August 2002

Subject: DSL Users
Date: August 30th, 2002

 We preformed a router transition to better serve our DSL customers. Service was interrupted at 4:30am for less than 5 minutes.

 Any questions can be sent to: noc@csinet.net

Thank you.

Subject: New flaw affects several versions of Windows
Date: August 29th, 2002

 Microsoft patched this Wednesday a flaw in its Certificate Enrollment Control that could allow deletion of digital certificates. The vulnerability is considered critical and can result in a Denial of Service attack. The worst part? It affects almost all versions of Windows. More.

Subject: Works loses battle against WordPerfect
Date: August 28th, 2002

 Microsoft has been suffering with the loss of important deals to other rival companies. The software giant has already lost several battles against the open-source Linux, specially in Asia. Now, the company had to watch HP switch from its Works suite to Corel's WordPerfect. More.

Subject: Microsoft in Sweden caught with pants down
Date: August 27th, 2002

 An expert has demonstrated how the software giant's servers cannot protect some of Sweden's largest banks. More.

Subject: Worms spread through Kazaa, e-mail
Date: August 24th, 2002

 Kazaa users are again victims of a computer virus. There is an advisory in Kaspersky Labs warning about a worm called Duload, which is spreading across the file-sharing network. Ironically, Kaspersky was also victim of another worm called Apher, which disguises itself as an e-mail from Microsoft. More.

Subject: Microsoft releases bunch of patches for IE, Windows
Date: August 23rd, 2002

 Microsoft's security website is updated almost as often as any other news website on the Internet. Too bad it's always with patches and advisories for holes found in the company's software. Only this week, a Service Pack was released for Office XP, a vulnerability affecting several of its programs was patched, and now three more advisories have been published. More.

Subject: Microsoft offers Office XP Service Pack 2
Date: August 22nd, 2002

 Microsoft is making available for download the Service Pack 2 for its widely used Office XP software. The company said this SP2 contains significant security enhancements and improvements in stability and performance. More.

Subject: Microsoft users face new security flaw
Date: August 21st, 2002

 Microsoft users are being warned about more vulnerabilities found in the company's offers. This time, the victims are those using the software giant's File Transfer Manager (FTM) application, which is used to download software from some of its websites. More.

Subject: The future of hacking
Date: August 20th, 2002

 The future of hacking, according to Brian McWilliams' White-Hat Hate Crimes on the Rise in Wired magazine, is this veredictum by Eric "Loki" Hines, founder of Fate Research Labs: "One of these days, these kids are going to have to pay a mortgage and get a job. And they're not going to become lawyers or doctors -- they're going to do what they're good at. And that means getting a career in the security industry". Today one of the main roles in this war belongs to el8, the group that launched Project Mayhem, a campaign designed to "cause worldwide physical destruction to the security industry infrastructure". More.

Subject: Hewlett-Packard and the DMCA
Date: August 16th, 2002

 In a letter sent last week, HP vice president Kent Ferson warned SnoSoft, a loosely organized research collective, that its members "could be fined up to $500,000 and imprisoned for up to five years" for its role in publishing information on a bug that lets an intruder take over a Tru64 Unix system, said a CNET article written by Declan McCullagh. Ferson alleged that the post violated the DMCA and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. More.

Subject: Server Upgrades
Date: August 14th, 2002

CSInet will be doing some upgrades Thursday- August 15th which may cause brief intermittent connectivity throughout the day. The upgrades will help benefit our customers in the near future.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Subject: Chesterton connectivity issues
Date: August 14th, 2002

We are experiencing connectivity issues with our Chesterton access number. Customers will be able to connect but may notice slow connectivity. We are currently working on the problem and hope to have it resolved shortly.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Subject: Health on the Internet
Date: August 14th, 2002

 Health, in its many aspects, is one of the main subjects of investigation typed by users of search engines. Being difficult to assess who's publishing good or bad material, The Seattle Times published an article last week where it is said: "The Web sites we're listing are the top 10 assembled by the Medical Library Association, an organization of librarians who deal daily with health and medical information. They work at universities, hospitals and public libraries, organizing and providing information to medical professionals and/or the public. Their jobs put them in a position to evaluate health-related Web sites with authority". More.

Subject: Mobile phone radiation still a concern
Date: August 13th, 2002

 Some decades ago, those who owned one television set were considered lucky and wealthy. Years went by and the TV became an item present in nearly all the living rooms around the globe - even in some of the poorest regions. The same phenomenon is starting to happen with mobile phones. More.

Subject: .NET Framework gains Service Pack 2
Date: August 10th, 2002

 Microsoft has made available for the general public the Service Pack 2 for its .NET Framework. The update brings fixes for a number of security flaws, reason why the company is urging users to install it. More.

Subject: Microsoft and FTC agree on Passport issue
Date: August 9th, 2002

 Microsoft released a small note this Thursday saying it has reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to its Passport authentication service. The company revealed that the agreement addresses security and privacy issues. More.

Subject: Grace, the robot
Date: August 8th, 2002

 Grace is a drum-shaped contraption with a digitally animated face that appears on a computer display, and the work of researchers coordinated by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Reid Simmons. The project was implemented with help from the Naval Research Laboratory, Swarthmore College, Northwestern University and defense contractor Metrica Inc. CNN News said that the robot's feminine attributes are limited to "a voice that sounds like an automated telephone operator and a heart-shaped cartoon face with big blue eyes and high cheekbones. But the voice and lips are poorly synchronized, making Grace look like a character in a poorly dubbed foreign film". More.

Subject: Flaw affects Windows, Mac OS and Linux
Date: August 7th, 2002

 The CERT website published an advisory this Monday alerting for an integer overflow in the xdr_array() function distributed as part of the Sun Microsystems XDR library. Several popular applications are known to be affected by this vulnerability, including Windows 2000, Mac OS X and Red Hat Linux. More.

Subject: Mail Servers will be down for Scheduled Maintenance
Date: August 5th,  2002

 On Monday August 5th CSInet will be performing some scheduled maintenance to the mail server. This means that from 11PM Monday to 3AM Tuesday email will not be functioning. Any questions can sent to: noc@csinet.net

Subject: Corel makes a move on dissatisfied Microsoft users
Date: August 3rd, 2002

 The licensing plan which Microsoft has been discussing since last year has recently been implemented. Called "Software Assurance," the plan makes businesses sign up for multi-year contracts with annual payments and guaranteed upgrades to continue receive volume discounts. With costs increasing considerably (in some cases even doubling), many consumers are probably going to look out for other offers. More.

Subject: Trojan found in OpenSSH package
Date: August 2nd, 2002

 It was reported recently that an OpenSSH package on the ftp site carries a trojan. According to sources, changed files generate a shell script which compiles itself and attempts to connect to another server. All mirrors are believed to be affected. More.