Buys Inc. Attorneys
ICT Law Blog
 
 
Friday, March 31, 2006
 
  New trade mark treaty approved
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) yesterday adopted a new international treaty on trade marks that streamlines the administrative procedures for national and regional trade mark applications.

Crackdown on corporate P2P users in Britain
The Federation Against Software Theft is about to take action against a number of companies in the UK that have been caught making illegal copies of software available for download from their networks – which may come as a complete surprise to the companies.

Internet growth is cooling down - survey
Growth in the use of the Internet has come off its sizzling pace, even as people become more dependent on cyberspace for work and leisure, a global survey showed on Wednesday.

Red light for XXX domain name
A proposal to create a dot-XXX address for pornographic sites on the Internet was shelved by ICANN, the international body that manages the Web, at a board meeting on Friday in Wellington.

Thursday, March 30, 2006
 
  Internet boosting terrorism
Thanks to the internet and modern technology, terrorists no longer need to be in the same country or vicinity to execute their plans.Internet communication had brought like-minded terrorists from across the globe together and led to a new, more advanced network of terrorism, the Sub-Saharan Police conference was told in Durban this week.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006
 
  Internet abuse follows viruses in work security stakes, says survey
The misuse of the internet by staff accessing inappropriate websites or spending too long online is second only to viruses as a cause of reported security incidents, according to a biannual survey by the Department of Trade and Industry and PwC.

ICANN Tackles Future of Internet
Amid brewing controversies, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' 25th International meeting officially opened on Monday in Wellington, New Zealand.

Australia registers first anti-spam code
Australian regulators registered what they said was the world's first industry code for battling spam, a set of rules that could impose massive fines on Internet service providers who fail to help counter the plague of unwanted emails.

Yang defends support for 'firewall of China'
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang on Tuesday defended the Internet search engine's co-operation with Chinese censorship of the Web, saying it was necessary to reach out to new users.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006
 
  Behind the spying saga
The report by Zolile Ngcakani, the Inspector-General of Intelligence, on his inquiry into the National Intelligence Agency’s spying on leading businessman Saki Macozoma makes for chilling reading.

Zuma hoax e-mails detailed
Andre Fourie of legal firm Buys Inc was commenting on the findings of a probe by inspector general of intelligence Zolile Ngcakani into an alleged campaign by a suspended National Intelligence Agency (NIA) agent to imply there was a plot within government to rid itself of supporters of former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

High court hears landmark eBay patent case
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments in a patent case involving online auctioneer eBay that is part of a wider struggle between the software and pharmaceutical industries over the future of the US patent system.

Monday, March 27, 2006
 
  Cybersquatters Try New Tactics
Cybersquatting the domain name of a celebrity and selling it for a king's ransom was one of the great get-rich-quick schemes of the early internet. But since courts now tend to favor the star over the squatter, a new kinder, gentler cybersquatting tactic has emerged.

Making wireless more reliable
Reliable interoperability among wireless devices was among the featured projects at Sun Microsystems' Sun Labs in Mountain View, Calif. Correspondent James Hilliard talks with Sun researcher Randy Smith and Sun Labs Director Glenn Edens about tackling the challenges of consistent connectivity, remote access and digital rights management.

Microsoft mulls rushing out IE patch
Microsoft may rush out a security update for Internet Explorer to fix a flaw that is now being exploited to attack Windows systems, security companies say. Computer code that demonstrates how a hacker can use the flaw to take over a PC was released onto the Net on Thursday. At least two such exploits were made public, and one has now been adapted to attack systems, Monty IJzerman, the manager of security content at McAfee, said on Friday.

China Shuts Down Websites Offering Porn, Pirated Movies
Chinese authorities have shut down dozens of websites that carried pornographic material or offered pirated movies or online games, the government announced. Among several people arrested were two accused of making the equivalent of about $145,000 Cdn by running a pirated version of a game made by Chinese online game giant Shanda Interactive Entertainment, China's Xinhua News Agency reported.

EBay Seller Sues Game Maker for Stopping Sales of Guide
Makers of the wildly popular "World of Warcraft" online game now face a lawsuit from an eBay seller who claims he was improperly barred from selling copies of his own unofficial gaming guide. Filed in a California federal court, the complaint alleges that Blizzard Entertainment, its parent company Vivendi Universal, and the Entertainment Software Association were wrong to order eBay to terminate auctions of "The Ultimate World of Warcraft Leveling & Gold Guide," a book penned by 24-year-old Brian Kopp of Bronson, Fla.

Man Pleads Guilty to Charges of Using Another's Wi-Fi
David M. Kauchak, 32, a former Machesney Park (Illinois) resident, is the first person in Winnebago County to be charged with remotely accessing another computer system without the owner's approval. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $250 and sentenced to one year of court supervision.

Groups Step Up Efforts to Kill Russian Copyright Bill
Business and anti-piracy groups stepped up calls for the Russian government to kill a controversial copyright bill that they say would set back efforts to tackle counterfeiters. The draft bill, which would replace all existing legal safeguards, is riddled with holes and would further hamper Russia's already woeful enforcement record, said Olga Barannikova, of the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights.

Friday, March 24, 2006
 
  Suit alleges Internet privacy breach
New York's attorney general sued an Internet company Thursday over the selling of e-mail addresses in what authorities say may be the biggest deliberate breach of Internet privacy ever.

Wikipedia study 'fatally flawed'
A study on the accuracy of the free online resource, Wikipedia, by the prestigious journal Nature has been described as 'fatally flawed'.

Adware 'fuelled by big companies'
Companies who spend cash advertising online play a key part in the spread of unwanted adware onto domestic PCs, a respected campaign group has concluded.

Microsoft delays Office relaunch
Microsoft has put back the consumer launch of its new Office software suite to 2007, to coincide with the delayed start date for Windows Vista.

Regulations are unlawful: Vodacom
Vodacom says the draft regulations governing how and at what price telecoms operators connect with each other are unlawful, both under the current and pending new laws.

Will connection fee regulation lower prices?
Efforts by the telecommunications regulator to curb the cost of phone calls are being frustrated by dissenting voices on the effect that its policies might have.

DotCo versus Telkom, Round Two
The DotCo versus Telkom court hearing took place in Cape Town on Wednesday and Thursday this week with evidence presented regarding Telkom's new wholesale billing plan for ADSL.

Superstores told to clarify online pricing
Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado have agreed to clarify their online pricing, after customers complained to the OFT that they were being charged a different price on delivery from the price the supermarkets advertised at the time of ordering.

Rules for podcasters in the UK
The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and the Performing Right Society have launched a licensing scheme for music podcasters. The MCP Sand PRS plan to assess the operation of the licence and update the scheme early next year.

