Symantec on Tuesday warned Mac OS X users in an advisory that one of the open source technologies included in the operating system was vulnerable to an attack. The flaw only affects users that have turned on Windows Sharing — it is off by default on Mac OS X.
Read More… (From Network World on Security)

A Seattle man was arrested Wednesday morning for illegal spamming activities.
Read More… (From Network World on Security)

Laser machine welding is the joining of two pieces of material, usually metal, but often these days plastics, using a laser beam. A laser is a single phase, or coherent beam of light often seen in science fiction movies, but the development of the laser beam and its application in laser machine welding allows for […]
Read More… (From Technology News for your Daily Use)

Details can be found at Spamsuite. In a nutshell:

He’s being held without bail until the detention hearing on Monday. The prosecutor wants him held until the trial. He’s plead not guilty.

Trial will be 8/6/07.
Read More… (From The Spam Diaries)

UK service provider is hurrying to install countermeasures after spammers set up free Tiscali webmail accounts and used them to send out large volumes of unsolicited emails. The surge of spam from Tiscali caused emails from legitimate customers to be blocked.
Read More… (From Spam News)

F-Secure Corp. has patched several vulnerabilities in its security products, the most critical of which could be used to run unauthorized software on a victim’s computer.
Read More… (From Network World on Security)

If you’re like most people you hate spam, especially when it comes in the form of a text message and you have to foot the bill. via WTOP
Read More… (From Email Spam News)

I gotta tell ya, when I first got my computer when it was brand new, it worked like a charm! Then as I got a little bit more familiar with it, friends and family suggested I try some online applications. One was this cute purple ape that would help you surf the net.. or so […]
Read More… (From Technology News for your Daily Use)

According to a report from McAfee, the percentage of spam sent as embedded e-mail images has recently fallen from around 60% of all spam to around 12%. A switch to linked image spam accounts for only part of the change.
Read More… (From Spam News)

A look at some fresh ways to make sure the right people are gaining entry to a Web site.
Read More… (From Network World on Security)

A summary of the latest research on security management structures, buying trends and more.
Read More… (From Network World on Security)

‘Spam king’ Robert Soloway of Newport Internet Marketing has been arrested in Seattle on charges including fraud and money laundering. Soloway is being detained prior to arraignment, and the order for detention labels him as a risk for both flight and obstruction. The 24-page indictment covers ten counts of mail fraud, five of wire fraud, two of fraud in connection with electronic mail, five of aggravated identity theft and thirteen of money laundering.
Read More… (From Spamnation)

In the latest twist in the E360Insight vs World + Dog saga, E360 is now claiming they were attacked by a hacker who broke into their system and sent porn spam from their servers and stole their intellectual property. See Spamsuite copy of their Motion for Expedited Discovery. In short, they’re asking the court to allow them access to the records of the ISP they believe was the source of the attack. The motion specifically names all of the defendants in their lawsuit rather than John Does, implying that E360 thinks one of the defendants is responsible.

More info in the Usenet thread “e360 Site Hacked“.

Now, it’s entirely possible that their site really was broken into, but to suggest that one of the defendants in the case had anything to do with it is nonsensical. By pursuing this lawsuit, they’ve managed to make themselves one of the most despised entities on the internet, and an attraction to countless crackers and script kiddies. There’s no shortage of suspects in this case.

Meanwhile, in other news, they’ve also filed petitions (1), (2) to withdraw earlier motions they made essentially asking that Spamhaus be held in contempt and that Spamhaus be compelled to provide certain information. The likely reason here is that they’re acknowledging that they
Read More… (From The Spam Diaries)

What is VoIP phone service?VoIP phone services let you replace your traditional landline phone with one that connects over the Internet. Today, your phone works on what is called the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a private network that reaches into your home through the standard phone jacks in the wall.With VoIP services, your phone […]
Read More… (From Technology News for your Daily Use)

I haven’t done a news roundup in quite a while, and I have a lot of catching up to do. Are you sitting comfortably? Good, let us begin.

Good article in Slashdot today, bemoaning the fact that the latest Ameritrade leak has gotten no attention from the mainstream press. California law requires them to notify their California customers of a potential security breach. Have they done so? Were customer account ids and passwords also leaked? Ameritrade isn’t saying. So far, all they’ve said is that they take these things seriously. The article suggests some security techniques that Ameritrade should implement to track the source of the leak.

There have been a lot of “greeting card” spams lately. I’ll bet you’ve gotten some yourself. Remember: if the subject line doesn’t identify who the card is from, then it’s spam. Anyway, Trend Micro reports that these spams are also carrying malware as part of the payload.

Robert Soloway isn’t the only one with legal problems this week. TG Daily and other sources report that Microsoft has filed suit against three John Does for sending pump-n-dump spam through their Hotmail service.

The BBC reports that internet service provider Tiscali is now caught up in a serious battle with their spammers. Spam coming from Tiscali has become serious enough that many other ISPs are refusing email from Tiscali, which is seriously impacting their customers. Tiscali has long been plagued with 419 scammers, which they managed to bring under control about 6-8 months ago. It now seems that another house-cleaning has begun.

There is some speculation that Tiscali’s problems might be caused by spambots inside their network. See my recent article on this subject.

Ben Edelman reports that spyware is still stealing referal fees. As usual, his claims come with a detailed and in-depth analysis.

The Seattle Times reports that Nigerian 419 scammers are now inviting suckers to get puppies out of the country instead of money. Some people have paid more than $1500 to adopt a valuable dog from Nigeria.
Read More… (From The Spam Diaries)

Grand jury indictments

A 27-year-old man, dubbed the Spam King by investigators, has been arrested in Seattle where he has been indicted on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, fraud in connection with electronic mail, and money laundering.
Read More… (From The Register - Security: Spam)

KOMO has coverage of Soloway’s court hearing. Much information about his finances (he’s been denied a court-appointed lawyer). He may be facing decades in the slammer, along with seizure of assets.
Read More… (From The Spam Diaries)