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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 14 Issue 09
Volume 14, Issue 09 Atari Online News, Etc. March 2, 2012
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2012
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1409 03/02/12
~ Chinese Breach Firewall ~ People Are Talking! ~ MS' Future on Win 8?
~ Blizzard Lays Off 600! ~ Manning for Nobel Prize? ~ iPad 3 Launch Soon?
~ Hackers Winning "War"! ~ Google's Privacy Shift! ~ Chrome Plays Catch-Up
~ Dotcom: I Will Prevail! ~ Password Protection Off! ~ Happy Leap Year!!
-* Softer Cyber Security Bill? *-
-* Spain Arrests 4 Anonymous Suspects *-
-* Google To Dig Deeper Into Users' Lives *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
So, another celebration of a Leap Year! And, as the "odd" day of the
year - once every 4 years - it often brings extraordinary events. Like
for us here in New England, having essentially no measurable snowfall
in my area all winter, had some real snow on the 29th! Thankfully,
although the snow lasted almost 36 hours, we only received about 3-4
inches, mashed down with a little rain mixed in! It was one of those
"storms" that I would traditionally call a storm of inconvenience. Not
enough that I'd have to get out the snowblower, but just enough to get a
shovel out and scrape the walks and driveway. Oh well, this is New
England, and the possibility of a snow-less winter just isn't really in
the cards.
So, sick of politics yet? I certainly am. Watching the GOP race for
nomination has certainly been a 3-ring circus. So far, it seems to be a
2-man race with two also-rans hanging on for whatever reason. Regardless
of who wins, the GOP race is definitely providing fodder for the Obama
campaign. Obama is going to have a field day with his future opponent!
What other great news do I have for you this week? Well, nothing really.
Everywhere we look, there are tragic events going on in the world today.
So, rather than talk about them, let's get to some interesting news topics
that should have some interest for you, in this week's issue.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Blizzard Lays Off 600 People!
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Blizzard Entertainment Lays Off 600 People
Blizzard Entertainment says it's cutting about 600 jobs.
The Irvine, Calif., company, which makes the popular "World of Warcraft"
games, says that only about 10 percent of the cuts will involve jobs
related to game development.
The "World of Warcraft" development team will not be affected.
Blizzard, which is part of Activision Blizzard Inc., says the decision to
cut jobs was made after a review of business needs.
Blizzard's development and publishing schedules will not be affected and
the company says it's still looking to hire game developers for certain
positions.
Blizzard added that expenses related to the job cuts aren't expected to
significantly reduce Activision Blizzard's financial results for 2012.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Republicans Introduce Softer Cyber Security Bill
Eight top Republicans introduced a cybersecurity bill on Thursday aimed
at stopping an overarching, bipartisan measure proposed earlier this month
in order to better protect critical infrastructure.
The measure, introduced by the top Republicans on eight committees, would
require federal contractors to inform the government about cyber threats
and make it easier for government regulators and corporations to
communicate about threats.
"We believe that ensuring our nation's cybersecurity is critical. We have
a bill that would do plenty to meet current challenges," said Senator
John McCain in introducing the bill.
McCain, a critic of a measure supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid, argued that the Republican-backed legislation was better because it
included very little new regulation.
The Arizona Republican has also been critical of proposals to have the
Department of Homeland Security take a leading role in pushing better
cyber security practices on sometimes reluctant industries.
Senator Saxby Chambliss, a co-sponsor of the McCain measure, agreed,
saying: "More government is seldom a solution to any problem."
The Senate is also considering a rival bill Reid has said will be brought
quickly to the Senate floor.
That bill is aimed at requiring upgrades in security for critical national
infrastructure, which some cyber experts argue is needed to prevent a
catastrophic attack on the nation's water supply, electric grid, financial
networks and transportation infrastructure.
The McCain bill does not include this requirement.
The Reid-backed bill's sponsors include Senators John Rockefeller and
Dianne Feinstein, both Democrats; Susan Collins, a Republican, and Joseph
Lieberman, an independent.
There has been widespread and growing concern about incursions into U.S.
networks by hackers looking to steal everything from state secrets to
credit card numbers.
Victims have included defense contractors like Lockheed Martin Corp, web
search leader Google Inc, Citigroup bank and exchange operator Nasdaq
OMX.
Politicians have not been immune. In 2008, hackers targeted both President
Barack Obama and McCain's presidential campaigns.
The U.S. House of Representatives is considering legislation that overlaps
with the Senate measures on some points.
For example, the House's Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
approved a bill in December that would expand a pilot Pentagon program for
sharing classified and sensitive threat information with defense
contractors and their Internet service providers.
USTelecom, a broadband association, said it supported the McCain measure
because it would effectively protect against cybersecurity threats,
especially by improving information-sharing.
"We can support the bill introduced today because it pursues those
objectives without creating new bureaucracies or regulatory mandates that
would erode, rather than enhance, the ability of network providers to
provide nimble and effective responses to cyber threats," said USTelecom
President Walter McCormick.
