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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 11 Issue 38
Volume 11, Issue 38 Atari Online News, Etc. September 18, 2009
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2008
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:
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1138 09/18/09
~ HP Shows Off New PCs! ~ People Are Talking! ~ New Macs Coming Soon?
~ From Beyond the Grave! ~ E-mail Burglar Alarm! ~ Chrome 3 Is Launched!
~ MS After Malvertisers! ~ Students: Win 7 Cheap! ~ Need for Speed Leads!
~ Net Neutrality Nears! ~ Web's Stupid Burglar! ~ Snow Leopards Tops!
-* Playing Video Games Remotely *-
-* New Phishing Attack Chats Up Victims *-
-* China, Russia Are Aggressive in Cyberspace *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Ah, another week, another batch of political faux pas and other interesting
tidbits of foolishness. If I know Joe as well as I think I do, he'll be
mentioning one or two in his weekly commentary. So, we won't aim any
spotlights elsewhere this week!
Instead, this week I'm going to rest my brain, along with every other part
of my body - I've earned some relaxation for one day. So, let's move right
to what you're all looking for in the first place - another issue of A-ONE!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Well, there were only 6 new messages in
the newsgroup this week... and five of them were ads. Now, I have nothing
against ads on the UseNet; I think it's a decent way of getting info 'out
there', but they're not things that I can use in this column.
But that's okay, because there's something I want to talk about and,
while it IS a political subject, it encompasses so much more.
Unless you're on your way to or from Mars, you've heard about Congressman
Joe Wilson's outburst at the President's speech to Congress last week.
Yes, I thought it was in very poor taste, showed a complete lack of not
only self-restraint but also intellect, and should not be allowed to go
unpunished. There ARE rules in congress, regardless of what some think,
and "because I disagree" just isn't a valid reason for discarding them.
But now, another specter (no, not Arlen) has raised its head. Former
president Jimmy Carter and columnist Maureen Dowd have both expressed
their opinions that Congressman Wilson's outburst was tinged with racism.
As Dowd put it in her column: "... fair or not, what I heard was an
unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!"
I must admit that I'm at a loss. I like and respect both President Carter
and Dowd. I agree with them much more than disagree, and when I do
disagree, it's never been with both of them before.
But to be honest, I just don't see racism as a factor here. I'm not
saying that I know that Wilson is a racist... I have no information about
that, and no opinion. He may well be, for all I know, but I don't think
that's what motivated his childish outburst.
Instead, I believe it was something much more common and much more
insidious; the belief that you are empowered to do whatever you want
simply because you want to.
With all the talk of Wilson and his expletive, I've heard nothing in the
way of proof that he's a racist. No instances of mocking a black
waitress, no stories of crude, vulgar comments or epithets. And believe
me... I've known racists. Even in my own family. The "N" word was used by
a few of my older relatives, along with a more 'colorful' array of words.
My grandfather had no problem with what we today call racial slurs. I
find it hard to believe that a racist in the position that Congressman
Wilson is in could hide such attitudes for long. And yet there have been
no instances of people coming forward with examples of errant deeds or
words.
As I said, what I see as the underlying cause is something much more
pervasive in today's society and also much harder to single out. This
idea permeating, not just politics but everyday life too, that we don't
have to either acknowledge or abide by things we don't agree with or
approve of is troubling. Take the governor of Texas, who several months
ago was talking about seceding from the Union... Ummm... Ricky, did you
stop to think that that's what the Civil War was fought over? Or did you
just forget who won?
Now, in addition to the "Birthers" who don't want to have to believe that
the president was born in the United States, the "Lifers" who don't want
to have to believe that there will be no 'Death Panels', the ones who
don't want to have to believe that the government will be paying for
health benefits for illegal immigrants, the ones who don't want to have to
believe that there were no WMDs, etc., we've got those who believe that ..
What I cannot fathom is that, in their minds, their beliefs mold the
'truth' instead of the other way around. This hearkens back to the dark
days of the Inquisition when Galileo and Copernicus were persecuted...
and prosecuted for 'radical' thoughts such as the idea that the Earth
revolves around the sun when, as everyone knew at the time, the bible
clearly pointed out that it was the other way around. No need for inquiry
or debate; the 'facts' were plain for all to see, right?
