Sophos slams 'Uncle Spam'

Sophos slams 'Uncle Spam'

IT security firm Sophos has slammed the US for failing to ‘get its own house in order’ before taking a leading role in tackling cyber-crime in its latest report on spam trends.

Sophos claims that during Q2/2009, the US continued to relay more spam than any other global nation – with the country’s 15.6 per cent contribution to global spam traffic meaning that one-in-six junk emails were sent through compromised computers in there.

Article: Here

-Ken

Pigs do fly: Microsoft unleashes 20,000 lines of Linux code

Pigs do fly: Microsoft unleashes 20,000 lines of Linux code

Microsoft is releasing three Microsoft-developed Linux drivers to the Linux community for possible inclusion in the Linux source tree.

This is the first time Microsoft has made Microsoft-developed code available directly to the Linux community. The Redmondians have released various pieces of code under different open-source licenses over the past few years, but this is the first time Microsoft has released Linux code and the first time the company has used the GPL license to release code, I believe. (Anyone know otherwise?) My ZDNet blogging colleague Jason Perlow says Microsoft previously released part of the Linux Integration Components under the GPL, so this isn’t technically the first-ever GPL’d code from the Softies.

Microsoft made the Linux driver announcement on July 20, the opening day of the O’Reilly OSCON open-source conference.

(The driver news also comes a week after...

Most IT pros not planning on Windows 7 rollout

Most IT pros not planning on Windows 7 rollout

The recessionary squeeze on IT departments' manpower and finances will hinder the rollout of Windows 7, according to a major poll of IT professionals.

Nearly 60 per cent of those in small, medium and large organizations currently have no plans whatsoever to deploy Microsoft's next client, says Windows management specialist ScriptLogic's survey.

Thirty-four per cent said they were likely to deploy by the end of 2010, approximately a year after Windows 7 ships. The operating system is due on October 22, 2009.

Article: Here

-Ken

Compliments to Modey for the find

Tagging technology to track trash

Tagging technology to track trash

The ebb and flow of thousands of pieces of household rubbish are to be tracked using sophisticated mobile tags.

It is hoped that making people confront the final journey of their waste will make them reduce what they throw away.

Initially, 3,000 pieces of rubbish, donated by volunteers, will be tagged in New York, Seattle and London.

"Trash is almost an invisible system today," Assaf Biderman, one of the project leaders at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told BBC News.

"You throw something into the garbage and a lot of us forget about it. It gets buried, it gets burned, it gets shipped overseas."

The Trash Track aims to make that process - termed the "removal chain" - more transparent.

Friends of the Earth's Senior Waste Campaigner Michael Warhurst said the project could be a "useful tool" for highlighting the impact of rubbish.

"[Waste] doesn't simply disappear when we...

Snooping through the power socket

Snooping through the power socket

Power sockets can be used to eavesdrop on what people type on a computer.

Security researchers found that poor shielding on some keyboard cables means useful data can be leaked about each character typed.

By analysing the information leaking onto power circuits, the researchers could see what a target was typing.

The attack has been demonstrated to work at a distance of up to 15m, but refinement may mean it could work over much longer distances.

Full story : here

IT managers are 'still being hired'

IT managers are 'still being hired'

Companies are still looking to take on IT managers despite the impact of the economic downturn, one recruitment agency has claimed.

Research from Hays showed that employees who can lead processes and people are the most in demand, Contractor UK reported.

The study showed that despite managerial leaders in the sector being willing to take less money than before and more potential candidates available, suitable applicants for the posts are hard to find.

Full story at the BCS : here

Google to launch operating system

Google to launch operating system

Google is developing an operating system (OS) for personal computers, in a direct challenge to market leader Microsoft and its Windows system.
Google Chrome OS will be aimed initially at netbooks, the low-cost portable computers that have turned the PC world upside down.
Google said netbooks with Chrome OS could be on sale by the middle of 2010.
"Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS," said the company in a blog.

More here.

Parliamentary committee to examine Broadband Speeds

Parliamentary committee to examine Broadband Speeds

Following the release of Lord Carter's Digital Britain Report, the Business & Enterprise Committee of the House of Commons has announced today its intention to open an inquiry into broadband speeds in the UK.

It will consider, amongst other matters, the following:

Whether the 2 Mbps Universal Service Obligation by 2012 is "ambitious enough"?

The appropriateness of the Government's broadband tax on copper lines to fund next generation access?

Are service providers providing the speeds which they promise?

The balance of current regulation encouraging fair competition and investment?

We hope that the inquiry raises the issues surrounding broadband notspots and slow-spots to the forefront of the wider policy debate.


Article from ThinkBroadband

Link to...

Billions stolen in online robbery

Billions stolen in online robbery

Space trading game Eve Online has suffered a virtual version of the credit crunch.

One of the game's biggest financial institutions lost a significant chunk of its deposits as a huge theft started a run on the bank.

One of the bank's controllers stole about 200bn kredits and swapped them for real world cash of £3,115.

As news of the theft spread, many of the bank's customers rushed to remove their virtual cash.

Full story : here

Woman sues to have name of anonymous web poster revealed

Woman sues to have name of anonymous web poster revealed

A woman sues a daily newspaper for an anonymous comment made in the discussion forum. She also wanted the name of the anonymous commenter exposed. What happens with this case and others like it could shape the future of online forums.

..... the Richmond Register (a daily newspaper in Richmond, KY) ran an article about a young woman who had been kicked out of a mall because the dress she was wearing (one she’d actually purchased at the mall) was too short. An anonymous poster in the online discussion after the article made the statement that she’d actually been kicked out because she’d exposed herself to a woman and her children.

The dress wearer filed a defamation lawsuit against the poster and subpoenaed the newspaper for the name of the anonymous poster. And the battle is on. The paper is claiming that the anonymous source is proteced under the Kentucky Reporter’s Shield Law (the...