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TECH UPDATE
Internet security experts have found two “flaws” with Microsoft’s long-awaited security update for its WindowsXP, but the software behemoth insists that the new SP2 is secure. Microsoft said its Service Pack 2 (SP2) offers users the latest security “innovations,” but Internet security experts said hackers could exploit cracks in SP2 defences to exploit a user’s computer.
Only recently Microsoft began rolling out SP2. It said the update fixes several security holes and provides new protective features.
However, the software firm has warned customers that the security update could interfere with nearly 50 programs.
According to Microsoft’s Web site: “Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) will bring users the latest security updates and innovations from Microsoft. It will establish stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers, and worms.”
However, in an online briefing, German Internet security experts Heise Security said “there are two flaws” with SP2.
Computer hackers could evade SP2’s new security features and infect a computer that uses Windows with a virus or a worm, according to Heise Security.
Heise said certain Windows features would allow users to open potentially harmful files downloaded from the Internet without being warned about hidden risks.
Microsoft has said it had investigated the claims, but was not aware of any way a hacker could use the flaws highlighted by Heise to infiltrate a Windows computer. The full list of affected programs can be seen on Microsoft’s website via www.microsoft.com.
New WiFi chips expected
Intel is soon expected to introduce a chip that adds support for a relatively obscure version of WiFi, analysts revealed in a move that could help ease congestion on wireless networks.
Intel is expected to announce the availability of a “tri-mode” Wi-Fi chip that supports the two most popular wireless data technology varieties — 802.11b and its speedier cousin, 802.11g — and the less-used 802.11a. Intel’s current chips support only the “b” and “g” varieties.
Intel would only say that announcement is “to introduce its latest wireless technology for Intel Centrino notebooks.”
Analysts, however, said the news was likely to be the new Wi-Fi chip, as Intel has said previously it would have the product ready in the second half of the year.
“The only new thing that’s upcoming is the tri-mode chip,” said JMP Securities analyst Krishna Shankar.
Tri-mode Wi-Fi chips are expected to become prevalent, they say, allowing computers to automatically connect to the best available network.
802.11a offers speeds as fast as 54Mbps, equivalent to 802.11g. The original Wi-Fi standard, 802.11b, runs as fast as 11Mbps, still far faster than most home broadband connections.
Can computers really argue?
British researcher Nick Jennings says “yes.” And that’s not all. Jennings claims computers can evaluate the most successful strategy for conflict resolution, including reformulating their actions, or evading confrontation.
And like HAL — who is certain his human masters are about to disconnect him — computer agents only argue as a last resort, Jennings maintains.
Jennings — a computer science professor at the University of Southampton, assesses the effectiveness of so-called “argumentation-based negotiation” (ABN) for computer agents in a recently published paper.
Agents are computer systems to which an operator can delegate tasks.
Considered autonomous in comparison to programs that depend on every keystroke, agents are increasingly used in a wide range of industrial and commercial domains, including robotics, e-commerce, computer games and information retrieval.
In systems with more than one agent, where “autonomous entities pursue their own goals, conflict is inevitable,” Jennings explained.
Negotiation among the agents is the best way to “resolve these problems,” he added.
To resolve conflicts through negotiation, computers need artificial intelligence programs, which are “increasingly being used on internet, in our homes, and in the workplace,” says Jennings.
“To improve their performance, we need to ensure they have the ability to overcome real-world problems, such as conflict,” he stressed.
“I am very much in agreement with Prof. Jennings on the importance and the promise of agent technology,” said Agentis chief technology officer David.
New virus for voyeurs
A new computer virus takes spying on victims one step farther than most worms — the malicious program is capable of switching on webcams, allowing the author to literally peek into victims’ lives. The virus, called Rbot-GR, isn’t spreading much, according to antivirus firm Sophos. Still, the technique is “creepy,” says spokesman Graham Cluley, and it brings digital voyeurism to new heights.
“It may become a standard part of the virus arsenal, like opening backdoors, and stealing keystrokes,” he said. With more consumers signed up for always-on broadband services, webcams have become more common, Cluey said.
The worm’s name, Rbot, comes from the fact that it’s designed to turn a remote computer into a robot that will do the virus writer’s bidding. There are actually thousands of variants of the Rbot worm, experts said, with a new one appearing almost every day.
Remote control of victims’ computers isn’t new. The infamous hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow published a program in the late 1990s called Back Orifice which allowed hackers to perform all kinds of mischief including opening and closing CD-ROM drive doors and switching on webcams. — Sci-tech World Report
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