Due technical issues Mafaltti.com is currently on maintenance, as you know we provide daily posts about technology news, business and trends. Anyway since June 15th we didn't update the blog, it will be continued untill June 26th. We apologize for any inconvenience, we are working to better serve you.
In the Today's Video section you will have interesting relating videos everyday, we are also preparing a poll in that you can give your opinion about the site. We want to hear you and we need your feedback, so don't forget to check the poll.
Thank you very much.
A. Mafaltti
Blog Maintenance
Light and Magnets: A New Spin on Chip Technology
What the U.S. Navy and academic researchers have demonstrated -- and what they've filed patents for -- is a way for light traveling over the surface layer of a metal to be turned off and on by manipulating the spin of electrons with magnetic fields. Devices using plasmonic and spintronic technologies will be used in the future to enhance silicon technologies, predicted Navy Labs researcher Mark Johnson.
TechNewsWorld | 06/15/07
A promising technology that involves controlling light with magnets could improve the speed and reduce the juice requirements of future computer chips Latest News about computer chips.
The technology, developed by researchers at the U.S. Navy Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, combines knowledge from two budding research fields -- plasmonics and spintronics -- that may open the door to future development of small, fast electronic devices with low power consumption requirements.
Plasmonics involves small volume transfers of light in electromagnetic form to produce intense electrical fields.
Spintronics entails harnessing the magnetic quantum properties of an electron's spin. Although the field is only slightly more than 10 years old, it has already produced promising products, most notably in the area of high-density data storage.
Both fields are seen as important if computer electronics is to enter the realm of nanoelectronics, where the rules of quantum physics make designing devices a whole new ball game.
Enhancing Silicon
What the Navy and academic researchers have demonstrated -- and what they've filed patents for -- is a way for light traveling over the surface layer of a metal to be turned off and on by manipulating the spin of electrons with magnetic fields.
Devices using plasmonic and spintronic technologies will be used in the future to enhance silicon technologies, predicted Navy Labs researcher Mark Johnson.
"I see this as augmenting semiconductor electronics, not competing with it," he told TechNewsWorld.
For example, an electronics package might have a silicon device that receives radio waves, turns those waves into digital information and transfers that information to a display.
"What we're talking about is the front end of that package," Johnson said. "What we're talking about is something that will increase the efficiency of receiving the radio waves and working with it before it gets to the semiconductor."
By reducing how hard a semiconductor has to work, spinplasmonic devices can create benefits for an entire system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server., the Navy researcher noted.
"If you're reducing the burden on the semiconductor, maybe you're reducing its power consumption, that keeps it a little cooler and that extends the battery life," he reasoned.
Data Bottleneck
Another fertile area for plasmonics is in improving moving data on and off chips, observed Jonathan Gorrell, CEO and founder of Applied Plasmonics in Gainesville, Fla.
His company has developed a plasmonic technology for enabling silicon to generate any color of light using an nanoatenna array and electron beam.
"If you were to pull a Pentium chip from a circuit board, you'd see that the whole thing is covered with pins," he told TechNewsWorld. "That limits how much data they can get on to and off of a chip."
"That's creating a problem for them," he continued, "because they can increase processor speed, but what good does that do if you're waiting for the data arrive?"
Let There Be Light
The bottleneck, he explained, has become so bad that chipmakers have found it easier to design redundancy into their wares than try to move data around on them.
"They're taking the same circuitry and putting it on multiple locations just because it's easier for them to put another 5,000 transistors some place multiple times than it is to get data from point A on the chip to point B on the chip and back."
One way to improve the spreed of data on the chip is to move it with light instead of wire. "The problem is silicon doesn't produce light," Gorrell said.
His company's technology can be overlaid over the existing structure of a silicon chip and produce light that can be controlled by the chip itself, he explained.
"We can increase the bandwidth at which data goes on and off the chip without changing the underlying transistor technology that Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Latest News about Intel and everybody else knows how to make so well already," he maintained.
TechNewsWorld | 06/15/07
A promising technology that involves controlling light with magnets could improve the speed and reduce the juice requirements of future computer chips Latest News about computer chips.
The technology, developed by researchers at the U.S. Navy Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, combines knowledge from two budding research fields -- plasmonics and spintronics -- that may open the door to future development of small, fast electronic devices with low power consumption requirements.
Plasmonics involves small volume transfers of light in electromagnetic form to produce intense electrical fields.
Spintronics entails harnessing the magnetic quantum properties of an electron's spin. Although the field is only slightly more than 10 years old, it has already produced promising products, most notably in the area of high-density data storage.
Both fields are seen as important if computer electronics is to enter the realm of nanoelectronics, where the rules of quantum physics make designing devices a whole new ball game.
Enhancing Silicon
What the Navy and academic researchers have demonstrated -- and what they've filed patents for -- is a way for light traveling over the surface layer of a metal to be turned off and on by manipulating the spin of electrons with magnetic fields.
Devices using plasmonic and spintronic technologies will be used in the future to enhance silicon technologies, predicted Navy Labs researcher Mark Johnson.
"I see this as augmenting semiconductor electronics, not competing with it," he told TechNewsWorld.
For example, an electronics package might have a silicon device that receives radio waves, turns those waves into digital information and transfers that information to a display.
"What we're talking about is the front end of that package," Johnson said. "What we're talking about is something that will increase the efficiency of receiving the radio waves and working with it before it gets to the semiconductor."
By reducing how hard a semiconductor has to work, spinplasmonic devices can create benefits for an entire system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server., the Navy researcher noted.
"If you're reducing the burden on the semiconductor, maybe you're reducing its power consumption, that keeps it a little cooler and that extends the battery life," he reasoned.
Data Bottleneck
Another fertile area for plasmonics is in improving moving data on and off chips, observed Jonathan Gorrell, CEO and founder of Applied Plasmonics in Gainesville, Fla.
His company has developed a plasmonic technology for enabling silicon to generate any color of light using an nanoatenna array and electron beam.
"If you were to pull a Pentium chip from a circuit board, you'd see that the whole thing is covered with pins," he told TechNewsWorld. "That limits how much data they can get on to and off of a chip."
"That's creating a problem for them," he continued, "because they can increase processor speed, but what good does that do if you're waiting for the data arrive?"
Let There Be Light
The bottleneck, he explained, has become so bad that chipmakers have found it easier to design redundancy into their wares than try to move data around on them.
"They're taking the same circuitry and putting it on multiple locations just because it's easier for them to put another 5,000 transistors some place multiple times than it is to get data from point A on the chip to point B on the chip and back."
One way to improve the spreed of data on the chip is to move it with light instead of wire. "The problem is silicon doesn't produce light," Gorrell said.
His company's technology can be overlaid over the existing structure of a silicon chip and produce light that can be controlled by the chip itself, he explained.
"We can increase the bandwidth at which data goes on and off the chip without changing the underlying transistor technology that Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Latest News about Intel and everybody else knows how to make so well already," he maintained.
IBM's Management Games
While IBM's research may be aimed at helping to build its own consulting business, it comes at a time when there's a flurry of corporate experimentation in games. For example, McKinsey & Co. is using video games to test recruits for leadership potential and assess their team-building style.
Business Week Online | 06/15/07
Thunder crashes, lightning flashes and a camera zooms in on a shadowy, futuristic-looking, gray-and-black office. The camera follows a female avatar in slacks and a button-down shirt as she jogs from one cubicle to the next, up a spiral staircase and across a high gangplank as dramatic classical music plays in the background. This YouTube Latest News about YouTube trailer could easily be a plug for a new shoot-'em-up video game, or a slasher flick. Instead, it's promoting a video game called "Innov8," which IBM (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM will start selling in September.
Yes, IBM. The computer giant says it received dozens of calls from potential customers after showing the video clip at a recent conference for clients. Designed to help tech managers better understand the roles of businesspeople, and vice versa, players go into a virtual business unit to test their hand at ventures such as redesigning a call center, opening a brokerage account or processing an insurance claim.
War of the Worlds
The game will be available free of charge to universities around the world. No price has been set yet for corporate customers because it will depend on how much IBM has to change the game to accommodate a particular business process a client might want to improve. The game will be available online and will also be able to run on standalone PCs.
Innov8 is only one of several initiatives afoot at Big Blue to incorporate features of online games into business. On Friday, IBM will launch an internal competition, dubbed "War of the Worlds," to encourage employees to, for instance, start virtual businesses or meet with real clients through a slew of online games. Each member of the winning team will receive the Nintendo Wii Latest News about Wii. The company hopes to use the exercise to determine which virtual ventures are best for specific business tasks or processes.
Why is one of the world's most buttoned-down organizations encouraging its people -- and customers -- to play games? IBM says that the skills honed playing massive multiplayer dragon-slaying games like "World of Warcraft" can be useful when managing modern multinationals. The company says its research supports that claim and it will release its findings the same day as its "War of the Worlds" contest.
Developing Leadership
While IBM's research may be aimed at helping to build its own consulting business, it comes at a time when there's a flurry of corporate experimentation in games. McKinsey & Co. is using video games to test recruits for leadership potential and assess their team-building style. Royal Philips Electronics and Johnson & Johnson, meanwhile, are using multiplayer games to improve collaboration between far-flung divisions, as well as between managers and their overseas underlings.
What distinguishes the latest corporate forays into the gaming world is the degree to which companies are tapping virtual environments to hone the leadership skills of their workers. By 2011, 80 percent of Internet users will have avatars, or digital versions of themselves, for work and play, according to market researcher Gartner (NYSE: IT) Latest News about Gartner. By the end of 2012, half of all U.S. companies will also have digital offices or "networked virtual environments," adds Gartner. The online game world will become an important place to hold meetings, orient new hires and communicate across the globe.
For IBM's new research, the computer giant tracked the leadership qualities of gamers with the help of Seriosity (a company that develops enterprise software inspired by multiplayer games), Stanford and MIT Latest News about Massachusetts Institute of Technology. IBM also surveyed more than 200 game-playing managers at the company over a seven-month period. Besides IBM, there are several others, such as Joi Ito, a tech entrepreneur, looking at how managing fast-expanding "guilds," or teams, in multiplayer games provides a forum for trying out different corporate management styles.
'Management Flight Simulators'
The IBM researchers found that those who are deeply immersed in online worlds that link millions of players, such as World of Warcraft, were ideally suited to manage in the new millennium. They were particularly savvy at gathering information from far-flung sources, determining strategic risks, failing fast and moving on to the next challenge quickly. "If you want to see what business leadership will look like in three to five years, look at what's happening in online games," says Byron Reeves, a Stanford University communications professor and Seriosity cofounder.
One of the key findings from the research, says Thomas Malone, an MIT professor of management and Seriosity board member, is that companies need to create more opportunities for flexible, project-oriented leadership. In fast-paced games, people can jump in to manage a team for as little as 10 minutes, if they have the needed skills for the task at hand. "Games make leaders from lemmings," says Tony O'Driscoll, an IBM learning strategist and one of the authors of the study. "Since leadership happens quickly and easily in online games, otherwise reserved players are more likely to try on leadership roles."
The study points out that games can become "management flight simulators" of sorts, letting employees manage a global workforce in cyberspace before they do so in the real world. More than half of the managers surveyed say playing massive multiplayer games had helped them lead at work. Three-quarters of those surveyed believed that specific game tools, such as expressive avatars that can communicate via body language, as well as by voice and typing, would help manage remote employees in the real world.
Promoting New Products
IBM, of course, has every reason to stress the importance of online gaming. It's trying to fashion itself as the go-to consultant for business games, working with more than 250 clients. Although best known for its 24 islands in the online universe, Second Life, only 13 percent of all the work IBM does in games and virtual worlds is in Second Life. Earlier this year IBM established a separate unit for 3-D Internet. The results of the "War of the Worlds" contest may be compiled into a catalog to be shared with clients.
For now, IBM's challenge is convincing companies that online games are more than just a frivolous pursuit. That's clearly one desired outcome of the study. However, IBM also is pouring millions into developing what it calls "the 3-D Internet," in the hope that corporate gaming will become the next lucrative online frontier.
Business Week Online | 06/15/07
Thunder crashes, lightning flashes and a camera zooms in on a shadowy, futuristic-looking, gray-and-black office. The camera follows a female avatar in slacks and a button-down shirt as she jogs from one cubicle to the next, up a spiral staircase and across a high gangplank as dramatic classical music plays in the background. This YouTube Latest News about YouTube trailer could easily be a plug for a new shoot-'em-up video game, or a slasher flick. Instead, it's promoting a video game called "Innov8," which IBM (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM will start selling in September.
Yes, IBM. The computer giant says it received dozens of calls from potential customers after showing the video clip at a recent conference for clients. Designed to help tech managers better understand the roles of businesspeople, and vice versa, players go into a virtual business unit to test their hand at ventures such as redesigning a call center, opening a brokerage account or processing an insurance claim.
War of the Worlds
The game will be available free of charge to universities around the world. No price has been set yet for corporate customers because it will depend on how much IBM has to change the game to accommodate a particular business process a client might want to improve. The game will be available online and will also be able to run on standalone PCs.
Innov8 is only one of several initiatives afoot at Big Blue to incorporate features of online games into business. On Friday, IBM will launch an internal competition, dubbed "War of the Worlds," to encourage employees to, for instance, start virtual businesses or meet with real clients through a slew of online games. Each member of the winning team will receive the Nintendo Wii Latest News about Wii. The company hopes to use the exercise to determine which virtual ventures are best for specific business tasks or processes.
Why is one of the world's most buttoned-down organizations encouraging its people -- and customers -- to play games? IBM says that the skills honed playing massive multiplayer dragon-slaying games like "World of Warcraft" can be useful when managing modern multinationals. The company says its research supports that claim and it will release its findings the same day as its "War of the Worlds" contest.
Developing Leadership
While IBM's research may be aimed at helping to build its own consulting business, it comes at a time when there's a flurry of corporate experimentation in games. McKinsey & Co. is using video games to test recruits for leadership potential and assess their team-building style. Royal Philips Electronics and Johnson & Johnson, meanwhile, are using multiplayer games to improve collaboration between far-flung divisions, as well as between managers and their overseas underlings.
What distinguishes the latest corporate forays into the gaming world is the degree to which companies are tapping virtual environments to hone the leadership skills of their workers. By 2011, 80 percent of Internet users will have avatars, or digital versions of themselves, for work and play, according to market researcher Gartner (NYSE: IT) Latest News about Gartner. By the end of 2012, half of all U.S. companies will also have digital offices or "networked virtual environments," adds Gartner. The online game world will become an important place to hold meetings, orient new hires and communicate across the globe.
For IBM's new research, the computer giant tracked the leadership qualities of gamers with the help of Seriosity (a company that develops enterprise software inspired by multiplayer games), Stanford and MIT Latest News about Massachusetts Institute of Technology. IBM also surveyed more than 200 game-playing managers at the company over a seven-month period. Besides IBM, there are several others, such as Joi Ito, a tech entrepreneur, looking at how managing fast-expanding "guilds," or teams, in multiplayer games provides a forum for trying out different corporate management styles.
'Management Flight Simulators'
The IBM researchers found that those who are deeply immersed in online worlds that link millions of players, such as World of Warcraft, were ideally suited to manage in the new millennium. They were particularly savvy at gathering information from far-flung sources, determining strategic risks, failing fast and moving on to the next challenge quickly. "If you want to see what business leadership will look like in three to five years, look at what's happening in online games," says Byron Reeves, a Stanford University communications professor and Seriosity cofounder.
One of the key findings from the research, says Thomas Malone, an MIT professor of management and Seriosity board member, is that companies need to create more opportunities for flexible, project-oriented leadership. In fast-paced games, people can jump in to manage a team for as little as 10 minutes, if they have the needed skills for the task at hand. "Games make leaders from lemmings," says Tony O'Driscoll, an IBM learning strategist and one of the authors of the study. "Since leadership happens quickly and easily in online games, otherwise reserved players are more likely to try on leadership roles."
The study points out that games can become "management flight simulators" of sorts, letting employees manage a global workforce in cyberspace before they do so in the real world. More than half of the managers surveyed say playing massive multiplayer games had helped them lead at work. Three-quarters of those surveyed believed that specific game tools, such as expressive avatars that can communicate via body language, as well as by voice and typing, would help manage remote employees in the real world.
Promoting New Products
IBM, of course, has every reason to stress the importance of online gaming. It's trying to fashion itself as the go-to consultant for business games, working with more than 250 clients. Although best known for its 24 islands in the online universe, Second Life, only 13 percent of all the work IBM does in games and virtual worlds is in Second Life. Earlier this year IBM established a separate unit for 3-D Internet. The results of the "War of the Worlds" contest may be compiled into a catalog to be shared with clients.
For now, IBM's challenge is convincing companies that online games are more than just a frivolous pursuit. That's clearly one desired outcome of the study. However, IBM also is pouring millions into developing what it calls "the 3-D Internet," in the hope that corporate gaming will become the next lucrative online frontier.
Beware of the Pirates!
