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SAN FRANCISCO, July 15 - Add personal computers to the list of throwaways in the disposable society. On a recent Sunday morning when Lew Tucker's Dell desktop computer was overrun by spyware and adware - stealth software that delivers intrusive advertising messages and even gathers data from the user's machine - he did not simply get rid of the offending programs. He discarded the whole computer. Mr. Tucker, an Internet industry executive who holds a Ph.D. in computer science, decided that rather than take the time to remove the offending software, he would spend $400 on a new machine. He...

NEW YORK - Internet users worried about spyware and adware are shunning specific Web sites, avoiding file-sharing networks, even switching browsers. Many have also stopped opening e-mail attachments without first making sure they are safe, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said in a study issued Wednesday. "People are scaling back on some Internet activities," said Susannah Fox, the study's main author. "People are feeling less adventurous, less free to do whatever they want to do online." Like no other Internet threat before it, spyware is getting people's attention, she said. "It maybe will bring more awareness of all...

As part of its monthly patching cycle, Microsoft on Tuesday plans to release three security alerts for flaws in Windows and Office. Two of the security bulletins apply to Windows, and at least one of them is deemed "critical," Microsoft's highest risk rating, the company said in a notice posted on its Web site Thursday. Its Office productivity suite will get one bulletin, also rated critical. The notice did not specify whether one of the patches will be for Internet Explorer. Microsoft earlier this week offered a workaround for a known flaw in the Web browser that opens the door...

Microsoft warns of unpatched IE flaw By Dawn Kawamoto, CNET News.com Published on ZDNet News: July 1, 2005, 8:55 AM PT Microsoft has issued a security advisory for Internet Explorer, after a research firm published a working exploit to demonstrate how attackers could take advantage of the flaw. The vulnerability, discovered by SEC Consult, mean that attackers could cause the browser to unexpectedly exit and execute arbitrary code. Versions of IE affected by the flaw include IE 6.0 on Windows 2000 with Service Pack 1, 3 and 4, and on Windows XP with Service Pack 1 and 2. "Microsoft is investigating...

<p>I was opening up my almost brand new Dell 600m laptop, to replace a broken PCMCIA slot riser on the motherboard. As soon as I got the keyboard off, I noticed a small cable running from the keyboard connection underneath a piece of metal protecting the motherboard.</p>

A security breach of customer information at a credit card-processing company could expose to fraud up to 40 million cardholders of multiple brands, MasterCard International Inc. said Friday. The credit card giant said its security division detected multiple instances of fraud that tracked back to CardSystems Solutions Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., which processes transactions for banks and merchants. MasterCard said in a news release late Friday afternoon that it was notifying its card-issuing banks of the problem. CardSystems was hit by a computer virus that captured customer data for the purpose of fraud, said company spokeswoman Sharon Gamsin. The FBI...

NEW YORK - A security breach of customer information at a credit card-processing company could expose to fraud up to 40 million cardholders of multiple brands, MasterCard International Inc. said Friday. The credit card giant said its security division detected multiple instances of fraud that tracked back to CardSystems Solutions Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., which processes transactions for banks and merchants. MasterCard said in a news release late Friday afternoon that it was notifying its card-issuing banks of the problem. CardSystems was hit by a computer virus that captured customer data for the purpose of fraud, said company spokeswoman Sharon...

The next time you run a scan with your anti-spyware tool, it might miss some programs. Several anti-spyware firms, including Aluria, Lavasoft, and PestPatrol, have quietly stopped detecting adware from companies like Claria and WhenU--a process called delisting. Those adware companies have been petitioning anti-spyware firms to delist their software; other companies have resorted to sending cease-and-desist letters that threaten legal action. In most cases it's difficult for customers to determine whether their anti-spyware tool has delisted anything and, if so, which adware it skips. "When a spyware program gets delisted, users won't be aware of its presence," says Harvard...

Analysis On my computer right now I have three anti-spyware programs, three anti-virus programs, and three anti-spam programs, together with a hardware and software firewall, an IPsec VPN, and data level encryption on certain files (and no, this is not intended to be an invitation for you to try to test my security.) The anti-spyware, anti-virus, and anti-spam software all work in very much the same way - they have definitions of known malicious programs, and they may also have algorithms to raise flags about unknown programs which operate in an unusual way. Depending upon user preferences, the programs either...

Microsoft is readying a new consumer security product that offers virus and spyware protection, a new firewall and several tune-up tools for Windows PCs, a move that pits the software giant squarely against traditional security software vendors. The product, dubbed Windows OneCare, will be tested internally at Microsoft starting this week. A public test, or beta, version is scheduled to be available by year's end, Microsoft said in a statement this week. The final product will be offered as a subscription service, the Redmond, Washington, software maker says. OneCare marks Microsoft's long-anticipated entry into the antivirus space, until now the...

