CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) – An ambitious plan to blanket the city with wireless broadband Internet will be shelved because it is too costly and too few residents would use it, Chicago officials said Tuesday.

“We realized — after much consideration — that we needed to reevaluate our approach to provide universal and affordable access to high speed Internet as part of the city’s broader digital inclusion efforts,” Chicago’s chief information officer, Hardik Bhatt, said in a statement.

The plan to blanket Chicago’s 228 square miles with wireless Internet access was announced early last year when Chicago leaders said they hoped to become one of the largest cities to offer all-over access to the Web.

Instead, the city said its negotiations with private-sector partners, including EarthLink Inc., have stalled because any citywide Wi-Fi would require massive public financing. The city had hoped to provide only infrastructure for the network.

Tuesday’s announcement makes Chicago the latest in a string of municipalities to encounter troubles with their municipal broadband initiatives because of ballooning budgets and dwindling usage that’s led to scant revenue generated by the projects. About 175 U.S. cities or regions have citywide or partial systems.

“But given the rapid pace of changing technology, in just two short years, the marketplace has altered significantly,” Bhatt said.

Atlanta-based EarthLink, which had been negotiating with Chicago about the municipal network, has said it was studying the performance of its existing municipal wireless Internet networks before deciding how to move forward with similar networks elsewhere.

“We’re seeing this evolve as we learn more about these networks, and the city needs to think about this again from its own business perspective,” Tom Hulsebosch, a vice president of EarthLink’s municipal sales, told the Chicago Tribune.

Meanwhile, Chicago will be among the first three cities nationwide to have access to a new high-speed wireless network that’s part of an emerging technology called WiMax.

Sprint Nextel Corp. announced plans this spring to offer wireless Internet speeds that match DSL and cable TV modems.

WiMax is derived from the same technology as Wi-Fi. Unlike Wi-Fi, which provides wireless Internet access over a several-hundred-foot range, a WiMax signal can blanket a much wider area.

cnn.net

Biography

Laura Dianne Vandervoort was born on September 22, 1984, in Toronto, Ontario. In her childhood, Laura’s passion for a variety of sports — including baseball, tennis and basketball — quickly earned her the reputation of a hardy (and unapologetic) tomboy. Laura even earned a black belt in karate before she had hit the age of 16, and it seemed certain to her friends and family that she would pursue a career involving an athletic endeavor of some sort.

But through the years, Laura’s interest in acting began to supersede her enthusiasm for sports, and it wasn’t long before she had announced her intentions to begin pursuing work within the entertainment industry. Laura’s first step toward achieving her goal was to take acting classes in her native Toronto, and she subsequently started auditioning for a variety of locally shot plays and television shows.

laura vandervoort debuts in alley cats strike

Laura Vandervoort’s hard work and determination paid off in 1997 when she managed to land a small role on the Canadian horror anthology series Goosebumps (a program that also helped launch the career of fellow Canuck Hayden Christensen). She followed that up with two more appearances on the series the following year, and Laura quickly found herself becoming more and more acquainted with the Canadian acting scene. After one-shot appearances on programs like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Twice in a Lifetime, Laura made her feature-length debut in a Disney Channel movie entitled Alley Cats Strike (which also starred fellow up-and-coming ingenue Kaley Cuoco).

laura vandervoort on instant star

Laura Vandervoort’s burgeoning success led to roles on a variety of Canadian projects, including the series Mutant X and the made-for-TV film Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (the latter even featured her future Smallville costar Aaron Ashmore). It wasn’t long before Laura was invited to audition for a new series called Instant Star, which followed the ups and downs of a normal teen whose life changed dramatically after she won an American Idol-type competition. While Laura lost out on the central role of Jude Harrison to Alexz Johnson, she impressed the producers to such a degree that they offered her the pivotal part of Jude’s older sister. The show became an instant hit among younger viewers, and Laura immediately found herself being recognized by fans everywhere she went.

laura vandervoort on smallville

Laura Vandervoort’s increased profile made it much easier for her to audition for high-profile gigs, and in 2007, she guest starred on an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and appeared opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Isla Fisher in the critically acclaimed thriller The Lookout. But when word got out that the producers of Smallville were looking to cast the role of Supergirl, Laura knew instantly that she would be an ideal fit for the athletically inclined part. Laura’s wholesome good looks, coupled with her brawny background won her the role, and she made her debut alongside Smallville actors Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum and Kristen Kreuk in the first episode of the show’s seventh season.
 

askmen.com

Biography

Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon, born on March 22, 1976, was raised in Nashville, Tennessee. Considering that both her parents held occupations in the medical field, Reese grew up expecting to become a doctor, although she always knew in her heart that she wanted to be an actress.

While growing up in Nashville, a hot spot especially known for its country music talent, Reese was exposed to the entertainment industry at a very early age. Her career in the spotlight began at 7 years of age when she was introduced to the world of modeling. This exposure eventually enabled her to break onto the small screen by appearing in several television commercials.

reese in man in the moon

After winning a 10-state talent search, Reese began to receive recognition for her acting and modeling abilities. In 1991, she landed her first lead role in Robert Mulligan’s The Man in the Moon. This role in particular kick-started Reese’s film career, and soon after, she found herself starring in two made-for-TV movies: 1991’s Wildflower and 1992’s Desperate Choices: To Save My Child.

Upon completing high school, Reese began receiving offers to appear in higher caliber films, including Jack the Bear (alongside Hollywood heavyweights Danny DeVito and Gary Sinise) and Disney’s A Far Off Place, both of which were released in 1993. The following year, Reese decided to put her acting career on hold for a little while and enrolled at Stanford University to major in English literature.

reese witherspoon in fear

This decision to pursue her studies was curbed shortly thereafter, when she accepted to star in two more big screen productions — both of which were slated for 1996 release dates. First came Fear, in which she portrayed a frightened teenager terrorized by her psychotic boyfriend (Mark Wahlberg, in one of his earlier roles). In the second film, Freeway, she was cast alongside Kiefer Sutherland in yet another dramatic role as a victimized teenager. Both roles pushed Reese well beyond her prior acting experiences and ultimately opened new doors for her as a rising starlet in Hollywood.

reese witherspoon in pleasantville

The following years found Reese starring in more prestigious film projects. In 1998, she appeared opposite legendary screen icons Paul Newman, Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon in Robert Benton’s Twilight and later that year she starred in Pleasantville along with fellow up-and-comer Tobey Maguire.

1999 was a big year for Reese in more ways than one. Her career was elevated to an even higher level by starring in two more box-office hits, Cruel Intentions (with Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Election, in which she wowed critics with her dark comedic performance. While filming Cruel Intentions, Reese and co-star Ryan Phillippe became involved in a serious off-screen romance, which eventually led to their engagement in March of 1999. The pair married on June 5, 1999, in South Carolina and announced shortly thereafter that they were expecting their first child in the coming months.

reese witherspoon is legally blonde

After a brief break from the acting scene, Reese returned in February of 2000 with a guest spot on the hit NBC sitcom, Friends. She starred in a few episodes as the younger sister of Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston). Later on that year, she reappeared on the big screen with relatively small roles in two more films, American Psycho and Little Nicky. However, in 2001, she once again found herself starring as the leading lady in the successful Legally Blonde.

In 2002, Reese appeared in The Importance of Being Earnest and had the lead role in Sweet Home Alabama, which was also quite a success. The following year, she reprised her role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.

reese witherspoon in walk the line

Reese is currently keeping herself extremely busy by juggling marriage, motherhood and her career. After 2004’s Vanity Fair, Reese can be seen in 2005’s Just Like Heaven, Walk the Line (as June Carter in the Johnny Cash biopic) and Whiteout. In 2006, she can add Sports Widow to her resume.

askmen.com

VPN Solutions and Key Features

In the early days of Wi-Fi, 802.11b devices were effectively pushed into the workplace through the back door, riding on a wave of consumer popularity.  Now, a new study by ABI Research suggests that 802.11n may follow suit.

