News Archives from 2001 (Feb 01 - Feb 28, 2001)
______________________________________________________________
[Jump to Amiga] [Jump to Windows] [Jump to Mac]
[Jump to Linux] [Jump to Misc]
______________________________________________________________
Amiga
27 February 2001 - The Phoenix Developer Consortium Still Going
Amiga.Org says the Phoenix Developer Consortium was set up by some Amiga
fans around the time that Amiga really finally looked to be dead. It's
still going, with "Greenboy" at the helm. As well as MorphOS and QNX,
Amiga is also still involved in this consortium which aims to bring
better alternatives to computing than what todays giga-corporations
provide. And it just made it to slashdot. Yay for the boing ball on
slashdot's front page!
17 February 2001 - Amiga.info Meeting Date Changed To Feb 22nd
Amiga.info, the Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Amiga user group, has a last
minute notice to the monthly meeting saying "We know that this is last
minute, but we have received an email from Randall Hughes, asking that
the meeting be moved to next Thursday (Feb 22), as he will be tied up
in unspecified meetings. He appologizes to everyone, and looks forward
to see you all next Thursday. We are deeply sorry for this inconvenience.
15 February 2001 - Amiga.info User Group Celebrates 6th Anniversary
Just a repeat of our February 3rd notice posted below.
Amiga.info, the Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Amiga user group, says the next
meeting will be on Thursday, February 15, 2001 at 7:00PM. This month,
Randall Hughes (Vice-President of Sales & Strategic Alliances at Amiga
Inc.) will be joining us to celebrate the club's six year anniversary!
If you can, drop by to join in the fun and discuss the latest on Amiga.
12 February 2001 - Safe v14.9 Released
Zbigniew `Zeeball` Trzcionkowski released his latest freeware virus
dicovering system. Safe informs about attack and removes virus from memory
if possible. The archive is named Safe149.lha, and can be found on the
downloads page, by following the above link.
08 February 2001 - Register VirusChecker II If Living In The UK
The owner and operator of the Elevate BBS, Paul Compton, kindly takes all
UK registrations for Alex van Niel's virus killer program, VirusChecker II.
You can now find the Elevate BBS links on our pages here at VHT-Canada.
* About Us Page
* VirusChecker II Amiga Programmers Personal Page
* About VirusChecker II / VirusChecker NG Preview Page
08 February 2001 - Virus Help Denmark Announce Poll Is Working
Virus Help Denmark reports the new poll service is working 100%, please
vote for your favorite antivirus program here !!! The poll will end the
1'th of March 2001.
08 February 2001 - Sabrina Gets A Cameo Role On Freefall
Amiga.Org reports that Sabrina, our favorite Amiga cartoon-strip character
has scored a walk-on cameo role in the latest Freefall...
07 February 2001 - Report From XVS & VirusChecker II Programmer
Alex van Niel, programmer of our xvs.library and virus checking program
called VirusChecker II / NG, has notified us he was planning to release
an updated version of the XVS library and also make a little bugfix of
VirusCheckerII but the bootdrive of his Amiga has just been destroyed
and for some reason he can't get it to reinstall my OS. He hopes to fix
this soon though but until then, he won't be able to release any updates.
He ends with "I know this is a big problem seeing that almost all virus
killers are using xvs ... I will try and fix the problem as fast as pos-
sible because of this. In the mean time, be very carefull. Cheers, Alex.
07 February 2001 - Executive Update: St. Louis and Beyond
Bill McEwen has posted that Amiga Inc. have a new show coming up in St.
Louis, in a few weeks. Contrary to the rumors and what many people are
saying about our demise, or that we are going to have the same fate of
the others before us, we have a big surprise for all of them.
03 February 2001 - Amiga.info User Group Celebrates 6th Anniversary
Amiga.info, the Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Amiga user group, says the next
meeting will be on Thursday, February 15, 2001 at 7:00PM. This month,
Randall Hughes (Vice-President of Sales & Strategic Alliances at Amiga
Inc.) will be joining us to celebrate the club's six year anniversary!
If you can, drop by to join in the fun and discuss the latest on Amiga.
Top of Page
Windows
27 February 2001 - vnunet.com Latest Security News Stories
Reported by VNU Business Publications
* Microsoft issues vcard warning for Outlook
A flaw in Microsoft's Outlook Express has left users vulnerable to
malicious code embedded into vcards - virtual business cards - which are
used to sign many business emails. Hackers can crash target machines or,
more seriously, run code on the user's machine if they open a vcard.
27 February 2001 - MS Patches Media Player Skins Download
Vulnerability. MSNBC Bug Of The Day recently reported a security
vulnerability in the latest incarnation of Microsoft's Windows Media
Player (WMP). What made this vulnerability particularly insidious was the
fact that once downloaded to the victim's hard disk, the Java applet
would then be able to run in privileged mode. MS's patch eliminates this
vulnerability.
27 February 2001 - InternetBOOST Trouble With IE 5.5
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that if InternetBOOST '99 is installed on a
system running Internet Explorer (IE) 4, 4.01, 4.01 SP1, 4.01 SP2, 4.5, 5
for Windows 95, or IE 4.01 Service Pack 2, 5, 5.01, 5.5 for Windows 98,
browsing Web pages on the Internet may trigger a "Page Cannot be
Displayed" or "Request Timed Out" error. This happens if the
InternetBOOST settings are wrong or the installation is damaged, says MS.
Read the bug report to find out how to fix the problem.
