crankygeek_tech_notes

New Code Every 30 Minutes
The malware is a mass-mailing worm that affects machines running Microsoft Windows. When the malware infects a computer–usually after the user has opened an attachment containing the worm in a spam e-mail–it sends itself out again to other e-mail addresses found on the computer. The code is then capable of downloading new versions of itself as frequently as every 30 minutes from a batch of Web sites, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, a security company in Helsinki.

Those new versions are created by a program on a server controlled by the hacker, Hypponen said.

In the past, malware has been known to create variations of itself, but the code to create those variations was contained inside the malware. So when a sample was obtained, security analysts could study it and identify potential new versions, he said.

Now, the hacker’s program is compiling the code and rapidly churning out new versions, but analysts don’t know how the new code is generated. story here

US security researchers have demonstrated how easy it might be for crooks to read sensitive personal information from RFID-based credit and debit cards.

Tom Heydt-Benjamin and Kevin Fu, a University of Massachusetts professor from the RFID Consortium for Security and Privacy (RFID-CUSP), have shown how crooks might be able to skim sensitive information from cards – including card number, expiration and issue dates, and a cardholder’s name – without actually physically stealing the latest generation of credit cards.

The attack uses off-the-shelf radio and card reader equipment that could cost as little as $150. Although the attack fails to yield verification codes normally needed to make online purchases, it would still be potentially possible for crooks to use the data to order goods and services from online stores that don’t request this information. story here

By Scot Finnie on Thu, 10/05/2006 – 7:40pm

There was a time when Microsoft was an honorable company. It’s getting more and more difficult to resolve any such notion with the 2006 version of the software giant.

In its latest bad decision, detailed in the Computerworld story, Vista and Longhorn to get new antipiracy measures, reported by Eric Lai, Microsoft has decided to place a price tag on security.

If validation code, written by Microsoft, decides that your installation of Windows Vista has been pirated, it turns off the Aero interface and a minor performance technology called ReadyBoost. I’m okay with that. But I am absolutely not okay with the third punitive measure: The disabling of Windows Defender, Microsoft’s new onboard anti-spyware utility. Other punitive measures according to published reports include the disabling of Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Player. After 30 days, unvalidated copies of Vista will move into “reduced functionality mode,” which has been likened by insiders to be something like Safe Mode.

Most people using “pirated” software have absolutely no idea that’s the case. Opening up their PCs to Trojans, spyware, and identify theft scams in the name of getting them to pay up on their copy of Windows Vista is not only a very bad business decision, it’s an appalling example of just how far Microsoft is willing to go to stuff its corporate coffers. story here

I’ve seen several sites point to Microsoft’s new Software License Terms page, which contains PDF versions of the license agreements for many Microsoft products. Most sites that have commented on the new Windows Vista licenses have picked up on this blurb from the Windows Vista Team Blog:

Two notable changes between Windows Vista license terms and those for Windows XP are: 1) failure of a validation check results in the loss of access to specific features (this is the SPP news you’ve likely been reading about this past week); and 2) an increase in our warranty period from 90 days to 1 year, which brings Windows in line with most other Microsoft products. full story here

After years of clinging to traditional business models, media companies have finally started embracing ad-supported Internet distribution in a big way. Yesterday’s announcement that several major music labels made nice with YouTube may turn out to be a watershed moment for the industry. Instead of attempting to sue the company out of existence, everyone got together and forged a mutually beneficial deal that’s pretty good for consumers, too. read full story here

According to the most recent update to security-firm Symantec’s biannual Internet Security Threat Report, the last six months saw a significant uptick in the number of security vulnerabilities found in web browsers. Leading the way was Firefox, with 47 bugs discovered. Researchers and hackers discovered 38 vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, 12 in Safari, and seven in Opera.

The numbers cover a six-month period from January 1 through June 30, 2006. Symantec says its data comes from over 40,000 sensors the company has deployed around the world as well as its database of vulnerabilities. full story here