With the arrival of the original Napster and the other peer-to-peer networks that followed in its footsteps, the music industry was hit hard, and it's still reeling even after implementing DRM systems. Trading movies over P2P networks is not as easy for file sharers, but that doesn't mean Hollywood should sit back and relax. As technology advances, so will piracy.
E-Commerce Times | 06/15/07
In 1998, Napster took college campuses by storm and quickly ushered in an era where anyone could download any song they wanted without paying for it. The record labels were caught off guard and spent years debating the best way to respond.
A flurry of lawsuits directed against consumers generated plenty of ill will and bad press but did not stop the flow of unauthorized tracks. Licensed digital music, conversely, trickled into the market, and it was not until 2002, four years after the advent of peer-to-peer file trading, that authorized digital tracks made their debut on iTunes.
As a result, the recording industry has still not recovered. One in 10 Internet users still downloads music files from P2P (peer-to-peer) networks on a monthly basis, and recording industry revenues remain flat and far from their pre-Napster peak of US$14.5 billion.
Is Hollywood Next?
Music is obviously not the only type of content swapped over peer-to-peer networks. Seven percent of all Internet users download full-length movies from P2P networks on a monthly basis, and six percent download TV programs. Will Hollywood go the way of the music business?
Data indicate Hollywood's problem is much more manageable. For one, online piracy of movies is much more limited. Fewer people download unauthorized copies of movies (10 percent vs. about 7 percent), and the number of titles downloaded is considerably lower. A music downloader will have nearly 75 tracks stored on a computer, on average, while a movie downloader will have just 10 titles.
Music downloaders, in other words, have built up a notable library of tracks, while video downloading appears more experimental. They have a few titles rounding out their video collection, but digital copies have not yet replaced packaged media.
Staying Alert
Video downloads are also less useable than music downloads. Consumers can easily listen to pirated music tracks by transferring them to an iPod or burning them to a CD. On the other hand, few households have digital media adapters (less than five percent at last count), and DVD burning is not as common as CD burning.
Likewise, differences in quality are more apparent with video than music, which discourages the use of pirated video.
Despite these factors, which have helped keep piracy in check thus far, Hollywood should not rest easy. The march of technological progress will inevitably make digital video easier to consume. Hollywood is not yet in the dire straights the music business found itself in the late 1990s, but piracy is a real and growing problem that this industry will have to address ... and the clock is ticking.
E-Commerce Times | 06/15/07
In 1998, Napster took college campuses by storm and quickly ushered in an era where anyone could download any song they wanted without paying for it. The record labels were caught off guard and spent years debating the best way to respond.
A flurry of lawsuits directed against consumers generated plenty of ill will and bad press but did not stop the flow of unauthorized tracks. Licensed digital music, conversely, trickled into the market, and it was not until 2002, four years after the advent of peer-to-peer file trading, that authorized digital tracks made their debut on iTunes.
As a result, the recording industry has still not recovered. One in 10 Internet users still downloads music files from P2P (peer-to-peer) networks on a monthly basis, and recording industry revenues remain flat and far from their pre-Napster peak of US$14.5 billion.
Is Hollywood Next?
Music is obviously not the only type of content swapped over peer-to-peer networks. Seven percent of all Internet users download full-length movies from P2P networks on a monthly basis, and six percent download TV programs. Will Hollywood go the way of the music business?
Data indicate Hollywood's problem is much more manageable. For one, online piracy of movies is much more limited. Fewer people download unauthorized copies of movies (10 percent vs. about 7 percent), and the number of titles downloaded is considerably lower. A music downloader will have nearly 75 tracks stored on a computer, on average, while a movie downloader will have just 10 titles.
Music downloaders, in other words, have built up a notable library of tracks, while video downloading appears more experimental. They have a few titles rounding out their video collection, but digital copies have not yet replaced packaged media.
Staying Alert
Video downloads are also less useable than music downloads. Consumers can easily listen to pirated music tracks by transferring them to an iPod or burning them to a CD. On the other hand, few households have digital media adapters (less than five percent at last count), and DVD burning is not as common as CD burning.
Likewise, differences in quality are more apparent with video than music, which discourages the use of pirated video.
Despite these factors, which have helped keep piracy in check thus far, Hollywood should not rest easy. The march of technological progress will inevitably make digital video easier to consume. Hollywood is not yet in the dire straights the music business found itself in the late 1990s, but piracy is a real and growing problem that this industry will have to address ... and the clock is ticking.
Sony Chief Tapdances Around PS3 Price Cut
Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony, acknowledged that there's one thing consumers want that his company's PlayStation 3 doesn't offer: a low price. The console is the most expensive of the three most popular gaming consoles on the market. Competitors include Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii, which is the sales leader with the lowest price point.
Xinhua Financial News | 06/15/07
Sony (NYSE: SNE) Latest News about Sony chief executive Howard Stringer says his company is trying to decide by how much it will cut the price of its PlayStation 3 Latest News about PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console, which consumers want reduced, the Financial Times reported.
"That is what we are studying at the moment. That's what we are trying to refine," the newspaper quoted Stringer as saying.
Buyers Want Cheap
Stringer admitted that Sony faced tough competition from rival Nintendo's Latest News about Nintendo Wii Latest News about Wii video game console, which has been selling better the PS3 and has a lower price.
"Nintendo Wii has been a successful enterprise, and a very good business model, compared with ours," Stringer said, "because it's cheaper."
He added that there was no question that consumers wanted a lower price.
Sony slashed the price of the PS3 by 20 percent in Japan before it was launched there in November, preparing for a fierce fight against cheaper games consoles made by Nintendo and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft.
Priciest of the Bunch
Even so, the PS3 is still by far the most expensive of the three main video game consoles on the market, and many analysts say Sony will need to lower the price further.
Sony's video game division suffered a huge operating loss in the fiscal year ended last March and is expected to remain in the red this year.
Xinhua Financial News | 06/15/07
Sony (NYSE: SNE) Latest News about Sony chief executive Howard Stringer says his company is trying to decide by how much it will cut the price of its PlayStation 3 Latest News about PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console, which consumers want reduced, the Financial Times reported.
"That is what we are studying at the moment. That's what we are trying to refine," the newspaper quoted Stringer as saying.
Buyers Want Cheap
Stringer admitted that Sony faced tough competition from rival Nintendo's Latest News about Nintendo Wii Latest News about Wii video game console, which has been selling better the PS3 and has a lower price.
"Nintendo Wii has been a successful enterprise, and a very good business model, compared with ours," Stringer said, "because it's cheaper."
He added that there was no question that consumers wanted a lower price.
Sony slashed the price of the PS3 by 20 percent in Japan before it was launched there in November, preparing for a fierce fight against cheaper games consoles made by Nintendo and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft.
Priciest of the Bunch
Even so, the PS3 is still by far the most expensive of the three main video game consoles on the market, and many analysts say Sony will need to lower the price further.
Sony's video game division suffered a huge operating loss in the fiscal year ended last March and is expected to remain in the red this year.
Cyber G-Men Plot to Bust Bots
The FBI has a new target in the war on cyber crooks: bot herders. The agency estimates perpetrators have infected some 1 million PCs with their malware. The initiative includes an outreach effort to contact victims with compromised computers; however, the campaign may have little effect on the total amount of crimes.
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
The FBI is launching a new initiative in the cyber crime wars, taking on the criminal organizations -- the so-called "botherders" -- that have gathered under their control compromised or zombie PCs. The bot herders' purpose is to send out malware or spam Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here and phishing campaigns over the Internet that cannot be traced back to their origins.
The initiative, colorfully dubbed Operation Bot Roast, includes an outreach effort by the FBI and industry partners such as the CERT Latest News about CERT (Computer Emergency Readiness Team) Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University, to notify some 1 million owners of compromised computers under a bot herder's control.
Specifically, the FBI has identified 1 million victim computer IP addresses.
Like most crime-fighting initiatives, the intent behind Operation Bot Roast is good; whether its actual execution will yield practical results, though, remains unknown.
Indeed, some security analysts say the FBI's initiative is akin to pushing water uphill with a spoon.
Barely a Blip
"While I applaud law enforcement's efforts against cyber crime -- especially since it has been bogged down with other threats since 9/11 -- I am not sure how much this will have an impact," Paul Henry, vice president of technology evangelism at Secure Computing, told TechNewsWorld.
For instance, the so-called King of Spam was arrested last week and, denied bail, has been sitting in a jail cell ever since. This person -- aka 27-year-old Robert Alan Soloway -- is alleged to be the world's most prolific spammer, Henry noted. "Since his arrest, there has been barely a blip in the spam volumes generated."
Even if the FBI succeeded in cleaning up all identified 1 million computers, the agency will have tackled less than one percent of the estimated compromised PCs in the world, he said.
Another reason to be pessimistic, he continued, is the ever growing number of vulnerabilities identified in popular desktop software. One has to look no further than Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft Patch Tuesday, its monthly ritual of patching vulnerabilities that have been identified in its products.
"As soon as the FBI cleans up one computer, another is as easily infected through a new vulnerability," Henry said.
Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CTO of Finjan, a provider of gateway products noted the obvious -- the FBI's jurisdiction is limited to the United States, while cyber crime is inherently global.
"For this to work it would require worldwide cooperation from all the law enforcement agencies," he told TechNewsWorld. "Unfortunately, it will take some time to reach that point."
No one can assume they'll only be contacting U.S. residents or citizens, Allysa Myers, Virus Research Engineer, McAfee Latest News about McAfee Avert Labs, told TechNewsWorld.
"Determining location conclusively can be much more complicated than just looking at an IP address and saying 'Ah, they're in Arizona,'" Myers said, depending on what a person's specific setup is. The information to be gained from an infection report could be equally valuable coming from Ulan Bator or Salt Lake City.
"Where it gets difficult is when the bot master is in a country we don't have extradition agreements with. The FBI may have an air-tight case against a bot master, but if they can't get legal access to the person, it's a dead-end," she added.
Other Questions
As chief technology officer for Fenwick & West, Matt Kesner is qualified to speak for businesses that may be on the receiving end of an FBI notification.
"Most companies want to clean up their systems if they are infected," he told TechNewsWorld. It's possible machines at many businesses could be compromised, despite the safeguards most firms now take.
Fenwick & West runs about eight layers of antivirus protection, and the law firm still occasionally finds viruses and malware on its computers.
"We try to clean them up as quickly as possible, and any additional leads would be very helpful," Kesner said.
It is debatable, though, that an individual or small business would be as sensitive to these issues -- or at the very least, know what to do if they were informed their computers were compromised. Indeed, even the most law abiding citizen is going to feel a fission of fear when contacted by the FBI about his or her computer activities, Kesner noted.
This initiative is also likely to lead to online scams -- something the FBI recognizes and hopes to avoid. For instance, the agency said it will not contact anyone online and request personal information.
Other Solutions
Internet security providers are not suggesting the FBI give up its efforts in this realm. There are other actions some providers would like to see the government take as well.
Ben-Itzhak, for example, suggests the FBI also pursue companies that are hosting malicious codes.
"They are hosted somewhere on an IP server Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. that has either been compromised or rented for this crime," he said.
Henry, for his part, is placing his hopes on the Domain Key Identified Mail (DKIM) project, a public key cryptographic e-mail Email Marketing Software - Free Demo authentication mechanism.
"That is now getting off the ground with a standard just published in the last few weeks," Henry said. This initiative, coupled with Reputation Defense services -- which identifies an e-mail that does not come from a legitimate source -- will take aim at bot herders' bottom line.
"Combining these two will dramatically increase the cost for bot herders because they will have to register their domains in order to send e-mail -- and then continually re-register them every time they are identified as spam," he concluded.
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
The FBI is launching a new initiative in the cyber crime wars, taking on the criminal organizations -- the so-called "botherders" -- that have gathered under their control compromised or zombie PCs. The bot herders' purpose is to send out malware or spam Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here and phishing campaigns over the Internet that cannot be traced back to their origins.
The initiative, colorfully dubbed Operation Bot Roast, includes an outreach effort by the FBI and industry partners such as the CERT Latest News about CERT (Computer Emergency Readiness Team) Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University, to notify some 1 million owners of compromised computers under a bot herder's control.
Specifically, the FBI has identified 1 million victim computer IP addresses.
Like most crime-fighting initiatives, the intent behind Operation Bot Roast is good; whether its actual execution will yield practical results, though, remains unknown.
Indeed, some security analysts say the FBI's initiative is akin to pushing water uphill with a spoon.
Barely a Blip
"While I applaud law enforcement's efforts against cyber crime -- especially since it has been bogged down with other threats since 9/11 -- I am not sure how much this will have an impact," Paul Henry, vice president of technology evangelism at Secure Computing, told TechNewsWorld.
For instance, the so-called King of Spam was arrested last week and, denied bail, has been sitting in a jail cell ever since. This person -- aka 27-year-old Robert Alan Soloway -- is alleged to be the world's most prolific spammer, Henry noted. "Since his arrest, there has been barely a blip in the spam volumes generated."
Even if the FBI succeeded in cleaning up all identified 1 million computers, the agency will have tackled less than one percent of the estimated compromised PCs in the world, he said.
Another reason to be pessimistic, he continued, is the ever growing number of vulnerabilities identified in popular desktop software. One has to look no further than Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft Patch Tuesday, its monthly ritual of patching vulnerabilities that have been identified in its products.
"As soon as the FBI cleans up one computer, another is as easily infected through a new vulnerability," Henry said.
Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CTO of Finjan, a provider of gateway products noted the obvious -- the FBI's jurisdiction is limited to the United States, while cyber crime is inherently global.
"For this to work it would require worldwide cooperation from all the law enforcement agencies," he told TechNewsWorld. "Unfortunately, it will take some time to reach that point."
No one can assume they'll only be contacting U.S. residents or citizens, Allysa Myers, Virus Research Engineer, McAfee Latest News about McAfee Avert Labs, told TechNewsWorld.
"Determining location conclusively can be much more complicated than just looking at an IP address and saying 'Ah, they're in Arizona,'" Myers said, depending on what a person's specific setup is. The information to be gained from an infection report could be equally valuable coming from Ulan Bator or Salt Lake City.
"Where it gets difficult is when the bot master is in a country we don't have extradition agreements with. The FBI may have an air-tight case against a bot master, but if they can't get legal access to the person, it's a dead-end," she added.
Other Questions
As chief technology officer for Fenwick & West, Matt Kesner is qualified to speak for businesses that may be on the receiving end of an FBI notification.
"Most companies want to clean up their systems if they are infected," he told TechNewsWorld. It's possible machines at many businesses could be compromised, despite the safeguards most firms now take.
Fenwick & West runs about eight layers of antivirus protection, and the law firm still occasionally finds viruses and malware on its computers.
"We try to clean them up as quickly as possible, and any additional leads would be very helpful," Kesner said.
It is debatable, though, that an individual or small business would be as sensitive to these issues -- or at the very least, know what to do if they were informed their computers were compromised. Indeed, even the most law abiding citizen is going to feel a fission of fear when contacted by the FBI about his or her computer activities, Kesner noted.
This initiative is also likely to lead to online scams -- something the FBI recognizes and hopes to avoid. For instance, the agency said it will not contact anyone online and request personal information.
Other Solutions
Internet security providers are not suggesting the FBI give up its efforts in this realm. There are other actions some providers would like to see the government take as well.
Ben-Itzhak, for example, suggests the FBI also pursue companies that are hosting malicious codes.
"They are hosted somewhere on an IP server Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. that has either been compromised or rented for this crime," he said.
Henry, for his part, is placing his hopes on the Domain Key Identified Mail (DKIM) project, a public key cryptographic e-mail Email Marketing Software - Free Demo authentication mechanism.
"That is now getting off the ground with a standard just published in the last few weeks," Henry said. This initiative, coupled with Reputation Defense services -- which identifies an e-mail that does not come from a legitimate source -- will take aim at bot herders' bottom line.
"Combining these two will dramatically increase the cost for bot herders because they will have to register their domains in order to send e-mail -- and then continually re-register them every time they are identified as spam," he concluded.
NATO Rallies to Thwart Global Cyber Bullies
NATO alliance members on Thursday agreed that the group should focus on cyberdefense strategies. The announcement surfaces several weeks after massive cyberattacks against Estonia took place. The attacks on Estonian government and corporate Web sites "had clear national security and economic implications for Estonia," said NATO spokesperson James Appathurai.
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
Following the massive cyberattacks against the Baltic country of Estonia in April, NATO on Thursday asserted that cyberdefense must now be a priority among member nations.
Several defense ministers, including Estonia's, raised the issue during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and all 26 alliance members agreed that a new focus on cyberdefense was critical to protect against similar attacks in the future.
"There was sentiment around the table that urgent work is needed to enhance the ability to protect information systems of critical importance to the Alliance against cyberattacks," NATO spokesperson James Appathurai said. "Therefore, that will be, I am sure, a subject of work here within NATO starting tomorrow or maybe Monday."
Attack on Estonia
Roughly a million computers worldwide were used to conduct the denial-of-service attacks on Estonian government and corporate Web sites, swamping them with so much traffic they were forced to shut down.
