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Censorship

Submission + - Linux Users Can't Sell On eBay (ubuntuforums.org) 2

Submitted by bobintetley
bobintetley writes: Many Linux/Firefox users are reporting problems uploading images to eBay. Having tested this myself, it is indeed completely broken. Why eBay would break standard HTTP uploads by using IE specific javascript to "check the file exists" boggles the mind. This problem has been reported to eBay since late October, but so far with no resolution. eBay have since stated that only IE is supported. I guess when you have no real competition you can pull stunts like this.
Software

Submission + - Software Piracy Fight Makes Enemies (ap.org) 1

Submitted by
Ron Paul Dennis Kucinich
Ron Paul Dennis Kucinich writes: "A BSA raid on musical-instrument maker Ernie Ball Inc. cost the company $90,000 in a settlement. Soon after, Microsoft sent other businesses in his region a flyer offering discounts on software licenses, along with a reminder not to wind up like Ernie Ball. Enraged, CEO Sterling Ball vowed never to use Microsoft software again, even if "we have to buy 10,000 abacuses." He shifted to open-source software, which lacks such legal entanglements because its underlying code is freely distributed."
Spam

Submission + - Gamefly sold my e-mail address!

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: I own a few domains for my own vanity and amusement. When signing up for any service online, I use the format [unique-servicename]@[mydomain]. Even slashdot doesn't get a hold of my 'home' address. This is great for filtering, redirection, etc. It's also a great tool to see who has been selling my e-mail address.

During a bored moment, I was perusing through my junk mail to see which addresses spammers were using. Lo and behold, a great number (about 33%, actually) of the spam I found was sent to gamefly@[mydomain]. According to their privacy policy, they may from time to time share my information with game related third-party vendors. However, at no point did they say, "you will receive ads for viagra and porn sites." Since most people utilizing the service are probably still in high school, is it appropriate for them to be receiving such material? Someone, please! Think of the children!

Has anyone had any experience similar to this? What are the legal (if not moral) implications of such a practice?
Privacy

Submission + - PHProxy shut down under suspicious circumstances (jonathancross.com)

Submitted by
Jonathan Cross
Jonathan Cross writes: "The PHProxy project was abruptly discontinued with only a robotic renunciation note from Abdullah Arif (the project's maintainer). The script is widely used to circumvent corporate / government censorship. Iranian Authorities may be involved.

As of September 7th 2007, I, Abdullah Arif (eugee, ultimategamer00, uG, et cetera), completely renounce and disavow the PHProxy (poxy) project and all past and future works and derivatives based on the PHProxy script. I will no longer continue development nor support for this script. I relinquish all rights and disclaim all responsibilities associated. This decision is final. Thanks to everyone for their support.
"
Encryption

Submission + - Skype encryption stumps German police

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) — German police are unable to decipher the encryption used in the Internet telephone software Skype to monitor calls by suspected criminals and terrorists, Germany's top police officer said on Thursday. Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet from their computer to other Skype users free of charge. Law enforcement agencies and intelligence services have used wiretaps since the telephone was invented, but implementing them is much more complex in the modern telecommunications market where the providers are often foreign companies. "The encryption with Skype telephone software ... creates grave difficulties for us," Joerg Ziercke, president of Germany's Federal Police Office (BKA) told reporters at an annual gathering of security and law enforcement officials. "We can't decipher it. That's why we're talking about source telecommunication surveillance — that is, getting to the source before encryption or after it's been decrypted." Experts say Skype and other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling software are difficult to intercept because they work by breaking up voice data into small packets and switching them along thousands of router paths instead of a constant circuit between two parties, as with a traditional call. Ziercke said they were not asking Skype to divulge its encryption keys or leave "back doors open" for German and other country's law enforcement authorities. "There are no discussions with Skype. I don't think that would help," he said, adding that he did not want to harm the competitiveness of any company. "I don't think that any provider would go for that." Ziercke said there was a vital need for German law enforcement agencies to have the ability to conduct on-line searches of computer hard drives of suspected terrorists using "Trojan horse" spyware. These searches are especially important in cases where the suspects are aware that their Internet traffic and phone calls may be monitored and choose to store sensitive information directly on their hard drives without emailing it. Spyware computer searches are illegal in Germany, where people are sensitive about police surveillance due to the history of the Nazis' Gestapo secret police and the former East German Stasi. Ziercke said worries were overblown and that on-line searches would need to be conducted only on rare occasions. "We currently have 230 proceedings related to suspected Islamists," Ziercke said. "I can imagine that in two or three of those we would like to do this." http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071122/wr_nm/security_internet_germany_dc
Communications

Submission + - Skype caught out over video enhancement 'hack' (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "When Skype signed a deal with Logitech to enable "high quality" video calls, what it didn't make clear is that an option already existed within Skype to manually boost video quality. But Skype removed the feature, possibly to protect its new partnership. Guess what? The users of that feature cried foul, and now Skype has been forced to do a U-turn, reintroducing the option to manually increase resolution. Surely a victory for the consumer, albeit of a free product. I wonder how this will affect Skype's ongoing problem with being profitable."
Media

Submission + - Retailers Grow A Brain. Say DRM Hurts Sales (fastsilicon.com)

Submitted by
mrneutron2003
mrneutron2003 writes: "The lack of common sense as well as a basic understanding of economic theory has plagued the debate over anti piracy measures for as long as we can remember. Though it is quite clear in the United States the content delivery business is still rife with idiocy, it's a blessing to see a considerable turnaround in attitude by Great Britain's Entertainment Retailers Association . The ERA is a UK trade organisation formed specifically to act as a forum for the retail and wholesale sectors of the music, video, DVD and Multimedia products industry.

