Hi all, The end of the year is nigh, and I would like your comments on the news. So if you have any suggestions about format, content, layout or anything else, it would be great to hear from you. Maybe you know of some sources I don't regularly find.
So do get in touch if you have any comments, and make sure my email address is included in the reply. Also, following one more news this week, the news will take its regular two week hiatus over the christmas/new year period, and resume on the week commencing January 7. However I will continue to post stories on to my website during this period, and if there is anything I think of particular importance to the DNS list, then I will make sure I post it. To see my website, now or over the christmas/new year period, see http://technewsreview.com.au/ Cheers David 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 December 17 edition of the news include: 2008 ICANN Nominating Committee Issues Invitation for Statements of Interest in ICANN Leadership Positions | Cracking open the cybercrime economy | Job.at sells for €408,000 | Australian city domain name sales highlight sales last week And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Internet Co-founder, Vint Cerf, Calls For New Environment to protect society from abuses http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=302354 How next billion will shape net by Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2377/196/ CEOs and Directors Need to Tackle Cyber Security Threats http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-12dec07.htm CEOs urged to make infosecurity a priority http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2205709/ceos-urged-infosecurity Are domain name registrars responsible for intellectual property infringement? http://www.thewhir.com/blogs/David-Snead/index.cfm/2007/12/11/Are-domain-name-registrars-responsible-for-intellectual-property-infringement 'AKILL' investigation continues http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/3F3AABA1ACEFD29ACC2573AF000D4002 ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Internet Co-founder, Vint Cerf, Calls For New Environment to protect society from abuses Vinton G. Cerf, an American computer scientist who co-founded the internet, today called for the creation of a new internet environment to protect the society from abuses. In a 15-minute recorded video message to the participants of the Third Global Knowledge Conference (GK3) here, he said: "The internet is for everyone, but it is up to the users to decide how to get around it. "What we need is a new internet environment in order for us to defend against abuses." http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=302354 How next billion will shape net Internet law professor Michael Geist looks at what doubling the number of users will mean to the net: Last month hundreds of people descended on Rio de Janiero, Brazil, for the second annual Internet Governance Forum. Sponsored by the United Nations, the IGF attracted politicians, business leaders, technologists, and others interested in the global issues facing the internet. While media coverage of the forum focused primarily on domain name issues, those concerns were overshadowed by a far more important and challenging question - what will the next billion users mean to the internet itself? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7138350.stm http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2377/196/ Save Internet freedom--from regulation perspective: Rep. Edward Markey is preparing to reintroduce legislation that would prohibit Internet access providers from offering priority service to content providers--known as the Net neutrality principle. Similar legislation has failed in both the House and Senate in the past, but proponents of Net neutrality haven't given up. If only they would. The Internet has thrived in large part because it has managed to sidestep a barrage of efforts to regulate it, including laws to ban indecent material, levy sales tax on e-commerce, require Web sites to provide "zoning" tags, and to criminalize spam, file sharing, and spyware. http://www.news.com/2010-1028_3-6222385.html http://news.zdnet.com/2010-9588_22-6222385.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** Nii Quaynor Awarded Postel Award 2007 Former ICANN Board member Nii Quaynor has received the Internet Society's Jonathan B. Postel Service Award, better known simply as the Postel Award, for his pioneering work in Africa. