Sorry, when people use a wrong definition too much, then the wrong definition gets associated with the word in the dictionaries and then becomes an acceptable definition.
Bitrate and bandwidth have unfortunately become interchangable terms in common culture, even though us geeks know that there's a subtile difference.
The FCC's talking about powerline broadband. Yeah, we're nowhere close to a commercial rollout yet, but at least the regulators are certifying that the plans won't cause massive harm to any other communications tech, so they're about to sign off on it.
In totally unrelated hearings, Free World Dialup / Pulver.com (who we discussed yesterday seems likely to get the preemptive ruling they were asking for that they not be subject to the regulations that the Ma Bells wish the FCC would slap them with. That battle seems over for good.
FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps has made his usual objections to deregulation and sided with the Ma Bells on the FWD issue, but as has been the trend recently, he was outvoted.
Political types also gave typical quotes about the future of technology. None of which are very newsworthy, but the columnist still had a little space to fill even though he already combined two stories into one report.
Please do not freak out. For those of you who were mislead by the headline to think that the FCC was debating the merits of IPv6 or something of the like, you can use the back button on your browser to go looking for a more interesting story on the home page now.
When there's 48 similar worms all doing similar things, it's a little hard to figure out which one came first, and which worm caused which damage. Confuse juries enough to create a reasonable doubt, and in the USA at least you're in the clear...
Yeah, OSS software is at risk of exploits, but he's neglecting the fact that once geeks realize that they can't compile the open source version to the binary, a red flag goes next to the binary. And if the binary starts doing malware things, then that binary goes down in flames, and the project will immediately fork with the last released source.
I doubt Microsoft will ever write software for Linux, but it's inevitable that that things like Lindows will forever strive to make Linux as easy as Windows because that's essential for Linux to take over the desktop market.
However, with that, some of the inherent security of Linux fails. Imagine an e-mail client that will execute a binary attachment with no questions asked because the user double-clicked on the pretty icon. That's how MyDoom spread on Windows, and basically, it's the fact that the current setup for Linux makes it hard to execute something new that makes people realize what they have before they run it...
As soon as we have pretty looking greeting card executables that run on Linux, the downfall will be what comes next...
What's new is that it appears the creator of the gaping hole put out a sequel worm that exploits the hole. No need to understand virus propogation techniques anymore, those who want to exploit the hole for their own use just need to reprogram the payload part of DoomJuice...
The difference between killing as street murder and killing as an act of war lies simply in the volume and intent. We're crossing the line into war because MyDoom is a much bigger problem than any obscure exploit.
Not to mention, DoomJuice appears to have come from the original author, which saves the copycats a lot of time in figuring out how to exploit the new flaw.
In fact, it seems all these people need to do is change the payload of DoomJuice to fit their specific wishes. One letter is not going to be enough to keep all the DoomJuice.* variants straight.
This is starting to seem like a cyber version of 9/11/01. So many new worms are being reported so quickly that it's starting to become hard to keep the different stories straight. It seems to magnify the effect of fear to have multiple events on top of each other rather than one at a time...
The problem was, by releasing Doomjuice, that author has effectively released an open source program to exploit what I'm calling "DoomNet", the network formed by the PCs infected with MyDoom that haven't been cleaned up yet.
So, effectively we've got worm-writing for dummies now. No need to write new full-featured virus, nor even the need to know how to exploit an obscure security hole. Just take DoomJuice and add your own payload...
I'm surprised someone hasn't made an email virus that installs an OS on the machine.
Too many problems with that... Boot sectors are more or less locked down by your standard anti-virus program. Unless the virus installs an already-infected copy of the new operating system, it wouldn't be able to use past infections as zombies.
What you described is just a standard-grade cyber scam.
If organized crime is behind MyDoom, then it certainly allows them to upgrade to a cyber war. MyDoom takes a territory of the Internet over, otherwise innocent user's PCs suddenly do the work of the hackers. No longer would this crime group need to rent out or hack individual servers to run cyber-scams, MyDoom's backdoor gives them full invisible control the hacked PCs, including the ability to harvest random users' indenties and contacts.