Starting the next wave at home

In its August 2007 research report entitled Wi-Fi in Consumer Electronics, ABI analysts predicted that 802.11n will quickly finds its way into network-connected consumer entertainment products, rapidly outpacing alternative technologies like HomePlug and HomePNA.  Growing interest in distributing audio and video content throughout the residence is expected to spur the sale of 216 million consumer-market 802.11n chipsets by 2011.

According to ABI, communication between consumer devices like Audio Streamers, TVs, PVRs, Set-Top Boxes, Digital Cameras, Media Players, and Game Consoles was previously impeded by lack of standards.  With new standards like Viiv, DLNA and Microsoft’s Media Center Extender paving the way for interconnecting these types of devices, manufacturers will need a broadly accepted high-speed transport.  Given its greater reach and bandwidth, 802.11n is particularly well suited to fill this role.

“Many consumer electronics vendors see Wi-Fi as the primary way to get network-delivered content to their devices,” says research director Michael Wolf. “As consumers increasingly source video content on the Internet and look toward multi-room distribution, older Wi-Fi technologies don’t have the bandwidth to deliver this content, particularly over longer ranges. 802.11n, in particular 5 GHz solutions using 40 MHz-wide channels, will help alleviate these constraints.”

Rippling into the workplace

Several manufacturers that will play major roles in driving the 802.11n-based consumer electronics market—Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco/Linksys—are also key players in the enterprise WLAN market.

According to the ABI report, “As laptop OEMs make 802.11n standard on their high-end laptops, this will have a natural pull-through effect on 802.11n-enabled home routers. The wider installed base of 802.11n routers and gateways, combined with increased demand for IP-delivered content on consumer electronics, will push large consumer electronics brands to integrate Wi-Fi in their devices.”

Consumers are generally less reluctant to embrace immature technologies, particularly when the perceived benefits outweigh any added complexity or risk of failure.  This trend has already been demonstrated in the Wi-Fi market, where early MIMO-based routers and more recent pre-standard 802.11n products have both enjoyed success.

Meanwhile, enterprises have been slow to step up to 802.11n.  Surveys like the 2007 State-of-the-WLAN Report indicate that most businesses will continue to wait for the 802.11n standard to become final before pulling the trigger on widespread next-generation WLAN upgrades.

In the interim, consumers will start bringing their 802.11n-enabled products into the workplace – especially mobile devices such as laptops, media players, and dual-mode phones that can easily be connected to both home and business networks.  As consumers get hooked on multi-media over 802.11n at home, they become even more likely to bring such consumer electronic gadgets to work with them.

And so, history may once again repeat itself, with 802.11n business adoption being gently nudged along by workers who have come to appreciate the benefits of this new flavor of Wi-Fi at home.

By Lisa Phifer

At the enterprise level, wireless scalability takes on a whole new meaning. Centralized management for multiple access points and new topologies allow you to extend the WLAN across even the largest organization.

About a year ago, this column took a look at popular wireless technologies–802.11a, b and g–from the standpoint of scalability. We examined how such factors as bandwidth/speed, distance ranges and reliability impact scalability. But we were still looking at wireless on a relatively small scale, from the perspective of deploying a single or a few WAPs in the organization.

This time, we’re interested in how wireless can scale up to the enterprise level, to serve hundreds or even thousands of users and to accommodate high bandwidth applications such as VoIP and video communications. Toward that end, we’ll discuss deployment strategies that can be used to make wireless computing available throughout a large network.

What enterprises need

You’ve heard the old F. Scott Fitzgerald pronouncement that “the rich are different from you and me.” Well, enterprises likewise are different from small and medium businesses in more ways than having more users (and more money). Their networking needs–and solutions–are different, as well.

Along with the obvious need to support a larger number of users, enterprises often need support for a larger variety of applications. For example, VoWLAN (Voice over Wireless LAN) is gaining popularity in the enterprise space. Wi-Max long range wireless may be needed for large company campus type environments.

According to the recent 2006 Webtorials “WLAN State of the Market” report by Joanie Wexler of Network World, wireless technology tied with VPN at the top of the list of most important technologies to the enterprises surveyed.

One of the most interesting points in the report is that wireless networking is no longer being used only as a “hot spot” solution for lobbies, conference rooms and other common areas, but is now being deployed more widely across the organization. You can read the full report at http://www.webtorials.com/abstracts/WLAN2006.htm (registration required).

One of the most important needs for WLAN administrators in the enterprise environment is the ability to centrally manage multiple access points.

Centralized WLAN management and security

There are a plethora of products available for providing centralized management of enterprise-class WLANs. The move toward centralization has resulted in a corresponding move away from more “intelligent” WAPs and toward so-called “light” access points (also called Wireless Termination Points or WTPs) that are controlled by a centralized controller in a switch.

There are a couple of ways to implement this model. According to the Internet Engineering Task Force’s Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) working group, the two categories for centralized wireless architecture are:

Split MAC: all security functions are handled by the centralized switch/controller
Split Access Point (local MAC): the centralized controller handles 802.1x authentication and the AP handles cryptography
You can find out more about CAPWAP at http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/capwap-charter.html.
Many of the centralized WLAN products, such as ManageEngineWiFi Manager (http://manageengine.adventnet.com/products/wifi-manager/index.html), not only allow you to configure multiple APs, but also include security mechanisms to detect and block rogue access points and protect against WLAN intrusions and attacks.

Migrating to centralized management

Several companies are offering solutions to help companies with traditional wireless LANs migrate to a centralized management architecture more easily. In July 2006, Aruba Networks and AirWave Wireless announced they were teaming up to provide support by AirWave’s Wireless Management Suite to Aruba’s APs, making it possible to centrally manage both legacy standalone APs and modern “light” APs from the same console. You can read more about it here:

http://www.networkcomputing.com/channels/wireless/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=190700110

Voice over WLAN

Certainly one of the most demanding applications faced by wireless networks is VoWLAN. Voice communications are mission-critical applications for most organizations, so the ability to make telephone calls over wireless LANs requires high levels of availability and bandwidth capacity.

One of the biggest obstacles to implementing VoWLAN is bandwidth. An 11 Mbps 802.11b WLAN doesn’t have much bandwidth to spare. But as wireless technologies increase in speed (54 Mbps for standard 802.11a and g, and with the 802.11n standards, expected to be completed in 2007, providing theoretical transfer speeds over 500 Mbps and estimated actual throughput of 100 — 180 Mbps), VoWLAN becomes a much more attractive proposition. You can read about 802.11n here:

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/wireless/0,70806-0.html

One implementation of VoWLAN that may be coming into its own soon is UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access). Mobile phones are being tested by some cellular companies that allow GSM and GPRS cell phones to operate over 802.11 wi-fi networks. With dual-mode telephone handsets, users can roam between the cellular network and unlicensed wi-fi networks — both public hotspots and private WLANs. You can read more about UMA here:

http://www.umatechnology.org/overview/

WLAN topology in the enterprise

It’s important to remember that wireless networking components are actually radio transmitters and receivers that use specific frequencies and channels within those frequencies. For example, the standard for 802.11b defines 14 channels. 802.11b is said to operate at the 2.4GHz frequency, but within that frequency range you could have different WAPs with one operating on channel 1, at 2.412 GHz, and another on channel 2 at 2.417 GHz and so forth.

The FCC allows the use of channels 1 through 11 in the U.S., whereas in Europe you can use channels 1 through 13. The problem is that there’s overlap of signal so that you can’t actually use channels 1 and 2 within the distance range of 802.11b because they would interfere with each other. Due to the overlap, only three of the 11 channels can be used at the same location (channels 1, 6 and 11). This means you have to plan carefully if you need more than three access points. Channels need to be assigned so that there’s little or (ideally) no overlap of signal.

Thus large multiple AP WLANs are usually designed in a “cellular” topology, where the APs are located to create coverage in much the same way cell phone towers are distributed. The APs that use the same channel have to be far enough away from one another to avoid interference.

There are a number of disadvantages to this type of architecture, including latency when communications are “handed off” from one AP to another on a different channel when users are mobile, and collisions when there are large numbers of users on the WLAN who transmit at the same time.

