Virus Alert
Bugbear

Sudan Jha

A couple of weeks ago millions of computers worldwide were infected by a fast-replicating virus called Bugbear. Security experts warned Friday that the threat was still accelerating. Bugbear, a mass mailing worm that spreads itself through computer users’ e-mail programmes, was first identified by a security team in Sydney on Sunday.

Bugbear came into existence when a powerful virus, Klez.h was plaguing computer users since February. Now, reports say that the number of computers infected by Bugbear is rapidly increasing in comparison to Klez.h. Bugbear is likely to remain a threat for months. While it is difficult to know the exact number of computer users affected or the damage done by Bugbear, it is clearly one of the most virulent viruses yet. The first computer affected by Bugbear was reported in Malaysia, but no evidence was found to track the origination of the virus from there.

Bugbear - a new virus record. Last week, MessageLabs, US, intercepted 320,000 messages containing the Bugbear attachment, more than the Klez.h virus managed in its first week in April. On Monday, Bugbear-infected PCs sent out nearly 38,000 e-mails. While MessageLabs can not measure the number of infected computers on the Internet, it can tally the number of e-mails sent by such computers and routed through its systems to the company’s 700,000 customers. That data gives an indication of how prevalent the virus has become.

Computer security experts of the anti-virus giant Symantec have termed the threat a category 4, the second highest threat level. Category 4 is referred to a computer virus that affects millions of users under serious attacks. Symantec said the virus infects only computers operating on the Microsoft Windows operating system and uses the Microsoft Outlook e-mail programme. One sign of the virus is that the size of the attachment is always 50,688 bytes, Symantec said. Since Bugbear exhibits few symptoms on an infected computer, users may not know their systems are infected and thus may not even take precautions after they have been attacked

How does the virus affect computers? Bugbear is what security experts call a ‘blended threat’, or it carries out multiple attacks once inside a computer. It records users’ keystrokes to capture passwords or credit card numbers, attaches itself to e-mails and copies itself onto computers. Bugbear arrives disguised as attachments to e-mails, possibly labelled with the names of friends or colleagues. After it infects a PC, the Bugbear virus searches the machine for e-mail addresses and sends a message out to each address, with a copy of itself attached. Bugbear also grabs a random address from those found in the e-mail program on the PC and uses it in the "From:" line of the messages it sends. This disguises where the actual e-mails are coming from and makes it difficult to alert someone that their system is infected. The virus also attempts to spread by copying itself to other computers that share their hard drives with the infected system. Bugbear is so active that some computer users have received emails from themselves containing the virus.

It is also capable of disabling anti-virus and firewall programs designed to protect computers from attacks and can install a ‘Trojan’ that will allow hackers remote access to compromised machines. Bugbear also searches for a long list of security programmes or antivirus programmes and halts them if they are running on the victim’s machine. In some cases, the virus can also cause printers on a network with infected PCs to start printing nearly blank pages. The virus uses the flaw in Microsoft outlook to automatically execute itself on a victims PC. This flaw lies in the way Microsoft Outlook formats e-mail using Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME). While the flaw and its solution have already been detected 18 months ago, many users have apparently not fixed the problem, judging by Bugbear’s success so far.

How to protect your PC from Bugbear virus? If you believe your Windows PC is infected with the virus, go to http://www.bitdefender.com for a free removal programme. Look for the word Bugbear on the BitDefender page. To protect your PC against the virus, download the newest ‘patch’ for your operating system from the following site: http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

Genomics: leading agriculture forward

DR LIZ DENNIS

There is a biological revolution occurring right now that in volves both plant and medical science. Genomics is the fuel that now drives it. Genomics is the study of all the genes in an organism. Genes play a major role in determining characteristics, like whether your eyes are blue, or blood group is O, or even how tall a plant will grow. Genomics is a key to unlock the secrets of how organisms work that may lead to much needed solutions for medical and agricultural problems. This is the most exciting thing that’s going on in biology. Unfortunately, the public is highly sceptical of the potential of gene technology because science cannot give yes/no answers. It’s true new technologies hold some level of risk. But risk management is a key criterion throughout the entire gene technology process, from concept to trials to release. Proper regulation together with public education should assure people that gains from genomic research far outweigh the low level risk that may be associated with its use, much like the risks many of us take daily when we drive our car or use electricity within our homes.

