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Patents

Submission + - Say NO to software patents (whitehouse.gov) 1

hAckz0r writes: The WhiteHouse.gov ( https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petitions ) now has an online petition to stop the USPTO from issuing any more software patents. One must register first with the petition site, wait for the confirming email, login, then locate the "Open Petitions" menu to go to the list of petitions. Scroll down to the one called "Direct the Patent Office to Cease Issuing Software Patents", and then do what you think is right. They need 3,428 petitions total to make it meaningful, and has logged 1,572 as of my entry.
Privacy

Submission + - VPN Service Snitched on Alleged LulzSec Member (securityweek.com) 2

wiredmikey writes: Yesterday, Cody Kretsinger, a 23-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona was arrested and charged with conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer.

How did the Feds track down the alleged LulzSec member? It turns out that a VPN service reportedly used to mask his online identify and location was the one who handed over data to the FBI.

According to the federal indictment, Kretsinger registered for a VPN account at HideMyAss.Com under the user name “recursion”. Following that, the indictment said that Kretsinger and other unknown conspirators conducted SQL injection attacks against Sony Pictures in attempt to extract confidential data.

“At a later date it came as no surprise to have received a court order asking for information relating to an account associated with some or all of the above cases,” they wrote in the post this morning. “As stated in our terms of service and privacy policy our service is not to be used for illegal activity, and as a legitimate company we will cooperate with law enforcement if we receive a court order (equivalent of a subpoena in the US).”

You can be sure that HideMyAss is not the only provider to be hit with subpoenas to hand over user data. It’s likely the FBI and other officials are digging deep and requesting similar information from other VPN providers and online services such as Pastebin, Twitter, and other tools and web services commonly used by hackers.

Sony

Submission + - PSN New Terms and Privacy Policy (sonyentertainmentnetwork.com)

Azmodan writes: "On September 15, 2011, Sony Network Entertainment America Inc. ("SNEA") will transfer its online services operations, including your wallet and the funds in it, to Sony Network Entertainment International LLC ("SNEI"). The first time you sign in to your PlayStation®Network account on or after September 15, 2011, you will be asked to enter into a new Terms of Service and User Agreement ("TOS") and Privacy Policy with SNEI if you wish to continue using your PlayStation®Network account. Please review all changes to the TOS and Privacy Policy carefully before indicating your agreement. In particular, please review Section 15 of the TOS, which now includes a class action waiver and requires that most disputes be resolved through arbitration. "

As IAMAL, I'ld like to ask the Slashdot folks what do you think about this? I'ld like to point out the 12 point in the TOS document : "[...] automatic updates or upgrades which may change your current operating system, cause a loss of data or content or cause a loss of functionalities or utilities".

TOS here :
http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/SEN-legal-docs/TERMS_OF_SERVICE_AGREEMENT-EN.pdf

Privacy here : http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/SEN-legal-docs/Privacy_Policy_Changes-EN.pdf

NASA

Submission + - Nasa produces proof that we landed on the moon (bbc.co.uk)

MrSeb writes: "Remarkable new images of the Apollo landing sites on the Moon have just been released by Nasa. The pictures clearly show the hardware left on the lunar surface by American astronauts in the 1960s and 70s, including Apollo 17's "moon buggy". The images were acquired by the robotic Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been circling Earth's satellite since 2009. LRO has recently lowered its orbit from 50km above the Moon's surface to just 25km."
Security

Submission + - Two men Arrested In Connection With LulzSec/Anony (geektech.in)

GeekTech.in writes: "Two men have been arrested in connection with LulzSec and Anonymous hacking groups. The arrests took place in South Yorkshire and Wiltshire as part of investigation into international online hacking groups.

The arrested men are Christopher Weatherhead, 20, from Northampton and Ashley Rhodes, 26, from Kennington, south London. It was done in collaboration with the FBI, South Yorkshire Police and other law enforcement bodies by Scotland Yard.

Detective Inspector Mark Raymond from the Metropolitan Police’s Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), said:

        “The arrests relate to our inquiries into a series of serious computer intrusions and online denial-of-service attacks recently suffered by a number of multi-national companies, public institutions and gPressovernment and law enforcement agencies in Great Britain and the US.”

        “We are working to detect and bring before the courts those responsible for these offences, to disrupt such groups, and to deter others thinking of participating in this type of criminal activity.”

The arrested men are charged with conspiracy to carry out an unauthorised act in relation to a computer.

http://geektech.in/archives/3882"

Submission + - FCC Release Broadband Report (fcc.gov) 2

dave562 writes: Today the FCC released the results of their study that was focused on measuring real world broadband performance for residential customers across the United States. The study examined service offerings from 13 of the largest wireline broadband providers using automated, direct measurements of broadband performance delivered to the homes of thousands of volunteers during March 2011. Myself and many other Slashdot readers participated in the study.
Security

Submission + - LulzSec spokesman Topiary arrested in the UK (sophos.com) 1

An anonymous reader writes: British police have arrested a 19-year-old man believed to be "Topiary", the official spokesperson of the LulzSec hactivist group.

The man was arrested at his home in the Shetland Islands earlier today (July 27), and is being transported to a central London police station.

Security

Submission + - Anonymous & LulzSec Initiate #OpPayPal (securityweek.com)

wiredmikey writes: Anonymous and Lulz Security, in an open letter to PayPal and its customers titled, “A message to PayPal, its customers, and our friends,” is taking a new approach to punish the company, this time legally.

In a continuing protest against PayPal as it continues to withhold funds from WikiLeaks, the hacktivists are urging users to close their PayPal accounts. “We encourage anyone using PayPal to immediately close their accounts and consider an alternative. The first step to being truly free is not putting one's trust into a company that freezes accounts when it feels like, or when it is pressured by the U.S. government,” the statement said.

In addition to encouraging users to close accounts, in typical Anonymous & Lulz Security fashion, the hacktivists taunted PayPal and the FBI via the @AnonymousIRC twitter feed. “So #Paypal You sue our people for $500.000 | it'll take you years to get a fraction of that. Let us show you what we can do in one day,” they wrote.

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