Spam free (with a little help from your friends)

Posted by Ed Burnette @ 7:45 pm

Researchers at UCLA and the University of Florida have created a new type of distributed spam-filtering system that is more efficient and scalable than the alternatives in use today. Results of a large-scale prototype were published in the October edition of IEEE Computer.

The idea is simple:

Spammers send the same or similar messages to thousands of users; we have developed a system that lets users query all of their e-mail clients to determine if another user in the system has already labeled a suspect message as spam.

Social filtering has been tried before (for example, SpamNet), but solutions based on a central server are not scalable. Also, they require building up a totally new social network. This new method uses something you already have – your own personal contact list. A novel “percolation search” algorithm plus a digest-based indexing mechanism minimize network bandwidth and maximize privacy.

To implement the collaborative spam-filtering system, users would first install a plug-in for their e-mail program (though it could also be built-in to future versions of programs like Outlook, or done by large e-mail providers like Hotmail and Yahoo). When a suspect piece of mail arrives, the system uses a random walk of your e-mail contact network to see if someone else has already marked the mail as spam. All messages to other clients are through specially formatted and secure emails. There are safeguards built-in to prevent abuse while at the same time achieving up to a 99.6% spam detection rate in their simulations.

This plug-in doesn’t exist yet. It will be some time before implementations are available, and its effectiveness will obviously depend on many people decide to use it. But if widely adopted, the technique has the potential to put a serious dent in the spam problem.

Bahaya Konsep Invasi Baru Israel Atas Libanon

Mahmod Ar Rimawi

(El Haleej Emiret, 28/08/2006)

Para pemimpin Israel saling memberikan isyarat bahwa mereka siap melakukan perang tahap kedua atas Libanon. Inilah implisit sejumlah statemen Ehud Olmert, Menhannya, Amer Peretz dan panglima perangnya, Dani Haltus. Pengakuan bersalah, menyimpang dan pembentukan tim investigasi penyimpangan anggaran menunjukkan adanya perasaan terhina dan upaya melupakannya. Skandal-skandal yang meliputi presiden mereka, Mosha Katsav dan sebelumnya Menteri Kehakiman, Hayem Ramon dan panglima perang memberikan kesan tentang gap dalam system mereka. Skandal ini juga menegaskan tentang kondisi terkini pejabat negara. Lebih berbahaya dari itu, guncangan terhadap reputasi lembaga militer Israel. Sebab perang atas Libanon pada asalnya bertujuan untuk mengembalikan reputasi dan wibawa yang sudah jatuh melalui operasi serangan perlawanan Palestina yang menewaskan lima serdadu Israel dan menawan dua serdadu lainnya.

Mungkin benar bahwa statemen pemimpin-pemimpin Israel tentang perang baru pada dasarnya bertujuan menenangkan public Israel yang putus asa dan upaya menyelamatkan partai Kadema yang memimpin pemerintahan. Namun itu tidak mengecilkan bahaya rencana invasi dengan target Libanon. Orang akan mengakui ancaman Israel ini benar bila sudah dilakukan dengan cara apapun.

Mungkin ada yang menilai bahwa sikap ekstrim Israel menolak pasukan perdamaian internasional di wilayah perbatasan melemahkan prediksi perang ini. Meski demikian tidak menafikan adanya kemungkinan ini. Israel memiliki kemampun untuk membalikkan kebenaran; bukankah Israel menganggap bahwa turun di Balabak tidak bertentangan dengan keputusan internasional dan tidak bertentangan dengan gencatan senjata? Tidak sampai di situ, Tel Aviv berusaha memanfaatkan isu ini untuk kepentingangan dengan mengarahkan dunia internasional untuk mencegah masuknya senjata ke Hizbullah. Israel ingin mengesankan bahwa senjata Hizbullah berbahaya dan Israel hanya berusaha untuk membela diri.

Orang cenderung meyakini bahwa ekperimen Jalur Gaza pasca penarikan Israel dari sana akan berulang dalam kasus Libanon. Ini kentara dari permusuhan berulang-ulang, klaim operasi untuk mencegah masuknya senjata, memburu tokoh dan aktifis ditambah embargo dan blockade udara, darat terhadap Jalur Gaza. Sebagian perlakuan Israel ini dikhawatirkan akan berulang di Libanon. Tel Aviv menilai bahwa pasukan udaranya merupakan asset strategisnya karena digunakan baik karena ada sebab atau tidak, baik ada momen atau tidak selama tujuannya adalah untuk menyakiti rakyat sipil. Karena rakyat sipil dianggap sebagai musuh utama Israel.

