Untangling a Knot in the Series of Tubes: A Flaw Internet Security gets Fixed

Is Dan Kaminski the modern-day Paul Revere? Some think so, after the 29 year old computer security specialist stumbled upon a potentially dangerous flaw in the basic way the internet is set up and called a secret meeting to alert mega programmers before going public. Afraid that hackers might take advantage of the flaw first, Kaminski rode "and spread the alarm, through every Middlesex village and farm." Which, given such modern day amenities as the internet, television, and newspapers, made his trip far faster than Revere's 1775 jaunt.

What Dan discovered was that it would be extremely easy for someone with ill intentions to divert internet users to fake websites that resembled sites they were familiar with, such as their bank's online services. Once surfers were on the fake sites, they would enter their private information where it could be accessed by the wrong hands. By annoucing the flaw, Dan has given the good guys a chance to fix the problem before their clients were taken advantage of. Already a large percentage of domains have been fixed, and others are on their way. With more personal business being conducted over the internet and identity theft a real concern, the fact that this hole can be patched ahead of time and not in the face of a large-scale problem is great news!

"In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere."

http://iht.com/articles/2008/07/30/technology/30flaw.php

Golden Retriever Adopts Tiger Cubs

Caney, KS

"Some mothers just don't get it," says Tom Harvey, Director of Safari Zoological Park in Caney, Kansas. He's describing a mother tiger who gave birth to three adorable cubs on Sunday. Not long afterwards, she began neglecting them, virtually orphaning the day-old cubs.

Though the Zoo has bottle-fed tiger cubs in the past, natural food is by far the preferred nutrition for the "bottomless pits" of hunger. Fortunately for the cubs, Isabella, a local golden retriever, came to the rescue. Harvey reports that she treats the cubs as if they are her own litter, feeding, cleaning, and protecting them. Having just weened her own puppies, Isabella was in the perfect place, biologically speaking, to adopt the baby tigers.

To read more and to see pictures of this special family of animals, visit http://www.kansas.com/news/story/479300.html