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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 12 Issue 42
Volume 12, Issue 42 Atari Online News, Etc. October 15, 2010
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2010
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:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1242 10/15/10
~ Oz PM Backs Web Filter ~ People Are Talking! ~ New Firefox Trojan!
~ New Norton 360 in Beta ~ Oracle Pledges Support! ~ Star Raiders Revival!
~ US Still #1 in Botnets ~ MS Scared of OpenOffice ~ Keyed Laptop Lock!
~ Yahoo Buyout Rumors! ~ Webcam Spy Case Settled ~ New Mac OS Coming?
-* MS Looks to Courts vs Botnets *-
-* UK Hit by 1000 Cyber Attacks Monthly *-
-* MS Releases Biggest-Ever Security Update! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Unless you've been living in a cave (pun intended) for the past couple of
months, the best "touchy-feely" news of the day is recovery of the miners
that were trapped in a collapsed mine in Chile for over two months. It's
truly amazing that these miners were located, alive, over a half mile
below the surface of the earth - and freed, one at a time. To watch some
of those miners getting out of the "capsule" in such great condition was
awe-inspiring. With all of the tragedies and negative news permeating the
airwaves lately, this rescue effort was certainly something to witness.
I'm sure that we'll hear more details of the entire ordeal over the next
few months, and will continue to be amazes. And yes, there will certainly
be a book or three; and you just know that a movie will be in the works.
But, this is the type of story that warrants such endeavors. While I hope
that all of these miners' lives return to some normalcy, you have to
wonder what their lives will be like moving forward. Hopefully, the world
will soon let them have time to recover and resume their lives. What a
great story!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho, friends and neighbors. Well, I guess the big news all over the
world is those Chilean miners. Hey, it IS amazing that they've all been
saved, and it's a great story.
Imagine being stuck underground for more than 2 months in 90 degree heat
without enough food, water or light. And imagine being alive after those
70 or so days and waiting your turn to be shuttled up to the surface again.
All in all, it's an amazing story. And, if I understand it correctly, one
of the reasons that the miners ended up safe was because it was a copper
mine, not a coal mine. With coal, there's always (I guess) a lot of
poisonous and/or flammable gas. It's the nature of the beast. With copper
and other metals, there can still be pockets of gas and such, but it's much
less likely to be the problem it is with coal.
Of course, it's a source of national pride for Chile, of personal pride
for the miner and their families and friends, and for everyone who helped
out in the rescue operation.
I guess there's more I could say about the Chilean miners, but is there
really anything I can tell you that you haven't already heard a dozen
times? Yeah, I didn't think so.
So what else to talk about...
Oh, how about that newly discovered planet, Gliese 581g? Now here's a big
story, right? A world "about" the size of the earth, circling around a
star only about six trillion miles from us. That's about 20 light years;
in our own back yard, by cosmic standards. We'll talk a little bit more
about the importance of shorter distances in a bit.
Now, the discoverers of this new world figure that the planet has
somewhere between three and four times the mass of the earth, so it's
probably a rocky, or 'terrestrial' planet like the Earth, Mars, Venus and
Mercury. Most people who seem to know what they're talking about figure
that after a certain size, a planet's gravity will accumulate debris and
gas floating around in space and form a thick, almost liquid atmosphere
like Jupiter and Saturn or even larger to become a brown dwarf. So if
Gliese 581g is 3 to 4 times the mass of the Earth (that's MASS, not
radius), it's large enough to keep an atmosphere but small enough that
it's not going to become a gas giant.
Now the reason that I emphasized that this planet is 3 to 4 times the MASS
of the Earth bears some explanation for a pretty good reason. If we take
for granted that this planet is composed of the same stuff that the Earth
is, it would have the same mass if it were the same SIZE as the Earth. But
that's not the case here. Let's say that the the planet weighs in on the
low side at 'only' 3 times the mass of the Earth. Now that doesn't mean
that it would be three times the radius of the Earth.
Let's say that Gliese 581g has three times the mass of the Earth. That
doesn't mean that it'll be three times the radius of the Earth. If
everything else was equal, it'd only be about about a third 'bigger' than
the Earth. This becomes important for another reason... Gravity.
Most people think of gravity as being "in effect" at the surface of the
Earth... on the ground. But the fact is that gravity is "in effect" right
from the center of gravity itself. If you're talking about just the Earth,
then its right at the very center of the Earth that gravity 'starts'.
This has some interesting implications which we should think about. The
'strength' of gravity decreases by the inverse square of the distance from
the center of gravity. Without doing all the math (never my strong suit),
gravity on a planet that's about 3 times the mass of the earth, which
would be about a third larger from "side to side", would be a little less
than three times Earth's gravity. Still formidable, but it's not
impossible to imagine. A 100 pound person would weight a little bit less
than 300 pounds if standing on this newly discovered world.
Now, Gliese 581g orbits its star much closer than the Earth orbits the
sun. Instead of taking a year to make one complete orbit like the Earth
does, Gliese 581g takes about 37 days. If the Earth was that close to the
sun (about half the distance from the sun to the planet Mercury), the
oceans would have boiled off, the atmosphere burned away, and it would be
a barren rock. But since its star is a red dwarf start; a smaller, dimmer,
cooler star than the sun, this distance is right in the "Goldilocks Zone".
