Lucid Geek Reads TechNews
Open Your Eyes...
I am posting articles with Web Links to articles that I have read.
I hope that you will read them too.
*I will try to update this page daily
FDA Accused of Spying on Whistleblowing Employees
By Kim Zetter Email Author January 30, 2012 | 2:22 pm | Categories: privacy, Surveillance
Six former and current employees of the Food and Drug Administration say the federal agency spied on their private e-mail correspondence after they attempted to blow the whistle on agency practices of approving medical devices that posed a risk to patients.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/fda-spying-on-workers/
Digital Divide in Mississippi Splits Along Racial Lines, Report Finds
Posted: 1/31/12 12:13 AM ET
African Americans in Mississippi often have fewer options for high-speed Internet and spend a higher proportion of their incomes on the Internet than whites in the state, according to a new report underscoring how the digital divide splits along racial lines.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/digital-divide-mississippi-broadband_n_1242447.html?ref=technology
Letter from ex-slave to ex-master, on occasion of a request to return to work
By Cory Doctorow at 9:14 am Tuesday, Jan 31
Jourdon Anderson, an ex-slave, penned this letter to his former owner, Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee in 1865, after the Colonel wrote and asked him to return to service as a paid worker.
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/31/letter-from-ex-slave-to-ex-mas.html
Microsoft's Misunderstood 'Avoid-Ghetto' Tech
By Rob Enderle
TechNewsWorld
01/30/12 5:00 AM PT
If we look at any information tool like the one Microsoft is patenting, it gives the user a choice. You can choose to ignore the data and go into areas that are unsafe, you can choose to turn off the reporting so you aren't troubled by it, or you can choose to use the data to keep yourself and those you love safer. I'm a Red Pill kind of guy. I like to know the risks so I can make my own decision.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Microsofts-Misunderstood-Avoid-Ghetto-Tech-74287.html
FBI wants to build a massive social media monitoring app
Jan. 30, 2012 (3:22 pm) By: Lee Mathews
Get ready for the shock of your lives, Geek.com readers: the FBI is looking for developers who can deliver a powerful social media monitoring application so they can keep tabs on what’s happening on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. That the FBI wants to monitor publicly available information isn’t a surprise, of course. What’s surprising is that they hadn’t already done this ages ago.
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/fbi-wants-to-build-a-massive-social-media-monitoring-app-20120130/
Anonymous And The War Over The Internet
Posted: 1/30/12 12:20 PM ET | Updated: 1/31/12 01:24 PM ET
Late in the afternoon of Jan. 19, the U.S. Department of Justice website vanished from the Internet. Anyone attempting to visit it to report a crime or submit a complaint received a message saying the site was unable to load. More websites disappeared in rapid succession. The Recording Industry Association of America. The Motion Picture Association of America. Universal Music. Warner Brothers. The FBI.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/anonymous-internet-war_n_1233977.html?ref=technology
Anonymous And The War Over The Internet (Part II)
Posted: 1/31/12 12:18 PM ET | Updated: 1/31/12 12:57 PM ET
If Anonymous spans the moral range between the idealistic revolutionary and the nihilistic imp, Phoenix stands all the way at the idealistic end. His base of operations is a network of chat rooms called AnonOps, which birthed many of the overtly political attacks that have made Anonymous a front-page story during the last two years.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/anonymous-war-over-internet_n_1237058.html?ref=technology
As Anonymous protests, Internet drowns in inaccurate anti-ACTA arguments
By Timothy B. Lee | Published about 21 hours ago
After the Internet's decisive victory over the Stop Online Piracy Act earlier this month, online activists have been looking for their next target, and a growing number of them have chosen the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which was signed by the EU last week. Indeed, the renewed focus on ACTA even led a group of Polish politicians to hold paper Guy Fawkes masks—the symbol of Anonymous—over their faces in protest at the way ACTA has been pushed through. In the US, over 35,000 people have signed a petition urging the White House to "end ACTA," despite the fact that it has already been signed by the US.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/internet-awash-in-inaccurate-anti-acta-arguments.ars
FDA staffers sue agency over surveillance of personal e-mail
By Ellen Nakashima and Lisa Rein,
The Food and Drug Administration secretly monitored the personal e-mail of a group of its own scientists and doctors after they warned Congress that the agency was approving medical devices that they believed posed unacceptable risks to patients, government documents show.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fda-staffers-sue-agency-over-surveillance-of-personal-e-mail/2012/01/23/gIQAj34DbQ_story.html
Facebook Subscribe exposes journalists to spam, pornography, some users complain
Some women say they are overwhelmed by inappropriate content
By Meena Hart Duerson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, January 30, 2012, 3:45 PM
When the Travel Channel's Nisha Chittal launched her public profile on Facebook Subscribe, she looked forward to connecting with a community that shared her wanderlust and passion for social media.
Instead, she got sexually explicit messages, pornographic photos, and spammy, irrelevant messages from thousands of users around the world.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/facebook-subscribe-exposes-journalists-spam-pornography-users-complain-article-1.1014203?localLinksEnabled=false
Should you feel guilty for buying your iPhone?
By Steve Kovach, Special to CNN
updated 9:36 AM EST, Tue January 31, 2012 | Filed under: Gaming and Gadgets
(CNN) -- Last week, The New York Times gave us an inside look at what it's like to work at Foxconn, the manufacturing company that owns several China-based factories that crank out Apple's iPads, iPhones and iPods by the millions.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/tech/gaming-gadgets/apple-boycott-commentary/index.html
New Mobile-Phone Privacy Law Proposed
By David Kravets Email Author January 30, 2012 | 7:00 pm | Categories: Paranoia, privacy
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) unveiled draft legislation Monday requiring mobile-phone carriers to reveal if they are employing tracking software such as Carrier IQ.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/new-mobile-phone-privacy-law-proposed/
Rep. Markey releases draft of cellphone privacy bill
By Brendan Sasso - 01/30/12 11:56 AM ET
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) released a draft of a cellphone privacy bill on Monday in response to the controversy surrounding cellphone tracking software, Carrier IQ.
