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| | | May 18, 2003
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Sunday, May 18, 2003 |
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SCO outrages the open source community
SCO Group, the proprietor of the rights over UNIX's code, outraged the open source community and corporate customers alike after the company stepped up the efforts to present Linux as a platform infringing its intellectual property.
This week, SCO sent letters to 1,500 of the biggest international corporations, warning them end users may eventually be held liable for using Linux distributions that violate the rights of the Utah-based software solutions developer. In March, the group filed a lawsuit against IBM, alleging widespread copyright infringement in the computer maker's version of UNIX, AIX, and seeking over $1 billion in punitive damages. And just recently, SCO threatened to revoke IBM's license to use UNIX technology on June 13.
SCO's actions were widely denounced by analysts and Linux distributors, calling the allegations baseless and the lawsuit -- an act of "desperation." In an article published at InternetNews.com, the counsel of the Free Software Foundation, Evan Moglen, a professor at Columbia Law School, noted that the SCO Group provided royalty-free license to use its technology when it began distributing Linux components under the General Public License (GPL). The Free Software Foundation maintains the GPL license, under which most Linux software is being distributed. Signaling a potential hole in SCO's case, the company discontinued selling its version of Linux.
SCO is part of UnitedLinux, a Linux development alliance, which also includes Conectiva, SuSE Linux and Turbolinux. On Thursday, SuSE released a statement saying it will continue to honor its commitments within the organization, despite the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs have not yet publicly disclosed details about their infringement allegations and many believe SCO's lawsuit may turn out to be impossible to win. Meanwhile, given the company's battered finances, a growing number of analysts are seeing the case as a way to force a big Linux player, like IBM, to acquire the SCO Group.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 | InternetNews.com 1 2 | The Register | VNUNET.com 1 2 3 | Wired News
Fizzer worm strikes with sophistication
Internet users were awakened on Monday to a new virus threat seen as one of the most complex worms that has ever existed. Fizzer, which was discovered on May 8, is an extraordinarily large and extremely sophisticated self-propagating worm.
On top of the regularly seen e-mail distribution, it can spread via AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and even the Kazaa peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network. The virus has built-in capabilities to log keystrokes, terminate antivirus software, opening doors to other threats, and update itself through the web.
The worm's rapid distribution once again emphasized the importance of two key areas, where virus distribution has been relatively unknown -- file-swapping networks and instant messaging (IM) software. Although security software companies are providing tools to combat viruses coming from unusual sources, analysts view P2P and IM software as yet to be recognized vulnerable spots.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 | InternetNews.com | Silicon.com | Svetlozar Online | The Washington Post
Flaw found in Itanium 2
The world's No. 1 chip maker, Intel, announced a flaw had been disinterred in its high-performance 64-bit Itanium 2 chip, primarily used in ultrafast servers. A Japanese NEC customer reportedly discovered the electrical problem that could cause systems to behave erratically or even crash, wiping out all data.
According to Intel, the glitch may occur in a specific set of circumstances and should not be considered absolutely critical. Although a product recall has not been issued, the company said it will honor requests for replacements. In the meantime, the problem can be avoided by reducing the clock speed of 900 MHz and 1 GHz Itanium 2 processors to 800 MHz. Intel also said upcoming Itanium chips will be unaffected.
Some computer vendors, including Hewlett-Packard, Unisys and NEC are screening their products for potential problems, resulting from the flaw. IBM, however, took more drastic measures and ceased all shipments of the newly released x450 Itanium 2-based server.
More from: CNET News.com 1 2 | CRN | eSecurityPlanet | InfoWorld
Spam Buzz
The U.S. government is preparing federal legislation to help anti-spam efforts, but some activists are saying proposed solutions should be tougher. A new bill set to be introduced soon in the U.S. House of Representatives will oblige e-mail marketers to provide accurate electronic and physical addresses, an option to unsubscribe from future mailings and will prohibit "harvesting" e-mail addresses from public web sites using automated software. But the new legislative measure, a result of long discussions that included the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the U.S. Internet Service Providers Association, America Online, Microsoft, Yahoo! and other interested groups, will prevent states from enacting and enforcing tougher state-level measures against spammers.
But at the same time, spammers aren't standing on the sidelines. A lawsuit was filed against two anti-spam projects -- Spamhaus and SPEWS (Spam Prevention Early Warning System), by a group of anonymous e-mailers called eMarketersAmerica.org. The plaintiffs are alleging the two systems unfairly blacklisted their messages.
Yet, it is indisputable that authorities are winning ground in the fight against spam. The notorious "Buffalo Spammer," who sent over a billion messages using Internet access accounts from U.S. ISP EarthLink, was nabbed and arraigned in New York. Howard Carmack, who used stolen credit cards to purchase EarthLink services, was charged with forgery and identity theft.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government reportedly reached a deal with another American, who sent 9 million spam messages and misled users the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recommended a particular low-risk investment. The mailer, KC Smith, was forced to return the illegally acquired $100,000 plus interest.
More from: CNET News.com | InternetNews.com | VNUNET.com | The Washington Post | 1 2 | Wired News
In Other News...
 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) apologized for multiple erroneously sent copyright infringement notices. On Tuesday, the RIAA reported a temporary worker had mailed the warnings without confirming music was being illegally hosted on the sites. The association has sent apologies to the recipients.
Apple said its iTunes Music Store sold over one million songs in its second week, continuing the trend from the first seven days of its launch. As the online shop's popularity grows, Macintosh experts announced a feature in the iTunes software that allows users to share purchased songs over LANs (Local Area Networks) could be extended to the Internet, effectively establishing a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network.
Security researchers discovered a critical hole in the 2.4 branch of the Linux kernel. The vulnerability exists in the caching of routing information and opens the door for Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. An attacker could flood a Linux-running system with packets with spoofed source addresses, overwhelm the system's CPU and cause it to go offline. All major Linux software vendors have issued update packages, fixing the flaw.
Iranian authorities have advanced their efforts to curb Internet access to web sites and other services, undermining the theocratic regime in the country. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Iran have been ordered to ban thousands of web sites, maintained by pro-reformist groups and underground news services, mainly newspapers, which have turned to the web after being shut down by the government.
Internet search leader Google has extended its news aggregation service to five additional countries -- Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the UK -- prioritizing information on local news stories.
In a filing with the U.S. SEC, Internet portal Yahoo! disclosed $54 million, or 19 percent of the company's total earnings in the first quarter of 2003 came from its paid listings partership with Overture.
Dell Computer reported on Thursday a healthy 31 percent rise in Q1 earnings, citing strong PC and server sales. According to the Texas-based computer equipment maker, the company shipped 29 percent more PCs in the quarter ending March 31.
Universal Music is suing Bertelsmann for helping Napster prolong its existence, even after BMG Music, a subsidiary of the Bertelsmann media group, had joined a concerted effort to shut down the music-swapping service. Universal is seeking at least $150,000 per copyrighted song distributed via Napster.
Security software maker Symantec released two new threat management products. Vulnerability Assessment tracks computer systems with known security flaws, while Incident Manager 2.0 has significantly enhanced capabilities in handling and organizing information about network attacks.
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