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Security

Submission + - Gizmodo serves malware and blames Linux and OS X (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by JacobSteelsmith
JacobSteelsmith writes: The very popular, technology focused blog Gizmodo was apparently duped into serving advertisements offering 'scareware.' These advertisements notified users that their PC was infected with malware, and offered up 'antivirus' software. It's not clear whether this was a drive by installation or if it required user interaction.

In an apology, the author claims the staff would have noticed sooner 'except everyone on staff is on OS X or Linux for production machines.' They did not say whether AdBlock prevented them from seeing the advertisements, or they did not notice any installation prompts. The author says the advertisements only ran 'for a little while' and only 'a few people' should have been affected. The blog post warns to look for qegasysguard.exe if you are experiencing random popups.

Submission + - French Branch of Scientology Is Convicted of Fraud (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by lugannerd
lugannerd writes: The French branch of the Church of Scientology was convicted of fraud and fined nearly $900,000 on Tuesday by a Paris court. But the judges did not ban the church entirely, as the prosecution had demanded, saying that a change in the law prevented such an action for fraud. The church said it would appeal.

The verdict was among the most important in several years to involve the controversial group, which is registered as a religion in the United States but has no similar legal protection in France. It is considered a sect here, and says it has some 45,000 adherents, out of some 12 million worldwide. It was the first time here that the church itself had been tried and convicted, as opposed to individual members.
Government

Submission + - Germany moves to ban Scientology (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: "German federal and state interior ministers declared the Church of Scientology unconstitutional on Friday, opening the door for a possible ban on the organization.
Earlier this week, a Berlin district set up an office to deal with complaints about Scientology.
Koerting said Germany's domestic intelligence agencies should continue gathering information on the legality of Scientology's activities in Germany so that a decision could be made on what to do about it next year."
Games

Jack Thompson Facing Disbarment Trial 258

Posted by Zonk from the facing-the-music dept.
pwizard2 writes "Gamepolitics reports that controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson faces the start of an ethics trial this morning, a process which could ultimately see him disbarred. The review board has set aside the entire week to hear details on the case. 'Over the weekend, Thompson turned to the Florida Supreme Court in an apparent effort to block this morning's trial from moving forward. In one court filing Thompson asserted that he was willing to accept a 90-day suspension of his license to practice law. The embattled attorney claimed that such an offer had been on the table, but that the Florida Bar was now seeking his permanent disbarment.'"
Linux Business

Submission + - Desktop Linux Gets Business Thumbs Up

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: This is a long feature but if you look close enough, there's a great case study in here for Linux suppliers and those pushing the agenda. By using Red Hat Desktop Linux, car rental company Europcar has saved 70% in cost over Windows. This has come up to "hundreds of thousands of dollars", the company tech boss says.
Microsoft

Submission + - The worst consumer tech in history (cnet.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: CNet has named what they claim are the worst technology products in history. Probably the most controversial is the inclusion of Windows Vista which sits alongside the Sinclair C5, the Gizmondo and the Tamagotchi. "[Vista's] incompatibility with hardware, its obsessive requirement of human interaction to clear security dialogue box warnings and its abusive use of hated DRM, not to mention its general pointlessness as an upgrade, are just some examples of why this expensive operating system earns the final place in our terrible tech list."
First Person Shooters (Games)

Submission + - COD 4 price doubles on Steam for Australian gamers (on.net)

Submitted by ginji
ginji writes: Activision has made Valve increase the price of Call of Duty 4 on Steam for Australian customers from USD49.95 (The same price US customers get it for) to USD88.50 saying that the original price was a mistake and it was supposed to be this the entire time.

For exactly the same content, delivered by exactly the same servers, at exactly the same cost to Activision, this price rise seems to be purely to make more money off the game through increased sales in brick and mortar stores, and those that are now stupid enough to buy it on Steam. The new price when converted into AUD, is above the recommended retail price of the physical media, and you don't get the manual or an actual DVD.
Wireless Networking

Submission + - XO Laptop Despised by Intel and Microsoft (wsj.com)

Submitted by
gregsim
gregsim writes: "The Wall Street Journal today reports that the new XO laptop, the brainchild of Mr. Nicholas Negroponte, a professor on leave from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is stimulating an active response from both Intel and Microsoft which evidently feel threatened by the little upstart, intended to help third world children. Microsoft has cut their software to $3 each and Intel has designed their own laptop called the Classmate to sell between $230 and $300, nearly double that of the XO. Rather than defend the relative merits of his creation, professor Negroponte is crying foul and (if the article is to be believed) not even arguing the technical merits. The initial demand for the XO has fallen well below Mr. Negroponte's projections as Intel and Microsoft have successfully argued that their entries are superior. 45,000 have been ordered through the Give One, Get One campaign. I am happy that I ordered mine — it will be a landmark model in any case."
Portables (Games)

Submission + - Capcom's online store serves fans an Objection! (capcom.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Capcom recently released the third game in the Ace Attorney series, Trials and Tribulations. Several fans preordered the game through Capcom's store with the promise of receiving a free gift. On the game's release date, several people received notice that the game was backordered, and they would receive it "as soon as possible." It has now been over a month, with no game delivered. Who ever heard of a company's official store having none of its product?
Privacy

Submission + - MPAA Toolkit Raises Privacy, Security Concerns

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Motion Picture Association of America last month sent letters to the presidents of 25 major universities, urging them to download and install a "university toolkit" to help identify students who were downloading/sharing movie files. The Washington Post's Security Fix blog reports that any university that installs the software could be placing a virtual wiretap on their networks for the MPAA and the rest of the world to listen in on all of the school's traffic. From the story: "The MPAA also claims that using the tool on a university network presents "no privacy issues — the content of traffic is never examined or displayed." That statement, however, is misleading. Here's why: The toolkit sets up an Apache Web server on the user's machine. It also automatically configures all of the data and graphs gathered about activity on the local network to be displayed on a Web page, complete with ntop-generated graphics showing not only bandwidth usage generated by each user on the network, but also the Internet address of every Web site each user has visited. Unless a school using the tool has firewalls on the borders of its network designed to block unsolicited Internet traffic — and a great many universities do not — that Web server is going to be visible and accessible by anyone with a Web browser.

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