES Rootkit Remover

"Lavasoft is pleased to launch a new Project ECO Tool, the ARIES Rootkit Remover, to get rid of the rootkit developed by First4Internet used by Sony BMG to hide their DRM (Digital Rights Management) software. "

Mac Virus Hits the Streets!

Contrary to some pronouncements, Macs can get a virus. I'm disinfecting one of this virus right now.

As with so many virii, user interaction is necessary to get infected. This one arrives via Apple's iChat instant messenger.

The link above is to a story at The Inquirer and will point you to Sophos, who have more information.

Jack

Microsoft patch fails to install for some users | InfoWorld | News | 2006-02-15 | By James Niccolai

We were talking about this in Independent Computer Users Group chat. Did you get it installed?

Newsletter #53 February 2006

I found this on digg.com and found it very interesting. I've copied what I see as the BIGGEST IT opportunity. But, go to the page and he has some superb tips on troubleshooting network problems.

Separate the C and Si Problems

I've solved a lot of network problems, but this one was a toughie.

"I've got a DHCP server that is delivering IP addresses to two segments. The systems on the same segment as the DHCP server are getting IP addresses with no trouble, but the systems on the other segment, none of them work!"

My first question (and probably yours, if you're a network techie) is, "does the router between the two segments pass DHCP requests?" (In geek-ese, you may know that the other way to say this is "does the router support RFC 1542 BOOTP forwarding?") Or alternatively, I ask, "is there a DHCP forwarder on the second segment?"

"Yes," the person replies, explaining that the router passes BOOTP packets.

Hmmm. So what else might it be? Check IP connectivity -- does the router block any particular port? If it's in a network with an Active Directory and the DHCP server is on a 2000 or 2003 server, has that server been authorized in AD? No port blocks, and yes, it's been authorized. That's when I realize that it was a stupid question -- if DHCP weren't working, the first segment wouldn't have IP addresses. Ah, but what if -- a eureka moment! -- somehow (1) the DHCP server hadn't been authorized for the past six days and for some reason all of the systems on the nearby segment still had lease time left but all of the ones on the second segment had their leases run out earlier, and so were the canaries in the coal mine? So I tell the person to try to do an IPCONFIG /RENEW on one system on each segment. The one of the first segment succeeds, the one on the second doesn't.

Ready for the answer? It's simple: the guy had no idea what the heck BOOTP forwarding was, figured that his router guys must have allowed for that -- after all, they did go to a CCNA boot camp -- and just told me what I wanted to hear. In other words, it is always possible that the carbon-based parts of the network ("C" is the symbol for the element carbon) don't report reliable information, and so the problem lay not in the silicon part of the network ("Si" is the symbol for the element silicon) but in the carbon component. To paraphrase Shakespeare, "the fault, dear Brutus, lay not in the chips but in the people."

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that everyone lies or is incompetent. But I am saying that under stress people don't always think as clearly as they should, and that network support people have had a lot of new things thrown in their laps in the past few years -- remember when we "discovered" security in 2001, or that we all need database servers whether we want them or not in 2004? -- without receiving a concomitant increase in staffing. We're all just human. We make mistakes. Think about how we make silicon-based systems more reliable: we cluster them. The same thing works for carbon-based units: more eyeballs looking at a problem often make for a more quickly-solved problem.

And -- this is important -- remember that we techies tend to think of computer problems in terms of the silicon side sometimes more than we do the carbon side. In fact, sometimes we see the carbon side as being sort of minimal, and only relevant in a few cases. But if you sit back and think about most of the things that you have to fix, you'll end up seeing that most of those problems have a carbon component that is at least as important as the silicon component. I mean, Trojans don't write themselves, y'know?

I think that IT requires mostly people skills, so I dispute that geeks are *NOT* good with people. :P

--MissM
update: corrected to include *NOT*, oops.

Newsletter #53 February 2006

AJAX Poses Security, Performance Risks

The link is to a short article at eWeek. In it, the author comments on how much AJAX (and particularly the XML portion of it) can increase network traffic. Since Peter and I talked about that on the show, two weeks ago) I have been finding accounts of such systems increasing network traffic by figures spanning the range between 3.5 and 12 times! That really is a lot. Plus, outside of the increased packet transmissions and receptions, there are significant processing loads on the server side. No free lunch here, folks.