There are alternatives to the cell-based topology, such as the “channel blanket” topology offered by Extricom, which uses UltraThin access points controlled by a central switch that directs all of the wireless traffic. You can find out more about their solution at http://www.extricom.com/.

Summary

Wireless networking at the enterprise level is different — but there are many products and services out there that make it easier to implement one or more WLANs in a large organization, that can support high bandwidth applications such as VoWLAN.

techrepublic.com

Biography

Ana Ivanovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, on November 8, 1987. She thanks her parents, Dragana and Miroslav, for supporting her tennis dreams for her entire life. Even though she’s the famous athletic name in the family, Ana’s relatives have also done their fair share of sports. Her younger brother, Milos, plays basketball and her uncle is a former football player.

Tennis first became a dream for Ana Ivanovic when she watched it on TV at a young age, with her favorite player being Monica Seles. At the age of 4, Ana memorized the phone number for a local tennis club that advertised on TV. She persuaded her parents to call and the rest is history. A year later, she was playing and one of her friends was Novak Djokovic, who became the third-ranked player in the world. A steady player at 5, Ana Ivanovic had already decided that tennis was for her.

ana ivanovic against venus williams

Ana Ivanovic’s tennis dreams encountered difficulties because of her surroundings. In 1999, there were NATO bombings in her homeland, which forced her to practice in the morning and eventually in a deserted swimming pool because there was nowhere else to play. In order to give herself a better opportunity, she moved to Switzerland at 15 and was sponsored by her manager. Without the money to cover it, Ana Ivanovic promised to pay for it based on her winnings. It didn’t start well when she lost in front of her manager for the first time and cried for hours until he discouraged her negative thinking and stayed by her side.

In 2004, Ana Ivanovic started playing professionally and gained notice when she was undefeated as a challenger at the Junior Wimbledon Tournament. Her highlight of the year was eventually playing against Venus Williams and, even though Ana lost the match, it showed that she could keep up with an elite player.

ana ivanovic wins canada masters

Ana Ivanovic’s taste for winning began in 2005 when she won her first singles title in Canberra, Australia. She also joined the French Open and made it to the third round before being eliminated. Later that year, she also played in the Australian Open and lost. Losing was never fun, but Ana was gaining confidence at how far she was climbing in just a short time. Despite the losses and an injury, her successful run was causing her overall ranking to rise.

A year later, Ana Ivanovic had one of her most successful matches by defeating ex-No. 1 player Martina Hingis at the Canada Masters. Ana built on the experience by winning the United States Open Series. Just as in the previous year, a nagging injury slowed her progress, but she finished 2006 ranked at No. 15 in singles and No. 51 in doubles, which she did on the side.

ana ivanovic wins the east west bank classic

In 2007, after losing the third round of the Australian Open, she replaced her coach, David Taylor, with Sven Groenefeld. The change appeared to pay off when she made the final at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, only to lose to old foe Martina Hingis. Soon after, Ana Ivanovic won the Qatar Telecom German Open, which helped her crack WTA’s top 10 rankings. Ana’s winning touch continued when she won the East West Bank Classic, upping her ranking to No. 4, and she followed it up by making it to the French Open final and the Wimbledon semifinals.

ana ivanovic is named no. 73 in 2008 top 99

As a testament to Ana Ivanovic’s down-to-earth and giving personality, she was selected as a UNICEF National Ambassador in 2007 in her home country of Serbia. This gave her the chance to work on important issues like child protection and education by visiting local schools. Even though Ana’s busy enough with her tennis duties, having a cause that is close to her heart makes her life that much more rewarding.

Ana Ivanovic doesn’t just have a blooming tennis career, she’s also a glorified sex symbol to men around the globe, and her position on AskMen.com’s 2008 Top 99 at No. 73 was proof of that.

ana ivanovic wins 2008 french open

At the ‘08 Australia Open, Ana Ivanovic, for the first time, reached the quarterfinals, overtook the powerful Venus Williams, but was defeated by Maria Sharapova. However, the headway she made brought her up to a No. 2 ranking in the world.

Then, at the French Open, she defeated Jelena Jankovic, No. 3 in the world, and then went on to beat Dinara Safina and take home her first Grand Slam singles final.

A Saturday Night Live sketch appearing on NBC — with a certain word bleeped out of a song chorus 16 times — has found its way onto the internet in uncensored form, not at the hands of a tech-savvy fan or a sneaky employee, but at the hands of the network itself.

The sketch about boy bands, guest staring former boy band member Justin Timberlake, had the cast members singing a pop-style song about giving their genitals to their girlfriends as presents for winter holidays such as Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza, leading to the sketch’s nickname “Special Treat.”

An uncensored version of the sketch appeared on NBC’s website and on YouTube shortly after the program concluded, gaining more than 2 million hits in less than a week, possibly becoming the first case where a scripted comedy has used the internet to avoid scrutiny from both its own censors and the Federal Communications Commission.

Saturday Night Live’s creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels said the “director’s cut” of the sketch does not necessarily represent the future of SNL, but predicted that other shows would follow NBC’s lead. Still, this is not the first time an SNL sketch has gained popularity on the internet.

A bootleg version of a rap parody about eating cupcakes and watching “The Chronicles of Narnia” on the Upper West Side hit YouTube less than a year ago, gathering millions of viewers before NBC ordered the copyrighted material removed. Then, NBC entered into an agreement with the web site in which copyrighted material from NBC shows would be displayed on a dedicated page.

These two sketches, and many other popular SNL sketches found on YouTube, involve the work of performer Andy Samberg. The idea for “Special Treat” was conceived when Michaels asked Samberg to write a funny sketch that could show off host/musical guest Timberlake’s vocal skills.

Samberg finished putting together the video with Timberlake just eight hours before the episode of SNL was to start, and showed it to NBC late-night program executive Rick Ludwin. It was a foregone conclusion that the video would have to be censored for broadcast, but the SNL producers specially requested of Ludwin permission for an uncensored web version.

After review, Ludwin approved the sketch and obtained permission to post a web version concluding that, while some people would be offended, the average internet user would not be shocked by the sketch. Yet, despite the success of this endeavor, it has not opened any floodgates for NBC programming reaching the net unchecked, according to NBC President of Digital Content for NBC Universal Jeff Gaspin.

“We’re still not going to put just anything out there,” he said. “We still have to protect the brands.”

newstarget.com

May’s Patch Tuesday didn’t just mean seven critical security bulletins for admins to worry about — it also welcomed some of Redmond’s newer products, including Office 2007 and Exchange 2007, to the process. While six of the updates address remote code execution threats — the remaining is a cumulative update for IE — most are newly discovered vulnerabilities that hackers hadn’t had a chance to exploit.

Details

This is a bad month to have Microsoft systems to maintain — the company greeted the second Tuesday of the month with the release of seven security bulletins, rating all of them as critical. Looking on the bright side, most of the critical ratings are for Windows 2000 and related Office 2000 applications. (The vulnerabilities affect newer platforms at a lower threat level.) In fact, you may spend more time determining what you need to patch than actually patching your systems.

Here’s a closer look at each update, listed in order. However, pay particular attention to MS07-029, which patches an already exploited flaw. As always, remember to check the actual security bulletins in case of updates.

MS07-023

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-023, “Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution,” addresses three vulnerabilities:

• Excel BIFF Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0215)
• Excel Set Font Vulnerability (CVE-2007-1203)
• Excel Filter Record Vulnerability (CVE-2007-1214)

This update affects Excel 2000 Service Pack 3, Excel 2002 SP3, Excel 2003 SP2, Excel 2003 Viewer SP2, Office 2004 for Mac, Excel 2007, and the Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats. It does not affect Microsoft Works Suite.

This is a critical threat for Excel 2000 SP3 only; it’s an important threat for all other affected applications. This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-002 for all applicable versions. There had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication.

MS07-024

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-024, “Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution,” addresses three vulnerabilities:

• Word Array Overflow Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0035)
• Word Document Stream Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0870)
• Word RTF Parsing Vulnerability (CVE-2007-1202)

This update affects Word 2000 SP3, Word 2002 SP3, Word 2003 SP2, Word Viewer 2003 SP2, Office 2004 for Mac, Microsoft Works Suite 2004, Works Suite 2005, and Works Suite 2006. It does not affect Word 2007.

