Microsoft Fixes (Some of) IE's Problems. Microsoft decided not to wait for February 10, its next mega-patch due date, and roll out three much-awaited Internet Explorer fixes on Monday. [Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley]

I haven't had any of these turn up on my XP boxes yet.

6:54:21 PM    

CERT Advisory CA-2004-02 Email-borne Viruses - Though it may seem a bit redundant, here's a link to a CERT advisory containing information on protecting yourself from emial-borne viruses.  Sometimes it helps if folks hear about  this from an outside source.  The intro is included below.

I. Description

Over the past week, we have seen two more mass-mailing viruses, W32/Bagle and W32/Novarg, impact a significant number of home users and sites. The technology used in these viruses is not significantly different from prior mass-mailing viruses such as W32/Sobig and W32/Mimail. Unsolicited email messages containing attachments are sent to unsuspecting recipients. They may contain a return address, a provocative envelope, or something else that encourages its receiver to open it. This technique is called social engineering. Because we are trusting and curious, social engineering is often effective. The widespread impact of these latest viruses, which rely on human intervention to spread, demonstrates the effectiveness of social engineering.

It continues to be important to ensure that anti-virus software is used and updated regularly, that attachments are examined on mail servers, and that firewalls filter unneeded ports and protocols. It also remains necessary that users be educated about the dangers of opening attachments, especially executable attachments.

2:12:24 PM    

SuSE chief gets promoted within Novell. Richard Seibt, the former CEO of SuSE Linux, takes over the European operations of Novell, which acquired the German Linux seller in January. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

Looks like Novell is serious about Linux and SuSE.

8:21:54 AM    

Universities Speed Up Open-Source Plans. In the hopes of gaining more control over their infrastructure, more university IT administrators are accelerating plans to migrate to open-source technology in the data center. [eWEEK Technology News

Mentions George Washington University and Cornell as 2 instances where Linux is replacing Microsoft in the university data center.

8:19:52 AM