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-11dec07.htm Multilingual Internet Gets Go-Ahead The International Telecommunication Union, UNESCO and ICANN will collaborate on global efforts to forge universal standards towards building a multilingual cyberspace. The three agencies organized a workshop on this subject during the second Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 12 to 15 November 2007. http://www.screenafrica.com/news/new_med/725260.htm ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** .eu officially opens regional office in Prague [news release] EURid, the organisation in charge of the Internet top-level domain .eu, will today toast the success of its recently established third regional office, in Prague, the Czech Republic. The office officially opens today in the presence of Mr Alexandr Vondra, the Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs. The successful Internet top-level domain .eu now has close to 2.7 million registered domain names, and it is growing. http://eurid.eu/content/view/238/33/lang,en/ Serbia –Receives .rs Domain Extension Serbia is able to register websites with .rs domain extension, replacing the old .yu: Priority for registering with the new domain will be given to those who already own .yu addresses, and will cost about RSD 2000 (about EUR 25). http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=23412 tk: Reinventing the domain registry business Tokelau isn't the first small country to entrust the management of its Internet extension to an outside firm. But the unusual business model chosen for .TK by registry Dot TK has seemingly yielded impressive results. http://www.domainesinfo.fr/english/147/reinventing-the-domain-registry-business.php .TK – Very Impressive Results Tokelau’s domain extension is managed in Europe, even though the geographic location of the islands are off New-Zealand. The way Dot TK has gone about that task is said to have done wonders for the local economy. "Dot TK operates a unique business model which makes it very distinct in the domain name market," Dot TK Business Development Manager Matt Kelly told Domaines.Info during an exclusive interview. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=23416 .travel to make policy changes The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC), the company that oversees the .travel top level domain registration process, has approved some very important policy changes to take effect December 21, 2007 that may affect the companies and organizations of .travel names. According to TTPC, these changes are being made to improve and speed up the registration process for use of .travel Internet addresses. http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/23786 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** CEOs and Directors Need to Tackle Cyber Security Threats This event was hosted and organized by the Atlantic Council at which ICANN's CEO was asked to speak. It is presented for information. CEOs must make cyber security a top priority or their businesses could fall victim to industrial espionage similar to recent cyber attacks on such large companies as Rolls-Royce and Royal Dutch Shell. That’s the conclusion the report Cyber Attack: A Risk Management Primer for CEOs and Directors released today by the British-North American Committee (BNAC) and the Atlantic Council of the United States, a U.S. sponsor of the Committee. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-12dec07.htm CEOs urged to make infosecurity a priority Chief executives and directors were this week urged to make information security one of their top priorities and do more to engage with their IT departments, as yet another report predicted more serious threats for 2008. The call came from business leader organisation the British-North American Committee (BNAC), which released a new document outlining the steps chief executives should be taking. http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2205709/ceos-urged-infosecurity http://www.computing.co.uk/itweek/news/2205709/ceos-urged-infosecurity http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/news/2205709/ceos-urged-infosecurity Are domain name registrars responsible for intellectual property infringement? A recent case filed by Dell against a number of domain tasters and their registrars attempts to hold the registrars liable for infringing some of Dell’s intellectual property. The claims that are relevant to domain name registrars allege that at least 3 registrars created a chain of registrars who took advantage of the ICANN 5 day redemption period to profit off Dell’s trademarks. Dell alleges that these registrars allowed domain tasters to redeem domain names at one registrar and subsequently register it at an affiliated registrar. This would preserve the taster’s interest in the domain name, and allow the affiliated registrars to share in any click through revenue created by the registration of the name. http://www.thewhir.com/blogs/David-Snead/index.cfm/2007/12/11/Are-domain-name-registrars-responsible-for-intellectual-property-infringement 'AKILL' investigation continues Police are still examining the computer equipment seized from the Coromandel home of the alleged botmaster known online as "AKILL". The raid — a joint effort by New Zealand Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation — was conducted late last month. AKILL, an 18-year-old from Whitianga, has not been arrested. The forensic analysis of the computers is expected to be finished later this week, says Waikato Police detective inspector Peter Devoy. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/3F3AABA1ACEFD29ACC2573AF000D4002 ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** MarkMonitor Web Seminar Signup: Defending Your Brands Online: Learn from Liberty Mutual and Managing IP Magazine The inherent openness and anonymity of the Internet are creating unprecedented challenges for enterprises. Attacks on corporate brands – including typo-/cyber-squatting, false associations on third-party websites, sponsored link abuse, disparaging content, and phishing – are rampant and put company revenue, reputation and customer trust at risk. Fortunately, protecting your brand in cyberspace is not impossible. Hear how one leading financial institution – Liberty Mutual – is waging the battle against a broad range of online attacks. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/12/markmonitor-web-seminar-signup-defending-your-brands-online-learn-from-liberty-mutual-and-managing-ip-magazine/ Domain Name Issues And Related Business Risks COMMENT: I have learned a lot about domain name maintenance and management issues over the past week! As a follow-up to my blog post yesterday, I have since discovered that as a result of a divestiture *two* registrars claim control of my domain (that I created and have owned and used since 2002); one in Australia has primary control, and the one I have always communicated with in Washington state has secondary control...I never knew this before. http://www.realtime-itcompliance.com/miscellaneous/2007/12/domain_name_issues_and_related.htm ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** Sedo announces launch in the UK Sedo’s wish to increase focus on the .uk market and to provide local dedicated client services for customers across UK and Ireland, has resulted in the decision to launch a new office in the UK. The office will be first located in Reading, Berks, where Sedo will build and train the UK team and will then relocate to London mid-2008 to share office space with our sister company, AdLink. http://www.sedo.com/links/showhtml.php3?Id=1617&tracked=1&partnerid=21172 SoccerTV.com sells for $80,000 at PubCon [news release] Moniker have announced they have sold more than US$325,000 in premium domain names at PubCon Las Vegas 2007 on Wednesday, December 5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. SoccerTV.com was the night’s biggest seller fetching $80,000. Grandpa.com and FamilyServices.com were among the evening’s other top sales going for $55,000 and $45,000.00 respectively. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/12/soccertvcom-sells-for-80000-at-pubcon/ Save Internet freedom--from regulation perspective: Rep. Edward Markey is preparing to reintroduce legislation that would prohibit Internet access providers from offering priority service to content providers--known as the Net neutrality principle. Similar legislation has failed in both the House and Senate in the past, but proponents of Net neutrality haven't given up. If only they would. The Internet has thrived in large part because it has managed to sidestep a barrage of efforts to regulate it, including laws to ban indecent material, levy sales tax on e-commerce, require Web sites to provide "zoning" tags, and to criminalize spam, file sharing, and spyware. http://www.news.com/2010-1028_3-6222385.html http://news.zdnet.com/2010-9588_22-6222385.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** Nii Quaynor Awarded Postel Award 2007 Former ICANN Board member Nii Quaynor has received the Internet Society's Jonathan B. Postel Service Award, better known simply as the Postel Award, for his pioneering work in Africa. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-11dec07.htm Multilingual Internet Gets Go-Ahead The International Telecommunication Union, UNESCO and ICANN will collaborate on global efforts to forge universal standards towards building a multilingual cyberspace. The three agencies organized a workshop on this subject during the second Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 12 to 15 November 2007. http://www.screenafrica.com/news/new_med/725260.htm ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** .eu officially opens regional office in Prague Prague December 11, 2007—EURid, the organisation in charge of the Internet top-level domain .eu, will today toast the success of its recently established third regional office, in Prague, the Czech Republic. The office officially opens today in the presence of Mr Alexandr Vondra, the Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs. The successful Internet top-level domain .eu now has close to 2.7 million registered domain names, and it is growing. http://eurid.eu/content/view/238/33/lang,en/ Serbia –Receives .rs Domain Extension Serbia is able to register websites with .rs domain extension, replacing the old .yu: Priority for registering with the new domain will be given to those who already own .yu addresses, and will cost about RSD 2000 (about EUR 25). http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=23412 tk: Reinventing the domain registry business Tokelau isn't the first small country to entrust the management of its Internet extension to an outside firm. But the unusual business model chosen for .TK by registry Dot TK has seemingly yielded impressive results. http://www.domainesinfo.fr/english/147/reinventing-the-domain-registry-business.php .TK – Very Impressive Results Tokelau’s domain extension is managed in Europe, even though the geographic location of the islands are off New-Zealand. The way Dot TK has gone about that task is said to have done wonders for the local economy. "Dot TK operates a unique business model which makes it very distinct in the domain name market," Dot TK Business Development Manager Matt Kelly told Domaines.Info during an exclusive interview. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=23416 .travel to make policy changes The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC), the company that oversees the .travel top level domain registration process, has approved some very important policy changes to take effect December 21, 2007 that may affect the companies and organizations of .travel names. According to TTPC, these changes are being made to improve and speed up the registration process for use of .travel Internet addresses. http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/23786 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** CEOs and Directors Need to Tackle Cyber Security Threats This event was hosted and organized by the Atlantic Council at which ICANN's CEO was asked to speak. It is presented for information. CEOs must make cyber security a top priority or their businesses could fall victim to industrial espionage similar to recent cyber attacks on such large companies as Rolls-Royce and Royal Dutch Shell. That’s the conclusion the report Cyber Attack: A Risk Management Primer for CEOs and Directors released today by the British-North American Committee (BNAC) and the Atlantic Council of the United States, a U.S. sponsor of the Committee. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-12dec07.htm CEOs urged to make infosecurity a priority Chief executives and directors were this week urged to make information security one of their top priorities and do more to engage with their IT departments, as yet another report predicted more serious threats for 2008. The call came from business leader organisation the British-North American Committee (BNAC), which released a new document outlining the steps chief executives should be taking. http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2205709/ceos-urged-infosecurity http://www.computing.co.uk/itweek/news/2205709/ceos-urged-infosecurity http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/news/2205709/ceos-urged-infosecurity Are domain name registrars responsible for intellectual property infringement? A recent case filed by Dell against a number of domain tasters and their registrars attempts to hold the registrars liable for infringing some of Dell’s intellectual property. The claims that are relevant to domain name registrars allege that at least 3 registrars created a chain of registrars who took advantage of the ICANN 5 day redemption period to profit off Dell’s trademarks. Dell alleges that these registrars allowed domain tasters to redeem domain names at one registrar and subsequently register it at an affiliated registrar. This would preserve the taster’s interest in the domain name, and allow the affiliated registrars to share in any click through revenue created by the registration of the name. http://www.thewhir.com/blogs/David-Snead/index.cfm/2007/12/11/Are-domain-name-registrars-responsible-for-intellectual-property-infringement 'AKILL' investigation continues Police are still examining the computer equipment seized from the Coromandel home of the alleged botmaster known online as "AKILL". The raid — a joint effort by New Zealand Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation — was conducted late last month. AKILL, an 18-year-old from Whitianga, has not been arrested. The forensic analysis of the computers is expected to be finished later this week, says Waikato Police detective inspector Peter Devoy. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/3F3AABA1ACEFD29ACC2573AF000D4002 ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** MarkMonitor Web Seminar Signup: Defending Your Brands Online: Learn from Liberty Mutual and Managing IP Magazine The inherent openness and anonymity of the Internet are creating unprecedented challenges for enterprises. Attacks on corporate brands – including typo-/cyber-squatting, false associations on third-party websites, sponsored link abuse, disparaging content, and phishing – are rampant and put company revenue, reputation and customer trust at risk. Fortunately, protecting your brand in cyberspace is not impossible. Hear how one leading financial institution – Liberty Mutual – is waging the battle against a broad range of online attacks. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/12/markmonitor-web-seminar-signup-defending-your-brands-online-learn-from-liberty-mutual-and-managing-ip-magazine/ Domain Name Issues And Related Business Risks COMMENT: I have learned a lot about domain name maintenance and management issues over the past week! As a follow-up to my blog post yesterday, I have since discovered that as a result of a divestiture *two* registrars claim control of my domain (that I created and have owned and used since 2002); one in Australia has primary control, and the one I have always communicated with in Washington state has secondary control...I never knew this before. http://www.realtime-itcompliance.com/miscellaneous/2007/12/domain_name_issues_and_related.htm ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** Sedo announces launch in the UK Sedo’s wish to increase focus on the .uk market and to provide local dedicated client services