|
|
Saturday’s SQL (“sequel”) Slammer worm attack, which targeted a Microsoft Windows 2000 vulnerability, is being called the most damaging web attack in nearly a year and a half. The worm slowed online functions worldwide to a mere crawl Saturday. The biggest impact was felt in the world’s most wired country. No, not the U.S., but South Korea, where broadband and mobile services were halted for hours Saturday afternoon. Almost all South Korean internet customers lost their connections, while in the U.S. damage was limited mostly to cranky email inboxes and bank teller machines. U.S. experts warned that copycat viruses will begin to spread in the next few days. Microsoft pleaded with computer companies to download the software security patch that would protect from the worm, which targeted internet servers rather than individual computers. The worm did not steal or delete data. The FBI did not have any suspects as of Sunday.
Peer-to-peer sites proliferate by 300 percent
Napster may be gone, but peer-to-peer file swapping isn’t. In fact, driven by the increasing proliferation of broadband, the number of file-sharing web pages has exploded by 300 percent in the past year, to more than 89,000. That’s according to employee internet management software provider Websense, which found that there are now 130 unique P2P applications. The best-known are Kazaa and Grokster, two sites that have seen their subscriber base nearly double this year. But the latest file-swapping sites aren’t just for music. Everything from TV shows to video games is traded these days, making the days of Napster and its MP3-only offerings look relatively quaint. The Yankee Group reports that last year more than 5 billion music files were downloaded from P2P sites, compared to 5 million video games. Each day roughly 400,000 to 600,000 movies and 3 million TV shows are downloaded, according to Viant. Analysts speculate that much of this activity comes at work, where people have access to broadband connections (less than 20 percent of Americans have broadband at home).
Lawyer sues eBay after being told 'Get a life'
A Los Angeles lawyer upset by the buyer rating posted in eBay’s feedback section says the company hurt his reputation by not removing the statements. So he’s doing what comes naturally: suing the online auction house. Robert Grace, the buyer in question, posted comments on the eBay feedback forum criticizing the merchandise he purchased from Hollywood dealer Time Neeley. Neeley fired back that Grace was “dishonest all the way” and “should be banned from eBay.” The company’s user policies clearly state that users are responsible for what they post, and that users may not retract or edit their comments. Nonetheless, Grace asked Neeley to retract, to which Neeley responded, “Get a life, dude.” The company left both sets of complaints online, leading to Grace’s complaint. Grace is asking for $100,000 in punitive damages from Neeley and $2.5 million from eBay. Grace says he wants eBay to rethink its posting policies so that the forums are bettered policed. His suit requests a site-wide filter to monitor words such as fraud, liar, cheater, con man, etc., and suggests warning that sellers may retaliate when buyers post unfavorable reviews.
European e-commerce rockets in fourth quarter
European e-tailers lived up to the pre-Christmas hype. Western European web users recorded a 46 percent jump this year versus last in December shopping site traffic, reaching almost 40 million. Spain, France and the Netherlands reported the biggest visitation spikes, with Spain ahead of them all at 106 percent. Britain, Germany, France and Japan combined for a 57 percent year-over-year increase to sales of $461 million during the fourth quarter. Amazon.com’s international units reported a $20 million pro forma profit. The company accounted for 37 percent of non-North American revenues. Other popular European shopping venues included eBay, Kelkoo.com and the French fnac.com.
Poll: Zebras had toughest job at Super Bowl
Considering all the bad press they’ve gotten this postseason after a number of botched calls, it’s somewhat surprising to see that football fans’ sympathies still with the referees. A poll on Monster.com this week asked respondents to decide who had the toughest job at the Super Bowl. Fifty percent chose “referee,” ranking the pinstripes ahead of the headsets -- coaches received just 19 percent of the more than 38,000 votes. “Players” came next, followed by “mascot.” Apparently we have the least sympathy for those in the least amount of clothing. “Cheerleaders” placed last with 6 percent of the vote.
January 27, 2003© 2003 Media Life
Send to a
Friend| Printer-Friendly Version
Cover Page | Contact
Us