Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!
Headlines from the 9 October edition of the news include: Governments shouldn't cut Internet: UN telecoms chief | OECD: Mobilizing Civil Society for the Internet Ministerial by Milton Mueller | Net Neutrality a Must for Working Americans | What Direction is the Internet Headed? | Internationalised Domain Names set for launch | Anthony Doesburg: Web body looks for new lord of the domain names | Irelands real net pioneer: Meet the Irishman whose key decisions in the Eighties led to the web as we know it today | What's the point of the .asia top-level domain? | Companies prepare to head off risk of cyber-squatters in new .asia domain | sex.asia likely to be Internet domain in demand | CNNIC Exposes Chinese Domain Name Registration Violators | California: Apology After Sites Shutdown | US Feds pull the domain name plug on State of California | Federal 'fix' knocks ca.gov for a loop | Bad things lurking on government sites | us: Pennsylvania proposes to ban cybersquatting | Cheap domain names fuel cybersquatting And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA. *************************************************** Microsoft-loving (former) security czar calls for closed internet http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/02/richard_clarke_speech_trust_online_santa_clara_university_microsoft/ Cerf on the future of the Net http://www.govtech.com/gt/148598?topic=117699 How to Trace a DDOS Attack http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=135457 Short Domain Names Threatened by Proposed Policy on IGO Dispute Resolution Procedure by George Kirikos http://www.circleid.com/posts/710118_short_domain_names_igo_udrp/ Local .city TLDs as an Opportunity for City Portals by Dirk Krischenowski http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2867 New Zealand hits 300 000 http://domainesinfo.fr/english/110/new-zealand-hits-300-000.php La Nouvelle Zélande atteint les 300 000 .NZ http://domainesinfo.fr/extension/1320/nouvelle-zelande-la-nouvelle-zelande-atteint-les-300-000-nz.php ph: Domain prices should go down, not up http://www.zdnetasia.com/blog/pinoypost/0,3800005677,63000751,00.htm Griping, with an audience: Malcontents criticize companies online http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/03/business/sbiz.php Cybersquatters Threaten Consumers and Harm Businesses [news release] http://inta.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1719 U.S. urges U.N. patent agency chief to consider quitting http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL0190964620071001 Swim.com sold for US$214,500 http://domainnews.com/aftermarket/2007100404/swimcom-sold-for-us214500/ ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Microsoft-loving (former) security czar calls for closed internet Richard Clarke, the man who served President Bush as a special adviser for cyber security, has a five-point plan for saving the internet. Speaking at a Santa Clara University conference dedicated to "trust online," Clarke called the net "a place of chaos in many ways, a place of crime in many ways," but laid out several means of righting the ship, including biometric IDs, government regulation, and an industry wide standard for secure software. He even embraces the idea of a closed internet - which seems to have sparked a death threat from net pioneer Vint Cerf. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/02/richard_clarke_speech_trust_online_santa_clara_university_microsoft/ Cerf on the future of the Net More than 30 years ago, Vint Cerf and colleague Robert Kahn - performing research sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - created the core standards that allow computers across the globe to link together. ... Cerf spoke with Government Technology at Google's Washington, D.C., offices. During the hour-long conversation, Cerf discussed numerous issues that will shape the Internet's future, including Net neutrality, municipal wireless projects and mobile connectivity. http://www.govtech.com/gt/148598?topic=117699 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** How to Trace a DDOS Attack At most any time of the day, there's a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack underway somewhere on the Internet. Yes, it's still true, despite reports that some ISPs have experienced fewer DDOS attacks overall during the last six months. It's a matter of quality, not quantity: "When DDOSes do occur, they are done with much greater purpose than they used to be," says Rodney Joffe, senior vice president and senior technologist for Neustar. "They are usually to obscure what's [really] happening in the background." http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=135457 ********************** - ICANN ********************** Short Domain Names Threatened by Proposed Policy on IGO Dispute Resolution Procedure by George Kirikos ICANN staff has published a draft report on dispute resolution procedures for IGO (inter-governmental organization) domain names. This proposal has deep flaws and should be rejected by the community, as it does not have the balance and protection of registrant rights present in the existing UDRP. http://www.circleid.com/posts/710118_short_domain_names_igo_udrp/ Birth of .XXX Looming? It has been brought back into the public eye again after being buried in the ICANN rejections pile. Specifically, the idea of a .xxx web suffix for porn sites, once characterised as the internets vampire, may have risen from the dead as part of a larger argument over rules for how much discretion will be exercised in accepting or denying applications. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=22484 A successful, yet not complete, trip to Russia by Veni Markovski On 25 September, ICANN CEO Paul Twomey and myself (as the regional manager) visited Moscow at the invitation of the Russian Minister of Information Technologies and Communications. While over there we were also scheduled to meet some of the .ru Board members, the .su administrators from the Russian Institute for Public Networks (RIPN), the Institute for Information Security Issues (IISI), and a number of other individuals both from government and businesses. http://blog.icann.org/?p=201 ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** Local .city TLDs as an Opportunity for City Portals by Dirk Krischenowski One of the most frequently asked question when it comes to the discussion about a city top-level domain .city (such as .london, .berlin or .nyc) is what .city means to the already established official city portal (such as London.gov.uk, Berlin.de, NYC.gov or in general City.com). This article contributes to the most important topics in this discussion. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2867 What Trademark Owners Really Need To Know About The .ASIA Sunrise [reg req'd] If you are a trademark owner or represent one, you have almost certainly received numerous notifications that the .ASIA sunrise period opens October 9, 2007. Most of these notifications are likely solicitations from various service providers designed to persuade you or your client to register .ASIA domain names. This note provides a quick overview of .ASIA so that you or your clients can make an informed decision whether or not to take advantage of the .ASIA sunrise period. http://mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=52816 News Alert - Registration Of .Asia Domain Names Opening Soon >From 6 October 2007, trade mark owners will have the chance to register domain >names in the new '.asia' top-level domain (TLD), prior to a general release of >.asia names in 2008. The domain space will open in several phases, offering >opportunities in turn to government entities, owners of marks currently in >use, owners of unused and newer marks, and the general public. http://mondaq.com/article.asp?article_id=52658 .EC domains for US$17 per year NIC.EC, the .EC (Ecuador) domain registry have announced a special promotion for new .ec domain name registrations. Till the end of October, new .ec domain names can be registered for US$17 per year for up to five years under .ec as well as com.ec, net.ec, org.ec, edu.ec, info.ec, pro.ec, fin.ec and med.ec. http://domainnews.com/general/2007100408/ec-domains-for-us17-per-year/ http://domainpulse.com/2007/10/03/ec-domains-for-us17-per-year/ Five hundred requests for accents in Spanish domain names [news release] http://telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=186569 EURid to Implement Automatic DNS Updates for .EU EURid, the registry for .EU, has announced it will switch to dynamic DNS updates on October 9. On that date, .EU DNS servers will begin updating instantaneously in response to changes as they occur. http://blogs.verisign.com/brandprotection/2007/09/eurid_to_implement_automatic_d.php .ng Internet Registration Soars Number of Internet registration in the country grows to about 3,000, the Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has said.Nigeria got the authority to operate its own domain registration body early this year at a formal hand over of the domain registration by Mr Randy Bush former Internet registration agent for Nigeria to the management of the Nigerian Internet Registration Association. http://dailytrust.com/content/view/4364/80/ http://allafrica.com/stories/200710010599.html Norths Country Domain .KP Gets Nod Its just a matter of time before North Korea meets the world through the World Wide Web, as its domain ".kp" has recently been delegated for use. http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/10/123_11146.html '.nyc' wants to go .com Is it time for New York City to corner a piece of the Internet? A growing grassroots movement says yes, and is trying to create an ".nyc" domain name to go alongside the .coms and .orgs of the World Wide Web. http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071003/BIZ/710030303 http://chinapost.com.tw/business/2007/10/04/125318/Internet-domain.htm New Zealand hits 300 000 According to local registry InternetNZ, after seeing constant growth on .NZ for the last three years, New Zealand's Internet suffix reached the 300 000 mark on September 26, 2007. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/110/new-zealand-hits-300-000.php ph: Domain prices should go down, not up The decision last April by Verisign to raise the fee for both .com and .net domain names hardly created a fuzz in the online community presumably because consumers thought the hike was justified after years of unchanged rates. But here in the Philippines, the price increase has sent a chilling effect to those who have conscientiously followed the oppressive way in which a private company has managed th .ph ccTLD. http://www.zdnetasia.com/blog/pinoypost/0,3800005677,63000751,00.htm Serbia readies new .RS Internet suffix Born out of the ashes of what used to be Yugoslavia, Serbia is now a country in its own right and with its own Internet extension .RS which should go live in early 2008. We take a look at the new domain. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/111/serbia-readies-new-rs-internet-suffix.php uk: Nominet ups dispute personnel Nominet, the operator of the .uk internet domain, is looking for 10 IP and internet specialists to join its dispute resolution panel as it looks to cope with the growing number of domain name disputes. http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=129120&d=415&h=417&f=416 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Griping, with an audience: Malcontents criticize companies online As the power of the Internet grows, businesses small and large find themselves confounded by disenchanted employees, suppliers and competitors who find fertile ground to air grievances online. Armed with little more than a Web connection and keyboard, these detractors can irritate, via scathing reviews, or cause serious business problems by using online message boards, or even disclose company secrets and spread rumors of unethical behavior. They also might start a gripe site or register a Web address in another person's name. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/03/business/sbiz.php Cybersquatters Threaten Consumers and Harm Businesses [news release] The International Trademark Association (INTA) issued a warning on behalf of its members to the public, alerting them to the growing threat of domain name cybersquatters who deliberately mislead consumers and defraud online businesses. http://inta.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1719 Bodog Biting back Lawsuits can frighten, embarrass and ruin. But for Canadian-born Calvin Ayre, they can be marketing opportunities. The 46-year-old founder of Bodog Entertainment Group, which has expanded from online gaming into music and televised fighting, is in the middle of a patent dispute that has so far seen Nevada and Washington courts strip Bodog of its domain names, order it to pay millions in fines, and demand that Antigua-based Ayre testify in the United States next month about his companys assets. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/managing/strategy/article.jsp?content=20070918_19917_19917 Facebook wins Manx battle for face-book.com Facebook has wrestled control of the web address face-book.com away from an Isle of Man-based firm that operates it as a revenue-raising link dump. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/01/facebook_domain_dispute/ Computer crime: domains stealing Like real-world theft, the hijacking of an Internet address can happen quickly and with little warning. New York computer consultant Ronen Inowlocki knows firsthand. In July, a thief took control of the yyy.com address Inowlocki has owned for years. http://www.crime-research.org/news/03.10.2007/2924/ us: County exec candidates fight war of domains After being wooed for months by a Democratic Party power structure searching for any viable candidate, State Sen. Lena Taylor filed papers this week to run for Milwaukee County executive. The Milwaukee Dem may find it hard to get a Web site with a catchy address, however, since her opponents have been busy gobbling up domain names. http://onmilwaukee.com/politics/articles/politics100307.html?12870 ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** U.S. urges U.N. patent agency chief to consider quitting [Reuters] The United States on Monday said the head of the United Nations' intellectual property and patent protection agency WIPO should either publicly answer allegations of dishonest conduct against him or resign. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL0190964620071001 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/01/AR2007100100865.html Arsys Grows Beyond 500,000 Domains Arsys Internet announced that it now hosts over 500,000 domains. Over the last two years, the company has doubled its domain name registrations, bolstering its status as Spains No. 1 domain name Registrar and one of the fastest growing in Europe. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=22445 DNSWorld Conference The worlds premier international conference on Internet Domain Name Service, DSNWorld, will be held from Oct. 10-12, 2007 in Cancun, Mexico. The multiple stream event features over 70 expert lectures, special presentations, tutorials and workshops. Topics include IP addressing, the transition from IP4 to IP6, domain name issues, NAP's, root servers, Internet governance, hijacking, DNSSEC and more. http://www.it-analysis.com/technology/security/event.php?eve=105 A New Way of Looking at the World (Wide Web) Every country has its own two-letter code, such as .de for Germany and .cn for China. But not all codes are so obvious, such as .lk for Sri Lanka or .za for South Africa. That's where a new map from Byte Level Research comes in handy. Their Map of the World Wide Web includes 180 of the 250 county codes currently in use, covering most United Nations countries. Each two-digit code is aligned over the country it represents. And each world region is color coded with the legend below for quick and easy reference. http://bytelevel.com/news/world_wide_web_map.html Rumor: AOL to turn Wow.com into 'World of Warcraft' social network by Caroline McCarthy I'm a smidgen skeptical of this rumor, if only because it seems so darn obvious: TechCrunch reported on Tuesday morning that Time Warner's AOL may have found a use for its Wow.com domain, which it acquired in 1998 as part of the offal of what had once been CompuServe. http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9789343-36.html The art of the dotcom mark ... The ever-evolving market-place has thrown up many new challenges. Especially when it comes to domain availability. It's said that all the good dot.com and dot.co.za names have already been snapped up. Which isn't surprising when you think about the rate at which new domain names are registered globally every day. And which causes problems for established companies that might not have had the foresight to register their names and are now forced to change their names because other companies have registered the names! These companies then have to opt for a dot.biz or dot.net address. But we all know which address is really foremost in people's minds ... (When you developed a logo "in the olden days", foresight meant having a logo with a lifespan of 15 to 20 years!) http://cbn.co.za/pressoffice/fusion_design/fullstory/391.htm ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** Domain Name and Internet Traffic Industry Announces 'We Get It!' Awards Finalists [news release] T.R.A.F.F.I.C. announced the finalists for its annual We Get It! Awards. The domain name and Internet traffic industry's most highly coveted award is given to the organization or individual(s) that has best demonstrated an understanding of the power of domains and the Internet by attracting visitors, increasing sales and beating competitors in terms of Internet marketing. http://domainpulse.com/2007/10/01/domain-name-and-internet-traffic-industry-announces-we-get-it-awards-finalists/ http://www.domainnews.com/general/2007100207/domain-name-and-internet-traffic-industry-announces-we-get-it-awards-finalists/ The Domain Distribution Network Partners with Network Solutions to Offer Aftermarket Premium Domains For Sale The Domain Distribution Network (DDN), an aftermarket domain distribution and fulfilment service, announced today that it has partnered with Network Solutions, an ICANN accredited registrar and leading provider of Internet services, to offer premium domains to Network Solutions customers. http://domainpulse.com/2007/10/03/the-domain-distribution-network-partners-with-network-solutions-to-offer-aftermarket-premium-domains-for-sale/ http://domainnews.com/general/2007100314/the-domain-distribution-network-partners-with-network-solutions-to-offer-aftermarket-premium-domains-for-sale/ Aussie domain name distributor signs US registrar Network Solutions has inked a deal with Queensland domain name distributor Domain Distribution Network (DDN) to resell 'aftermarket' domain names. The Queensland company harvests already registered but expired or parked Internet domain names and resells them to all types of end-users, including businesses and consumers. http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1654914151;fp;2;fpid;1 http://arnnet.com.au/index.php/id;1654914151;fp;4194304;fpid;1 http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1654914151;fp;2;fpid;1 ********************** - DOMAIN SALES ********************** Swim.com sold for US$214,500 ipAuctions sold swim.com for US$214,500 in an auction that was completed on 3 October. The winner was listed as "mountain74". There was 34 bids, 32 of them coming in the last 6.5 hours. The website is currently used for selling swimwear in the US. http://domainnews.com/aftermarket/2007100404/swimcom-sold-for-us214500/ http://domainpulse.com/2007/10/03/swimcom-sold-for-us214500/ egX Group to sell Domain Name - www.investment.com [news release] egX Group has announced it is selling the domain name investment.com. egX will be selling the domain name through Moniker's T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Auction reserved for Premium Domains in Miami, Florida October 9th to the 13th. http://egxworld.com/ir/NewsDetails.asp?ID=116 TRAFFIC Domain Name Conference Auctions Evaluated in New Analysis by Research and Appraisal Company Zetetic Based on analysis of 34,000 historical domain name sales, Zetetic projects the upcoming TRAFFIC Conference Domain Name