It appears to be unrelated spyware, kidnapping any active AIM client and sending out assorted "Check out this site..." links, which then prey on the fact that most people say "Yes" to the "Do you want this ActiveX control? Somebody signed it." box.
Possibly it was inspired by MyDoom's reminder of how easy it is for a virus to wear just a little bit of sheep's clothing and get a user to give it the okay to execute.
MyDoom's backdoor has been demonstrated by DoomJuice and now the copycats are at it. There's now network of zombies willing to do the bidding of anybody who hacks in... remember, the MyDoom name is based on a typo, the author wanted to call it MyDomain.
I guess the only positive side effect is that some of these DoomJuice variants are closing the back door from the original MyDoom so that nobody else can interfere with them. Now, if only there was a MyDoom uninstaller worm that didn't have another distructive payload...
I think Maya is one of the most revolutionary products in software history not just for its tech capabilities, but the way they sell it.
To curb piracy of their full value product, they released a Personal Learn Edition that made all the features of the full product available, but put on a watermark that made the output useless for commercial use and encrypted the saved files so that the commerical version would not open them. Those who designed something and then sold it, however, could send their encrypted file in when they purchase their license to get it converted to a file their full version could open and output without the watermark. They also offered a $20 how-to DVD for those who wanted to learn the program with a minimal outlay of money.
They also made what could be the most dramatic price cut in software history, knocking their entry-level product's price from $7,500 to $1,999 and taking their high-level product from $16,000 to $7000. Clearly, they made it up on volume.
So, not only was this a great technical program, but it became priced so that even moderately-funded producers could afford the program, and therefore made it accessable to the people who needed it. I just hope these unnamed investors don't raise the prices back to where they were...
What he wants is control over is how certain things can be broadcast. Nudity is okay on clearly marked programs that air after 10pm local time... but that is not what the Super Bowl Halftime Show was.
Yes, but Powell belives that the pre-existing rules are part of the problem, that the highest penality he can assess right now is $27,500 per station that broadcast a rule-breaking program. His proposal is that the fines be adjusted to make a dent in the now big-pocket companies that would pay them... $275,000 per station that broadcasts a rule breaking incident, with the ability to define more than one incident per program and also lower the bar it takes to revoke the licenses of stations that repeatedly offend.
Powell is also threatening to make a play for the ability to regulate cable content, which so far has been out of reach the FCC, but is within the domain of Canada's broadcast regulators. He's not quite making the proposal for this yet, but is warning cable operators that they better show an improved effort to self-police if they don't want the government coming.
Of course, the FCC cannot increase its own power. The FCC can only execute laws on the books. So, any such proposal needs congressional approval. Still, Powell's a big voice on Capitol Hill, and these seem like reasonable requests given the current state of things, so Congress just might give him the power he's requesting.
The fear isn't as much in protecting the jobs of Ma Bell employees, but making sure that anybody who wants to come forward as the replacement to Ma Bell provide a full replacement to Ma Bell, not just one that satisfies the market.
People would not voluntarily pay for 911 service if it was optional, but as a society, the community as a whole is better off to have it. Therefore 911 comes free with any POTS or cellular service you get, whether you like it or not. The question that the VoIP suppliers having trouble answering is how they intend to duplicate the 911 system in a world where they rule the marketplace and the POTS system is shut down as obsolite.
Some people have decided they don't need POTS because their cell phone is a total replacement. If people are going to start ditching POTS because VoIP is all they need, we better make sure it lives up to the same reliabilty and service levels.
Because although the VeriChip doesn't fall into the "food" or "drug" category, it's dangerously close to the line and the investigation was into if they have crossed it.
The VeriChip makers suggest that it could be used future to provide information about an unconcious person to medical personel. Such a use would be a medical use, but since they're only implanting the thing in a few people without providing the readers to any of those people's medical providers... uhm, the medical application hasn't been developed yet.
