Modern PC News for
the Month Ending April 15, 2004
PrivacyNotes.com |
The Coming Privacy Storm Over RFID Chips
Reproduced with permission from Mike Valentine
ed. RFID's are projected to cost less
than 5 cents each in the next few years.
 RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and is a
term that will become increasingly well known as usage of the new
technology becomes pervasive. There is no question that the tiny chips,
which enable tracking of physical goods from the assembly line to
warehouse to retail outlet to check stand, will replace the barcodes
previously used for that purpose.
Some RFID chips are tiny, less than a millimeter
square, they are nearly indistinguishable from dust in many cases.
These dust sized RFID chips are capable of transmitting
their own SKU (Sales Keeping Unit), the same info currently encoded in
barcodes, distances of up to 20 feet to an "RFID Reader". But that's not
all these diminutive little chips can do. They are capable of sending a
unique serial number that can identify the item it's embedded in - down to
it's date and location of manufacture. Barcodes were limited to carrying
information that identified classes of products. RFID carries information
equivalent to the product DNA, while allowing a number for every item on
the planet!
When that item passes an "RFID reader" at the
manufacturer's door, the tracking system knows the item has passed out of
the building. Another reader signals that it has now passed into a train
or plane to be shipped to a warehouse, where another reader tracks arrival
and storage information, then successive readers know it passes to truck,
grocery shelf, retail check stand and out the door. All of this can now be
accomplished without opening containers, leading to huge cost savings
throughout the "supply chain".
Privacy issues don't arise until consumers link that
chain. Walmart is now REQUIRING their 100 largest suppliers to use RFID
tags at the pallet level. Meaning that those tags are currently in use to
identify and track groups of products as they arrive at the Walmart
warehouse up until shelving at the giant retailer. Walmart is also
tracking prescription drugs with RFID chips in the packaging and labels.
Some products, such as Gillette razors, had been testing individual item
tracking up until final sale and removal from the Walmart store. Privacy
advocates slowed that practice by launching a
boycott of Gillette over the use of the tags at the individual item
level.
If the privacy concerns over tracking of a single
product through the store to sale caused slowing of implementation of this
technology, what can we expect when EVERY product is RFID tagged? There is
no doubt this is coming and not in the distant future, but within the next
5 years or so. The
US Department of Defense is now requiring ALL vendors to use RFID
technology and embed tags in products sold to the US military by next
year.
Clearly there will be little or no outcry from military
and government personnel about privacy invading technology since
government is rarely expected to respect privacy "in-house". But if all
military vendors are compelled to use RFID chips in every item used in
every one of the millions of supplies sold to and used by the military -
by next year, 2005 - then there is little doubt that the entire US
government will soon implement this same policy for all items purchased by
Uncle Sam and used by government employees.
More and more giant retailers like Walmart are
requiring suppliers to use RFID technology. The German chain Metro Group,
which operates 2300 stores in Europe and Asia has demanded the same of
their suppliers. Metro Group has gone even further with RFID to operate
what they call the "Store of the future" where shoppers needn't remove
items from shopping carts to pay for them. They simply pass by RFID
readers and all items will be tallied and paid for.
Metro stores provide RFID tagged "loyalty cards" to consumers that
identifies those shoppers by reading within purses and wallets as those
consumers enter and leave any of the 2300 Metro stores.
Metro Future Stores faced a public outcry and a boycott
that lead to picketing of the store on February 28, 2004 that eventually
lead to the
withdrawal of the store loyalty card with the embedded RFID chips.
Target Stores announced this month that they too, would be requiring
suppliers to RFID tag at the pallet and case level by 2005.
Privacy loving Americans may not stand for the "Big
Brother" implications of a system like that used by the German retail
chain. An anti-RFID web site has been launched by privacy advocates and
named "Spychips" for the ability of the chips to track consumers and link
their buying habits to other personally identifiable information.
http://spychips.com
A recent piece by technology commentator Jeffrey Harrow
has a chilling description of how RFID technology might betray consumers
movements and link their buying habits in a huge database. Harrow is a
consultant and analyst of emerging technology. He often comments on
privacy implications related to implementation of emerging technology.
