The publisher of a flight simulator site targeted by a hacker in May says it has presented a file of evidence to UK police identifying the perpetrator. Avsim said it had "incontrovertible evidence" about the hacker's identity.
Older WordPress Blogs Vulnerable to Worm
A worm is circulating that can post malware and spam to some WordPress blogs using outdated versions of the blogging software, according to a post by Matt Mullenweg, founding developer of WordPress.
Password-Hacking Services Proliferate, Despite Law
A number of services boast of having little trouble hacking into such Web-based e-mail systems as AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, Facebook and Hotmail, and they advertise openly. And, experts said, there doesn't appear to be much anyone can do about it.
Google Moves to Satisfy European Book Concerns
In a move to assuage European publishers' concerns over book digitization, Google said European books still listed as commercially available will not be included in its online registry of orphaned and out-of-print works -- unless rights holders give their express authorization. The search giant also said it will let two non-U.S. representatives onto the eight-person board of the Books Rights Registry, which was set up to govern the proposed books settlement reached with U.S. publishers and authors who sued Google in 2005.
Amazon Offers Free Books, Refund After Kindle Deletion
Amazon.com is offering free books or $30 to Kindle customers whose copies of the George Orwell novels 1984 and Animal Farm were deleted from their electronic reading devices in July. When Amazon erased the books from Kindles, citing a problem with the rights to the books, the company issued refunds to the buyers.
First U.S. Center for Internet Addiction Opens
In a suburb of high-tech Seattle, what claims to be the first residential treatment center for Internet addiction in the United States just opened its doors. It opened in July and for $14,000 offers a 45-day program intended to help people wean themselves from pathological computer use, which can include obsessive use of video games, texting, Facebook, eBay, Twitter and any other time-killers brought courtesy of technology.
Appeals Court Stays Injunction Against Microsoft Word
A U.S. Court of Appeals has granted Microsoft Corp's request to stay an injunction imposed by a federal court that would have halted sales of some versions of its popular Word application. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Microsoft had met requirements to merit a stay of the injunction.
Disability Groups Support Google's Book Project
A coalition of civil-rights and disability groups in favor of Google's book-scanning project held a press conference to marshal support for improving access to knowledge, the key benefit of Google's deal with authors and publishers to create a new kind of digital library. They fear that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain digital access to knowledge previously stored in libraries at expensive universities or rich communities could be hampered by the opposition to the settlement from some authors and privacy advocates.
Europe Extends Investigation of Sun-Oracle Merger
European regulators delayed the proposed takeover of Sun Microsystems by the software company Oracle, indicating that the combination could squelch the growth of a popular, free corporate database program owned by Sun. The decision by the European Commission to extend its investigation into the deal, worth $7.4 billion, is especially sensitive because the Justice Department has already approved the merger.
Trojan Horse Can Record Internet Calls, Symantec Says
Along with keyloggers that track what you type, now we have to worry about malicious software that listens in on our voice over Internet Protocol conversations. A Symantec security blog disclosed a new Trojan horse "that records VoIP communications, specifically targeting Skype."
Microsoft Lawyer Urges Global Patent System
A senior lawyer at Microsoft is calling for the creation of a global patent system to make it easier and faster for corporations to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world. In a blog posting, Microsoft's Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez said that a backlog of patent applications internationally was needed to tackle the 3.5 million pending patent applications around the world -- including around 750,000 in the United States.
ISPs Want FCC to Set Low Limits for "Broadband" Definition
The biggest U.S. Internet service providers urged regulators to adopt a conservative definition of "broadband," arguing for minimum speeds that were substantially below many other nations. The submissions were filed with the Federal Communications Commission which had sought comments by August 31 on how the agency should define broadband for a report to be submitted to Congress early next year.
Amazon Opposes Google's Book Copyright Settlement
Lawyers for Amazon.com Inc. blasted Google Inc.'s copyright settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers as an anticompetitive agreement that would increase how much consumers pay for digital books and undermine Congress's role in amending copyright law to address changes in technology. The Seattle e-commerce giant filed a legal brief with the U.S. District Court in New York, formally intervening in the settlement that has drawn a wide range of critics and supporters from across the publishing industry.
Azerbaijan Bloggers Face Jail for Satire on YouTube
Two bloggers from Azerbaijan are facing up to five years in jail after posting a video of a donkey giving a news conference on YouTube. Shortly after the video was released, Andnan Hajizade and Emin Milli were held on hooliganism charges following a scuffle in a restaurant.
Google Obtains Patent on Home Page's "User Interface"
After a five-and-a-half-year fight, Google and its attorneys have obtained a patent on the company's iconic home page, as an innovative "graphical user interface."
Domain Consulting Firm Sues Wolfgang Puck Over .food
New TLD consulting firm Minds+Machines is suing Wolfgang Puck and his wife. The lawsuit claims that Wolfgang Puck and his wife tried to interject themselves into all new TLDs Minds+Machines is working on and that Puck ceased to jointly promote .food as agreed.
NFL Bans Players from Using Twitter During Games
The National Football League announced that it had modified its social-media policy to limit Twitter and social-networking use by players, coaches, league officials, and even the media. They will be prohibited from using Twitter and from updating profiles on Facebook and other social-networking sites during games.
Appeals Court Upholds Ban on Internet Gambling
A U.S. appeals court upheld an Internet gambling ban, rejecting a challenge from an association of off-shore bookies that the federal prohibition was too vague and violated privacy rights. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia rejected arguments from Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association in New Jersey, which had filed the lawsuit hoping to legalize online betting in that state.
Privacy Advocates Push Laws on Behavioral Advertising
Privacy advocates released a series of guidelines for legislators considering regulations on behavioral advertising, calling for greater transparency and giving Web surfers more control over how the data is used. Ten groups, including the Center for Digital Democracy and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, are pushing the debate ahead of the return of Congress in September, when certain members have hinted they'd be receptive to ideas for legislation.
German Court Says Google Must Change Terms of Service
A German court has ruled that Google must change terms of service that could be interpreted to compromise a user's rights, a decision the consumer advocacy group that brought the suit welcomed as a victory for online transparency. The suit filed by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations charged that the terms of service for opening an account through Google Mail, Google Documents and other programs could be interpreted as giving the Internet search giant the right to review and even delete a user's information.