Even so; not all the hype surrounding AJAX is misleading. There are significant benefits to using the technologies in many cases. The problem is one of choosing when these technologies are appropriate to use and when they are not.

Jack

Who Said MegaHertz Don't Matter Any More?

Apple has just begun shipments of their MacBook laptop using the Intel Core Duo cpu. Apple is offering three different clock speeds; 1.83, 2.0 and 2.16 GHz. I've been to the stores to see one and without exception, the customers, or prospective customers are speaking in terms of GHz, again. To me, it seems they are more comfortable doing that than measuring performance in terms of flops or throughput or any other metric.

Now AMD is pushing the Opteron 256 at 3.0 GHz and I hear that spoken of in terms of clock speed, as well. The chip companies have no one but themselves to blame for this, of course, but I do believe these last two releases have reversed all the changes in consumer thinking that they had labored so hard to foster. One slip of the lip, as it were.

I'm really interested in whether Intel, IBM and AMD will try to reinstate other metrics or simply give in and go back to clock speeds to differentiate their models in the pubic eye.

Jack

Site Advisor

This sounds like a good idea and if implemented well, I think it will improve web security for a lot of users.

Basically, Site Advisor gives you the results of automated searches which rate the conduct of the web site you want to view. Should it deliver adware, spyware or (Heaven forbid)something worse, the application will alert you. There will be two versions of the software; one paid for and one free. I'm not quite clear on the differences so I can't comment on that.

Done well, this could mean a virtual end to "drive-by downloads" and spyware bundled with desireable applications. All the user has to do is pay attention, though I must admit I know more than a few who will not do so, no matter what. Versions are available for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox and function as browser extensions.

I intend to install and test this and if any or our listeners want to do so, we can pool our experiences for a report on the show in a week or three.

Jack

tech.memeorandum @ 11:05 AM ET, February 13, 2006

Microsoft's Anti-Spyware program is causing troubles for people who also use Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus software; apparently, a recent update to Microsoft's anti-spyware application flags Norton as a password-stealing program and prompts users to remove it.
[snip]
Update: 10:58 p.m. ET: I heard from Microsoft, and they say the problem is limited to customers running Symantec Antivirus (SAV) Corporate Edition versions 7, 8, 9 or 10 or Symantec Client Security (SCS) versions 1, 2 or 3 in combination with Windows AntiSpyware Beta 1. "The beta software will prompt and allow the user to remove a registry key containing subkeys belonging to these Symantec products. The deletion of these registry keys will cause all versions of the SAV and SCS software to stop operating correctly. No files are removed in this situation, only registry keys."

The rest of the statement Microsoft sent me says: "Once this issue was discovered, Microsoft quickly released a new signature set (5807) to remove this false positive. Both companies are working jointly together to identify the number of affected customers, which we believe to be very limited. Microsoft and Symantec are working jointly on a solution to restore normal operation of the Symantec software. Until this solution is available, customers can utilize System Restore in Windows XP to restore to an earlier point prior to the removal of the registry keys, or reinstall their client software."

--MissM

tech.memeorandum @ 11:05 AM ET, February 13, 2006

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-12-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-12-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

A Fix for Zone Alarm Phoning Home

I haven't used Zone Alarm in a while and so missed when the story broke. However; it appears ZA phones home to servers controlled by Zone Labs. No one has given a satisfactory explanation of why this behavior was coded in, to the best of my knowledge. There are four servers involved.

This little article in The Inquirer details how to block this behavior, using the hosts file in ZA itself. It's easy to implement.

Jack

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

From the MSRC [MS resource center] Advanced Notification of upcoming February MS updates.
--MissM

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

99 performance tips for WinXP

Massive list of simple tweaks to improve your rig's performance.

I was reminded of everybody searching their memory trying to figure out how to get to System Restore during a recent OnComputers Radio Show, and I thought that having a handy dandy bookmark/favorite (You're not really still using IE are you? ;) ) "archived" on the blog, would be a good thing.