This is a critical threat for Word 2000 SP3 only; it’s an important threat for all other affected applications. This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-014 for several versions; check the security bulletin for more details. Malicious users are actively exploiting the Word Document Stream Vulnerability.

MS07-025

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-025, “Vulnerability in Microsoft Office Could Allow Remote Code Execution,” addresses the Drawing Object Vulnerability (CVE-2007-1747). There had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication.

This update affects various applications — predominantly Excel, FrontPage, and Publisher — in Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP2, Office 2004 for Mac, and Office 2007. Check the security bulletin for the specific applications this update does and doesn’t affect.

This is a critical threat for Office 2000 SP3; it’s an important threat for all other affected versions. This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-015 for all applicable versions.

MS07-026

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-026, “Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Could Allow Remote Code Execution,” addresses four vulnerabilities:

• MIME Decoding Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0213)
• Outlook Web Access Script Injection Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0220)
• Malformed iCal Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0039)
• IMAP Literal Processing Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0221)

The first vulnerability presents a remote code execution threat, the second presents an information disclosure threat, and the last two are denial-of-service threats. Because of the first vulnerability, this is a critical threat for all affected platforms.

This update affects Exchange 2000 Server SP3 with the Post-SP3 Update Rollup, Exchange Server 2003 SP1, Exchange Server 2003 SP2, and Exchange Server 2007. This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletins MS06-019 and MS06-029 for all applicable versions. There had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication.

MS07-027

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-027, “Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer,” addresses six remote code execution vulnerabilities:

• COM Object Instantiation Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0942)
• Uninitialized Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0944)
• Property Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0945)
• HTML Objects Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0946)
• HTML Objects Memory Corruption Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0947)
• Arbitrary File Rewrite Vulnerability (CVE-2007-2221)

This update affects pretty much every version of Internet Explorer, from IE 5.01 to IE 7. Check the security bulletin for more details — Microsoft has already updated it once.

This is a critical threat for most affected versions; it’s a moderate threat for IE 6 and IE 7 on versions of Windows Server 2003. While the COM Object Instantiation Memory Corruption Vulnerability is a previously disclosed threat, there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication. This bulletin replaces Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-016 for all applicable versions.

MS07-028

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-028, “Vulnerability in CAPICOM Could Allow Remote Code Execution,” addresses the CAPICOM.Certificates Vulnerability (CVE-2007-0940). This is a newly disclosed threat, and there had been no reports of active exploits at the time of publication.

This update affects CAPICOM, Platform SDK Redistributable: CAPICOM, BizTalk Server 2004 SP1, and BizTalk Server 2004 SP2; it does not affect other versions of BizTalk Server. This is a critical threat for all affected versions.

MS07-029

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-029, “Vulnerability in Windows DNS RPC Interface Could Allow Remote Code Execution,” addresses the DNS RPC Management Vulnerability (CVE-2007-1748). This is a previously disclosed threat, and there have been reports of active exploits.

This update affects Windows 2000 Server SP4 and all versions of Windows Server 2003; it does not affect Windows 2000 Professional SP4, Windows XP, or Windows Vista. This is a critical threat for all affected systems.

Final word

A lot of these patches don’t appear to be particularly urgent, but the ratings could change. Your best bet is to read the security bulletins in their entirety to determine which ones affect your organization.

There are mitigating factors and possible workarounds, but companies need to evaluate them on an individual basis. Finally, don’t forget that interaction between various workarounds could have unintended consequences.

by John McCormick

Biography

Blake Lively was born in Tarzana, California, on August 25, 1987. She is the daughter of actors Ernie and Elaine Lively. Blake is the youngest of five; she has two older brothers (Eric and Jason) and two older sisters (Lori and Robyn). All of her siblings, like her parents, are actors in the film industry.

blake lively debuts in sandman

In 1998, when she was only 10 years old, Blake Lively made her acting debut in the film Sandman. The film was directed by her father and also starred her sister, Lori, and brother, Eric. In the musical family movie, Blake played the Tooth Fairy. She stayed away from all other acting jobs after her debut in Sandman to be a regular elementary and middle school student.

Between 2001 and 2005, Blake Lively was a normal high school student at Burbank High. She acted as class president and participated in extracurricular activities like cheerleading and singing with a nationally recognized show choir. In 2004, however, Blake received a chance to renew her interest in acting. As a high school senior, she decided to take a break to pursue her interests and it paid off.

blake lively in the sisterhood of the traveling pants

In 2005, Blake Lively made a name for herself playing Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alongside Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. In the film, she attends a soccer camp in Mexico where she falls for a coach. Blake’s father, Ernie, played her father in the movie. When filming for The Sisterhood wrapped, Blake went back to high school to complete her senior year; she graduated in the spring of 2005. At the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, Blake was nominated for Choice Movie Breakout Performance for her role in The Sisterhood.

blake lively in simon says

Blake Lively was cast in the horror film Simon Says in 2006, which starred Crispin Glover. This film was a family affair for Blake, as she was joined by her sisters, her father and her brother-in-law, Bart Johnson.

To balance out the horror, Blake Lively was also cast in the 2006 comedy Accepted with Jeepers Creepers star Justin Long, which marked her first starring role in a feature film.

blake lively in gossip girl

Blake Lively took a break from the big screen in 2007 when she took on a role in the CW hit Gossip Girl as a privileged school girl in New York City. Alongside Leighton Meester and Taylor Momsen, Blake’s talent shines through on the show.

blake lively is named no. 99 in 2008 top 99

With her all-American looks and charming personality, Blake may have ranked dead-last on AskMen.com’s Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2008 list, but she made the list and that says something major.
 

askmen.com

Opinion -Just a few months ago, the high-definition arena looked like we were in for a lengthy battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD. That impression surely has changed: Blu-ray is capturing the market where it counts – movie sales, which apparently are driven by Playstations making their way into the market. Will the game console break HD DVD’s neck?

Well, let’s look at the market we have today.

From a general perspective, HD DVD seems to have all the pieces of the puzzle in its favor and it has a strategy that makes common sense. HD DVD (consumer electronics) players are less expensive than Blu-ray players, suggesting the technology should be adopted faster than the pricey rival. The group behind HD DVD is also pushing much more to bring new interactive features to the format.

The strategy has worked somewhat: When looking at standalone CE players, HD DVD has sold countlessly more units. Yet, some how the format continues to be trampled upon by Blu-ray in terms of movie sales. The latest estimate found Blu-ray movies outselling HD DVD by a factor of 2:1.  

So, despite the fact that HD isn’t quite mainstream yet, are these early numbers significant? Can it really be that a group of early adopting gamers with a console widely panned for its lack of games has dynamically shifted the home video format war?  We here believe it did.

There was doubt earlier this year whether the PS3 could deliver an edge for Blu-ray or not. Now it turns out that Sony had its bet right and it looks like the PS3 could decide the format war much earlier than anticipated. HD DVD has become the struggling format that is losing supporters left and right these days.

It’s a timely discussion because we’re now in the very beginning stages of seeing more clues who could emerge as a winner.  Target, Blockbuster, and other small chains have already cast their votes for Blu-ray, deciding not to devote retail space to HD DVD. For the average consumer, this says Blu-ray is the next format. There is no other choice. This is crucial because the long-term acceptance of a format relies heavily on the average consumer.

Movie Studio support also appears to be shifting with Disney being the latest to heavily invest into the format.

Recently revealed advantages of Blu-ray in movie sales are pretty substantial for a format war just one year in the making. However, Toshiba says standalone HD DVD players are outselling standalone Blu-ray players by a margin of four to one.  That disparity raises a lot of questions, most of which can be answered with two words - Playstation 3.

According to a study commissioned by Sony in June, 72% of Playstation 3 owners have purchased a Blu-ray disc movie, and 87% said they intend to buy one in the next 12 months.  Of those who said they watch BD movies on their PS3 frequently, 82% said Blu-ray is their preferred movie format.  