We even have people who not only don't want to have to believe that the
Creator's vision and reach is much more than any of us could ever
envision, and that billions of years have passed since the creation of
the Earth, but they want the rest of us to have to not believe it too.
(Notice the neat transposition there?)
Now we have a Congressman (and his newfound groupies) figures that it's
his turn and he shouldn't have to abide by the rules and regulations that
govern the House; the ones saying that there are certain things you can't
do or call the president. Well so what, right? 'I' don't have to pay
attention to that because _I_ don't want to, and it's all about me, not
about what's right or proper or even fact!
Last week, I gave you a link
(http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3200.IH:) that leads right
to the actual bill before Congress, and mentioned that Section 246 was
where it dealt with payment of 'credits' and that they would not be
paid to undocumented aliens. And I'm not talking about Klatu or E.T. or
those dudes from Cocoon. Even with the people who don't believe that the
scatter of tripe the right is throwing around in an effort to derail
change.. even among people who aren't afraid of thinking for
themselves... how many have checked out that link?
The whole thing, from beginning to end, is all right there in black and
white, and it's not all that hard to understand. But it's far easier to
make up one's mind and bend or discard the facts to fit that belief. And
that's what some people do.
I guess what keeps me from doing things like that is that I look just a
little bit farther down the road. How am I going to explain it to myself
when, after believing what I wanted because I wanted, regardless of the
facts, when things have all gone to hell? What will I convince myself of
then?
That's all for this week, folks. 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 - Play Video Games Remotely!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Need for Speed Leads Pack!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Startup Lets You Play Console Video Games Remotely
As any a video game aficionado knows, it's easy to pop a game into your
Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 and spend hours working your way from one
level to the next. Without the hefty console, though, you're out of luck
if you want to keep blasting those aliens while away from home.
A startup called Spawn Labs thinks it has a solution to this problem.
Starting Monday, the Austin, Texas-based company began selling a box
that is much like a Slingbox - a device that lets you watch your home TV
remotely - for video gaming.
Spawn Labs' HD-720 costs $200, or about the same price as Microsoft's
cheapest Xbox console. Unlike playing a video game on a Web site, when
the box is connected to one of several different gaming systems you can
remotely access any video game disc already inside, along with any games
stored on the console's hard drive.
You can connect the HD-720 to up to two video game systems, including an
Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and to a TV set to play games at home.
If you install Spawn Labs' free software on a computer, you can then log
in to the company's Web site and play games remotely in real time, using
a video game controller plugged into one of the computer's USB ports or
a keyboard.
Spawn Labs, which showed off its product Monday at the TechCrunch50
startup conference in San Francisco, is also pushing its product as a
way to connect remotely with friends who might not be able to come over
and play games with you - instead, you can allow them to access your
console online and they can play on a computer from wherever they happen
to be.
If you want to let more than one person to play remotely, Spawn Labs
sells $30 adapters that plug into the back of the box, enabling group
gaming.
You'll need a good Internet connection to use the HD-720: CEO David
Wilson said that the box streams video games in high-definition video.
If a connection isn't speedy enough, though, the HD-720 can show games
in standard definition, he said.
"This will take two or three years to fully roll out into the
mainstream, probably, and as that happens everyone will have a fat pipe
they can play with," he said.
As for any computing requirements, Wilson said that most laptops
currently being sold should work well with the device. Some netbooks may
also be able to support the high-definition video, he said.
'Need for Speed' Titles Lead Pack of Racing Games
The video game racing genre is gearing up for a traffic jam.
Nearly a dozen racing games are expected to drive onto store shelves
before the end of the year, competing for the attention of gamers at a
time when sales have tapped the brakes. "Forza MotorSport 3," "Dirt 2,"
"Blur," "MotorStorm: Arctic Edge" and "Gran Turismo" for the PlayStation
Portable are among the titles plotting a course for release this year.
Electronic Arts has revved up new "Need for Speed" titles as part of its
strategy to diversify the 15-year-old racing franchise for different
platforms. EA Black Box, the Canadian developer that created the
previous "Need for Speed" games, has taken a backseat while other
developers have crafted three games aimed at three different audiences.
