News Archives from 2004 (Jan 01 - Dec 31, 2004)
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Amiga
16 August 2004 - Virusz III v1.02 Released
Georg Hvrmann has released a final version of his anti-virus program
VirusZ III. For full release notes, see the VirusZ readme file. If this
update causes problems on your machine, you can use VirusZ II v1.44
02 June 2004 - Anti-Virus Boot Disk For VirusZ III Has Been Updated
The VirusZ-III boot-floppy has the new v1.01 that was released June 2nd,
2004. It is now available for download at VHT-Netherlands or VHT-Canada
and soon in the files area of the vht-can maillist:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vht-can/files/Boot-Disks
02 June 2004 - Virusz III v1.01 Released
Georg Hörmann has released a final version of his anti-virus program
VirusZ III. For full release notes, see the VirusZ readme file. If this
update causes problems on your machine, you can use VirusZ II v1.44
27 May 2004 - Anti-Virus Boot Disks Updated With Xvs Library
The anti-virus boot-disks that required the new Xvs.library have been
updated and are available for download at any of the Virus Help Teams
sites or the Boot-Disks files area of the vht-can maillist.
The following disks were updated as of May 27, 2004
* VirusChecker-II
* VirusExecutor
* VirusZ II
* VirusZ III
17 May 2004 - New Xvs.library v33.42 Released
Georg Hörmann has released the latest version of the antivirus External
Virus Scanner Library. This new update of the xvs.libary includes fixes
and added "Elvin-Agga" bootblock virus. Read Xvs library v33.42 Readme
for further details. Updated anti-virus boot-disks will follow in a few
days.
15 April 2004 - XAD is going OSS, and free keyfile released !!
Dirk Stoecker has released a free keyfile for his XAD System on April
3rd, 2004. In time, you can find it on the other Virus Help Teams sites
Directions: Just place the xadmaster.key in your s: directory, and when
you use the XAD system (ie. xadmaster.library), you will not get any more
nagging requestors.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-<-<-@@ Thankyou Dirk !! @@->->-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
19 March 2004 - Amiga Inc. sells AmigaOS to KMOS
Amiga, Inc. announced on March 15, 2004, that it has sold the Amiga
Operating System to KMOS, Inc, allowing Amiga, Inc to focus on the
growing mobile market. The announcement says in part:
Garry Hare, KMOS' CEO, said "KMOS is very excited about the commercial
potential of this innovative operating system. At Amiga's insistence to
which we totally agreed, we will honor the terms of the November 2001,
agreement with Amiga One Partners: Hyperion VOF and Eyetech Group Ltd.,
an English Corporation, in their entirety. Mr. Hare continues, "I should
point out, that except as they relate to the Amiga OS family of products,
KMOS did not acquire the Amiga name, intellectual property or its DE line
of products. These assets remain the property of Amiga Inc.".
19 February 2004 - Virusz III v1.00 Released
Georg Hvrmann has released a final version of his anti-virus program
VirusZ III. For full release notes, see the readme file. If this update
causes problems on your machine, you can use VirusZ II v1.44.
21 January 2004 - VEPatchBrain v1.55 for VirusExecutor Available
Jan Erik Olausen has released a new PatchBrain for his virus checking
program VirusExecutor. This brain file can be used with any version of
VirusExecutor v2.29 or greater. If you have your Amiga connected to the
internet by PPP, your can run the Live Update within the VirusExecutor
program (menu item Utilities >> Update files). It is also available
for download on any of the VHTeams websites
* See the VEPatchBrain v1.55 Readme for complete changes
* Old PatchBrains can be found here
19 January 2004 - The Amiga Resource Offline For Forseeable Future
Andy Mills who owns and operates The Amiga Resource, says "Due to personal
reasons, I have closed the Amiga Resource for the foreseeable future."
The service will be sorely missed as it was an excellent source of Amiga
information and reviews.
17 January 2004 - Anti-Virus Boot Disks Updated With Xvs Library
The anti-virus boot-disks that required the new Xvs.library have been
updated and are available for download at any of the Virus Help Teams
sites or the files area of the vht-can maillist. Also available in the
Boot-Disks files area of the vht-can maillist.
The following disks were updated as of January 17, 2004
* VirusChecker-II
* VirusExecutor
* VirusZ II
* VirusZ III
15 January 2004 - New Xvs.library v33.41 Released
Georg Hörmann has released the latest version of the antivirus External
Virus Scanner Library. This new update of the xvs.libary includes many
fixes, improvements and additions. Read the Xvs library v33.41 Readme for
further details. Updated anti-virus boot-disks will follow in a few days.