There’s some confusion about whether PS3 owners do actually make use of the console’s ability to play Blu-ray movies.  In stark contrast to the Sony survey, NPD released a study this week that found that  40% of next-gen gamers didn’t even know the PS3 had a Blu-ray player.

However, the NPD survey included owners of any next-gen system, meaning the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. It also included participants as young as six years old.  This undoubtedly includes people who don’t even care about high definition content.  For die-hard PS3 fans, though, it seems there isn’t even a question. They appreciate the Blu-ray functionality and probably don’t even look at HD DVD.

However, HD DVD has always been ahead of the game in terms of interactive features.  Some HD DVD titles can now access the Internet to download exclusive content.  Users can also view picture-in-picture features for things like video commentary, storyboard comparisons, and street map overlays for car chase sequences.  This is all exclusive to HD DVD.  Meanwhile, there’s a huge collection of Blu-ray movies that don’t even have an interactive menu screen comparable to DVD.

There’s no question in my mind that HD DVD is a fundamentally better product.  If it were up to the true videophiles to decide, it probably would be gaining a lot more traction.  However, for the first time in a heated format war, the core audience is not the video enthusiast group that’s deciding. It’s the much wider audience of video gamers. Even though the PS3 is the slowest-selling next-gen console, it still accounts for over three million Blu-ray players. That’s a number HD DVD can’t even dream of yet.

Because of the accessibility of it for people who are just barely curious of next-gen DVD formats, Blu-ray has gained steam - so much steam in fact that it has already left HD DVD in the dust.

So, what’s next for HD DVD?

We believe, if the HD DVD group wants to keep any chance at a comeback is to pull back the hundreds of millions of dollars it currently pours into promotional campaigns and invest into a sweet spot in the hardware market instead.  

The sales of the bare bones drive for the Xbox 360 certainly have been rather disappointing when  compared to the Blu-ray/PS3 combination. The format already essentially lost its shot at adoption within a game console. Even big-name exclusive titles like The Matrix haven’t really caused much of a stir for HD DVD.

So, aside from just sitting around and waiting, hoping for consumers to look its way, the only thing I  can see is that HD DVD needs to expand on its other platforms.  Bringing a killer app in the form of an HD DVD-based computer game, standard iuntegration into the Xbox, landing a partnership with TiVo to bring an HD DVD player to the high-definition TiVo box, or even incorporating built-in HD DVD players into a wide variety of HDTVs all could create more awareness for the format.

The clock is ticking, though, and HD DVD simply cannot just wait until the mainstream crowd decides they want to move into high definition. From today’s view the battle could be decided much earlier – by video gamers. There’s a lot of ground to cover, thanks mainly to Sony’s foresight in combining Blu-ray with the PS3.

Yes, we also had our doubts whether Blu-ray was a good move or not. But as it looks right now, Sony got it right and the PS3 investment may pay off big time.

By Mark Raby

tgdaily.com

“I’m looking forward to joining the… roster of women who have personified the image of beauty for Estee Lauder over the years. This is an incredible opportunity.” -Carolyn Murphy

Carolyn Murphy was born on August 11, 1975, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Although she didn’t intend on becoming a model during her childhood, she eventually enrolled in a modeling school thanks to the encouragement of her mother.

It didn’t take long for her to gain recognition, and soon she was taking on local modeling jobs and attending modeling conventions. An agent at one of these conventions spotted Carolyn and, before she knew it, she was modeling in Paris and New York.

carolyn murphy on vogue and elle

Fast-forward several years, when Carolyn was spending most of her time modeling in New York City. Not only has she appeared in countless fashion shows, but she has also posed for many fashion magazine covers, including Vogue (U.S., France, UK, and Italy), Harper’s Bazaar, W, Elle (UK and France), and Marie Claire (Italy) — so don’t be surprised if her gorgeous face looks familiar.

Carolyn already has experience attaching her face to a brand, as she starred in Calvin Klein’s perfume commercials and print ads for the “Contradiction” fragrance, and in September 2001, Carolyn was named Estee Lauder’s newest spokesperson. While actress and producer Elizabeth Hurley has been the cosmetics giant’s spokesperson for the past seven years, Carolyn and Elizabeth’s glamorous appeal complement each other.

carolyn is the face of estee lauder

The start of Carolyn’s Estee Lauder career was marked by her first appearance in the billion-dollar company’s worldwide magazine campaign, as well as in ads for its makeup and skin care lines, and even its spa.

carolyn in liberty heights

But she didn’t need Estee Lauder to give her supermodel status; she received that when she was named 1998’s “Model of the Year” at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. She was also one of the models to grace the cover of Vogue’s “Models of the Millennium” issue.

Carolyn successfully made the transition from model to actress in 1999, when she appeared in Barry Levinson’s film, Liberty Heights. The director wanted to cast someone with a Grace Kelly appeal (ironically, Carolyn has been dubbed “The Blond Haired Gene Tierney” by Elle), and she fit the bill. She auditioned for the role after her agent encouraged her to do so, and unlike many other models turned actresses, she was praised for her work.

carolyn murphy in sports illustrated

Carolyn Murphy is also a mom to daughter Dylan Blue, who was born in December 2000. Amazingly, she weighed 182 pounds during her pregnancy and worked her way back to a 120-pound, 5′9″ frame without the help of a personal trainer. Luckily for us, her hot body is on display on the cover (and the inside pages) of 2005’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. She also appeared in SI’s Swimsuit Edition in 2004, but making the cover can be considered quite a coup.

Formerly married to surfing entrepreneur Jake Schroeder, Carolyn is currently dating Brandon Boyd, lead singer of the rock band Incubus.

askmen.com

Ashlee Nicole Simpson was born on October 3, 1984, in Waco, Texas, and raised in Dallas. She’s the daughter of Joe and Tina Simpson, and the younger sister of pop star/reality TV queen Jessica Simpson. Attending Prairie Creek Elementary School, Ashlee’s talent was apparent early on: At age 4 she started dancing, and by the time she was 11, she was the youngest person to ever be admitted to the prestigious School of American Ballet.

When Ashlee Simpson was 14, she began to dance professionally, and the Simpson family moved to Los Angeles. Not long after, Ashlee went on the road, dancing as part of her sister’s stage show. She supported Jessica’s rise to fame from 1999 to 2001, all the while dreaming of acting and pursuing her own music career.

ashlee simpson joins 7th heaven

In 2001, Ashlee made her first solo television appearance in a small role on Malcolm in the Middle, and during this time she appeared alongside her more famous sibling on Saved by the Bell, The Donny & Marie Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The View, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and a Disney Christmas show and concert special. Ashlee also took a part in the Rob Schneider comedy The Hot Chick (2002).

But it was on TV that Ashlee Simpson first got the role that would catapult her to greater stardom: In 2002, she was cast as Cecilia Smith, girlfriend of Simon Camden on the popular WB drama 7th Heaven. While playing this recurring role, Ashlee took lessons from renowned acting coach Janet Alhanti. All the same, Ashlee began to take small steps toward becoming a singer as well, and in between breaks in her shooting schedule she recorded songs such as “Just Let Me Cry” for the Freaky Friday soundtrack.

the ashlee simpson show

In late 2003, Ashlee Simpson signed a recording contract with Geffen Records to make her first album. At the same time, her father, Joe, asked her if she wanted to have a show built around her. Ashlee declined at first, but agreed when Joe Simpson suggested it be about the making of her upcoming album.

The Ashlee Simpson Show premiered on June 16, 2004, on MTV, and the album, Autobiography, was released on July 20th, after the show finished its run. The debut single, “Pieces of Me,” hit No. 1 on the charts.

Later in 2004, Ashlee Simpson was set to perform on Saturday Night Live but a technical mishap caused the cancellation of the performance and a great embarrassment as it proved the starlet was lip-synching.

ashlee simpson releases i am me

Ashlee Simpson’s second album, I Am Me, hit music store shelves in the U.S. in October 2005, and the single “Boyfriend” became a top 20 hit on the Billboard Top 100.

