Wikipedia Founder Plans Search Engine

The search engine, code-named Wikiasari, would combine open source technology and human intervention to deliver more relevant results than the algorithm-based systems used today.

Jimmy Wales, founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, is planning to build an online commercial search engine that would compete with Google and Yahoo.

The search engine, code-named Wikiasari, would combine open source technology and human intervention to deliver more relevant results than the algorithm-based systems used today, Wales said Tuesday. "Human intelligence is still the best thing we have, so let's let humans do what they do best, and computers do what they do best." Wikiasari combines the Hawaiian word for quick, "wiki," with the Japanese word "asari," which means "rummaging search."

Relevance remains a challenge in online search, since machines can only take a roundabout approach in determining the ranking of results delivered to people's queries. For example, Google's automated system considers the number of links to a Web site in determining whether it's closer to the top or bottom of results.

Wales plans to combine the user-based technology behind nonprofit Wikipedia with open source Web-search software called Nutch, which is part of the Apache Lucene project. The latter has developed a full-featured text search engine written in Java.

Wales doesn't know how his search engine would combine human intelligence and technology. "We really haven't determined how all of this is going to work," he said.

However, Wales believes the time is right, given the availability of what he considers solid open-source technology. "The time is right, because we actually have some tools available to start building something interesting," he said.

Wikipedia depends on user contributions in building an online encyclopedia. Registered users can add any item or edit items already posted. The site works on the idea that the collective knowledge of the masses is better than a system run by editors and expert contributors. Wikipedia, however, has had its problems with erroneous postings, which are corrected as soon as site operators are notified.

Wales hopes to launch his search engine within two years. Development would be funded by his for-profit company Wikia Inc. Its investors include Bessemer Venture Partners and Amazon.com.

Wales hopes to make money with his search engine through online advertising. Text ads related to search queries and delivered with results have become a multibillion-dollar market, with Google the clear leader.

However, whether Wales can capture even a thin slice of the market against tech leaders like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, or even smaller search engines like Ask.com, remains to be seen.

First major flaw in Windows Vista !!

Getting all excited to deploy Vista in your agency? You might want to think again. The New York Times reports that researchers and hackers are finding serious problems with "the last Windows."

Among the flaws: one described by Russian programmers that allows hackers to increase a user’s privileges on all of the company’s recent operating systems, including Vista. Another major flaw was found by the firm Determina in the new Internet Explorer 7, which could be a gateway for infecting user machines with malware if they visit certain sites. 7 browser.

“I don’t think people should become complacent,” said Nand Mulchandani, a vice president at Determina. “When vendors say a program has been completely rewritten, it doesn’t mean that it’s more secure from the get-go. My expectation is we will see a whole rash of Vista bugs show up in six months or a year.”

The Determina executives said that by itself, the browser flaw that was reported to Microsoft could permit damage like the theft of password information and the attack of other computers.

Theoretically, IE7 is a sandbox that prevents attacks on Windows systems outside of the browser, even if the browser itself is compromised.

However, when coupled with the ability of the first flaw that permits the change in account privileges, it might then be possible to circumvent the sandbox controls, said Alexander Sotirov, a Determina security researcher. In that case it would make it possible to alter files and potentially permanently infect a target computer. This kind of attack has yet to be proved, he acknowledged.

Determina also discovered a bug that would make it possible for an attacker to repeatedly disable a Microsoft Exchange mail server simply by sending the program an infected e-mail message, the Times said.

Article 2

Windows Vista, the new computer operating system that Microsoft Corp. is touting as its most secure ever, contains a programming flaw that might let hackers gain full control of vulnerable computers.

Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) and independent security researchers, however, tried to play down the risk from the flaw, which was posted on a Russian site recently and is apparently the first affecting the new Vista system released to larger businesses in late November.

The software company said it was investigating the threat but found so far that a hacker must already have access to the vulnerable computer in order to execute an attack.

That could occur if someone is actually sitting in front of the PC or otherwise gets the computer's owner to install rogue software, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for Finnish security research company F-Secure Corp.

"The bottom line is you couldn't use a vulnerability like this to write a worm or hack a Vista system remotely," Hypponen said Tuesday. "It only has historical significance in that it's the first reported vulnerability that also affects Vista. It's a nonevent in other ways."

Attackers with low-level access privileges on a vulnerable machine could theoretically use the flaw to bump up their status, ultimately gaining systemwide control, Hypponen said.