Harrow paints a harrowing picture of RFID readers.
"The issue is that these many sensors . . . would also
note the passing of your car key's unique ID; the unique ID of your
driver's license, and even the unique ID of each and every dollar bill in
your wallet. ... And if all the chains' main computers and those of
smaller stores made this mass of random information available to say, a
Marketing firm, or to other stores along your path (for a fee, of course),
or to a government organization upon demand, then a very detailed picture
of "You" - your travel habits, your spending habits (remember those
individually tagged dollar bills?), almost everything about you, could be
mixed, matched and dissected in ways that you might, or might not, agree
with. This might be the ultimate "data mining" warehouse."
Read complete Harrow Technology Report article
RFID is publicly discussed only by technology
enthusiasts like Harrow and a few privacy advocates concerned about the
implications of that "data mining warehouse". But as those RFID chips
supplant barcodes over the next couple of years, we'll be hearing from
privacy advocates when the Big Brother implications become clearer to
consumers. Mark your calendar for early in 2005 and prepare to weather the
coming storm of privacy concerns that could reach hurricane proportions.
Finally,
lawmakers are taking notice of the public concerns about privacy and
have begun
proposing legislation that calls for privacy issues of RFID tracking
to be addressed before widespread adoption. Privacy advocates are calling
for the disabling of tags as they leave the store to prevent further
tracking.
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Banks Valentine is a web journalist covering privacy issues
http://PrivacyNotes.com where you can learn about
Automotive Event Data Recorders or EDR's,
Computer SpyWare,
Identity Theft,
Surveillance,
HIPAA,
COPPA,
TIA, GLB and privacy implications of the
USA Patriot Act.
WinSuperSite.com |
Windows XP Service Pack 2 - Substantive Changes
By Paul Thurrott
 
ed. You
download the WinXP SP2 Technical Preview as of March 19th
HERE.
...Originally, Service Pack
2 was to have been the simple, standard collection of post-RTM bug fixes
that users now expect. But a spate of nasty electronic attacks against
Windows computers last summer caused the company to step back and reassess
what it could do with this release. The result was a far more ambitious
service pack...
  ...In
Outlook 2003, Microsoft introduced much-needed email safety features that
block images in HTML emails and isolate potentially dangerous email
attachments (such as those with the .exe extension). With XP SP2, the
company is adding this functionality to Outlook Express, the email client
that's integrated with Windows...
...Windows Messenger also
benefits from the new Attachment Execution Services API, isolating
potentially unsafe sent files so that you don't inadvertently infect your
system...
...In XP SP2, Microsoft has
made changes to the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) and Distributed Component
Object Model (DCOM) technologies in a bid to reduce the success rate of
network-based attacks. This is one of the areas in SP2 that will actually
break current applications. Generically speaking, both RPC and DCOM
involve the remote activation of code, so the potential vulnerabilities
there are probably pretty obvious.
Windows XP SP2 includes
support for the modern Execution Protection (NX) hardware execution
environment that's included with the AMD Opteron 64 and Athlon 64 family
of processors and on Intel's Itanium products (Intel will reportedly
include this feature in future versions of the Pentium 4 and Xeon
microprocessors as well). NX protects against over 90 percent of buffer
overrun errors, one of the most common methods hackers use to inject
malware into running software...
Betanews.com | ...Microsoft has
prepped a new version of Internet Explorer, complete with a pop-up blocker
and download manager; revamped memory protection to prevent buffer
overruns; e-mail safeguards in Outlook Express; and network protections
including a more robust firewall implementation.
Networking is further secured by reduced privileges in system services
such as Remote Procedure Call (RPC). Microsoft has also produced a more
secure infrastructure for the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)
with added granular COM permissions. In addition, the Windows Messenger
service is turned off by default, and Windows Media Player 9 has a new set
of security settings.
Direct X 9.0b components include fixes to address network firewall issues.
Other updates that are making the cut into the second service pack are a
unified wireless local area network (LAN) client, Software
Update Services 2.0, and an update to Bluetooth support.
