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Password Sharing = Crime? http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/03/01/is_passwordlending_a_cybercrime/ Columnist Mark Rasch, in an article "Is Password Lending A Cybercrime" published in The Register, is critical of a recent decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where the judge found that the defendant violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. In that case the defendant, Berkshire Information Systems, obtain a password to a competitor's website from a client of website's owner, Inquiry Management Systems. The client who shared the password had a contractual obligation not to share the password. In his analysis, Rasch notes: "Under this decision, anytime you share your userid and password you're potentially committing or facilitating a felony. If you subscribe to, for example, the New York Times website (a free login) and let someone else log in with your userid, you might end up in the slammer - at least if you appear before Judge Buchwald." If that is so, then logging into a newspaper website with a borrowed password could potentially get you into the dock facing a criminal charge depending on the circumstances. The language in the statute includes "intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization" in its language and one would suppose that if you knowingly use somebody else's password to access a system, you are accessing the system without the owner's authorization. The law does require a showing that the unauthorized access by one or more persons caused damages or losses during a one year period of at least $5,000 in aggregate value. Borrowing you spouse's password to access a news site once probably wouldn't trigger the statute, but what about using a password from a website like www.bugmenot.com which advertises "Bypass Compulsory Web Registration" and states that it has liberated 66,191 sites? (Note: Bugmenot.com links to an ironic article at the New York Times website recommending Bugmenot.com -- ironic because the New York Times requires registration to see its content and charges $12.50 for an eight week subscription to its electronic edition.) One might then suppose that in the Southern District of New York, using a password from Bugmenot.com could be risky. There is a potential for a case to be made that the aggregate value of hundreds of people using shared passwords deprives the site owner of marketing information valued at over $5,000 or the value of electronic subscriptions that in the agregate are worth more than $5,000, triggering the statute. However, it is pretty early in the legal analysis to predict outcomes. Until several District Courts rule on similar cases and until these cases wind their way through the appeals process, we won't have much predictability in how the law is likely to be applied. That said, this may be a shot over the bow warning us that we really ought to be careful not to borrow or lend passwords. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/30/2005 12:41:00 PM 
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Satellite Imagery Maps http://www.keyhole.com/ Google owned Keyhole.com offers a both a personal and professional version of a desktop application that will allow you to download and view satellite images with map overlays. With Keyhole you can get imagery resolution at 2 feet for Baghdad and imagery resolution from 1 foot to 1 meter for more than 80 metropolitan areas around the world and in the U.S. Costs and Requirements: Keyhole operates as a subscription service at $24.95/yr for folks with an NVidia video card, $29.95/yr for all video cards, or $599/yr for business use. You'll need an internet connection and probably will want a broadband connection to use this service. Before downloading and using the trial version, you should check out the link "will my computer run Keyhole?" to make sure your computer meets the minimum requirements. Free Alternative: Google Maps offers both standard atlas maps and satellite imagery for free via the web. The free satellite images at Google are crisp and cover the same areas as Keyhole, but at a lower resolution. Keyhole Advantages/Features: Keyhole will allow you to zoom-in closer, tilt images, rotate images, add 3D terrain and overlay information like roads, street names, business names, and more. You can also use the F-11 key to make the image full screen for a single monitor. On a system with three monitors, the application can be made to span all the screens, but the images on the left and right monitors were fuzzy. Annoyances: Although Keyhole is pretty amazing and offers far more than the free Google satellite imagery service, it is not without its quirks and annoyances. The imagery display includes a cheesy looking version of the NVidia logo of poor quality and an overlay with Keyhole's copyright notice and another for the provider of the images that intrude into viewing space. If you use the overlays for businesses, you'll get helpful information. However, if you zoom in after applying the overlay, you'll find the markers for restaurants and retail stores no longer match the actual location of the businesses. Toggling the overlay off and then back on does not fix the problem. From the application you can launch a keyhole community website, but the window cannot be resized horizontally and you'll end up having to scroll horizontally to see the entire page - this is pretty inexcusable bad design. Recommended: Overall Keyhole has much to offer, though it does need to overcome some of its annoyances. Whether you want to see an overhead view of places in the news, check out the neighborhood where you live or have a look at a city, you'll find the images to be pretty outstanding. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/29/2005 07:42:00 AM
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Firefly Fans Rejoice http://www.apple.com/trailers/ universal/serenity/serenity_large.html The trailer for the Movie Serenity is now available on the Apple-Quicktime Trailers site (click link above). The trailer is outstanding and presages an riveting movie with plenty of action. The movie starts on September 30 and is the first of three. (Plot summary) For those that enjoyed the brief run of Firefly on TV, this movie will be a must. If you haven't seen the series and like Sci-Fi Action and Adventure, you may want to check out the series on DVD. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/27/2005 12:07:00 AM