It's not too cold, and not too hot.
But there's one slight problem with a planet being this close to its star:
It becomes 'tidally locked'... one side of the planet will always face the
star, one side will always be in darkness.
It's the same as our moon. It rotates at the same rate as it orbits its
mutual center of gravity with the Earth, so the same side is always facing
us. By the way, there is no 'dark side' of the moon. What we think of as
the dark side actually gets more sun than "our" side, since the Earth's
shadow blocks some of the sunlight when it's between the sun and moon.
So we have a large planet that could possibly have an atmosphere and
liquid water, but is tidally locked. Does this mean that one side is too
hot and the other too cold? It might. But it could also be that the
atmosphere would transfer heat from the day side to the night side or that
the 'fringes' of the day side could be 'just right'. We'll have to wait to
see.
Now the most interesting thing here is that the planet is 'only' 20 light
years from Earth. That means that if we sent a radio signal to it, it
would take 20 years to reach it. If there were indeed intelligent beings
with the technology to send and receive radio signals, and if they could
decode ours and reply, it would 'only' take 40 years to find out.
Of course, no one is holding out much hope for that, but it might make us
wonder about other worlds around other planets about the same distance
away.
Ah, but there's yet another twist when dealing with Gliese 581g... it
might not even be there! Another team of scientists have looked at some of
the data and have said that they don't see evidence for a planet 'g' at
all!
I guess time will tell. At this point I'm not even sure that we could
prove that the EARTH exists or, if it does, that there's intelligent life
there. [grin]
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 - 'Medal of Honor' Hits Stores!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Atari Revives Star Raiders!
'Ironclad' Gaming Mouse Mat!
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
'Medal of Honor' Hits Stores, Takes Battle to Afghanistan
Electronic Arts's highly anticipated "Medal of Honor" hit stores on
Tuesday, with the newest version of the popular video game set in war-torn
Afghanistan.
The latest release is the first time that the 11-year-old, first-person
shooter game has left its traditional World War II setting.
"'Medal of Honor' is an authentic look into today's war," said Greg
Goodrich, the game's executive producer, said earlier this year. "Inspired
by real people and real events, the game puts players in the boots of
today's warrior, from the infantry ground pounder to the Tier 1 Operator."
EA said "unprecedented access to the U.S. Army," added to its realistic
nature, but it was almost too real for some players. Days ago, EA ditched
plans to include a "Taliban" option in multi-player mode. Instead, players
can choose to side with either American forces or the renamed "Opposing
Force." The move came about a month after the game was banned from 49
Gamestop locations and all Post Exchanges on U.S. military bases worldwide
due to the Taliban feature. Goodrich said in a blog post that EA got rid
of the Taliban option out of respect for American soldiers and their
families.
Former lawyer and video game violence activist Jack Thompson also tried
to block the sale of the game. In a September letter to Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates, Thompson said that the game shouldn't be sold "on
the basis that it poses a demonstrable danger to our troops by providing a
training tool for those who wish to kill them."
Despite the flack, the Afghanistan-based edition of the game saw the
highest pre-orders in its history. It is available now for $59.95 for Xbox
360, Playstation 3, and the PC.
Atari Revives Star Raiders News
Decades-old shoot 'em up Star Raiders is set to get a modern makeover,
publisher Atari has announced.
A handful of grey-haired gamers might remember the original first-person
space shooter, which launched on the Atari 2600 in 1979. Yes, they made
videogames back then.
The remake is being handled by Incinerator Studios, whose credits include
Disney tie-in Cars.
Incinerator president Joel Goodman told Gamespot, "It isn't often that a
developer gets to work with a genre-defining intellectual property, and
Star Raiders is just that. Great games such as X-Wing and Wing Commander
were influenced by this Atari classic.
"The original game had great tension when you warped into a sector not
knowing what you would be facing, and at times you were immediately thrown
into combat. Having to manage the flow of the game from the Galactic Map
was a very unique and exciting experience."
Atari senior producer Jonathan Moses went on to say that this isn't the
only retro update the publisher has in the pipeline.
"You're going to be seeing more of this from Atari in the near future.
Along with some exciting new IP that we're working with, we're not
ignoring our history. We're bringing back some of the classics in a way
that makes them relevant now."
"It's an exciting time for Atari," he added.
A release date for Star Raiders has not yet been confirmed, but you'll be
able to play it on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Razer Announces 'Ironclad' Gaming Mouse Mat
Razer, a gaming peripheral manufacturer, announced its 'Ironclad' mouse
mat - built to enhance your mouse's gliding capabilities.
The Ironclad is a metallic, specifically anodized aluminum gaming mat
with a sandblasted surface that Razer claims makes for a smoother
navigating and overall gaming experience. The mat accommodates for wide,
sweeping motions with its 12.6 by 10.63 by 0.09-inch (LWH) dimensions.
Its base is made of rubber for stability and prevents the mat from
moving during gaming sessions. The Ironclad also comes with a carrying
case for portability to LAN parties. The case is also lined with foam
and has a hard outer shell to protect it during accidental drops and
spills.