27 February 2001 - When Microsoft Picture It! 2000 Shuts Down
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that launching the retail version of MS
Picture It! 2000 may trigger this error: "Missing Component: EULA
acceptance has failed. Please reinstall Picture It!" If you click OK,
Picture It! 2000 quits. Read the bug report on how to avoid this glitch.
27 February 2001 - When Money 2001 Won't Communicate
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that if a previous online communication
wasn't completed successfully, Money 2001 may enter into a Crash Recovery
state thwarting the Online Services Setup wizard launch in Microsoft
Money (4, 4.0a, 5 for Windows 95; 98, 99, 2000, 2001). For Crash Recovery
troubleshooting, read the bug report.
27 February 2001 - Tax-cut Tips With Kiplinger TaxCut 2000
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that without updating Kiplinger TaxCut to
tax year 2000, some information may not load from a 1999 TaxSaver federal
tax return file, says H&R Block Solutions. Don't hesitate to update; it's
a snap -- open TaxCut, and select Update TaxCut from the Tools menu.
27 February 2001 - Marketing Companies Take Tips From Hackers
Hackers ZDNet reporter Stefanie Olsen, says Companies are learning lessons
from hackers in their fight for page impressions - and many believe they
have now crossed the line. Just this week, online entertainment Web site
PassThisOn.com acknowledged it had knocked out the home page preferences
of some consumers over an unspecified period, using a vulnerability in
Internet Explorer 5.0 to cause people's home page preferences to be
reset. Before [Thursday], this all happened without the users' consent.
23 February 2001 - When Microsoft Money 2001 Crashes
MSNBC Bug Of The Day says if a previous online communication wasn't
completed successfully, Money 2001 may enter into a Crash Recovery state
thwarting the Online Services Setup wizard launch in Microsoft Money (4,
4.0a, 5 for Windows 95; 98, 99, 2000, 2001). Read the Bug of the Day for
Crash Recovery troubleshooting tips and links.
23 February 2001 - DAT / SDAT 4124 McAfee Total Virus Defense Update
DAT File for weekly v4x 4124, and SuperDat File for v4x 4140/4124
are now available on Network Associates website.
Dr Solomon's VirusScan customers download here.
For more information on the use of the dat files, please see the
NAI's readme.txt. or download VirusScan v4.5 Admin Guide.
22 February 2001 - Tax-cut Tips With Kiplinger TaxCut 2000
MSNBC Bug Of The Day says without updating Kiplinger TaxCut to tax year
2000, some information may not load from a 1999 TaxSaver federal tax
return file, says H&R Block Solutions. Don't hesitate to update; it's a
snap -- open TaxCut, and select Update TaxCut from the Tools menu.
21 February 2001 - Novell Certified 4.1.40 Engine for Netshield Netware
Anti-Virus Scanning Engine v4.1.40 Update is now available. This update
includes Engine Version 4.1.40 DAT Version 4121. Read the Release Notes
for McAfee NetShield NetWare for important information regarding this
release.
21 February 2001 - DAT / SDAT 4123 McAfee Total Virus Defense Update
DAT File for weekly v4x 4123, and SuperDat File for v4x 4140/4123
are now available on Network Associates website.
Dr Solomon's VirusScan customers download here.
For more information on the use of the dat files, please see the
NAI's readme.txt. or download VirusScan v4.5 Admin Guide.
21 February 2001 - Graphics Woes With Windows Me
MSNBC Bug Of The Day says reduced graphics performance can be expected on
some game and benchmarking applications that rigorously rely on video
hardware vertex buffer callbacks after installing Microsoft DirectX 8
on a Windows 95, 98, 98SE, Me or 2000 (Professional and Server) system.
Read the report to find out how performance can be resolved.
21 February 2001 - F-Secure Hoax Information: Bud Frogs HOAX
F-Secure says there is worm, VBS/VBSWG.N@mm, that spreads itself in an
attachement called "budweiser-commercial-spring2001.mpeg.vbs". This worm
has nothing to do with this hoax. Further information about the worm is
available at: http://www.F-Secure.com/v-descs/vbswg_n.shtml This warning
about a possible trojan horse circulates AOL and Internet. No antivirus
lab has seen a sample of the original file, so this can be considered a
hoax.
20 February 2001 - When Macromedia Dreamweaver UltraDev 1 Crashes
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that running Dreamweaver UltraDev 1 on a
Windows system with either a Diamond or Savage video card on board may
cause the program to crash, says Macromedia. To avoid the problem, turn
the Hardware Acceleration down to the lowest setting before launching
the application.
18 February 2001 - Updated .def Files Available for F-PROT
Frisk Software International announced new Sign.def and Sign2.def files
are availble. Also there is the Sign2.zip file which contains only the
file sign2.def without the sign.def file and, as a result, it is quite a
bit smaller than both def files together. Note that this sign2.def file
includes advanced generic detection capabilities which should hopefully
enable F-Prot to find most future variants of the VBS/LoveLetter worm.
These updates have been available since Friday, February 16th, 2001
18 February 2001 - F-PROT and F-PROT for Windows v3.08c Released
Frisk Software International announced a new version of F-PROT and F-PROT
for Windows v3.08c. Read more about FP-WIN Anti-virus Program here.
See Download for details on how to get your own copy of F-PROT.
These updates have been available since January 18th, 2001, as noted in
our January archives. This is just a reminder to update to the latest
versions.
18 February 2001 - Trial Version of F-PROT v3.08c Released
Frisk Software International announced a new trial version of F-PROT for
Windows v3.08c. Read more about FP-WIN Anti-virus Program here.
See Download for details on how to get your own copy copy of F-PROT.
This trial version has been available since January 18th, 2001.
