Microsoft announced on Thursday that Hyper-V was released to manufacturing, and then about two seconds later, the media frenzy began.
The company repeatedly stated that it would release Hyper-V within 180 days after the launch of Windows Server 2008. And while they removed a few key features in order to make sure they released a quality, stable product, they did beat the August time frame.
So finally after some three years of development work, Microsoft now has its own Type-1 virtual machine monitor, a virtualization hypervisor technology that it can be proud of, and one that earns the Redmond giant a seat at the big virtual table. The company finally has its own hypervisor to speak of when comparing its server virtualization technologies to others such as VMware, Citrix, Virtual Iron, Red Hat, Oracle, Sun and Parallels to name but a few. While Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 served a purpose and filled a void early on in the virtualization race, it couldn't stand up against the features and performance of its bare-metal competitors - even with the low price of 'free'.
Microsoft said that Hyper-V will offer customers a reliable, scalable and high-performance virtualization platform that plugs into customers' existing IT infrastructures and will enable them to consolidate some of the most demanding workloads.
"Customers who buy Windows Server 2008 are not only getting the scalability benefits, the high performance and reliability, and all the great things that Windows Server is known for; as of today they can benefit from integrated virtualization with Hyper-V," said Bill Hilf, general manager of Windows Server Marketing and Platform Strategy at Microsoft.
Hilf said that there have already been more than 1 million evaluations of Hyper-V, and more than 250 customers have participated in the early adopter programs for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Land O'Lakes, HotSchedules and The SCOOTER Store were some of the first customers to deploy Hyper-V and experience its benefits firsthand.
Microsoft has also been eating its own dog food by using Hyper-V to reshape their lab operations and operate the company's Web sites. Back in March, the company successfully migrated their MSDN sites and then followed that up with the migration of their TechNet sites in April. To continue rolling out high scale Web sites, they've also virtualized 25% of the production traffic load for Microsoft.com. By the end of June, they are expecting virtualization to handle 50% of the load and then ultimately 100% once they've completed the deployment of their new hardware infrastructure across diverse data centers.
To help both customers and partners assess whether their existing servers are good candidates for virtualization using Hyper-V, Microsoft has released the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.1 Beta to help accelerate virtualization planning and deployment. The final release of MAP 3.1 is expected in July and will be available for free.
In addition, more than 130 independent software vendors (ISVs) have certified a total of 150 applications on Windows Server 2008. The first three vendors to receive the Certified for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V designation were Symantec, Diskeeper and IBM. This designation identifies applications that have been independently tested to exploit Hyper-V capabilities and meet mission-critical expectations in a virtualized environment. Along the same lines, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) vendors such as Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., HP, IBM, NEC, Sun Microsystems and Unisys are now qualified to ship and create systems with Hyper-V. In all, 250 systems from server and white-box vendors are already logo-qualified for Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V.
Now, Hyper-V users must wait for the release of the upcoming Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 product, currently in Beta, so that they can effectively manage their Hyper-V environment.
New Microsoft Windows Server 2008 customers can download Hyper-V now; and for those customers who were early adopters of the technology, Microsoft said they will be able to update their Hyper-V installation on July 8th, when Microsoft plans to roll out the update via Windows Update.
6.29.2008
Diablo III Officially Confirmed
Blizzard Entertainment officially confirmed the third entry in the ultra successful Diablo series during the company's Worldwide Invitational event earlier today.
Alongside the confirmation, Blizzard has revealed that Diablo III takes place two decades after the events of Diablo II. Further plot details were limited, though the company also revealed two of the game's character classes: the barbarian and the withdoctor.
Blizzard has also launched an official website for the game that not only includes the announcement, but also shows off 60 pieces of artwork from the game as well as a teaser trailer and nearly 20 minutes of gameplay footage.
In typical Blizzard fashion, the company is sticking to a "it'll be done when it's done" mantra and refuses to even speculate on a release window for the title.
Alongside the confirmation, Blizzard has revealed that Diablo III takes place two decades after the events of Diablo II. Further plot details were limited, though the company also revealed two of the game's character classes: the barbarian and the withdoctor.
Blizzard has also launched an official website for the game that not only includes the announcement, but also shows off 60 pieces of artwork from the game as well as a teaser trailer and nearly 20 minutes of gameplay footage.
In typical Blizzard fashion, the company is sticking to a "it'll be done when it's done" mantra and refuses to even speculate on a release window for the title.
