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Welcome to Tech Junkeez - where tech enthusiasts
hang out to get their daily
dose of tech...
Asia
Earthquake Disaster
American Red Cross Disaster Relief |
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More than
150,000 people have lost their lives and millions are left homeless in South Asia
in the aftermath of the earthquake and resulting tsunamis on December 26.
The
American Red Cross reports that emergency assessment and first-aid
teams were on the ground quickly and are already working with local groups to
support relief efforts.
You can help by making a
financial donation to the American Red Cross
using the Amazon Honor System.
100% of donations made
will go to the American Red Cross disaster relief efforts.
Make a Donation |
Learn More
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Top Story of the Day
Major Windows security update foiled
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A Russian
security company claims it found a way to beat a security measure in Microsoft's
Windows XP Service Pack 2, a major update aimed at securing customers' PCs.
The SP2
measure, known as Data Execution Protection, is intended to prevent would-be
attackers from inserting rogue code into a PC's memory and tricking Windows into
running the program. However, in a paper published Friday, Moscow-based Positive
Technologies said two minor mistakes in the implementation of the technology
allow a knowledgeable programmer to sidestep the protection.
The company
notified Microsoft of the problem Dec. 22, but it apparently decided not to wait
for the software giant to patch the flaws.
Neither
Microsoft nor Positive Technologies immediately responded to requests for
comment Friday.
After
several delays, Microsoft began rolling out SP2 in August of last year, at which
time company Chairman Bill Gates called the update "a significant step in
delivering on our goal to help customers make their PCs better isolated and more
resilient in the face of increasingly sophisticated attacks."
News Source
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Other Headlines
 Winamp Squashes Critical Security Bug |
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America
Online Inc.'s Nullsoft unit has quietly rolled out a new version of the popular
Winamp media player to plug multiple critical flaws that put users at risk of
code execution attacks. The fixes were included in Winamp version 5.08c after a
warning was issued last November by private research firm Security-Assessment.com.
The bug was
described as a boundary error in the "IN_CDDA.dll" file which could be exploited
by a malicious hacker using a malformed .m3u file.
"When
hosted on a Web site, these files will be automatically downloaded and opened in
Winamp without any user interaction. This is enough to cause the overflow that
would allow a malicious playlist to overwrite EIP and execute arbitrary code,"
Security-Assessment.com warned.
Read
more...
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Videotape to DVD, made easy |
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Whoever
said "technology marches on" must have been kidding. Technology doesn't march;
it sprints, dashes and zooms.
That
relentless pace renders our storage media obsolete with appalling speed:
5.25-inch floppies, Zip disks or whatever. And with the debut of each new
storage format, millions of important files, photos, music and video have to be
rescued from the last one.
At the
moment, the most urgent conversion concerns videotape, whose signal begins to
deteriorate in as little as 15 years. Rescuing tapes by copying them to fresh
ones isn't an option, because you lose half the picture quality with each
generation. You could play them into a computer for editing and DVD burning, but
that's a months-long project. You could pay a company to transfer them to DVD,
if you can stomach the cost and the possibility that something might happen to
your precious tapes in the mail.
There is,
fortunately, a safe, automated and relatively inexpensive solution to this
problem: the combo VHS-DVD recorder. It looks like a VCR, but it can play or
record both VHS tapes and blank DVD discs, and copy from one to the other, in
either direction. Pressing a couple of buttons begins the process of copying a
VHS tape to a DVD, with very little quality loss. (You can't duplicate
copy-protected tapes or DVDs, of course; only tapes and discs you've recorded
yourself.)
Read
more...
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A 'Genuine' Pain in the Neck |
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It's funny
to read how Microsoft is apparently going ahead with plans to let hackers help
the company battle pirates. What else can you call a program that denies
security fixes to users whose systems haven't been certified "genuine" by
Microsoft? The idea, I think, is for these machines to sit around unprotected
until they eventually become useless under the weight of malware.