Commission frustrated that people ignore digital signatures
EU citizens and businesses have been reluctant tomake use of electronic signature tools, despite thecreation of a Community framework to support theirlegal admissibility – and the European Commissionfears the limited take-up is hindering e-commerce.

Lords reject Government ID card plans – again
The Lords has rejected Government plans to makeit compulsory for people to acquire an ID card whenthey apply for a new passport. It is the second timethat peers have voted against the proposal, and thefourth time they have blocked passage of the Bill.

Merrill Lynch to pay $2.5 million for missing emails
Merrill Lynch and the US Securities and ExchangeCommission have settled proceedings brought overa failure by the company to promptly produce emails requested by SEC staff. The brokerage firm willpay $2.5 million.

Creative Commons licence upheld by Dutch Court
A Dutch Court has ruled that photos posted ontophoto-sharing site Flickr under a Creative Commonslicence should not have been reproduced by a gossipmagazine without the permission of the poster.

"Hacker Camps" Teach Tech Pros How to Defeat Threats
Some 30,000 technology professionals around the world have received training as part of a "certified ethical hacker" program set up in late 2001 by the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants, an organization for e-business professionals. This and other "hacker camps" offer programs to train network-security professionals in the same techniques used by the hackers they are trying to thwart.

Kazaa Owner Faces Contempt Proceedings in Australia
The owner of the Kazaa file sharing network will have to fight on yet another front in its long-running legal battle with Australian record companies. A judge has given the record companies the green light to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the company after it chose to block access to its network in Australia rather than implement keyword filters.

U.S. Pushing China for "Measurable Progress" on Piracy
The government wants China to show "measurable progress" on piracy and other issues straining trade relations at a high-level meeting next month, the top trade official said. Trade Representative Rob Portman said Washington also is pressing China to open its market to more US goods and to respond to concerns about domestic industrial subsidies by the April 11 trade meeting that precedes Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington nine days later.

Internet Company Sued for Selling E-mail Addresses
New York's attorney general sued an internet company over the selling of e-mail addresses in what authorities say may be the biggest deliberate breach of internet privacy ever. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer accused Gratis Internet of selling personal information obtained from millions of consumers despite a promise of confidentiality.

Company to Pay $900,000 Fine in CAN-SPAM Case
An Internet marketer will pay a $900,000 fine, the largest ever on spam-related charges, in a consent decree announced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Jumpstart Technologies LLC, based in San Francisco, is permanently prohibited unlawful practices related to the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act as part of the decree, entered in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Four Charged in $1.2 Million E-mail Fraud Scheme
A quartet of suspected e-mail scammers -- three of them Nigerian citizens -- could face scores of years in prison if convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges, the U.S. Justice Department said. A grand jury in Brooklyn, New York, charged Nnamdi Chizuba Anisiobi, Anthony Friday Ehis, Kesandu Egwuonwu and another unnamed defendant with one count of conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.

N.Y. AG Takes on Privacy Fight With Gratis
New York's Attorney General is turning up the heat on data brokers over their privacy policies.

Youth accused over internet death threats
A high school student charged with threatening to kill two teachers and a 14-year-old girl over the internet had been bullied at school, his parents say.

Thursday, March 23, 2006
 
  Public–private collaboration key to bridging digital divide
Despite some global progress in improving access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), poor countries still lag behind in making ICT applic-ations commonplace in governments, schools and business, a new World Bank report shows.

Telkom launches $386m hostile BCX bid
South Africa's fixed-line phone company Telkom has offered to buy Business Connexion for R2,43-billion in cash as it seeks to beef up its data business, it said on Wednesday.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006
 
  Suspension after email smear
The woman behind the email smear claiming that the celebrity couple Zam and Nkhensani Nkosi are HIV positive has been suspended and will face disciplinary action.

27 charged in child porn sting
An Internet chat room that streamed video of live child molestations has been shut down and 27 people have been charged with online child pornography offenses, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Gold Reef to claim R24m from M-Net
Gold Reef Casino Resorts (GRCR) is suing M-Net and Carte Blanche for R24m in damages, after the current affairs programme’s questioned the safety of Gold Reef City’s theme park rides. It claims the report was unjustified, and caused revenues to plummet.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The word on the street is that Telkom is discouraging their employees from visiting MyADSL and Hellkom. It seems that Telkom have decided to ban the voice of the outspoken consumer from airing in their hallways. This move represents a stark break away from what Papi Molotsane, Telkom’s CEO, proposed at the beginning of his tenure.

Telkom forces Internet Solutions to halt ADSL signups
Internet Solutions (IS) has decided to suspend the provisioning of any new IS ADSL users on their network due to capacity problems. In a statement released on Tuesday they said that ‘the links between ourselves and Telkom are approaching a level whereby we would no longer be able to provide a reliable service should we continue adding new users to our ADSL network’.

Sites selling child porn targeted
Net and finance firms are joining up to stamp out commercial child pornography. The newly formed Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography brings together 18 organisations including Bank of America, American Express, Mastercard, AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft.

China and the break-up of the net
There was a buzz in the internet community last week after the People's Daily, widely regarded as the most influential newspaper in China, published an article in English announcing changes to that country's domain name system.

New virus seeks 'ransom' for files
In the equivalent of a holdup in cyberspace, a new computer bug locks up a user's file with encryption and demands a 300-dollar "ransom," security experts say. The so-called "ransomware" Trojan was discovered by the security firm LURHQ, which said it was based on a similar scheme perpetrated 15 years ago.

On-line banking faces new threat
Despite assurances by banks that their "one-time password" systems offer online banking clients the best security, experts believe it is only a matter of time before cybercriminals crack these safeguards too. In the endless battle between companies trying to protect their systems and hackers trying to crack them, "the next step will be attacks against one-time passwords used by the banks", says International computer security expert, Mikko Hyppönen of Finland's F-Secure.

Interconnection guidelines to be reviewed
“The purpose of the hearings is to review the existing interconnection and facilities leasing guidelines regime and align it with developments in the telecoms sector,” says Vimla Maistry, ICASA media relations manager.

iBlog aims at SA bloggers
“Blogging is relatively unknown in SA, which is about four years behind the UK, US and Europe, where blogging is already extremely common and popular,” says Garbers, who is based in the UK.

Chinese Teacher Gets 10 Years for Internet Posting
A Chinese court jailed a teacher for 10 years for publishing anti-government views on the Internet, continuing an official crackdown on Web-based dissidents. Ren Ziyuan, 27, had been found guilty of "subversion of state power" after posting a tract entitled "The Road to Democracy" and other essays, his father, Ren Rusheng, told Reuters.

