********************************************************** Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre Nanyang Technological University, Singapore http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
********************************************************** Don't forget to check out www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, already online! And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** EU plans uniform protections for Internet shoppers http://iht.com/articles/2008/10/07/technology/esales.php Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn new spam sources http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/07/1223145356188.html BlackBerry with clickable touchscreen ready to take on iPhone http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4902040.ece EU directive could change iPhone battery design http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10060066-37.html Intercage demise causes spam levels to fall http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2227556/intercage-demise-causes-spam US Court orders spammers to pay $236M to Iowa ISP [IDG] http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116540 Inside the hackers' den http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446451.html Hacker's list of online accounts spooks users http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446457.html An online game of cat and mouse http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4721581a28.html Security matters: Cybercrime will need company co-operation http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8ceae4e0-91bb-11dd-b5cd-0000779fd18c.html 'Clickjackers' could hijack Webcams, microphones, Adobe warns http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/08/Clickjackers_could_hijack_Webcams_microphones_Adobe_warns_1.html MySpace Music: 1 billion songs streamed http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10058708-36.html YouTube to sell music and games [Reuters] http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE49706020081008 South Korea wants to gag the noisy internet rabble http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/09/news.internet Is an Internet tax coming for Canada? by Michael Geist http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/512201 EBay goes on $1.3bn spree but axes 10% of workforce http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/07/ebay.technology ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** EU plans uniform protections for Internet shoppers Efforts to spur more Europeans to shop online and across national boundaries will be stepped up Wednesday with plans for a new law to guarantee consumer rights across the 27-nation bloc. http://iht.com/articles/2008/10/07/technology/esales.php http://nytimes.com/2008/10/08/business/worldbusiness/08esales.html EU to expand e-shoppers' rights The European Commission has unveiled proposals to give more rights to consumers shopping online across the borders of the 27-nation EU. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7659403.stm EU proposes new rules to protect online shoppers The European Commission adopted a proposal on Wednesday to strengthen consumer rights and make it easier and safer to shop online across borders. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE4978IT20081008 EU working on bill of rights for online shoppers The European Commission hopes that a newly-proposed set of shopper rights will not only help consumers, but also e-commerce within Europe. The organization says that, with the proposed rights, more people may gain the confidence to shop across country borders. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081008-eu-working-on-bill-of-rights-for-online-shoppers.html Ask.com raises questions over Google's power The fight to take on the might of Google's search engine is hotting up. Today Ask.com, one of the smaller but still significant search players, relaunches its service in the US with claims of faster, more relevant answers using new semantic technologies. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article4887570.ece How pirates hijacked Nintendo DS A tiny piece of plastic is making software theft simple – and it's costing the games industry a fortune. Toby Green reports: ... Until recently, the world of video games had been one industry that had found itself relatively untouched. The methods required to play most pirated games on consoles are too risky and technical to have seeped into the mainstream. Now, however, consoles are in the pirates' sight – and it's all down to a small piece of plastic, no bigger than a couple of centimetres squared. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/how-pirates-hijacked-ds-954403.html au: Wireless internet connections almost double in six months: ABS [news release] Wireless broadband technology subscriptions saw almost 90% growth in six months according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today. http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/4C82831CCA2E4C7ACA2574C9001934BA Mozilla locks in Firefox 3.1 feature list Mozilla Corp. will use a several-week delay it recently added to the Firefox 3.1 schedule to build a private browsing mode and beef up the browser's address bar, the company said today. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116698 Firefox users gain location tool Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, has released technology that helps websites detect the physical location of computers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7659497.stm ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn new spam sources Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn are being blamed for a boom in sophisticated email scams in which criminals mining the information on social networking sites to create personalised attacks. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/07/1223145356188.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/07/1223145356188.