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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 05 Issue 45
Volume 5, Issue 45 Atari Online News, Etc. November 7, 2003
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2003
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Kevin Savetz
David Newman
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0545 11/07/03
~ Virus Writers Bounty! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Sony PSP Details!
~ Can Massachusetts Win? ~ PhillyClassic News! ~ Google Software!
~ Web Access Tax Update! ~ Web Litter: Dead Sites ~ Atari800MacX News!
~ Video Games Addicting? ~ Virus Bounty Toothless ~ 'Freedom Fighters'
-* Crackdown On Some Pop-Up Ads *-
-* Data Attacks Strike Spam Fighters! *-
-* Court Takes A Look at MS Settlement Case! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I don't know how well or poorly you folks do with regard to the amount of
spam you get on a daily basis. Have you ever counted the number of garbage
messages that you get? I don't, usually, but I think it sometimes averages
about 20-30 a day, between all of my various e-mail addresses. I routinely
delete them as I scan the message headers. It's amazing what some of these
things are about. I've probably mentioned it once or twice before, but do
these spammers really believe that people are going respond to some of this
garbage? Who am I fooling? Of course they do! There's a sucker born every
minute!
Do you ever open up and read any of your spam? I rarely do, fearing the
possibility of one of these messages containing a virus. But, I
occasionally get tempted to see just how these spammers put together their
little schemes. And sometimes I'm curious enough to get a cheap laugh at
some of the stupidity of these things. Most of the time, it's a waste of my
time! Plainly put, spam is a nuisance. It's not freedom of speech, it's an
invasion of my personal space, or however you wish to describe it. I hope
that the politicians come up with a viable anti-spam law soon.
Speaking of violating my space, it's nice and quiet at home these days!
Since the enactment of the "do not call" list, I don't get any more calls
from telemarketers! It is so nice not to be bothered with those calls a
dozen times a day! If you're lucky, you also signed up and have the same
results as I have.
Anyone need some leaves? I can't believe what my yard looks like these
days! We've done some cleaning up, but it seems like our trees keep
producing more and more leaves! The day after we cleaned up the back yard
last weekend, the yard looked as if we didn't do a thing! If the weather
cooperates this weekend, maybe we'll get everything cleaned up, again. And
maybe the trees will also be bare so we won't have to worry about going back
out again, and again. We'll see.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Atari800MacX Version 1.6 Released
Version 1.6 of the Atari800MacX Atari 8-bit emulator has been released.
Atari800MacX is a native Mac OS X Cocoa port of the Atari 800 emulator.
(http://atari800.sourceforge.net/) The major change in this version was
bringing the Atari800MacX source base up to the current release of the base
Atari800 emulator. This resulted in several new features and several bug
fixes over the previous release. Please visit the Atari800MacX page for
complete details about what's new and to download the latest version
(source code is also available).
http://members.cox.net/atarimac/
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. First, let me apologize for not having a
column in last week's issue. Even though there are no doubt a few people
out there who breathed a sigh of relief, I don't like missing deadlines.
It was really quite annoying, as a matter of fact. The AC adaptor on my
laptop (the only computer I've got set up to do my column on) just
decided that it was going to stop working. The battery didn't last as
long as I thought it would, and what little I had been able to
accomplish was locked up tight until I got the AC adaptor replaced.
Well, the company got the adaptor replaced relatively quickly and
painlessly, but by the time the computer was back in action it was too
late to get the column in.
Did I mention that this computer and its AC adaptor are less than six
months old? Hell, my STacy's AC adaptor is still going strong, and it's
got to be almost 15 years old now! True, the STacy doesn't get fired up
daily anymore, but I know for a fact that it's got more hours on it than
this shiny new Intel machine.
What I as going to talk about last week was something that gets on my
nerves from time to time... The fact that, more and more, we're living
in a cookie-cutter world.
Now, I fully understand the fact that cars tend to have four wheels for
a reason and that an idea isn't necessarily good just because it's
different. But it seems to me that we should be enjoying more choices,
not fewer. Computers have allowed us to do some truly amazing things in
the past twenty or so years. Then why is it that we choose to do fewer
and fewer of them?
I went to one of those chain bookstores the other day. I used to go to
this store every other week or so just to browse through their Nature &
Science section. Books on astronomy, geology, computers, and all the
other stuff that tends to catch my fancy just sitting waiting for me...
what a wonderful situation!
But lately, there hasn't been much of a science section. And what there
was of it was really pretty sad. The books that they classified as
science were... hmmm... how can I convey this... they were 'fringe' at
best. Astrology IS NOT a science, ASTRONOMY is. I want stuff on
cosmology, archaeology, chemistry, and the like, not "How to Build a
Bird House".
What we need (or what I need, at any rate) is a bookstore that actually
loves books. Yeah, that's right... I remember bookstores that actually
loved, revered, appreciated, and cherished books. Books were something
special in and of themselves. Not because they were first editions, not
because they were rare, not because they contained the answers to the
mysteries of the ages. But because they were books. They contained
knowledge. Their value was measured simply by the fact that they were
written and published. These days, books are really no more than a
commodity. Their value usually tallied up not by the depth of the
thoughts they expound or by the insight they may offer, but by the mark
they make on a balance sheet.
And I'm afraid that we're all poorer because of it.
Now let's get to the UseNet stuff.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
'Rob' asks a very interesting question:
"I have a falcon that has german Tos, therefore all language is in
german, I want to change it so that everything appears in english. Is
there any way I can do this by using the a disk version TOS. I don't
mind having to use a boot disk."
Peter West tells Rob:
"I am not 100% sure, but I think *all* Falcons had universal TOSs
which could be selected from the NVRAM, using NVCONFIG.CPX. This
is a 4-part CPX, though this isn't immediately clear. Just click
on the right-facing arrow at bottom right to bring up the Keyboard
panel. It offers 17 - count them, 17! - keyboard layouts (besides
the main European ones also Turkish and Saudi!!!) and 5 languages,
which should be enough for almost anyone!"
