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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 14 Issue 15
Volume 14, Issue 15 Atari Online News, Etc. April 13, 2012
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2012
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 #1415 04/13/12
~ Jack Tramiel, Passes! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Flashback Trojan Hits!
~ XP Support for Two More ~ Netscape Bought, Partly ~ Wii U Coming Soon!
~ Global Cyber Arms Race ~ Xbox Security Problem! ~ ICANN Has A Glitch!
~ Tweeted Photo Mistrial! ~ Betty White on Twitter! ~ Pirates and Politics!
-* AOL and Microsoft Patent Deal *-
-* Wozniak Fears Patent War Fallout! *-
-* China Web Giants Promise To Fight Rumors! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Well, hoping that I won't bring any bad luck to myself by mentioning it,
there were no personal tragic events over this past week! One could say
that we've seen enough to last us for quite some time, but there's never
a guarantee in life. So, I'll be satisfied that it's been a relatively
quiet week!
Quiet, but not devoid of activity. We've been trying to move forward and
help my in-laws move forward with their lives. That means getting all
kinds of paperwork filed and replaced to get back to some semblance of
normal again. We've been looking for a new residence, and much more.
And, at the same time, I'm still working on getting things straightened
out with my father's estate. Lots of paperwork and red tape; it's a
daunting task, but something that needs doing. Never a dull moment...
Well, it's pretty much all over but the weeping - Mitt Romney will likely
become the GOP presidential candidate for the upcoming election. It will
be interesting to see if the Republican Party can get unified to put
together a strong campaign. I'm not sure that it can, but we'll all have
to wait and see. I can say that this will be an ugly, negative campaign
from both sides. The script almost writes itself.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Who Is Jack Tramiel? Home Computer Pioneer's Legacy
Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International and former CEO of Atari
International, died on Sunday at the age of 83. He was surrounded by
family at the time of his passing, according to Forbes.
Famous for saying that computers should be built "for masses, not the
classes," Tramiel played an important role in the early days of personal
computing and video gaming, as his company introduced a line of powerful
but affordable home computers, including the popular Commodore 64. The
latter became the best-selling home computer of all time, with an
estimated 20 to 30 million units sold, though Tramiel wasn't one to
brag. In fact, he was most content when not in the spotlight.
In an interview with CNET in 2007, Tramiel said, "I'm quite happy if
people do not know me." However, it's hard not to know a man whose
contributions and life story are so unforgettable.
Born in Lodz, Poland on December 13, 1928, Tramiel's family was sent to
the Auschwitz concentration camp shortly after Germany's invasion of
Poland during World War II. While his mother remained at Auschwitz,
Tramiel and his father were later moved to the Ahlem labor camp near
Hanover, where he remained until he was rescued by American forces in
April 1945.
Tramiel then emigrated to the United States in November 1947 and learned
to fix typewriters during his stint with the Army, which led to him
opening a office machinery repair shop in the Bronx in 1953 called the
Commodore Portable Typewriter.
Soon, the company, which went public in 1962, went from building
typewriters to calculators and finally to computers, starting with the
Commodore PET in 1977 and then peaking with the best-selling Commodore 64,
which debuted in January 1982.
Two years later, Tramiel resigned from Commodore, and took a brief break
from the computing industry. However, he returned in July 1984 when he
bought the consumer division of Atari, which was going through tough times
as a result of the video game crash of 1983. Tramiel remained at Atari
till 1996 and oversaw a number of products, including the Atari ST,
before selling the company to the JTS Corporation.
As much as Tramiel had an impact on the computing industry and personal
technology, it appears he also had a direct impact on the people who
worked for him. Bil Herd, who was employed by Commodore from 1983 to 1986,
told CNET he traveled all the way across the country to see his former
boss one more time for the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64. Of his
time at the company, Herd said, "You learned not to give excuses. You
learned to just get it done."
A sentiment that was echoed by Tramiel at the same event. "The computer
business today is different than it was in 1975," said Tramiel. "In some
ways it's good, and in some ways it's bad. But the important part is that
we all work hard to bring it to the way it is, and people say, 'How can
you live without a computer?' which is wonderful."
