Microsoft Corp. is planning two software security fixes -- at least one of which is rated "critical" -- as part of its monthly release of security updates slated for Tuesday. Both patches are for the Windows operating system, according to Microsoft's Web site. A critical rating for a bug means that a worm could take advantage of it without any user action.
RIM in mediated talks with NTP
Research In Motion Ltd. and NTP Inc. are in talks with a mediator in an attempt to settle their ongoing legal dispute, which could lead to an injunction halting BlackBerry handheld and e-mail service in the U.S. RIM has been unable to overturn a 2003 jury verdict that it infringed on wireless e-mail patents held by NTP.
Sober attack is expected on Jan. 5
Commands hard-coded into the latest variant of the Sober worm indicate that its next major attack will come on Jan. 5, according to VeriSign Inc.'s iDefense cyberintelligence service. The trigger coincides with the 87th anniversary of the launch of the Nazi party and coincides with a major German political convention. The Sober worm and its variants have emerged as the year's most prolific malware.
Mozilla slates fix for first Firefox 1.5 bug
The first Firefox 1.5 security vulnerability, revealed last week, is not as critical as first perceived, but a patch will be available early next year to fix it, the Mozilla Foundation said. The defect will be repaired when Mozilla releases the next stability build of the open-source browser in about six weeks. A SANS Institute Internet Storm Center posting said the vulnerability is in the browser's history.dat file, which stores a user's history of Web sites visited.