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Critical flaw exposes Internet e-mail Servers that process most e-mail messages at risk MSNBC By Bob Sullivan March 3 — A newly discovered flaw in a critical piece of Internet infrastructure software could put more than half the Internet’s e-mail servers at risk, researchers say. The flaw exists in Sendmail, a program that sorts and delivers most e-mail. A single message sent at a flawed e-mail server could allow an attacker to take control of the server, read its contents and use it to organize a massive denial of service attack. But officials are hopeful that a month’s work of...

From: "Copyright Europe" To: "Abuse" Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 5:51 PM Subject: [NOC] Case ID 588853 - Notice of Claimed Infringement Wednesday, February 26, 2003 Westfaelische Wilhelms - Universitaet Roentgenstr. 9-13 Muenster, D-48149 DE DE RE: Unauthorized Distribution of the following copyrighted computer program(s): Microsoft Office Dear Sir/Madam: The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has determined that the connection listed below, which appears to be using an Internet account under your control, is operating an FTP server to offer unlicensed copies or is engaged in other unauthorized activities relating to copyrighted computer programs published by the BSA's member companies. Infringement...

Here's yet another reason to be glad we don't use a Microsoft OS. The Trusted Computing Platform Alliance, headed by Microsoft & Intel, provides both hardware and software standards that will allow only licensed operating systems to run on a machine. This means unlicensed operating systems such as Linx can no longer even be installed on a TCPA-compliant system. In a not so distant future (2004) the TCPA hardware will take charge, when you turn on your PC. This onboard chipset checks the integrity of your boot ROM, executes it and measures the state of the machine. After that, it...

A consulting group that scrutinises the source code underlying several operating systems has found that a key networking component of Linux is of higher quality in many regards than competing closed-source software. Reasoning, which sells automated software inspection services, examined part of the code of Linux and five operating systems, comparing the number and rate of programming defects. Specifically, Reasoning examined the implementation of TCP/IP, a key networking technology, and found fewer errors in Linux. Reasoning declined to disclose which operating systems it compared with Linux, but said two of the three general-purpose operating systems were versions of Unix. The...

<p>Leading Linux seller Red Hat quietly released an updated version of its Advanced Server product last week that adds support for IBM's x440 server, an important expansion for both companies.</p> <p>The update to version 2.1 of Red Hat Advanced Server, distributed Thursday and Friday of last week, also was the first in a new plan to release updates once per quarter, company spokeswoman Leigh Day said Tuesday. Red Hat is becoming increasingly aggressive in steering customers and business partners to the premium product instead of its Professional and Personal editions, which can be downloaded for free.</p>

New Linux support policies are ominous By Jon Lasser, Security Focus Online Posted: 14/02/2003 at 11:33 GMT Opinion Red Hat and Mandrake are cutting support for older versions of their Linux distributions... The results will be a security nightmare for the Internet, says Jon Lasser. Open source opponents have for years warned, "You get what you pay for." Now some Linux distributors are planning to make good on that threat. Red Hat and Mandrake's recently-announced revised support policies might spell the end of the free ride for many companies using Linux. The policies are straightforward: Red Hat will support their...

Microsoft Corp. may in the future be forced to lower its software prices as a result of the growth of open source, the company cautioned in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In its latest 10-Q quarterly filing, Microsoft said that the popularization of the open-source movement continues to pose a significant challenge to its business model. This threat includes "recent efforts by proponents of the open source model to convince governments worldwide to mandate the use of open source software in their purchase and deployment of software products. "To the extent the open source model gains...

Microsoft Corp. may in the future be forced to lower its software prices as a result of the growth of open source, the company cautioned in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In its latest 10-Q quarterly filing, Microsoft said that the popularization of the open-source movement continues to pose a significant challenge to its business model. This threat includes "recent efforts by proponents of the open source model to convince governments worldwide to mandate the use of open source software in their purchase and deployment of software products. "To the extent the open source model gains...

<p>Will the licensing efforts of a key patent holder derail Linux's corporate growth?</p> <p>Every so often in the tech world, an intellectual-property lawsuit comes along that gets the coders clucking, predicting that it's the end of the digital world as we know it. A year ago, it was British Telecom's attempt to collect royalties on hyperlinks. And Amazon now and then comes under fire for some of its business-process patents.</p>

<p>The Bulls and the Bears may soon be standing on the unemployment line.</p> <p>Tux the penguin, Linux's beloved mascot, is rapidly becoming the financial services industry's totem animal of choice. In fact, it seems that the only steadily rising statistic on Wall Street these days is the number of companies moving to open-source systems.</p>

A growing number of Microsoft Corp. customers are angry and frustrated with what they say are the company's thinly veiled attempts to use its well-publicized security initiative to get them to upgrade or buy new software. Users contacted by eWeek last week reported various technical problems with Microsoft's automated services that let customers download and install patches for applications such as Internet Explorer 5.5 or Windows NT 4.0. They also said that when they contacted Microsoft support personnel, they were told that the software they were running was outdated. The solution: Upgrade to a more recent, more secure version. One...