The first, developer Slightly Mad Studios' hardcore racing simulator
"Need for Speed Shift," was released this week for the Xbox 360,
PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PC, iPhone and iPod Touch. "Shift"
abandons the series' slick street style in favor of photorealistic
action similar to the "Forza MotorSport" franchise. The focus is on
recreating the sensation of being pulled by G-forces during high-speed
cornering inside the game's 72 realer-than-real racing cars.
"It's something we euphemistically refer to as first-person driving,"
said "Shift" producer Jesse Abney. "First-person shooter games have done
a great job over the last few years of creating an environment where
players are really immersed in the action. What we've done with `Need
for Speed Shift' is create that true driver's experience of being in the
cockpit."
EA will venture down a different path with "Need for Speed Nitro," the
arcade-style racing game developed by EA Montreal for the Wii and
Nintendo DS set for release Nov. 17. Unlike "Shift," this "Need for
Speed" edition will feature speedy police pursuits and the ability for
racers to trick out their rides and tracks with customizable decals and
colors.
"When I first came to EA, I thought it was a really interesting
challenge to make a `Need for Speed' game on the Wii that can attract
gamers and a general mass audience because the Wii is not a platform
that's about graphics," said "Nitro" producer Gadi Pollack, who worked
on "Prince of Persia" at Ubisoft. "It's about the gameplay and the
handling."
The third "Need for Speed" title, "Need for Speed World Online," is a
massively multiplayer online game being developed by EA Singapore. The
free-to-play action-driving game, which will be released in Asia before
coming to the U.S., will feature fully customizable cars and a
matchmaking system that pits players against each other in multiple game
modes.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
HP Shows Off New Ultra-thin PCs, Stylish Netbook
Hewlett-Packard Co unveiled several new products for the important fall
season, including thin and light laptop PCs and an eye-catching new
netbook.
The world's No. 1 PC maker has ably navigated a steep industry downturn
in computer sales, managing to grow its global market share to 20
percent even as consumers and businesses dial back on spending.
With the forthcoming launch of Microsoft Corp's new Windows 7 operating
system on October 22, many analysts expect PC sales to begin a slow
recovery from lows seen earlier year.
And despite the recession, PC makers continue to see a market in more
expensive and stylish models for those who can afford them.
HP is marking its entry into the high-end, ultra-thin consumer PC market
with its new Envy sub-brand. The Envy checks in at under an inch thick
and less than 4 pounds, and will have a customized software interface
that HP says makes the device more personalized, a growing trend in the
PC space.
It will go head-to-head with Apple Inc's MacBook Air and Dell Inc's
Adamo. The Envy will start at $1,700, while both the Air and the Adamo
start at $1,500.
With 'thin and light' all the rage, HP will also launch a pair of more
affordable PCs in the category.
The company is calling its new business PC, the ProBook 5310m, the
"world's thinnest full-performance notebook" at 0.9-inches thick and an
affordable entry point of $699.
The new HP Pavilion dm3, which has an optional CULV low-power processor
from Intel Corp, starts at $549. It also measures less than an inch in
thickness and claims up to 10 hours of battery life.
Consumer PCs have fared much better than business PCs in the downturn,
helped by the sharp growth of netbooks, low-cost devices that are
changing the face of the computer market. Ultra-portable and used
primarily for Web surfing, email and other simple tasks, many consumers
have flocked to the devices.
At the same time, PC makers are increasingly emphasizing design as a way
to differentiate their PCs, and HP has been actively pushing its
creative side.
On Saturday, it used a catwalk at New York's Fashion Week to unveil its
latest collaboration with designer Vivienne Tam, a gold "digital clutch"
netbook adorned with butterflies. The limited edition model won't be
available until next spring.
HP is launching another netbook this fall designed by Dutch artist Tord
Boontje, which has a floral and environmental theme etched in a
three-dimensional design. The white device, which is targeted more at
the youth market, will sell for $400.
It will also offer a new netbook model, the Mini 311, which features a
slightly larger screen at 11.6 inches and Nvidia's Ion platform, which
pairs Intel's Atom chip with an Nvidia graphics processor. It will also
sell for $400.
