Volume 10, Issue 11        Atari Online News, Etc.       March 14, 2008   
                                                                           
                                                                              
                  Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2008
                            All Rights Reserved

                          Atari Online News, Etc.
                           A-ONE Online Magazine
                Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
                      Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
                       Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor


                       Atari Online News, Etc. Staff

                        Dana P. Jacobson  --  Editor
                   Joe Mirando  --  "People Are Talking"
                Michael Burkley  --  "Unabashed Atariophile"
                   Albert Dayes  --  "CC: Classic Chips"
                         Rob Mahlert  --  Web site
                Thomas J. Andrews  --  "Keeper of the Flame"


                           With Contributions by:

                               Djordje Vukovic



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                                  =~=~=~=



A-ONE #1011                                                 03/14/07

   ~ Scribbles to Digital!  ~ People Are Talking!    ~ Firefox 3 Nears!
   ~ HP's New Technologies! ~ Microsoft, Yahoo Meet? ~ Political Blogs, No
   ~ Cyber Attack Exercises ~ New TeraDesk Released! ~ Gmail Spam Doubled!
   ~ Put Vinyl On Computer! ~ Health Privacy Push!   ~ Nigerians Convicted  

                  -* FTP Bug Leaves IE Vulnerable *-
               -* Atom-based Notebooks Will Be Cheap! *-
           -* Password-Stealing Hackers Infect Web Pages *-



                                  =~=~=~=



->From the Editor's Keyboard              "Saying it like it is!"
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""



Shure and begorra, it's almost time for the wearin' o' the green again!
Happy [early] St. Patrick's Day for all of you Atari leprechauns who tend
to celebrate shamrocks and drinking green beer!  I remember a lot of some
of those celebrations when I was younger; and there were some I don't
remember at all!

With Daylight Savings Time upon us, it's really great to see the sun out
longer each day, when it's shining, that is.  It's still been cold, and
the threat of snow is still there, but spring is almost here.  Heck, I
even received an e-mail earlier in the week informing me that one of the
Boston-area golf courses was now open!  Still some snow on the ground
here in my area, but it shouldn't last too long.  I also got a call from
the golf course that I "interned" at last year to see if I might be coming
back for another season.  It won't be too much longer until I start to get
the golf equipment ready for a new season.  I can't wait!

I can't speak for Joe, but I'm sure he'd be one of the first to mention
his disappointment with the lack of message activity in the Atari
newsgroups.  While there hasn't been a plethora of messages from week to
week in years, there usually were enough to choose from to generate a
good weekly column.  Now, he's lucky to find enough messages to put 
together a "sparse" column from week to week.  If you're reading this
magazine week after week, or even sporadically, you're an avid Atari user,
or at least a fan.  Drop by the Atari newsgroups every once in awhile; it's
not a difficult thing to do every once in awhile during your web-hopping.
Leave a message, ask a question, reminisce - whatever.  Let us know that
you're still out there, and interested.  And remember, if there aren't
enough messages, Joe will resort to lengthy editorials!  So why not be
able to enjoy both?!

Until next time...



                                  =~=~=~=



                         TeraDesk 3.95 Released

		
Hi;

Version 3.95 of TeraDesk open-source desktop for the 16-bit and 32-bit
lines of Atari computers is available at:

      http://solair.eunet.yu/~vdjole/teradesk.htm

This release fixes several bugs related to handling of times and dates.
It also brings an improvement in behaviour related to 'special'
applications. Powering-off of CT60 at shutdown now works correctly, even
in single-TOS.

Beside the changes made to the program itself, a new page was added to
the introductory section of the hypertext manual, highlighting some nice
features specific to TeraDesk which otherwise may pass unnoticed by
users.  

Have fun.

Djordje 



                                  =~=~=~=



                             PEOPLE ARE TALKING
                          compiled by Joe Mirando
                             joe@atarinews.org



[Editor's note: Due to fairly inactive newsgroups messages, there will not
be a People Are Talking column this week.]



                                  =~=~=~=



->In This Week's Gaming Section  - Classic Pinball to The Consoles!
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""    Xbox 360 Price Cut in Europe!
                                   Super Smash Bros. Brawl!
                                   


        
                                  =~=~=~=



->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News   -  The Latest Gaming News!
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



             No Quarters Necessary: Crave Brings Classic
                Pinball Tables to Videogame Consoles


Crave Entertainment, a leading publisher of console videogames, Monday
announced that Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, the
follow-up to the popular Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection,
is now available for PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PSP
(PlayStation Portable) system and Wii.

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection simulates some of the most
memorable tables from the golden age of pinball in stunning,
photorealistic 3D. Working closely with Williams to ensure authenticity of
each of the games, the collection is highlighted by some of the most
popular and innovative Williams pinball tables, including Gorgar, the
first-ever talking pinball machine, Black Knight, which introduced
"Magna-Save" and Bonus Ball, and Space Shuttle, which took the pinball
industry by storm in 1984. Every table has been meticulously recreated to
bring players the visuals, sound effects and gameplay that made these
games legendary successes. Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
harkens back to the arcades of the 1980s.

In Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, players can spend as
little as two minutes on a quick pinball challenge, or delve deeper into
the game, gaining rewards in a token-based system as they unlock rewards
like new balls and mirror play. Single-player Arcade and Challenge modes
provide hours of solo entertainment, and a Multiplayer mode lets players
face each other head-on.

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is available for PSP system,
PlayStation2 system and Wii. Crave Entertainment is a publisher on this
product for FarSight Studios, a licensee of Williams Electronic Games,
Inc.



                  Nintendo Eyes Smash Hit with "Smash Bros"


Do you have childhood memories of having G.I. Joe fight Luke Skywalker, or
throwing Superman into battle against the Bionic Man?

Nintendo is giving its fans a similar feeling this week with "Super Smash
Bros. Brawl," a fighting game for its Wii console that pits dozens of its
cherished characters against each other in frenetic free-for-alls.

Fans have waited more than six years for "Brawl," the third in the "Smash
Bros." series that began in 1999 and has been the only place where Mario
can hurt Pikachu.

"This game is the only time Nintendo worlds are allowed to collide," said
Nate Bihldorff, a localization producer for the U.S. version of the game.

"They actually came up with a really elegant solution to how those
universes intersect. Imagine a kid playing with all his toys, and
visualize the different action figures crashing together," Bihldorff
said.

The game has vaulted to the top of the charts, garnering a score of 96 on
Metacritic, which collates reviews from dozens of Web sites and
publications.

At its core, "Brawl" is a fast-paced action game that rewards quick
reflexes but does not demand memorizing complicated attack sequences as
found in more sophisticated fighters like "Virtua Fighter."

"They brought together all these classic iconic characters that so many
gamers hold so dear. They mix that with a really fun, easy-playing game
that's easy for anyone to get into," said Greg Ford, managing editor of
gaming magazine EGM.

"It's one of those games where you'll play a lot at first, and when you
have friends over and put it in, you'll probably get sucked in for hours.
It's a really good value.

"Brawl" is also Nintendo's opening salvo in a three-game barrage the
Japanese company is counting on to sustain sales momentum of the wildly
popular Wii.

"We'll have a good supply of Wii systems to support the 'Smash' launch.
We're expecting system sales to continue to be brisk, especially with
'Smash' in the market," Nintendo of America spokesman Marc Franklin said
in an e-mail.

Next month sees the debut of racing title "Mario Kart Wii" and May will
mark the release of "Wii Fit," a physical exercise program that uses a
pressure-sensing board as a controller.

Those games are partly aimed at drawing in new customers who normally
wouldn't bother playing games, but "Brawl" is squarely targeted at those
who plainly know the difference between Pokemon and Pikmin.

"'Smash' will thrill core gamers," Nintendo of America President Reggie 
Fils-Aime told Reuters in December, adding that the last game in the
series, 2001's "Super Smash Bros. Melee" for the GameCube, sold 5.5
million copies.

"That core group plus more will be focused on 'Brawl'. It's an
encyclopedia of gaming with all the characters and elements we've
included," Fils-Aime said.

Indeed, "Brawl" acts as an interactive museum of Nintendo's rich,
pixelated history. Everything from background images to power-ups and
trophies are insider references to past games.

A single-player "adventure" mode lets players explore this nostalgic
overview of Nintendo heritage.

"It's a really nice way of easing players into the legacy of Nintendo,"
Bihldorff said. "It's celebrating this rich history we have with all these
different properties. I can't even tell you how much it takes it to the
extreme."

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" costs $50 and is rated T, for players aged 13
and up.



                  Microsoft Cuts Xbox 360 Prices in Europe


Microsoft Corp cut the prices of its Xbox 360 video game console in
Europe by up to 28 percent on Monday to try to spur sales in a key
battleground in the fast-growing industry.

The 80-euro decrease results in cuts of 18 percent to 28 percent across
the three Xbox 360 models, bringing the cheapest Arcade version to 200
euros ($307) and the high-end Elite to 370 euros ($568).

Prices reductions in Britain range from 20 pounds to 50 pounds.

"Xbox 360 is now mass market in Europe," Chris Lewis, vice president of
Microsoft's interactive entertainment business in Europe, said in a
statement.

The reductions come as Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 appears set to capitalize
on the company's recent victory in the high-definition DVD battle and on a
slew of highly anticipated new games hitting the market this year.

"The PS3 has gained some momentum recently," Kaufman Bros analyst Todd
Mitchell said, "and I think as you go into this summer before the fall,
Microsoft has got to do what they can to shore up sales."

This was the second price cut for the Xbox in Europe in less than a year.
Last August, Microsoft shaved 7 percent off the euro price of its low-end
model and 13 percent off the main Premium model.

"The tide is kind of turning against the Xbox 360, so Microsoft has to be
as aggressive as possible," Mitchell said.

