Review and Comment Articles

· New computer scam holds your info for ransomv - Computer criminals have launched a new type of online attack that steals information, encrypts it, then demands a ransom from the computer owner to get the material back. But security analysts believe the ransom demand will lead to the arrest of the crooks.
· FBI: Computer upgrade cost still unknown - FBI Director Robert Mueller told lawmakers Tuesday he still doesn't know how much it will cost to complete the bureau's computer overhaul, already well over budget and behind schedule. He also refused to state publicly the cost of the initial phase of the Sentinel system, the planned successor to a failed project that was supposed to greatly improve management of terrorism and other criminal cases.
· Bank of America to Launch ID Theft Protection - Bank of America will protect 13.2 million online banking customers with a new authentication service it calls "SiteKey," the company said in a statement.
· Intricate Tech Brings 'Madagascar' to Life - The ability of animators to turn an imaginary world into reality for millions of movie-goers rests solidly on the shoulders of technological advances, said Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder and CEO of the DreamWorks SKG studio. At a recent media conference about "Madagascar," the latest animated movie from DreamWorks, which opens at theaters around the country on Friday, Katzenberg answered an eWEEK question about technological advances by saying, "If you can imagine it, then we can pretty much make it happen."
· Spyware-Removal Program Tagged as a Trap - Security experts are warning Internet users about a new piece of software that poses as a spyware-removal tool but is actually being used to persuade unsuspecting Internet users to download spyware programs and Trojans. The program, SpywareNo, is installed on Internet users' computers without warning, can be difficult to remove and may be accompanied by malicious programs that hijack victims' Web browsers, according to interviews with spyware experts.
· HP, Microsoft Unleash National ID Tracking System - Hewlett-Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. on Friday rolled out a platform to help governments establish national identity systems. The HP National Identity System is based on Microsoft's .Net platform. According to a release from the companies, it goes beyond simple secure identification and authentication, giving government ID systems the ability to be used to access e-government services and to conduct secure transactions on behalf of citizens.
· Anti-Spyware Bills Pass House, Move to Senate - The U.S. House of Representatives last week overwhelmingly passed two separate anti-spyware bills, but as the measures now move to the Senate, legislators will find most of the hard questions unresolved—a familiar scenario in Congress, where similar House bills withered last year following Senate inaction.
· Digital TV changes could cost you money - Is the government getting ready to snatch away your — gasp! — TV channels? Not quite. But come Jan. 1, 2009, tens of millions of Americans could have to buy or lease new equipment to continue watching all the channels they receive now.
· 'Silent Horizon' war games wrap up for the CIA - The CIA is conducting a secretive war game, dubbed "Silent Horizon," this week to practice defending against an electronic assault on the same scale as the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.
· Wireless is winning loyalty test, survey says - In telecommunications, wireless services are winning over business-to-business customers better than traditional voice and long-distance services. That's the conclusion of a study released by Walker Information, an Indianapolis-based consumer research firm. Walker surveyed 2,064 people over the Internet in March.
· Work computers not protected by privacy rules - Your computer at work is almost certainly an open book to your boss, with every keystroke you type and Web page you view easily recorded and quietly checked, with or without your permission or knowledge, a computer security expert warns.
· Grow Your Own Digital Med Records - Connie Grimstad doesn't need to call her doctor's office when she has a question about the slew of medications she takes daily -- the 57-year-old homemaker simply delves into her medical records from her home computer. As the medical industry moves slowly to replace its paper files with electronic versions, people like Grimstad are light years ahead of most doctors.
· Map Reveals Wind Power Potential - Wind power could generate enough electricity to support the world's energy needs several times over, according to a new map of global wind speeds that scientists say is the first of its kind. The map, compiled by researchers at Stanford University, shows wind speeds at more than 8,000 sites around the world. The researchers found that at least 13 percent of those sites experience winds fast enough to power a modern wind turbine. If turbines were set up in all these regions, they would generate 72 terawatts of electricity, according to the researchers.
· Voyager 1 Enters Final Frontier - NASA's Voyager 1 has reached the final frontier of our solar system, having traveled through a turbulent place where electrically charged particles from the Sun crash into thin gas from interstellar space.
· Computers No Cure for Dumb Docs - Medical errors kill nearly 100,000 American each year, with lethal drug interactions accounting for most of these deaths. Computerization -- which hospitals have been slow to embrace -- was supposed to eliminate most problems, but new research published Wednesday indicates that even the best computer system can’t save you from a doctor’s catastrophic screw-up.
· Drone School, a Ground's-Eye View - There are 225 soldiers, national guardsmen and reservists are training for the most modern kind of warfare. They're learning to fly the unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which have become so critical to the battle for Iraq. By the end of the year, most of these freshly minted pilots will be in hot zones like Baghdad and Fallujah, using their robot planes to spy on insurgents and keep watch over American troops below.