18 February 2001 - F-MACROW v1.18a Released January 18 2001
Frisk Software International announced a new version of F-MACROW v1.18a
If you do not use Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel for Windows you have
no need for F-MACROW. F-MACROW is included in F-PROT DOS and FP-WIN
packages. This update has been available since January 18th, 2001.
16 February 2001 - Windows XP's Questionable Features
Hacker News Network, which is now @stake Security News, says the recent
introduction of Windows XP's features caused concern relating to the
security features of the Microsoft product. Window XP's remote access
capabilities appear to have been deemed the most suspect of all product
related concerns, mostly because of the access help-desk employees are
given. Access reportedly ranges from remotely viewing the user's screen
to problem solving by way of utilizing the Internet connection to control
the system. They link to Wired News XP: 'Your Mother's Windows'.
16 February 2001 - Triggering Errors With Microsoft Excel 2000
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that opening a Microsoft Excel 2000 workbook
may trigger this error: "The instruction at "0x3005ca13" referenced memory
at "0x00000018". The memory could not be "written"". Read the Bug Of The
Day to find out how to eliminate the problem.
15 February 2001 - DAT / SDAT 4122 McAfee Total Virus Defense Update
DAT File for weekly v4x 4122, and SuperDat File for v4x 4140/4122
are now available on Network Associates website.
Dr Solomon's VirusScan customers download here.
For more information on the use of the dat files, please see the
NAI's readme.txt. or download VirusScan v4.5 Admin Guide.
15 February 2001 - Antivirus Program For Microsoft Windows Me
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that if a Windows 95, 98, 98SE, Me and 2000
(Professional, Advanced Server, and Server editions) system is infected
by the W32.navidad virus, running an executable file may trigger this
error, says Microsoft: "Cannot Find WINSVRC.EXE". Run an antivirus
program to detect and remove the virus.
14 February 2001 - DAT / SDAT 4121 McAfee Total Virus Defense Update
DAT File for weekly v4x 4121, and SuperDat File DAT and Engine, for
v4x 4140/4121 are now available on Network Associates website.
Dr Solomon's VirusScan customers download here.
For more information on the use of the dat files, please see the
NAI's readme.txt. or download VirusScan v4.5 Admin Guide.
14 February 2001 - New def. File For F-Prot Available
Virus Help Denmark announced on Feb 12th, that a new def. file for F-Prot
has been released. Find the new update on the VHT-DK Downloads Page.
14 February 2001 - Microsoft Names Belluzzo New President
MSNBC Tech News says Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday said it named Rick
Belluzzo as its new president and chief operating officer. Belluzzo will
take over the reins as COO from Bob Herbold, 58, who is retiring.
14 February 2001 - Installing Service Pack For Corel WordPerfect 2000
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports says don't install Service Pack (SP) 4 for
Corel WordPerfect 2000 without taking proper precautions. Read the Bug
for precautions to take.
14 February 2001 - AntiVirus Proxy Sends E-mail Around In Circles
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that there's an arms race going on in your
PC, and your e-mail program is standing there on the front lines. As
viruses, Trojans, and worms become more dangerous, antivirus software
get more sophisticated. Back and forth it goes, and at some point
something going to break. Recently, it has been Norton AntiVirus (NAV)
that is blocking all e-mails on some systems. It's not necessarily a bug,
but NAV's methods are confusing users and angering ISPs.
14 February 2001 - Microsoft Introduced Secure Audio Pathway
Hacker News Network, which is now @stake Security News, says in the wake
of the attention lavished on Napster this week, MS has introduced
something they call: Secure Audio Pathway (SAP). The general idea is
that Microsoft has embedded functionality into Windows ME and XP that
forces Windows Media Player to only play files that have been signed by
an authority trusted by the content owner. The file blocking occurs at
the OS level by stopping the transmission of a non-SAP file to a sound
card or other devices. This functionality will be turned off for sometime
while a supposedly ignorant public embraces Windows Media Player above
all other players. Then when all other players have been crushed, MS will
flip the switch and the Windows Media Player will only play files that
have been signed by the yet to be named authority.
14 February 2001 - IPE AntiVirus Update Number 1128 Available
Computer Associates (CAI), announced in their Feb 6th, 2001 Newsletter,
that the new update kit for the signature file used in InoculateIT
Personal Edition AntiVirus (Current IPE version 5.2), has been uploaded
to the Computer Associates web site for you to download.
It is recommended that once you have downloaded and installed an update
that you do a virus scan of all the files on your system and create a new
reference disk for your system.
08 February 2001 - DAT / SDAT 4120 McAfee Total Virus Defense Update
DAT File for weekly v4x 4120, and SuperDat File for v4x 4120/4120
are now available on Network Associates website.
Dr Solomon's VirusScan customers download here.
For more information on the use of the dat files, please see the
NAI's readme.txt. or download VirusScan v4.5 Admin Guide.
08 February 2001 - MSNBC Latest News On The Tech Front
MSNBC Tech News has a couple of interesting articles
* Italian `Love Bug' Hits Euro Firms
A new Italian version of the "Love Bug" computer virus started spreading
through Europe Wednesday night and has infected computers at 10 companies
so far, according to one antivirus firm.
* Microsoft Has Difficulties With IM
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday admitted it experienced problems with the
servers that handle the companys instant messaging system, marking the
latest in a series of problems with the software giants Internet-based
services.
08 February 2001 - Closing Images In Adobe Photoshop 6
MSNBC Bug Of The Day says now you see it, now you don't. That's what
happens when an image is closed in Adobe Photoshop 6 running on a
Windows-based system. Read the Bug of the Day to find out how to avoid
this snafu.