After touring in support of her second album, Ashlee hit the stage as Roxy Hart in the London stage production of Chicago.

ashlee simpson is named no. 93 in 2008 top 99

In 2007, Ashlee Simpson began working on her third album, Bittersweet World, and worked with producers such as Timbaland, Kenna and Will.i.am.

And, in 2008, Ashlee Simpson placed No. 93 on AskMen.com’s Top 99 Most Desirable Women list, showing the world that despite past mishaps she’s still hot stuff and geared to take on her sister and the industry.

askmen.com

As broadband Internet connections become more common, phone service based on voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) is rapidly increasing in popularity. In general, most organizations consider VoIP to be a cost-saving way to bypass the telephone companies, particularly for long-distance services.

However, VoIP is certainly no panacea. From the standpoint of Internet security, it’s important to keep in mind that VoIP is still an Internet service, so the technology is subject to the same type of problems as any other Internet service. Worms, viruses, and DoS attacks can affect the usability of VoIP services, and the majority of these attacks will be outside the control of the VoIP provider.

In addition, VoIP presents some legal issues, not the least of which is whether we consider VoIP a “pure” Internet service. While the U.S. government doesn’t typically regulate Internet services, VoIP could change that.

I’m closely watching VoIP technology for a number of reasons, particularly because I’m interested to see how VoIP and Internet security will intersect. I will say that using VoIP to replace clunky PBX systems has proven to be a great success at many companies. But using VoIP to replace the public-switched telephone network is a different matter entirely.

VoIP has become one of the latest buzzwords for the Internet industry. Because governing agencies can’t possibly regulate or control VoIP like traditional land-line phone systems, it’s appealing to competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) as a lower-cost way to compete with the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs).

But don’t forget that VoIP is an Internet service–and that means no Internet service, no phone service. VoIP differs drastically from land-line telephone systems, despite claims from companies and governments insisting that they’re identical services.

For example, in the United States, land-line telephone systems are subject to a variety of governmental regulations regarding wiretapping and emergency service use. Specific laws, such as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), can’t possibly apply to all VoIP services, regardless of recent rulings insisting on placing wiretaps on VoIP services. In my opinion, it’s just not possible to regulate VoIP like this.

What government agencies are failing to understand is that security is a personal choice. If people want to communicate securely, they will do so regardless of whether it’s legal.

And they will use freely available strong encryption. With the source code for programs such as PGPfone available on the Internet, all the VoIP regulations in the world won’t make a difference.

But just how reliable and usable is VoIP anyway? In a time when cell phones can be unusable at times, I don’t place much faith in VoIP ever becoming as good or reliable as a land-line telephone.

Remember that VoIP services use software, and all software has flaws. VoIP technology works, but its long-term security is still undetermined, and complex legal and technical issues exist that will likely take a long time to resolve.

by Jonathan Yarden

“I grew up feeling like the ugly duckling, and things have not changed that much. For some reason, Hollywood seems to have painted me as a gorgeous vixen at times or the sweet girl. I don’t get it.” -Nicollette Sheridan

Granddaughter of famed English actress Dinah Sheridan, Nicollette was born in Sussex, England, on November 21, 1963. She was raised in London before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, like much of the rest of her family.

In 1978, she met and wooed musician Leif Garrett, and proceeded to move in with him under his mother’s roof even though she was only 15. The romance lasted six years, ending just as Nicollette’s acting career was getting serious.

nicollette landing on knots

1984 marked the debut of her television career, as she landed a small role on the series Paper Dolls. Following a couple of other small gigs and a spot in the film The Sure Thing (1985) with John Cusack, Sheridan hit the jackpot.

In 1986, she got the part of Paige Matheson on Knots Landing, which was already a well-established primetime soap opera.

For seven years, Sheridan spiced up Knots with her saucy portrayal of the beautiful and conniving Matheson. She made headlines outside of the show as well, as her name was often romantically linked with the stars of the day, including Michael Bolton and Scott Baio.

In 1990, People magazine voted her one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. The next year, she married Harry Hamlin of L.A. Law fame. They divorced in 1993 without having had any children.

nicollette gets a virus

Following her run on Knots Landing, Sheridan showed up in made-for-TV-movies like A Time to Heal (1994), Virus (1995) and The People Next Door (1996). Don’t remember those appearances? Neither do we

Nicollette had higher profile roles over the course of the next two years, showing up with Leslie Nielsen in Spy Hard (1996) and with Chris Farley and Chris Rock in Beverly Hills Ninja (1997).

There was a subsequent rut in Sheridan’s career, with low-rated TV performances coming one after the other. Those curious enough to check out the B movies she made may have seen Raw Nerve (1999) with Mario Van Peebles or Lost Treasure (2003) with Stephen Baldwin.

nicollette on desperate housewives

Fortunately for Nicollette, the magic of Knots Landing was revived in 2004, when ABC’s Desperate Housewives hit the air. Sheridan landed the part of Edie Britt, a saucy divorcee bent on teasing all the neighborhood’s men.

As Housewives’ ratings climbed, ABC took more and more risks with the characters of the show. As a promo for an upcoming episode, they sent Sheridan to do an intro for a Monday Night Football Dallas versus Philadelphia game in 2004. In the skit, Nicollette appeared in the players’ locker room wearing only a towel, flirted with star Philadelphia receiver Terrell Owens, then dropped her towel and jumped into his arms.

This display, nicknamed “Towelgate,” was TV’s biggest scandal since Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl. It boosted Desperate Housewives’ ratings, created a lot of controversy, and increased attention for Sheridan.

Months later, Nicollette is still riding this wave of publicity and, if her show continues to be as successful, she should remain in the spotlight for some time.

On a personal note, Nicollette got engaged to Swedish actor Niklas Soderblom over the 2005 New Year weekend.

askmen.com

Most wireless NICs and access points include support for WEP to encrypt data as it flies through the air. When it comes down to it, WEP isn’t very secure. Here’s how you can add security by using WPA.

802.11 wireless technologies have transformed computer networking, allowing portable computer users to roam freely and remain connected and making it possible to place desktop computers in locations where it’s difficult to run network cabling. However, wireless networking presents security issues. Because the data goes over the airwaves, it’s easy to intercept; any “war driver” with the right equipment can detect and plug into an unprotected wireless network.

That means encryption is essential, but the most common encryption scheme for wireless, the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol suffers some serious shortcomings. Now there’s a better option: Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). In this article, we’ll discuss WPA’s advantages over WEP, how WPA works, and how to implement it on your Windows network.

How WPA came about

An unencrypted wireless network is wide open to the world. Don’t let the specifications for the typical range of wireless transmissions fool you into thinking you’re safe. War drivers (hackers who cruise around with their laptops, looking for open wireless networks) can use high gain antennas to extend that range. Assuming you don’t want any and everyone connecting to your wireless network, you need to encrypt the communications.

Most Wireless Access Points (WAPs) and wireless Network Interface Cards (NICs) support WEP encryption. WEP offers some protection, but it is notorious for its weaknesses. One problem is that the encryption key length is only 40 bits. The shorter the key, the easier it is to crack. The same key is used by everyone on the network.

The RC4 stream cipher algorithm that WEP uses is vulnerable to attackers who may be able to decipher the transmission and recover the plain text if they are able to intercept two ciphertexts that are encrypted with the same key. To protect against these vulnerabilities, WEP uses an Initialization Vector (IV) to create a different RC4 key for each packet. The problem is that the IV is only 24 bits, which means the same key stream will almost certainly be reused if there is a lot of traffic going through the WAP. All the attacker has to do is be patient and keep collecting ciphertexts; eventually he’ll have two that were encrypted with the same key (these are called IV Collisions).

Because of WEP’s vulnerabilities, many companies and government agencies that need high security have banned wireless technology. Other organizations wanted the convenience of wireless communications but worried about security breaches. It was essential, if wireless networking was to go to the next level, that better encryption methods be developed.

WPA was developed by the WiFi Alliance in conjunction with the IEEE as an interim wireless security solution that works with existing hardware, in anticipation of the 802.11i wireless security standards that were recently ratified, but are not compatible with all legacy hardware. For those who aren’t ready to upgrade all of their wireless hardware and who need more security than WEP can provide, WPA is the answer.