6.27.2008
Intel pursues narrow Windows Vista rollout
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp, the world's biggest chipmaker and decades-long business partner of Microsoft Corp, has no immediate plans to roll out the software giant's Windows Vista operating system to all its employees.
"We're in a refresh cycle now and there are a number of factors considered before we select software," an Intel spokesman explained without elaborating.
Intel and Microsoft have for years been known as "Wintel," because the two have worked together since the early days of the personal computer industry to tie Intel's microprocessors with Microsoft's operating system.
"We are testing and deploying Windows Vista in certain departments," the Intel spokesman said.
The decision by Intel is the latest setback to Vista, which has faced slow adoption by large corporate customers, many of which are choosing to wait for the release of Microsoft's next operating system code-named Windows 7.
Microsoft has targeted a 2010 release for Windows 7.
"There's been very little enterprise-wide uptake of Vista," said Endpoint Technologies Associates analyst Roger Kay, of big-business use of Vista across entire companies. "They look at Vista and say, 'We're not going to throw out a bunch of hardware and software.'"
Using Windows Vista can often require expensive upgrades of computer hardware, because Vista requires larger amounts of computer memory to run smoothly, among other requirements.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, has about 80,000 employees across the globe and maintains a network of about a dozen multibillion dollar plants that churn out its processors that are the electronic brains of PCs.
Together, Intel and Microsoft control some 80 percent or more of the global personal computing industry.
The Inquirer, a London-based technology website, and the New York Times earlier reported Intel's decision not to roll out Vista across the entire company.
Among consumers, however, many millions of copies of Vista are in use, with Microsoft saying that more than 140 million copies are installed on PCs around the globe.
"The consumer market is moving along apace," Kay said. "And in the small- and medium-business market you're seeing decent adoption of Vista."
(Reporting by Duncan Martell in San Francisco and Daisuke Wakabayashi in Seattle, editing by Richard Chang)
"We're in a refresh cycle now and there are a number of factors considered before we select software," an Intel spokesman explained without elaborating.
Intel and Microsoft have for years been known as "Wintel," because the two have worked together since the early days of the personal computer industry to tie Intel's microprocessors with Microsoft's operating system.
"We are testing and deploying Windows Vista in certain departments," the Intel spokesman said.
The decision by Intel is the latest setback to Vista, which has faced slow adoption by large corporate customers, many of which are choosing to wait for the release of Microsoft's next operating system code-named Windows 7.
Microsoft has targeted a 2010 release for Windows 7.
"There's been very little enterprise-wide uptake of Vista," said Endpoint Technologies Associates analyst Roger Kay, of big-business use of Vista across entire companies. "They look at Vista and say, 'We're not going to throw out a bunch of hardware and software.'"
Using Windows Vista can often require expensive upgrades of computer hardware, because Vista requires larger amounts of computer memory to run smoothly, among other requirements.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, has about 80,000 employees across the globe and maintains a network of about a dozen multibillion dollar plants that churn out its processors that are the electronic brains of PCs.
Together, Intel and Microsoft control some 80 percent or more of the global personal computing industry.
The Inquirer, a London-based technology website, and the New York Times earlier reported Intel's decision not to roll out Vista across the entire company.
Among consumers, however, many millions of copies of Vista are in use, with Microsoft saying that more than 140 million copies are installed on PCs around the globe.
"The consumer market is moving along apace," Kay said. "And in the small- and medium-business market you're seeing decent adoption of Vista."
(Reporting by Duncan Martell in San Francisco and Daisuke Wakabayashi in Seattle, editing by Richard Chang)
Charter Delays Plan for Targeted Web Ads
Charter Communications decided to hold off on plans to offer targeted advertising opportunities based on data about its customers' Web-browsing behavior after some customers expressed privacy concerns.
In May, Charter, the country's fourth-largest cable operator by subscribers began sending letters to some customers saying that it would be partnering with ad-targeting company NebuAd. Charter planned a test in four markets, where it would sell data about its customers' Internet-surfing habits to NebuAd, which would use it to serve up targeted ads.
The course change was in response not only to customer complaints but also to the reaction from some members of congress including Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R., Texas). Both congressmen urged the company to drop its plan.
Charter's decision is the latest complication for cable operators as they make a push to bring in more advertising revenue. With vast amounts of information about their customers, including detailed profiles of their Web habits, cable companies would seem to be among the best-positioned to emerge as major players in the fast-growing market of targeted advertising.
Also, because cable operators often provide customers with both Internet and TV service, the potential to use intelligence about customers across different platforms -- by, for example, targeting television ads based on Web-surfing behavior -- has enormous potential, analysts say.
