Tuesday, April 25

Philip Katz, author of the PKZip compression program, died Saturday at age 37 in unhappy circumstances. PKZip enabled faster downloads over modem links and played a crucial role in the development of BBSes, online services and the Internet.

Uncertainty over the fate of Microsoft have driven down Microsoft stock, with the result that Oracle CEO and Gates rival Larry Ellison is now the world's richest man.

PC Magazine reviews six Internet appliances, Netscape 6 Preview Release 1, and discusses Windows Me, Microsoft's next-generation consumer OS.

Wireless

AT&T will spin off its wireless division in a record-setting US$10 billion IPO, the largest in history.

Palm is planning a bigger push into wireless services. Sources say the company may offer two wireless product lines to cover its bets. One will be based on the Bluetooth 2.4 GHz protocol. Voice commands are also central to the company's plans.

Value America is expanding into m-commerce, offering its products to mobile phone-connected customers.

Qualcomm will invest US$144 million in free Internet provider NetZero to hedge up its wireless plans.

Segue

Security Portal's Benjamin Field offers a Wireless Security Overview, with a discussion of the WAP security model.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has banned the Palm VII because of the potential for spies to transmit classified data using the device's wireless features. The lab also prohibits many other items, including cell phones, cameras and binoculars.

Computer security and privacy

Police in Canada have arrested Mafiaboy and charged him with the February attacks on Yahoo!, CNN and other popular web sites. The seventeen year old's real name was not released because of his status as a minor. If convicted, the maximum sentence is a $650 fine and two years in a juvenile correction facility. Mafiaboy's father was arrested last week when a police wiretap of the family's home uncovered a plan by the father and an accomplice to assault another man.

F-Secure is warning customers about the potential damage that could occur on the April 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl virus (CIH). Last year the virus did record damage, destroying the BIOS or erasing the hard drives on two million PCs.

A study by Elron Software found that the number of employees who had received confidential information from colleagues at other companies doubled since 1999.

---

Friday, April 28

Despite or because of all of the companies dropping out of the modem business, Zoom reported a 20% increase in sales for the first quarter compared to last year.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Multi-Tech a patent for a process of modem firmware updates.

Larry Ellison may or may not be the world's richest man after all.

Computer security and privacy

Qualcomm is warning users of a security hole in Eudora for Windows. The flaw tricks Eudora into opening executable attachments by including an attached shortcut (.lnk file) that links to the executable attachment.

Microsoft has patched a bug that allowed Hotmail passwords to be stolen using JavaScript code. Hackers have discovered half a dozen Hotmail bugs that exposed user email.

A backdoor password has been discovered in Cart32, a shopping cart software for Windows. The password allows anyone to access the server and potentially exploit customer information.

Matt Carolan of ZDNet News discusses the ethics of monitoring employee email and web surfing.

The damage from the Chernobyl (CIH) virus was less than expected, and much less than last year. As reported on Tuesday, the virus goes off on April 26th, the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown.

Intel is removing the unique CPU ID number from Williamette, its next line of chips, following protests by privacy advocates.

Previous week