The Razer Ironclad comes in white and has no decoration except for the
Razer insignia. It's currently available from Razer's online store for
$59.99.
Non-Retail Video Game Sales Hit $2.9 Billion
U.S. consumers spent up to $2.9 billion buying video games through mobile
phones, social networks, downloads and subscriptions in the first half of
the year, research firm NPD said on Friday.
The study marks the first time that NPD has released non-traditional
video game sales figures and provides evidence that consumer spending on
video games is 40 percent larger than it previously believed.
It estimated that non-traditional sales are at least $2.6 billion and as
high as $2.9 billion, NPD said. The figures include used video game sales.
The move is, in part, defensive. NPD tracks and publishes monthly data
on video game store sales, and has taken flak from video game executives
for failing to account for new and increasingly popular ways of buying
games.
NPD's retail sales numbers have been less than pleasing to companies
that make a living in the video game world. The research firm on
Thursday reported that sales of video game software and equipment fell 8
percent in September.
Software sales fell 6 percent to $614 to million while hardware sales
tumbled 19 percent to $383 million.
"This is an industry that is going through some pretty serious dramatic
changes to its business model," said David McQuillan, NPD's games
president. "We have to change along with them to properly reflect the
overall trends going on within the market."
Many customers are buying games through downloads or by visiting online
social networks to play games offered by companies such as Zynga.
Apple Inc's iPhone has also become a major gaming platform, with users
buying games through the App Store.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Microsoft Releases Biggest-Ever Security Update
Microsoft released its largest-ever set of security patches Tuesday, fixing
a total of 49 bugs in products such as Windows, Internet Explorer and
Office.
There are 16 groups of patches (called updates) in total. Microsoft says
that two of them - the Internet Explorer fix numbered MS10-071 and a
Windows patch numbered MS10-076 - should get top priority. Microsoft thinks
attack code is likely to be developed that will target bugs fixed by both
of those updates.
NCircle Director of Security Operations Andrew Storms agrees that those two
updates should be a top priority as they could be leveraged in a drive-by
Internet attack. In this common type of attack, a hacker tricks the victim
into visiting a Web page that takes advantage of the bug to install a
malicious program on the victim's machine.
The MS10-71 update fixes 10 Internet Explorer bugs. Two are rated critical,
meaning they could be used in a drive-by. The MS10-076 update fixes a single
critical flaw in the Windows Embedded OpenType (EOT) Font Engine, used by
Internet Explorer. The latest versions of Windows include a security
technology called ASLR (address space layout randomization) which makes it
harder to exploit that type of bug, Microsoft believes attackers are likely
to develop attacks for older versions of the operating system such as
Windows XP.
The two other top-rated updates are MS10-077, a fix for a bug in Microsoft's
.Net Framework that affects 64-bit systems, and MS10-075, which fixes a
critical flaw in the Microsoft Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service,
used by Windows to share music files and other media over the network. This
service is turned on by default with Windows 7 Home Edition, but a hacker
would have to first be on the local network to launch an attack, Microsoft
said.
Just because the other fixes are not rated critical does not mean they
can be ignored. Symantec says 35 of the 49 bugs fixed on Tuesday could
give hackers a way to run unauthorized software on a victim's machines,
and Microsoft says attacks are likely to be developed that exploit some
of the lower-rated issues as well.
In fact, one of Tuesday's updates - MS10-073; rated important by Microsoft
- fixes a Windows XP bug that was leveraged by the creators of the Stuxent
worm. Stuxnet is the first publicly known worm built to attack industrial
systems and it has made headlines during the past weeks amidst speculation
that it was designed to target nuclear systems in Iran.
UK Says It Gets Hit by 1,000 Cyber Attacks Monthly
British government computer networks are targeted by some 1,000 attacks a
month, one of the country's top spies said in comments published Wednesday,
adding that officials may consider investing in using cyberwarfare
techniques to deter their online enemies.
GCHQ Director Iain Lobban told an audience of officials and academics in
London that malicious software aimed at the U.K. had already caused
significant disruption to the government's systems and that security
officials were tracking the theft of intellectual property "on a massive
scale."
"Cyberspace is contested every day, every hour, every minute, every
second," Lobban said. "I can vouch for that from the displays in our own
operations center of minute-by-minute cyber attempts to penetrate systems
around the world."
Lobban described cyber security as an issue that "goes to the heart of our
economic well-being and national interest" and made a catalog of warnings:
* He said there were more than 20,000 malicious e-mails on government
networks each month 1,000 of them deliberately targeted.
* He said that one country, which he did not identify, had used cyber
attacks on another in an attempt to coerce it.
* Online tax systems across Europe had been targeted by cybercriminals.
* The threat to the country's critical infrastructure was "real and
credible."
* E-crime was costing the British economy billions of pounds.
Lobban said that authorities were exploring a range of new options,
including setting up a direct feed of information from infrastructure
operators "so that we are aware of the attacks that they are seeing on
their systems as they happen."
