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Issue no. 5, 2003 Published: Jan 31, 2003
Slammer's poor design lessened damage
How the net leaves itself open to attack
AOL Time Warner reports largest annual loss ever
Mobile phone 'tunnel vision' puts drivers in danger
Computer user suffers 'eThrombosis'
Tiny 'Braille' opens new space for storage
Telephone heart sensor under test
Researchers invent world's 'best lie detector'
Ethernet guitar out of the case
Kazaa hits back at record giants
Open source encyclopaedia publishes 100,000th article

Slammer's poor design lessened damage
The SQL Slammer computer worm that has swept the world's computers since Saturday could easily have had an even worse impact, according to the researcher who uncovered the software bug it exploits. The worm infected hundreds of thousands of computers, choking network bandwidth and slowing the internet as it multiplied. The worm spreads by broadcasting messages across networks in a general form known as UDP - but many computer firewalls are set up to block these. However, David Litchfield, discoverer of the weakness that Slammer targets, says it would have been simple to design the worm to identify itself as a specific type of UDP traffic, that slips through most firewalls. After infecting a machine, Slammer churns out thousands of randomly- directed network messages in an attempt to locate other computers to infect. The outbreak is the most widespread worm to hit the internet since Code Red struck in July 2001.
New Scientist Jan 29, 2003	back to top

How the net leaves itself open to attack
The net is making itself unnecessarily vulnerable to crippling attacks, experts warn. Analysis of the queries sent to one of the net's core address books show that 98 per cent of them could have been handled by other parts of the network. Dealing with these queries on the outer reaches of the net rather than at its core could help limit the damage of concerted attacks on key servers, say experts. Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) have analysed traffic received by one of the 13 root servers on 4 October last year. On that day the server received more than 152 million queries and the researchers estimate that 98 per cent of these were unnecessary. Analysis showed that 70 per cent of the requests for net addresses were duplicates which could easily be dealt with if frequently requested information were cached by ISPs. A further 12 per cent of the queries were for non-existent domains. Due to badly configured networks computers that do not let error replies return, these addresses are fruitlessly requested over and over again, the researchers believe.
BBC News Jan 28, 2003	back to top

AOL Time Warner reports largest annual loss ever
AOL Time Warner, the world's largest media company, has posted the largest annual loss in US history after having to write down the value of its assets. The company also announced the departure of its vice chairman Ted Turner. AOL reported a loss of nearly $100bn for 2002, after a loss of $44.9bn for the final three months of the year. The largest charge related to the group's embattled America Online internet business. However, its film and entertainment division helped strengthen the company's performance, thanks to hits such as 'Lord of the Rings'. AOL Time Warner's overall loss for 2002 was $98.7bn, the result of a turbulent year. The company's shares have slumped 70 per cent since the merger between internet service provider America Online and the media giant Time Warner two years ago.
BBC News Jan 29, 2003	back to top

Mobile phone 'tunnel vision' puts drivers in danger
Researchers from the University of Utah found that drivers using mobile phones, even hands-free devices, are not processing peripheral vision well. The researchers studied twenty volunteers who used a driving simulator to experience all sorts of distractions, from cars suddenly swerving to a stoplight changing. In one test, a driver on a phone and one focused solely on the road were shown the same series of billboards. The driver not chatting on his phone remembered seeing 50 per cent more billboards than the driver on the phone, the study found - which means mobile phone use in cars is also bad news for advertisers. 'Inattention blindness' is an impairment that slows reaction time by 20 per cent and made some mobile phone users miss half the red lights they were suddenly presented with in some simulations. The researchers found that when people are on the phone, the amount of information they are taking in is significantly reduced.
Silicon.com Jan 28, 2003	back to top

Computer user suffers 'eThrombosis'
People who spend many hours every day sitting in front of a computer could be at risk of developing deep vein thrombosis - the potentially fatal blood clots also linked to long haul air travel. Researchers of the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in New Zealand identified a 32-year-old man who lost consciousness a few weeks after suffering a swollen calf. The cause was found to be a massive clot that had formed in a vein in his leg and travelled to his lungs - a pulmonary embolism. The team found no obvious risk factors for the clot, except that the man would regularly work for 12 hours a day at his computer and often not stand up for hours. This is the first reported case of an association between prolonged immobility at a computer and a life-threatening embolism, say the researchers, who suggest the condition should be called 'eThrombosis'. Large blood clots can develop when the flow in a vein is restricted. If one reaches the lungs, it can be deadly. People who are overweight, who smoke or who have heart disease are at increased risk.
New Scientist Jan 29, 2003	back to top