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Longhorn Reviews - Ho Hum to So So http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/ Article/ArticleID/46175/windowspaulthurrott_46175.html Thurrott's Review: So far the news from WinHEC, as reported by Paul Thurrott, suggests that Longhorn's new public release build seems to be a step back and a prelude to a train wreck. Paul Thurott suggests that the project needs a lot of feedback. Apparently the new build confirms that the sidebar that was present in earlier builds is now gone. From my perspective as a webmaster, any new intrusion into browser space is bad and so this news sounds pretty good to me. Screenshots of the new Longhorn build are online at http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/longhorn_5048_gallery_01.asp Informationweek Review: Code bloat sums it up. InformationWeek projects that the code footprint for Longhorn will be 50% bigger than XP. See, How Big Will Longhorn Get? VNUNET Review: VNUNET notes that more features of Longhorn are being pulled in an effort to get it to market. See, Longhorn security gets its teeth kicked out TechWorld Review: Techworld reports that Microsoft has postponed its Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) security plan. The only survivor of NGSCB will be "Secure Startup" which is designed to protect data on a PC. See, Longhorn security technology scrapped PCmag.com Review: PC Magazine reports that the advanced filing system WinFS has been removed, but gives a favorable account of the new OS when running on a 64-bit computer. This review notes that a number of pleasant refinements have been made and is worth a look. See, A Quick Peek at Longhorn Posted by WEBnME @ 4/26/2005 09:24:00 PM
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Get the Latest Gouge on Longhorn - Microsoft's Next OS http://www.winsupersite.com/longhorn/ Learn About Longhorn: Wondering what the face of Microsoft's next OS will look like and how it will work, check out Paul Thurrott's Windows "Longhorn" Activity Center. This is probably the best chronicle of Longhorn's development on the web. Latest Info from WinHEC: For breaking news, you'll want to visit Windows Longhorn Live from WinHEC 2005 (WinHEC is the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference and the conference starts on Monday April 25 and runs through April 27.) Microsoft will be revealing its first public Longhorn build since Spring 2004 at WinHEC. Paul Thurrott will also be providing daily updates at the WinInfo Daily Update Website Related News - Microsoft to launch 64-bit version of Windows at WinHEC on Monday: Microsoft Announcement | Microsoft Windows XP 64 bit Edition | InformationWeek News Story Posted by WEBnME @ 4/24/2005 10:18:00 AM
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Monitor Your PC's Info http://www.ipi.fi/~rainy/index.php Rainlender and Rainmeter are two desktop apps that you just may want to have. Rainlender is a skinable calendar program that will display a To Do List, Events, and a Multi-month Calendar. Rainmeter is a skinable program that will display loads of information about your system including available memory, disk space, network traffic, and more. It also has modules for weather and news via RSS feeds. Put them together and you have some pretty sharp desktop toys. Click on the image below to see the full size display of Rainmeter.  Posted by WEBnME @ 4/24/2005 09:32:00 AM
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Get Your Free Armed Forces Day Virtual Poster http://www.dod.mil/home/images/ASY-AFD2005med.jpg  President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. Armed Forces Day is Saturday, May 21, 2005. Click the above link to get download a high resolution image of this year's Armed Forces Day poster.Posted by WEBnME @ 4/23/2005 07:32:00 AM
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Gimme Some 64-bit Skin! http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/ Stardock's WindowBlinds Version 4.51 is now available for download. This version will support the upcoming 64-bit version of Windows XP. And it will also give better support for Yahoo's Messenger and Photoshop. WindowBlinds is available as a separate program or as part of Stardock's Object Desktop. Once installed, skins are available at wincustomize.com, deviantArt.com, and many other skinning websites. WindowBlinds uses visual styles to transform your Windows desktop's appearance. And it is the only program of its kind to be certified by Microsoft. want to see some examples? Take a look at Stardock's short flash presentation with some sample skins Posted by WEBnME @ 4/23/2005 07:25:00 AM
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New Force Against Net Attacks http://www.ciddac.org The Cyber Incident Detection & Data Analysis Center (CIDDAC) is a pilot project to collect information on network intrusions and backed with a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. Its ops center at the University of Pennsylvania's Institute of Strategic Threat Analysis and Response Laboratory will use a network of sensors to gather information on intrusions and attempted intrusions. The CIDDAC press kit available from the CIDDAC site includes a graph indicating that its products dwarf those of the more well known SANS Incidents.org and CERT. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/21/2005 11:33:00 PM
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The Language of the Net http://www.netlingo.com/inframes.cfm Ever wonder what CUL8ER, DETI, FTTB, HIOOC, or 1D10T mean? Even if you haven't worried about this, you'll find that NetLingo.com's Dictionary of Internet Terms is a valuable resource for decoding the slang used in e-mail, on websites, and in IM's. The site uses frames effectively with a left frame full of acronyms. Just click one to have the definition displayed. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/21/2005 10:54:00 PM
