John Lister

Netflix has revealed its $9 million settlement of a claim it breached privacy laws. Surprisingly, the case involved a law intended to govern video rentals rather than Internet data. The lawsuit came to light in Netflix's latest financial filing with ... the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which it is required to detail any major legal actions. The filing said Netflix had not expected the settlement, so this was an unexpected expense. (Source: thehill.com ) The case involved the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. The law bars video ... (view more)

Google has temporarily suspended one of the features on its mobile wallet system for smartphones following word the platform has at least two serious security flaws. Google Wallet allows users to make payments using "near-field communications," a ... wireless protocol like Bluetooth, but with a maximum range of just centimeters. Users can hold, tap or swipe their smartphone next to a payment device without having to worry about the signal being intercepted. 'Brute Force' Could Break Code The system can be protected with a PIN (personal identification number) code, to prevent misuse when ... (view more)

In an attempt to limit companies that make automated marketing calls to consumers, a government agency has introduced tougher restrictions and standards. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said the move was necessary because companies had ... failed to take heed of the principles behind the existing rules. The new restrictions and standards involve automated calls, often called 'robocalls' because a robot (computer program) makes them, in which consumers answer their phones and immediately hear recorded messages. Marketers find such tactics profitable because they can conduct whole ... (view more)

A woman accused of pirating an adult-oriented film says the United States Constitution prevents such movies from being copyrighted. Liuxia Wong received a letter last year from Hard Drive Productions, claiming she illegally shared a copy of "Amateur ... Allure Jen" through the BitTorrent file-sharing system. The company then threatened to sue Wong for $150,000 damages -- the maximum for a single copyright infringement -- unless she immediately paid $3,400 in compensation. Accused Woman Strikes Back Wong refused to pay, and instead filed for declaratory relief. A declaratory relief is a ... (view more)

Microsoft has released a customized edition of its popular Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) web browser, this one intended for use by children. In addition to adding links to online safety sites, the new version includes content protection that is switched ... on, by default. The new children's edition of IE9 has been developed with the help of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), a British organization that includes police officers, government officials and representatives from some major tech firms, including Microsoft. Bookmarks, Tabs Bring Safety to Forefront The updated ... (view more)

Both Facebook and Google have removed online material alleged to pose a risk of social unrest in India, following legal threats to block the sites completely. The two companies are among 21 firms hit with a civil lawsuit regarding offensive content. ... The lawsuit, brought by a private citizen, claims the material involves religious issues that could provoke unrest. Google's problems appear tied to its sites Blogger and YouTube. Google says it has taken down the material pursuant to a court request, its standard policy regarding legal issues, regardless of country. The material has been removed ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced that a special "Consumer Preview" edition of Windows 8 will be available from February 29, 2012. It's believed that this version of the upcoming operating system (OS) will boast more features designed for mobile devices. ... Though Microsoft isn't using this term, the release appears to be a beta edition , a version of in-development software that is complete, but not considered ready for final release and still open to revisions. The next stage after that, likely coming in the summer, is a Release Candidate , which is where the developer considers the product finished and ... (view more)

According to a new set of statistics from tech analyst firm Canalys, Apple is now the world's largest manufacturer of computers. But the figures include gadgets such as the iPad tablet device, causing some to wonder exactly what it takes for a ... device to be defined as a computer. The figures cover shipments during the last three months of 2011 . They show that Apple shipped 20 million "personal computing devices," accounting for 17 per cent of the worldwide total. In second place belongs to Hewlett-Packard (HP) with 12.7 per cent, followed by Lenovo at 11.2 per cent, Dell at 9.9 per cent and ... (view more)

Hackers have published source code that could be used to hack computers running Symantec's security program PCAnywhere. The move comes after the security firm refused to meet the hackers' demand for $50,000 in ransom. As we reported last month , the ... code behind a range of Symantec products was originally stolen in 2006. It appears most likely the theft came after Indian military officials demanded access to the code before accepting it for official use. Symantec may have learned of the theft only after hackers revealed they had it, earlier this year. Symantec said in January that several ... (view more)

Microsoft's standing in the smartphone operating system (OS) marketplace may have been seriously hurt by the many delays associated with Windows Phone 7, it's most current offering. But a newly leaked video suggests work on the next Windows Phone ... system is well underway and could make up for several current failings. The video, which was leaked to the Pocket Now website, was produced by Microsoft for Nokia, which now uses Windows Phone 7 in almost all of its new smartphones (one of Microsoft's few mobile success stories in recent years). It's not clear why Microsoft created the video, though ... (view more)