January 2, 2003 Texan arrested in Turlock in sting for Web pedophiles Jerry Dock McClain drove 1,500 miles from Texas to Turlock with plans to rendezvous with a 13-year-old girl he met on the Internet and whisk her away to Mexico, police say. Instead, the 65-year-old retired Navy veteran was whisked away -- to jail -- after his arrest by detectives with the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force. McClain's arrest was the 30th that Detective Ken Hedrick has made in the past 30 months -- a string that drew the attention of ABC Television's "Good Morning America." The show plans to profile the latest case Friday. http://www.modbee.com/local/story/5771866p-6742056c.html - - - - - - - - Child porn nets jail time for 2 men A federal court judge sentenced two Oahu men to prison on various child-pornography charges this week. Ryan T. Ching, 31, was sentenced to 50 months in jail Monday, while Darryl Yonezawa, 47, was sentenced to six months in jail followed by four months of home detention and a $10,000 fine. Ching was ordered into federal custody immediately after the sentencing, while Yonezawa was allowed to turn himself in to begin serving his sentence. http://starbulletin.com/2003/01/01/news/story13.html - - - - - - - - Child porn purchase lands C.R. man in jail A Cedar Rapids man who purchased child pornography over the Internet will serve a little more than 2 1/2 years in federal prison. Scott Ristine, 26, pleaded guilty July 29 to receipt of child pornography after purchasing a sexually explicit video from an undercover agent. Ristine was sentenced Monday to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years on supervised release. http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_1644729,00.html - - - - - - - - Not-guilty plea in child porn case A Simi Valley man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of one count of felony distribution of obscene child pornography and one count of misdemeanor possession of child pornography. Blair Lonergan, 23, was arrested after an investigation by the Simi Valley Police Department and the Jackson County, Mich., Sheriff's Department. He is suspected of distributing the child pornography in an Internet chat room, officials said. http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_1644729,00.html - - - - - - - - Warrant disputed in pornography case A city man arrested last winter as a result of a nationwide child pornography investigation argues police lacked legal justification to seize and search his computer last fall. Stephen Dowman, 48, of 513 Midhurst Road, is charged with 11 counts of possession of child pornography, each punishable by up to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 27 in Hillsborough County Superior Court. Dowmans lawyer, Richard Sheehan of Londonderry, filed a motion Dec. 17 arguing that the warrant police got to search Dowmans computer failed to cite enough specific evidence to justify the search. http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/Main.asp?SectionID=25&SubSectionID=377&ArticleID=70887 - - - - - - - - FBI Arrests Russian Student Accused of Stealing Secret DirecTV Documents The FBI arrested a Russian college student Thursday who was accused of stealing and distributing hundreds of secret documents about new anti-piracy technology from DirecTV Inc., the nation's leading satellite television company. The student, identified as Igor Serebryany, 19, of Los Angeles, was accused of sending over the Internet hundreds of sensitive documents describing details about DirecTV's latest "access card" technology -- credit-card devices controlling which of the company's 11 million U.S. subscribers can view particular channels. http://online.securityfocus.com/news/1960 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1891-2003Jan2.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/854169.asp http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,57039,00.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-01-02-directv-plans_x.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/699152p-5172282c.html - - - - - - - - Firms leaked space secrets, U.S. alleges The State Department has charged that two of the country's largest aerospace companies, Hughes Electronics and Boeing Satellite Systems, illegally transferred sensitive U.S. space technology to China in the 1990s that could have helped Beijing's military develop intercontinental missiles. If a federal administrative judge and later a top State Department official agree with the allegations set out in a 32-page State Department ``charging letter'' filed without public notice Thursday, the companies could be fined as much as $60 million and be barred for three years from selling controlled technologies overseas, a penalty that could particularly hurt Boeing. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/4859385.htm http://www.msnbc.com/news/853863.asp http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/01/01/china.technology.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-01-02-tech-exports_x.htm - - - - - - - - Federal agency pulls Web documents The Transportation Security Administration has quietly removed four password-protected documents about airport security from its Web site after reporters raised questions about locking up government data. In a column last week, CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh speculated on whether he would be violating the contentious Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) if he viewed downloaded documents from the TSA's Web site after obtaining the password in an unauthorized manner. At the time, anyone could download the encrypted documents, but a password was required to open and read them. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-978981.html - - - - - - - - Judge: Sex offender can't have photo taken off Web A convicted felon's request that his photo be removed from the state's sexual offender Web site has been denied by a circuit judge. Daniel Erickson, 53, was convicted in 1981 of buying a 5-year-old California girl for $230 and abusing her. He was also was convicted of assaulting a Florida child in 1987 and filing a fraudulent passport application in 1995. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-01-02-sex-offender_x.htm - - - - - - - - Pay-out over 'illegal lottery' of domain names A settlement by the managers of the .biz domain sets an important precedent. Managers of the .biz Internet domain have agreed to pay roughly $1.2m to settle charges that their system for handing out hot names such as "www.show.biz" amounted to an illegal lottery. The agreement, approved on 13 December but made public last weekend, marks the end of a rocky legal road that domain manager NeuLevel has travelled since launching one of the first alternatives to established domains such as .com last year. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2128111,00.html - - - - - - - - Macro virus on the loose Antivirus software company Symantec is warning of a new macro virus targeting Microsoft Word. The virus can overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR) of any physical hard drives on a computer. