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The World Wide Web is only fifteen years old, but it changes faster than any other technology in history. Read the latest headlines in tech development, Internet law, cybercrime, viruses and hacking, and online culture.
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Ireland Gets Tough on Internet Scammers!
They're "rogue dialers", who hijack your Internet telephone modem connection, and rack up your long distance bills. In Ireland, they're cracking down and blocking phone calls to specific locations. Severe, yes... but so are these nasty criminals.
Google May Enter the Browser Wars!
Yes, the Greatest Search Engine on Earth has not only released its Gmail email service, but now it may develop and market a "Gbrowser" software to compete with IE and Firefox and Opera. If this happens, Gbrowser will be based on Mozilla's open-source code. Read more here.
Google Experiments: Mad Science or Brilliance?
"Froogle"? "Deskbars"? What do these Google developers think they're doing? See the exciting experimentation for yourself at Google Labs online.
Sep 20: Teenage Webbie Foils Plot To Blow Up High School
Clinton, Michigan: a teenage Internet user in Idaho has saved a school from being destroyed in a bomb plot. After meeting the violent suspect online in a music chat room, courageous youth, Celie McGinty, notified the authorities of what she learned online. Now, 17 year old Andrew Osantowski is behind bars after police arrested him and his father.
Sep 20: Firefox Threatens IE Market Share
In four days, Firefox 1.0 has been downloaded over 1 million times, more than twice the response that Mozilla was hoping for. While dark clouds continue to form over Microsoft IE and its poor security track record this summer, users everywhere are trying out Firefox as an alternative means to surfing the web.
Judge Orders Microsoft to Pay $112 Mil in Lawyer Fees
Alleging that Microsoft unfairly monopolized the pre-installed software market in California, lawyers have won a financial victory. The supervising judge has ordered the gargantuan company to pay $112 million in lawyer fees to the San Francisco law firm involved. With over 209 thousand billable hours of lawyer work invested, these SF lawyers have put a small dent in Microsoft's side.
Latest Virus Alerts, Updated Daily
Zafi, MyDoom, Netsky-P, Lovgate, Agoboy and more... here are your latest Internet virus and hoax warnings. Brought to you by Sophos and your About.com Internet security professionals.
Sep. 2004: Security Flaw in XP Service Pack 1
If you have not yet installed XP Service Pack 2, then you are at risk from a special security flaw in how XP views jpg graphics. Yes, the traditionally-safe jpg file format for web images is now a means for gifted hackers to open up your XP computers. Read more at the Microsoft patch site, and download the fix now.
Windows XP Service Pack 2: Buggy!
August, 2004: No, Virginia, this is not a bright day for Microsoft. Plagued with security holes, spyware openings, and more problems than improvements, the latest service pack ("patch") from Microsoft has left sour tastes in users' mouths everywhere.
$100k Bounty May Be Placed on Spammers' Heads.
The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating the feasibility of a reward system to encourage the disclosure of email spammer identities. If the reward is made equivalent to other criminal programs, then it just might work...
"MoreGoogle": A Controversial Plug In for Google Users
Aug 30, 2004: A 3rd party group has created plug-in software to "enhance" your Google searching. By providing thumbnail images, Amazon price comparisons, site cross links, and more, "MoreGoogle" adds icing to the Google cake. It's free, it's neat, and maybe it will even catch on.
Sep, 2004 - "Behavioral Technology": The New Web Advertising
Yes, there is a method to the madness of those pesky Internet ads! Read how this invisible technology is scoring big hits with advertisers.
Sep 6, 2004 - Wikipedia: It's Doubling Every Month
Wikipedia is a controversial experiment in knowledge sharing. Everyone and anyone is invited to contribute to this online encyclopedia of human knowledge, any topic from A to Z. Originally chided as absurd, insecure and open to abuse, Wikipedia is now a burgeoning phenomenon. See it for yourself.
Sep, 2004 - Vengeful Internet Attacker Gets Jailed For Video
A jilted boyfriend enacted revenge on his girlfriend by distributing illicit videos of the two of them through the Internet. Now, the boyfriend is serving jail time for three months.
Sep, 2004 - New Website Can Help You Get a US Government Job
An Alabama publisher has produced a low-cost guide to help you land a job with the US Government. Ideal for college grads, or people looking for a career change.
Sep, 2004 - "Portable Internet" Is Going to Explode
Already worth over $1 trillion USD in annual sales, the telephone business is about to hit another motherlode: mobile phone users surfing the Web! With already 200 million people opting for cell phones over land lines, these "portable Internet users" represent a tremendous market for portable web surfing. Read more about this next wave of Web Change.
Microsoft Jumps Into Online Music Wars Against Apple
Apple has been a big success with "iTunes", its online store for downloading MP3 music. Now Microsoft is countering with its own 99-cents-per-song online store this month. See how this new wave of buying music-by-the-song is heating up into a vendor battle for your business.
Do you live in the country? You can get satellite high-speed Internet!
Canada is experimenting with high-speed satellite Internet for its rural users. Read more about LinCsat and Galaxy Broadband here.
Cybercrime Report: Microsoft IE Hole Pervades Even XP Service Pack 2
Aug 30, 2004: The ominous cloud over Microsoft gets even darker. After millions of users attempt to patch the critical security holes in IE6, the new XP Service Pack 2 still fails to prevent password theft and hijacked browsers! Tech Republic explains this sad news, and gives us yet more reason to reconsider our favorite browser choice.
"Remind Me: Why Should I Stop Using Microsoft IE?"
August, 2004:The "Scob" Trojan (aka "Toofer/Ject") has infected thousands of Microsoft IE6 users around the world. The problem is so critical, Microsoft has released patches ahead of its normal schedule. Read the official security bulletin, and download your IE6 fixes here.
150 Cyber Criminals Busted By D.O.J.
Aug 27, 2004: Operation "Web Snare" was a coordination of 160 federal investigations in the USA. In a massive cross-department undertaking, the Department of Justice arrested 150 cybercriminals this week. Read the Sophos news here.
Top 10 Search Engines: Users Vote, Summer 2004
181 users in a special focus group were asked "what is your favorite search engine or directory?". After weeks of discussion and hands-on testing, this is what those 181 people listed as their preferences.

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