The flaw affects older Windows systems, too, and Hypponen said vulnerabilities like these are quite common and can be fixed with a software patch, which Microsoft releases on the second Tuesday of each month except for the most serious threats. The flaw remains a proof of concept, with no one known to have actually launched an attack with it, Hypponen said.

In a posting on Microsoft's security-response Web journal, a senior security manager, Mike Reavey, said he remained confident "Windows Vista is our most secure platform to date."

Vista, the first major Windows upgrade since Windows XP launched in 2001, was made available Nov. 30 to businesses that buy Windows licenses in bulk. Consumers generally won't be able to get Vista until Jan. 30.

In trying to improve security, Microsoft redesigned its flagship operating system to reduce users' exposure to destructive programs from the Internet. But most security researchers believe a complex product like Vista can never be error-free, so it was a matter of time for someone discovered a security vulnerability.

Protect your PC - Free of cost !!- A guide to free antivirus , antispyware and firewall

In this cyberworld, viruses and spywares are no strangers to any PC users. But Most computer users never care to have an anitivirus or antispyware and even if someone wants to have one they would never like to spend 40$ – 50$ for such a pack.I have listed some essential and free virus/spyware tools. Just because these tools are free doesnt mean these are not effective, AVG although free is recommended and used by most PC users in the world.

Some users may tend to go for pirated versions of Norton/Mcafee but most of these cracked/hacked versions of these antivirus softwares themselves have spywares built in with them.So it is always safe to download these tools from their respective websites.

Antivirus Tools:

1.AVG ( http://www.grisoft.com )

AVG Free edition is one of the widely used free antivirus tool, it provides almost all features of paid versions. AVG free edition has real time protection,automatic updates, full system scan and scanning selected areas of your computer. It also has email scanninga and scanning inside compressed files.The only difference from professional edition of AVG is the cuctomer care support, otherwise there is no difference in the service.This is fully functional software unlike most trial softwares, and the software is valid as long as you wish to have it.

Other notable Antivirus softwares include :

2.Free Avast! 4 Home Edition (http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html)

3.If interested checkout some of other antivirus partners for Windows who offer free trials from 90 days to 1 year.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/downloads/default.mspx

Antispyware Tools :

1. Windows Defender : It is the most(more than 25 million users) used free antispyware tool from Microsoft, It offers full real time protection, anti spyware scans and also automatic updates every day.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

2. Ad-Aware SE Professional : This is one of the widely used anti-spyware tools minus real time protection, this is serious disadvantage otherwise Ad-Aware works just fine.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

3. Ewido anti spyware : Same as Ad-Aware , but gives a 30 day trial of its auto-protect option.

http://www.grisoft.com

Firewalls :

Zone Alarm is the widely used free firewall. It provides all basic features of any paid verion of firewalls.

(http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp)

__________________________________

For any info mail me kj.dinesh@gmail.com K J Dinesh

BSNL GPRS NOKIA 3230 and all smartphone settings

Hi guys once again im back this time with settings for Nokia 3230 and all smartphones with BSNL GPRS.. Thanks to all the friends who encouraged me for my MPX200 settings.

This time I really had bad experience with one Nokia Care centre in Chennai..they suggested me using Hutch in TamilNadu(how knowledgeable????).

They said on the problem.. the BSNL doesn't support new handsets and have to configure for Nokia in server??????(I cud only laugh..afterall we r sw engnrs rt?)

This time I had to get into quarrel with Nokia officials for their negligience in updating their international website with BSNL-SOUTH settings(yup u can get all BSNL settings from Nokia Website).The settings given their thru smart msgs are not updated ones and hence wont work with ur phone(any smartphone).I have spoken with both BSNL and Nokia officials(they have assured me)..and I hope all the settings I give here will be updated soon in BSNL and Nokia sites…

Nokia 3230(my mobile):

This is a smartphone.So whats the difference ?? it is similar to ur Windows / Linux computers.It runs on Symbian 7.0So how will the settings given for other models work with these….they r jus mobile phone settings how will ur smart!!! Phones work with them??

Now :

Settings given by BSNL website :(wont work)

Name : BSNLWAP

APN : bsnlwap

Primary DNS : 10.31.54.2

Port : 9401

Security : Normal

Username : ppp

Password : ppp123

Leave other spaces blank

My settings(will work)

Name : DIGPRS

APN : bsnlsouth

Security : Normal

Username : ppp

Password : ppp123

Leave all fields blank including DNS and port

For all smartphones and PDAs

Replace bsnlwap with bsnlsouth everywhere.

