Carlo Orlando

After receiving an unsolicited email message ( spam ), most people would delete the suspicious message without giving it a second thought. One California man, however, is not only welcoming the prospect, but has been able to trap spammers for ... financial compensation, making a healthy living in the process. After being bombarded with spam on a daily basis, Dan Balsam had an idea: he would quit his job in the marketing field and go to law school in an attempt to fight those responsible for unsolicited email advertisements and messages. Since 2002, Balsam has fought, won and settled his way to ... (view more)

A recent Wall Street Journal report has revealed that some popular mobile apps have been sending personal data of their users to third parties without consent. A whopping 56 applications using the Apple iPhone and Google Android systems were found ... guilty of such practices. In a recent statement, Alex Deane, director of Big Brother Watch, was outraged with such activity. Founded in 2009, Big Brother Watch is a British-based group dedicated to combating intrusions of privacy and protecting civil liberties. Personal Info Breach "Alarming News" "This is alarming news. Most users of ... (view more)

IBM has revealed their annual "Five in Five" list, which highlights five innovations that the company predicts will change the lives of everyday people over the next five years. Among the predictions turning heads is the belief that IBM researchers ... are five years away from enabling mobile phones to produce 3D hologram images of people talking and moving in real time. Image Princess Leigha's hologram inside R2D2 from the mega-smash hit movie Star Wars, and the experience may be similar. 3D Visual Images to be Displayed on Virtually Any Surface Paul Bloom, IBM's CTO for telecommunications ... (view more)

Those concerned with the storage space on their mobile phones need not worry in the near future. IBM researchers are on the verge of a new technology that could be used to load up a mobile phone and computers with so much storage space that it could ... virtually keep copies of every single movie made this year. The Incredibly Fast, Non-Spinning Anti-Hard Drive IBM's experimental "Racetrack Memory" works much differently than the traditional hard drive. While a standard hard drive spins a media platter (disc) and writes to it using magnetic read/write heads, Racetrack memory has no such platter ... (view more)

In recent weeks, corporations associated with Wikileaks have had to make the difficult decision of whether or not to sever all ties with the organization, and if so, face the potential of backlash on their own companies, including distributed denial ... of service attacks. Bank of America is the latest to join the list of financial and technology companies that have cut off services to Wikileaks, but their decision might have been made with the knowledge that Wikileaks is prepared to release confidential and likely scandalous information about the institution. Two Sides to the Story The official ... (view more)

Internet activists that stand behind " Operation Payback " have waged war on corporations deemed enemies of the Wikileaks web site, the non-profit organization that publishes otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous news sources and leaks. ... Distributed Denial of Service Attacks Flood Targets What began as a vengeful campaign intended to target opponents of Internet piracy, Operation Payback utilizes distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against their enemies. In short, a DDoS attack occurs when many computers band together to flood a target computer (usually a web server) with ... (view more)

In Australia, more than 1,850 people succumb to skin cancer each year -- more than the number of those killed in road accidents. Researchers believe that close to two-thirds of all Australian youths will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of ... 70. (Source: canoe.ca ) Now, in an effort to reach out to this generation and save a few lives in the process, a new iPhone application has been released, providing current weather forecasts and the maximum ultraviolet levels expected for the day. Temperature and UV Rays Difficult to Discern In a recent report, Sue Heward, SunSmart Manager at Cancer ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is promoting a new campaign that would enable users to stop advertisers from tracking their online behavior. Similar to having your telephone number appear on the "Do Not Call" registry, the FTC believes that ... having your web browser set to "Do Not Track" (DNT) would make for a safer online environment. In activating the Do Not Track feature, your web browser sends out a virtual message to the website, asking the advertiser(s) not to track you. The message is repeated on every website you visit. Activation Control at the Discretion of the User Do Not Track ... (view more)

While it is no secret that spam and botnet attacks are becoming more sophisticated with each passing day, there are a number of advanced security software programs that have been able to effectively combat malware in most of its forms. In spite of ... these positive strides, Symantec recently revealed new information that suggests botnets are adapting new methods of attacking computers. In short, a botnet is a jargon term used to describe a network of computers under the control of 1 (or few) users. For example, a PC can become part of a botnet when the primary user inadvertently download and ... (view more)

Faced with mounting pressure from competitors Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft will soon offer Xbox Live users redeemable points for their activity on the popular online gaming portal. Xbox Live is the online video game network for the Xbox 360 console. ... Those who subscribe to a membership can not only game with their friends, but also gain access to downloadable movies, music and TV shows. It costs about $60 for a one-year membership to Xbox Live. Dubbed Xbox Live Rewards (XLR), the program offers a system whereby credits are either accumulated through gaming or purchased online. Xbox Live ... (view more)