John Lister

Microsoft has published details of its next batch of security updates (known as Patch Tuesday), due to download to Windows machines automatically on Tuesday, November 8 via Windows Update. The only critical update in the batch affects newer rather ... than older editions of Windows. None of the security updates to be released next Tuesday are said to patch MS Word, which is currently being exploited by the Duqu virus (a major zero-day threat ). The entire update is a bit of a surprise, say critics, because it deals with just four groups of bugs -- a far cry from recent updates that have included ... (view more)

New reports are surfacing with details of the latest and what's considered to be one of the most dangerous Internet worms, dubbed "Duqu." It's said the worm can install and spread itself due to a security loophole in Microsoft Word. As reported last ... week, Duqu's programming code is very close to that of the Stuxnet worm that wreaked havoc back in 2010 . Stuxnet was a particularly sophisticated virus which infected Windows-based PCs, and in turn, attacked computers that controlled equipment in Iran's nuclear program to the point where it caused irreversible damage to equipment. So ... (view more)

A senior Microsoft lawyer says Google is simply "standing on the shoulder" of other companies. Horacio Gutierrez made the claims while defending Microsoft's involvement in the so-called "patent wars". Gutierrez is the deputy general counsel at ... Microsoft and has specific responsibility for intellectual property (IP) issues. He made the accusations in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. Smartphone, Mobile Tech Lawsuits Widespread The discussion centered on the widespread series of lawsuits and countersuits in the smartphone and mobile tech industry. The situation has ... (view more)

Dozens of chemical companies have been hit with a wave of online attacks. At least 48 companies are confirmed to have been hit, of which 29 were in the chemical sector. The remaining 19 companies were involved in the chemical defense sector. ... According to security researchers at Symantec, the assault ran from July until the middle of September, though the effects are still being felt. The true scale may be larger: at least 101 different locations are known to be housing computers infected by the attack, covering 20 different countries. (Source: symantec.com ) Cyber Attacks Use Low-Tech ... (view more)

Officials are set to report that hackers briefly seized control of two NASA satellite and circumstantial evidence suggests that the Chinese military may have been involved. The breaches took place in 2007 and 2008 but have only just come to light. ... They are mentioned in a report to Congress that is due to be delivered next month, though a draft copy has been leaked to news agencies. The report comes from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission and quotes information provided to the commission by the U.S. Air Force. (Source: google.com) The hacking took place four times in total: ... (view more)

Microsoft has recently released the first major overhaul of its Windows Phone operating system and it's getting some generally good reviews. The revised system is powering a range of devices, including the first significant results of the ... Nokia-Microsoft partnership. Windows Phone 7, released late last year, was a much-delayed revamp of what had previously been Windows Mobile. Although the system was generally praised, it appeared to come far too late to overcome a significant loss of market share to systems such as Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Sales of the Windows Phone 7 handsets thus ... (view more)

The number of wireless devices in use in the United States now outnumbers the nation's human population. The figures include tablet devices but the numbers are mainly driven by cellphones. If anything, the numbers are an understatement as they are ... based on subscriptions to wireless services. That means people who have devices such as the iPad but only use them via a WiFi connection aren't considered. On the other hand, the numbers do include people who have 3G data subscriptions for portable computers. According to CTIA, the wireless industry's trade body, there were 327.6 million wireless ... (view more)

The WikiLeaks website (infamously known for disbursing US State Department documents to the public back in 2010) has temporarily halted its work on publishing leaked confidential documents. Instead, the site will focus on a legal battle over money ... donated by supporters. Such resources are necessary in order to keep the site online. WikiLeaks Loses 95% of Web-Funds The site is said to have been operating on cash reserves for the past 10 months after major financial institutions began freezing money donated through their systems to WikiLeaks. It's estimated that the site has lost approximately ... (view more)

A security company says a newly discovered piece of malicious software ("malware") appears to be heavily based on the Stuxnet worm. Stuxnet, was (as of last year) dubbed the most threatening malware ever created . However, the new version of this ... worm appears to be designed for intelligence gathering to make a future attack easier, rather than causing damage. Stuxnet Virus Attacks Nuclear Reactors Stuxnet was one of the most sophisticated viruses in recent years. Although it spread around the world and infected Windows PCs, its main target was industrial control systems in Iran. ... (view more)

The group that operates the Internet's website address system will soon take over the running of a master clock used by millions of computers. Without the system, users would have to make manual adjustments when comparing time zones. The Time Zone ... Database doesn't simply keep track of the fact that different cities operate on different times (example: Los Angeles is eight hours behind London) -- it also tracks the more complicated matter of different countries adjusting to and from daylight savings times on different dates. The Time Zone Database can even tracks "leap seconds," ... (view more)