He also said government officials should also consider how to react to
countries which deliberately attack Britain's electronic backbone - and
whether "it may be possible to use military cyber capabilities for
deterrent effect."
Still, he cautioned that there was no parallel to the paradigm of
"Mutually Assured Destruction," the notion that nuclear-armed nations
would not dare launch atomic attacks against each other for fear of
provoking a devastating reaction. Cyber attacks, he said, took place
"every day."
Lobban was speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies
on Tuesday. The text of his speech has since been posted to the think
tank's website.
Microsoft Will Look to Courts for Botnet Takedowns
Microsoft has seen a dramatic drop in the number of computers infected
with Waledac, a piece of malicious software affiliated with a botnet
that was once responsible for a massive amount of spam.
In the second quarter of this year, the company cleaned only 29,816
computers infected with Waledac, down from 83,580 computers in the first
quarter of the year. Microsoft published the statistic in its latest
biannual Security Intelligence Report released on Wednesday.
The drop in the number of infected machines shows the success of the
legal action Microsoft took earlier in the year, said Adrienne Hall,
general manager for Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group.
Waledac was used to send spam and infect computers with fake antivirus
software. It used a complicated peer-to-peer system to communicate with
other infected machines.
Microsoft's legal moves against Waledac were unprecedented. The company
was granted a rare ex parte temporary restraining order (TRO) to shut
down malicious domain names that Waledac's controllers used to
communicate with infected machines.
Going to court "gives you a blanket way to put on notice that you are
going to look into the perpetrators," Hall said.
An ex parte TRO allows for an activity to be halted without notice to
the bad actor and without granting that person a court hearing. In the
case of Waledac, it meant that if the domain names were suddenly shut
down, the botnet's operators wouldn't have much time to register new
domains for their bots to call on to get new instructions.
Federal courts are reluctant to issue those kinds of orders because it
may violate defendants' right to due process, according to Microsoft's
report. But courts will grant an ex parte TRO if a judge is convinced
the defendants may quickly reorganize and continue their bad activity.
Microsoft was able to get two of those orders.
In other civil summons documents, Microsoft named 27 "John Does" who had
registered the bad domains, which the company said provided the court
"with an identifiable target for legal service while protecting the
registrants' due process rights."
But most of the 276 domains used to control Waledac were registered
through registrars in China. In another sign of Microsoft's diligence,
the company researched how to craft an application for an ex parte TRO
that also complied with Chinese law. It also researched how to serve
those defendants in compliance with international treaties.
The international domain name registrants were served through the Hague
Convention on Service Abroad, and all of the documents were sent to
China's Ministry of Justice in addition to being published on a specific
Web site.
The domains were shut down within 48 hours after the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the order. Last month, the
court held a hearing on entering a default judgement against the
unidentified defendants and transferring control of the domains to
Microsoft. The company said in its report that a permanent injunction is
pending.
"We think this has effectively dealt a blow to Waledac," Hall said.
While lawyers worked on the legal side, technical experts also attacked
Waledac. Microsoft marshalled a team of computer security researchers
who infiltrated Waledac's peer-to-peer control system. Once inside the
botnet, they commanded infected machines to report to their own servers,
cutting the cybercriminals off from their own botnet.
But while Waledac was stung, it still lives. The botnet comes in at No.
23 of the 25 most-detected botnet families, according to Microsoft's
report, showing that even after extensive legal and technical efforts,
botnets are difficult foes.
USA Is Still #1 In Botnets
We may not make a lot of things in the USA anymore, but we still lead the
world in botnets by a large margin according to volume 9 of Microsoft's
Security Intelligence Report, covering January through June of this year.
The main focus of the report is on botnets and Microsoft sees them as the
core platform of malware, the engine that makes the Internet criminal
enterprise run. And botmasters are getting more sophisticated: While we
have historically thought of different kinds of malware (worms, trojans,
spyware) separately, they are bring used together in bots. You might see
password stealers used in addition to an IRCbot, for example.
But the bigger news is that this reports confirms some already established
trends of decline in several negative factors: Software vulnerabilities,
industry-wide, continue to decline in numbers, but remain at high levels.
Microsoft doesn't speculate about it, but I think the high numbers are due
at least as much to large amounts of talent and money going into white hat
research.
This being Microsoft, they have data on how much we're updating Windows
and their other software, and the news there is good too. Consistent
monthly use of Windows Update and other automated Microsoft update
mechanisms (e.g. WSUS or Windows Software Update Services) is up
substantially. These users should be far better protected against attack.
It's likely that this phenomenon is due to increased adoption of Windows 7
and, to a lesser extent, Vista, both of which make Windows Update and
automatic application of updates the default behavior rather than a strong
suggestion, as in XP SP3. The increased use of Windows Update also means
more widespread runs of the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool,
which runs each time you run Windows Update. This month Microsoft added
the Zeus trojan to the list of threats cleaned by the MSRT, which should
deal a serious blow to a major botnet already in decline. The percentage
of Vista systems needing an MSRT cleaning was 1/5 that of XP SP3 systems,
and the percentage of Windows 7 systems 1/2 of Vista's.