Control over security features is now centralized in the new Windows
Security Center. Security Center manages Direct X Controls, checks for the
presence of third-party antivirus protection, manages automatic updates,
and enables the Windows Firewall. Security Center is based upon feedback
Microsoft gained during the PC Satisfaction trial.
(This) release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 has bundled support for the
forthcoming
"Lonestar" Tablet PC upgrade, and Microsoft's Windows XP
Media Center Edition...
WinSuperSite.com |
Windows XP "Reloaded" To Be Made Available for "Free"
By Paul Thurrott
First revealed in WinInfo Daily Update,
Windows XP Reloaded is a planned interim release of Windows XP that will
incorporate XP SP2, a new Windows Media Player version, and other exciting
consumer-oriented features.
...Windows XP Reloaded is
the code-name for a Windows XP version that will fill the gap between the
original XP release and Longhorn, the next major version of Windows...
...Though final packaging
hasn't yet been determined, expect XP Reloaded to be free to existing
XP users through a download kit where you can determine which features
to install. XP Reloaded will also replace existing XP boxed versions so
new customers get all the latest updates in a single, integrated
package...
...Microsoft is targeting
Q3 2004, just in time for the holiday shopping season...
MicrosoftWatch.com
|
Windows XP Lite
By Mary Jo Foley
Is Microsoft planning to release more
customized, cut-rate versions of Windows to help stave off Linux's
encroachment, especially outside the U.S.? The answer is … maybe.
Last summer, in response to the success
that Linux was having in the Thai marketplace, Microsoft began offering
Thai citizens a bundle of Microsoft Windows XP Home and Office XP
Standard. Under the auspices of the Thai government's "People PC" project,
Microsoft provided a Thai-localized version of its operating system and
desktop suite.
As part of the deal, Microsoft also
stripped out some unspecified features from both products and slashed the
price for the pair to 1,500 Thai Baht, or about $38 U.S. Microsoft Windows
XP Home sells at retail for $225; Office XP Standard retails for $499.
Last week,
The Bangkok Post reported that Microsoft was developing a "Windows XP
Lite" version tailored to users in markets like Thailand.
Microsoft corporate spokesman Mark Martin
said that contrary to some reports, Microsoft is not touting this bundle
as "Windows XP Lite," nor is it developing any new Windows release that
could be construed as such. He noted that Microsoft is not currently
offering users in any other countries a similar customized Windows option.
But Martin did say that Microsoft is
watching closely how the Thai Windows/Office bundle is received. And other
countries have expressed interest in similar bundles, he acknowledged...
Microsoft.com |
Microsoft Makes 64 Bit Windows XP Available for Free
If you have a 64-bit ready PC, you now have
the option to receive trial software for Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for
64-Bit Extended Systems via CD or download. Read below about the different
options for obtaining the pre-release software, and then use the links on
the right to register to order the CD Kit or download product files.
Please note that in either case, the pre-release software is time-limited
and will expire in 360 days...
WinSuperSite.com |
Windows Server 2003 R2
By Paul Thurrott
Microsoft's Windows Server
roadmap has been in constant flux for years, with plans for Blackcomb and
Longhorn versions of Windows Server now pushed back ever further to make
room for an interim Windows Server 2003 update dubbed Windows Server 2003
R2 ("release 2")...
...Microsoft hasn't
finalized packaging, but expect it to simply replace existing Windows
Server 2003 SKUs when it's released. At the very least, I'm told,
customers won't be forced to pony up new Client Access License (CAL) fees
if they've already licensed Windows 2003...
...Microsoft hasn't
determined a final ship date for R2, but it is aiming for Summer 2005...
...R2 is primarily designed to combine the
gold version of Windows Server 2003 with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack
1 (SP1) and the various out-of-band updates, now called Feature Packs,
that Microsoft has shipped since Windows 2003 was first released.
According to Microsoft, these Feature Packs include:
-
Active Directory Application
Mode (ADAM). A light run-time mode for Active
Directory designed specifically for deploying secure, directory-based
applications.
-
Automated Deployment Services
(ADS). A set of Microsoft imaging tools
designed to help you rapidly deploy Windows 2000 Server and Windows
Server 2003 remotely onto bare-metal servers. ADS also features a remote
script execution framework that helps administrators perform
script-based management tasks on hundreds of servers as easily as they
once did on a single server.