The PlayStation brand has long dominated the European console market,
although the PS3 has struggled to win fans due to its high price and lack
of must-have games.

Last October, in an effort to kick-start sales, Sony introduced a cheaper
PS3 model in Europe for 400 euros and cut prices on a high-end version to
500 euros.

Meanwhile, Nintendo Co Ltd is winning customers with its Wii machine that
sports unique motion-sensing controls and games that are easier to learn.



                                  =~=~=~=



                           A-ONE's Headline News
                   The Latest in Computer Technology News
                       Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson



            Atom-based Notebooks To Cost Between $250 and $300


More than 25 low-cost notebooks based on Intel's upcoming Atom processor
are in the works, including models from multinational PC vendors,
according to the chip maker's top executive in Asia.

These Atom-based notebooks will be available in the middle of this year
for about $250 to $300, said Navin Shenoy, general manager of Intel's
Asia-Pacific operations, in an interview. "We'll see some slightly richer
configurations that get up to $350," he said.

The Atom processor, formerly called Diamondville, is a small, low-power
chip designed for inexpensive notebooks, a class of device that Intel and
others refer to as netbooks. These machines are intended for first-time
computer buyers in emerging markets as well as users in mature markets
willing to trade performance for a low-cost notebook that complements
their existing computers - a market that until now has been largely
dominated by Asustek's Eee PC.

Atom will offer lower performance than Intel's Core 2 Duo processors for
mainstream notebooks, but the Atom's performance will be good enough for
browsing the Internet and sending e-mails, Shenoy said.

Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner was more specific about the
processor's capabilities last month, telling reporters that a related
chip, called Silverthorne, offers performance similar to Banias, the
first version of Intel's Pentium M processor released in 2003.
Silverthorne is designed for small, handheld computers that Intel calls
Mobile Internet Devices, and will be available as part of the Centrino
Atom chip package set for release during the second quarter.

The introduction of the Atom and the rush of vendors to build the chip
into low-cost notebooks could mark the emergence of a new type of device,
expanding on the early success of Asustek's Eee PC. But not everyone is
convinced there is much demand for low-cost notebooks, either as a
secondary computing device or a substitute for a more capable, and more
expensive, notebook PC.

Bryan Ma, the director of personal systems research at IDC Asia-Pacific,
is a self-described skeptic and doubts that low-cost notebooks will have
more than a limited impact on the market for portable computing devices
so long as performance and features are traded for lower prices. "I was
never convinced that price was the best way to sell these products," he
said.

But the marketing clout of Intel and top-tier PC vendors could alter
this equation by creating additional demand among customers in both
emerging markets and developing countries. "Intel, pushing this, gives
it more legs," Ma said.

"There's going to be some experimentation," Shenoy said.

Most Atom-based notebooks will have screens ranging in size from 7 inches
up to 10 inches, Shenoy said, adding that some models will be equipped
with screens that can swivel and lay flat against the keyboard, turning
the device into a tablet computer. Devices will ship with either hard
disks or solid-state drives that use flash memory and offer battery life
ranging from three to five hours, he said.

"Some will be really sleek and thin, some will be a bit more
ruggedized," Shenoy said, adding that Wi-Fi will likely be a common
feature.

On the software side, Atom-based notebooks will ship with either Windows
XP or some version of Linux. "I don't think you'll see a lot of Vista in
this space for cost reasons," he said.

The availability of Windows XP on low-cost notebooks set to arrive
during the middle of the year is noteworthy because Microsoft has stated
previously that Windows XP licenses will not be sold after June 30.
Microsoft officials in Singapore reaffirmed the June 30 deadline in a
statement released through the company's public-relations agency. But
that doesn't necessarily mean that Windows XP will completely disappear
after June 30.

"There are probably going to be certain exceptions here and there,"
IDC's Ma said.



                  HP Shows Off New Printing Technologies


Hewlett-Packard Monday offered a peek into future printing technologies,
introducing a new inkjet printer that prints thousands of pages per
minute and ink that retains its shine even when exposed to extreme
elements.

HP's water-based Latex Ink is specially formulated to embed in a surface
and become part of a media print, said Stephen Nigro, senior vice
president of HP's graphics and imaging business. HP's Latex Ink can
withstand snow and rain and is useful for large-format media used on
billboards and outdoor signs.

The company also launched the Inkjet Web Press printer, which can print up
to 2,600 A4-sized color pages a minute at a cost of under US$0.01 per
color page, Nigro said.

The products were introduced at an event in Tel Aviv.

The Latex Ink includes a specially created formula, called latex polymer,
that provides the print surface its durability and color, according to
HP. Water-based ink ejected carries the latex polymer and pigment
particles to the surface. The inks are 70 percent water and 30 percent of
additives and other inks, HP said. The ink was developed by HP and HP
Labs.

Unlaminated outdoor displays using the ink can last up to three years,
while unlaminated in-window displays can last up to five years.

The printer cartridge uses recyclable material and the company has
developed new recyclable substrates for the ink to make printing
environmentally friendly, HP said. Other printing technology for
large-format media include UV (ultraviolet) curable ink, which interacts
with an ultraviolet light source to create a print.