Cybercrime Costs More Than Physical Crime, CIOs Says
Chief information officers see cybercrime as a greater threat than physical crime, according to an IBM survey of manufacturing, financial, health care and retail enterprises. Fifty-seven percent of the 600 U.S. businesses surveyed said they are losing more money through cybercrime -- by way of lost income, the loss of current and potential customers, and decreased employee productivity -- than from conventional crime.

Music Website Warns Customers of Stolen Credit Card Data
A musical instrument and sound gear Web site that advertises its relationship with artists such as Dave Matthews, Carlos Santana and MaryJ. Blige notified some customers that their credit card information may have been stolen. The warning, which came more than a month after someone broke into Bananas.com, was delivered after The Associated Press inquired about the breach.

Law Firm Earns $200 Million in BlackBerry Settlement
The Washington, D.C., law firm that represented patent-holding company NTP Inc. in its nearly five-year legal battle with Research In Motion Ltd. earned roughly $200 million in fees from the case. Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP received approximately one-third of the $612.5 million settlement that RIM agreed to pay NTP to avert a potential court-ordered shutdown of its popular BlackBerry wireless email devices.

Antigua Criticizes Proposed U.S. Online Gambling Law
Antigua blasted the United States over what the tiny Caribbean island state said were moves to ensure it could not build up its fragile economy through revenues from Internet gambling services. Criticising proposed U.S. laws to outlaw the $12 billion online gambling industry, Antiguan ambassador to the World Trade Organization John Ashe suggested Washington felt it could act with impunity because his country did not have the economic weight to retaliate.

Judge Dismisses Writer's Copyright Lawsuit Against Google
In a legal win for Google, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a writer who claimed the search giant infringed on his copyright by archiving a Usenet posting of his and providing excerpts from his Web site in search results. The lawsuit was filed by Gordon Roy Parker, also known as Ray Gordon, who publishes his writings under the business name of Snodgrass Publishing Group.

Senators Introduce "Cyber Safety for Kids Act of 2006"
Controversial plans to create an Internet red-light district would be revived under a new U.S. Senate proposal. Two Senate Democrats, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Max Baucus of Montana, introduced a bill called the "CyberSafety for Kids Act of 2006."

Judge Orders Google to Disclose Some Search Information
A federal judge ordered Google Inc. to give the Bush administration a peek inside its search engine, but rebuffed the government's demand for a list of people's search requests potentially sensitive information that the company had fought to protect. In his 21-page ruling, U.S. District Judge James Ware told Google to provide the U.S. Justice Department with the addresses of 50,000 randomly selected Web sites indexed by its search engine by April 3.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006
 
  China 'to block VoIP calls for two years'
China will not allow paid-for calls between computers and conventional telephones for at least two years, according to the head of Tom Online, the Chinese internet portal which has a joint venture with Skype, the internet telephony company.

Google ordered to hand over data
A federal judge has ordered internet search engine Google to turn over some search data, including 50,000 web addresses, to the US government.

Site sues Google over search rankings
Parental advice Web site claims its page views plummeted after Google's secretive search system penalized it.

France pushes for free choice on downloads
French nationalists and free market advocates, whose sniping over cross-border takeovers has grabbed headlines, may now have something they can agree on: protecting freedom of choice on song and video downloads from the Internet.

Saturday, March 18, 2006
 
  VIDEO CLIP
Dying for the Internet.

Attacks target Internet traffic cops
A new variety of unusually powerful Internet attacks can overwhelm popular Web sites and disrupt e-mails by exploiting the computers that help manage global Internet traffic, according to security researchers.

Israeli Trojan Couple Plead Guilty
Ruth Brier-Haephrati and Michael Haephrati have pleaded guilty toindustrial espionage charges in an Israeli court. The couple confessedto developing a Trojan horse program that was sold to privateinvestigators who used it to spy on clients' business competitors. Ruthfaces up to four years in prison; Michael faces up to two years. Bothface a fine of one million New Israeli Shekels (US$214,000).

DHS Scores F on Cyber Security Report Card
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has received a failinggrade for its cyber security from the House Government Reform Committee.The federal government is expected to receive an overall grade ofD-plus. The grades are based on the federal agencies' compliance withrequirements set out in the Federal Information Security Management Act(FISMA). Some believe that money spent documenting compliance would bebetter spent securing systems.

New Type of Internet Attacks Called "Significantly Larger"
A new variety of unusually powerful Internet attacks can overwhelm popular Web sites and disrupt e-mails by exploiting the computers that help manage global Internet traffic, according to security researchers. First detected late last year, the new attacks direct such massive amounts of spurious data against victim computers that even flagship technology companies could not cope.

Federal Agencies Fail in Fighting Hackers, Report Says
Most federal agencies that play key roles in the war on terror are doing a dismal job of protecting their computers and information networks from hackers and viruses, according to portions of a report to be released by a key congressional oversight committeey. The Department of Homeland Security, which is charged with setting the government's cyber security agenda, earned a grade of F for the third straight year from the House Government Reform Committee.

Man charged with hacking into GM database
A former security guard at General Motors Corp.'s Warren technical center is accused of taking employee Social Security numbers and using them to hack into the company's employee vehicle database.

27 charged in child porn sting

An Internet chat room that streamed video of live child molestations has been shut down and 27 people have been charged with online child pornography offenses, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Microsoft Sues eBay Sellers for Software Piracy
Continuing its aggressive campaign to cut down on piracy of its products, Microsoft has filed eight lawsuits against eBay sellers, accusing them of distributing counterfeit versions of the software giant's programs. The suits were filed against individuals in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York and Washington.

Oracle Wins Judgment in Patent Lawsuit
Oracle said Thursday it won a summary judgment in a patent-infringement suit concerning its clustered database software, ending MangoSoft's claims against the company. Oracle, the Redwood Shores, Calif.-based enterprise software maker, said it will now proceed on its claims that MangoSoft's patent is invalid and unenforceable.

Thursday, March 16, 2006
 
  Trojan spy couple are expected to be jailed
A British-based Israeli couple are expected to be jailed in Israel for their part in an industrial espionage scandal involving the use of a Trojan data-tracking bug.

In Newspaper Ads, BlackBerry Maker Urges Patent Reform
Research In Motion took out a full-page advertisement in eight U.S.newspapers thanking those who supported the company in its dispute withNTP and also urging patent reforms. In the letter attributed to RIM'sco-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, RIM said it was "pleased to putthis matter behind us and remove any uncertainty from our customers'minds."

Google to Let Publishers Sell Digital Copies of Books
Google Inc. is letting publishers sell digital copies of books that are included in its Book Search website. Publishers in Google Books Partner Program in the U.S. and Britain will be able to set prices for access to their books, according to a posting on the Mountain View,Calif.-based company's website.