The attacks began on April 27, the day Estonia enraged Russia by removing a Soviet-era war memorial from its capital city of Tallinn. The Estonian government traced much of the attacking traffic to Russian computers, it said, but the Russian government has denied involvement.
After the attacks had gone on for about three weeks, NATO sent an official to investigate.
What Is War?
The attacks "were sustained; they were coordinated; they were focused; they were against a public information infrastructure Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here of Estonia," Appathurai said. "They had clear national security and economic implications for Estonia."
Indeed, the attacks on Estonia have led to new discussions about whether such cyberwarfare should be considered in the same category as traditional warfare, and, if so, what the response should be. Now that the topic has gained NATO's official attention, it will also undoubtedly spur increased conversation about what, exactly, should be done in the way of prevention.
"I'm surprised it took so long to get to this level," Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer at the SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Networking and Security) Institute, told TechNewsWorld.
Extreme Vulnerability
Although the U.S. military has been working for years to secure its cyber infrastructure, "China has launched some successful attacks against U.S. military computers," Ullrich said.
Most of those attacks were aimed at gathering intelligence, he said, but "once they can penetrate a network, shutting the system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. down is actually easier than getting in."
The military's heavy reliance on its technology infrastructure for communications makes it extremely vulnerable, he said: "If you can shut down the cyberinfrastructure that controls the logistics, you can essentially leave the troops stranded out in the field without supplies."
Learning to Share
Nevertheless, private companies are subject to cyberattacks "all the time," Ullrich pointed out, and Internet service providers and other vendors have long been working on solutions to the problem.
One of the most important things for preventing such attacks will be the exchange of information, Ullrich stressed. "We need cooperation between government and the private sector, and between countries," he said. "If one country gets attacked, it may be able to alert others who may not have even detected an intrusion yet."
Cybersecurity expert and lawyer Parry Aftab agreed. "We really need to do so much more in the way of collaboration," she said.
"What we need to do is pull experts together into a room and determine what we need to do, what it will take, and who needs to be involved," Aftab told TechNewsWorld. "We have unbelievable talent in this area--now it's time to start deploying it."
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
Following the massive cyberattacks against the Baltic country of Estonia in April, NATO on Thursday asserted that cyberdefense must now be a priority among member nations.
Several defense ministers, including Estonia's, raised the issue during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and all 26 alliance members agreed that a new focus on cyberdefense was critical to protect against similar attacks in the future.
"There was sentiment around the table that urgent work is needed to enhance the ability to protect information systems of critical importance to the Alliance against cyberattacks," NATO spokesperson James Appathurai said. "Therefore, that will be, I am sure, a subject of work here within NATO starting tomorrow or maybe Monday."
Attack on Estonia
Roughly a million computers worldwide were used to conduct the denial-of-service attacks on Estonian government and corporate Web sites, swamping them with so much traffic they were forced to shut down.
The attacks began on April 27, the day Estonia enraged Russia by removing a Soviet-era war memorial from its capital city of Tallinn. The Estonian government traced much of the attacking traffic to Russian computers, it said, but the Russian government has denied involvement.
After the attacks had gone on for about three weeks, NATO sent an official to investigate.
What Is War?
The attacks "were sustained; they were coordinated; they were focused; they were against a public information infrastructure Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here of Estonia," Appathurai said. "They had clear national security and economic implications for Estonia."
Indeed, the attacks on Estonia have led to new discussions about whether such cyberwarfare should be considered in the same category as traditional warfare, and, if so, what the response should be. Now that the topic has gained NATO's official attention, it will also undoubtedly spur increased conversation about what, exactly, should be done in the way of prevention.
"I'm surprised it took so long to get to this level," Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer at the SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Networking and Security) Institute, told TechNewsWorld.
Extreme Vulnerability
Although the U.S. military has been working for years to secure its cyber infrastructure, "China has launched some successful attacks against U.S. military computers," Ullrich said.
Most of those attacks were aimed at gathering intelligence, he said, but "once they can penetrate a network, shutting the system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. down is actually easier than getting in."
The military's heavy reliance on its technology infrastructure for communications makes it extremely vulnerable, he said: "If you can shut down the cyberinfrastructure that controls the logistics, you can essentially leave the troops stranded out in the field without supplies."
Learning to Share
Nevertheless, private companies are subject to cyberattacks "all the time," Ullrich pointed out, and Internet service providers and other vendors have long been working on solutions to the problem.
One of the most important things for preventing such attacks will be the exchange of information, Ullrich stressed. "We need cooperation between government and the private sector, and between countries," he said. "If one country gets attacked, it may be able to alert others who may not have even detected an intrusion yet."
Cybersecurity expert and lawyer Parry Aftab agreed. "We really need to do so much more in the way of collaboration," she said.
"What we need to do is pull experts together into a room and determine what we need to do, what it will take, and who needs to be involved," Aftab told TechNewsWorld. "We have unbelievable talent in this area--now it's time to start deploying it."
Computer Crashes Bedevil ISS
International space station crew are struggling to solve problems that caused two computers to crash, interfering with control of the outpost's navigational system, as well as its oxygen and water supplies. Russian flight controllers believe the system issues relate to electrical power.
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
After two critical computers crashed aboard the international space station (ISS) Wednesday, U.S. and Russian flight controllers have partially restored functioning, but long-term prospects remain uncertain.
The crash occurred Wednesday while crew members were working to retract a solar array as part of their scheduled mission. One of the computers is located in the Zarya service module of the space station, while the other is in the Zvezda portion; together, they control orientation of the space station, along with supply of oxygen and water to the crew, Bill Jeffs, a NASA Latest News about NASA spokesperson, told TechNewsWorld.
"This is serious," James Oberg, a retired rocket scientist who is now an author and consultant, told TechNewsWorld. "These computers run their life support, so if they can't be restored, the space station could become uninhabitable."
One-Third There
The European Space Agency provided the German-made computers, which were built and delivered in the 1990s. Each has three redundant lanes, of which only one has been restored so far on each computer, Jeffs explained.
"So far, they've only scratched the surface," Oberg said.
Russian flight controllers believe the problem relates to power and not software, but they are still testing and troubleshooting. A false fire alarm resulted early Thursday when the computers were restarted.
The Right Alignment
The ISS is operated primarily by the Russian and U.S. space agencies, with contributions from those in Canada, Europe and Japan. Unfortunately, because of limits in communications with Russian ground controllers, much of the next diagnostic work on the failed computers will have to take place Thursday night.
U.S. crews communicate with ground control via satellite, but the Russian space agency lost its satellite communications years ago, and are able to communicate with ground staff only when the space station is in a favorable spot in its orbit around the earth, Oberg said.
U.S. staffers relay some basic information for the Russian crew via satellite, but there are a full 10 hours in each day when direct communication is impossible for Russian staff, Oberg said. So, for work like restoring the compromised computers -- which will require high data-rate communications and uplinks -- the crew will have to wait until direct communications are favorable during the night, he explained.
Meanwhile, "the Russians on board have been told to take naps today," he said.
Work as Usual
The Space Shuttle Atlantis crew will continue to work on retracting the Port 6, or P6, solar array on Thursday, Jeffs said, while the station's control moment gyroscopes handle attitude control, with backup from the shuttle's propulsion system. The crew must also prepare for their next space walk, planned for Friday, on which they'll work to repair a thermal blanket that pulled away from the orbital maneuvering system pod on the rear of the shuttle.
Throughout the week, crew members have been activating the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment that was attached to the station on Monday. The segment includes a pair of solar arrays that will be placed on the starboard side of the space station. They will complement the port-side pair of arrays that were installed last fall, and will add additional power-generation capabilities.
The crew is moving the older P6 array in order to make room for the new starboard arrays and allow them to rotate a full 360 degrees as they track the sun, Jeffs explained. Eventually, the P6 will be relocated to another part of the space station by a future shuttle crew.
A Long Haul
Meanwhile, the Atlantis is scheduled to leave the space station next Wednesday. Flight controllers will continue work on the compromised computers, but "even if everything goes smoothly, confidence will not be restored for at least a month," Oberg said.
"Statistically, this is not random," he noted. "There is some new environmental factor that must identified and isolated, and neither step is trivial.
"It will take a long time," Oberg added. "In the meantime, we'll watch closely and see what happens."
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
After two critical computers crashed aboard the international space station (ISS) Wednesday, U.S. and Russian flight controllers have partially restored functioning, but long-term prospects remain uncertain.
The crash occurred Wednesday while crew members were working to retract a solar array as part of their scheduled mission. One of the computers is located in the Zarya service module of the space station, while the other is in the Zvezda portion; together, they control orientation of the space station, along with supply of oxygen and water to the crew, Bill Jeffs, a NASA Latest News about NASA spokesperson, told TechNewsWorld.
"This is serious," James Oberg, a retired rocket scientist who is now an author and consultant, told TechNewsWorld. "These computers run their life support, so if they can't be restored, the space station could become uninhabitable."
One-Third There
The European Space Agency provided the German-made computers, which were built and delivered in the 1990s. Each has three redundant lanes, of which only one has been restored so far on each computer, Jeffs explained.
"So far, they've only scratched the surface," Oberg said.
Russian flight controllers believe the problem relates to power and not software, but they are still testing and troubleshooting. A false fire alarm resulted early Thursday when the computers were restarted.
The Right Alignment
The ISS is operated primarily by the Russian and U.S. space agencies, with contributions from those in Canada, Europe and Japan. Unfortunately, because of limits in communications with Russian ground controllers, much of the next diagnostic work on the failed computers will have to take place Thursday night.
U.S. crews communicate with ground control via satellite, but the Russian space agency lost its satellite communications years ago, and are able to communicate with ground staff only when the space station is in a favorable spot in its orbit around the earth, Oberg said.
U.S. staffers relay some basic information for the Russian crew via satellite, but there are a full 10 hours in each day when direct communication is impossible for Russian staff, Oberg said. So, for work like restoring the compromised computers -- which will require high data-rate communications and uplinks -- the crew will have to wait until direct communications are favorable during the night, he explained.
Meanwhile, "the Russians on board have been told to take naps today," he said.
Work as Usual
The Space Shuttle Atlantis crew will continue to work on retracting the Port 6, or P6, solar array on Thursday, Jeffs said, while the station's control moment gyroscopes handle attitude control, with backup from the shuttle's propulsion system. The crew must also prepare for their next space walk, planned for Friday, on which they'll work to repair a thermal blanket that pulled away from the orbital maneuvering system pod on the rear of the shuttle.
Throughout the week, crew members have been activating the Starboard 3 and 4 (S3/S4) truss segment that was attached to the station on Monday. The segment includes a pair of solar arrays that will be placed on the starboard side of the space station. They will complement the port-side pair of arrays that were installed last fall, and will add additional power-generation capabilities.
The crew is moving the older P6 array in order to make room for the new starboard arrays and allow them to rotate a full 360 degrees as they track the sun, Jeffs explained. Eventually, the P6 will be relocated to another part of the space station by a future shuttle crew.
A Long Haul
Meanwhile, the Atlantis is scheduled to leave the space station next Wednesday. Flight controllers will continue work on the compromised computers, but "even if everything goes smoothly, confidence will not be restored for at least a month," Oberg said.
"Statistically, this is not random," he noted. "There is some new environmental factor that must identified and isolated, and neither step is trivial.
"It will take a long time," Oberg added. "In the meantime, we'll watch closely and see what happens."
New Kodak Sensor Pulls Colors Out of the Shadows
Kodak says it's come up with technology that allows digital cameras to capture better color in low-light situations. The new sensors will be ready for sampling early next year. However, will the new technology find a voice in a market where consumers seem most drawn to megapixels?
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
A new sensor design introduced Thursday by Kodak will double, and possibly quadruple, the light sensitivity of digital cameras, according to the company.
Describing the technology as "groundbreaking," Kodak said the advance in image sensor design will drastically improve the quality of digital pictures taken in low-light situations. Image sensors are used to convert light into electrical charges that are subsequently digitized.
The new design advances an existing Kodak technology -- the so-called Bayer filter array color image sensors first created three decades ago by Kodak scientist Bryce Bayer -- that has become the standard in digital imaging, the company said.
Rise of the Panchromatic Pixel
In Bayer Pattern-based image sensors, about half of a sensor's pixels are used to gather green light. The remaining pixels gather red and blue light. Digital cameras use software to convert the combined data into full-color signals for each pixel.
The new sensors -- designed by a team of Kodak inventors including John Compton and John Hamilton -- add panchromatic, or "clear," pixels to the red, green and blue ones in sensor arrays.
"Since these pixels are sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, they collect a significantly higher proportion of the light striking the sensor," explained Kodak. "By matching these pixel arrangements with advanced software algorithms from Kodak that are optimized for these new patterns, users can realize an increase in photographic speed, directly improving performance when taking pictures under low light."
Turn Down the Color Noise
The new design allows faster shutter speeds and higher resolution for sharper photos, the company said.
"In a low-light situation, these new patterns will produce a lot less color noise than a Bayer pattern sensor," noted Hamilton. "You can run the shutter faster, which gets rid of a lot of motion artifacts. It will cut down on camera shake -- or if you're taking a picture of a moving object, there will be less blur."
The first sensor to use the new design should be available "for sampling" early next year, said Kodak.
Lost in Megapixel Hysteria?
Kodak's new technology is impressive but now faces a crucial test, said digital photography expert David Etchells, founder of Imaging Resource. The question is, can the company create enough stir to push manufacturers into adopting the new sensors?
"It's definitely going to be a marketing Email Marketing Software - Free Demo challenge," Etchells told TechNewsWorld, because consumers are obsessed with megapixel numbers.
Although some other factors -- such as the light sensitivity issue addressed by Kodak -- are more difficult to reduce to a marketing buzzword, they might be more important, he pointed out.
"I think that high ISO -- light sensitivity -- is a key feature for digital cameras, and it's something particularly hard to do in consumer cameras because the sensors are so small," said Etchells. "Everybody is trying to improve the light sensitivity. It's a pretty key feature for consumers to be able to shoot in relatively dim lighting."
Some camera makers are already touting supersensitivity by using high ISO numbers but failing to mention that the image quality is terrible, he said.
"Everybody is saying their cameras already have high ISO settings, and some manufacturers are making really ludicrous claims," Etchells remarked, "but the pictures are almost totally worthless."
Kodak seems to have found a way to allow higher ISOs "without the image noise that comes with it," he said.
Though Etchells stopped short of characterizing the new technology as a breakthrough, he predicted that it "could have a significant impact -- since it looks like they ought to be able to increase the sensitivity of the sensor by at least a factor of two."
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
A new sensor design introduced Thursday by Kodak will double, and possibly quadruple, the light sensitivity of digital cameras, according to the company.
Describing the technology as "groundbreaking," Kodak said the advance in image sensor design will drastically improve the quality of digital pictures taken in low-light situations. Image sensors are used to convert light into electrical charges that are subsequently digitized.
The new design advances an existing Kodak technology -- the so-called Bayer filter array color image sensors first created three decades ago by Kodak scientist Bryce Bayer -- that has become the standard in digital imaging, the company said.
Rise of the Panchromatic Pixel
In Bayer Pattern-based image sensors, about half of a sensor's pixels are used to gather green light. The remaining pixels gather red and blue light. Digital cameras use software to convert the combined data into full-color signals for each pixel.
The new sensors -- designed by a team of Kodak inventors including John Compton and John Hamilton -- add panchromatic, or "clear," pixels to the red, green and blue ones in sensor arrays.
"Since these pixels are sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, they collect a significantly higher proportion of the light striking the sensor," explained Kodak. "By matching these pixel arrangements with advanced software algorithms from Kodak that are optimized for these new patterns, users can realize an increase in photographic speed, directly improving performance when taking pictures under low light."
Turn Down the Color Noise
The new design allows faster shutter speeds and higher resolution for sharper photos, the company said.
"In a low-light situation, these new patterns will produce a lot less color noise than a Bayer pattern sensor," noted Hamilton. "You can run the shutter faster, which gets rid of a lot of motion artifacts. It will cut down on camera shake -- or if you're taking a picture of a moving object, there will be less blur."
The first sensor to use the new design should be available "for sampling" early next year, said Kodak.
Lost in Megapixel Hysteria?
Kodak's new technology is impressive but now faces a crucial test, said digital photography expert David Etchells, founder of Imaging Resource. The question is, can the company create enough stir to push manufacturers into adopting the new sensors?
"It's definitely going to be a marketing Email Marketing Software - Free Demo challenge," Etchells told TechNewsWorld, because consumers are obsessed with megapixel numbers.
Although some other factors -- such as the light sensitivity issue addressed by Kodak -- are more difficult to reduce to a marketing buzzword, they might be more important, he pointed out.
"I think that high ISO -- light sensitivity -- is a key feature for digital cameras, and it's something particularly hard to do in consumer cameras because the sensors are so small," said Etchells. "Everybody is trying to improve the light sensitivity. It's a pretty key feature for consumers to be able to shoot in relatively dim lighting."
Some camera makers are already touting supersensitivity by using high ISO numbers but failing to mention that the image quality is terrible, he said.