Avoiding speculation, Nigro said Latex Ink may or may not reach consumers
in the future. For now, the ink is targeted at enterprises including
companies creating billboards, Nigro said. HP is expected to announce
products using the ink technology later this year.

HP on Monday also showed the Inkjet Web Press, a printer that prints up to
2,600 A4-sized color pages a minute. The printer will be able to print on
pages up to 30 inches (76.2 centimeters) wide, Nigro said. It is targeted
at replacing the printed pages coming from traditional offset presses.

A printing job with a traditional offset press takes hours and it's not
possible to print on demand. With a traditional offset press, a machine
first creates a physical plate with the image etched on it, which is then
sent to print. With the Inkjet Web Press platform, hitting the print
button sends the image directly to a printer, making high-volume printing
more productive by eliminating analog elements like a plate, Nigro said.

The printer is capable of printing broadsheet newspapers and other
documents, he said.

The Inkjet Web Press is a breakthrough product as it is 20 percent faster
than any other inkjet printer on the market, said Gilles Biscos,
president of Interquest Ltd., an analysis firm. The speed and width makes
it flexible for many different marketplaces including direct mail and
books, he said. HP has been in the inkjet business and its research is
trickling into many consumer and enterprise spaces.

The printer is built around the Scalable Printing Technology (SPT)
platform, which improves the quality of prints by spraying more ink on
pages using thousands of nozzles on a single printhead. SPT is already in
use on printers like HP's Photosmart, Nigro said. HP introduced the
Photosmart Minilab ml1000 inkjet printer earlier this year, which can
print 4-by-6-inch photos as fast as 1,500 prints per hour.

Both announcements are part of HP's attempt to create a revenue stream by
offering more printer supplies, management tools and services. As printer
prices decline, customers will continue to pay for supplies like
cartridges and services like digital photo prints, which will ultimately
generate larger revenues than printer units shipped, HP executives have
said.

HP has about a 1.8 percent share in the pages printed segment, and
doubling that will double HP's printing revenue, Vyomesh Joshi, executive
vice president of HP's Imaging and Printing Group, said in an speech last
week.

In 2009, 53 trillion documents will be printed, of which 9 percent will
be digital, Nigro said. Creating digital pages like image files creates
new printing opportunities, like ordering bound specialty photobooks
online. That is not possible with an analog press as set-up costs could
be high, he said.



              New Mobile Pen Converts Scribbles to Digital Form


Reporters spend a lot of time scribbling into notebooks and then typing
those notes into a computer program. Now they and medical professionals,
students and other serious scribblers can skip a step with a new
electronic pen from IOGEAR that digitally converts notes, memos and
drawings.

The pen looks, well, like a pen rather than a high-tech piece of
electronics, and it is equipped with that lifeblood of pens known as ink.
Simply jot down your thoughts (as many as 50 pages, or up to 8MB) on any
piece of paper and the pen will send a signal that feeds your handwriting
to a pocket-sized reader.

Back at your desk, plug in the reader to a PC with a USB cable and your
notes are exported as a JPEG file that can be shared with classmates or
editors via e-mail. A CD included with the unit comes with optical
character recognition software that works in a dozen languages.

The Mobile Digital Scribe is a cordless version of IOGEAR's Digital
Scribe. Keith Renty, strategic business and product development manager,
said the Mobile version does everything the previous version did, and
then some. "It has greater flexibility because you don't have to be
tethered to a computer," he told us. The Mobile version also added two
more languages to its OCR software (which includes English, many Western
European languages, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Russian).

In the competition against other digital pens, Renty said the Digital
Scribes are more flexible. "The advantage we have is both units use
standard paper, and both use what appears to be a normal-looking pen," he
said. Renty said the Mobile can also take advantage of Vista's Tablet PC
features; it will work as a mouse or selection device as well as a pen.

In response to a reporter's question, Renty said he didn't see any reason
why the pen couldn't be used on cocktail napkins in a dark bar. "It's
just regular paper," he said.

The Mobile Digital Scribe comes with the pen, receiver, USB cable, ink,
batteries and CDs containing installation files and the OCR software. Ink
refills can be found at an office-supply store, since they're standard
pen sizes. The Mobile works on any Windows system from 2000 on up and
requires Office to be installed.

IOGEAR's price is $129.95 for the Mobile unit, about $30 more than the
corded version, and is available now on IOGEAR's Web site. It should be
more widely available shortly, Renty said.



                  Firefox 3 Nears Release with New Features


Mozilla has posted the fourth beta download of its next-generation Web
browser for developers to review. According to head interface designer
Mike Beltzner, Firefox 3, Beta 4 contains more than 900 enhancements from
last month's release of beta 3, including drastic improvements in
performance and memory use, stability fixes, and user-interface
improvements.