Tramiel is survived by his wife Helen, three sons Gary, Sam, and Leonard,
and their extended families.
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Wii U Coming in November!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Alleged Xbox Security Problem!
GameStop Will Warn Consumers!
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->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
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Wii U Coming November 18
Correspondence received by WiiUDaily and IGN indicates that Nintendo's
Wii U home console is heading for a mid-November debut.
The console is designed to work with old Wii games and controllers as well
as software designed for the Wii U's new tablet-style interface.
WiiUDaily's leaked launch date is supposed to have come by way of
Japanese retail store Media Land, with an internal memo detailing a
Sunday, November 18 launch in North America and November 25 debut for
Japan.
IGN's information claims to hail from a GameStop Regional Manager, and
again pegs the Wii U for a November 18 release in North America at
least.
The date ties in with previous North American launches for the Wii
(November 19, 2006) and GameCube (November 18, 2001). Though the Wii U's
European plans are not mentioned, the regional launch for the Wii began
December 8, 2006.
Nintendo formally confirmed the Wii U at the Electronic Entertainment Expo
in June 2011 and is expected to lay out plans for its 2012 release at this
year's event.
Rumors are already starting to fly about Microsoft and Sony's rival
consoles, thought likely to arrive in 2013, though the two manufacturers
may prefer to push the hands-free Kinect and portable Vita during this
year's presentations.
Microsoft Probing Alleged Xbox Security Problem
Microsoft is investigating findings by researchers that its Xbox 360
gaming console permanently stores credit card numbers on its hard drive
creating a potential security vulnerability for card holders.
"We are conducting a thorough investigation into the researchers'
claims," Jim Alkove, general manager of Microsoft's security of
interactive entertainment business, said in a statement published at
Joystiq.
"We have requested information that will allow us to investigate the
console in question and have still not received the information needed to
replicate the researchers' claims," he added.
The alleged security flaw was revealed by researchers at Drexel and Dakota
State universities. The team purchased a refurbished Xbox and used a
commonly available software tool to burrow into the file system on the
gaming console. It took some sweat equity, but the researchers eventually
pried loose the credit card information for the original owner of the
Xbox.
"Microsoft does a great job of protecting their proprietary information,
but they don't do a great job of protecting the user's data," Ashley
Podhradsky, a researcher who helped find the alleged vulnerability, told
Kotaku, a gaming website.
The researchers, who include Rob D'Ovidio and Cindy Casey, of Drexel, and
Pat Engebretson, of Dakota State, released their findings last August, but
it wasn't until stories about their research began appearing on the
Internet last week that Microsoft took action on the matter.
Microsoft discounted the researchers' findings. "Xbox is not designed to
store credit card data locally on the console, and as such seems unlikely
credit card data was recovered by the method described," Alkove stated.
"Additionally," he continued, "when Microsoft refurbishes used consoles
we have processes in place to wipe the local hard drives of any other user
data. We can assure Xbox owners we take the privacy and security of their
personal data very seriously."
In an abstract of their findings, the researchers explained that gaming
consoles, just like PCs need proper sanitization processes to help fight
identity theft. "[Y] ou cannot simply throw away a computer that has your
personal data on it without some sort of sanitization process; gaming
consoles are no different," they wrote. "Simply returning your console
back to 'factory state' will not do the trick."
"In this research paper the authors aim to bring awareness to the gaming
public, researchers and practitioners that improperly discarding used
consoles without proper sanitization practices can inadvertently release
personal data which can result in identity theft," they added.
When retiring an old Xbox, the researchers recommend physically removing
the HD from the console and running a software sanitizer on the drive.
When selecting a tool, they added, it is important to select one that
emphasizes patterns in write fill in addition to passes. "This is
imperative to making sure that slack and unallocated space is
overwritten," they wrote.
GameStop Will Warn Consumers About Online Fees
Games buyers visiting GameStop stores in California will soon see signs
warning them of the likelihood of additional publisher fees for
downloadable content for used games.