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Microsoft Patches to Be Released on April 12 http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=160503395 Microsoft will be releasing eight patches for Windows, Office, Exchange, and MSN Messenger. At the same time Microsoft will be turning off automatic blocking of Windows XP Service Pack 2, which means you will no longer be able to put off doing this update. Remember - Microsoft does not deliver patches by e-mail. It does send links to updates via e-mail, but only if you have subscribed to Microsoft Security Bulletins! To be safe don't use e-mail links to get to MS updates. Hackers have been sending a spoofed e-mail around to entice the unwary to a site that installs a trojan on the victim's computer. See, Hackers Spoof Microsoft Patch Alert Again Because of spoofing, Microsoft has a page that explains How to Tell If a Microsoft Security-Related Message Is Genuine. Be safe and smart - use your computer's Windows Update button to get to Microsoft's update site, delete e-mails purporting to give a link to updates, and ignore websites that give links. The hacker site in this case looked very similar to the real Microsoft site. Other Microsoft Offerings that may be of interest:
Posted by WEBnME @ 4/09/2005 01:12:00 PM
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Adobe Reader Version 7 Released http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html Adobe has just released Adobe Reader 7. Go to the above URL to get your free download. The good news is that Adobe Reader 7 loads a lot faster than version 6. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/07/2005 09:38:00 PM
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SANS Infocon Yellow http://isc.sans.org/ The Internet Storm Center is at infocon yellow due to problems with DNS cache poisoning. See the SANS ISC site for details. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/07/2005 09:37:00 PM
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Remote Control Air Remote Control Air Conditioner Wow, now you can get an window air conditioner for your overheated computer room that has its own remote control. What will they think of next? I'm still looking for a bluetooth controlled air conditioner that I can run from an Ipaq, but this one is starting to look good. Some good articles on avoiding heat damage to computers:
Posted by WEBnME @ 4/05/2005 12:39:00 PM
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Money & Morals M&M'S Chocolate MPire At first blush, M&M's has a spiffy new web presentation that mimics Episode III of the Star Wars saga. M&M's site uses a crafty flash presentation that is a pseudo Star Wars Episode III trailer. Compare it to the Episode III Trailer The site exhorts visitors to "Chose The Dark Chocolate Side." This is a play on the fall of Anakin Skywalker from the path of the Jedi as he succombs to the will of the dark lord of the Sith. Ultimately this fall from the true path leads to his transformation into Darth Vader. While this candy caper may seem like good fun, there is a dark side to it. Whether intended or not, M&M's is glorifying the "dark side" of "The Force" with this creative effort. Instead of just blindly accepting it, we need to step back and ask what this showmanship symbolizes. Is it a good thing to market a dark chocolate candy using a theme that parallels a movie episode where the focus is on the destruction of the Jedi and the betrayal of the republic? The question is more important, when we consider that the evil Emperor Palpatine is dedicated to something far worse than genocide. His goal is the destruction of all non-human sensient beings? And yet in the M&M's version we see an M&M's Palpatine creating dark side M&M's, which we are supposed to accept as the right kind of candy . . . in fact the best kind of candy. What inferences can we draw? It sure looks like the expectation of repeaping vast amounts of money from a successful marketing campaign outweighed any moral judgment in candy land. What does this marketing campaign tell kids? "Hey its cool to join the Dark Side"? "Be on the side that represents the worst of aspirations'? The sweets spinmasters could just as easily have picked a campaign for white chocolate M&Ms with a slogan of "Resist the Dark Side of Chocolate, Be A True Jedi" now couldn't they? But, they didn't do that. Then again, it probably would have been harder to market the "Collector's Edition set of 16 M&M's Brand figurines." It is sad that a candy originally designed to help American GIs fighting in World War II against a vicious and evil empire has been transformed, like Anakin Skywalker, to serve the Dark Side. Why pitch a fuss? Edmund Burke put it best: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." So good Jedi, resist the Dark Side of the Force. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/03/2005 05:24:00 AM
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What Happens Following the Death of a Pope CNN.com - Strict ritual in days after death - Apr 2, 2005 CNN has a very good summary of the procedures that will be followed in the wake of the Pope's death.and leading to the election of a new Pontiff. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/02/2005 05:25:00 PM
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Passing of Pope John Paul II Vatican Website  This afternoon over 1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide and millions of others touched by the life of John Paul II morned his passing. For those who wish to remember John Paul II, the best single source of information on his life is the Vatican website with its catalog of his letters, homilies and writings along with his biography.The Vatican website is being bombarded with visitors and is being overwhelmed with volume. As a result pages on the site may take some time to display properly. The biography of John Paul II from the Vatican Website may also be accessed via a cached copy on Google. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/02/2005 04:58:00 PM
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Counting Sheep http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/ humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf Are you agile or a slug? Step over to the BBC's science area and count some sheep - follow the directions and see how well you do. Posted by WEBnME @ 4/01/2005 12:00:00 PM
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