Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 Beta
Available to Professional and Universal MSDN subscribers only, the Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 beta is open for download. This service pack includes many fixes for bugs found in Microsoft's flagship software, which some rumored in February to be upwards of 65,000 separate problems within the operating system. For a full list of the fixes, visit Microsoft.com. More information, including download links, can be found at https://msdn.one.microsoft.com/subscriber/.
Microsoft Office SR-1a Released
Microsoft has released the next update to fix a number of problems encountered with the first service pack of its popular office suite Microsoft Office. SR-1a fixes issues with the applications within the office suite, as well as several security and virus updates, along with system level updates to upgrade Office 2000 components to Windows 2000 system levels. It includes all of the fixes from the original service pack plus the Office 2000/Windows 2000 Registry Repail Tool, while stating that "If you have already installed the SR-1 update and have not upgraded from Windows NT 4 to Windows 2000, you do not need this utility". Office SR-1a can be ordered on CD or downloaded using Microsoft Autoupdate.
Yahoo Suit Cites Privacy, Free Speech Violations
A federal lawsuit filed in California against Web portal Yahoo Inc. could establish important protections for Internet privacy and anonymity, said a statement by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
The lawsuit was brought against Yahoo by a user of the service provider's financial message boards, and challenges the company's practice of disclosing personal user information to third parties without prior notice to the user, the statement said.
Napster Retaliates Against Metallica Fans
In the wake of a court ruling against it, Napster, Inc. has banned some of its subscribers from the Napster Web site, and has taken steps to thwart their work-around efforts to get back in.
One of the major flaws in the ban was that a person who had been banned under one name could re-register at the Napster site under a different name. Napster then issued a new version of its music-sharing software designed to prevent this from happening.
Corel Website Creator Beta Testing Opens
Corel has begun beta testing its latest program, the Corel Website Creator. This program lets users create Web sites without the need to know HTML and other Web languages. Corel calls it a "comprehensive Web site solution in a box" and boasts that it is "easy to use, yet powerful enough to create professional-looking business sites for the small business or home-based, sole proprietor." Fill out the beta testing application to begin today.
Mouse on Your Finger?
Bosswave Enterprises has developed the next step in input devices, a mouse that you wear like a ring. The FinRing was developed to allow the user more freedom and the ability to relax while controlling their computer. Merely a fraction of the size of a regular mouse, the FinRing takes cordless control into a new dimension. It uses a receiver placed on the side of the monitor to track the mouse movements that are controlled with the thumb, and also includes the standard left and right-click functions. It should be available to consumers sometime over the summer. For more information visit the FinRing Web site.
Add a Third Dimension to Your e-Commerce Site
UnitSpace has announced the next version of its flagship program 3D Shop Designer is available for download. With 3D Shop Designer, any e-shop can be easily turned into a rich 3D environment using the backend platform from Intershop Communications. UnitSpace touts, "a simple and intuitive user interface allows even an Internet novice to create 3D environment for his existing e-shop." For more information visit the 3D Shop Design Web site, or download the demo from FileForum.
MP3.com Blocks Access to Major Label Content - For Now
In an e-mail statement to My.MP3.com members, CEO Michael Robertson informed users that the company is temporarily closing access to major label content available through the My.MP3.com accounts. Using its free software Beam-It, members were previously able to scan CDs into the server, which then gave them access to the music on those CDs via their My.MP3.com account.
My.MP3.com servers stored which CDs the user had scanned and then allowed the member to play them from the extensive MP3.com libraries of albums and recordings.
ILOVEYOU Saga Continues
Two more former AMA students are being sought out be Philippine officials as potential suspects in the continuing ILOVEYOU worm saga. One suspect, Onel De Guzman, is the brother of de Guzman, the woman who was supposed to turn herself in to authorities on Monday. She is the girlfriend of Ramones, who police arrested on Monday as the suspected creator of the virus, but then released on Tuesday due to lack of evidence.
Apparently Onel De Guzman had a trojan horse in mind for his graduation thesis. The proposal was in turn rejected by the school, which now states that the idea was extremely similar to the ILOVEYOU worm, in that the object of the trojan was to steal Windows and other programs passwords to allow users to have free Internet access via other people's accounts. Onel is said to have lived with his sister and Ramones, although for a relatively short period.
More Problems for MSN Hotmail
Bennett Haselton, Webmaster of Peacefire.org, has discovered a flaw in one of the most popular e-mail services on the Internet. This flaw would allow a hacker with the correct amount of knowledge and time to download your messages from the server and read your e-mail. Using JavaScript to send a cookie in an HTML attachment, the malicious user could then access the e-mail as long as the person who received the attachment was logged onto MSN Hotmail and the validation code was still active. Haselton told reporters that as little as five minutes is needed to download the messages to another computer.
Destructive VBS Friend Virus Surfaces
As the ILOVEYOU virus saga continues to unfurl in the Philippines, Norman Data Defense Systems has warned of another visual basic (VB) virus that is spreading around the world.
The worm, known as "Friend Message," is not a variant on the original worm, but is a new and destructive one that appears to have been coded separately.
Gates Launches Windows Services for UNIX 2.0
Bill Gates launched Windows Services for UNIX 2.0 at NetWorld+Interop 2000 in Las Vegas today. Brian Valentine, senior vice president of the Windows division at Microsoft stated, "With Windows Services for UNIX 2.0, we are striving to ensure that the Windows platform works well with other key platforms and systems in a heterogeneous computing environment." Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX provides administrators with the ability to share files between platforms, as well as various other tools to make system administration easier. Get version 2.0 of the software from Microsoft.
Fujitsu Unveils Faster Hard Drives
At the end of the second quarter this year, Fujitsu will begin shipments of its two latest creations, the MAJ3 and MAH3 series of hard drives. The MAJ3 series 10,000 RPM drives are capable of pushing up to 62.25MB of data per second and come in 9.1, 18.2, and 36.4GB increments. The MAH3 series offers 7200 RPMs and 9.1 and 18.2GB models. Fujitsu is targeting the new hard drives at business PCs or set top box makers.
Love Bug Losses Estimated At $6.7 Bil, Still Mounting
The ILOVEYOU worm and its family of mutations have caused an estimated $6.7 billion in productivity losses and the price tag will go up even more, an economic analyst said today.
The virus is still popping up in e-mail boxes of corporations, governments and home users worldwide, six days after it slipped into millions of computers in its drive across Asia, Europe and the Americas, said researchers at Computer Economics.
'LoveBug' Creator Freed - Temporarily
Due to a lack of evidence, Phillipino authorities were forced to released Reonel Ramones, the 27-year old suspected creator of the ILOVEYOU virus. Ramones is not in the clear yet however, as authorities have several other disks which need to be evaluated. Ramones is set to appear in court on May 19th for a preliminary hearing. His girlfriend, 23-year old de Guzman, has yet to turn herself in to the authorities although her attorneys deny any involvement on her part. Nine other people are currently under investigation in the case.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.