"This is the twelfth developer milestone focused on testing the core
functionality provided by many new features and changes to the platform,"
Beltzner wrote in a blog. "Testers can download Firefox 3, Beta 4 builds
for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux in over 35 different languages."

Improved security is a major goal. To check Web-site authenticity, users
will click on the site's favicon (image) in the location bar to see the
identity of the site's owner.

A Web-site indicator turns green when users access sites that employ
Extended Validation SSL certificates, which add a trust component to
online secure transactions by mandating that the site operators undergo
vetting by an established certificate authority. Web surfers also will be
able to determine whether their Internet connections are protected from
eavesdropping.

Built-in malware protection warns users whenever they visit pages known
to install viruses, spyware, trojans or other infections. In addition,
the contents of Web pages suspected to be phishing forgeries are no
longer displayed.

Firefox 3's revised download manager lets users see, and even search on,
the Web site from which they have downloaded one or more files. Users
also will be able to resume downloads after restarting the browser or
resetting their network connections.

A new full-page zoom feature lets users scale a Web page, or they can
simply change the text size. In addition, an auto-complete feature allows
typing in all or part of the title, tag or address of a page to view a
list of matches from the user's history and bookmarks.

Changes to Firefox 3's JavaScript engine, as well as the introduction of
profile-guided optimization, provide significant performance gains,
Beltzner said. "Web applications like Google Mail and Zoho office run
much faster, and continued improvements to memory usage drastically
reduce the amount of memory consumed over long Web-browsing sessions," he
added.

Other enhancements are in the works to optimize Firefox to a user's
specific requirements. For example, the beta displays icons, toolbars and
other user-interface elements specific to the operating system in use,
whether Vista, Linux or Mac.

Firefox 3 is closer to release than the beta Internet Explorer 8
recently previewed by Microsoft. According to the nonprofit Mozilla, a
public release of Firefox 3 is planned "in early 2008."

But before that happens, Mozilla expects one more beta version will need
to undergo developer scrutiny. "The development team decided that a fifth
beta milestone would be required, based on the number of blockers
remaining," Beltzner said.



                Sony Unveils Turntable To Put Vinyl on Computer


Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will soon sell a record deck that plugs into
a computer to let vinyl collectors convert their analogue recordings into
digital form.

The turntable hooks up with a USB cable to a computer, where special
software would turn the sound into MP3 or ATRAC format. The files can
then be played on portable players such as iPods or put onto compact
discs.

Converting vinyl to data files was already possible, but the process was
so complicated that few save for committed technophiles know how to do
it.

"With this product, we want to offer a simple way for everyone to
convert their full record collection, which are often associated with so
many memories," a Sony statement said.

But the turntable will not get rid of those scratches found on many old
records. If the record skips or crackels, the imperfection will be
reflected in the MP3 or ATRAC files.

And unlike CDs, which can be copied nearly instantly onto a computer,
turning vinyl into computer files takes the full time of the recording.

The Sony machine, called PS-LX300USB, will go on sale in Japan in April
at a price of around 29,000 yen (280 dollars).



                  Microsoft and Yahoo Met To Discuss Merger


Senior executives from Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc met on Monday to
discuss Microsoft's takeover bid for the company, according to two people
familiar with the matter.

The meeting was said to be the first since Microsoft made its unsolicited
offer for Yahoo, worth nearly $42 billion, on January 31. Yahoo rejected
the offer as inadequate last month.

The meeting was not a negotiation and no bankers were present, said one
of the sources, who was not authorized to speak about the matter and thus
wanted to remain anonymous.

The meeting with Microsoft is part of the company's strategy to keep all
its options open, the people familiar with the matter said.

Yahoo has held talks with News Corp and Time Warner Inc's AOL, other
sources told Reuters earlier.

The session was intended to allow Microsoft to present its vision of a
combined company, and Yahoo executives mostly listened, said the Wall
Street Journal, which first reported the news, citing a person familiar
with the matter.

Financial terms were not discussed and it was unclear which executives
took part, the Journal said.

Microsoft and Yahoo spokesmen declined to comment.

The meeting represents a "solid move, heading into the inevitable," said
The 451 Group analyst Brenon Daly, referring to a consensus that a deal
between the two companies will happen.

"My read on it is that it's a good-faith effort on both sides to begin
the process of sorting through really thorny personal questions" such as
how to divide talent and how to work with counterparts in case of a
merger, he said.

Since Yahoo rejected Microsoft's offer last month, no other bids have
been made public nor has Microsoft sweetened its bid, leaving the two
companies in a stalemate.

Yahoo recently extended the deadline for nominations to its board of
directors in an effort seen by analysts and investors as forestalling a
potential hostile effort by Microsoft.

Microsoft had originally proposed to pay nearly $45 billion for Yahoo,
but the value of its offer has since declined to less than $42 billion
as its shares have fallen 12 percent.

News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch has said he would not fight
Microsoft for a Yahoo deal.

AOL on Thursday said it was buying the social networking site Bebo, in a
move that some say signals that its parent, Time Warner, has plans that
do not involve Yahoo.