"Everybody is saying their cameras already have high ISO settings, and some manufacturers are making really ludicrous claims," Etchells remarked, "but the pictures are almost totally worthless."
Kodak seems to have found a way to allow higher ISOs "without the image noise that comes with it," he said.
Though Etchells stopped short of characterizing the new technology as a breakthrough, he predicted that it "could have a significant impact -- since it looks like they ought to be able to increase the sensitivity of the sensor by at least a factor of two."
Microsoft Leads Linspire to Its Linux Stable
Linspire has joined the likes of Novell, JBoss and Xandros in signing cross-licensing and litigation protection deals with Microsoft. Microsoft has gone on a virtual spree lately, partnering with Linux vendors across the board. Only a few years ago, the software giant was fuming about Linspire, which back then was known as Lindows.
LinuxInsider | 06/14/07
Linspire Latest News about Linspire has become the latest Linux vendor to sign a deal with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft, the two companies announced Wednesday. The pact promises a closer working relationship between the two software makers. For consumers, it brings greater interoperability and a technical collaboration that also includes intellectual property assurances, Microsoft said.
"Delivering interoperable solutions for our customers is an important priority," said Bill Hilf, general manager of platform strategy at Microsoft. "Through our ongoing collaborative relationships with commercial open source companies, we are demonstrating our commitment to delivering the value and increased interoperability customers want.
"Covering features from document formats to instant messaging and digital media, our announcement today with Linsipire is an important step for our mutual customers," he added.
Share and Share Alike
Microsoft and Linspire will collaborate on a variety of technical projects, the companies said, designed to enhance interoperability and expand the functionality of Linspire.
In conjunction with Microsoft, Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) Latest News about Novell and a host of other companies, Linspire will work to develop and distribute open source licensed translators so that OpenOffice and Microsoft Office users can better share documents. Linspire will also license Microsoft's RT Audio Codec, a move intended to allow voice-enabled interoperability between the Linux vendor's Pidgin instant messaging client and both Microsoft Office Communicator and Windows Live Messenger.
Linspire will now support Microsoft's latest iteration of its Windows Media 10 audio and video codec so that Linspire and Windows users can better share digital media files. Finally, Linspire users will now have their choice of Arial, Georgia, Times New Roman or Verdana fonts for their documents. The deal also includes licensing for Microsoft's TrueType fonts.
In addition to the technological additions, Microsoft's Live Search service will be the default Web search engine in Linspire 5.0. Most importantly, an intellectual property assurance agreement between the two companies will protect Linspire from any legal actions on Microsoft's part relating to possible patent infringements.
One caveat is that only users who purchase Linspire will have access to these technologies. Users of Freespire, the no-charge version, will not support the technologies or receive patent protection.
"This is another set of options to add to the Linux desktop," Laura Didio, a Yankee Group Fellow, told LinuxInsider. "Linux has made incredible inroads in the server Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. area and the embedded device area. But they have not really had the same level of success to date in the desktop arena and its all about the applications."
Sleeping With the Enemy?
The tie-up between the two companies is one of the more surprising developments in Microsoft's recent spate of agreements with distributors in the open source community. The two companies have faced off in court in a trademark infringement case filed by Microsoft in 2001 over Linspire's original name, Lindows, and its first Linux operating system, the user interface (UI) of which was said to be a take-off of the Windows' UI.
In 2004, a US$20 million payment from Microsoft brought the dispute to a satisfactory end for both companies. Lindows, a little richer, changed its name to Linspire, and Microsoft had successfully protected the "Windows" name.
Kevin Carmony, the Linspire's president, said the partnership with Microsoft would "bring even more choices to desktop Linux users, and together, offer a 'better' Linux experience.
"Just as Steve Jobs announced in 1997 that 'the era of setting this up as a competition between Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple and Microsoft is over,' I too believe it's time for Linux to do the same. Rather than isolating Linux, I believe we need to understand, as Apple did in 1997, that Linux exists in an ecosystem and must work with and interoperate within that ecosystem.
"As unpopular as it may appear to some, Linspire is willing to take a lead in this effort. Some people booed Steve Jobs back in 1997, but if you trace the history of his announcement, I think it was an incredibly smart move for both Microsoft and Apple, issuing a new era for both," he continued.
A Growing Cohort
The Linspire hookup is just the latest Linux vendor to join Microsoft's fold. The software giant kicked off its wave of Linux deals with Novell in November. Despite an outcry from some members of the Linux community, Microsoft went on to form collaborative partnerships with JBoss, Xandros and XenSource.
Each tie-up included cross-licensing deals with the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker, as well as patent licensing. Microsoft has also recently signed agreements with LG, Samsung, Zend Technologies and Fuji Xerox.
"All these deals are cross-licensing deals; Microsoft has to pay them for the use of their technology too," Didio said. "The trend is toward signing these agreements no matter who you are. [Patent] disputes are time consuming, they drain the cash coffers and they take the focus away from the business.
"The users benefit and the vendors benefit too because they are not fighting over patents in court," Didio concluded.
LinuxInsider | 06/14/07
Linspire Latest News about Linspire has become the latest Linux vendor to sign a deal with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft, the two companies announced Wednesday. The pact promises a closer working relationship between the two software makers. For consumers, it brings greater interoperability and a technical collaboration that also includes intellectual property assurances, Microsoft said.
"Delivering interoperable solutions for our customers is an important priority," said Bill Hilf, general manager of platform strategy at Microsoft. "Through our ongoing collaborative relationships with commercial open source companies, we are demonstrating our commitment to delivering the value and increased interoperability customers want.
"Covering features from document formats to instant messaging and digital media, our announcement today with Linsipire is an important step for our mutual customers," he added.
Share and Share Alike
Microsoft and Linspire will collaborate on a variety of technical projects, the companies said, designed to enhance interoperability and expand the functionality of Linspire.
In conjunction with Microsoft, Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) Latest News about Novell and a host of other companies, Linspire will work to develop and distribute open source licensed translators so that OpenOffice and Microsoft Office users can better share documents. Linspire will also license Microsoft's RT Audio Codec, a move intended to allow voice-enabled interoperability between the Linux vendor's Pidgin instant messaging client and both Microsoft Office Communicator and Windows Live Messenger.
Linspire will now support Microsoft's latest iteration of its Windows Media 10 audio and video codec so that Linspire and Windows users can better share digital media files. Finally, Linspire users will now have their choice of Arial, Georgia, Times New Roman or Verdana fonts for their documents. The deal also includes licensing for Microsoft's TrueType fonts.
In addition to the technological additions, Microsoft's Live Search service will be the default Web search engine in Linspire 5.0. Most importantly, an intellectual property assurance agreement between the two companies will protect Linspire from any legal actions on Microsoft's part relating to possible patent infringements.
One caveat is that only users who purchase Linspire will have access to these technologies. Users of Freespire, the no-charge version, will not support the technologies or receive patent protection.
"This is another set of options to add to the Linux desktop," Laura Didio, a Yankee Group Fellow, told LinuxInsider. "Linux has made incredible inroads in the server Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. area and the embedded device area. But they have not really had the same level of success to date in the desktop arena and its all about the applications."
Sleeping With the Enemy?
The tie-up between the two companies is one of the more surprising developments in Microsoft's recent spate of agreements with distributors in the open source community. The two companies have faced off in court in a trademark infringement case filed by Microsoft in 2001 over Linspire's original name, Lindows, and its first Linux operating system, the user interface (UI) of which was said to be a take-off of the Windows' UI.
In 2004, a US$20 million payment from Microsoft brought the dispute to a satisfactory end for both companies. Lindows, a little richer, changed its name to Linspire, and Microsoft had successfully protected the "Windows" name.
Kevin Carmony, the Linspire's president, said the partnership with Microsoft would "bring even more choices to desktop Linux users, and together, offer a 'better' Linux experience.
"Just as Steve Jobs announced in 1997 that 'the era of setting this up as a competition between Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple and Microsoft is over,' I too believe it's time for Linux to do the same. Rather than isolating Linux, I believe we need to understand, as Apple did in 1997, that Linux exists in an ecosystem and must work with and interoperate within that ecosystem.
"As unpopular as it may appear to some, Linspire is willing to take a lead in this effort. Some people booed Steve Jobs back in 1997, but if you trace the history of his announcement, I think it was an incredibly smart move for both Microsoft and Apple, issuing a new era for both," he continued.
A Growing Cohort
The Linspire hookup is just the latest Linux vendor to join Microsoft's fold. The software giant kicked off its wave of Linux deals with Novell in November. Despite an outcry from some members of the Linux community, Microsoft went on to form collaborative partnerships with JBoss, Xandros and XenSource.
Each tie-up included cross-licensing deals with the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker, as well as patent licensing. Microsoft has also recently signed agreements with LG, Samsung, Zend Technologies and Fuji Xerox.
"All these deals are cross-licensing deals; Microsoft has to pay them for the use of their technology too," Didio said. "The trend is toward signing these agreements no matter who you are. [Patent] disputes are time consuming, they drain the cash coffers and they take the focus away from the business.
"The users benefit and the vendors benefit too because they are not fighting over patents in court," Didio concluded.
eBay Yanks Ad Millions After Google's Party Foul
eBay is no longer Google's top AdWords customer. A brouhaha over party planning that calls up images of kids blowing raspberries at each other led the auction giant to tear up its $25 million a quarter AdWords contract with the search titan. Apparently, eBay was offended when Google scheduled a Checkout event that overlapped eBay's PayPal party -- and then invited all of eBay's friends to come.
E-Commerce Times | 06/14/07
Auction giant eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) Latest News about eBay has stopped buying Google AdWords in apparent retaliation for a now-canceled event meant to build support among eBay sellers for Google Checkout -- a sign of the increasing tensions between the Internet competitors.
The spat reportedly began when Google last week announced it would hold an event that coincided with the beginning of eBay Live, the annual gathering of eBay sellers and devotees taking place in Boston this year.
The Google gathering was aimed at encouraging eBay sellers to demand the auction site allow the use of Checkout, Google's online payment service. eBay strongly urges its sellers to use its PayPal service as the preferred option for closing auction and fixed-price sales Email Marketing Software - Free Demo and has not opened the site to Checkout.
Shifting Ad Spending
eBay confirmed that it had shifted ad spending away from Google AdWords, the search giant's paid keyword program, but billed the move as part of an "ongoing experiment" to test various advertising options and occasionally change its mix of media buys.
The timing suggests eBay was upset about Google's event, called the "Google Checkout Freedom Party."
eBay reportedly pulled its ad purchases by Wednesday morning. Later that day, Google canceled the planned event in Boston through a blog post from Google Checkout Team member Tom Oliveri.
"eBay Live attendees have plenty of activities to keep them busy this week in Boston, and we did not want to detract from that activity," Oliveri wrote. "After speaking with officials at eBay, we at Google agreed that it was better for us not to feature this event during the eBay Live conference. Google is constantly reaching out to new users and sellers, and we are available to privately discuss any matters of concern with individuals as they relate to Google products."
The eBay-Google partnership -- Google also delivers ads to overseas eBay sites -- has long been rife with tension, with each company eying many of the same online opportunities.
For instance, Google Base competes with Craigslist, the funky classified site that eBay has invested in, and Google Checkout was initially viewed as a PayPal-killer.
eBay has partnered extensively with Google rival Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) Latest News about Yahoo, striking a multiyear deal last spring that called for the two to work more closely together in other areas as well, with the Yahoo Wallet service using PayPal and with cooperation around new technology to take advantage of eBay's Skype Latest News about Skype Internet calling service.
Freedom Rings Hollow
Google had hoped to use the concentrated gathering of eBay devotees to build support for Checkout, apparently seeking to create grassroots support for opening up the auction site to the payment alternative, which lets shoppers store credit card information and use a simple log-in and password to make payments to merchants across the Web. Google invited eBay sellers to board a trolley and travel to an important site in pre-Revolutionary history, the Old South Meeting House, for the shindig.
"We'll use the same spot where revolutionaries launched the Boston Tea Party to celebrate freedom with free food, free drinks, free live music -- even free massages," Google wrote in an invitation posted to the Google Checkout blog.
eBay Live attracts scores of vendors who sell services and products to eBay users -- such as automated auction programs and items to support their businesses. However, the event is mainly a chance for eBay to foster a stronger sense of community among its users. The company treats attendees to entertainment, motivational speeches and a keynote from CEO Meg Whitman.
Partners in Time
eBay is the largest single AdWords customer in the U.S., according to both comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings; comScore estimates that eBay spent nearly twice as much as the No. 2 AdWords customer, Target.
eBay spends around US$25 million a quarter on AdWords, RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan writes in a research note -- a fraction of the $3.7 billion in revenue Google raked in last quarter -- the vast majority of it from paid search listings.
Still, the tiff is heavy with symbolism, especially since Google has claimed that its Checkout service was not meant to compete directly with PayPal, which specializes in small payments and those between individuals, rather than those between consumers and merchants, said search expert John Battelle.
Meanwhile, eBay may get as many as 12 percent of its visitors through Google searches each month, Battelle told the E-Commerce Times, suggesting a codependence that eBay may have been trying to break with the Yahoo deal.
In some ways, all of the major Internet companies have been converging on the same, increasingly crowded turf, Forrester Research analyst Carrie Johnson told the E-Commerce Times.
Where once there were "bright lines" dividing major Web companies, she noted, eBay moved into Amazon's (Nasdaq: AMZN) Latest News about Amazon.com fixed-price retail world, while Google built itself up into more of a portal to compete with Yahoo and AOL and added the payment function, which put it on a collision course with eBay.
The potential for clashes has grown as each company has moved into new areas through acquisitions, as well. "A lot of the partnerships now in place date from a time when there was much less overlap and direct competition," Johnson said.
E-Commerce Times | 06/14/07
Auction giant eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) Latest News about eBay has stopped buying Google AdWords in apparent retaliation for a now-canceled event meant to build support among eBay sellers for Google Checkout -- a sign of the increasing tensions between the Internet competitors.
The spat reportedly began when Google last week announced it would hold an event that coincided with the beginning of eBay Live, the annual gathering of eBay sellers and devotees taking place in Boston this year.
The Google gathering was aimed at encouraging eBay sellers to demand the auction site allow the use of Checkout, Google's online payment service. eBay strongly urges its sellers to use its PayPal service as the preferred option for closing auction and fixed-price sales Email Marketing Software - Free Demo and has not opened the site to Checkout.
Shifting Ad Spending
eBay confirmed that it had shifted ad spending away from Google AdWords, the search giant's paid keyword program, but billed the move as part of an "ongoing experiment" to test various advertising options and occasionally change its mix of media buys.
The timing suggests eBay was upset about Google's event, called the "Google Checkout Freedom Party."
eBay reportedly pulled its ad purchases by Wednesday morning. Later that day, Google canceled the planned event in Boston through a blog post from Google Checkout Team member Tom Oliveri.
"eBay Live attendees have plenty of activities to keep them busy this week in Boston, and we did not want to detract from that activity," Oliveri wrote. "After speaking with officials at eBay, we at Google agreed that it was better for us not to feature this event during the eBay Live conference. Google is constantly reaching out to new users and sellers, and we are available to privately discuss any matters of concern with individuals as they relate to Google products."
The eBay-Google partnership -- Google also delivers ads to overseas eBay sites -- has long been rife with tension, with each company eying many of the same online opportunities.
For instance, Google Base competes with Craigslist, the funky classified site that eBay has invested in, and Google Checkout was initially viewed as a PayPal-killer.
eBay has partnered extensively with Google rival Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) Latest News about Yahoo, striking a multiyear deal last spring that called for the two to work more closely together in other areas as well, with the Yahoo Wallet service using PayPal and with cooperation around new technology to take advantage of eBay's Skype Latest News about Skype Internet calling service.
Freedom Rings Hollow
Google had hoped to use the concentrated gathering of eBay devotees to build support for Checkout, apparently seeking to create grassroots support for opening up the auction site to the payment alternative, which lets shoppers store credit card information and use a simple log-in and password to make payments to merchants across the Web. Google invited eBay sellers to board a trolley and travel to an important site in pre-Revolutionary history, the Old South Meeting House, for the shindig.
"We'll use the same spot where revolutionaries launched the Boston Tea Party to celebrate freedom with free food, free drinks, free live music -- even free massages," Google wrote in an invitation posted to the Google Checkout blog.
eBay Live attracts scores of vendors who sell services and products to eBay users -- such as automated auction programs and items to support their businesses. However, the event is mainly a chance for eBay to foster a stronger sense of community among its users. The company treats attendees to entertainment, motivational speeches and a keynote from CEO Meg Whitman.
Partners in Time
eBay is the largest single AdWords customer in the U.S., according to both comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings; comScore estimates that eBay spent nearly twice as much as the No. 2 AdWords customer, Target.
eBay spends around US$25 million a quarter on AdWords, RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan writes in a research note -- a fraction of the $3.7 billion in revenue Google raked in last quarter -- the vast majority of it from paid search listings.