--MissM


read more | digg story

AND another kewl digg post about Nano Coatings. They will be able to protect your ipod screen and your car, its environmentally friendly, and cheaper!!

"liquid solids" composed of extremely tiny particles, possess unique characteristics -- like extreme flexibility, easy adhesion and resistance to corrosion and microbial growth -- that could profoundly change the manufacturing process.

read more | digg story

99 performance tips for WinXP

Massive list of simple tweaks to improve your rig's performance.

I was reminded of everybody searching their memory trying to figure out how to get to System Restore on OnComputers Radio Show, recently, and I thought that having a handy dandy bookmark/favorite (You're not really still using IE are you? ;) )



read more | digg story

I'll Stay "Small Time", Thank You

It's a story about the woes of computer and tech journalism. As one moves up the ladder of prominence, more and more of this stuff starts to happen.

I just turned down a gig with a noted cell phone handset maker because of the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) they wanted signed. I simply didn't see why I should sit two whole days in my wheelchair (not to mention the travel difficulties) and then not be able to write or talk on the show about it until everyone else can, as well.

The company's reaction to this was to offer all sorts of goods for test as an inducement to attend. I have no idea whether anyone else got offered anything, but I think they were all slated to get the same goody bag as I got, just later in the process.

To the writer of the article cited above, this is a matter of journalistic integrity. To me, just a waste of my time. (You all know how little journalistic integrity I really have, so there's no sense in my trying to fly that lie past you, right?)

The article is worth a read for the way it tells you how some journalists, including those we depend on, are pressured.

Don’t use Google toolbar, says EFF

The link above is to a synopsis in The Inquirer. The Electronic Frontier Foundation warning is here.

The problem is, to put it very succinctly, that in order to index your computer for search, Google has to have copies of the docs indexed. These are open to subpoena from the government and subsequent data-mining. This whole deal must have federal security people salivating like a dog does over a steak.

Jack

For All Geek Kittys

Catproof your computer. Got this from an email to Fred Langa's newsletter, as the correspondent says: "I thought it was a joke at first, but its real"

The real question as Fred puts it is, "Will my own typing activate it?"
Joe, hally??? ;)


PawSense helps you catproof your computer.

--MissM

Microsoft Security Response Center Blog! : Two new security advisories posted

Two new security advisories posted

Hi folks, Mike Reavey here. Just wanted to point out two new security advisories that we posted late last night.

The first is related to a WMF vulnerability in older versions of Internet Explorer. This is different from the issue addressed by MS06-001 and only impacts older versions of Internet Explorer – if you’re using IE6SP1 or later, you’re protected from this issue. The second is related to a research paper regarding default services behavior that has already been addressed in Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1. For more information, check out the advisories located here:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/913333.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/914457.mspx

-Mike

*This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.*

Published Wednesday, February 08, 2006 5:42 PM by stepto

Microsoft Security Response Center Blog! : Two new security advisories posted

--MissM

Why I Do Not and Will Not Use GMail

The link is to an article in MIT's Technology Review. In it, the author details just how much of a leap of faith users must make to use GMail. Google has far and away the most comprehensive privacy policy in the business, but it does not go nearly far enough. The repositories of email on Google's servers are a tempting target for everyone from law enforcement to divorce lawyers trawling for evidence. Users have so little control over deletion of email that unwanted copies can (and probably do) lay about for months after the deletion command is given.

So, even though I have nothing to hide (except an ugly mole here or there, which is another story entirely) I refuse to use GMail. I simply do not trust the system or the owners of it enough to allow my personal business to be deposited there.

You might want to read this article, just so you are making an informed decision on whether or not to use GMail.

Jack

How Much RAM Do You Need?

It seems as if every computer user, plus their dogs, has an opinion on this. The show cast is pretty well in agreement on the subject, but so many variables apply that our opinions can hardly be said to apply globally.

In an article at XBit Labs.com, Ilya Gavrichenkov reveals some testing designed to measure up against the the common wisdom. While not conclusive at all, it certainly is food for thought and on that basis I recommend reading it.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-05-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-05-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

NOD32 The Anti-Virus that WORKS!

