The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

21st August 2001 Archive

Browse by publication date, or search the site.

  • Mitnick joins Vegas hack investigation

    Victim of 'mob phreakers' gets new cybersleuth

    The state of Nevada has granted the proprietor of a Las Vegas in-room adult entertainment service additional time to prove that malicious hackers are disrupting his telephone lines to benefit competitors -- a case he hopes to make with the help of his new investigator, former hacker Kevin Mitnick. Eddie Munoz is embroiled in …

    Security 21 Aug 2001, 03:38

  • NTL ups cost of broadband wireless access

    The service isn't even live yet

    NTL has hiked the price of its yet-to-be-introduced wireless broadband service by almost a half. Well, sort of. Hours after El Reg reported that NTL was to trial wireless broadband in London it upped the price of the service from £24.99 to £34.99. Asked to explain this massive increase a spokesman for the company said: "It was …

    Telecoms 21 Aug 2001, 10:18

  • Hynix will get no help from Korean govt – Deputy PM

    You're on your own now

    The Korean government intends to leave Hynix to its own devices and will not interfere with the troubled memory maker, the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, Jin Nyum, said this past weekend. "Hynix Semiconductor was separated from Hyundai Group, and is not mixed with Hyundai units, meaning the …

    Channel 21 Aug 2001, 10:19

  • ExciteAtHome faces financial ruin

    Things don't look good

    ExciteAtHome could be on the verge of going titsup.com amid fears that it doesn't have enough cash to see it through to the end of the year. Shares in the broadband and media outfit plunged by almost a half yesterday as investors deserted the troubled dotcom. By the close ExciteAtHome's stock price had fallen to just 47 cents …

    Telecoms 21 Aug 2001, 10:20

  • WinXP to RTM Friday – and go on sale September?

    If Ballmer says it's Friday, Thursday it is...

    Microsoft CEO and the-bleeding-obvious specialist Steve Ballmer has told a conference in Sao Paulo that he expects Windows XP to RTM by Friday. And so, unless something nasty turns up, it will be. According to Register sources, that something's appearance seems unlikely. For some days now beta testers have been gung ho about XP …

    Software 21 Aug 2001, 10:46

  • Peter Gabriel opens music download service

    Rent up to 40 songs a month

    Musician Peter Gabriel yesterday launched a digital music distribution service with technology developed by his company OD2, with content from his Real World Records label and marketed under his World of Music and Dance (Womad) brand. The service, Womad Digital Channel, will offer listeners up to 40 tracks a month for a flat …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2001, 11:01

  • Teenager finds virus, acclaimed world-saving genius

    The accidental hero

    Last week the UK press fell over itself to announce that an 18 year-old British computer studies student had saved the World. Matthew Hillman, from the Isle of Wight, was first hailed a genius in a Sun exclusive but news of his stupendous achievement could not be contained and he was soon lionised in the Telegraph and acclaimed …

    Malware 21 Aug 2001, 11:01

  • Virus poses as antivirus utility

    More social engineering tricks

    A worm which poses as a virus clean up utility has appeared. Fortunately All3gro is neither spreading rapidly nor doing much harm but it is a sign that virus writers are coming up with fresh social engineering techniques through which they hope to snare the unwary. Perhaps the technique was thought up because of the recent hype …

    Malware 21 Aug 2001, 11:09

  • Nvidia to launch GeForce 3 MX on Friday?

    And GeForce 3 Ultra, Pro on Monday?

    Nvidia will be having a busy weekend, if information leaked to Web site M3D Zone proves accurate. The graphics company will launch the GeForce 3 MX on Friday, 24 August, followed by the GeForce 3 Ultra on Monday, 27 August. The site's source claims the MX part - the cut-down, low-power version of its mainstream GeForce 3 part …

    Channel 21 Aug 2001, 12:07

  • FBI treats ‘Good Samaritan’ as public enemy

    Point out a security flaw and face a hacking felony

    A 'Good Samaritan' who alerted a firm about a serious security flaw on their Web site has become the subject of a criminal investigation. Linuxfreak reports that Brian West, a 24-year-old support worker with Oklahoma-based ISP Cwis, came across a security problem with the Poteau Daily News Web site during the course of helping …

    Security 21 Aug 2001, 12:11

  • Daily Express hit by masked computer thieves

    Richard Desmond empire targeted

    The Daily Express has been hit by a masked gang who wrecked equipment before stealing a stack of computers. Seven balaclava-clad men forced their way into the offices of Express Newspapers, in London's Blackfriars Road, on Sunday night. The group, who police say were aged between 17 and 20-year-old, jumped security barriers, …

