GigaLaw.com Daily News

New Group Wants to Make Social Networks Safer

2008-05-17T17:25:00.000-04:00

A group of Internet safety experts plans to announce a new start-up aimed at helping social networks provide safer Web 2.0 environments for kids and adults. The company, called Wired Trust, will be one of the first consulting companies designed specifically to help social networks and kids' virtual worlds navigate safety issues in an age of cyberbullying, Internet predators, and anything-goes content from members.

Read the article: CNET News.com

MySpace Prosecution Could Impact Routine Online Tactics

2008-05-17T17:20:00.000-04:00

Think twice before you sign up for an online service using a fake name or e-mail address. You could be committing a federal crime. Federal prosecutors turned to a novel interpretation of computer hacking law to indict a Missouri mother on charges connected to the suicide of a 13-year-old MySpace user.

Read the article: USA Today

Spanish Police Arrest Suspected Government Hackers

2008-05-17T17:15:00.000-04:00

Spanish police have arrested five young computer hackers who allegedly disabled Internet pages run by government agencies in the U.S., Latin America and Asia, authorities said. The National Police described the suspects as belonging to one of the most active hacker groups on the Internet and said two of the suspects are only 16 years old.

Read the article: USA Today

Senate Committee Approves Bill Against Child Porn

2008-05-17T17:10:00.000-04:00

A U.S. Senate panel has unanimously approved a bill that would encourage federal, state, and local police to use and create special software designed to nab child pornography swappers on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send an amended version of the Combating Child Exploitation Act, chiefly sponsored by Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), to the full slate of politicians for a vote.

Read the article: CNET News.com

Woman Who Lost File-Sharing Trial May Get New Trial

2008-05-17T17:05:00.000-04:00

A Minnesota woman ordered to pay $222,000 in the nation's first music download trial may get another chance with a jury. The issue is whether record companies have to prove anyone else actually downloaded their copyrighted songs, or whether it's enough to argue that a defendant made copyrighted music available for copying.

Read the article: SiliconValley.com

EU Official Warns Google Against "Street View" Maps

2008-05-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

The EU's top data protection supervisor said that Google's "Street View" map and imaging feature could pose privacy problems if it launches in Europe. Peter Hustinx said the Internet map service program would have to comply with European privacy laws as it captures and posts street-level photos.

Read the article: SiliconValley.com

Grand Jury Indicts Woman in Internet Suicide Hoax

2008-05-15T17:20:00.000-04:00

A federal grand jury indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide. Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans.

Read the article: The Washington Post

Cox Accused of Slowing File-Sharing Traffic

2008-05-15T17:15:00.000-04:00

Cox Communications appears to be interfering with file-sharing by its Internet subscribers in the same manner that has landed Comcast Corp. in hot water with regulators, according to research obtained by The Associated Press. A study based on the participation of 8,175 Internet users around the world found conclusive signs of blocked file-sharing connections only at three Internet service providers: Comcast and Cox in the U.S. and StarHub in Singapore.

Read the article: USA Today

British Agency Says Microsoft Discourages Competition

2008-05-15T17:10:00.000-04:00

A British watchdog agency said it had complained to European Union regulators that Microsoft's new file format for storing documents discouraged competition. Britain's agency for education and information technology said it wanted to help the EU with an investigation it launched in January into whether the software giant deliberately withheld information from rivals.

Read the article: SiliconValley.com

Company Challenges Constitutionality of Webcast Rates

2008-05-15T17:05:00.000-04:00

Just when record labels thought it was safe to start charging webcasters on a per-listener, per-song basis, the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board that set the rates has been charged unconstitutional in the Federal Court of Appeals. During the royalty rate proceedings, a company called Royalty Logic proposed that it compete with SoundExchange for the collection of digital royalties from webcasters.

Read the article: Wired

Syrian Blogger Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

2008-05-15T17:00:00.001-04:00

A human rights group says a 24-year-old Syrian blogger has been convicted and sentenced to three years in prison on charges of undermining the prestige of the state and weakening national morale. In a statement, The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria condemned the verdict as "outrageous" and called for Tarek Bayassi's immediate release.

Read the article: SiliconValley.com

Software Industry Says Piracy Costs $48 Billion

2008-05-14T20:15:00.000-04:00

Pirates caused the software industry to lose nearly $48 billion in sales last year, even as most countries experienced declines in their piracy rates, according to the latest annual study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance. The fifth annual report determined that from 2006 to 2007, overall losses grew by $8 billion and worldwide piracy rates increased by 3 percentage points to 38 percent.