By now I'm sure you've heard about the Kama Sutra worm (also known as Blackmal and VB.NEI) scheduled to activate on February 3, 2006.


Rest assured that you and your NOD32 customers are proactively protected. However, your non-NOD32 users may have problems and need help. Be prepared to let them know that NOD32 can protect them from current and evolving threats before they occur.

Remember you can buy NOD32 from AlaskaJoe to help support the radio show.

New worm relies on old trick

February 3, 2006

"That's when the Kama Sutra computer worm will begin destroying critical files on infected computers. And hundreds of thousands of machines may have the worm lurking within their Windows operating system, ready to be unleashed on February 3 and the third of every month thereafter."

This is a very destructive, but very preventible. Take the common sense precautions outlined in the article and you should be okay.

Wireless Networking in the Developing World

It's an eBook, available at no charge under a Creative Commons license.

I got the link from Waleed al-Shobbaky, a journalist friend from Egypt. I have read a decent part of it now and think some of you might find it food for thought. Because I have spent long periods in parts of our own nation without even telephone service and am intimately involved with charities attempting to change things like that, I feel a kinship with those in under-developed and/or developing nations.

There is no doubt that wireless technology in the form of cell phones. Now other types of wireless services are starting to make their mark. Large areas, even entire nations, will see their access to information open up to a flood. How they will use this is open to question, of course, but the one thing that cannot be argued is that the status quo will change.

Jack

Gates Speaks Out Against Net Censorship - Yahoo! News

"'The ability to really withhold information no longer exists,' Gates told a government forum on the Internet."

Make Your Windows Machine Look and Behave More Like a Mac

I found this from a link at Wired News.

What it does is make your Windows XP machine look and behave more like a Mac. Lots of Mac users have told me that they can function better in the Mac environment because it suits how they work better. If you think you might be one of those or are just curious, download the free trial of TopDesk and give it a whirl. Should you decide to keep it, the price is only $10 (USD). It's definitely worth a whirl. I rather liked the trial.

Jack

Are You Ready for Goobuntu?

Google working on a operating system for real. It's not just a rumor. Whether or not this really means anything is unclear and will be until Google clears it up.

So why are they doing this? Mostly because they can and, in my opinion, they'd be negligent if they didn't check out the possibilities. Checking something out, even by developing it to a state of usability, is a long ways from actually letting the beast out into the wild.

Will Google take Microsoft on in their core business, operating systems? I have no idea and I'm betting no decision has been made. They could do it, but be aware that they most likely won't do it, simply because that would be an outright war with MS. I could be wrong. I am not privy to the market data Google has and that is what they will judge whether or not to dive in by.

Stay tuned.

Jack

Politicians deface Wikipedia

You gotta love this one!

It seems Wikipedia's problems with rogue edits are being taken advantage of by pols. The kids just won't play fair.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 01-29-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 01-29-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

HEY JOE! A message for you

Hey guys, it appears your link to the podcast is:

http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us

Can you fix that so my itunes can pick it up?

Thanks,
ksn

TEST? TEST?
note to ksn: I did forward your comment to Joe in email, and that didn't work, so I'm trying a different option.
We want to make sure nobody misses a single episode of On Computers.


--MissM

Chip maker is setting up an innovation center in India

From Infoworld. For some reason this caught my eye.

Taiwanese chip maker Via Technologies announced Monday that it is setting up an innovation center in Mumbai, India, that is focused on developing computing and communications appliances designed for rural markets in India and other countries

Sunbelt BLOG: Google helps to fund an antispyware site

Alex Eckelberry says the following:

According to an article by Ryan Naraine in eWeek, “Web search powerhouse Google has joined with Sun Microsystems to fund a new anti-spyware coalition that is on tap to launch on Jan. 24…”. It will be operated by the Berkman Center at Harvard and the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University.

Apparently, the site is going to be an information clearinghouse and help center for consumers. In an article in the Christian Science Monitor, the group’s co-director was quoted as saying “the coalition will act like a "neighborhood watch" for the Internet, relying on citizens to report problems.”

The new site, “StopBadware.org” will be up tomorrow. The domain is owned by Google.