07 February 2001 - MSNBC: Three Latest Bug Of The Day Reports
These are the latest reports:
* Feb. 7: Updating Apple Mac OS 9.1
* Feb. 6: Hanging with Office 2001
* Feb. 2: Triggering errors with Excel 2000
03 February 2001 - DAT / SDAT 4119 McAfee Total Virus Defense Update
AVERT has identified that certain types of software packages are incor-
rectly detected as W32/Joined. This detection exists in 4118 DAT, however
this has been corrected for 4119 DAT. Therefore pick up this latest DAT.
DAT File for weekly v4x 4119, and SuperDat File for v4x 4120/4119
are now available on Network Associates website.
Dr Solomon's VirusScan customers download here.
For more information on the use of the dat files, please see the
NAI's readme.txt. or download VirusScan v4.5 Admin Guide.
03 February 2001 - MS To Rebrand Windows, Office?
MSNBC Tech News has an article by Mary Jo Foley, asks What's in a name?
A lot of confusion, at least for Microsoft. With its next-generation
Windows and Office products, MS is expected to adopt a new and untried
naming convention, according to sources. The company is expected to
announce the change next week.
02 February 2001 - Triggering Errors With Excel 2000
MSNBC Bug Of The Day reports that opening a Microsoft Excel 2000 workbook
may trigger this error: "The instruction at "0x3005ca13" referenced memory
at "0x00000018". The memory could not be "written"." Follow the above link
to the bugoftheday article, and find out how to eliminate this problem.
01 February 2001 - DAT / SDAT 4118 McAfee Total Virus Defense Update
DAT File for weekly v4x 4116, and SuperDat File for v4x 4120/4118
are now available on Network Associates website.
Dr Solomon's VirusScan customers download here.
For more information on the use of the dat files, please see the
NAI's readme.txt. or download VirusScan v4.5 Admin Guide.
01 February 2001 - AOL Fighting ICQ `Spying' Programs
MSNBC Tech News reporter Bob Sullivan, says a group of Ukrainian software
developers say they've developed several programs that can turn America
Online's ICQ instant messaging software into a spy tool, and AOL is
battling to keep the programs off the Internet.
01 February 2001 - Workaround For When PowerPoint 2000 Hangs
MSNBC Bug Of The Day says reports of PowerPoint 2000 hanging when using the
Intellimouse scroll wheel are preliminary, says Microsoft. At the time of
this writing, the culprit hadn't been determined. Follow the current Bug
Of The Day link to find the current workaround.
Top of Page
Macintosh
21 February 2001 - Apple PowerBook G4 Hit With DVD Jam Bug
The Register says Apple has acknowledged a build flaw in the new Titanium
PowerBook G4 that causes DVDs to stick inside the notebook's casing.
Questions remain, however, over what the company is doing about the
problem.
20 February 2001 - Opera To Ship Mac Browser Preview This Week
The Register UK says Opera will release the first Mac public test version
of its popular Web browser this Thursday. The release is based on version
5 of the browser. The software developer dubbed the release a "technology
preview", which essentially means it's still in the very early stages of
testing.
17 February 2001 - Steve Jobs' Tokyo Keynote Beamed To... Croydon
The Register says UK computer superstore chain, PC World, will be opening
later to stream Apple CEO Steve Jobs' MacWorld Expo Tokyo keynote onto
the big screen in its store in... er... Croydon.
14 February 2001 - BT To Release Mac ADSL Drivers Monday
The Register reports BT will ship drivers on Monday that will allow Mac
users to use its home-oriented ADSL service with the bundled Alcatel
SpeedTouch USB modem.
12 February 2001 - Ioannis Galidakis' Has New Website For Programs
There is completely new URL's for all three of Ioannis Galidakis'
antivirus programs. They include the Macintosh programs
* Tracker
* Scanner
* DelProtect
12 February 2001 - Macintosh Scanner 1.1.2 Released
Scanner 1.1.2 has been released, and is on Ioannis Galidakis' new website.
03 February 2001 - MacOS X Beta Users Get $30 Off Full Version
The Register reporter Tony Smith, says according to MacCentral, Apple has
emailed a number of buyers with the offer to knock $30 off the price of
MacOS X for users who've already bought the next-generation operating
system's Public Beta release, valid only if they order before 14 March.
MacOS X ships ten days later, on 24 March.
01 February 2001 - Apple To Focus On Pro Users During 2001
The Register reporter Tony Smith, reports that consumer Mac owners won't
be offered Apple's SuperDrive CD/DVD writer, and, by extension, its
consumer-oriented iDVD software, until next year, CEO Steve Jobs admitted
yesterday at a meeting with financial analysts.
Top of Page
Linux
22 February 2001 - Latest Linux Weekly News Released.
LWN.net Weekly Edition for Feb 22nd, 2001 has been published. A few of
the security highlights are Phil Zimmerman leaves NSI, vixie-cron,
pgp4pine, ROADS and Bajie vulnerabilities, OpenSSH 2.5.1.
15 February 2001 - February CRYPTO-GRAM Newsletter
Bruce Schneier's CRYPTO-GRAM newsletter for February is out; it's
worth a read. Topic include hard drive copy protection (CPRM: "a
serious threat to civil liberties"), the InterBase back door, "e-mail
filter idiocy," and a brief mention of the Ramen Worm.
15 February 2001 - LinuxDevices.com Embedded Linux Newsletter
The LinuxDevices.com Embedded Linux Newsletter for February 15 is out,
with the usual comprehensive summary of embedded Linux events and
coverage.
