Congress is trying to wrap its collective head around Amazon's new Silk Web browser. At a privacy hearing, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) expressed outrage at the way Silk's "split" design can funnel all user browsing data through Amazon's backend servers.
A Dutch court turned down Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction against all of Apple's mobile products that use 3G telecommunications technology, denying it revenge over a similar move by Apple. It also rejected Apple's counterclaims in the case.
Officials in a New Jersey school district are investigating claims that a high school teacher who advises a prayer group posted remarks on her Facebook page that described homosexuality as "perverted" and said it "breeds like cancer." Attorney John Paragano saw posts by teacher Viki Knox before they were removed and alerted the Union Township school district, he told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
Concerns that combat drone aircraft were compromised by a computer virus were dismissed by the U.S. Air Force. In a rare disclosure, the Air Force revealed that computer systems involved in its ongoing drone program were infected with a virus, but it did not hinder flight operations in any way.
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would compel wireless carriers to be more forthcoming about what exactly customers can expect from services marketed as 4G. The bill from Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, along with Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal -- all Democrats -- is similar to the "Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act," which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in June by Palo Alto Democrat Anna Eshoo.
Microsoft says nearly half of all computer malware – viruses, worms, trojans, adware, etc. – can’t infect your computer without some sort of user interaction. In the first six months of 2011, 44.8 percent of malware detected by Microsoft’s security software required the user to “perform an action for the computer to be compromised,” the company said in a report this week.
Apple Inc. won a victory in its global patent battle with Samsung Electronics Co. when a judge in Australia issued a temporary injunction blocking the South Korean company from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer there. Justice Annabelle Bennett ruled that the Samsung product couldn't be sold in Australia if it used features such as touch-screen technology that U.S.-based Apple claims infringe patents used in its iPad tablet.
Websites that help consumers manage their frequent-flier miles are the hot new thing in travel. And that bugs Southwest and American airlines. The two carriers have sent "cease and desist" letters in the past year to several websites that track travelers' loyalty programs. Southwest argues the third-party sites threaten security of passenger information; American doesn't want outsiders "scraping" data off its website.
Samsung Electronics plans to sidestep a sales ban on its smartphones in the Netherlands by tweaking their technology to avoid violating Apple Inc. patents, in a move that could help break a deadlock in the companies' multifront legal battle. A Samsung spokesman indicated the company might take a similar approach in other markets where Apple is seeking or has already obtained a ban on Samsung's smartphones and tablet computers.
As part of a broad effort to encourage more Americans to use high-speed Internet and be able to compete in the global economy, the Federal Communications Commission has brought together a group of private companies that will offer free computer training to people in disadvantaged communities. Starting next year, the Geek Squad from Best Buy will work through service organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs, Goodwill and 4-H in 20 cities to offer training in basic computer literacy, and Microsoft will also offer such training, as well as job-search training, in schools and libraries in 15 states and in their stores nationwide.
Sony said it had locked down 93,000 user accounts on its online gaming and entertainment networks after detecting a large number of unauthorized attempts to gain access to the accounts. Intruders "using very large sets of sign-in IDs and passwords" had brief access to 60,000 accounts on the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network and another 33,000 accounts on Sony Online Entertainment's servers, Sony said.
Federal authorities accuse a 35-year-old Florida man of hacking into computer accounts and other devices belonging to more than 50 people, including entertainers Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis, Simone Harouche and Renee Olstead, officials announced. Christopher Chaney of Jacksonville, Florida, was indicted on charges of accessing protected computers without authorization, damaging protected computers, wiretapping and aggravated identity theft, officials said.
A detailed study of Internet censorship in China and Iran shows that blocking techniques are changing rapidly and are becoming significant new obstacles for news organizations, governments and businesses. The study focuses on Internet blocking faced by Iranian and Chinese visitors to BBC Web sites during periods of political unrest in the two countries over the last two years.
Popular websites are disclosing personal information to advertisers and others more often than previously believed, according to new research, and the finding is renewing calls to let Internet users block companies from tracking their online surfing. Information that could easily identify you -- your name, user name or email address, for instance -- typically is embedded in the Uniform Resource Locator, or URL, that websites share with online advertisers and other third parties, said Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford graduate student who studied the issue and released his findings.
Two men pleaded no contest to theft of lost property in a case involving last year's iPhone 4 prototype, which Apple claimed was so valuable that a price could not be placed on it. The men, who were accused of selling the device to gadget blog Gizmodo last year, were sentenced to one year of probation, 40 hours of public service, and a requirement that each pay $250 in restitution to Apple, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told CNET.
Smartphone Technologies LLC, which has already gone after Apple Research in Motion and others, claims the Kindle Fire also infringes on four of its patents. Smartphone Technologies used some of the same patents to file lawsuits last year against other big names in the industry.
Prosecutors call it the biggest identity theft bust in U.S. history. On Friday, 111 bank tellers, retail workers, waiters and alleged criminals were charged with running a credit-card-stealing organization that stole more than $13 million in less than a year and a half.
The U.S. government has obtained a controversial type of secret court order to force Google Inc. and small Internet provider Sonic.net Inc. to turn over information from the email accounts of WikiLeaks volunteer Jacob Appelbaum, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Sonic said it fought the government's order and lost, and was forced to turn over information.
A well-regarded Germany-based hacker group claims a German government-created Trojan horse program is capable of secretly spying on Web users without their consent. The group says on its website that it obtained and analyzed a piece of software that is supposed to be a "lawful interception" program designed to listen in on Internet-based phone calls as part of a legal wiretap, but its capabilities go far beyond legal bounds.
Intellectual Ventures sued Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for patent infringement, a move that comes as Google Inc. is proceeding with its purchase of the mobile phone maker based largely on its intellectual-property portfolio. The lawsuit also creates a potentially awkward scenario, with a firm partly backed by Google now presenting a Google acquisition target with a new legal headache. Intellectual Ventures disclosed Google's investment in the firm in May.
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