Security

Not that it should come as any surprise, but Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), Microsoft's first update to (the never ending nightmare known as) Windows Vista, has reportedly been causing more problems for users. When Windows Vista was ... released to the public over a year ago, a plethora of users found out that it was riddled with speed and compatibility issues. So much so that even Microsoft executives complained, as revealed by a pending class action lawsuit. As reported by our own John Lister, Microsoft recently released Windows Vista SP1 as a means to improve performance and ... (view more)

Gotta get your Milwaukee Bucks score every morning? Apparently, so do hackers. MSNBC Sports' web page was recently the victim of a major hack attack, compromising more than 26,000 pages. It's set off alarm bells for legitimate web sites, and ... highlights a new trend being forged by the web's most elite hackers. The MSNBC attack was reported this past Tuesday by San Diego-based Websense Inc. The security company has been tracking the exploit for about a month, stumbling upon the MSNBC invasion while performing one of their many web scans. Other major sites that appear to be hit include TV.com, ... (view more)

The first major update for Windows Vista is now available for download. Service Pack 1 can be manually downloaded from Microsoft's web site, or through Vista's built-in update facility. The download is between 434MB and 726MB depending on the type ... of computer, so many users will prefer to download it overnight. Those who choose not to install Service Pack 1 now will likely receive it through an automatic update in mid-April. Amazon will be stocking boxed copies of Vista with Service Pack 1 already installed after this week, though it's not clear when retail stores will do the same. Microsoft ... (view more)

Reports are now suggesting that Microsoft's highly-anticipated series of updates for Windows Vista, called Service Pack 1 (SP1), will be available for download and shipping, today and tomorrow, respectively. The news keeps with previous estimates ... that the company would be releasing a series of fixes by the middle of March. First word of the release comes to us via Amazon.com, whose web site recently revealed that users can begin downloading the free SP1 upgrade Tuesday. By Wednesday, Amazon will begin shipping boxed copies of Windows SP1. Preorders can be made now. In a statement sent to the ... (view more)

A startling report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently revealed details on what appears to be a domestic-spying program that was banned by Congress in 2003 known as the 'Total Information Awareness' (TIA) program. As noted by the American ... Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Orwellian program was shut down by Congress because it represented a massive and unjustified governmental intrusion into the personal lives of citizens. Despite the fact that Congress shut down the program, security agencies under the Bush administration pushed ahead anyway. The National Security Agency (NSA) has ... (view more)

Hackers have already found a way into the newest iPhone software, just three months before it's officially launched to the public. The new edition of the software is officially titled version 1.2, though will get the snazzier sounding '2.0' tag on ... its formal launch. Hackers got hold of the software because it's included in Apple's new Software Development Kit (SDK). The main gripe between Apple and the hackers is that, while the firm encourages independent development of features to run on the phone, it wants tight control over how this is done. Apple is demanding they become the exclusive ... (view more)

When you're king-of-the-hill, everybody wants to knock you off. Google has opened a new assault on Microsoft by going after the software giant's SharePoint program, an application that provides a collaboration platform for groups of workers. ... Google's new application, labeled Google Sites, will be added to the existing suite of Google Apps. It was originally developed by start-up JotSpot, which was acquired by Google in late 2006. A key difference between Google Sites and Microsoft SharePoint is that the Google service will be free. (Source: nytimes.com ) Essentially, Google Sites is a "wiki" ... (view more)

A New Zealand-based security consultant has released a tool that can unlock a Windows computer in seconds without a password. The hack, which involves Windows XP computers but has not been tested with Windows Vista, was first demonstrated by Adam ... Boileau at a security conference in Sydney in 2006. Microsoft has not developed a fix for it yet. (Source: com.au ) The tool released by Boileau can unlock Windows machines or login without a password by plugging in a Firewire cable and running a command. Boileau did not release the tool in 2006 because Microsoft was cagey about whether Firewire ... (view more)

Hackers have been at it again, and this time they made their millions with a French Canadian accent. Quebec authorities recently broke up a ring of seventeen hackers responsible for $45 million in damages. According to police, the hacking ring ... operated primarily from Quebec small towns Notre-Dame-du-Portage, Jonquieres, and a few others. With their headquarters in rather remote and certainly unexpected locales, the group of reportedly very young (17 to 26) computer experts took control of thousands of systems from Poland to Brazil. (Source: canada.com ) In total, police suspect this group is ... (view more)

Researchers from Princeton University have found a simple way to crack popular encryption software, including the FileVault feature built-in to Apple's operating system and BitLocker, which is included in Windows Vista. The software aims to store ... data in a scrambled form making it indecipherable if in the wrong hands. Both programs use a federally approved algorithm that encrypts the information when it is written to, or read from, a hard disk. However, the keys allowing the computer to unscramble data are stored in the computer's memory. In theory, any information in a computer's memory ... (view more)