IDG News Service —
1. "Securing Your iPhone's Traffic"
Macworld, July 17
It's no surprise that the iPhone is the hot gizmo of the moment, causing IT administrators to lose sleep over how to secure networks when employees decide they can't live without the latest from Apple. Some of those employees are bosses of said administrators, we're told, which means that whatever security issues there are need to be handled, with a smile. Macworld has turned its attention to helping readers understand the perils and how to contend with them, offering a detailed treatise on what data can be picked up from iPhone users and how to protect users and networks from the potential risks.
2. "Mozilla Patches Firefox, Slams Door on IE Zero-Day Bug"
Computerworld, July 18
This month's installment of the story that just won't go away comes to us courtesy of Microsoft and Mozilla, which continue to bicker over whose fault it is that hackers have figured out how to exploit a bug on computer systems where Firefox is installed but Internet Explorer is the default browser. Mozilla hasn't quite said that the exploit is Microsoft's fault, mind you, but its bluntly worded security advisories make its sentiments known. "Mozilla highly recommends using Firefox to browse the Web to prevent attackers from exploiting this problem in Internet Explorer," said the most recent advisory. Mozilla released nine patches for Firefox bugs this week, including a patch for the exploit involving IE. Microsoft continues to contend that the vulnerability is not in its software and so has not offered its own patch.
3. "Study: Most Antispam Technology Works Poorly"
NetworkWorld, July 18
File this one under confirmation of what we already know: A study has found that most antispam products just don't work all that well. Or at least not well enough to keep users happy. Antispam software lets through too much spam or mistakenly deletes messages that aren't spam. Of the companies queried in a survey by Brockmann & Company, 36 percent said they had lost business because legitimate e-mail gets stuck in spam filters. This is particularly bad news given that PDF spam is on the rise and is expected to take over as the next big spam headache from image spam. It seems we scarcely have time to learn about one new type of spam before another comes along. Which leads us to "Former Spammer: 'I Know I'm Going to Hell.' " "Ed," who doesn't like to use his full name for obvious reasons, is a "retired" spammer who built an empire on slamming inboxes with solicitations for pills, porn and gambling. Ed says he's actually a really nice guy, even if his former job made it difficult for him to get dates, and that he can be trusted. He also says he knows he's going to hell for his previous spamming ways. Ed is trying to atone for his sins by writing a book and speaking publicly about "trade secrets of the dark side" of spamming.