-
DSML Services for Windows (DSML).
Enables Active Directory access using SOAP over HTTP.
Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). A unified management tool
for Group Policy. The GPMC includes a new MMC snap-in and a set of
programmable interfaces for managing Group Policy.
-
Identity Integration Feature
Pack (IIFP). Manages identities and user
details across Active Directory, Active Directory Application Mode
(ADAM), Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, and Exchange Server 2003
environments.
-
Remote Control Add-on for Active Directory Users and Computers.
An add-on that adds the option to right-click a computer account in the
Active Directory MMC and choose Remote Control on that computer by
opening a Terminal/Remote Desktop connection to that computer.
-
Services for NetWare 5.02 SP2. A cumulative set of updates and
services that have been offered since the release of Services for
Netware 5.01 SP 1.
-
Shadow Copy Client.
A client update that lets Windows versions earlier than Windows Server
2003 take advantage of the intelligent file storage capabilities of the
Shadow Copies of Shared Folders feature.
-
Software Update Services (SUS) 2.0. A patch management
infrastructure for Windows 2000-based, Windows XP, and Windows Server
2003 computers.
-
Windows Rights Management Services (Windows RMS). An information
protection technology that works with RMS-enabled applications to help
safeguard digital information from unauthorized use—both online and
offline, inside and outside of the firewall.
-
Windows Rights Management
Services Client. The client code for Windows
RMS.
-
Windows SharePoint Services. A powerful Web-based team
collaboration environment. The R2 version will include TrustBridge
compatibility for sharing information with partner companies and
customers.
-
Windows System Resource Manager
(WSRM). Provides resource management and
enables the allocation of resources among multiple applications based on
business priorities.
R2 will also include the Whidbey version of
the Microsoft .NET runtime engine and new, unique features, such as
branch-office support...
TechWeb.com |
Microsoft Windows Update Services To Replace SMS
...Microsoft said this week that Windows Update Services,
patch-management software aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, has
begun beta testing and will go through another round of testing early in
the third quarter. The software, a follow on to the currently available
Software Update Services 1.0, had been due for general availability in
May. It's now slated for availability in the second half of the year.
Windows Update Services, which runs on Windows servers, missed its
delivery target because the programmers working on it postponed what they
were doing in order to add new patch-management capabilities to Windows
XP's Service Pack 2.
Over time, Microsoft plans to make Windows
Update Services a standard part of the Windows operating system and use
that combination in lieu of Systems Management Server's patch distribution
engine.
BetaNews.com |
Yukon, Whidbey Releases Pushed to 2005
By
David Worthington and Nate Mook
...The delay of Whidbey and Yukon will
likely disrupt Redmond's closely tethered portfolio of products. As a
result, Microsoft must now change tact and revise the release schedules of
some of its principal product lines; giving credence to rumors that its
upcoming Longhorn release of Windows may not meet its early 2006 target
release date.
...As the delays mount, however, customers
enrolled in Microsoft's Software Assurance program, which delivers regular
code updates at set intervals, must be mindful. The impact of operating
systems on the Software Assurance Program has historically been low, as
many customers choose not upgrade, but Longhorn will bring a new level of
interdependence between products.
...Jupiter's Wilcox questioned how quickly
Microsoft will get Longhorn out the door. "A year ago, some folks laughed
at the idea Microsoft would take as long as 2006 to ship Longhorn. Now,
2007 seems almost reasonable. Considering the huge impact Windows XP
Service Pack 2 will likely have on existing software and customer
behavior, Microsoft and its business customers will have plenty of
distraction dealing with the current OS."
The final Yukon release of SQL Server is expected to ship in the first
half of 2005 after a third "release candidate quality" beta ships later
this year.
News.Yahoo.com |
Microsoft Set to Reduce X-Box Price By 15%
...Citing sources familiar with the plan The Wall Street Journal said
the US software giant would cuts its X-box price to 149 dollars in April
from 179 dollars -- the price of the PlayStation 2 (news
-
web sites) console.
