Monthly Archives: May 2006

Symantec Client Security and Symantec AntiVirus Elevation of Privilege

Heres a nasty little problem with Symantec Antivirus Corperate Edition, in theroy if you don’t patch the antivirus itself can be exploited to run apps on your system.

Symantec was notified that Symantec Client Security and Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition are susceptible to a potential stack overflow. Exploiting this overflow successfully could potentially cause a system crash, or allow a remote or local attacker to execute arbitrary code with System level rights on the affected system.

Whats interesting is if you have a firewall enabled it shouldn’t be able to get though unless you open the remote administration port (TCP 2967)

SYM06-010 – Symantec Client Security and Symantec AntiVirus Elevation of Privilege

Its Finally Legal to use your iPod In Australia

Music fans will be able to legally record their CD collections onto iPods and MP3 players under a raft of proposed changes to Australian Federal Government copyright laws.

Taping TV and radio programs and using copyright material for parody or satire will also be legalised as part of the reforms.

And in a move expected to be welcomed by artists, the Government plans to introduce new enforcement measures to combat piracy.

The changes are part of a major overhaul of copyright laws to be announced today by Attorney-General Philip Ruddock in response to millions of Australians who effectively break the law every time they reproduce copyright material for personal use.

The key changes relate to the recording of copyright material from CDs, audio tapes or vinyl records onto an MP3 player or home computer.

Under existing laws, people copying material risked being sued by the copyright owner.

For someone who had copied their entire CD collection onto an MP3 player, the damages could, theoretically, be in the thousands.

The reforms will also mean people can legally dub old VHS cassettes onto a DVD. However, the Government is still reviewing whether to extend the exemption to recording DVDs onto other devices.

Other exemptions will relate to the use of copyright material for non-commercial purposes by schools, universities and libraries.

The Government wants to crack down on those who are using the material to make a profit or causing significant losses by distributing other people’s property.

The new penalties will include on-the-spot fines, while the Government will also make it easier to establish copyright piracy in legal cases.

Expect More Stargate

Brad Wright co-executive producer of SCI-FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis told SCI-FI Wire he’s confident that the longstanding franchise could spin off more series and even a feature film. Projects in the works include a third TV series, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and a movie, he said in an interview.

“What we’ve built is now bigger than all of us,” Wright said. “Even if I were to not do the movie, I know somebody is going to do a Stargate movie. It’s the second largest franchise for MGM next to Bond. So it’s got significant brand potential, and by two series doing as well as they are and a game coming out, that could really, really, really brand the show in a big way. That’s what they like in this business: a larger franchise with so many legs to it that it could go into the future for years to come.”

The franchise began with the 1994 feature film Stargate, followed by SG-1 on Showtime in 1996. That series moved to SCI-FI in 2002 and will begin its unprecedented 10th season on July 14, becoming the longest-running SF show in American television history. Atlantis spun off of SG-1 in 2004 and kicks off its third season also on July 14.

“I know there will be a movie made,” Wright said. “I know there will likely be another series made, whether I make it or not. It’s just too good a vehicle for storytelling. This is exactly what Jonathan [Glassner] and I recognized 10 years ago, when we created the series. The Stargate is dramatically, and in terms of storytelling, a perfect vehicle from which to launch characters and tell stories. That’s why it will go for years to come.” Ian Spelling