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/207383-rep-markey-releases-draft-of-cellphone-privacy-bill
FBI used MegaUpload Skype conversations to build its case
By Nathan Ingraham on January 31, 2012 09:03 am
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/31/2760809/fbi-megaupload-skype-conversation-tracking
January 31, 2012 | By Julie Samuels
EFF Requests Information from Innocent Megaupload Users
In the media firestorm surrounding the recent Megaupload takedown, there has been little lacking in the way of drama (police helicopters, midnight raids, safe rooms, shotguns, and inflatable tanks, for starters). The legal battles between the government and Megaupload are unlikely to end soon. In the meantime, however, many ordinary users of Megaupload’s services have been swept up in the government’s dragnet, and, as a consequence, have lost access to their own data.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/eff-requests-information-innocent-megaupload-users
Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent
Ernesto
January 30, 2012
The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent, ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ tops the chart this week, followed by ‘The Rum Diary’. ‘The Descendants’ completes the top three.
http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-on-bittorrent-120130/
Angry Birds boss: Piracy helps us 'get more business'
Slams music biz's 'terrible' attempts to crush pirates
By Anna Leach
Posted in Business, 31st January 2012 14:01 GMT
Music industry chiefs must have been pleased to hear that the maker of pig-squishing iPhone game Angry Birds has learned from its mistakes in combating piracy.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/31/angry_birds_chief_piracy_which_doesnt_affect_us_is_fine/
FBI Looking to 'Friend' Terrorists
By John P. Mello Jr.
TechNewsWorld
01/30/12 5:00 AM PT
The FBI says that the social networking monitoring system it wants to build will only keep an eye on publicly available information, though civil liberties groups remain concerned. Meanwhile, confusion arises over whether a Pacific Northwest railroad's systems were hacked, and Google's privacy reshuffle raises eyebrows.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/FBI-Looking-to-Friend-Terrorists-74295.html
Lawmakers question proposed change to video privacy law
Netflix wants one-time permission from customers to share their streaming video choices, but lawmakers balk
By Grant Gross, IDG News Service | Government
January 31, 2012, 2:27 PM — Let's say you like to watch heady documentaries over Netflix's streaming service and would like to share recommendations with your friends on Facebook. Netflix would like to offer that service, but the company says a 24-year-old U.S. law is in the way.
http://www.itworld.com/government/246133/lawmakers-question-proposed-change-video-privacy-law
Steerable bullet aims for mass army deployment
Sniping’s not just for Special Forces anymore
By Iain Thomson in San Francisco
Posted in Science, 31st January 2012 01:16 GMT
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratory are developing a steerable bullet designed for general military use, giving the standard squaddie the capabilities of an advanced sniper.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/31/sandia_steerable_bullet/
Hackers put hijacked Web views up for sale for webfraud
By Sean Gallagher | Published about 21 hours ago
In the latest twist on website exploits for profit, Web hackers have begun to turn sites they've exploited into sources of fraudulent Web traffic for anyone willing to pay. By using inline frames (iframes) injected into the HTML of a website, they can redirect visitors to the site to anywhere on the Web.
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/01/hackers-put-hijacked-web-views-up-for-sale-for-webfraud.ars
Virus-slingers abuse WordPress vulns, dose punters with exploit
Blogs also infected with information-harvesting Trojan
By John Leyden
Posted in Malware, 31st January 2012 14:58 GMT
Malware-spreaders are hacking into vulnerable WordPress-powered sites in order to drive traffic towards pages loaded with exploits.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/31/wordpress_vuln_phoenix/
CIA Claims Publication of Bin Laden Death Photos Would ‘Trigger Violence’
By David Kravets Email Author January 30, 2012 | 3:29 pm | Categories: Censorship, politics
The Central Intelligence Agency says releasing images of a dead Osama bin Laden “could trigger violence, attacks, or acts of revenge against the United States.”
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/bin-laden-photo-flap/
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, PayPal go after phishers with new e-mail authentication effort
By Peter Bright | Published about 15 hours ago
Major e-mail providers, including Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! are teaming up with PayPal, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more, to implement a new system for authenticating e-mail senders to try to prevent the sending of fradulent spam and phishing messages.
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2012/01/google-microsoft-yahoo-paypal-go-after-phishers-with-new-e-mail-authentication-effort.ars
New Email Spec Aims to Tangle Phishing Lines
By Richard Adhikari
TechNewsWorld
01/30/12 11:36 AM PT
"For years now, cybercriminals have been leveraging brand content such as formatting, content and logos from the marketing emails of companies to create messages that attempt to drive users to sites where they will give up sensitive information such as usernames and passwords," said Return Path's Sam Masiello. A new spec, DMARC, aims to stymie those phishers' efforts.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/New-Email-Spec-Aims-to-Tangle-Phishing-Lines-74303.html
New Android Scare: Just How Malignant Is That Malware?
By Richard Adhikari
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network
01/31/12 5:00 AM PT
Symantec says it's discovered a new form of Android malware that it says has already infected up to 5 million users. Android-based malware has been spotted before, but this time some security researchers are questioning whether it's fair to call what Symantec's found "malware," or whether it would be more accurately classified as "adware."
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/New-Android-Scare-Just-How-Malignant-Is-That-Malware-74305.html
Symantec clarifies Counterclank malware claim on Android, no longer calls it malware
By Chris Ziegler on January 30, 2012 08:48 pm
Late last week, Symantec — which makes security software for desktop and mobile platforms — put out a warning over "malicious code" found in 13 apps in the Android Market which it said "can receive commands to carry out certain actions, as well as steal information from the device." It dubbed the supposedly malicious payload
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/30/2759463/symantec-clarifies-android-counterclank-malware-claim-no-longer-calls
Symantec launches Norton Identity Safe in beta
Jan. 31, 2012 (8:00 am) By: Matthew Humphries
Our online identities are becoming ever more important as more real-world services are managed on the web, as well as the growing list of virtual services we all enjoy. That’s why services such as LastPass and KeePass are becoming increasingly popular. They take the hassle our of choosing and remembering all those logins, while keep them secure from prying eyes.
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/symantec-launches-norton-identity-safe-in-beta-20120131/
Is it legal to stop people from selling their used games?
By Kyle Orland | Published about 24 hours ago
Recent stories about potential technical efforts to limit the future playability of used games, as well as commercial efforts to limit the content included with used copies, got us wondering: is it actually legal to hinder someone from reselling a game (or piece of a game) that they legally bought in the first place?