Hackers Winning Security War
Technology security professionals seeking wisdom from ndustry leaders in
San Francisco this week saw more of the dark side than they had expected:
a procession of CEO speakers whose companies have been hacked.
"It's pretty discouraging," said Gregory Roll, who came for advice and to
consider buying security software for his employer, a large bank which he
declined to name because he was not authorized to speak on its behalf.
"It's a constant battle, and we're losing."
The annual RSA Conference, which draws to a close on Friday, brought a
record crowd of more than 20,000 as Congress weighs new legislation aimed
at better protecting U.S. companies from cyber attacks by spies, criminals
and activists.
If the bills suggest that hackers are so far having their way with all
manner of companies, the procession of speakers brought it home in a
personal way.
The opening presentation by Art Coviello, executive chairman of conference
sponsor and recent hacking victim RSA, set the tone with the Rolling
Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
RSA, owned by data storage maker EMC Corp, is the largest provider of
password-generating tokens used by government agencies, banks and others
to authenticate employees or customers who log on away from the office.
Not long after last year's RSA conference, the company said an email with
a poisoned attachment had been opened by an employee.
That gave hackers access to the corporate network and they emerged with
information about how RSA calculates the numbers displayed on SecurID
tokens, which was in turn used in an attack on Lockheed Martin that the
defense contractor said it foiled.
Coviello said he hoped his company's misfortune would help foster a sense
of urgency in the face of formidable opponents, especially foreign
governments, who are being aided by the blurring of personal and
professional online activities. Some 70 percent of employees in one survey
he cited admitted to subverting corporate rules in order to use social
networks or smartphones or get access to other resources, making security
that much harder.
"Our networks will be penetrated. People will still make mistakes,"
Coviello said. He argued that with better monitoring and analysis of
traffic inside company networks, "we can manage risk to acceptable
levels."
If that didn't inspire enough enthusiasm after the worst year for corporate
security in history - including the rise of activist hacks by Anonymous,
numerous breaches at Sony Corp, and attacks on Nasdaq software used by
corporate boards - there was more to come.
Next onstage was James Bidzos, CEO of core Internet infrastructure company
VeriSign, which disclosed in an October securities filing that it had lost
unknown data to hackers in 2010. [He was followed by Enrique Salem, CEO of
the largest security company, Symantec, which recently admitted that
source code from 2006 version of its program for gaining remote access to
desktop computers had been stolen and published.
FBI Director Robert Mueller spoke on Thursday, warning that he expected
cyber threats to pass terrorism as the country's top threat.
Though all sounded an upbeat call to arms, some watching grumbled that
vendors with little credibility were trying to use their own shortcomings
to peddle more expensive and unproven technology.
"There's some panic" among the buyers, said a security official with ING
Groep NV who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak
to the press. Banks are very sensitive to questions about security
breaches and often deny they have any significant problems in this area.
That panic contributed to vigorous panel discussions and hallway debates
about who should be in charge of safeguarding defense companies, banks and
utilities - private industry itself, the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security or the National Security Agency, which has the greatest
capability but a legacy of civil liberties issues.
A pending bill backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would put DHS
in the lead, with assistance from NSA. Former NSA chief Michael Hayden
said in an interview at the conference that should suffice.
"The Net is inherently insecure," Hayden said. "We need to quit admiring
the problem and move out. No position could be worse than the one we're
in now."
Coviello said one of the few pieces of good news was that the country as a
whole is now realizing the gravity of the loss of its trade and government
secrets, along with the difficulty of reversing the trend.
"People have definitely talked more seriously after our breach," he said
in an interview. "Maybe a sense of realism has settled in."
Google's Privacy Shift Is March 1: Everything You Need To Know
Googles new all-encompassing privacy policy goes into effect March 1,
meaning the company will start treating information it gathers across
dozens of its subsidiary sites - things like GMail, YouTube, Blogger,
Shopping, News, Maps, Books, Google+, and more - all as a single entity,
rather than as dozens of little sub-entities each with their own caches of
information about a user. Google says the new policy isnt really a
change: its not collecting any new data about people, its just going to
start using that information uniformly across its services. For example,
interests and topics Google picks up on by reading your Gmail might
influence the recommended videos and advertisements that appear on
YouTube. Shopping habits of your friends on Google+ might influence ads
appearing in your Google search results.
For some people, this is no big deal - in fact, many Internet users
assumed Google had been doing this all along. For others, its a
tremendous shift away from the companys now almost-forgotten mantra,
"dont be evil." By combining user information across accounts and
services, not only will Google have one-stop-shopping for potentially
enormous amounts of personal information about users, but that
information will be used to target advertising.
And even more people may have no idea the change is imminent: according to
Big Brother Watch, only 12 percent of Google users have actually read
Googles new privacy policy. (We recommend you give it a glance.)
So - how is all this going to work starting tomorrow?