Microsoft to Include Parental Controls in "Live" Service
Microsoft Corp. said it plans to include a free service to help parents control and monitor what their children are doing online in its upcoming Windows Live offering of Web services. Windows Live is part of Microsoft's strategy to consolidate a range of Web services -- e-mail,instant messaging, online PC security and blogs -- to compete with Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. for Internet advertising dollars.

Bills Would Open Frequencies to Wireless Broadband Providers
A proposal to allow wireless broadband providers to use vacant frequencies between TV channels is gaining support in Congress, a development that could deliver high-speed access to underserved rural areas. Two recently introduced Senate bills would require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules to accommodate the unlicensed services within six months.

Europe Refuses to Open Microsoft Hearings to Public
Microsoft asked the European Commission to open to the public hearings that could bring the U.S. software giant a large fine, but the Commission said on that regulations require they be closed. The administrative hearings on March 30 and 31 will be on charges that Microsoft failed to carry out sanctions imposed by the Commission, the executive arm of the 25-country European Union, two years ago for violations of antitrust law.

IRS, Treasury Department See Increase in Phishing Scams
The Internal Revenue Service, noting an escalation in identity theft scams, is raising alarms about e-mails designed to dupe taxpayers into revealing personal financial information. IRS and Treasury Department officials have noticed an increase this winter in the frequency and sophistication of "phishing" schemes that use the tax agency's logo to lure victims.

Judge Likely to Force Google to Disclose Some Information
A federal judge hearing arguments in the Department of Justice's records fight with Google said that he would grant federal prosecutors at least part of their request for excerpts from the search giant's massive database. U.S. District Judge James Ware said he intends to release his decision "very quickly," and that he might give the Justice Department access to a portion of Google's index of Web sites, but not its users' search terms.

Debate on French copyright bill moves into final stages
The French government is continuing to push ahead with a new copyright bill that would limit what is considered "fair use" of copyright digital works, despite widespread opposition from consumer rights groups, musicians' trade unions and associations of Internet users, librarians and archivists.

DRM Gets A French Kiss-Off
That's the message the French government wants to send to Apple, and Real, and Microsoft, and every other player in this industry: quit working your customers, and work yourselves instead. Build business models dedicated to making your customers' lives easier and more convenient, and have some faith that the market will reward you.

New virus demands ransom for your PC files
In the equivalent of a hold-up in cyberspace, a new computer bug locks up a user's file with encryption and demands a $300 "ransom", security experts say.

2 van Renault, Hyundai geskors oor 'bobbejaantjie'
Twee werknemers van twee verskillende motormaatskappye is voorlopig hul werk kwyt nadat hulle glo in e-poskorrespondensie na 'n Sowetan-verslaggewer as 'n "bobbejaantjie" verwys het en dié e- pos per ongeluk na die verslaggewer se e- posadres gestuur is.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006
 
  Justice Department Wants Deadline for Google's Subpoena
The U.S. Justice Department has set a suggested deadline for Google to hand over information about its users' search habits: 21 days. In court documents submitted to U.S. District Judge James Ware in San Jose, Calif.,federal prosecutors said they need a prompt response because of the compressed schedule of the case.

Microsoft Still Out of Compliance, European Commission Says
After having reviewed the latest documents submitted by Microsoft in its antitrust case, the European Commission announced it sent a letter to the software giant reaffirming its view that the company is out of compliance with its antitrust order. The letter is the latest blow to the software maker as it heads toward its oral hearing in the case in three weeks. After the hearing, scheduled for March 30 and 31, the commission will make a final decision on whether to impose a daily fine of $2.36million (2 million euros), which would remain in force until Microsoft comes into compliance with the EC's historic antitrust order.

Court Allows Police to Search Hard Drives for Child Porn
Police may search computer hard drives for child pornography if their owners subscribe to Web sites selling the images, a U.S. appeals court ruled. There is a "fair probability" customers of child pornography Websites receive or download the illegal images, opening the door for police searches, according to the ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Consultancy Says It Can Break Impasse on Microsoft in EU
A consultancy retained by the European Commission in the Microsoftantitrust case believes it can help break an impasse to avoid a large fineagainst the firm, a source familiar with the situation said. OTRConsultants of London has helped the Commission in the Microsoft case forseveral years, but its contract is nearing an end because of time limitsimposed under Commission procurement rules, a second source said.

Lawsuits Highlight Legal Problems for Video Online
The new threat in Internet-enabled copyright infringement is centering on video. A spate of lawsuits raises troubling questions for TV and movie producers, who, as more and more consumers buy the Net pipes necessary to bring in and send out video files, are reaching a crossroads their counterparts in music hit six years ago.

Hacked Chinese Bank Server Hosts Phishing Sites
Criminals appear to have hacked a Chinese bank's server and are usingit to host phishing sites to steal personal data from customers of eBayInc. and a major U.S. bank., according to Internet services companyNetcraft Ltd. It may be the first scheme that uses one bank'sinfrastructure to exploit another bank, said Paul Mutton, an Internetservices developer for Netcraft, based in Bath, England.

Hundreds of CIA Employees Identified on Internet
Unbeknown to the CIA, the affiliation of hundreds of CIA employeeshave somehow become a matter of public record, thanks to the Internet.Only recently has the CIA recognized that in the Internet age itstraditional system of providing cover for clandestine employees workingoverseas is fraught with holes, a discovery that is said to have"horrified" CIA Director Porter Goss.

French Law Would Let Consumers Convert Digital Music
France is pushing through a law that would force Apple Computer Inc.
to open its iTunes online music store and enable consumers to download
songs onto devices other than the computer maker's popular iPod player.
Under a draft law expected to be voted in parliament, consumers would be
able to legally use software that converts digital content into any
format.

U.S. Government Files Brief Against eBay in Patent Case
The federal government took a position against eBay Inc. in a patentdispute that threatens to shut down one of the online auction site'spopular shopping features. The Office of the Solicitor General said in abrief filed with the Supreme Court that eBay willfully infringed onpatents held by Great Falls-based MercExchange LLC and should be enjoinedfrom using its "Buy It Now" feature, which allows users to buy goods atfixed prices rather than compete in auctions.

E-mail Marketing Company Agrees to $1.1 Million Settlement
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has agreed to a $1.1 millionsettlement from an interactive marketing firm that he said reused e-mailaddresses and other consumer information without authorization. Spitzerdescribed the case involving Datran Media as being possibly "the largestbreach of privacy in Internet history" with e-mail addresses and otherdata about some 6 million people involved.

