Here are some of the most significant bugs from the past week in the BugBlog:
Symantec says there is a new worm, called MSIL.Letum.A@mm, that may arrive as a spoofed email supposedly from Symantec. The worm is written in Microsoft .NET's Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) and can infect both Windows PCs and Windows Mobile devices, if the .NET framework is present. Updated AV signatures from Symantec will stop it. If you are already infected, see removal details at Symantec.
Hewlett-Packard says that both the HP Color LaserJet 2500 and 4600 Toolbox have bugs that may allow remote attackers to read arbitrary files from your computer. HP has updates that plug the security hole. Find them at HP and also here, under the Download Drivers and Software option. Look for version 3.1.
The Mac OS X 10.4.6 update fixes a security problem for the new Intel-based Macintosh computers. Apple says that without the update, someone sitting at the computer can bypass the firmware password and gain access to Single User Mode. The update increases the password security to prevent this. Apple credits David Pugh for finding this bug.
Article comments
1 - Bliffle
I have my own bug report to contribute. For the last couple years I've been bugged trying to identify a flying animal I first encountered in european gardens (I now find that they are in NE US and TX, etc., too) which looks like a hummingbird (because of it's fast wingbeat) but has not a hummingbird head or wingbuzz. Contrary to what european citizens (and one US entemologist) tried to tell me it is not a Bourdin or Bumblebee. It has a proboscis that unrolls and penetrates the flower to extract nectar.
I FINALLY identified it today as a Hummingbird Moth (duh!), more exactly hemaris thysbe, or clearwing moth, characterized by lobster-like tail with transverse white bars. 2 inch wingspan, a moth that flies by day, in bright sunlight and loves honeysuckle. Keep your eyes open for it.
Look here: An excellent bug website.
I also identified a Lesser Vine Sphinx, a moth with a striking black/white pattern that you will not forget and which is unmistakable.
Moths are very interesting, contrary to what the average dolt might think. 150 years ago Darwin, upon encountering the Comet Orchid (which has a footlong ovary, or whatever they call it) postulated that by Evolutionary Law there must be a moth with a footlong proboscis to fertilize it, though noone had ever seen such a thing. And lo! A couple years ago the moth was discovered, and captured on video in Africa doing it's evolutionary duty!
You can learn a lot if you cut the cable and cut the satellite and start watching PBS! Do it!