15 January 2004 - Cloanto licenses MPEG-4 and HighMAT-technologies
Story at Amiga-News.de, says that on Jan 13th, Cloanto announced that it
entered into a licensing agreement with MPEG LA, LLC to use MPEG-4 Visual
technology, and with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. and
Microsoft Corporation to use HighMAT technology in its products.
04 January 2004 - New Update of VirusExecutor v2.34 Released
Jan Erik Olausen released a new version of his virus killer. The archive
is named VirusExecutor234.lha. The PatchBrain has been updated to v1.54
PS! You have to run the update twice the first time for VE to remember
* See the VirusExecutor Readme for complete changes
* VirusExecutor Homepage at Virus Help Team Canada has links to all files
required and recommended to run VE2.34
Note Regarding The 'VirusExecutor Live Update' Files:
For the latest versions from Jan Erik Olausen, you'll need your Amiga
connected by PPP then run the Live Update within the VirusExecutor
program (menu item Utilities >> Update files). The version we have
online, may or may not be Jan Erik's latest version he has been
working on.
04 January 2004 - New 'Live Update' of VirusExecutor v2.34 Released
Jan Erik Olausen has a new version of his VirusExecutor. You'll need your
Amiga connected by PPP the run the Live Update within the VirusExecutor
program (menu item Utilities >> Update files). The version we have
online, may or may not be JEO's latest version he has been working on.
Changes since last version
- You don't have to restart VE when changing screen/WB-mode (F5)
- Turning on the 'Fast file checking'-flag will now disable ALL
requsters even if a virus is detected (Logging will be turned on).
- If the file scan took over 9 hours the time output was wrong.
- Some other minor bugs that I can't remember...
* Check out the latest online VirusExecutor Readme
Top of Page
Miscellaneous
27 September 2004 - Lost a loving member of our family today
Caliber has been a source of joy and love since he was born on
February 12, 1997 when he was a gift to our son for his birthday
from a friend of our sons. Caliber will forever be remembered in our
hearts. Goodbye dear friend. May God take good care of you. Be sure
to lookup your pal Starr when you get to doggie-heaven, where you can
both again share your sunbeam together :) Love ya both Caliber and Starr
-- _ _
_(_)(_)_ .---------------------------------------------.
(_).__.(_) | In loving memory of Caliber 1997-2004 !! |
/ \ `---------------------------------------------'
\ /
'--'
... Lord, help me to be the kind of person my dog thought I was
25 August 2004 - HOAX: T-Virus used as publicity stunt
VirusList.com Alert says viruses for mobile phones have been in the news
recently. But if you get a message saying 'Outbreak: I'm infecting you
with T-Virus. My code is (followed by a number)', you shouldn't worry.
It's simply part of a marketing campaign aimed at players of computer
games. CE Europe has now issued a press release admitting that the
'viral campaign' is a marketing ploy. Like any virus hoax, T-Virus is
simply wasting everyone's time and resources.
* Click here for F-Secure T-Virus Hoax Report
* Click here for NAI T-virus Mobile Phone Hoax Report
25 August 2004 - Polish police smash gang of 100 hackers
ZDNet says the hackers stored pirated music and films on academic
computer systems around the world
25 August 2004 - Oracle moves to monthly patches
ZDNet says a specific date each month will be designated for new patch
releases, according to the database maker
25 August 2004 - Yahoo mail flaws fixed
ZDNet says security holes that potentially let hackers read users'
cookies have been patched, says Yahoo
17 August 2004 - Anti-phishing software detects fraudulent lures
ZDNet says an Internet security firm has developed a program that can
tell whether sites are legitimate
13 August 2004 - Government launches anti-piracy plan
ZDNet says a new strategy will see government agencies working together
to stem the tide of pirated intellectual property
13 August 2004 - F-Secure Reports: Sassy HOAX
F-Secure says this is a widely spread AOL hoax. The original message looks
like this:
"DO NOT OPEN ANY EMAIL FROM Sassyced@aol.com !!!!!!!!!!
IT LOOKS LIKE A REAL EMAIL!! She?? ALSO HAS A PROFILE!! But
it crashes all your system and will not open AOL unless you
type your address and credit card information!!!!! and u
cannot even delete this virus!"
F-Secure also says they have no evidence of the existance of this virus
and they have not seen SASSY.SHS file so far. If someone ever gets it,
please do not open it and send it to F-Secure's sample submission address
for analysis. Read the report for another variant, using Yahoo. As always
F-Secure asks that you please ignore these messages and don't spread them
any further.
