12.03.2008

IT News for 2008-12-03

VMware security advisories

VMWare have today released a security advisory, and updated another.

- VMSA-2008-0019 (new advisory)

http://lists.vmware.com/pipermail/security-announce/2008/000046.html

http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=5425



Sun Java 6.0 Update 11 is now available

Our carbon based RSS news reader known as Roseman has alerted us to the availability of a new Java release. Sun Java 6.0 Update 11 is now available!

http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=5422



Sonicwall License Manager Failure

Details are still sketchy as to the cause of a failure overnight of the Sonicwall License Manager Server. We are receiving reports from Sonicwall users that the server "reset" (meaning invalidated) the licenses on all of their email security products. The customers are reporting that this is causing them to be unable to login to their own systems. It is reported that the support calls are not being answered and are going straight to voicemail.

http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=5419



Worm exploiting Microsoft vulnerability developing into botnet

The "W32.Downadup" worm, exploiting the patched Microsoft's Windows Server Service (MWSS) vulnerability, is the key component in a developing botnet, researchers at Trend Micro said this week.

http://www.scmagazineuk.com/Worm-exploiting-Microsoft-vulnerability-developing-into-botnet/article/121768/



SquirrelMail Malformed HTML Mail Message Script Insertion

Unpatched. Do not open untrusted e-mail messages.

http://secunia.com/advisories/32143/



Hulu Competitor Sling.com Launches Public Beta

Think of the new Sling.com as the cloud destination for all of your Slingbox content. If you're used to receiving your Slingbox video subscriptions wherever you are around the world, the new video website, opening today, gives you the opportunity to check it out on one more platform: the browser.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/12/hulu-competitor.html



Odd microtransactions may point to credit card breach

A recent rash of small microtransactions, often followed by larger expenses, have consumers up in arms. Adele Services is always the company behind the fees, but the people running Adele itself remain elusive.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081202-odd-microtransactions-may-point-to-credit-card-breach.html



Rumor: White knight wants to take Yahoo private

Yahoo is yet again the subject of takeover rumors, this time with a new twist: a former head of AOL is supposedly trying to line up backers for a bid to take the company private. It's scenario that makes sense, but will be tough to pull off given the state of the economy.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081202-report-white-knight-wants-to-take-yahoo-private.html



Yahoo shares climb on hopes for $30B takeover bid

Yahoo Inc.'s stock rallied Tuesday on a report that AOL's former chief executive believes he can raise enough money in a worsening recession to buy the struggling Internet company for as much as $30 billion.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081202/ap_on_hi_te/yahoo_mover


Another Bogus Yahoo Takeover Story - The WSJ Gets It Wrong

Today’s Wall Street Journal story talking about yet another takeover attempt of Yahoo is incorrect, say our own sources. And unlike The Times’ story over the weekend, which was equally fictitious (and, here’s an interesting fact - both publications are owned by News Corp.), this story had direct consequences in the market.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/02/another-bogus-yahoo-takeover-story-the-wsj-gets-it-wrong-and-this-time-people-lost-money/


Time for forced updates? Conficker botnet makes us wonder

New to the botnet scene is Conficker, a botnet that exploits a critical security vulnerability Microsoft actually patched in late October. It may be time for Microsoft to begin forcing critical security updates upon home users.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081202-time-for-forced-updates-conficker-botnet-makes-us-wonder.html



Sorry, Beaumont! AT&T brings (more) bandwidth caps to Texas

AT&T is expanding its usage caps to another market. The company has identified a great method to determine where to roll out this potentially unpopular scheme: pick a location where another ISP is already limiting customers.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081202-sorry-beaumont-att-brings-bandwidth-caps-to-texas.html



Windows 7 will sport a DX10 "software GPU"

Microsoft has spilled the beans on WARP10, a technology slated for Windows 7 that will bring DirectX 10 capabilities to systems that don't even have GPUs.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081202-windows-7-will-sport-a-dx10-software-gpu.html



Windows workgroups get encryped sessions

Unisys has come up with an encryption-based method that lets "communities of interest" using Windows securely share data based on group policies.

http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=107917



World gets peek at Vista and Server SP2

Microsoft has given its MSDN and TechNet subscribers access to the beta of Service Pack 2 for Vista and Windows Server 2008 and will make the software available to the general public in two days.

http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=107909



Microsoft releases Vista SP2 beta

Microsoft Corp. today released the beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 to subscribers of its developer services and said it would open the preview to the general public on Thursday.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9122131&source=rss_news



Clues point to Jan. 13 release of Windows 7 beta

Microsoft Corp. will have a beta of Windows 7 available shortly after the first of the year, the company has hinted on its Web site.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9122158&source=rss_news