Its mostly about Google accounts
The first (and perhaps most important) thing to remember is the bulk of
information Google collects about users - and, in turn, uses to fuel its
ad sales and to customize your Google experience - is associated with
Google accounts. That means as soon as youre logged into Google (whether
to check email, upload a video, check your Google+ profile, comment on
Blogger, view your custom News page, etc) Google is tracking your
activities and associating them specifically with you. Over time - and
really not very much time - Google may be able to assemble a surprisingly
complete dossier of your location, career and work, interests, friends,
social circles, habits, and more.
This process produces even more-comprehensive results for users who stay
logged in to Google constantly, whether from a traditional notebook or
desktop computer and/or an Android-powered device. Although Android
smartphones dont have to be tied to a Google account to use basic phone
features, they do have to be tied to a Google account to use things like
Gmail, Google Talk, and the Android Market.
If you use a Google account, here are some ways to limit what Google
tracks about you:
Web History: Google keeps track of every Web search you perform when youre
logged in to a Google account, storing it all in the accounts "Web
history." You can view the Web History associated with an account (you have
to be logged in). Google provides access to the information by date (you
can potentially see your Web searches for as long as your Google account
has existed; Google even provides a total number of stored searches), and
enables users to remove selected items of their Web history - so those
searches of manga sites you did while trying to figure out what the cool
kids were talking about wont come back to haunt you. Web History can be
limited to just searches, or can be expanded to include full text of pages
youve visited.
The Web History page enables users to limit Web History to just pages
theyve visited, or turn off Web History entirely, so Google doesnt store
any history information. Users can also delete any existing Web history
altogether. For maximum privacy, turn off Web history and delete any
history Google has stored. Doing this also means Google will not be able
to use the information to personalize your search results or ads. (A
terminology note: Google doesnt consider Web History disabled or turned
off, merely "paused.")
YouTube History: Google may be unifying all its privacy policies under one
umbrella, but that doesnt mean all of Googles services have their
settings in one place. (There is the Google Dashboard, which at least
collects together links to individual services settings.) If you use
YouTube, its a good idea to check your accounts YouTube History, which
includes both a history of videos youve watched and searches youve
conducted on YouTube while logged in to an account. YouTube divides these
into two separate tabs in the YouTube settings: to maximize privacy (and
reduce the amount of information Google uses to customize services and
push ads) click both "Clear all search history" and the "Pause" buttons
for viewing and search history. Again, Google doesnt actually say it
turns data collection off, it just "pauses" it.
Gmail: Gmail is, of course, a treasure-trove of information about
individual Google users. Google employees dont read Gmail, but Googles
computer programs do, looking for words, phrases, and contact information
it can use to bolster your dossier. Once Google has read a message (which
it does even before it arrives in your inbox) any information gleaned from
it is whisked away. You can delete the message, but its already too late
to prevent Google from analyzing its contents. However, by default, Google
saves Google Talk chat histories in Gmail, and since Gmail has integrated
Google Voice, that can include records of voice calls placed from your
Google account. To disable Google Chat history, go to Gmails preferences
(choose "Settings" from the gear icon within Gmail). To delete existing
chat records, go to the "Chats" folder within Gmail, where you can manage
chat records like they were email messages.
Ads preferences: Are you a long-time Google account user? Heres a setting
that might scare you: if youve been carrying around a Google "id" cookie,
you can look at a bit of the dossier Google has assembled about you in Ads
Preferences. Depending what activity Google has monitored - and what
information youve given to Google in your profiles and account data -
Google may have a pretty accurate picture of your gender, age, location,
and key interest areas. Google does enable users to opt out of its "id"
cookie; if you opt-in, you can even tell Google what sorts of ads youre
most interested in seeing.
Use other Google services (like News, Docs, Calendar, or Blogger) that
might store information about your activities? Check out the Google
Dashboard: it does not provide access to all settings, but should at least
provide links to get you to the right place for any Google services
associated with your account.
What if youre not logged in to Google?
If youre not logged in to a Google account, Google can still track some
of your activity. If your browser or device doesnt have one already,
Google will give it a unique cookie so it can anonymously keep track of
your activity on Google sites as long as that cookie is set. That enables
Google to know the same person (or at least the same browser), which can
be linked to Web searches, YouTube video views, and more, even if no
account is signed in.
Several popular Google services operate just fine without being signed in
to Google: these include Web search (it wont be personalized with social
connections), Google Maps (Google will still use any location info entered
to serve ads), and YouTube (you can watch, but you cant comment or
share).
However, even if youre not signed in, Google still keeps track of plenty
of personal bits. First off, it notes what IP address youre using when
you connect to Google, and uses that information to generate your
location. Although most IP addresses dont identify a particular location
(like 1001 Sample Street, Sausalito), they are almost always good enough
to get a general area (like "San Francisco" or "North Bay.") However,
enough information is associated with some IP addresses to let Google
narrow down location to a particular address, and theres no easy way for
users to tell if theyre using one. Examples would include cafes,
libraries, and other places offering Wi-Fi, as well as businesses and
other organizations with static IP addresses. You cannot turn off
Googles efforts to assess your location by IP address; it considers this
action essential to providing their services.