15 February 2001 - Latest Linux Weekly News Released.
LWN.net Weekly Edition for Feb 15th, 2001 has been published.
The Security issues covered include SSH trademark issue surfaces, XFree86
fixes show up and more SSH security problems are aired.
08 February 2001 - Latest Linux Weekly News Released.
LWN.net Weekly Edition for Feb 8th, 2001 has been published.
Inside this week's Linux Weekly News there is a good article saying "We
are not "Linux Weekly". Recently a tabloid publication called "Linux
Weekly" announced its existence. One of our readers sent them a note
saying that their name might just cause confusion with LWN.net (also
known as "Linux Weekly News"), which has been using that name for, well,
just over three years now. Given that they have started sending spam to
Linux vendors with the Linux Weekly name, we sure would like to avoid
that sort of confusion... The response that came back said "I appreciate
your comments. Who knows how many others may feel this way?"
Do you feel that way? If so, consider letting them know via a polite
note to cheryl@sys-con.com. After all, they are curious..."
VHT-Canada has made this sample template, just to expediate the process.
To: Linux Weekly Tabloid <cheryl@sys-con.com>
Subject: Linux Weekly / LWN Possible Name Confusion
... Please be advised, I have some serious reservations on
your publication having the name of 'Linux Weekly'. It will
have confusing consequences in regards to the already well-known
organization of 'Linux Weekly News'.
... Regarding your response to Linux Weekly News in the form of:
"I appreciate your comments. Who knows how many others may feel
this way?"
My response is "Many, many others."
Thankyou for your time,
-- Signn your name here --
02 February 2001 - Linux Weekly News Daily Has Newer URL
LWN.net Daily news at http://linuxweeklynews.com/daily/ has been
unavailable since Feb 1st. Please use the above link to lwn.net.
02 February 2001 - Torvalds On Linux: They aren't laughing now
LWN.net Daily has a link to a the SearchEnterpriseLinux interview with
Linus Torvalds. "I think the desktop is king. It's the harder market to
enter, but it's the one that tends to encircle and overtake the business
use. Just look at how business people laughed at PC's and DOS 15 years
ago. They aren't laughing now. And the desktop is actually how Linux got
started - my desktop."
02 February 2001 - Latest Linux Weekly News Released.
LWN.net Weekly Edition for Feb 1st, 2001 has been published. Note the
URL change from http://linuxweeklynews.com/ to http://lwn.net/. A few
of the articles include
01 February 2001 - Sun Adds Linux Support To Java Tools
vnunet.com Linux News says that at the Linuxworld tradeshow in New York
this week, Sun announced the immediate availability of Java 2 Platform
Micro Edition (J2ME), Connected Device Configuration (CDC) and Foundation
profile for Linux.
Top of Page
Miscellaneous
27 February 2001 - Music Labels to ISPs: Shut Down Napster Clones
LWN.net Daily news says News.com covers OpenNap, which has started
filtering its content in reaction to the Recording Industry Association
of America's suit against Napster and clones. "OpenNap is an open-source
version of the Napster technology, allowing individuals to set themselves
up as smaller versions of the Napster music-swapping service. Anybody
with a reasonably powerful computer and fast Net connection can run the
software, creating a directory through which linked computers can
search each other's hard drives for music files."
27 February 2001 - vnunet.com Latest Security News Stories
A few of the articles reported by VNU Business Publications
* Napster-type services threatened by virus
A new type of virus has been discovered which affects machines on the
ever-growing network of file sharing systems such as Gnutella and
Napster.
* Nintendo and 299 Germans hit by hackers
Nintendo Hackers defaced Nintendo Europe and nine of its German websites
on Sunday as part of an attack that gained access to 300 websites with
either German or top level domain extensions.
* OpenPGP set to become global standard
Godfather of encryption and creator of PGP, Phil Zimmermann, formerly a
senior fellow at Network Associates, said he plans to move Hush's free
web based secure email service, Hushmail, over from Blowfish to
OpenPGP-based encryption. OpenPGP is an Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) ratified standard based around PGP 5, which Hush and Zimmermann
hope will become a global standard as the public demand for secure
communications increases. Zimmermann said: "OpenPGP is easier to use
than PGP because it works over a simple Java applet. The fact that it's
encrypted also gives it the security advantage over most web based
email."
23 February 2001 - The "Whois" Database Open for Business
@stake Security News says MSNBC's Brock Meeks addresses Verisign's
personal information selling bonanza in a scathing "shame on you"
editorial. In comparing domain registration and driver license registra-
tion, Meeks points out, "The information on your driver's license has
more protection than your domain name information thanks to the Driver's
Privacy Protection Act of 1994." Not surprisingly, Verisign has a
completely different take on the matter.
23 February 2001 - Latest Hackers Special News From ZDNet
* Terrorist Act will not deter hackers
Act unlikely to catch most hackers, despite its new cybercrime
provisions
* US praises DeCSS non-publication decision
In an appeals court filing, the US government praises a lower-court
ruling that bans the hacker magazine from posting the DeCSS decryption
code
* McDonalds UK Web site hacked by fluffy bunny
Fluffy cracker takes on the global food giant. In the format of the
original UK McDonalds page, the defacement advertises such products as
"Bexter Nuggets" and the "Bunny Burger".
22 February 2001 - New Laws Brand Hackers As Terrorists
VNU Business Publications (vnunet.com Security) says virus writers and
hackers could soon be branded as terrorists, as new anti-terrorism laws
come into force in the UK today.
