Tech Stream
Archive for the ‘ Security’ Category
Tech Stream 007
3 April 2009
Listen and download: MP3
In the Tech Stream this week we’re speaking with IT journalist Patrick Gray about the Conficker worm; Google gives internet users in China access to free music downloads in an attempt to capture more of the lucrative search market; Georgia Webster joins us to talk about the way capital letters are used and abused online; and tech-journo Adam Turner charts the rising popularity of the Blu Ray disc.
You can listen to the full program with the MP3 link above or the “Listen Now” link on the right. Feel free to comment on any of these stories below or suggest something we can follow up in future programs.
Its Conficker, you Fools!
3 April 2009
Listen and download: MP3
The Conficker computer virus (or worm) has been infecting computers across the world since November 2008. It was supposed to unleash itself on April 1st, but the day came and went with little evidence of widespread destruction or mass chaos. In some parts of the media people wondered whether it could have been an elaborate hoax?
IT security analysts certainly took the threat seriously, in fact Microsoft offered a quater of a million dollar bounty for information on the people behind the virus. A majority of infected computers are in Asia and in the last couple of days experts have noticed increased activity as the virus instructs terminals to call home… but the cataclysmic effects just didn’t materialise.
IT journalist Patrick Gray presents the Risky Business security podcast and is the managing editor of Risky.Biz, an information security news outlet. He wrote an interesting opinion piece for ABC News Online prior to April 1st and spoke with me late yesterday about the media hype around Conficker leading up to April Fools Day. You can listen to the interview via the MP3 link at the top of this post.
The PM program on ABC Radio also covered the story, on Tuesday 31st of March and then on the evening of April 1st.
Hackers love netbooks
4 March 2009
Or so goes the story on ABC news online. Reuters reports that the increase in sales for netbooks could make them attractive targets for the bad guys. It seems that users are either disabling the security features to boost performance or are just not aware that they need to protect themselves when accessing public wi-fi and vulnerable networks. The lack of suitable anti-virus and firewall software is the main concern. However Eric Ashdown, senior director for security strategy and risk management at Accenture, suggests that the most hackers would find on these casual-use devices is family photos.
Most PC makers now offer some kind of netbook, which have small screens and limited functionality. They are designed to be used for on-the-go to access to the internet, either through wireless or mobile networks. Netbooks are extremely popular, due to their low price and portability. The ABC story reports that “netbook shipments will more than double to nearly 21 million units this year, compared with about 4 per cent growth to 305 million units for all PCs”.
The full story is on ABC News Online.