    Business 21 Aug 2001, 12:14

  • Taiwan DRAM makers to halt shipments if prices fall again

    Enough is enough

    Enough, say Taiwan's memory manufacturers, is enough - 128Mb SDRAM prices have fallen too far, and if they fall any further, we won't ship any more of them. We can't see it happening ourselves, but that's what Taiwanese memory module producers - the folks who take the chips and stack them onto SIMMS, DIMMs and RIMMs - have told …

    Channel 21 Aug 2001, 12:16

  • Vodafone CEO faces Mannesmann merger fraud probe

    German authorities not happy

    Chris Gent, CEO of Vodafone, and a number of high-ranking executives in Vodafone and Mannesmann (the German company bought out by Voadfone in November 1999) are under investigation by the German authorities for fraud. It is alleged that the huge bonuses paid to the execs on completion of the merger were part of a sweetener to …

    Business 21 Aug 2001, 12:27

  • Customer waves superglue in Evesham store

    Chain Store

    An irate customer threatened to superglue himself to the counter in Evesham.com's London showroom today, in a "where's my refund" stunt. But staff denied the customer had gone the whole hog: "He spilled a few drops (of superglue) - it was so stupid," an employee said. "We've had a lot of fun today." The customer was "peed off …

    Channel 21 Aug 2001, 12:58

  • Gartner Group susses out how computers are sold

    Breakthrough after 22 years of hard study

    Market research company the Gartner Group has finally figured out the way the computer industry works. Gartner has been watching the business for 22 years, but we figured it had to spot the trick sooner or later. And, sure enough, after a study of the application server arena, it has cottoned on. Says Gartner vice-president …

    Business 21 Aug 2001, 13:19

  • 14m Brits access Net from home

    That's right, another survey

    Another day, another bloody Internet survey. Today's gem comes form NetValue which tells us there are now more than 14 million home Net users in the UK, with more than a third of UK homes now connected to the Net. Six out of ten Net users are men. Four out of ten are women. Kids under 15 made up around 8 per cent of users, …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2001, 13:19

  • Penguin embraces ebooks

    Momentum building

    Penguin has jumped into the ebook format with both feet. From September it is making a large range of titles from its back catalogue available over the Internet. They includes classics from Jane Austen, Charles Dickens etc. as well as guide books, reference books and business titles (even Bill Gates' Business @ the speed of …

    e-Business 21 Aug 2001, 13:41

  • Ingram UK back in Cisco distribution biz

    Buys Sphinx Cisco operation

    Ingram Micro UK is back in the Cisco distribution business after buying the Cisco business of Sphinx CST. Ingram is getting the business, remaining stock and goodwill for around £11 million from Sphinx's parent Lynx. Ingram lost its Cisco distributor status in the UK around three years ago. A former insider said the broadband …

    Channel 21 Aug 2001, 14:05

  • Losses triple at InterX

    Down down, deeper and down

    UK software outfit InterX today reported widening losses. The company said pre-tax losses reached £60.6 million for the 11 months ended June 30. This compared to losses of £20.6 million for the full year ended August 5 2000. The figures included a £1.6 million restructuring charge - this covered costs associated with 58 …

    Business 21 Aug 2001, 14:21

  • AOL UK escapes £1.8m in tax in 22 days

    Le Freeswerve continues its attack

    Freeserve has stepped up its campaign against rival AOL UK and the tax loophole that exempts the US-based ISP from paying VAT. In the 22 days since Merrill Lynch published a report detailing the "tax advantage" Le Freeswerve reckons AOL UK has earned a whopping £1,808,219 in unpaid VAT. Britain's biggest French ISP reckons AOL …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2001, 14:37

  • Cisco drones admit $8m stock swindle

    Would you have bought a flash car and watch - or laid low?

    Two former Cisco employees have admitted defrauding the company of $8 million in stock. The pair - Geoffrey Osowski and Wilson Tang - issued themselves with 230,000 Cisco shares by hacking into the network giant's Sabrina computer system, which is used to manage stock options. They later sold the stock. But the super crooks …

    Business 21 Aug 2001, 14:40

  • Big Biz spends Big Bucks on Win2000 upgrades

    Other desktop costs slashed

    Cost-cutting is top of the agenda for the next quarter, according to the latest study of US CIOs by Morgan Stanley. But it's not all doom and gloom. The majority of CIOs are continuing with their projects and most of them state that their budgets for new technology have yet to be slashed. CIOs of US leading companies seem to …

    Software 21 Aug 2001, 14:56

  • Canon LPB 810

    Review Monochrome laser printer

    When we reviewed this printer's predecessor, the LBP 800, it did not meet with our approval; the only point we could find in its favour was the free cuddly toy in the box. It was relatively speedy, but quality was very poor. With the release of the low-cost 810, there has been quite a turnaround, and although this time we …