People seem to forget that scientists have families too. Scientists don’t live in glass bottles, they breathe the same air, eat the same foods, and drink the same water that everybody else does. They also have concern for the planet’s future, and what legacy we will leave our children’s children. Ensuring the risks are low is often a personal criterion, not something that is enforced by regulation alone. Genomics is ‘boldly taking us where no man has gone before’ giving us the ability to look at the ‘big picture’. It enables scientists to look beyond the function of a single gene to understand the function of all the genes in an organism. It reveals the complex interactions between multiple genes, including the broadcast of information through a complicated network of pathways; the order genes are activated, and the intensity of gene activity.

Projects like the human genome project, the Arabidopsis genome project and the rice genome project (still underway) have worked out the DNA sequences of the subject and predicted all their genes providing the words for a ‘DNA dictionary’. Genomics is providing the meanings to these words by linking gene sequences with function. Humans have about 40,000 genes, Arabidopsis about 22,000 and rice is predicted to have about 30,000 genes. About 50 per cent of these genes are shared between all these organisms and all have a common and valuable function. One of the big questions of genomics is what are the other 50 per cent of genes doing?

Today, scientists have the tools to study the activity of up to 20,000 genes, almost a complete set of plant genes, at one time. And with that can see which genes work together to instigate the physical changes we see in plant growth. Although biological exploration, like genomics, promises great advances in both medical and agricultural practices it is continually hindered through limited funding. Gene technologies should not be shunted to the back of the ‘research queue’ through fear or doom and gloom propaganda spread by those wanting to further their own agenda.

Australia must embrace ‘the new biology of genomics’. Funding must be allocated to genomic research to advance Australia’s intellectual and competitive market position. If Australia’s agriculture is to continue to bring in billions of dollars in exports and keep up with demands for year-round quality and variety, genomics must be strongly connected with agriculture. The rice genome project is particularly important to Australia. Gene order and sequences are conserved in cereals and grasses, making the rice genome project a cornerstone in the future development of wheat, barley, sugar, sorghum and corn: all crops that greatly contribute to Australia’s GDP. Once genes are identified and their interactions understood, we can think about how we can use them to improve crop performance, which could be by breeding desired characteristics into existing high performance crops, switching them on or off, or by transferring selected genes into an unrelated plant.

For Australia to maintain its edge in world agriculture we must identify genes that are important for Australian agriculture, understand the best ways to use them and protect this intellectual property because markets will have greater expectations from crops and food. Waterlogging is one example where genomics is making an impact. Waterlogging is a major problem for many crops, effectively drowning the crop resulting in crop losses of 10 to more than 50 per cent. A genomic technique called microarrays has identified over 200 plant genes that respond to this stress, a lot of which change activity within the first half an hour of low oxygen conditions. These genes may be master switches or regulatory genes that hold the answer to developing plants that can cope better during waterlogging.

This technology is not restricted to waterlogging. Understanding how a plant copes under specific stresses has the potential to help overcome a vast array of agricultural problems, like drought stress, disease infections, or pest attack. Great innovations are not always recognised as such until decades have past.

(The author is a Programme Leader at the CSIRO Plant Industry and was one of the winners of the 2000 Australian Prime Minister’s Science Prize)

Batuk Bhairav of Lagankhel

Of Shiva’s innumerable manifestations, Bhairav is one of them. Dr. Rajbali Pandey in his book ‘Hindu Dharmakosh’ writes that when Shiva assumes the role of the destroyer, he is known as Bhairav. Bhairav means fearful. Though the word Bhairav is ancient, the cult of worshipping Shiva as Bhairav is relatively new. There are two sects within the worshippers of Bhairav. According to one sect there are twelve manifestations of this Hindu god and another sect worships only eight manifestations.

According to a myth in ‘Bhasa Banshawali’, a book published by the department of archeology there are 56,000000 Bhairavs and Bhairavi (female form of Bhairav). Bhairavi is more fearful maifestaion. Idols of Bhairav are commonly seen in temples of Shiva and Shakti (Bhagawati). Two famous Bhairavs, Kirtimukh and Unmatta are situated within the premises of Pashupatinath temple. People visit the two Bhairabs before paying their homage to Pashupatinath. Besides this, in the famous Guheswhori shrine, there is a big statuette (it looks like a big belly of a sleeping person) of Bhairav wearing golden garland of human skulls. This widespread presence of Bhairav idols in Shiva and Bhagawati temple signifies Bhairav as one of the prominent forms of Shiva.

