Keygen routine producing valid WinXP product keys?. Sounds like bad news for Microsoft's WPA... [The Register] 

10:46:33 AM   

DEMO 2002 gets down to business. Sort of.

Demo 2002 Cuts the Fluff. Most offerings at this annual high-tech product show are now quite businesslike. Some, though, are still just plain cool [Business Week: Technology] 

8:30:14 AM   

Well now, that didn't take long.

Security researchers at Northern Virginia's Cigital yesterday announced a security flaw in Microsoft's new Visual Studio .NET. The researchers pointed to a problem in a compiler in Visual C++.NET. Microsoft reportedly had modified the compiler to aid in preventing buffer overflows. Cigital CTO Gary McGraw said Microsoft apparently adopted a technique for improving its compiler that has been used with the Linux operating system - and that has been shown to be vulnerable to attack. Instead of being safer, McGraw says the new compiler could lead to an increased number of buffer overflow vulnerabilities.

For its part, Microsoft spokespeople responded by suggesting that the flaw was very technical and narrow, and that Cigital was only motivated by a desire to embarrass Microsoft since the firm wasn't selected by Redmond to perform vulnerability testing. Microsoft was also reportedly distressed that Cigital didn't comply with its "don't ask, don't tell" philosophy over security bugs, where researchers keep flaws secret so the bad guys don't figure it out. Cigital responds that while it normally would hold disclosure of a vulnerability until a fix could be delivered for software in use, since this is a new product it believes early disclosure could prevent users from inadvertantly introducing weaknesses into programs. Subscription Required

A Microsoft technology for plugging a common security hole is vulnerable to the very attack it was designed to prevent, a security consultancy says. [Wall Street Journal] 

8:12:34 AM   

In case you haven't already guessed, suggesting your product is cute may not be your best lead.

Gender vendors. Electronics marketers are eager to answer a question that even Freud had trouble with: What do women want? [Christian Science Monitor: SciTech] 

7:55:13 AM   

VC were involved in more deals last year, but the valuations of those transactions dropped precipitously from prior years.

Venture Capitalists Take Different 'Exits'. Venture capitalists sold their investments to other companies through mergers and acquisitions in record numbers last year instead of taking them public through initial offerings of stock as the value of those deals plummeted, according to figures released yesterday. [The Washington Post : Business] 

7:48:32 AM   

Security software from Microsoft seems like quite a leap just at the moment, given the company's current track record. History suggests that won't stop people from buying.

Microsoft eyes new turf to conquer. The software titan plans to make deeper forays into the areas of security software and storage through two upstart divisions. [CNET News.com] 

7:44:37 AM   

This has absolutely no relevance to our normal discussion, but I'll offer it anyway in the spirit of the season.

New York Daily News Online | News and Views | City Beat | Jetliner Lust Attracts F-16s: "A randy, drug-fueled romp in a New York-bound jet's rest room sparked a midair terror scare that sent a pair of F-16 fighter jets scrambling, authorities revealed yesterday. " 

7:40:03 AM