Byte by Bite

Web site lists top tech stories of the past 10 years

by Marv Dealy

Published July 15, 2005

From the editors at CNET comes the “top 10 tech news” stories of the past 10 years (http://www.cnet.com/4520-11136_1-6252746-1.html?tag=txt). Starting way back in 1995 (what, there was tech news then?) CNET lists the initial public offering for Netscape Communications as the IPO that showed the Internet was an economic force.

With annual revenues of about $16 million, the $2 billion valuation that Wall Street gave Netscape staggered many onlookers. More importantly, Netscape’s IPO went a long ways toward creating the frenzy that created the dot-com era.

In 1996, CNET notes that the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Communications Decency Act helped define the Internet as we know it. Had the Act been enacted, the Internet could have become much more tightly regulated and content would have been limited to what you could see or hear on TV or radio.

Apple was saved from apparent certain death in 1997, when cofounder Steve Jobs resumed the role of CEO.

1998 saw the attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia joining together in federal antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft.

1999 was full of talk of Y2K and the fear of “what will happen on New Year’s eve?” It all turned out to be much ado about very little.

Napster rocked the boat in 2000, growing quickly from an obscure file sharing program to a network that spanned the globe, allowing users to freely trade digital music. The music industry took offense at not making money and eventually multiple lawsuits reigned in the free music movement.

2001’s big story was the collapse of the dot com bubble. An example - Yahoo’s stock price on March 10, 2000 was $178.06 and about a year later was valued at $22.19, a nearly 90% drop in value. Oww, my head.

A problem that exist still today cropped up in 2002 - along with those free downloads came spyware, adware and whoknowswhatware.

The big story for 2003 was wireless connectivity, although for those of us in the “sticks” the story really was “what do you mean I can’t get broadband out in Jupiter?”

Although the technology sector had started the practice before then, 2004 saw offshoring or outsourcing everything your company can think of to Bangladesh mushroom into a real controversy.

More and more security problems and the concerns with outsourcing intellectual property may see a drastic curtailment of this activity, and for this all of us who have spent time on the phone trying to explain to some well meaning but relatively non-English-speaking person what we needed will give thanks.

What’s the story going to be for 2005? Who the heck knows, plus the year’s only half gone. Stand by.

Very Wormy ? You two dozen regulars will remember Sven Jaschan, the 19-year-old who admitted responsibility for the Sasser and Netsky worms. Well, despite what I think, the German courts didn’t lock him up. Would you believe that after pleading guilty that he only got a year and nine months of probation.

I think his parent should have gotten the probation, and Jaschan should have sat inside a small room and thought about his actions for a number of years. But like I said, the German courts didn’t listen to a word I said. Hmpfh.

Just as that news breaks comes other that some punks somewhere are increasing their attacks using instant messaging (IM) and peer to peer (P2P) file sharing networks.

According to Akonix (http://akonix.com/), attacks are up about 400% since it began tracking the threats. In this past June alone, Akonix says they tracked 52 new threats to IM and P2P systems. “Authorities” say we should expect this problem level to increase as more and more bad guys become better and better at attacking IM and P2P networks.

In a press release from Akonix (http://akonix.com/news/press_releases_2005/07052005.asp) we read that “During June, there were 22 variants of the Kelvir worm, three of the Opanki worm and three of the Oskabot worm. The high number of Kelvir worm variants is alarming, but consistent with the increasing trend in new Kelvir worms that was established over the first five months of 2005.”

The Akonix Security Center (http://www.akonix.com/solutions/security_center.asp) lists the top IM threats as follows: Oscarbot/Doyorg (targets AIM), Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-022, W32/Kelvir and W32/Bropia (targets MSN), and a Yahoo Messenger Phishing Attack (targets Yahoo! IM).

According to Symantec, IM meets all of the criteria required to make them an ideal platform for rapidly spreading computer worms and blended threats: they are everywhere; they provide a communications infrastructure; they have integrated directories (buddy lists) that can be used to locate new targets; and they can be controlled by easily written scripts.

In a story by Liane Cassavoy from PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115837,00.asp) we learn that IM viruses can have as malicious intent as those spread by the more familiar e-mail. “Jitux.A spread itself by tapping users’ IM contacts, but Bizex had more malicious intent: It sent you a link to a Web site that scanned your PC for data on your electronic payments and finances. The site was quickly shut down once the worm was discovered, but no one is sure how much data was collected before then.”

What can you do to prevent the IM threats? Use common sense and be wary of files sent via IM, especially if they have an .exe or .scr extension. Don’t trust a file that claims it’s a game, either. Don’t click on a link that you haven’t asked for; you really don’t know where it’s going to go. Use a general information link such as Antivirus.About.com to keep up with current threats. Update your Windows software (Macheads can ignore much of this hoopla, naturally). Make sure that the version of your IM software is the newest available. Keep your antivirus software up to date. Keep your anti-spyware software up to date.

And play nicely. Now turn your computer off and go to the Fair.