Jeffrey Parson pleaded guilty in a federal court in Seattle to creating a variant of the MS Blaster worm, Australian IT reports. The Minnesota teenager "admitted to intentionally causing and attempting to cause damage to a protected computer by authoring and spreading a version of the worm that spread rapidly on the internet, clogging computer networks, including Australian ones." He faces 18 … [Read more...] about 19-year-old worm writer
Net & everyday US life
The Internet may be a little more than icing to Americans' everyday lives, but it hasn't changed the cake. In a major multi-year study, the Pew Internet & American Live project found that "the vast majority of online Americans say the Internet plays a role in their daily routines and that the rhythm of their everyday lives would be affected if they could no longer go online. Yet, despite its great … [Read more...] about Net & everyday US life
‘Drive-by downloads’
This is something all parents of busy young Web surfers should know about. "Drive-by downloads" are nasty little programs people inadvertently download to their computers just by going to some not-so-well-meaning Web sites. The Washington Post's "Computer Guy" does a great job of explaining what can be done about them (they are largely an Internet Explorer problem, so users of other browsers can … [Read more...] about ‘Drive-by downloads’
3rd & 4th graders on cybersafety
Most of the third- and fourth-graders at Deer Park Elementary have a Net-connected computer at home, but "only 39% of the third-graders and 43% of the fourth-graders are required to ask their parents' permission before using their home computer," according to a survey conducted by the Washington, D.C., area school. Teacher Diane Painter reports in TechLearning.com that Deer Park celebrates … [Read more...] about 3rd & 4th graders on cybersafety
Families, look for AIM update!
This is for AIM users and their parents (a whole lot of teenagers use AOL instant-messaging!): Look for a critical update that AOL will be releasing very soon. A vulnerability in AIM has been discovered which "could allow a malicious hacker to use the 'Away Message' feature to take control of a user's machine," Internet.com reports. AOL says a hacker could take over an AIM user's PC only if "a … [Read more...] about Families, look for AIM update!