Slack SSL in rival browsers

Both Microsoft`s Internet Explorer and KDE`s Konqueror browsers have been hit hard with the news that their handling of secure sockets layer (SSL) allows anyone with a VeriSign site certificate to forge any other SSL site certificate. The vulnerability, discovered by Thoughtcrime.org and reported by TheRegister, involves a certificate chain which allows a site owner to sign one intermediate certificate with another valid certificate, without warning users. What the browsers should do is verify that the common name filed on the leaf certificate matches the domain visited. By not checking these, attackers are able to use a legitimate SSL certificate to sign a dummy certificate for a second site. [More at TheRegister]

XHead = Sun revives Intel Solaris

One has to wonder what Sun is up to with yet another switch in direction. Just months after mothballing Solaris for the Intel platform, the company now plans to revive the operating system. This latest move comes on the eve of expected announcements of the Intel-based Big Bear hardware and a renewed commitment to the Linux operating system. Apparently the first product to be revived will be Solaris 8.0 for x86-based hardware, with Solaris 9.0 expected early next year. There could be a catch, however, with Sun saying that the renamed Solaris x86 will only be available on Sun`s own Intel hardware.

Physical misuse of laptops is behind the majority of faults with corporate machines, costing the UK millions in unnecessary equipment repairs. A survey of 100 UK IT managers, conducted last month by Vanson Bourne Research, found that 41% of respondents believe that the most common reason for laptop damage is physical breakage by users. The survey also found that more than half (59%) of IT managers saw a direct cost to their company`s bottom line because of this problem. A third of companies have to repair between 10% and 20% of notebooks because of physical damage each year. Two out of three respondents also estimated that laptops take between three and seven working days to repair, resulting in productivity losses as well as service charges. Alex Pidgley, MD of computer luggage maker Techair, which sponsored the research, said: "UK laptop users seem to be little more than `hooligans`, treating their technology with a complete lack of respect."

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