Here we go — malware via IM

From The Inquirer:

“VIRUS WRITERS have released an Internet worm that propagates using instant messages and exploits the JPG flaw in Microsoft. Researchers at The SANS Institute’s Internet Storm Center (ISC) have had two reports of a worm being installed using AOL messenger. The victims complained that they received messages on America Online’s AOL Instant Messenger service that lured them to Web sites containing a JPEG that contained the malicious code. The messages told the users to “Check out my profile, click GET INFO!” But when they visited the site, the malicious code would attempt to install backdoor software.

Additionally, messages containing a link to the site would be sent out to all contacts on the victim’s instant messenger contacts list. The ISC said the attempts failed but showed that hackers were starting to build code using the JPEG vulnerability. ”

Most Americans know little about the risks of going online…

The BBC report didn’t add “using Microsoft software”, though it ought to, given that over 90 per cent of the world is in that position.

The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) has conducted a survey of Americans’ perceptions of computer security risks. Here’s a quote from the BBC account:

“The survey found that 30% of people believed they had more chance of getting struck by lightning, being audited by the tax man or winning the lottery than they did of falling victim to a computer security problem.

PC users aged under 25 were even more sure.

40% thought they would get hit by lightning, or suffer one of the other events, before being caught out by a computer security breach.

In fact, said the NCSA, people are far more likely to be struck by a hack attack than atmospheric discharge.

According to the US National Weather Service, Americans have a 0.0000102% chance of being hit by lightning.

By contrast the chances of falling victim to a computer virus, phishing attack, malicious hack attempt or other cyber security dangers are currently running at 70%, according to statistics gathered for the E-Crime Watch Survey.

“Cyber-security should become second nature, just like brushing our teeth,” said Ken Watson, chairman of the NCSA.”

I agree. Which is precisely why we created an online course on the subject for beginners.

The ‘World Live Web’

Nice insight into the significance of RSS. Quote:

“Why is RSS important? Because it says “here’s what’s changed on the Web.” When I started building Web sites in 1993, it was very clear then that people visit sites that get updated frequently. That’s still true. Now, however, we have a new tool, RSS, that tells us what’s changed. I no longer have to limit my reading to sites I know get updated frequently. Instead, I get pinged whenever sites I’m interested in change. That’s a fundamental shift in what the Web is. In fact, its something brand new.”

Why is Internet Explorer so bad?

For possible answers, see this morning’s Observer column.

Want to attract smart employees? Have a company Blog

Interesting piece in today’s NYT about the role of company blogs in the job market.

Aaron Schwartz at Stanford

Aaron Schwartz is one of my favourite Bloggers. He’s just gone to Stanford as an undergraduate, and he’s blogging the experience. His account makes a riveting read, not least because it demonstrates vividly how stupid the customs and rituals of soi disant great universities can be — and how idiotic their attempts to build student solidarity are. Stuff that kids raw from school accept with a kind of timid acquiescence looks totally bizarre when viewed through the lens of a mature intelligence. This is brave and interesting material, not least because the administration at Stanford will be as mad as hell when it discovers what their sainted institution looks like when viewed with a detached and sceptical eye.

DIY PowerBook repairs and upgrades

Wonderful set of online DIY Guides for intrepid souls who won’t entrust their precious PowerBooks to anyone else. I’ve just looked at the Guide for upgrading the hard disk, and it’s thoughtfully structured and beautifully laid out. Even explains what a spudger is. Link via Slashdot.

Gadget wars, contd.

It has taken Quentin quite a while to recover from my acquisition of a Toyota Prius, but he doesn’t give up easily. Now he’s got a Gmail account. Bah! I know it’s not, strictly speaking, a gadget, but still…

Update:This posting went up at 09:37. A compassionate soul read it, and by 11:10 I had an invitation to set up a Gmail account. No wonder I love the Net. I’ve been using Gmail this afternoon, and it’s extremely slick and nicely designed. Up to now, using webmail has always been like wading through treacle. No longer.

Richard Avedon is dead…

… from a brain haemorrhage while working on a New Yorker assignment in Texas. I never really cared for his fashion photography — though many people in the business regarded it as seminal. But I loved his merciless portraiture using uncropped Hasselblad negatives. This lovely self-portrait comes from AP.

The latest attack on Linux — apparently it’s used to pirate Windows!

You couldn’t make this stuff up. Forrester Research, a consultancy, has decided that the reason PCs with pre-installed Linux are selling so widely is that people want to wipe their disks and install bootleg copies of Windows. Here’s the summary from Good Morning Silicon Valley:

Forty percent of PCs shipped with Linux in the U.S. and Western Europe are subsequently scrubbed clean and outfitted with a pirated copy of Windows. In emerging markets, that fate awaits a full 80 percent of Linux pre-installs. This according to research outfit Gartner, which notes in a report aptly titled: “Linux Has a Fight on Its Hands in Emerging PC Markets,” that by 2008, Linux will account for 7.5 percent of desktops shipped, but only 2.6 percent of the installed base. Just as the high price of legitimate copies of Windows is driving vendors in countries like China and Russia to ship Linux on many of their machines, the low price of pirated copies of the OS — which will set you back $1 in most cities in Asia and Eastern Europe — is driving many new PC owners to swap Linux for Windows. Writes Gartner analyst Annette Jump: “The widespread availability of pirated versions of Windows at a fraction of the cost of a legal copy stimulates the growth of Linux on PCs in emerging markets,”

Hmmm… having recently tried to persuade a Windows XP box to stay connected to a wireless network, my feeling is that XP is overpriced at $1.