Mark Bedingfield adds:
"all Falcons have the same version of tos. You need to set the nvram
to English, you can also specify the keyboard etc. Have a look here,
http://storage.atari-source.com/atari/mirrors/ftp.lip6.fr/pub/atari/Falcon/Utilities/
and download nvram.zip. Do be careful because an incorrect setting can
bugger things up."
Joseph Place asks about editing jpeg images:
"What's the best (or most available) image editor for ST/Falcon? I'd
like to edit some jpeg pictures for my website. I have APEX media,
but it will not save in .jpg format."
'Jean' tells Joseph:
"May I suggest Vision to edit/save JPG images...
http://vision.atari.org"
Jamez Valant adds:
"Well you can also use Smurf, which also can't save Jpeg I think, but with
Apex comes nice tga<>jpg cpx, so you can use that. You can also use
Photoline, a photoshop like app..."
Kenneth Medin adds:
"Or use any editing app you like and then convert to jpg with the now free
CharlyImage from Wilhelm Mikroelektronik GmbH. It's a free download from
there website but some basic understanding of German is needed as it
never got translated to English as far as I know."
Marshall Lake asks about putting his old TT back to work:
"I recently dusted off an Atari TT I had sitting in the closet and it
still boots fine (should I have expected anything else? . I'd like to
install Linux on it and add it to my home network. But first I need to
replace the small internal hard drive. It's been a long while since I've
been active in the Atari computer arena. Can someone give me pointers
and recommendations as to what type of drive to replace the internal
hard drive with? It's a SCSI drive, right?"
Greg Goodwin tells Marshall:
"Yep, a SCSI. A 2 gig SCSI is pretty common for a lot of TT users I've
noticed, though naturally larger ones can be used."
Marshall tells Greg:
"I don't have much experience with SCSI HDs. Do I need to concern myself
with the type of SCSI or will any SCSI HD do?"
Mark Duckworth tells Marshall:
"You want 50 pin internal ribbon cable. Lots of newer scsi's are wide or
small connector. You don't want that. You want the old style 50 pin.
You need to make sure it's not differential or LVD (probably a scsi drive
with a 50 pin internal ribbon connector won't be). Then I'm pretty sure
TT can't accept parity but maybe it can. Plug it in and go
PS: Some of these newer drives that are wide or ultra scsi work just fine
with the right adapters though it's a waste of your money since the TT
can't make use of the better scsi speeds."
Well folks, that's it for this week. Tune in again next week, same time,
same station, and be ready to listen to what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Sony Details All-in-One Device!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 'Freedom Fighters' Hailed!
Video Games Addictive?
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
AP Praises Freedom Fighters Video Game
"Freedom Fighters," for Xbox, PlayStation2, GameCube and the PC, is more
than an entertaining lesson in alternate history. It's extremely fun, with
the hallmarks of all good video games: responsive controls, intense action
and challenging opponents.
In the video game, it's up to you to lead the resistance against communism,
which is stronger than ever. After dragging Mexico behind the iron curtain,
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is moving in on the final prize:
the United States.
You are Christopher Stone, an average American citizen who must take up
arms and fight back the Communist hordes, who have picked New York as the
entry point for their invasion.
I haven't enjoyed this kind of schmaltzy patriotic entertainment since
1984, when as a youth I watched Patrick Swayze and his scrappy group of
teen warriors shout "Wolverines!" as they battled the Soviets on the silver
screen in "Red Dawn."
Best of all is a feature called "charisma." As you advance through the
smoking ruins of Manhattan to the really tough battles on Governor's
Island, your charisma meter rises.
The higher your charisma, the more freedom fighters you command. By the
time you've reached the concluding battle, you'll have a small army of 12
fellow patriots who you can order to attack, defend or stay at your side.
It's an adrenaline rush, leading your band of rebels through the snowy
streets of midtown, dank underground sewers and hidden prisoner of war
camps.
"Freedom Fighters" features some of the best artificial intelligence I've
seen in a video game.
Your comrades don't stand around, waiting to die. If you order them to
charge into a swarm of gunfire, they'll duck and take cover whenever
possible, often working together to flank the enemy.
Just remember: The Russians have the same sharp battle sense.
I did have a few issues. Before battles, you view a series of maps laying
out the mission. Some levels, however, have multiple maps, and it's often
unclear which area you need to clear out first. Be prepared for some
trial-and-error.
I also wish "Freedom Fighters" lasted longer. I finished the game in two
afternoons on the normal difficulty setting. And once you've won, there's
no real point in playing again, unless you have the PC version, which
offers a multiplayer mode where you can team up with others to fight the
Russians.
But these are all minor quibbles. "Freedom Fighters" is an excellent game
that's hard without being impossible, rewarding without being frustrating.
"Freedom Fighters," released by Electronic Arts, costs $49.95. Three stars
out of four.
Sony Details Gaming-Music Player, iPod Rival
Japan's Sony Corp. on Tuesday detailed plans for a much-anticipated
all-in-one handheld gaming device that includes a digital music and video
player and could even act as mobile telephone.
Officials of the world's largest consumer electronics maker also said Sony
would launch a rival to Apple Computer Inc's iPod digital music player next
year for as little as $60.
Sony described a prototype for its PSP gaming device - due out before the
end of 2004 - during a presentation to U.S. investors that reiterated plans
to restore profitability at the company.
"PSP will be the Walkman of the future," declared Ken Kutaragi, Sony's
executive deputy president and head of its gaming business, comparing a PSP
prototype to Sony's highly successful earlier generation of music players.
PSP is designed to rival Nintendo Co. Ltd's Game Boy handheld game player,
mobile phone maker Nokia Oyj's N-Gage wireless gaming device and Apple's
iPod and iTunes music download service.
Sony plans to eventually add telecommunication features, Kutaragi told a
news conference afterward, lending credence to speculation PSP devices
would also serve as mobile phones.