Google will also store search strings, note what search results and
advertisements you click, and keep track of what videos you watch, even if
youre not logged in - the information is just stored with that anonymous
cookie instead of an account. If you then log in to a Google account while
that anonymous cookie is on your browser, Google can then tie the two
together.
Google also collects information about the devices and software you use to
connect to Google services - although theyre absolutely not unique about
this. Virtually every Web site on the Internet does the same thing.
How to control what Google knows - at least a little
If youre concerned about what Google might collect about you once the new
privacy policy is in effect, here are a few additional things you could
do:
Remove the Google Toolbar: The Google Toolbar is a browser add-on for
Internet Explorer and (formerly) Firefox that provides quick access to
search history, bookmarks, and email thats often distributed as an add-on
bundle with third-party products. Google Toolbar makes it convenient to
search the Web and email, but the Toolbar also relies heavily on Googles
Web History (see above), and can provide location information to third
parties. These days, Google Toolbars functions are largely subsumed by
search fields and other function built into browsers: if youre still
using Google Toolbar and are concerned about what Google knows about you,
uninstall it. And "pause" your Web History (see above).
Dont Log In: Of course, the simple way to avoid having Google track your
actions is not to use Google services, or at least not to log into Google
services when you dont need them. For desktop computer users, there are
plenty of alternative services available, from Vimeo for online video to
Yahoo and Hotmail for free email to Bing for searching to Mapquest for
mapping. Of course, all those services also do everything they can to
track users actions and interests.
Android users, however, are kind of stuck: once an Android device has been
associated with a Google account, the system offers no way to log out, and
the only reliable way to remove the account association is through a
factory reset. Android does offer some settings and preferences to help
secure information (for instance, users can choose not to share location
information), and several utilities are available to protect access to
things like Gmail, and to remote wipe lost or stolen devices. Again,
users best option to prevent Google from assembling or augmenting a
dossier is not to use the Google services built into Android phones -
including Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail, Calendar, and more.
What about Do Not Track and Third-Party Cookies?
Desktop and mobile browsers increasingly offer advanced settings to
disable so-called third-party cookies - tracking cookies set by a service
other than the particular Web site youre visiting. Similarly, modern
browsers are increasingly supporting Do Not Track, a new standard that
requests remote sites not engage in user tracking for a particular
connection. Googles even getting in on the act, pledging Do Not Track
support for Google Chrome.
Disabling third party cookies wont help you stay private from Google.
When you execute a search on Google or watch a video on YouTube, youve
explicitly chosen to use that service: Google is a first party, not a
third party. It will, however, help keep Googles advertising subsidiary,
DoubleClick, from placing cookies on your browser when you visit sites
using DoubleClick services.
Google has pledged to honor "Do Not Track" requests as a participant in
the Obama administrations Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. However,
Google has not yet implemented support for Do Not Track across its
services, and clicking a Do Not Track button in a browser will do nothing
to change the amount of information Google gleans from users who are
signed in to Google accounts or, say, reads from Gmail.
Users who are deeply concerned about their online privacy can take
additional steps to ensure the information Google and others potentially
collect about them is minimized. Popular options include anonymization
services and proxies (which essentially route Internet traffic through
separate computers so theres no direct link back to a users device -
but, of course, you have to ask yourself whether you trust the service).
The National Advertising Initiative also supports a way to opt out of
advertising by its members, which includes Google and most of the major
players in the online advertising arena - of course, it works using a
cookie, so if you delete cookies (or switch to a different device) you
have to opt out again. Add-ons and plug-ins accomplishing similar things
are available for Firefox and Chrome. (See a list here, at bottom of
page.)
Despite the uproar about online privacy, however, most consumers just
dont seem to care. Many dont see the harm in Google and other companies
knowing about their interest, movements, and location in exchange for free
services and directed advertising - some consumers like personalized
advertising thats aware of their preferences and current location. And
its important to remember that a huge number of online sites and services
are supported solely by advertising: the more relevant that advertising is
to their users, the more clicks they get, the more commissions they earn,
and the longer they can continue offering their service - or (gasp!) even
improve it.
Whether youre a privacy maven, a happy fully-logged user of Google
services, or somewhere in between, the most important thing is probably to
understand what information Google is collecting, how its being used, and
being sure youre comfortable with it.
Google To Dig Deeper Into Users' Lives
If you're amazed - and maybe even a little alarmed - about how much Google
seems to know about you, brace yourself. Beginning Thursday, Google will
operate under a streamlined privacy policy that enables the Internet's
most powerful company to dig even deeper into the lives of its more than
1 billion users.
Google says the changes will make it easier for consumers to understand
how it collects personal information, and allow the company to create more
helpful and compelling services. Critics, including most of the country's
state attorneys general and a top regulator in Europe, argue that Google
is trampling on people's privacy rights in its relentless drive to sell
more ads.
Here's a look at some of the key issues to consider as Google tries to
learn about you.
Q: How will Google's privacy changes affect users?