Today, a class settlement was reached forcing the retailer to post signs
in its California stores for the next two years. GameStop is also
required to reimburse certain consumers who paid for used games without
realizing there would be extra fees for online play.
The lawsuit was instigated in March 2010, soon after a gamer, James
Collins, bought a used copy of Dragon Age: Origins from a GameStop store
in Hayward, California. Collins paid $55 for the game, $5 less than a
brand new copy, only to realize he had to pay more to access online
features which would have come as standard with a new game.
Mark Pifko, Baron and Budd attorney and counsel in the lawsuit said, "We
are pleased that as a result of this lawsuit, we were able to obtain
complete restitution for consumers, with actual money paid out to people
who were harmed by GameStop's conduct."
He added, "The in-store and online warnings are an important benefit under
the settlement as well, because if GameStop discloses the truth to
consumers, it is unlikely that they will be able to continue selling used
copies of certain games for only $5 less than the price of a new copy. In
fact, we already know that not long after the lawsuit was filed, GameStop
lowered prices for used copies of many of the game titles identified in
the lawsuit."
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Global Cyber Arms Race Engulfing Web
A global cyber arms race is engulfing the Internet and the best way to
counter the rapidly escalating threat is combining the efforts of U.S.
agencies, private firms and international allies, cyber security
officials said on Tuesday.
Cyber experts from across the U.S. government, speaking at a conference
at Georgetown University, said organized crime, espionage and security
activity on the Internet pose a rising threat to U.S. intellectual
property, military superiority and critical infrastructure.
"What we're looking at is a global cyber arms race," said Rear Admiral
Samuel Cox, director of intelligence at U.S. Cyber Command, which was set
up 18 months ago to protect Pentagon computer networks and conduct
offensive cyber operations if the president orders them.
"It's not proceeding at a leisurely or even a linear fashion but in fact
is accelerating. I wouldn't claim that it's following Moore's law, but the
curve looks kind of similar," he said, referring to a computer industry
rule of thumb that computer processing power doubles every couple of
years.
Howard Schmidt, cyber security coordinator at the White House, said more
than $8 trillion worth of transactions were carried over wired and
wireless networks each year.
"This is not just a national security issue," he told the conference.
"It's a national security, public safety as well as economic."
Officials said the most effective way to counter the threat is to adopt an
approach that promotes collaboration among government agencies and reaches
out to private industry as well as international partners.
"To really operate effectively in cyberspace ... it's really a team
sport," said Steven Schleien, the principal director for cyber policy at
the Pentagon.
That's why the Defense Department has been working with private companies
and allies like NATO, Japan and South Korea to discuss information
sharing and coordinated responses to incidents on the Internet, he said.
NATO wants to bring all of the civilian and military networks in the
organization under the wing of the NATO Computer Incident Response
Capability by the end of 2012, which would allow a coordinated response
to cyber attacks.
The United States has begun discussions on cyber security with Japan,
South Korea and New Zealand, and is working closely with the Britain and
Australia on a "full spectrum" of cooperation in cyberspace, Schleien
said.
The United States does not view arms control treaties as a means of
dealing with the problem but would like to see the international
community agree on norms of behavior for cyberspace, he said.
"This is not an area where arms control works. I don't know what we would
monitor. I don't know how we would verify anything in terms of cyber
weapons or cyber tools," Schleien said.
Discussions on norms of behavior would begin to address the issue of how
to fight proxies who carry out Internet attacks on behalf of governments,
and "hactivists," who attack computer networks for their own political
ends.
"How do you deal with hactivists from your soil?" Schleien asked. "Are you
responsible as a sovereign nation for what comes out of your country?"
The issues are sensitive and complex. A U.S. nonprofit group, for example,
concluded Russian civilians acting with advance notice of Russian military
intentions carried out cyber attacks in the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict.
Some websites used to organize those attacks were hosted in the United
States.
