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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2002 Privacy Standard Earns Endorsement and Criticism E-signatures Not Catching on as Hoped Flaws in IE and Office Make Macs Vulnerable Computers Get Smaller AND Hardware Firms Enter the Fray over Online Music IEEE Changes Author Requirements on DMCA New Security Grid from McAfee PRIVACY STANDARD EARNS ENDORSEMENT AND CRITICISM The Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) 1.0 standard has garnered official endorsement from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), but privacy experts said the standard is not likely to improve consumer privacy. To use P3P, users install an application on their computers and specify the level of privacy they want. The application tells users what level of privacy is offered by sites they visit if those sites use P3P. W3C said users and Web sites should adopt this standard. Officials from the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Junkbusters, among others, argued that the standard will not curb abuses by Web site operators because it is not "easy, effective, and enforceable." ComputerWorld, 16 April 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_848725_1794_9-10000.html E-SIGNATURES NOT CATCHING ON AS HOPED Despite a law signed by then President Clinton granting equal legal status to electronic signatures as for signed papers, e-signatures have not replaced paper to the degree that many had predicted. Some services are now available without signing a piece of paper, including applications for some student loan programs and online investing. But vagueness in the law regarding what in fact constitutes an electronic signature and significant legal concerns over recourse in cases of fraud have meant that e-signatures have had a relatively small impact. The federal and some state governments allow filing taxes with e-signatures, for example, but not all forms are eligible for e-signatures. Despite a campaign to convince federal filers to use the e-file program, only about one-third do. CNET, 17 April 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1017-884544.html FLAWS IN IE AND OFFICE MAKE MACS VULNERABLE Microsoft has issued patches to fix security flaws affecting Internet Explorer and Office running on Macintosh machines. One of the flaws covered is a buffer overrun problem that would allow hackers to execute applications on a Mac if that computer's user had visited a Web page that contains code exploiting the security hole. The other flaw could allow hackers to run AppleScript, which can do such tasks as shutting down a computer or closing windows, on the Macs of people who visited Web pages with malicious code. The security bulletin and patches are available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS02-019.asp. InfoWorld, 17 April 2002 http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/04/17/020417hnmac.xml COMPUTERS GET SMALLER OQO Inc., a San Francisco-based start-up, has unveiled a $1,000 Ultra-Personal Computer that fits the components of a CPU into a package about the size of a paperback book. The 3-by-5-inch box includes a processor (of up to 1 gigahertz), 256 megabytes of RAM, a 10 gigabyte hard drive, and wireless connections supporting 802.11b and Bluetooth. The device can connect to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, or it can be networked with other PCs and laptops. IBM has plans for a similar product, the MetaPad, though IBM's is not expected for another few years. Associated Press, 17 April 2002 http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/364772p-2951978c.html AND ***************************************************** HARDWARE FIRMS ENTER THE FRAY OVER ONLINE MUSIC The debate over how to stem piracy of online music has heated up recently. Senator Hollings introduced a bill that would require anti-copying technology on hardware, and Gateway launched a campaign encouraging legal uses of music files, making some songs available at its Web site. Hardware manufacturers including Intel and Cisco have voiced opposition to the Hollings bill, and a spokewoman from computer maker Dell said their customers "want to be able to continue to use their computers in ways they've been able to in the past." Apple Computer has also been a public supporter of consumers' right to make legal copies. Though none of the parties encourages illegal activity, members of the entertainment industry said the goal of hardware manufacturers is to increase sales of CD writers and entertainment products, and that by promoting legal activities the companies are also encouraging piracy and illegal uses of copyrighted material. NewsFactor Network, 16 April 2002 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17278.html IEEE CHANGES AUTHOR REQUIREMENTS ON DMCA The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) said it will remove language from its author agreement form assuring that the content is in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Bill Hagen of the IEEE said the DMCA has been extremely controversial, and the language in the author agreement drew many complaints from authors inside and outside the United States. American authors feel that the DMCA unconsitutionally stifles research and their rights to publish results, while authors from outside the Unites States do not think they should be subject to American laws. CNET, 16 April 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-883990.html NEW SECURITY GRID FROM MCAFEE McAfee Tuesday released Grid Security Services, a new program to provide security services to users running McAfee antivirus, firewall, or privacy services. The new program works as a distributed computing grid, similar to recent genome projects and the Seti@Home program. McAfee users who opt-in are established as "nodes" on the grid. Data from all of the nodes is sent to and from a McAfee hub, establishing a grid of users reporting and acting on security issues in real time. Users on the grid can check their current security status, as determined by the context on the grid, and can receive security alerts and updates from the grid. ITWorld, 16 April 2002 http://www.itworld.com/Net/4235/020416mcafeesecuritygrid/ ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EDUCAUSE Quarterly" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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