Apple May Unveil New Macs Soon
Will an updated series of Macs appear shortly? Wedge Partners, a
Denver-based research firm, thinks there's a good chance that Apple
will unveil redesigned iMacs and MacBooks "in the next several weeks."
According to a report by Barron's Eric Savitz, the new Macs may include a
thinner iMac with "smoothed or rounded edges," and an updated MacBook with
"limited" (i.e., minor) changes.
When contacted by PC World, Wedge Partners director of research Kirk
Adams confirmed the Barrons' report, and added that the fall Mac rollout
probably wouldn't include revolutionary new hardware like the much-hyped
tablet, or even a new netbook computer, both of which would be a first for
Apple.
"We don't expect a tablet or a netbook per se, but rather some redesigns
of some good products," Adams says.
If Wedge's prediction comes true, the Mac upgrades would certainly be
seem as an attempt by Apple to steal thunder from Microsoft's upcoming
Windows 7 media blitz. The official Win 7 launch date is Oct. 22, and
Microsoft's new operating system is expected to spur sales of both
business and consumer PCs.
Last June, Apple unveiled a new batch of MacBook and MacBook Pro
laptops.
Google Expects Chrome 3.0 To Boost Market Share
On Tuesday, Google launched the third iteration of its Web browser after
just a year on the market. Google is billing Chrome 3.0 as a brand-new
release that comes on the heels of 51 developer, 21 beta, and 15 stable
updates and 3,505 bug fixes in the past 12 months.
Even though Chrome is no longer in beta, it's still only available for
PCs running Windows. But Google is reporting some major improvements in
its first stable release and some ambitious goals for increasing market
share.
According to Google, the company has improved JavaScript performance by
more than 150 percent since the first beta of Google Chrome, and by more
than 25 percent since the most recent stable release.
With Chrome 3.0, Google aims to grab five percent market share by 2010
and 10 percent by 2011. The company has just more than two percent
market share today. Google's gains may come primarily at the expense of
Microsoft's Internet Explorer unless it launches Chrome versions for
Linux and Mac OS X.
Chrome 3.0 is set to compete with a New Tab page that facilitates
one-click browsing. Google said it redesigned the tab page so it's
customizable. For example, with Chrome 3.0, users can rearrange
thumbnails of most-visited Web sites by clicking and dragging the mouse.
Users can also pin thumbnails to a spot so they don't disappear even if
browsing habits change.
"You can do even more to customize your New Tab page -- for example, you
can hide parts of the page you don't want to see, or even opt for a
simple list view of all your most visited Web sites. In addition, we've
added handy tips to the bottom of the New Tab page to help you get the
most out of Google Chrome," said Chrome program manager Anthony Laforge.
Chrome 3.0 also boasts improvements to the Omnibox. Omnibox serves as a
search bar and a Web address bar. Chrome 3.0 optimizes the presentation
of the drop-down menu and adds icons that aim to help the user
distinguish between suggested sites, searches, bookmarks and sites from
the browsing history.
Chrome 3.0 offers HTML5 capabilities. A video-tagging feature promises
to make embedding videos in a page as simple as embedding regular
images. The video tag also allows video playback without a plug-in.
Finally, Google officially christened Themes, which allows users to
dress up a browser with colors, patterns and images.
Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, called Chrome 3 an
impressive product that has the force of Google behind it and must not
be dismissed. But he still wonders why Google ventured into the browser
business to begin with and how the move is going to impact its partner
relationships.
"Google has the default search box in [Apple] Safari and in [Mozilla]
Firefox. Instead of partnering with these companies and claiming the
parts of the browsing experience that make money, Google is doing its
best to alienate these organizations to claim browser share," Gartenberg
said. "I am not sure why and what they are hoping to accomplish here."
Gartenberg said Chrome gives him the feeling that Google created a
browser for the sake of creating a browser. In the long run, he's not
sure Chrome will further Google's ambitions in the manner Google is
expecting.
"Chrome doesn't bring any revenues in and of itself. They are certainly
not selling the browser. You do have to wonder: If Google is going to
start alienating its partners, like Mozilla and Apple, is this a good
opportunity for Microsoft?" Gartenberg said. "One does have to question
if this is really the business Google wants to be in."
