Bruce Schneier, a respected security analyst, in this NetworkWorldFusion op-ed, opines that “Microsoft’s actions speak louder than words” in denying pirated versions of Windows XP the Service Pack 2 security patches:
“Microsoft is harming its licensed users by denying security to
unlicensed users… This decision, more than anything else Microsoft
has said or done in the past few years, proves to me that security is
not the company’s first priority.”
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One ringy-dingy… virus calling!
Bluetooth Worm.
Symantec reports on a Bluetooth worm: It spreads itself on Nokia Series
60 phones and tries to install itself on any Bluetooth device it finds,
reducing battery life for the infected phone. A recipient has to accept
the file, apparently, for it to transmit. It’s hard to delete because
it hides itself in a directory that’s not accessible to the average
user. [link via Xeni Jardin]… [Wi-Fi Networking News]
RSS and PVRs?
Great article by Steve Gillmor in eWeek on the promise and power of RSS. He really
gets it. Here’s the short version: video broadcasters can publish what
content appears where and when via RSS; smart clients
read/parse/filter/flag content, and record via programmable personal
video recorders (PVRs). Voila! Instant customized video. Very cool.
[Ed: removed old links whose Internet Archive links had died.]
Posted from Steve Gillmor’s Blogosphere
Because FAT just wants to be free…
Microsoft’s war on GPL dealt patent setback. FAT not a banker By Andrew Orlowski . [The Register]
Software patents are an inherently bad idea, in my opinion, and
compounded and amplified in the US by an incompetent system that grants
frivolous patents that cost small fortunes to litigate. Software
companies should compete on features, on true innovation, and not on false claims of past inventions. That’s not how the software community has ever worked.
Ernie: look out for the nice guys
Profile of a Dangerous Cross-examiner.
I remember once asking my father, the Psychoanalyst, to explain this
thing called ‘sublimation’ that I kept reading about in his shrink
books. His explanation went something like this. People often have
urges that are socially unacceptable, like perhaps a… [Ernie The Attorney]
Happy Flag Day
How many times must they say ‘Trust Us’ before you’ll believe them?
“Microsoft Corp.’s plans for a common set of services that promise its
server platform products will work better together are being met with
skepticism…” writes Peter Galli at eWeek.
Is the new Microsoft the old IBM?
Barbara Darrow, industry editor at Computer Reseller News, writes “Something interesting happened
on the road to and from software dominance. Microsoft, which always
delighted in displacing the old farts of technology, has become an old
fart itself.”
A Simple Plan to virus-proof your PC?
Slate magazine, which admirably discloses its ownership by Microsoft in this article, says there is “A Simple Plan: Virus-proof your PC in 20 minutes, for free.”
The three steps they advocate – make sure security is sufficient on IE,
get the latest Windows Updates and search for spyware – surely make the
machine more reliable than if those steps were not taken. But that is
not enough.
I think author Paul Boutin missed the mark in not considering the
possibility that there are many other browsers out there – Opera,
Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox and others – that don’t suffer from the
many, many IE exploits and will meet the needs of most users. Also,
slipped in among those three steps was the off-hand mention of
antivirus software, which ought to be a mandatory requirement for all
systems.
Speaking of which, ComputerWorld reports four new Internet Explorer holes have been discovered.
eWeek: SCO Loses Attempt to Move Novell Case to State Court
SCO has taken a serious hit here, according to eWeek, Groklaw and Slashdot. Good. Let’s get this over with, and get back to work. Groklaw is exuberant: “Remember all the experts who told us SCO might win this? They were mistaken.” and “I love this judge” and ” This just isn’t SCO’s day.”