Another major theme of the report is that malware is a world-wide
phenomenon and problem and that any serious improvement in the situation
will have to have an international basis. You can't just solve it in the
US. Microsoft also repeats here their discussion of progress in collective
defense and a "public health" model for Internet security.
Norton 360 Version 5 Enters Beta Testing
Symantec on Tuesday launched the free public beta test of Norton 360
version 5. The updated Norton 360 will incorporate all of the security
enhancements introduced with Norton Internet Security 2011, but will also
feature a redesigned user interface, faster tune-up, and a "revamped user
backup experience."
Dan Nadir, Symantec's senior director of product management for consumer
security, stated that the online backup component will have lower system
impact, enhanced performance, and better communications with the user.
He noted that the average amount of disk space for backup is growing
right up to the 2GB limit.
"I used to say it's like a safe deposit box," said Nadir. "They store the
really important stuff in case a fire burns up the PC and local backup. But
people are doing more now."
Nadir reported a steady growth in the amount of data backed up per user
and a smaller growth in average file size. He explained that in order to
avoid open file problems Norton makes a copy of each file and backs up
from the copy. "We've tweaked that for version 5 to use less resources.
Backing up more data naturally takes longer, so we added better
communication about backup status," he said.
Symantec's own research shows that the PC tune-up feature is more popular
than expected. "We thought they would have rated backup more important,"
said Nadir, "but in fact they put tune-up above backup."
Users want a faster tune-up experience that helps them squeeze out every
ounce of performance; version 5 will improve tune-up.
In conjunction with the Norton 360 beta, Symantec is releasing version
1.5 of Norton Power Eraser to its own separate beta test. Norton Power
Eraser is a free tool designed to remove scareware and other persistent
malware that may interfere with installation of ordinary security
software. The most significant addition in version 1.5 is the ability to
fine-tune detection by querying the huge Norton Insight online database.
Norton 360 version 5 beta is available now at www.norton.com/n360v5beta.
Find Norton Power Eraser at http://security.symantec.com/nbrt/npe.asp.
PCMag will evaluate and review Norton 360 after its release, expected
this spring.
Comodo: 'We Beat Norton!'
Three weeks ago Comodo Security Solutions threw down the gauntlet.
Responding to a Symantec product manager publicly who stated that free
antivirus solutions can't protect as well as "more mature paid suites",
Comodo chief executive Melih Abdulhayoglu challenged Symantec to an
independent test to verify whether Comodo or Norton can protect users
better.
Symantec reasonably responded that many independent tests already exist,
and that Norton products are evaluated in almost all of them. Symantec
suggested Comodo simply participate in those same tests.
Comodo immediately commissioned an evaluation by well-regarded testing
lab AV-Test.org. The test measured each product's ability to prevent
infestation by 30 brand-new zero-day threats. Comodo reports that their
free antivirus scored 100 percent for "overall detection and protection"
while Norton scored just 90 percent. "Not only are we as good," said
Abdulhayoglu, "we're better at protecting the computer from completely
new viruses and malware and it's FREE." A Comodo PR representative
stated, "At this point, Comodo expects a public apology from Symantec".
A closer look at the detailed results reveals that there's more to the
story. The test shows that both Comodo and Norton detected and warned
about 100 percent of the threats, though Norton got just 90 percent for
the "Overall Detection and Blocking Rate". Comodo didn't mention that
for the "Overall Detection, Blocking and Removal (Cleaning) Rate" their
product scored 53 percent to Norton's 80 percent.
Symantec's response pointed up the mixed nature of the test's results. "We
are pleased to see that Norton detected a perfect 100 percent of threats
[and] far outperformed the competitor in the comprehensive test, which
proves whether a product can detect, block and remove threats Norton helps
keep the system running clean, versus the competition which leaves a much
higher percentage of malware on a user's system."
Symantec called into doubt the results of the false positive test, in
which both products caused no false positive detections at all. "False
positives can be a problem with programs that are overly aggressive in
their attempt to achieve very high detection rates. Even though we
received a perfect score of zero false positives in this test, Norton
recommends and has excelled in real world testing with a larger sample
of legitimate applications that are balanced between popular, average
and more unique applications."
Participation in the full range of independent lab tests can be expensive,
especially when the product in question is free, but Comodo's presence in
standard independent lab tests is slowly growing. Virus Bulletin included
Comodo Antivirus 5.0 in their latest round of testing (though it did not
achieve VB100 status).
Symantec's experts are reserving further comment until they've had the
opportunity to review the test and its methodology in full. As things
stand it doesn't seem likely Comodo will receive the requested public
apology.
Trojan Forces Firefox to Save Your Passwords
A Firefox Trojan has been found to force the Internet browser to save
user passwords and then use those passwords to create a new user account
on the infected computer.
Most security researchers recommend that users tell Firefox not to
remember their passwords, since saved ones are so easily extracted by
malware.
The Trojan-PWS-Nslog malware discovered by security company Webroot,
however, gets around user preferences altogether by actually deactivating
the Firefox code that asks if it should save those passwords when the user
logs into a secure site.