Data Insecurity: What Remedy Should Consumers Have When Companies Do Not Keep Their Data Safe?
On December 31, 2005, an employee of Providence Healthcare Systems stored backup computer tapes overnight in his van, which was parked at home in his driveway. The tapes were stolen - and so were data for 365,000 patients in Oregon and Washington. The data included patients' Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and medical information. Yet the affected patients were not notified of the security breach until January 25, 2006 -- almost a month later.

Cryptography regulations published
As of Friday 10 March 2006, providers of cryptography products or services may not continue to operate unless they register certain information with the Department of Communications.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006
 
  Employees a ‘great IT security threat'
Although technology's role in protecting IT networks is important, more focus should be given to managing the threat posed by staff members, experts at last week's two-day ITWeb Security Summit said.

Watchdog updates data protection guidance
The Information Commissioner has updated his Data Protection guidance in the wake of a House of Lords decision not to consider a landmark Court of Appeal ruling that effectively narrows the right of individuals to access "personal data".

How your IT department is breaking the data protection laws
Now, here’s a dirty little secret that most of the people that concern themselves with corporate governance and compliance don’t know about.

The enemy within the firewall
Employees are now regarded as a greater danger to workplace cyber security than the gangs of hackers and virus writers launching targeted attacks from outside the firewall.

Two books on the life of Christ may redefine the law of copyright
DAN BROWN’S The Da Vinci Code may prove to be more than the novel that made his fortune. In a development that is unlikely to have been part of his literary game plan, The Da Vinci Code could also, thanks to High Court proceedings before Mr Justice Smith, be as notorious not merely for the money it has made its author, but for the way in which it redefines the law of copyright.

Microsoft to offer free parental Web monitoring
Microsoft Corp. said on Monday it plans to include a free service to help parents control and monitor what their children are doing online in its upcoming Windows Live offering of Web services.

Million-Dollar Payout in E-Mail Privacy Case
It pays to follow Internet privacy statements.

Freeze Your Identity to Stop ID Theft
It happens almost every day, third parties perform credit checks on unsuspecting individuals without their knowledge. Sometimes those checks are for legitimate purposes such as new credit card applications, but other times they're performed by criminals seeking to steal identities.

Meisie kry interdik teen seun (18) oor naakfoto's
Die tienerdogter van 'n afgetrede predikant van Mpumalanga het in die Pretoriase hooggeregshof 'n interdik gekry teen 'n 18-jarige seun nadat hy naakfoto's van haar versprei het wat sy oor haar selfoon aan hom gestuur het.

Google acquires online documents site
Google has acquired the privately held website Writely.com, which enables users to create and store documents online, in what is seen as a potential challenge to Microsoft's Office software.

Sunday, March 12, 2006
 
  PODCAST: The Digital Life
CNN Headline News anchor Renay San Miguel talks with telecom industry analyst Glen Arlen about internet telephone service.

Internet by numbers

Court OKs searching computer for porn
Police may search computer hard drives for child pornography if their owners subscribe to Web sites selling the images, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday.

Saturday, March 11, 2006
 
  No TV licence fees for IPTV
Those planning to receive TV on their mobile devices or PCs using broadband technology will not have to pay a TV licence fee for this.

OSS: The alternative in digital forensics?
Open source software (OSS) tools can be credible and reliable in digital forensics, says Cobus Venter, senior researcher at The Cyber Security Science Centre, a division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Top security threats for 2006
Information security players outlined this year's top five IT security threats during a panel discussion at the ITWeb Security Summit in Bryanston this week.

Court deals blow to DOTCO
Internet service provider (ISP) DOTCO was dealt a blow today when the Cape High Court rejected its interlocutory application for Telkom to reveal certain contracts it has with other ISPs.

Money for nothing
Telecommunication operators are annoyed. They are handing over hundreds of millions of rand a year to a fund that is supposed to bring information and communication services to the rural poor — but the bulk of their contributions has not been spent.

The battle of the ring tones
With the proliferation of mobile phone technology that enables original songs – orchestra and all – to be used as ring tones, no less than 130 companies have sprung up in SA to provide cellphone users with the tunes they want.

The big thing on business' mind
Gone are the days when the management team viewed the information technology (IT) honcho as the guy whose department is a massive cost centre, and who is spending all the money on unnecessary gadgets.

Members of Apocalypse Crew plead guilty
Three members of an online music piracy operation pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday in response to a government crackdown, the Justice Department said.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/49276.html
With details swathed in secrecy and buzz created by a mysterious website, Microsoft's Origami handheld debuted Thursday at the CeBit trade show in Hannover, Germany, to great expectations.

Report: Majority of Web Sites Lack Search Savvy
A majority of Web sites fail to meet the search desires of their visitors, according to a report prepared by Cambridge, Mass.-based research firm Forrester Research. Moreover, some 13 percent of European consumers say they'll bolt from a Web site if they can't find what they want at the location immediately, the report noted.

Child Pornography a Growing Global Problem
Child pornography on the Internet is a growing problem for countries around the world, new research suggests. The Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland reported that consumers served by its members have expressed that they are fed up with the availability of child pornography online.

Dissident ready to be `martyr for freedom of information'
A dissident journalist in Cuba has been on a hunger strike for more than a month, demanding access to the Internet.

Mac Hacker Challenge Raises Hackles at University
Responding to a publicized test where a computer hacker gained access to a Macintosh operating system in under 30 minutes, DoIT Technical Service Specialist Dave Schroeder challenged hackers to infiltrate a computer he secured using Mac OS X and had put on the University of Wisconsin network.

Lawsuits May Stifle Efforts to Shelter Kids Online
It seemed like a good idea: enact a federal law to protect children from sexually explicit material on the Internet. However, eight years after Congress passed the Child Online Protection Act, legal challenges from sexual health sites, the online magazine Salon.com and other Web publishers have kept it from being enforced.

Google Settles Fraudulent Clicks Suit
Google will pay as much as US$90 million to settle a lawsuit brought byadvertisers who allege the company overcharged them for phony salesreferrals generated by "click fraud." The settlement applies to allcompanies that advertised on Google over the past four years. Googlehas offered to provide the companies with credit for the fraudulentclicks since 2002. Google will also pay legal costs. The court has notyet approved the settlement, however.

Survey: Operational Incidents and Staffing Issues Top CIO's List of Concerns
The IT Governance Institute's (ITGI) IT Governance Global Status Report2006 found the most pressing IT concerns among chief executives andchief information officers (CIOs) are operational incidents and staffingissues; security and compliance were at the bottom of the list. Thismay be due to the fact that companies have been deploying technologiesto ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations. Thenearly 700 respondents represent 22 countries.

