Here’s what’s new in Thunderbird 1.5:

• Automated update to streamline product upgrades. Notification of an update is more prominent, and updates to Thunderbird may now be half a megabyte or smaller. Updating extensions has also improved.
• Sort address autocomplete results by how often you send e-mail to each recipient.
• Spell check as you type.
• Saved Search Folders can now search across multiple accounts.
• Built in phishing detector to help protect users against email scams.
• Podcasting and other RSS Improvements.
• Deleting attachments from messages.
• Integration with server side spam filtering.
• Reply and forward actions for message filters.
• Kerberos Authentication.
• Auto save as draft for mail composition.
• Message aging.
• Filters for Global Inbox.
• Improvements to product usability including redesigned options interface, and SMTP server management.
• Many security enhancements.

The Rumbling Edge has more detailed lists of new features and notable bug fixes.

Download Mozilla Thunderbird.

(CNN) — To many, the name Kevin Mitnick is synonymous with hacking, the cinematic sort where a snot-nosed kid thumbs his nose at authority. But, Mitnick says, the characterization is a bit overdone and the legend untrue, if not libelous.

It is true, he says, that he broke into corporate computer systems and stole source code to satisfy his curiosity, but he denies the stories that he hacked into NORAD — North American Aerospace Defense Command — or that he wiretapped the FBI.

Full story: CNN.com – A convicted hacker debunks some myths – Oct 7, 2005

mozillaZine: “Plans are afoot to remove support for SSL version 2.0 in Mozilla Firefox. SSL provides encrypted connections to servers, making it safe to transfer data such as credit card numbers and banking details across the Internet. Unfortunately, there are a number of known security flaws in SSL 2.0, which was the first public version of the protocol (no applications shipped with support for SSL 1.0). Therefore, the Mozilla Foundation is eager to disable support for SSL 2.0 and have all Firefox installations use only the newer and more secure SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 protocols.” [...]

I am sure we can assume this will impact all other Mozilla products such as Thunderbird.

Read the full story at mozillazine.org

The developerrs of Tor which is supported by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – is launching a competition to create a graphical front end.

The idea is that people will be able to install and configure Tor easily without necessarily having to be software wizards.

Tor currently helps to create anonymous identities when using IRC, browsers, instant messaging and the like.

The first phase of the competition is for entrants to produce mockups of good interfaces. The second phase is providing working implementations. Entries are invited for both.

The EFF said the winning entries will be open source, show good graphic design, and have a simple interface. Everyone who enters gets a free t-shirt.

More details on the project….

Tor starts anonymous GUI competition

“The Zotob MS05-039 worm mentioned on Slashdot last Sunday may be the most recent virus that has gone global, hitting Windows 2000 desktops at CNN, ABC, the New York Times, and many others. The virus is spreading around the world rapidly as compromised systems become bots and propagate the worm, with reported outbreaks in Germany and China. InformationWeek has a decent article titled Zotob Proves Patching “Window” Non-Existent. Microsoft calls it a “low impact” threat and tells you What you should know about Zotob. Symantec has W32.Zotob.D removal instructions. Trend Micro thinks that this is a new, different worm altogether and says it is one of the fastest-spreading infections in history.”

Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters

WordPress Development Blog – WordPress 1.5.2

In order to lock out both copied games as well as homebrew software, including the GNU/Linux operating system, Microsoft built a chain of trust on the Xbox reaching from the hardware to the execution of game code, in order to avoid the infiltration of code that has not been authorized by Microsoft. The link between hardware and software in this chain of trust is the hidden “MCPX” boot ROM. The principles, the implementations and the security vulnerabilities of this 512 bytes ROM will be discussed in this article.

The Hidden Boot Code of the Xbox – Xbox-Linux

Learn a few token-strings from the language (download, cracked, english version, pro etc..) and you’re basically ready to go warez hunting across the borders.

(Of course this should not be attempted, ever – since it’s illegal, but it’s pretty interesting to surf on foreign sites and attempt to make sense of it all..)

Finding warez using Google

Google China

Google Russia

Slashdot | LiveJournal Founder Launches OpenID System

* Slashdot | Anatomy of a Hack