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walktalker · 24-01-02, 05:05 PM

Spyware, In a Galaxy Near You
The latest scandal over so-called spyware involves a mysterious and particularly insidious program that tracks your surfing, delivers pop-up ads and could even collect your credit card information. You may not have heard of the VX2 Corporation, but if you've downloaded Audio Galaxy lately, VX2 may know a lot about you. VX2's spyware program comes bundled with other software. Audio Galaxy, a company that makes Napster-style file-sharing software, delivered it for a short time last fall, but says it no longer does so. The VX2 program is currently bundled with a free screensaver program from Aadcom, an Internet advertising company, and may be included in other popular file-sharing programs.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,49960,00.html

High Speed on Verizon's Horizon
To analysts' surprise, Verizon Wireless is about to become the first carrier in the United States to offer advanced wireless services such as streaming video over mobile phones. Verizon's "Express Network," which will deliver data at up to 144 kilobits per second -- almost three times as fast as a typical dial-up connection on a PC –- is coming to market "as early as next week," a source close to the company said. While analysts questioned whether there would be any cell phones to accommodate the services, the source said handsets could be sold as early as next week.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49962,00.html

Filling In Answers to Black Holes
Whoever said you can't build your own black hole? Two scientific papers published in the past week develop new lines of tabletop experiments that allow scientists for the first time to probe previously untestable questions about black holes, gravity and relativity. One promises the first opportunity ever to observe an exotic species of radiation from black holes that was predicted by Stephen Hawking. The other pushes into the history books as the first experiment to observe the unreconciled worlds of both gravity and quantum mechanics together.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,49973,00.html

Penn State Invents State Pen
Call it the Spiderman alert system. Using acoustics technology, researchers at Penn State University have found a way to turn a simple chain-link fence into a breach detector. "The idea was to make kind of like a spider web, where you have a wire that can very easily pick up vibrations," said David Swanson, a senior researcher at Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory. In addition to companies interested in licensing it for development, the Penn State "smart fence" has drawn the attention of the U.S. Army and Navy, the Federal Aviation Administration, water utilities and oil companies, university officials say.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,50002,00.html

Distributed's New Word: Please
The legal nightmare for David McOwen ended last week with a minor fine, probation, and a lesson learned: Ask before you install software on somebody else’s computer. McOwen was facing a fine of up to $415,000 and eight felony counts of computer theft and computer trespass, which could have resulted in anywhere from eight to 120 years in jail, for loading a distributed computing client onto PCs at DeKalb Technical College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked until December of 1999.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,49961,00.html

An Odd Broadband Offer in Oz
Virtual private networks, cable TV, video on demand, networked gaming, telephony and high-speed Internet access -- all offered by different providers via one high-capacity digital pipe to the home. This is broadband the way it should be -- a competitive free-for-all on the content side, but delivered through a monopoly data carrier that sweats the technical details. At least, that's the "open-access" business model broadband provider Transact Communications is betting $100 million on in the sleepy Australian national capital of Canberra.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49853,00.html

Smaller Heart Device on Horizon
The maker of the artificial replacement heart that has so far been implanted in five patients said Wednesday it expects in 2004 to begin testing a heart replacement device small enough for use in all adults. Abiomed's total heart replacement AbioCor is currently so big -- the size of a grapefruit -- it fits into only about 50 percent of adult males and just 18 percent of adult females. "This smaller device will address the entire (adult) population," Abiomed chief executive David Lederman said.
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,49980,00.html

Third anthrax toxin revealed
The thuggish third member of the toxic troika with which anthrax bacteria destroy cells has been caught on camera. Now that the form and function of all three molecules is clear, an antidote to anthrax comes a step closer. One anthrax protein, called protective antigen (PA), chaperones the two other toxins into human or animal cells. The second, lethal factor (LF), destroys the white blood cells that hosts send in defence.
http://www.nature.com/nsu/020121/020121-6.html

Ultimate stem cell discovered
stem cell has been found in adults that can turn into every single tissue in the body. It might turn out to be the most important cell ever discovered. Until now, only stem cells from early embryos were thought to have such properties. If the finding is confirmed, it will mean cells from your own body could one day be turned into all sorts of perfectly matched replacement tissues and even organs.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991826

Calif. Charities May Suffer Under Proposed Privacy Law
Charitable institutions could suffer billions of dollars in lost revenue each year if lawmakers succeed in passing new privacy laws that require permission-based marketing, according to a pair of studies to be released Thursday. The Direct Marketing Association will release two reports which purport to show that so-called "opt-in" laws that bar financial institutions from sharing customer data without explicit permission could cost charities as much as $16.5 billion annually. California-based charities could lose more than $1.5 billion each year, the reports found.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173889.html

Serious Security Hole In AOL's ICQ Chat Software
A security hole in America Online's popular Internet chat software could allow remote attackers to execute malicious programs on the users' computer, a government-funded security watchdog warned today. The vulnerability lies in a feature of AOL's ICQ Internet chat program for Windows that allows ICQ users to invite others to join them in playing online games, according to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), a federally funded computer security clearinghouse at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173926.html

