Sunday, August 13, 2006

Homeland Security: Fix Your Windows. Potential Worm Hole Found in Windows

11:52 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

Earlier this week, in a rare alert, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has urged Windows users to plug a potential worm hole in the Microsoft operating system.

According to a report at Cnet News.com, the agency, which also runs the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), sent out a news release on Wednesday recommending that people apply Microsoft’s MS06-040 patch as quickly as possible. The software maker released the “critical” fix Tuesday as part of its monthly patch cycle.

“Users are encouraged to avoid delay in applying this security patch. The patch fixes a serious flaw that, if exploited, could enable an attacker to remotely take complete control of an affected system”, the Department of Homeland Security said in the statement.

Microsoft on Tuesday issued a dozen security bulletins, nine of which were tagged “critical,” the company’s highest severity rating. However, the flaw addressed in MS06-040 is the only one among the updates that could let an anonymous attacker remotely commandeer a Windows PC without any user interaction.

The flaw has some similarities to the Windows bug that enabled the notorious MSBlast worm to spread in 2003. Both security vulnerabilities are related to a Windows component called “remote procedure call,” which provides support for networking features such as file sharing and printer sharing.

“Blaster took advantage of a vulnerability in the same service. We recognize that this is something that is easily exploitable. It is excellent that DHS sent out this alert, because I think a lot of people are vulnerable,” said Amol Sarwate, the manager of vulnerability research lab at Qualys.

• Cnet News.com: Homeland Security: Fix Your Windows.

World of Warcraft Can Cause Addiction – Medical Report. Nearly Half of WoW Players Are Addicted to the Game

11:46 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

Game addiction is not something new for the world of online entertainment, but with the arrival of several millions-populated massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) from Blizzard – the World of Warcraft – the discussions of the addiction problem got nothing less but scientific approach and research.

According to a news-story at Ars Technica, the problems of online gaming addiction date back to the days of text-based MUDs (multi-user domains), but in more recent years terms like “Evercrack” and “World of Warcrack” have entered the popular lexicon. Now, Dr. Maressa Hecht Orzack, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, has come forward to claim that up to 40% of World of Warcraft players are addicted to the game.

“Dr. Orzack, who is the founder and coordinator of the Computer Addiction Service, told that the 40 percent figure came from “a forum that Nick Yee runs” but did not reveal any additional methodology for arriving at this number. She added that “even if the percentage is 5 to 10 percent which is standard for most addictive behaviors, it is a huge number of people who are out of control.” Orzack states that she has been studying the problem for the last 11 years. She claims to be swamped with people asking for her help, usually concerned parents, neglected spouses, and sometimes the players themselves,” writes Ars Technica.

Orzack is not the only one worried about people playing too many online games. The Chinese government recently instituted time limits for MMORPG players, citing concern that its citizens were spending too much time playing games such as World of Warcraft. A recovery clinic for video game addiction was recently opened in Amsterdam. And although the number of patients is nowhere near the height of Dr. Orzack claims, the mass-addiction pattern is clearly present.

“[Dr. Orzack] believes that MMORPGs should come with warning labels on the box, much like cigarette boxes do today. In addition, she feels that computer-related addiction (not just gaming, but also excessive chat and Internet use) should be considered to be legitimate mental disorders, and thus be eligible for health insurance. Currently, there is no entry for gaming or Internet addiction in the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” continues the article.

• Ars Technica: Doctor Claims 40% of World of Warcraft Players Are Addicted.

IBM Researchers Make Molecule Store Data. IBM: Single Molecule Can Store Data

11:35 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

IBM researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, have demonstrated a single-molecule device capable of repeatedly storing and retrieving data.

CNET News.com writes that the device is a surprisingly simple organic compound that can be set to high or low resistance through electrical pulses. In the lab, it reliably retained its ability to change states over many hours and more than 500 tests, which the researchers described as “a remarkable result for a single-molecule system.”

“Right now, we are concentrating on understanding the relationship between the design of the molecular system and the electrical properties measured. Our next steps are to investigate the mechanism responsible for switching,” researcher Heike Riel told ZDNet UK.

The news-story continues with an explanation of the experiment. The experiment itself mounted the molecule between two gold electrodes that could be adjusted to subpicometer accuracy. Although most of the testing took place under extremely cold conditions, some results showed that the molecule continued to switch states at room temperature - though, as the gold was then much softer, it flowed and short-circuited after a few cycles.

“At about 1.5 nanometers long, the molecule is less than a hundredth of the size of current silicon memory elements. It is widely accepted in the industry that current progress in silicon will become economically more difficult below 20nm, with fundamental physical limits being reached below 10nm. IBM says it sees molecular computing as one way of pushing past this barrier, as well as semiconducting wires, carbon nanotubes and spintronics,” adds CNET News.com.

• CNET News.com: IBM Researchers: Single Molecule Stores Data.

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