fee

Fri
24
May
John Lister's picture

FCC Closes Net Neutrality Loophole

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has banned Internet carriers from giving some applications access to "fast lane" speeds. The tweak to recently-restored net neutrality rules aims to close a potential loophole. Last month, the FCC voted to ... restore the principle of net neutrality. Broadly they say Internet carriers must treat all traffic equally. The commission has now published the full wording of the rules which will enforce the principle. One of the most notable elements of net neutrality is speed. Previously used rules explicitly barred carriers from slowing down access when ... (view more)

Mon
01
Apr
John Lister's picture

Apple 'Still Not Playing Fair' for In-App Fees

Major tech companies including Microsoft and Meta say Apple is trying to weasel out of a court ruling on the way it handles app payments. They've weighted in on a court dispute about how to enforce a judgment against Microsoft. The case centers on ... in-app payments where people who've already installed an app give extra money to the app developers. Common examples include subscriptions to a digital service or payments for additional content in games. Apple demands a cut of either 15 or 30 percent of such payments made through its payment handling services. Critics, including games maker Epic, ... (view more)

Tue
26
Jan
John Lister's picture

Ransomware Gets Doubly Dangerous

Ransomware infections used to be about forcing victims to pay to regain access to their files. Now it appears more and more scammers are treating it as an exercise in blackmail. A new cybersecurity report says 18 known ransomware gangs have switched ... their focus to threatening to publish stolen data unless the victim pays up. That's led to some businesses paying the ransom even though they had access to backups in order to restore their files. Traditionally ransomware has been about file encryptions. Scammers get access to a victim's computer or network through malware, then the infection " ... (view more)

Wed
14
Dec
John Lister's picture

New Ransomware: Scam Two Friends to Unlock Your PC

A new form of ransomware offers victims the chance to escape the release fee by fooling two friends into paying up instead. A security expert likened it to a malware version of a pyramid scheme. Traditionally ransomware involves malware getting onto ... a computer and then encrypting all files, with an on-screen message demanding the victim pay a fee to regain access. It's unknown what proportion of people pay up, but some big organizations such as hospitals and police forces are known to have paid the fee in the past, rather than lose sensitive data or access to control systems. The new ... (view more)

Wed
22
Jul
John Lister's picture

Website Promoting Affairs Drops Controversial Fee

Hackers who stole data from a website promoting extra-marital affairs say they did so to promote misleading claims. The Ashley Madison site has responded by dropping a controversial fee to delete user accounts. The site openly promotes itself as ... appealing to people who want to arrange dates online where at least one party is already in a relationship. Not surprisingly, that setup brings added interest in keeping client details confidential. Earlier this week attackers claimed to have breached security and got access to the records of a supposed 33 million members around the world. They've ... (view more)

Tue
12
May
John Lister's picture

Microsoft: Windows 10 Will Be The Last Version

Microsoft has confirmed Windows 10 will be the last ever version of Windows. But it says that by no means is it the end for the system. The company plans to completely ditch the idea of releasing a new version of Windows every two or three years. ... Instead it's going to issue more frequent updates to Windows 10 . At the moment, the updates to Windows are relatively minor. Besides the important security fixes, most updates tend to be minor fixes for usability, with very occasional new features and improvements. Any major rethinks are generally saved for a new version. In the future, ... (view more)

Mon
29
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

T-Mobile's 'No Contract' Deal Deceptive: Critics

T-Mobile's "No Contract" deal is supposed to let a customer sever their relationship with the wireless carrier at any moment. However, Washington state officials have ordered the firm to offer refunds to people who didn't realize that quitting the ... contract would come with a fee. With most smartphone deals, the user only pays a portion of the cost of the handset, while the service provider picks up the rest of the tab. In return, the user is tied to a minimum service term (usually lasting two to three years), during which they must pay a steep early termination fee if they choose to cancel the ... (view more)

Thu
19
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

GameStop Pays Out Over Hidden Fees Confusion

The world's biggest video game retailer has been forced by courts to compensate customers who bought used games and weren't informed they'd have to pay extra for "free" downloadable content. The retailer, GameStop, will also have to post clear signs ... in its stores to explain when used games will require gamers to pay additional fees. The court case covers the situation where additional content can and often must be downloaded once a player has installed a game on his or her console. Examples of such additional content can include new and different missions in an action game or updated rosters ... (view more)

Tue
19
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

New York Times To Ditch Free Online Access?

The New York Times is considering a fee for frequent visitors to its website. The plan would make it arguably the most high-profile newspaper to charge for online access. According to a source quoted in the Wall Street Journal, it's almost ... inevitable the Times will indeed introduce some form of online access fee. At this stage the only decision is between two methods of doing so. Limits, Premium Articles Amongst Options The first is to limit the number of articles people can read each day without charge. The second plan would be to have some articles free and the rest exclusive to online ... (view more)

Wed
14
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Server Upgrade Q and A

After announcing that our main server needs upgrading, quite a few Infopackets Readers emailed me over the weekend and asked if there were other ways they could help out financially. Infopackets Reader Anne C. writes: " Hi Dennis! I just wanted to ... let you know that I've replied to your request to donate infopackets.com in order to help keep your website maintained [and protected against hackers]. A suggestion: perhaps you should charge an annual fee like some websites do? I certainly wouldn't have a problem donating $10-15 dollars a year to keep you up and running. PS: Keep up the good ... (view more)

Subscribe to RSS - fee