•Around the Industry:
The RIAA's last profitable business model: Automated extortion?
Google defends Net neutrality regulations
UK 'will lead digital TV uptake'
BroadVoice broadens 911 to all VoIP customers
Microsoft tests Live Wi-Fi connection tool
•SecurityBits:
IE Patch intros new exploitable vulnerability
Worm adds MS06-040 to four-bug attack kit
Standard could unify security apps
Security firms develop anti-rootkit tools
•TidBytes:
Google faces $61 million fine for withholding user data
MySpace.com to go on fibre
Microsoft sues over 300+ misleading domain names
Download torrents when your PC is off
•More news from around the industry, SecurityBits, and interesting Tidbytes inside!
Around The Industry:
•The RIAA's last profitable business model: Automated extortion?:
Mike from TechDirt comments on 'spamigation': "This is the last profitable business model for the music industry -- which is a bit of hyperbole. It may very well be the last profitable business model of the current recording industry run by the RIAA, but these lawsuits will eventually be seen as a backwards blip in the progress of the industry. While the practice of automating mass lawsuit filings against totally unrelated plaintiffs is still seen as legal, eventually the RIAA will be forced to stop. It won't be soon after that people begin to realize that there are business models that work well and are profitable -- without treating everyone as if they were a criminal."
•Google defends Net neutrality regulations:
A Google executive said that entrepreneurs creating new start-ups could be thwarted unless Congress enacts extensive laws imposing Net neutrality regulations on broadband providers. "I'm not worried so much about Google in this regard," David Drummond, Google's general counsel, said at a 90-minute debate organized by the Progress and Freedom Foundation. "I'm worried about the small innovators at the edge of the networks." Google has been at the forefront of the Net neutrality debate, lobbying politicians in Washington to enact laws granting the FCC the power to regulate broadband providers.
•UK 'will lead digital TV uptake':
Digital TV will be watched in a greater percentage of homes in the UK than any other country by 2010, a report says. Around 95% of UK households will have digital TV, compared to 66% in the US and 50% in Germany, according to market analyst Datamonitor. Freeview will overtake satellite as the most popular way to watch TV in the UK by 2008, the company says. The UK already has the world's highest level of digital TV viewers at nearly 70%, broadcasting regulator Ofcom revealed earlier this year. The US is second with 55%, but no other European country has passed 50%.
•BroadVoice broadens 911 to all VoIP customers:
Since the FCC mandated last year that all VoIP subscribers must have access to 911 facilities, broadband voice service providers have scurried to comply. But it is taking time, as there are a number of complexities involved, including hardware, location technology, subscriber mobility, and local jurisdiction. Having overcome the many hurdles it and other VoIP providers have faced, business and consumer broadband service provider BroadVoice has announced that 100% of its customers in the United States now have access to 911 service.
•Microsoft tests Live Wi-Fi connection tool:
MS began sending invitations for testers to sign up for a beta of a Wi-Fi connection manager, Windows Live Connection Center Wi-Fi. The service is split into two parts, an application and Web site component. The app will automatically discover and assist in connecting to available wireless networks within range, plus provide security features and an integrated hotspot database. The companion site features a Web-based interface for finding Wi-Fi network, searchable by city, state or zipcode. MS said it would integrate the hotspot locator with Windows Live Local, allowing users to see the physical locations on a map and obtain directions.
•Cisco acquires missing IPTV link:
Cisco has acquired critical technology to build an on-demand content delivery platform with the acquisition of Arroyo Video Solutions, an executive said. Work on the platform will begin once the $92 million deal closes. The system will support digital content for cable and telecommunication carriers delivering on-demand interactive media and advertising services to TVs, PCs, set-top boxes, mobile handsets and other devices.