A: Google Inc. is combining more than 60 different privacy policies so it
will be able to throw all the data it gathers about each of its logged-in
users into personal dossiers. The information Google learns about you
while you enter requests into its search engine can be culled to suggest
videos to watch when you visit the company's YouTube site.
Users who write a memo on Google's online word processing program, Docs,
might be alerted to the misspelling of the name of a friend or co-worker
a user has communicated with on Google's Gmail. The new policy pools
information from all Google-operated services, empowering the company to
connect the dots from one service to the next.
Q: Why is Google making these changes?
A: The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., says it is striving for a
"beautifully simple, intuitive user experience across Google." What Google
hasn't spent much time talking about is how being able to draw more
revealing profiles about its users will help sell advertising - the main
source of its $38 billion in annual revenue.
One reason Google has become such a big advertising network: Its search
engine analyzes requests to figure out which people are more likely to be
interested in marketing pitches about specific products and services.
Targeting the ads to the right audience is crucial because in many cases,
Google only gets paid when someone clicks on an ad link. And, of course,
advertisers tend to spend more money if Google is bringing them more
customers.
Q: Is there a way to prevent Google from combining the personal data it
collects from all its services?
A: No, not if you're a registered user of Gmail, Google Plus, YouTube, or
other Google products. But you can minimize the data Google gathers. For
starters, make sure you aren't logged into one of Google's services when
you're using Google's search engine, watching a YouTube video or perusing
pictures on Picasa. You can get a broad overview of what Google knows about
you at http://www.google.com/dashboard , where a Google account login is
required. Google also offers the option to delete users' history of search
activity.
It's important to keep in mind that Google can still track you even when
you're not logged in to one of its services. But the information isn't
quite as revealing because Google doesn't track you by name, only through
a numeric Internet address attached to your computer or an alphanumeric
string attached to your Web browser.
Q: Are all Google services covered by the privacy policy?
A: No, a few products, such as Google's Chrome Web browser and mobile
payment processor Wallet, will still be governed by separate privacy
policies.
Q: Is Google's new privacy policy legal?
A: The company has no doubt about it. That's why it's repeatedly rebuffed
pleas to delay the changes since announcing the planned revisions five
weeks ago. But privacy activists and even some legal authorities have
several concerns.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy rights group, sued
the FTC in a federal court in an effort to force the FTC to exercise its
powers and block Google's privacy changes. A federal judge ruled the
courts didn't have the authority to tell the FTC how to regulate Google.
The FTC says it is always looking for evidence that one of its consent
orders has been violated.
Earlier this week, the French regulatory agency CNIL warned Google CEO
Larry Page that the new policy appears to violate the European Union's
strict data-protection rules. Last week, 36 attorneys general in the U.S.
and its territories derided the new policy as an "invasion of privacy" in
a letter to Page.
One of the major gripes is that registered Google users aren't being given
an option to consent to, or reject, the changes, given that they developed
their dependence on the services under different rules. In particular,
people who bought smartphones running on Google's Android software, and
signed two-year contracts to use the devices, can't easily avoid the new
privacy rules unless they buy a different handset and pay an
early-termination penalty.
Q: What regulatory power do government agencies have to change or amend
the privacy changes?
A: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission gained greater oversight over
Google's handling of personal information as part of a settlement reached
last year. Google submitted to the agreement after exposing its users
email contacts when it launched a now-defunct social networking service
called Buzz in 2010. The consent order requires Google's handling of
personal information to be audited every other year and forbids
misleading or deceptive privacy changes.
Google met with the FTC before announcing the privacy changes. That
suggests the agency probably approved the revisions.
Spain Arrests 4 Suspected Anonymous Hackers
Police say they have arrested four suspected hackers allied to the
loose-knit Anonymous movement in connection with attacks on Spanish
political party websites.
A National Police statement said two servers used by the group in Bulgaria
and the Czech Republic have been blocked.
It said the four included the alleged manager of Anonymous' computer
operations in Spain and Latin America, who was identified only by his
initials and the aliases "Thunder" and "Pacotron."
The four are suspected of defacing websites, carrying out
denial-of-service attacks and publishing data on police assigned to the
royal palace and the premier's office online.
Tuesday's statement said the arrests were part of an Interpol operation.
U.S. Serviceman Who Leaked Info to Wikileaks Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Is U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning a hero for leaking classified
government information to WikiLeaks, or is he a criminal? While public
opinion is divided, that hasn't stopped the international community from
nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2010, Manning allegedly obtained hundreds of thousands of U.S. Army
documents, most pertaining to operations in Iraq, and tens of thousands
pertaining to operations in Afghanistan. Among his charges, Manning is
linked to video footage that depicts U.S. troops killing a journalist
(warning: very graphic content) in Iraq, an event which the U.S.
government allegedly concealed.
Manning has been charged with 22 separate crimes related to the leaks, and
is currently being held by the government in Kuwait. The most serious of
the charges, "aiding the enemy," carries the possibility of the death
penalty.
