Submission + - Cunning worm burrows into Skype
Kurtz writes: "A new variant of the Warezov/Stration worm is using the Skype network to spread, two security companies have reported.
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS"
Submission + - First vulnerability in Vista's Windows Mail
juct writes: "Would you expect that clicking on a link in an email executes a program on your local machine? You'd better — at least if you are using Windows Mail on Vista. The successor to Outlook Express links seamlessly with its predecessor's dubious reputation in matters of security. Under certain cirumstances a click on a link will execute programms without requiring any confirmation. As a hacker namend Kingcope found out, it takes only a link to an executable like "c:/windows/system32/winrm?" and a directory with the same name. heise Security has demonstrated the problem by creating a directory named calc. Although there is no direct attack vector, it makes you wonder what other Vista features are waiting to be discovered..."
Submission + - "Child porn" legal in Belgium
stimpie writes: The Belgium minister of justice Laurette Onkelinx has said in response to raised questions that "child porn" in second life wont be prosecuted.
According to to Belgium law virtual actions with children are not illegal.
A recent conviction in the UK for 'pseudo' child sex pics makes me wonder where this will go.
According to to Belgium law virtual actions with children are not illegal.
A recent conviction in the UK for 'pseudo' child sex pics makes me wonder where this will go.
Submission + - Google Summer of Code applications close today
SigurdMagnusson writes: "Students wanting to be one of the 800 to get paid to work over the summer months and contribute to major open source projects via Google's Summer of Code have until 5pm PDT (i.e. California) on Monday to do so. There's over 100 projects to contribute to, covering a wide spectrum including NMap, GCC, PostgreSQL, OpenMRS and SilverStripe."
Submission + - Legal problems for Wikipedia
ToiletDuck writes: "The Wikimedia Foundation has been named in a lawsuit filed by literary agent Barbara Bauer, apparently over her less-than-complimentary Wikipedia biography (mirror). The lawsuit comes in the wake of the resignation of Brad Patrick, Wikimedia's General Counsel and Executive Director. When questioned about Wikipedia's liability in an interview with GC South last year, Patrick stated 'Our belief is that since every post is attributed to an individual, is time-stamped and is retained in the database, the foundation itself is not publishing that content. We view individual editors as responsible and have prominently displayed on every edit page that individuals are responsible for their own contributions. We take the position that we are a service provider and are protected under section 230 [of the Communications Decency Act].'
Should Wikipedia be liable for defamatory information added by its volunteer editors?"
Submission + - Ubuntu running on the Xbox 360
Anonymous Coward writes: "Cpasjuste has managed to get Ubuntu (comunity developed Linux-based operating system) running on the Xbox 360. It contains all the standard applications such as a WEB BROWSER, spreadsheet software, instant messaging software and more. To get it running King Kong is required as well as the vulnerable kernels. Read more about it here at:
http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?p=4670 13#post467013
The news stub can be found here:
http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=15411"
Submission + - Headhunter Experiences?
An anonymous reader writes: I am currently working as an IT Manager, while I'm happy with my current job and company, due to personal reasons I would like to relocate to another City in another State. As my current company is too small to have branch offices moving within my current organization is out of the question. I was wondering what your experiences have been with Headhunters? Should I consider using one? Or should I go it alone and try to find a new position using the various "Jobs" sites? Assuming I use a Headhunter what criteria should I use to pick one to work with?
Submission + - The End of the Ocarina of Time 2D Project.
Rowan187 writes: "It's been over a year since the announcement of Dampe's project to recreate the entire hit, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, in a 2D RPG. However, the lead developer Dampe' was unfortunately killed in a fatal car accident. This so ends the Ocarina of Time 2D project.