Auction in Miami to yield nearly US$2 million in sales. http://zetetic.com/about-zetetic/press-release-9-28-2007.html http://domainpulse.com/2007/10/02/traffic-domain-name-conference-auctions-evaluated-in-new-analysis-by-research-and-appraisal-company-zetetic/ http://domainnews.com/aftermarket/2007100303/traffic-domain-name-conference-auctions-evaluated-in-new-analysis-by-research-and-appraisal-company-zetetic/ ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** th: Stop suffocating internet freedom Since the military coup of Sept 19, 2006, Thailand has almost caught up with China as a world leader in the field of internet censorship and control, particularly with regard to freedom of political expression. This is a completely unacceptable environment for the promised return to democracy at the end of this year. http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/03Oct2007_news20.php Burma junta unplugs Internet It was about as simple and uncomplicated as shooting demonstrators in the streets. Embarrassed by smuggled video and photographs that showed their people rising up against them, the generals who run Myanmar simply switched off the Internet. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/04/asia/04info.php http://nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/asia/04info.html Bloggers silenced as curbs bring internet blackout The shutdown of communications in Burma has slowed information to the outside world to a trickle, with the number of reports to one exile group cut by half and websites with the .mm Burma suffix being unavailable, campaigners said yesterday. http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2180971,00.html Bloggers who risked all to reveal the juntas brutal crackdown in Burma Internet geeks share a common style, and Ko Latt and his four friends would not be out of place in cyber cafés across the world. They have the skinny arms and the long hair, the dark T-shirts and the jokey nicknames. But few such figures have ever taken the risks that they have in the past few weeks, or achieved so much in a noble and dangerous cause. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2563937.ece Internet shows face of Burma's junta The world's reaction to the protests against the Burmese military junta has been so different to that of the last uprising 19 years ago because of the internet, a veteran of the 1988 protest has said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7023802.stm Internet blackout in Myanmar stalls citizen reporting [IDG] The loss of Internet access in Myanmar has slowed the tide of photos and videos shared with the rest of the world but people outside of the troubled country continue to use new media sites and other technologies to protest military activity in the Southeast Asia country. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/01/Internet-blackout-in-Myanmar-stalls-citizen-reporting_1.html What's the Biggest Threat to Free Speech in America If you thought phone companies were simply supposed to get you connected, think again. Over the last week we learned that the nation's two largest telecommunications firms want to get into the business of censorship as well - blocking the free flow of information sent over phones and the Internet. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/whats-the-biggest-threat_b_66708.html us: Editorial - The Verizon Warning We have long been concerned about the potential threat to free speech and a free press as communications migrate from old-fashioned telephone lines, TV broadcasts and printing presses to digital networks controlled by unregulated private companies. The threat stopped being theoretical recently when Verizon Wireless censored political speech on one of its mobile services. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/03/opinion/03wed1.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ The notional paedophile now dictates what we can look at Whatever the artistic import, images of naked children are now viewed by society exclusively through a sexual filter http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2183042,00.html uk: What's the difference between art and porn? Sir Elton John has defended a photograph he owns after it was seized from an art gallery amid claims it could breach child pornography laws. When does a nude picture become a salacious artefact? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7016651.stm nz: 400 claims of text bullying About 400 calls from victims of text and internet bullying have been made to internet safety watchdog NetSafe this year. NetSafe communications manager Rachel Harrison said there had been 123 text-bullying complaints from people under 18 and 152 from people over 18. http://stuff.co.nz/4224847a11.html fj: The net and children ... Closer to home, a highly placed source at a police department in one of the Pacific islands countries confirmed to ISLANDS BUSINESS that a team of investigators is closely following trails of a suspected paedophile ring operating locally and reaching children by chatting them up via an online social network. http://islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=17659/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl uk: Anti-bullying study in 30 schools Thousands of school children are taking part in a council survey as part of a crackdown on bullying. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7022471.stm Miss America promotes Net safety [AP] Seven years ago, 13-year-old Lauren Nelson and a few friends were at a sleep-over when they entered an Internet chat room. Within a week, an online predator was e-mailing one of them lurid photos. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091217809.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091217809.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2007-10-03-miss-america-net-browser_N.htm New, free Miss America browser aims to keep kids safe on the Internet [AP] In an effort that traces its roots back to when she was 13, the reigning Miss America is the centerpiece of a new child-friendly Internet browser desgined to keep children away from dangerous online sites and contacts. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091220132.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091220132.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** au: ACCC drops case against Google The competition regulator has dropped its misleading conduct case against Google's Australian and Irish subsidiaries. In Federal Court this morning, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it would now only target Google's US parent company and Trading Post. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091237961.