News about what is happening in technology today!

Washingtonpost.com is reporting from the 2nd annual Shmoocon hacker conference about the release of a previously undocumented vulnerability in Windows. The flaw takes advantage of a feature on Windows laptops that have wireless cards built-in. Security researcher Mark Loveless found that Windows laptops which cannot find a wireless connection are configured to broadcast the name of the last SSID they associated with. They assign themselves an ad-hoc ‘link local’ (think 169.254.x.x.) address, and an attacker can configure his machine to broadcast an SSID of the same name. Thus, the attacker associates with that ‘network’ and communicates directly with the victim’s machine. The funny part from the Post blog entry is that Microsoft helped author the RFC for link local.

ZDNet has a story covering another Homeland Security test of the E-Passport system, a biometric program designed to stop counterfeit identification.” From the article: “The passports contain biometric information such as a digital photo, as well as biographic information. The technology being tested promises to read and verify the electronic data when those carrying the e-passports attempt entry into the countries via participating airports. U.S. diplomats, Australian and New Zealand citizens and Singapore Airlines officials are among those who have been issued the e-passports. These people will also undergo normal screening procedures at the international airports.

Now that digtial radio devices are allowing recording of shows, you knew it wouldn’t be long before music executives started raising a fuss. They’re worried that users will prefer to record the high-quality audio (for free) to buying a download or CD.” From the article: “For now, the Recording Industry Association of America is in negotiations with satellite radio companies and is opening discussions with radio broadcasters over specific products. But over the long term, the music industry says, Congress should find a way to regulate these new digital radio networks so labels can get paid when consumers keep copies of songs, as is the case with iTunes.

We know you people love your Treo 650 probably more than your first born, so here is some more juicy information about the latest toy from Palm, the Treo 700w. Dave over at MobilityToday (formerly Dave’s iPaq) has a video podcast up where he goes through all of the interior and exterior characteristics of the next generation Treo. Wipe that drool off your lip, it is just a phone.

Read more at Mobility Today

Product information

This is the new design for a stripped-down version of the Sony Ericsson P990. The P990 is a Symbian-powered smartphone capable of a lot; the new P970 will have a Blackberry-esque QWERTY keyboard, 1-megapixel camera but no Wi-Fi. This phone is expected to drop in the first quarter of 2006, so keep your eyes open for more information.

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