report

In a recent Security Intelligence Report, Microsoft revealed that scareware threats are steadily climbing. The report, which covers the second half of 2008, finds that fake security software is becoming more and more prevalent as people head online ... in greater numbers. Scareware isn't your traditional malicious software. It's not simply a virus or malware, but can lead to those kinds of infections. Instead, scareware is a more sinister kind of threat -- it pretends to be security software willing and able to "repair and protect" a user's system, but is in fact just a farce. Most ... (view more)

Opinions vary on whether or not it's a good idea to leave your PC running 24 hours a day. However, a recent report from the Alliance to Save Energy says that the cost of refusing to power down 108 million PCs is costing businesses an estimated $2.8 ... billion a year. Approximately 20 million tons of carbon dioxide -- roughly the equivalent of 4 million cars -- are emitted by those idling, unused PCs. (Source: usatoday.com ) The Alliance to Save Energy report analyzed workplace PC power consumption in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. Wastefulness Affects Bottom Line and The ... (view more)

A brand specialist says more and more web domain names are being registered solely to cash in on existing firms' business. The report from MarkMonitor examines five types of 'abuse' related to domain names of varying legality. The biggest problem, ... which is also the fastest growing, is cybersquatting: buying up a domain name that is the same as an existing business with the intention of selling it back to a firm at a profit. According to the report, that problem affected almost 450,000 domain names during the last quarter of 2008, up 18% on the previous year. Approximately 80% of the sites ... (view more)

According to a recent report from the British House of Lords, Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras and the UK's DNA database -- purported to be the "largest in the world" -- are two examples of "pervasive" threats to privacy in British society, and may ... even threaten to undermine democracy. The report warns that pervasive and routine electronic surveillance and the collection and processing of personal information is almost taken for granted. (Source: guardian.co.uk ) Although the government calls CCTV and DNA essential to fight crime, privacy advocates say abuses of power mean that even the ... (view more)

Trials of Australia's mandatory censorship program will begin soon -- details of which the government is refusing to reveal -- despite a high-level report to the Rudd government that found the technology simply does not work, will significantly slow ... Internet speeds, and will block access to legitimate websites. Recently it was announced that Australia would implement mandatory Internet censorship as a way to combat child pornography and adult content. However, this strategy could be extended to include controversial websites focusing on topics like euthanasia or anorexia. Australian users ... (view more)

You'd think a company named after a fruit would be particularly adept at marketing products that are safe for the environment. Not so in the case of Apple, who once again has been targeted by Greenpeace in the latter's tenth Guide to Greener ... Electronics. According to a recent advertisement airing on American TV, Apple's new Macbooks (well-received by most technology critics) are "The world's greenest family of notebooks." This particular ad shirks many other features that make the Macbook so great, including its processing, memory, and graphics powers. It seems an indication that the ... (view more)

An official report says two IRS computer systems have serious security weaknesses. It also warns information about taxpayers is at risk of falling into the wrong hands. The report, by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, a federal ... agency which monitors IRS performance, details problems with a new billion dollar system which will eventually manage the data for all taxpayers. The Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) already handles 28 million tax returns, around a fifth of the total. The report also covers the Account Management Services (AMS) system, which provides quicker ... (view more)

Apple shares briefly dropped in value by more than 5% in the wake of a false rumour claiming the company's chief had suffered a heart attack. The bogus report has sparked debate about the dangers of so-called 'citizen journalism'. The report claimed ... Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack and been taken to hospital. It gained some credibility by appearing on CNN's website, though it appeared in the iReport section dedicated to 'citizen journalism'. Anyone who wants can post a report and CNN disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy of stories posted there. Apple only took 12 minutes to ... (view more)

A leaked internal report on a secret trial of eavesdropping and advertising technology from Internet Service Provuder (ISP) British Telecom (BT) reportedly shows that the system crashed some unsuspecting users' browsers, causing a small percentage ... of the 18,000 broadband customers under surveillance to believe they had been infected with adware. The January 2007 report (PDF), published by WikiLeaks shows what can happen when an ISP tampers with raw Internet traffic for its own profit. The leak was revealed weeks after Charter Communications told its users it would be testing similar ... (view more)

The latest study commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) shows that software pirates caused the software industry sales losses of nearly $48 billion last year. The fifth annual report says that from 2006 to 2007, overall losses grew by ... $8 billion and worldwide piracy rates increased by 3 percentage points to 38 percent. While overall losses grew, piracy rates dipped in 67 of 108 countries included in the report. The BSA said about half of the increased dollars are attributable to the declining value of the dollar. In an interview conducted by CNET News , BSA President Robert ... (view more)