February 2009
13 posts
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Why your tiered password scheme is flawed, and... →
First, let me explain what I mean by “tiered password scheme”. Many perfectly smart people I know have one strong password they use for one or two online banking type sites. They’ll then have a “medium security” password they use on sites that kind of important to them (maybe those sites have their credit card info stored), but not critical to day to day stuff. Then they’ll have one or two...
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It's not always about money; sometimes hackers... →
It’s not always about money; sometimes hackers just hate you Malware authors and hackers have to eat like the rest of us, but security data from 2008 suggests many engage in their illegal activities for other reasons besides a desire to get money. Twenty-four percent of all the attacks the Web Hacking Incidents Database logged for 2008 were related to website defacement.
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Microsoft suit over FAT patents could open OSS... →
Microsoft has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against TomTom alleging that the device maker’s products, including some that are Linux-based, infringe on patents related to Microsoft’s FAT32 filesystem. This marks the first time that Microsoft has enforced its FAT patents against the Linux platform, a move that some free software advocates have long feared could be disastrous.
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Microsoft Sues TomTom For Linux Patent... →
Microsoft (MSFT) has gone and done it, they’ve filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming Linux violates their patents. The case centers on portable GPS device maker Tomtom, which uses Linux in its device. Despite Microsoft claiming for years that parts of Linux infringe on its intellectual property, the case is believed to be the first time Microsoft has tried to prove a case against...
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SEC, FTC Investigating Heartland After Data Theft →
Federal agencies, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, have begun investigating Heartland Payment Systems following a massive data breach at the payment processing company.
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Scientists Discover Material Harder Than Diamond →
Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called wurtzite boron nitride (w-BN) has a greater indentation strength than diamond. The scientists also calculated that another material, lonsdaleite (also called hexagonal diamond, since it’s made of carbon and...
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The Audacity of Doing Nothing →
I spent a few days recently in the company of some money managers with a total of about $2 trillion to invest, precisely the sort of folks whose confidence the government is currently trying to win. How did they feel about all of the rule and policy changes coming out of Washington and the new more muscular government? Terrified.
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US broadband infrastructure investments need... →
In a guest op-ed, the founder and executive director of BroadbandCensus.com cautions that the broadband infrastructure investments planned as part of the economic stimulus package need transparency if they’re to be effective.
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Broadband spending trimmed in stimulus compromise →
Spending cuts are the theme of the Senate’s compromise draft of legislation meant to inject cash into a flagging economy. Those include a $2 billion reduction in money for rural broadband deployment, bringing the total down to $7 billion—though that’s still more than the $6 billion allocated for broadband in the House version of the bill.
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The Incredible Shrinking Operating System →
The center of gravity is shifting away from the traditional, massive operating systems of the past, as even the major OSes are slimming their footprint to make code bases easier to manage and secure, and to increase the variety of devices on which they can run, InfoWorld reports. Microsoft, for one, is cutting down the number of services that run at boot to ensure Windows 7 will run across a...
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Are You Addicted to Information Insecurity? →
Poor security is like nicotine for some companies. Ben Rothke offers advice on kicking the habit.
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