Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski is proposing that the agency apply tougher open-Internet rules broadly, raising concerns of cable and phone companies and some lawmakers that the government could try to control efforts to offer products such as digital cable or premium business services. Mr. Genachowski's proposal suggests everything in the Internet pipe is covered by rules prohibiting discrimination against any legal Internet traffic, known as net neutrality, unless the agency says otherwise, according to FCC officials familiar with a draft circulating in the agency.
Twitter Adds "Report as Spam" Feature
Twitter has added a "Report as spam" feature to its service in an effort to get help from its users in fighting spam, the company wrote in a blog post. To stop users from simply using the spam feature as a weapon against others they don't like, Twitter said that "no automated action will be taken as a result of reporting a user as spam."
Microsoft Issues Biggest Software Patch Ever
Microsoft issued its biggest software patch on record to fix a range of security issues in its programs, including the yet to be released Windows 7 operating system. In a monthly update sent to users of its software, Microsoft released 13 security bulletins, or patches, to address 34 vulnerabilities it identified across its Windows, Internet Explorer, Silverlight, Office and other products.
Lawsuit Accuses Delta of Accessing Coalition's E-mails
The Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights sued Delta Air Lines Inc. in a federal court in Texas, alleging the airline got hacked e-mails and tried to undermine the organization, according to Houston-based The Gibson Law Firm. Kate Hanni, the executive director and founder of the coalition, which also is known as FlyersRights.org, sued the Atlanta-based airline and Dulles, Va.-based Metron Aviation Inc. after her e-mails, and those of at least two reporters, including one from USA Today, were obtained by Delta and Metron, the suit alleges.
Error Takes Down All of Sweden's Domains for Hours
The entire .se (Sweden) Top Level Domain was knocked offline for a few hours, due to an error in DNS configuration. According to the .SE Internet Infrastructure Foundation, they inadvertently sent out an incorrect zone file in connection with a planned maintenance work.
Flaw in Mac Snow Leopard Deletes Data, Report Says
A serious flaw in Apple's Snow Leopard OS appears capable of wiping user data after the user opens and closes the "guest" account on the afflicted Macintosh. According to reports, when the user first opens the guest account, closes it, and later logs back into their own account, their Home folder data has been erased.
Spammers Send Link to Video Advertisement on YouTube
Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have recorded a mass mailing of spam e-mails containing a link to a video advertisement on YouTube. Although in the past, spammers have have attempted to lure people into clicking links by claiming the link would display a YouTube video, this is the first case in which the link actually did.
WhoCanISue.com Website Generates Attention, Criticism
Boca Raton, Fla.-based firm WhoCanISue.com has scores of billboards and bus-shelter signs dominating the local landscape, matching website visitors with lawyers. But critics say WhoCanISue and other online referral services degrade the legal profession and often steer the public to lawyers who operate under a business model of "bring in as many cases as you can and settle them."
Marathon Runner Disqualified for Wearing iPod
Officials in Wisconsin have disqualified a second women's winner because the runner from Lombard, Ill., tuned into her iPod in the late stages of the run to Veterans Park, Race Director Kristine Hinrichs confirmed morning. Runners competing for USATF championships and or cash prizes are not allowed to use electronic devices.
Woman's Facebook "Poke" Allegedly Violates Protective Order
A Tennessee woman was arrested for virtually "poking" someone on the social networking site Facebook. According to the affidavit filed in Sumner County General Sessions Court, Shannon D. Jackson is accused of using the "poke" option on Facebook to contact a Hendersonville woman, thus violating the terms of the order of protection,
Compromised Webmail Accounts Used to Send Spam
There has been a marked increase in the amount of spam e-mails being sent from Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail accounts, according to analysts at Websense Security Labs. Websense said that personalized spam e-mails had been sent from the compromised accounts to all of each user's contacts.
Craigslist Files Four Suits to Stop Mass Postings
Craigslist filed four lawsuits in the northern district of California against companies and people offering tools that automate the mass posting of ads on the site. The classified advertising site is charging that they infringed the companyís copyright and trademark, and were in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, among other claims.
Alleged NASA Hacker Loses Extradition Fight in U.K.
A British "UFO eccentric," wanted in the United States for breaking into NASA and Pentagon computers in "the biggest military hack of all time," lost his latest battle to avoid extradition. Gary McKinnon, 43, was refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, Britain's highest judicial body, as he continued his long battle to avoid being sent to the United States.
Japanese Court Acquits Developer of File-Sharing Program
A Japanese high court acquitted the developer of a free file-sharing program in a high-profile case over copyright law, a court official said. The high court reversed a 2006 ruling by a lower court that imposed a fine of $17,000 on Isamu Kaneko, 39, said the court official, who declined to be named, citing department policy.
Lawmakers Want Probe of Google Voice Blocking Calls
A group of Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives called on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Google's ability to block calls to rural telephone exchanges. Google's Voice service is at the heart of a dispute between the world's largest Internet search company and Apple Inc over why Google's voice application is not available on the popular iPhone.
FTC Official Says Fines for Bloggers Unlikely
As you've likely heard by now, the Federal Trade Commission is trying to reign in freebie-grabbing bloggers and graft-happy social media users masquerading as unbiased critics. But "that $11,000 fine is not true," said Richard Cleland, assistant director, division of advertising practices at the FTC.
FCC Chairman Still Pushing Net Neutrality Rules
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said that recent moves by wireless companies to open their networks to more services do not eliminate the need for broader rules to force providers to allow equal access to Web content. The remarks by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski came after steps by the top cellphone service operators -- AT&T and Verizon Wireless -- to open their networks more broadly.
EU Gives Preliminary Approval to Microsoft's Pledges
The European Union has voiced its approval for Microsoft's latest pledges to curb its anti-competitive practices. The technology giant has agreed to give customers a wider choice of web browser through its Windows operating system and to share information with rivals.
Comcast Test-Launches Virus Notification Service
Comcast is launching a trial of a new automated service that will warn broadband customers of possible virus infections, if the computers are behaving as if they have been compromised by malware. For instance, a significant overnight spike in traffic being sent from a particular Internet Protocol address could signal that a computer is infected with a virus taking control of the system and using it to send spam as part of a botnet.
FBI Arrests 53 People in Financial Phishing Scam
In what law enforcement officials are calling Operation Phish Phry, the FBI began arresting 53 people on charges of conducting a vast financial fraud based on phishing -- the act of tricking Internet users into revealing passwords and other information. The arrests were in Southern California, Nevada and North Carolina, while authorities in Egypt sought to arrest 47 people whom the FBI said were co-conspirators.