But it also sets off some alarm bells. "It requires crossing a whole series of Rubicons regarding customer privacy," says Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.
Charter's decision comes at a time when the cable operators are gearing up to make a big push into the advertising market. This month, Canoe Ventures -- a joint venture between the country's largest operators to create a nationwide advertising platform -- officially launched. Cable companies are looking to advertising as a major driver of growth over the next five years, says Mr. Moffett.
Given the importance of the new revenue stream to cable operators, Charter's cold feet are likely to send operators looking for some new approaches -- but not back off entirely. "They are going to do this, so it's a matter of when and not if," Mr. Moffett says. "They will find structures that are acceptable and will allow them to extract this value."
Rep. Markey, who met with representatives of Charter in June to dissuade them from moving forward, issued a statement supporting Charter's decision to hold off on the program.
"I urge other broadband companies considering similar user-profiling programs to similarly hold off on implementation while these important privacy concerns can be addressed," he said.
--Vishesh Kumar
In May, Charter, the country's fourth-largest cable operator by subscribers began sending letters to some customers saying that it would be partnering with ad-targeting company NebuAd. Charter planned a test in four markets, where it would sell data about its customers' Internet-surfing habits to NebuAd, which would use it to serve up targeted ads.
The course change was in response not only to customer complaints but also to the reaction from some members of congress including Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R., Texas). Both congressmen urged the company to drop its plan.
Charter's decision is the latest complication for cable operators as they make a push to bring in more advertising revenue. With vast amounts of information about their customers, including detailed profiles of their Web habits, cable companies would seem to be among the best-positioned to emerge as major players in the fast-growing market of targeted advertising.
Also, because cable operators often provide customers with both Internet and TV service, the potential to use intelligence about customers across different platforms -- by, for example, targeting television ads based on Web-surfing behavior -- has enormous potential, analysts say.
But it also sets off some alarm bells. "It requires crossing a whole series of Rubicons regarding customer privacy," says Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.
Charter's decision comes at a time when the cable operators are gearing up to make a big push into the advertising market. This month, Canoe Ventures -- a joint venture between the country's largest operators to create a nationwide advertising platform -- officially launched. Cable companies are looking to advertising as a major driver of growth over the next five years, says Mr. Moffett.
Given the importance of the new revenue stream to cable operators, Charter's cold feet are likely to send operators looking for some new approaches -- but not back off entirely. "They are going to do this, so it's a matter of when and not if," Mr. Moffett says. "They will find structures that are acceptable and will allow them to extract this value."
Rep. Markey, who met with representatives of Charter in June to dissuade them from moving forward, issued a statement supporting Charter's decision to hold off on the program.
"I urge other broadband companies considering similar user-profiling programs to similarly hold off on implementation while these important privacy concerns can be addressed," he said.
--Vishesh Kumar
Microsoft starts selling rival to VMware programs
By Jim Finkle
BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it has started selling its new server virtualization software about six weeks ahead of schedule, putting pressure on market leader VMware Inc.
Server virtualization software allows one machine to perform the work of multiple servers, letting companies save money on equipment, electricity, maintenance and other costs.
Microsoft says it charges $28 per server for its software, dubbed Hyper-V. Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio said that a comparable VMware product costs $7,000 to $14,000, depending on how many processors the server has, though she notes that VMware's software has more advanced functionality in some key areas.
"The price difference is jaw-dropping," said Jefferies & Co. analyst Katherine Egbert. "I think that will cause a lot of people to at least consider Hyper-V."
Customers of Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, can start downloading the product from its website on Thursday, the company said. Microsoft had previously said it would make the product available in August.
VMware shares fell 4.25 percent to $59.58 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. Microsoft shares were down 1.31 percent at $27.98.
Officials for VMware were not immediately available for comment.
Analysts said that customers who decide to stick with VMware will have increased bargaining power due to Microsoft's lower price.
"I always tell companies to press very hard on pricing when negotiating with all software companies," DiDio said. "It's a buyer's market."
Nucleus Research analyst Rebecca Wettemann said that she thinks Microsoft would be a credible competitor to VMware.
"Microsoft has to be taken very seriously because of its size. Microsoft is going to make inroads," she said.
VMware controls the vast majority of the server virtualization software market. The company is 86 percent-owned by EMC Corp.
Other companies that compete with VMware include Citrix Systems Inc., Oracle Corp, and two privately held companies - Virtual Iron and Parallels.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Derek Caney and Dave Zimmerman)
BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it has started selling its new server virtualization software about six weeks ahead of schedule, putting pressure on market leader VMware Inc.