WPA can be thought of as a “bridge” protocol, since it is backward-compatible with WEP and designed to be forward-compatible with 802.11i, also called WPA v.2.

How WPA works

WPA has two big advantages over WEP:

• WPA uses stronger encryption than WEP
• WEP provides for user authentication in the enterprise environment

Stronger encryption

Encryption is improved through the use of the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). TKIP uses a “temporal key” that has 128 bits. This 128 bit key is mixed with the MAC address of the wireless sender. Then the mixed key is mixed again with an IV value (which, at 49 bits, is double the length of WEP’s) to create a unique key that is used to encrypt one packet. WPA creates dynamic session keys, with different keys per user, per session and per packet. This overcomes the WEP vulnerability we described above.

Note that WPA, like WEP, uses RC4 instead of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This is because although AES is a stronger algorithm, it can’t be implemented with most legacy NICs, and the goal of WPA’s developers was a more secure protocol that would work with existing hardware.

The word temporal means “brief, only lasting a short time.” TKIP keys are called “temporal keys” because they’re changed often, to prevent the same keys from being used again. TKIP includes a rekeying mechanism to prevent this problem. Each packet has a different key that contains a 48 bit serial number as the IV. This number gets incremented for each new packet in sequence. There are no IV collisions with TKIP.

Having the numbers in sequence also helps to protect against replay attacks, because if a hacker tried to replay packets from a previous wireless connection, the numbers would be out of sequence and the attack would be detectable. To ensure the integrity of the data, TKIP uses an 8 byte Message Integrity Code (MIC) at the end of each message. The method used to generate this MIC is called Michael.

User authentication

In addition to stronger encryption, WPA provides a way for enterprises to authenticate wireless users with a RADIUS server. The authentication protocol that’s used is the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP).

The RADIUS server also allows you to set user access policies to control wireless access to your network. For example, you can set time limits on wireless sessions or place restrictions on days and times that users can connect.

WPA provides for mutual authentication–both client (”supplicant” in wireless parlance) and server are authenticated.

What about small business or home networks that want to use WPA but don’t have RADIUS servers? In that case, WPA can use a pre-shared key.

Implementing WPA on your Windows network

So you’re convinced that you need to switch from WEP to WPA to protect your wireless network? What steps do you need to take to accomplish this? Basically, you must:

• Ensure that your WAPs support WPA.
• Ensure that the wireless NICs on your client computers support WPA.
• Ensure that the operating system on your client computers supports WPA.
• Ensure that the wireless client software on the client computers support WPA.

Verifying hardware support

First, make sure that the WAP supports WPA. You might need to update the WAP’s firmware. Contact the WAP vendor or check the vendor’s Web site. If you’re buying a new WAP, check the label on the box. If it was certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance after August 2003, it is required to support WPA.

Next, ensure that the client computers’ wireless NICs support Wireless Zero Configuration. You might need to upgrade the driver. Contact the NIC vendor or check the vendor’s Web site.

Verifying software support

Once you know the hardware supports WPA, consider the operating system. If your wireless client computers are running Windows XP with Service Pack 2, you’ll have the easiest time of it. The Windows WPA client software is installed as part of SP2. If the clients run XP with SP1, the easiest route is to update them to SP2. However, you might not be able to do that if they are running applications that have conflicts with SP2. In that case, you can download the Support Patch for Wi-Fi Protected Access from the Microsoft Download Center.

Microsoft also offers a wireless update rollup package for Windows XP that corrects some problems with WPA. You can read about it in Microsoft KB Article 826942.

You can use WPA with either XP Professional or XP Home Edition. If you’re using an operating system prior to XP, you’ll need to get a third party client. For example, you can download the Odyssey WLAN client from Funk Software.

Configuring the WAP

Configuration of your WAP will depend on the hardware you have. You’ll need to access the WAP’s configuration utility (usually done through a Web page) and set up WPA options. You may have the following options to choose from:

• Whether to use a pre-shared key or an authentication server. If your network doesn’t have a RADIUS server, you’ll have to use a pre-shared key. If you select to use a pre-shared key, you’ll need to enter it. This should be a strong key (password). The same key will need to be entered in the client configuration. If you select to use an authentication server, you’ll need to identify the RADIUS server to be used for authentication and accounting.
• Whether to use the TKIP algorithm or AES. AES is more secure, but may not work with legacy hardware because most older hardware doesn’t have the processing power to use it.

Configuring the client software

After you install the WPA patch for XP, you’ll need to reboot. The patch installs as Hotfix (SP2) Q815485. If you need to uninstall it for some reason, you can use the Add/Remove Programs applet to remove the hotfix.

To configure WPA in Windows XP, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start | Control Panel and click the Network applet.
2. Right-click the wireless connection and select Properties.
3. Click the Wireless Networks tab.
4. Select the wireless network name (SSID) that corresponds to the WAP that you configured for WPA.
5. Click the Configure button.
6. In the Network Authentication drop-down box, select WPA if you are using a RADIUS server for authentication, or WPA-PSK if you are using a pre-shared key.
7. In the Data Encryption drop-down box, select TKIP or AES (the selection must correspond to the algorithm you configured on the WAP).
8. If you are using a pre-shared key, enter it in the Network Key text box and again in the Confirm Network Key text box. Note that the key will not be displayed as you type but will be replaced by asterisks.
9. Click OK to close the dialog box.

You should now be able to connect to your WAP securely using WPA.

Configuring the RADIUS server

If you want to use EAP authentication with WPA, you’ll need to configure a RADIUS authentication server. You’ll also need a certification server to issue digital certificates. You can do this with a Windows 2000 Server or Server 2003 computer on an Active Directory network, which comes with IAS (Internet Authentication Service) and the CA (Certification Authority) service. You’ll need to install IAS and Certificate services, as they are not installed by default.

Install IAS through the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel by starting the Windows Components Wizard, clicking Network Services and clicking Details, then selecting Internet Authentication Service. You may need to insert the Windows Server installation CD. Certificate Services is also installed as a Windows Component.

You can install the CA on the same server on which you install IAS.

You’ll need to add your WAP as a RADIUS client on the IAS server and then use the New Remote Access Policy Wizard to create a policy for wireless access.

To add a remote access policy, open the IAS console and expand the Internet Authentication Service node, then right click Remote Access Policies. Click New Remote Access Policy. This starts the wizard. Select “wireless access” as the access method. If you’re using certificate authentication, you need to install a user certificate on your wireless clients.

For fault tolerance, you may want to create both a primary and a backup IAS server. You’ll need to copy the configuration of the primary IAS server to the backup IAS server. To save your IAS configuration, use the command line tool netsh. Type netsh aaaa show config > (path\file.txt).

Ditching WEP

Wireless communications have a “bad rep” when it comes to security, but you can make your wireless network more secure by replacing WEP, the standard encryption protocol, with WPA. Once you know the history of WPA and its advantages over WEP, you can configure your Windows network to use WPA both with and without an authentication server.

techrepublic.com

SAN FRANCISCO–Intel predicted three years of solid development in wireless broadband Tuesday as it showed the first samples of a chip for WiMax equipment.

At its developer conference, the Intel Developer Forum, the chipmaker announced that the part, code-named Rosedale, would be installed in a board called Intel’s ProWireless 5116 Broadband Interface.

The chip combines all of the functions needed to connect to a wireless broadband network, except the radio, which will come from third-party suppliers, including Texas Instruments and SMI. Intel is shipping sample parts to key customers, and the first products with the chip will become available next year.

Combining wired Ethernet, security and other interface functions, the Rosedale processor is designed to quickly integrate into equipment and reduce the time needed for certification.

“Rosedale is the first generation of the technology and will do last-mile fixed access to the home” said Scott Richardson, general manager of Intel’s Broadband Wireless Group. “In 2006, we’ll see notebook integration for portability and in 2007, handsets for mobility.”

The focus of the integration is to drive costs for the equipment down, according to Robinson.