The website has been taken down and there is a forum post to discuss the death of Dampe'
This ends a great project for Zelda geeks everywhere. R.I.P. Dampe'"
The website has been taken down and there is a forum post to discuss the death of Dampe'
This ends a great project for Zelda geeks everywhere. R.I.P. Dampe'"
Submission + - Online Gamers Can Now Pay With Their Blood
Weather Storm writes: "According to weirdasiannews.com, a game company called Moliyo, which runs multiple online games in China, has given roughly 120,000 hackers banned from one of its games, Cabal Online, the chance to play once again. The price? A pint of blood. Any banned player that shows up to a blood drive in Nanjing and donates a pint of blood will have their accounts unlock. In a response to a shortage of donors, Chinese hospitals and Moliyo developed an ingenious method of enticing gamers to give the gift that truly keeps on giving. About a hundred of the guilty have stepped forward."
Submission + - The mystery of vitamin B12 finally solved
Roland Piquepaille writes: "You probably think that scientists know everything about the common and essential vitamin B12, the only vitamin synthesized by soil microbes. In fact, one part of this biosynthesis has puzzled researchers for at least 50 years. But now, MIT and Harvard biologists have solved this vitamin puzzle by discovering that a single enzyme known as BluB synthesizes the vitamin. So what is the next challenge for the researchers? It's to discover why the soil microorganisms synthesize the vitamin B12 at all, because neither them — nor the plants they're attached to — need it to live. Read more for additional references and a picture of BluB."
Submission + - Breastfeeding Censorship on Myspace
rogue0208 writes: "http://www.petitiononline.com/Brstfeed/petition.ht ml
MySpace allows pictures of scantily clad women across its site. MySpace also allows images of children in barely there clothes to grace its pages. However, they've been deleting images of women breastfeeding their children. Why? Because they consider it be indecent. Breastfeeding is allowed by law in any public place that a woman is allowed to be in. If every state allows a woman to breastfeed in public without a law being broken, then why does Myspace have an issue with it? Please sign the petition to let MySpace know that what they are doing is censorship."
MySpace allows pictures of scantily clad women across its site. MySpace also allows images of children in barely there clothes to grace its pages. However, they've been deleting images of women breastfeeding their children. Why? Because they consider it be indecent. Breastfeeding is allowed by law in any public place that a woman is allowed to be in. If every state allows a woman to breastfeed in public without a law being broken, then why does Myspace have an issue with it? Please sign the petition to let MySpace know that what they are doing is censorship."
Submission + - Protest over free speech online turns violent
BitterOak writes: Four high school students were arrested in Toronto Friday, charged with assaulting police and obstruction, during a protest over the suspension of students for posting derogatory comments about the vice principal on their private Facebook pages. 60 students showed up for the protest, and only four were charged with any wrong doing. This story raises interesting questions. I'm sure no one condones disorderly conduct at a protest, but should public schools have the right to suspend students over online speech? The article doesn't make it clear whether or not the student used school computers to post the comments.
Submission + - Flixster Grabbing Users' AOL and Gmail Passwords
Talaria writes: The social networking movie review site Flixster is grabbing their users' AOL, Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail passwords, and using them to access their users' address books and send "invitations" to join Flixster to everyone in the address book, making it appear to be from the user. The password prompt screen looks very compelling, and even includes the ISP's logo right next to the password prompt. Rather than hiding this little "feature", Flixster brags about it in an interview following their receiving $2million in venture funding earlier this year.
Submission + - RIAA Wins Worst Company In America 2007
Anonymous Coward writes: "After 15 punishing rounds of combat involving 32 of America's most hated companies, 100,000 voters have spoken: More hated than Halliburton, more despised than Walmart, the RIAA has defeated all-comers to become the Worst Company in America 2007.
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/worst-company- in-america/"
Submission + - Home Server manufacturer vs. DVD CCA goes to trial
whoever57 writes: The DVD Copy Control Association (CCA) is suing Kaleidescope, who manufacture a home server. The home server copies the contents of the DVDs, along with the keys used to decrypt the DVD data to a hard drive. The DVD CCA claim this allows users to watch the contents of DVDs after they no longer have the physical disk and that such a feature violates the DVD CCA contract. Kaleidescope claims that their system merely enables fair use of the content.
The trial starts today in Santa Clara, CA.
