Intel, eBay, Microsoft Support Privacy Bill

Three prominent tech companies have come out in support of privacy legislation offered by a key House lawmaker, saying the bill provides "the appropriate balance." Intel, eBay and Microsoft wrote Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, voicing support for his privacy legislation, which was introduced in July.

Spam Blocking System Wrongly Stopping Much E-mail

Many e-mail users around the world have been unable to send messages because of ongoing technical problems with a popular service designed to prevent spam from reaching its intended destination. As a result of the problems at SORBS -- short for the Spam and Open Relay Blocking System -- messages sent from a huge number of legitimate mail servers were labeled as junk mail and returned to sender.

New Facebook Tools Give Users More Control

After taking a beating from users over privacy issues this year, Facebook got the message and gave users more control over their information. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced several new tools for the social networking site, including one designed to enable users to download any of their information from the site. Another new tool is a dashboard that allows users to monitor what applications they've used on Facebook and delete them more easily.

Microsoft Files Three "Bing" Cybersquatting Suits

Following a growth in the number of Web addresses that include the word "Bing," Microsoft has filed three lawsuits in the past two weeks that claim their targets infringed on the Bing trademark through cybersquatting. The cases, all filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, allege the defendants bought the domains to capitalize on Web users who look for Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Motorola Sues Apple Over 18 iPhone-Related Patents

Motorola said its cellphone business has filed complaints with U.S. courts and regulators accusing Apple of infringing 18 patents with its iPhone, iPad, iTouch and some of its computers. The complaints follow a Microsoft lawsuit against Motorola and are the latest in a flurry of suits involving Apple and mobile phone vendors including Nokia and HTC and mobile software provider Google.

Company Sues to Stop Competing Forum Software

Internet forumware giant vBulletin has sued three former employees, a day before they were due to launch a competing forum-software platform via their new company, the UK-based XenForo. The move has sparked page after page of complaints on the, well, forums run by both vBulletin and XenForo, and though XenForo has delayed the launch of its software, it indicates the launch will indeed go ahead.

Security Loophole in Twitter Exposes Direct Messages

A security loophole in Twitter can give website developers easy access to users' private direct messages, messages that are exchanged between two people and not meant to be shared on Twitter or with anyone else, according to a report. Search engine and security specialist Gary-Adam Shannon writes on SearchEngineWatch.com that "worries" about such access "have been floating in the Twitter streams of late.

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Facebook, Twitter Used in "Pump and Dump" Stock Fraud

Facebook and Twitter social networking sites were used to tout stocks in a classic "pump and dump" fraud of about $7 million that was uncovered during a cocaine-trafficking probe, U.S. prosecutors said. Investigators discovered the fraud in a two-year probe of suspected trafficking by longshoremen and others of 1.3 tons of cocaine worth $34 million through the Port of New York and New Jersey officials said.

Google Asks Court to Dismiss Oracle's Android Suit

Google has made a sweeping request that a court throw out the copyright- and patent-infringement lawsuit filed in August by Oracle over Java use in Android, a popular, open-source mobile phone platform created by Google. In its response to the lawsuit, Google denies all seven patent-infringement charges, and, in a separate motion, requests that the single copyright-infringement claim be either dismissed or clarified because Google finds it "legally deficient."

Commerce Department Seeks Input on Internet Copyright Issues

The Commerce Department said that it is seeking comment on ways to protect copyrighted works on the Internet while still fostering technological innovation. The department's Internet Policy Task Force issued a notice of inquiry that seeks comment from a variety of stakeholders including copyright holders, technology companies, Internet service providers and Internet users.

Comcast to Notify ISP Users of PC Infections

Comcast, the biggest U.S. residential internet service provider, has begun offering all its subscribers a service that warns them when their PCs are infected with botnet software that steals banking passwords and carries out other nefarious deeds. Over the next few months, the Philadelphia-based internet provider will roll out the service to all 16 million of its subscribers.

Study Warns of Privacy Risks in iPhone Apps

A large number of applications that run on Apple's iOS collect serial numbers that uniquely identify the hardware device, according to a study that warns the practice could compromise users' privacy. Apple bills the UDID, or Unique Device Identifier, as a tool for developers to identify iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches when remotely storing application preferences, video game high scores, and similar types of data.