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1137774 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/28713.html - - - - - - - - Yaha virus infection heats up A new variant of the Yaha virus that appeared just before Christmas has proved contagious, infecting thousands of computers worldwide. The virus, dubbed W32/Yaha.M by MessageLabs, has seen its numbers explode with over 7,000 copies being stopped by MessageLabs on Monday. So far, more than 17,000 copies of the virus have been detected by MessageLabs, leaping it to the fifth most common virus sent through the system since records began. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-978891.html http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20350.html - - - - - - - - Virus writers ignore seasonal cheer: Aust antivirus execs The expected rush of viruses using social engineering techniques to capitalise on Christmas and New Years' Day has failed to materialise, with no threats utilising the tactic found by leading anti-virus companies. As in previous years, Christmas 2002 was preceded by warnings of viruses exploiting people's propensity to open e-mails with a seasonal goodwill theme. However, the threat has failed to materialise, leading anti-virus executives said. http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000024985,20270887,00.htm - - - - - - - - Melee Prompts Call for Restrictions on Cyber Cafes L.A. councilman urges security measures at the venues after two teens are hurt in the Valley. As police searched for suspects in a melee and gunfight that left two teenagers injured outside an Internet cafe in Northridge, Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine on Tuesday called for new regulations on coffee shops specializing in realistic and often violent online video games. (LA Times article, free registration required) http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-cybercafe1jan01,0,4763501.story http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,57047,00.html - - - - - - - - Focus on Operation Blue Ridge Thunder With a perfect conviction record, Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, the code name for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, takes its charge to heart. The Bedford County, Va.-based team is dedicated to the protection of children from pedophiles and other online predators, the education of children and Internet safety, and the training of other law enforcement agencies on the intricacies of Internet investigations. http://www.psjournal.com/psj/03/jan/focus/page1.asp - - - - - - - - Lindows CEO funds hacking contest Michael Robertson, CEO of software company Lindows, has revealed himself as the formerly anonymous donor of $200,000 in prize money in a contest to translate the Linux operating system to Microsoft's Xbox video game console. The revelation was made in a posting earlier this week on the Xbox Linux Project site at SourceForge, a site for collaborative development of open-source software projects. Robertson disclosed his identity as the person funding the contest and extended the deadline. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-978957.html http://news.com.com/2100-1040-978957.html - - - - - - - - Net gambling's accessibility makes it attractive, dangerous June Lewis' love affair with Internet gambling began shortly after she ripped the packaging off her first computer five years ago. To fend off loneliness after the death of her husband, the 73-year-old disabled retiree soon was taking cyberjunkets from her apartment in Phillipsburg, N.J., to Internet gambling sites like Genie's Gem, English Harbor and Flo's Diner. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-01-02-net-gambling_x.htm - - - - - - - - Wireless Insecurity "Terrorism is information you could cause some At check-in counters across America -- private information just floats through thin air from computer to computer in the world of wireless technology. But as a target for terrorists CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports that it's potential is also unlimited. Right outside Atlanta's airport, Bill Corbitt is poaching information sensitive information. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/01/eveningnews/main534947.shtml - - - - - - - - Microsoft brings copy protection to consumer apps The software giant is set to expand the use of product activation technology on Tuesday with the release of Plus Digital Media Edition for Windows XP. Microsoft is set to release its first mainstream consumer software application protected by product activation, in what could be a first step toward expanding use of the antipiracy technology. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-978913.html - - - - - - - - EnCase Quietly Gathers PC Info Guidance Software's EnCase 3.22 is a good program for investigators who need to go to court with evidence gathered from a PC. Regardless of password protection and even file deletion, EnCase can pick up data from a hard drive, storage device or Palm PDA. The $2,495 product, which is available now, allowed me to copy a disk drive without disturbing the files while annotating the date and time of collection. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,798019,00.asp - - - - - - - - Bush's Year of U.S. Surveillance It may seem unreasonable, unfair and downright mean-spirited to compare the Bush administration to the minions of Sauron, the granddaddy of evil in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The executive branch's attempts in 2002 to peer into the lives of Americans were more than a little similar to the exploits of Middle Earth's would-be rulers. http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,57005,00.html - - - - - - - - Security 2002: For better or worse? Driven by terrorist attacks as well as by persistent computer viruses, security became a top priority for companies and the U.S. government in 2002. Microsoft kicked off the year with a companywide mandate from Chairman Bill Gates to focus efforts on security, privacy and reliability. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-978900.html - - - - - - - - Exchange 2000 in the Enterprise: Tips and Tricks Part One What is the best way to deploy Exchange 2000 in your enterprise? There is, of course, no right answer to that - but hey, I needed an intro. The Mighty Chris Webber covered securing Exchange 2000 in a DMZ configuration in a series of SecurityFocus articles that makes for great reading. http://online.securityfocus.com/infocus/1654 - - - - - - - - Maryland state police test first 'smart' patrol car Maryland State Police Sgt. Julio Valcarcel scans he midmorning traffic on Interstate-695 near Pikesville, then narrows his gaze onto a Ford Expedition passing on the shoulder. "Alert three!" he shouts, activating his cruiser's lights and siren before pulling over the driver to issue a warning. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-01-02-smart-police-car_x.htm *********************************************************** 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 2000-2003, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.