31 July 2004 - Online shopping increase provides bait for phishers
ZDNet says more and more people are shopping online, leading to an
increasing number of incidences of phishing
31 July 2004 - Seti's Boinc project hit by DDoS attack
ZDNet says the search for extraterrestrial intelligence was disrupted
temporarily last week, but normal service has now been resumed
27 July 2004 - Close the E-Mail Wiretap Loophole
SecurityFocus Newsletter article by Mark Rasch says some pretty sleazy
operators are slipping through a hole in a federal wiretap law that
arguably leaves your e-mail unprotected from snooping.
01 July 2004 - Canadians - July 1st Canada Day
Today Canada celebrates it's 137th birthday. Go Canada!!!
||||| ./\.
||||| _|\| |/|_ H A P P Y 137 th B I R T H D A Y
||||| \ /
||||| }_/||\_{ Greetings from C-eh?-N-eh?-D-eh? ;)
* Drop by the Live Java-free VHT Webchat and say hi
* Leave a birthday wish on the Virus Help Teams Guestbook
11 May 2004 - Xbox to get videophone upgrade
Story at Bell Globemedia, says that Xbox's video-chat service will be
launched later this year exclusively in Japan and eventually will make
its way to the North American network
11 May 2004 - Single-use credit cards fight fraud
Story at Bell Globemedia, says that credit-card issuers brandishing
virtual account numbers as weapons in battle against identity theft,
on-line fraud
01 May 2004 - F-Secure Reports: Sassy HOAX
F-Secure says this is a widely spread AOL hoax. Read the report for
how the original message looks. F-Secure says they have no evidence of
the existance of this virus and they have not seen SASSY.SHS file so
far. If someone ever gets it, please do not open it and send it to the
F-Secure sample submission address for analysis. Please ignore this
warning and do not pass it on.
01 May 2004 - First spammers charged under new US law
ZDNet says four men face criminal complaints under the Can-Spam Act for
sending out millions of unsolicited emails for weight-loss products
27 April 2004 - Three UK arrests in global piracy crackdown
ZDNet says Britain's high-tech cops swept on three locations on Thursday,
recovering a large amount of pirated software and 100 CD copiers
27 April 2004 - Network Associates adopts new name
ZDNet says the security firm will change its name to reflect its most
prominent product line
27 April 2004 - Yahoo corrects email flaw
ZDNet says a flaw in its Web-based email system could have let attackers
control victims' Yahoo accounts
21 April 2004 - Latest HOAX Reports from F-Secure
* Click here for F-Secure Hoax Report: Hallmark Greeting Card
Release Note: The described greeting card exists, but it doesn't do
anything destructive. The clean file info is given below. If you
receive a different version please send it to our sample submission
address for analysis. Please ignore this hoax message and don't
distribute it any further.
* Click here for F-Secure Hoax Report: CellSaver
Release Note: There are currently 2 variants of this hoax. The older
one appeared in early 1998. In April, 1999, there appeared a sequel.
If you receive messages like this please ignore them and do not pass
them on. If you get a message with the CELLSAVER.EXE file as an
attachment, please send it to our sample submission address.
* Click here for F-Secure Hoax Report: Sassy
Release Note: This is a widely spread AOL hoax. We have no evidence of
the existance of this virus and we have not seen SASSY.SHS file so far.
If someone ever gets it, please do not open it and send it to our sample
submission address for analysis. Please ignore this Sassy warning and do
not pass it on.
* Click here for F-Secure Hoax Report: Email Bomb warning
Release Note: Ignore this message and don't pass it on. If you ever
receive the attachment with this name please send it to F-Secure for
analysis.
* Click here for F-Secure Hoax Report: AOL4FREE
Release Note: The aol4free hoax message was spread in e-mail in early
April, 1997. The A4F-Spoof trojan horse program was spread in the
middle of April, 1997. In general, you should never execute programs
received from unknown sources.
15 April 2004 - Harsh sentences loom for spammers
ZDNet says under new US law, senders of junk email will face similar
penalties to those convicted of theft, fraud and property destruction
15 April 2004 - Spammers 'using bugs' to find active email addresses
ZDNet says just opening a piece of spam can be enough to turn your email
address into a spam magnet
15 April 2004 - US porn spam must be labelled
ZDNet says the US Federal Trade Commission has ruled that, starting on
15 May, pornographic email must have "Sexually-Explicit" in its subject
line
05 April 2004 - Court puts a stop to scammer's profits
Kaspersky's VirusList.com News says the Crown Court in Caernarfon, Wales,
has sentenced a Nigerian scammer to 20 months in jail for participation
in a huge international email scam.
