Wednesday, November 26, 2003

I will write more about this Congress Expands FBI Spying Power. A new bill boosts the scope of the Patriot Act by extending the FBI's power to acquire records from almost any business without a judge's approval. It's a huge blow to checks and balances, critics say. By Ryan Singel. [Wired News] The Patriot Act II has been enacted despite the demise of Rear Admiral John Poindexter's TIA plan. It was tacked onto an appropriations bill for Security by the Congress before the Thanksgiving break. Now it's law and we have to live with the knowledge that the FBI can legally drop National Security Letters in our mailboxes and we HAVE to comply. 8:17:22 PM    comment []

Update: TechTool Pro 4. Micromat announced that it has released TechTool Pro , the latest version of its suite of troubleshooting tools, featuring Mac OS X 10.3 Panther compatibility. [MacInTouch] Everything I've read so far indicates Tech Tool 4 is da bomb! Looks like it might be worth purchasing, possibly along with Roxio Toast 6 Platinum for OS X. I'll have to budget for this accordingly. Right now I just wish my damned Norton Utilities that I downloaded would let me see my Panther journaled volumes!??? Dang it! I just bought it a week before the release date, and now it can't do anything! 7:57:01 PM    comment []

Security: Mac OS X DHCP Vulnerability. Better review this important security advisory from William Carrel if you're running Mac OS X.... [MacInTouch] Open the Directory Access utility and then follow the directions contained in this article to maintain security on your OS X machine. Many versions of OS X are affected not just Panther. It's very easy to harden your OS against the attacks outlined in the article, JUST DO IT! 7:46:46 PM    comment []

Thursby compares ADmitMac v1.1 to Panther. Thursby Software has posted a white paper comparing ADmitMac v1.1 with Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), off... [MacNN | The Macintosh News Network] I've been watching this Thursby product for a while (I used to also be a fan of Miramar Systems for AppleTalk on PC products). I've just been blown away that they keep on developing products for the Mac, and especially one of kind products like ADmit. Nobody has given as much effort and thought as Thursby in trying to integrate Macs into Windows Domains. They are doing a great job, and if all their advertising is true, do a better job keeping the Macs from disappearing from the comapnies that use them. 7:40:06 AM    comment []