Excerpt from the CSS Internet News. See end of message for details. --------------------------------------------------- UK government launches the IT Security Awareness for Everyone website
http://www.physorg.com/news3183.html ITsafe, a new initiative to protect home computer users and micro businesses from viruses and other threats online, was launched on Wednesday 23 February by the UK Government. The IT Security Awareness for Everyone website <www.itsafe.gov.uk> offers free advice as well as virus and threat alerts allowing computer users to surf the net and send and receive emails more safely. The service, a Home Office funded initiative, uses information provided by the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) - the Governments centre for electronic defence. It aims to reassure users by advising them on how best to protect their personal and business data. Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said: There is a clear need for easy-to-understand and simple independent advice for non-technically minded people who use computers either at home or at work. The purpose of this new Government service is to ensure computer users are aware of the risks involved and how to deal with them easily and effectively without causing alarm. Use of the Internet in homes and small businesses across the country has increased dramatically. Government statistics have shown that more than half of all households own a home computer and in 2004 it was estimated that almost 13 million of these were able to access the net. Many of us use the web and send emails every day without a second thought but there are risks and dangers we should be aware of. Every day more and more viruses make their way on to the Internet and into peoples home computers, arriving with little or no warning with the potential to corrupt, wipe out or steal valuable data. Defending yourself against this type of threat is where ITsafe comes in. Signing up to this service will give users an extra level of defence in two key ways; by providing general advice on IT security and issuing official alerts if and when it is felt there is a serious enough threat from a particular virus or other form of threat. To sign up users can simply visit the website where they will be asked to provide their email address. For those who prefer, a text message service to a mobile phone is also available. Alerts will consist of an email or text outlining specific threats and what damage they can do. Users will then be directed to clear, step-by-step advice on how to respond and therefore maximise the security of their computers, software and personal or business data. Roger Cumming, Director of NISCC, said: In our work we deal with threats to the Critical National Infrastructure those computer systems that affect every aspect of our lives, from the banking system to the health service. ITsafe will take our technical expertise and use it to help home users understand the risks and keep their computer systems, mobile phones and a range of related consumer electronic items, safe. Sir David Omand, Security & Intelligence Coordinator in the Cabinet Office, said: "The UK is an information society. Three quarters of public services are now online, e-commerce is thriving and around 13 million homes now have internet access. This brings significant social and economic benefits to thenation but, as with everything in life, there are also some associated risks which must be addressed. It is essential that all IT users take precautions to protect themselves when they are online. ITsafe will alert home computer users about significant threats to their systems and give them advice and information to help them to go online safely and with confidence". --------------------------------- Also in this issue: - UK orders another nanotech review Nanotechnology is the subject of a major exhibition at London's Science Museum - Mozilla warns of security holes, updates Firefox Users urged to upgrade to avoid possible attacks - Researchers Find Hole in Trend Micro AntiVirus Library Thirty products, including e-mail services such as Hotmail, affected by flaw. - UK government launches the IT Security Awareness for Everyone website ITsafe, a new initiative to protect home computer users and micro businesses from viruses and other threats online, was launched on Wednesday 23 February by the UK Government. The IT Security Awareness for Everyone website <www.itsafe.gov.uk> offers free advice as well as virus and threat alerts allowing computer users to surf the net and send and receive emails more safely. - Compression algorithms harnessed to fight HIV Machine learning algorithms commonly used to compress digital images and recognise patterns in email spam might also be able to help scientists find an effective vaccine for HIV. - Spam Controls Imperil E-Mail Reliability Sometimes the only way to know whether an e-mail got through is to call. Just ask Ashley Friedlein, who runs E-consultancy Ltd. in London. He never heard back from a correspondent in the United States, a subscriber of Verizon Online. So he phoned and learned his e-mail was never received. - Witness denies ex-WorldCom chief knew of fraud The former WorldCom executive at the centre of the company's $11bn accounting fraud denied that Bernie Ebbers was aware of improper bookkeeping when he was questioned about the matter shortly before the company's collapse three years ago, a New York jury was told on Thursday. - Research: Camera specs might help sight A small camera mounted on spectacles and connected to the optical nerve could restore the sight of thousands of people suffering from deterioration of the retina, European scientists said on Monday. - FireFox Update Released If you've jumped ship in the last few months from the popular Internet Explorer browser to the more secure, less spyware-riden FireFox, you've probably noticed your stress levels have come down quite a bit. - 'Greyware' threat to Middle East computer users The PC industry is facing a growing threat from a new strain of programs distributed over the internet, warn experts from Trend Micro, a leader in network antivirus and internet content security. - Beware of online medical searches The Internet is an information highway where you can find information on just about anything. - Will politics ever get e-serious? If we're going to have an e-election then politicians need to respect the Internet culture, argues Bill Thompson. - eBay: Money for Old Rope? The online auction site eBay is ten years old - that's pensionable age in "internet time". - Microsoft Hands Out Free Security Microsoft Corp. needs to step up its security game if it plans to keep its customers happy. The question is: Will it play nice? Bill Gates recently announced the company's plans to sell its own security products last week. Microsoft's antivirus software and free antispyware tools will be available to both consumers and big business by the end of the year. The move is aimed at pleasing the company's increasingly anxious customers. - Firefox update plugs phishing hole The Mozilla Foundation released on Thursday an update to the Firefox web browser to fix several vulnerabilities, including one that would allow domain spoofing. - Googles new tool bar described as evil WEB SURFERS and bloggers have hit out at Googles new toolbar that adds links to words and phrases, dubbing the service evil. - What's Next For Explorer 7.0? Now that Microsoft has disclosed plans to release a test version of Internet Explorer 7.0 this summer, only the details remain. What new features will be included? When will a final release be available? Will IE 7 run on older versions of Windows? - A New Kind of Hack Attack Psst! Want to buy some pictures of Paris Hilton naked? Oh, you already have some. To the glee of Internet voyeurs, someone hacked Hilton's Sidekick II, a wireless phone/camera/PDA/Internet terminal sold by T-Mobile. The hacker then spilled its contents online, including numbers of celeb pals such as Ashlee Simpson and Eminem, along with photos of a topless Hilton cavorting with Eglantina Zingg, a VJ for MTV Latin America. The intruder didn't hack the Sidekick; he nailed the server that stored Hilton's personal data. - Yahoo! Set to Celebrate 10th Anniversary Co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo parlayed Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) from a college hobby into a full-time job 10 years ago, but the Internet icon was never quite comfortable with the happy-go-lucky mood of the dot-com boom. - EU businesses gird for .eu Internet domain war Europe is about to become an Internet fixture with the launch of its own extension -- the .eu domain -- and businesses are girding for the battle to bear the precious two letters. ---------------------------------------------------- Starting 1 March 2005... The Online Learning Series of Courses presents... How to Search the Internet, Level 1. For details send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with sendinfo search1 in the subject line. ---------------------------------------------------- Member: Association for International Business ------------------------------- Excerpt from CSS Internet News (tm) ,-~~-.____ For subscription details email / | ' \ [EMAIL PROTECTED] with ( ) 0 SUBINFO CSSINEWS in the \_/-, ,----' subject line. ==== // / \-'~; /~~~(O) "On the Internet no one / __/~| / | knows you're a dog" =( _____| (_________| ------------------------------- ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