China Web Giants Promise To Fight "Rumors"
Three of China's largest Internet companies have promised the government
they will take steps to banish online rumors, state media said on Tuesday,
as the ruling Communist Party fights jitters over a tricky leadership
transition.
A dispatch by the official Xinhua news agency made no mention of rumors
of a foiled coup in Beijing that spread on the Internet in past weeks,
after the abrupt ousting of Bo Xilai, a contender for a spot in the new
central leadership to be unveiled at a party congress later this year.
But the article was the latest in a series carried by state media
lambasting online rumors and those who spread them.
The March 15 ouster of Bo as party chief of the inland city of Chongqing,
linked to a scandal involving a senior aide, has shaken the party ahead
of the leadership changes.
After Bo was sacked, popular microblogs, including those run by Sina Corp.
and Tencent Holdings Ltd, were awash with speculation about a coup.
Xinhua said that both companies, along with top search engine Baidu Inc,
would "resolutely support and cooperate with relevant government
departments in measures to fight and clear up online rumors".
They would also "earnestly fulfill their responsibility to society, follow
the law, increase management of the Internet and adopt effective measures"
to guard against rumors.
While the coup rumors were unfounded, their spread and the tightening of
Internet controls and warnings to ignore such talk have reflected worries
about stability after Bo's fall.
Last week, China's top military newspaper told troops to ignore online
rumors.
And in late March, authorities shut 16 Chinese websites and detained six
people accused of spreading rumors about unusual military movements and
security in the capital.
The rumors fed on speculation about the ousting of Bo over a month after
his vice mayor, Wang Lijun, fled to a U.S. consulate, triggering a scandal
exposing accusations of infighting and abuses of power.
Apple Founder Fears Patent War Fallout
The man who co-founded Apple - the worlds most valuable company - in the
garage of Steve Jobs parents, fears the torrent of intellectual property
lawsuits being filed by companies such as Apple, Samsung, Google, HTC and
Nokia could prevent future entrepreneurs from treading a path to
technology fortune.
Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Steve Wozniak says most big
technology companies are not truly innovative, and that start-ups looking
to make technology devices face the prospect of spending large chunks of
their scarce capital on buying up previously unused patents.
"I care so much about the young person that has some technical knowledge
and wants to start their own business," Wozniak says.
"Companies like Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo! all started by new
thinkers with new ideas. Now, with this big patent situation, there are
certain categories that are heavily blocked off because the big companies
make sure they own it all."
Wozniak says he experienced the frustration caused by unused patents when
he designed the breakthrough Apple II computer, launched in 1977.
Having designed a system to translate letters into dots that could be put
on a screen, he discovered a company called RCA already had a patent on
it.
"Only a huge company with vast sums of money could have afforded to do the
research when they did, because you couldnt make an affordable product
that used that technology at the time," Wozniak says.
"We actually wound up paying them two bucks for every computer we shipped
just for that simple idea .?.?. That sort of thing is going to crop up
over and over = very simple ideas that the big companies with big money
are going to own, and the small guy who starts up is going to have to
pay."
Wozniak says that, while a growing number of technology specialists think
the patent system should be scrapped, he still believes it is essential
to encourage young inventors who aspire to do something new.
He can appreciate the argument that Apple has now come to represent to
todays entrepreneurs what RCA was to him, but Wozniak believes Apples
record for continued innovation means it is less guilty than any of the
other large tech firms.
"Apple is the good guy on the block of all of them," he says. "It is
creating so much and is so successful and it is not just following the
formulas of other companies - [Apple is] totally establishing new markets
that didnt exist."
While hardly an impartial observer, Wozniaks view that Apple is a
company that stands apart from the rest of the market is one that is
increasingly convincing the cynical investment community.
Two analyst firms in the United States predicted last week that Apple
shares, which are now $US633.68, could top $US1000 in the near future,
making it the worlds first trillion-dollar company.
Wozniak spoke about the possibility of Apple stock reaching $US1000
earlier this year to Bloomberg, but admits he is no financial expert.