That would
presumably happen sometime before the machine would need rebuilding anyway, as
Windows machines just eventually seem to quit, victims of the vile system
registry. The death march is faster if you frequently install and remove
applications, but it seems to happen to every machine eventually. This is the
computing equivalent of how some doctors say that everyone will eventually get
Alzheimer's—if something else doesn't get them first.
Still,
before the unprotected machines became useless, they would likely become public
nuisances, spewing out spam and malware in search of other unprotected machines
or stupid users. That is if the pirates don't find some way around this "Genuine
Microsoft Software" verification program that apparently is fast going down the
road from voluntary to mandatory.
Read
more...
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MyDoom--one year and counting |
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MyDoom
first appeared on January 26 and according to antivirus firm F-Secure, during
its first day the worm generated more than 100 million e-mails, "a major part of
all e-mail traffic globally." During its first two weeks MyDoom hit SCO's Web
site with one of the largest DDoS attacks ever recorded and kept the site
offline for more than a month.
MyDoom,
which was quickly followed by the various Bagle and Netsky variants, indicated
that virus writing had been adopted by underground organizations that are
motivated by money rather than fame, according to Scott Chasin, chief technology
officer at e-mail security specialists MX Logic.
"MyDoom
signaled the end of the juvenile worm author and was the bridge to the
commercialization of virus and worm writing. There has been a global shift away
from the egocentric teenage hacker to the economic-orientated threat. It has
also taught us that there is an underground open-source community that actively
trades in virus-writing techniques," said Chasin.
Adam
Biviano, senior systems engineer at antivirus firm Trend Micro, said that MyDoom
didn’t do anything that antivirus firms had not seen before, but it was far more
efficient than previous worms.
Read
more...
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Microsoft nudges Tablet PCs into the mainstream |
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Some two
years after its introduction, Microsoft is seeking to drive its Tablet PC
technology into the mainstream with lower prices. But some analysts say that
alone won't do the trick -- and not many PC vendors are helping Microsoft's
effort.
Microsoft
and vendors including Toshiba and Acer want to move beyond niche markets, so
they will no longer target Tablet PCs chiefly at mobile professionals and
specific industries such as health care and insurance. This year both Acer and
Toshiba will start selling tablets that are not as thin, light or powerful as
their predecessors, but are up to 25 percent cheaper.
"We're
right on the verge of seeing a lot more competitively priced tablets on the
market," said Robert Williams, director of business development and partner
engineering in Microsoft's Mobile Platforms Division. "This spring you will see
tablets go into retail in the $1,500 to $1,600 price range."
Read
more...
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Regulators tell Microsoft there's plenty in a name |
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Microsoft
has agreed to rename the new slimmed-down version of Windows it's preparing to
release in Europe, after antitrust regulators there balked at the title.
Microsoft
announced last month that it intended to use the name "Windows XP Reduced Media
Edition" for the program, which has, by order of the European Commission, been
stripped of the Media Player that's usually included.
The
Commission was concerned that the name would undermine its order by turning
consumers off to the new version of Windows and prompting them to stay with the
current version, according to reports. So Microsoft is ditching the name and is
now busy coming up with a new one, Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake said
Friday.
Read
more...
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Linux security is a 'myth', claims Microsoft |
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A senior
Microsoft executive, speaking exclusively to vnunet.com, has dismissed Linux's
reputation as a secure platform as a "myth", claiming that the open source
development process creates fundamental security problems.
Nick
McGrath, head of platform strategy for Microsoft in the UK, said that the myths
surrounding the open source operating system are rapidly being exploded, and
that customers are dismissing Linux as too immature to cope with
mission-critical computing.
"The
biggest challenge we need to face centres on the myth and reality. There are
lots of myths out there as to what Linux can do. One myth we see is that Linux
is more secure than Windows. Another is that there are no viruses for Linux,"
said McGrath.
"Who is
accountable for the security of the Linux kernel? Does Red Hat, for example,
take responsibility? It cannot, as it does not produce the Linux kernel. It
produces one distribution of Linux.
Read
more...