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4720138a28.html MySpace, Facebook Lead Mobile Social Networking It appears that mobile social networking users are going to same places they would on the desktop, as new data from ABI Research said MySpace and Facebook are by far the top mobile social networks. http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/social_network/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210800222 MySpace, Facebook holding mobile social networking back A new study says MySpace and Facebook dominate social networking on mobile phones just as much as on the desktop. The findings also inadvertently highlight the fact that these giants are handicapping progress towards the next holy grail of social networking: location-based services. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081007-myspace-facebook-holding-mobile-social-networking-back.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** BlackBerry with clickable touchscreen ready to take on iPhone The new touchscreen BlackBerry has an 'intuitive touchscreen' that can be pressed down like buttons on a keyboard, joining a crowded market for new smartphones http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4902040.ece Blackberry's iPhone rival hits the market [AP] The latest rival to the iPhone has been unveiled by the makers of the business world's favourite, the BlackBerry. Research In Motion's Storm abandons a physical keypad in favour of a large screen, just like the one on Apple's iPhone. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/blackberrys-iphone-rival-hits-the-market-954880.html RIM says touch-screen BlackBerry coming this autumn Research In Motion will roll out a touch-screen model of its BlackBerry smartphone later this autumn, thrusting it into direct competition with Apple's popular iPhone. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE4972D720081008 http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-35850320081008 Vodafone challenges Apple with offer of fresh BlackBerries for Christmas Vodafone will put pressure on Apple's iPhone today with news that it has clinched an exclusive deal to offer the first touchscreen phone made by the mobile email specialist BlackBerry in time for Christmas. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/08/vodafonegroup.telecoms BlackBerry touch screen launched to take on the Apple iPhone The first touch-screen BlackBerry phone is launched on Wednesday marking a new phase in the battle with Apple. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3152214/BlackBerry-touch-screen-launched-to-take-on-the-Apple-iPhone.html Fat Princess computer game criticised A computer game in which a young princess is fed cake until she is too heavy to move has been criticised by feminists and health campaigners. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/health/3150899/Fat-Princess-computer-game-criticised-by-feminists.html au: ICT industry hits $123 billion: ABS THE ICT market was worth about $123 billion in 2006-07, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey. Around 300,000 people were employed in the ICT universe, the ABS said. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24464513-15306,00.html Australian ICT industry worth $123 billion Australia's ICT industry for the year to 30 June 2007 made $123 billion and employed just under 300,000 people, paying $21 billion in wages, according to numbers released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Australian-ICT-industry-worth-123-billion/0,139023166,339292531,00.htm Google Earth plumbs the depths of the oceans Google Earth, the online mapping service that offers a bird's-eye view of the globe, will now let users see underwater landscapes from around the world. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4898548.ece EU directive could change iPhone battery design The European Union is considering a requirement that all cell phone batteries be easily replaceable, which might cause a problem for Apple's iPhone. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10060066-37.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39499985,00.htm ********************** SPAM ********************** Intercage demise causes spam levels to fall Spam email messages have fallen by eight per cent thanks to the demise on 20 September of California-based ISP Intercage, according to security vendor MessageLabs. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2227556/intercage-demise-causes-spam Spam volume down in September Spam decreased 8 percent during September, according to a report released Monday by MessageLabs. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10059118-83.html Study: Uptick in spam-sending zombie PCs in September Compromised computers that send spam as part of their regular botnet activity increased dramatically in September, according to a Symantec study released Monday. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10059196-83.html US Court orders spammers to pay $236M to Iowa ISP [IDG] A federal judge has ordered an Arizona couple to pay more than $236 million for sending millions of spam messages to a small Iowa ISP. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116540 http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;485864098 http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/100708-court-orders-spammers-to-pay.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/152000/court_orders_spammers_to_pay_236m_to_iowa_isp.html $236m judgment lands on mom and pop spam shop An Arizona couple accused of bombarding a small internet service provider with millions of spam messages has been ordered to pay more than $236m in a federal case that documents the heroic measures one man took against the torrent of unsolicited junk mail. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/08/mom_and_pop_spammer_judgement/ Mobile Spam: MIIT Halts Operation Of 18 Chinese Service Providers China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced that 18 Chinese mobile service providers that had irregular operation activities have been ordered to suspend their operations. http://www.chinatechnews.com/2008/10/09/7699-mobile-spam-miit-halts-operation-of-18-chinese-service-providers/ ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Inside the hackers' den Hunched over a computer terminal in his pyjamas, "Frank" makes more money than a small-time drug dealer without ever having to worry about being caught or even leaving the house. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446451.