More news later on

24-01-02, 05:05 PM	#2
walktalker The local newspaper man Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Montreal Posts: 2,036	Spyware, In a Galaxy Near You The latest scandal over so-called spyware involves a mysterious and particularly insidious program that tracks your surfing, delivers pop-up ads and could even collect your credit card information. You may not have heard of the VX2 Corporation, but if you've downloaded Audio Galaxy lately, VX2 may know a lot about you. VX2's spyware program comes bundled with other software. Audio Galaxy, a company that makes Napster-style file-sharing software, delivered it for a short time last fall, but says it no longer does so. The VX2 program is currently bundled with a free screensaver program from Aadcom, an Internet advertising company, and may be included in other popular file-sharing programs. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,49960,00.html High Speed on Verizon's Horizon To analysts' surprise, Verizon Wireless is about to become the first carrier in the United States to offer advanced wireless services such as streaming video over mobile phones. Verizon's "Express Network," which will deliver data at up to 144 kilobits per second -- almost three times as fast as a typical dial-up connection on a PC –- is coming to market "as early as next week," a source close to the company said. While analysts questioned whether there would be any cell phones to accommodate the services, the source said handsets could be sold as early as next week. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49962,00.html Filling In Answers to Black Holes Whoever said you can't build your own black hole? Two scientific papers published in the past week develop new lines of tabletop experiments that allow scientists for the first time to probe previously untestable questions about black holes, gravity and relativity. One promises the first opportunity ever to observe an exotic species of radiation from black holes that was predicted by Stephen Hawking. The other pushes into the history books as the first experiment to observe the unreconciled worlds of both gravity and quantum mechanics together. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,49973,00.html Penn State Invents State Pen Call it the Spiderman alert system. Using acoustics technology, researchers at Penn State University have found a way to turn a simple chain-link fence into a breach detector. "The idea was to make kind of like a spider web, where you have a wire that can very easily pick up vibrations," said David Swanson, a senior researcher at Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory. In addition to companies interested in licensing it for development, the Penn State "smart fence" has drawn the attention of the U.S. Army and Navy, the Federal Aviation Administration, water utilities and oil companies, university officials say. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,50002,00.html Distributed's New Word: Please The legal nightmare for David McOwen ended last week with a minor fine, probation, and a lesson learned: Ask before you install software on somebody else’s computer. McOwen was facing a fine of up to $415,000 and eight felony counts of computer theft and computer trespass, which could have resulted in anywhere from eight to 120 years in jail, for loading a distributed computing client onto PCs at DeKalb Technical College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked until December of 1999. http://www.wired.com/news/technology...,49961,00.html An Odd Broadband Offer in Oz Virtual private networks, cable TV, video on demand, networked gaming, telephony and high-speed Internet access -- all offered by different providers via one high-capacity digital pipe to the home. This is broadband the way it should be -- a competitive free-for-all on the content side, but delivered through a monopoly data carrier that sweats the technical details. At least, that's the "open-access" business model broadband provider Transact Communications is betting $100 million on in the sleepy Australian national capital of Canberra. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49853,00.html Smaller Heart Device on Horizon The maker of the artificial replacement heart that has so far been implanted in five patients said Wednesday it expects in 2004 to begin testing a heart replacement device small enough for use in all adults. Abiomed's total heart replacement AbioCor is currently so big -- the size of a grapefruit -- it fits into only about 50 percent of adult males and just 18 percent of adult females. "This smaller device will address the entire (adult) population," Abiomed chief executive David Lederman said. http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,49980,00.html Third anthrax toxin revealed The thuggish third member of the toxic troika with which anthrax bacteria destroy cells has been caught on camera. Now that the form and function of all three molecules is clear, an antidote to anthrax comes a step closer. One anthrax protein, called protective antigen (PA), chaperones the two other toxins into human or animal cells. The second, lethal factor (LF), destroys the white blood cells that hosts send in defence. http://www.nature.com/nsu/020121/020121-6.html Ultimate stem cell discovered stem cell has been found in adults that can turn into every single tissue in the body. It might turn out to be the most important cell ever discovered. Until now, only stem cells from early embryos were thought to have such properties. If the finding is confirmed, it will mean cells from your own body could one day be turned into all sorts of perfectly matched replacement tissues and even organs. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991826 Calif. Charities May Suffer Under Proposed Privacy Law Charitable institutions could suffer billions of dollars in lost revenue each year if lawmakers succeed in passing new privacy laws that require permission-based marketing, according to a pair of studies to be released Thursday. The Direct Marketing Association will release two reports which purport to show that so-called "opt-in" laws that bar financial institutions from sharing customer data without explicit permission could cost charities as much as $16.5 billion annually. California-based charities could lose more than $1.5 billion each year, the reports found. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173889.html Serious Security Hole In AOL's ICQ Chat Software A security hole in America Online's popular Internet chat software could allow remote attackers to execute malicious programs on the users' computer, a government-funded security watchdog warned today. The vulnerability lies in a feature of AOL's ICQ Internet chat program for Windows that allows ICQ users to invite others to join them in playing online games, according to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), a federally funded computer security clearinghouse at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173926.html More news later on __________________ This post was sponsored by Netcoco, who wants cookies, cookies, cookies and, you guessed it, more cookies