                    Spam from Gmail Doubled Last Month


Spam originating from Google's Gmail domain doubled last month,
indicating that spammers are still defeating the CAPTCHA , the distorted
text used as a security test to thwart mass registration of e-mail
accounts and other Web site abuse.

Gmail spam went from 1.3 percent of all spam e-mail to 2.6 percent in
February, according to data released by e-mail security vendor
MessageLabs on Monday.

The new statistics are another nail in the coffin for CAPTCHA, which
stands for "completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and
humans apart.

Google is the latest free Web mail provider to be victimized by spammers'
efforts to create software to solve the codes, or at times, also employ
people to solve the codes en masse.

"It's only a matter of time before [CAPTCHAs] are comprehensively
defeated," said Paul Wood, senior analyst at MessageLabs.

Last month, security vendor Websense ascertained that spammers were using
two hosts to crack Gmail's CAPTCHAs. The method appeared to be successful
only 20 percent of the time. But if the procedure is repeated thousands
of times, many new accounts can be generated and used to send spam.

Most of the messages use links and images to advertise adult
entertainment sites, Wood said.

While other spammy domains can simply be blocked by antispam software,
businesses are reluctant to cut off the domains of free Web mail
providers because of their legitimate use, he said. Spam from Web mail
providers comprises 4.2 percent of all spam.

Google's CAPTCHA system is considered hard to crack, but so was
Yahoo's, which is also regularly beaten. MessageLabs said 88.7 percent of
the spam from free Web mail providers comes from Yahoo's domains.

Microsoft's CAPTCHA, used for registering accounts on its Windows Live
Mail service, has also been cracked. Websense believes the same group of
spammers are responsible for breaking both Google and Microsoft's system.

Wood said MessageLabs provides Google as well as other companies with
data that helps fight spam. Google could not be reached for comment.

MessageLabs sells a security service to companies, filtering e-mail
before passing it to their 17,000 customers. Per day, the company snags
2.5 billion spam messages from a total of more than 3 billion messages.



                     FTP Bug Leaves IE Users Vulnerable


A flaw in the way Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser processes FTP
commands could let attackers steal or erase data from a victim's FTP
site.

The bug, which affects users of IE 6 and the unsupported IE 5 browser,
gives an attacker a way of hijacking the victim's FTP sessions. But a
successful attack would be very hard to pull off and would only work in
very precise, targeted attacks, security experts said.

The attacker would need to know the victim's username on the FTP server
and the victim would have to already be logged into the server, using IE.
Under those conditions, the victim could be sent a malicious FTP link
that would then execute commands on the victim's FTP server.

This link could be sent to the browser via an invisible iFrame component,
hidden on a malicious Web site, so the victim might not even know the
attack was taking place.

"It's something that people could use to steal data, but you'd have to
know your target," said Derek Abdine, the principal software engineer
with security vendor Rapid7, who disclosed the issue Monday in a security
advisory.

"The attack seems viable, but the stars have to be aligned just right for
the attack to work," said Craig Schmugar, a researcher with McAfee's
Avert Labs, in an e-mail. "An administrator would need to be
authenticated already or the server would need to be configured with weak
credentials."

Rapid7 notified Microsoft of the issue on Jan. 22 and decided to publish
proof-of-concept code that illustrated the flaw after Microsoft had not
patched the issue a month later.

The flaw is "almost exactly the same" as another IE FTP flaw that
Microsoft patched in August 2006, Abdine said. Microsoft fixed that bug
with its MS06-042 patch, issued in August 2006.

The MS06-042 update fixed many IE vulnerabilities, but it ended up
embarrassing Microsoft. That's because the security patch had a flaw of
its own, a critical security vulnerability that sent Microsoft's security
team scrambling to re-issue the update.

The FTP problem does not affect IE 7, Microsoft said Tuesday. The
software vendor has not heard of any attacks that take advantage of this
vulnerability and has determined that any successful attack would only
lead to the unauthorized disclosure of data, the company said in a
statement.



        Password-Stealing Hackers Infect Thousands of Web Pages


Hackers looking to steal passwords used in popular online games have
infected more than 10,000 Web pages in recent days.

The Web attack, which appears to be a coordinated effort run out of
servers in China, was first noticed by McAfee researchers on Wednesday
morning. Within hours, the security company had tracked more than 10,000
Web pages infected on hundreds of Web sites.

McAfee isn't sure how so many sites have been hacked, but "given how
quickly some of these attacks have come on, it does seem like some
automation has gone on," said Craig Schmugar, a researcher with McAfee's
Avert Labs. In the past, attackers have used search engines to scour the
Internet for vulnerable Web sites and then written automated tools to
flood them with attacks, which ultimately let criminals use legitimate
sites to serve up their malicious code.

The infected Web sites look no different than before, but the attackers
have added a small bit of JavaScript code that redirects visitors'
browsers to an invisible attack launched from the China-based servers.
This same technique was used a year ago, when attackers infected the Web
sites of the Miami Dolphins and Dolphins Stadium just prior to the 2007
Super Bowl XLI football game.