21 February 2001 - Legendary Cryptographer Phil Zimmerman Joins Hush
Dublin, Ireland - 19 February, 2001-Hush Communications Corporation
(www.hush.com) today announced the appointment of Philip R. Zimmermann as
a Chief Cryptographer for the Company. Zimmermann has been asked to lead
Hush's efforts to fully integrate support for the OpenPGP standard into
Hush's core technology by President and Chief Executive Officer, Jon
Matonis, and Chief Technology Officer, David Bowman. Read more about
OpenPGP here.
21 February 2001 - eBay Scammers eBagged
Hacker News Network, which is now @stake Security News, says according to
MSNBC, several suspects are being sought in connection with a large scale
fraud scheme that could have potentially affected the credit card accounts
of 175 people. The case is currently under investigation. Follow the link
for the MSNBC article.
20 February 2001 - Guarding Canada's e-frontier
The Globe And Mail Tech News says about 100 federal and provincial experts
will gather in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this morning for a two-day con-
ference on cyber-sabotage. A new federal agency aims to protect crucial
electronic infrastructure from hack attacks. The Office of Critical
Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness is the first new
national-security organization since the Trudeau government established
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in 1984.
20 February 2001 - Anna Virus Writer Offered IT Job
VNU Business Publications says the author who served up the AnnaKournikova
virus, which last week knocked out email systems worldwide, has been
offered a job by the mayor of his home town because of the publicity he
created for the otherwise unknown Dutch town of Sneek
19 February 2001 - A Few Headlines From The Register UK
* Dealers charged with pirate supply to 23 police forces
The directors of a bust Hampshire dealership have been charged with
supplying counterfeit software to more than half of the UK's police
forces.
* Napster develops P2P copy protection
Napster has announced a deal with digital rights management firm - and
Bertelsmann subsidiary - Digital World Services to use copy protection in
P2P swapping, to inhibit burning MP3s to CDs, and so appease the savage
army of recording industry lawyers arrayed on all fronts.
* Govt Web sites fail own guidelines
The government may be very pleased with the launch of its UKonline portal
today, but it fails to meet its own guidelines on Web site design, we
have discovered. One concerned reader who has worked on several government
Net projects points to several major failings: first, the opening page
relies on JavaScript and Meta tags to forward to the index page and
includes invalid HTML.
18 February 2001 - The New Ice Age HOAX: Symantec Report / Vmyths Report
VMyths report says a struggling rock band in St. Louis concocted the New
Ice Age virus alert as a publicity stunt to promote their new CD. The
Symantec Security's site says this hoax arrives as an email message.
and should be ignored.
17 February 2001 - Download An MP3 ... Go To Jail?
Hacker News Network, which is now @stake Security News, says it appears
as though police in Belgium are arresting Napster users. According to the
local prosecutors' office, police raided the homes of several alleged
music file swappers in an effort to locate evidence their action
infringed on copyright rules. The raids are reportedly in response to
complaints from the music industry. Given recent court rulings, the US
may not be far behind on this one which by all accounts is pretty scary.
They have two related news stories
* AP via The Las Vegas Sun
* Slashdot
17 February 2001 - Potential Security Weakness Found In Email Systems
Hacker Whacker has a NewsBytes article which says a Canadian Web security
company said it has discovered a weakness in the Microsoft Hotmail filter
system that leaves millions of mailboxes open to attack. A statement from
Montreal-based Neurocom said the breaches are caused by omissions in
filters designed to inhibit some html/JavaScript texts, through which
crackers can slip. Hotmail is not the only popular e-mail system affected,
but also Yahoo, Zdnetmail and Caramail, among others. A hacker can use a
Trojan Horse, a malicious program passing itself off as another
application, written in HTML language, and producing a perfect replica of
Hotmail's (etc) re-login page when mail is opened. Re-entering login
information then results in the data being transmitted into hackers hands,
according to the statement.
17 February 2001 - Napster Articles Posted at MSNBC
MSNBC Tech News has a couple of Napster articles
* Napster, Bertelsmann reveal plans
At long last, Napster and Bertelsmann announced on Friday how they would
take the first steps toward restructuring the free, music-swapping
network into the paid, membership-driven service promised by both
companies last Halloween, when they revealed their accord.
* Storm clouds darken over Napster
Acting quickly in the wake of Monday's largely pro-record-industry
appellate ruling, music industry lawyers on Thursday submitted a proposed
modified injunction order to Judge Marilyn Hall Patel which, if signed,
could so thin out Napster's offerings as to transform the service from
the celestial jukebox into a suburban garage sale.
17 February 2001 - Network Solutions Sells Its Database
MSNBC Tech News says the Internet's phone book is up for sale -- and
though the listings may represent a treasure trove for marketers, the
move also risks a serious privacy backlash. At issue are millions of
entries in the domain-name database operated by the Network Solutions
unit of VeriSign Inc., Mountain View, Calif.
16 February 2001 - Keynote Speaker At VB-2001 Conference
Virus Bulletin-2001 Cambridge, United Kingdom, February 15, 2001 Virus
Bulletin, the most respected international publication for computer
virus prevention, recognition and removal has announced that Eugene
Kaspersky, Head of Anti-Virus Research for Kaspersky Lab, is to be the
keynote speaker for the 11th annual international Virus Bulletin 2001
conference. Click here for Virus Bulletin Conference 2001 Webpage
16 February 2001 - Hackers attack HP, Compaq And Others
Hackers ZDNet reports Internet vandals 'Sm0ked Crew' deface the Web sites
of technology giants across the globe
16 February 2001 - Latest Defacements At Attrition.org
Attrition.org has a Feb 15th defacement of the Canadian Space Agency. You
can find the defacement here, and the actual Canadian Space Agency url at
http://www.space.gc.ca/.