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091237961.html Australian watchdog to only target Google parent [Reuters] Australia's competition regulator agreed on Wednesday to only target parent firm Google Inc, and not its Australian and Irish arms, in court action over alleged sponsored advertising links it says are misleading. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKSYD29387020071004 ACCC drops case against Google subsidiaries The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has discontinued proceedings against two of the four respondents in it's case against Google and the Trading Post Australia which alleged that Google failed to distinguish between sponsored and 'organic' search results. http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1781931143;fp;2;fpid;1 http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1781931143;fp;2;fpid;1 au/us: Use My Photo? Not Without Permission This is no star is born story for the digital age, though at first it may seem like one. One moment, Alison Chang, a 15-year-old student from Dallas, is cheerfully goofing around at a local church-sponsored car wash, posing with a friend for a photo. Weeks later, that photo is posted online and catches the eye of an ad agency in Australia, and Alison appears on a billboard in Adelaide as part of a Virgin Mobile advertising campaign. Four months later, she and her family are in Federal District Court in Dallas suing for damages. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/01/technology/01link.html au: 'Phishing' catches Australians online [AAP] Alarming numbers of Australians still don't know what the internet scam called 'phishing' is, nor are they adequately protected against it, a Galaxy survey has found. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091252153.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/04/1191091252153.html http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22529161-15306,00.html http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/-Phishing-catches-Australians-online/0,130061733,339282567,00.htm Survey: Consumers Only Think They're Cyber Safe [IDG] Most U.S. consumers believe they're protecting their computers against cyberattacks, but their actions indicate they aren't as safe as they think, according to a study released Monday. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137906-c,onlinesecurity/article.html http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1573001414;fp;2;fpid;1 Chinese man arrested for Olympic Internet fraud [Reuters] A Chinese man who cloned an Olympics Web site and made around $50,000 (24,000 pounds) from fake prize draws has been arrested by police in the island province of Hainan, state media reported. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKPEK9980220071001 us: Apple sued for US$1m over $200 iPhone discount Apple guilty of 'price discrimination, underselling, discrimination in rebates and other wrongdoings,' alleges an irked iPhone buyer http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2575988.ece http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/10/02/apple.iphone.lawsuit.ap/index.html eBay: Phishers getting better organized, attacking Linux [IDG] When it comes to launching online attacks, criminals are getting more organized and branching out from the Windows operating system, eBay Inc.'s security chief said Tuesday. eBay recently did an in-depth analysis of its threat situation, and while the company is not releasing the results of this analysis, it did uncover a huge number of hacked, botnet-inducted computers, said Dave Cullinane, eBay's chief information and security officer, speaking at a Microsoft-sponsored security symposium at Santa Clara University. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9040838 Web's 'dark corners' are everywhere, group says [IDG] It's getting harder and harder to know who to trust on the World Wide Web, according to online safety advocates StopBadware.org. On Tuesday, the group released its 2007 Trends in Badware report, saying the bad guys are finding new ways to place their malicious software on our computers -- often by compromising Web sites that we trust. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9040638 us: Sacked worker blames porn on malware A US district judge has upheld a motion to dismiss in the case of hospital respiratory therapist David Farr, who filed a lawsuit against his former employer for unlawful termination after losing his job in August 2005. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6211377.html us/Africa: Spam-scam crackdown nets US$2 billion in fake checks [Reuters] An international crackdown on Internet financial scams this year has yielded more than $2.1 billion in seized fake checks and 77 arrests in the Netherlands, Nigeria and Canada, U.S. and other authorities said on Wednesday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0322778920071003 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6211585.html http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10467817 A turn in the antispyware war? In a case that threatened to undermine the effectiveness of antispyware technology, a federal court last month sided with consumers when it ruled that companies can't be sued for providing Internet users with effective tools to protect themselves against online threats. The case pitted Kaspersky Lab--which offers a range of antispyware and antivirus tools--against notorious adware distributor Zango. http://news.zdnet.com/2010-1009_22-6211302.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** us: Telecoms Pressed on Surveillance Key Democratic lawmakers are pressing telephone companies to disclose how they shared Americans' calling and Internet data with the government, part of an inquiry into domestic surveillance efforts such as the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/02/AR2007100202332.html ACLU Asks Supremes to Let Anti-NSA Spying Case Continue The ACLU asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to allow journalists and lawyers challenging the government's warrantless spying program to have their day in court even though they can not prove they were targeted by the nation's spooks. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/10/aclu-asks-supre.html German watchdog opposes Google purchase of DoubleClick The proposed $3.1 billion merger of search giant Google and online advertising company DoubleClick would lead to "a massive violation of data privacy rights", a German privacy watchdog has warned. http://out-law.com/page-8522 UK data retention law makes little difference to telcos, says trade body UK telecoms firms must keep phone call logs for a year under legislation which comes into force on 1 October. But an industry trade association said the new rules will make "little practical difference" to telecoms providers that already store such data for billing purposes. ... The new rules do not apply to internet activity, so details of websites visited, emails sent and received and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls need not be kept. That will change, though. The Directive requires that member states extend their retention rules to internet data by 15th March 2009. http://out-law.com/page-8513 UK Data Encryption Disclosure Law Takes Effect [IDG] British law enforcement gained new powers on Monday to compel individuals and businesses to decrypt data wanted by authorities for investigations. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137881-page,1/article.html http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;470070603;fp;2;fpid;1 EU agrees to check Internet but differs over how [Reuters] European Union justice and interior ministers agreed on Monday they needed to do more to counter the use of the Internet by militants but could not agree on whether and how to block radical websites. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL0190331320071001 Europe Revives Qualcomm Antitrust Inquiry The European Commission elevated its antitrust investigation against chip maker Qualcomm to priority status, after two years of apparent inactivity on the case. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/02/technology/02chip.html EU will scrutinize Qualcomm's royalties on 3G phones The European Commission opened a formal investigation Monday into whether the U.S. chip maker Qualcomm was overcharging its business partners for using patents that are essential to the new, dominant generation of high-speed cellphone networks and phones. After looking into the allegations for two years, the commission said it was opening a formal investigation of Qualcomm, based in California. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/01/business/cell.php http://nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-EU-Qualcomm.html [AP] EU Opens Antitrust Proceedings Against Qualcomm [Reuters] The European Commission has launched formal antitrust proceedings after mobile phone manufacturers complained Qualcomm charged far too much for vital technology licenses. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202103949 EU begins antitrust investigation into Qualcomm [IDG] The European Commission announced on Monday that it has begun an antitrust investigation of Qualcomm Inc. for suspected exploitative practices in the market for chip sets for mobile phones. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9039918 Brussels cuts mobile phone roaming rates for EU Using a mobile phone in Europe will be cheaper for British holidaymakers after the European commission introduced strict caps on roaming charges. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2180748,00.html Nigerian National Assembly Moves to Overhaul Telecom Regulatory Laws Against the backdrop of continued complaints on quality of services (QoS) by telecom operators in the country, the National Assembly may soon look into the available telecom regulations with a view to overhauling them to suit a people oriented regulatory provisions. http://vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/gsm/gsm101102007.html http://allafrica.com/stories/200710010176.html za: Country 'Falling Behind' As State Dithers On Telecoms Policy The government's policy of managed liberalisation for the telecoms sector has failed so badly that the gap between SA and the rest of the world is widening, say analysts. While almost every other country was seeing a noticeable reduction in state intervention, SA was suffering increased state intervention in the telecoms, technology and broadcasting sectors. As a result, the country had slipped down several global benchmarking indices because of its high-priced telecoms and internet access, said Alison Gillwald, a research director at Wits University's Learning Information Networking and Knowledge (Link) Centre. http://allafrica.com/stories/200710020533.html us: Critics Question State Workers' Web Restrictions State and federal officials and Internet security watchdogs are questioning how a relatively minor attack on a local government Web site in California resulted in a federal order Tuesday to cut off access to thousands of Web sites and e-mail access to more than 10,000 California employees -- including police and emergency workers. http://cbs13.com/local/local_story_276231117.html us: Senators Tussle Over Net Tax Ban as Deadline Looms With the current ban on Internet access taxes due to expire on Nov. 1, tensions rose last week when a move to extend the ban stalled in the Senate. The Internet tax ban has been in place since 1998, having last been renewed in 2004 for another three years. Last Thursday the Senate Commerce Committee was scheduled to vote on S. 1453, but Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye canceled the vote at the last minute. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/c2nQXFiCAEdDim/Senators-Tussle-Over-Net-Tax-Ban-as-Deadline-Looms.xhtml Net gambling regulations exempt some transfers [Reuters] Internet gambling regulations proposed by U.S. officials on Monday stopped short of requiring U.S. banks to block checks their customers make to online casinos while forcing banks to halt debit and credit payments. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6211061.html ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Japan becomes broadband paradise, but is the speed worth the cost? The United States and European Union might be the largest economies, but when it comes to Internet connections at home, many of their citizens still live in the slow lane. By contrast, Japan is a broadband paradise, with the fastest and cheapest Internet connections in the world. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/02/business/broadband.php Malaysia to get high speed broadband The government says it is willing to fund 30 percent of a proposed multi-billion dollar high-speed broadband services project, which will include provisions for a "last-mile" fiber-optic network. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62032928,00.htm China's Growing Web Addiction The Internet has revolutionized the way that millions in China communicate with the outside world. But for some Chinese teenagers the thrill of using the Internet came with a high price: addiction. http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/240549.aspx Publishers warned over Google News deal Peter Bale, the executive producer at MSN UK, today warned major British newspaper websites they were likely to see a "bump down" in user traffic because of Google News' recent content deals. Mr Bale, speaking as part of a panel at today's Association of Online Publishers conference, said that popular websites such as the Guardian, Times and the Sun should "be aware" of the ramifications of Google News' recent deal with news agencies. http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2182696,00.html Searching Beyond Google If you tallied up the number of searches executed any given week, the top four search engines combined Google, Yahoo Search, MSN (and its new Live search) and Ask.com would account for 98.3% of all searches in the U.S. Those top four engines clearly have a hold on the American public. But new search sites, perhaps inspired by the financial gains of Google and Yahoo, are still being introduced; as of last week, a total of 1,592 different search engines were visited by U.S. Internet users. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1668035,00.html Google Purges The Payola Googlers like to think of their company as the Web's library. But as Web sites come up with more ways to wring profit from online advertising and sales--often using methods that Google opposes--a better analogy might be the Web's watchdog. In recent months, that watchdog has barked at sites it accuses of shady practices--and it may be starting to bite. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/10/02/internet-paid-search-tech-cx_ag_1003google.html Yahoo overhauls its search engine Yahoo Inc. has made significant enhancements to its search engine, and the company said the changes will boost the speed of searches and improve the accuracy of results. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9040478 Search giants offer new features Yahoo and Microsoft have announced upgrades to their search engines in efforts to gain ground on rival Google. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7023757.stm Online Video Streaming: Not There Yet Streaming video--particularly television--has received a lot of attention lately, what with sites such as Joost.com, MLB.com, and the soon-to-beta Hulu.com all talking it up. Even most TV networks offer some degree of streaming for select shows. But is streaming really the wave of the future for video downloads? I'm not convinced. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138035/article.html Want Better Internet On Your Mobile Phone? So Do Nearly Half Of Users Seems that the idea of the mobile Internet is catching on. Enough so, in fact, that 45% of people polled by The Kelsey Group indicated that they will specifically look for better mobile Internet capabilities on their next phone. Will you? http://informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/10/want_better_int.html eBay seeks to stop resale of recalled products, including toys [Reuters] Online auction leader eBay on Tuesday said that following recent toy recalls, it will seek to stop the resale of recalled items inadvertently listed by sellers on its Web site. http://news.zdnet.com/2110-9588_22-6211279.html ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Facebook warned on safety claims [AP] The social networking website Facebook has been warned that it could face a consumer fraud charge for failing to live up to claims that youngsters there were safer from sexual predators than at most sites and that it promptly responded to concerns, a spokesman for New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/25/1191090988716.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/25/1191090988716.html http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-facebook1oct01,1,1316583.story ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Do We Need an Internet TV Network? Web TV network Joost is opening its service to the online public. Will anyone want to watch? The biggest challenge for the London-based company: convincing people to put their Web browsing on hold, lean back in their computer desk chairs and tune in. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/do-we-need-an-internet-tv-network/ ********************** SPAM ********************** Spam weapon helps preserve books A weapon used to fight spammers is now helping university researchers preserve old books and manuscripts. Many websites use an automated test to tell computers and humans apart when signing up to an account or logging in. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7023627.stm ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Mobile phones and development: The future in new hands? 'Explosive' is the only way to describe mobile phone growth. Half the world's 6.5 billion people now use a mobile (up from two billion just two years ago). There are more than twice as many mobile owners in developing countries as in industrialised countries. Subscriber growth rates in developing countries are 25 percent per year and double that in Africa. http://www.id21.org/insights/insights69/index.html ps: Nablus' online link to the world The internet is a vital source of contact for businesses, families and lovers living with the daily difficulties of Israeli occupation in the West Bank city, reports Clare Simon of The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/04/guardianweeklytechnologysection.internet Bhutan Telecom ditches donkeys For decades, monks in the remote kingdom of Bhutan have carried magnetic tapes from 12 remote telephone exchanges across the Himalayas to the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu, making some of their journey by foot and by donkey. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4221636a28.html ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Radiohead's bid to revive music industry: pay what you like to download albums Their music has long been praised for blurring boundaries and breaking moulds. Now Radiohead are hoping to establish a new model for the struggling record industry by inviting music buyers to decide how much they want to pay for their new album. http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2181452,00.html us: Minn. woman shows jury how fast CDs can be copied in trial over alleged illegal file-sharing [AP] A Minnesota woman, who record companies say illegally shared music online, testified in federal court Wednesday that she didn't do it, though she acknowledged giving conflicting dates for the replacement of her computer hard drive. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/02/1191091067803.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/02/1191091067803.html us: Music Download Trial Starts Tuesday [AP] A group of record companies says Jammie Thomas illegally shared everything from Enya to Swedish death metal online. Tuesday, she will become the first of 26,000 people sued by the recording industry to take the case to trial. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/02/1191091067803.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/02/1191091067803.