He has links to all the articles, so go check it out. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out in practice, my first impressions are good, but I'm posting this before reading all the links, myself [full disclosure, eh? ;) ]

--MissM
[for RSS readers]Sunbelt BLOG: Google helps to fund an antispyware site

EFF: DeepLinks

You say you want the power to time-shift and space-shift TV and radio? You say you want tomorrow's innovators to invent new TV and radio gizmos you haven't thought of yet, the same way the pioneers behind the VCR, TiVo, and the iPod did?

Well, that's not what the entertainment industry has in mind. According to them, here's all tomorrow's innovators should be allowed to offer you:

"customary historic use of broadcast content by consumers to the extent such use is consistent with applicable law."

PDF of the Draft Legislation

--MissM
Thanks Joanne for the link to Big Content would like to outlaw things no one has even thought of yet
EFF: DeepLinks

Supreme Court rejects BlackBerry patent appeal

The high court’s refusal to hear Canada-based Research In Motion Ltd.’s appeal means that a trial judge in Richmond, Va., could impose an injunction against the company and block BlackBerry use among many of its owners in the United States.

Technorati link, cause I know there will be a great deal of discussion about this, since so many in government rely on this.

--MissM

Supreme Court rejects BlackBerry patent appeal

The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet

If you don't have a log on for wapo use bugmenot because this article is a must read, for anybody on the internet. Which includes you! :)

ISPs are trying to get content providers to subsidize the bandwidth, and Congress is considering overhauling the Telecommunications act of 1996. An example is a nickel PER iTunes download from Apple. Another potential example, yahoo pays the pipe owner, to "optimize" the connection from the ISP customers, and then google loads slowly. This is something that definitely needs to be kept an eye on.

Just looking at who's on which side, leads me to believe this is a classic David and Goliath (except we have google, and Apple maybe? on David's side). The ONLY way I'd consider this, is if it reduced my cable bill, SERIOUSLY. But, I have to wonder how bittorrents would be affected. By the way, I was getting over 800KB downloaded with 2 twit video feeds!!! Nice!

--MissM
article link here (for RSS ;) )

Update: I was reminded of Doc Searle's essay about keeping the internet pipes consumer friendly and the perils of not, its long, but important. Saving the Net: How to Keep the Carriers from Flushing the Net Down the Tubes | Linux Journal

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 01-22-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 01-22-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.



-- Edited on 1/28/06 by Aaron to correct link.

Confirmed: Gmail dot bug sends your email to other users!

Gmail doesn't recognize dots in usernames, so to Gmail, digg.user@gmail.com and digguser@gmail.com are the same. So while you can create a Gmail username with a dot, if an identical name exists without the dot, he'll get your email! Users have reported this weirdness for many months already, now it's confirmed by Google, albeit, not yet fixed.

I've run into this myself. I got user.name@gmail.com when I've registered username@gmail.com

Have you?

--MissM


read more | digg story

A 3fer day for google. Feel the luv????!?!?!!?!!?!? ;)

Google Word Verification Accessibility Petition

To: Google Inc.

We, the undersigned, ask Google Inc. to "do no evil" and follow their mission statement to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" by promptly adding accessibility to their visual word verification scheme so that the blind and visually impaired are allowed to fully participate in all products and services offered by the company on terms of equality with our sighted peers.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Go, sign it! And don't forget to hit approve at the end, or your signature won't count. As I mentioned here, paypal.com does have a system that works for visually impaired.

--MissM
kudos go to Mike @ MikeTechShow for making me aware of the petition.
Experiment: I'm trying to make this rss friendly by including a direct link to the petition, hopefully, it'll be clickable in my reader.
Google Word Verification Accessibility Petition

Feds want Google search records

The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google Inc. to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases...Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, said the company will fight the government's effort "vigorously.''

Gonzales v. Google, Inc. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion in federal court seeking a court order that would compel search engine company Google, Inc. to turn over “a multi-stage random sample of one million URL’s” from Google’s database, and a computer file with “the text of each search string entered onto Google’s search engine over a one-week period (absent any information identifying the person who entered such query.”

