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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2002 RIAA Asks for Increased Funds to Fight Piracy MPAA Starts New Efforts to Protect Movies Trade Files without Being Tracked File Swappers Might Make Good Customers AND Report Calls for Reduced Spending for Online Venture at Columbia Software Training Program Targets Community Colleges Hotmail Cookies Are More Powerful than Passwords RIAA ASKS FOR INCREASED FUNDS TO FIGHT PIRACY The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) this week asked a Congressional subcommittee for increased funds for federal efforts to fight piracy. The RIAA called for more funds specifically for a new program called Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP), part of the Department of Justice's efforts to combat cybercrime. The RIAA expressed concern that the focus of CHIP is hacking and requested that Congress make intellectual property the top priority for CHIP. Representatives from the Motion Picture Association of America also testified at the hearing, with both groups highlighting the economic losses resulting from piracy of protected material. ZDNet, 25 April 2002 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-891781.html MPAA STARTS NEW EFFORTS TO PROTECT MOVIES The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has begun a new effort to keep copyrighted movies off of file-swapping networks. Movie industry representatives said that almost every film they release ends up on file-swapping networks, some even before the movie has been officially released. Officials from the MPAA will send letters to offenders' ISPs asking that the companies help to stop the sharing of pirated movies. The most egregious violators will be reported to the Justice Department. Some ISPs have removed illegal files from their networks, though they said it is difficult to target users who have files on their own computers. Other options for the MPAA include technologies that purport to obstruct peer-to-peer sharing by flooding networks with bogus messages and files. Wall Street Journal, 26 April 2002 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1019760051530131320,00.html TRADE FILES WITHOUT BEING TRACKED Some users of file-swapping software, including Grokster, iMesh, and Kazaa, have revolted against "adware" and "spyware" that typically accompanies those programs. Supporters of "clean" software have created versions of the most common file-swapping applications that are free of features that track users' actions, information typically used by advertisers. When file swapping became common, copyright owners complained about the violations of their intellectual property rights. Now, makers of file-swapping software are raising the same objections about these modified versions of their intellectual property. Sherman Networks, maker of Kazaa, has threatened legal action against Kazaa Lite, a "clean" version of the popular Kazaa software. CNET, 25 April 2002 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-891724.html FILE SWAPPERS MIGHT MAKE GOOD CUSTOMERS In a new report from Jupiter Media Metrix, analyst Aram Sinnreich argues that online music sharing is not necessarily bad for the recording industry and, in some cases, can benefit record producers. Based on a survey of online music listeners, the report explains that although some file-swappers are less likely to buy music, a larger number of swappers increased their music spending. Sinnreich agreed that for some users, new technologies led to less music spending, but he argued that on the whole, new technologies cannot be seen as all bad for the music industry. Newsbytes, 25 April 2002 http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176141.html AND ***************************************************** REPORT CALLS FOR REDUCED SPENDING FOR ONLINE VENTURE AT COLUMBIA A report issued by the Columbia University Senate calls for reduced spending on Fathom, a for-profit e-learning company created two years ago. Most of Fathom's funding comes from Columbia, and the report discourages the company from investing further money into developing course content, which is kept separate from what is available in Columbia's traditional programs. The Senate concluded that Fathom has not garnered enough of the online learning market to justify the money invested. Fathom's president, Ann Kirschner, defended the company, saying it will offer Columbia significant value in the long run. She also said the company has already cut back its budget and refocused its attention on its core services. Chronicle of Higher Education, 25 April 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/04/2002042501u.htm SOFTWARE TRAINING PROGRAM TARGETS COMMUNITY COLLEGES A new training program was announced this week that aims to help information technology instructors at technical and community colleges keep current on new technologies. According to Duncan G. Burgess of the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies, there is typically a gap of 18 to 24 months between when new software is available in the commercial sector and when IT instructors at community colleges are trained on it. The new project, funded largely by Microsoft, will start this year in Washington and Texas, with plans to include all 50 states within 5 years. Topics for the training will include Java, Linux, and network security. Chronicle of Higher Education, 26 April 2002 http://chronicle.com/free/2002/04/2002042601t.htm HOTMAIL COOKIES ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN PASSWORDS Though designed to allow quick identification of users for personalized services, cookies increasingly are being used by some Web sites for authentication purposes. According to Eric Glover, a New Jersey-based computer programmer, if someone is able to steal two Hotmail cookies from your computer, that person can gain access to your Hotmail account, even if you change your password. At Hotmail, the information contained in cookie files can be used to acces an account even after the password has changed. Making matters worse, security experts agree that gaining access to a user's cookie files is typically a "trivial" task. Microsoft said it has several measures in place to guard against "cookie-based replay attacks." Security experts, however, said that for users who want the convenience that cookies can provide, it will be very difficult to protect against attacks. Wired News, 26 April 2002 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,52115,00.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EDUCAUSE Quarterly" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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