Sudah jelas pemimpin-pemimpin Israel mengincar pemimpin Hizbullah. Sebagaimana mereka lakukan terhadap pemimpin Hamas dan Jihad Islami serta Front Kerakyatan dan Fatah. Ini artinya, perang berikutnya tidak seperti perang yang berlangsung sejak 12 Juni lalu. Namun serangan akan dilakukan Israel di sana sini untuk mengacaukan Hizbullah dan front perlawanan di dalam Libanon serta menghalangi pembangunan kembali. Israel akan melakukan perang secara kredit dengan syarat-syarat beruntun di antaranya akan mengancam terus melancarkan serangan jika syarat Israel tidak dipenuhi.

Bahaya ini bersifat sungguh-sungguh apalagi kecaman atas Israel masih lemah akibat kejahatannya, penggunaan senjata terlarang dan pembunuhan terhadap sipil. Sehingga Israel akan semakin berani melakukan kejahatan. Israel tidak akan mengejutkan ini sebagai perang namun hanya mengejar Hizbullah. Seperti halnya apa yang dilakukan Turki terhadap Partai Buruh Kurdi, apa yang dilakukan Rusia terhadap Cechnya, sebagaimana yang dilakukan sejumlah negara terhadap Al Qaidah. Israel akan mencari sarana untuk mengobati luka hatinya setelah menerima kenyataan pahit menghadapi kegagalan di Libanon padahal saat itu Israel sedang membangun legendanya sebagai pasukan yang mampu mengalahkan Arab dalam beberapa hari.

Adalah hak Libanon jika Arab dan warga dunia untuk mendukung menghadapi invasi Israel, memutus jalan menuju ke sana. Invasi Israel terakhir sungguh tidak diduga begitu kejam.

Terakhir, masalah apapun perkembangannya tapi sesuatu yang tidak mungkin berubah bahwa Israel terang-terangan ingin melanjutkan perang dan militer sebagai pilihannya pertama yang tidak perlu dibicarakan. Seharusnya ini diperhatikan bukan saja dalam kasus Libanon tapi terhadap semua negara Arab. (atb)

Menlu Itali: Hamas dan Hizbullah Miliki Legalitas Politik

Wafa – Menlu Itali, Masimo Dalima mengatakan, sejumlah organisasi semacam Hizbullah dan gerakan Islam Hamas yang memimpin pemerintah Palestina harus dilibatkan dalam proses politik di dalam negara mereka. Menlu menolak marginalisasi peran mereka dan pemasukan mereka dalam organisasi terorisme.

Kepada harian Curir Daily Sirara Menlu Itali menyatakan bahwa kekerasan yang dilakukan kedua organisasi di atas menurutya mendapatkan dukungan politik. Karenanya, tidak seharusnya melihat kedua organisasi ini seperti halnya melihat Al Qaidah.

Bersamaan dengan penempatan pasukan internasional di selatan Libanon, 2500 pasukan Itali telah bertolak ke sana Selasa (08/09) untuk bergabung dengan pasukan penjaga keamanan yang berada di bawah PBB UNIFEL.

Di sisi lain, sejumlah organisasi perdamaian Jerman akan mulai melakukan 140 aksi unjuk rasa untuk perdamaian di kawasan Timteng pada Jumat mendatang. Ketua gabungan organisasi ini, Deter Srilansky menyatakan, aksi yang akan dilakukan ini untuk menciptakan perdamaian di kawasan khusus Timteng dan menegaskan bahwa keterlibatan militer Jerman di sana dengan mengirim pasukan akan berdampak negative dalam konteks perdamaian. Mereka juga meminta agar menghentikan ekspor senjata ke Israel. (atb)

Invasi ke Gaza Terus, 6 Syahid

Gaza – Enam Palestina gugur syahid Selasa hari ini (30/08) dalam serangan di Jalur Gaza, lima diantara mereka di kampung Sejaiyah timur kota. Sejak serangan Israel yang berlangsung Sabtu lalu kini telah menelan 16 korban syahid.

