MS on the lookout for worms

Microsoft says it is monitoring the situation and will issue a security advisory with pre-patch workarounds if it believes proof-of-concept documents can be redeveloped into a working exploit and a massive worm attack is imminent, reports eWeek.

The statement comes amid heightened fears of a network worm attack targeting unpatched Windows 2000 systems after news that private security researchers have already reverse-engineered Microsoft`s October critical MS05-051 update to create proof-of-concept exploits.

Security experts have warned that hackers could easily write exploit code to take control of unpatched systems, but developers of the proof-of-concepts have emphasised there is a big difference between exploiting a bug and turning that into something that can crash a victim machine.

Major updates have been released for the Mandriva and Ubuntu second-tier versions of Linux, reports News.Com.

According to the report, Mark Shuttleworth`s Ubuntu Linux from Canonical has released its third version, numbered 5.10 and called Breezy Badger.

A new Breezy Badger feature is the Linux Terminal Server Project, which lets organisations set up a computer that provides shared network access and computing services for a group of older PCs.

Mandriva 2006 comes in three versions aimed at beginners, advanced users and servers. Mandriva says its new versions are notable for their inclusion of support for wireless networking and other features in Intel`s Centrino technology and Skype VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) software

Microsoft is expected to issue a major update to the Media Center Edition (MCE) of its Windows XP operating system today, reports PC World

The report says the MCE Rollup Update Version 2 will add support for sending high-definition video over a home network to Microsoft`s upcoming Xbox 360 game console and will include more than 500 bug fixes.

Version 2 will also support two TV cards, with each being capable of carrying two tuners, theoretically enabling users to play and/or record up to four TV programs simultaneously.

The new version also allows streaming high definition (HD) programming as well as standard definition programming from PCs to a Media Center Extender or to the Xbox 360, but limits users to receiving over-the-air HD TV and burning SD versions of content to DVD.

Microsoft says Windows XP Media Center Edition Rollup Update Version 2 will be available via Windows Update or Microsoft Update. The download is said to be about 30MB.

Britain`s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), popularly known as MI6, has launched a Web site to clarify what the organisation does and to recruit new employees, reports BBC News.

The report says the new Web site is filled with information on accountability and relationships with the rest of government as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

Many of the pages on the site are dedicated to outlining the different types of jobs performed at SIS and providing outlines of people`s work.

Apparently SIS is keen to emphasise that this is somewhere that people with a broader diversity of skills and backgrounds can feel comfortable about applying for a job, such as people with IT skills to deal with the complex forms of data analysis involved in counter-terrorism.