Daily Bulletin

Sloan key player in ozone study

"An expert in atmospheric chemistry, with particular expertise in the study of atmospherically important aerosols," Sloan is playing a central role in the proposed research, reports UW chemistry chair John Hepburn. "In fact," he adds, "one of the unique features of this project is the attempt to measure atmospheric aerosols from space, something that has not been done before."

IST issues Trojan horse advisory

Like the proverbial horses of Troy, these high-tech versions carry an "apparently useful program containing hidden functions that can exploit the privileges of the user (running the program), with a resulting security threat. A Trojan horse does things that the program user did not intend," adds Watt, quoting a CERT advisory on the subject.

"Over the past few weeks," CERT reports, "we have received an increase in the number of incident reports related to Trojan horses." Those reports coincide with "wide distribution of an email message which claims to be a free upgrade to the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser."

What makes Trojan horses so insidious is that they "rely on users to install them, or they can be installed by intruders who have gained unauthorized access by other means. Then, an intruder attempting to subvert a system using a Trojan horse relies on other users running the Trojan horse to be successful."

Once they gain access to a system, the Trojan horse "can do anything that the user executing the program has the privileges to do," including deleting files, accessing files, modifying files, installing other programs (such as programs that provide unauthorized network access), installing viruses or other Trojan horses.

"A compromise of any system on your network, including a compromise through Trojan horses, may have consequences for the other systems on your network," notes Watt. "Particularly vulnerable are systems that transmit authentication material, such as passwords, over shared networks in cleartext or in a trivially encrypted form. This is very common."

"I don't think we have had an extensive problem here, but the potential is there," says IST electronic workplace director Carol Vogt. "In actual fact, most of the infections people on campus have acquired have been via Word documents they receive from trusted associates, and the documents have been contaminated by macro viruses. I have some suggestions that I follow, and they might be beneficial for others.

• "Run Norton Anti-virus in "Auto-Protect" mode. It scans any file before it is loaded.
• "Never download anything (either a program or a document) from the web, unless it is from a site you feel you can trust. For example, I wouldn't download a shareware program unless I found it pointed to by a trusted site such as Tucows.
• "If you receive an email attachment from someone you don't know, never run it or open it. Delete it immediately.
• "If you receive an email attachment from someone you do know, question it. If it was a file you were expecting and need, okay. If it is a file they want you to open or run because it is "cute" or funny, throw it away.
• "If you are using Office 97 or Office 98, and you open a document someone sends you, and you are told it contains macros, click the Disable macros button. Then find out from the person who sent it to you if it should contain macros. If it shouldn't, delete the file, and advise the sender to virus check their system.
• "Run Norton Antivirus on your computer at home. If you have Norton licensed for your office system, you can also legally run a copy at home. If your home machine isn't covered under the University licence, you can obtain a licensed copy by purchasing the UW Home Use CD for $15 from the CHIP (MC1052). Among other software, it contains a licensed copy of Norton Antivirus for either the Mac or the PC. The vast majority of our viruses have been carried to office machines from home machines. Home machines have been infected by spouses or children bringing viruses home from work or school."

The cure could be painful. It may be necessary to "disconnect from the network and rebuild your systems from known-good software, being careful to apply all relevant patches and updates, to change all passwords, and to check other nearby systems," says Watt.

Sabotage of one form or another is the motivation of intruders, "for example, taking control of one computer, and then using it to spy on local-network traffic looking for userids and passwords on other computers.

"Most of the people who do this... are out to cause as much grief as they can," says Watt. "They think what they are doing is 'cool' because they've figured out how to turn the technology against itself."

Staff employment policy revised

UW President James Downey has approved proposed revisions to sections II.A, II.D, and IV.B of Policy 18 "Staff Employment". The changes were recommended by the Staff Relations Committee following a review of the promotion and transfer section of the policy; the primary change appears in section IV.B. The review process included the solicitation of feedback from staff on a draft issued in September 1998.