16 February 2001 - The Top Five Hottest HOAXES
Stiller Research virus hoax news has updated their list of the hottest
hoaxes. The list includes:
* The "Win a Holiday" Hoax
* The Wobbler/California Virus Hoax
* The "Guts to say 'Jesus'" Hoax
* The Upgrade Internet2 / Perrin.exe Virus Hoax
* Internet Tax (Bill 602P and email stamp) Hoaxes
16 February 2001 - Family Pictures Virus Alert HOAX
VMyths.com has a description that says a hoax virus alert created as a
direct rip-off of the PrettyPark virus alert chain letter. The hoaxster
merely canged "PrettyPark" to "Family Pictures." Two variations of this
hoax already exist. One calls it the "New Family Pictures" virus, another
calls it the "New Pictures of Family" virus. Read the report for complete
description and Related Links.
16 February 2001 - Cowpland Resigns From Corel Board of Directors
National Post Online TechNews reports flamboyant technology entrepreneur
Michael Cowpland has left his position on the board of Corel Corp., the
company he founded and ran until his surprise resignation last August.
14 February 2001 - Latest vnunet.com Security Articles
VNU Business Publications has a number of intersting security articles.
* Think before you click on Valentine's Day
val E-card distributors have been blasted for encouraging the
irresponsible use of email systems by offering anonymous Valentine's
Day messages.
* Hackers chip into Intel website
Intel was left red faced this morning after a sub-domain on its website
was defaced by opportunist hackers.
* Anna virus writer arrested
The author of the AnnaKournikova virus has been arrested by the Dutch
authorities, only hours after posting an apology for creating the virus
on the internet.
* Anna virus writer apologises
Onthefly, the author of the Anna virus which wreaked havoc around the
world on Monday, has published a letter on his website apologising for
writing the virus.
* Bugs will bite - if you let them
The good news is that there's only one piece of bad news. The threat
from crackers is rising exponentially - a fact that has been demonstrated
in spades by the recent chaos and devastation caused by the AnnaKournikiva
virus. But while the world reels at the killer infection, we should take
a few steps back and a few moments to look at the nature of the cracking
beast.
* Protect yourself against the Anna virus
Give yourself the advantage and make sure you're protected against the
AnnaKournikova virus with vnunet.com's comprehensive list of fixes and
advice.
14 February 2001 - Napster: Not Dead Yet
Hacker News Network, which is now @stake Security News, says the Ninth
U.S. District Court of appeals granted a stay of execution to Napster
yesterday, granting an injunction to the plaintiffs, but referring the
matter to a lower court for further review and clarification. Practically
speaking, this means that Napster isn't dead yet, but it looks grim.
Recording artists -- you know, the folks who actually make the music --
appear split. Chuck D. preaches power to the people, while Eminem just
wants to get paid.
14 January 2001 - Napster Hears Death Knell
National Post Online TechNews reports U.S. court decides swap site
violates copyright rules. Internet music company Napster Inc. suffered
a major legal blow when it lost a court appeal yesterday, but its 50
million users will be able to continue swapping music files for at least
a few more weeks.
14 February 2001 - Be My Valentine HOAX
F-Secure Hoax Information Page reports there has been a hoax message
spreading in February 2000. This hoax has nothing to do with
VBS/Valentine.A@mm worm.
14 February 2001 - How The Anna Virus/Worm Was Created
Hackers ZDNet reports she was made from a toolkit. According to Trend
Micro, Anna's author avoided all that heartbreak and simply used an
existing virus toolkit available on the Internet. VBS Worm Generator
(VBSWG) 1.50b is a standalone application that allows script kiddies,
(malicious users with very little programming skills), to create their
own successful viruses.
14 February 2001 - FBI Dumps Carnivore - But In Name Only
Hackers ZDNet says email snooping system becomes less beastly, but could
be just as insidious. The FBI has dressed its online wolf in sheep's
clothing, changing the name of its controversial email surveillance system
known up until now as Carnivore, to the less beastly moniker of DCS1000.
The investigative agency built the tool to monitor the Internet communica-
tions of suspects under its surveillance, but the system, housed on
computers at Internet service providers, also can collect email messages
from people who are not part of an FBI probe.
14 February 2001 - Sun Boxes Are In, Playstation 2 Out
Hacker News Network, which is now @stake Security News, says rumors are
flying wild over the motivations behind some rather large thefts of
computer equipment (mainly Sun products) from the University of
Edinburgh. Speculation appears to be pointing towards Saddam Hussein
and Iraq where economic sanctions prevent the sale of high powered
computer equipment. Apparently, the Playstation 2 consoles that were
rumored to be heading towards Iraq didn't have enough juice. @stake also
has a link to The Register (full rumor buy-in)
14 February 2001 - Google Acquires Usenet Service From Deja.com
Google's Press Release states Award-Winning Search Engine Launches Beta
Version of Usenet Newsgroup Search.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - February 12, 2001 - Google Inc. today
announced that it has acquired Deja.com's Usenet Discussion Service.
This acquisition provides Google with Deja's entire Usenet archive
(dating back to 1995), software, domain names including deja.com and
dejanews.com, company trademarks, and other intellectual property.