Chinese Cyber Invaders May be After Defense Logistics
China may be funding intrusions into US Defense Department computersystems to ferret out logistical data. Former Air Force CIO JohnGilligan says that the Defense Department's unclassified network, theNonsecure Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet), holds a great dealof defense logistical data. (Gilligan is now the deputy director of SRAInternational's defense sector.) James Mulvenon, director of DefenseGroup Inc.'s Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis, says cyberattackers are "burrowing into really boring logistics networks"indicating they have support from a foreign state. NIPRNet is not aclassified network; classified networks are expensive and do not alloweasy communication with the "outside world." Michael O'Hanlon, seniorfellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution says "Ifthere's any good news here, it's that computers are getting attacked allthe time;". In other words, network security should improve as attacksare recognized and holes are repaired.

Friday, March 10, 2006
 
  Internet Bills Likely to Rise, Telecom Analysts Predict
One way or another, consumers are likely to shell out more in the future for Web content. The reason, analysts and telecommunications executives say, is simple. As Internet traffic booms and competition intensifies, the phone and cable companies are spending billions of dollars to expand their networks -- and they want someone to help them foot the bill.

Cyber Criminals Using Smaller, Targeted Attacks, Report Says
Cyber criminals are stepping up smaller, more targeted attacks as they seek to avoid detection and reap bigger profits by stealing personal and financial information, according to a report. Symantec Corp.'s Internet Security Threat report said during the second half of 2005 attackers continued to move away from broad attacks seeking to breach firewalls and routers and are now taking aim at the desktop and Web applications.

Majority of Web Sites Lack Search Savvy
"Google has trained us not only that search can be very good but that it can be very easy," Chris Sherman, executive editor of SearchEngineWatch.com told TechNewsWorld. "The problem with most e-commerce sites is that they don't have Google-like site search tools," he added.

IT Security Issues Pose Major Risk for E-Healthcare
There is increasing concern that e-health records, when linked to any computer network, can be as vulnerable as PCs are to attack from Internet predators. Shouldn't the industry devise security measures that can protect that kind of sensitive data, before doctors start making it readily available over shared databases and networks?

Symantec Report: Cybercrime on the Rise
"Cybercrime represents today's greatest threat to consumers' digital lifestyle and to online businesses in general," said Arthur Wong, vice president, Symantec Security Response and Managed Security Services.

Intellectual Property Not a Game: Microsoft Marks 5,000th US Patent
"Microsoft's patent strategy is largely defensive these days," Enderle Group Principal Analyst Rob Enderle told the E-Commerce Times. "It is designed, much like IBM's, to provide something in the nature of assured mutual destruction if another operating firm challenges Microsoft on IP."

Thursday, March 09, 2006
 
  High internet access brings vulnerability
THE quest to increase the level of broadband access in SA is bound to be coupled with a serious increase in cybercrime and computer viruses.

Internet overtakes TV in Britain
The British now spend more time on the Internet than watching television, according to a survey published yesterday by Internet search engine Google.

Communications bill ushers in demise of Telkom’s monopoly
COMPETITION in the telecoms industry will get a major boost from the Electronic Communications Bill now awaiting presidential approval, the chairman of Parliament’s communications portfolio committee believes.

Thousands fall for Hotmail prank
I'm always pleased when I see healthy page views for our business stories - but there are exceptions.

VIDEO: Hot spots
Wireless net marches forward in Britain.

Online publisher's European move
The world's fastest-growing producer of print-on-demand books, Lulu.com, has announced plans for five new European sites as part of its global expansion.

Volkswagen 'gets Polo web name'
Volkswagen has scooped the polo.eu domain name, despite fierce competition from Ralph Lauren and Polo-mint maker Nestle, a leading registrar reveals.

Volkswagen 'gets Polo web name'
Volkswagen has scooped the polo.eu domain name, despite fierce competition from Ralph Lauren and Polo-mint maker Nestle, a leading registrar reveals.

Microsoft launches Web search engine
In its latest bid to catch up with rivals Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. is launching a revamped Internet search engine it says will help computer users find information faster, view it more easily and organize it better.

'Cyberviolence' grows in S. Korea
Kim Hyo-bi doesn't want her picture taken any more.

Microsoft Origami, a mini laptop, unveiled
Microsoft Corp. unveiled its 'Origami' project Thursday, a paperback-book sized portable computer, which is a hybrid between a laptop PC and a host of mobile devices that the world's biggest software maker hopes will create an entirely new market.

Truetone ads ‘not misleading'
The Advertising Industry Tribunal has overturned the ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) directorate that iTouch's truetone advertisements are misleading to consumers.

'Da Vinci' author 'stole plot'
Author Dan Brown appeared in court on Monday at the start of a trial in which two historians say he copied their work to write "The Da Vinci Code" best-seller and are suing his British publisher.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006
 
  Apple bitten by legal, technical challenges
For Apple Computer, life at the top of the digital music heap is not all it is cracked up to be.The company maintains upwards of 60 percent market share in MP3 player sales and in February crossed the one billion songs plateau for sales at its iTunes Music Store. But as its power grows, so grows the list of potential threats to its dominance.

Mobile phones are under attack
Social engineering goes mobile and worms jump from PCs to wireless devices.

Hanging on the internet telephone
Technology analyst Bill Thompson wonders what the future holds for today's providers of internet calling services, known as Voice over internet protocol (Voip).

Now you © it, soon you won't
The laws of copyright are being rendered meaningless by the growth of ditial technology. So how will writers and artists earn a crust?

Monday, March 06, 2006
 
  Internet Governance: Asia-Pacific Perspectives
This publication, with a foreword by Nitin Desai, provides an overview of the key debates on Internet governance. It presents the work of the Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance, an APDIP initiative that has collected perspectives from regional experts and end users.

Funny: Patriot Search
Whether you are a normal searcher, someone trying to download illegal material, a terrorist looking to build a bomb, or just hunting porn, we at Patriot Search welcome you! Our mission is to provide the best possible search engine to you while at the same time, making sure the government is informed should you search for something obscure, illegal, or unpatriotic.

ANONYMIZER TO PROVIDE CENSOR-FREE INTERNET TO CHINA
Anonymizer® Inc., the leader in online identity protection technology and software solutions, today announced that the company is developing a new anti-censorship solution that will enable Chinese citizens to safely access the entire Internet filter-free, and also free from oppression and fear of persecution or retribution. This new program expands upon Anonymizer's history of human rights efforts which provide a censor-free Internet experience for those in oppressed nations.

Why Google took the wrong course over China
Google’s decision to operate a search service in China, implementing Chinese censorship rules into the service, has been a controversial issue. Inside Google itself, it is reported there was much debate, with many staff supporting and many staff opposing the final decision, as as been the case in the public. So it’s not a simple issue.

Liberties Group Calls for I-Biz Conduct Code
Something like the EFF's proposed code of conduct is needed, according to Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. "These companies are hungering for something, because [if they act alone], they know an opportunity declined is one someone else will take," he told the E-Commerce Times.