However, he says that the unique eco-system that Apple has built around
digital content and retail is the reason that investment specialists are
so buoyant about the company. "The retail process is owned by Apple, the
application is owned by Apple, the operating system is owned by Apple and
the hardware is Apples," he says.
"Apple has managed to create this entire world that all the products fit
in to .?.?. there is no other company in the world that has these
benefits."
Wozniak cites Hewlett-Packard as the opposite, "a big, successful company
with so many different departments making servers, PCs and printers, but
they are stuck with an operating system that isnt under their control.
For [HP} to build up the entire structure that Apple has would take them
so long that Apple has a huge lead on everybody".
Apple has been in the unusual position of nursing an image problem in
recent weeks. Concerns about working conditions in its Chinese factories
caused new chief executive Tim Cook to make a flying visit to Foxconn,
while misleading labelling of the new iPad as 4G-compatible in Australia
led to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission taking the
company to court.
Wozniak says the 4G issue is one brought about by the lack of a global
standard definition. "I use 4G wireless as it stands in the US on my iPad,
but that is still not nearly as fast as 3G in Turkey, for example. If you
go to different parts of the word you are surprised at what is considered
3G."
He is confident about Apples prospects post-Steve Jobs but feels that the
jury is still out on the ability of Tim Cook to drive the company forward.
"It is hard to judge yet because Apple products still look like they did
under Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs has stamped his mark on products that are
three years in the queue," Wozniak says. "I want to see the special
touches [under Cook], not just an iteration to the iPad 3."
A number of influential technology industry figures say that future will
play out in a "post-PC era", where desktop computers become obsolete.
Having made his fortune building PCs, Wozniak still believes in their
viability, alongside more fashionable devices. "Although we are moving
towards a very mobile world, I think there is going to be room for PCs
for quite a long time still," he says.
"For some work like audio or visual editing, you need the complete machine
and [a] larger screen. The mobile device is great for most of the things
we do with our computer - but not everything."
AOL and Microsoft Announce $1.056 Billion Patent Deal
AOL Inc. announced that the Company has entered into a definitive
agreement to sell over 800 of its patents and their related patent
applications to Microsoft Corporation and to grant Microsoft a
non-exclusive license to its retained patent portfolio for aggregate
proceeds of $1.056 billion in cash.
"We continue to hold a valuable patent portfolio as highlighted by
the license we entered into with Microsoft. The combined sale and
licensing arrangement unlocks current dollar value for our
shareholders and enables AOL to continue to aggressively execute on
our strategy to create long-term shareholder value."
Following the sale, AOL will continue to hold a significant patent
portfolio of over 300 patents and patent applications spanning core and
strategic technologies, including advertising, search, content
generation/management, social networking, mapping, multimedia/streaming,
and security among others. AOL also received a license to the patents
being sold to Microsoft.
The patent sale includes the sale of the stock of an AOL subsidiary upon
which AOL expects to record a capital loss for tax purposes and as a
result, cash taxes in connection with the sale should be immaterial.
Additionally, AOL expects to utilize approximately $40 million of its
existing deferred tax assets, representing approximately 20 percent of
its total deferred tax assets, to offset any ordinary income taxes
resulting from the license of its remaining patent portfolio.
AOL management and its Board of Directors intend to return a significant
portion of the sale proceeds to shareholders and will determine the most
efficient and effective method to do so prior to the closing of the
transaction. Pro forma for the sale and license, as of December 31,
2011, AOL would have had approximately $15 per share of cash on hand.
"The agreement with Microsoft represents the culmination of a robust
auction process for our patent portfolio," said Tim Armstrong, AOLs
Chairman and CEO. "We continue to hold a valuable patent portfolio as
highlighted by the license we entered into with Microsoft. The combined
sale and licensing arrangement unlocks current dollar value for our
shareholders and enables AOL to continue to aggressively execute on our
strategy to create long-term shareholder value."
