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Internet still sick

A series of computer worms in recent weeks has infected millions of computers, taking advantage of flaws in networks and software to propagate their mischief. As of Aug. 19, Symantec (http://securityresponse.symantec.

A series of computer worms in recent weeks has infected millions of computers, taking advantage of flaws in networks and software to propagate their mischief.

As of Aug. 19, Symantec (http://securityresponse.symantec.com) listed the top virus threats as W32.Sobig.F@mm; W32.Welchia.Worm; W32.Blaster.Worm; W32.Bugbear.B@mm; W32.Minmail.A@mm; and W32.HLLW.Fizzer@mm.

Because we’re a Mac shop here at Pique Newsmagazine, we weren’t affected by any of these PC-centric pests, although we did get our share of e-mails from infected computers.

Patches for all of these worms and viruses were available almost immediately, but by the time the alert goes out the damage is typically already done.

Sobig.F, for example, was just the latest in a string of similar viruses, following Sobig.A, Sobig.B, etc. It was programmed to spread from computer to computer through the Internet by using e-mail address books, and then to attempt to download information from one of 20 master computers over a period of a weekend. Imagine hundreds of thousands of computers attempting to link up with a handful of computers over a short period of time – it would effectively shut those master computers down.

The computer security specialists discovered the threat early and succeeded in thwarting the virus by taking their computers off-line and patching their security systems.

Now security experts are watching for Sobig.G to emerge. Then Sobig.H. Followed by Sobig.I. And so on and so on.

Nobody knows who is responsible. Sobig.F was spread using online news groups tied to porn by someone using a stolen credit card.

The Blaster virus uses a hole in Windows to crash computers. It was followed closely by Welchia – an ill-advised attempt to patch the hole that Blaster takes advantage of that ended up congesting networks.

Microsoft programs are frequently the target of virus attacks, and while many do spread, the actual damage has been contained recently. More malicious virus and worm programmers are more of a nuisance than a threat it would seem, but security experts are still taking it seriously.

What is becoming more and more apparent is that the majority of worm and virus infections are preventable by the use of firewalls, security software and common sense, but the majority of computer users seem to have none of these things.

To counter this, Microsoft is taking some unusual steps. Last week the company launched a "Protect Your PC" public awareness campaign. The campaign urges computer users to get security software and to update it regularly. In addition, they recommend regularly updating and patching your software programs and operating systems.

Another fix proposed by Microsoft is a system that would automatically offer software updates to users that they can either take or leave.

Taking security to another level, Microsoft is considering remotely activating security features in Windows, like the Internet Connection Firewall. Most customers do not know what the IC Firewall is for, or why they need it on at all times.

New versions of software would come with all of the security defaults switched on that would have to be turned off by the user. Typically it works the other way around, with users opting to turn their security defaults up or down from the current default setting.

Microsoft acknowledges that the Protect Your PC campaign is a temporary fix, and point to their Trustworthy Computing initiative as the future in Internet security.

Although Trustworthy Computing has come under a lot of fire and ire from critics – security flaws in software are still being discovered – Microsoft maintains that the initiative will be apparent in the company’s next generation of software products.

Views of Mars

Even if you’re not into astronomy, it’s hard not to notice how big and bright Mars looms in our night sky. According to scientists, the Earth and Mars are closer now that they have been in 60,000 years.

While our planets are still more than 55 million kilometres apart, that’s good enough for even the most basic astronomer with the most modest telescope to get an eyefull of our closest neighbour.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been capturing some incredibly detailed pictures of the surface of Mars, with craters and polar caps clearly visible.

To get a closer look, visit www.hubblesite.org. Pictures are updated daily, packaged with facts, figures, and interesting commentary on the features of the Red Planet.

Meanwhile, NASA and the European Space Administration have a total of five probes on their way to Mars to search for life, the components of life, and water.

A proposed manned mission to Mars has been grounded at least until the probes can do their work, but research is still carrying on behind the scenes.

The Mars Society (www.marssociety.org) has funded research projects that simulate life on the Red Planet for explorers. The list of ongoing projects include a Mars Desert Station, the Flashline Arctic Station, a Translife Mission, and a Pressurized Rover. They are also actively lobbying Congress to commit to a Mars mission sometime in the future.

Like the Mars Society, the Planetary Society (www.planetarysociety.org) is also lobbying government to get a mission to Mars of the ground. They estimate it would cost about $50 billion to land a team on Mars.

NASA (www.nasa.gov) is itself pretty quiet on the prospect of a manned Mars mission, but they are providing excellent information on different Mars probes and Mars discoveries.

Enjoy the view this summer. Mars won’t be this close again in our lifetimes – unless the world opts for a manned mission, in which case we’ll be getting a much closer look.