Less than a month since its launch, Backless Lingerie has already become a runaway success with women of all ages, from New Zealand to Canada and beyond. The revolutionary new backless panty, available at www.BacklessLingerie.com, has confirmed the demand for sexy, discrete panties that never show, no matter how low your jeans are Montreal, Quebec (PRWEB) March 22, 2005 -- They’re sexy, they’re fashionable, and they provide the solution to a common dilemma facing fashionable women everywhere: Backless Lingerie. A revolution in women’s underwear, Backless Lingerie enable any woman to wear the lowest cut jeans or the sheerest gowns without...

Karl Marx may have suffered a second death at the end of the last century, but look for a spirited comeback in this one. The next great battle between socialism and capitalism will be waged over human health and life expectancy. As rich countries grow richer, and as healthcare technology continues to improve, people will spend ever growing shares of their income on living longer and healthier lives. US healthcare costs have already reached 15 percent of annual national income and could exceed 30 percent by the middle of this century – and other industrialized nations are not far behind....

Virus experts at Sophos have reported that a new worm demonstrates the ancient British art of gurning, the tradition of pulling a funny or scary face, as it infects computers. The Wurmark-F worm spreads via email, pretending to be from addresses such as easy_lay666@lovenet.com, sexy_guy88@aol.com and sexy_lil_thing@no-ip.com. Emails can have a variety of characteristics including: Subject: Hhahahah lol!!!! Message body: i found this on my computer from ages ago download it and see if you can remember it lol i was lauging like mad when i saw it! :D email me back haha... Subject: Rate My Pic....... Message body: Hi...

Some Californians could find a nasty surprise in their water and sewer bills, courtesy of state government. Water consumers will be paying more to help cover the state budget shortfall, a back-door tax hike possible because of confusing, irresponsible state budget-writing. Special districts - local agencies formed to provide water, sewer, fire protection and other services - were supposed to ship about $350 million in property taxes to the state this year, as part of a two-year deal to help balance the state budget. But last-minute changes exempted many special districts from most or all of the tax shift, which...

The Royal Air Force is to become the first of the Armed Forces to take part in a gay pride festival. Eight officers from the force will man a float at Manchester's gay pride event this weekend. The RAF says it is part of a recruitment drive to show how the military welcomes people from different backgrounds. A spokesman said: "Along with the other Armed Forces, the RAF tries to reflect the community from which it draws it members. "We have recruitment policies that recognise that people from different backgrounds can make positive contributions. An individual's sexual orientation is none...

6/7/04: AWB renewal now on Senate calendar. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has once again introduced legislation to renew the so-called "assault weapons" ban. S.2498 was introduced last week, and, by using a "nuclear option" referred to as Rule XIV, has gotten the bill placed on the Senate calendar. As a Senate educational article on the subject puts it, "Most bills are routinely referred to the committee with appropriate jurisdiction as soon as they are introduced. But if a Senator plans to introduce a bill and believes that the committee to which it would be referred will be unsympathetic, Rule XIV...

Title says it all. It's discovered yesterday, called Randex. It is a backdoor worm, you don't need to open e-mail to get it. Symantec latest update will find it. It showed up on one of our computers and I hear many others. Symantec page

<p>Federal officials say more signs of "prevention fatigue" are reflected in the latest report on AIDS — a 17 percent increase in new HIV cases among gay men over the past three years. "HIV is not over in the United States," said Robert Janssen, director HIV/AIDS prevention division for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The fight is as urgent as it was 20 years ago."</p>

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 — Since last month’s widespread blackout, utilities have accelerated plans to automate the electric grid, replacing aging monitoring systems with digital switches and other high-tech gear. But those very improvements are making the electricity supply vulnerable to a different kind of peril: computer viruses and hackers who could black out substations, cities or entire states. Researches working for the U.S., Canadian and British governments have already found “back doors” — ways into the digital relays and control room technology that increasingly direct electricity flow in North America.

Microsoft has scoffed at suggestions its software contains back doors for use by United States intelligence services as the Australian government signed on for access to the source code behind Windows. Creating back doors for the CIA would be a "stupid decision" as the feature would certainly be discovered, says Microsoft's chief security strategist Scott Charney. "Let assume we put a back door in, do you think it wouldn't be discovered? Look how many people are probing and testing our products," Charney told a security round table at Microsoft's premier technical conference, TechEd 2003, in Brisbane this week. "If it...