In order to provide for a more timely and effective recruitment process, staff members will be subject to a seven working day deadline, from the date of a job posting, to apply as internal candidates. If there are no qualified internal applications, a decision may be made, no earlier than seven working days from the job posting, to seek external candidates. All applications received after this decision will be treated on an equal basis, without consideration of the internal status of the candidate.

Further, an external applicant will be appointed only when both of the following conditions exist: a) no regular full-time or regular part-time staff member, who applies within the seven working day deadline for applications, can be considered as clearly meeting the requirements; b) the external candidate clearly offers qualifications specific to the position superior to any regular full-time or regular part-time staff member who is a candidate and has applied within the deadline for applications.

Though the revisions have been formally approved, the amended policy will not be implemented until Wednesday, February 17, 1999, so that staff have time to prepare for the change. Hard copies are available from the Secretariat upon request (ext. 2749).

All that jazz and more

If studying in a castle is appealing, check out the display booth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Student Life Centre great hall. Sarah Robertson from Queen's University will provide information on opportunities to study abroad for a term at the International Study Centre at Herstmonceaux in England. Scholarships are available for programs in British and European studies, with a focus on business, political studies, art history, film studies, economics, philosophy, geography, languages, religion, history, English and drama.

Conrad Grebel College presents The Art of Swing at 12:30 p.m. in the chapel today as part of its free noon-hour concert series. Featured jazz artists are Michael Wood, Art Lang and Barry Willis. For more jazz, check out the Grad House tonight (see below).

Today is the deadline for signing up for the February 17 brown bag lunch session, Beyond Anger Management. Sponsored by the UW employee assistance program, the talk by Allan Goebel of Pierce and Associates will explore "the process of eliminating anger as a dominant factor in our lives." To register, contact Johan Reis at health services, ext. 4830 or jbreis@mc1adm.uwaterloo.ca.

Buying a home computer is the subject of a brown bag seminar today from 12 to 1 p.m. by Karl Spangler of the UW Computer Store. Sponsored by the staff association social committee, the talk will be held in Davis Centre room 1302.

Newfoundland poet and fiction writer Michael Crummey will be the guest author at the St. Jerome's Reading Series today at 4 p.m. in the St. Jerome's University Common Room (221). With the support of the Canada Council, the reading is free, and all are welcome.

Tax Tips for Students will be the focus of a free information session for all students today from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Needles Hall room 3001. Tim Rollins, CA and personal tax coordinator with Ernst and Young, will answer questions after the talk, sponsored by co-op education and career services.

Three employer information sessions are set for today, beginning with a session for computer science students from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Laurel Room with CIBC (PERC Division). Sapient Corp. will be available to meet with graduating math students from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Ground Zero, and Capital One will hold a session from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the University Club Burgundy Room for graduating statistics students.

The 1999 Rabbi Rosenzweig Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Jewish Students' Association, will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in Engineering Lecture Hall room 211. Rachael Turkienicz, a faculty member at York University, will speak on "Female Images of God in the Bible and the Kabbalah: Is God an ancient warrior or a modern feminist?"

The drama department production of Fool for Love begins its second week of performances tonight with curtain time 8 p.m. in Studio 180, Hagey Hall. Described by reviewer Stan Johannesen as "in the tradition of the great rancid family tragedies of the American theatre", Sam Shepard's drama will continue through Saturday night. Tickets can be reserved by phoning the box office at ext. 4908.

The Jazz Goes to College Louis Fagan Memorial Jazz Series pulls out the stops tonight with a performance by the Paris Cafe Quartet from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Grad House. The first in a series of four jazz concerts, the Quartet performs "Paris swing a la Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli. Musicians are Sandy McDonald and Dave Lonsbury (acoustic guitar), Aaron Solomon (violin) and Kim Derstine (Fender bass). Tickets -- available at the Grad House -- are $5 or $18 for the series, and include a glass of wine and finger food. Upcoming dates will feature the Derek Hines Quartet on February 24, the Paul Mitchell Group on March 10, and The Sharp Five on March 24.

Barbara Elve
bmelve@uwaterloo.ca

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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