NewsBits for September 6, 2005 ************************************************************ Teens charged with hacking school computers Three arrested for changing grades for friends Three teenagers face felony charges for allegedly hacking into their school computer system to "fix" grades not for themselves but for friends. The 16-year-olds are enrolled in advanced computer classes at Bay High School, and sheriff's investigator Paul Vecker said they didn't need to change their own grades. "These are three young men who are quite intelligent," he said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9225841/ - - - - - - - - - - Australian court finds Kazaa operator violated copyright law An Australian court has found that the operator of Kazaa, once the world's largest music file-sharing network, violated copyright law, giving the company two months to stop the unauthorized exchange of songs over the Internet. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12568098.htm http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-kazaa6sep06,1,44847.story http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,68762,00.html http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2141937/kazaa-vows-appeal-australian - - - - - - - - - - Scammers out in force in wake of disaster The e-mail began ``Dear Fellow Citizen,'' and appeared to be from a desperate New Orleans hurricane victim asking for financial donations so she could rescue family members. ``We are helpless!'' said the e-mail, sent Friday and signed by ``Elizabeth.'' http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12552698.htm http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5845695.html http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11302 - - - - - - - - - - Son of astronaut pleads guilty to child porn possession The son of astronaut Walter Schirra has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography following his November arrest at San Francisco International Airport on child sex charges, court records show. Walter M. Schirra III, 55, of San Francisco, a property manager, entered a guilty plea Aug. 31 to a federal charge of possession of child pornography. He will be sentenced Dec. 7 by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/06/BAschirra06.DTL - - - - - - - - - - Ex-judge nears trial on child-porn charges Retired Superior Court Judge Stephen W. Thompson came to be known in Camden County's court system as a man with an iron will, an individual who fought back from personal tragedy with an upbeat attitude. Socially, he organized tailgate parties at concerts and led groups of friends to Phillies games. He also traveled -- always alone -- to exotic spots, returning with interesting tales of what he saw and who he met along the way. http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050906/NEWS01/509060336/1006 - - - - - - - - - - Yusufali-A interrupts adult websites with messages from the Koran Security experts today issued a warning after detecting a malicious Trojan horse which tries to interrupt the surfing of adult websites by displaying messages from the Koran. The Yusufali-A Trojan monitors users' surfing habits by examining the title bar of the active window. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2141861/arabic-trojan-butts-porn http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/05/smut_censoring_trojan/ - - - - - - - - - - Microsoft security chief bitten by rogue dialler No-one is above the threat posed by rogue diallers, it seems: Microsoft's top security man in the UK recently found himself with a whopping BT bill. Rogue diallers have claimed a high-profile victim Microsoft UK's chief security advisor Ed Gibson. Speaking to ZDNet UK on Tuesday, Gibson revealed that he has recently been hit by a PS450 bill from BT after his computer was infected with a rogue dialler. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39216715,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Symantec issues patch for corporate antivirus software Symantec Corp. has issued a patch for a vulnerability in its corporate antivirus software that could allow an unauthorized person to access a company's servers. The flaw, in Version 9 of its Anti Virus Corporate Edition product, exposes the server log-in name and password used by the administrator who authorizes updates to the software, Symantec said. http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/cybercrime/story/0,10801,104401,00.html - - - - - - - - - - IMlogic ups shields against IM threats IMlogic is pooling its customers' systems to do real-time scanning of instant messaging traffic in an effort to stop IM worms in their tracks. With its Real-Tine Threat Protection System, IMlogic says, it is moving beyond traditional signature-based protection that stops pests based on patterns of known threats. The new system analyzes instant messages and will block a potential attack before it propagates, said Jon Sakoda, chief technology officer at IMlogic. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5851502.html - - - - - - - - - - eEye: Flaw found in IE, Outlook installation A security flaw has been found in the default installation process for Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook Express, according to eEye Digital Security. A common thread with these applications is the potential for a buffer overflow, which in turn could allow an attacker to gain access to users' systems remotely, said Mike Puterbaugh, eEye's senior director of product marketing. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5851325.html Bug hunters, software firms in uneasy alliance http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5846019.html - - - - - - - - - - Hacking fears bog down online banking growth The number of people who turn to the Internet for personal banking isn't growing--but those who are already hooked on such services are using them more often, a new survey has shown. The percentage of Americans who conduct personal banking activities online has stagnated at 39 percent in the 12-month period ending August 2005, Ipsos Insight said in a study released Tuesday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5851061.html Insecurity complex on the Internet http://news.com.com/Insecurity+complex+on+the+Internet/2009-1029_3-5851241.html - - - - - - - - - - New technology may increase identity theft New technology could increase rather than solve the problem of identity theft and fraud, a British criminologist said Monday. Identity cards and chip and pin technology for credit cards will force fraudsters to be more creative and are unlikely to alleviate the problem, said Emily Finch, of the University of East Anglia in England. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5850138.html http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2141845/identity-technology-aid-theft http://www.crime-research.org/news/06.09.2005/1474/ Hi-tech no panacea for ID theft woes http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/05/hi-tech_id_theft_cure_fallacy/ An ID-Theft Crackdown Gains Momentum http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_37/c3950045_mz013.htm - - - - - - - - - - Intel hands Czech firm millions for virus protection Intel Capital has taken its largest equity stake to date in an Eastern Europe outfit, sinking $16m into Czech anti-virus company Grisoft to help it expand in business and consumer markets. The chip giant's venture capitalist arm said it was investing in Prague-based Grisoft to improve the development of anti-virus software and deployment around the globe. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/06/intel_investment/ - - - - - - - - - - Five things you need to know about Web services threats As an architect, the time I spend with customers is valuable in helping me define industry trends. What I'm hearing lately indicates the current focus within Web services is the existence of threats. Organizations have been asking how to defend against network attacks, and about preventative measures to ensure they don't happen in the first place. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5851259.html - - - - - - - - - - Big Mother (or Father) is watching Parents use tech tools to keep tabs on kids Increasingly, parents are using high-tech methods to track everything from where their children are and how far they are driving to what they buy, what they eat and whether they've shown up for class. Often, the gadget involved is a simple cell phone that transmits location data. The details get delivered by e-mail, cell phone text message or the Web. http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/09/06/tracking.teens.ap/index.html - - - - - - - - - - Is unsubscribing from spam enough? Speaking of spam, I received a note this morning from another bulk e-mailer one called NewSource that apparently e-mails newsletters to journalists once a month. The organization appears to play by the Can Spam rules, giving me a way to unsubscribe from the organization's e-mail list while also providing contact names, snail-mail addresses, and phone numbers. http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/index.php?p=1810 Give us the power to can spam, says ICO http://software.silicon.com/malware/0,3800003100,39152000,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Skype honeypot snares dirty IMers NSFW Imagine this entertainment scenario: you create a female Skype profile and activate it in "Skype me" mode. Within a few minutes, IM pervs begin to sniff around your honeypot. What they don't know, though, is that they're being set up by a programme which partners two horny male IMers for an intimate conversation - one of whom thinks the other is a hot babe gagging for cybersex. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/06/skype_honeypot/ - - - - - - - - - - Supermarket chain freezes Internet access Call it Midwest sensibility, outright paranoia or the direct result of extraordinarily tight-fisted control, the Kansas City, Kan., operator of 28 Hen House and Price Chopper supermarkets and pharmacies is the very model of how a network - and its users - should behave. Not that the users really ever had a choice. http://www.networkworld.com/research/2005/090505-balls.html - - - - - - - - - - Rights group says Yahoo's cooperation helped China jail journalist A French media watchdog said Tuesday that information provided by Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc. helped Chinese authorities convict and jail a writer who had penned an e-mail about press estrictions. The harsh criticism from Reporters Without Borders marks the latest instance in which a prominent high-tech company has faced accusations of cooperating with Chinese authorities to gain favor in a country that's expected to become an Internet gold mine. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/12573317.htm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-09-06-yahoo-china-journalist_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - British spooks hit AQ bulletin boards British spooks plotted to use the internet to help promote two separate messages to the Muslim world - one of the engagement which we hear openly from politicians and diplomats and a darker, secret, message to groups of "more radicalised constituencies". A letter from William Ehrman, director-general of defence and intelligence, to the government's security adviser David Omand in April was leaked to Sunday's Observer. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/05/brit_spooks/ - - - - - - - - - - Lost children database goes live Children separated from families after the deadly Hurricane Katrina are being helped by the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). It helps prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation and usually runs a CyberTipline to report net abuse. It has now set up a Katrina Missing Persons Hotline and its website is also serving as an online album of children who are trying to find their families. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4219316.stm - - - - - - - - - - High-tech parking meters hard to fool In this seaside town, parking meters don't grant those magical few minutes on someone else's dime. Each time a car pulls away from a space, the meter automatically resets to zero. Little is left to chance in the brave new world of parking technology: Meters are triggered by remote sensors, customers pay for street time by cell phone and solar-powered vending machines create customized parking plans for the motorist. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9164576/ *********************************************************** 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 2000-2005, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.