The attack code takes advantage of bugs that have already been patched, so
users whose software is up-to-date are not at risk. However, McAfee warns
that some of the exploits are for obscure programs such as ActiveX
controls for online games, which users may not think to patch.

If the code is successful, it then installs a password-stealing program on
the victim's computer that looks for passwords for a number of online
games, including the Lord of the Rings Online.

These online game passwords are a popular hacker target, in part because
many online gaming resources can be stolen and then sold for cash.

Widespread Web attacks such as this are becoming more common too.

In January, security vendor Finjan reported a widespread hacking effort
that infected 10,000 Web sites with malicious code that attacked visitors
and then installed data-collecting software on their machines.

This type of attack is attractive to criminals, in part because it can be
hard to thwart. "It's more subtle than spamming a malicious executable
file to billions of e-mail addresses," Schmugar said. "You allow the
people to go to the sites that they normally go to and pull off a
low-scale attack that flies under the radar."



           US Holds Largest Ever Simulated Cyber-Attack Exercise


US officials said Thursday that "real and growing" threats to US computer
and telecommunications networks were behind the holding of the
largest-ever cyber-security exercises this week.

Computer security experts from five countries, more than 40 private
sector companies, and numerous government and state agencies are spending
a week fielding simulated "real-world," on-line attacks on the computer
systems of government bodies, corporations, transportation and other key
industries.

Robert Jamison, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Under
Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate, said the
Cyber Storm II exercise sought to foster personal links between key
officials in business and government.

Those people, he said, are not always willing to share information about
security issues involving the networks they run.

"We're concerned that the threats are real and growing" as the Internet
expands, Jamison said.

Cyber Storm II tested the warning systems in place for attacks and sought
to identify gaps in the way information was shared and reactions
coordinated across various sectors.

Several dozen experts crowded into a computer-filled room inside the US
Secret Service Headquarters in Washington in sections marked off as
chemicals, transportation, telecommunications, state and local
governments, and other sectors, for the five-day exercise.

Thousands more were tied into the exercise elsewhere in the US, in
Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and in major companies like
Dow Chemical, Wachovia bank, ABB and Cisco.

They fielded some 1,800 "injects," various types of challenges, from
hacker break-ins and extortion demands to DNS amplification attacks -
dangerous intensified versions of denial of service attacks that seek to
overwhelm and shut down networks.

The exercise involved at least one massive, politically-motivated,
coordinated cyber-attack knocking out enough computer and
telecommunications networks to require an internationally coordinated
response.

"We're trying to simulate sophisticated adversaries," Jamison said.

Some of the exercise involved testing the "Einstein program" - the US
government's top-secret automated process for monitoring security and
detecting intrusions on all the government's network gateways.

Greg Garcia, DHS Assistant Secretary for Cyber Security and
Communications, said Cyber Storm II aimed at overcoming complacency and
piecing together a "digital jigsaw puzzle" of linkages in critical public
and private sector systems and networks.

"People are starting to get it," he said about cooperating on security
threats.

DHS officials declined to say what kinds of threats they found were most
dangerous or what specific weaknesses were identified, citing security
needs, but said a report on the exercise would be released later this
year.



                   CDT Launches Health Privacy Initiative


Privacy needs to be a higher priority as the U.S. government and other
groups push for adoption of health IT as a way to improve the country's
health-care system, said the Center for Democracy and Technology, which
has launched a health privacy initiative.

CDT, a Washington, D.C., digital rights and privacy group, announced
Tuesday it has taken over the Health Privacy Project (HPP), an
11-year-old advocacy group started by Janlori Goldman, who was also a
CDT co-founder. The merged organization will expand its focus and work
on several lingering patient privacy issues, such as the role of patient
consent for information use, enforcement for privacy lapses and the
rights of patients to access their data, said Deven McGraw, the new
director of HPP.

Recent years have seen an increase in adoption of health IT, but
"minimal progress in resolving the privacy issues" associated with
electronic health records, added Leslie Harris, CDT's president and CEO.
"We believe we're at a seminal moment," she said. "We believe privacy can
be an enabler of 21st century health care. The next few years are
critical in getting this right."

CDT has a long history of working on privacy issues and bringing together
groups to work on problems involving privacy and tech issues, she said.
"We're going to apply all of this expertise to resolve some of the key
policy questions that are really vexing us," said McGraw, former chief
operating officer for the National Partnership for Women and Families.

Among the major issues in health privacy is the role of patient consent,
McGraw said. Some groups have advocated that patient consent be the major
way health information is controlled, but HPP and CDT have concerns that
some approaches could ignore the obligations of health-care providers and
other holders of patient data, she said.

"In my opinion, [consent] puts way too much burden on the individual, as
opposed to putting the right privacy and security structures in place to
ensure patient privacy," McGraw said.

