Its Monday and the news sources I read are saying “Something must have happened, but we don't work weekends so we won't worry about it until Monday”
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/16/1654217&from=rss
'No Alternative' To Microsoft Fine
Posted by Zonk on Sunday July 16, @02:26PM from the pay-up dept. The Almighty Buck Microsoft Politics
An anonymous reader writes "News.com is running an interview with Neelie Kroes, the competition commissioner for the EU. She confirms that the massive fines to Microsoft are absolutely necessary, and goes into some of the commissions reasons for slapping the giant down." From the article: "Microsoft has claimed that its obligations in the decision are not clear, or that the obligations have changed. I cannot accept this characterization--Microsoft's obligations are clearly outlined in the 2004 decision and have remained constant since then. Indeed, the monitoring trustee appointed in October 2005, from a shortlist put forward by Microsoft, believes that the decision clearly outlines what Microsoft is required to do. I must say that I find it difficult to imagine that a company like Microsoft does not understand the principles of how to document protocols in order to achieve interoperability. "
Will Microsoft cave over Private Folder?
By Jack Schofield 04:38pm
In this week's Newsbytes, I mentioned Microsoft's Private Folder 1.0, which is one of the perks for submitting to XP verification via Windows Genuine Advantage.
Following an outcry from corporate customers, Microsoft is removing an add-on feature to Windows that allowed users to create password-protected folders.
The feature was introduced as a free download last week. Almost immediately, people raised questions over how businesses would grapple with the ability of individual workers to encrypt their data.
On Friday, CNet quoted Microsoft as saying: "we are removing the application today".
Well, if there's a serious outcry from corporate buyers, I can certainly see Microsoft withdrawing an application. However, if these corporate buyers have yet to discover the Group Policies editor, their staff can probably download any number of free or cheap equivalents.
Indeed, some company staff may already have discovered that they can just ZIP or RAR or otherwise compress anything they want to keep secret, and password protect it. Or they may just upload stuff to a personal Gmail account or a similar web-based mail service that offers one or two gigabytes of storage, to avoid getting beaten up by IT staff enforcing a 100MB (or whatever) storage limit.
At the time of writing, Private Folder 1.0 is still available here, though it has been removed from http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/offers/
OMBs encryption deadline hinges on enforcement
August Deadline could stop more VA-like Losses
By Richard Gincel July 17, 2006
Zero to encrypted in 45 days? That’s the amount of time the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) gave federal civilian agencies to fall in line with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines regarding the encryption of stored data.
The mandate came after a string of security lapses that culminated in May, when a laptop containing millions of Social Security numbers was reported stolen from the home of an employee at the Department of Veteran Affairs. But even with a head start, is the Aug. 7 deadline realistic?
It depends, said security expert Andrew Krcik, vice president of marketing at the encryption technology vendor PGP Corp.
“Deployment isn’t the barrier,” Krcik, said. “The question is how comprehensive your approach will be.”
At a minimum, government agencies should deploy whole-disk encryption for end-point devices, managed by a centralized server that provides comprehensive key management and policy provisions. Encryption should also cover backup functions, such as saving data to a USB flash drive, he said.
Still, it’s unclear how seriously the OMB will enforce its latest guidance.
“The speed with which organizations comply will be directly related to enforcement. If the OMB is going to do audits on Day 46, you’re going to see everyone complying,” [I suspect the true motivator will be consequences to managers. If no one is fired, demoted or censored, why would there be any incentive to comply? Bob] said Rob Sadowski, senior manager in EMC’s information security division.
Interesting. Another reason to keep all your updates current.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1989467,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
McAfee Says it Unwittingly Fixed Software Loophole
July 14, 2006 By Chris Preimesberger
Software security provider McAfee revealed July 14 that it fixed a serious flaw in its enterprise security package Common Management Agent in January 2006 with a regular update (v3.5.5) and didn't even realize it.
... Since many companies won't update software unless necessary, the concern is that many computers were left vulnerable.
Interesting problem. How would you price it?
http://news.com.com/2100-7339_3-6094502.html?part=rss&tag=6094502&subj=news
Putting a price on a virtual computer
By Ina Fried Story last modified Mon Jul 17 05:52:15 PDT 2006
The software industry is learning that virtual machines can cause real headaches, when it comes to figuring out how to charge for their programs.
Right now, the computing world is clearly moving into a realm in which a single PC can be running many operating systems at the same time, and businesses want the opportunity to get the benefits of that flexibility, without having to pay over and over again for the same software.
In a major shift for Microsoft, the company decided this week to allow business customers to run up to four instances of Windows on the same PC. It's part of a sea change that has the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker and the rest of the industry headed into unfamiliar waters.
Citizenship bribes?
Arizona Ballot Could Become Lottery Ticket
TUCSON, July 13 — To anyone who ever said, “I wouldn’t vote for that bum for a million bucks,” Arizona may be calling your bluff.
A proposal to award $1 million in every general election to one lucky resident, chosen by lottery, simply for voting — no matter for whom — has qualified for the November ballot.
No comments:
Post a Comment