for customers across UK and Ireland, has resulted in the decision to launch a new office in the UK. The office will be first located in Reading, Berks, where Sedo will build and train the UK team and will then relocate to London mid-2008 to share office space with our sister company, AdLink. http://www.sedo.com/links/showhtml.php3?Id=1617&tracked=1&partnerid=21172 SoccerTV.com sells for $80,000 at PubCon [news release] Moniker have announced they have sold more than US$325,000 in premium domain names at PubCon Las Vegas 2007 on Wednesday, December 5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. SoccerTV.com was the night’s biggest seller fetching $80,000. Grandpa.com and FamilyServices.com were among the evening’s other top sales going for $55,000 and $45,000.00 respectively. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/12/soccertvcom-sells-for-80000-at-pubcon/ ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Online, in touch, up to speed: UK's social network obsessives are European leaders One in four UK adults do it 23 times a month. And Britons do it more often than anyone else in world, except for Canadians. The obsession is with social networking, which according to a report published today is categorically no longer the preserve of teenagers and students, and has been adopted by a growing army of older surfers determined to link up with old acquaintances. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/dec/12/socialnetworking.facebook How Facebook has become a very British way to stay in touch British adults are more frequent users of social networking sites than any of their European counterparts, figures from Ofcom, the communications regulator, indicated yesterday. Four in ten Britons use their internet connection to keep in touch with their friends on networking websites such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace. The figure compares with 17 per cent in France, 12 per cent in Germany and 22 per cent in Italy. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3038053.ece UK consumers better connected as digital communications grow globally [news release] The publication analyses trends in the £873bn global television, radio and telecommunications sectors in 2006. It compares the UK with eleven other countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Canada and the United States. The report also contains an insight into four countries that are at different stages of development in their communications markets: Brazil, Russia, India and China. http://ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2007/12/nr_20071213 Google Accounts For More Than 65% Of U.S. Searches Google accounted for more than six of 10 online searches in the United States in November, more than triple the amount of its closest rival Yahoo, a Web metrics firm said Tuesday. Google's share of the market rose to 65.1% from 61.84% in the same month a year ago, Hitwise said. In October, Google had a 64.49% share. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204801485 Study: Young American adults now find porn more acceptable College students, including young women, are far more accepting of pornography than their parents, a shift that might be related to easy access to porn on the Internet, a study reports today. Most young women in the study said they personally did not use porn, but nearly half said viewing X-rated material was an acceptable way to express sexuality. Only 37% of the fathers and 20% of the mothers surveyed agreed. The attitude of the young women and men in the study might be influenced by pornographic images that have proliferated on the Internet in the past 10 years, says Jeffrey Arnett, the editor of the Journal of Adolescent Research, which will publish the study in January. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-12-12-porn-study_N.htm ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Facebook faces up to privacy concerns – again It's the Internet Age. Do you know where your online profile is ... and who's looking at it? These and similar questions bubbled around the Internet and media last week after Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that his company took too long to respond to users' complaints about the way a new feature shared information about their online activities. (Facebook is a popular social-networking site.) http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1212/p16s01-stct.html Penthouse Buys Group of Social-Networking Sites The Penthouse Media Group remains so bullish on the sex-related entertainment industry that the company is investing $500 million in a group of social networking sites. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/technology/12penthouse.html Bebo developers deal blow to Google Bebo, the third-largest social networking site in the US, on Wednesday dealt a blow to Google’s ambitions in the sector by adopting Facebook’s open standards for applications. Bebo, founded by Michael and Xochi Birch, said it had made its platform compatible with Facebook’s. This will allow developers to make applications, such as movie ratings and photo-sharing tools, work on both sites with the minimum of alterations. Bebo members could also interact and play games with Facebook users. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e0594638-a906-11dc-ad9e-0000779fd2ac.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Green Technology Revolution, Part 1: Gaining Momentum Transnational IT companies are typically among the largest sources of fixed capital investment in developing countries. As such, they have the potential to be natural leaders when it comes to promoting clean tech, sustainable energy and resource management. There's a lot to "green" in the global IT industry. A growing number of leading IT companies active in business Over 800,000 High Quality Domains Available For Your Business. Click Here. lines spanning the entire industry value chain -- from chip fabrication and equipment manufacturing to retailing consumer electronics -- are now putting themselves at the forefront of the green tech wave. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Green-Technology-Revolution-Part-1-Gaining-Momentum-60728.html ********************** SPAM ********************** Study: 95 percent of all e-mail sent in 2007 was spam COMMENT: There was a time--2004 to be precise--when spam "only" consumed 70 percent of all e-mail. Those were the good old days. Today, as Barracuda Networks' annual spam report shows, upwards of 95 percent of all e-mail is spam. In 2001, the number was 5 percent. We've come a long way, baby. Ironically (or not), the United States' Can-Spam Act has done absolutely nothing (zip!) to stop the spam onslaught. It has come to the point that, as a separate Barracuda survey of 261 business professionals shows, we increasingly prefer telemarketing to e-mail spam. (I find that I'm much more willing to give my home address and phone number than my e-mail address these days. You?) http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9831556-16.html Spam Levels Rise to Unprecedented Heights Spam continues to plague the average computer user, with up to 95 percent of all e-mail traffic consisting of unsolicited e-mails, according to a study from Web security vendor Barracuda Networks. Barracuda analyzed more than one billion e-mail messages sent to its 50,000 customers, and found that 90 to 95 percent of all e-mail sent in 2007 was spam, up from 85 to 90 percent last year. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2232381,00.asp ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Amazon ordered to end free delivery on books in France [IDG] Amazon.com may not offer free delivery on books in France, the high court in Versailles has ruled. The action, brought in January 2004 by the French Booksellers' Union (Syndicat de la librairie française), accused Amazon of offering illegal discounts on books -- and even of selling some books below cost. The court gave Amazon 10 days to start charging for the delivery of books, which should at least allow the company to maintain the offer through the end-of-year gift-giving season. After that, it must pay a fine of €1,000 ($1,470) per day that it continues to offer free delivery. It must also pay €100,000 in compensation to the booksellers' union. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/12/Amazon-ordered-to-end-free-delivery-on-books-in-France_1.html http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573AF005B04A4.html au: Police WiFi sting brings arrest A QUEENSLAND man who allegedly tapped into wireless internet connections to email threats anonymously appeared in court yesterday, after being tracked in a police sting. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22901810-15306,00.html Russian computer program fakes chat room flirting Internet chat room romantics beware: your next chat may be with a clinical computer trying to win your personal data and not your heart, an online security firm says. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/13/2118477.htm http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/F47CEDEE9D137984CC2573AF0004320B ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Protests accompany Google's expansion of Street View [The Boston Globe] Despite protests from privacy advocates, Google on Tuesday introduced its Street View feature for eight more U.S. cities, offering 360-degree, street-level images of urban life so clear that passers-by often can be identified. ... But it drew protests from privacy advocates when it was introduced in May in San Francisco, where people complained about everything from the clear photos of men entering adult bookstores to an image of a cat in a window. http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/11/technology/street.php Google Keeps What Ask.com Erases Ask Eraser may remove user search query data from Ask.com's severs, but deleted data may live on, in part at least, on Google's servers. That's because Google delivers the bulk of the ads on Ask.com, based on information provided by Ask. This week Ask.com launched its new AskEraser program to eliminate a users' IP addresses, user IDs, session ID cookies, and the complete text of search queries if users ask for it. In some cases, however, gone from an Ask.com server does not mean gone for good. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204802233 Ask.com Allows Users to Erase Search Queries Ask.com today announced a new feature called AskEraser that deletes a user's search activity data from the company's servers. In what's likely to be seen as a privacy-friendly move, IAC Search & Media's Ask.com search engine Tuesday announced a ew feature called AskEraser that deletes a user's search activity data from the company's servers. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140491-c,searchengines/article.html ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Are US Wireless Carriers Blocking Free Speech or Just Competing? Even as the wireless industry chants a new gospel about opening mobile-phone networks to outside devices and applications, some of the biggest U.S. carriers are quietly blocking new services that would compete with their own. Would-be mobile-service providers, ranging from startups to major banks to eBay's PayPal have encountered these roadblocks, erected by the likes of AT&T and Verizon Wireless. In some cases, cellular carriers have backed down, but only after inflicting costly delays on the new services. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/60733.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ TV and net face crackdown on advertising to children in UK Television and the internet face the threat of restrictions as the Government moves to protect youngsters from the "commercialisation" and sexualisation of childhood. The Government's strategy for improving the lives of the UK's young people, to be published this week, will include plans for an investigation of the enormous number of outside influences that can affect children's buying habits, behaviour and self-image. http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article3236135.ece Food makers in Europe volunteer to cut ads directed at children [Reuters] Leading companies in the European food and beverage industry said Tuesday that they would voluntarily change their policies on advertising for children by the end of next year, setting standards on nutritional content to encourage more healthful lifestyles. The move followed recent calls by the European Union for the food industry to use commercial communications to support parents in making the right diet and lifestyle choices for their children, the 11 companies said in a joint statement. They agreed not to advertise food and beverages on television programs, Web sites or in print media where children under age 12 could be considered a target audience, except for products that met specific nutrition criteria. http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/11/technology/adban.php On the Internet, no one knows if you're 7 years old There are two girls in my family circle I worry about on the Internet. One is 7 years old, and I dread the day she starts exploring beyond the Web sites I have bookmarked for her. For now, she is happy to rove among the likes of Stardolls, PBSKids, Barbiegirl and Winx Club. The other girl is 17, and I am anxious about what she has already encountered in the promiscuous social networking of her age. She has a MySpace page, but I'm not allowed in, and I know only one of her online nicknames. http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/12/technology/ptend13.php ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** Congressman questions Google on data retention and privacy policies [AP] A House Republican on Wednesday sent a letter to Google Inc., asking the Internet search company to provide more information about its search practices and targeted advertising. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in the letter he was concerned about the privacy and consumer-protection implications stemming from Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of New York-based DoubleClick, which places and tracks online ads for clients. He sent a list of 24 detailed questions to Mountain View, Calif.-based Google regarding its data retention and privacy policies and how it uses such information. If the acquisition is approved, Barton wants the same questions answered for DoubleClick. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/technology/13google.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/12/technology/12google.php ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Microsoft challenges Google’s dominance with $50m deal to buy Multimap website Microsoft has agreed to buy Multimap, the privately owned British company that is snapping at the heels of Google, the dominant online mapping service. The deal, understood to be worth slightly above $50 million (£24.4 million), will further expand Microsoft’s fast-growing footprint in online and mobile advertising. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3042912.ece Microsoft acquires MultiMap Microsoft said that it had agreed to acquire MultiMap, an online map service based in London, in a bid to compete more effectively with Google's search services and to collect more online and mobile advertising. MultiMap has a Web site that allows consumers to find elusive addresses across Europe, the United States and much of the rest of the world. It also works with business customers, allowing them to include maps of, say, office locations on their Web sites. http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/13/business/msft.php ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** UK mobile sector to undergo Ofcom review An investigation into Britain’s multibillion-pound mobile phone sector is to be launched by the telecoms watchdog amid fears that regulation is not keeping track of radical changes in the industry. The review — the first of its kind by Ofcom — is to be launched early next year. It could lead to cheaper mobile calls and new wireless services for consumers. It is also expected to address competition issues in areas such as network-sharing, under which previously fierce rivals such as Vodafone and Orange are planning to merge their phone networks in an effort to cut costs. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article3037322.ece The convergent publisher – Print media in the broadband economy - speech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media The last Publishers Forum took place in 2005 and this event was so successful that we decided to repeat this meeting every two years. It's thus a genuine and great pleasure to meet you again at this special event that you co-organise with the support of my Media Task Force. This Forum has become a must because it is crucial to share views with the professionals, on the extraordinary changes that publishing is undergoing. This year's programme addresses cutting-edge issues and I am convinced that the debates within the various panels will be of great interest for all of us. This year’s Forum is dedicated to development of digital publishing and the impact of the digital technologies on your creative industries in the publishing sector. This is exactly the thrust of my action within the Commission. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/788 ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Mobile WiMax must grab YouTube generation, says analyst Fledgling technology mobile WiMax could rack up 80 million subscribers within five years--despite having just two commercial networks to its name to date. But the technology must hook the YouTube generation, according to analyst house Juniper Research. In its latest forecast, Juniper Research predicts mobile WiMax will begin to take off between 2012 and 2013--with worldwide subscriber numbers exceeding 80 million by 2013. No small achievement for a newbie tech--even if it still might be considered small-fry when compared with souped-up 3G technology HSPA, which is slated to dominate the mobile broadband market. HSPA currently has around 11.5 million subscribers globally, according to international 3G advocate the UMTS Forum. http://www.news.com/2100-1039_3-6222533.html ********************** VoIP ********************** Dutch VoIP market grows to 2.37 mln, driven by UPC The total Dutch consumer telephony market grew by 39,000 connections during the third quarter of 2007 to 5.69 million, driven by a growing number of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) users and increased growth for cable VoIP, according to Telecompaper's quarterly update on the Dutch fixed telephony market. The number of WLR customers grew by 103,000 to 283,000 on 30 September 2007. The number of Dutch consumer VoIP subscriptions grew 7.9 percent to 2.37 million. The number of DSL-based VoIP subscriptions grew at a slower rate than cable VoIP subscriptions: 6.4 percent compared with 9.5 percent. This means cable VoIP regained its position as the leading VoIP technology in the Netherlands with 1.178 million customers on 30 September 2007, compared to 1.165 million DSL VoIP customers on the same date. http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=195859 IT managers overlook VoIP security threats VoIP threats have yet to hit the radar of security experts found the UK survey of 66 UK IT managers. More than half of the respondents rated the chance of viruses or worms attacking their systems as low or very low. Spam over IP (SPIT) and SIP attacks were only concerns for 12% and 18% respectively and only 24% of those surveyed were concerned with DoS or toll fraud. "The survey highlights a worrying complacency amongst organizations which have either already deployed or are about to install a VoIP infrastructure," said Ulrich Weigel, chief security strategist for NetIQ. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2205519/managers-turn-blind-eye-voip http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=A12D7345-BA26-4D90-AA3F-C71203315930 http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2205519/managers-turn-blind-eye-voip The Future of Mobile VoIP As Mobile VoIP grows in the coming years, users will get on board via 3G networks provided by cellular handsets rather than over Wi-Fi. That's the word from research firm Disruptive Analysis, which predicts 3G VoIP will draw more than 250 million users by 2021, as compared to less than 100 million voice users on Wi-Fi. There will be technological and business hurdles to overcome, but the move to 3G VoIP ultimately is "inevitable," according to Disruptive Analysis's founder Dean Bubley. http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/mowi/article.php/3715771 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 Make the switch to the world's best email. Get the new Yahoo!7 Mail now. www.yahoo7.com.au/worldsbestemail --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
