Top 10 IT News Stories of the Week

IDG News Service —

1. "Wi-Fi Virus Outbreak is Possible, Researchers Say,"
CIO.com, 01/04

Urban Wi-Fi networks could be attacked in piggyback formation if miscreants targeted unsecured wireless routers, Indiana University researchers ay. A successful Wi-Fi attack could take over 20,000 wireless routers in New York City within two weeks, they estimate. Criminals who guess administrative passwords could then tell the routers to install worm-like firmware that would lead the infected router to attack devices within its range. With Wi-Fi networks in close proximity in many cities, such an attack could leap from router to router across miles. The researchers didn't develop attack code, but they believe that code could be written that guessed at default passwords by first trying the default administrative passwords that ship with routers and then going down a list of 1 million commonly used passwords one by one. Thirty-six percent of passwords can be figured out using that approach, they estimate. Perhaps a new year's resolution ought to involve coming up with more secure passwords.

2. "US Bans Spare Lithium Batteries from Checked Bags,"
CIO.com, 1/02

In case you missed the news at the end of the holiday stretch, lithium batteries are now forbidden from checked baggage on U.S. flights. The restriction took effect Jan. 1 as a way to diminish the risk aircraft fires. Lithium batteries have been linked to several such fires. Lithium batteries can be carried in checked bags if they are in a device such as a laptop or digital camera, but loose batteries have to go in a plastic bag and be carried on as hand baggage. Each passenger is limited to two "extended-life" lithium batteries.

3. "Apple Patent Reveals Docking Station for Ultramobile PC,"
Macworld, 1/03

Apple has been granted a U.S. patent that appears to indicate that the company is working on an ultramobile PC. Ostensibly, such a PC would compete against Microsoft and its hardware partners in that arena. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the patent for "a docking area configured to receive a portable computer." The docking station will double as a monitor and connect data lines and devices to the device when it is docked. The device that fits in the docking station will also be enabled for Bluetooth and IEEE 802.111 wireless connections. Rumors abound that Apple will use Intel's new generation of ultramobile processors in a new product line, but neither company has anything to say about those rumors.

Continue Reading