Sony currently envisions a device that looks somewhat similar to Nokia's
recently introduced N-Gage gaming phone, but with a bigger display that
makes it looks more like a handheld television.
The "concept model" showed off by Kutaragi was a one-piece device designed
to be grasped in two hands, with a bright, color screen roughly 4.5 inches
(11.4 cm) in diameter, he told Reuters.
"PSP will not be one kind of product," Kutaragi said. Rather, it is a
platform of related devices with the capacity to add or subtract features,
he said, while stressing that final design details are not expected to be
revealed until later.
While crediting Apple and its chief executive, Steve Jobs, for the success
of the iPod, Sony officials said the PSP would allow consumers to watch
music videos as well as listen to digital tunes.
"We are taking on iPod with our new device," another Sony official said.
"We are coming at him (Steve Jobs) on that front."
Sony executives said that next year it will introduce versions of a rival
music player to the iPod for as little as $60, a price only one-quarter or
less than the $200 to $400 Apple charges for various versions of its sleek
product.
Apple's lead in innovating in the portable music sector practically
invented by Sony has been highlighted as typical of the problems at the
Japanese company, which last month reported a 25 percent drop in quarterly
profits.
Video Games Are Addictive - Scientists
Computer game fanatics should not be labeled addicts, although many players
say they are hooked on a hobby that is affecting their social lives,
scientists said on Tuesday.
Some evidence exists that games stimulate the same areas in the brain as
alcohol and other drugs, psychologists, sociologists and others were told
at the world's first interdisciplinary games conference here.
But unlike the addictive substances, there is no medicine to deal with
compulsive gaming behavior, they heard.
"Is (the popular online game) Everquest addictive? Well, it's no more
addictive than school or work. The time invested in those also make them
addictive," said Florence Chee, a research student at Simon Fraser
University in Canada.
Scientific interest in the multibillion dollar computer games industry has
mushroomed in recent years, after teenagers in several countries killed
themselves and others after playing violent games. Various governments
have put pressure on the industry to add a health warning to games
packages.
But many players actually described themselves as addicts, said Stephen
Kline, a social psychology professor and media analyst at Simon Fraser
University.
"Fifteen percent of Everquest players say: 'I'm addicted'. Thirty percent
can be categorized as addicts," he said.
Although he used the word "addiction" in the classic Greek sense of
"devotion," his survey of hundreds of heavy online games players showed
half of them reported family conflict and romantic failure as a result of
their hobby.
Heavy games players can play an average 17 to 26 hours a week. The online
games, in which players battle with opponents online, are considered the
most gripping and time-consuming.
Children from the age of 10 are now starting to play online games, he said,
and families should know it is radically different from comics.
"Game entertainment is not a classic media experience. It has a potency
that offers a new psychological experience," Kline said, adding he could
imagine violent experiences in games to spill over in real life.
Other scientists, who like Chee have carried out scientific surveys, said
heavy games players were in fact sociable and not the pathological loners
they are often made out to be.
Sociology Professor Holin Lin at National Taiwan University discovered
many players were members of an online 'clan' to try to become more
successful against opponents in the game. She also found many had
relationships with clan members in real life.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
PhillyClassic Blasts Into NBC Technology Expo!
Philadelphia, PA (Nov. 7, 2003) -- PhillyClassic, The East Coast Video
Gamer's Event, is taking center stage as the premiere interactive gaming
content provider at the NBC10 Technology and Lifestyles Expo taking place
at the Fort Washington Expo Center this weekend, November 8-9, 2003. The
event is free to the public and hours are 10am-5pm both days.
PhillyClassic is the largest video game expo on the East Coast, now in its
fifth year. Founder David Newman said "We're excited to be partnering with
NBC10 on their show. It's a terrific concept. NBC does three of these shows
across the country in three high-tech markets: Dallas, Baltimore, and
Philadelphia.
"Our traveling video game exhibit, The PhillyClassic Video Game Challenge
Through Time, is a perfect way for NBC10 showgoers to have some fun, play
lots of games on both classic and modern game consoles, and get a sample of
what our full-blown show is all about, coming up in March of 2004. The
NBC10 Technology and Lifestyles Expo is where more than 50 companies will
showcase their latest consumer and small business products and services.
Exhibits will focus on all areas of life that are affected by technology:
home automation, online financing, extreme entertainment, state of the art
medical equipment and distance learning, are just some of the products and
services that will be on exhibit.
PhillyClassic is dedicated to giving video game fans, both new and old, a
great weekend of playing arcade and home console games, competing in
tournaments, and buying, selling, and trading videogame systems, software,
and accessories.
For arcade fans, PhillyClassic will also be bringing five coin-op arcade
games to the NBC10 event through their official arcade sponsor,
Quarterarcade.com.
And for people who want to learn the ins and outs of creating videogames,
PhillyClassic will also have staff on hand from Videogame.net, the creators
of the leading hands-on videogame design camps and school programs.
PhillyClassic also plans to pull out the stops at the NBC10 Expo with
prizes, giveaways, and drawings for console systems, games, accessories,
T-shirts, and other goodies from major sponsors EBGames and Dave & Busters.
More details can be found at http://www.phillyclassic.com.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Senate Eyes Internet Access Deal, Vote by Next Week
Senators on Friday abandoned an attempt to vote on a bill to permanently
ban Internet access taxes but said they hoped to agree by next week on a
controversial definition of Internet access.
The Senate leadership canceled a Friday vote on the bill amid Democrats'
concerns it could unintentionally cost state and local governments billions
in lost tax revenues.
"We are talking in good faith with them to get a reasonable compromise,"
Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen told reporters after the vote was
nixed, saying votes on amendments and even on final passage were possible
next week.
A moratorium that had been in place since 1998 expired Oct. 31 and some
lawmakers fear states and localities will start levying new taxes on the
Internet unless Congress reinstates it soon.
The House of Representatives voted last month to make the ban on access
taxes permanent and include high speed access services such as DSL lines
under the moratorium. That bill also eliminates a carve-out for taxes in
place before the ban was first passed.
