***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. *****************************************************
TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2004 Web Sites Hacked and Code Put on Servers AOL Buys Online Direct Marketer Advertising.com AOL E-Mail Addresses Sold to Spammers E-Learning Overhyped, Says Report NLII and NMC Announce Collaboration WEB SITES HACKED AND CODE PUT ON SERVERS According to government and industry experts, a virus-like attack against thousands of Web sites tries to implant hacker software onto the computers of those Web sites' visitors. The malicious code would allow others to use the infected computers to secretly route Internet spam e-mail messages. Any Web site might be affected by the attack and potentially could contain the code. The infection seems to target at least one recent version of Microsoft's Internet Information Server software to operate Web sites. The attacks do not seem to interfere with Internet traffic, although the effects are broad. Experts advised updating antivirus software on computers because the latest versions can protect visitors to infected Web sites. San Jose Mercury News, 25 June 2004 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9005522.htm AOL BUYS ONLINE DIRECT MARKETER ADVERTISING.COM America Online has agreed to purchase online direct marketer Advertising.com for $435 million in an attempt to obtain a new source of advertising revenue. The acquisition gives AOL a direct presence in the high-growth sector of online advertising called pay-for-performance, in which advertisers pay for an ad only if it yields results. The company's previous exposure to this model was through its revenue-sharing agreement with search-engine company Google. In the past, AOL has focused mainly on advertising revenue based on the number of people who viewed an ad. Advertising.com charges clients when customers click on an ad or take another type of action. The company purchases ad banners on thousands of Web sites for its clients. AOL plans to let Advertising.com operate independently, according to AOL Chief Executive Jonathan F. Miller. Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108807298735146375,00.html AOL E-MAIL ADDRESSES SOLD TO SPAMMERS An American Online engineer has been charged with stealing e-mail addresses of AOL customers and selling them to spammers. An e-mail list broker for spammers was also arrested. Both are charged with violating the new federal antispam law, which took effect January 1. The two men face a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 (or twice the gross gain or loss from their actions). According to the charges, the enginner used the identity of another AOL employee to gain access to the list of addresses. The list included the e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, ZIP codes, and type of credit cards used by each AOL member. The credit card numbers are kept in a separate database. New York Times, 24 June 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/technology/24spam.html E-LEARNING OVERHYPED, SAYS REPORT According to a report by education professor Robert Zemsky at the University of Pennsylvania and professor emeritus of education and business administration William Massy at Stanford University, educational technology has not fulfilled its potential for revolutionizing the classroom and making higher education more profitable. Despite rapid growth in online education, many faculty do not use innovative technology in their classes, and many administrators have not benefited substantially from their technology purchases. The report, titled "Thwarted Innovation: What Happened to E-Learning and Why," surveyed e-learning at six institutions over a 15-month period. Chronicle of Higher Education, 24 June 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/06/2004062401n.htm NLII AND NMC ANNOUNCE COLLABORATION A new collaboration between the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII) and the New Media Consortium (NMC) aims to discover, identify, and assess new and emerging technologies for teaching and learning in higher education. The NLII will assist the NMC's Horizon Project Advisory Board in identifying new technologies that support teaching and learning. The annual "Horizon Report" describes emerging technologies likely to have a major impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education. NLII is a program of EDUCAUSE, with expertise in aligning technology use with learning principles and practices, while the NMC has expertise in identifying potentially valuable emerging technologies. NLII is also establishing the Horizon Project Virtual Community of Practice to assess the impact of new and emerging technologies on the academy. EDUCAUSE, 22 June 2004 http://www.educause.edu/news/release.asp?Source_System=EDUCAUSE&ID=1113 ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ 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/ ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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