The Internet Patrol

More than a year ago I reported that the states of Utah and Michigan were going to institute an e-mail address registry where people could register the e-mail addresses to which children had access, and the states would then require that no e-mail marketer send “bad stuff” to those addresses. At that time I […]

You’ll recall that several months ago I told you about the rumblings of discontent around the world as people realized that the U.S., in the form of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), retained full control of the master DNS zones (files which are basically the master routing tables for the entire […]

This may be old news for some, but even if so, it’s worth reviewing again: When you install Skype, you are agreeing to let Skype use your computer to route other Skype users’ calls. It’s similar to the SETI arrangement. When your computer is otherwise not in use (or perhaps even when it […]

Sony BMG is on everyone’s lips this week, and for once they aren’t talking about the PSP or music downloads.
This week they are talking about the fact that Sony has secretly embedded First4Internet’s XCP2 rootkit-like software on their CDs, which while perhaps intended only for digital rights management (DRM), actually not only spies on […]

Got wireless network security? A new law being proposed in New York would make it illegal for anyone with a business to have a wireless network which is unsecured, and which does not have a server with a firewall between the wi-fi and the Internet.

A new AOL Instant Messenger worm called SDBot.add has been discovered which installs the Lockx.exe rootkit on your computer, and redirects your searches to eza1netsearch.com.
A rootkit (also known as “root kit”) is a usually undetectable piece of malicious software which, once installed, allows someone to have full root (master) access to your computer. Once […]

Kudos to my friends and colleagues at Microsoft Legal. They have successfully, and I believe are the first to have, cracked the zombie network infrastructure by reverse-engineering, if you will, a zombie attack. Or, more to the point, by inviting one.
By installing a bit of zombie code on an otherwise clean computer, and […]

A majority of DNS servers and DNS services are vulnerable to and at risk of DNS pharming, according to a study just released by Infoblox. In fact, more than 75%, and as many as 84% of DNS servers are at risk, according to the study, based on a survey conducted by The Measurement Factory.
According […]

The line in the sand has been drawn, and that line is the Internet. The World Wide Web has become embroiled in a worldwide custody battle over who will control the Internet.
Earlier this year, as other countries’ grumblings became outright cries of indignation, the U.S. asserted its intent to retain control of the Internet.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has announced today that it is requiring all of its members to adopt an e-mail authentication mechanism. While it is not endorsing one method over another, DMA members must put some e-mail authentication mechanism in place, although today’s announcement by the DMA did not specify a timeline.

Microsoft has just announced its new “Client Protection” product, which is intended, it says, to protect “business desktops, laptops and file servers from emerging threats such as spyware and rootkits, as well as viruses and other traditional attacks.”

A form spam blocker - what a great idea! My friend, Will Bontrager over at Bontrager Connection, always comes up with the coolest scripts, forms, and other Internet offerings (he really knows his stuff!) Now he has created a service where you can get hijack-proof Web forms for only $3.97 a month!
Wow, that’s […]

Level3 and Cogent, two giant Internet backbone carriers, are embroiled in an escalating cycle of hostility, which hit a new level this week when Level3 summarily cut off all traffic flowing from Cogent’s Internet space through theirs, causing customers of both Level3 and Cogent to lose their Internet connectivity.

California has just taken aim at identity theft from both sides, with a new law which makes phishing illegal. Yay.
The law makes it illegal “for any person, through the Internet or other electronic means, to solicit, request, or take any action to induce another person to provide identifying information by representing itself to be […]

Microsoft has announced that it has sued BWT Industry Technology Service d/b/a Computer Max, Data Day USA, Winvtech Solutions a/k/a Winvision Computers and Winvision Technology, Global Computing, Ion Technologies, Compustar, and Chips & Techs, all for software piracy.

Just one day after I told you that some feel that Google’s Library Program of scanning books online may be copyright infringement, Google has in fact been sued for that book scanning. A class action lawsuit was filed against Google today for copyright infringement, claiming that its scanning books online infringes on the copyright […]

Shuki Alburati has been arrested in connection with the laptop that was stolen from U.C. Berkeley this spring, on which resided the personal and confidential data of nearly 100,000 U.C. Berkeley students and former students. Some of you may recall the lecture that U.C. Berkeley professor Jasper Rines delivered the day after his laptop […]

SpamAssassin has released version 3.1.0 of their fine spam filter product, and it includes support for the Institute for Spam and Internet Public Policy’s wonderful Email Senders Accreditation Program!
This means that SpamAssassin will check to see whether a sender is listed with ISIPP’s Email Sender Accreditation program when deciding whether a piece of email is […]

A simple typo in an IP address led to a Kansas couple being wrongly accused of child pornography. If you’ve ever seen the movie Brazil, then you know what the unfortunately named Brian and Sarah Doom have been through.

The teenager who hacked Paris Hilton’s Sidekick has pleaded guilty to the crime. The teen, a member of a hacking club called the Defonic Team Screen Name Club, or the Defonic Crew or DFNCTSC for short, will spend eleven months in a juvenile detention facility, and then two years of supervised release (probation). […]