<p>Is this thing on? Plug in that cord over there. Yes that one. NO NOT INTO THAT PLUG yes that one. Thanks. Testing 1 2 3.</p> <p>Hi everyone. Your friendly neighborhood AM here.</p> <p>Keywords. You've seen them. You love them. Maybe you have even abused them.</p> <p>Please don't abuse keywords. There are children in China doing without keywords.</p> <p>1) Having who added what keyword be revealed at the whim of sadistic moderators, such as myself.</p>

Front Door | Enterprise | Search | One Week View http://www.news.com Microsoft fails Slammer's security test By Robert Lemos Staff Writer, CNET News.com January 27, 2003, 4:27 PM PT http://news.com.com/2100-1001-982305.html Microsoft's policy of relying on software patches to fix major security flaws was questioned Monday after a series of internal e-mails revealed that the software giant's own network wasn't immune from a worm that struck the Internet last weekend. Special ReportCode Red for security Virulent worm calls into doubt our ability to protect the Net. The messages seen by CNET News.com portray a company struggling with a massive infection by the SQL Slammer worm, which...

Langa Letter: Linux Has Bugs: Get Over ItFred Langa contends that some Linux proponents harm their cause by hiding from the facts--it's just as buggy as Windows XP. By Fred Langa, InformationWeekJan 27, 2003 (12:00 AM)URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030124S0013I made a private bet with myself when I ran an item in my newsletter called "Linux Hacks On The Rise". It cited a study of software problems reported by CERT--the Computer Emergency Response Team that impartially tracks computing security threats. (CERT is part of a federally funded research and development center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.) Among other things, the article said:...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mike Petitjean has been a dedicated Microsoft user for more than a decade, but now the software developer says he's so fed up with the high prices and unreliable systems that he's switching to Linux (news - web sites). Linux's popularity with programmers has already managed to make a huge dent on the market share of rival software Unix (news - web sites) and now it's gradually threatening to do the same with Microsoft's dominance of the business software market. And giants such as IBM (NYSE:IBM - news), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - news), and Dell Computer...

There's something fishy about freeware Jacques Loubser, programme director for enterprise consulting services at Business Connexion, says companies seduced by "free" operating systems will ultimately find their choice constrains them.While many users try to measure the operating system in medium to large organisations purely on the cost per desktop by product, owning a desktop environment has costs that far outweigh that of the associated licensing.Installation is one of the first issues businesses stumble across. After organisations find their free-to-buy software they need somebody to install it. While it's not at all difficult to find someone who can put Microsoft's Windows...

<p>A few penguins swimming leisurely every now and then at the San Francisco Zoo is nothing new. But dozens of them doing laps in unison all day to the point of exhaustion has zookeepers perplexed.</p> <p>"We've lost complete control," said Jane Tollini, the zoos penguin keeper. "It's a free-for-all in here. After 18 years of doing this job, these birds are making mincemeat of me."</p>

There's Linux code to turn an old PC into a personal video recorder. Some people don't like that idea at all. Take one digital video capture card, a big cheap hard disk, a home-brew infrared receiver, and a seven-year-old PC out of your nearest closet or dumpster. Add some free software and—voila!—you have a personal video recorder, your own homemade Tivo. As with Tivo, watch what you want, when you want. Thumb your nose at the head of Turner Broadcasting or whoever else is angry that you have broken your "contract" to sit through commercials and are "stealing" programming if...

November 26, 2002  | Paul ThurrottMost Unsecure OS? Yep, It's Linux According to a new Aberdeen Group report, open-source solution Linux has surpassed Windows as the most vulnerable OS, contrary to the high-profile press Microsoft's security woes receive. Furthermore, the Aberdeen Group reports that more than 50 percent of all security advisories that CERT issued in the first 10 months of 2002 were for Linux and other open-source software solutions. The report muddles the argument that proprietary software such as Windows is inherently less secure than open solutions. And here's another blow to the status quo: Proprietary UNIX solutions were responsible...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Bought the latest whiz-bang personal computer, but don't know what to do with your older, fully functional PC? One option would be to try breathing new life into it with Linux (news - web sites), the software standard that is presenting itself as an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) Windows operating system. With better stability, security and pricing in a desktop operating system with a look-and-feel similar to Windows, Linux advocates say they are getting ready to take on Microsoft, which dominates the desktop market. Since Linux is free to be copied and modified, unlike...