Archive for 2011/03/07

Dutch providers KPN, UPC and Ziggo will not block sites carrying child abuse images

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Filtering, Public Policy, Tech Evolution

The providers argue that a blacklist would only contain a few sites as the majority of sites has already disappeared. They also refer to the number of sites the listed by the Internet Watch Foundation which would have decreased from about 2,000 sites to 400 sites.

They feel that a filter is no longer an adequate and effective instrument to address the distribution of child abuse images online.

A test project currently underway at hosting provider Leaseweb will be continued but that project aims to prevent people from uploading child abuse images to websites of Leaseweb’s customers.

Dutch language article: http://www.nu.nl/internet/2462458/providers-zien-af-van-blokkade-kinderporno.html

This Will Keep You Entertained For Hours

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness

Google

http://www.buzzfeed.com/burnred/this-will-keep-you-entertained-for-hours-281t

The impact SSD could have on future games

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Tech Evolution

http://kotaku.com/#!5778450/sixty+year-old-technology-could-change-the-face-of-gaming

CryEngine3 Demo

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Tech Evolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySWPxEYeNMg

More: http://gizmodo.com/#!5778400/the-other-future-of-video-game-graphics-looks-just-lovely

A new generation of Web sites like Dscover.me, Sitesimon.com and Voyurl.com is banking on our willingness to take that next step toward taking our lives public: namely, by automatically tracking personal browsing histories for public viewing

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Tech Evolution

http://gizmodo.com/#!5778329/would-you-share-your-browser-history-with-the-entire-internet

The general feeling with the studio executives I spoke with is that they cannot and will not throw in with Netflix and imperil other more lucrative revenue streams, such as pay TV or traditional broadcast services

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Tech Evolution

They plan to provide viewers with a multitude of ways to access Internet content: on Web-connected handhelds and TVs, video game consoles, and iPads.

Only, don’t ask them to do all this at the expense of the long-term health of their business.

More: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20039915-261.html

Zimbabwe makes arrest over Facebook comment

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/zimbabwe-makes-arrest-over-facebook-comment/542

Tech geeks: 2011 directory of who to follow on Twitter

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Tech Evolution

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/tech-geeks-2011-directory-of-who-to-follow-on-twitter/45763

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has been accused of “illegally” snooping on the internet surfing activity of their Mobile Broadband users. Several customers spotted the problem after noticing that they were being stalked by an automated system, which would almost immediately load the same website address (URL) an instant after they had requested it

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, Filtering, New Business Models, Tech Evolution

It didn’t take long before one enterprising customer was able to trace the unusual internet stalker back to its source at a Californian technology firm called Bluecoat. The firm appears to have been providing Vodafone with website filtering, anti-malware (perhaps ironically including anti-spyware) and other services since 2006.

We’ve had an official response from Vodafone UK.

Vodafone Statement to ISPreview.co.uk

We use the Blue Coat filter to classify internet sites so that we can apply an adult bar appropriately. This is not a question of intercepting customer communications but of ensuring the safety of our younger customers in a dynamic environment. It is used solely for child protection and to block illegal content and not for any other purpose. Other network operators use the same or similar systems. We are required to do this in order to meet our regulatory and industry obligations.

More: http://www.ispreview.co.uk/story/2011/03/07/vodafone-uk-accused-of-stalking-their-users-mobile-broadband-internet-surfing.html

Fox DMCA Takedowns Order Google to Remove Fox DMCA Takedowns

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness

http://torrentfreak.com/fox-dmca-takedowns-demand-google-to-remove-fox-dmca-takedowns-110307/

Be Careful What You Wish For: Taiwan Using US Pressured Patent Laws Against US Companies

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy

We already pointed out how, after years of pressure from the US, China was beginning to “respect” intellectual property laws, but was conveniently doing so in ways that harmed US companies, ruling in favor of Chinese company patents, and claiming US (and European) firms infringed. It appears that Taiwan is doing something similar.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110215/01010213094/be-careful-what-you-wish-taiwan-using-us-pressured-patent-laws-against-us-companies.shtml

Russia Wants Social Media Sites To Be Liable For User Content To Avoid Middle East-Style Protests

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110301/04045013313/russia-wants-social-media-sites-to-be-liable-user-content-to-avoid-middle-east-style-protests.shtml

Rep. Lofgren Tells Seized Sites They Should Sue The Gov’t For Defamation

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Litigation, Public Policy

I actually had a chance to chat with Lofgren for a few minutes at the High Tech Law Institute’s Symposium about Section 230. Lofgren was happy to hear that lots of folks appreciated her words, and expressed dismay that others in Congress really don’t understand (or care) about the issue.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110307/00274413376/rep-lofgren-tells-seized-sites-they-should-sue-govt-defamation.shtml

Hackers Claim They Can Unban Banned PS3s While Banning Unmodded PS3s

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Blocking, Education / Awareness

if true, it would suggest another failed strategy by Sony. Will it ever realize that trying to clamp down on its own users is a bad idea?