Read the article: CNET News.com

RIAA Shows Tactics to Catch File-Sharing Students

2008-05-14T20:10:00.000-04:00

To catch college students trading copyrighted songs online, the Recording Industry Association of America uses the same file-sharing software that online pirates love, an RIAA representative said at the organization's offices during a private demonstration of how it catches alleged music pirates. He also said the group does not single out specific colleges in its investigations.

Read the article: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Google Tests Blurring Faces in Street View Service

2008-05-14T20:05:00.000-04:00

Google has begun testing face-blurring technology for its Street View service, responding to privacy concerns from the search giant's all-seeing digital camera eye. The technology uses a computer algorithm to scour Google's image database for faces, then blurs them, said John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Google Maps, in an interview at the Where 2.0 conference.

Read the article: CNET News.com

NATO Nations Support Estonian Cyber-Defense Center

2008-05-14T20:00:00.000-04:00

Seven NATO nations have backed a new cyber defence centre in Estonia, which last year blamed Russia for weeks of attacks on its internet structure. Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy and Spain will staff and fund the hub in the Estonian capital Tallinn.

Read the article: BBC News

MySpace Wins Record $230 Million Award in Spam Case

2008-05-14T10:43:00.000-04:00

The popular online hangout MySpace has won a $230 million judgment over junk messages sent to its members in what is believed to be the largest anti-spam award ever. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled against a notorious "Spam King," Sanford Wallace, and his partner, Walter Rines, after the two failed to show up at a court hearing, MySpace said.

Read the article: ABC News

Microsoft Patches Critical Security Hole in Word

2008-05-13T18:15:00.000-04:00

Microsoft issued security patches that plug critical holes in Microsoft Word and Publisher and a vulnerability in Windows for which a zero-day exploit has been available for weeks. Zero-day exploits are considered particularly dangerous.

Read the article: CNET News.com

Craigslist Files Countersuit Against eBay

2008-05-13T18:10:00.000-04:00

Craigslist filed a countersuit against eBay, alleging that the Internet auction company engaged in unfair competition, trademark infringement and a slew of other improper activities. The move comes less than a month after eBay sued Craigslist, claiming the privately held online classifieds company tried to dilute its ownership stake in Craigslist and removed its representative from the board of directors.

Read the article: Fortune

New York Bill Makes Internet Violence a Felony

2008-05-13T18:05:00.000-04:00

A proposal in New York would make a felony of committing violent acts for display on Internet video sites. The state Senate's Republican majority is expected to introduce a bill that would make a felony of violent acts like the brutal beating of a girl in Florida and subsequent attack of a 12-year-old in Indiana.

Read the article: New York Daily News

Hackers Attack Zimbabwe's State-Owned Newspaper

2008-05-13T18:00:00.000-04:00

Hackers attacked the website of Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper and shut it down for three days, the newspaper said. The Herald is widely seen as the official mouthpiece of President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party and has been critical of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change which won the country's disputed March 29 elections.

Read the article: Reuters

Hacker in Chile Posts Data on 6 Million People

2008-05-12T17:15:00.000-04:00

A computer hacker in Chile has published confidential records belonging to six million people on the Internet, officials say. The information was obtained by hacking into government and military servers, and was posted on a technology blog.

Read the article: BBC News

E-mail Scam Targets Recipients of IRS Refund Checks

2008-05-12T17:10:00.000-04:00

Scammers want your IRS refund checks and have devised at least one phishing scheme to get it, according to the FBI. The e-mail, which purports to be from the IRS advises recipients that the best way to get their economic stimulus rebate money is by direct deposit.

Read the article: InfoWorld

FBI Investigates Counterfeit Chinese Computer Parts

2008-05-12T17:05:00.000-04:00

The FBI said an investigation into the sale of counterfeit Chinese computer components to the U.S. government has recovered about 3,500 bogus devices with a retail value of $3.5 million. The criminal probe, code-named Operation Cisco Raider, came amid concerns that counterfeit network components could enable hackers to access secure U.S. government databases, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Read the article: Reuters

Apple Settles Class-Action Suits Over iPod Batteries

2008-05-12T17:00:00.000-04:00

Apple has agreed to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits in Canada alleging it misled customers about the staying power of their iPods, the latest courtroom truce over the dwindling battery life of early generations of the device. According to a court document, the Cupertino-based company is offering credits for its online store of about $44.75 to people who live in Canada and bought certain iPods there on or before June 24, 2004.

Read the article: USA Today

Microsoft Appealing $1.39 Billion European Fine

2008-05-09T17:20:00.000-04:00

Microsoft announced it's appealing the $1.39 billion fine the European Commission imposed for failure to comply with its historic 2004 antitrust order against the Redmond giant. Microsoft filed an application with the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, seeking to annul the Commission's decision from late February, in which it imposed a fine of 899 million Euros, or $1.39 billion, against Microsoft.

Read the article: CNET News.com