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06/19/2013 06:38:56 Daily, February 21When Tech Hurts
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In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: When Tech Hurts
2. Today's Top Story: Security
- Mac OS X Suffers From 'Critical' Flaw
- Microsoft Slams Security Firm's Bounty For Windows Flaws
- Three Out Of Four Say Business Security Has Improved
3. Breaking News
- Vista Versions May Number 8
- AMD, Intel Cut Dual-Core Prices
- More Than Half Receive At Least One Phish Daily
- AT&T, Yahoo Link Web To Cingular Mobile Phones
- Chicago Plans To Join Wi-Fi Party With Citywide Network
- Low-Cost Mobile Phones Planned For 1 Billion Users
- Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 R2 Enters Beta
- AOL Teams With WebEx For Enterprise IM
- Will The U.S. Embrace Cell-Phone-As-Wallet?
- Microsoft May Look To 'Smart Shoring'
- Google Denies Acting Unlawfully In China
4. Grab Bag: Mac Security, Google Desktop
5. In Depth: Internet News And Analysis
6. Voice Of Authority: Browser Podcast
7. White Papers: IP Telephony
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
9. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription
Quote of the day:
"Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up
children; now I have six children and no theories." -- John Wilmot
The ways in which technology has enhanced all of our lives are
too numerous to count. But on Tuesday, I was struck by two
stories that I interpret as signs that technology may be driving
too deep, and becoming too pervasive, in our lives.
First, I'll raise the issue of teens and their propensity to reveal personal
information in blogs. I'm a big proponent of kids getting
ready access to the Internet, using the Web to enhance their
educational experience and even using E-mail to communicate with
friends and distant family members. But it's likely that most
early teens lack the sensibility and the life experiences to
avoid trouble that could easily find them online. As the
aforementioned study points out, among teens studied, 70%
disclosed at least their first name, 67% revealed their age, and
61% provided their contact information either in the form of
E-mail (44%), instant messenger name (44%) or a link to a
personal home page (30%). Any or all of those bits of personal
data should be enough for a predator to target such teens. What's
the answer? I'd like to say that Internet service providers'
parental controls are the answer here, but reliance on technology
created this problem in the first place, so I'm not sure that's
the best solution. Those controls can't be effective unless
there's strong parental involvement and strong parental
controls--such as strict limits on computer and Internet usage.
(What do you think is the key to keeping kids safe online? Take
our poll.)
Second, there's a new indicator of the physical downsides to text messaging. A study
from the United Kingdom finds that 38% more people suffer from
sore wrists and thumbs caused by "texting" than five years ago,
and 3.8 million people now complain of text-related injuries
every year. This, of course, follows the recent revelations of
people suffering from "BlackBerry thumb." If my own concerns about appearing
pretentious didn't cure me of my own blossoming
text-messaging-in-public-places habit, these developments will
surely do the trick. But for those of you that are heavily into
text messaging, you might ask yourself: What's wrong with
messages that don't get instantaneous response, or with being out
of direct communication with someone for two or three minutes, or
even an hour?
If you take this discussion to a purely enterprise level, I
wonder whether the ability to stay in touch at all times, from
all places, doesn't do more to burn people out than empower them
to do work on a timely basis. For my money, I'll gladly take an
employee who has the ability (and desire) to completely
disconnect from work when it's appropriate over the workaholic
who can't or won't unplug. How about you? You can share your
opinions at my blog entry.
Tom Smith
Mac OS X Suffers From 'Critical' Flaw
Related Stories:
Microsoft Slams Security Firm's Bounty For Windows Flaws
Three Out Of Four Say Business Security Has Improved
Vista Versions May Number 8
AMD, Intel Cut Dual-Core Prices
More Than Half Receive At Least One Phish Daily
AT&T, Yahoo Link Web To Cingular Mobile Phones
Chicago Plans To Join Wi-Fi Party With Citywide Network
Low-Cost Mobile Phones Planned For 1 Billion Users
Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 R2 Enters Beta
AOL Teams With WebEx For Enterprise IM
Will The U.S. Embrace Cell-Phone-As-Wallet?
Microsoft May Look To 'Smart Shoring'
Google Denies Acting Unlawfully In China
In the current episode:
John Soat With 'News You Can Use'
Eric Chabrow With 'The Problem With Patents'
Fears Over New Mac OS X Trojan Unfounded (Ars Technica)
Google Desktop Has Security Problems, Says Google (The Inquirer)
New From InformationWeek: Get Your News In A Flash--Literally
Do You Access Our Content From A BlackBerry Or Treo?
