MSBlast virus writer faces 15 years behind bars

<font size="3">MSBlast virus writer faces 15 years behind bars</font>

A virus writer accused of creating an MSBlast variant last year is to face a Romanian court this week and could be sentenced to 15 years in jail if convicted. Dan Dumitru Ciobanu, 26, is alleged to have written a computer virus that spread over the intranet of a Romanian university in September 2003. The virus only hit 27 machines but Ciobanu still faces between three and 15 years in jail for "unlawful possession of a program and disturbing a computer system". Researchers from antivirus firm BitDefender helped identify Ciobanu after being drafted in by Romanian authorities. The suspect will appear before the Iasi county Court of Appeals this week.

Full Story: silicon.com

First MCDST Exam Released

<font size="3">First MCDST Exam Released</font>

Exam 70-271 made its debut Monday; 70-272 follows next month.

Exam 70-271, Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Windows XP Operating System, went live on Monday, January 12. The exam, along with Exam 70-272, Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Windows XP Operating System, comprise the exams required for obtaining the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician, a new title that the company announced back in October 2003.

Full Story: mcpmag.com

Personal Firewall Day

<font size="3">Personal Firewall Day</font>

Microsoft Corp., Network Associates Inc. and other leading technology companies are promoting the Internet equivalent of a public health initiative: "Personal Firewall Day," to be held on Thursday, which will encourage Internet users to adopt firewall technology to protect themselves from online threats.

The companies will unveil a Web site, www.personalfirewallday.org on Thursday to educate consumers about the benefits of firewall and antivirus technology and provide tips on guarding against online identity thieves, viruses, worms and malicious hackers, according to information provided a spokesman for the project.

Full Story: infoworld.com

McDonald's to serve Wi-Fi with burgers

<font size="3">McDonald's to serve Wi-Fi with burgers</font>

BT has announced a deal with McDonald's for the fast-food chain to offer wireless Internet access at its restaurants throughout the UK . BT Group will announce on Wednesday an alliance with McDonald's to equip the fast-food restaurant chain with high-speed wireless, or Wi-Fi, Internet access throughout the United Kingdom. Over the past 18 months, Britain's dominant telecoms carrier has been aggressively rolling out so-called public "Wi-Fi hotspots'', where laptop-toting computer users pay to access the Internet from the likes of restaurants, pubs and train stations.

Full Story: zdnet.co.uk

Brits enjoy a very merr-e-Christmas

<font size="3">Brits enjoy a very merr-e-Christmas</font>

This Christmas Day saw the internet move closer to joining Only Fools and Horses and James Bond movies as the UK's favourite means of entertainment, with web traffic hitting unprecedented levels.

According to the London Internet Exchange (Linx) traffic on 25 December was almost 50 per cent higher than a year ago.

At its peak, the Exchange saw 22 gigabits of information flowing through its pipes each second, roughly equivalent to 1.3 million emails being sent.

Full Story: vnunet.com

New Worm Spreads Via MSN Messenger

<font size="3">New Worm Spreads Via MSN Messenger </font>

Anti-virus experts are watching a new worm that spreads through Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Messenger client. The worm is not harmful to infected machines and has infected only a few PCs at this point, according to an analysis by Trend Micro Inc.

Known as Jitux, the worm is self-propagating and contains a link to a Web site that automatically downloads an executable file named "jituxramon.exe" to the PC. Once the file runs, the worm begins sending out copies of itself to all of the names in the user's Messenger contact list. The worm, first discovered Tuesday, is capable of spawning multiple instances of itself on one PC.

News source: eWeek

e-shops Now Open

New For 2004

Now open CertForums e-shops

You may remember a few weeks ago I posted that certforums had become an affiliate of amazon and that any products bought using the links in our pages will earn CertForums revenue. Well things have moved on a little more since that post.

We are still an affiliate with amazon but now in the US as well as the UK. To celebrate this event I'm proud to announce the opening of our e-shops. We have two shops that can be accessed through the main menu and again any items purchased will earn certforums revenue. This will be put straight back into the site in the form of prize draws, it wont go into my pocket. I run this site for the love of it not to make a profit

Your comments are welcome as usual, happy shopping in 2004.

SimonV

Happy New Year

<p align="center">Happy New Year
2004</p>
<p align="center"></p>

Hope you like the new look to Certforums, thanks for all the support. See you all in 2004.

Si

Merry Christmas From CertForums

To all our members, CertForums would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas. We have had an eventful 6 months, and are very grateful to you all for sticking with us. Enjoy the festive period!


<p align="center"></p>
<p align="center">CertForums Staff</p>

Software glitch brings Y2K deja vu

<font size="3">Software glitch brings Y2K deja vu </font>

Software running on thousands of computers worldwide will become inoperable in a few weeks because of an obscure date-related glitch, and developers are rushing to create and apply patches.

Sound familiar? Software maker PTC, a specialist in product lifecycle management applications for engineers and product designers, has rekindled memories of the Year 2000 bug, or Y2K, as it scrambles to patch a glitch that will render most of its products inoperable after Jan. 10. The flaw was discovered late last week, and PTC engineers have been working around the clock since then to create and test patches, PTC spokesman Joe Gavaghan said. Two patches that address some of the company's most widespread products were released early Friday, and fixes for other applications are on the way.

Full Story:...