Of the many Bhairavs, Batuk Bhairav of Patan, Lagankhel has special significance from historical, religious and cultural point of view. In Bhasa Bansawali it is mentioned that the temple came to existence during the reign of the Lichchivi king Amshuburma. King Amshuburma established the temple on Sunday in the month of Bhadra. The book mentions that the temple was built following the vedic, tantric and boudha rituals.

Today there are two main structures in the temple. One is the temple itself and the other is the bhajan pati where devotional songs are sung each morning. But the statue has already been stolen from the temple and people worship three rounded stones. On the ceiling of the temple is a copper rectangle (chaduwa). In the centre of the rectangle is the figure of the principal Bhairav and he is surrounded by eight set of other Bhairavs. Similar wooden rectangle adorns the ceiling of the bhajan pati. It is artistically decorated with five colours.

This temple’s bhajan mandali (group of devotional singers) have their own specialties. Almost all main temples in Kathmandu have their own bhajan mandali. This tradition dates back to centuries when singing bhajans served religious as well as recreational purposes to people. In today’s fast paced world, people have little time for devotional singings and there endless options for entertainment. A group of elderly people have kept this tradition of singing bhajans still alive.

Najar Man Ranjitkar, Surya lal Tamrakar, Sagarman Ranjitkar and many other devotees come together each Sunday to sing Bhajan. Ranjitkar and Tamarakar, in their late 70s still sing perfectly. Theirs is a team of eleven members. During the main festivals they sing unfailing each morning. There is a devotional song book which they use as a guideline. Songs are sung in Nepali, Hindi and Newari languages. Some songs are sung compulsorily each time and after this the lead bhajan singer sings popular tunes on request as well.

Sagarman Ranjitkar had left his job with the municipality in order to look after the temple complex and smoothly runs other religious activities including the bhajan mandali. " To preserve this age old tradition of singing in temples, we’ve arranged for a ustd who leads the bhajan. Rest of us are amateur singers and we follow him. We sing for the well being of mankind as a whole," says Ranjitkar. "Sometimes even our children join us for the bhajans. I am positive that the generations to come will give continuity to this," he adds. Mostly people of lagankhel area come here to sing and listen to bhajans and sometimes women also join them. Bhajans are sung to the tunes of harmonium, tabala, sankha and damaru.

This temple’s tough significance from religious as well as historical point of view is little known among the valley inhabitants. Those devotees who believe in the powers of Batuk Bhairav throng this sequestered temple every Sunday with strong belief that the Bhairav would protect them from all adversities and enemies.

Portraying women the abstract way

By Pragya Rajouria

Say that you don’t like abstract art. Convince yourself that you are not going to understand anything on display in the gallery. Tell yourself which fool would want to spend a fortune on some random splashes of colour on canvass. And finally regret for coming to the NAFA gallery on a cold November evening.

All your misconceptions, prejudices and every negative feeling that you have towards the abstract art will simply vanish once you behold Kiran Manadhar’s paintings. They are simply beautiful and need no words of explanation or some knowledge in arts to understand them. Even a total art novice can appreciate what he has drawn. Once you see what’s in display you will understand why Manandhar’s works are highly acclaimed in and outside Nepal.

Women theme predominates his entire paintings in this exhibition. The paintings are like the women themselves, simple yet very complex. There is a bold woman entwined in her lover’s arms. There is a mother tenderly embracing her infant. There are women in traditional Nepali attires and there are beautiful young women in their first blush of youth, shy and unaware of their own beauty. It’s amazing to see how he has captured fleeting nuances of human emotions in such broad brush strokes. Manandhar here has proved that it does not require the photographic precision of fine arts to depict feelings and moods of people.

Manandhar has mostly employed bold shades of blue, yellow, orange and red in his paintings. There are some beautiful paintings in monochrome as well. The artist has played with blue in the most amazing matter. From technicolour blue to the palest shade of blue, he has used various shades of this hue to depict different moods. Whether they wear the conspicuous shades of red or pale shades of white, his women are flawlessly coloured. You would not want to see them in any other colour except the ones Manandhar has given them.

There are a total of 39 works on acrylic on display in this exhibition titled ‘Paintings 2002’. Manandhar’s canvass range from impressive huge ones to tiny ones. They make you wonder how they will look upon your own wall at home. You feel like possessing each one of them. But they come at a price and that also not low. You return home convinced that whatever the mode of expression, a thing of art brings joy forever and there is a difference between talent and genius. And Manandhar is a genius.

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