All your Web typos are belong to us

<font size="3">All your Web typos are belong to us </font>

Network administrators are fuming about changes made by domain registrar Verisign to the DNS system yesterday that they say violate longstanding Internet standards.

Verisign yesterday added wildcard DNS records to all .com and .net domains - redirecting surfers who get lost on the Net to a search page, called Site Finder, run by the company. Those who type in non-existent addresses will also be served up Site Finder, instead of an error message.

There's widespread concern the alterations will frustrate commonly used anti-spam techniques. Mail packages often check to see whether the domain an email is coming from is valid but with the changes all domains have suddenly become valid, frustrating the technique.

The radical, and largely unheralded, changes were made yesterday and followed up by a post by Verisign to the NANOG mailing list. This did...

Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 RTM

<font size="3">Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 RTM</font>

Final Release in Windows Server 2003 Family Tailored To Meet Specific Needs of Small Businesses

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Windows® Small Business Server 2003 has been released to manufacturing. Based on groundbreaking innovations that dramatically simplify the deployment process, ongoing management and use of server technology, Windows Small Business Server 2003 enables small-business customers to ensure that their data is automatically protected, significantly increase their productivity and improve their connection with customers. Specifically tailored to address the requirements of small businesses, Windows Small Business Server 2003 now makes server technology a viable and approachable option for this underserved market segment. For partners who are often the sole IT administrators supporting small businesses, Windows...

Lindows wants MS to pay up the full $1.1B

<font size="3">Lindows wants MS to pay up the full $1.1B</font>

Lindows.com announces MSfreePC, a web service designed to help Microsoft customers process their settlement claims from the $1.1 billion settlement Microsoft has agreed to pay. MSfreePC Offers Consumers 'Instant Settlements' From $1.1 Billion Microsoft Settlement

Customers can process their claim and receive an "instant settlement" of up to $100, and possibly a free computer by visiting www.MSfreePC.com, and taking advantage of a simple online process. And as it turns out, the catch is that you get the $100 in the form on Lindows software.

"MSfreePC is helping consumers maximize their opportunity to receive their portion of the $1.1 billion settlement," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of Lindows.com Inc. "If consumers do not apply for their settlements during this limited time period, Microsoft will not be required...

Microsoft Announces Partners in Learning for Education

<font size="3">Microsoft Announces Partners in Learning for Education </font>
Critical Resources for Student Access, Teacher Training and Skills Development Worldwide

Despite real improvements in the availability of information and communication technology around the world, many students and teachers still lack basic access to computers and training. The result is a widening skills gap in information and communication technology (ICT) fields that contributes to disparities in quality of life, economic development and competitiveness.

Microsoft Corp.'s Partners in Learning initiative recognizes the educational value of technology in schools. Global in scope and local in implementation, this initiative provides a significant investment of software and more than $250 million (U.S.) in cash grants worldwide over the next five years to deliver information and communication technology skills training,...

Microsoft auto-updates bug in Xbox software "without pe

<font size="3">Microsoft auto-updates bug in Xbox software "without permission" </font>
Your Xbox has a bug that is costing Bill money

ACCORDING TO REPORTS, Microsoft has started automatically updating Xbox game consoles with a new version of the Dashboard software. When users use "Xbox-Live", the feature of the Xbox that lets you play against other people on the Internet, the Xbox will also download some bug fixes without asking you.
The Xbox games do have a warning on them that connecting to the Xbox Live Vole Service may update your Xbox, however.

The particular bug that this update will correct for the user is the ability to run Linux. Once the update is in place you will not be able to install Linux on your Xbox any more, at least not in the convenient way that the Dashboard bug allowed, according to the XboxLinux pages.

Full Story:...

New Worm Headed Our Way?

<font size="3">New Worm Headed Our Way? </font>

Administrators and security specialists hoping for a breather now that Blaster has faded and SoBig.F has expired may be in for a long weekend.

The nature of the new vulnerabilities revealed yesterday in the RPC DCOM implementation in Windows is so similar to the one that Blaster exploits that security experts believe it's only a matter of days, if not hours, before someone releases a worm to attack the new weaknesses. Even though it infected close to a million machines, experts say the Blaster worm was poorly coded and as a result did not do nearly the damage that a more efficient worm could have done. Blaster easily could be modified to work much better, and because the source code for the worm is readily available online, it's likely that someone is already at work on that task.

"It all adds up to a situation where we'll probably see a worm in the next 24 hours...

China shuts door to spam

<font size="3">China shuts door to spam </font>
China has blocked 127 servers sending high volumes of unsolicited email, in an attempt to change its reputation as a spammers' safe haven

China has woken up to the problem of spam and blocked 127 servers identified as sources of high volumes of unsolicited email.

The move is likely to send shockwaves through the international community of spammers who previously had regarded China as a safe haven in which to base their operations. An estimated 100 of North America's most prolific spammers are based in the suburbs of Beijing, according to Steve Linford, president of the London-based Spamhaus Project, which runs a spam-blocking service.

Many spammers placed their servers in and around Beijing because they believed they were safe from Western law and of little interest to the Chinese authorities. But if that situation is now changing a drastic rethink may be...

MS03-039 Buffer Overrun In RPCSS Service

<font size="3">MS03-039 Buffer Overrun In RPCSS Service</font>

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a protocol used by the Windows operating system. RPC provides an inter-process communication mechanism that allows a program running on one computer to seamlessly access services on another computer. The protocol itself is derived from the Open Software Foundation (OSF) RPC protocol, but with the addition of some Microsoft specific extensions.

There are three identified vulnerabilities in the part of RPCSS Service that deals with RPC messages for DCOM activation— two that could allow arbitrary code execution and one that could result in a denial of service. The flaws result from incorrect handling of malformed messages. These particular vulnerabilities affect the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) interface within the RPCSS Service. This interface handles DCOM object activation requests that are sent from one...

Switching on PC is too technical for many users

<font size="3">Switching on PC is too technical for many users </font>

The results of a study released this week confirms what the world's BOFHs and sysadmins have known for ages: that users are a dangerous menace who should not be allowed near anything more advanced than a fridge.

A staggering one in seven technologically challenged employees needs help even switching their computers on and off, according to research commissioned by City &amp; Guilds.

The UK vocational awarding body's study of 405 random UK financial directors revealed that, despite the fact that PCs have been around for over thirty years, getting to grips with the devices is totally beyond many British office workers. A fifth were found to struggle to save a document, more than one in five need assistance printing, while a quarter cannot understand a spreadsheet.


City &amp; Guilds pointed out that, apart from greatly reducing...

12-Year-Old Sued for Music Downloading

<font size="3">12-Year-Old Sued for Music Downloading </font>

The music industry has turned its big legal guns on Internet music-swappers — including a 12-year-old New York City girl who thought downloading songs was fun.

Brianna LaHara said she was frightened to learn she was among the hundreds of people sued yesterday by giant music companies in federal courts around the country.

"I got really scared. My stomach is all turning," Brianna said last night at the city Housing Authority apartment where she lives with her mom and her 9-year-old brother.

"I thought it was OK to download music because my mom paid a service fee for it. Out of all people, why did they pick me?"

The Recording Industry Association of America (search) — a music-industry lobbying group behind the lawsuits — couldn't answer that question.

"We are taking each individual on a case-by-case basis," said RIAA spokeswoman Amy Weiss....