Server virtualization software allows one machine to perform the work of multiple servers, letting companies save money on equipment, electricity, maintenance and other costs.
Microsoft says it charges $28 per server for its software, dubbed Hyper-V. Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio said that a comparable VMware product costs $7,000 to $14,000, depending on how many processors the server has, though she notes that VMware's software has more advanced functionality in some key areas.
"The price difference is jaw-dropping," said Jefferies & Co. analyst Katherine Egbert. "I think that will cause a lot of people to at least consider Hyper-V."
Customers of Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, can start downloading the product from its website on Thursday, the company said. Microsoft had previously said it would make the product available in August.
VMware shares fell 4.25 percent to $59.58 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. Microsoft shares were down 1.31 percent at $27.98.
Officials for VMware were not immediately available for comment.
Analysts said that customers who decide to stick with VMware will have increased bargaining power due to Microsoft's lower price.
"I always tell companies to press very hard on pricing when negotiating with all software companies," DiDio said. "It's a buyer's market."
Nucleus Research analyst Rebecca Wettemann said that she thinks Microsoft would be a credible competitor to VMware.
"Microsoft has to be taken very seriously because of its size. Microsoft is going to make inroads," she said.
VMware controls the vast majority of the server virtualization software market. The company is 86 percent-owned by EMC Corp.
Other companies that compete with VMware include Citrix Systems Inc., Oracle Corp, and two privately held companies - Virtual Iron and Parallels.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Derek Caney and Dave Zimmerman)
New Flavors for Addresses on the Web Are on the Way
PARIS — Move over .com and .org. Get ready for a nearly infinite variety of new Web addresses ending in words like .perfume, .sports and .paris.
On Thursday the Internet’s main oversight agency approved the most sweeping changes to the network’s address system since its creation.
According to new rules unanimously passed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, at its meeting here, any company, organization or country will soon be able to apply for a new Web address extension, called a top-level domain.
That could smooth the way for Web addresses that end in city names, brands and generic words. It could also sow confusion in the minds of Web users, create a host of new ways to exploit the Web addressing system and start a wave of legal skirmishes over applications to register trademarks — .coke, for example.
The Icann board also passed another less controversial proposal that would allow these domains to be registered in scripts other than Roman characters, like Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic. Specific countries could receive the equivalent of their two-letter country code, like Bulgaria’s .bg, in their native alphabet.
“We’re expecting a broad range of applicants. Indigenous communities might come forward to protect aspects of their language and culture,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, Icann’s chairman. “We may see a .smith so that all the Smiths in the world will have a place.”
“It’s very exciting to see what people will do with those names,” he said.
Icann officials said any applications for the new domains would have to go through an independent review process. Third parties will be able to challenge applications on the grounds that a particular suffix could threaten “morality and public order.” And companies will have the first priority when it comes to claiming their brand names.
If multiple parties want a name — as is already the case with .sports — conflicts will be settled through auctions.
Currently, the domain name system consists of more than 20 suffixes, which follow the last dot in a Web address. Domains have so far been generally restricted to labels for countries —.de for Germany, for example — and descriptions for broad categories like .com for commerce and .org for institutional organizations.
Address extensions that Icann added more recently, like .biz in 2001 and .mobi in 2005, have been largely ignored and in some cases have been adopted mostly by spammers and other malefactors.
Ron Jackson, editor of Domain Journal, an industry newsletter, said he thought the new addresses would addle and elude average Internet users. “If you have hundreds or thousands of new suffixes, they are not that easy to remember. I just see it as confusing,” he said.
Lauren Weinstein, a longtime Internet activist and co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility, an education and policy firm in Los Angeles, said he worried that the new system would create huge opportunities for shady domain name registrars, who buy and sell domain names for profit, and for others who try to exploit the address system.
“The potential for mass confusion and fraud and phishing from these new domains seems to be what the primary impact will be for consumers,” Mr. Weinstein said. “I fail to see the positive for consumers in this. It’s all downside.”
Icann officials said that they would move slowly to introduce the changes, and would address many concerns and unanswered questions in a public review process that could last at least a year.
One question is how much the new top-level domains will cost. Icann officials estimated that prices would start in the low six figures, so the organization can recoup its expenses for developing the new service.
The changes had strong backing from local groups who sought designations for their cities. Supporters of a .berlin suffix, for example, say they have spent a million euros, or $1.6 million, in their quest, financed with contributions from local hotels and a phone directory publisher.
