Thursday, December 11, 2003

Did Blaster cause the August blackout? Did Blaster cause the August blackout?. Bruce Schneier (author of Beyond Fear) speculates that the great August blackout on the East Coast may have been caused by the Blaster worm. Although the worm didn't have to perform any malicious actions on the computers it infected, its mere existence drained resources and often caused the host computer to crash. To remove the worm, a system administrator had to run a program that erased the malicious code; then, the administrator had to patch the vulnerability so that the computer would not get reinfected. The coincidence is too obvious to ignore. At 2:14 p.m. EDT, the MSBlast worm was dropping systems all across North America. The report doesn't explain why so many computers--both primary and backup systems--at FirstEnergy were failing at around the same time. But MSBlast is certainly a reasonable suspect. Link [Boing Boing Blog] 4:51:58 AM  comment []    trackback []     Turning off your SSID is dumb? Turning off your SSID is dumb. Good, short white-paper explains why turning off your WiFi access point's SSID broadcast is not only bad for security, it's also bad for performance. Contrary to a common belief that the SSID is a WLAN security feature and its exposure a security risk, the SSID is nothing more than a wireless-space group label. It cannot be successfully hidden. Attempts to hide it will not only fail, but will negatively impact WLAN performance, and may result in additional exposure of the SSID to passive scanning. The performance impact of this misguided effort will be felt in multiple WLAN scenarios, including simple operations like joining a WLAN, and in significantly longer roaming times. 129k PDF Link) (via WiFi Net News) [Boing Boing Blog] 4:48:24 AM  comment []    trackback []     WIFI takes over another city Athens Georgia, Half Moon Bay, Calif. and now Cerritos, Calif.  I bet this list will grow faster and the cities will get bigger as the "WIFI city momentum" continues to move "full steam ahead" next year. "The project is being touted by Aiirnet Wireless, its operator, as the largest wireless networking, or Wi-Fi, deployment in the nation." Calif. City Making Wireless Web Access (AP) Calif. City Making Wireless Web Access (AP). AP - Browsing the Web from this Southern California city may soon become an outdoor sport. [Yahoo! News - Technology] 4:45:48 AM  comment []    trackback []     A legal SAM Before I forget, there will be a way to make your SAM files available under a Creative Commons.  This is a must!! a legaltorrent a legaltorrent. Using BitTorrent technology, LegalTorrents is making 5 gig of MP3 music available, all licensed under a Creative Commons license. [Lessig Blog] 4:44:31 AM  comment []    trackback []     Another PC streaming audio adapter Wow.  Another way for audio to steal your attention.  The list of players in this field seems to be growing everyday.  I am sure we could find a way to use these devices to Listen To SAM.  Interesting idea don't you think?? Omnifi DMS1 Wireless Digital Media Streamer Omnifi DMS1 Wireless Digital Media Streamer. If you are a big fan of the Rhapsody Internet music service, you are going to have a sweet spot for the Omnifi DMS1 Wireless Digital Media Streamer. Not only does the DMS1 stream MP3/WMA music files from your PC... [eHomeUpgrade | The Home Networking & Digital Lifestyle Weblog] 4:41:52 AM  comment []    trackback []     Creating the "best effort" phone network With all the employee incentive packages and downsizing of late in the telecom industry of key PSN provisioning staff, IMHO the RBOCs, from a business network operation standpoint really don't have much of a choice but to move the old killer voice application (the telephone) to a "best effort network" like the Internet to compete and grow this apllication to the next level (on the net).  If you can't beat the competition on price with what you already own, compete with the competition by selling what they have been successful selling to undercut you.  Worked before with dialup Internet access.  They still have the brand, world class technical reputation, world class phone sales force with a proven billing system to go with it.  Customers seem to like the one monthly bill idea from someone they have trusted over the years.  Qwest to Offer Residential Voice Over IP (AP) Qwest to Offer Residential Voice Over IP (AP). AP - Qwest Communications International Inc. is becoming the first Baby Bell to offer residential Internet phone service, embracing a technology that could undermine the traditional phone business. [Yahoo! News - Technology] 4:40:48 AM  comment []    trackback []

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