“Broadband wireless is plagued by a number of issues,” including wireless spectrum limitations and indoor coverage problems, Robinson said. But the biggest challenge is the price of the products.

The aim is to lower pricing from around $350 for client equipment to under $200, Robinson said.

In time, Richardson said, prices for WiMax hardware would be the same as for Wi-Fi products. “We’re sampling the chip with strategic partners,” he said. “Interoperability and other tests will take place over the next six-to-nine months, with deployment starting later in 2005.”

WiMax is radio technology that promises to deliver two-way Internet access at speeds of up to 75 megabits per second at long range. Its backers claim that WiMax can transmit data up to 30 miles between broadcast towers and can blanket areas more than a mile in radius with bandwidth that exceeds current DSL and cable broadband capabilities.

WiMax will spread around the globe on a mixture of frequencies, Richardson said, using a combination of licensed and unlicensed bands on 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz and 5GHz. “WiMax is viral, in that over time, more and more frequencies will be opened up,” he said.

He predicted that WiMax would migrate to bands currently used for terrestrial television. “Nirvana for wireless is sub-1GHz, when the signal can go deep into buildings,” he said. “Over the next three years in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, these frequencies will start to become available, and Intel is working on this with the regulators.”

Intel has three business models for WiMax: fixed access, where it does the job of cable or DSL (digital subscriber line) broadband; portable use within in metro zones, akin to giant hot spots; and a fully mobile system with inter-cell hand-offs.

WiMax is complementary to existing services and access companies, Richardson said. Cable and DSL providers would sell access to the metro zones alongside their own fixed line products, and 3G telecommunications companies would use the mobile system to offload their data traffic while maintaining their own focus on voice. Although Rosedale had voice capabilities, this wasn’t a primary intention of the standard, he said.

By Rupert Goodwins
Special to CNET News.com

A new research report says the majority of home networks are now wireless.

Wi-Fi now rules the roost, according to a new research report concluding that wireless technology has gained a slight edge over Ethernet cables in home networks.

The survey, by research firms Parks Associates, found that 52 percent of U.S. households with a home network were using wireless technology, compared with 50 percent for Ethernet and about 5 percent for power line networking via electrical wires. (The numbers don’t add up to 100 because some homes use a combination of technologies.)

It’s the first time Wi-Fi has outpaced Ethernet, an achievement Research Director John Barrett attributed to growing Wi-Fi support among broadband providers. Most major broadband companies offer options for hooking up a new account via Wi-Fi equipment, an attractive option for those who haven’t set up a home network yet or want to do more than the Ethernet setup allows.

“You had a lot of people who probably wouldn’t have gone out there and bought an access point and gone through all the trouble of figuring out how to set it up,” Barrett said. “Now you have SBC and these other guys offering integrated residential gateways with Wi-Fi. They walk you through the setup; there’s a number to call if you have any problems. That sounds like a good deal to a lot of people.”

Barrett said the move to Wi-Fi is especially significant as companies from Intel to Whirlpool are pushing media gadgets, appliances and other devices that require a connection to the Internet, a central PC or both.

“There’s been a lot of whiz-bang devices for the home, but the problem was, there wasn’t any kind of infrastructure in the home to get the Internet access where you need it,” he said. “If you’ve got a Wi-Fi network already installed, it becomes a lot easier to get people interested in those kind of devices.”

By David Becker
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Biography

Amy Smart was born in 1976 in Topanga Canyon, California. As a young girl, she gained a reputation as a tomboy and was the only girl on her Little League baseball team.

She started to model at age thirteen and moved into acting after landing a role in the 1994 MTV Rock The Vote campaign. She broke into show business with small roles in television movies before making her feature debut in the 1997 independent film, The Last Time I Committed Suicide.

smartship troopers

Smart later gained a small part in the Paul Verhoeven science fiction vehicle Starship Troopers. In How to Make the Cruelest Month, Smart played a seductress who betrays her sister. The horror film Campfire Tales followed in 1998, along with the Internet stalker thriller, Dee Snider’s StrangeLand, written, produced and starring the front man of Twisted Sister.

Smart reached her widest audience, however, with a starring role opposite James Van Der Beek in the 1999 sleeper teen hit, Varsity Blues. The actress played Jules Harbor, a girl who dreams of escaping the football-obsessed culture of her town yet is linked to it as the sister of the high-school quarterback and as the sweetheart of his replacement, played by Van Der Beek.

Her portrayal of the intelligent Jules drew inevitable comparisons to Katie Holmes, co-star to Van Der Beek on the popular Dawson’s Creek.

a jewel in the rough

Smart would next be featured as a supporting love interest in the touching comedy, Outside Providence, starring Alec Baldwin. Those who enjoyed her performance got to see more of her, when she was cast as Ruby, Noel’s girlfriend on the WB’s Felicity, from the 1999 to the 2001 season.

In 2000, Amy starred in the disappointing NBC miniseries, The ’70s, before her appearance in the gross-out teen flick, Road Trip. She can now be seen on the current video hit, Rat Race, with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Whoopi Goldberg, and you can catch her next in a small role in the upcoming film, Interstate 60.

In addition to her acting career, Smart is a spokesperson for an environmental group devoted to cleaning up the Santa Monica Bay.

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Biography

Many famous female singers have originated from Canada, like Joni Mitchell and k.d. lang. Sarah McLachlan is one of the latest success stories. Her sensual voice and natural elegance allow for each of her songs to be an escapade into a fantasy world. Her warmth and soft character make her one of the nicest performers in the business.

She was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 28, 1968. She made her singing start at the young age of 4. Although her first instrument was the ukulele, she pursued her love for music by studying piano and guitar during her school years. She also took singing lessons on an ongoing basis.

At the tender age of 17, she was offered a record contract based on her performance in her first band called October Game. Nettwerk Productions wanted to take her in as a recording artist but Sarah’s parents turned down the offer saying that there would be other opportunities and that she was better off attending art school. As planned, she studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Later, as destiny has its way of sneaking up on people, Nettwerk called again, and on October 2nd 1987, she signed a deal with the label.

Her debut album Touch in 1988, quickly attracted a wide audience of music lovers. Her college radio hit “Vox” aided in the success of her first album which achieved gold status in Canada. By the end of the year, Arista Records had her sign a deal in the United States. Her album was released in the US by 1989. The sales were not as good as expected with the public but critics liked this new pretty face of music.

Her second album Solace in 1991 was once again welcomed with open arms in Canada and became a huge success. Her two singles “Drawn to the Rhythm” and “Into the Fire” became instant hits. At the same time, the US started realizing that she had a lot of potential with this new album offering a more traditional sound with producer Pierre Marchand.

Her 1994 album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, followed the live album issued with her Canadian label. This album was to prove her amazing talent and breakthrough potential with melodic songs like “Hold On” and “Good Enough”. The slow ascension of the album on American music charts took time but it was a sure bet. Constant airplay for her singles and tour to spice up the record sales allowed the album to go multiplatinum. Her following anxiously awaited and The Freedom Sessions was released, with songs from the Ecstasy album and a cover of the Tom Waits’ “Ol’ 55″, which was later featured on the Boys on the Side soundtrack.

Her artistic creativity made her come up with the inception of an all female festival tour, Lillith Fair, which has a host of female performers. Naming the event Lilith Fair, along with her partners, an eight-week tour was planned in the summer of 1997. The concept was given a test run where McLachlan appeared on a couple of concerts with a few female artists that shared her vision. Its success brought forth the first Lilith Fair concert on September 14th 1996, in Vancouver, B.C. A few of the other performers were Paula Cole, Lisa Loeb, and Michelle McAdorey. In the following months after the successful start of the project, Sarah was back in the studios recording and preparing a new album with a release date coinciding with her next summer tour.

Taking time away from her busy schedule, she got married in 1997 on the beaches of Jamaica with drummer Ashwin Sood. Her secretive nature even kept her Nettwerk contacts in the dark. A few months later, the list of performers for her festival was growing with known names. Jewel, Joan Osborne, and Suzanne Vega were only a few of the big names for the tour. “Vulvapa