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Issue no. 1, 2002 Published: Jan 04, 2002
Total number of internet addresses shrinks
Rare Linux virus on the loose
US eases some curbs on exporting technology
Microsoft 'should face swift justice'
EU satellites could interfere with GPS
Raw information tipped to dominate e-commerce
Spotting the face of deception
Futurologist has faith in 3G
Women are the internet's big spenders
Dot-God: religion clicks with internet users

Total number of internet addresses shrinks
The total number of internet addresses worldwide fell in December for only the second time in nearly six years, according to a survey by Netcraft. Netcraft, which has tracked internet registrations and website activity since 1995, cited a fall-off in domain name speculation as the primary factor driving the decrease. Netcraft also predicted that the drop off in domain-name speculation would boost the percentage of internet addresses that are 'active' at any given time on the web. The Netcraft survey is at http://www.netcraft.com/survey.
Newsbytes Jan 02, 2002	back to top

Rare Linux virus on the loose
It has emerged in the last week that another rare Linux virus may be on the loose, which has strong similarities to October's Remote Shell Trojan (RST) that was largely dismissed by the Linux community. In a posting to a security mailing list at the end of December, SecurityFocus brought 'RST.b' to the internet community's attention. The researchers warned that the culprit carrying the virus is likely to be 'some exploit being passed around, possibly a Secure Shell one'. Linux users are advised not to run exploits from unknown sources. Once the virus has gained a foothold into the system, it installs a back door and attempts to escalate its permissions to root privileges. The basic differences to the October version are that the new virus tries to communicate with a machine on a different IP address to the original RST, and the backdoor operates on the Exterior Gateway Protocol instead of the User Datagram Protocol.
VNUnet UK Jan 03, 2002	back to top

US eases some curbs on exporting technology
The White House on Wednesday loosened the limits on exporting high- performance computers and microprocessors. Under the new guidelines, US companies will be required to notify the Commerce Department of proposed exports of computers to certain restricted countries when systems are faster than 190,000 Mtops, or millions of theoretical operations a second. In the past, the restriction on the export of machines to so-called Tier 3 countries was set at 85,000 Mtops, roughly equivalent to the power of a parallel computer with 32 Pentium III processors. The Tier 3 countries include India, Pakistan, all of the Middle East, the former Soviet republics, China, Vietnam and parts of Eastern Europe. The US also plans to raise the limit for the export of general purpose microprocessors to 12,000 Mtops from the current 6,500 Mtops.
New York Times Jan 03, 2002	back to top

Microsoft 'should face swift justice'
Nine US states, which have refused to sign a peace deal with Microsoft over anti-trust claims, have urged that the software giant should face swift justice. Microsoft, which has agreed a settlement to its long-running antitrust with some states and the US government, had asked for extra time to prepare its defence against its remaining opponents. But the states holding out for a more drastic settlement said on Monday that Microsoft had already had plenty of time to consider its case. The nine hawk states claim that the settlement agreed between Microsoft and the government contains too many loopholes. Among other concessions, they want the firm to sell a cheap version of its Windows operating system.
BBC News Dec 31, 2001	back to top

EU satellites could interfere with GPS
Top Pentagon officials have expressed strong concerns that a planned $2.2 billion European satellite navigation system could interfere with signals from the United States' satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) used to conduct military operations. The frequencies the EU has proposed for Galileo are interleaved with the same frequencies the US Defence Department has proposed for a new generation of GPS satellites and could cause interference with GPS, according to a Pentagon spokesman. The Pentagon conveyed its concerns about potential Galileo interference to GPS in a letter from US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz to European defence ministers on December 4. According to the Financial Times, the EU viewed the letter as US interference with its plan to develop a satellite navigation system free from Pentagon control.
CNN / IDG Dec 31, 2001	back to top

Raw information tipped to dominate e-commerce
Dotcoms dealing in raw information are tipped to be the success stories of 2002. A Nielsen/NetRatings analyst has suggested sites will thrive by paying attention to the core value of the web as an information source. The past year has been a testing ground for many dotcoms, with high- profile casualties such as Napster, Excite, Breathe, Beenz and BT.com. It also saw an end to the dotcom frenzy, when companies founded on a hot idea and funded to the hilt, burnt their way through working capital to insolvency. Winners throughout the past year have included Google, Friends Reunited, AOL and Expedia. These websites have survived because they trade in information, says Tom Ewing, of Nielsen/NetRatings. Successful sites 'seem to be those that appreciate its original potential as a vehicle for information, rather than treating it as a souped-up television or shopping mall', says Ewing.
Ananova Jan 01, 2002	back to top

Spotting the face of deception
The airports of the future could identify potential terrorists by using a lie detector that spots concealed blushing with a super-sensitive thermal imaging camera. Liars are betrayed by the heat that rushes to their face when they tell a fib, according to US scientists. Blood flow to the surface of the skin around the eyes increases when someone tells a lie. The tiny hot spots are invisible to the naked eye but can be measured by thermal imaging, say researchers of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The new system was tested on 20 volunteers who were told to carry out a fake crime. Another group of people who had no knowledge of the crime were also tested. The scientists managed to correctly identify as guilty 75 per cent of the 'criminals', while 90 per cent of the 'innocent' group were successfully cleared of blame. The results were as good as those from a traditional polygraph, or lie detector test.
BBC News Jan 02, 2002	back to top

Futurologist has faith in 3G
Leading futurologist Ray Hammond says next generation services will arrive in the next three to five years. He does not believe progress will be held back because operators paid too much for licenses. Hammond's client list includes BT, Microsoft, Philips and Apple Computers. His forecasts are based on systematic study, looking back at the past for clues on what will be key trends in the future. He predicts a rapid take-up of services that enable users to be 'telepresent' with channels of communication open at all times. One killer application, he says, will see the marriage of GPS technology with always-on telecommunications networks. This will allow parents to keep a constant eye on their children to ensure they are safe. Hammond also rejects a common belief that computing will mean the end of the desktop, adding that while interfaces evolve, PCs will be the hubs for controlling networked home appliances.
Ananova Dec 31, 2001	back to top

Women are the internet's big spenders
For years men have been more likely to shop over the internet than women. But in the 2001 holiday season, 58 per cent of those making online purchases were women, according to a report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Women were also more likely to enjoy the experience, with 37 per cent reporting that they enjoyed shopping online 'a lot' compared with 17 per cent of men. Twenty-nine per cent of men polled said they did not enjoy shopping online at all, compared with 15 per cent of women. The report contained more good news for struggling dot-coms as internet users reported spending more money and said they were more comfortable with online shopping than last year. The report was based on a survey of 4,052 US adults that took place between November 19 and December 23.
Financial Times / Reuters Jan 02, 2002	back to top

Dot-God: religion clicks with internet users
More people in the US use the internet to get religious and spiritual information than to look for dates, gamble or trade stocks, research has found. One in four internet users - 28 million people - have turned to the web for inspiration and 3 million people make such online visits every day, according to Pew Internet and American Life survey findings. In 2000 between 19 million and 20 million surfers, or 21 per cent of the US web users, went online for religious or spiritual reasons, said Pew. The September 11 attacks sent millions of people online - 41 per cent who never used the web for religion reasons said they sent or received e-mail prayer requests, 23 per cent went online to learn about Islam and 7 per cent contributed to charities via the net.
Newsbytes Dec 31, 2001	back to top