Some cities are keeping a watchful eye on how the system develops. Thomas Lowenhaupt, founding director of the nonprofit group Connecting.nyc, which is pressing a campaign to create the domain name .nyc for the city of New York, said that he was concerned about the potential for a gold rush mentality to develop.
“As this thing gets closer you’re going to see everyone coming out of the woodwork,” said Mr. Lowenhaupt, who has been lobbying for the name since 2001 and is now contending with another group try to secure the .nyc name.
The Icann board said it would seek public comment on the guidelines before its next major meeting in November.
On Thursday the Internet’s main oversight agency approved the most sweeping changes to the network’s address system since its creation.
According to new rules unanimously passed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, at its meeting here, any company, organization or country will soon be able to apply for a new Web address extension, called a top-level domain.
That could smooth the way for Web addresses that end in city names, brands and generic words. It could also sow confusion in the minds of Web users, create a host of new ways to exploit the Web addressing system and start a wave of legal skirmishes over applications to register trademarks — .coke, for example.
The Icann board also passed another less controversial proposal that would allow these domains to be registered in scripts other than Roman characters, like Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic. Specific countries could receive the equivalent of their two-letter country code, like Bulgaria’s .bg, in their native alphabet.
“We’re expecting a broad range of applicants. Indigenous communities might come forward to protect aspects of their language and culture,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, Icann’s chairman. “We may see a .smith so that all the Smiths in the world will have a place.”
“It’s very exciting to see what people will do with those names,” he said.
Icann officials said any applications for the new domains would have to go through an independent review process. Third parties will be able to challenge applications on the grounds that a particular suffix could threaten “morality and public order.” And companies will have the first priority when it comes to claiming their brand names.
If multiple parties want a name — as is already the case with .sports — conflicts will be settled through auctions.
Currently, the domain name system consists of more than 20 suffixes, which follow the last dot in a Web address. Domains have so far been generally restricted to labels for countries —.de for Germany, for example — and descriptions for broad categories like .com for commerce and .org for institutional organizations.
Address extensions that Icann added more recently, like .biz in 2001 and .mobi in 2005, have been largely ignored and in some cases have been adopted mostly by spammers and other malefactors.
Ron Jackson, editor of Domain Journal, an industry newsletter, said he thought the new addresses would addle and elude average Internet users. “If you have hundreds or thousands of new suffixes, they are not that easy to remember. I just see it as confusing,” he said.
Lauren Weinstein, a longtime Internet activist and co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility, an education and policy firm in Los Angeles, said he worried that the new system would create huge opportunities for shady domain name registrars, who buy and sell domain names for profit, and for others who try to exploit the address system.
“The potential for mass confusion and fraud and phishing from these new domains seems to be what the primary impact will be for consumers,” Mr. Weinstein said. “I fail to see the positive for consumers in this. It’s all downside.”
Icann officials said that they would move slowly to introduce the changes, and would address many concerns and unanswered questions in a public review process that could last at least a year.
One question is how much the new top-level domains will cost. Icann officials estimated that prices would start in the low six figures, so the organization can recoup its expenses for developing the new service.
The changes had strong backing from local groups who sought designations for their cities. Supporters of a .berlin suffix, for example, say they have spent a million euros, or $1.6 million, in their quest, financed with contributions from local hotels and a phone directory publisher.
Some cities are keeping a watchful eye on how the system develops. Thomas Lowenhaupt, founding director of the nonprofit group Connecting.nyc, which is pressing a campaign to create the domain name .nyc for the city of New York, said that he was concerned about the potential for a gold rush mentality to develop.
“As this thing gets closer you’re going to see everyone coming out of the woodwork,” said Mr. Lowenhaupt, who has been lobbying for the name since 2001 and is now contending with another group try to secure the .nyc name.
The Icann board said it would seek public comment on the guidelines before its next major meeting in November.
6.24.2008
Google plans new Internet measurement tool
Google is expected to unveil a tool Tuesday that measures Internet use to help advertisers identify the best places to buy ads that will reach its target audience, according to a report Monday on the Wall Street Journal Web site.
The measurement tools, which will be offered to advertisers and their agencies for free, will compete with services offered by established leaders Nielsen and ComScore. While those services base their estimations on selective surveys or customer panels, Google's results would be based on data collected from Web servers, providing a deeper and broader picture of Internet behavior, the newspaper reported. By giving away the new tool, Google could attract more advertising business.