A nearly identical bill has cleared the Senate Commerce Committee, but
opposition has stiffened over the past couple of weeks as state and local
governments say broad wording could cost as much as $9 billion in tax
revenues a year by 2006.
They worry the bill's definition of Internet access could undermine their
ability to tax phone calls, software sales and other activities likely to
migrate to the Internet over the next several years.
Proponents reject that interpretation and estimates of state and local tax
revenue loss by the Congressional Budget Office come in lower, showing a
loss by 2008 of around $195 million.
But the CBO said costs could rise if states were truly unable to collect
sales and use taxes or gross receipts taxes on communications services,
such as local and long distance phone calls, offered via the Internet.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined other Democrats who said they were
in favor of an access-tax moratorium but concerned about unintended
consequences for states and cities.
"This issue has energized cities in my state like no other," said
Feinstein, a Democrat, urging colleagues to support a simple two-year
extension of the old moratorium, which would also ensure all transmission
lines including DSL remained tax-free.
"City mayors are incensed we would pass a law without knowing with
certainty how it would impact local revenues," Feinstein said.
Allen and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, said a two-year extension was
too short.
A Democratic Senate staffer said lawmakers sensitive to states' concerns
had also rejected a behind-the-scenes proposal from Allen, Wyden and
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona to keep the bill's wording without
making the ban permanent.
Data Attacks Strike Spam Fighters
Ron Guilmette tried to cleanse the Internet of spam. For his good deed, he
got himself cleansed from the Internet.
The Roseville, Calif.-based software developer is back online, but only
after learning the hard way that fighting the junk e-mail business can be
harmful to your financial health. Guilmette lost his Internet access and
stood to lose his livelihood. Not only that, he said, local police and the
FBI did little more than lend a sympathetic ear.
Spammers decided to take Guilmette down because he belonged to a small
group of Internet vigilantes dedicated to wiping out junk e-mail, and they
used a devious tool to do it.
That tool is the distributed denial-of-service attack, pronounced
"DEE-doss" in techie circles. It's a crude, basic and very effective way of
enslaving personal computers - usually without the owner's knowledge. The
hacker then uses the combined power of hundreds or thousands of hijacked
computers to flood their target's network with data until it crashes.
Unlike viruses and worms, DDoS attacks are causing higher losses to
businesses struggling to keep their networks afloat. A study released in
May by the FBI and the Computer Security Institute found that DDoS attacks
cost businesses $66 million in 2002, compared to $18 million in 2001.
By waging an under-funded battle against a group with little regard for the
law, the spam fighters have offered themselves up as some of the first
casualties to the growing problem of DDoS attacks.
They're not the last barrier between spam and the world's e-mail in-boxes
- Internet service providers and major U.S. corporations have a variety
of other tools at their disposal - but they provide an important resource
to thousands of harried network administrators, and security experts say
their loss would take away a valuable bulwark in the daily struggle to
keep spam manageable.
"As the number of machines available to the attackers increases, more and
more organizations are going to be able to be brought to their knees by
people who are angry at them," said Allan Paller, director of research for
the SANS Institute, a computer security firm based in Bethesda, Md.
"There's no way for a small organization to stop it."
Guilmette's opinion of the bulk e-mail trade is anything but nuanced: "I
hate spammers. To me they're just the slugs of the earth."
He started his anti-spam career in 1995 when he compiled a list of
unsecured computers that could be hijacked easily and used to send spam.
Posting the list on his Web site, monkeys.com, he warned universities, Wall
Street brokerage houses and Fortune 500 companies to block e-mail messages
from those computers.
Expanding his anti-spam efforts, Guilmette deployed unsecured "honey pot"
computers on the Internet to see if any spammers would try to hijack them.
The traps worked, and Guilmette reported the spammers to their Internet
service providers. More than 100 of them had their accounts cancelled.
The spammers were not amused.
During a 10-day period in August, Guilmette's network was slammed by
traffic from 4,000 computers around the world in a DDoS attack that dwarfed
anything he'd seen before. Just as Guilmette was picking up the pieces, a
second attack took him down a month later.
"Given that I've only got one little consumer DSL line, I lose," he said.
He was unable to get online, and his home software business, Infinite
Monkeys & Co., began to atrophy. Finally, he took down the spam links on
his Web site and posted an "unconditional surrender" on an Internet
newsgroup used by spammers.
The attacks almost completely vanished.
Having lots of bandwidth is crucial to staying online during a DDoS attack,
but it's expensive to buy. That means individual players like Guilmette
don't stand much of a chance against the avalanche of processing power that
a DDoS attack musters.
Bandwidth is a measurement of how much information a network can handle.
The more bandwidth a network has, the bigger the denial-of-service attack
has to be to bring it down. Having more bandwidth also allows networks to
recover more quickly from attacks.
"The unfortunate state of affairs is that people who are trying to protect
themselves find themselves in a really lousy arms race," said Ted Julian,
co-founder and chief strategist for Arbor Networks, a Lexington,
Mass.-based company that helps companies defend against denial-of-service
attacks.
Guilmette said his anti-spam efforts will remain halted "unless some white
knight rides to my rescue and gives me enough bandwidth to make me
DDoS-proof."
Joe Jared - who maintained one of the Internet's most popular spam
blacklists at Osirusoft.com - took a serious wallop earlier this year, he
said.
"On August 26, I shut down my site. The attack was so large it took out two
Qwest routers in Burbank," Jared said, referring to the devices that direct
Internet traffic on his ISP's network. Losing the two routers snarled
Internet traffic on that part of Qwest's network.
The attack hurt more than Osirusoft - Jared had merged data from several
blacklists into one downloadable file he offered for free to some of the
nation's largest technology companies.
"Between 10 and 15 percent of the e-mail worldwide was being checked
against my file," Jared said, adding that SBC Communications, Pacific Bell
and Ameritech were some of the companies that used his list.