This is not the first time that WikiLeaks has been on the mind of the
Nobel nominating committee. In 2011, WikiLeaks itself received a
nomination for the Peace Prize honor. A total of 231 people were nominated
for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, including Russian human rights advocate
Svetlana Gannushkina and a former prime minister of the Ukraine. The winner
of the prize will be announced in October.
Chinese Relish Crack in Great Firewall, Log on to Facebook
Some Chinese Internet users have this week been able to access blocked
websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, relishing the newfound
freedom although the reason for the breach in China's Great Firewall of
censorship was a mystery.
China blocks most foreign social networking sites (SNS) out of fear that
unfettered access would lead to instability. Chinese SNS firms have filled
the void by offering similar products that censor topics the government
may find sensitive.
"I can suddenly access YouTube! No need to breach the firewall!" Weibo
user Arvin Xie posted on Tuesday.
Weibo is a microblogging platform, similar to Twitter, that allows users
to post short messages and follow other users.
Internet users including students on university campuses reported that
they were able to access YouTube, Facebook and Twitter on their mobile
phones and desktops in the afternoon and evening on Monday and Tuesday.
"I used Facebook for the first time yesterday," Zhang Wenjin, 23, a student
at Shanghai's prestigious Jiao Tong University told Reuters on Tuesday.
"I went on and took a look. I'm sure there were suddenly a lot of people
who signed up on Facebook yesterday," Zhang said, adding that she had also
signed up for an account.
It is unclear what caused the crack in China's Great Firewall, as the
blocking of websites and censoring of search results for politically
sensitive terms is known, or how widespread it was.
On Wednesday, access to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter was again blocked.
Some users in China pay for a virtual private network (VPN) to bypass the
blocking of websites and censoring of searches.
Over the weekend, Chinese users also gained access to Google Inc's social
networking site, Google+ and flooded U.S. President Barack Obama's page on
the site with calls for greater freedom in the world's most populous
country.
Google+ is currently blocked through regular desktop access but its mobile
application, which let users in China access the site, has become
accessible recently.
China, with more than 500 million Internet users, is the world's largest
and most vibrant Internet community.
Kim Dotcom Says He'll Beat 'Political' Piracy Case
In his first interviews since his January arrest in New Zealand, Megaupload
founder Kim Dotcom says he will prevail in what he calls a "political"
Internet piracy case against him.
In what is shaping up to be one of the biggest copyright cases in history,
U.S. authorities are trying to extradite Dotcom on racketeering and other
federal charges. They say he and colleagues at his file-sharing website
facilitated millions of illegal downloads, costing songwriters and
moviemakers some half a billion dollars in lost copyright revenue while
making a fortune for themselves.
Dotcom was arrested Jan. 20 and released last week on bail. Under the
conditions of his release, he is confined to his Auckland home and isn't
allowed Internet access.
In a story published Thursday in The New Zealand Herald, Dotcom said U.S.
authorities cherry-picked emails and other evidence in a way that was
"misleading and malicious."
"For me, sitting in my cell, I'm thinking, 'Why are they doing this? They
can't win it'," he told a reporter for a sister publication, the Herald
on Sunday.
Dotcom said in the interview that Megaupload had staff whose jobs were to
take down any material that might infringe copyright. The U.S. indictment,
however, alleges that Dotcom and Megaupload routinely took down individual
links to offending material but left the offending material itself in
place.
In another interview, Dotcom told the file-sharing news website
TorrentFreak that New Zealand authorities had "put on a show for the FBI"
when they swooped down in helicopters to arrest him at his mansion.
"We're going for this and we're confident we're going to win," Dotcom told
the website in an article published Monday. "We feel that the action taken
against us was political."
Dotcom said in the Herald interview that on his first day of incarceration
at Auckland Central Remand Prison, he didn't get provided with basics like
a blanket or toilet paper. He said he was deprived of sleep after being
woken every two hours by guards shining flashlights in his face to make
sure he was still in his cell and still alive.
But Dotcom, described in U.S. court papers as about 1.95 meters (6 feet,
5 inches) tall and weighing 146 kilograms (322 pounds), also told the paper
that he was happy about losing 35 pounds (16 kilograms) while he was
jailed.
Microsoft's Future Riding on Windows 8
Microsoft is scrambling to preserve what's left of its kingdom.
Since the company released its Windows operating system in 1985, most of
the sequels have been variations on the same theme. Not that it mattered
much. Regardless of the software's quality, Microsoft managed to remain at
the center of the personal computing universe.
The stakes are much different as Microsoft Corp. puts the finishing
touches on Windows 8 - perhaps the most important piece of software the
Redmond, Wash. company has designed since co-founder Bill Gates won the
contract to build the first operating system for IBM Corp.'s personal
computer in the early 1980s.
A test, or "beta", version of the revamped operating system will be
unveiled Wednesday in Barcelona, nudging Windows 8 a step closer to its
anticipated mass market release in September or October. The company will
offer the most extensive look at Windows 8's progress since it released an
early version of the system to developers five months ago.