Snow Leopard Sales Top Previous Mac OS X Releases
NPD Group said Thursday that sales of Snow Leopard Mac OS X so far have
exceeded Apple's two previous Mac OS X releases during their first two
weeks. According to the market researcher, Snow Leopard unit shipments
were more than twice the volume of Leopard's initial sales and almost
four times higher than Apple's earlier Tiger Mac OS X release.
Moreover, Snow Leopard's sales only declined about 25 percent from the
first week to the second, said NPD Vice President Stephen Baker. In
comparison, volume shipments of Leopard and Tiger declined more than 60
percent in the second week, he added.
"With pricing reduced by more than $100 for both the single-user and
five-user pack versus Leopard pricing, Apple has clearly demonstrated
that aggressive pricing policies in this economic environment generate
an outstanding consumer response," Baker said.
Still, Snow Leopard's strong initial performance is unlikely to have
much of an impact on Apple's bottom line in the current third quarter,
according to Piper Jaffray, which is maintaining an "overweight" rating
and $186 price target for Apple's stock.
"According to NPD data, Snow Leopard has outsold Leopard two to one, but
since it is one-fourth the price, it is half the revenue event that
Leopard was," said Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Murphy. "It should still
provide a slight tailwind to margins in the quarter, but in the end it's
still a relatively minor product for Apple with a minor financial impact
on the business."
Piper Jaffray also has analyzed NPD's retail data for domestic Mac sales
during the first two months of the third quarter. The numbers show a
seven percent rise in Mac sales, which led the firm's analysts to
project unit shipments of 2.75 million to 2.8 million versus a Street
consensus of about 2.75 million for the current quarter.
"This data, along with our assumptions for the last month of the
quarter, implies year-over-year Mac unit growth of five percent to seven
percent - a slight upside to the Street's forecast of five percent
year-over-year growth, Piper Jaffray's analysts said.
Some industry observers had considered Snow Leopard to be less
feature-focused than Apple's Leopard or Tiger releases. But Baker noted
that the ease of upgrading to Snow Leopard, together with its affordable
pricing, made it "a win-win for Apple computer owners - thus helping to
push sales to record numbers."
However, upgrading to Snow Leopard is not without potential pitfalls.
Earlier this month, Sophos warned Mac users that they could be exposed
to security threats they thought had been patched when upgrading to Snow
Leopard.
According to the IT security and data protection firm, Snow Leopard
discreetly - and without the user's permission - downgrades to an
insecure version of Adobe Flash that leaves users exposed to a raft of
potential attacks and exploits. Graham Cluley, a senior technology
consultant at the security firm, is urging Mac users who have upgraded
to Snow Leopard to verify that they are running the current version of
Adobe Flash. If not, they should update it immediately "as a matter of
priority," he said.
"In many ways, Adobe is 'the new Microsoft' when it comes to security
vulnerabilities, with hackers targeting its code looking for ways to
infect users," Cluley observed. "That's deeply concerning because it is
so widely used by many Internet users, whether on Mac or PC."
Mac users who have been diligent about keeping their security up to date
don't deserve to be silently downgraded, Cluley said.
"It's vital, therefore, that users ensure they are running the latest
version - and that, in the future, operating-system manufacturers do
not reduce their customers' level of security without warning," Cluley said.
Microsoft To Offer Windows 7 for $29.99 to Students
Microsoft will offer Windows 7 for just $29.99, the company said via a
post on Twitter.
The tweet refers users to Win741.com, which offers a number of Microsoft
Silverlight-encoded videos promoting Windows 7. In one, the Lenovo Y650
IdeaPad is mentioned, but there are no other details listed.
A Microsoft FAQ identified by a Microsoft spokesman, however, identified
this Web site as the official offer, where students can sign up and find
out of they're eligible for the offer.
Students can only buy one copy of either Windows Home or Windows
Professional, and only via download; a backup DVD can also be ordered.
The difference, as the FAQ notes, is that Windows Professional can join
a domain, as some schools require to access hosted applications or
remote media streaming.
