JPEG exploit goes wild

Barely a fortnight following Microsoft's monthly security bulletin highlighting a vulnerability in the way its software handles images using the JPEG format, code to take advantage of the vulnerability has been found on images circulated in the EasyNews Usenet group. The company says it has found two images containing the code, which - if viewed - would result in software being downloaded that would give a remote attacker access to files on the machine storing the images, as well as free reign to run code on it. In a posting on the company's site, John Bissell writes: 'Through my limited testing I have found on a unpatched XP SP1 system that if you click the exploit jpeg file in Windows Explorer then you will be hacked. ...more

Another day another Netsky

For those who aren't completely bored with their mailboxes clogging up with variants of the Netsky worm, security firm Sophos is reporting two more versions named Netsky-J and Netsky-K. Both worms use the familiar technique of using its own SMTP engine to broadcast itself by email from infected machines. The latest versions also appear to be attacking anti-virus and security programs from a number of security firms by deleting their registry entries. ...more

Microsoft wins FAT patent

Microsoft has won its battle with the US Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) over its attempt to patent the File Allocation Table or FAT, which formed the basis of the management of disk storage in the days of MS-DOS. The company applied for a patent on FAT in 1996. However, because the format had become so widely used, there were fears that Microsoft would use the FAT licence to drive out competition. ...more

AMD ups the mobile ante

AMD updates its high-performance XP processor for notebooks. Emerging from AMD's Fab 30 in Dresden is the mobile Athlon XP 1800+. Building on the first mobile Athlon XP release back in April, the 1800+ runs on a clock speed of 1. ...more

The Stinger in Microsoft's tail

Microsoft set out its hopes for the mobile future this morning at the Mobile Convergence 2001 conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Magnus Ahlberg, a senior marketing manager, claimed that we were about to enter 'Wave 2' of the Internet, with wireless-specific applications such as interactive city guides appearing, while the mobile phone will also replace your wallet and ATM card. He played a brief video demonstrating Microsoft's forthcoming smart phone operating system known as Stinger, which will provide real-time access to services such as e-mail and online retailers. ...more