The move is aimed not only at selling more game consoles, but in
convincing more game developers to produce in the Microsoft format, the
Journal said.
Sony has sold some 70 million of its game consoles since the
PlayStation 2 was introduced in December 2000. Microsoft, which introduced
the X-box 18 months later, has sold just 13.7 million.
Another maker, Japan's Nintendo (news
-
web sites), has sold 15 million of its GameCube consoles and recently
lowered the price to 99 dollars, the Journal said...
WashingtonPost.com |
Microsoft Profits $1.1 Million PER HOUR - Can it Continue?
by Jonathan Krim
...Last fiscal year, its business generated a profit averaging $1.1
million every hour. It has more than $50 billion in cash. And since an
antitrust settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in late 2001 imposed
restrictions on Microsoft's business, it has steadily increased revenue.
So an imminent decision from the European Union that Microsoft
illegally took advantage of its monopoly is unlikely to hurt the company
financially in the short term -- even though the company faces fines of
hundreds of millions of dollars and a requirement that it remove its media
playing software from its dominant Windows operating system.
...For the first time since it established its dominance in the 1990s,
the company is battling a serious competitive wildfire, in the form of
open-source software, which for many corporate and government users has
proved cheaper and more flexible because they can alter its code. And
although the EU's ruling is expected to be limited to the media player, it
will strike at the heart of the strategy that has helped Microsoft to
ubiquity: Incorporating new functions into its operating system, which
powers more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers...
...the challenge to Microsoft from open-source systems, most commonly
based on software known as Linux, has been strong, especially overseas.
Linux has primarily been used to run corporate networks, a business
Microsoft also has entered with some success.
But governments and companies are now looking at open-source
alternatives for applications that run on the individual computer,
including the desktop operating system and Microsoft's prized jewel, its
Office suite of word-processing and spreadsheet applications.
..."Price erosion is one of the most immediate impacts," Schadler said.
"Microsoft has to lower its prices," something it has not done in the
past...
eWeek.com |
More SSL Security Holes Found
By Larry Seltzer
Security researchers on Friday uncovered a vulnerability in the
open-source Apache Web server software that could easily enable a denial
of services attack. The discovery follows on the heels of three holes
found in the popular OpenSSL security software on Wednesday.
The Apache problem is
one of several reported in Version 2.0.48, and lets an attacker open a
short-lived connection on a particular rarely-accessed listening socket.
The software will block out all other connections until another connection
comes in on the same socket. Reports differed on exactly which platforms
and versions were affected by this problem, but not all are affected.
On late Friday, The Apache Software Foundation
announced an update to its HTTP Server software that fixed the problem
as well as several others. Version 2.0.49 is available for download from
the
Apache HTTP Server Project Web site.
Meanwhile, three security vulnerabilities in the popular OpenSSL
software, used to provide secure, encrypted communications to open-source
applications and distributions, were discovered Wednesday. The flaws could
allow an attacker to make HTTPS (secure HTTP) services unavailable on a
Web server, and potentially crash applications using OpenSSL...
BetaNews.com |
Sun Inks StarOffice Deal with India
By David Worthington
Sun Microsystems is claiming
another victory in its ongoing campaign to oust Microsoft Office
from its position as market leader. The Indian State of Haryana has
standardized Sun's StarOffice open source software as its primary
productivity solution throughout all state government offices.
With this decision, India joins Brazil, England, Germany, and Israel in
their collective shunning of Microsoft in favor of thriftier
open source alternatives.
News.com |
Corel WordPerfect is Back from the Wilderness
...WordPerfect Office 12, set to go
on sale in late April, includes new versions of the WordPerfect
word processing application, Quattro Pro spreadsheet program and
Presentations slide show software.
Enhancements in the new product
include a number of features aimed at improving compatibility
with
Microsoft Office, by far the dominant productivity package.
A new Microsoft Office compatibility mode ensures that
documents are automatically saved in Office formats and
gives WordPerfect a look and feel similar to Office, said
Richard Carriere, director of office productivity for Corel.
"For the user, it's quasi-transparent whether they're using
Microsoft Office or our product," he said.