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/01/is-it-legal-to-stop-people-from-selling-their-games.ars
Obama wants Hollywood, Silicon Valley to 'come together' on SOPA
by Declan McCullagh | January 30, 2012 3:49 PM PST
In response to a question about whether the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act would levy "too much censorship on the Internet," the president stopped short of saying he opposes the legislation.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57368595-281/obama-wants-hollywood-silicon-valley-to-come-together-on-sopa/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver
Justice Department Backs RIAA Against Pirating Student
Ernesto
January 31, 2012
The Department of Justice has filed a brief siding with the RIAA in its civil case against the file-sharing student Joel Tenenbaum.The RIAA is protesting a demand from the student’s legal team, who want the court to reduce the massive $675,000 fine on due process grounds, to the minimum statutory damages of $750 per song.
http://torrentfreak.com/justice-department-backs-riaa-against-pirating-student-120131/
You Stopped SOPA. Now Let’s Startup America
Steve Case
posted 2 hours ago
In recent weeks, Americans from all walks of life came together to stop SOPA from advancing through Congress, demonstrating the power of the Internet to rally people around an important cause. In the weeks ahead, we have reason to rally again. This time, the goal is not stopping something bad, but starting something good. Specifically, ensuring that America builds on its legacy of innovation, and remains the world’s most entrepreneurial nation.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/31/you-stopped-sopa-now-lets-startup-america/
Reeling from piracy? Copyright industries are doing booming business
Jan. 31, 2012 (9:15 am) By: Will Shanklin
If you were to listen to leaders of the copyright-focused industries, you’d think that they were on the verge of collapse. The rationale for the (temporarily-shelved) SOPA and PIPA was that Hollywood and the recording industry are being financially steamrolled by piracy. They routinely make claims of billions of dollars in losses, and they’re rarely questioned. We all know that piracy is rampant, and since piracy means free content, it must be hurting these industries… right?
http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-pick/reeling-from-piracy-copyright-industries-are-doing-booming-business-20120131/
5 of the Most Bizarre Facebook Stories You'll Ever Read
Posted by Linda Sharps on January 30, 2012 at 1:08 PM
Are you completely over the many "Best Of" lists that seemed to take over the entire Internet at the end of 2011? Yeah, me too, but I can't help myself—I have to share this list of the most bizarre/freaky/embarrassing things that happened on Facebook recently.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/technology/132240/5_of_the_most_bizarre
Violent criminals use Facebook to taunt victims from jail
Violent criminals have been using Facebook to taunt victims and their families from jail, it was disclosed yesterday.
6:42AM GMT 30 Jan 2012
In the past two years, nearly 350 people have been caught posting entries on Facebook while serving a sentence, Ministry of Justice figures show. All the profiles were closed by Facebook following investigations by prison officials.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9048417/Violent-criminals-use-Facebook-to-taunt-victims-from-jail.html
British Tourist Arrest Over Tweets Is Insane Overreaction
Posted by Maressa Brown on January 30, 2012 at 3:16 PM
And you thought you had a miserable experience the last time you flew! Ha! Two British tourists had what could really only be described as a hell of a time trying to get into the U.S. last week, when they were detained and eventually sent back to England for, get this ... Twitter jokes! Yes, I only wish I was kidding.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/technology/132250/british_tourist_arrest_over_tweets
Firefox 10 now available for download
By Aaron Souppouris on January 31, 2012 01:05 am
It's been nine months since Mozilla announced that Firefox would be moving to a rapid release cycle, and since then the browser has moved from version 4 to 10. According to the beta changelog, the latest release brings the kind of life-changing features you'd expect from a six-week update cycle, with some extension management improvements, a forward button that hides itself until it has a function, the inclusion of APIs for full-screen web apps, and anti-aliasing for WebGL. Firefox 10 also marks the debut of the "Extended Support Release," intended for enterprises that don't want to deal with the hassle of supporting a new browser every six weeks. ESR releases receive no updates apart from necessary security fixes, and will change versions once every seven releases, making the next release due around November.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/31/2757823/firefox-10-released-available-for-download-now
New Wi-Fi password capture feature in Lastpass 1.90.1 has teething problems
January 30, 2012 – 10:39 by Nick Peers in News
Online password manager Lastpass has been updated to version 1.90.1. The cross-platform, multi-browser plug-in, also available as a separate download for 64-bit versions of Windows, adds one major new feature to this release: the ability to capture and securely store Wi-Fi passwords for transferring to other computers.
http://www.softwarecrew.com/2012/01/new-wi-fi-password-capture-feature-in-lastpass-1-90-1-has-teething-problems/
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Gets Longer Lifecycle
By Joe Brockmeier / January 31, 2012 5:01 AM
Red Hat’s customers using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 and 6 are getting a little more breathing room when it comes to updates. The company announced today that it is extending the support life cycle from seven to 10 years for RHEL 5 and 6. Customers using RHEL 6 will have support through 2020.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2012/01/red-hat-enterprise-linux-gets.php
One desktop isn’t enough? WindowsPager gives you four
January 30, 2012 – 08:36 by Mike Williams in Tips
It doesn’t take long to fill your PC’s desktop. Open a browser here, a word processor there, keep a copy of Explorer running in the background, Notepad maybe, and soon it’s starting to take a real effort to locate and switch to the application you need next.
http://www.softwarecrew.com/2012/01/one-desktop-isnt-enough-windowspager-gives-you-four/
Rawporter Wants To Make Us All (Paid) Broadcast Journalists
By Dave Copeland / January 30, 2012 1:00 PM
A startup is hoping to combine two hot web trends, crowd sourcing and microearning, into a single savior for cash-strapped, broadcast newsrooms.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/rawporter_wants_to_make_us_all_paid_broadcast_jour.php
Apps To Help You Deal With Too Many Apps
By Jon Mitchell / January 30, 2012 1:37 PM
When you see as many apps as we do at RWW, you begin to feel like it's all been done. So many of the everyday jobs for apps to do can already be done by at least one app (if not dozens). How many ways can you share photos with your friends? How many social networks and check-ins and restaurant-discovery services do we need?