If a school participates in MSDNAA, a global academic program designed
specifically for academic labs, faculty, and students studying in areas
of computer science, engineering, and information systems, Microsoft's
Windows 7 can be downloaded for free.
Microsoft has offered some of its technical software for free to
students, although the company generally discounts flagship programs,
like Office. Other Microsoft discounts for students are available at this
page.
Facebook to Let Users Log In With Vanity URLs
How was this not a feature before? Facebook on Friday announced that
members will be able to log into the site using their usernames, or
vanity URLs, instead of e-mail addresses.
The new log-in feature works for the Web and mobile versions of the
site, as well as any Facebook Connect-enabled sites, Facebook said in a
blog post. For those who really like typing the @ sign into fields, the
e-mail address log-in is still enabled on the site.
Facebook vanity URLs date back to June, when the social networking site
announced that users could select usernames that would appear at the end
of their URL. Rather than a series of numbers, users could choose their
own name, like Facebook.com/brianheater.
The sign-up process went live at 12:01am on June 13. More than 200,000
usernames were snapped up in the first three minutes, and 500,000 names
were gone after 15 minutes, Facebook said. By the end of the weekend,
Facebook logged 5.75 million usernames.
FCC To Unveil Open Internet Rules
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will
unveil in a speech on Monday new proposals that would force Internet
providers to treat the flow of content equally, sources familiar with
the speech said on Friday.
The concept, referred to as net neutrality, pits open Internet companies
like Google Inc against broadband service providers like AT&T Inc,
Verizon Communications Inc, and Comcast Corp, which oppose new rules
governing network management.
Advocates of net neutrality say Internet service providers must be
barred from blocking or slowing traffic based on content.
Providers say the increasing volume of bandwidth-hogging services like
video sharing requires active management of their networks and some
argue that net neutrality could stifle innovation.
"He is going to announce rulemaking," said one source familiar with his
speech about broadband, to be delivered at the Brookings Institution, a
public policy think tank. "The commission will have to codify into new
regulations the principle of nondiscrimination."
The FCC could formally propose the rules aimed at applying to wireless
and landline platforms at an open meeting in October.
Government Review: No Privacy Problems in Cyber Security
The Justice Department has concluded that a beefed-up surveillance program
that monitors federal employees' Internet traffic does not violate their
rights or those of private citizens who communicate with them.
But the review of the Einstein 2 program was limited and leaves
important questions unanswered, said the vice president of an Internet
freedom watchdog group.
Einstein 2 is a second-generation automated program designed to detect
cyber attacks on government computer networks.
The review, completed last month and released Friday, said the system
addresses potential privacy concerns by warning employees when they log
in that their communications may be monitored.
Such warnings "eliminate federal employees' legitimate expectations of
privacy" on government computers, acting Assistant Attorney General
David J. Barron wrote.
The review reaches the same conclusion as a study undertaken by the
Justice Department during the Bush administration.
Jim Dempsey, vice president for public policy at the Center for
Democracy and Technology, said his group agrees with the report's
conclusion, as far as it goes.
"If you send an e-mail to the government, you can't complain that they
read it," Dempsey said, after reviewing the two reports.
But the memos do not address how Einstein works in practice, including
whether it also monitors communications between private parties and if
so, what it does with any information it collects, Dempsey said.
"Those questions haven't been fully answered and they deserve to be," he
said.
The memos also do not deal with the next generation program, Einstein 3,
which is intended to both detect and stop cyber attacks against
government computers.
New Phishing Attack Chats up Victims
With many who bank online now wary of phishing attacks, criminals are
adding fake live-chat support windows to their Web sites to make them
seem more real.
RSA Security spotted the first ever of these "chat-in-the-middle" attacks
in the past few hours, according to Sean Brady, a manager with the
security company's identity protection and verification group.
The phishers send e-mails that direct victims to a fake Web page
designed to look like a banking site. That's a standard technique, but
what's different in this case is that the phishing site comes with a
fake online chat option, so that scammers can talk directly with their
victims.
After the crooks prompt victims for their credentials, they pop up a
browser window designed to look like a chat session from the bank's
fraud department. Then, via chat, they ask for even more information,
including the victim's name, phone number and e-mail address.
The phishers used the open-source Jabber chat software, Brady said.
