Spammers are using junk e-mail mentions of the Democratic candidate for U.S. president and Republican Party running mate Sarah Palin more often than their opponents, according to Secure Computing Corp., a provider of enterprise security solutions.
Magazine Industry Settles Copyright Suit with Site
The magazine industry has settled its copyright-infringement lawsuit against the operators of a fledgling Web site that encourages people to copy and upload current issues of popular magazines. Terms were not disclosed.
Two Europeans Indicted in U.S. for 2003 DoS Attack
Two Europeans, one of whom is English, have been indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in connection with a 2003 distributed denial-of-service attack that is the focus of a major FBI investigation. The two men, who are not in custody, were indicted as part of the FBI's Operation Cyberslam, initiated in 2003 following a series of crippling distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks on a large Los Angeles vendor of digital recorders.
Google, Yahoo Agree to Delay Advertising Deal
Google and Yahoo will delay implementation of their joint advertising deal to give antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department more time to review the agreement, the companies said. The additional delay will be less than a month, said a source close to negotiations who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Congress Lets Lawmakers Post on Outside Sites
Members of Congress can finally use Web sites like YouTube, after committees in both the House and Senate adopted new rules allowing members to post content outside of the .gov domain, as long as it is for official purposes. "In addition to their official (house.gov) Web site, a member may maintain another Web site(s), channel(s) or otherwise post material on third-party Web sites," the new House rules read.
Study Finds High Cyberbulling, Low Reporting
Research indicates that as many as 75 percent of teens have been bullied online, but only one in 10 have reported the problem to parents or other adults, a new study shows. The study, published in the September issue of The Journal of School Health, is the latest to sound the alarm about so-called cyber-bullying, which can occur on social networking sites and in e-mail and text messages.
"Mafiaboy" Hacker Writes Book About Famous Attack
Canada's most notorious hacker, Mafiaboy, has written a tell-all book about his Internet attack of 2000 when he paralyzed the Web sites of CNN, Yahoo, eBay and other businesses for several hours. In it, the infamous hacker, now 23, explains that he was not a computer whiz kid but quickly gained knowledge of computers and got to know other young hackers.
Copyright Royalty Board Freezes Rate for Downloads
The Copyright Royalty Board froze the rate that digital-music stores such as iTunes and RealNetworks' Rhapsody must pay music publishers. The three-member board that sets statutory copyright licenses e-mailed the Digital Media Association (DiMA), the National Music Publishers' Association, Apple, and other download stores with its decision, according to sources.
Skype Says Chinese Venture Stored Text Messages
Skype, eBay's Web communications unit, admitted that TOM-Skype, its China venture with TOM Online Inc, had been monitoring and storing some of its users' text messages without Skype's knowledge. Skype apologized after a report revealed that the Web service monitors text chats with politically sensitive keywords and stores them along with millions of personal user records on computers that could be easily accessed by anybody -- including the Chinese government.
Judge Dismisses Copyright Suit Against Music Site Founder
A federal judge has dismissed a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by EMI Group against Michael Robertson, founder of MP3tunes, MP3.com and Linspire. The bad news for Robertson is the judge allowed EMI, one of the four largest recording companies, to continue to pursue the copyright claims against MP3tunes, court documents show.
World of Warcraft Creator Getting Up to $6 Million
World of Warcraft creator Blizzard looks set to get $6 million from the makers of a software "bot." Blizzard embarked on the case against MDY claiming that the World of Warcraft Glider software produced by the company infringed its copyright.
ICANN Told It Needs to Be More Accountable
ICANN needs to take steps to ensure it cannot be taken over by governments and other outside entities, and it needs to create more ways to be held accountable to Internet users, constituents of the nonprofit organization said. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organization overseeing the Web's top-level domain naming system, heard several concerns during a meeting focused on improving confidence in ICANN.
Congress Approves Broadband Data Improvement Act
Congress has passed legislation that will require the government to keep closer tabs on who has access to the Internet and who does not. Supporters hope the Broadband Data Improvement Act will help policymakers better identify areas of the country that are falling behind when it comes to high-speed Internet access.
Apple Won't Enforce iPhone Confidentiality Agreement
Apple has decided to end the nondisclosure agreement attached to software that has already been released for the iPhone, in the latest sign that it is starting to take developer concerns to heart. The company put up a notice on the main Apple developer Web page that, effective immediately, says developers are released from the NDA regarding iPhone software that has already been released.
Palin Kept Separate E-mail Account for State Work
Gov. Sarah Palin maintained a private e-mail account that she used to communicate with a small circle of staff members outside the state government's secure official e-mail system, according to the Wasilla company that established the site. The account was separate from the Yahoo e-mail address that was abruptly abandoned by the McCain campaign on Sept. 17, the day hackers penetrated the account and posted pages from it on the Internet.
Mitnick Detained at Airport for Four Hours
After landing at the Atlanta airport for a security conference, Kevin Mitnick was detained for four hours for reasons still not fully explained. To make matters worse, while customs officials in Atlanta were busy inspecting his cell phone, laptop, and luggage, police in Bogota were ripping open a package he had mailed to his U.S. address on suspicion that it contained cocaine.
Movie Studios Sue to Stop Real's DVD-Copying Software
Hollywood's six major movie studios sued RealNetworks to prevent it from distributing DVD copying software that they said would allow consumers to "rent, rip and return" movies. The studios stand to lose a key revenue source if consumers stop buying DVDs and copy rental discs from outlets like Netflix and Blockbuster instead.
Security Experts Warn of Malware on Cell Phones
Security experts think cell phones could be the next battleground for malware, particularly if it's a smart-phone, a handset that has a full operating system and can run applications much like a desktop computer. The more that phones can perform the same functions as PCs, the greater the chance they will have similar vulnerabilities, experts say.
Lawsuit Accuses Companies of Selling Bogus PC Fixes
Microsoft and the Attorney General's office in Washington state said they have filed seven lawsuits over pop-up ads that scare consumers into paying for software that supposedly fixes critical errors on a PC. One lawsuit alleges a Texas firm sent incessant pop-up ads that falsely claimed the computer had critical errors in its registry and directed people to a Web site where they could download free scanning software to find the problems.
Congress Approves Increased Copyright Enforcement
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would significantly increase penalties for copyright infringement and create a new office of intellectual-property enforcement coordinator in the White House. The bill, which passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent, was stripped of one of its most controversial provisions, which would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute civil lawsuits on behalf of copyright owners.