Asked about legislation now before Congress, particularly the Trust in
Health Information Act introduced by three Democrats last month, McGraw
said the bill may be trying to do "too much, too soon" and may have
trouble getting approved. The bill would require holders of patient
information to create safeguards, to notify patients of breaches and to
maintain records of disclosure. The bill would also set several rules
for when holders of patient information can and cannot share the
information.

Another group, Patient Privacy Rights, has endorsed the bill. Patient
privacy groups are "making real progress - and legislators are
listening," said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder and chairwoman of the group.
"This bill puts patients back in control of their health information and
requires many of the privacy principles our coalition demands. It's
refreshing to share good news about Congress."

HPP's Goldman, who's been splitting her time between the group and as a
research scholar at Columbia University, will step aside as the
project's director, but remain as a senior adviser. By working together,
HPP and CDT will create a "powerhouse" organization focused on health
privacy, she said.



             California Internet Sales Tax Bill Faces Long Odds


A California bill that could lead to a tax on Internet music downloads
faces slim odds of success, but the Democrat who wrote it says a debate
over taxing such online retail transactions is overdue.

Assemblyman Charles Calderon told Reuters late on Thursday that
California should consider imposing a tax on entertainment downloaded
from online merchants such as Apple Inc's iTunes that is similar to the
state's levy on music compact discs sold in stores.

Sales taxes should apply equally to online and in-store purchases and
California is missing out on revenues from the rise of Internet
retailers, Calderon said.

"If you walk into Wal-Mart and buy a CD you walk out paying a tax,"
Calderon said. "I don't think we're talking about a new tax here. We're
talking about whether our laws should keep up with the economy."

Calderon's bill would require California's Board of Equalization to
report to lawmakers on the potential for imposing a sales tax on
electronic transmissions of information.

For Republican lawmakers that is too close to a new tax.

They will kill the bill along with other legislation Democrats advance to
raise existing taxes or introduce new ones, Mike Villines, the state
Assembly's Republican leader told Reuters. "We just disagree with it on
the merits," he said.

Calderon's bill comes as California faces a $7.5 billion state budget
shortfall. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ruled out raising
taxes to fill it and has instead proposed deep spending cuts.

Democratic lawmakers say the proposed cuts are drastic and some are
urging tax plans to help close the shortfall, which is taking on added
urgency in the state capital of Sacramento as school districts across the
state prepare for reduced state financial aid.

Many are beginning to issue layoff notices to bolster their finances and
education groups are increasing pressure on lawmakers, especially
Democrats, to defend education from spending cuts.

Democrats failed earlier this week to pass a bill through the state
Assembly that would have imposed a tax on oil companies - a 6 percent
levy on oil production and a 2 percent on profits exceeding $10 million
a year - and used proceeds for school spending.

The bill fell short of a required two-thirds support as all Assembly
Republicans voted it down.



                 Most Americans Don't Read Political Blogs


A majority of Americans do not read political blogs, the online
commentaries that have proliferated in the race for the U.S. presidency,
according to a poll released on Monday.

Only 22 percent of people responding to the poll said they read blogs
regularly, meaning several times a month or more, according to the
survey conducted by Harris Interactive.

Political blogs, in which writers, pundits and other participants voice
opinions in online forums, burst into the spotlight in the 2004 and 2008
presidential campaigns. Some of the most high-profile blogs are
influential on campaign strategies, media coverage and public perception
of the candidates and issues.

Unlike traditional, mainstream media, blogs often adopt a specific point
of view. Critics complain they can contain unchecked facts, are poorly
edited and use unreliable sources.

Despite the attention blogs can get, the poll said 56 percent of
Americans say they never read blogs that discuss politics. Another 23
percent read them several times a year, the survey showed.

While blogs are largely considered the realm of young people who are most
Internet-savvy, only 19 percent of people ages 18 to 31, and 17 percent
of those ages 32 to 43, regularly read a political blog, the poll said.

The generation most likely to read such blogs are those age 63 or older,
26 percent of whom said they do so. Also, 23 percent of those ages 44 to
62 read them, the poll said.

Roughly an even number - 22 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of
Democrats - regularly read blogs, while 26 percent of independents do
the same, the poll showed.

The poll was conducted online from January 15 to January 22 among 2,302
adults. Harris said it does not calculate or provide a margin of error
because it finds such figures can be misleading.



             Dutch Court Convicts Nigerian Internet Fraudsters


A Dutch court on Monday sentenced three members of a Nigerian gang to up
to four years in prison for extorting tens of thousands of euros from
victims who answered emails promising a stake in unclaimed inheritances.

A spokeswoman for the Haarlem court said judges sentenced one man to
four years on charges of fraud, money-laundering and membership of a
criminal organization, while two others were sentenced to 18 months and
13 months respectively.

Further sentences were pending, the spokeswoman added.

During investigations police found fake dollar bills, tens of thousands
of euros and the documents and financial details of victims from
several countries in an Amsterdam flat, according to Dutch news agency
ANP.

Fraud victims had paid sums to the gang believing this would allow
them to claim larger sums from inheritances.






                                =~=~=~=




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