Google tests desktop search

Search company Google is testing software that lets people navigate the Web without opening up an Internet browser, placing it in a field that Microsoft has designs on - desktop search, reports CNet.

On Thursday, the search company debuted the Google Deskbar. The freely downloadable software for Windows users puts a Google search box in the desktop taskbar. Users search the Web while in a Word document or e-mail application. But instead of launching a browser, the Deskbar will display results in a small window in the lower right of the screen.

An unknown intruder attempted to insert a Trojan horse program into the code of the next version of the Linux kernel, stored at a publicly accessible database, reports CNet.

Security features of the source-code repository, known as BitKeeper, detected the illicit change within 24 hours, and the public database was shut down, a key developer said yesterday. The public database was used only to provide the latest beta of the Linux kernel to users of the Concurrent Versions System, a program designed to manage source code.

A security expert has warned users of the latest wireless network security standard, WiFi Protected Access (WPA), to pick good passwords or risk being compromised, reports ZDNet.

The WPA specification includes a way for administrators to lock down a network using a single pass phrase. However, a poorly chosen code can still be attacked with brute force methods, such as a "dictionary attack", in which an attacker guesses the password using a list of common words. That makes long random codes key to security, Robert Moskowitz, senior technical director with ICSA Labs, said in a paper.

Sun Microsystems said yesterday that James Gosling, considered the father of the Java programming language, will join Sun`s Developer Platforms Group as chief technology officer.

CNet reports that Gosling, a VP at Sun Labs, has been working on technology to make code easier to manage and modify. In his new role, he will report to Richard Green, VP of development tools at Sun, and will spearhead efforts to incorporate his research on application development into Sun`s commercial development tools.

A team of professors from the University of California-Berkeley and University of Southern California has received a $5.46 million grant to build one of the most realistic models of the Internet - and then wreck it with debilitating hacker attacks, reports Seattle PI.

The team is trying to answer questions such as: What would really happen if the Internet were hit with an attack bigger than the Nimda or Slammer worms? Could it be fought with existing technology? Or would everything connected to the Internet, from private e-mail boxes to automatic teller networks to power plants, topple like a house of cards?

The hard-drive-eating bug in Panther has been resolved, according to Apple Computer. But some experts say upgrading to the latest version of Mac OS X is like playing Russian roulette with your data, reports Wired News.

A glitch in the Mac OS 10.3 (Panther) installer renders some external FireWire drives inoperable. On Wednesday, Apple said the problem could be avoided if the drive`s firmware were updated to version 1.05. However, several experts say the problems with Panther aren`t limited to FireWire 800 drives. Contrary to Apple`s assertion, they say, other FireWire devices, including earlier FireWire 400 devices and even camcorders, are also affected.