In an interview with the Financial Times (registration required) Kim Bayley, director general of the ERA said when asked about Digital Rights Management technologies that they are "stifling growth and working against the consumer interest."

Holy cow! An industry lobbyist, and she's smart! When asked about the state of DRM laden legal downloads in the UK, she added, "Sadly, that amounts to an average of less than one 79p per download per head of population per year."

Her warnings come as retailers of digital and non-digital content eye the Christmas selling season nervously. With album sales down 12 million units year on year, and new figures showing the average Briton has bought less than 3 digital audio tracks in the last three years, it's no wonder that there's a sense of urgency behind her open request to the music industry to drop piracy protections that clearly do not work and serve only to punish legitimate consumers. Next time I'm in Great Britain Kim, you've got dinner on me!

http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/retailers-grow-a-brain.-say-drm-hurts-sales.html?Itemid=60"
Privacy

Submission + - Bank details of 25 million people lost in the post (barwap.com)

Submitted by bmsleight
bmsleight writes: The BBC are reporting that two computer discs holding the personal details of all families in the UK with a child under 16 have gone missing. Data on them includes name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25 million people, (including me) were lost by the HM Revenue & Customs. The two CDs were send by internal mail, using a plain password, the data was not encrypted.
The Internet

Submission + - Comcast Sued Over BitTorrent Manipulation (wired.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A California man filed suit in state court Tuesday against internet service provider Comcast, arguing that the company's secret use of technology to limit peer-to-peer applications such as BitTorrent violates federal computer fraud laws, their user contracts and anti-fraudulent advertising statutes.
The Internet

Submission + - Comcast Sued Over BitTorrent Blocking

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: From the other-shoe-dropping dept?
WIRED's Threat Level blog reports that cable ISP Comcast is being sued by a California man over it's interference with the BitTorrent use of its customers, "arguing that the company's secret use of technology to limit peer-to-peer applications such as BitTorrent violates federal computer fraud laws, their user contracts and anti-fraudulent advertising statutes."

Comcast maintains that "Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any websites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services." And says, "...we use the latest technologies to manage our network so that they can continue to enjoy these applications."

The plaintiff wants the court to force Comcast to stop interfering with the traffic, and also wants the court to certify the suit as a class action.

Related stories on Slashdot:
FCC Complaint Filed Over Comcast P2P Blocking
Comcast Confirmed as Discriminating Against FileSharing Traffic
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft spamming websites with fake Referrer? (ekstreme.com)

Submitted by whoever57
whoever57 writes: SEO professionals have noticed some odd entries in their website logs: the hits originate from IP addresses owned by Microsoft and the User-Agent claims to be a PC client, but the referrer header shows a live search that would not return a result in the target website. Microsoft claims it is a "quality check". However, many commentators are not convinced, suggesting that the purpose is to raise the stats for Live search. Also, the "robots.txt" file is not read by the robots that are doing this. Apparently, this has been taking place for several months.
Privacy

Submission + - AT&T to Sell Equipment to Monitor Workplaces

Submitted by dacut
dacut writes: According to an article in the New York Times, "AT&T plans to introduce a nationwide program today that gives owners of small- and medium-size businesses some of the same tools big security companies offer for monitoring employees, customers and operations from remote locations. Under AT&T's Remote Monitor program, a business owner could install adjustable cameras, door sensors and other gadgets at up to five different company locations across the country."

This isn't necessarily new technology — ADT and Digital Witness have similar offerings — but it is coming from a company which allegedly monitors all web traffic through its facilities.
Encryption

Submission + - First use of RIPA to demand encryption keys (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by kylehase
kylehase writes: The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) is being used for the first time to force an animal activist to reveal encryption keys for encrypted files she claims to have no knowledge of. According to the article, she could face up to two years if she doesn't comply.
The Internet

Submission + - Canadian Police Tolerate Piracy

Submitted by
headkase
headkase writes: "Torrentfreak brings word that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have stated that they are not that interested in pursuing piracy in the case of personal use. Another link to offset the slashdot effect. And a link in Canada's other official language: French. Considering Canadians already pay levies on blank media to compensate publishers for piracy loss, do you believe this is a positive or negative development?"
Privacy

Submission + - RCMP Tolerates Piracy for Personal Use (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by
mlauzon
mlauzon writes: "The RCMP announced that it will stop targeting people who download copyrighted material for personal use. Their priority will be to focus on organized crime and copyright theft that affects the health and safety of consumers instead of the cash flow of large corporations.

Around the same time that the CRIA successfully took Demonoid offline, the RCMP made clear that Demonoid's users don't have to worry about getting caught, at least not in Canada.

According to the RCMP it is impossible to track down everyone who downloads music or movies off the Internet. The police simply does not have the time nor the resources to go after filesharers.

"Piracy for personal use is no longer targeted," Noël St-Hilaire, head of copyright theft investigations of the RCMP, said in an interview with Le Devoir. "It is too easy to copy these days and we do not know how to stop it," he added.

St-Hilaire explained that they rather focus on crimes that actually hurt consumers such as copyright violations related to medicine and electrical appliances.

A wise decision, especially since we now know that filesharing has absolutely no impact on music sales. On the contrary, a recent study found that the more music people download on P2P-networks, the more CDs they buy."

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