Also, they're going into a rather new territory that maybe should be regulated. Afterall, body piercings are regulated by the states, but who's regulating ID chips implanted into humans? There's serious health risks associated with implanting things into humans that don't belong there, so some safety protocol needs to be followed to make sure they're doing things right. If the FDA doesn't have the power to regulate, then somebody should be...
Powell's attitude towards the Janet Jackson situation is also being misunderstood in some circles.
He doesn't want the FCC to have to crack down on broadcast and cable content, he'd rather the media companies control themselves. However, the recent events showed that they aren't self-regulating very well, so he is threatening a serious crackdown because unless they get their act toghether, the FCC has to do so.
Powell wants the FCC to be hands-off whenever possible, but he also knows when that just isn't possible and he has to take an action.
I'm very hopeful he rules for "hands-off" in this FWD situation.
No. The threat is that the FCC will lump VoIP into Telecommunications, which therefore subjects them to regulation. Right now, the FCC barely has its hands on the VoIP industry, as the line is kept very close to the traditional telephone systems.
If you're doing VoIP within the PTSN, or as a last mile connect to the PTSN, you're somewhat regulated as a phone company, all other uses of VoIP are in the clear. Clearly, the phone companies would like that line moved out further, but the tech industry does not.
Yes, and that's most likely why current telecom providers want this to be considered a regulated service, so that only they can provide it. Right now, its a service the Ma Bells have the abilities to provide, but they don't because they wouldn't be able to charge for it while FWD is still in existance.
FWD is an enabler that helps the VoIP to phone linkers, but is not a VoIP to phone linker themselves.
Slashdot Mirror
It's a slow tech news day. The NY Times wrote a piece with tons of filler content and then /. ended up running it beause it needs filler content too.
If you do VoIP around your own house, you're using a PBX which the FCC doesn't care about.
If you're doing person-to-person and computer-to-computer VoIP with people you've already met some other way to avoid phone calls, you're okay.
If you're doing VoIP that's connecting to the PTSN somehow in place of the "last mile", the FCC wants to have a talk with you.
Sorry, when people use a wrong definition too much, then the wrong definition gets associated with the word in the dictionaries and then becomes an acceptable definition.
Bitrate and bandwidth have unfortunately become interchangable terms in common culture, even though us geeks know that there's a subtile difference.
let's translate this article into geek-speak:
The FCC's talking about powerline broadband. Yeah, we're nowhere close to a commercial rollout yet, but at least the regulators are certifying that the plans won't cause massive harm to any other communications tech, so they're about to sign off on it.
In totally unrelated hearings, Free World Dialup / Pulver.com (who we discussed yesterday seems likely to get the preemptive ruling they were asking for that they not be subject to the regulations that the Ma Bells wish the FCC would slap them with. That battle seems over for good.
FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps has made his usual objections to deregulation and sided with the Ma Bells on the FWD issue, but as has been the trend recently, he was outvoted.
Political types also gave typical quotes about the future of technology. None of which are very newsworthy, but the columnist still had a little space to fill even though he already combined two stories into one report.
Please do not freak out. For those of you who were mislead by the headline to think that the FCC was debating the merits of IPv6 or something of the like, you can use the back button on your browser to go looking for a more interesting story on the home page now.
When there's 48 similar worms all doing similar things, it's a little hard to figure out which one came first, and which worm caused which damage. Confuse juries enough to create a reasonable doubt, and in the USA at least you're in the clear...
Yeah, OSS software is at risk of exploits, but he's neglecting the fact that once geeks realize that they can't compile the open source version to the binary, a red flag goes next to the binary. And if the binary starts doing malware things, then that binary goes down in flames, and the project will immediately fork with the last released source.
I doubt Microsoft will ever write software for Linux, but it's inevitable that that things like Lindows will forever strive to make Linux as easy as Windows because that's essential for Linux to take over the desktop market.
