[When the Cult of the Dead Cow asked for $1,000,000 "and a monster truck" in exchange for an advance copy of Back Orifice, they should have gotten it, and Microsoft should have been the ones to give it to them. This program is a total gift (assuming it works well, which it probably does), a valuable piece of free R&D for Microsoft et. al. that would have cost them far, far more than $1M to develop on their own.]
QwikSand, perhaps MSFT will find a way to get it for free! Thought they had a reputation for doing that sort of thing.
The following excerpts from an article in The New York Timesby IAN AUSTEN warns home PC users about hackers - Mephisto
Security problems for home PCs through Cable or D.S.L.
"Cable modems and D.S.L. lines are presenting two new problems for ordinary residential users. The biggest source of trouble comes simply because these lines mean that users are constantly connected to the Net, so their computers are always potential targets of hackers.
The second problem has to do with the types of connections used by faster lines. Communications between computers on the Internet rely on a series of numbers known as I.P., or Internet protocol, addresses. For dial-up users, those addresses are constantly shifting, making them their computers elusive targets. While it can be a nuisance to dial in to reach the Net every time you want to check your E-mail, the practice automatically provides its own measure of security.
Unfortunately, the protection afforded by the dial-up shell game largely or completely vanishes with cable modems or D.S.L. lines. Because their customers, don't flit on and off the Net.
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The move to the always-connected world seems to have come at a somewhat inopportune time, Internet Security Systems has been tracking a "dramatic increase" in the use of a hacking technique known variously as probing, sniffing or scanning, Mr. Klaus said. (Christopher W. Klaus, chief technology officer for Internet Security Systems, an Atlanta-based maker of complex security analysis software used by large corporations). Probing software automatically scans computers connected to the Internet and evaluates the level of their security protection, looking for weak systems vulnerable to easy attack.
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For probers, a typical home computer running Apple's MAC OS or Windows 95 or 98 without the maker's latest security updates or additional security software is the closest thing to an unlocked door they are likely to find.
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Most cable and D.S.L. modems also make it easier for hackers to go after specific computers."
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Excerpts from The New York Times Thursday, July 8, 199 by Ian Austen, Section D1
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