Software maker GraphOn has filed suit against search giant Google, alleging that Google's Base, AdWords, Blogger, Sites, and YouTube services violate GraphOn's patents. GraphOn, based in Santa Cruz, Calif., acquired the patents through its acquisition of Network Engineering Software, a privately held network software company, in 2005.
Princeton Review Exposes Personal Data Online
The Princeton Review, the test-preparatory firm, accidentally published the personal data and standardized test scores of tens of thousands of Florida students on its Web site, where they were available for seven weeks. A flaw in configuring the site allowed anyone to type in a relatively simple Web address and have unfettered access to hundreds of files on the company’s computer network, including educational materials and internal communications.
Man Gets Seven Years for Leading AOL Phishing Scheme
A West Haven, Conn., man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for masterminding a phishing scheme that targeted AOL users over a four-year period. Federal prosecutors had argued that he masterminded a scam in which he and five other men harvested thousands of AOL e-mail addresses and then infected victims' PCs with malicious software that would prevent them from logging on to AOL without entering their credit card numbers, bank account numbers and other personal information.
Online Drug Company Leader Pleads Guilty to Fraud
The president of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, ending a lengthy federal investigation into the illegal importation of knockoff prescription drugs from Central America. Jared Wheat, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court in Newnan to conspiring to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and to import and distribute adulterated and unapproved new drugs.
Italian Judge Orders ISPs to Bloack Access to Pirate Bay
An Italian judge has ordered the country's Internet service providers to block access to The Pirate Bay, a Swedish file-sharing Web site, as part of an investigation into copyright law violation, officials said. Italy's anti-fraud police have been informing providers they must heed the order of a judge in the northern city of Bergamo, a police colonel, Alessandro Nencini, said.
Website Encourages Copying, Sharing Magazines Online
The magazine industry, already facing a decline in newsstand sales and falling ad revenue, is being besieged by a new foe: digital piracy. A fledgling Web site called Mygazines.com encourages people to copy and upload popular magazines that are currently on newsstands.
Indian Company Sues Google to Disclose Blogger
A small Indian construction equipment company is demanding in court that Google Inc. disclose the name of a person who used its blogging service in a case that could change the way the Internet giant does business in India. Google's Indian subsidiary, Google India Private Ltd., is being sued for defamation in the Bombay High Court by the Mumbai-based Gremach Infrastructure Equipments & Projects Ltd., which runs a construction-equipment lending business.
Class-Action Suit Targets Beacon's Advertising Customers
A class-action lawsuit targets Facebook and eight of the participants in Beacon, its ill-fated advertising product that shared information about third-party site activity with the social network. Named as defendants are Facebook, as well as current or former Beacon participants Blockbuster, Fandango (owned by Comcast), Overstock.com, STA Travel, Zappos, Hotwire (owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp), and GameFly.
Phishing Scam Targets Apple's MobileMe Users
A recent phishing scam targeting users of Apple Inc.'s .Mac and MobileMe online services has successfully duped hundreds into divulging credit card and other personal information, a security company saidy. According to Dan Clements, the president of CardCops, the identity protection division of California-based Affinion Group Inc., the phishing campaign scammed between 100 and 200 people with mac.com addresses in just one day.
Palm Asks Independent Developer to Rename Website
Well-known independent Palm OS developer Dmitry Grinberg has received what purports to be a cease and desist letter from Fenwick & West, LLP, a Bay Area law firm that represents Palm Inc. The letter demands that Grinberg: (1) rename his website (formerly PalmPowerups.com) and (2) rename PalmSDHC in order to avoid "consumer confusion."
Ruling Supports "Artistic License" for Software
A Federal appeals court overturned a lower court's decision in a copyright case that could strengthen the legal foundation of certain software such as Linux and online services such as Wikipedia. The court ruled that conditions of an agreement called the Artistic License were enforceable under copyright law, supporting a basic tenet behind open-source software and other creations that the general public is allowed to freely modify and distribute.
EBay Wins Belgian Court Ruling Against L'Oreal
EBay, owner of the largest Internet auction Web site, said a Belgian court rejected a claim by L'Oreal that eBay didn't do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit cosmetics. The decision was the second court ruling that backed eBay in a case over the sale of knockoffs by vendors using the company's Web site.
Lawmakers Respond to FCC's Plan for Free Wi-Fi
The clock is ticking on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's free wireless broadband proposal, with organizations on both sides of the debate stepping up their arguments. Two lawmakers and a company that backs the FCC's plan are among many groups that filed letters with the commission over the past couple of weeks, responding in part to T-Mobile's filing of the results of its technical laboratory test.
Google Denies Stripping Data from Maps of Georgia
Several reports suggest that data from Georgia and the neighboring countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan has been stripped from Google Maps. Google says that's not so. While its Web maps shows only the outlines of those three countries -- without roads or even the capital cities marked -- Google says that the lack of information is not new.
ISPs, Google Disclose Info About Tracking Practices
Several Internet and broadband companies have acknowledged using targeted-advertising technology without explicitly informing customers, according to letters released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. And Google, the leading online advertiser, stated that it has begun using Internet tracking technology that enables it to more precisely follow Web-surfing behavior across affiliated sites.
Law Enforcement Faulted for Online Consumer Protection
While Web users drown in spam and fend off scams aimed at stealing their money, U.S. federal and state law enforcement authorities are doing little to resolve what has become a multi-billion-dollar problem, a think tank said. In the 20 states that give a number for consumer complaints, there were roughly 20,000 Internet-related complaints in 2007, said the group, which surveyed officials in all 50 states but received widely varying amounts of data.
Georgia Fighting Back Online, Security Researcher Says
Researchers studying botnets have reported an increase in attacks on Georgian Web sites, including that of the country's president, within the last two weeks. While the attacks -- Web site defacement and denial-of-service packet floods -- are reminiscent of the Internet attacks waged against Estonia in May 2007, Jose Nazario, security researcher for Arbor Networks, said that he's seeing evidence that Georgia is apparently fighting back, attacking at least one Moscow-based newspaper site.
European Court Delays Extradition of Hacker to U.S.
The European Court of Human Rights will hear an application to halt the extradition of Gary McKinnon, a British man accused of hacking into almost 100 U.S. military computers, his lawyer said. The court's full chamber will hear McKinnon's application on Aug. 28, which delays a U.S. request for his extradition by two weeks, McKinnon's lawyer Karen Todner said.
Judge Orders ConnectU to Transfer Stock to Facebook
A San Jose, Calif., judge ruled that ConnectU, the start-up that the brothers founded with Harvard classmate Divya Narendra, must transfer its stock to Facebook as part of the settlement acquisition, despite the claims on behalf of ConnectU that Facebook failed to disclose its true valuation when negotiating the terms of the settlement. The start-up's founders alleged fraud on Facebook's part, and claimed that irreparable harm would ensue from the settlement going through in its present form.
Georgia Accuses Russia of Launching Cyberattack
The Georgian embassy in the U.K. has accused forces within Russia of launching a coordinated cyberattack against Georgian Web sites, to coincide with military operations in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. A Georgian embassy spokesperson said that Web sites had been unavailable over the weekend, claiming this was due to Russian denial-of-service attacks.