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* British ISP powered by the sun UK-based Internet service provider Ecological Hosting is powering its data centre with sunshine. All Ecological Hosting's servers and offices operate on renewable energy, using grid-supplied wind-generated power. It had a UK hosting centre until August, 2005, when it transferred it to a solar-powered data centre in the US state of California. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137890-c,recycling/article.html http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;470070603;fp;2;fpid;1 Microsoft looks to become major player in ad world Steve Ballmer, vowing that Microsoft's $6 billion plunge into the ad business two months ago was not just an experiment, said Tuesday that advertising would become 25 percent of the software company's business within a few years. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/02/technology/msft.php http://nytimes.com/2007/10/03/technology/03soft.html Microsoft as Media King? The software giant sees its future in advertising and mobile and is taking the message to Europe -- and to Google and Yahoo. Most people still see Microsoft primarily as a software company, but on Oct. 2 at a media event in Paris, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer painted a surprisingly different picture of the company's future: Over the next 4 to 10 years, he said, as much as 25% of Microsoft's revenues are likely to come from advertising. http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,509233,00.html Microsoft Updates Its iPod Competitor Microsoft has revamped its slow-selling Zune digital music players and created a MySpace-style social-networking site in its drive to compete with Apple. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/03/technology/03zune.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7025821.stm nz: Cyber law research fellow sought Victoria University is seeking applications for the post of cyber law senior research fellow, to succeed Philip Greene http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/5D029BB3F53EE402CC2573640004881A FT.com joins free access trend FT.com is to partially reverse its policy of forcing users to pay for content by offering readers 30 free stories each month. The new access model has been quietly beta-tested overseas and will launch worldwide in mid-October. The current system - where only non-business news stories and analysis are free, and business news becomes subscription-only after 24 hours - will be abandoned. http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,2179614,00.html eBay Rethinks Skype EBay investors and analysts are over Skype. They hardly ever talk about recouping the $2.6 billion that Chief Executive Meg Whitman plunked down for the Luxembourg-based voice-over-Internet company in 2005. Her original dream of eBay buyers and sellers taking care of business via real-time, Web-based voice conversations remains largely unfulfilled. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/10/01/skype-ebay-voip-tech-cx_rr_1001skype.html Strategy Planning Workshop of the Feminist Network on Gender, Development and Information Society Policies Wikipage A Strategy Planning Workshop of the Feminist Network on Gender, Development and Information Society Policies will be held on October 5-7 2007 in Bangalore, India. The workshop is being co-organized by IT for Change, the Association for Progressive Communications, the International Womens Tribune Centre, ISIS International-Manila, and Gloria Bonder, the General Coordinator of the Regional UNESCO Chair Women, Science and Technology in Latin America. The goal of the meeting will be to a) conduct a gender analysis of the policy ecology of the information society and the approaches of critical institutional players b) evolve an action plan for research and advocacy and c) develop the structure and processes that facilitate and strengthen the work of the network. http://gdispwiki.itforchange.net/index.php/Main_Page ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** au: Canberra urges Telstra split THE federal Government has stepped up its pressure for a break-up of Telstra, calling on the company's board to consider a voluntary split of the telecoms giant ahead of a possible forced structural change by either side of politics after the election. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22529034-15306,00.html New fiber puts light on straight and narrow Corning Cabling Systems in New York is claiming to have cured one of the biggest problems with fiber optic cabling, namely the loss of signal when the cabling is bent around corners. Corning has introduced a new type of fiber line called ClearCurve, which it claims is cheaper to use in apartment buildings because it doesn't lose signal strength when bent. http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;952194451;fp;2;fpid;1 ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** CSIRO hinders new wi-fi system Australia's CSIRO has emerged as a big stumbling block in the ratification of a proposed global wireless standard that would speed home-office networks by a factor of 10. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/02/1191091041867.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/02/1191091041867.html New Wireless Spec Likely Safe from Patent Challenge A patent claim by an Australian research organization would probably not sink the IEEE 802.11n standard, according to some wireless LAN industry veterans. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137871-page,1/article.html ********************** VoIP ********************** Can't anyone make Internet phones pay? [Fortune] Skype never emerged as the cash cow eBay had hoped for when it paid a jaw-dropping $2.6 billion to acquire the Internet phone startup in 2005. Now eBay's announcement Monday that it will write off $1.4 billion in charges related to Skype has analysts and investors questioning whether the Internet phone business - known as voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) - has any commercial potential at all. http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/02/magazines/fortune/voipwoes.fortune/index.htm EBay admits overpaying for the Internet phone company Skype EBay is finally acknowledging that it paid too much for the Internet phone company Skype two years ago. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/02/business/skype.php ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** au: US sailor walks free after grooming 'girl' An American sailor has been given an 18-month suspended sentence by a Sydney judge after admitting to using the internet to groom a person he believed to be an underage girl for sex. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/02/2048787.htm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/02/1191091081736.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- 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 Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