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Developer: Firefox 1.1 to be Delayed |
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Firefox
lead engineer turned Google developer Ben Goodger announced on his Web log late
this week that version 1.1 of Firefox will be delayed.
The next
major release of the browser had originally been scheduled for a March debut.
However, Goodger said the release date had to be pushed back because of "the
realities of the work remaining to be done," including a lot of bug fixes and
testing to ensure a stable application.
While no
solid date for a 1.1 release has been announced, Goodger did offer details on
how to expect the next version of Firefox. An non-public alpha of 1.1 will be
released followed by a public preview version, then several release candidates,
and the final version of the browser.
Among the
major changes and fixes expected in Firefox 1.1 are a fix to the bug that causes
the browser not to retain the scroll position when going back and forward
through Web pages. The update will also ensure certain Web sites and text
display properly within the Mozilla-based browser.
Firefox 1.1
is an intermediate step on the way to version 2 of the open source browser,
which is expected late this year.
Read
more...
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Congress proposes tax on all Net, data connections |
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An
influential congressional committee has dropped a political bombshell by
suggesting that a tax originally created to pay for the Spanish American War
could be extended to all Internet and data connections this year.
The
committee, deeply involved in writing U.S. tax laws, unexpectedly said in a
report Thursday that the 3 percent telecommunications tax could be revised to
cover "all data communications services to end users," including broadband;
dial-up; fiber; cable modems; cellular; and DSL, or digital subscriber line,
links.
Currently,
the 3 percent excise tax applies only to traditional telephone service. But
because of technological convergence and the dropping popularity of landlines,
the Joint Committee on Taxation concluded in its review of tax law reforms that
it might make sense to extend the 100-year old levy to new technologies. The
committee did not take a position on whether Congress should approve such an
extension and simply listed it as an "option."
Read
more...
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Cryptographers unlock code of 'thiefproof' car key |
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Matthew
Green starts his 2005 Ford Escape with a duplicate key he had made at Lowe's.
Nothing unusual about that, except that the automobile industry has spent
millions of dollars to keep him from being able to do it.
Green, a
graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, is part of a team that plans to
announce Saturday that it has cracked the security behind "immobilizer" systems
from Texas Instruments. The systems reduce car theft, because vehicles will not
start unless the system recognizes a tiny chip in the authorized key. They are
used in millions of Fords, Toyotas and Nissans.
All that
would be required to steal a car, the researchers said, is a moment next to the
car owner to extract data from the key, less than an hour of computing, and a
few minutes to break in, feed the key code to the car and hot-wire it.
Read
more...
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Web radio takes Spanish rap global |
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Spin the
radio dial in the US and you are likely to find plenty of Spanish-language
music. But what you will not find is much Spanish-language hip-hop.
Hip-hop and
rap are actually quite popular in the Spanish-speaking world, but local artists
are having trouble marketing their work abroad.
But now, a
US company is bringing rap and hip-hop en espanol to computer users everywhere.
Los
Caballeros de Plan G are one of Mexico's hottest hip-hop acts. They have a
devoted fan base in their native Monterrey.
Read
more...
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Previous News
MySQL worm halted
Teen Sentenced for Unleashing Blaster Worm
First phishing conviction across the Channel
Tasin worm suspect arrested
Movie body targets children's PCs
Why punish the technology?
RIAA files 717 new file-trading lawsuits
EU Raises Possibility of New Fines for Microsoft
Microsoft says profits doubled
Microsoft Preps Next Windows Update
Yahoo Sending Search From PC to Phone
Google's AdWords gets API beta
ATI moves to head of class in graphics
Web
inventor is 'Greatest Briton'
Nintendo handheld given Euro date
Patching up problems
Warning over Microsoft Word files
Norway
upholds 'Napster' ruling
New Jersey Arrests 39 for Internet Child Porn
Sun Solaris Patent Release Questioned
Sun hopes for better storage with Honeycomb
Smart search lets art fans browse
New Bagles Stir Firms To Bump Up Warnings
Crypto expert: Microsoft Word, Excel flaw is serious
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The homepage of Tech Junkeez. Visit daily to
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