Jared didn't make a dime off of his list, but he estimated that he lost
more than $10,000 in delayed orders when his online foot orthotics business
was frozen in its tracks during the DDoS blizzard.
"An attack for a week or so, I can blow that off once in a while. But when
it becomes a month, I need to have an answer. I had to take a course of
action that would insure my business survives," he said.
Relying on the FBI to investigate turned out to be a dead end for Jared and
Guilmette.
Guilmette explained his plight to an FBI operator. She put him through to
a duty officer who, he said, never returned his call.
Jared also was unimpressed with the FBI response. "They were basically
worthless."
"Law enforcement seems completely uninterested in helping," said Julian
Haight, founder of the for-profit SpamCop Web site. "Until you're a Yahoo
they just don't care."
Hal Hendershot, section chief of the FBI's computer instrusion section,
disputed that claim.
"We don't pick the victims, and don't turn cases down. We look at all of
these attacks as a criminal violation," Hendershot said. "A lot of it is
going to depend on what data is available ... to track back to the source.
Some of that has to do with completeness of the company's own logs."
There are several organizations that have enough money to afford the
bandwidth to fight spammers. The Spamhaus project - an international
collective of spam fighters who maintain a widely used blacklist - has
weathered heavy DDoS attacks for the past six months, said Spamhaus
volunteer John Reid.
The attacks got more savage in September after Osirusoft's demise "seemed
to embolden the people that were doing it," Reid said.
Spamhaus could have met the same fate as Osirusoft and Guilmette but it won
much-needed cash investments to keep going. "Some people stepped up who had
a lot of bandwidth available," Reid said, declining to name Spamhaus'
silent benefactor.
With that backing, Spamhaus was able to move its servers off of a houseboat
in the Thames where they'd been housed since 1997, Reid said.
Even the new bandwidth capability wasn't enough to keep Spamhaus running
when hackers snared more than 5,000 computers for a DDoS attack in
September. But with the increased server capacity, Spamhaus is able to
recover quickly from such attacks, Reid said.
While SpamCop has been a target since its inception in 1998 in Seattle,
Haight said the attacks "have gotten a lot more sophisticated and
coordinated lately. It definitely did hit SpamCop and we had to take some
rather expensive countermeasures to stop it."
None of the anti-spam crusaders can say for sure who was behind the
attacks, but they know why.
"I'm being targeted because I'm effective in targeting spam, and the person
targeting me is obviously a spammer or someone being paid by a spammer - it
seems like a pretty easy conclusion," Haight said.
Campaign Starts Against Some 'Pop Up' Ads
Regulators disclosed a new legal campaign Thursday against an annoying
method for delivering unwanted "pop-up" Internet advertisements, accusing a
California company of "high-tech extortion" in its offers for software to
block the very ads it was sending.
The courtroom effort by the Federal Trade Commission could dampen some of
the most irritating practices by Internet marketers, who have learned ways
to display intrusive messages on computer screens using a technology built
into most versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software.
"This is a shot across the bow," said Mark Rasch, an expert on technology
law and former head of the Justice Department cyber-crimes division.
The FTC obtained a temporary restraining order against D-Squared Solutions
LLC of San Diego from a U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The FTC's legal
papers accuse D-Squared of unlawfully exploiting Microsoft's "Windows
Messenger" feature by sending unwanted ads to Internet users as frequently
as once every 10 minutes.
The director for the FTC's bureau of consumer protection, Howard Beales,
said company executives were "creating a problem and trying to charge
customers for the solution." He called that "high-tech extortion" and "a
fundamentally unfair business model."
The FTC asked the judge to block D-Squared from sending any more
advertisements or selling its ad-blocking software. It also wants D-Squared
to repay consumers who bought its software, which Beales said represents
"hundreds of thousands" of dollars.
The head of D-Squared Solutions, Anish Dhingra, declined to comment on the
government's accusations. His lawyer, Jacob C. Reinbolt, did not return
repeated telephone calls to his office from The Associated Press.
Windows Messenger - unrelated to Microsoft's instant-messaging software
that uses the same name - commonly allows network administrators to display
messages on a user's computer screen, such as a warning that a company's
Internet connection might be having problems.
But some Internet marketers have seized upon the technology to display ads
for software and pornography, unless computer users manually turn it off or
use firewall software to block out unwanted messages. It takes seven mouse
clicks to disable the messenger service; the FTC said typical consumers
don't know how to do this.
"It seemed like they were appearing every 10 minutes. It completely
disabled my computer," said Karen McKechnie of Annandale, Va., who
complained to the FTC about pop-up advertisements. "People who are sending
these messages are infringing on my rights and everyone's rights to use my
computer."
The FTC's legal papers allege the advertisements caused "substantial
injury" to consumers, citing lost data, crashed computers, frustration,
annoyance and harassment. But Beales distinguished D-Squared's computer
messages from other forms of Internet advertising that many computer users
find just as nettlesome, such as unsolicited e-mails, unwanted
instant-messages and pop-up ads on Web sites.
Last month, Microsoft separately warned customers about a security
vulnerability in Windows Messenger that could allow hackers to seize
control of a computer running most versions of Windows.
It urged computer users to download and install a free repairing patch from
its Web site, and it said users should consider disabling the Messenger
service immediately unless they need to use it. Hackers already are
distributing tools to break into computers using the vulnerability.
Major Windows Changes Not Sought - Judge
An appeals judge appeared to deal a blow to challengers of Microsoft's
antitrust settlement on Tuesday, agreeing that the court had never required
the software giant to make some of the major changes competitors sought on
the Windows operating system.
During arguments on the challenge by Massachusetts and two computer
industry groups, Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg said an earlier ruling by the
court did not mean that Microsoft had to be held liable for commingling
features like the Internet Explorer browser with Windows.
"I think this is a very powerful answer and I didn't see any response to
that" from the other side, said Ginsburg.