If that paragraph above does not raise the hairs on your neck, I suggest you re-read the first amendment to the Constitution. What are they thinking? This is no way to survey porn use.[Peter S. Kastner]

Go Google Go!
But, this is one of the reasons I don't have google desktop installed, if its not available, there's nothing to search....

--MissM

Update: Yahoo caved in to the record request.
America, United States, Sunday Times Yahoo has admitted that it granted the US Government access to its search engine's databases this summer, as a battle develops over the right to privacy in cyberspace.
Update2: The reason for the request was :

The lawsuit is the government's attempt to revive the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA) which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on grounds it violated the First Amendment. COPA was enacted by Congress with the aim of protecting minors from potentially harmful effects of sexually explicit material on the Internet. (Courtesy of CNN.com

It occurs to me (and I apologize if its not techie enough for you) that they aren't even trying to prosecute anybody, just eliminate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

FBI: Most Companies Get Hacked

If this one doesn't give you pause about the businesses you deal with, nothing will.

Some security researchers take issue with the study, saying the numbers are simply wrong. No one disagrees with the basic conclusion, though. Major security incidents are the norm, not the exception.

The survey really is a little goofy. It equates spyware infections with genuine intrusions and several other assumptions are equally strange. I suspect this was done to simplify the form in order to not burden those responding unduly.

The point is that there is a lot more of this sort of thing going on than was generally acknowledged.

Jack

Update: Inside the WMF Backdoor [Mark's Systinternals Blog]

Some of the latest info:

Mark received several requests to look into the WMF vulnerability and he believes it is merely bad design, not a deliberate backdoor. Steve Gibson has released another security now podcast which apparently "close[s] the backdoor" on the WMF vulnerability, but I haven't listened yet, so go check it out, there are a variety of ways to access the podcast listed, from audio to text to PDF.


--MissM

Gonzales v Google: the study methodology is flawed

The text below was sent to Joel McElvain at the Department of Justice:

Sir,
I have read and considered your motion to force Google to comply. May I humbly suggest that you may win the battle and lose the war. I have no stake in this dispute, but I do know a few things about computer technology. Yes, you will find me with a Google search.

Assuming you get the data requested from Google and its competitors, what kind of picture can you paint with the data obtained for the Supreme Court? The answer is not enough that is useful in setting United States law and policy. Internet search providers such as Google have search servers spread throughout the world, largely to handle queries in local geographies. The search engines must comply with local laws such as Arabic bans on indecency, China's ban on "democracy" and France's ban on Nazi memorabilia auctions.

For various reasons, Internet data that is searchable and available in one part of the world may not be available in or accessible from the United States, and vice versa. Therefore, it appears to me that a random set of data from Google's query servers around the world cannot say whether the query made in, say, China can also return the same results if made from the United States -- and therefore be controlled by U.S. law. Your subpoena will drag in worldwide data without identifying the query limits of the source data server.

As a citizen, I am interested in seeing that the Supreme Court's remand re COPA is met with a study that is accurate and defensible as it relates to U.S. law and citizens. I fail to see how the methodology implied in the Google motion is going to achieve a "national" set of data when a "world" net is being cast.

Regards,
Peter S. Kastner

New Linux license takes aim at DRM and Hollywood | CNET News.com

"At a two-day event here to launch the General Public License version 3, which governs use of countless free and open-source programs, Moglen said the license includes anti-DRM provisions that could put it in conflict with movie studios and even digital video recorder maker TiVo"

Next XP Service Pack is Far in the Future

Apparently Microsoft has much less interest in service packs for XP than they do in releasing Vista. While that is understandable, it seems to indicate they are not terribly concerned with problems that exist in XP now.

Here is Microsoft's roadmap for service packs.

I frequently get the idea that Microsoft simply does not have enough people to deal with all the updates and upgrades they need to be putting out. With all their billions, one would think they could and would hire enough good people to do what they and their customers need done.

Jack

Researcher: Sony BMG "rootkit" still widespread

As we have hinted during the show; the damage and flap over Sony/BMG's behavior is far from over. This Security Focus article makes that perfectly clear.

Be afraid;

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 01-15-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 01-15-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.