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apps_to_help_you_deal_with_too_many_apps.php
Facebook to Broadcast Users’ Political Opinions in Times Square
By Graeme McMillan | @graemem | January 31, 2012
Facebook users’ opinions about the 2012 elections may soon go from private to very, very public thanks to a new app that will showcase their views on a giant billboard in Times Square.
http://techland.time.com/2012/01/31/facebook-to-broadcast-users-political-opinions-in-times-square/
Think Before You Tweet, And Other Good Advice From The Experts
By Dave Copeland / January 30, 2012 4:00 PM
Officially, Sree Sreenivasan is the dean of student affairs and a professor at Columbia University's Journalism School, but for many he is the curator of Sree's Tips, a Tumblr blog crammed with how-to social media information, as well as a leading figure in the social media movement. This past weekend he was also the point person for Columbia's Social Media Weekend in New York.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/best_twitter_practices_from_the_best_twitter_minds.php
Teens Break Into CNN Newsroom To Check Facebook
The Huffington Post Tara Kelly First Posted: 01/30/2012 6:25 pm Updated: 01/31/2012 11:40 am
Some people just have to feed their Facebook addiction, no matter what the cost.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/teens-break-into-cnn_n_1242438.html
To Facebook Friend is Human, To Unfriend Divine
By Alicia Eler / January 30, 2012 4:30 PM
The Facebook friendship is a sacred one.
It is a voyeuristic portal into your ideas, links you like, viral (or not-so-viral) videos you share, cute puppy pictures and maybe even your relationship status.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/to_facebook_friend_is_human_to_unfriend_divine.php
Teens Migrating to Twitter -- Sometimes for Privacy
By Martha Irvine
January 31, 2012 09:35AM
Teens don't tweet, will never tweet -- too public, too many older users. Not cool. That's been the prediction for a while now, born of numbers showing that fewer than one in 10 teens were using Twitter early on.
http://www.newsfactor.com/mobile/?sid=81953&do=story
Family data plans may finally arrive from Verizon
By Casey Johnston | Published about 23 hours ago
Verizon may be preparing to launch shared data plans, according to a post on Engadget and some speculative phrasing on the company's recent earnings call. The "account level data plans" would give customers a chunk of data that could be shared among multiple devices, similar to family plans for minutes and text messages.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/01/family-data-plans-may-finally-arrive-from-verizon.ars
Protect Files From Unauthorized Access With Encoding Decoding
Full disc encryption or encrypted container files are useful to prevent unauthorized access to a larger number of files. This may feel like overkill though if you only want to make sure that a single file is protected from access. That’s where a program like Encoding Decoding comes into play. The program, available as a portable version and setup, can be used to encrypt and decrypt individual files in record time.
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/01/30/protect-files-from-unauthorized-access-with-encoding-decoding/
What Technology Will We Expect with Next Year’s PCs and How Will it Affect Prices?
Smartphones and tablets have a lot to answer for, at least when it comes to making technology affordable for the public. Since the launch of the first iPhone it’s become not only accepted that sensors and other devices such as GPS, multi-touch capacitive screens, NFC, accelerometers, digital compasses and more should be included but we’ve come to expect, if not demand them.
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/01/31/what-technology-will-we-expect-with-next-years-pcs-and-how-will-it-affect-prices/
January 30, 2012
EFF Asks Judge to Prevent ‘Catch-22’ in Porn-Downloading Lawsuit
Defendants Told They Must Reveal Their Identities Before Fighting to Protect Anonymity
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to protect the identities of individuals sued in a mass copyright lawsuit involving pornographic materials.
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-asks-judge-prevent-‘catch-22’-porn-downloading-lawsuit
Project Unbreakable
By Xeni Jardin at 5:05 pm Monday, Jan 30
Grace Brown created "Project Unbreakable" in October, 2011, and the tumblog appears to really be gathering momentum. The idea: "Use photography to help heal those who were sexually abused by asking them to write a quote from their attacker on a poster and photographing them holding the poster."
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/30/project-unbreakable.html
Symantec declares pcAnywhere safe, offers free upgrade to say sorry
Jan. 31, 2012 (10:46 am) By: Lee Mathews
Just days ago, Symantec revealed that the code stolen from its servers in an embarrassing breach included the source for pcAnywhere. They took to Twitter and the web to tell users that they should disable the software immediately. Now, however, Symantec is issuing the all-clear. Sort of.
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/symantec-declares-pcanywhere-safe-offers-free-upgrade-to-say-sorry-20120131/
Download Norton Identity Safe (Beta) – a Standalone Password Manager from Symantec
by Venkat on January 31, 2012
in Tech News
Security vendor Symantec released beta version of Norton Identity Safe as a standalone service which you can download for free of charge. This cloud-enabled service manages logins for websites without hassle for you remember the passwords and also securely stores and synchronizes logins, passwords, credit cards and other web form information across browsers and devices. This service works on Windows PCs, Apple Mobile devices and Android phones.
http://techdows.com/2012/01/download-norton-identity-safe-offline-installer.html
Identity Theft Crackdown: IRS Arrest 105 In Identity Theft Sweep
ALAN FRAM 01/31/12 02:13 PM ET
WASHINGTON — The federal government has swooped down on 105 people in 23 states in the past week as part of a nationwide crackdown on identity theft and tax refund fraud that was timed to warn cheats to beware this tax season, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/identity-theft-crackdown-_n_1244576.html?ref=technology
With Burn Note, Self-Destructing Emails Vanish After They’ve Been Read
January 31, 2012 at 10:03 am PT
Last year, New York-based entrepreneur Jacob Robbins was working on a project with someone who lived on the West Coast. He needed to share a password with his collaborator via email, but was suddenly hesitant to send the sensitive information.
http://allthingsd.com/20120131/with-burn-note-self-destructing-emails-vanish-after-theyve-been-read/?refcat=news
VA state senator attaches rectal exam amendment to anti-abortion bill
By Xeni Jardin at 3:29 pm Monday, Jan 30
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/30/va-state-senator-attaches-rect.html
Yes Men to keynote this summer's Hackers on Planet Earth conference in NYC
By Cory Doctorow at 6:28 am Tuesday, Jan 31
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/31/yes-men-to-keynote-this-summer.html
Indiana Assemblyman withdraws urine-testing for welfare bill when colleague adds urine-testing for Assemblyman amendment
By Cory Doctorow at 10:21 am Tuesday, Jan 31
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/31/illinois-assemblyman-withdraws.html
Retail Chains To Strike Back Against Online Vendors
Posted by Soulskill on Monday January 30, @06:29PM
from the eye-before-you-buy dept.
http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/01/30/2230205/retail-chains-to-strike-back-against-online-vendors
Surveillance Cameras Used To Study Customer Behavior
Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday January 31, @01:04PM
from the unseen-mechanized-eye dept.