"Before the infection, a default installation of Firefox 3.6.10 would
prompt the user after the user clicks the Log In button on a Web page,
asking whether he or she wants to save the password," Webroot researcher
Andrew Brandt explained in a blog post on Wednesday. "After the infection,
the browser simply saves all login
credentials locally, and doesn't prompt the user."
Specifically, the Trojan adds a few lines of code and "comments out" other
portions of code from the Firefox file called nsLoginManagerPrompter.js,
with the result that all passwords get saved locally without any input
from the user.
With that information, the Trojan creates a new account under the name
"Maestro" on the infected computer. It then "scrapes information from
the registry, from the so-called Protected Storage area used by IE to
store passwords, and from Firefox's own password storage, and tries to
pass the stolen information onward, once per minute," Brandt added.
The Web domain intended to receive the stolen data has already been shut
down, but code inside the malware revealed the author's name and email
address, which led Webroot to a Facebook page for a hacker based in Iran
who provides a free keylogger creator tool targeting users of Microsoft
Windows.
Webroot can easily identify and remove the Trojan from infected machines,
it says. To fix the modified Firefox file, users should download the latest
Firefox installer and install it over the existing installation. No
bookmarks or add-ons will be lost in the process, Brandt said.
Mozilla's Firefox ranks second in global browser market share, according
to Net Applications, with 23 percent of the browser market in September.
The first beta release of Firefox 4 for Android phones just debuted this
week.
By default, Firefox does remember passwords. To tell it not to, go to
the Tools menu and select Options. From there, open the Security tab and
uncheck the appropriate box, Webroot advises.
Kensington Releases ClickSafe Keyed Laptop Lock
Kensington, a manufacturer of computer peripheral solutions, has announced
a new laptop lock, the ClickSafe, to protect your PC from theft.
The ClickSafe utilizes your laptop's case slot to place a metal anchor and
lock the Kensington security device in place. Most laptops do have case
slots, it's just a matter of finding them. One laptop that, unfortunately,
doesn't have one is the MacBook Air.
Before you snap the ClickSafe in place with the anchor you will have to
tether it to a table, chair, or other secure piece of furniture. This
device won't prevent people from otherwise viewing your files or even
severing the carbon reinforced cable (61 inches), but it will deter or
even slow down those who would try to steal your laptop.
I found it useful when going to Starbucks or Barnes & Noble to lock my
laptop to the table, securing it while I retrieved a book or went to the
bathroom. Unlocking the ClickSafe from your laptop requires a key.
Kensington gives you two, but if you lose both without registering
Kensington cannot replace your keys for you.
While a key lock seems more focused on business-end users, Kensington is
planning on releasing a combination lock later next spring.
The Kensington ClickSafe Keyed laptop lock is available now from online
retailers for $49.99.
Oracle Pledges Support for OpenOffice.org
Oracle sought to dispel any doubts about its commitment to OpenOffice.org
on Wednesday, announcing its participation in the ODF Plugfest event in
Brussels this week and talking up future development plans for the open
source productivity suite.
Programmers and testers at the vendor "will continue developing, improving,
and supporting OpenOffice.org as open source, building on the 7.5 million
lines of code already contributed to the community," Oracle said in a
statement. The company welcomes community contributions to the code base,
it adds.
Oracle's announcement follows last month's move by some OpenOffice.org
contributors to create an offshoot version of the suite under the name
LibreOffice.
The group also formed a new organization called the Document Foundation,
which released a "Next Decade Manifesto" on Wednesday. It lays out the
group's philosophical principles, which include the rejection of "office
productivity tools by monopoly suppliers" and the embrace of "an open and
transparent peer-reviewed software development process where technical
excellence is valued."
LibreOffice has support from a number of major vendors, including Google,
Red Hat and Novell.
Last week, the group said a beta of LibreOffice had been downloaded more
than 80,000 times and code contributions had already been made.
The group has said it has no intentions of creating a commercial product
based on LibreOffice, although nothing stands in the way of vendors doing
so.
Oracle itself sells Oracle OpenOffice, a product based on the
OpenOffice.org code base that bundles in additional tools and extensions,
including a Microsoft SharePoint connector.
The Document Foundation, which could not immediately be reached for comment
Wednesday, has invited Oracle to join the organization and donate the
OpenOffice.org brand name. An Oracle spokeswoman declined to comment on the
status of that request.
Why Is Microsoft So Scared of OpenOffice?
Microsoft and its supporters have a long history of applying all kinds
of FUD to any discussion of free and open source software. Whether it's
Linux or other free alternatives to Microsoft's high-priced products, it
seems no conversation can take place without the inevitable insinuations
about higher total cost of ownership, lack of support, and other baseless
fearmongering.
Such claims are, of course, nothing more than deliberately perpetuated
myths designed to scare customers into Redmond's malware-infested arms,
as I recently pointed out.
This week, however, we have a shining new example: A video on YouTube
designed specifically to attack OpenOffice.org.
Could the sweat on Steve Ballmer's brow be any more evident?
It has been clear for some time now that free and open source software
has Microsoft running scared. Last year, for instance, the company made
plain the fact that it was worried about Linux's growing popularity and
the detrimental effect that might have on the Windows empire.
