Computer Facts or Fictions?

One thing is true about urban legends: People love to repeat them. Better yet, they love to e-mail them.

Did you see the picture of the 4500-pound, man-eating alligator caught in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina? Turns out he's not quite that big, and he's never been on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
More recently, maybe you received an e-mail warning you about an Olympic Torch virus making the rounds that would 'burn' your computer's hard drive. Don't get hot and bothered over this one--it's also a hoax.
In fact, owning a computer opens the door to a host of myths and tall tales about the care and feeding of your pricey info system. And because a computer can be an expensive, mysterious piece of equipment, many cautious people take some of this maintenance 'advice' as fact. But rest assured, most of it isn't. [more...]

Caught a Virus lately?

Have you ever heard this one before, "You must run antivirus software and keep it up to date or else your PC will get infected, you'll lose all your data, and you'll incur the wrath of every e-mail buddy you unknowingly infect because of your carelessness"?
You know they're right. Yet for one reason or another, you're not running antivirus software, or you are but it's not up to date. Maybe you turned off your virus scanner because it conflicted with another program. Maybe you got tired of upgrading after you bought Norton Antivirus 2001, 2002, and 2003. Or maybe your annual subscription of virus definitions recently expired, and you've put off renewing.
It happens. It's nothing to be ashamed of. But chances are, either you're infected right now, as we speak, or you will be very soon.
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Second Apple worm targeting Macs found: experts

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A new computer worm targeting Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh computers has been identified for the second time in one week, security experts said.

The new worm, called OSX.Inqtana.A, spreads through a vulnerability in Apple's OS X operating system via Bluetooth wireless connections, antivirus company Symantec said.
'We have speculated that attackers would turn their attention to other platforms, and two back-to-back examples of malicious code targeting Macintosh OS X ... illustrate this emerging trend,' said Vincent Weafer, senior director at Symantec Security Response.
The latest virus...[more..]

Virus attacking Apple Macintosh PCs found!!

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)
A malicious computer worm has been found that targets Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system, believed to be the first such virus aimed specifically at the Mac platform.
The worm is called OSX/Leap-A, according to a posting on the Web site of antivirus software company Sophos, which said the worm is spread via instant messaging programs.
The worm attempts to spread via Apple's iChat instant messaging program, which is compatible with America Online's popular AIM instant messaging program, according to the Sophos Web site..
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Apple Hackers Encounter a Poetic Warning

By MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer
Fri Feb 17, 1:04 AM ET

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Apple Computer Inc. has resorted to a poetic broadside in the inevitable cat-and-mouse game between hackers and high-tech companies.
The maker of Macintosh computers had anticipated that hackers would try to crack its new OS X operating system built to work on Intel Corp.'s chips and run pirated versions on non-Apple computers. So, Apple developers embedded a warning deep in the software � in the form of a poem.
Indeed, a hacker encountered the poem recently, and a copy of it has been circulating on Mac-user Web sites this week.
Apple confirmed Thursday it has included such a warning in its Intel-based computers since it started selling them in January.
The embedded poem reads: 'Your karma check for today: There once was a user that whined/his existing OS was so blind/he'd do better to pirate/an OS that ran great/but found his hardware declined./Please don't steal Mac OS!/Really, that's way uncool./(C) Apple Computer, Inc.'
Apple also put in a separate hidden message, 'Don't Steal Mac OS X.kext,' in another spot for would-be hackers.
'We can confirm that this text is built into our products,' Apple issued in a statement. 'Hopefully it, and many other legal warnings, will remind people that they should not steal Mac OS X.'
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