09 February 2001 - Amiga.tm Redirect VHT-Canada Mirror at NBCi
Amiga.tm Redirect for http://vht-can.amiga.tm was changed to our new
mirror sight at NBCi. I found our previous service too slow and not
available half the time. Hopefully it will be better at NBCi. Hopefully
all links will be corrected and working.
09 February 2001 - Latest VNU Business Publications Security Headlines
VNU Business Publications has a few reports that are interesting to the
security consious. Follow the link to vnunet.com's complete article.
* Intel adds security to file-swapping
Intel is attempting to add security to the file-swapping technology made
popular by music-sharing service Napster, by publishing an open source
library of tools. Called the Peer-to-Peer Trusted Library, the tools
enable application developers to add trusted elements such as digital
certificates, peer authentication, secure storage, public key encryption
and digital signatures to their file-swapping software.
* New software gives hackers nowhere to hide
A US startup will next month release a software tool, Sharp Technology's
Hack Tracer II, which it claims can help protect against hacking
attempts and traces the attackers back to their IP addresses.
* Bug Watch: ISPs hold key to e-security
Each week vnunet.com asks a different expert from the IT security
world to give their views on recent virus and security issues. This
week's expert is Anton Grashion, global product manager at Baltimore
Technologies.
* E-envoy to wage war on hackers
Andrew Pinder, the newly appointed UK government E-envoy, is spear-
heading a security crackdown to stop the spate of website hacking that
has so embarrassed Whitehall.
* Viruses rampant in UK and Germany
Some 20 per cent of computers worldwide are riddled with bugs, and
machines in the UK and Germany are among the worst affected in Europe,
according to security software firm McAfee.
08 February 2001 - PlayStation 3 Graphics Chip To Crush PS2 Version
The Register reports that the degree to which Sony's PlayStation 3 will
out-perform its predecessor became clearer yesterday when the developer
of the console's graphics chip mapped out its internals.
08 February 2001 - Kaspersky Lab Refutes Rumors of Virus Epidemic
Kaspersky Lab has a Comment saying in part that with Valentines Day fast
approaching, many users from around the world have been inundated by
warnings from some anti-virus vendors regarding the threat of a new strain
of the ILOVEYOU virus. Kaspersky Lab would like to point out that the
aforementioned warnings are simply a form of virus hysteria, and have
nothing in common with reality. Read the comments for the explaination.
07 February 2001 - Virus Help Team Canada Mirror Re-Direct
Amiga.tm has validated our Crosswinds site for having the redirect URL
of vht-can.amiga.tm. Thankyou Tobias! and your Amiga.tm Site.
07 February 2001 - Virus Help Team Netherlands Mirror Re-Direct
Amiga.tm has also validated our Crosswinds site for having the redirect
URL of vht-nl.amiga.tm. Thankyou again Tobias! and your Amiga.tm Site.
07 February 2001 - Latest Headings From vnunet.com Security
VNU Business Publications latest reports
* Microsoft, Netscape email flaw uncovered
A flaw has been uncovered in Microsoft's Outlook and Netscape's Mail email
software, that allows senders to surreptitiously track when their messages
are opened and whether they are forwarded to other recipients.
* Boys from Brazil hack into Pope's website
Hours after Pope John Paul II gave his blessing to ecommerce, his official
radio-station website was attacked by Brazilian hackers with anti-Catholic
tastes.
* Security risk exposed in wireless networks
Security flaws have been discovered in a wireless local area network (Lan)
standard, which could expose corporate networks to eavesdroppers and
unauthorised personnel.
* Poor SLA management a threat to security
Enterprises that do not manage their service level agreements (SLAs)
strategically are putting themselves at risk of online security breaches,
according to security firm mi2g.
* Love Bug could strike on Valentine's Day
As Valentine's Day approaches, companies are being warned to be vigilant
as a new Love Bug-style virus could bring their computer systems crashing
down again.
07 February 2001 - Port 53: Hottest Scanned Port Of The Day
DShield.org report from Feb, says in part, "Serious new vulnerabilities
were announced in BIND, a popular DNS package."
Read More About Port 53 - DNS Server from DShield.
07 February 2001 - Specials From Hackers at ZDNet News
Hackers ZDNet has a number of articles that are of security interest.
* DDoS attacks - one year later
Still no strong defences deployed against DDoS attacks
* DNS proves to be weak link in Internet chain
A series of high-profile events over the last few weeks confirmed what
security experts and CIOs have feared -- that the Domain Name System
is full of holes
* Extremists said to be scrambling messages on Web
The Internet is the new 'dead drop'
* Email wiretaps made easy
Privacy group demonstrates a simple way of 'listening in' on email
conversations - but the real problem may be fancy email programs
* New loophole makes email spying easy
A new method uses JavaScript to 'tap' email conversations
* World Economic Forum hacked
The yearly meeting of economic leaders - attended by the likes of Bill
Gates and Yasser Arafat - says hackers breached their computers, and
may have gained access to attendees' credit cards
02 February 2001 - Trojan Worm Strikes America Online
VNU Business Publications reports that subscribers to America Online's
(AOL's) email service are being warned to watch out for a password-
stealing computer virus that is infecting users' machines worldwide.
01 February 2001 - Security Watchers Duped Into Cyber Attack
VNU Business Publications reports that a hacker has duped the moderator
of the Bugtraq information security mailing list, which has 85,000
members, into distributing code that launched a denial of service attack
against security vendor Network Associates.
01 February 2001 - New Nortel Product Raises ISP Privacy Questions
ABC News reporter Sascha Segan, says Nortel Networks announced new
Internet products that could greatly speed up access to your favorite Web
sites, and be a disaster for privacy.
Top of Page
Back to the News Archives page