And no wonder: Given the high prices, malware risks, and vendor lock-in
associated with Microsoft's products, it has plenty to fear. Linux blows
Windows away on both the desktop and the server - let's not even mention
Microsoft's mobile track record - and open source productivity
applications are apparently putting a serious dent in Microsoft's bottom
line too.
Why else would the company bother to create this FUD-filled video? Titled
"A Few Perspectives on OpenOffice.org," it features a series of "horror
stories" from customers who tried the open productivity suite and
purportedly suffered as a result.
"We originally installed Linux-based PCs running OpenOffice to save money
in the short term," an unseen voice begins. "But we quickly found that
the exorbitant cost and limited availability of support left us worse
off."
Such concerns, of course, play upon the fourth and eighth myths described
in my recent post on the topic, and are straight out of Microsoft's
standard playbook. They also fly in the face of the fact that OpenOffice.org
has set download records on new releases, and likely accounts for about
10 percent of the overall office suite market today. I guess all those
millions of users are just suffering in silence!
Today, of course, there's not just OpenOffice.org - which Oracle recently
pledged to continue supporting - but also LibreOffice, as well as a number
of other business productivity alternatives. Amid all the increasing
competition, one glaring question emerges: If Microsoft Office is so
superior, better-supported and cheaper, then why the desperate attack
video?
The answer is simple: Microsoft's products aren't superior, better-supported
or cheaper. They're flaw-ridden, vulnerable and expensive, and they lock
your company into a future of more of the same. Isn't it time you tried
something better?
Rumors Have AOL and Equity Partners Circling Yahoo
It's a good time to hold Yahoo shares. The company's stock climbed in
early trading Thursday on rumors that AOL and several equity firms might
buy the Internet giant.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone
Group LP are among the firms that have explored teaming with AOL to buy
Yahoo, or even taking it private. The Journal said two or three other
equity firms may also be interested in a buyout. However, Yahoo has
reportedly not participated in any discussions.
Neither Yahoo, AOL or the known equity firms could immediately be reached
for comment. But the speculation drove up Yahoo's shares more than nine
percent in early Thursday trading. The company's stock has suffered since
it refused a takeover bid from Microsoft in 2008 and continued to lose
search market share to its search partner, Microsoft's Bing.
Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, said the
notion that AOL might try to do what Microsoft couldn't - bring Yahoo into
its corporate structure - is totally speculative. Still, he shared some
thoughts on what could be driving the rumors.
"Yahoo is undervalued and private equity firms want to potentially 'unlock'
that value in several ways, including the sale of some assets, such as
Alibaba," Sterling said. "There's also a scenario in which Yahoo goes
private and gets out from under the glare of the stock market."
Tapping into private equity to exit the market would also reduce Yahoo's
expenses in regulatory filings and perhaps enable the company to make some
moves without tipping its hand to competitors. Yahoo could become leaner
as a private company and reenter the public market stronger.
"An AOL-Yahoo merger - because they're very similar companies - also seems
to make sense on paper and has been discussed before. But there are many
challenges in making that a reality and executing after a merger,"
Sterling said. "But there's a broader sense in the market that Yahoo
hasn't been able to turn around under [CEO Carol] Bartz and that it doesn't
have the momentum it should - hence the vultures are circling."
Yahoo rejected Microsoft's $44.6 billion takeover bid - twice. Microsoft
CEO Steve Ballmer sent what amounted to an ultimatum letter to Yahoo's
board making it clear that Microsoft's goal in making "such a generous
offer" was to create the basis for a speedy and ultimately friendly
transaction.
Many analysts now are saying Yahoo made a colossal mistake in repeatedly
snubbing Microsoft. But would merging with AOL be the right path for
Yahoo? AOL acquired technology blog TechCrunch last month to beef up its
content offerings. Yahoo would bring AOL a large content network to
advertise against. But many analysts think it's unlikely that a merger
would threaten dominant player Google.
Apple Hints at New Mac OS in Invitation to Media
Apple is inviting media to its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters for a
Macintosh computer-related event on Oct. 20.
Apple Inc. is known for its secrecy about upcoming products. The invitation
sent Wednesday offers no concrete details about the products to be
announced. However, it does show an image of Apple's logo opening like a
door to reveal a glimpse of a lion.
That's a clue that Apple plans to introduce a new version of Mac OS X, the
operating system software that runs on the company's desktop and laptop
computers. Apple calls its Mac computer operating system updates by names
of large cats. The most up-to-date version is Snow Leopard. Previous
versions include Leopard, Tiger and Panther.
Australia PM Backs Controversial Web Filter
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Tuesday renewed her backing for a
controversial Internet filter, saying it was driven by a "moral question".
The proposed filter will block access to material such as rape, drug use,
bestiality and child sex abuse, and will be administered by Internet
Service Provider companies.
However, web giants like Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft have slammed the
initiative as setting a precedent for censorship, while cyber-activists
have hit government websites with a targeted hacking campaign.
"My fundamental outlook is this: it is unlawful for me as an adult to go
to a cinema and watch certain sorts of content, it's unlawful and we
believe it to be wrong," Gillard said in a press club address.
"If we accept that then it seems to me that the moral question is not
changed by the medium that the images come through."
