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Security

The IT Department as Corporate Snoop? 116

coondoggie writes with a link to a NetworkWorld article about the dangers of IT department snoops. A study released today is likely to exacerbate the trend of failing trust in employees; it shows that one in three IT employees poke through systems and prod at confidential information while on the job. The survey was done by a firm specializing in password security, so some salt might be required for this particular article. "The survey found that more than one-third of IT professionals admit they could still access their company's network once they'd left their current job, with no one to stop them. More than 200 IT professionals participated in the survey with many revealing that although it wasn't corporate policy to allow IT workers to access systems after termination, still almost 25% of respondents knew of another IT staff member who still had access to sensitive networks even though they'd left the company long ago."

Feed Nokia N75 and N76 now available -- from Nokia USA (engadget.com)

Filed under: Cellphones

For a company that tends to concentrate on candybars and the occasional slider for its smartphone stable, a double shot of S60 flips in the American market is pretty much a bumper crop -- and that's exactly what Nokia's delivering, officially announcing its own availability of the N75 and the N76 today. Notice we say "its own" availability; the N75 has been livin' it up in AT&T's lineup for a few weeks now but it's been nigh impossible to get one contract-free from the carrier, so Nokia's direct sale is a welcome one for folks that just want to buy one outright. Side by side, the N76 solidly whips its stablemate in the looks department, but bear in mind one critical fact: 3G data lurks underneath the N75's hood. Pick up the N75 for $429.99 and the N76 for $499.99 starting today from Nokia (including the flagship stores in New York and Chicago) and its distributors.

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The Courts

Submission + - City almost loses 450K to keylogger (latimes.com)

SierraPete writes: "The city of Carson, California (a suburb of Los Angeles) was the target a 6 digit theft of cash. The LA Times reports that information taken from a keylogger was used to attempt to steal $450K from the city's treasury. Quick work by the city froze most of the funds, but it drives home the importance of keeping good anti-spyware and anti-virus software updated on both corporate systems as well as systems being used from home."
XBox (Games)

Hackers Dodge Xbox Live Shutout 71

An Ars Technica post at their games column Opposable Thumbs points out that, despite Microsoft's best efforts, hacked Xbox 360s are once again playing on Xbox Live. "Steadfast in their pursuits, the hackers of the Xbox 360 scene have managed to best Microsoft's Xbox Live Banning protocol: a system of checks in place to identify hacked Xbox 360s and deny them access to the Xbox Live Network. The current method of hacking the 360 involves exploiting the firmware of the DVD drive (the preferable method), and this latest patch does just that. In fact, the creators are so confident in their breakthrough that the info file remarks that the new firmware 'defeats all current and some future Xbox Live detection attempts.'"

Feed Zune firmware update v1.4 officially released (engadget.com)

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Yeah, you may be proud if something you conjured up sold one million pieces, but we're talking Microsoft here. The boys and girls at Redmond (thankfully) aren't satisfied with leaving things as they are, and just over two months after loosing v1.3 on the world, the Zune is officially getting another firmware update bringing it to v1.4. Notably, the actual software is still sitting at v1.3, and for the majority of you who voted this here device as the worst of the year, there ain't much here to change your attitude. According to ZuneInsider, the curiously minor update simply provides "an improved shuffle experience," and in particular, "makes successive shuffle actions produce more random lists." We know, you're patiently waiting for us to finish detailing what else v1.4 brings, but unfortunately that looks like the end of it. Feel free to get your download on if this somehow gets you jazzed up.

[Thanks, Segadc]

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Television

MLB Says Slingbox Illegal, CEA Thinks Otherwise 234

The Tie Guy writes "Sling Media's Slingbox allows consumers to watch and control their home television programs from a remote PC or smartphone — a process called 'placeshifting'. Content owners are typically edgy when it comes to the placeshifting topic. However, most don't view Slingbox as an imminent threat that will destroy the commercial broadcast model. Major League Baseball is going against the grain by saying that Slingbox owners who stream home games while traveling are breaking the law because it allows consumers to circumvent geographical boundaries written in to broadcast deals. This has sparked a huge debate that has the MLB, baseball fans, and the CEA up in arms. CEA President Gary Shapiro doesn't agree, and is coming to the defense of Sling Media and place-shifting in general."

Feed Laptops are dangerous / not dangerous: back pain edition (engadget.com)

Filed under: Laptops

Look out, laptop users -- your machines are out to kill you in more ways than one. Not only do you need to worry about exploding batteries, a new article in London's Daily Mail claims that "girls as young as 12 are being diagnosed with nerve damage" from slouching over laptop screens. The main problem appears to be bad posture when using the laptop on your, uh, lap -- hunching over in this way apparently causes chronic back problems in all sorts of people. While we've certainly put a crick or two in our necks after a long work session on an plane, the story strikes us as being classic scare-journalism: although a lot of frightening statistics are trotted out, no published research is cited and the two main sources quoted are chiropractors. On top of that, the article gets one very important aspect of laptop use incredibly wrong -- the reason integrated wireless has made laptops so popular is that you can stretch out on the couch and browse the web instead of slumping over a desk. Funny thing none of those chiropractors mentioned that, eh?

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