Apr. 1, 2008
Why passwords are easy to guess
Network World
Peter Berlich looks at one of the reasons why passwords are so easy to guess.
“Passwords are…a problem when users use the same password for different services. A user who loses his eBay password to a phishing attack will usually also lose access to his/her freemail account and his social network along with it. The phisher will log into eBay with the stolen user name, determine the eBay account’s mail address and attempt to use this identity and eBay password to log into the freemail service. In far too many cases is such an attack successful.”
Adobe cuddles up to the Linux Foundation
The Register
Kelly Fiveash looks at Adobe’s recent partnership with Linux.
“(Adobe)…announced today that it has released a pre-release alpha version of its Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) for rich web apps on Linux…The company said, by joining the Linux Foundation, it hoped to bolster the use of rich internet apps on the Linux platform. However, Adobe still has a long way to go in convincing open source fanciers. The likes of Photoshop and other core Adobe products still carry an expensive price tag.”
Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo is all about big-budget brand advertising
Wired
Frank Rose looks at what Microsoft needs to do if it’s successful with its Yahoo purchase.
“Even if the Yahoo purchase goes through, a company like Microsoft needs more than reach. It also needs the technology to deliver the right ads to the right eyeballs at the right time and come back with a precise measurement of the results.”