Sony BMG Names New CEO to Replace Lack
The chief executive and chairman of the board are trading hats in a shake-up at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the powerhouse record company behind such pop stars as Britney Spears, OutKast and Travis Tritt.

'Copyright criminals' look to remix the noise--legally
When Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky, says he thinks musicians should be able to remix samples of others' clips into new works, he puts his money where his mouth is.

Kits help phishing sites proliferate
The number of phishing Web sites grew by about 65 percent in December, which security experts say is due to the increasing use of easy-to-use "phishing kits."

More worries about Google Desktop 3
Google Desktop's new search-across-computers feature could put sensitive data at risk and violate federal data-privacy regulations, say IT administrators at a public university and a large manufacturing company. Both are banning it from their networks.

Watch that email content - it could get you fired
Many employers are still not aware of the arrival of the new Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (Rica), which came into effect in September 2005.

Zimbabwe opposition factions begin legal tussle over brand name
Lawyers of the two factions of Zimbabwe's splintered opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party are locked up in a tug-of-war over rights to the MDC brand, in what appears to be the beginning of a long and damaging legal wrangle over the party's name, symbol and assets.

Cellphone lands social worker behind bars
Elizabeth social worker is fuming because she was unlawfully detained for an hour after her cellphone went off during court proceedings. “A police officer locked me up in a filthy cell, where I found two other women. My life was placed in a very vulnerable position,” said a stunned Pamela Rubushe.

Chikane files papers against M&G
Director-General in the presidency, Frank Chikane, has filed papers in the high court here to force the Mail and Guardian newspaper to retract allegations that linked him to the hoax email scandal.

Deal done on .com domain future
The body that oversees net addresses has approved a controversial deal over the future of the .com domain.

French MPs vote on digital piracy
French MPs who have already voted once to legalise the online sharing of music and films are to consider the matter again next week.

BlackBerry maker, NTP ink $612 million settlement
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion said Friday it agreed to pay $612.5 million to patent holding company NTP to settle a long-running dispute that had threatened to shut down the popular wireless e-mail service for its 3 million users.

THE NEXT BIG THINGS
The introduction of mobile television, the move to high-speed wireless networks, and the challenge of connecting the next billion cellphone users — these were the main themes occupying the minds of executives of the world’s leading mobile telecommunications companies last month. They were meeting in the Spanish port city of Barcelona, where the 3GSM World Congress, a giant industry confab, was being held.

Instant Messaging set to explode internationally
Despite instant messaging (IM) on cellphones being possible for the last number of years, it has not taken off in Africa. However, international and moves in South Africa could see cellular networks doing a fast turn around on their instant messaging stance in 2006/2007.

Cape Town offers free Internet access
Cape Town is offering free Internet access at every public library. Since the launch of the Smart Cape Access Project, the number of residents who have signed on to use this free service has topped 54 000.

Senate Bill to Address Fears of Blocked Access to Net
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, will introduce new legislation today that would prohibit Internet network operators from charging companies for faster delivery of their content to consumers or favoring some content providers over others.

Google moving search records out of China
Google.cn is a version of its search engine that is hosted in China and adheres to Chinese censorship laws. It was launched in January.

Sunday, March 05, 2006
 
  Yahoo gets early win on trade secrets case
A California state judge has given Yahoo its first legal win against a start-up that Yahoo sued for stealing trade secrets.

Toys 'R' Us wins suit against Amazon.com
Toys “R” Us Inc. prevailed in a bitter lawsuit against online giant Amazon.com Thursday when a New Jersey judge ordered the two companies to sever their partnership, clearing the way for the toy retailer to establish an independent Internet store.

Friday, March 03, 2006
 
  UK firms not enforcing internet use policies
UK firms are not enforcing or publicising theiracceptable internet use policies sufficiently, saySmoothWall. The network security provider warnsthat employees are still downloading music,films and even internet telephony software, ontooffice PCs.

Thursday, March 02, 2006
 
  First-of-Kind Viruses Target Mobile Users
Two new Trojan horses are being billed as "first-of-their-kind" bugs. Security alerts are warning of a "crossover" virus that leaps from one device to another; in addition, a new Java Trojan has been detected that could infect almost any cell phone.

Craigslist or Craigslust? Hookers Prowl Family Web Site
Scores of Boston-area hookers are using a major Internet site popular with soccer moms, apartment seekers and job hunters to post hundreds of daily pornographic ads for unbridled sex romps that can be set up within minutes.

'Virtual visits' for children of divorce urged in some states
Divorce put David List and his two-year-old daughter on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and he worried that she would soon forget him.

The great firewall of China
The battle lines have been drawn in China's cyber war: On the one hand, the global communications giants are fighting their way into a market of 1.3 billion customers, challenging their Chinese counterparts with ruthless tactics; on the other, Beijing authorities are commanding a brigade of 35,000 cyber troopers, blocking the "harmful content" being spread by Western Internet providers.

Hollywood Unions Cry Foul Over iPod Download Residuals
Hollywood's labor unions are blasting ABC because they say the television network did not bother to bargain with them over residuals from iPod downloads of such hit shows as "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." The Writers Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild and Directors Guild of America have all come out swinging this week.

Police Cameras Spark Privacy Debate, Citizens Seek to Block Photos
Police in Chicago -- and elsewhere in the state of Illinois -- are dramatically expanding the deployment of stealth cameras to catch alleged speeders. The cameras may be a massive invasion of privacy, however, according to some legal experts who are calling for precautions to be taken with the surveillance data.

AOL vows to institute fee-based service despite protests
America Online is vowing to carry out its plans to institute fees for mass senders of e-mail, despite protests from groups representing 15 million people that claim the move will stifle communications instead of merely halting spam.

Yahoo sues seven former employees for stealing trade secrets
Yahoo on Monday sued seven former employees who it says stole company secrets when they jumped ship to mobile-games publisher MForma Group.

Psychiatrist lost $3m to scam
A renowned psychiatrist lost up to $3m over 10 years to a Nigerian internet scam, his son alleges in a lawsuit.

ICANN hands VeriSign new monopoly on .com
Campaigners are furious that VeriSign can now impose inflation-busting increases in its domain registration fees from now until 2012

China creates own Internet domains
China may be planning to break away from ICANN and the Domain Name System, after creating its own versions of several top-level domains.

Yahoo gets early win on trade secrets case
A California state judge has given Yahoo its first legal win against a start-up that Yahoo sued for stealing trade secrets.

NYT sues Pentagon over domestic spying
The New York Times sued the U.S. Defense Department on Monday demanding that it hand over documents about the National Security Agency's domestic spying program.

