Tech News
This week Virgin Media has created a storm by sending out letters to 800 of its broadband customers warning them to stop sharing illegal music files, and accidentally printing a warning about possible disconnection on the envelope. Apparently it\'s all part of an \'education\' scheme run in conjunction with the BPI (formerly known as the British Phonographic Industries). The letters contain details of tracks downloaded, timestamps and the protocol used.
The government is planning a massive database to hold the details of citizens\' phone calls, e-mail messages and internet sessions, reports the Times, as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. ISPs and telecoms companies would be forced to hand over the records to the Home Office under the plan, says the paper. The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and the security services would be able to access it after getting permission from the courts. Critics of the proposed scheme say having the information all in one place will make it more vulnerable to data breaches. Click read more for further information.
Users are being offered an unofficial Microsoft software fix to address boot up problems on HP machines that been updated with Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3). HP users have complained that XP machines powered by AMD processors have encountered problems once SP3 has been downloaded. Users have seen their machine repeatedly boot up once they turn on their machines. The problem is caused by rogue code in the operating system which is designed for machines powered by Intel processors instead. Click read more for further information.
BT is to start public trials this month of controversial new advertisement-serving technology from AIM-listed Phorm. Phorm, which serves adverts to people browsing the web, based on the contents of sites they vist, has been criticised by privacy campaigners, including the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR) think tank, which said it believes Phorm\'s technology breaks the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. The BT trial will test a system to allow BT internet customers to opt out from receiving advertisements based on their online activity, a BT spokesman said. Click read more for further information.
Malware has been identified on pro-Tibet websites that could be politically motivated, according to security supplier ScanSafe. Malware was found on the www.FreeTibet.org website and the problem has now been rectified. The human rights groups were targeted by a Trojan, according to Spencer Parker, director of product management at ScanSafe. Click read more for further information.
A federal judge in Texas sentenced a Washington man to 30 months in prison for using spoofed telephone numbers and social engineering to convince police SWAT teams to show up at victims\' doors. Click read more to continue reading...