"This is a valuable portfolio that we have been following for years and
analyzing in detail for several months," said Brad Smith, General
Counsel and Executive Vice President, Legal and Corporate Affairs,
Microsoft. "AOL ran a competitive auction and by participating,
Microsoft was able to achieve our two primary goals: obtaining a durable
license to the full AOL portfolio and ownership of certain patents that
complement our existing portfolio."
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, upon the
satisfaction of customary conditions and regulatory approvals, including
expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.
Attention Marc Andreessen: Microsoft Just Bought (Part of) Netscape
Heres a deal that would have made many minds explode back in the 1990s:
Microsoft is buying Netscape. Or at least most of the important parts of
the company that used to be synonymous with 'Internet.'
Thats a side component of the $1 billion patent sale that AOL and
Microsoft announced this morning. As part of the transaction, AOL announced
that it was selling off "stock of an AOL subsidiary" at a loss, in a move
thats supposed to reduce its overall tax bill.
AOL didnt disclose the name of that subsidiary in its press release,
but a person familiar with the transaction has clued me in: Its Netscape.
Microsoft will buy the underlying patents for the old browser, but AOL
will hang on to the brand and the related Netscape businesses, which
make up a grab bag of stuff these days: An ISP, a brand name, etc.
All of which probably makes sense on someones ledger books. But the
transaction may still make a few heads spin, at least for people who
remember Internet history and/or have access to Wikipedia.
Two Years Left of Windows XP Support
All support for Windows XP and Office 2003 will end in two years as of
this past Sunday. Mainstream support for two other entities ends this week
however. Mainstream support for Windows Vista will end on Tuesday 10th
April, and for Office 2007, today.
Microsoft divides its support lifecycle into two stages: "Mainstream" and
"Extended." In the Mainstream phase, software receives the full range of
free security updates, stability improvements, bug fixes, and occasional
new features. In the Extended phase, only security updates are freely
available, though companies with paid support contracts can receive other
fixes.
Windows XP and Office 2003 are currently in Extended support. Once this
ends in 2014, they'll cease receiving even security updates, leaving anyone
still using that software vulnerable to whatever malware the Internet
throws at them.
Windows Vista and Office 2007 will be in Extended support from now until
April 2017.
Update: For some reason Office 2007 has now had its Mainstream support
extended for another six months, and will enter Extended support in
October.
Mistrial After Photo Sent from Kansas Courtroom
A Kansas judge declared a mistrial in a murder trial Wednesday after a
newspaper reporter tweeted a photo that included the grainy profile of a
juror.
The Shawnee County district attorney's office said it plans to reschedule
Austin Tabor's trial for June or July after the abrupt halt to proceedings
in Topeka one day after attorneys presented opening statements.
"One of the photos apparently showed one or more of the jurors," said Lee
McGowan, spokesman for the district attorney's office. "It was brought to
the court's attention and ultimately a mistrial was declared."
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Tabor, 20, is accused of shooting and
killing Matthew Mitchell, 20, near Topeka West High School in 2010.
McGowan said the judge had agreed to allow camera phones in the courtroom,
but said no photos were to be taken of jurors. That corresponds with rules
established by the Kansas Supreme Court for cameras in courtrooms,
including that individual jurors are not to be photographed.
"In courtrooms where photography is impossible without including the jury
as part of the unavoidable background, the photography is permitted, but
close-ups which identify individual jurors are not permitted," the court
has said.
The picture, taken and tweeted by reporter Ann Marie Bush, includes the
profile of a juror set against a brightly lit window.
Capital-Journal managing editor Tomari Quinn responded to comments on the
newspaper's website by saying the photo was a mistake and the "reporter is
miserable about it."
"The juror was seated next to a window and, on the reporter's smartphone,
wasn't seen against the incoming light," Quinn wrote.
Publisher Gregg Ireland said the reporter was aware of the rules.
"The Capital-Journal regrets the error and loss of the court's time," he
said. "We will use this as a training opportunity for our staff members as
they strive to bring information to our readers in digital and print
media."
A hearing to reschedule the trial is set for Thursday.