During a four-hour session before a six-judge panel of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the appeals judges aggressively pushed the
Justice Department and Microsoft Corp. to defend the landmark settlement.
Some of the judges asked them to explain how the government's settlement
with Microsoft had denied the company the "fruits" of its antitrust
violations, and whether it would really do anything to stop Microsoft from
crushing other potential competitors in the future.
"How do we know that?" Judge David Tatel asked Justice Department lawyer
Deborah Majoras. "We should just accept that?"
The settlement was endorsed by District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly a
year ago and gives computer makers greater freedom to feature rival
software on their machines by allowing them to hide some Microsoft icons
on the Windows desktop.
Massachusetts and the other dissenters argued that allowing computer makers
to hide Microsoft icons was not enough. They said the court should force
Microsoft to redesign Windows and stop commingling programs like Internet
Explorer with Windows.
Another lower-court judge had concluded that the commingling had
contributed to the demise of the rival Netscape Navigator browser.
In its 2001 ruling, the appeals court concluded that Microsoft's decision
to commingle the computer code of Windows with the Internet Explorer
browser was anti-competitive, but it also said some integration was
legitimate in designing Windows.
Ginsburg said on Tuesday that in allowing Microsoft to continue commingling
programs in Windows, Kollar-Kotelly was simply following instructions that
the appeals court laid out in its previous ruling.
"How could (Kollar-Kotelly) now say it could no longer keep that part of
its product design?" Ginsburg asked Massachusetts' lawyer.
The appeals court moved the case to Kollar-Kotelly in June 2001 after
ruling that Microsoft had illegally maintained its Windows operating system
monopoly, but rejected another lower court judge's proposal to break the
company in two.
Lawyers for Massachusetts and two computer industry trade groups have
challenged the settlement, saying it is ineffective and should be
overturned and replaced with stricter sanctions.
In court proceedings last year, Kollar-Kotelly heard 32 days of testimony
to determine what sanctions should be imposed on Microsoft, with
Massachusetts and eight other states seeking stricter sanctions.
Kollar-Kotelly approved the settlement with minor changes. Eight of the
nine hold-out states have since joined the settlement.
Microsoft argued successfully during last year's remedy hearings that more
stringent sanctions would benefit only rivals like Oracle Corp. and Sun
Microsystems, while hurting consumers.
Court Eyes Microsoft Settlement Terms
A federal appeals court signaled lingering dissatisfaction Tuesday with
significant provisions of the antitrust settlement that Microsoft Corp.
negotiated with the Bush administration, hinting it may favor tougher
sanctions against the world's largest software company.
Legal experts said it was unlikely the six-judge panel from the U.S.
Circuit Court for the District of Columbia would accept as adequate only
the sanctions that Microsoft accepted under the settlement, given the
serious questions that some of the judges raised during a lively three-hour
hearing.
"They surprised me," said Robert Lande, a University of Baltimore law
professor who has followed the case closely. "I went into this thinking
there was little probability they would do anything except rubber-stamp the
settlement."
Circuit Judge Judith W. Rogers questioned lawyers about how the disputed
antitrust settlement denies Microsoft the fruits of its illegal business
practices toward its commercial rivals during the late 1990s. She said some
penance was necessary; "Otherwise, monopolists could squelch all comers
without consequence."
The judges appeared to acknowledge the settlement has not spurred the
largest computer makers, for example, to install competing software from
Microsoft's fiercest rivals, one principal aim of the landmark agreement.
Circuit Judge David S. Tatel said he "may agree" that computer makers still
are discouraged from offering such rival software to consumers because
Microsoft builds its own versions into its dominant Windows operating
system, the engine that runs most of the world's personal computers.
Judge A. Raymond Randolph appeared convinced computer makers feared that
confusion among customers over duplicate software programs would raise
their technical support costs, cutting into already-thin profits.
The appeals court agreed in June 2001 that Microsoft illegally abused its
monopoly with Windows software. It was expected to decide in coming months
whether the Bush administration and 19 states negotiated adequate antitrust
sanctions in a court-approved settlement.
The attorney general in one state, Tom Reilly of Massachusetts, and two
anti-Microsoft trade organizations want tougher penalties. Reilly has
argued that the settlement was so profoundly flawed that its approval by
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly represented an abuse of her
discretion.
"There's no indication there's going to be a major reworking, but there is
some reason to believe that a rubber stamp is not in order, either," said
Andrew Gavil, a law professor at Howard University.
Robert Bork, former appeals judge representing Microsoft's rivals, told
the circuit judges the settlement was "utterly inadequate." He complained
that the government settled the case after it had already won significant
courtroom victories, which is highly unusual.
"The government had this case cold, and there was no reason to negotiate
away the things it negotiated away," Bork said.
But the appeals court also appeared to question whether it should instruct
Kollar-Kotelly to reconsider terms of the deal.
"Don't we owe any deference to the Department of Justice and the judge?"
Tatel asked Bork. Bork responded no, and complained that some provisions of
the antitrust settlement were too ambiguous to be enforced effectively.
"Some people find ambiguity in a no-smoking sign," Judge David B. Sentelle
said.
Deborah Majoras, a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice
Department, said the settlement represented "prompt, certain and effective
relief." She said Bork was "simply wrong" to suggest that the agreement
hasn't already forced Microsoft to change its practices toward rivals.
Majoras stammered under unusually tough questions from the panel about the
government's efforts to prevent the two anti-Microsoft trade groups from
appealing the settlement.
But she also won praise from Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg for her "very
powerful answer" describing how one proposal to remove some Microsoft
software from Windows might cause other programs to malfunction.
The appeals court generally has proved a favorable venue for Microsoft. It
removed two other trial judges in 1995 and 2001 who ruled against the
company, Stanley Sporkin and Thomas Penfield Jackson. It also overturned a
contempt ruling against Microsoft by Jackson, and the court blocked
Jackson's plans to break apart the company before it threw him off the
case.
