Time to Dump Internet Explorer?
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The latest security breaches in the world's dominant Web browser, Internet Explorer, are the final straws for a growing number of techies. CERT, the government-funded security watchdog group at Carnegie Mellon University, says Internet Explorer is unsafe, and is recommending the use of an alternative Web browser. Commentators at Business Week, eWeek, the Houston Chronicle, and Security Focus.com are also recommending that you stop using Internet Explorer.
Last week, computer users were hit by a malicious attack that could record their keystrokes, steal account information and passwords, and send them back to a computer in Russia. The attack was stopped by shutting down the Russian site, but experts say more attacks are likely. Just yesterday, Internet Explorer users were hit with another security breach.
Browsers that stand to benefit from Microsoft's troubles include Opera, Mozilla, and Firefox.
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Plain Layne Weblog a Hoax
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Three and a half years ago, a Minnesota woman named Layne Johnson started sharing her life story in a Weblog. Or at least that's what readers thought.
Johnson said she was in her twenties. Her candid diary included details about her sex life. The "Plain Layne" blog attracted thousands of readers.
But Layne Johnson turned out to be a 35 year-old man.
Rex Sorgatz interviews the hoax perpetrator in City Pages.
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I, Robot. Throw Me.
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new surveillance robot that's designed to be thrown into windows, or over fences and other obstructions.
(Image Courtesy of CMU)
The rugged robot, Dragon Runner, is about the size of a small suitcase, and includes on-board cameras and microphones. It can travel at speeds up to 20 miles per hour, and is made to go where humans can't, or shouldn't. It has potential civilian uses, but will be tested soon in Iraq.
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Blinkx Challenges Search Giants
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One of the newest challengers to the Google, MSN and Yahoo-dominated world of Internet searching is Blinkx, a Silicon Valley startup that is still in a test phase. It makes a downloadable software tool which aims to connect users with relevant information, whether it's a Web site, Word document or e-mail message stored on your hard drive.
(Image Courtesy of Blinkx.com)
A tiny Blinkx toolbar floats atop your Web browser, word-processing program and e-mail application. It reads your active window, and scours the Web and local documents that it deems to be related or relevant.
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MPERIA: The Anti-iTunes
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Mperia is a new online musical portal where unsigned musicians can promote and sell songs.
(Image Courtesy of Mperia.com)
About 700 acts are offering songs online. A few cost only a penny. Most are 50 cents to a dollar. Artists get to keep 70 cents on the dollar.
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Polishing Computer Science Image
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High schools are not churning out enough students interested or skilled in computer science, according to David Patterson, the new president of the Association for Computing Machinery, a leading trade group for computer professionals.
High schools beset by tight budgets are cutting their computer science classes, and teacher training and certification is inadequate. That contributes to a shortage of computer scientists. What's more, Patterson says high schoolers aren't all that interested in computer science because it has an image problem.
IBM's Pride: Blue Gene, Baby!
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Two prototypes of IBM's Blue Gene supercomputers, which are made at the company's Rochester, Minn. facility, have made the top ten of an annual ranking of the most powerful computers. A final version of Blue Gene is expected to rank number one within a year.
Blue Gene will deliver a jaw-dropping amount of processing power. The first system will be installed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, and will be almost ten times faster than the fastest machine available today.
Blue Genes are small compared to earlier supercomputers, and they use significantly less power.
Fraud Threatens Federal School Internet Program
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The E-Rate program was designed to help schools and libraries get wired for the Internet. The government has disbursed more than $8 billion since 1998. The money comes from a monthly 8.7 percent tax on your phone bill that shows up as the "Universal Service Fund."
But investigators say some unscrupulous vendors and school officials have used E-Rate to line their pockets. Revelations of fraud cast doubt on the future of the program, which was championed by the Clinton administration.
Nasty Worm Largely Unknown
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Back in March, a computer worm called Witty came and went with little notice. Computer security expert Bruce Schneier, author of "Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World," says Witty deserves greater fame.
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Mobile Phone Worms
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A group of underground virus writers have demonstrated what is believed to be the world's first worm that can spread on mobile phones. The worm, named Cabir, was sent to security software firms Kapersky Lab of Russia and U.S.-based Symantec by a member of 29a, a group of virus writers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Symantec says the worm is designed to work in phones running on Symbian and Series 60 software, which is used to power millions of Nokia phones, such as the popular 6600 model. The worm is not regarded as dangerous because even if it spreads it carries no code that destroys files or executes other damaging operations.
The virus attempts to jump from phone to phone by using the handset's wireless short-range phone-to-phone connection.
Bruce Schneier, author of Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World, and founder and chief technology officer at Counterpane Internet Security, sees mobile phone worms as a growing threat.
Bypassing News Site Registration
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Increasingly, news Web sites such as WashingtonPost.com are requiring readers to divulge their names, addresses and even income as a requirement of accessing content.