Still, the tiff is heavy with symbolism, especially since Google has claimed that its Checkout service was not meant to compete directly with PayPal, which specializes in small payments and those between individuals, rather than those between consumers and merchants, said search expert John Battelle.
Meanwhile, eBay may get as many as 12 percent of its visitors through Google searches each month, Battelle told the E-Commerce Times, suggesting a codependence that eBay may have been trying to break with the Yahoo deal.
In some ways, all of the major Internet companies have been converging on the same, increasingly crowded turf, Forrester Research analyst Carrie Johnson told the E-Commerce Times.
Where once there were "bright lines" dividing major Web companies, she noted, eBay moved into Amazon's (Nasdaq: AMZN) Latest News about Amazon.com fixed-price retail world, while Google built itself up into more of a portal to compete with Yahoo and AOL and added the payment function, which put it on a collision course with eBay.
The potential for clashes has grown as each company has moved into new areas through acquisitions, as well. "A lot of the partnerships now in place date from a time when there was much less overlap and direct competition," Johnson said.
The Shrouded Sharing Shenanigans of P2P Programs
P2P file-sharing is enormously detrimental to the entertainment industry. "Music piracy is illegal and extremely detrimental to all of those who make a living creating original musical works," artist and songwriter Eddie Money told TechNewsWorld. "If you truly like music, don't steal it. Support the industry by downloading your music legally."
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
People who use popular file-sharing software at home, in school and in the workplace to download music and videos are likely to expose their own personal and corporate data stored on their computers' hard drives.
The ability of P2P (peer-to-peer) software to hunt for and grab personal and corporate information is now raising concerns by government and military agencies worried that these file-sharing programs could pose threats to national security Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here.
People who store any type of sensitive data on their home computers, particularly computers to which children, teenagers or college students might have access, confront circumstances similar to those faced by governmental or corporate IT managers, warns a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) report.
"P2P depends on the availability of files on the network. P2P intentionally dupes users into providing these files," Safwat Fahmy, CEO and president of SafeMedia, told TechNewsWorld.
Fahmy presented testimony to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology on Dec. 5. That hearing focused on using technology to reduce digital copyright violations. His testimony, in part, addressed the issues raised in the USPTO report.
SafeMedia has developed Clouseau software and the P2P Disaggregator technology it uses to prevent computers from uploading personal and sensitive documents while blocking illegal downloads of copyrighted music and videos.
At a Glance
The USPTO report was prepared by Thomas D. Sydnor II, John Knight and Lee A. Hollaar in November. It contains introductory comments by Jon W. Dudas, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the USPTO, about the need to further review the report's findings. The report reviews public data about the behavior of five popular file-sharing programs -- BearShare, eDonkey, KaZaA, LimeWire and Morpheus.
It poses two questions about privacy and file-sharing issues. First, the report asks whether distributors of these file-sharing programs used features that had a known or obvious propensity to trick users into uploading infringing files inadvertently. Second, it asks if further investigations are needed into the intentions of any particular distributor over the use of such duping schemes to induce users to illegally share copyrighted material.
The report concludes that the distributors of these five file-sharing programs have repeatedly deployed features that had a known propensity to trick users into uploading infringing files inadvertently.
Targeted Features
All five programs studied in the USPTO report use either the same share folder or search wizard features. The report described these features as being uniquely dangerous. The targeted features can cause users to inadvertently share infringing files and sensitive personal files like tax returns, financial records and documents that contain private or classified data. By late spring of 2005, the Department of Homeland Security Latest News about Department of Homeland Security reported that government employees using file-sharing programs had repeatedly compromised national and military security by sharing files containing sensitive or classified data, according to the report.
All five P2P programs studied employ a feature that lets users store downloaded files in a folder other than the specified default folder the programs create. However, the programs fail to warn users that all files stored in the selected folder will be shared. In most cases, the sharing caused by this feature includes not only the files stored in the designated folder but also all files stored in any of its subfolders, said the report.
At least three of the programs use a feature that searches users' hard drives and recommends that users share folders that contain certain file types. These file types trigger uploads of document files, audio files, audiovisual files and image files, noted the report. Further, some search-wizard features activate automatically, while others require the user to trigger them.
Another problem revealed by the report is that some of the features are activated during a program's installation and setup process. However, others are an option that a user can activate after the program is installed and running.
Other Problem Areas
The report cited concerns about the partial-uninstall features found in at least four of the P2P programs analyzed. If users uninstall one of these programs from their computers, the process will leave behind a file that will cause any subsequent installation of any version of the same program to share all folders shared by the "uninstalled" copy of the program.
Privacy violations are not limited to the user profile, warned the report. Whenever a computer is used by more than one person, this partial-uninstall feature ensures that users cannot know which files and folders these programs will share by default.
The coerced-sharing features of P2P programs further worried the report writers. Four of the P2P programs have features that make it far more difficult for users to disable the sharing feature of the folder used to store downloaded files. This folder may be the default download folder created by the file-sharing program or an existing folder selected to store downloaded files through a share-folder feature, according to the report.
In each case, the feature can provide misleading feedback that incorrectly indicates that the user has disabled sharing of the download folder. However, in each case, an obscure mechanism appears to allow sophisticated users to avoid the coerced-sharing feature and stop sharing the download folder. The report was critical of the level of technical skill users need to fully turn off the shared download folder feature.
Report Conclusions
All five of these programs can cause users to share infringing files inadvertently, warned the report. Redistribution and coerced-sharing features can cause users to share downloaded files inadvertently.
"Even when parents know that their children are using popular sites like LimeWire, eMule, uTorrent and dozens of others, most of them are not techies enough to understand these illegal P2P networks' features," explained Fahmy. "The problem is, on the surface they appear to be so easy to use. Parents believe that they are safe.
"The damage being caused by P2P networks goes unnoticed because it's free, and most often it is an illegal transfer of copyright-protected files," explained Fahmy. In addition, research by the security company TruSecure found that 45 percent of popular downloaded files concealed malicious code, he said.
Devastating Industry
P2P file-sharing is enormously detrimental to the entertainment industry. Last year more than US$2 billion worth of illegal music downloads and movies were pirated at more than $20 billion loss to the industry, according to Bob Werden, publicist for Independent Films in Hollywood.
"In Los Angeles, one can go not more than five miles from any of the major studios and find DVDs of films not even in release being sold for as little as $10. Major efforts are underway to stop that part of the piracy. But someone who has purchased 'SpiderMan 3' or 'Ocean's 13' or 'Pirates of the Caribbean' can now send it to their friends for downloading. The music industry is in equal jeopardy," Werden told TechNewsWorld.
That kind of piracy has devastated both the music and film industries, offered David Bortman, a Beverly Hills entertainment attorney. Billions of dollars have been lost, he said, and many people have lost their jobs because of such piracy. It is an extremely difficult problem because many people believe they are doing nothing wrong by downloading a record or a movie. They feel nothing has been taken from anyone, he said.
"People who do these things feel no guilt whatsoever, even though they are destroying careers. It would seem clear, based on experience over the last few years, that this is not going to change. For this reason, the only thing that is going to protect the artists and their partners and coworkers is the development of technology that prevents the unlawful downloading," Bortman said.
No Innocent Bystanders
P2P downloaders are not innocent bystanders, asserted Werden. Security efforts in the entertainment industry are getting tighter and stronger, but films are still being stolen and moved onto the Internet, he said.
"I do believe that those people who download DVD and CD films and music that are not legal know that. There are very few tech-unaware Internet users out there. Perhaps some 80-year-old guy and his wife might not realize that the film they send to their grandchild at college is illegal, but the majority have read and heard about Internet piracy of films and music," Werden told TechNewsWorld.
Artist and songwriter Eddie Money could not agree more.
"Music piracy is illegal and extremely detrimental to all of those who make a living creating original musical works," Money told TechNewsWorld. "If you truly like music, don't steal it. Support the industry by downloading your music legally."
TechNewsWorld | 06/14/07
People who use popular file-sharing software at home, in school and in the workplace to download music and videos are likely to expose their own personal and corporate data stored on their computers' hard drives.
The ability of P2P (peer-to-peer) software to hunt for and grab personal and corporate information is now raising concerns by government and military agencies worried that these file-sharing programs could pose threats to national security Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here.
People who store any type of sensitive data on their home computers, particularly computers to which children, teenagers or college students might have access, confront circumstances similar to those faced by governmental or corporate IT managers, warns a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) report.
"P2P depends on the availability of files on the network. P2P intentionally dupes users into providing these files," Safwat Fahmy, CEO and president of SafeMedia, told TechNewsWorld.
Fahmy presented testimony to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology on Dec. 5. That hearing focused on using technology to reduce digital copyright violations. His testimony, in part, addressed the issues raised in the USPTO report.
SafeMedia has developed Clouseau software and the P2P Disaggregator technology it uses to prevent computers from uploading personal and sensitive documents while blocking illegal downloads of copyrighted music and videos.
At a Glance
The USPTO report was prepared by Thomas D. Sydnor II, John Knight and Lee A. Hollaar in November. It contains introductory comments by Jon W. Dudas, undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the USPTO, about the need to further review the report's findings. The report reviews public data about the behavior of five popular file-sharing programs -- BearShare, eDonkey, KaZaA, LimeWire and Morpheus.
It poses two questions about privacy and file-sharing issues. First, the report asks whether distributors of these file-sharing programs used features that had a known or obvious propensity to trick users into uploading infringing files inadvertently. Second, it asks if further investigations are needed into the intentions of any particular distributor over the use of such duping schemes to induce users to illegally share copyrighted material.
The report concludes that the distributors of these five file-sharing programs have repeatedly deployed features that had a known propensity to trick users into uploading infringing files inadvertently.
Targeted Features
All five programs studied in the USPTO report use either the same share folder or search wizard features. The report described these features as being uniquely dangerous. The targeted features can cause users to inadvertently share infringing files and sensitive personal files like tax returns, financial records and documents that contain private or classified data. By late spring of 2005, the Department of Homeland Security Latest News about Department of Homeland Security reported that government employees using file-sharing programs had repeatedly compromised national and military security by sharing files containing sensitive or classified data, according to the report.
All five P2P programs studied employ a feature that lets users store downloaded files in a folder other than the specified default folder the programs create. However, the programs fail to warn users that all files stored in the selected folder will be shared. In most cases, the sharing caused by this feature includes not only the files stored in the designated folder but also all files stored in any of its subfolders, said the report.
At least three of the programs use a feature that searches users' hard drives and recommends that users share folders that contain certain file types. These file types trigger uploads of document files, audio files, audiovisual files and image files, noted the report. Further, some search-wizard features activate automatically, while others require the user to trigger them.
Another problem revealed by the report is that some of the features are activated during a program's installation and setup process. However, others are an option that a user can activate after the program is installed and running.
Other Problem Areas
The report cited concerns about the partial-uninstall features found in at least four of the P2P programs analyzed. If users uninstall one of these programs from their computers, the process will leave behind a file that will cause any subsequent installation of any version of the same program to share all folders shared by the "uninstalled" copy of the program.
Privacy violations are not limited to the user profile, warned the report. Whenever a computer is used by more than one person, this partial-uninstall feature ensures that users cannot know which files and folders these programs will share by default.
The coerced-sharing features of P2P programs further worried the report writers. Four of the P2P programs have features that make it far more difficult for users to disable the sharing feature of the folder used to store downloaded files. This folder may be the default download folder created by the file-sharing program or an existing folder selected to store downloaded files through a share-folder feature, according to the report.
In each case, the feature can provide misleading feedback that incorrectly indicates that the user has disabled sharing of the download folder. However, in each case, an obscure mechanism appears to allow sophisticated users to avoid the coerced-sharing feature and stop sharing the download folder. The report was critical of the level of technical skill users need to fully turn off the shared download folder feature.
Report Conclusions
All five of these programs can cause users to share infringing files inadvertently, warned the report. Redistribution and coerced-sharing features can cause users to share downloaded files inadvertently.
"Even when parents know that their children are using popular sites like LimeWire, eMule, uTorrent and dozens of others, most of them are not techies enough to understand these illegal P2P networks' features," explained Fahmy. "The problem is, on the surface they appear to be so easy to use. Parents believe that they are safe.
"The damage being caused by P2P networks goes unnoticed because it's free, and most often it is an illegal transfer of copyright-protected files," explained Fahmy. In addition, research by the security company TruSecure found that 45 percent of popular downloaded files concealed malicious code, he said.
Devastating Industry
P2P file-sharing is enormously detrimental to the entertainment industry. Last year more than US$2 billion worth of illegal music downloads and movies were pirated at more than $20 billion loss to the industry, according to Bob Werden, publicist for Independent Films in Hollywood.
"In Los Angeles, one can go not more than five miles from any of the major studios and find DVDs of films not even in release being sold for as little as $10. Major efforts are underway to stop that part of the piracy. But someone who has purchased 'SpiderMan 3' or 'Ocean's 13' or 'Pirates of the Caribbean' can now send it to their friends for downloading. The music industry is in equal jeopardy," Werden told TechNewsWorld.
That kind of piracy has devastated both the music and film industries, offered David Bortman, a Beverly Hills entertainment attorney. Billions of dollars have been lost, he said, and many people have lost their jobs because of such piracy. It is an extremely difficult problem because many people believe they are doing nothing wrong by downloading a record or a movie. They feel nothing has been taken from anyone, he said.
"People who do these things feel no guilt whatsoever, even though they are destroying careers. It would seem clear, based on experience over the last few years, that this is not going to change. For this reason, the only thing that is going to protect the artists and their partners and coworkers is the development of technology that prevents the unlawful downloading," Bortman said.
No Innocent Bystanders
P2P downloaders are not innocent bystanders, asserted Werden. Security efforts in the entertainment industry are getting tighter and stronger, but films are still being stolen and moved onto the Internet, he said.
"I do believe that those people who download DVD and CD films and music that are not legal know that. There are very few tech-unaware Internet users out there. Perhaps some 80-year-old guy and his wife might not realize that the film they send to their grandchild at college is illegal, but the majority have read and heard about Internet piracy of films and music," Werden told TechNewsWorld.
Artist and songwriter Eddie Money could not agree more.
"Music piracy is illegal and extremely detrimental to all of those who make a living creating original musical works," Money told TechNewsWorld. "If you truly like music, don't steal it. Support the industry by downloading your music legally."
Blair Aims to Prick Sony's Conscience in Cathedral Game Dispute
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is sympathizing with the Church of England's demands that Sony withdraw a PlayStation 3 game depicting a gory battle scene allegedly in Manchester Cathedral. The church has appealed to the people of Japan to pressure Sony headquarters on the matter.
AP | 06/14/07
The Church of England on Wednesday urged the people of Japan to join its campaign against a violent Sony (NYSE: SNE) Latest News about Sony computer game Latest News about computer games that allegedly uses a British cathedral as a backdrop.
"For a global manufacturer to recreate the interior of any religious building such as a mosque, synagogue, or in this case, a cathedral, with photo realistic quality and then encourage people to have gun battles in the building is beyond belief and in our view highly irresponsible," the dean of Manchester Cathedral, the Very Rev. Rogers Govender, said at a news conference.
In Tokyo, Sony's video game unit said Wednesday it had begun talks with the Church of England over its complaint that Manchester cathedral in northwest England had been used in the shooting game for Sony's new PlayStation 3 Latest News about PlayStation 3 console.
Govender denied that. The Church of England had sent a letter to Sony on Monday outlining its concerns and making several demands, but had yet to receive a formal response, he said.
"We believe a silent response on the issue is not acceptable behavior," Govender said.
"Today I want to appeal directly to the people of Japan to help us put pressure on Sony to respond. So I speak directly to those citizens who share our concerns."
Blair Picks Sides
The church's anti-Sony campaign appeared to win the sympathy of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
During Blair's weekly question-and-answer session in the House of Commons, he urged companies such as Sony to focus on their social obligations and not just profits.
"It is important that any of the companies who are engaged in promoting this type of goods have some sense of responsibility and also some sensitivity to the feelings of others," Blair said in response to a question from a Manchester-area legislator.
"It's important that people understand there is a wider social responsibility as well as simply responsibility for profit."
The debate began Saturday when the church said Sony had not asked for permission to use Manchester cathedral in the game and demanded an apology.
Church Considers Legal Action
The Church of England said it heard last week that a review of the computer game mentioned a church in Manchester and that when it examined the game it recognized images from the cathedral's flooring, stonework and nave.
The new PlayStation 3 game, "Resistance: Fall of Man," involves a virtual shootout between rival gunmen with hundreds of people killed inside the cathedral. Church officials have described Sony's alleged use of the building as "sick" and sacrilegious.
The church has said it will consider legal action if the game is not withdrawn.
In Tokyo on Wednesday, Sony Computer Entertainment spokesperson Nanako Kato said the company had heard about the church's complaint through the media earlier, but began direct talks with the church "yesterday or today."
"We take the church's views seriously," she said. She declined to give details of the talks. More time may be needed for an agreement because the problem was complex, she said.
Historic buildings are often used in entertainment, she said, citing iconic movie scenes involving Godzilla and the Tokyo Tower and King Kong in Manhattan.
