FTC enlists Internet providers' help to stop spammers
Compiled from staff and wire reportsPublished May 30, 2005
The Federal Trade Commission stepped up its campaign against spammers by asking Internet service providers to better monitor "zombies," or computers infected with programs that send out millions of e-mail messages without the owner's knowledge.
The commission is enlisting the help of agencies from about two dozen countries to send letters to more than 3,000 ISPs, detailing ways they can help customers keep their computers secure and identify the zombie machines.
An easy way an ISP can determine if a machine is infected is if a user who typically sends a handful of e-mails a day "suddenly belts out 500," said Don Blumenthal, the FTC's Internet lab coordinator. The ISP would then check with the user to find out why that's happening.
But spam experts said most ISPs already monitor network traffic for spikes that would indicate a user's machine is infected. Gregg Mastoras, a senior security analyst for Lynnfield, Mass.-based Sophos, which tracks spam, said the FTC's announcement seemed to be holding ISPs "somewhat responsible" for dealing with the problem of zombies on their networks.
Both Sophos and Symantec of Cupertino, Calif., estimate that about half of all spam messages originate from zombie computers, which can each send up to 50,000 to 100,000 unsolicited e-mails a day.
In new Web scheme, hackers garble files and demand money to fix themIn the latest Internet threat, hackers encrypt the files on a computer and demand money to unlock them.
The extortion scheme was documented this month by Websense of San Diego.
"We have not seen anything like it before," said Dan Hubbard, senior director of security and research for Websense, which makes software that keeps employees from certain Web sites at work, including sites that are computer security threats.
Hacking schemes to extort money from computer owners have been around for years, but they have become more common in the last year.
The new extortion scheme is the first to scramble the files on a computer so a user can't read them. Websense became aware of the scheme from an individual whose computer files were garbled. Websense, whose clients include government agencies and large corporations, wouldn't identify the individual.
Websense found that the Trojan horse included a file with instructions on where to send an e-mail for information about unlocking the computer's contents. The computer owner wrote to the e-mail address and received a response saying it would cost $200 for the tool to decode the encrypted files.
The e-mail directed the victim to deposit the money in an online account.
The computer owner did not pay the ransom. Instead, Websense researchers cracked the code and unlocked the files with the help of Joe Stewart, a computer security researcher at Lurhq Corp. of Chicago.
Analysts say Apple's interest in Intel just a ploy to prod IBMApple Computer customers shouldn't expect to see "Intel Inside" stickers slapped on the sides of their beloved Macs any time soon.
That's the consensus of industry analysts, who spent last week digesting a Wall Street Journal report that Apple was considering a switch to Intel microprocessors for its computers now powered by IBM chips.
Such a move - to a chip found in 80 percent of the world's computers - would be a major technological and philosophical shift for Apple, which has prided itself on going against the grain of the computer industry.
But Kevin Krewell, editor in chief of newsletter Microprocessor Report, said he smells an orchestrated media ploy by Apple to pressure IBM to improve its supply problems, which have led to delays in some Apple products.
Apple declined to comment on the report, saying it does not respond to "rumor or speculation." Intel did not return a phone call seeking comment.
A shift to Intel might provide a power boost to some Apple products, and it could lead to lower-priced computers.
But a switch from IBM to Intel's chip design also could create headaches for Apple and its customers. The two types of chips process information differently, and current Apple software probably would not function on computers using Intel chips.
Yahoo offers service to e-mail digital photos without space worriesYahoo Inc. is testing an e-mail service that will let people share digital photos without the hassle of often cumbersome attachments that hog storage space and bandwidth.
The company is touting the free service (photomail.mail.yahoo.com) as a simple way to distribute photos to family and friends.
Thumbnails of up to 300 photos can be inserted into a single e-mail that can be sent to hundreds of recipients. Even if it contains 300 photos, an e-mail is unlikely to be rejected by inboxes with limitations on the size of a message because each thumbnail is just three to five kilobytes.
Yahoo designed the "PhotoMail" service so it can be opened and viewed no matter where an e-mail is addressed. All the photos inserted into the e-mails are stored on Yahoo computers, enabling recipients to see a full-resolution image by clicking on any thumbnail.
The photos can be inserted into an e-mail by dragging images stored on computer hard drives or Web sites. Using the test service requires a regular e-mail account. Installing a small piece of software also is required.
Yahoo is counting on the photo service and other improvements to broaden its e-mail leadership over its two closest rivals, Microsoft Corp.'s Hotmail and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.
Coming to a home near you: Scooba, the robotic mopIf your robotic vacuum can't help with spills and stains, fret not. Its cousin, the robo-mop, is on the way.
Thirty engineers worked three years on challenges such as preventing the robo-mop from slipping on cleaning fluid or leaving tracks behind, said Colin Angle, chief executive of the mop's developer, iRobot Corp. Those sticking points solved, a robo-mop called Scooba will be available early next year.
IRobot Corp. is best known for Roomba, the robo-vacuum it introduced three years ago. About 1.2-million Roombas have been sold.
Scooba has many of Roomba's features but it's more complicated because it's designed to automatically vacuum, scrub and dry hard floors rather than just vacuum them.
At 13 inches in diameter and 4 inches high, Scooba resembles the disc-shaped Roomba. One difference is its two tanks, one for water mixed with cleaning fluid developed by Clorox Co., the other for dirty water.
Scooba sprays and scrubs water and cleaning fluid onto the floor as the robot's front end passes over. The back end sucks the liquid into the dirty water tank.
Scooba's price will be comparable to Roomba, which sells from $150 to $300 for various models.
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