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/31/1643232/surveillance-cameras-used-to-study-customer-behavior
I am posting articles with Web Links to articles that I have read.
I hope that you will read them too.
*I will try to update this page daily
FDA Accused of Spying on Whistleblowing Employees
By Kim Zetter Email Author January 30, 2012 | 2:22 pm | Categories: privacy, Surveillance
Six former and current employees of the Food and Drug Administration say the federal agency spied on their private e-mail correspondence after they attempted to blow the whistle on agency practices of approving medical devices that posed a risk to patients.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/fda-spying-on-workers/
Digital Divide in Mississippi Splits Along Racial Lines, Report Finds
Posted: 1/31/12 12:13 AM ET
African Americans in Mississippi often have fewer options for high-speed Internet and spend a higher proportion of their incomes on the Internet than whites in the state, according to a new report underscoring how the digital divide splits along racial lines.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/digital-divide-mississippi-broadband_n_1242447.html?ref=technology
Letter from ex-slave to ex-master, on occasion of a request to return to work
By Cory Doctorow at 9:14 am Tuesday, Jan 31
Jourdon Anderson, an ex-slave, penned this letter to his former owner, Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee in 1865, after the Colonel wrote and asked him to return to service as a paid worker.
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/31/letter-from-ex-slave-to-ex-mas.html
Microsoft's Misunderstood 'Avoid-Ghetto' Tech
By Rob Enderle
TechNewsWorld
01/30/12 5:00 AM PT
If we look at any information tool like the one Microsoft is patenting, it gives the user a choice. You can choose to ignore the data and go into areas that are unsafe, you can choose to turn off the reporting so you aren't troubled by it, or you can choose to use the data to keep yourself and those you love safer. I'm a Red Pill kind of guy. I like to know the risks so I can make my own decision.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Microsofts-Misunderstood-Avoid-Ghetto-Tech-74287.html
FBI wants to build a massive social media monitoring app
Jan. 30, 2012 (3:22 pm) By: Lee Mathews
Get ready for the shock of your lives, Geek.com readers: the FBI is looking for developers who can deliver a powerful social media monitoring application so they can keep tabs on what’s happening on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. That the FBI wants to monitor publicly available information isn’t a surprise, of course. What’s surprising is that they hadn’t already done this ages ago.
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/fbi-wants-to-build-a-massive-social-media-monitoring-app-20120130/
Anonymous And The War Over The Internet
Posted: 1/30/12 12:20 PM ET | Updated: 1/31/12 01:24 PM ET
Late in the afternoon of Jan. 19, the U.S. Department of Justice website vanished from the Internet. Anyone attempting to visit it to report a crime or submit a complaint received a message saying the site was unable to load. More websites disappeared in rapid succession. The Recording Industry Association of America. The Motion Picture Association of America. Universal Music. Warner Brothers. The FBI.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/anonymous-internet-war_n_1233977.html?ref=technology
Anonymous And The War Over The Internet (Part II)
Posted: 1/31/12 12:18 PM ET | Updated: 1/31/12 12:57 PM ET
If Anonymous spans the moral range between the idealistic revolutionary and the nihilistic imp, Phoenix stands all the way at the idealistic end. His base of operations is a network of chat rooms called AnonOps, which birthed many of the overtly political attacks that have made Anonymous a front-page story during the last two years.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/anonymous-war-over-internet_n_1237058.html?ref=technology
As Anonymous protests, Internet drowns in inaccurate anti-ACTA arguments
By Timothy B. Lee | Published about 21 hours ago
After the Internet's decisive victory over the Stop Online Piracy Act earlier this month, online activists have been looking for their next target, and a growing number of them have chosen the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which was signed by the EU last week. Indeed, the renewed focus on ACTA even led a group of Polish politicians to hold paper Guy Fawkes masks—the symbol of Anonymous—over their faces in protest at the way ACTA has been pushed through. In the US, over 35,000 people have signed a petition urging the White House to "end ACTA," despite the fact that it has already been signed by the US.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/internet-awash-in-inaccurate-anti-acta-arguments.ars
FDA staffers sue agency over surveillance of personal e-mail
By Ellen Nakashima and Lisa Rein,
The Food and Drug Administration secretly monitored the personal e-mail of a group of its own scientists and doctors after they warned Congress that the agency was approving medical devices that they believed posed unacceptable risks to patients, government documents show.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fda-staffers-sue-agency-over-surveillance-of-personal-e-mail/2012/01/23/gIQAj34DbQ_story.html
Facebook Subscribe exposes journalists to spam, pornography, some users complain
Some women say they are overwhelmed by inappropriate content
By Meena Hart Duerson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, January 30, 2012, 3:45 PM
When the Travel Channel's Nisha Chittal launched her public profile on Facebook Subscribe, she looked forward to connecting with a community that shared her wanderlust and passion for social media.
Instead, she got sexually explicit messages, pornographic photos, and spammy, irrelevant messages from thousands of users around the world.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/facebook-subscribe-exposes-journalists-spam-pornography-users-complain-article-1.1014203?localLinksEnabled=false
Should you feel guilty for buying your iPhone?
By Steve Kovach, Special to CNN
updated 9:36 AM EST, Tue January 31, 2012 | Filed under: Gaming and Gadgets
(CNN) -- Last week, The New York Times gave us an inside look at what it's like to work at Foxconn, the manufacturing company that owns several China-based factories that crank out Apple's iPads, iPhones and iPods by the millions.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/tech/gaming-gadgets/apple-boycott-commentary/index.html
New Mobile-Phone Privacy Law Proposed
By David Kravets Email Author January 30, 2012 | 7:00 pm | Categories: Paranoia, privacy
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) unveiled draft legislation Monday requiring mobile-phone carriers to reveal if they are employing tracking software such as Carrier IQ.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/new-mobile-phone-privacy-law-proposed/
Rep. Markey releases draft of cellphone privacy bill
By Brendan Sasso - 01/30/12 11:56 AM ET
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) released a draft of a cellphone privacy bill on Monday in response to the controversy surrounding cellphone tracking software, Carrier IQ.
