NewsBits for February 9, 2006
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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/
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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
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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
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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/
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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/
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