Flashback Trojan Has Infected Over Half A Million Macs
We don't normally report on security issues, especially not when they
occur on Mac OS X. So far, the security issues on the Mac can barely be
labelled as such, and really don't deserve a lot of attention. Now,
however, it would appear we're looking at the first successful widespread
malware infection on Mac OS X. Not a bad track record for an eleven year
old operating system, by the way.
There's a trojan called Flashback rummaging around the web, which can
infect a Mac without the need for a root password. Earlier this week, a
Russian antivirus company (little red flag going up) claimed over half a
million Macs were infected by the Trojan, creating a pretty sizeable
botnet. Some perspective: relatively speaking, this botnet is similar in
size to Conficker (both infecting about 1% of the installed base).
Just a single antivirus company making such claims is not something that
piques my interest. Antivirus companies tend to be pretty sleazy, and they
like nothing more than making a threat look bigger than it really is
because, hey, what do you know, their antivirus product stops this
particular super-dangerous cat-killing virustrojanmalwarething.
We now have a second source corroborating the figures. Kaspersky Labs
(yup, another antivirus company) confirmed the figures in their own
independent investigation into the matter.
"We reverse engineered the first domain generation algorithm and used the
current date, 06.04.2012, to generate and register a domain name,
'krymbrjasnof.com'. After domain registration, we were able to log
requests from the bots. Since every request from the bot contains its
unique hardware UUID, we were able to calculate the number of active
bots," Kaspersky's Igor Soumenkov writes, "Our logs indicate that a total
of 600000+ unique bots connected to our server in less than 24 hours.
They used a total of 620000+ external IP addresses. More than 50% of the
bots connected from the United States."
In fact, according to the earlier investigation, 274 unique IP addresses
came from... Cupertino.
The trojan uses a security hole in Java, which Oracle patched in February
2012; Apple didn't send out a patch until a few days ago. Get this patch
and install it, because if the investigations are correct, Mac users are
actually running a risk this time. If you're afraid you might be one of
those ~600000, Ars has a detailed guide on how to check your machine, and
if necessary, how to remove it.
Since Apple does not ship Java by default any more, I'm guessing these are
mostly older machines and machines that haven't been updated to the latest
release (and Minecraft players). So, especially if you belong in either of
those groups, it might not hurt to give your machine a check-up.
Now, we're looking at data from security firms, so I'm still a little bit
sceptical. However, I'm risking the "You're anti-Apple!!1!!!"-crap because
it's looking more and more like this is an actual serious issue. Do with
it as you please.
".Oops": Glitch Forces Extension for New Suffixes
You're probably familiar with ".com" and ".org." How about ".oops"?
A technical glitch forced the abrupt shutdown of a system for letting
companies and organizations propose new Internet domain name suffixes. The
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which is in charge of
domain names, said some private data may have been exposed.
ICANN has been taking applications for new suffixes to join ".com" and
others in use. Up to 1,000 domain name suffixes could be added each year
in the most sweeping change to the domain name system since its creation
in the 1980s.
The idea is to let Las Vegas hotels, casinos and other attractions
congregate around ".Vegas," or a company such as Canon Inc. draw customers
to "cameras.Canon" or "printers.Canon." The new system will also make
Chinese, Japanese and Swahili versions of ".com" possible.
The application deadline had been Thursday, but ICANN decided to shut the
system down early after discovering the glitch. The system will reopen
Tuesday, and the deadline has been extended to next Friday.
ICANN said the software glitch "allowed a limited number of users to view
some other users' file names and user names in certain scenarios." It
wasn't immediately clear whether that included proprietary information on
the names of the bidders and their proposed suffixes. ICANN officials
said Friday they had no immediate comment beyond the posted statement.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we took the system offline to protect
applicant data," Chief Operating Officer Akram Atallah wrote on ICANN's
website. "We are examining how this issue occurred and considering
appropriate steps forward."
The glitch did not affect general availability of the Internet's domain
name system - the databases that let Internet-connected computers know
where to send email and locate websites. It also did not affect the
ability to register new names under existing suffixes.