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446451.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4721588a28.html Hacker's list of online accounts spooks users When Australian web users learned from the Herald that details of their online accounts had been posted on a hacker's website for all to see, they were suspicious, then alarmed, then furious at the hacker who compromised their identities. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446457.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446457.html An online game of cat and mouse Fraudsters require anonymity to stay out of jail, but in the cat-and-mouse world of financial security the good guys often live in the shadows too. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446454.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/08/1223145446454.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4721581a28.html Security matters: Cybercrime will need company co-operation March was a worrying month for Dan Kaminsky. The security researcher suddenly realised the internet was inherently broken. It wasn’t just slightly wonky, or coming loose at the hinges. The underlying design was kaput and if he didn’t get it fixed quickly and quietly, no one would be able to rely on it any more. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8ceae4e0-91bb-11dd-b5cd-0000779fd18c.html IBM, Secret Service, others study identity/cybercrime issues Center for Applied Identity Management Research organization teams experts in criminal justice, financial crime, biometrics, cybercrime and cyberdefense, data protection, homeland security and national defense. http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1340826438 Kiwi academic to co-chair APAC security forum A global e-business and security certification organisation is warning that the many commercial applications being produced across the globe are creating new opportunities for malicious attacks on commercial and government institutions. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/E91A86A0989A5330CC2574DA00795727 Net game turns PC into undercover surveillance zombie Underscoring the severity of a new class of vulnerability known as clickjacking, a blogger has created a proof-of-concept game that uses a PC's video cam and microphone to secretly spy on the player. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/07/clickjacking_surveillance_zombie/ 'Clickjackers' could hijack Webcams, microphones, Adobe warns Adobe Systems Inc. warned users Tuesday that hackers could use recently-reported "clickjacking" attack tactics to secretly turn on a computer's microphone and Web camera. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9116558 http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/08/Clickjackers_could_hijack_Webcams_microphones_Adobe_warns_1.html Details of Clickjacking Attack Revealed With Online Spying Demo A researcher has “hacked” the mysterious clickjacking attack and today posted a demonstration in his blog on how the Web-borne attack works. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=165431 Firefox Extension Blocks Dangerous Web Attack [IDG] A popular free security tool for the Firefox browser has been upgraded to block one of the most dangerous and troubling security problems facing the Web today. http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/08/Firefox_extension_blocks_dangerous_Web_attack_1.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/152025/firefox_extension_blocks_dangerous_web_attack.html http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1814390854 uk: Lords to debate gov't progress on internet security The House of Lords will debate personal internet security on Friday, with the aim of assessing the progress the government has made on protecting the public. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39498918,00.htm Aussie credit card details sold online by fraudsters Hackers are flaunting stolen credit card details online, allowing fraudsters to "trial" one victim's identity before buying more. http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24458954-5014108,00.html ************************** PRIVACY ************************** au: Privacy lags in technology rush The federal minister in charge of privacy, John Faulkner, has warned that personal information posted on social networking websites can linger forever "like an ill-considered tattoo". http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/07/1223145356191.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/07/1223145356191.html ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** MySpace Music: 1 billion songs streamed The social network says it hit the mark in just the couple of weeks since the debut of its streaming music service. Keep in mind that getting to 5 billion took the iTunes Store five years. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10058708-36.html Google Puts Tunes From YouTube a Click Away In its continuing effort to find a way to make money from its YouTube unit, Google introduced on Tuesday a type of e-commerce ad that YouTube users can click to buy digital goods from Apple’s iTunes or Amazon.com. http://nytimes.com/2008/10/08/technology/internet/08youtube.html http://iht.com/articles/2008/10/08/technology/08youtube.php YouTube to sell music and games [Reuters] YouTube, the world's most popular video-sharing site, will start to sell music and video games and experiment with new advertising formats to grow revenue, executives said today. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE49706020081008 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/youtube-to-sell-music-and-games-954904.html http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-35847620081007 ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** South Korea wants to gag the noisy internet rabble The leaders of the most wired country on Earth are seeking to curb online anonymity and debate, with laws that many say will fail: While governments around the world try to make sense of the internet and wonder how to curb some of its darker incarnations, all eyes should now be on South Korea, which is one of the first democracies planning to use the law to hold the internet to account. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/09/news.internet ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ British pupils to devise bullying answers School pupils will attempt to come up with proposals to tackle bullying during a conference in Glasgow. The event comes as new figures showed that more than 7,000 children and young people called ChildLine Scotland about bullying in 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7655419.stm Boom in virtual playgrounds for kids The craze in online virtual worlds among children and teenagers has started a stampede of companies attempting to cash in on the boom. Media groups and aspiring digital entrepreneurs are hoping to lure more youngsters online and to create new worlds that will capture adult imaginations. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/09/1223145499071.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/09/1223145499071.html Aussies take stand against cyber bullying [AAP] Victims of cyber bullying in the Australian state of New South Wales are being encouraged to share their experiences in a bid to help the NSW government formulate a plan to deal with the problem. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4719020a28.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** Is an Internet tax coming for Canada? by Michael Geist The emergence of cultural funding as a hot-button political issue in the current election campaign appears to have taken virtually everyone by surprise. The roughly $50 million in cuts may be tiny in terms of the overall federal budget, yet the significant impact on the cultural community has propelled the issue onto the national stage. http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/512201 http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3436/159/ http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3438/135/ Uganda cyber laws going to Parliament [IDG] Uganda's draft electronic laws have been approved by Cabinet and are set to be debated before they are passed into law by Parliament. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/100608-uganda-cyber-laws-going-to.html nz: Copyright law: Section 92A to go ahead The government is standing firm on controversial changes to new copyright laws that require ISPs to disconnect repeat copyright infringers. http://www.itbrief.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2615&Itemid=808 NZ Copyright law change to go ahead The government is standing firm on controversial changes to the copyright laws that require ISPs to disconnect repeat infringers. http://www.netguide.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=715&Itemid=16 http://www.thechannel.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=350&Itemid=34 ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* EBay goes on $1.3bn spree but axes 10% of workforce The online auction house eBay has announced plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce, as it looks to save $150m (£85m) a year in the face of slowing sales, the latest evidence that gloom in the world economy is starting to hit major dotcom companies. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/07/ebay.technology EBay Trims Its Work Force and Makes Acquisitions The Internet company eBay is both tightening its belt and expanding its reach in preparation for the coming economic storm. http://nytimes.com/2008/10/07/technology/07ebay.html EBay to cut 10% of staff worldwide EBay, the online auction website, said today that it was cutting 10 per cent of its global workforce in response to slowing growth in its internet sales and was buying an online payment service. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4892456.ece ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** National broadband network 'must be independent' A consortium bidding to build a high-speed broadband network for Australia says regulators should not cave in to outrageous demands from rival bidder Telstra. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/08/2385329.htm ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Aussies to have world's fastest mobiles [AAP] Australia's dominant telco is on course to deploy technology that will see the country have the quickest mobile download speeds in the world. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4719000a28.html With WiMax, Sprint cuts the cord in Baltimore Executives from Sprint Nextel and its ecosystem of partners ceremonially cut the broadband cord here on Wednesday with the launch of the first mobile WiMax network in the U.S. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10061520-94.html Verizon loses in jury trial against Cox, two patent claims invalidated In a costly loss in US District Court in Alexandria yesterday, a jury found all of Verizon's claims that Cox Communications infringed upon its VoIP-related patents to be without basis, and even invalidated two of eight patent claims. http://www.betanews.com/article/Verizon_loses_in_jury_trial_against_Cox_two_patent_claims_invalidated/1223408213 Cox Did Not Infringe Verizon's VoIP Intellectual Property, Jury Finds Verizon's original filing against Cox cited patents it had exerted against Vonage. http://www.informationweek.com/news/telecom/voip/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210800149 ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** au: Ex-lifesaver's massive child porn stash A magistrate was left shaken yesterday after viewing a sample of the massive child pornography stash - some containing images of girls as young as two - collected by a former award-winning surf lifesaver. http://www.theage.com.au/national/exlifesavers-massive-child-porn-stash-20081007-4vdy.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The domain name news is supported by auDA For information on subscriptions to the domain name and/or general internet news please contact me. For archives of postings to the list, see http://lists.technewsreview.com.au/pipermail/technewsreview/. Also see http://technewsreview.com.au/ for recent updates. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2008 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Make the switch to the world's best email. Get Yahoo!7 Mail! http://au.yahoo.com/y7mail _______________________________________________ APPLe mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.apnic.net/mailman/listinfo/apple