The news follows Google's announcement last week that Google Trends had unveiled a new service that lets users type in specific domains and compare basic traffic information about any .com site using nothing more than organic user searches. Included are daily traffic numbers in users (sent from Google search), where in the world the users are coming from, and related sites that were either searched for or visited in that same session.
After news of the planned service hit the Web, ComScore shares fell $1.69, or 6.1 percent, to $26 after-hours trading. Nielsen is a privately owned company.
The measurement tools, which will be offered to advertisers and their agencies for free, will compete with services offered by established leaders Nielsen and ComScore. While those services base their estimations on selective surveys or customer panels, Google's results would be based on data collected from Web servers, providing a deeper and broader picture of Internet behavior, the newspaper reported. By giving away the new tool, Google could attract more advertising business.
The news follows Google's announcement last week that Google Trends had unveiled a new service that lets users type in specific domains and compare basic traffic information about any .com site using nothing more than organic user searches. Included are daily traffic numbers in users (sent from Google search), where in the world the users are coming from, and related sites that were either searched for or visited in that same session.
After news of the planned service hit the Web, ComScore shares fell $1.69, or 6.1 percent, to $26 after-hours trading. Nielsen is a privately owned company.
Kernel Builders Appeal For Open Source Drivers
"The Linux kernel development community has released a statement emphasizing the need for open source drivers. The statement, signed by 135 developers, is aimed at preventing future vendors from following the closed source path. One holdout cited is Nvidia. The Linux Foundation has also released a statement in support: 'The Linux Foundation recommends that hardware manufacturers provide open source kernel modules. The open source nature of Linux is intrinsic to its success. We encourage manufacturers to work with the kernel community to provide open source kernel modules in order to enable their users and themselves to take advantage of the considerable benefits that Linux makes possible.'"
New Trojan Leverages Unpatched Mac Flaw
A tool for exploiting an unpatched security hole in Mac OS X systems has been developed and until earlier today was being distributed through an online forum that caters to Mac hackers, Security Fix has learned.
The exploit tool, labeled "Applescript Trojan horse template" by hackers at Macshadows.com, appears to be a collective and ongoing effort to create a package of malicious software that capitalizes on the ARDagent security hole first publicized last week. The vulnerability essentially allows any program to run on a Mac user's machine without first prompting the user to enter his or her user name and password.
Currently, the Macshadows user forum appears to have been wiped clean, both from the Macshadows.com Web site and from Google's cache. However, Security Fix obtained screen shots of forum postings from the code's authors, which are sprinkled throughout this blog entry. It appears that development of this malware started back in mid-May.
Security Fix also obtained a copy of the Trojan horse template from an anti-virus industry expert who asked to remain anonymous. An analysis of the code by noted security researcher Dino Dai Zovi indicates that it is designed to be bundled with any downloadable Mac program, with the aim of turning an otherwise legitimate program into an exploit toolkit capable of handing control of the system to attackers.
"This could be bundled with any arbitrary application very easily," Dai Zovi said of the Trojan template. "Most people assume that if something is going to do something dangerous, that it will ask you for your password first, but this won't."
Dai Zovi said the Trojan tries two different exploits to install itself without having to prompt the user for his or her system credentials. One exploit is the aforementioned ARDagent attack; the other is for a privilege escalation vulnerability that Apple patched in 2006. (As an interesting aside, Dai Zovi himself reported that latter vulnerability to Apple back in 2006, only to later learn that exploit code for that same vulnerability had been publicly posted online prior to Apple issuing a patch for the flaw).
Once installed, the Trojan drops a keystroke logger called "logkext" on the Mac user's system. It then sets up a virtual network computing (VNC) server listening on the victim's machine, which would provide an attacker remote access to the victim's computer.
The code also installs a Web-based "PHP shell" program that allows the attackers to remotely manipulate the infected machine using nothing more than a Web browser. That component of the Trojan also sets the victim's system so that it can be tracked using dynamic DNS services, which permit remote users to remain connected to a system even if its numeric Internet address changes over time.
Security Fix contacted "Andrew" -- one author of the malware and an individual whose e-mail address is included in the guts of the malicious code. Andrew said he and friends wanted to test the boundaries of OS X security.
"Apple tells us that OS X is safe and secure and fails to actually confirm that it is so on their own. We are left to experiment and test our own security and too often we discover that we aren't actually as secure as we were led to believe," Andrew said in an e-mail. "When you are seeking information about how to secure your own system, frequently the best sources of that information are hackers, not the vendors."