05 April 2004 - Google and Yahoo tipped to ban gambling ads
ZDNet says two of the Internet's most-visited sites are expected to stop
accepting advertising from online gambling firms
01 April 2004 - CNews: Netherlands bids farewell to Princess Juliana
Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana, former Queen of The Netherlands
died on March 20th, 2004. During the war the Royal Family came here to
Canada where Princess Margriet was born at the Civic Hospital, in Ottawa,
Ontario. We get tulips every year because our Canadian troops help
liberate Holland from the Germans during World War II. It was the second
time in 18 months that the royal House of Orange buried a member. Sadly,
Prince Claus, the husband of reigning Queen Beatrix, died in October 2002
All City of Ottawa flags flew at half-mask from sunrise to sunset, on
Tuesday, March 30 2004, to honour the memory of Princess Juliana. The
Dutch Royal House has a Memorial page set up for people wishing to leave
condolences. Some links are courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
29 March 2004 - Cybersecurity may ensnare execs
ZDNet says corporate liability for computer-security violations may mean
executives are sent to prison, according to legal experts
20 March 2004 - HRH former Queen Juliana of The Netherlands dies
Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana died March 20 at age 94 after a long
illness that kept her out of the public view for many years. In 1980 she
abdicated in favour of her daughter Beatrix, after a 32-year reign.
* Princess Juliana's Memorial website
19 March 2004 - MPs look at revising Computer Misuse Act
ZDNet says a group of MPs are scheduled to hold a public hearing into
whether the Computer Misuse Act needs updating
09 March 2004 - PayPal in dock over fraud protection
ZDNet says the online payment service is paying $150,000 to settle
charges relating to refunds of problem transactions
March 2004 - SCO.com emerges from virus battle
ZDNet says SCO Group's primary Web site has only just returned to service
after being knocked off the Internet more than a month ago by MyDoom.A
04 March 2004 - University suggests students uninstall Kazaa
ZDNet says spyware hidden in some versions of Kazaa can prevent access
to its e-learning network, the University of Western Sydney, in Australia
has advised students
01 March 2004 - F-Secure Reports: SlaveMaster HOAX
Slavemaster is a very old hoax that keeps reappearing every now and then.
Originally it warned about a madman finding women through messenger app-
lications and then killing them. Slavemaster actually did exist but has
been behind bars for a long time already although he never killed 56
women, the accurate number is not know, but it it considerably less.
Please do not distribute the hoax.
25 February 2004 - AMD packs security into chips
ZDNet says a feature inside the Athlon 64 and Opteron processors will
combine with Microsoft's Service Pack 2 update for Windows XP to combat
viruses
25 February 2004 - Gates predicts death of the password
ZDNet says Bill Gates has said the days of the password are numbered
because it is not used properly
25 February 2004 - Microsoft says virus writer bounties are working
ZDNet says the software giant has revealed that the $5m fund it set up
to reward information about virus writers may yet lead to the arrest of
the authors of three major viruses
24 February 2004 - Zone Labs keeps infected workers off the network
ZDNet says the security management firm has updated its software to
improve handling of instant messages and policy enforcement
24 February 2004 - HP rolls out worm-squashing services
ZDNet says Hewlett-Packard will release two services aimed at curtailing
viruses' paths of destruction
24 February 2004 - Homeland security calls for whistleblowers
ZDNet says companies can report holes in the US' technological infra-
structure without opening themselves up to liability, under a new plan
22 February 2004 - RIAA scales up legal attack
ZDNet says another 531 individual file-swappers are being targeted by the
Recording Industry Association of America
09 February 2004 - Nokia admits multiple Bluetooth security holes
ZDNet says Nokia has admitted that a number of its Bluetooth handsets are
vulnerable to bluesnarfing - in which data can be stolen from a phone
without the owner's knowledge
09 February 2004 - Wireless can lead to trouble
Story at Canoe.ca, says that wireless computer networks have become very
affordable and user-friendly in recent years, making it more common for
individuals to have WiFi (wireless fidelity) networks at home, as well as
in offices. It allows them to access their own network and the Internet
wirelessly. But it also allows anyone else in range of the signal to do
the same.
09 February 2004 - Feds considering anti-spam law
Story at Canoe.ca, says that Industry Minister Lucienne Robillard said
she's considering legislation to fight unsolicited e-mails. "I would like
to have a miracle solution in my pocket to stop them," she said in an
interview. Recent estimates suggest that seven million Canadians receive
unwanted electronic mail weekly. About 14 million messages are sent over
the Internet each week. Department officials have been searching for
solutions for years.
