| Monday
February 26, 2001
Notice repeated from last week:
 
Notice to Subscribers: IF YOU DID NOT get a test mailing recently, PLEASE
CHECK BADMAIL page. I have received a
surprising number of rejections to this test mailing, some from people
with whom I have had recent correspondence. If you're on that badmail
page, it is from this recent test mailing, and there is something wrong
here. In some cases I may have two addresses, one original and one from a
renewal, in which case please tell me which one I can DELETE. I really
would like to make this list current...
Thanks!
There was a lot last week on
DVD, Digital Cable, and other such marvels of consumer electronics.
I'll do the whole story here later this week as I collect the final
outcome. I usually like to have a happy ending to a story but this one
doesn't really have one. The bottom line is that if you have digital cable
you can't record from one channel while watching another. There are a few
tricks that MIGHT let you record from analog cable signals that way but if
your cable provider does not bring in both analog and digital then you
can't do that. I'm still experimenting to see if Adelphia has both or
merely digital. There is much more
in current mail.
If you lose your remote 1-800-REMOTES will take care of
you. It won't be cheap. Have the serial number of your TV and a credit
card handy. It takes about a minute and $80 or so...
I turned in the AAAS general report to www.byte.com
last night. It's pretty good. I will be doing a couple of detailed
reports, which will probably go here rather than BYTE but we'll see;
clearly they have first choice.
The Mote in God's Eye
photographed...???
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/02/26/donut.dustcloud/index.html
Paul
Good Grief! It really is!
VIRUS
ALERT
"A new virus has just been discovered
that has been classified by Microsoft www.microsoft.com
and by McAfee www.mcafee.com as the
most destructive ever!"
The bottom line here is DO
NOT OPEN V CARD ATTACHMENTS until the remedy is posted.
I got the above and put it here; better to be safe than
sorry. But I have found NOTHING about this anywhere on the net so far.
Mcafee doesn't seem to have a headline. Neither does Microsoft. There is
an admitted flaw in Microsoft vcard handling that could open the way for a
hack, but I know of no one doing it.
I think this is a false alarm. Still, better to be aware
of it than not. (It is definitely a hoax.)
However, it is based on something real. See below.
On that score, James Post sends
Dr. Pournelle:
I have found these sites handy to check against Hoaxes
http://www.vmyths.com/
http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
http://www.europe.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/
I hope you also find them instructive
This is the closest I could find to the Virus you speak of on your site
http://www.europe.f-secure.com/hoaxes/vcredit.shtml
Bob Thompson adds:
see
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/8/17141.html
And, of course, it's not a virus, which is why
Symantec and McAfee haven't reported it. It's a buffer overrun exploit. As
you say, no one has reported being victimized (yet) but the potential
certainly exists. -- Robert Bruce Thompson
If I get a confirmed virus warning I will send
mail notices as well as post here. But I don't do that without
confirmation. Meanwhile see
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-012.asp
Roland asks, "Do you believe this?"
http://www.navytimes.com/stories/navy_story_229237.html
Actually, yes. I saw some films of demos at the directed
energy weapons symposium...
At the moment we can either shout at them or shoot them
when they approach a ship or a base or an embassy. It would be neat to
have alternatives. Phasers on stun!
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