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Security

Two Trojans For Mac OS X 326

Posted by kdawson from the knock-knock-who's-there-trojan dept.
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "F-Secure is reporting that there are two new Mac OS X trojans. The first is just a proof-of-concept from the MacShadows people that takes advantage of the unpatched ARDAgent vulnerability to get root access when run by the user. The second relies on social engineering: it's a poker game that requests the user's password, claiming to have detected a 'corrupt preference file.' It then takes control of the computer. Now that the source of the proof-of-concept is publicly available, we can expect that future trojans won't just politely request your password."

Feed Engadget: New RFID readers from Alien distinguishes between tags (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Wireless

For airlines and cargo handling companies, the inability to know precisely where a specific item was located on a belt could (understandably) prove to be quite the limitation. Thankfully, the gurus at Alien Technology are aiming to add more functionality to a few of its readers in order to nix said quandary. The company recently showcased its Intelligent Tag Radar reader firmware in Las Vegas, which essentially provides its ALR-9900, ALR-9800 and ALR-8800 Enterprise-Class reader platform with the ability to understand "information about the velocity and position of tags, in addition to the contents of tag memory." Furthermore, the included ITR-Singulation features allows the reader to "easily discriminate amongst adjacent tagged objects on a conveyor such as items, cases or airline baggage." One less excuse for lost luggage? Where do we sign?

[Via CNET]

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Announcements

Submission + - RIP (resist intellectual property) day: April 26

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: RIP day (Resist Intellectual Property) is apparently April 26th. This appears to be a day to resist the privatization of intellectual output and to give away ideas, software or other intangible goods. Make a CD and give it away, or create a web page and put it in the public domain. Tell other people about this.
Apparently RIP day also coincides with World IP (WIP?) day which seems to involved the opposite message. WIP day was declared by WIPO, an organization devoted to protecting and locking down ideas, music, books and other intangibles. WIP day promotes "respect" for intellectual property; I wonder what they might mean by that (as in "carry a big stick")?
Networking

Submission + - Cisco turns routers into Linux servers

Submitted by
symbolset
symbolset writes: "InternetNews is reporting Cisco's new Application eXtension Platform turns several models of Cisco switch into Linux servers. With certified libraries in C, Java and Perl developers will be able to use a downloadable SDK to build their apps. The AXP server is just another module in a Cisco switch running Cisco's own derivation of a modern Linux distro (Kernel 2.6.x) specifically hardened to run on a Cisco switch. Modules will include up to 1.4-GHz Intel Pentium with 2 GB RAM and a 160-GB hard drive."
Censorship

Submission + - Wikipedia denies Global Warming deniers 10

Submitted by gekman
gekman writes: A Canadian blogger, Lawrence Solomon, has discovered that one Wikipedia editor, "Tabletop," seems to be on a mission to eliminate any Wikipedia entries that in any way discredit the idea of global warming. "She" (?) edits any and all entries to remove any text that addresses the other side of the GW discussion. Wikipedia logs apparently record all of her activity, and Solomon's blog entry is at:
AMD

Submission + - AMD CTO Quits (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
desmondhaynes
desmondhaynes writes: "Advanced Micro Devices announced on Wednesday that senior VP and chief technology officer Phil Hester has stepped down, becoming the third high-ranked executive to leave in less than a year. A spokesman for the company revealed that Hester is looking to explore other opportunities but his future plans were not disclosed. The blow for the chipmaker comes when it is already in a mess and is trying to pull through weak sales triggered by prolonged product delays and hard competition. But the Sunnyvale-based Company said that Hester's resignation is in no way linked to AMD's financial despair or the recently declared 10 percent reduction of its global work force. The company does not plan to bring in a replacement for Hester and will instead, distribute his responsibilities among the others five CTOs of AMD's business units. The need to fill his seat is eliminated as each of AMD's key business units now has its own chief technology officer — a structure that was established under the guidance of Hester. Hester, who had previously served for more than two decades at IBM Corp. is credited for crafting AMD's technological roadmap over the past three years, since he joined in 2005. read on... "
Wii

Submission + - Strong Bad Game Coming Soon? Abso-freekin-lutely! (gamasutra.com)

Submitted by
varistderreindfleisc
varistderreindfleisc writes: "Reading slashdot and reading Strong Bad's emails at homestarrunner.com were always two of my proudest geek badges. Having spent waaaayy too much time playing some of the flash games (c'mon Trogdor people) made this newest Wii announcement seem like a dream come true!
Here's a Gamasutra post with some details. We're not talking just a mini-game here this time!"
Security

