Beware of a St Valentine's Day massacre - in your inbox. Computer users have been warned to be suspicious of seductive e-mails. They might appear to promise love, but in fact carry the cyber equivalent of a sexually transmitted disease : the most advanced "worm" yet seen on the Internet.
Called Storm, the harmful piece of software is believed to have enslaved tens of millions of computers around the world. Most users do not know they have been infected. They unwittingly pass the worm on. The world's leading Internet security experts have been trying to kill Storm, but it is constantly evolving to stay one step ahead.
Storm started in January last year with a message bearing a simple subject line: "230 dead as storm batters Europe." When Internet users clicked on the file attachment to learn more, they unknowingly allowed cybercriminals to take control of their computers. Other e-mails announced the death of President Bush and war breaking out with Iran.
PHOTO: AP
Storm has already exploited Christmas and Halloween, and there are fears of an onslaught this Valentine's Day.
"It's often tied into Christmas or New Year or sports events," said Greg Day, an analyst at the security firm McAfee. "We've seen Valentine's messages appearing in the last couple of weeks with a big image of a heart. It's trying to install a "Trojan" on your system which can then be used to send more spam to others."
Cybercriminals can then commit identity theft, trick users with fake Web sites and capture personal details.
(THE GUARDIAN)
情人節病毒有可能攻擊破壞你電子信箱的收件匣,請大家小心防範。電腦用戶已被警告對誘人的電子郵件要格外小心,它們可能假藉情人節名義示愛,但事實上夾帶了電腦「性病」──網路上從來沒出現過的最新變種「蠕蟲」病毒。
這個名為「風暴」且具有破壞力的電腦程式,據信已入侵全球上千萬台電腦。大部分的電腦用戶不知道自己的電腦已經被感染,在不知情的情況下將這個病毒散播出去。世界頂尖的網路安全專家已經著手嘗試破解「風暴」病毒,但這個病毒卻不斷演化,永遠搶先一步。
「風暴」病毒於去年一月份爆發,透過一封標題為「暴風席捲歐洲,造成兩百三十人死亡」的電子郵件傳播到用戶電腦上。當網路使用者開啟了附加檔案,他們已經不知不覺地讓網路罪犯控制了他們的電腦。其他類似的還有宣布美國總統布希身亡和美國與伊朗爆發戰爭消息的電子郵件。
「風暴」病毒已利用耶誕節和萬聖節大舉肆虐,情人節恐怕會出現另一波攻擊。
「它常伴隨著耶誕節、新年或體育賽事等字眼出現,」防毒軟體大廠「麥考菲」的病毒分析專家葛瑞格:岱伊說:「過去幾個星期,我們已經發現情人節病毒電子郵件,內容有一個很大的愛心圖案,會試圖安裝木馬程式到你的系統裡,然後利用它發送更多垃圾郵件給其他人。」
網路犯罪者可藉此盜用他人身分犯罪,並且利用假冒網站欺騙用戶,竊取個人資料。(衛報/翻譯:楊鴻泰)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You