Also:
A software vulnerability in some Cisco routers and switches could let an attacker cause the devices to hang up, the vendor warned last week. Gear running IOS Version 12.2S, and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server and relay functions, can be made unavailable if an attacker overloads the device with specially crafted DHCP packets, Cisco says. The vendor warns that even if users don’t have the DHCP service or DHCP relay service configured on an affected product, the device still might be vulnerable. The problem lies with a glitch in how the software handles DHCP packets. If an attacker sends irregular DHCP packets meant to confuse the device, the packets “will remain in the queue instead of being dropped,” a Cisco advisory says. “If a number of packets are sent that equal the size of the input queue, no more traffic will be accepted on that interface.”Cisco is offering a free software fix.
The Mozilla Foundation has released Version 1.0 of its Firefox browser, an open source product that has generated lofty expectations that it will offer real competition to Microsoft’s ubiquitous Internet Explorer. A preview release of Firefox available since last month has been downloaded more than 8 million times. Firefox 1.0 is available in 12 languages for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The product can be obtained through www.mozilla.org as a free download or in CD format with a user’s manual for $15. Firefox 1.0 features an integrated pop-up ad blocker and safeguards against online scams such as phishing and spoofing by displaying secure sites’ identities, Mozilla said.
Intel as expected has announced a successor to CEO Craig Barrett, who will retire in May after 30 years at the company. Paul Otellini, who is currently COO for the beleaguered chipmaker, will assume the mantle of CEO. Otellini, who has been with Intel for 30 years, is credited with the push into dual-core processor technology and for the cancellation of the 4-GHz Pentium 4 processor. He will be the first Intel CEO who is not an engineer.
VeriFone, which makes point-of-sale devices merchants use for credit and debit card processing, last week announced it is teaming with McAfee to develop anti-virus software for Internet-enabled payment terminals. VeriFone said the anti-virus software for POS devices, expected to be an industry first, is necessary because merchants are opting for IP-based POS equipment over traditional circuit-switched equipment. McAfee and VeriFone expect to have anti-virus software for the IP-based POS devices available initially in North America early next year.
A new transfer policy for inter-registrar domain names went into effect last, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers said. Domain name owners now will be able choose registrars much in the same fashion that telephone numbers can be moved between carriers. The idea behind the policy is to let users find the services and prices that best suit their needs, to increase competition between registrars and to drive down costs, ICANN said. The group said it has moved to provide strong protections against unauthorized transfers of domain names by now requiring registrars to verify the identity of the domain name registrant and use a clear standardized form of authorization to gain prior consent from that person or group before any changes are made. (See story on ICANN nearing .net decision here .)