Journal Journal: Anti-Keylogger Reviews? 3

Journal by mfh

I am an avid World of Warcraft player, and I've been looking for some time at getting good Anti-Keylogging software. Right now I have what I consider to be a good setup to protect against security, but I'd like to tighten the noose a little. Does anyone have some good suggestions as to a software package that not only keeps people from hijacking my account, but also doesn't hurt my system performance w
Security

Submission + - Mifare Classic RFID completely broken (www.ru.nl)

Submitted by
broomer
broomer writes: "The Mifare-classic chip can be fully cloned in seconds due to new research by the Radbout University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The 'crypto1' session was broken earlier this year, but now they are able to read the whole memory of the chip which is protected with another password. And all that in seconds with a cheap laptop, instead of taking hours with a high end PC. So, it will become viable to clone an OV-chipcard (public transportation) for every trip you want, and the security of every building can be compromised by bumping into someone with authorisation."
Education

Submission + - Should Professors have to have a terminal degree? (reportermag.com)

Submitted by
Tokimasa
Tokimasa writes: "At the Rochester Institute of Technology (New York), faculty in the College of Computer and Information Sciences (GCCIS) are now required to have a terminal degree in their field in order to move from assistant professor to professor, in order "to move towards a standard that 's the same at other fine institutions", according to President Bill Destler.

The following assessment is my personal opinion. The degree held by any instructor does not have that much of an impact on their teaching ability. I have had professors with PhDs that are among the worst that I've ever had. I've also had instructors with Bachelors and Masters degrees that are very knowledgeable. A professor with a less-than-terminal degree should not be held back just because they don't have as much educational experience than others, and in some cases, industry experience is just as (if not more) important than education. In addition, the teaching ability of the professor must also be taken into account.

What is Slashdot's opinion on this? Should the education alone determine a professor's position and promotions or should other factors, such as industry experience or teaching ability, also be taken into account?"
The Almighty Buck

Dell Abandons Its Customization Roots 372

Posted by Zonk from the off-the-factory-line dept.
LiveFreeOrDieInTheGo writes "Dell intends to scale back its build-to-order service model, while increasing sales of prepackaged systems. The goal: $3B USD savings by 2011. The downside: customers expect Dell to build-to-order. The deeper downside: Dell will outsource more production and assembly."
The Internet

Submission + - Verizon - Involuntary Conversion from DSL to FIOS (goodall.com)

Submitted by
Douglas Goodall
Douglas Goodall writes: "According to Verizon's latest TOS... Part # DSL1YRAGR — Conversion from DSL Service to Verizon FiOS Internet Service.

When Verizon is able to provision Service utilizing fiber optic technologies, we may at our discretion terminate your DSL Service and cease offering DSL Service to your location. In such case, we will offer you Verizon FiOS Internet Service at the then applicable rates and terms, which may differ from your previous DSL Service rates and terms."

I read this information after obligating myself to the two year contract for the DSL. Terms of service do vary and come in different levels of friendliness. This one struck me as more odd than usual. I would hope that if they chose to terminate my service prior to the end of the contract period, I would not be subject to the Early Termination Fee. What do you think?"
United States

Submission + - Homeland Security Sneaks in H-1B Visa Cap Relief 1

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "The Department of Homeland Security stepped up to the plate Friday for corporate H-1B visa interests as it changed immigration rules without notice to allow employers to hire an unlimited number of foreign students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math to work in the U.S. for 29 months after graduating with a bachelor's degree or higher — longer if an H-1B visa is pending — provided they studied in the States for one academic year under an F-1 visa and their employer enrolls in the Department's e-Verify program. 'This rule will enable businesses to attract and retain highly skilled foreign workers, giving U.S. companies a competitive advantage in the world economy,' said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in justifying the change, which the DHS made without notice or comment by exploiting a 'good cause' exception that allows procedural rules to be bypassed to prevent 'serious damage to important interests.' In explaining its motivation, the DHS cited testimony by Bill Gates ('I don't think there should be any limit') as well as the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, which counts major H-1B stakeholders Google, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft among its members."

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"Unibus timeout fatal trap program lost sorry" - An error message printed by DEC's RSTS operating system for the PDP-11

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