NewsBits for November 30, 2004 ************************************************************ Accused Japanese file-swapper found guilty A man arrested last year on copyright charges for disseminating films on the Internet was given a three-year suspended sentence Tuesday -- averting a jail term in one of the first crackdowns on file- sharing in Japan. Yoshihiro Inoue, 42, was found guilty of violating copyright law Tuesday in Kyoto District Court, a court official said on condition of anonymity. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10302799.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6620101/ - - - - - - - - - - Cambridge police nab UK spammer Sometimes known as the UK's biggest spammer, Peter Francis Clifford Macrae is in police custody today after appearing in court this afternoon. Macrae, a 22 year-old from St Neots in Cambridgeshire has been charged with four counts of threats to kill and of public nuisance by bombarding Cambridgeshire police's switchboard with threatening phone calls. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159757 - - - - - - - - - - Kazaa Begins Defense in File-Swapping Case A civil court case against file-sharing network Kazaa has begun in Australia. The country's six major record labels brought the suit against the company, which is based there. A lawyer for the recording industry called Kazaa an "engine of copyright piracy." http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Kazaa-Begins-Defense-in-File-Swapping-Case&story_id=28716 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-11-30-kazaa-day2_x.htm Kazaa challenged over child porn control policy http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/30/kazaa_trial_day_two/ - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft sues over fake authenticity certificates For the first time, Microsoft Corp. is suing on claims of counterfeit and illicit certificates of authenticity, the labels on software and computers that are supposed to show the products are legitimate. In copyright and trademark infringement lawsuits filed Monday, Microsoft accused eight small and medium computer resellers and software vendors in seven states of distributing unlawful versions of the COA labels. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10303667.htm - - - - - - - - - - New strain of Skulls Trojan hits smart phones Mobile phones running Symbian Ltd.'s Series 60 operating system are the target of a new strain of the Skulls Trojan horse program. The new Trojan comes with the Cabir.B worm, which, unlike the first version of the virus, can spread to other phones within reach of Bluetooth broadcasting range. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,97935,00.html McAfee says 'Skulls' mobile security threat still low http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/wormsviruses/2004-11-30-skulls-worm_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Flaw opens crack in Windows servers The vulnerability is in Windows Internet Name Service, or WINS, a network infrastructure component of server products such as Windows NT 4.0 Server, Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003, Microsoft said Tuesday. The company has issued a temporary work-around for the problem while it works on an update to fix the vulnerability. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5471485.html - - - - - - - - - - Sun stamps on Java bug Sun Microsystems claimed yesterday that its attempt to stamp on a recently discovered Java Virtual Machine (JVM) security bug has been successful. Security experts warned that the potentially devastating flaw in the JVM Run Time Environment could leave millions of desktops open to attack. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159740 - - - - - - - - - - Phishers target Christmas shoppers FConsumers should be on their guard against a "particularly devious" phishing scam which aims to hijack their Christmas shopping and divulge sensitive financial details to cyber- criminals. According to IT security firm CyberGuard, the latest scam uses fake e-commerce sites offering 'bargain' Christmas gifts. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159754 - - - - - - - - - - Unprotected PCs can be hijacked in minutes Surfing the Web has never been more risky. Simply connecting to the Internet and doing nothing else exposes your PC to non-stop, automated break-in attempts by intruders looking to take control of your machine surreptitiously. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/hacking/2004-11-29-honeypot_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Software could slow spread of computer worms Engineers at Hewlett-Packard Co. are working on "virus throttling" software that could slow the spread of viruses and worms, possibly limiting the destruction that hackers inflict on millions of computers each year. Researchers for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer giant said Tuesday the new software wouldn't destroy threats such as the "Blaster" Internet worm, which crippled more than a million computers last summer. http://www.securityfocus.com/news/10035 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5471780.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6622961/ http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/virus/story/0,10801,97940,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Fear fuels intrusion prevention sales bonanza The growing threat posed by worms, viruses and denial-of-service attacks is fuelling a global sales bonanza in network intrusion prevention system (IPS) products, according to In-Stat/MDR. As a result, the combined market for IPS and intrusion detection system equipment is poised to reach $1.4bn by 2008, up from $541m in 2003, the research firm said. Most of the revenue growth is expected to be through hardware- based network IPS appliances. http://www.vnunet.com/news/1159751 - - - - - - - - - - ISPs raise the stakes on DDoS attacks Internet service providers have hit back at claims they should be doing more to prevent denial-of-service attacks. Security heads for BT and Cable and Wireless said that they can protect their customers from the attacks, but that they will not provide the service for free. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39175485,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - iPaqs turn up the security Hewlett-Packard introduced a series of handhelds, the iPaq hx2000 line, designed to provide better security and connectivity for mobile professionals. The hx2700, launched Tuesday, comes with an embedded biometric fingerprint reader that allows a user to capture prints from two fingers, from either hand. This allows for greater flexibility should the owner suffer a cut on one finger, said Robin Seow, general manager of the personal systems group at HP Singapore. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5471610.html - - - - - - - - - - ID card details emerge in bill The government's bill for an identity card, published on Monday, outlines details on penalties for abuse of the system but fails to include figures covering the costs of the scheme. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39175554,00.htm New standard could reshuffle smart cards http://www.gcn.com/23_33/news/27949-1.html Passport ID chips may not be secure http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/11/29/electronicpassports.ap/index.html - - - - - - - - - - Lycos Europe: 'Make love not spam The effort, dubbed "Make love not spam," will officially launch on Wednesday and will center around the screen saver, which the company has designed to overload Web sites advertised via spam. Lycos Europe is a separate company from the Web portal that bears the Lycos name in the United States. Lycos Europe claims that it currently maintains roughly 40 million e-mail accounts across eight European countries. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5471207.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6622055/ http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Lycos-Screensaver-Spams-the-Spammers&story_id=28726 - - - - - - - - - - A guide to proactive network security Commentary--Behind our daily barrage of hacker attacks, announcements of new viruses and worms, and frequent risk of downtime is an opportunity. This is your opportunity to step away from the noise, for a moment, and take steps to build a more proactive network security model for your organization. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5470877.html Stressing security training http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2004/1129/web-secure-11-30-04.asp - - - - - - - - - - Mobile fingers UK's thickest armed robber Britain's thickest armed blagger (armed robber) was jailed for six years by Bournemouth Crown Court yesterday after leaving his mobile phone containing pictures of himself and his wife at the scene of a robbery. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/30/mobe_fingers_blagger/ - - - - - - - - - - High-tech 'bait cars' catch unsuspecting auto thieves A thief slips into a car, hot-wires the ignition and drives off. But within blocks, the car mysteriously shuts off, the doors lock and police swoop in. Busted. Dozens of police departments are catching car thieves just like this, with new, high-tech "bait cars" that officers can track and control from afar. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-11-28-bait-cars_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - Police cameras drive drug dealers indoors Video surveillance cameras along downtown Hagerstown streets are driving drug dealers indoors, city police say. "People used to be lined up two and three deep waiting to get served" on certain public streets, Officer Dave Russell told The Herald-Mail. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2004-11-30-md-drug-surveillance_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. 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