•Draft 802.11n wireless LAN gear popular in consumer market despite higher prices:
Fast wireless LAN gear based on a draft version of the next industry standard is making inroads into the small-office and home market despite costing more than twice as much as other products. An average "draft-N" router costs $86, versus $36 on average for an 802.11g router. In the second quarter, vendors worldwide sold about $25 million worth of routers and interface cards based on the first draft of the IEEE 802.11n standard, according to a report released by research company Dell'Oro Group. The 802.11n standard has sparked some acrimonious debate among vendors and is not expected to become final until some time next year at the earliest.
•Internode suddenly stops selling wireless broadband powered by Unwired; remains mum on reason:
While Internode has sold wireless broadband using Unwired's network for some time, in the past few weeks the offering has been put on ice. "Sorry, but Internode is currently not selling new 'Internode Broadband Wireless -- Powered by Unwired' services," the ISP's Web site currently states. "Existing customers are not affected by this decision, and remain fully supported." Pressed for more details, Internode boss Simon Hackett remained tight-lipped for the most part. He maintained that Internode had not broken its partnership with Unwired, but wouldn't elaborate further apart from adding the cryptic statement that "something" was definitely happening.
•Sony joins user-generated video craze:
Sony has agreed to pay $65 million to buy Web video-watching site Grouper.com, marking the growing embrace of the user-generated video craze by big media. Though in the shadow of YouTube, Grouper has attracted a following of millions of its own fans not just as passive viewers of Web-based videos but also as creators of their own videos, which can in turn be shared by users or downloaded to portable video-playing devices. The acquisition by Sony aims to infuse the studios with new ideas and talent for movies, television shows and games, a top executive said.
SecurityBits:
•IE Patch intros new exploitable vulnerability:
On the same day MS is expected to re-release an IE security update, a private security research outfit is warning that the original patch actually introduced an exploitable vulnerability. The new warning comes less than a week after MS offered a private hotfix for the browser because of a glitch that caused unexpected crashes. However, according to an advisory from eEye Digital Security, the browser crash could cause a "high risk" buffer overflow that could lead to code execution attacks.
•Worm adds MS06-040 to four-bug attack kit:
A network-aware worm that's added the MS06-040 vulnerability to its bag of exploitable bugs is on the make, Symantec said. Dubbed "Randex.gel," the worm opens a back door on any compromised computer, then tells the system to listen for additional commands over an IRC channel. The new Randex variant can spread in several different ways, Symantec's analysis reported, including via MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, and ICQ. It will also propagate through network shares and Microsoft SQL servers. The exploit in Randex.gel appears to be identical, or if not, very similar to the code released two weeks ago by HD Moore of Metasploit.
•Standard could unify security apps:
You've got anywhere from six to 60 security apps and tools in your data center, and most of them work pretty well. There's just one problem: None of them speak the same language. ArcSight has attacked that problem by proposing a new log management standard, the Common Event Format, that could enable security devices and apps to present and exchange event data in a common way. The net result: Security managers might soon be able to analyze security incidents from a single screen, without plowing through event logs and data on a dozen different apps or appliances.
•Security firms develop anti-rootkit tools:
Trend Micro and Sophos have developed new tools to discover rootkit infections but both are attacking the problem from a slightly different angle. Trend Micro claims the best way to protect desktops against rootkits is from the network layer, not from the desktop, where traditional AV apps usually reside. Trend hinted that its product will rely on network-based scans rather than client-based protection. Rival security vendor Sophos unveiled a free tool that can scan computers for suspicious processes. Sophos said the anti-rootkit tool is able to spot rootkit activity rather than the actual rootkit. “[Sophos Anti-Rootkit] doesn’t per say reveal the rootkit but it says ‘I have discovered a process that was attempting to hide itself therefore that is bad’. It approaches the problem in a different way.
Hardware, Software, and other TidBytes:
•Google faces $61 million fine for withholding user data
•MySpace.com to go on fibre
•Microsoft sues over 300+ misleading domain names
•Download torrents when your PC is off
•Mozilla team will smooze with Microsoft
•Google gives open access to Japan version of GMail... no, not US yet
•Judge lets Blockbuster anti-trust suit proceed
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Negroponte: $100 laptop trials to kick off