However, with that, some of the inherent security of Linux fails. Imagine an e-mail client that will execute a binary attachment with no questions asked because the user double-clicked on the pretty icon. That's how MyDoom spread on Windows, and basically, it's the fact that the current setup for Linux makes it hard to execute something new that makes people realize what they have before they run it...
As soon as we have pretty looking greeting card executables that run on Linux, the downfall will be what comes next...
What's new is that it appears the creator of the gaping hole put out a sequel worm that exploits the hole. No need to understand virus propogation techniques anymore, those who want to exploit the hole for their own use just need to reprogram the payload part of DoomJuice...
The difference between killing as street murder and killing as an act of war lies simply in the volume and intent. We're crossing the line into war because MyDoom is a much bigger problem than any obscure exploit.
Not to mention, DoomJuice appears to have come from the original author, which saves the copycats a lot of time in figuring out how to exploit the new flaw.
In fact, it seems all these people need to do is change the payload of DoomJuice to fit their specific wishes. One letter is not going to be enough to keep all the DoomJuice.* variants straight.
This is starting to seem like a cyber version of 9/11/01. So many new worms are being reported so quickly that it's starting to become hard to keep the different stories straight. It seems to magnify the effect of fear to have multiple events on top of each other rather than one at a time...
The problem was, by releasing Doomjuice, that author has effectively released an open source program to exploit what I'm calling "DoomNet", the network formed by the PCs infected with MyDoom that haven't been cleaned up yet.
So, effectively we've got worm-writing for dummies now. No need to write new full-featured virus, nor even the need to know how to exploit an obscure security hole. Just take DoomJuice and add your own payload...
I'm surprised someone hasn't made an email virus that installs an OS on the machine.
Too many problems with that... Boot sectors are more or less locked down by your standard anti-virus program. Unless the virus installs an already-infected copy of the new operating system, it wouldn't be able to use past infections as zombies.
What you described is just a standard-grade cyber scam.
If organized crime is behind MyDoom, then it certainly allows them to upgrade to a cyber war. MyDoom takes a territory of the Internet over, otherwise innocent user's PCs suddenly do the work of the hackers. No longer would this crime group need to rent out or hack individual servers to run cyber-scams, MyDoom's backdoor gives them full invisible control the hacked PCs, including the ability to harvest random users' indenties and contacts.
It appears to be unrelated spyware, kidnapping any active AIM client and sending out assorted "Check out this site..." links, which then prey on the fact that most people say "Yes" to the "Do you want this ActiveX control? Somebody signed it." box.
Possibly it was inspired by MyDoom's reminder of how easy it is for a virus to wear just a little bit of sheep's clothing and get a user to give it the okay to execute.
MyDoom's backdoor has been demonstrated by DoomJuice and now the copycats are at it. There's now network of zombies willing to do the bidding of anybody who hacks in... remember, the MyDoom name is based on a typo, the author wanted to call it MyDomain.
I guess the only positive side effect is that some of these DoomJuice variants are closing the back door from the original MyDoom so that nobody else can interfere with them. Now, if only there was a MyDoom uninstaller worm that didn't have another distructive payload...
I think Maya is one of the most revolutionary products in software history not just for its tech capabilities, but the way they sell it.
To curb piracy of their full value product, they released a Personal Learn Edition that made all the features of the full product available, but put on a watermark that made the output useless for commercial use and encrypted the saved files so that the commerical version would not open them. Those who designed something and then sold it, however, could send their encrypted file in when they purchase their license to get it converted to a file their full version could open and output without the watermark. They also offered a $20 how-to DVD for those who wanted to learn the program with a minimal outlay of money.
They also made what could be the most dramatic price cut in software history, knocking their entry-level product's price from $7,500 to $1,999 and taking their high-level product from $16,000 to $7000. Clearly, they made it up on volume.
So, not only was this a great technical program, but it became priced so that even moderately-funded producers could afford the program, and therefore made it accessable to the people who needed it. I just hope these unnamed investors don't raise the prices back to where they were...