Chinese professor sues blog host
A web-surfing Chinese professor was nonplussed to find personal attacks against him posted on a blog. So when the operators of the hosting website refused to remove the offending language, he decided to sue them for harm to his reputation, in what Chinese media yesterday called the first such case to come before the country's courts.

China issues email regulations
China issued new regulations on internet email on Tuesday, in an effort to standardise registration procedures and crackdown on unwanted "spam" advertising, state press reported.

UK wins Villain of the Internet award
The annual Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) awards have proved unwelcome news for the British government. The UK's presidency of the European Union has won the ISPA Internet Villain award for 2006 following its demand for extended data retention laws in the wake of the 7 July bombings.

Internet's $620m puts old media on notice
INTERNET advertising could achieve annual growth of 60 per cent in 2006 for the third consecutive year, after reporting revenues of $620 million in 2005, key publishers say.

Yahoo Mail reverses ban on 'allah' in usernames
Yahoo Mail will now let people register usernames that include the word "allah," after a ban designed to thwart prejudice went astray. The policy reversal, announced Wednesday, came too late for Linda Callahan of Ashfield, Mass., who set up a Google Gmail account after being rejected by Yahoo Mail because of the presence of "allah" in her name, said her son, Ed Callahan.

Take cyber crime seriously, says E&Y
Cyber crime is now one of the fastest growing global crimes both on the frequency of occurrence and the amount of money it costs corporates annually.

Nigerians arrested in Internet scam
Dutch police said they had arrested 12 Nigerians in connection with an Internet scam in which emails were sent to Americans tricking them into investing in non-existent schemes.

Police nabbed sending "grossly offensive" racist emails
Police officers and staff at Merseyside Police have been caught sending "grossly offensive" racist, homophobic and pornographic images over the force's email system.

MPAA sues newsgroup, P2P search sites
The Motion Picture Association of America said Thursday that it sued a new round of popular Web sites associated with movie piracy, including several that serve as search engines but do not distribute files themselves.

Networks free to air net fears
WHILE the internet's effect on the business models of newspapers has been well documented, now it is also causing headaches for Australia's TV networks.Protected from competition on the airwaves by the federal Government, networks Seven, Nine and Ten will this week confront a different form of competition with the launch of Australia's first internet-based music TV channel.

US rejects Google's privacy concerns
Concerns by Google that a Bush administration demand to examine millions of its users' Internet search requests would violate privacy rights are unwarranted, the Justice Department said in a court filing.

Viruses Called Biggest Threat to British Businesses
Computer viruses are the single biggest cause of security problems for UK businesses, a survey by the Department of Trade and Industry shows. The study found almost 50% of the biggest security breaches suffered by companies in the last two years were due to infection by malicious programs.

Senators from Rural States Seek Broadband Taxes
New broadband taxes may be on the horizon, if an influential senator and his like-minded colleagues get their way. At a hearing convened by the Senate Commerce Committee, several senators from largely rural states called for expansion of the Universal Service Fund (USF), a multibillion-dollar pool of money that's currently used to subsidize telecommunications services in rural and other high-cost areas, schools and libraries.

Interest Groups Unite to Oppose Bulk E-mailing Fee
A coalition of unlikely partners, including MoveOn.org Civic Action, Gun Owners of America and Association of Cancer Online Resources, have joined forces to fight AOL's plan to charge businesses for commercial e-mail. Calling the plan e-mail taxation, the 50-member coalition -- with combined membership of more than 15 million -- says e-mail from thousands of small businesses and non-profits could be blocked if they don't pay.

Online Music Piracy Operators Enter Guilty Pleas
Three members of an online music piracy operation pleaded guilty in federal court in response to a government crackdown, the U.S. Justice Department said. Members of the group "Apocalypse Crew" pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the department said.

AOL Files Three Suits Under Viriginia's Phishing Law
America Online said it had filed lawsuits against three identity theft gangs, seeking combined damages of $18 million and using a new law against so-called "phishers." The online division of Time Warner Inc. said it had filed three civil suits in Alexandria's U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, charging phishing gangs with tricking its members with fake Web sites of legitimate companies to fool them into giving up personal information.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006
 
  Online Medical Records Raise Privacy and Security Concerns
Individuals' medical records are slated to begin migration to online systems in Florida this year. Some are touting the benefits of a system that will put medical records online so they can be monitored and accessed by pharmacists and patients. Physicians will be able to file
prescriptions online and see what other medications an individual is presently prescribed. This could help alert pharmacists to possible drug interactions and aid physicians when patients arrive at hospitals unconscious. Others are concerned about the privacy issues presented by having medical records available online. If the records were to become public, people could potentially lose jobs and be denied insurance coverage.

Justice Dept. Says Google Privacy Concerns Are Not Valid
The U.S. Justice Department is arguing that Google's privacy concerns are not reason enough for it to withhold search records being sought by investigators, likely setting the stage for a court battle over the data. In a court filing made late Friday, the Bush administration said because individual users would not be identified in the records being sought, the privacy concerns are not valid.

Internet Subscriber Growth May Be Stalling, Report Suggests
Most households that are not on the Web already have little intention of logging on. So says a study released by market researcher Parks Associates on Friday. The study found few new households willing to subscribe to Internet services, which, the study predicted, would limit 2006 growth in overall Internet penetration to a meager 1 percent.

Click Fraud Gets Smarter, Faces Crackdown
Web consultant Greg Boser has an ingenious method for sending loads of traffic to clients' Internet sites. Last month he began using a software program known as a clickbot to create the impression that users from around the world were visiting sites by way of ads strategically placed alongside Google search results.

Identity Theft Demystified
Identity theft and strong opinions go hand in hand. ID theft is rampant and is causing millions of dollars of damage every year -- or, it really isn't such a big problem, and few people are really hurt financially by it. Why such wide disparity? What can a business owner or consumer do about stopping ID theft when the problem seems so poorly understood?

Metatag? Or Meta-Hide-'n-Seek?
Any business with an Internet presence wants to increase its website traffic. And one of the best ways to do this is to rely on something web surfers never see -- a bit of HTML coding called a "metatag" that describes the content of a website. Search engines use these small pieces of hidden coding to index web pages according to content so web surfers can be directed to web pages with the content they request. Where things can get problematic, though, is when businesses manipulate hidden metatags to draw more eyes to their websites.

Court rules that customer is king
In the service industry the customer is king. These are the words of the Labour Appeal Court in the recent case of Foschini v Fynn and others.Fynn was a sales assistant at Foschini's,West Street, Durban. She was dismissed for displaying abusive and threatening language as well as aggressive behaviour to a customer, thereby damaging the relationship between the customer and the company.

 

 

 

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