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/207383-rep-markey-releases-draft-of-cellphone-privacy-bill
FBI used MegaUpload Skype conversations to build its case
By Nathan Ingraham on January 31, 2012 09:03 am
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/31/2760809/fbi-megaupload-skype-conversation-tracking
January 31, 2012 | By Julie Samuels
EFF Requests Information from Innocent Megaupload Users
In the media firestorm surrounding the recent Megaupload takedown, there has been little lacking in the way of drama (police helicopters, midnight raids, safe rooms, shotguns, and inflatable tanks, for starters). The legal battles between the government and Megaupload are unlikely to end soon. In the meantime, however, many ordinary users of Megaupload’s services have been swept up in the government’s dragnet, and, as a consequence, have lost access to their own data.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/eff-requests-information-innocent-megaupload-users
Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent
Ernesto
January 30, 2012
The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent, ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ tops the chart this week, followed by ‘The Rum Diary’. ‘The Descendants’ completes the top three.
http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-on-bittorrent-120130/
Angry Birds boss: Piracy helps us 'get more business'
Slams music biz's 'terrible' attempts to crush pirates
By Anna Leach
Posted in Business, 31st January 2012 14:01 GMT
Music industry chiefs must have been pleased to hear that the maker of pig-squishing iPhone game Angry Birds has learned from its mistakes in combating piracy.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/31/angry_birds_chief_piracy_which_doesnt_affect_us_is_fine/
FBI Looking to 'Friend' Terrorists
By John P. Mello Jr.
TechNewsWorld
01/30/12 5:00 AM PT
The FBI says that the social networking monitoring system it wants to build will only keep an eye on publicly available information, though civil liberties groups remain concerned. Meanwhile, confusion arises over whether a Pacific Northwest railroad's systems were hacked, and Google's privacy reshuffle raises eyebrows.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/FBI-Looking-to-Friend-Terrorists-74295.html
Lawmakers question proposed change to video privacy law
Netflix wants one-time permission from customers to share their streaming video choices, but lawmakers balk
By Grant Gross, IDG News Service | Government
January 31, 2012, 2:27 PM — Let's say you like to watch heady documentaries over Netflix's streaming service and would like to share recommendations with your friends on Facebook. Netflix would like to offer that service, but the company says a 24-year-old U.S. law is in the way.
http://www.itworld.com/government/246133/lawmakers-question-proposed-change-video-privacy-law
Steerable bullet aims for mass army deployment
Sniping’s not just for Special Forces anymore
By Iain Thomson in San Francisco
Posted in Science, 31st January 2012 01:16 GMT
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratory are developing a steerable bullet designed for general military use, giving the standard squaddie the capabilities of an advanced sniper.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/31/sandia_steerable_bullet/
Hackers put hijacked Web views up for sale for webfraud
By Sean Gallagher | Published about 21 hours ago
In the latest twist on website exploits for profit, Web hackers have begun to turn sites they've exploited into sources of fraudulent Web traffic for anyone willing to pay. By using inline frames (iframes) injected into the HTML of a website, they can redirect visitors to the site to anywhere on the Web.
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/01/hackers-put-hijacked-web-views-up-for-sale-for-webfraud.ars
Virus-slingers abuse WordPress vulns, dose punters with exploit
Blogs also infected with information-harvesting Trojan
By John Leyden
Posted in Malware, 31st January 2012 14:58 GMT
Malware-spreaders are hacking into vulnerable WordPress-powered sites in order to drive traffic towards pages loaded with exploits.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/31/wordpress_vuln_phoenix/
CIA Claims Publication of Bin Laden Death Photos Would ‘Trigger Violence’
By David Kravets Email Author January 30, 2012 | 3:29 pm | Categories: Censorship, politics
The Central Intelligence Agency says releasing images of a dead Osama bin Laden “could trigger violence, attacks, or acts of revenge against the United States.”
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/bin-laden-photo-flap/
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, PayPal go after phishers with new e-mail authentication effort
By Peter Bright | Published about 15 hours ago
Major e-mail providers, including Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! are teaming up with PayPal, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more, to implement a new system for authenticating e-mail senders to try to prevent the sending of fradulent spam and phishing messages.
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2012/01/google-microsoft-yahoo-paypal-go-after-phishers-with-new-e-mail-authentication-effort.ars
New Email Spec Aims to Tangle Phishing Lines
By Richard Adhikari
TechNewsWorld
01/30/12 11:36 AM PT
"For years now, cybercriminals have been leveraging brand content such as formatting, content and logos from the marketing emails of companies to create messages that attempt to drive users to sites where they will give up sensitive information such as usernames and passwords," said Return Path's Sam Masiello. A new spec, DMARC, aims to stymie those phishers' efforts.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/New-Email-Spec-Aims-to-Tangle-Phishing-Lines-74303.html
New Android Scare: Just How Malignant Is That Malware?
By Richard Adhikari
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network
01/31/12 5:00 AM PT
Symantec says it's discovered a new form of Android malware that it says has already infected up to 5 million users. Android-based malware has been spotted before, but this time some security researchers are questioning whether it's fair to call what Symantec's found "malware," or whether it would be more accurately classified as "adware."
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/New-Android-Scare-Just-How-Malignant-Is-That-Malware-74305.html
Symantec clarifies Counterclank malware claim on Android, no longer calls it malware
By Chris Ziegler on January 30, 2012 08:48 pm
Late last week, Symantec — which makes security software for desktop and mobile platforms — put out a warning over "malicious code" found in 13 apps in the Android Market which it said "can receive commands to carry out certain actions, as well as steal information from the device." It dubbed the supposedly malicious payload
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/30/2759463/symantec-clarifies-android-counterclank-malware-claim-no-longer-calls
Symantec launches Norton Identity Safe in beta
Jan. 31, 2012 (8:00 am) By: Matthew Humphries
Our online identities are becoming ever more important as more real-world services are managed on the web, as well as the growing list of virtual services we all enjoy. That’s why services such as LastPass and KeePass are becoming increasingly popular. They take the hassle our of choosing and remembering all those logins, while keep them secure from prying eyes.
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/symantec-launches-norton-identity-safe-in-beta-20120131/
Is it legal to stop people from selling their used games?
By Kyle Orland | Published about 24 hours ago
Recent stories about potential technical efforts to limit the future playability of used games, as well as commercial efforts to limit the content included with used copies, got us wondering: is it actually legal to hinder someone from reselling a game (or piece of a game) that they legally bought in the first place?