I want to stress that there is absolutely no evidence that this Trojan is spreading in the wild, despite warnings from Mac anti-virus vendor SecureMac that it has spotted multiple variants of this code.
Still, the exploit code is now out there, and it remains unclear whether Apple intends to address the ADRagent flaw with a patch (Cupertino has yet to respond to my inquiries from last week). In the meantime, Mac users would do well to use one of the stopgap fixes mentioned in this article.
Dai Zovi said the programming approach in the Mac Trojan toolkit resembles the Visual Basic script-based Trojans that were used to infect Windows machines back in the earliest months of this decade.
"What this demonstrates is that regardless of what the larger security community is focused on, people are interested in writing malware for the Mac," Dai Zovi said.
Indeed, Andrew said he helped code the Trojan template out of curiosity.
"I helped write it because well why not its programing experience and it was in a subject I was interested in."
The exploit tool, labeled "Applescript Trojan horse template" by hackers at Macshadows.com, appears to be a collective and ongoing effort to create a package of malicious software that capitalizes on the ARDagent security hole first publicized last week. The vulnerability essentially allows any program to run on a Mac user's machine without first prompting the user to enter his or her user name and password.
Currently, the Macshadows user forum appears to have been wiped clean, both from the Macshadows.com Web site and from Google's cache. However, Security Fix obtained screen shots of forum postings from the code's authors, which are sprinkled throughout this blog entry. It appears that development of this malware started back in mid-May.
Security Fix also obtained a copy of the Trojan horse template from an anti-virus industry expert who asked to remain anonymous. An analysis of the code by noted security researcher Dino Dai Zovi indicates that it is designed to be bundled with any downloadable Mac program, with the aim of turning an otherwise legitimate program into an exploit toolkit capable of handing control of the system to attackers.
"This could be bundled with any arbitrary application very easily," Dai Zovi said of the Trojan template. "Most people assume that if something is going to do something dangerous, that it will ask you for your password first, but this won't."
Dai Zovi said the Trojan tries two different exploits to install itself without having to prompt the user for his or her system credentials. One exploit is the aforementioned ARDagent attack; the other is for a privilege escalation vulnerability that Apple patched in 2006. (As an interesting aside, Dai Zovi himself reported that latter vulnerability to Apple back in 2006, only to later learn that exploit code for that same vulnerability had been publicly posted online prior to Apple issuing a patch for the flaw).
Once installed, the Trojan drops a keystroke logger called "logkext" on the Mac user's system. It then sets up a virtual network computing (VNC) server listening on the victim's machine, which would provide an attacker remote access to the victim's computer.
The code also installs a Web-based "PHP shell" program that allows the attackers to remotely manipulate the infected machine using nothing more than a Web browser. That component of the Trojan also sets the victim's system so that it can be tracked using dynamic DNS services, which permit remote users to remain connected to a system even if its numeric Internet address changes over time.
Security Fix contacted "Andrew" -- one author of the malware and an individual whose e-mail address is included in the guts of the malicious code. Andrew said he and friends wanted to test the boundaries of OS X security.
"Apple tells us that OS X is safe and secure and fails to actually confirm that it is so on their own. We are left to experiment and test our own security and too often we discover that we aren't actually as secure as we were led to believe," Andrew said in an e-mail. "When you are seeking information about how to secure your own system, frequently the best sources of that information are hackers, not the vendors."
I want to stress that there is absolutely no evidence that this Trojan is spreading in the wild, despite warnings from Mac anti-virus vendor SecureMac that it has spotted multiple variants of this code.
Still, the exploit code is now out there, and it remains unclear whether Apple intends to address the ADRagent flaw with a patch (Cupertino has yet to respond to my inquiries from last week). In the meantime, Mac users would do well to use one of the stopgap fixes mentioned in this article.
Dai Zovi said the programming approach in the Mac Trojan toolkit resembles the Visual Basic script-based Trojans that were used to infect Windows machines back in the earliest months of this decade.
"What this demonstrates is that regardless of what the larger security community is focused on, people are interested in writing malware for the Mac," Dai Zovi said.
Indeed, Andrew said he helped code the Trojan template out of curiosity.
"I helped write it because well why not its programing experience and it was in a subject I was interested in."
Facebook Passes MySpace With Global Boost
Facebook may have started to win the global popularity contest over the rival social network site MySpace, judging from some recent figures.
Last month, Facebook had 123.9 million unique visitors and 50.6 billion page views worldwide, according to the research firm ComScore. MySpace, meanwhile, had 114.6 million unique visitors and 45.4 billion page views. According to the Reston research firm, this is the first time Facebook has edged past MySpace in those measures.