News sites say they need the demographic information for their advertisers, and believe free content in exchange for a little information is a good deal. But registration irks some readers and privacy advocates, who worry about how the personal information is being used.
Now there's a Web site, BugMeNot, designed to foil registration requirements.
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Movies on Computers
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RealNetworks and Starz Encore Group have launched an Internet movie subscription service.
The Starz! Ticket on Real Movies service lets people download movies they can watch on their computers. For $13 per month, subscribers get access to about a hundred movies, including current titles such as "Finding Nemo" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," and classics such as "Taxi Driver."
Digital entertainment industry analyst Josh Bernoff with Forrester Research says the effort from Real and Starz! is different from two existing movie download services in one important way.
Security Expert: Wise Up
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Most people agree that malicious hackers, identity thieves and online fraudsters should be prosecuted; that Microsoft and other companies need to build more secure software to prevent viruses and worms. Ira Winkler says what's really needed is more common sense, and a strong dose of personal responsibility.
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Instant Books for Would-Be Authors
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A New Jersey bookstore is the first in the United States to install InstaBook, a machine that can turn your memoirs or family recipes into a bound paperback book in as little as 17 minutes. Bring your masterpiece into the store on CD-Rom or floppies, or e-mail it to the Bookends store, and you can walk away with ten books for about $180 dollars.
The High-Blog Diet
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Wanting to better understand the impact of Weblogs, Steve Rubel recently spent a week getting all his news from blogs. No television, no newspapers, no radio. And no clicking through from blogs to any story by professional journalists.
Rubel is a public relations executive who blogs about the impact of blogs on the PR industry. To gauge the success of his experiment, Rubel enlisted the help of a journalism think tank, which administered a news quiz.
Rubel says forgoing traditional media was a challenge.
Do Computers Make Children Smarter?
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Preschool children who use a computer appear to develop better learning skills than peers who lack computer experience, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.
In a study of 122 children aged 3 to 5, those exposed to a home or school computer three to four times a week scored higher on tests that gauge school readiness and cognitive development than non-users.
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Cancelling Computer Noise
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Fans that cool computers create a constant whoosh. Now a professor at Brigham Young University has developed a system for quieting computers. It relies on generating sort of a mirror image of fan noise. Physicist Scott Sommerfeldt says his "anti-noise" system is a solution to an annoying problem.
Weblogs Become Money Makers
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The world of personal publishing on the Internet is starting to resemble traditional media in at least one way: We're starting to see more ads. Top Weblogs like Instapundit, Daily Kos, and Wonkette carry ads for political candidates, books, and CDs. Some bloggers earn thousands of dollars per month; others make just enough to defray the costs of running their blogs.
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New Worry: Toxic Computer Dust
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A new study by two environmental groups says dust found on computers and monitors contains chemicals linked to reproductive and neurological disorders.
Researchers collected samples of dust from dozens of computers in eight states, including university computer labs in New York, Michigan and Texas, legislative offices in California, and an interactive computer display at a children's museum in Maine.
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and Clean Production Action suggest that people are routinely exposed to what are called "brominated flame retardants" on the surfaces of computers and other machines in the home and office.
Independent researchers who reviewed the new study say consumers shouldn't throw out their computers, but they should write to politicians and ask for stronger protection against such chemicals. Gina Solomon, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, says the levels in the dust are enough to raise a red flag, but not enough to create a crisis.
Spirit of America
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A Web-based project is enlisting Americans to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Spirit of America is an humanitarian effort that invites Americans to participate in the re-building of Iraq and Afghanistan, regardless of their stance on the wars.
Over the next few weeks, Spirit of America hopes to sign up millions of Americans as contributors and volunteers. It's already raised about $1.7 million, and has purchased and sent school supplies, broadcasting equipment, tools, and sewing machines to Baghdad and Kabul.
One of the group's main goals is to show Iraqis and Afghanis that average Americans care about their well-being.
Phishing for Dollars
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"Phishing" is the practice of sending e-mails that falsely claim to be from a legitimate company, like eBay or Citibank, and direct you to a fake Web site where you're asked to enter your credit card number or other personal information. I've been receiving several phishes each day, which appear to be from eBay and its subsidiary, PayPal. They contain official looking logos, and read like this:
"Inactive customers are subject to restriction and removal of their accounts if they do not verify their accounts. Please confirm your details by clicking on the link below, which will take you to the verification form directly."
Phishing is a growing fraud problem, says Dave Jevans with the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
Prologue phosphor sportswriting alkali
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Here's a little more of that, and stop me when this sounds familiar: resume tank grandchildren hurwitz... It's some of that poetry-looking gibberish that accompanies a lot of the spam we get now -- in this case, the bazillionth email I've gotten for a three percent mortgage rate. So what is this junk? I talked with spam expert Ray Everett-Church, chief privacy officer of TurnTide Inc., to bring us up to speed on the spammers' current bag of tricks. (Jeff Horwich guest-hosts.)
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