Leave the DNS and port as automatic

MPX 200 users

BSNL

APN : bsnlsouth(for TN and southzone)

IP : 10.31.54.2 (optional)

Port : 9201(for motorola) (its not compulsary in all mobiles)

username : ppp

pwd :user123

extra initilization for all models(to be given in modem hardware settings)

+cgdcont=1,"IP","bsnlsouth"

Hutch

APN : portalnmms / www

IP : 10.1.10.100

port : 9201

username : (blank)

pwd :(blank)

extra initilization

+cgdcont=1,"IP","www" / +cgdcont=1,"IP","portalnmms" (suitable)

If u r using modem sw for ur mobile u dont have to initilize.

Hi if u need u can always contact me.........

Recent update :(2007)

Airtel Mobile Office (Rs 375/month)

Accesspoint : Mobile Office

APN : airtelgprs.com

IP : NA

User : NA

PWD : NA

IPhone : Another masterpiece from Apple??

Phone. What is it? Is it for real? Is a new masterpiece really on the way to the market from the Apple assembly line of masterpieces?

Well nobody really has any answers. Apple as usual is tight-lipped about the whole affair. Its share is touching new highs and the market is ripe with rumors that indeed Apple's iPhone is about the hit the markets.

According to Digitimes.com "With reports circulating that an iPhone from Apple Computer is likely to debut in the first half of 2007, the introduction of an iPhone could have an adverse impact on sales of music handsets by other vendors should Apple's first order for an iPhone total 12 million units as reported earlier."

Digitimes.com Research also estimated that global shipments of music handsets expected to top 134 million units in 2007, shipments of an iPhone handset could take up a 5-10% share of the global music handset market next year.

The Apple Masterpieces

Why does any product debut from the house of Apple make so much news? Why is each product from the house of Apple a masterpiece?

I guess the best answer is an article I wrote two years about the Cult of Mac.

"No other computer inspires devotion like a Mac. The largest and most fervent subculture in computing, Mac fans come in all shapes and sizes, but never waver in their dedication. Like fans of a football team or rock band, Macintosh fans have their own subculture, with clearly defined obsessions and rites of passage."

Leander Kahney author of The Cult of Mac

Like, Leander Kahney, journalist and author of the book "The Cult of Mac", I too have been an Apple fan for years. My enthusiasm compares nothing to Kahney who wrote this beautiful book "The Cult of Mac". Kahney's career speaks volumes about him. Wired News, senior writer at the legendary Mac magazine Mac week, Scientific American, Business 2.0, and the Guardian. Kahney owns six computers, all of them Macs. From what I can make out he seems to a 'Mac Addict'.

Addiction, understandable. Devotion, perceivable. Veneration, perhaps apprehensible. But all the THREE put together for a machine called the Mac is perhaps isn't graspable by a non-Mac being.

From Mac to IPod the same cult following. Infact IPod perhaps has a bigger following than even the Mac. Will IPhone meet the expectations the "cult" is anticipating?

The Other Force

There is also a school of thought that believes that the launch of IPhone will not be as simple as Apple thinks it to be. It is noteworthy that the mobile phone market has some of the biggest giants in the corporate world. The market has immensely matured feature wise over the last few years. According to Digitimes.com "as a newcomer to the handset market, Apple would face many challenges, including integration of its platform, issues with patented technologies, verification from service providers and production cost issues."

The Last Word

I believe the IPhone is for real. It's been on the blogs and the web for long enough and I guess we will soon see it in the stores. Will iPhone have a cult following?

Well let me answer it this way. Apple and Steve Jobs I trust. When it's a Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni painting you very well know it's a masterpiece. After Mac and IPod, anything that Apple makes I know for sure will be a masterpiece. Looking forward to seeing the iPhone. All the best Apple? Or did I make a mistake there? Should it be all the best the Nokias, the Sony Ericissons and the Motorola's of the world? iPhone is coming!

Zune vs iPOD - Round 1

Have you squirted a song yet? That's the question Microsoft hopes your friends will ask you as you ponder which digital music player to acquire. Although you are more likely to buy an iPod this season—something even Microsoft admits—the software giant from Redmond is running a huge marketing campaign that it hopes will plant some seeds of doubt. After all, iPods don't squirt songs. And Microsoft's new player, Zune, does.

