January 3, 2002 AOL fills AIM security hole AOL Time Warner on Thursday plugged a security hole in its instant messenger application that experts say could have provided wiggle room for a widespread and destructive worm. The company said it implemented a server-side fix, meaning that customers will not have to download the patch. As earlier reported, the security bug affected AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) version 4.7 and the 4.8 beta, or test version. Only AIM users running Microsoft's Windows operating system are vulnerable. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101170,00.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/014969.htm http://www.msnbc.com/news/680950.asp http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23541.html http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/01/02/aol.security/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/01/02/im-hole.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/209997p-2027064c.html http://www.techtv.com/news/hackingandsecurity/story/0,24195,3366566,00.html - - - - - - - - FBI reverses advice for Windows users The FBI has reversed its advice for computer users trying to protect themselves against serious flaws in the latest version of Windows: Applying the free fix from Microsoft Corp. is adequate, after all. The bureau's top cyber- security unit, the National Infrastructure Protection Center, told consumers and companies Thursday to disregard its earlier advice to go beyond the Microsoft recommendations to protect against hackers who might try to attack Windows computers. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/085423.htm http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173365.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/681390.asp http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/industry/01/03/hackers.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/01/03/fbi-microsoft-flaw.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/210127p-2028258c.html - - - - - - - - Man accused of impersonating players in eBay fraud. A con man impersonated baseball stars Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra in e-mails to get bats with their names, and then sold them for thousands of dollars to unsuspecting collectors on eBay, federal prosecutors alleged Tuesday. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2001/12/18/sports2047EST0458.DTL http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/html/2001_12_18_derungs.html - - - - - - - - Man charged for phony posting Federal securities regulators have sued a 24-year-old Kentucky man for allegedly posting a fake press release on the Internet claiming that California-based Extreme Networks was buying a small Florida technology company. The Securities and Exchange Commission said in its suit on Wednesday that Ned Sneiderman posted the phony release on a Yahoo! Finance message board in October, causing Viasource Communications' stock to double to 22 cents per share and the firm's market capitalisation to gain almost $4.7 million. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,2835916,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/23536.html - - - - - - - - Judge Bars Town Brass From Learning Detractors' IDs A New Jersey judge has ruled that public officials do not have the right to discover the identities of people who criticized or insulted them on public Internet bulletin boards. The decision was made in late December but only publicly released this week. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173369.html http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/210314p-2029976c.html - - - - - - - - Web Site Defacements Down Sharply After Sept. 11 Global Web site defacements were significantly down during September, although the effect was only temporary, new research indicates. A report from security consultancy group Mi2g shows that just 815 Web site defacements occurred during September 2001, down from the year's monthly high of 3,853 in May. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173358.html http://www.vnunet.com/News/1127952 - - - - - - - - Probe Of Defense Dept. Buying Card Fiasco Widened Lawmakers on Capitol Hill today promised to broaden an investigation into reports of rampant fraud and abuse in the Defense Department's electronic purchasing card program, after DOD officials scoffed at recommendations designed to tighten controls of the program. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173371.html - - - - - - - - Sex offender surfing may be monitored The UK government has admitted that it is looking at ways that technology could be used to monitor sex offenders when they are released back into the community. The Home Office said it will consider programmes that are currently being used in the US. One such scheme running in Illinois uses monitoring software installed on the offender's home PC, which alerts a probation officer if inappropriate activity is detected, such as illegal sex websites or teenage chat rooms. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1127964 - - - - - - - - Faster processors, clever hackers make home computers a riper target. Computer hackers, once satisfied to test their skills on large companies, are turning their sights on home computers that are faster, more powerful and less secure than ever before. The hackers can steal your identity, destroy your data or use your computer to launch attacks on Web sites or your friends. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/011999.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/210262p-2029627c.html - - - - - - - - 'Junkyard' viruses take a toll As antivirus companies look back to log the year's busiest viruses, it seems virtuoso worm writing has gone out of style. At least five companies recently listed SirCam, which ravaged PCs during the summer, as one of the two most reported viruses of the year. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5101183,00.html New year brings new wave of PC worms http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-8335977-0.html - - - - - - - - Qwest to clarify policy on use of customer information Qwest's disclosure of how it shares customer information internally has left some customers worried that the phone company may sell their call records and other subscriber information to telemarketers and other businesses looking for new customers. But Qwest says it has no intention to sell customer account information to third parties. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/024922.htm - - - - - - - - N.J., Toys 'R' Us reportedly reach deal on privacy policies. Toys ``R'' Us Inc. has agreed to pay $50,000 and change its Internet privacy policies to end a state inquiry into how the Paramus-based toy company protected personal information about its customers, documents obtained by The Record show. The agreement, which was signed last week by company officials and Mark Herr, director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, is expected to be announced today. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/067884.htm http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/01/03/toysrus-settle.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/210302p-2029927c.html http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,5101213,00.html - - - - - - - - New York protects online privacy New York Gov. George Pataki has signed into law the Internet Privacy Policy Act that requires all state agencies to develop and abide by online privacy policies. The legislation, signed by the governor in December, bars any state agency with a Web site from collecting or disclosing personal information about visitors without their consent. The law also requires the state's Office for Technology to create a model online privacy notice for all state Web sites. http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/newsbursts/0,7407,5101210,00.html - - - - - - - - Move to digital government sparks state privacy concerns While all 50 states made significant progress during 2001 in integrating information technology into government services, that progress is raising new questions about how states are protecting individuals' private information, according to a new survey from the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) and the Center For Digital Government. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0102/010302td1.htm Illinois, Kansas tops in online state government Prairie states Kansas and Illinois topped a survey of U.S. state governments' online efforts on Thursday, outpacing high-tech hubs such as California and Massachusetts. The two Midwestern states, followed by Washington state and Maryland, received high marks for a wide variety of services from business regulation to education to law enforcement. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/reuters_wire/1721464l.htm - - - - - - - - Information commissioner to quit Elizabeth France has announced her decision to step down as information commissioner when her contract expires in November. The information commissioner, Elizabeth France, is to quit her watchdog position later this year, following weeks of disagreement with the home secretary over his controversial anti-terror legislation. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2101896,00.html - - - - - - - - ACLU decries face-recognition tools Face-recognition technology designed to help catch known criminals proved ineffective during a two-month period, according to a report released Thursday by the America Civil Liberties Union. Using state open-record laws, the civil liberties organization examined system logs at a Florida police department. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8354040.html - - - - - - - - U.S. to use photo database to confirm ID of foreign visitors. In a high-tech strategy against terrorists, the government will soon begin comparing foreign travelers with digitized photographs and will consider plans to encode their travel documents with personal data that can be read electronically. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/026914.htm - - - - - - - - Intel makes case out of Internet trespassing The ancient legal doctrine of trespass has come to life in cyberspace. A California appellate court ruled in the case Intel v. Hamidi that waves of e-mails sent to Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel by a former employee constituted trespass on Intel's server and must be prohibited. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/ccarch/2002/01/03/sinrod.htm - - - - - - - - "Tracking Down the Nasty Guys" The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has begun using the VisualRoute IP trace route tool to track down the servers hosting Web sites and chat rooms that may be violating laws on child pornography and sexual exploitation. The VisualRoute tool, available from Visualware Inc., is able to cross-reference IP addresses with the physical locations of service providers, which means NCMEC investigators can often determine the locations of servers with possibly illegal content. Many of these cases are turned over to local law enforcement agencies in cities and states with laws relating to online child exploitation; other cases are given to federal agencies. http://www.eweek.com/article/0,3658,s%253D703%2526a%253D20186,00.asp - - - - - - - - Fingerprint scanner personalizes your PC When my wife first saw it, she declared it was a silly little gadget designed for the lazy. Now she uses it all the time. I can't think of a better endorsement for DigitalPersona's U.are.U Personal, a fingerprint scanner for Windows XP. The scanner, which costs $69.99, is a small box that installs easily via your PC's USB port. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/210010p-2027214c.html - - - - - - - - North Carolina secures online payments North Carolina is using online payment software from CyberSource Corp. as part of its electronic payment services, said Mike Fenton, the states chief technology officer. The Mountain View, Calif., companys software verifies credit card payments and looks for possible fraud. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/17667-1.html *********************************************************** Search the NewsBits.net Archive at: http://www.newsbits.net/search.html *********************************************************** The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. The information is provided to you for non-profit research and educational purposes. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2002, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.