The attacks target a single U.S. bank, which Brady declined to name. But
he said there's a good chance the technique will become more widespread.
"If this person has any measure of success, I would anticipate that
there will either be copycats or the fraudster will do this again with
other institutions," Brady said.
Microsoft Files Lawsuits Against "Malvertisers"
Microsoft Corp on Thursday filed five civil lawsuits in Seattle,
Washington against alleged "malvertisers."
Malvertising is the term used to describe harmful online advertising and
works by camouflaging malicious code as harmless online advertisements,
Microsoft's associate general counsel Tim Cranton wrote in a blog.
"The lawsuits allege that individuals using the business names "Soft
Solutions," "Direct Ad," "qiweroqw.com," "ITmeter Inc" and "ote2008.info"
used malvertisements to distribute malicious software or present
deceptive websites that peddled scareware to unsuspecting Internet
users," he said.
Cranton added that names of specific individuals behind these activities
were not known and the lawsuits were being filed to help uncover the
people responsible.
Hands On with Tripwi.re, An Email Burglar Alarm
Is anyone reading your e-mail? How would you know, and how soon would
you know once they started reading it? Tripwi.re thinks it can help you
answer all of these questions and it does it through just a little bit of
subterfuge.
Billed as a "burglar alarm for your mailbox," Tripwi.re is an online
service that, with your help, can set up a honey pot in your e-mail box
of choice. A honey pot is, as you might guess, something that looks
awfully enticing on the outside, but could be a trap (or worse) on the
inside. In this case, the trap is set by Tripwi.re in your inbox, in the
form of yummy e-mail that 1) appears to have been sent to you by
yourself and 2) has the subject line of "my password". Better yet,
inside is a user name and password ostensibly for this and other sites
you use.
Ah, but wait, that's not real. The e-mail is generated by Tripwi.re and
deposited in your mailbox. When someone opens it, likely someone
snooping around in your mail looking for good stuff - like passwords -
Tripwi.re sends a text message to your phone alerting you to the
intrusion.
I made my way through the jargony and slightly confusing sign-up (the
FAQ clears up most issues). The service works as advertised, but since
some cellular phone service providers SMS systems are unbearably slow;
there can be quite a lag between when the intruder gets your "fake"
stuff and when you learn about it. The good news is that that the
username and password are useless. The bad news is someone is inside
your email! Which means you probably have bigger problems.
Tripwi.re costs $19 a year for basic services and $99 for premium
services that include tracking down the hacker. There's also a $199 a
year small business plan.
China, Russia 'Aggressive' in Cyberspace
China and Russia are "aggressive" players in cyberspace, the US
intelligence chief said Tuesday as a report identified enhancing
cybersecurity as a national priority.
The 2009 National Intelligence Strategy (NIS), a four-year blueprint for
the intelligence community, "elevates the importance of the challenges
we face in the cyber domain," Director of National Intelligence Dennis
Blair said.
The NIS did not point to any particular country as a cyber threat, but
Blair, speaking to reporters as the report was released singled out
China and Russia.
"China is very aggressive in the cyberworld," he told reporters. "So is
Russia and others."
The NIS warned that "foreign entities, including state and non-state
actors, violent extremist groups, cyber intruders, and criminal
organizations, are increasingly undermining US interests in myriad and
growing ways.
"Globalization of the marketplace and the openness of modern information
networks have enabled our adversaries? goals," the report said.
"At the tactical level, they are intent on penetrating our critical
infrastructure, information systems, and leading industries," it said.
The report recommended that counter-intelligence measures be employed
"across the cyber domain to protect critical infrastructure."
Among the missions of the intelligence community should be to
"understand, detect, and counter adversary cyber threats to enable
protection of the nation?s information infrastructure," the NIS said.
Warning that the Internet is "neither secure nor resilient," it said
"nation states and non-governmental entities are compromising, stealing,
changing, or destroying information, and have the potential to undermine
national confidence in the information systems upon which our economy
and national security rests."
It recommended cyber expertise be extended throughout the intelligence
community "as well as with allied intelligence services, industry, and
the academic community" and that steps be taken to protect US
infrastructure.