Kato acknowledged the church in the game bore a resemblance in some parts to Manchester cathedral. She said the point was to depict the backdrop of an old church, not to illustrate a specific church.
In parts of the game, the central character walks through a cathedral armed with a gun and shoots at alien enemies, which often splatter blood when hit.
Although the cathedral appears only in some scenes, it would be difficult to delete them from the game, which went on sale with the launch of the PlayStation 3 next-generation console.
Two Million Copies Sold
The machine went on sale in Japan and the U.S. late last year, and in Europe in March.
Kato said Sony understood the Church of England was offended especially because of its efforts to reduce gun violence in Manchester. "Resistance: Fall of Man" -- a Sony original -- has sold more than 2 million units around the world, Kato said.
The church was demanding the immediate withdrawal of the game, a Sony apology for using the interior of the cathedral without permission and a substantial donation to the church's education department, Govender said.
Kato declined to say whether Sony would make such donations.
AP | 06/14/07
The Church of England on Wednesday urged the people of Japan to join its campaign against a violent Sony (NYSE: SNE) Latest News about Sony computer game Latest News about computer games that allegedly uses a British cathedral as a backdrop.
"For a global manufacturer to recreate the interior of any religious building such as a mosque, synagogue, or in this case, a cathedral, with photo realistic quality and then encourage people to have gun battles in the building is beyond belief and in our view highly irresponsible," the dean of Manchester Cathedral, the Very Rev. Rogers Govender, said at a news conference.
In Tokyo, Sony's video game unit said Wednesday it had begun talks with the Church of England over its complaint that Manchester cathedral in northwest England had been used in the shooting game for Sony's new PlayStation 3 Latest News about PlayStation 3 console.
Govender denied that. The Church of England had sent a letter to Sony on Monday outlining its concerns and making several demands, but had yet to receive a formal response, he said.
"We believe a silent response on the issue is not acceptable behavior," Govender said.
"Today I want to appeal directly to the people of Japan to help us put pressure on Sony to respond. So I speak directly to those citizens who share our concerns."
Blair Picks Sides
The church's anti-Sony campaign appeared to win the sympathy of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
During Blair's weekly question-and-answer session in the House of Commons, he urged companies such as Sony to focus on their social obligations and not just profits.
"It is important that any of the companies who are engaged in promoting this type of goods have some sense of responsibility and also some sensitivity to the feelings of others," Blair said in response to a question from a Manchester-area legislator.
"It's important that people understand there is a wider social responsibility as well as simply responsibility for profit."
The debate began Saturday when the church said Sony had not asked for permission to use Manchester cathedral in the game and demanded an apology.
Church Considers Legal Action
The Church of England said it heard last week that a review of the computer game mentioned a church in Manchester and that when it examined the game it recognized images from the cathedral's flooring, stonework and nave.
The new PlayStation 3 game, "Resistance: Fall of Man," involves a virtual shootout between rival gunmen with hundreds of people killed inside the cathedral. Church officials have described Sony's alleged use of the building as "sick" and sacrilegious.
The church has said it will consider legal action if the game is not withdrawn.
In Tokyo on Wednesday, Sony Computer Entertainment spokesperson Nanako Kato said the company had heard about the church's complaint through the media earlier, but began direct talks with the church "yesterday or today."
"We take the church's views seriously," she said. She declined to give details of the talks. More time may be needed for an agreement because the problem was complex, she said.
Historic buildings are often used in entertainment, she said, citing iconic movie scenes involving Godzilla and the Tokyo Tower and King Kong in Manhattan.
Kato acknowledged the church in the game bore a resemblance in some parts to Manchester cathedral. She said the point was to depict the backdrop of an old church, not to illustrate a specific church.
In parts of the game, the central character walks through a cathedral armed with a gun and shoots at alien enemies, which often splatter blood when hit.
Although the cathedral appears only in some scenes, it would be difficult to delete them from the game, which went on sale with the launch of the PlayStation 3 next-generation console.
Two Million Copies Sold
The machine went on sale in Japan and the U.S. late last year, and in Europe in March.
Kato said Sony understood the Church of England was offended especially because of its efforts to reduce gun violence in Manchester. "Resistance: Fall of Man" -- a Sony original -- has sold more than 2 million units around the world, Kato said.
The church was demanding the immediate withdrawal of the game, a Sony apology for using the interior of the cathedral without permission and a substantial donation to the church's education department, Govender said.
Kato declined to say whether Sony would make such donations.
Genome 'Junk' Sends Scientists Back to the Drawing Board
Scientists studying the genome say causes of diseases and other human blueprints may be contained in DNA strands previously dismissed as "junk." Prior to this find, researchers focused on studying a fraction of cell molecules. The discovery may now alter the way science views gene regulation, or in other words, pages in the "book of life."
The Herald | 06/14/07
The human genetic code is far more complex and dynamic than scientists had previously imagined, a study by experts from around the world has found.
It was previously assumed only certain stretches of DNA, the genes, had any important function. However, the study shows most of the genome, including parts dismissed as "junk," appears to be actively involved in relaying instructions to cells within the body.
Tapestry of Connections
Instead of a desert containing occasional oases, scientists now see the genome as an intricate tapestry of interwoven connections.
Tim Hubbard, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, England, who took part in the research, said: "The majority of the genome is copied, or transcribed, into RNA, the active molecule in our cells. This is a remarkable finding, since most prior research suggested only a fraction of the genome was transcribed."
Scientists had already learned areas of DNA outside the genes were involved in gene regulation, but the new work identifies previously unknown control regions.
"The integrated approach has helped us to identify new regions of gene regulation and altered our view of how it occurs," said Hubbard.
Five-year study
The ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) project involved scientists from 80 centers and took five years.
Manolis Dermitzakis, another member of the Sanger team, said: "A major surprise was that many of the novel control regions are not shared with other species. We appear to have a reservoir of active elements that seem to provide no specific or direct benefit.
"Our suggestion is these elements can provide a source for new variation between species and within the human genome. This is our genomic seedcorn for the future."
The Herald | 06/14/07
The human genetic code is far more complex and dynamic than scientists had previously imagined, a study by experts from around the world has found.
It was previously assumed only certain stretches of DNA, the genes, had any important function. However, the study shows most of the genome, including parts dismissed as "junk," appears to be actively involved in relaying instructions to cells within the body.
Tapestry of Connections
Instead of a desert containing occasional oases, scientists now see the genome as an intricate tapestry of interwoven connections.
Tim Hubbard, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, England, who took part in the research, said: "The majority of the genome is copied, or transcribed, into RNA, the active molecule in our cells. This is a remarkable finding, since most prior research suggested only a fraction of the genome was transcribed."
Scientists had already learned areas of DNA outside the genes were involved in gene regulation, but the new work identifies previously unknown control regions.
"The integrated approach has helped us to identify new regions of gene regulation and altered our view of how it occurs," said Hubbard.
Five-year study
The ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) project involved scientists from 80 centers and took five years.
Manolis Dermitzakis, another member of the Sanger team, said: "A major surprise was that many of the novel control regions are not shared with other species. We appear to have a reservoir of active elements that seem to provide no specific or direct benefit.
"Our suggestion is these elements can provide a source for new variation between species and within the human genome. This is our genomic seedcorn for the future."
Tech's Green Giants Aim to Shrink Carbon Footprints
Google and Intel have launched the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, which aims to dramatically reduce the power consumption of technology. A slew of other technology firms -- namely Dell, EDS, HP, IBM, Lenovo and Microsoft -- have joined the effort. The iniative is setting a new computer technology efficiency target of 90 percent.
TechNewsWorld | 06/13/07
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. Latest News about Intel and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google led a number of other technology and environmental organizations Tuesday in announcing the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, which is dedicated to slashing the power consumption of technology.
The goal of the initiative, which currently includes Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) Latest News about Dell, EDS, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HP (NYSE: HPQ) Latest News about Hewlett-Packard, IBM (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft, Pacific Gas & Electric, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and more than 25 other organizations, is to cut the power consumption of computers by 50 percent by 2010.
"Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power," said Google Fellow Urs Hölzle, the company's senior vice president of operations.
Slashing Emissions
The initiative is setting a new efficiency target of 90 percent for computer technology. If achieved, that increased efficiency will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 54 million tons per year -- the equivalent of taking 11 million cars off the roads or shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants. It will also save US$5.5 billion in energy costs each year, the program said.
After working separately on efforts to improve their own efficiency levels, Intel and Google "hatched the idea" for the initiative about a year ago, Bill Calder, a spokesperson for Intel, told TechNewsWorld. Hölzle and Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, were the chief architects of the plan, and reached out to other organizations over the past several months, he explained.
Membership in the initiative will be formalized in the next few weeks, but so far members include computer manufacturers and chipmakers, as well as environmental groups, energy companies, retailers, government agencies and more.
"Computers have helped us make huge strides toward a more efficient world today, with reduced travel, more productivity Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry., online transactions and more," said Gelsinger.
Skyrocketing Costs
"But with today's latest energy-efficient technologies, we can do even more," Gelsinger added. "The commitment of the member companies that are here with us today is a firm statement to the collective resolve to make an enormous impact."
While energy costs account for an average of about 10 percent of the typical IT budget today, that number could rise to 50 percent in just a few years, the initiative said. As a result, the Forbes Global 2000 is expected to spend more on energy than on computer hardware by 2010.
The initiative is inviting all companies and organizations to join the effort. The program also provides information on how individuals can make a difference, such as by choosing products certified by Energy Star.
Energy Star Program
Indeed, the Energy Star program is one of several efforts already in place to help reduce greenhouse gases and save energy, while the Climate Leaders program is another one, Kristen Hellmer, a spokesperson for the executive office of the President's Council on Environmental Quality, told TechNewsWorld.
"The administration strongly encourages private sector leadership in increasing energy efficiency," she said. "We are pleased to see Google joining many other companies in taking the lead."
Computer and component manufacturers that join the program commit to building energy-efficient products that meet or surpass Energy Star guidelines. Businesses must also commit to requiring high-efficiency systems for the majority of their corporate desktop PCs and volume server purchases, and to use power-management tools on desktop PCs.
A Sector in Need
"The technology sector is one in which we badly need to reduce energy consumption," Bill Magavern, senior representative for Sierra Club California, told TechNewsWorld. "Reducing consumption 50 percent by 2010 would be impressive."
Since a lot of technology companies have facilities in California, the new effort could also help the state meet its goal of returning to 1990 emission levels by 2020 -- a requirement of the new Global Warming Solutions Act, Magavern noted.
Improving the efficiency of computers will also have the added benefit of reducing the heat they create as waste, and that in turn could propel the development of faster and better technologies, Kevin Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told TechNewsWorld.
"Anything that can be done to cut down on energy consumption will increase efficiency," he said. "Ultimately, it will allow supercomputing centers to become bigger, better and faster."
A Sector-Wide Solution
The initiative licensed its name from the WWF's Climate Savers program, through which leading companies are working to reduce their carbon footprints.
"This is the first time our Climate Savers program has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers and consumers," said John Donoghue, senior vice president for the WWF. "We are pleased to join these industry leaders to provide solutions to address climate change."
TechNewsWorld | 06/13/07
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. Latest News about Intel and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google led a number of other technology and environmental organizations Tuesday in announcing the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, which is dedicated to slashing the power consumption of technology.
The goal of the initiative, which currently includes Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) Latest News about Dell, EDS, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HP (NYSE: HPQ) Latest News about Hewlett-Packard, IBM (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft, Pacific Gas & Electric, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and more than 25 other organizations, is to cut the power consumption of computers by 50 percent by 2010.
"Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power," said Google Fellow Urs Hölzle, the company's senior vice president of operations.
Slashing Emissions
The initiative is setting a new efficiency target of 90 percent for computer technology. If achieved, that increased efficiency will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 54 million tons per year -- the equivalent of taking 11 million cars off the roads or shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants. It will also save US$5.5 billion in energy costs each year, the program said.
After working separately on efforts to improve their own efficiency levels, Intel and Google "hatched the idea" for the initiative about a year ago, Bill Calder, a spokesperson for Intel, told TechNewsWorld. Hölzle and Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, were the chief architects of the plan, and reached out to other organizations over the past several months, he explained.
Membership in the initiative will be formalized in the next few weeks, but so far members include computer manufacturers and chipmakers, as well as environmental groups, energy companies, retailers, government agencies and more.
"Computers have helped us make huge strides toward a more efficient world today, with reduced travel, more productivity Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry., online transactions and more," said Gelsinger.
Skyrocketing Costs
"But with today's latest energy-efficient technologies, we can do even more," Gelsinger added. "The commitment of the member companies that are here with us today is a firm statement to the collective resolve to make an enormous impact."
While energy costs account for an average of about 10 percent of the typical IT budget today, that number could rise to 50 percent in just a few years, the initiative said. As a result, the Forbes Global 2000 is expected to spend more on energy than on computer hardware by 2010.
The initiative is inviting all companies and organizations to join the effort. The program also provides information on how individuals can make a difference, such as by choosing products certified by Energy Star.
Energy Star Program
Indeed, the Energy Star program is one of several efforts already in place to help reduce greenhouse gases and save energy, while the Climate Leaders program is another one, Kristen Hellmer, a spokesperson for the executive office of the President's Council on Environmental Quality, told TechNewsWorld.
"The administration strongly encourages private sector leadership in increasing energy efficiency," she said. "We are pleased to see Google joining many other companies in taking the lead."
Computer and component manufacturers that join the program commit to building energy-efficient products that meet or surpass Energy Star guidelines. Businesses must also commit to requiring high-efficiency systems for the majority of their corporate desktop PCs and volume server purchases, and to use power-management tools on desktop PCs.
A Sector in Need
"The technology sector is one in which we badly need to reduce energy consumption," Bill Magavern, senior representative for Sierra Club California, told TechNewsWorld. "Reducing consumption 50 percent by 2010 would be impressive."
Since a lot of technology companies have facilities in California, the new effort could also help the state meet its goal of returning to 1990 emission levels by 2020 -- a requirement of the new Global Warming Solutions Act, Magavern noted.
Improving the efficiency of computers will also have the added benefit of reducing the heat they create as waste, and that in turn could propel the development of faster and better technologies, Kevin Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told TechNewsWorld.
"Anything that can be done to cut down on energy consumption will increase efficiency," he said. "Ultimately, it will allow supercomputing centers to become bigger, better and faster."
A Sector-Wide Solution
The initiative licensed its name from the WWF's Climate Savers program, through which leading companies are working to reduce their carbon footprints.
"This is the first time our Climate Savers program has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers and consumers," said John Donoghue, senior vice president for the WWF. "We are pleased to join these industry leaders to provide solutions to address climate change."
Microsoft's Latest Patches Include First Vista Fix
Microsoft has issued a new set of patches for vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer and the Windows operating system, including the first one that is specific to Vista. "What this implies is that it is a flaw in the newer core, which was written under Microsoft's secured computing initiative," said Amol Sarwate, research manager of the vulnerability research lab at Qualys.
TechNewsWorld | 06/13/07
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft has released its latest batch of fixes in this month's Patch Tuesday announcement, employing a new format that makes it easier for IT administers to single out areas of risk, according to Amol Sarwate, research manager of the vulnerability research lab at Qualys.
The new format doesn't give users a total count of vulnerabilities, however. For instance, Sarwate told TechNewsWorld, one patch in this release fixes six different vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here -- a less-than-transparent accounting of the number of flaws the company is addressing.
Many of the newly uncovered vulnerabilities this time are variations on existing themes: flaws in Internet Explorer, for instance, or proof-of-concept vulnerabilities on which active development is occurring. Perhaps most worrisome -- and intriguing, according to at least one security researcher -- is a possible vector in SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), which is supposed to be the gold standard for Web site security.
Remote Execution
There are four patches rated "critical" that allow for remote Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. execution, always a chief security concern.
Patches are essential for at least two -- MS07-031 and MS07-035 -- because they are in the core of the operating system, Sarwate said. "They do not require a browser to channel malware -- if a user has Windows, then he or she is vulnerable."
MS07-035, for instance, leaves users vulnerable when parsing HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or text images. "Malicious content can execute in users' machines," Sarwate said.
MS07-033, for its part, distinguishes itself as having the largest number of flaws -- six in total -- that can leave Internet Explorer open to hack attacks.
Unpatched, MS07-033 can compromise a system if a user merely visits a corrupt Web site. "Another possibility is that a user could click on an ad that is corrupted -- in an otherwise safe Web site -- and become infected as well," Chad Harrington, chief technical evangelist at FireEye, told TechNewsWorld.
"Basically, when you launch your browser, MS07-033 can create an instant tunnel through a firewall," explained Roger Thompson, CTO of Exploit Prevention Labs.
"I expect this and 035 will be targeted by malware writers as soon as possible," he told TechNewsWorld.
What's the Problem With IE?
If it seems as though IE flaws are a recurring theme for Microsoft, that's because they are.
"In many ways, it is the same old, same old," Mark Loveless, security architect at Vernier Networks Latest News about Vernier Networks, told TechNewsWorld.