Sumber medis Palestina menyebutkan, seorang warga yang diketahui bernama Sulaiman Abu Qobz (25) hari ini meninggal oleh tembakan Israel di kampung Sejaiyah di timur Gaza dan empat lainnya mengalami luka. Sumber yang sama menyebutkan, bahwa sebelumnya empat warga Palestina lainnya meninggal syahid di kampung Sejaiyah.

Dr. Jamah, kepala Humas RS As Syifa di Gaza menegaskan, empat korban meninggal sampai di RS dengan tubuh terkoyak. Mereka adalah Ziyad Gharabali (25), Raid Asabiyah (27), Rami Jamel Al Gharabili (27) dan Muhannad Junaiyah (25).

Saksi mata menyebutkan, pasukan Israel menyerang korban yang berada dalam rumah dan pada saat mereka kekuar dari rumah.

Serangan Israel ini adalah dalam rangka operasi hujan musik panas yang digelar sejak 28 Juni lalu setelah perlawanan Palestina berhasil mempemalukan serdadu Israel melalui operasi orong-orong. (atb)

Gawat, 81,1% Hutan di Indonesia Dibakar

Tingginya jumlah titik api semakin membuat gerah bukan saja pemerintah daerah setempat, tapi juga negeri tetangga yang menerima kiriman asap.

Menurut Rully Syumanda, Pengkampanye Hutan WALHI, memang ada pembukaan kebun dengan cara bakar yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat, tapi WALHI menilai angkanya tidak signifikan.

“Dari tahun 2001 hingga akhir Agustus 2006 total kawasan yang dibakar atau terbakar di konsesi perkebunan besar atau konsesi izin kehutanaan lainnya mencapai 81,1%,” terang Rully kepada pers di Kantor WALHI, Jakarta, Rabu (30/8).

Untuk itu, WALHI merasa berkepentingan untuk mengeluarkan nama-nama perusahaan yang terindikasi melakukan pembakaran pada tahun 2006 ini.

Sebagian kecil dari nama-nama perusahaan tersebut telah dilakukan ground-check untuk memastikan kebenaran informasi yang diterima dari satelit. Ground-check di beberapa tempat dilakukan bersama dengan Bapedalda untuk mendapatkan kepastian bahwa sejumlah konsesi milik perusahaan telah terbakar.

Di antara perusahaan itu adalah PT. Agro Lestari Mandiri, PT Agro Bukit, PT Wilmar Plantation Group, PT Bulu Cawang Plantation, PT Bumi Pratama Khatulistiwa di Kalimantan Barat, PT Sumber Tama Nusa Pertiwi di Jambi, PT. Persada Sawit Mas (PSM) di Sumatera Selatan, PT. Agro karya Prima Lestari (Sinar Mas Group) di Kalimantan Tengah dan puluhan perusahaan lainnya di Riau.

”Sebagian besar perusahaan tersebut telah melakukan praktek serupa ditahun-tahun sebelumnya dan tidak pernah terjerat dengan hukum. di Riau misalnya, PT Arara Abadi setiap tahunnya selalu terindikasi melakukan pembakaran hutan dan lahan dikonsesinya. Demikian halnya dengan sejumlah rekanan PT RAPP,” imbuhnya. (dina)

Gedung Putih Tolak Tantangan Debat Presiden Iran

Gedung Putih menyatakan menolak tantangan Presiden Iran Mahmud Ahmadinejad pada Presiden AS, George W. Bush untuk melakukan debat terbuka di televisi.

“Omongan soal debat hanya sebuah pengalihan dari persoalan-persoalan yang ada, yang menjadi keprihatinan bukan hanya AS, tapi juga masyarakat internasional tentang perilaku Iran. Mulai dari dukungan terhadap terorisme sampai ambisi atas kemampuan senjata nuklirnya,” ujar seorang pejabat senior pemerintahan AS yang tidak mau disebut jati dirinya, Kamis (30/8).

Seperti diberitakan, dalam sebuah konferensi pers di Teheran, Presiden Iran Mahmud Ahmadinejad menantang Presiden AS, George W. Bush untuk debat dalam siaran live di televisi.

“Saya sarankan kita bicara dengan Mr. Bush, Presiden Amerika Serikat dalam debat secara live di televisi tentang isu-isu dan jalan keluar dari semua polemik ini. Kami akan akan menyuarakan pendapat kami dan mereka (AS) juga menyuarakan pendapatanya,” tantang Ahmadinejad.

