Unpaid Uills? Good Luck Starting Future Laptops

By: Marco A. Ayllon
Nautilus Science and Techology News
March 31, 2009

As wireless carriers begin to subsidize computers that come with wireless Internet access, they're faced with a quandary: What do they do if the buyer stops paying his bills?


The company can cut off the computer's wireless access, but the carrier would still be out a couple of hundred dollars. The buyer would be left with a computer that's fully usable except for cellular broadband.


LM Ericsson AB, the Swedish company that makes many of the modems that go into laptops, announced Tuesday that its new modem will deal with this issue by including a feature that's virtually a wireless repo man. If the carrier has the stomach to do so, it can send a signal that completely disables the computer, making it impossible to turn on.


"We call it a `kill pill,'" said Mats Norin, Ericsson's vice president of mobile broadband modules.


The module will work on AT&T Inc.'s U.S. third-generation network, and on many other 3G networks overseas.


AT&T late last year started subsidizing small laptops known as "netbooks," which normally cost about $400, so that RadioShack Corp. can sell them for $100. The buyer commits to paying $60 per month for two years for AT&T's wireless broadband access. Such offers have become very common in Europe.


It's unlikely that carriers would resort to wielding the "kill pill." But the technology, developed with Intel Corp., has other uses. For instance, a company could secure its data by locking down stolen laptops wirelessly. Lenovo Group Ltd. has said it will build this sort of feature into its laptops.


The new Ericsson modem can also stay active while a computer is off, listening for wireless messages. That means it could wake up and alert the user when it receives an important e-mail, or if someone is calling with a conferencing application like Skype.


Laptop makers that use Ericsson modules include LG Electronics Inc., Dell Inc., Toshiba Corp. and Lenovo.

FBI: Cyber Crime Escalates in 2008

By: Marco A. Ayllon
Nautilus Technology News
March 30, 2009

Cyber crimes hit record numbers last year, according to a new report (pdf) released today by Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). IC3, a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (a Glen Allen, Va., congressionally funded nonprofit that trains law enforcement on how to investigate financial and cyber crimes), says that in 2008 it received 275,284 complaints (up 33 percent from 2007's total of 206,884) of cyber fraud, computer hacks, spam, child pornography and other online offenses—and that cyber scams costs consumers an estimated $265 million, 10 percent more than the $239.09 million reported lost in 2007.

Online transactions in which either the goods or the payment wasn't received accounted for 33 percent of complaints that the feds received last year (up 32 percent from 2007). Auction fraud (think eBay transactions gone bad) actually dipped from 28.6 percent in 2007 to 25.5 percent last year. Ponzi schemes, computer fraud, and check fraud complaints represented 19.5 percent of all IC3 complaints. Overall, fraud victims reporting average losses of $931 each.

Some 74 percent of those who contacted authorities said they had communicated with the scam artists via e-mail. Ironically, one of the year's biggest e-mail scams involved bogus e-mails, supposedly sent by the FBI, soliciting personal information, such as a bank account numbers, by falsely claiming that it needed such info to investigate an "impending financial transaction." Some of the bogus e-mails even claimed to have come directly from FBI Director Robert Mueller, Deputy Director John S. Pistole, or some other high ranking official or investigative unit within the bureau. (The report notes that the FBI does not contact U.S. citizens regarding personal financial matters through unsolicited e-mails.)

Another common scam reported to the IC3 in 2008 involved hackers who broke into personal e-mail accounts (read more on how this can be done), enabling them to send out e-mails to people in the victims' address books asking for money. Posing as the e-mail account holders, fraudsters claim that they are stranded in Nigeria (or some other country), where they were allegedly robbed and now need $1,000 or some other sum to cover hotel bills and travel expenses.

Computer Security: New Conficker Worm Alert!

By: Marco A. Ayllon
Nautilus Technology News
March 30, 2009

A gouvernment information security watchdog has issued a warning to take precautions against a fast-mutating malicious computer program poised to strike on Wednesday.
In a bulletin sent out on Monday, the Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCert) warned that the latest variant of the Conficker worm, known as Conficker.C, may 'become active on April 1'.

SingCert, a unit of technology sector regulator Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, identifies information security threats and coordinates computer security responses to events like hacking attacks.

Conficker targets computers running Microsoft Windows software, automatically jumping from an infected computer to another over a local network or by hitching a ride on a portable storage devices like USB-drives. Only computers that have not been updated with new security signatures are vulnerable. The worm is one of the more sophisticated such programs developed to date.

Unlike earlier versions like 2004's Sasser worm, which was easily found and subsequently de-wormed by a vigilant user, Conficker's creator, who remains at large despite a US$250,000 (about S$380,000) bounty put up by Microsoft, regularly comes up with new and improved versions of the worm to foil such efforts.

The newest variant, Conficker.C, the fourth incarnation of the worm since it was first discovered last year, disables security features like Microsoft Windows Automatic Update. One of Conficker's key features is its ability to call up a 'master computer' via the Internet for directions, which is also present in its newest variant in a new and improved form.

On Wednesday, Conficker.C infected computers will do just this, SingCert warned on Monday, although 'the exact nature of the activity that will occur on that day is not known at this time.'

Since it was released last year, Conficker has claimed more than ten million victims worldwide, including computers used by the British Parliament. While definitive statistics of Conficker infections here are not available, at least 269 companies have been infected as at January, according to security company F-Secure.

Visit SingCert's website at www.singcert.org.sg for instructions on how to check if your computer is infected, and how to remove the worm.

