Blaster arrest expected today

<font size="3">FBI close in on Blaster suspect</font>

The FBI are poised to arrest an unnamed 18 year-old today in connection with the release of a variant of
the notorious Blaster worm.

The teen has already been questioned by investigators and put under surveillance, The Seattle Times, citing two U.S. Justice Department sources, reports. He is expected to be arrested later today and charged with releasing a variant of the original Blaster worm.

The 18 year-old suspect was reportedly seen by a witness testing his virus, which was based on Blaster-A, the ur-worm

More details of the investigation are expected to emerge today from the FBI and US attorney's office in Seattle, the agencies leading the investigation.

Investigators believe a separate, as yet unidentified, individual created the original Blaster worm.

The Blaster-B variant of the worm was released on August 13, two days after the original...

Three More MCSE-Windows 2003 Exams Debut This Week

<font size="3">Three More MCSE-Windows 2003 Exams Debut This Week </font>
Two more exams for the Core Exams: Networking Systems portion of Windows 2003 credential, as well as an upgrade exam, go live Thursday.

• 70-293, Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
• 70-294, Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure
• 70-296, Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment for an MCSE Certified on Windows 2000

Exams 70-293 and 70-294 comprise two exams that MCSE on Windows 2003 candidates must complete for the Core Exams: Networking Systems portion of the track. (Two more exams, 70-290 and 70-291, are the others; they were released August 14.) Both exams are aimed at measuring the skills of MCSEs whose job roles include the functional design of networks.

Exam 70-296 makes up one...

It's the future of Windows ... Today!

<font size="3">It's the future of Windows ... Today!
</font>
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows is dedicated to providing all of the information you need to evaluate Microsoft's upcoming Windows platform technologies. These exciting products include Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows XP Media Center Edition V2 ("Harmony"), Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Version 2, and Windows Server 2003 SP1, among others. All are due by the end of 2003.

But as we get further out, future Windows versions promise to be even more exciting. The next major Windows release, code-named Longhorn, is due in 2005 and will include Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing (Palladium) architectural changes, as well as a new 3D video-driven user interface, new low-level APIs, integrated anti-virus features, and a SQL Server-based file system called Windows Future Storage (WinFS); Longhorn will also be accompanied by a new Windows Server...

Netgear flaw triggers 'accidental' DoS attack

<font size="3">Netgear flaw triggers 'accidental' DoS attack </font>
A flaw in some Netgear router models is responsible for causing huge denial of service attacks - by accident

Network hardware maker Netgear has warned its customers that a flaw in some of its router products that could set off an "accidental" denial of service (DoS) attack.

The problem occurs because of a flawed implementation of the Network Time Protocol (NTP), which is a method commonly used by network devices to contact special "time" servers that pass on the correct time and date. This information is important for routers because they generate a variety of time-sensitive logs.

The flawed routers work fine until the moment one of their periodic requests for the correct time goes unanswered. If for whatever reason the "time" server is unavailable, the flawed router will continue sending requests until it is answered.

full...

Microsoft to debut MSN Premium

<font size="3">Microsoft to debut MSN Premium </font>
Microsoft is writing another chapter in its saga of trying to become an Internet power.

On Wednesday, the software giant will unveil "MSN Premium," a new version of its Internet service that it hopes will appeal to the expanding population of broadband users. The Internet service will offer new software features such as a digital photo editor, smoother tie-ins between Hotmail and Microsoft's Outlook e-mail software, and enhanced spam-blocking and security features. But despite the changes, MSN Premium remains cosmetically similar to its previous incarnations and continues to be a splashier version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser.

MSN Premium will not be officially released to the public until the winter, after it undergoes beta testing in the fall.

The announcement comes shortly after archrival America Online released its own...

Sobig Virus Slows, but Aims to Build Robot Network

<font size="3">Sobig Virus Slows, but Aims to Build Robot Network </font>

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The culprit behind the fast-spreading Sobig.F virus is expected to try again in coming weeks to create a vast network of zombie computers to carry out Internet attacks, security experts warned on Saturday.

"He wants to build up a (robot) net by creating zombie machines he can control," said Vincent Weafer, senior director of Symantec Corp.'s Security Response center.

An automated attack that had been set for Friday at noon California time was thwarted by government and security industry experts before it could take control of some 100,000 infected computers and possibly cripple the Internet.

Sobig.F was released last Monday on a sex-oriented Internet discussion group, infecting computers when users clicked on what appeared to be nude pictures, experts from several security companies who had seen the site...

Microsoft ponders automatic patching

<font size="3">Microsoft ponders automatic patching</font>
Getting users to secure computers becomes higher priority

In the wake of a widespread Internet worm, Microsoft Corp. is weighing options to get more users to secure their computers, including automatically applying security patches to PCs remotely, the company said Thursday.

"We are looking at a range of options to get critical updates on more systems, from finding ways to encourage more people to keep their systems up to date themselves to where it is done automatically by default for certain users," said Matt Pilla, senior product manager for Windows at Microsoft.

Microsoft does not plan any immediate changes to the way it delivers security patches, but the company also does not intend to wait until the release of its next operating system to improve it, said Pilla.

"This is a priority for us. I think there are a lot of things we can do...

CompTIA abandons adaptive testing for A+

<font size="3">CompTIA abandons adaptive testing for A+ </font>

Just as "chillin'" was a buzzword around college campuses at one point in time, "adaptive" was the buzzword in certification testing. If you use chillin' in a sentence today, you'll seem like a dinosaur, and if you still believe in adaptive testing, you better be real careful not to snag your bell-bottom pants on the 286 cables and unplug the 300 baud modem.

Microsoft abandoned adaptive testing many years ago, along with most vendors. CompTIA was the sole holdout of note, though they never seemed to believe in it enough to apply it to any of their exams outside of the A+ realm. Not surprisingly, it just announced that with the next round of A+ exams, they are bidding farewell to the adaptive format and going back to linear. What is surprising, however, is the reason it gave as to why....

Slammer worm crashed Ohio nuke plant network

<font size="3">Slammer worm crashed Ohio nuke plant network</font>

The Slammer worm penetrated a private computer network at Ohio's Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in January and disabled a safety monitoring system for nearly five hours, despite a belief by plant personnel that the network was protected by a firewall, SecurityFocus has learned.

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Windows admin 'feature' poses latest hazard

<img border="0" src="../logos/ms_flag.gif" align="right"><font size="3">Windows admin 'feature' poses latest hazard</font>

An obscure messaging feature in Windows could be the latest source of security problems for Internet users, experts have warned

Security experts are warning users to switch off a Windows messaging feature that has been taken over by spammers and could now pose the latest security threat for Windows users.

The feature, known as the messenger service, was originally designed to let a network administrator send warnings to users when, for example, a server is scheduled to go down for maintenance. Last year, bulk advertisers began using the tool to send pop-up advertising messages directly to a user's computer, and researchers say it would be simple for a virus writer to exploit the feature as well. The feature is not related to Microsoft's instant messaging software.

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