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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2005 Solaris Goes Open Source BT to Introduce Hybrid Fixed-Wireless Phone Service Spyware Charges Result in $7.5 Million Settlement Survey Shows More Bad Guys Turning to Browser Attacks SOLARIS GOES OPEN SOURCE This week Sun Microsystems began offering its Solaris 10 operating system as a free, open source application, called OpenSolaris. According to Sun, users can download many of the technologies of the operating system--including the kernel and networking software--make changes to the code, and create new commercial products. Tom Goguen, vice president for platform software at Sun, said, "Our goal is to increase and really drive up the ecosystem around Solaris." Goguen said that with the release, Sun surpasses the University of California as the single largest contributor to the open source community. Gordon Haff, senior analyst at Illuminata, said the move is more likely to help Sun retain existing customers than to draw new ones. OpenSolaris is not likely a competitor for Linux in the near term, said Haff, and Windows is sufficiently different from Solaris that current Windows customers are unlikely to switch based on the new release. Haff said he believes Sun's goal is to support "its customer base and developer community that are still in the Solaris camp." InfoWorld, 13 June 2005 http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/06/13/HNopensolaris_1.html BT TO INTRODUCE HYBRID FIXED-WIRELESS PHONE SERVICE BT Group has announced a new Internet phone service that combines wireless with fixed-line technology. Called BT Fusion, the service will connect customers' handsets to a fixed-line network at home, where an access point must be installed. Away from the access point, customers' calls will be connected to the Vodafone wireless network. BT said the new service will offer consumers the price and quality of fixed-line service combined with the convenience of mobile service. Analysts at consulting firm Ovum called the new service a "watershed" and said "the industry will never be the same again." To use the service, which will be available in September, customers must have a BT telephone line and subscribe to BT Broadband. BBC, 15 June 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4094424.stm SPYWARE CHARGES RESULT IN $7.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT California-based Intermix Media will pay New York State $7.5 million over three years to settle a spyware lawsuit. In the suit, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had charged the company with violating state false-advertising and deceptive-practices laws. Intermix acknowledged that it formerly distributed software that was surreptitiously installed on users' computers, though as part of the settlement the company admitted no wrongdoing. Intermix had previously suspended the distribution of the software at issue; with the settlement, the company will permanently discontinue the practice. Intermix has also created a position of chief privacy officer since the lawsuit was originally filed, and officials from the company said they have cooperated with federal regulators. Reuters, 15 June 2005 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8798165 SURVEY SHOWS MORE BAD GUYS TURNING TO BROWSER ATTACKS According to a new survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), the incidence of browser-based attacks rose sharply last year, while that of viruses and worms fell slightly. Browser-based attacks exploit the naivety of computer users, as in the case of phishing attacks, or technical vulnerabilities in browser or operating system software. Phishing scams work by fooling users into disclosing private information; other attacks attempt to download malicious code to the computers of visitors to a Web site to steal information or take control of the computer. According to CompTIA's survey of nearly 500 organizations, 56.6 percent have been targets of browser-based attacks, up from 36.8 percent one year ago. Viruses and worms continue to head the list of computer security threats, at 66 percent, which is just down from last year's number of 68.6 percent. CNET, 14 June 2005 http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5747050.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 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] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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