New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Dell and its subsidiary, Dell Financial Services, have agreed to pay $4 million in restitution, penalties and costs to resolve alleged fraudulent and deceptive business practices. Dell will also be required to make changes in its advertising, sales and financing practices, Cuomo said.
French Assembly Passes Law Banning Illegal Downloaders
The French National Assembly has passed a draft law that would allow illegal downloaders to be thrown off the Net. The French hard-line policy on piracy has drawn worldwide attention as nations around the globe grapple with the issue of piracy.
Corporate IT Departments Faulted for Threat Priorities
Corporate information technology departments are prioritizing the wrong threats to their computer systems, focusing on old problems and leaving their companies open to a raft of new cyberattacks targeting sensitive customer and corporate information. That is the finding of a new biannual report from the SANS Institute, a training organization for computer security professionals, whose senior staff weighed two sets of data that have not been rigorously compared to date: data on the most common attacks hitting corporate networks and data on which vulnerabilities are most prevalent on company networks.
More Hackers Using "Scareware" Tactics to Lure Victims
Instead of hacking into major online sites to embed malware, malicious hackers are going in through the front door by exploiting security holes in systems for delivering ads. This is common behavior for what is known as fake security alerts, or "scareware," designed to trick people into paying for something they don't need.
Intel Asks European Court to Set Aside Antitrust Ruling
Intel has asked Europe's second highest court to annul last May's antitrust ruling against the company, accusing the regulators of erring in law and of producing sloppy analysis, according to details of the appeal made public. The European Commission, the European Union's top antitrust authority, fined Intel a record US$1.45 billion in May for abusing its dominant position in the microprocessor chip market in Europe, at the expense of its only significant rival, Advanced Micro Devices.
German City Accidentally Advertises Porn Online
Authorities in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen accidentally advertised porn among the services on offer for residents on its website. The administrative error arose when an employee compiling the list thought that brothel owners might type "porn" into the search box to find out about the city's sex tax, said a spokesman for the city authorities.
Ex-White House Cyberspace Leader Warns of Threats
In her first public address since leaving the White House, Melissa Hathaway issued an urgent warning about the severity of the cyber threats facing America's digital networks, a message she tempered with a cautious optimism about the mounting political will toward addressing the challenges. Hathaway, the former White House acting senior director for cyberspace, resigned in August after leading a sweeping review of the federal cybersecurity apparatus that President Obama commissioned in February.
Veoh Not Liable for Users' Infringement, Court Says
A federal district court says Veoh, a Web video site that has come under legal fire from entertainment companies the past several years, is not liable for the copyright violations committed by its users, a decision that could help YouTube defend itself against Viacom's $1 billion copyright suit.
Judge Refuses to Enforce Overstock's Online Terms
A federal judge has ruled that Internet retailer Overstock can't enforce the manadatory arbitration agreement set out in its online terms and conditions because there is no evidence that consumers read the policy. A customer "lacked notice of the terms and conditions because the website did not prompt her to review the terms and conditions and because the link to the terms and conditions was not prominently displayed," the judge wrote.
New York Times Site Visitors Hit by Malware Attacks
The New York Times Company said that NYTimes.com was the victim of an attacker who first posed as a legitimate advertiser, then started hitting site visitors with aggressive advertisements that appeared to be warnings about viruses. "Over the weekend, NYTimes.com was the victim of a malware attack that targeted several news organizations," Diane McNulty, a spokeswoman for the Times Company, said in a statement in response to questions about the rogue ads.
Virginia Won't Push Facebook to Divulge User's Data
The state of Virginia has backed away from its attempts to force Facebook to divulge the complete contents of a user's account to settle a dispute over workers' compensation, narrowly avoiding what promised to be a high-profile privacy battle in federal court. The Virginia's Workers Compensation Commission said it was no longer going to levy a $200-a-day fine on the social-networking site for refusing to comply with a subpoena from an airline that previously employed a flight attendant named Shana Hensley.
Governments in Southeast Asia Increase Net Censorship
Attempts to censor the Internet are spreading to Southeast Asia as governments turn to coercion and intimidation to rein in online criticism. Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam lack the kind of technology and financial resources that China and some other large countries use to police the Internet.
Owner of Fallout Game Sues Creator for Infringement
Bethesda Softworks, the current rights holder for Fallout, has sued franchise creator Interplay for alleged trademark infringement. According to court documents that Bethesda filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, Interplay did not seek its approval of the package's promotional material.
Twitter Updates Terms of Service, Clarifies Ownership
Twitter keeps it simple, even when it comes to updating the legalese in its terms of service. As part of the changes, Twitter translated some of the jargon into plain language, to lessen the chances that its users might get the wrong idea about what was happening.
Justice Furthers Probe of Microsoft-Yahoo Deal
The U.S. Department of Justice has furthered its investigation into the proposed search engine deal between Microsoft and Yahoo by asking both companies to provide more information. The two companies received an additional request for information as expected, said Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans.
Hacker Pleads Guilty in TJX Identity Theft Case
A computer hacker who was once a federal informant and was a driving force behind one of the largest cases of identity theft in U.S. history pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors that will send him to prison for up to 25 years. Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, admitted pulling off some of the most prominent hacking jobs of the decade -- invading the computer systems of such retailers as TJX, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble and Sports Authority.
Court Calls $358 Million Patent Award Excessive
A federal appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that Microsoft infringed on a patent owned by Alcatel-Lucent, but said the jury award of $358 million in damages was excessive. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., upheld a ruling that the patent at issue was valid and had been infringed on, but said there was not sufficient evidence to support the calculation of damages.
Lawyers Using Social Networks Start Clashing with Judges
With thousands of blogs and so many lawyers online, legal ethics experts say that collisions between the freewheeling ways of the Internet and the tight boundaries of legal discourse are inevitable -- whether they result in damaged careers or simply raise eyebrows. Stephen Gillers, an expert on legal ethics at New York University Law School, sees many more missteps in the future, as young people who grew up with Facebook and other social media enter a profession governed by centuries of legal tradition.
Head of Copyright Office Criticizes Google Book Deal
In testimony before the House Judiciary subcommittee, Marybeth Peters, U.S. Register of Copyrights, in her first detailed comments on the subject, blasted the Google Book Search Settlement as "fundamentally at odds with the law." In a blistering assessment of the deal, Peters told lawmakers that the settlement is in essence a compulsory license that would give Google the ability to engage in activities, such as text display and sale of downloads, that are "indisputable acts of copyright infringement."
Senator Wants Changes to Rules for Broadband Grants
A key U.S. lawmaker expressed concern that much of the eastern part of the United States could be disqualified from broadband grants because of the way remote communities are considered. Rick Boucher, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, said at a hearing that some rules governing the $7.2 billion program of loans and grants are too restrictive and urged administrators to be flexible.