The plan, which has also drawn concern from the US State Department, was
put on hold pending a content review in July as national elections loomed.
Angry user groups have launched an online campaign accusing the
government of censorship, likening the proposed system to firewalls
operating in China and Iran.
Concerns have also been raised about the filter's impact on Internet
speeds and the methods through which restricted content would be
determined.
Gillard said how to set up the filter "is more complicated, but the
underpinning moral question is, I think, exactly the same".
A review of what material should be excluded by the filter is expected
to take at least 12 months.
Pennsylvania School District Settles Webcam Spying Case for $610K
A Pennsylvania school district accused of remotely activating webcams on
school-issued laptops has reached a settlement with two students who
sued the district over the breach.
The Lower Merion School District will pay a total of $610,000 to settle
cases filed by students Blake Robbins and Jalil Hassan. The move comes
after the district's insurance carrier, Graphic Arts, agreed to cover
more than $1.2 million in fees and costs associated with the litigation.
At issue are school-issued Mac laptops provided to 2,300 students at
Harriton High School. Unbeknownst to those students and their parents,
the laptops were equipped with tracking software that could remotely
activate the computer's webcam to take photos of the user, as well as
capture screen shots. It was intended as a means to locate lost or
stolen laptops, but was apparently activated in more questionable
circumstances as well.
The tracking software came to light when Robbins, a student at the high
school, was allegedly called into the assistant principal's office and
accused of taking drugs. The evidence was reportedly screen shots of
Robbins from the school-issued laptop that appeared to show him taking
pills. Robbins said he was actually eating candy.
His parents filed suit against the school district in February. Several
months later, Hassan was informed that the software on his computer had
also been activated, capturing 469 pictures from the webcam and 543 screen
shots over the course of several months. Since he was 18, Hassan then
filed his own lawsuit.
The $610,000 deal includes $10,000 for Hassan and a $175,000 payout that
will be placed in a trust for Robbins. The district will also pay
$425,000 in legal fees.
"We believe this settlement enables us to move forward in a way that is
most sensitive to our students, taxpayers and the entire school district
community," board president David Ebby said in a statement.
In late August, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that it would not
bring criminal charges against the district. No one involved in the case
had criminal intent, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said at the time.
"That was an important moment for us; it confirmed the results of an
independent investigation and the District's own initial findings," Ebby
said Monday.
The school district has since apologized and admitted that it should
have informed students and parents about the software. An updated school
policy now requires the district to get a student's permission before
activating the monitoring software.
The district chose to settle because a trial would have been costly and
distracting, Ebby wrote. The district also "wanted to be sensitive to
the welfare of the student involved in the case," though he went on to
essentially say that the lawsuits have been a major waste of taxpayer
dollars.
"I want you to know that had concerns about privacy been brought to the
Board without legal action, they would have been addressed effectively
and immediately as well, without additional costs to taxpayers," Ebby said.
UK Police Force Publishes All Incidents to Twitter
From stolen cars to suspicious smells, one of Britain's biggest police
forces is tweeting every incident it deals with over a 24 hour-period to
prove a point.
The online Twitter campaign aims to show the pressures that police are
under as British officials prepare for deep budget cuts.
"The reality of police work is that although crime is a big part of what we
do, we do much else besides," Chief Constable Peter Fahy of Manchester said
in a message posted to YouTube. "We're very much the agency of last resort,
and a big part of our workload is related to wider social problems of
alcohol, drugs, mental health and people having problems with their
relationships."
The project, which began at 5:00 a.m. Thursday, has already racked up more
than 1,300 different incidents. Among the first tweets: An alert about a
stolen vehicle thought to be headed for Manchester, the arrest of an
aggressive shoplifter, and a report that "a man appears asleep at bus stop."
Greater Manchester Police is one of the country's largest police forces,
responsible for a 500-square-mile (1,300-square-kilometer) area centered
on Manchester, which competes with Birmingham for the title of England's
second city.
Although Manchester has seen some high-profile crimes - including
international terrorism cases - most of Thursday's calls spoke of the daily
grind of police work.
Many tweets covered domestic incidents, traffic accidents, stolen cars and
missing people. There were calls about animals, complaints about a man
urinating against a school wall, and a report of someone smoking on an
incoming flight to Manchester Airport.
There were also dozens of false alarms.
In one incident, officers were sent to a bridge where a man was reportedly
seen dangling a baby over the edge. In fact, he'd been carrying his dog in
his arms because the animal was afraid of bridges.
The Twitter feed was choked with reports of children who had dialed police
while playing with their parents' cell phones, as well as a host of
nuisance calls.
"Confused man reporting his TV not working," one incident report stated.
"Man calls to say locked out of house. Wants police to break in for him,"
another said. One woman called police because a video of her had been
posted to YouTube.
Manchester police said the tweets were being sent by a team of people from
its corporate communications department, along with two force inspectors.
Incidents would not be tweeted if their publication threatened anyone's
safety, a spokeswoman said.
For technical reasons, the police updates were being published across three
different Twitter feeds. The project is to run until 5 a.m. Friday.
=~=~=~=
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