The same appeals court unanimously agreed, however, with Jackson's ruling
that Microsoft had illegally abused its monopoly over Windows operating
system software, and it instructed Kollar-Kotelly to impose new sanctions.
Within months - and soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks - the
sides instead negotiated the disputed settlement.
Google Unveils Web-Searching Software
Internet search engine Google has unveiled free software that lets people
search the Web quickly - without launching a Web browser.
Google Deskbar, released Thursday, appears as a search box in the Windows
toolbar. After the search words are entered, a resizable mini-viewer pops
up with the results. Users can jump to the site within the mini-viewer or
launch their browser.
Unless a program is filling the screen or the user has set the taskbar to
automatically hide, the search box is always visible. With a keyboard
shortcut, the cursor can be moved to it without moving the mouse.
Though the software is free, Google does get some exposure on the desktop:
The company's logo appears faintly in the search box when words aren't
being typed into it.
Beyond Google's main search, the box can be set to search Google non-U.S.
sites, Google News, Google Images and others. There are options to find
stock quotes, movie reviews, word definitions and synonyms. Users can add
custom sites to search, too.
The software, which is about 400 kilobytes, requires a PC with Windows XP
or Windows 2000, at least Internet Explorer 5.5 and an Internet connection.
Windows 95, 98 and ME are not supported. Google Deskbar also does not run
on Macintosh or Linux computers.
The program was developed at Google Labs.
Microsoft Puts $500,000 on Virus Writers' Heads
Microsoft Corp., beset by widespread criticism of security flaws in its
software, on Wednesday put up a bounty to track down the authors of two
computer bugs that choked the Internet earlier this year.
Microsoft offered two $250,000 rewards for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Blaster worm and the
SoBig.F e-mail virus, which infected more than half a million computers,
crashed thousands of systems, and snarled Internet traffic across the globe
in August and September.
The world's largest software company - which last month admitted that
security concerns have begun to affect its bottom line - also said it had
earmarked an additional $4.5 million for future rewards.
Security headaches for Microsoft and its customers are likely to continue
at least for the short term. The Federal Trade Commission has scheduled a
news conference on Thursday to talk about a security hole in its Windows
operating system.
The Wild West-style bounty underscored the threat posed by viruses and
worms in an interconnected world, as well as the problems associated with
catching those who originate them.
While SoBig.F and Blaster have caused little lasting damage, other
cyberattacks have paralyzed automatic-teller machines, frustrated police
dispatchers, and knocked nearly the entire country of South Korea offline.
Security experts say future attacks could disable power plants, hospitals
or other "critical infrastructure."
"These are not just Internet crimes, cybercrimes or virtual crimes. These
are real crimes that hurt a lot of people," Microsoft General Counsel Brad
Smith said at a news conference, where he was joined by officials from the
U.S. FBI, Secret Service, and Interpol, the international police agency.
Many of the most damaging viruses have spread through security holes in
Microsoft products, leading to widespread criticism of the Redmond,
Washington software maker.
Although computer security is an industry-wide problem, "we have clear
responsibility to take a leadership role in addressing the issue," Smith
said.
U.S. investigators have identified suspects behind three of the six Blaster
variants, but have not yet tracked down the author of the original version,
said Keith Lordeau, acting deputy assistant director of the FBI's
cybercrime division.
The United States recently increased cybercrime penalties, but many other
countries do not even have laws on the books. Still, perpetrators could
face prosecution under existing theft or trespass laws, said Peter Nevitt,
Interpol's director of information and technology systems.
Security experts familiar with the investigation said the trail had
recently gone cold. The unprecedented cash lure could generate new leads
and sow mistrust in the hacker community, sources said.
"Apparently, they haven't had too much luck, which is why they are
resorting to offering money," said Mikko Hypponnen, research manager at
Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure.
"There's certainly more of a motivation to reveal the identify of a virus
writer than there was at this time yesterday," said Graham Cluley, senior
technology consultant at computer security firm Sophos Plc in the United
Kingdom.
Informants will be eligible for the reward regardless of country of
residence, Smith said, as long as the suspect is found guilty. Internet
users can send tips to any FBI, Secret Service or Interpol office, or
online at the Internet Fraud Complaint Center
(http://www.ifccfbi.gov) or Interpol (http://www.interpol.int).
Virus Writers Dismiss Microsoft's Bounty
Cyberspace outlaws may look over their shoulder one extra time before
launching a computer virus or worm, but they won't be deterred by the $5
million bounty fund established by Microsoft to help capture and convict
them, two virus writers said.
Applying Wild West-type bounties to modern Internet crimes, Microsoft on
Wednesday put two $250,000 rewards on the heads of the individuals
responsible for unleashing the Blaster and Sobig worms that wreaked havoc
in August. Another $4.5 million was set aside for future bounties.
Microsoft hopes the money will make ill-intended code slingers think twice.
"They should think 'uh-oh, there is somebody who knows what I am doing and
they have an incentive to turn me in because there is a reward,'" said
Hemanshu Nigam, a Microsoft corporate attorney.
However, two virus writers dismissed the bounty fund as a marketing stunt
and said it will have no deterrent effect.
"This new initiative from Microsoft does not change anything. Virus writers
who spread their viruses know very well that what they are doing is
illegal," said Benny, a Czech member of virus writing group 29A in an
interview via e-mail.
Although it "won't really scare" virus writers, they may become more
careful about who they trust, said a member of virus writing group
International Knowledge Exchange, who asked to remain anonymous. "I think
they may become more paranoid and not even tell their most trusted friends
what they did," he said.
The virus writers side with Microsoft critics who say the company should
focus on securing its software instead.
"The bounty program is just another excuse for Microsoft's buggy products,"
Benny said.
Both 29A and IKX describe themselves as groups of people who create and
study computer viruses and worms, but never release malicious code. They
send their code to antivirus companies who typically do a write-up and
place the virus in the "zoo," a catalog of thousands of viruses that have
never spread.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, which supported Microsoft's
bounty fund announcement Wednesday, also does not think rewards alone will
lead to fewer viruses and worms.