Yahoo's Challenge
E-Commerce Sales Rise In Fourth Quarter
Amazon In Talks With Music Companies On Digital Service
Google Grabs Half Of Booming Web-Search Market
Podcast: The Year Of The Web Browser
Providing Reliable Network Infrastructure For IP Telephony
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InformationWeek Daily Newsletter
1. Editor's Note: When Tech Hurts
tsmith@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com
2. Today's Top Story: Security
Several security companies found a critical vulnerability in
Apple Computer's OS X that could let attackers cripple a Mac
simply by duping users into visiting a malicious Web site.
Microsoft blasts a security company's recent offer of $10,000 to
anyone who discovers a Windows flaw that leads to a critical fix.
But people issues and organizational changes resulting from
mergers, acquisitions, and outsourcing still pose challenges.
Microsoft drops additional clues that the next-generation
operating system will come in even more flavors than the current
Windows XP.
Advanced Micro Devices cut prices on some server processors, while
Intel offered instant rebates on select dual-core desktop CPUs.
More than half of business PC users receive at least one phishing
E-mail every day, according to a U.K.-based security company.
With the deal, subscribers will have access to photos, E-mail,
address books, instant messaging, and more.
The Windy City is preparing to become the Wi-Fi City: Chicago
plans to solicit bids from technology companies this spring to
create a giant 228-square-mile hot-spot that would cover the
entire city.
It's not just the handsets themselves, but also low-cost services
that suppliers are scrambling to deliver.
The new version of SMS, due to be shipped in May, automates the
updating of third-party applications.
It's WebEx's second try at partnering with a big consumer IM
vendor to get into the enterprise IM market. In 2003, WebEx
partnered with Yahoo, only to have Yahoo close its enterprise
business unit a few months later.
Consumers can already pay for merchandise using their cell phones
in South Korea and Japan, and they'll be able to do it in the
United States in 18 months. But will Americans be willing?
The software giant is considering an "onshore-only" support
option for new products, including its upcoming Office 2007,
sources said, perhaps for an additional fee.
The search firm is denying a Chinese newspaper's reports that it
lacks the correct government license to do business in the
country. A Chinese government spokesman says an official
statement on the matter will be coming shortly.
Google Desktop search tips, bounty for Windows security flaw,
RIM's BlackBerry case keeps going and going...
Does patent enforcement harm or help business?
4. Grab Bag: News You Need From The Web
Compared with their Windows-using brethren, Macintosh owners have
enjoyed a largely malware-free existence during the life of the
Internet. Sure, there has been the occasional worm, such as
1998's AutoStart 9805 Worm, a variant of which turned up on the
CD-ROMs included with the December 1998 issue of MacAddict. But
virus, Trojan, and worm writers have been content to focus on the
dominant operating system in order to maximize their reach.
Google has admitted that its latest Google Desktop Beta has a few
security risks for enterprises. Google Desktop 3 allows users to
search across multiple computers for files by automatically
stores copies of files, for up to a month, on Google servers.
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5. In Depth: Internet News And Analysis
Yahoo faces many challenges as it tries to turn vast sums of data
it has on visitors into revenue. Another challenge: that little
company called Google.
Sales rose 23% over year-ago levels, but this was a slower pace
than the third quarter's 26% year-over-year growth rate.
Amazon is considering a subscription music service that would
include a discounted portable music player bearing the Amazon
brand, sources said.
U.S. Web surfers conducted 5.1 billion searches in the last month
of 2005, compared with 3.3 billion during the same period a year
ago, Nielsen/NetRatings said.
6. Voice Of Authority: Browser Podcast
Although the so-called "Browser Wars" ended around 1998, 2006 is
shaping up to be an intriguing sequel. To get fully up to speed
on all the many browser comings and goings, check out Scot
Finnie's Targeting Technology podcast on the changing face of Web
browsers and also our recent "browser wars" blockbuster
review--Microsoft IE7, Firefox, And Other Browsers In
Four-Way Shootout.
IP telephony applications rely heavily on IP network
infrastructure services to operate. An Infoblox-hardened
appliance running multiple services in a highly reliable,
centrally managed, and scalable platform provides the ideal way
for a company to ensure highly reliable, secure, and manageable
IP-based voice applications.
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
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