More
web warnings of hacker-baiting flaws
Two days, two security warnings. U.S. cybersecurity
officials on Wednesday declared a second major alert warning that a new
weakness in the machines used to direct internet traffic could be
exploited by hackers to interrupt internet communications. An advisory
issued late Tuesday by Cisco Systems of San Jose, Calif., prompted the
second warning. The telecommunications hardware giant said that a security
gap in many models of its routers left the devices open to attacks that
could result in system crashes. This security flaw is especially worrisome
because Cisco produces 70 percent of the routers used in the
communications networks of major corporations, according to Gartner Inc.
Cisco accidentally introduced the problem through a security patch
released last October. Almost all of its routers sold or upgraded since
then are vulnerable to attack. A new patch released Tuesday aims to
protect the routers.
Big
business for eBay in strong first quarter
Wall Street sorely underestimated what eBay is capable of.
The online auction house saw first-quarter earnings that nearly doubled
expectations. On Wednesday, eBay reported earnings
of $200.1
million, or 30 cents per share, compared with $104.2 million, or 16 cents
per share, during the same period last year. Excluding special items
mostly related to real estate, eBay saw record gains of $210.8 million, or
31 cents per share, versus the $116.2 million, or 18 cents per share,
gained in the first quarter of 2003. Analysts expected eBay only to earn
26 cents per share on sales of $706.6 million, yet the San Jose,
Calif.-based company reported first-quarter revenues of $756.2 million.
Zippety-do-dah,
Disney makes an iTunes deal
As CEO of Pixar, the studio
behind “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo,” Steve Jobs gave Disney the
“we don’t need you anymore” routine, as ties between the two will be
cut in 2005. But as CEO of Apple, Jobs will continue to stay friendly with
the mouse house, at least for music. In a joint statement Pixar and Disney
said Apple will sell songs from movies like “Beauty and the Beast,”
“The Lion King” and “Toy Story” on its iTunes web site. The songs
will be available exclusively on iTunes until Sept. 30.
ESPN
puts all ESPY voting in fans' hands
The ESPY Awards are putting the fate of the winners
into the hands of sports fans everywhere, with voting as easy as point and
click. The network said Wednesday that for the first time in the 12-year
history of the awards, online fan ballots for all 34 categories will be
available to fans. Last year fans voted in several categories online, but
this year they actually will pick all the winners.
Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx will return to host the event, which airs
Sunday, July 18, at 9 p.m. The complete list of ESPY Award nominees will
be revealed on “The 2004 ESPY Nominations Special,” which airs Monday,
June 21, at 7 p.m. on ESPN, and online fan voting at ESPN.com will
commence through July 9.
Dear
Martha, will you be my prison-pal?
Even though Martha Stewart still has a couple of months
of freedom before sentencing, she’ll move into prison with a stack of
mail already waiting thanks to website hotprisonpals.com. Sam
Wagner, owner of the web site, has posted an ad for Stewart that opens
“Hi, my name is Martha but my friends here call me ‘Big M.’”
Although the ad is
clearly a joke, Wagner insists he is serious about forwarding all mail he
receives to Martha Stewart in a large celadon box – her favorite color.
Stewart was convicted last month of obstruction of justice and lying to
investigators. She will be sentenced in June, when she is expected to get
up to two years in prison.
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