Report: Hard drive shipments slumping

Worldwide shipments of hard disk drives (HDD) used in PCs and other consumer electronics gear will be flat or could even decline in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to last quarter, according to iSuppli Corp.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9122130&source=rss_news



CIOs vote on Vista for '09

The latest silicon.com CIO Jury has unanimously voted that they are not ready to invest in Microsoft's latest OS Vista.

http://news.zdnet.com/2424-9595_22-253520.html



Vlingo one-ups Google with a better voice-powered iPhone app

Voice-transcription service Vlingo has launched a really fantastic new iPhone application that lets users talk into their phones to search the Web, dial contacts, and update their status on Twitter and Facebook. Much like Google's iPhone app which was released early last month, users are able to do all this without ever having to use their keyboard.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10111763-2.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20



Twitter CEO: The revenue's coming soon, but I won't tell you how

At a Churchill Club event in San Francisco on Tuesday, Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams brushed off--again--criticisms that the company is slow to turn on its revenue-generating engines.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10112037-2.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20



Nokia device to challenge RIM and Apple next year

Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of cell phones, is launching a new phone next year that is designed to compete with Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerrys at the high end of the market.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20081202/ap_on_hi_te/tec_nokia_smart_phone



Firefox's Market Share Increases, IE's Falls

Also showing steady growth is Apple's Safari browser, which rose to 7.13% after starting the year with a 5.82% share, Net Applications' figures showed

http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/browsers/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212201517&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All



Employees Suing Sprint Over Commission Snafu

The wireless carrier is facing a class-action lawsuit over allegations that it shafted employees of commissions totaling more than $5 million.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/compensation/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212201505&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All



Apple's Ban On iPod Sync Software Stymied By Wikileaks

The iPodHash project is an effort to open the iPod and iPhone to third-party media software other than Apple's iTunes.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/ipod/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212201495&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All



Google Chrome Claims Facebook May Be A Phishing Site (Update: Safari Too)

Conspiracy theory lovers are going to have a field day with this one: when you try to access Facebook using the Google Chrome browser today, you’ll get a warning that the social network may in fact be a phishing site.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/03/google-chrome-claims-facebook-may-be-a-phishing-site/



SpringSource Teams with VMware for Virtualized Spring Solutions

In a move considered a precursor to a full-fledged cloud computing play, SpringSource announced a partnership with VMware to help virtualize its Spring software. The arrangement includes integration between SpringSource Tool Suite, an Eclipse-powered development environment for building enterprise applications using the Spring Portfolio, and VMware Workstation to enable the dynamic creation of virtual machines on the developer’s desktop.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/SpringSource-Teams-with-VMware-for-Virtualized-Spring-Solutions/?kc=rss



Internet Policy Advice Rolls in for Obama

From a national broadband policy to open government proposals to federal financial incentives, President-elect Barack Obama is being swamped with high-tech ideas for his new administration. Getting Americans connected to the Internet, though, remains almost everyone's top IT priority.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government-IT/Internet-Policy-Advice-Rolls-In-for-Obama/?kc=rss



Be Creative and Win Stuff from Intel

If you have that precious creative spark, get ready to use it. Intel is running a contest called What's Inside You, and you can enter today by submitting an image, an audio file, or a video file to the chip giant.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2335834,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532



Dell opens up on NAS gateways

Dell is to produce a NAS gateway for its EqualLogic PS iSCSI-attach block storage arrays. At a Dell Enterprise Vision day event this week, Joe Joseph, Dell's VP for EqualLogic storage marketing, said: "A NAS gateway sitting on top of EqualLogic is probable."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/03/dells_nas_gateway_box/



Review: Logitech Digital Video Security System

We’ve seen a number of PC-based home security systems in the past, but they all tend to share one common – and fundamental – flaw. The standard approach is to use motion-detection software running on a PC to tell the camera to record video footage of anyone that’s sniffing around your home or office without your permission.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/12/03/review_security_camera_logitech_wilife/



Online payment site hijacked by notorious crime gang

Online payment service CheckFree lost control of at least two of its domains on Tuesday in an attack that sent customers to servers run by a notorious crime gang believed to be based in Eastern Europe.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/03/checkfree_hijacked/



Apple's Snow Leopard still evolving, developers say

Although there's been some evidence to suggest Snow Leopard could hit the market several months ahead of expectations, new information reveals that Apple remains heavily engaged in building out some of the features first previewed back in June.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/12/02/apples_snow_leopard_still_evolving_developers_say.html



Battlestar Galactica prequel shuns space, spaceships

Battlestar Galactica, the hit sci-fi thriller about humans searching the galaxy for a planet to call home, will be spun off into a prequel that is set 50 years before androids rebelled against their makers and destroyed civilization as it was known.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/02/battlestar_galactica_prequel/

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