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110306/22010113374/hackers-claim-they-can-unban-banned-ps3s-while-banning-unmodded-ps3s.shtml

Forget Google – it’s Apple that is turning into the evil empire

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/49863

Germany is putting its legislative and industrial muscle behind a new secure email system, dubbed De-mail, that aims to become an alternative to conventional paper documents for legally binding transactions

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Tech Evolution

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/07/garmany_secure_email/

This year’s Wimbledon is to be filmed in 3D for the first time, with the finals screened in HD in cinemas around the world

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Tech Evolution

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/03/07/wimbledon_broadcast_in_3d/

‘TV Dinners’ have become ‘PC Dinners’

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/03/07/pc_dinners_and_the_science_of_sleep/

Intel hosted an event called “A Day in the Clouds” for members of the press, and El Reg sat in on briefings with Intel’s top brass in the cloud organization and did a tour of the labs behind its Cloud Builder program

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Future Developments?, Tech Evolution, The Cloud

This was the first time that Intel put some numbers on the cloud phenomenon and articulated its role in helping IT customers transform their brittle machinery and software into something a little more manageable and a lot more like the dream of virtualized, utility computing that has been in development since the issues with cheap, distributed computing became apparent in the wake of the dot-com bust.

Much more: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/07/intel_day_in_the_clouds/

Woz to educators: “be brave, use the new technology”

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Tech Evolution

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/03/woz-to-educators-be-brave-use-the-new-technology.ars

Unless a US company is hell-bent on selling the very cheapest goods, manufacturing at home makes more sense than it has in a generation

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Future Developments?, New Business Models

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/in-early-2010-somewhere-high.ars

The Federal Trade Commission is already pushing its “Do Not Track” initiative, but US Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL) wants to introduce a new bill that would require companies to tell users exactly what information is being collected about them and what it will be used for

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/congressman-to-revive-2005-online-privacy-bill-with-new-feedback.ars

Bit.ly blocks domains leading to ‘Tweet Viewer’ virus

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection

Virus is proliferating at 159 tweets a minute

http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/05/tweet-viewer-virus-spreads-on-twitter/

Digital Agenda: Vice-President Kroes organized CEO Roundtable on investment in broadband networks to sustain internet growth

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Bandwidth Management, Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy

Participants CEO Roundtable 3 March: Alcatel Lucent - Verwaayen Ben, Apple - Jobs Steve #, ARD - Werner Oliver *, BBC - Tate John *, Bertelsmann - Ostrowski Hartmut, BT - Livingston Ian, Cogent - Schaeffer Dave, DT- Obermann René, eBay - Nash Richard *, Ericsson- Vestberg Hans, Facebook - Allan Richard *, Fastweb - Parisi Stefano, FT - Richard Stéphane, Google - Schindler Philipp *, Iliad Group - Niel Xavier, KPN - Scheepbouwer Ad, Liberty Global - Kohnstamm Manuel *, Lovefilm - Cecil Andrew *, Mediaset - Confalonieri Fedele, Microsoft - Courtois Jean-Philipp *, Netia PL - Godlewski Mirosław, Netlog - Bogaert Lorenz, Nokia - Elop Stephen, Nokia-Siemens Networks - Crisp Stephen, Numericable - Danon Pierre, Research in Motion - Spence Patrick *, Skype - Collins Stephen *, SonyMusic - Hesse Thomas *, Tele2 - Granryd Mats, Telecom Italia - Bernabè Franco, Telefonica - Linares Julio *, TeliaSonera - Nyberg Lars, TF1 - Paoli Jean-Pierre *, Ubisoft - Perotti Stéphanie *, Virgin Media - Richmond Paul *, Vivendi - Lévy Jean-Bernard, Vodafone - Colao Vittorio, Voddler - Sjöman Anders *, Wind - Gubitosi Luigi

# participated via videolink

* senior level representative

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/135&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

A German computer security expert said he believes the United States and Israel’s Mossad unleashed the malicious Stuxnet worm on Iran’s nuclear program – “It’s a cyber weapon of mass destruction”

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy

“My opinion is that the Mossad is involved,” Ralph Langner said while discussing his in-depth Stuxnet analysis at a prestigious TED conference in the Southern California city of Long Beach.

“But, the leading source is not Israel… There is only one leading source, and that is the United States.”

More: http://au.news.yahoo.com/tech-news/a/-/technology/8950725/computer-expert-says-us-behind-stuxnet-worm/

Cyber attack on France targeted Paris G20 files

Posted: 2011/03/07 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy

The French finance ministry has confirmed it came under a cyber attack in December that targeted files on the G20 summit held in Paris in February.

Budget Minister Francois Baron said an investigation had been launched, adding: “We have leads”.

It follows a report in Paris Match magazine that claimed a sustained cyber attack sought documents related to the G20 and international economic affairs.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12662596