'MyDoom'
worm latest threat to PC users
28 January 2004
A
new computer worm called MyDoom, which is spreading across
the Internet via spam, can potentially allow attackers
to gain unauthorised access to personal computers, security
experts said. The new worm, also dubbed Novarg or Shimgapi,
doesn't take advantage of any software flaws or vulnerabilities,
but rather is designed to entice recipients of an e-mail
to open an attached file and run programs contained in
the attachment. "Mailboxes at large corporations
are infected and reporting multiple infections throughout
their entire organisations," said David Perry, global
education director at Trend Micro Inc. The mass-mailing
worm that arrives as an attachment with an .exe, .scr,
.zip or .pif extension and can have a subject line of
"test" or "status." Users who receive
the worm and simply ignore or delete it will be able to
avoid any damage.
Microsoft
targets TVs in latest move off desktop
09 January 2004
Microsoft
Corp unveiled products yesterday that will allow TVs anywhere
in the home to access video, music and photos stored on
personal computers, in its latest effort to push its software
beyond the desktop. As PC makers begin to move beyond
computing and into traditional electronics like televisions,
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said his company was committed
to the same push, with products for home entertainment
and media management. In his annual address at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Gates demonstrated his
plan for "seamless computing" with products
that connect to or synchronise with PC hardware or Microsoft
software. Gates said Microsoft will unveil products later
this year that will allow TV viewers to access live and
recorded TV programmes, music files, digital photos and
other media stored on their PC. Named Media Centre Extender,
the new software package will provide up to five televisions
remote access to PCs running the company's Windows XP
Media Centre Edition. The software supports the copyright
protection system known as digital rights management,
so users can order media directly from Internet-based
subscription services like Movielink via a TV, Gates said.
Both Hewlett-Packard Co. and Gateway Inc. will build televisions
with the software and wireless-networking hardware built
in. In addition, HP, Gateway, Dell Inc. and Samsung Electronics
Co. Ltd. will offer set-top boxes running the platform.
Source:
www.stuff.co.nz
Science
of the Deep
Underwater
living
Jaques Cousteu began building a series of habitats in
the 1960s and set a record in 1965 with six men at 328
feet for 21 days. Through four decades of experiments
in underwater living, there have been 3 fatalities, none
caused by habitat. Aquarius is nearing the record for
being the longest-running and most successful of these
experiments in inner space. It is the only continuously
operating undersea laboratory today.
Who
goes there?
Not only does a variety of life thrive in the ocean's
deep waters, but countless volcanic hydrothermal vents
spew hot sulphuric gases and other energy-rich chemicals.
Along the tectonic fault lines that crisscross the ocean
floor are where all kinds of unknowns are waiting for
scientific discovery.
Sometimes
simple works
When scientists need the correct tool for the job, they
sometimes they have to think outside the box. On the Aquarius
mission, the experts used women's pantyhose and simple
tubes with holes to catch larvae needed for study.
Need
to vent?
Vents called 'cold seeps' have been found all over the
world's waters. From them a natural gas (methane) is seeping
out that becomes trapped in water ice crystals to create
hydrates. Like hot vents, these cold hydrates are also
sustaining deep-sea life via chemosythesis.
Technology,
here we come
A new generation of undersea tools is becoming increasingly
effective underwater robotics. They become our 'eyes in
the sea' by allowing us to travel to new depths. They
are easier to deploy at less cost and are capable of seafloor
mapping, visual reconnaissance, sonar and magnetometer
searches, and water and specimen sampling.
Source:
Discovery.com
