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[News] [Rival] Microsoft's Kill Switch Used by Crackers

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Botnet master hits the kill switch, takes down 100,000 PCs

,----[ Quote ]
| Those behind the Zeus botnet recently decided to press the big red button, 
| bluescreening 100,000 computers around the globe. Security experts aren't 
| sure why yet, although they have some ideas.   
`----

http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/05/zeus-botnet-hits-the-kill-switch-takes-down-100000-pcs.ars


Recent:

Kill Switch

,----[ Quote ]
| A kill switch (also called an e-stop) is a security measure used to shut off
| a device (usually in an emergency situation) in which it cannot be shut down
| in the usual manner.
|
| [...]
|
| In the example of Microsoft Windows, the company developed a verification
| tool named "Windows Genuine Advantage", that originally activated a kill
| switch, or "reduced functionality mode," on what Microsoft's mandatory
| software's deemed to be an unlicensed copy of the operating system.
`----

http://www.infopackets.com/news/technology/word_of_the_day/2009/20090430_kill_switch.htm


Jobs Trumpets App Store's Bursting Till, Confirms Kill Switch

,----[ Quote ]
| The App Store has taken in about $1 million per day since it opened,
| according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He's also confirmed the existence of a
| so-called kill switch -- a feature embedded in the iPhone that gives Apple
| the ability to destroy an app in a user's phone remotely. Jobs described the
| inclusion of the kill switch as a safety measure in case a secretly malicious
| program ever got passed around.
`----

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Jobs-Trumpets-App-Stores-Bursting-Till-Confirms-Kill-Switch-64124.html?welcome=1218510053
http://tinyurl.com/6ypzpr


Related:

Another reason to love FOSS - Software Kill Switches

,----[ Quote ]
| One thing I hate above almost anything else is when a vendor tells you what
| you can and can't do with your software.  That drives me bonkers.  Sure, they
| wrote it and it's theirs to do with as they wish, but once they sell/give it
| to me, it's mine to do with as I see fit - within the confines of the
| software itself.  Unceremoniously switching me off or making me pay more,
| forcing me to upgrade, stopping me from using the software, or making me bow
| to other ludicrous demands is just blatant power mongering and extortion.  If
| they want me to do something, they had better have a really good reason why I
| should do it, and it had better not be "just because we want more money."
|
| So what brought on this little bout of ranting and bitterness?  Well, several
| things really, but the biggest is the ever infamous software kill switch.
| It's been around for years, but really didn't start coming into its own until
| Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) came onto the scene.  Since then, proprietary
| vendors have looked at Microsoft's success with the Software Kill Switch and
| realized the money making potential of it.  They also have seen the power it
| can give them and it's become an intoxicating drug to them.
`----

http://www.raiden.net/?cat=2&aid=438


Cryptome: NSA has access to Windows Mobile smartphones

,----[ Quote ]
| First time in history Cryptome.org has released information about the
| characteristics of NSA’s network surveillance.
`----

http://blogs.securiteam.com/index.php/archives/1028
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