Tiny 'Braille' opens new space for storage
A team of European scientists is experimenting with a molecular-scale storage device that can be read like Braille and could lead to systems that hold nearly 100 gigabits of data per square inch. The researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Bologna said they have discovered a class of materials that when gently nudged, form bumps in a predictable pattern that could be used to encode data. The scientists focused on thin films of molecules called rotaxanes, which are shaped like a barbell with smaller rings around its handle. Their architecture suggests that they could be used as switchable components to store information. The pattern was stable in the lab for several days. The researchers are now working on optimising the rotaxane structure to make it stable for a much longer period. The method could allow for a super-capacity DVD-like media that could be written to extremely quickly. It could also provide a different way to form biochips that provide tiny channels to move and mix biological substances.
ZDNet / Technology Research News Jan 27, 2003	back to top

Telephone heart sensor under test
An implanted heart monitor which can send data down a phone line is going on trial in the US. The device will mean that patients can be checked by their physician while they are hundreds of miles apart. The system has been developed by researchers at Ohio State University. A small group of patients has volunteered to test the device, which is approximately the size of a book of matches. It is implanted in the upper chest, and a sensor is threaded through a vein into one of the chambers of the heart. It can measure heart rate, heart temperature and blood pressure inside the heart. Patients pass a magnetic 'wand' over their chest and send a signal to the device to transmit data to the doctor via a telephone line. The device still has to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and trials are expected to last at least two years.
BBC News Jan 30, 2003	back to top

Researchers invent world's 'best lie detector'
Scientists in Manchester claim they can tell when people are lying after inventing the world's most sophisticated lie-detector. A team at Manchester Metropolitan University spent five years developing the 'Silent Talker' which uses only a laptop computer and a camera. The device detects and analyses thousands of tiny facial movements, many imperceptible to the naked eye. The scientists say it has the potential to screen for hijackers and insurance cheats with unprecedented accuracy. Tests demonstrated an 80 per cent accuracy rate as opposed to 60 per cent for the traditional polygraph lie detector, which monitors signs of stress such as perspiration, heart rate and voice pitch, according to the scientists. The 'Silent Talker' is also much simpler to use and it delivers degrees of lying - complete lie and half-lie.
Ananova / The Independent Jan 27, 2003	back to top

Ethernet guitar out of the case
Legendary electric guitar maker Gibson is turning to networking technology to make the world's first truly digital guitar. Developers at Gibson Labs in California will this year produce an instrument which will run on an Ethernet network. 'Magic' technology, based on Ethernet, will be built into future guitars, amps, speakers and musical equipment. Magic technology will allow users to apply digital effects to each string of their guitar and to control remote amps or other devices from the guitar's knobs. Devices will automatically identify themselves via a Magic network to a mixer that can have custom settings for any instrument used loaded onto a CD. Home-studio users can plug their guitars directly into their PC.
VNUnet UK / EE Times Jan 29, 2003	back to top

Kazaa hits back at record giants
The company behind music swapping website Kazaa has accused music and film companies of anti-competitive behaviour. Sharman Networks, which distributes Kazaa Media Desktop, is launching a counter suit against the 27 entertainment corporations currently suing it for contributing to online piracy. Sharman has accused the music and film companies of extending their monopolies into internet distribution. Sharman claims that its partner, Brilliant Digital Entertainment, developed a way to distribute copyrighted works securely in the file-sharing environment, and to ensure that artists got paid. But the major labels still refused to license music for distribution to Kazaa users. The recording industry has dismissed Sharman's charges as 'laughable'. The Recording Industry Association of America likened the company's claims to those of a thief who robs Fort Knox and then blames Fort Knox for not buying her second-rate security system.
VNUnet UK / San Jose Mercury News Jan 29, 2003	back to top

Open source encyclopaedia publishes 100,000th article
One of the web's first open-source encyclopaedias has reached a milestone, just two years since its inception. Last week, the English- language version of http://www.wikipedia.org, a free multilingual encyclopaedia created entirely by volunteers, published its 100,000th article. More than 37,000 articles populate the non-English editions. Wikipedia is the result of work by thousands of volunteers. Anyone can contribute an article or edit an existing one. The site runs on Wiki software, a collaborative application that allows users to collectively author web documents without having to register first. All articles are covered by the Free Software Foundation's GNU Free Documentation License, which allows anyone to reuse the entries, provided they preserve that same right to others and give proper credit to Wikipedia. Wikipedia's founders attribute the project's success to the legions of highly educated, volunteer contributors called Wikipedians, who write and edit articles for the site.
Wired News Jan 28, 2003	back to top