Microsoft designed Windows 8 to help it perform a difficult balancing act.
The company hopes to keep milking revenue from a PC market that appears to
be past its prime, while trying to gain a stronger foothold in the more
fertile field of mobile devices. It's a booming market that, so far, has
been defined and dominated by Apple Inc.'s trend-setting iPhone and iPad,
and Google Inc.'s ubiquitous Android software.
"Microsoft's future path is riding on Windows 8 and its success," said
Gartner Inc. analyst David Cearley. "This is a chance for Microsoft to
re-establish itself in a market where it's becoming increasingly
irrelevant."
If Windows 8 is a hit, it could also help lift the fortunes of struggling
PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. Besides giving
businesses and consumers a reason to consider new PC purchases, Windows 8
is expected to spawn a new breed of hybrid machines that will be part
computer tablet, part laptop computer.
If Windows 8 is a flop, however, it will increase the pressure on Microsoft
CEO Steve Ballmer. His 12-year reign has been marred by the company's
troubles adapting to an Internet-driven upheaval. As Microsoft has
stumbled, faster-innovating companies such as Apple and Google have
elbowed their way into a position to steer the direction of computing for
the next decade or two.
Ballmer, known for his zealous faith in Microsoft, hails Windows 8 as the
catalyst for an exciting - and lucrative - new era at the 37-year-old
software maker.
Investors seem to be believers, too. Microsoft's stock has recently been
trading its highest levels since April 2008, closing at $31.35 on Monday.
The stock has gained about 21 percent so far this year. By comparison,
Apple's stock has surged 30 percent during the same period, while Google's
shares have dropped 6 percent.
Microsoft's financial performance traditionally improves when it releases
a new version of Windows. The last upgrade came in October 2009 when
Windows 7 hit the market. The company has sold more than 525 million
copies of Windows 7 since then. Part of Window 7's success stemmed from
pent-up demand; the previous version, Vista, was so clunky and buggy that
many PC users stuck with the system they already had on their machines or
switched to Apple's technology on Mac computers.
Windows 8 is radically different from its predecessors. The system won't
even have Microsoft's familiar "Start" menu. All applications are spread
across a mosaic of tiles, as part of a design Microsoft calls "Metro." The
tiles, which resemble road signs, can be navigated with a swipe of the
finger on the display screen or with a keyboard and a computer mouse. The
tiles also provide a glimpse at the activity occurring in applications
connected to the Web, such as email.
The system also is expected to enable users to easily back up their
pictures, movies, music and other files on a Microsoft storage service
called SkyDrive, which will compete against Apple's iCloud.
The operating system's versatility means it can be used to power computer
tablets, as well as traditional PCs.
Microsoft badly wants a piece of the tablet market that has been cutting
into PC sales since Apple introduced the iPad two years ago.
In the quarter that included the holiday shopping season, Apple shipped
15.4 million iPads, more than doubling the volume from the same time in
the previous year. Meanwhile, worldwide personal computer sales dipped
slightly, and Microsoft's revenue in its Windows division declined 6
percent. It marked the fourth time in the past five quarters that
Microsoft's Windows revenue has fallen from the previous year.
Reversing or slowing that trend is critical for Microsoft. It still
relies on the PC industry for about 55 percent of its revenue, according
to Nomura Equity Research analyst Rick Sherlund. "The launch of Windows 8
should provide a few years of robust growth and opportunity for Microsoft
to reposition itself to better defend its position against challengers,"
Sherlund wrote in a note after Microsoft reported the latest erosion in
its Windows division.
Besides spurring more sales of the new operating system, Windows 8 is
likely to drive demand for the next generation of the Office suite,
another major moneymaker for Microsoft.
Windows 8 could inspire more PC makers to design machines that combine
the convenience of computer tablets with the utility of a notebook
computer. These devices would be similar to the so-called "Ultrabook"
computers that offer a Windows-based version of Apple's lightweight MacBook
"Air" machines. Once Windows 8 is available, the Ultrabook line could be
expanded to include machines equipped with screen that swivels off the
keyboard to take advantage of the system's touch controls and provide a
tablet-like experience.
Microsoft clearly envisions Windows 8 becoming the foundation for pure
tablets, too. That's why it's developing a version of Windows 8 that can
run on the more tablet-friendly microprocessor technology licensed by ARM
Holdings. That version will complement the Windows 8 design that will run
on the Intel Corp. chips that power most PCs.
HP, the world's largest PC maker, is already counting on Windows 8 to
deliver better times. The company's division that includes desktop and
laptop computers suffered a 15 percent drop in revenue during its more
recent quarter ending in January. CEO Meg Whitman, last week, said HP
expects to release PCs and tablets running on Windows 8 in time for the
holiday shopping season. HP's Windows 8 product line will include a tablet
designed for corporate customers.
The biggest question hanging over Windows 8 is whether the long wait for
the software will leave Microsoft hopelessly behind Apple and Google in
mobile computing.
Whatever headlines Microsoft grabs during Wednesday's preview are likely
to be quickly overshadowed when Apple shows off the iPad 3 - a hotly
anticipated event, expected to occur in early March.