Ia juga minta, agar perdebatan itu tidak disensor demi kepentingan publik AS. Ahmadinejad menambahkan, tantangan debatnya itu bukan berarti Iran mau membuka kembali dialog dengan AS.

Sejak tahun 1979, setelah peristiwa pendudukan kedubes AS di Teheran, Iran membekukan hubungan diplomatik dengan AS hingga sekarang. (ln/TheAustralian)

Two new 3G phones supporting Java Platform 7 (JP-7) unveiled: Z610 and K618

August sees the announcement of two new UMTS mobile phones both supporting Sony Ericsson’s Java™ Platform 7 (JP-7). The new Z610 is a clamshell with sleek ‘mirror’ exterior finish that includes an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) external display that illuminates when a call, SMS or MMS is received. The new K618 is a slim 3G phone with a straight form factor, and as with the Z610, includes notable business and entertainment features.

Sony Ericsson facilitates porting applications to many different phone series by continuing its successful Java Platform strategy. Each platform version is used for several phone models, demonstrating consistent Java implementations which help developers understand how to effectively create applications for a range of phones at the same time. Java Platform 7 (JP-7) is the latest and helps developers create compelling games and imaging applications for eight phone models that now includes the new Z610 and K618. JP-7 supports a range of JSRs, including Advanced Media Supplements (JSR 234), delivers improved performance for 2D and 3D games and supports multiple, simultaneously running Java applications in a single virtual machine. New Z610 and K618 Announced on August 22, 2006 in London, the Sony Ericsson Z610 is a compact 3G clamshell phone with distinctive design elements. The ‘mirror’ exterior finish includes a hidden OLED external display that illuminates to show call information such as caller-ID and incoming SMS or MMS. On August 8, 2006 the Sony Ericsson K618 was revealed. It is 3G mobile phone that is as light and slim as a typical 2.5G phone, yet delivers high-speed web browsing and streaming or downloading music and video clips.

Z610 with illuminated display.

K618

Both the Z610 and K618 have mobile entertainment and business features including 2 Megapixel camera, full HTML browser, Memory Stick Micro™ removable storage (up to 1GB available), RSS feed support, push e-mail, 3D gaming with JSR 184 and Mascot Capsule v3, and impressive music and video players. A picture blog application is included with both these phones allowing the end-user to post (or blog) their images taken with the phone directly to their own blogsite. Advanced Multimedia Supplements (JSR 234) Sony Ericsson’s JP-7 supports Advanced Multimedia Supplements (JSR 234) for enhanced camera and image handling. It is now possible to control the camera exposure (i.e. the amount of light on the image sensor), the focus, zoom functionality and the camera’s flash from a Java ME-based application as well as rotating the camera image. The ability to record video and very precisely control frame-by-frame location, allowing the end-user to ‘move around’ in the video, is also offered by JP-7 based phones. All these capabilities can now be controlled from a Java ME-based application, opening up possibilities for new creative imaging applications. Read a Tip, Trick & Code article about camera control here>> JSRs supported by JP-7: CLDC 1.1 (JSR 139) MIDP 2.0 (JSR 118) Wireless Messaging 1.0 and 2.0 APIs (JSR 120/205) Mobile Media API (JSR 135) Java Technology for the Wireless Industry (JSR 185) Java API for Bluetooth™ (JSR 82) (optional) PDA Optional Packages for the Java ME Platform (JSR 75) Web Services API (JSR 172) Advanced Multimedia Supplements (JSR 234) (camera capabilities) Mascot Capsule Micro3D Version 3 Mobile 3D Graphics API for Java ME (JSR 184) Nokia UI API 1.1

Improved gaming performance

Through new generation hardware with faster CPU, better optimized software supporting floating-point operations and improved critical graphics primitives for 2D and 3D graphics, Sony Ericsson has improved performance and speed, significantly enhancing game-playing experience for JP-7 phones.

JP-7 phones also have the ability to support MIDlets in standby mode, increasing the possibilities for imaginative wallpapers and screensavers.