Rather, the glitch was with the software ICANN had set up to take
applications for new suffixes.
After several years of discussion, ICANN opened a three-month application
window in January. Names of bidders and proposed suffixes were to remain
confidential until April 30, when ICANN had been scheduled to release the
list for public comments and objections. It's not clear whether that date
will be changed because of the deadline extension.
The delay shouldn't have a major effect on the availability of new
suffixes, as the new names wouldn't appear in general use until at least
next spring anyhow.
German Pirate Party Overtakes Greens
Germany's upstart Pirate Party has overtaken the Greens to become the
third strongest political grouping in the country, according to a new
poll.
The survey by Forsa for broadcaster RTL showed support for the Pirates,
whose platform is based on internet freedom and more direct participation
in politics, pushing up to 13 percent and outstripping the Greens for the
first time.
An off-shoot of a party that was founded in Sweden six years ago, the
German Pirates came out of nowhere last September to win seats in the city
government in Berlin.
At first dismissed as a passing fad by the established parties, the
Pirates followed up their success in Berlin with a strong showing in the
state of Saarland last month and now look on track to make it into
regional assemblies in two other states - North Rhine-Westphalia and
Schleswig Holstein - next month.
Their rise has thrown the Greens in particular onto the defensive,
threatening their hold on younger voters disillusioned with the two big
parties - the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD) - that
have dominated post-war politics in Germany.
The Greens, who rose to prominence in the 1980s on a pacifist,
anti-nuclear platform, are now struggling to differentiate themselves from
the big established parties after CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel dropped her
support for nuclear power last year following the Fukushima disaster in
Japan.
"For many young people, the Greens have become an old party. The
anti-nuclear theme just doesn't lure voters like it used to," said Manfred
Guellner, director of Forsa.
The poll showed the Greens on 11 percent, just half the levels they were
scoring last year in the immediate aftermath of Fukushima. The SPD stood
at 24 percent and the far-left Left party on 8 percent.
The survey showed the Free Democrats (FDP), a business-friendly party
whose support has collapsed over the past year amid policy missteps and
infighting, back at the 5 percent level needed to enter parliament for
the first time in nearly a year.
The FDP, junior partners to Merkel's CDU in the federal government in
Berlin, may have lured back some traditional free-market supporters with
their recent decision to veto state aid for sacked employees of bankrupt
drug store firm Schlecker.
The return of the FDP above the 5 percent threshold and the rise of the
Pirates has raised the prospect of six party groupings - the CDU/CSU, SPD,
Pirates, Greens, Left and FDP - regularly making it into German
parliaments at the state and national level.
That would further complicate coalition-building and could increase the
likelihood of so-called "grand coalitions" of the CDU and SPD being
formed.
Merkel presided over such a coalition during her first term between 2005
and 2009, and a similar partnership of the center-right and center-left is
seen by many as the most likely outcome of the next federal vote in 2013.
The Forsa survey put Merkel's CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the
Christian Social Union (CSU), on a combined 36 percent.
At 90 Years Young, Betty White Joins Twitter
Betty White has just raised the average age of the Twitter community
considerably.
The "Golden Girls" icon, who turned 90 years young in January, launched
her official Twitter account Tuesday, offering an adoring public a glimpse
into the still-spry actress' fertile mind, 140 characters at a time.
The actress's maiden tweet was a typical bit of witticism (or is that
White-icism?) designed to enchant and delight the masses.
"Hello Twitter! And they said it would never happen. Oh wait, that was
me," White cracked.
White's second tweet, about 45 minutes later, was more mercenary than
whimsical, consisting of a plug for her geriatric hidden-camera show,
"Betty White's Off Their Rockers."
"My new show 'Betty White's Off Their Rockers' airs 8 PM tomorrow on
NBC... I'm new at this... ;)," White wrote.
New, and yet already so, so savvy at it, apparently...
Welcome to the Twitterverse, Ms. White. Just take a lesson from Anthony
Weiner and remember that tweeting racy photos is probably not a wise idea.
=~=~=~=
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