Information States Disney, Hulu.com Resume Talks for Bringing ABC Shows

By: Marco A. Ayllon
Nautilus Technology News
March 30, 2009

According to Friday reports from paidContent. org, citing unnamed sources, with talks between the Walt Disney Co and Hulu. com having resumed, there are chances of ABC shows coming to the popular online video site; along with content from Disney's cable networks, like ESPN and Disney Channel.

Disney, which is the ninth rank-holder among the video sites in the US, has long been trying to negotiate a deal with the fourth ranker Hulu - as well as other web-based content distributors - in an attempt to increase the viewership of the ad-supported ABC shows being offered on ABC. com and its local TV affiliates like AOL. com, and Fancast site by Comcast Corp.

Though there has been no official confirmation about the supposed resumption of talks from either Hulu or Disney, "inside sources" say that Disney is also keen on an equity stake in Hulu, similar to the equal ownership stakes held by NBC Universal and News Corp; both with 45 percent stake apiece. In case the deal comes through, Hulu would have three of the biggest broadcast TV networks, excluding CBS.

However, it is still not clear about which of the ABC shows will be brought over to the Hulu site, there are indications that the shows being considered for the crossover include ABC prime time shows like `Lost,' `Desperate Housewives,' and `Ugly Betty'.

Attention, Bargain Hunters: Circuit City Is Now Closing

Nautilus Science & Technology News
By: Marco Ayllon
March 7, 2009

It’s coming to a close a bit sooner than expected: Circuit City’s going-out-of-business sale will end Sunday, March 8. Great American Group, one of four firms managing the liquidation of the once-great electronics chain, has announced that Circuit City’s $1.7 billion in inventory is just about gone. So if you’re looking for a killer bargain on whatever’s left in stock -- or even store fixtures like display shelves, a ratty office chair, or the manager’s coffee mug -- now’your last chance.

I’ve seen Circuit City ads over the past few days that promote discounts of 90-percent or so, but it’s a pretty safe bet that the 65-inch plasmas and Blu-ray players are all gone. What’s left? When it comes to the final days of a liquidation sale, you can never tell. Maybe there’s a 32-inch HDTV with a cracked bezel, an open 50-pack of DVD-R discs (with a few missing), or a demo laptop that may or may not boot.

Liquidation sales are always a bit sad: Roped-off areas to shrink the retail space; open boxes with manuals, cables, and other flotsam scattered everywhere. Harry McCracken of Technologizer captured the mood beautifully in his The Tragic Last Days of Circuit City pictorial. It’s hard to believe that Circuit City was once the second-largest consumer electronics retailer in the United States.

If we’ve learned anything about going-out-of-business sales over the past few weeks, it’s this: Don’t bother going the first week. That’s when the liquidator, hoping to reel in the suckers, cuts prices a measly 10 percent. You’ll almost always find better deals at competing retailers, particularly if you comparison-shop online. The real deals come deeper into the sale -- say, weeks 4 to 6 -- but by then you run the risk of missing out on the items you want.

If you’re planning to stop by your local Circuit City this weekend, it’s wise to call first. Some of CC’s 567 stores in the U.S. have already closed their doors.

Microsoft Recruiting For Windows 7 Small Biz Blitzkrieg

Nautilus Science & Technolgy News
By: Marco A. Ayllon
March 6, 2009

Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) wants small businesses that have avoided Windows Vista like the plague to upgrade to Windows 7, and the software giant is enlisting the aid of its small business-focused solution providers to help make that happen.
Earlier this week, Microsoft quietly unveiled its Windows 7 Small Business Ignite Program, which gives small businesses a chance to test out the Windows 7 Beta with guidance from Microsoft channel partners.

The program, details of which are scarce, appears to be aimed at convincing small businesses that, unlike Vista, Windows 7 won't actually destroy their businesses and ransack their homes. In other words, it's another effort to counteract entrenched negative views of Vista.

But despite the positive early returns on the Windows 7 beta, Microsoft faces enormous challenges in getting small businesses, many of which are perfectly content running their day-to-day operations on Windows XP, to justify spending for the upgrade to Windows 7. And that would be the case even if the economy weren't in a full-fledged meltdown mode.

"Windows XP is a very stable operating system that all of my clients are familiar with, trust, and have no reason to upgrade from. They will not go en masse to Windows 7, regardless of the price," said Jere Terrill, principal at My Computer Mechanic, a Castle Rock, Colo.-based solution provider.

Microsoft's small-business-focused partners were among the last to receive the final release of Windows Vista, and that put a big dent in their confidence in Vista's ability to perform in a production environment, according to Mark Crall, president of Charlotte Tech Care Team, a Charlotte, N.C.-based solution provider.

By getting the Windows 7 Release Candidate in small business partners' hands earlier, Microsoft can help erase those bad memories. However, there is no financial incentive for Microsoft partners to sell new deployments of Windows 7 to small businesses under current licensing arrangements, as their only options are upgrade, OEM or Retail licensing, Crall noted.

"Unless you are a system builder, or selling large quantities, then all you can do is wait for their hardware to die and suggest they call Dell (NSDQ:Dell)," Crall said.

Last November, speculation flared that Microsoft might be planning to offer a "Windows 7 for Small Businesses" edition at some point in the future. This was fueled by the appearance of a Microsoft job posting for a Senior Marketing Manager, whose responsibilities would be to "increase the effectiveness of partner co-marketing direct to Small and Medium Business customers and through partners' extensive indirect channel partners, including distribution and breadth reseller network."

With Vista, small businesses had just two choices -- Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Enterprise -- neither of which fit their needs and both of which were too expensive for the segment.

If Microsoft does come out with a small-business-focused Windows 7 SKU, with a lighter price tag to match, that could help remove some of the barriers and spur Windows 7 adoption, according to solution providers.