09 February 2004 - Stiller Research Reports: SULFNBK.EXE Virus HOAX
Stiller Research says this is another silly virus hoax but this one fools
many people because of the fact that it looks like you are confirming the
existence of a virus on your PC. The reason this fools many people is
because Windows 98 and ME systems have a file called sulfnbk.exe (this
is a DOS program used to restore long filenames) that few people are
aware even exists. Read the report for the description of the more common
forms of this hoax (but there are quite a number of similar version and
there even versions that mention other common but little known filenames)
06 February 2004 - New versions of F-Prot Antivirus released
FRISK Software International has released new versions of all F-Prot
Antivirus products for UNIX based platforms. These newest versions of
F-Prot Antivirus for Linux, BSD, AIX, Solaris SPARC and Solaris x86
provide improved archive handling capabilities and include bugfixes for
enhanced security. Frisk recommends that users of F-Prot Antivirus for
any of these systems update their programs to these newest versions.
To update your version of F-Prot Antivirus to the latest version,
please visit: http://subscription.f-prot.com/download.html
06 February 2004 - Sharman offices raided by piracy investigators
ZDNet says the offices of two file-sharing firms in Australia have been
searched by Music Industry Piracy Investigations
28 January 2004 - SCO offers reward for MyDoom author
ZDNet says SCO will pay $250,000 for information leading to the
conviction of MyDoom's creator
28 January 2004 - US primes cyberalert system
ZDNet says the US Department of Homeland Security is preparing to make
public, a system that will warn of cyberattacks
28 January 2004 - New wave of lawsuits hits file-swappers
ZDNet says the RIAA has launched legal action against another 532 people
accused of trading music online
19 January 2004 - Morpheus infiltrates other P2P networks
ZDNet says StreamCast has released a test version of its file-sharing
software that taps into all major file-swapping networks, including Kazaa
19 January 2004 - File-swapping booms again
ZDNet says market researchers says illegal downloads have started to
climb the charts
15 January 2004 - Location change for VHT Online Help Forums
Due to ongoing problems with the Bravenet Service that had the forum,
I have changed the url to a new site, that uses a cgi script to post.
There are some alternatives that will be looked into, in order to have
the forums run by a different service, and not involve scripts that have
to run on my own webpage.
* Click here for archived forum messages
15 January 2004 - Ottawa firm creates herd of oliphants
Story at CanWest News, says a tiny Canadian high-tech firm that helped
bring The Lord of the Rings to the big screen is also in the running to
bring 20 characters from C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, to life.
XYZ RGB, a six-person company in Ottawa, has also just started on director
Peter Jackson's US$100-million remake of King Kong for Universal Studios,
slated for release in 2005.
08 January 2004 - Lawsuits scare music downloaders off the Net
ZDNet says the music industry's legal campaign against song swappers has
slashed the number of people downloading music, according to new research
08 January 2004 - Convenience of technology drives 'infoglut'
Story at CNEWS Tech News, says that sure, it's wonderful that we can get
online from a hotel room, a coffee shop, even a cruise ship. But for many
of us, that convenience can become an obligation - and a burden. A whole
generation now growing up is taking a "because you can" attitude to the
next step.
08 January 2004 - Coffin up: dead passwords do talk
Story at Australian Financial Review, says that as an ambulance whisked
Jon Hansen to the hospital earlier this year, he held tightly to his
wife's hand and told her things she needed to know if he were to die.
"Write down this password," he told her. "Oh, you'll need this one, too.
And you don't have this one either." Estate planners recommend that
people make complete lists of their passwords and online accounts and
store them with their wills. There's even a new email service designed to
send notes - love messages, lists of computer passwords or any other
important information - to survivors in the event of someone's sudden
demise. When a My Last Email certificate is left behind by the deceased,
survivors mail it to the company, which then begins the delivery of
stored email.
* Click here to visit the MyLastEmail.com website
02 January 2004 - Virus Help Denmark - 10 years birthday.
Jan of Virus Help Denmark announced that Virus Help Denmark has it's 10
years birthday. His thanks goes out to all the people that have supported
them in the last 10 years, and hopes they will live on for many years to
come. Click here to see the official press release
02 January 2004 - VHT-Denmark www.vht-dk.dk back online....
Jan of Virus Help Denmark announced that their website is now up and
running on a faster server with the ULR: www.vht-dk.dk
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Last Updated: December 01, 2005