What's a song-squirt? It's the first, and currently the only, application of the wireless connectivity built into every Zune. (In other respects, the Zune is a decent, if not compelling, alternative to the hard-disk-drive iPod.) Squirting is a tune-sharing feature that works like this: With its built-in Wi-Fi, your Zune can alert you to the presence of every other Zune within 30 feet; you can then choose to send a song (or even a podcast or a photo) to any of the neighboring devices. The potential recipient gets a message asking if he or she wants to accept the tune. If so, you start squirting, and in 10 or 15 seconds the other Zune has the song, and its owner can play it.
The catch is that the squirt is fast-drying—in three days it goes away. Or, if the recipient plays it three times within that period, it evaporates after the third spin. This is because Microsoft cut a lousy deal with the record labels, which still regard innovative digital schemes as potential piracy threats, as opposed to potential sales boosters. My guess is that people will be turned off that the songs expire so quickly.
Robbie Bach, in charge of the Zune group at Microsoft, calls squirting "a really good first step," clearly indicating that the company, which sees Zune as a long-term project, will introduce other wireless functions. One obvious use is buying songs straight off the Internet, but I'm not sure that's so valuable—computers do pretty well at that already. Zune product manager Scott Erickson describes other possible uses—like allowing a concert performer to send a song to every Zune in the audience—that sound more intriguing.
But perhaps the best immediate use of Wi-Fi in any portable music player might not be in sending music itself, which requires permission from the overcautious record labels. Instead, Microsoft could take a page from a feature built into Apple's iTunes that lets computer users on a network, or within close range via Wi-Fi, look at each other's music library. There is an insatiable need to know "What's on your iPod?" This goes for friends, celebrities and total strangers. It turns out that we really do make judgments about other people—and even have attractions triggered—based on what they listen to. Actual scientific proof of this comes from recent studies by Cambridge University psychologist Jason Rentfrow and his colleagues on "the role of musical preferences in interpersonal perception."
Spontaneously browsing a nearby music collection could result in any number of fascinating outcomes. How cool would it be to sit in a subway or take a break in a gym and check out the contents of the nearby music players, then try to visually identify the Miles Davis fan, the Ramones rocker and the Barry Manilow sentimentalist? It would be the ultimate social icebreaker—or, for those with woeful tastes, a deal breaker. (Of course, one would assume that users would have an option to specify whether they wanted their musical identities so exposed.)
My guess is that sooner or later, Apple will get Wi-Fi into iPods. In the meantime, allowing us to wirelessly expose ourselves in a musical sense could be a big win for Microsoft. We'd all be asking, "What's on your Zune?"
Editor's note: Levy's latest book, "The Perfect Thing," is about the iPod.

IE 7 vs Firefox 2

According to reports, Mozilla Firefox 2 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (IE) are both vulnerable to a bug that steals the login-id and password of users, with the help of a fake log-in page.

The bug has been dubbed as "Reverse Cross Site Request vulnerability" (RCSR) by Robert Chapin, who first discovered the flaw.

Reportedly, the attack was first carried out from a profile page using a specially crafted HTML that hides the genuine MySpace content from the page, and displays the fake login page instead. The fake page is then sent to another Web site, along with information regarding MySpace users who visited the page using Firefox.

The attacks seen on My Space.com are likely to move on to Firefox as well because the Firefox Password Manager automatically enters any savedpasswords and user-id/s into the form, whereas IE is not capable of filling in the saved information automatically.

Therefore, Firefox is more likely to get affected by the flaw, as compared to IE.

According to Chapin, users of both Firefox and IE need to be aware that their information can be stolen in this way when visiting blog and forum Web sites at trusted addresses as well. Further, an RCSR attack is more likely to succeed than an XSS attack because neither IE nor Firefox are designed to check the destination of form data before the user submits them.

Moreover, the browser doesn't indicate the exploitation as it is conducted on a trusted Web site.

As of now, no fix has been issued by Mozilla, and it's not very clear if the other versions of Firefox are also affected by the flaw. Users have been advised to disable the "Remember passwords for sites" from the preference link in Firefox.

Additionally, these attacks could also be highly effective against firewall of local network servers and HTTPS addresses that are not otherwise accessible because the attacker does not need direct access.