"There is at least 10 to 20
percent of the market interested in some alternatives" to
Microsoft Office, Carriere said. "The most important thing to
them is to be able to communicate in a world where the standard
is Microsoft formats."
...WordPerfect is one of two main
product lines Corel executives have focused on since the company
went private in a $98 million buyout last year. WordPerfect
was once the dominant office application, but the product faded
in the 1990s with the dominance of Microsoft's software.
WordPerfect has faced new competition in recent years from
Sun Microsystems' StarOffice and its
free open-source sibling OpenOffice, which have benefited
from efforts to include the applications as part of a broad
strategy to
replace Microsoft on the desktop...
TomsHardware.com |
U.S. Robotics to Bump 802.11g Wireless to 125Mbps
|
U.S. Robotics yesterday
announced an upcoming boost of its 100Mbps "Wireless Turbo"
802.11g line to 125Mbps.
USR's announcement means that
Texas Instruments—which supplies the wireless chipset for
USR's 802.11g line—has joined with the other major
manufacturers of 802.11g chipsets in pushing its own flavor
of 11g speed-tweaked technology.
USR's announcement said its
upcoming firmware and driver updates will boost wireless
bandwidth performance from 100 Mbps to 125 Mbps by using
packet aggregation and frame bursting mechanisms. This makes
TI's technique comparable to Broadcom's Afterburner, which
also originally claimed a boost to 125Mbps.
But it seems that some
Broadcom customers are reconsidering specific high-Mbps
claims for their products. Linksys' recently-introduced
"Speed Booster" product packages [related
story] prominently display a "Boost Performance up to
35%" logo and have even removed prominent display of the
normal 54Mbps 11g speed claim. Buffalo Technology has
removed its WHR2G54 125Mbps router—which was supposed to
begin shipment in February—from its website entirely, citing
development delays.
USR says all its 11g Wireless
Turbo products will be shipping with the 125Mbps enhancement
by "early June" and that existing owners will be able to
upgrade their products via a free download. The
upgradability also contrasts with Broadcom's approach.
According to Linksys, its "Speed Booster" products are based
on new chipsets and its existing Broadcom-based 11g products
can't be upgraded.
ViaTech.com.tw |
VIA Shows Off 12cm 2 Nano-ITX Motherboard
Measuring a
mere 12cm x 12cm and combining the highly efficient VIA
Eden-N processor and VIA CN400 digital media chipset, the
VIA EPIA N-Series Nano-ITX mainboard provides an unequalled
visual experience for smart digital media and mobile
entertainment devices. The Chromotion CE Video Display
Engine in the VIA CN400’s UniChrome Pro IGP graphics core,
provides unmatched support for intelligent video rendering
techniques and flawless MPEG-4/2 digital video playback on
all display types from CRT and LCD screens to standard
definition TVs and HDTVs.
The VIA EPIA N features a robust
shared memory architecture and support for up to 1GB of
DDR400/333/266 memory with the acclaimed FastStream64™
memory controller, and a high speed Ultra V-Link interface
for a 1GB/s connection to VIA's feature-leading South Bridge
options.
TomsHardware.com |
Xandros Linux for Microsoft Active Directory
By Wolfgang Gruener
Xandros, best known for its
Linux distribution tailored for consumer desktop PCs, has
made its move into the corporate market. The "Business
Desktop and Operating System" is the first distribution to
offer seamless compatibility with Windows Active Directory
servers and Primary Domain Controllers.
Xandros' origin is Corel
Linux OS which Xandros' founding organization Linux
Global Partners acquired from Corel in a license deal in
August 2001. Back then, the company speculated that Linux
could become a leading supplier of desktop systems worldwide
within five years. Today, Xandros is not really closer to
that goal, but already has introduced its second generation
Linux distribution which receives favorable reviews and
tries to take its share of the Windows market: The primary
target remains the Windows user which want a Linux based OS,
but wants to keep running applications such as Microsoft
Office.
...The newly announced
Business Desktop and Operating System includes Sun's
StarOffice 7 and, according to Xandros, integrates into
Windows server environments. For example Xandros users are
able to share and access files across networks. The software
is offered for $129.
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