Close this Advertisement


DID YOU HEAR

DID YOU HEAR

  • Mar 03, 2002
  • Foil-wrapped, not shrink-wrapped. The open-source operating system called Tinfoil Hat Linux 1.0 comes on a single, bootable floppy for security fanatics so paranoid that they tap out encrypted messages in Morse code on the Num Lock key. More info appears at tinfoilhat.cultists.net.

  • GovNet in limbo? Cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke said last month that his proposed secure, government-only network might not get built after all, partly because of objections that it would put some public information out of sight. Well, hey, hasn't the Interior Department been doing that for months now? 'Select DOI Web pages will be made available to the public through a private Internet service provider,' says www.doi.gov, but no word on where or when.

  • Crime and punishment. The Justice Department last month posted 47 out of 30,000 public comments about the antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. What does the public think of it? Not much. Regarding one proposed remedy'auctioning off the company's source code'an economist wrote, 'Windows source code may be worth as much as $200 billion. No company can bid that much in an auction. Practically speaking, only a handful of foreign governments could.' Now, that's real Monopoly money. Incidentally, consumer guru Ralph Nader noted, 'Microsoft regularly punishes consumers who buy non-Microsoft products or who fail to upgrade.' Oh, so that's why Windows keeps crashing.

  • Double-oh-8. Windows XP's Media Player Version 8 automatically tells a Microsoft Web server whenever an XP user pops in a DVD, according to privacy advocate Richard M. Smith, at computerbytesman.com/privacy/wmp8dvd.htm. Spy any other privacy leaks lately? Tell buzz@postnewsweektech.com.

    • Reader Comments

    Please post your comments here. Comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately after submitting. We will not post comments that we consider abusive or off-topic.

    Please type the letters/numbers you see above