Downadup Worm

Infections from a particularly clever worm that exploits a hole in Microsoft Windows operating systems patched last October, have increased dramatically this last week. Over 9 milllion PCs are said to be infected which creates a substantial botnet for anyone wanting to exploit it and control these PCs from a distance. Once again it is clear that the commercial interests of criminals are at work here, not just an experiment that escaped from the lab or a teenager´s bedroom.

Ancient Persian Chemical Warfare

The Persian army apparently used poisonous gases during a seige of the Roman city of Dura in the 3rd century A.D., according to the BBC. Archeological evidence shows that large groups of soldiers were overcome in a very short period of time. The Persians dug mines beneath the city, igniting sulphur and bitumen to produce toxic gases that rose up and poisoned the soldiers. The Romans fought back by building counter-mines to channel the gases way from the city. Eventually however, the Persians succeeded in taking Dura, though exactly how they breached the city defenses is not entirely clear. I find it quite disturbing that these tactics were obviously known to the Persians at that time, though it once again shows that a lot of historical records and technological information has been lost in time, only to be rediscovered again the past few hundred years.

Top 25 security related coding errors

SANS have published a list of the top 25 coding flaws that make software vulnerable for cyber attacks. Although the list is not really surprising (e.g. checks on buffer boundaries, hard coded passwords), it´s good that the list is there and published by a vendor independent body. Makes a useful checklist for software review.

Windows in your coffee machine

Microsoft are taking their ¨windows everywhere¨ approach pretty seriously by making a prototype coffee machine that runs Windows. It can give you the weather forecast as well as making coffee.
Reminds me of the refrigerator from LG that was internet enabled, so in that sense this whole ¨reinventing the home applicance¨ stuff is not new and certainly not a Microsoft innovation (but then again what is).
Also, it´s all well and good providing information to people wherever they are, but as soon as network security has the potential to be a risk factor when selecting a cappucino, I wonder whether things have gone too far.

Algae Fuelled Jet Tested

A Boeing 737 running on a mix of bio-fuel produced from algae was successfully tested today. Algae has an advantage over other bio-fuels because it doesn´t compete for farm land vital for other crops.

Was it a UFO or was it ice?

Cornisholme in Lincolnshire woke up sunday to a UFO scare after a wind turbine lost one blade and another was seriously damaged. Locals were said to have seen strange lights the night before and a large bang on sunday morning. If it was a collision then there is no debris and no reports of missing aircraft. A possible explanation is that ice built up on a blade and snapped off, or a chunk was flung from a neighbouring turbine. The UFO story is fun though ;)

More Polar Bears Go Hungry

First post of 2009 and not good news. Since the Arctic will be ice-free in the summer very soon now, polar bears are having a rough time according to New Scientist, with their feeding grounds and prey dwindling. People laugh at the image of the polar bear and climate change, but it shows how quickly these changes occur. How long will it be before the Gulf Stream ceases and plunges northern Europe into an ice age? We won´t be laughing then.