John Lister

Events in Egypt have shown how a citizenry will react when a government attempts to shut off local Internet access . Since then, there's been considerable discussion as to whether this could happen in the U.S., but experts say that even if such a ... move were legally possible, it would be practically unworkable. Connections between Egyptian computers and the outside world were cut off for a little over a week, almost certainly under government orders in an attempt to limit communications between protestors. It led to some creative responses from the public, ranging from using dial-up connections ... (view more)

Google has unveiled two new tools for its Android phone system. One is genuinely useful while the other appears to be an impressive gimmick. The first tool is an extension to the existing Google Translate feature. As well as offering traditional ... translation services, the phones could recognize voices and offer a translation of spoken words. However, as with most automated translation tools and traditional phrasebooks, this was limited in conversations with foreign speakers. That's now been solved by the introduction of a conversation mode. For example: a Spanish user can speak into the phone ... (view more)

For most of us, it's hard to imagine life without access to the Internet. But since late last week, that's been the reality for most people in Egypt. As part of crackdown designed to disrupt organized protests against the government currently in ... power, almost every connection between Egypt's Internet service providers (ISPs) and the rest of the web was cut almost simultaneously during the evening of January 27th. Any suspicion that this might be a mechanical failure was soon eliminated when it became clear that network traffic was still passing through the country. The major set of fiber ... (view more)

Two men accused of scamming PC users into buying bogus security software have agreed to pay the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) an estimated $8.2 million. The money will go towards refunding the victims. Fake security software and similar scams of ... this nature are known as " scareware " -- software which is purposely designed to scare users into making a purchase. The scareware duo were made up of a father and son team. Maurice and Marc D'Souza are reported to have been involved in a massive scam that involved selling more than 1 million copies of fake security software to Windows ... (view more)

An Italian consumer agency is suing Microsoft because it experienced difficulty getting a refund for an "unwanted" copy of Windows 7 which came pre-bundled with a new PC. If it gets as far as a verdict, it could set a legal precedent. The case ... involves Vincenzo Donvito, a man which resides in Florence, Italy. He bought an ASUS Eee PC netbook that came pre-bundled with the starter edition of Windows 7 already installed. Donvito later decided he did not want to use Windows 7 Starter and instead wanted to replace it with an alternative operating system (OS) for his Eee PC. (Source: ... (view more)

Mozilla and Google have both followed Microsoft's lead in giving users a chance to opt out of having their activity tracked by advertisers. But the voluntary schemes may not be effective enough to stave off government action. The changes follow ... Federal Trade Commission (FTC) demands for both website and browser developers to make it easier for users to opt out of tracking. The call was designed to tackle fears that sites were abusing their ability to pass on details about what people do online to advertisers, allowing for better targeted advertisements, which typically command higher rates. ... (view more)

An international report says that the term "cyber war" overstates the genuine security risks that national governments face in the online age. It goes on to note that officials need to plan for accidental incidents as well as attacks. The report, ... from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, says that comparing online attacks to an armed military conflict exaggerates the potential effects. It also argues that a financial crisis or a health pandemic would also be much more serious than cyber attacks. The key finding of the report is that most forms of attack against ... (view more)

A hacker recently made a post stating he'll give anyone willing to pay $499 behind-the-scenes access to confidential network files, including those of the US Army. The hacker posted a price list for access to a range of sites on an underground ... digital forum, along with offers for other illicit services. While there's no way to be certain the offer is legitimate, at least one security expert says he's seen evidence which suggests that offer is in fact genuine. (Source: krebsonsecurity.com ) US Military Intelligence Website Vulnerable Among the most high profile web sites said to be vulnerable ... (view more)

Microsoft has refused to do future business with a company responsible for changing users' default web browser search without permission. The firm appears to have been one of the most prolific advertisers on Facebook. The company in question runs a ... website called make-my-baby.com, which includes a tool allowing users to simulate dressing a virtual baby. To use the tool, users had to install a plug-in for their browser. Unless users visited a link to a set of terms and conditions and read through the fine print, they wouldn't have been aware that the installation process also switched their ... (view more)

Ever since Microsoft released Kinect , its hands-free motion control system for the Xbox 360 console, enthusiasts have been trying desperately to use it on the Windows operating system (OS). Given their determination in the matter, it appears ... Microsoft has concluded that if you can't beat 'em, you may as well join 'em. The Kinect system uses what is effectively a robotically-mounted camera to identify humans and track their movements. This allows players to take part in games without the need for any controller: the player simply makes the appropriate movement for the game situation. Using ... (view more)