What he wants is control over is how certain things can be broadcast. Nudity is okay on clearly marked programs that air after 10pm local time... but that is not what the Super Bowl Halftime Show was.
Yes, but Powell belives that the pre-existing rules are part of the problem, that the highest penality he can assess right now is $27,500 per station that broadcast a rule-breaking program. His proposal is that the fines be adjusted to make a dent in the now big-pocket companies that would pay them... $275,000 per station that broadcasts a rule breaking incident, with the ability to define more than one incident per program and also lower the bar it takes to revoke the licenses of stations that repeatedly offend.
Powell is also threatening to make a play for the ability to regulate cable content, which so far has been out of reach the FCC, but is within the domain of Canada's broadcast regulators. He's not quite making the proposal for this yet, but is warning cable operators that they better show an improved effort to self-police if they don't want the government coming.
Of course, the FCC cannot increase its own power. The FCC can only execute laws on the books. So, any such proposal needs congressional approval. Still, Powell's a big voice on Capitol Hill, and these seem like reasonable requests given the current state of things, so Congress just might give him the power he's requesting.
The fear isn't as much in protecting the jobs of Ma Bell employees, but making sure that anybody who wants to come forward as the replacement to Ma Bell provide a full replacement to Ma Bell, not just one that satisfies the market.
People would not voluntarily pay for 911 service if it was optional, but as a society, the community as a whole is better off to have it. Therefore 911 comes free with any POTS or cellular service you get, whether you like it or not. The question that the VoIP suppliers having trouble answering is how they intend to duplicate the 911 system in a world where they rule the marketplace and the POTS system is shut down as obsolite.
Some people have decided they don't need POTS because their cell phone is a total replacement. If people are going to start ditching POTS because VoIP is all they need, we better make sure it lives up to the same reliabilty and service levels.
Because although the VeriChip doesn't fall into the "food" or "drug" category, it's dangerously close to the line and the investigation was into if they have crossed it.
The VeriChip makers suggest that it could be used future to provide information about an unconcious person to medical personel. Such a use would be a medical use, but since they're only implanting the thing in a few people without providing the readers to any of those people's medical providers... uhm, the medical application hasn't been developed yet.
Also, they're going into a rather new territory that maybe should be regulated. Afterall, body piercings are regulated by the states, but who's regulating ID chips implanted into humans? There's serious health risks associated with implanting things into humans that don't belong there, so some safety protocol needs to be followed to make sure they're doing things right. If the FDA doesn't have the power to regulate, then somebody should be...
Unfortunately, the telecom industry is making a dupe submission to the FCC that's been not accepted every other time it's been submitted...
Powell's attitude towards the Janet Jackson situation is also being misunderstood in some circles.
He doesn't want the FCC to have to crack down on broadcast and cable content, he'd rather the media companies control themselves. However, the recent events showed that they aren't self-regulating very well, so he is threatening a serious crackdown because unless they get their act toghether, the FCC has to do so.
Powell wants the FCC to be hands-off whenever possible, but he also knows when that just isn't possible and he has to take an action.
I'm very hopeful he rules for "hands-off" in this FWD situation.
No. The threat is that the FCC will lump VoIP into Telecommunications, which therefore subjects them to regulation. Right now, the FCC barely has its hands on the VoIP industry, as the line is kept very close to the traditional telephone systems.
If you're doing VoIP within the PTSN, or as a last mile connect to the PTSN, you're somewhat regulated as a phone company, all other uses of VoIP are in the clear. Clearly, the phone companies would like that line moved out further, but the tech industry does not.
Yes, and that's most likely why current telecom providers want this to be considered a regulated service, so that only they can provide it. Right now, its a service the Ma Bells have the abilities to provide, but they don't because they wouldn't be able to charge for it while FWD is still in existance.
FWD is an enabler that helps the VoIP to phone linkers, but is not a VoIP to phone linker themselves.