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/01/is-it-legal-to-stop-people-from-selling-their-games.ars
Obama wants Hollywood, Silicon Valley to 'come together' on SOPA
by Declan McCullagh | January 30, 2012 3:49 PM PST
In response to a question about whether the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act would levy "too much censorship on the Internet," the president stopped short of saying he opposes the legislation.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57368595-281/obama-wants-hollywood-silicon-valley-to-come-together-on-sopa/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver
Justice Department Backs RIAA Against Pirating Student
Ernesto
January 31, 2012
The Department of Justice has filed a brief siding with the RIAA in its civil case against the file-sharing student Joel Tenenbaum.The RIAA is protesting a demand from the student’s legal team, who want the court to reduce the massive $675,000 fine on due process grounds, to the minimum statutory damages of $750 per song.
http://torrentfreak.com/justice-department-backs-riaa-against-pirating-student-120131/
You Stopped SOPA. Now Let’s Startup America
Steve Case
posted 2 hours ago
In recent weeks, Americans from all walks of life came together to stop SOPA from advancing through Congress, demonstrating the power of the Internet to rally people around an important cause. In the weeks ahead, we have reason to rally again. This time, the goal is not stopping something bad, but starting something good. Specifically, ensuring that America builds on its legacy of innovation, and remains the world’s most entrepreneurial nation.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/31/you-stopped-sopa-now-lets-startup-america/
Reeling from piracy? Copyright industries are doing booming business
Jan. 31, 2012 (9:15 am) By: Will Shanklin
If you were to listen to leaders of the copyright-focused industries, you’d think that they were on the verge of collapse. The rationale for the (temporarily-shelved) SOPA and PIPA was that Hollywood and the recording industry are being financially steamrolled by piracy. They routinely make claims of billions of dollars in losses, and they’re rarely questioned. We all know that piracy is rampant, and since piracy means free content, it must be hurting these industries… right?
http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-pick/reeling-from-piracy-copyright-industries-are-doing-booming-business-20120131/
5 of the Most Bizarre Facebook Stories You'll Ever Read
Posted by Linda Sharps on January 30, 2012 at 1:08 PM
Are you completely over the many "Best Of" lists that seemed to take over the entire Internet at the end of 2011? Yeah, me too, but I can't help myself—I have to share this list of the most bizarre/freaky/embarrassing things that happened on Facebook recently.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/technology/132240/5_of_the_most_bizarre
Violent criminals use Facebook to taunt victims from jail
Violent criminals have been using Facebook to taunt victims and their families from jail, it was disclosed yesterday.
6:42AM GMT 30 Jan 2012
In the past two years, nearly 350 people have been caught posting entries on Facebook while serving a sentence, Ministry of Justice figures show. All the profiles were closed by Facebook following investigations by prison officials.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9048417/Violent-criminals-use-Facebook-to-taunt-victims-from-jail.html
British Tourist Arrest Over Tweets Is Insane Overreaction
Posted by Maressa Brown on January 30, 2012 at 3:16 PM
And you thought you had a miserable experience the last time you flew! Ha! Two British tourists had what could really only be described as a hell of a time trying to get into the U.S. last week, when they were detained and eventually sent back to England for, get this ... Twitter jokes! Yes, I only wish I was kidding.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/technology/132250/british_tourist_arrest_over_tweets
Firefox 10 now available for download
By Aaron Souppouris on January 31, 2012 01:05 am
It's been nine months since Mozilla announced that Firefox would be moving to a rapid release cycle, and since then the browser has moved from version 4 to 10. According to the beta changelog, the latest release brings the kind of life-changing features you'd expect from a six-week update cycle, with some extension management improvements, a forward button that hides itself until it has a function, the inclusion of APIs for full-screen web apps, and anti-aliasing for WebGL. Firefox 10 also marks the debut of the "Extended Support Release," intended for enterprises that don't want to deal with the hassle of supporting a new browser every six weeks. ESR releases receive no updates apart from necessary security fixes, and will change versions once every seven releases, making the next release due around November.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/31/2757823/firefox-10-released-available-for-download-now
New Wi-Fi password capture feature in Lastpass 1.90.1 has teething problems
January 30, 2012 – 10:39 by Nick Peers in News
Online password manager Lastpass has been updated to version 1.90.1. The cross-platform, multi-browser plug-in, also available as a separate download for 64-bit versions of Windows, adds one major new feature to this release: the ability to capture and securely store Wi-Fi passwords for transferring to other computers.
http://www.softwarecrew.com/2012/01/new-wi-fi-password-capture-feature-in-lastpass-1-90-1-has-teething-problems/
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Gets Longer Lifecycle
By Joe Brockmeier / January 31, 2012 5:01 AM
Red Hat’s customers using Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 and 6 are getting a little more breathing room when it comes to updates. The company announced today that it is extending the support life cycle from seven to 10 years for RHEL 5 and 6. Customers using RHEL 6 will have support through 2020.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2012/01/red-hat-enterprise-linux-gets.php
One desktop isn’t enough? WindowsPager gives you four
January 30, 2012 – 08:36 by Mike Williams in Tips
It doesn’t take long to fill your PC’s desktop. Open a browser here, a word processor there, keep a copy of Explorer running in the background, Notepad maybe, and soon it’s starting to take a real effort to locate and switch to the application you need next.
http://www.softwarecrew.com/2012/01/one-desktop-isnt-enough-windowspager-gives-you-four/
Rawporter Wants To Make Us All (Paid) Broadcast Journalists
By Dave Copeland / January 30, 2012 1:00 PM
A startup is hoping to combine two hot web trends, crowd sourcing and microearning, into a single savior for cash-strapped, broadcast newsrooms.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/rawporter_wants_to_make_us_all_paid_broadcast_jour.php
Apps To Help You Deal With Too Many Apps
By Jon Mitchell / January 30, 2012 1:37 PM
When you see as many apps as we do at RWW, you begin to feel like it's all been done. So many of the everyday jobs for apps to do can already be done by at least one app (if not dozens). How many ways can you share photos with your friends? How many social networks and check-ins and restaurant-discovery services do we need?