Two new 3G phones supporting Java Platform 7 (JP-7) unveiled: Z610 and K618

Bringing the number of phones supporting Java Platform 7 (JP-7) to eight, the new Z610 and K618 are slim, UMTS phones with a 2 Megapixel camera, full HTML browser, Memory Stick Micro removable storage (up to 1GB available), RSS feed support, push e-mail, 3D gaming, and impressive music and video players. JP-7 supports a range of JSRs including Advanced Media Supplements (JSR 234), delivers improved gaming and supports multiple, simultaneously running Java applications in a single virtual machine.

Microsoft to offer broader support for older software

By Ina Fried, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News: August 28, 2006, 11:13 AM PT

Microsoft plans to offer a longer lifeline to customers that use the company’s older products.

The software maker on Monday announced changes to its paid custom support program that will allow users to get that type of support longer. Customers will pay only for each machine that is using the older software, rather than paying a hefty flat fee.

“This provides customers with a greater degree of choice and ability to plan for their migrations,” said Ines Vargas, director of support policy at Microsoft.

Microsoft has already changed its support policies to offer five years of mainstream support and an additional five years of more limited, paid support, known as “extended support,” on its business and developer products.

Custom support is what kicks in after that. The company has offered custom support in the past, such as for Windows NT 4. The company initially pledged only one year of support but later extended that to two years.

“We will no longer announce support for one year at a time,” Vargas said. “Our customers kept telling us that sort of extension every year really is not working from a predictability and planning perspective.”

Under the new program, Microsoft will add at least a third year of paid support for NT 4, though Vargas said only a handful of customers are expected to choose that option. The company is also in its second year of custom support for Exchange 5.5, while Windows XP Service Pack 1 will enter custom support in October. Windows XP is still in the mainstream support phase, but customers are required to move to the latest service pack of a product within two years.

Going forward, Microsoft will offer three years of custom support and will announce pricing for the program at the outset of those three years. Custom support also may not be limited to just three years.

Although it will now be more broadly available from Microsoft, custom support is still a pricey option. Businesses must already be paying for Microsoft’s top-level “premier support” for a product and also pay custom support fees that often are more than the cost of licensing the new product. In addition, customers have to put in place a migration plan showing how and when they are moving to a newer product.

Such support generally is chosen by companies that have a particular application that requires the older version. Microsoft will now offer custom support as long as there is demand for it, but Vargas said such programs will not be indefinite.

“As the price escalates, there comes a point in time where it just does not make sense for anybody,” Vargas said.

IBM Goes on Mainframe Offensive

By Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News: August 28, 2006, 2:02 PM PT

IBM has plans in place to spend tens of millions of dollars to coax new customers to buy the company’s mainframes.

The money will be spent in the “next couple years” on tasks such as training customers, tuning their software for mainframes and helping them migrate computing infrastructure, said Jim Stallings, who in January took over as head of the mainframe group.

“When you have a mainframe in your infrastructure, you understand its attributes. If you haven’t been exposed to that, it’s very different,” Stallings said. “We’re going to spend a bunch of money helping them.”

Mainframes are lauded even by competitors for their reliability and heavy-duty communication abilities. But the machines don’t come cheap–the new System z9 Business Class has lowered the starting price to $100,000–and there are abundant competitors running Unix, Linux and Windows that administrators are more likely to learn about.

Prime candidates for mainframe purchases are customers running servers from Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard, Stallings said. Those competitors have their own counterpoint prepared, though. “IBM mainframe customers are moving to HP because the cost of the mainframe no longer makes business sense,” said Mark Hudson, vice president of marketing for HP’s Enterprise Storage and Servers group, arguing that the costs are lower for the relatively mainstream Intel processor technology in its Integrity server lines.

IBM has growth hopes for the mainframe, however. Stallings pointed to three main thrusts to make that growth a reality.

First, Big Blue expects to benefit from special-purpose mainframe hardware–IFL for running Linux, zIIP for running IBM’s DB2 database software, and zAAP for running Java software. Buying that hardware frees up more expensive processing capacity for general-purpose tasks.

And IBM plans more such “specialty engines,” Stallings said, citing search, regulatory compliance and security as possible areas.

Second, IBM is expanding into new regions where mainframes are scarce. That includes Russia, China and India, Stallings said. The new $100,000 machine is key to this effort, he said: “We’re at a price point now you can afford.”

The third expansion area is security. IBM wants mainframes to be a “security hub” for the center of customers’ encrypted communications, he said.