The report said the "explosive growth" in the volume of data posed
challenges in itself and US intelligence needs to improve its ability to
"'sense data' and our capabilities to 'make sense of data.'"
"History proves that riding the leading edge of technology is critical
to the (intelligence community's) ability to deliver better
intelligence," it said.
Burglar Checks Facebook During Raid, Gets Busted
"OMG LOLZ brkin into sum1s house!"
That might've been the Facebook status update left by Jonathan G. Parker,
19, as he was inside the Martinsburg, West Virginia house he was robbing.
Yes, you read that right. Parker was *inside the house*, checked his
Facebook profile, and left his account open on the victim's computer
before fleeing. He was wicked hard to catch.
Parker entered through a bedroom window and ransacked two diamond rings
worth more than $3500. The victim's computer was in the same room as the
rings, so maybe after he was through Googling "best escape routes,"
Parker bopped onto his Facebook page. The victim also noticed that she
and Parker had a mutual friend who later confessed to assisting with the
crime.
I understand that Facebook is magically delicious, total HTML crack, but
c'mon--you can wait until you get home to see if your Boston friend is
making dumplings for dinner again or your Philly pal is watching movies
with her cat. Now Parker faces between one and 10 years in prison.
That's a long time to go without the glowing allure of Facebook.
Website Offers Emails From Beyond The Grave
The fear of dying suddenly, without the chance to mend wrongs or say
goodbye, has prompted an Australian entrepreneur to start a website
where people can contact loved ones from beyond the grave.
Peter Ingram, a security systems retailer, watched as within just two
weeks of being diagnosed with a brain tumour an aunt lost her ability to
speak, write, or even smile.
She was 100 percent conscious and able to understand what was happening
around her, but remained silent until her death, taking her secrets,
thanks and regrets to the grave.
"I'd known her for 20 years and to me that was devastating," said Ingram.
Ingram recently launched Australia's first virtual time-capsule site,
FromBeyond2u.com, where the living can leave videos, photographs and
documents to be sent out to loved ones after death.
For one dollar a week users can store their "cherished digital memories"
and programme farewell messages for the time of their death and on fixed
dates such as birthdays or anniversaries into the future.
"It's not a new concept, leaving things, letters for people, videos,
messages, but the Internet has changed what we can do with it," Ingram
told AFP. "You can keep in touch today, tomorrow and beyond."
Subscribers can write their own eulogy and create a multimedia tribute
for use at their funeral, and bequeath their photo and video files.
Whilst living, they can use the site as a place to store and share their
files with friends and family all over the world. A certificate with an
activation code in the event of death is given to every user to be left
with their will or next of kin.
Part social-networking hub, part memoir project, FromBeyond2u is one of
just a handful of such sites worldwide, and its appeal lies in creating
"everlasting love" for generations to come, Ingram says.
It could, of course, have less savoury applications, he said.
"I had a radio station ask me the other day 'What if people leave nasty
messages? Maybe I want to tell my mother-in-law for the next 10 years
that I didn't like her,'" Ingram said.
"I guess she can change her email address if you keep on badgering her
with emails, but that's not what it's about."
People could also use the future messages service to posthumously speak
to a mistress or spill their darkest secrets, knowing they wouldn't have
to deal with the consequences, he added.
"That's none of my business, you can do whatever you want," he laughed.
Ingram said he had already accumulated plenty of embarrassing footage of
his "angelic" son on the site in preparation for his 21st birthday
celebrations.
"This is you chucking a tantrum, this is you when you're nine years old
telling me you'll always love me, even when you're a teenager," he joked.
"Hopefully at his 21st I will have 12 or 13 years of backed-up photos
and memories and hopefully I'll be there. But if I do kick the bucket
they'll all be there for him," added Ingram.
Users could also leave more obscure instructions they might overlook in
a legal will, such as where they kept their motorcycle keys or hid
precious things, he said.
Far from being morbid or narcissistic, Ingram believes the site
encourages sharing with family and community.
"I think the number one (aim is) definitely sharing the love with loved
ones and being there for them, and not to be forgotten, that's a fear of
mine," he said.
FromBeyond2u website <https://www.frombeyond2u.com/>
=~=~=~=
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