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apps_to_help_you_deal_with_too_many_apps.php
Facebook to Broadcast Users’ Political Opinions in Times Square
By Graeme McMillan | @graemem | January 31, 2012
Facebook users’ opinions about the 2012 elections may soon go from private to very, very public thanks to a new app that will showcase their views on a giant billboard in Times Square.
http://techland.time.com/2012/01/31/facebook-to-broadcast-users-political-opinions-in-times-square/
Think Before You Tweet, And Other Good Advice From The Experts
By Dave Copeland / January 30, 2012 4:00 PM
Officially, Sree Sreenivasan is the dean of student affairs and a professor at Columbia University's Journalism School, but for many he is the curator of Sree's Tips, a Tumblr blog crammed with how-to social media information, as well as a leading figure in the social media movement. This past weekend he was also the point person for Columbia's Social Media Weekend in New York.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/best_twitter_practices_from_the_best_twitter_minds.php
Teens Break Into CNN Newsroom To Check Facebook
The Huffington Post Tara Kelly First Posted: 01/30/2012 6:25 pm Updated: 01/31/2012 11:40 am
Some people just have to feed their Facebook addiction, no matter what the cost.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/teens-break-into-cnn_n_1242438.html
To Facebook Friend is Human, To Unfriend Divine
By Alicia Eler / January 30, 2012 4:30 PM
The Facebook friendship is a sacred one.
It is a voyeuristic portal into your ideas, links you like, viral (or not-so-viral) videos you share, cute puppy pictures and maybe even your relationship status.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/to_facebook_friend_is_human_to_unfriend_divine.php
Teens Migrating to Twitter -- Sometimes for Privacy
By Martha Irvine
January 31, 2012 09:35AM
Teens don't tweet, will never tweet -- too public, too many older users. Not cool. That's been the prediction for a while now, born of numbers showing that fewer than one in 10 teens were using Twitter early on.
http://www.newsfactor.com/mobile/?sid=81953&do=story
Family data plans may finally arrive from Verizon
By Casey Johnston | Published about 23 hours ago
Verizon may be preparing to launch shared data plans, according to a post on Engadget and some speculative phrasing on the company's recent earnings call. The "account level data plans" would give customers a chunk of data that could be shared among multiple devices, similar to family plans for minutes and text messages.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/01/family-data-plans-may-finally-arrive-from-verizon.ars
Protect Files From Unauthorized Access With Encoding Decoding
Full disc encryption or encrypted container files are useful to prevent unauthorized access to a larger number of files. This may feel like overkill though if you only want to make sure that a single file is protected from access. That’s where a program like Encoding Decoding comes into play. The program, available as a portable version and setup, can be used to encrypt and decrypt individual files in record time.
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/01/30/protect-files-from-unauthorized-access-with-encoding-decoding/
What Technology Will We Expect with Next Year’s PCs and How Will it Affect Prices?
Smartphones and tablets have a lot to answer for, at least when it comes to making technology affordable for the public. Since the launch of the first iPhone it’s become not only accepted that sensors and other devices such as GPS, multi-touch capacitive screens, NFC, accelerometers, digital compasses and more should be included but we’ve come to expect, if not demand them.
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/01/31/what-technology-will-we-expect-with-next-years-pcs-and-how-will-it-affect-prices/
January 30, 2012
EFF Asks Judge to Prevent ‘Catch-22’ in Porn-Downloading Lawsuit
Defendants Told They Must Reveal Their Identities Before Fighting to Protect Anonymity
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to protect the identities of individuals sued in a mass copyright lawsuit involving pornographic materials.
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-asks-judge-prevent-‘catch-22’-porn-downloading-lawsuit
Project Unbreakable
By Xeni Jardin at 5:05 pm Monday, Jan 30
Grace Brown created "Project Unbreakable" in October, 2011, and the tumblog appears to really be gathering momentum. The idea: "Use photography to help heal those who were sexually abused by asking them to write a quote from their attacker on a poster and photographing them holding the poster."
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/30/project-unbreakable.html
Symantec declares pcAnywhere safe, offers free upgrade to say sorry
Jan. 31, 2012 (10:46 am) By: Lee Mathews
Just days ago, Symantec revealed that the code stolen from its servers in an embarrassing breach included the source for pcAnywhere. They took to Twitter and the web to tell users that they should disable the software immediately. Now, however, Symantec is issuing the all-clear. Sort of.
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/symantec-declares-pcanywhere-safe-offers-free-upgrade-to-say-sorry-20120131/
Download Norton Identity Safe (Beta) – a Standalone Password Manager from Symantec
by Venkat on January 31, 2012
in Tech News
Security vendor Symantec released beta version of Norton Identity Safe as a standalone service which you can download for free of charge. This cloud-enabled service manages logins for websites without hassle for you remember the passwords and also securely stores and synchronizes logins, passwords, credit cards and other web form information across browsers and devices. This service works on Windows PCs, Apple Mobile devices and Android phones.
http://techdows.com/2012/01/download-norton-identity-safe-offline-installer.html
Identity Theft Crackdown: IRS Arrest 105 In Identity Theft Sweep
ALAN FRAM 01/31/12 02:13 PM ET
WASHINGTON — The federal government has swooped down on 105 people in 23 states in the past week as part of a nationwide crackdown on identity theft and tax refund fraud that was timed to warn cheats to beware this tax season, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/identity-theft-crackdown-_n_1244576.html?ref=technology
With Burn Note, Self-Destructing Emails Vanish After They’ve Been Read
January 31, 2012 at 10:03 am PT
Last year, New York-based entrepreneur Jacob Robbins was working on a project with someone who lived on the West Coast. He needed to share a password with his collaborator via email, but was suddenly hesitant to send the sensitive information.
http://allthingsd.com/20120131/with-burn-note-self-destructing-emails-vanish-after-theyve-been-read/?refcat=news
VA state senator attaches rectal exam amendment to anti-abortion bill
By Xeni Jardin at 3:29 pm Monday, Jan 30
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/30/va-state-senator-attaches-rect.html
Yes Men to keynote this summer's Hackers on Planet Earth conference in NYC
By Cory Doctorow at 6:28 am Tuesday, Jan 31
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/31/yes-men-to-keynote-this-summer.html
Indiana Assemblyman withdraws urine-testing for welfare bill when colleague adds urine-testing for Assemblyman amendment
By Cory Doctorow at 10:21 am Tuesday, Jan 31
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/31/illinois-assemblyman-withdraws.html
Retail Chains To Strike Back Against Online Vendors
Posted by Soulskill on Monday January 30, @06:29PM
from the eye-before-you-buy dept.
http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/01/30/2230205/retail-chains-to-strike-back-against-online-vendors
Surveillance Cameras Used To Study Customer Behavior
Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday January 31, @01:04PM
from the unseen-mechanized-eye dept.
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/31/1643232/surveillance-cameras-used-to-study-customer-behavior
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