"We've never suggested that this reward will deter future hackers or
criminal activity from authors of this type of code. What deters criminals
is jail time. This reward offer is a step that potentially brings us closer
to making an arrest, ultimately leading to a conviction and jail time," FBI
spokesperson Paul Bresson said.
International law enforcement has had a tough time tracking down creators
of viruses and worms. Only a few have been brought to justice. Arrests were
made in connection with two variants of the Blaster worm, but those
responsible for the original remain at large. No arrests have been made in
connection with the Sobig worm, which was first detected in January.
Fighting crime in the virtual world is different from fighting real world
crime in many ways, but it all comes down to getting the right lead,
Bresson said. "Whether it is the virtual world or the real world where
crimes are being committed, there are people who talk to each other, so
there are people who have information that can help and we encourage those
people to come forward," he said.
But law enforcement and Microsoft should not count on information coming
from people close to virus writers, the IKX member said. "I think those
people behind the widespread worms are not very talkative, especially after
their actions got a little out of hand," he said.
Microsoft believes loyalty in online communities is not as strong as some
people might think, Nigam said. Furthermore, it is not just members of the
Internet's underground that have information which can lead to the arrest
and conviction of those who release malicious code, he said.
"Information is everywhere. A systems administrator's system might get
attacked; he may have log files and information that he should come forward
with," Nigam said.
Microsoft has been widely criticized for not doing enough to protect
computer users from security problems. The woes are also affecting the
company's bottom line. In reporting financial results for the quarter ended
September 30, the Microsoft said sales to corporations had been hurt by the
Blaster worm.
Creating secure software is now a top priority at Microsoft and the reward
program is only part of that effort, Nigam said. "This is one aspect of our
multipronged approach, securing products and writing code that is more
secure is going to remain a priority as it has been for a long time now,"
he said.
Internet Littered With Dead Web Sites
Despite the Internet's ability to deliver information quickly and
frequently, the World Wide Web is littered with deadwood - sites abandoned
and woefully out of date.
After Ajay Powell quit smoking and decided to run the Honolulu Marathon in
2001, she created a Web site to track her progress, updating it weekly with
photographs and tallies of her training miles.
Powell updated it again the following year when she entered a seven-day,
585-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. But the site has
nothing on her results in that ride or any other endurance events Powell
has since tackled.
Her site remains frozen in time.
Like many others who enthusiastically start Web sites and Web journals
known as blogs, Powell lost interest. The Internet's novelty wore off.
"It was 100 percent the first two or three months of my training for the
marathon, then I started to get resentful at having to put these pictures
up," said Powell, who lives in Stockton, Calif. "It got increasingly
tedious to keep up. I just let that thing go to pot."
One study of 3,634 blogs found that two-thirds had not been updated for at
least two months and a quarter not since Day One.
"Some would say, `I'm going to be too busy but I'll get back to it,' but
never did," said Jeffrey Henning, chief technology officer with Perseus
Development Corp., the research company that did the study. "Most just kind
of stopped."
Other sites die because an event came and went - political campaigns end,
the new millennium arrived without computer-generated catastrophe.
The Year 2000 site for Massachusetts still urges citizens to stock up on
supplies and withdraw money in case cash machines and credit cards fail.
Igor Sidorkin's personal collection of Y2K software fixes gets 30 or so
visitors daily - mostly to download patches they should have installed four
years ago.
Cliff Kurtzman kept his Year2000.com site up for two years past the
turnover, with a note acknowledging that the information could be old. But
even abandoned sites deserve a burial at some point.
"There was so much on it that was out of date, and links that didn't work
and everything," he said. "It looked bad to have things up there with so
many things not working or making sense anymore."
Kurtzman, who uses the site now to promote a newsletter on business and
innovation, knows the troubles abandoned sites like his can pose. He'll
find a site he likes, only to learn later the information is old.
"Having extra junk out there just makes the process of searching for good
stuff even harder," Kurtzman said.
But just as libraries wouldn't think of dumping musty, out-of-print books,
Web designers shouldn't rush to remove yesteryear's castoffs, said Steve
Jones, a communications professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"I do hear pretty frequently not so much that there's deadwood, but that
sites go away without a trace," Jones said.
Many sites cost money to maintain. Unless they use a free service like
Geocities or have a friend willing to lend space, developers of Web sites
must pay fees for Web hosting and domain names.
Few are like Alan Porter and Anand Ranganathan, willing to pay $14 a year
to keep the domain name Votexchange2000.com, which in 2000 let users in one
state trade their vote for president to someone in another state. The site
runs off a computer under Ranganathan's desk at work.
Porter said they are keeping it around as a historical artifact, though
that can't last forever as technology changes. Parts of the site, for
instance, won't work with newer browsers.
But neglect is a more common reason that sites linger past their prime.
The mayor of Seaside, Ore., Don Larson, remains a candidate on his campaign
Web site, though he won last year's election. The site's designers hadn't
gotten around to updating it, though after being contacted by The
Associated Press, "please vote" was quietly removed.
Management of the Computer Coalition for Responsible Exports changed hands
early this year and updating the Web site remains on the new organizers'
"to do" list. In the meantime, you can view press releases through March 7,
2002.
A fan site for the TV show "Melrose Place" also remains static. Though the
site promises "new additions" beyond the final episode, its home page
proudly announces, "News Last Updated 05/24/99" - the date of the finale.
And a site recording Debbie Busler's six-continent, 26-country tour last
year has yet to leave the Americas. Though she returned home 13 months ago,
she remains at country No. 4 online.
Her brother and webmaster, Marty, ran into time-consuming technical
troubles and vows to finish the job - one day.
"She had a lot of tips that were pretty good for people traveling around
the world, even specific hotels, what to do, what she would have skipped,"
he said. "I would love to finish it."
But he added, "I've also got a full-time job and a part-time job and I like
to sleep."
=~=~=~=
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