Article Abstract:
Computer viruses and worms, which are life-like varieties of computer programs, are usually thought of as dangerous or malicious, but some researchers believe that benevolent forms can be created. Such programs could automatically update software applications or diagnose and correct hardware problems. They could do complex searches of data banks, looking for particular kinds of information; or they could do routine clean-up tasks and garbage collection. Fred Cohen, the computer scientist who invented the term 'computer virus,' has offered a $1,000 prize in a controversial contest for useful viruses. Some scientists view Cohen's contest as an encouragement of an activity that is fundamentally dangerous. The US Army is interested in viruses and the Army's Signals Warfare Laboratory has appropriated $550,000 for research into possible military applications.
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Article Abstract:
Seventeen newspaper publishers are setting up a research consortium that will study innovative ways to deliver news via computers and telecommunications technology. The five-year project, expected to cost from $1.5- to $2 million annually, will be done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory. Among the participants in the consortium are Gannett, Knight-Ridder, Times Mirror, the Tribune Co, Hearst, IBM, Capital Cities/ABC and BellSouth. The newspaper publishers have gotten over their initial disappointments with videotex and other electronic news services, and are exploring possibilities such as the transmission of news through wireless computers or personalized papers printed in homes. The San Jose Mercury News starts using America Online to deliver electronic versions of its daily news on Monday, May 10, 1993.
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A Commerce Department advisory committee issues two draft resolutions urging the Clinton administration to hold extensive public hearings on its proposed Clipper chip technology, an encoding system that will allow authorities to tap telephone and computer communications. The resolutions further suggested that the technology be used only by the executive branch of the government while public hearings are taking place. The proposed security system is intended to establish a national standard for telephone and data encoding. Under the system, law enforcement authorities would create a numeric 'master key', the codes of which will be held by two separate government agencies as a security measure. Technology experts, privacy activists and industry officials say the plan is technically flawed and offers the potential for abuse.
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