    Personal 21 Aug 2001, 15:08

  • Globalnet spurns Italians

    Make Your Mind Up time

    Globalnet Financial.com is selling itself to New Media Spark after all. The moribund financial info site with a handy portfolio of dotcom stocks has torn up its merger agreement with AISoftware, after Spark returned to the table with an offer matching its Italian love-rival. Two days ago Globalnet threw away an earlier merger …

    e-Business 21 Aug 2001, 15:11

  • Tool dumbs down wireless hacking

    War driving for s'kiddiots

    A hacking tool which can recover the encryption keys used to "protect" data sent over wireless networks has been released on the Internet. AirSnort is one of the first tools that automates the process of breaking in wireless networks and takes advantages of flaws in the Wired Equivalent Protocol (WEP) which were highlighted by …

    Security 21 Aug 2001, 15:12

  • L1NUX number plate for sale

    Updated Or is that L7NUX - sneaky

    You've Max Powered your motor - given her full body skirts, splitter, ICE system, tinted windows, chipped the engine, dropped the suspension, got some gold effect alloys, bucket seats, had a respray and removed the silencer - so what else could you want? May we suggest the L1NUX number plate to complete the job. Or if you can't …

    Bootnotes 21 Aug 2001, 15:35

  • ICANN approves widespread new domain cybersquatting

    But only if you own the registry

    ICANN has officially approved widespread corporate cybersquatting for new domain name registry operators. It is not a well-known aspect of the new domain operators' contract, but they are entitled to register up to 10,000 domains for themselves before allowing anyone else access. ICANN argues that a registry operator will need …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2001, 15:43

  • AOL CD protest takes off

    Only 999,975 to go

    Eco-conscious Net users want to collect one million unwanted AOL software CDs - and then dump them at the Internet giant's US HQ in protest at what they call "needless pollution". The site - nomoreaolcds.com - was launched at the beginning of the month. Since then it's received just 25 CDs. Only "999,975 more CDs and we go …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2001, 15:44

  • Is prosecuting hackers worth the bother?

    When Sysadmins and Feds collide

    When you've been hacked, it's wise to evaluate the damage done before calling in the Feds, San Diego Supercomputer Center Security Manager Tom Perrine explained during the tenth annual USENIX Security Symposium in Washington last week, during a talk entitled "Cops are from Mars, Sysadmins are from Pluto: Dealing with Law …

    Security 21 Aug 2001, 16:33

  • The Demise of the Industry Standard

    Victim of Politics and Greed

    Few of us can recite the key details of the Industry Standard's 2001 redesign. Even fewer of us remember the 56-page launch issue published 40 months ago. We will remember the Industry Standard newsweekly as a victim of politics and greed, and nothing less than the Bible of an economy to be forever changed by the Internet. …

    e-Business 21 Aug 2001, 16:36

  • MS anti-piracy crew jumps on Basingstoke grey dealers

    Updated Resellers say it's bullying

    Microsoft has pounced on two British PC resellers for allegedly selling counterfeit software. The resellers have called it bullying tactics and denied the charges. Microsoft said today it had started proceedings against Pacific Computers Ltd and Taran Microsystems Ltd, both located in Basingstoke. Pacific computers is accused …

    Channel 21 Aug 2001, 16:45

  • Professor tears ICANN domain dispute policy to pieces

    Could there have been a different conclusion?

    Professor Michael Geist from the University of Ottawa has added to the cacophony of criticism against ICANN over its domain dispute resolution policies (UDRP). He has published a paper on the subject entitled Fair.com? An examination of systemic unfairness in the ICANN UDRP. The professor studied over 3,000 cases to see if the …

    Music and Media 21 Aug 2001, 17:01

  • Linux to surpass Unix ‘within five years’ – Caldera

    Here's how

    Something funny happened on the way to the Forum. The lady who has sustained journalists with a fine expresso at SCO's annual get-together from the Cowell Room at UCSC was missing, along with many familiar faces from Fora passim. We only hope our absent SCO friends haven't ended up under the foundations of the new Students Union …

    Software 21 Aug 2001, 18:17

  • PCs for Kids demands free MS OSes

    Not so Sweet Charity

    The charity behind a Microsoft software licensing argument in Australia, PCs for Kids, seems determined to continue with its fight by seeking publicity and hoping the Beast of Redmond will back down. It probably doesn't realise it but it is playing a very dangerous game. Bolstered by public pronouncements of support, the …

    Business 21 Aug 2001, 18:32

  • McAfee declares war on Zombies

    Bish bosh DDos attacks

    McAfee, the antivirus division of Network Associates, has teamed up with other security firms to protect the Internet from Zombie agents and the like. Of course we're not talking about the flesh eating deadites from George A. Romero films, rather zombie software which hackers use to seize control of computers and launch …

    Malware 21 Aug 2001, 18:39