Facebook has its growing popularity outside the country to thank for the milestone. In the United States, however, MySpace is still on top and pulls in twice as many visitors as its main competition on a monthly basis, according to the firm. MySpace gets more than 70 million visits from U.S. Web surfers in a typical month.
A researcher with the firm said yesterday that Facebook use has been growing quickly, while growth for MySpace has leveled off somewhat. "It's been around longer," Andrew Lipsman said of MySpace. "It's at a different space in its growth curve."
MySpace was launched in 2003; Facebook was launched in 2004, and use of the site was limited to students until September 2006.
Facebook has seen brisk growth overseas in the past year. From May 2007 to May 2008, its user base grew 162 percent, compared with 5 percent growth for MySpace. Counting only users in the United States, growth was 34 percent for Facebook and 7 percent for MySpace. To encourage growth outside the United States, Facebook has created Spanish, German and French versions of its site in recent months.
The two social networks are competing for larger pieces of the $1.4 billion that advertisers are expected to spend this year to promote their wares on such sites, a figure calculated by eMarketer, a research firm. About half of all online advertising dollars come from companies in the United States.
So far, advertisers have been spending less at social networking sites than expected. Last month, Fox Interactive Media, the unit that manages MySpace, announced that it will miss its revenue target of $1 billion by 10 percent for the year. To better attract advertisers, MySpace launched a redesign last week with new, larger ads designed to make more of an impression on users.
MySpace owner Rupert Murdoch has taken note of Facebook's brisk growth numbers. The mogul may have reason to be annoyed by Facebook's fast growth; he paid $580 million for MySpace in 2005.
Murdoch recently said Facebook is a "flavor of the month," according to a British tech news site. He has also boasted about research figures that show that MySpace users spend far more time at the site than Facebook users spend at that site.
Later this year, MySpace is scheduled to update its site with online shops where users can buy music downloads and concert tickets, in a profit-sharing deal with major music companies.
MySpace is also trying out a new look this month. Known for its cluttered, flashing pages, a recent redesign has peeled off some of the software tools and widgets that had once crowded the site's pages.
Last month, Facebook had 123.9 million unique visitors and 50.6 billion page views worldwide, according to the research firm ComScore. MySpace, meanwhile, had 114.6 million unique visitors and 45.4 billion page views. According to the Reston research firm, this is the first time Facebook has edged past MySpace in those measures.
Facebook has its growing popularity outside the country to thank for the milestone. In the United States, however, MySpace is still on top and pulls in twice as many visitors as its main competition on a monthly basis, according to the firm. MySpace gets more than 70 million visits from U.S. Web surfers in a typical month.
A researcher with the firm said yesterday that Facebook use has been growing quickly, while growth for MySpace has leveled off somewhat. "It's been around longer," Andrew Lipsman said of MySpace. "It's at a different space in its growth curve."
MySpace was launched in 2003; Facebook was launched in 2004, and use of the site was limited to students until September 2006.
Facebook has seen brisk growth overseas in the past year. From May 2007 to May 2008, its user base grew 162 percent, compared with 5 percent growth for MySpace. Counting only users in the United States, growth was 34 percent for Facebook and 7 percent for MySpace. To encourage growth outside the United States, Facebook has created Spanish, German and French versions of its site in recent months.
The two social networks are competing for larger pieces of the $1.4 billion that advertisers are expected to spend this year to promote their wares on such sites, a figure calculated by eMarketer, a research firm. About half of all online advertising dollars come from companies in the United States.
So far, advertisers have been spending less at social networking sites than expected. Last month, Fox Interactive Media, the unit that manages MySpace, announced that it will miss its revenue target of $1 billion by 10 percent for the year. To better attract advertisers, MySpace launched a redesign last week with new, larger ads designed to make more of an impression on users.
MySpace owner Rupert Murdoch has taken note of Facebook's brisk growth numbers. The mogul may have reason to be annoyed by Facebook's fast growth; he paid $580 million for MySpace in 2005.
Murdoch recently said Facebook is a "flavor of the month," according to a British tech news site. He has also boasted about research figures that show that MySpace users spend far more time at the site than Facebook users spend at that site.
Later this year, MySpace is scheduled to update its site with online shops where users can buy music downloads and concert tickets, in a profit-sharing deal with major music companies.
MySpace is also trying out a new look this month. Known for its cluttered, flashing pages, a recent redesign has peeled off some of the software tools and widgets that had once crowded the site's pages.
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