MS Reader Hacked
Add Microsoft Reader to the list of e-book programs whose copyright protection schemes have been hacked. Technology Review, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reported that a U.S. programmer — whom it did not name — has broken the encryption algorithms in Microsoft Reader, a program for reading digitally published books and documents. Last month, Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov was indicted under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for publishing a program that defeats the copyright protections of Adobe Systems e-book software.
Antivirus Patent
Network Associates Inc. says it has been granted a patent for a method of automatically updating antivirus software over the Internet. Patent No. 6,296,456 encompasses the ability to retrieve information about a current antivirus file installed on a client computer to determine if its up to date. NAI is reviewing whether other companies infringe on its patent, a company representative said.
Code Who?
While the Code Red worm may have won the most notoriety, the SirCam virus takes the prize for longevity. First released in July, SirCam still represented 49.8 percent of all intercepted viruses on the Internet in August, according to the “Dirty Dozen” report, by antivirus software vendor Central Command, on the top 12 Internet viruses.