The good news is that Microsoft's reactive process works fairly well, which means it is less likely to issue a slew of code reds -- as it used to in the days when huge, well publicized worm attacks threatened the Internet on a regular basis.
Another dubious advantage of IE is that spammers are paying malware writers for their best worms and saving them for zero day exploits. "People aren't blowing their zero day exploits on goofy worms anymore," Loveless said. "Rather, they want the worms they do write to keep a low profile in order to remain on computers that much longer."
Another critical flaw, found in Microsoft's SSL channel, would allow a hacker Latest News about hacker to gain control or host a Web site that gives out "bad" security certificates, Sarwate said.
From a technical point of view, this is the most interesting flaw, according to Vernier Networks' Loveless. "It is interesting because there is only the potential for remote code execution, which means it would be hard to hack." The fact that it can be hacked at all is what makes it interesting, he explained.
It depends on the platform, FireEye's Harrington said, noting that the SSL flaw would be hard to remotely execute on Windows 2000 but not on Windows XP. "Of course, it is Windows XP that is much more commonly used."
That particular flaw is not found in the Vista version, he said.
Vista Issues
One moderate vulnerability in the release is specific to Vista, Sarwate said. There have been Vista vulnerabilities before, but they were also found in earlier versions of Windows. "This is the first time there is a vulnerability that only exists in Vista. What this implies is that it is a flaw in the newer core, which was written under Microsoft's secured computing initiative."
This flaw allows low-privileged users to access information that should only be accessed by the top-privileged users, he said.
Proof of Concept
One trend that is apparent in this latest group of patches, according to Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager at McAfee Latest News about McAfee Avert Labs, is the that more malware writers are working on exploiting proof-of-concept flaws.
"Three or four of the new patches had pre-existing proof of concept," Marcus told TechNewsWorld. "We are seeing a lot more of that on a monthly basis -- and a lot quicker too, as more malware writers jump to exploit these vulnerabilities."
TechNewsWorld | 06/13/07
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft has released its latest batch of fixes in this month's Patch Tuesday announcement, employing a new format that makes it easier for IT administers to single out areas of risk, according to Amol Sarwate, research manager of the vulnerability research lab at Qualys.
The new format doesn't give users a total count of vulnerabilities, however. For instance, Sarwate told TechNewsWorld, one patch in this release fixes six different vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here -- a less-than-transparent accounting of the number of flaws the company is addressing.
Many of the newly uncovered vulnerabilities this time are variations on existing themes: flaws in Internet Explorer, for instance, or proof-of-concept vulnerabilities on which active development is occurring. Perhaps most worrisome -- and intriguing, according to at least one security researcher -- is a possible vector in SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), which is supposed to be the gold standard for Web site security.
Remote Execution
There are four patches rated "critical" that allow for remote Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. execution, always a chief security concern.
Patches are essential for at least two -- MS07-031 and MS07-035 -- because they are in the core of the operating system, Sarwate said. "They do not require a browser to channel malware -- if a user has Windows, then he or she is vulnerable."
MS07-035, for instance, leaves users vulnerable when parsing HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or text images. "Malicious content can execute in users' machines," Sarwate said.
MS07-033, for its part, distinguishes itself as having the largest number of flaws -- six in total -- that can leave Internet Explorer open to hack attacks.
Unpatched, MS07-033 can compromise a system if a user merely visits a corrupt Web site. "Another possibility is that a user could click on an ad that is corrupted -- in an otherwise safe Web site -- and become infected as well," Chad Harrington, chief technical evangelist at FireEye, told TechNewsWorld.
"Basically, when you launch your browser, MS07-033 can create an instant tunnel through a firewall," explained Roger Thompson, CTO of Exploit Prevention Labs.
"I expect this and 035 will be targeted by malware writers as soon as possible," he told TechNewsWorld.
What's the Problem With IE?
If it seems as though IE flaws are a recurring theme for Microsoft, that's because they are.
"In many ways, it is the same old, same old," Mark Loveless, security architect at Vernier Networks Latest News about Vernier Networks, told TechNewsWorld.
The good news is that Microsoft's reactive process works fairly well, which means it is less likely to issue a slew of code reds -- as it used to in the days when huge, well publicized worm attacks threatened the Internet on a regular basis.
Another dubious advantage of IE is that spammers are paying malware writers for their best worms and saving them for zero day exploits. "People aren't blowing their zero day exploits on goofy worms anymore," Loveless said. "Rather, they want the worms they do write to keep a low profile in order to remain on computers that much longer."
Another critical flaw, found in Microsoft's SSL channel, would allow a hacker Latest News about hacker to gain control or host a Web site that gives out "bad" security certificates, Sarwate said.
From a technical point of view, this is the most interesting flaw, according to Vernier Networks' Loveless. "It is interesting because there is only the potential for remote code execution, which means it would be hard to hack." The fact that it can be hacked at all is what makes it interesting, he explained.
It depends on the platform, FireEye's Harrington said, noting that the SSL flaw would be hard to remotely execute on Windows 2000 but not on Windows XP. "Of course, it is Windows XP that is much more commonly used."
That particular flaw is not found in the Vista version, he said.
Vista Issues
One moderate vulnerability in the release is specific to Vista, Sarwate said. There have been Vista vulnerabilities before, but they were also found in earlier versions of Windows. "This is the first time there is a vulnerability that only exists in Vista. What this implies is that it is a flaw in the newer core, which was written under Microsoft's secured computing initiative."
This flaw allows low-privileged users to access information that should only be accessed by the top-privileged users, he said.
Proof of Concept
One trend that is apparent in this latest group of patches, according to Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager at McAfee Latest News about McAfee Avert Labs, is the that more malware writers are working on exploiting proof-of-concept flaws.
"Three or four of the new patches had pre-existing proof of concept," Marcus told TechNewsWorld. "We are seeing a lot more of that on a monthly basis -- and a lot quicker too, as more malware writers jump to exploit these vulnerabilities."
Google's Privacy Budge Satisfies EU
After decrying what they called invasive privacy violations, European Union officials have applauded Google's agreement to scrub its user data when the information becomes 18 months old. The privacy concerns were just one of several tugs-of-war going on between the United States and the EU over sharing personal data about the activities of private citizens.
TechNewsWorld | 06/13/07
The European Union's Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner, Franco Frattini, gave a thumbs-up to Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google offer to cut the time it keeps identifiable search user data down from 24 months to 18 months. Frattini's comments came Wednesday during a news conference in Luxembourg.
"I think it is indeed a good step," Frattini said. "I have appreciated the commitment of Google not only to meet our expectations in terms of protection of privacy or better on cutting the time and reducing the time of retention of personal data."
Google announced the slightly abbreviated data retention plan Tuesday after an independent European Union watchdog group, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, voiced concern about the Internet search giant's plans to anonymize its search server Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. logs after 18 to 24 months. That policy would potentially have violated EU privacy rules, according to the group.
No More Budging
In response to claims that the company could further reduce the retention period, Google said it "firmly rejected any suggestions that we could meet our legitimate interests in security Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here, innovation and antifraud efforts with any retention period shorter than 18 months." Future legislation could force it to keep data for longer periods, the company warned. However, there is some doubt as to the validity of Google's argument.
"Legal requirements aside, Google's position is that they have a commercial interest in retaining the data for at least 18 months," JupiterResearch analyst Barry Parr told TechNewsWorld. "No one believes that Google's existence is threatened by stricter data retention policies. So it seems to me that their argument against protecting the privacy of their customers is that it's too expensive."
At the Table
Google's privacy issues came along at a time when Europeans have become frustrated with negotiations between the U.S. and Europe over the exchange of passenger data for transatlantic flights, according to Eric Domage, an IDC analyst.
Dubbed "Passenger Name Records" (PNR), the current agreement between the two regions permits the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to distribute passenger information to other agencies within the U.S. law enforcement community to use in antiterrorism investigations so long as those agencies' data protection standards are analogous to EU mandated standards. The U.S. has had access to this data since 2004.
Data including passenger names, addresses, seat assignment, credit card numbers and travel itineraries can be shared among U.S. agencies within 15 minutes of a flight's takeoff for the U.S. Authorities can share up to 34 pieces of recorded data. Officials in Washington want to increase the amount of information airlines transfer and also to expand the list of law enforcement agencies to which it can be sent in the U.S.
The EU, reluctant to sanction further forays into its citizens' personal information, has until the end of June to reach an agreement on the issue, officials representing Germany, current holder of the EU presidency, said. The current interim deal will expire in July.
"The PNR is the idea that the American government can use the passengers list to make intelligence research. This is forbidden in Europe," IDC analyst Eric Domage explained. "There have been negotiations for the last two months, and it has failed."
The other issue between the EU and U.S. concerns Swift, a Belgian money transfer firm that handles some 11 million money transfers each year. In an effort to disrupt terrorists' ability to finance their plots, U.S. agencies subpoenaed the company's transaction data. Swift complied, another violation of EU privacy rules.
In November 2006, the EU ordered Swift to stop sharing information on its more than 7500 clients.
"The U.S. government wants to have it open for money laundering and intelligence research, and once again the European government doesn't want that," Domage said.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong People
Google's announcement of its data retention plan comes at a bad time, according to Domage. Privacy is a key issue in Europe, and while Google believed it was serving the public good when it went public with its plans, Domage said the move was a mistake. While Frattini may laud Google for keeping Europeans' personal data for only 18 months, the EU's citizenry take a much less charitable view of the practice.
"Putting in the public place this debate shows that Google retains privacy data on European users. Most of the people were not aware of that, and it is very dangerous for Google," he pointed out. "If people understand that just by using Google in Europe that their data is retained, stored and used by Google it is a really bad point for Google. They should have stayed very quiet and silent about this.
"But now it's public that they retain data, and European people don't like it," Domage added. "They are fine giving their information to a bank or some government, but they don't like private companies to have it."
Google, he said, is now thought of as a company that takes consumers data and uses it for self-consideration. For Europeans that is going too far.
"The reputation of Google is suffering at this time and suffering a lot," Domage stated.
Europeans, he noted, would be amenable to a plan that would allow them to choose whether they wanted to opt in or opt out of Google's data retention plan.
"Just an opt-in and some strong advertisement on the fact that Google is not spying on them. [Right now] no one is sure about that."
TechNewsWorld | 06/13/07
The European Union's Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner, Franco Frattini, gave a thumbs-up to Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google offer to cut the time it keeps identifiable search user data down from 24 months to 18 months. Frattini's comments came Wednesday during a news conference in Luxembourg.
"I think it is indeed a good step," Frattini said. "I have appreciated the commitment of Google not only to meet our expectations in terms of protection of privacy or better on cutting the time and reducing the time of retention of personal data."
Google announced the slightly abbreviated data retention plan Tuesday after an independent European Union watchdog group, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, voiced concern about the Internet search giant's plans to anonymize its search server Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. logs after 18 to 24 months. That policy would potentially have violated EU privacy rules, according to the group.
No More Budging
In response to claims that the company could further reduce the retention period, Google said it "firmly rejected any suggestions that we could meet our legitimate interests in security Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here, innovation and antifraud efforts with any retention period shorter than 18 months." Future legislation could force it to keep data for longer periods, the company warned. However, there is some doubt as to the validity of Google's argument.
"Legal requirements aside, Google's position is that they have a commercial interest in retaining the data for at least 18 months," JupiterResearch analyst Barry Parr told TechNewsWorld. "No one believes that Google's existence is threatened by stricter data retention policies. So it seems to me that their argument against protecting the privacy of their customers is that it's too expensive."
At the Table
Google's privacy issues came along at a time when Europeans have become frustrated with negotiations between the U.S. and Europe over the exchange of passenger data for transatlantic flights, according to Eric Domage, an IDC analyst.
Dubbed "Passenger Name Records" (PNR), the current agreement between the two regions permits the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to distribute passenger information to other agencies within the U.S. law enforcement community to use in antiterrorism investigations so long as those agencies' data protection standards are analogous to EU mandated standards. The U.S. has had access to this data since 2004.
Data including passenger names, addresses, seat assignment, credit card numbers and travel itineraries can be shared among U.S. agencies within 15 minutes of a flight's takeoff for the U.S. Authorities can share up to 34 pieces of recorded data. Officials in Washington want to increase the amount of information airlines transfer and also to expand the list of law enforcement agencies to which it can be sent in the U.S.
The EU, reluctant to sanction further forays into its citizens' personal information, has until the end of June to reach an agreement on the issue, officials representing Germany, current holder of the EU presidency, said. The current interim deal will expire in July.
"The PNR is the idea that the American government can use the passengers list to make intelligence research. This is forbidden in Europe," IDC analyst Eric Domage explained. "There have been negotiations for the last two months, and it has failed."
The other issue between the EU and U.S. concerns Swift, a Belgian money transfer firm that handles some 11 million money transfers each year. In an effort to disrupt terrorists' ability to finance their plots, U.S. agencies subpoenaed the company's transaction data. Swift complied, another violation of EU privacy rules.
In November 2006, the EU ordered Swift to stop sharing information on its more than 7500 clients.
"The U.S. government wants to have it open for money laundering and intelligence research, and once again the European government doesn't want that," Domage said.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong People
Google's announcement of its data retention plan comes at a bad time, according to Domage. Privacy is a key issue in Europe, and while Google believed it was serving the public good when it went public with its plans, Domage said the move was a mistake. While Frattini may laud Google for keeping Europeans' personal data for only 18 months, the EU's citizenry take a much less charitable view of the practice.
"Putting in the public place this debate shows that Google retains privacy data on European users. Most of the people were not aware of that, and it is very dangerous for Google," he pointed out. "If people understand that just by using Google in Europe that their data is retained, stored and used by Google it is a really bad point for Google. They should have stayed very quiet and silent about this.
"But now it's public that they retain data, and European people don't like it," Domage added. "They are fine giving their information to a bank or some government, but they don't like private companies to have it."
Google, he said, is now thought of as a company that takes consumers data and uses it for self-consideration. For Europeans that is going too far.
"The reputation of Google is suffering at this time and suffering a lot," Domage stated.
Europeans, he noted, would be amenable to a plan that would allow them to choose whether they wanted to opt in or opt out of Google's data retention plan.
"Just an opt-in and some strong advertisement on the fact that Google is not spying on them. [Right now] no one is sure about that."
Security Testers Spot Bugs Galore on Windows Safari
Mere hours after Apple rolled out the beta version of its Safari on Windows Web browser, security experts claimed to find it riddled with security holes, some of which were serious. Aside from the alleged flaws, Apple faces an uphill battle in putting its browser on the Windows desktop, which is already crowded with competitors like Firefox and Explorer.
MacNewsWorld | 06/13/07
Just hours after Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple announced the beta of its Safari for Windows browser at its World Wide Developer Conference, security Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here experts poked and prodded and found several vulnerabilities.
"I'd like to note that we found a total of six bugs in an afternoon, four DoS (denial of service) and two remote Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. code execution bugs," wrote David Mayor on his Errata Security blog. "We have weaponized one of those to be reliable." Errata Security is a consulting and product testing company, and the "weapon" comment doesn't refer to any intent to use the code for nefarious purposes.
Railed by Readers
Thor Larholm, who blogs on Larholm.com, created a zero-day exploit in two hours and posted it online. "Given that Apple has had a lousy track record with security on OS X, in addition to a hostile attitude towards security researchers, a lot of people are expecting to see quite a number of vulnerabilities targeted towards this new Windows browser," he wrote.
Another security expert, Aviv Raff, ran Hamachi, a program that tests browser integrity. "I wasn't surprised to get a nice crash [a] few minutes later," he wrote on his Aviv Raff On .NET blog.
Many readers of all three of the experts' blog sites posted comments nailing Apple with sarcasm and disdain.
Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) Latest News about Symantec, a provider of security tools, posted warnings for three of the most critical vulnerabilities for Safari on Windows on its Symantec Security Response Weblog. "This Safari release is officially a beta release. Even if these vulnerabilities didn't exist, we wouldn't recommend using beta software in a production environment," Symantec noted. "Hopefully many of these bugs will be scrubbed before the official release."
Apple's Challenge
"The browser market on the Windows side is an advanced and skeptical market," Mike Romo, product manager of Symantec's Macintosh Latest News about Macintosh Group, told MacNewsWorld. "The ultimate browser on Windows is Firefox. It's going to be interesting to watch them point out the value proposition of Safari in a very crowded browser market."
Symantec, noted Romo, is particularly concerned about users that might rely on beta software, and Safari for Windows is a case in point. "We think it's something everyone should be know about," he said.
"Apple is going to have to examine security on the Windows side very specifically and succinctly if they are going to succeed. ... The thing with Apple, since they do play their cards close to their chest -- they should have given developers a little notice, at least on the Windows side, so we could have knocked it about a bit and worked on integrating the Safari browser into our product schedule," Romo said.
Emotional Touchstone
Aside from entering an entrenched market against Internet Explorer and Firefox, Apple faces another challenge.
