Archive for April 2002

Dave Winer: The real cost of XML tags

Sean McGrath speaks to the dark side of XML tagging in this cogent article. He’s right. When the people who are making the dogfood don’t have to eat it, there’s bound to be trouble.
For example:
“In XML land, not only are the equivalent of “global variables” created with wild abandon, but their creators often see fit to invoice based on the number they create for you. An unfortunate schism exists in XML software development between the team that develops the schema and the team processing the XML that conforms to the schema. Too often, these are not the same teams.”

Virginia Tech Police Seize and Search a Professor’s Computer in Vandalism Case

Cracks in the Firewall

Cracks in the Firewall. Business Week Apr 8 2002 11:58PM ET [Moreover – Computer security news]

Internet Explorer SuperCookies bypass P3P and cookie controls

Richard Smith via NTBugTraq:
Internet Explorer SuperCookies bypass P3P and cookie controls

There is a significant privacy problem with Internet Explorer
because of a design flaw in the Windows Media Player (WMP). Using
simple Javascript code on a Web page, a Web site can grab the
unique ID number of the Windows Media Player belonging
to a Web site visitor. This ID number can then be used just
like a cookie by Web sites to track a user’s travels around
the Web.

However this ID number becomes a SuperCookie because it can be used
by Web sites to bypass all of the new privacy and P3P protections
that Microsoft has added to Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). IE6 ships
today with all Windows XP systems. SuperCookies also work in all
previous versions of Internet Explorer with all older versions of
Windows.

CEO of Brilliant Defends Sneaky Installation

CEO of Brilliant Defends Sneaky Installation Practices

Stealth P2P network hides inside Kazaa

cnet news.com: Stealth P2P network hides inside Kazaa
“A California company has quietly attached its software to millions of downloads of the popular Kazaa file-trading program and plans to remotely “turn on” people’s PCs, welding them into a new network of its own.”

McAfee punts proactive virus protection

Sun raises curtain (a little) on Solaris 9

Sun raises curtain (a little) on Solaris 9. New default thread library (for better multiprocessor scaling). Remote Jump Start. In 12-18 months, a Jump Start management scheme dubbed iChange. [The Register]