July 2002

Subject: Microsoft releases Win2k Service Pack 3
Date: July 31st, 2002

 Sources reported this Tuesday that Microsoft has finally made available the Service Pack 3 for Windows 2000. The company had scheduled the release for July 17 but seemed to have problems with several major bugs on its Installer (MSI) 2.0 code. More.

Subject: Mail Servers will be down for Scheduled Maintenance
Date: July 30th 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: Bill gives copyright holders "license to kill"
Date: July 30th, 2002

 If you are one of those people who spend hours exchanging files in services like Kazaa and Morpheus, you can add one more name to your little black list. Rep. Howard L. Berman has introduced yesterday a bill that promises to push file-sharing networks more into the dark side of the law. More.

Subject: Pressing CTRL with Internet Explorer is dangerous
Date: July 27th, 2002

 If things continue the way they are, Microsoft is soon going to have to urge users of its Internet Explorers not to type or use any commands in the browser. Some time ago, security researcher Andreas Sandblad alerted that using the Back button in the program could be dangerous. He issued another advisory this week saying that the Ctrl- key is also dangerous. More.

Subject: Hotmail drama: messages gone forever
Date: July 26th, 2002

 There was an interesting program on TV the other day about a service for recovering hard drives. The woman that was supposed to take the calls from customers was a former worker of those lines to avoid suicides. Suggestive, eh? The truth is that some people today just can't live without their computers or the data that is in them. Some Hotmail users have recently faced the drama of losing important things, which were deleted by Microsoft. But who is really to blame? More.

Subject: MSN TV users call 911
Date: July 25th, 2002

 MSN TV users have been surprised in the past months with a prank program that makes their set-top boxes dial 911. The device's dialup number was replaced by the emergency one and some users even had police officers at their doors. More.

Subject: The case of Yahoo! in China
Date: July 24th, 2002

 Bartlett says that a Yahoo is a "backcountry lout", in tune with this Swift's creation which is defined by Anthony Burgess as "filthy and depraved" human-like beings. The Register's Thomas C. Green is not mad at some literature characters of yore, but at the Internet host that accepted the "Public Pledge on Self-discipline for China Internet Industry", a voluntary pledge to purge the Web of content that China's communist government deems subversive. More.

Subject: Microsoft to bust illegal Windows users
Date: July 23rd, 2002 

Microsoft has always been fighting against illegal users of its Windows operating system. It has never been so easy to use cracked software, even after the company started using activation keys to protect the product. The software giant is not planning to stand still: a new move to bust illegal users might come already with the next Service Pack. More.

Subject: .Mac services generate controversy
Date: July 22nd, 2002

 Apple launched last week the .Mac initiative. But what is .Mac and what will it bring (or take away from) Mac users? The controversy around the new service is in its price. After all, .Mac is basically a paid version of the originally free iTools. More.

Subject: Microsoft revamps MSN service
Date: 21st, 2002

 REDMOND, Wash., July 17 - Microsoft Corp. unveiled Wednesday its latest salvo against America Online, a spruced-up Internet service that includes free versions of some Microsoft software. More.

Subject: Hackers could spend life in prison
Date: July 17th, 2002

 Some time ago, hacking was not considered something that could lead to serious penalties usually faced by other types of criminals. But a recently approved bill could change everything and hackers might have to spend their lives in jail. More.

Subject: Corona baptized Windows Media 9 Series
Date: July 16th, 2002

 As expected, Microsoft announced today the launch date, new name and even a Technical Summit for the next generation of its Windows Media software, code-named Corona. The company also informed that Bill Gates will launch the beta release of now called Windows Media 9 Series next September 4. More.

Subject: Gamespot download carries spyware
Date: July 15th, 2002

 Gamers have been very unlucky with some popular websites lately. Not so long ago, they were surprised when the Nimda virus was found hitching a ride with GameSpy's Arcade 1.09. More recently, another website gave its users a bad surprise: Gamespot.com. More.

Subject: Saturday, July 13, is Klez worm's D Day
Date: July 14th, 2002

 Since it was discovered in October 2001, the Klez worm has been computer users' worst nightmare. The worm evolved to several variants, one of them elected the most terrible virus ever, with over 775,000 identifications from April 15 to end of May. More.

Subject: Coalition to unveil Net ID system
Date: July 11th, 2002

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An industry coalition is set to unveil standards for identity authentication on the Internet, the first step toward making the task of remembering long lists of Web site passwords a thing of the past.

Click here for the whole story...

Subject: PGP flaw could let hackers attack
Date: July 10th, 2002

The world's most popular software for scrambling sensitive e-mails suffers from a programming flaw that could allow hackers to attack a user's computer and, in some circumstances, unscramble messages.

Click here for the whole story...

Subject: Popular game site spread virus
Date: July 9th, 2002

Some video game players got a nasty surprise this week when they downloaded software from a popular online gaming site - the Nimda computer virus.

Make sure you are protected! See our Antivirus section for details...

Click here for the whole story...

Subject: Popular Virus Removal Tools
Date: July 5th, 2002

Here are the 'cures' for the most popular viruses that are currently on the loose.

Click on the virus that is infecting your PC and download the 'tool'. Complete instructions for the virus removable are including on each page.

W32.Klez
W32.MyLife
W32.Badtrans.B@mm
W32.Nimda.E@mm
W32.Nimda.A@mm
W32.Sircam.Worm@mm

If you have any questions email us @ noc@csinet.net

Subject: Details revealed about OpenSSH vulnerability
Date: July 3rd, 2002

 Earlier this week, security researchers at Internet Security Systems alerted for a Remote Challenge vulnerability in OpenSSH. Details about the flaw in this popular open-source program have now been revealed . More.

Subject: Microsoft Wants Security Hard-Wired in Your Computer
Date: July 2nd, 2002

 It's tough to plug holes in a ship's hull once it is at sea, or to reattach an airplane's wing in flight. Yet that's akin to what the computer industry has been trying to do with security: append layer after layer of protection onto the world's increasingly connected computer networks, all as one big afterthought after another. More.