NewsBits for February 9, 2006 ************************************************************ Yahoo Is Accused of Aiding China in Case of Jailed Dissident In a development expected to put more pressure on foreign high-tech companies operating in China, a free-speech group Wednesday accused Yahoo of providing information to the Chinese government that helped it arrest and imprison a cyber-dissident in 2003. http://computerworld.com/developmenttopics/websitemgmt/story/0,10801,108499,00.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fg-yahoo9feb09,1,5943088.story http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=02100000IOX9 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4695718.stm - - - - - - - - - - FTC: Some Web sites end sales of phone call data Many Internet sites that had offered to obtain customer telephone records have stopped taking orders amid federal investigations prompted by privacy concerns about the practice, a Federal Trade Commission official said yesterday. The agency recently checked about 40 Internet sites that previously offered to provide call records when given the telephone number but found that many have discontinued the service because of the controversy. http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/privacy/story/0,10801,108497,00.html - - - - - - - - - - Suit against Craigslist claims discriminatory ads A Chicago-based public interest legal group has sued Craigslist over hundreds of housing posts that have included race, gender or other discriminatory restrictions. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6037057.html - - - - - - - - - - English Teacher's Computer Seized In Child Porn Probe The home of a former Elbert English teacher was searched Wednesday for possible child pornography, according to a published report Thursday. Steve Brownlee stepped down last week, and the Elbert School Board issued a statement that said it accepted the resignation immediately. http://www.thedenverchannel.com/health/6872859/detail.html - - - - - - - - - - Islamist hackers attack Danish sites Cartoon protest spills onto cyberspace Protests over cartoon images of the prophet Mohammed have spilled onto cyberspace with a series of attacks against Danish and other western websites. Islamist ire over the publication of the "satiric pictures" portraying the prophet Mohammed, first published in Denish newspaper Jyllands- Posten, has resulted in 1,000 attacks against web servers, according to defacement archive Zone-H. Danish sites have copped the majority of attacks, but the barrage of assaults has also hit Israeli and other western web servers. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/09/islamic_defacement_protests/ - - - - - - - - - - Lawmakers struggle with how neutral networks should be Telecom reform is the top priority of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. We want to get a comprehensive telecom reform bill to the presidents desk this year, Barton said. There is no more important issue to U.S. economic health, he added. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/38223-1.html Bill would force Web sites to delete personal info http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6036951.html - - - - - - - - - - Feds stay strong on spyware case With spyware on the rise, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is vowing to continue to pursue purveyors of the insidious software. "Spyware is fast overtaking spam as consumers' top online concern," Deborah Platt Majoras, chairman of the FTC, said in a speech Thursday at an event hosted by the Anti-Spyware Coalition here. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6037277.html - - - - - - - - - - ID fraud conmen target TV comic Hill What are the chances of that happening? Fraudsters siphoned PS280,000 from the bank account of TV comic Harry Hill as part of a scam targeting wealthy people that netted an estimated PS500,000. A court heard that an unnamed pair of crooks allegedly used threats to obtain answers to confidential security questions needed to control the bank accounts of prospective marks including Hill, 41. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/09/harry_hill_id_fraud/ - - - - - - - - - - UK fails to prosecute any spammers The UK's Information Commissioner continues to take no action to stop junk emailers, despite spamming being outlawed in the UK. But should we worry? More than two years after the UK enacted the first laws outlawing spam, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has admitted that it has still taken no action against any spammers. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39251494,00.htm - - - - - - - - - - Attackers exploit Linux/OSX Firefox flaw Attackers have developed code that exploits a recently patched flaw in the Firefox 1.5 browser. The exploit could allow an attacker to take control of a Linux or OS X system running the browser. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150023/attackers-publish-exploit-code - - - - - - - - - - Homeland Security Tests U.S. Readiness for Massive Internet Attack The cyber-disaster drill originally had been scheduled for last year but had to be postponed because of Hurricane Katrina. Even before that emergency, however, many lawmakers were calling for the test to determine how prepared the U.S. is for a massive Internet attack. The Department of Homeland Security has embarked on the first international test of the United States' preparedness against a massive Internet attack by terrorists. The national exercise, which began on February 6 and will end on February 10, has been dubbed "Cyber Storm." http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=02100000IOXU - - - - - - - - - - Identity Theft is on the Rise Identity theft is on the rise, but the strategies presented in "The Real Safety Guide to Beating Cybercrime" can help consumers avoid becoming a victim. The guide covers both online and offline risks, and co-authors Mike Adams and Ben Kage explain how consumers can protect themselves from common threats. The guide is available in softcover and downloadable form through Truth Publishing. http://www.truthpublishing.com/RSGCybercrime.html. http://i-newswire.com/pr56102.html - - - - - - - - - - Transfer Your Data, for a Price Google is offering a new tool that will automatically transfer information from one personal computer to another, but anyone wanting that convenience must authorize the internet search leader to store the material for up to 30 days. That compromise, sought as part of a free software upgrade to be released Thursday, might be more difficult to swallow now that the Bush administration is demanding to know what kind of information people have been trying to find through Google's search engine. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70195-0.html Google connects desktop search http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2150094/google-connects-desktop-search - - - - - - - - - - They Saved the Internet's Soul In some alternative universe out there, the world is using a very different internet. It's a network without sex and violence, devoid of four-letter words and racy ideas, subject to constant monitoring by censors and harsh punishment to those who cross the line into controversy. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70185-0.html - - - - - - - - - - Former CIA chief expresses doubts about NSA program A former CIA director on Thursday raised questions about an NSA terrorist surveillance program that has been monitoring phone calls and e-mails without a court's approval. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6037321.html - - - - - - - - - - Air passenger screening plan suspended over security concerns Security concerns have caused the government to suspend plans for an ambitious program to check every domestic airline passenger's name against government watch lists, Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley said Thursday. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/13830920.htm - - - - - - - - - - RIM unveils plan to keep BlackBerrys alive Research In Motion Thursday unveiled a plan that it says will let its addictive BlackBerry e-mail device work even if it loses a patent fight, and said the workaround will prevent a shutdown of service in the United States. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11252054/ http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/09/technology/research_in_motion.reut/index.htm http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=02100000IORF http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/09/rim_workaround_details/ *********************************************************** Search the NewsBits.net Archive at: http://www.newsbits.net/search.html *********************************************************** The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. 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