"A browser is a touchstone. Next to e-mail Email Marketing Software - Free Demo, a browser is the most emotional point that a user has in their computer experience. As far as a user's daily interaction, the emotional interaction, of having a finger on the pulse of what's going on in the world, there's nothing more intimate than the browser, so it cannot be stated enough how important security is on the browser, because everybody is using it, and when everybody is using it, everybody is a target," Romo explained.
"I think it's up to all software developers to work hard to prevent vulnerabilities," he added.
What's Next?
Whether or not Apple pushed Safari for Windows out the door too quickly, even though it's a beta product, what's next for the browser's launch? Obviously, Safari is important for Apple's iPhone efforts because Safari for Windows will make it easier for developers to create cross-platform applications Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry. that run in a browser, built against Safari features, for use on the iPhone. Also, because the iPhone is critical to Apple right now, the company will very likely roll out fixes faster than usual.
"I think Apple takes security very seriously, and they have a good track record of making fixes with their security updates," Romo said. "I think it's encouraging that Apple is entering this market because it allows them to experience a different landscape, one where security is such a top-line issue."
MacNewsWorld | 06/13/07
Just hours after Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple announced the beta of its Safari for Windows browser at its World Wide Developer Conference, security Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here experts poked and prodded and found several vulnerabilities.
"I'd like to note that we found a total of six bugs in an afternoon, four DoS (denial of service) and two remote Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. code execution bugs," wrote David Mayor on his Errata Security blog. "We have weaponized one of those to be reliable." Errata Security is a consulting and product testing company, and the "weapon" comment doesn't refer to any intent to use the code for nefarious purposes.
Railed by Readers
Thor Larholm, who blogs on Larholm.com, created a zero-day exploit in two hours and posted it online. "Given that Apple has had a lousy track record with security on OS X, in addition to a hostile attitude towards security researchers, a lot of people are expecting to see quite a number of vulnerabilities targeted towards this new Windows browser," he wrote.
Another security expert, Aviv Raff, ran Hamachi, a program that tests browser integrity. "I wasn't surprised to get a nice crash [a] few minutes later," he wrote on his Aviv Raff On .NET blog.
Many readers of all three of the experts' blog sites posted comments nailing Apple with sarcasm and disdain.
Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) Latest News about Symantec, a provider of security tools, posted warnings for three of the most critical vulnerabilities for Safari on Windows on its Symantec Security Response Weblog. "This Safari release is officially a beta release. Even if these vulnerabilities didn't exist, we wouldn't recommend using beta software in a production environment," Symantec noted. "Hopefully many of these bugs will be scrubbed before the official release."
Apple's Challenge
"The browser market on the Windows side is an advanced and skeptical market," Mike Romo, product manager of Symantec's Macintosh Latest News about Macintosh Group, told MacNewsWorld. "The ultimate browser on Windows is Firefox. It's going to be interesting to watch them point out the value proposition of Safari in a very crowded browser market."
Symantec, noted Romo, is particularly concerned about users that might rely on beta software, and Safari for Windows is a case in point. "We think it's something everyone should be know about," he said.
"Apple is going to have to examine security on the Windows side very specifically and succinctly if they are going to succeed. ... The thing with Apple, since they do play their cards close to their chest -- they should have given developers a little notice, at least on the Windows side, so we could have knocked it about a bit and worked on integrating the Safari browser into our product schedule," Romo said.
Emotional Touchstone
Aside from entering an entrenched market against Internet Explorer and Firefox, Apple faces another challenge.
"A browser is a touchstone. Next to e-mail Email Marketing Software - Free Demo, a browser is the most emotional point that a user has in their computer experience. As far as a user's daily interaction, the emotional interaction, of having a finger on the pulse of what's going on in the world, there's nothing more intimate than the browser, so it cannot be stated enough how important security is on the browser, because everybody is using it, and when everybody is using it, everybody is a target," Romo explained.
"I think it's up to all software developers to work hard to prevent vulnerabilities," he added.
What's Next?
Whether or not Apple pushed Safari for Windows out the door too quickly, even though it's a beta product, what's next for the browser's launch? Obviously, Safari is important for Apple's iPhone efforts because Safari for Windows will make it easier for developers to create cross-platform applications Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry. that run in a browser, built against Safari features, for use on the iPhone. Also, because the iPhone is critical to Apple right now, the company will very likely roll out fixes faster than usual.
"I think Apple takes security very seriously, and they have a good track record of making fixes with their security updates," Romo said. "I think it's encouraging that Apple is entering this market because it allows them to experience a different landscape, one where security is such a top-line issue."
Dark Days Ahead for Mac Users?
The free ride afforded to Mac aficionados over the years could come to a halt at any time. Computer security experts warn that Macland is showing signs of pending attacks. Hackers, driven by organized crime, could soon be aiming their virus and spyware arsenals at the growing number of Apple computer buyers.
MacNewsWorld | 06/13/07
From the beginning of the virus wars through the spyware Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here skirmishes that followed, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple computer users have for the most part been spared from suffering widespread casualties. They have long held a privileged, nearly target-free existence in computerland.
The Unix roots of the Apple core operating system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. have provided a relatively hacker-free status. That, coupled with the much smaller installed user base, has always made hackers turn to the much more populated field of targets found among the vulnerabilities-laden Windows architecture.
However, the free ride afforded to Mac aficionados over the years could come to a halt at any time. Computer security experts warn that Macland is showing signs of pending attacks. Hackers, driven by organized crime, could soon be aiming their virus and spyware arsenals at the growing number of Apple computer buyers.
"There are and have been a number of vulnerabilities for the Mac but not near that of Windows. The main factor is still going for the higher number of Windows users," David Perry, global director of education for security software firm Trend Micro (Nasdaq: TMIC) Latest News about Trend Micro, told MacNewsWorld. "But we are no longer dealing with traditional hackers. So when does it become marketable for Mac attacks? When is the tipping point going to be reached?"
Security Fallacies
The traditional view is that Mac computers are more secure than Windows PCs because of Apple's smaller user base, suggest security experts. While that may have been true at one time, it is no longer a hard and fast rule.
"That is a real interesting question. Hackers used to seek fame and went after low-hanging fruit -- Windows," Paul Henry, Secure Computing's vice president of technology evangelism, told MacNewsWorld. "Now hackers work for crime syndicates to get user information for theft or sale."
Being safe and secure on a particular computer platform is no longer a question of whether the largest number of users are the only target, Henry added. The bad guys are just after a kill and are considering new attack targets.
"Attacks now tend to be more targeted at very finite groups of people. I don't see massive attacks on Macs. But we will see industrial espionage, so hackers are changing their routines and are going after information regardless of the platform," Henry warned.
That reality should make Mac computer users take notice, he believes. Hackers will target Macs for the potential cash prize such a task could hold. The criminal enterprise wants that data, he said.
The notion that Macs are more secure because they have fewer users and thus are not attractive targets is known as security through obscurity, noted Symantec's (Nasdaq: SYMC) Latest News about Symantec Mac security specialist Mike Romo. "This is not true anymore," he insisted.
Buzz Factor
While Mac users have to be more aware of security issues today, they also should be able to separate facts from fiction when it comes to potential security risks, argued Romo. There is no impending doom for Mac users, he predicted.
Much of the concern about new Mac security threats stems from fears that the new Apple products could create an opportunity for new attack sectors, he explained. That could be why there is suddenly more interest about Mac security.
"There has been a tremendous influx of Windows users [switching to Macs] lately, and they are more used to talking about such issues," told Romo MacNewsWorld. "The installed Mac user base is expected to double in the next two years as the price drops."
That could bring about the tipping point making Macs a better target, especially when you consider that Mac users intermingle with more virus-prone Windows users on the Internet. Computer users are now connected all the time, so the Internet is becoming a shared operating system, according to Romo.
"That space is where Mac attacks could originate," Romo said.
Changing Spaces
In order to understand the growing concern over the potential for Mac attacks, users need only look at past hacker Latest News about hacker and user behavior. For example, in the past, the attack sector changed when older technology went away, said Trend Micro's Perry.
For instance, boot sector viruses in 1995 were eliminated by going to other media and getting rid of floppies. However, the pendulum swung back 100 times worse each time a new attack sector developed with the introduction of new equipment, he noted.
"Yes, hackers can form an attack for Macs. But Apple is quick to patch vulnerabilities because the company controls all the hardware universe, not just the operating system," Perry said. "Macs are actually stronger because of this. They are able to hide in plain sight."
Still, Perry is not taking any chances with security. He recently installed antivirus applications Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry. on all of his Mac computers just to be sure.
"In this age of targeted attacks, you have to look at security with a new purpose," he warned.
List of Best Practices
The Macintosh Latest News about Macintosh computer line has historically been one of the most secure computers available. Recent market share increases, the media spotlight and even Apple's own advertising Email Marketing Software - Free Demo campaign have combined, however, to focus added attention on Macintosh Internet security, according to Alan Oppenheimer, president and founder of Open Door Networks. To allay those concerns about the Mac's security, Open Door developed a list of the top 10 actions Mac users can take to insure safe computing practices.
"Up to a year ago it was accurate that the Mac was secure without any worries. But now bad things can happen to your Mac. There are no known Mac viruses yet, but there could be and probably will be," he said.
Intel Chip Worries
Security experts agreed that the recent switch to the Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Latest News about Intel processor, giving Macs the ability to run both the Mac and Windows operating systems in separate partitions, is raising some new security concerns.
"The Mac is not theoretically immune to vulnerabilities but is very resistant to them," said Oppenheimer. "Almost all Windows vulnerabilities are limited to the Windows OS, not the Mac OS."
A vulnerability or virus infection that affects the Windows operating system is not likely to cross over to infect the Mac partition, noted security experts, because the architecture is not the same.
Just because it's never been observed, however, does not mean it's impossible.
"Never say it's impossible for a virus to jump the partition. It just hasn't happened yet," said Trend Micro's Perry.
Factoring Concern
Putting Intel chips in Macs did open a channel for hackers, conceded Oppenheimer. However, hackers have never learned how to hack into the Power PC architecture, he explained. Still, the underlying exploit code could be similar.
Three factors are now increasing the potential for Mac attacks, according to Oppenheimer. One, the user has to be running the Intel chip. Two, Apple's market share has grown. Three, TV commercials are practically challenging hackers to respond when they boast that Macs enjoy airtight security.
"A 5 to 10 percent shift would be more interesting to bad guys," said Oppenheimer.
No-Sweat Zone
The very successful Mac marketing campaign on TV could produce a double-edged sword for Apple. Selling more Mac computers can change hackers' dynamics, Oppenheimer pointed out. Still, it is an interesting debate about how having more Mac users could effect the platform's security, Perry believes. If the population of Mac users to Windows users were reversed, he is not sure that Macs would continue to be safer.
Oppenheimer is sure, though, that there will never be the risk potential that Windows has.
"So far the Mac has a near-perfect record. There is some potential for concern, but the sky will never fall on Mac users over the security issue," Oppenheimer insisted.
MacNewsWorld | 06/13/07
From the beginning of the virus wars through the spyware Barracuda Spam Firewall Free Eval Unit - Click Here skirmishes that followed, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple computer users have for the most part been spared from suffering widespread casualties. They have long held a privileged, nearly target-free existence in computerland.
The Unix roots of the Apple core operating system Manage remotely with one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. have provided a relatively hacker-free status. That, coupled with the much smaller installed user base, has always made hackers turn to the much more populated field of targets found among the vulnerabilities-laden Windows architecture.
However, the free ride afforded to Mac aficionados over the years could come to a halt at any time. Computer security experts warn that Macland is showing signs of pending attacks. Hackers, driven by organized crime, could soon be aiming their virus and spyware arsenals at the growing number of Apple computer buyers.
"There are and have been a number of vulnerabilities for the Mac but not near that of Windows. The main factor is still going for the higher number of Windows users," David Perry, global director of education for security software firm Trend Micro (Nasdaq: TMIC) Latest News about Trend Micro, told MacNewsWorld. "But we are no longer dealing with traditional hackers. So when does it become marketable for Mac attacks? When is the tipping point going to be reached?"
Security Fallacies
The traditional view is that Mac computers are more secure than Windows PCs because of Apple's smaller user base, suggest security experts. While that may have been true at one time, it is no longer a hard and fast rule.
"That is a real interesting question. Hackers used to seek fame and went after low-hanging fruit -- Windows," Paul Henry, Secure Computing's vice president of technology evangelism, told MacNewsWorld. "Now hackers work for crime syndicates to get user information for theft or sale."
Being safe and secure on a particular computer platform is no longer a question of whether the largest number of users are the only target, Henry added. The bad guys are just after a kill and are considering new attack targets.
"Attacks now tend to be more targeted at very finite groups of people. I don't see massive attacks on Macs. But we will see industrial espionage, so hackers are changing their routines and are going after information regardless of the platform," Henry warned.
That reality should make Mac computer users take notice, he believes. Hackers will target Macs for the potential cash prize such a task could hold. The criminal enterprise wants that data, he said.
The notion that Macs are more secure because they have fewer users and thus are not attractive targets is known as security through obscurity, noted Symantec's (Nasdaq: SYMC) Latest News about Symantec Mac security specialist Mike Romo. "This is not true anymore," he insisted.
Buzz Factor
While Mac users have to be more aware of security issues today, they also should be able to separate facts from fiction when it comes to potential security risks, argued Romo. There is no impending doom for Mac users, he predicted.
Much of the concern about new Mac security threats stems from fears that the new Apple products could create an opportunity for new attack sectors, he explained. That could be why there is suddenly more interest about Mac security.
"There has been a tremendous influx of Windows users [switching to Macs] lately, and they are more used to talking about such issues," told Romo MacNewsWorld. "The installed Mac user base is expected to double in the next two years as the price drops."
That could bring about the tipping point making Macs a better target, especially when you consider that Mac users intermingle with more virus-prone Windows users on the Internet. Computer users are now connected all the time, so the Internet is becoming a shared operating system, according to Romo.
"That space is where Mac attacks could originate," Romo said.
Changing Spaces
In order to understand the growing concern over the potential for Mac attacks, users need only look at past hacker Latest News about hacker and user behavior. For example, in the past, the attack sector changed when older technology went away, said Trend Micro's Perry.
For instance, boot sector viruses in 1995 were eliminated by going to other media and getting rid of floppies. However, the pendulum swung back 100 times worse each time a new attack sector developed with the introduction of new equipment, he noted.
"Yes, hackers can form an attack for Macs. But Apple is quick to patch vulnerabilities because the company controls all the hardware universe, not just the operating system," Perry said. "Macs are actually stronger because of this. They are able to hide in plain sight."
Still, Perry is not taking any chances with security. He recently installed antivirus applications Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry. on all of his Mac computers just to be sure.
"In this age of targeted attacks, you have to look at security with a new purpose," he warned.
List of Best Practices
The Macintosh Latest News about Macintosh computer line has historically been one of the most secure computers available. Recent market share increases, the media spotlight and even Apple's own advertising Email Marketing Software - Free Demo campaign have combined, however, to focus added attention on Macintosh Internet security, according to Alan Oppenheimer, president and founder of Open Door Networks. To allay those concerns about the Mac's security, Open Door developed a list of the top 10 actions Mac users can take to insure safe computing practices.
"Up to a year ago it was accurate that the Mac was secure without any worries. But now bad things can happen to your Mac. There are no known Mac viruses yet, but there could be and probably will be," he said.
Intel Chip Worries
Security experts agreed that the recent switch to the Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Latest News about Intel processor, giving Macs the ability to run both the Mac and Windows operating systems in separate partitions, is raising some new security concerns.
"The Mac is not theoretically immune to vulnerabilities but is very resistant to them," said Oppenheimer. "Almost all Windows vulnerabilities are limited to the Windows OS, not the Mac OS."
A vulnerability or virus infection that affects the Windows operating system is not likely to cross over to infect the Mac partition, noted security experts, because the architecture is not the same.
Just because it's never been observed, however, does not mean it's impossible.
"Never say it's impossible for a virus to jump the partition. It just hasn't happened yet," said Trend Micro's Perry.
Factoring Concern
Putting Intel chips in Macs did open a channel for hackers, conceded Oppenheimer. However, hackers have never learned how to hack into the Power PC architecture, he explained. Still, the underlying exploit code could be similar.
Three factors are now increasing the potential for Mac attacks, according to Oppenheimer. One, the user has to be running the Intel chip. Two, Apple's market share has grown. Three, TV commercials are practically challenging hackers to respond when they boast that Macs enjoy airtight security.
"A 5 to 10 percent shift would be more interesting to bad guys," said Oppenheimer.
No-Sweat Zone
The very successful Mac marketing campaign on TV could produce a double-edged sword for Apple. Selling more Mac computers can change hackers' dynamics, Oppenheimer pointed out. Still, it is an interesting debate about how having more Mac users could effect the platform's security, Perry believes. If the population of Mac users to Windows users were reversed, he is not sure that Macs would continue to be safer.
Oppenheimer is sure, though, that there will never be the risk potential that Windows has.
"So far the Mac has a near-perfect record. There is some potential for concern, but the sky will never fall on Mac users over the security issue," Oppenheimer insisted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)