Meanwhile, Google says more than 300 million smartphones and tablets are
already running on its Android software, with another 850,000 devices
getting activated each day. At that rate, another 155 million to 180
million devices could be running on Android by the time Windows 8 comes
out in September or October. As it is, a version of Android is already
running the second hottest-selling tablet, Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire.
"Microsoft is late to the game and this is a different game than they have
been playing," Cearley said. "But if they hit a home run with Windows 8,
it could still turn some things around."
Apple Announces Event, iPad 3 Launch Expected
Apple is inviting reporters to an event next Wednesday in San Francisco.
An image on the invite showing part of an iPad screen suggests it's to
announce a new model.
The company has been widely expected to reveal the third version of the
iPad soon, close to the anniversary of the launch of the iPad 2.
The invitation is for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, where
Apple holds larger launch events.
Apple didn't provide any details on the new device. Various unconfirmed
reports speak of a sharper screen and faster cellular broadband options.
It's not known when such a new device would be available for sale. Last
year, sales of the iPad 2 began in the U.S. nine days after the
announcement.
Chrome Still Trying To Catch Firefox; IE Still Dropping
At the end of 2011, it looked like Chrome had knocked Firefox from the
number-two spot in Web browser rankings - but its starting to look like
that title might have been a little premature. According to Net
Applications Net MarketShare report, both Internet Explorer and Google
Chrome lost ground in February 2012, leaving Firefox in the number-two
spot with a two percent lead over Chrome - at least in the desktop browser
market. All versions of Internet Explorer still account for a little more
than half of all desktop browsers out there (52.84 percent, a drop of
0.12 percent since January), while Chrome slipped to an 18.9 percent
share, down one percent from a peak of 19.11 percent in December 2011.
Apples Safari desktop browser also saw significant gains in February,
jumping from 4.9 to 5.24 percent of the browser market. Opera also moved
up from 1.67 to 1.71 percent.
The new figures highlight some of the discrepancies in how different firms
account for browser share. Net Applications collects its data from
customers using its live stats services, and says the data spans about 160
million visitors a month. Of course, theres no way of knowing whether the
sites using Net Applications services are representative of the Web as a
whole; in fact, theyre probably not, since 76 percent report they
participate in pay-per-click programs and 43 percent claim to be commerce
sites.
Other services with different methodologies produce different numbers. For
instance, StatCounter shows very different figures, with Internet Explorer
accounting for only 35.75 percent of browser usage in February 2012,
Chrome in second place with a 29.84 percent share, and Firefox in third
with a 24.88 percent share. According to StatCounter, IE is in decline,
Chrome is growing fast, and Firefox did see a slight uptick from January
to February.
Why the discrepancy? Are one or both of these just doing it wrong? No -
both companies have a solid history of reporting as accurately as possible
using the data they gather. The issue is that Net Applications and
StatCounter arent counting the same people. StatCounter is a Web
analytics service, with customers using its code on more than 3 million
Web sites around the world accounting for over 18 billion hits a month. If
users visit a site with StatCounter code, the visit is included with
aggregate data about browser share and other things. Again, theres no way
to know whether StatCounters base of sites is in any way representative
of the broader Internet - and, in fact, theyre probably not since theyre
sites looking for (and using) third party analytics services.
The bottom line: the fact major metrics services arent even in general
agreement over their figures points to how difficult it is to measure
browser share in the worldwide market. As always, consider such figures
general guidelines, and consider any announcement of watershed changes in
browser share with a grain of salt.
Users Still Can't Get Password Protection Right
Apparently the Internet is a small world, with CNN Money reporting that
most common password used in business settings is: Password1.
In a world where technology is rampant, and changes to privacy agreements
create waves of fury, it is a bit hard to believe that people are not
tech-savvy enough to select passwords that are at least a little hard to
guess.
However, the folks at Mashable are reporting that a Cambridge University
team took a page of common passwords and PIN numbers onto the street and
five out of every 20 people confirmed seeing their secret code on the list.
That is quite an astonishing find, considering the information age has
brought a computer into the pockets of folks across the globe.
While being lax in password security is at least a bit understandable for
a large business where many people may need access to the same account,
using 1111 or 1234 as an ATM PIN is pretty much unforgivable.
Last year Microsoft decided to take a stance against commonly used
passwords, as TechWeek Europe reported. If a major company, rooted in
technology, can ban the use of easily cracked passwords, than surely other
companies can follow suit. It seems pretty clear that users can simply not
be trusted, which is probably more about having a few more than a handful
of passwords and PINs to remember. Perhaps automatically generating
passwords and not allowing users to change them will soon become the order
of the day.
In any increasingly electronic and connected world, where sharing, liking,
and tweeting are becoming more and more common, protection of account
access becomes even more important. Users share some of the
responsibility, and everybody is probably guilty of a simple password
structure, but removing the temptation seems like the best and easiest way
to go. Just like Microsoft did.
=~=~=~=
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