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A U.S. District Court Judge for Washington's Western District has dismissed a claim against software giant Microsoft over the use of its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program four years ago. One of many reasons that Windows Vista failed was ... because of widespread fear of something called WGA, or the Windows Genuine Advantage program. The drive behind WGA was simple: analyze a computer for pirated copy of Windows and report back to Microsoft headquarters. Unfortunately, the Windows Genuine Advantage stirred up plenty of fear and anger in the lead-up to Vista's launch. Plaintiffs Claim WGA is ... (view more)

According to reports, Google and the National Security Agency (NSA) are teaming up in the name of cyber security. Under the agreement, the NSA would help Google defend against attacks like the one that targeted the search company (along with Adobe ... and several other firms) from China several weeks ago . Google announced publicly that their systems had been hacked beginning in December . The Google intrusions targeted Google source code and extended to more than 30 other large tech, defense, energy, financial and media companies. Gmail accounts of human rights activists in Europe, China and the ... (view more)

Interested in a free copy of Office 2010 but can't wait until summer to purchase the new software suite? It appears that Microsoft has let slip some interesting details about a forthcoming promotion aimed at potential Office 2010 customers this ... June. The promotion, which is rumored to be called the "Microsoft Office 2010 Technology Guarantee Program," will pertain to those customers who purchase a copy of Office 2007 (with or without a new PC) from an authorized retailer between March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010, and who wish to upgrade to Office 2010 free of charge. Office 2010 ... (view more)

A new iPhone app is causing quite a stir because of its ability to perform a background check on nearly anyone within a matter of seconds. While the app would be a tremendous resource for checking out a romantic prospect or a new co-worker, the ... opinions of most people change when the tables are turned and the background checks are being done on them. Still, BeenVerified is a friend to almost any employer. The only stipulation is that individuals may only conduct up to three free background checks per week for the app to still be considered free. For an additional $8 per month, you can ... (view more)

A barely-noticed letter from Yahoo to the U.S. Marshals Service has revealed surveillance policies that allow the US Justice Department to request wiretaps of its users. The 12-page letter (in PDF format), in response to a Freedom of Information Act ... request, claimed that Yahoo couldn't provide the information on their policies because their pricing scheme would 'shock' customers. (Source: rawstory.com ) A Yahoo lawyer wrote that if the pricing information was disclosed, it would be used to shame Yahoo and other companies and to traumatize their customers. (Source: rawstory.com ) Yahoo: ... (view more)

As hundreds of thousands of children write their letters to Santa this holiday season, Infopackets.com weighs in on two possible phish-friendly tools that would top the wish list of any hacker. These particular tools of interest are able to scour ... the Internet and collect snippets of personal information from people via social networking sites and other public sources. The end result is a detailed profile with information voluntarily provided. Hackers May Look To "Bigger Picture" Rather than target certain people, hackers could use this stolen information as part of a bigger " spear-phishing ... (view more)

Facebook was infiltrated on Tuesday by an intruder looking to send the message "Control Your Info". The intruder, who might style himself something of a virtual Boondock Saint, didn't cause any significant damage, but instead sought to show people ... that they need to be as careful with their online information as they are with protecting their safety offline. The attack, if you can call it that, didn't target individual users in an attempt to scoop sensitive data. Instead, it went after Facebook "Groups", online organizations within the social networking platform that allow people to join ... (view more)

According to reports, Britain will spend 200 million British Pound Sterling per year (equivalent to $330M US Dollars, or $627 per minute), in a massive expansion of its surveillance networks. The new funding is intended to give officials access to ... details of every Internet click -- on top of the email and telephone records that are already available -- made by every British citizen. LibDem Home Affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, who describes the amount of money being spent on the increasing surveillance state as 'eye-watering,' claims the increase in money spent on tapping phones and emails is ... (view more)

Amidst news that thousands of Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo accounts have been compromised in recent weeks, there's some good news for the good guys: over a hundred phishers have been brought to justice in a multinational investigation spanning half the ... globe. Phishing involves using a fake web page to dupe visitors into entering their sensitive information, including passwords or credit card data. The phisher can then use that information to steal identities and clear out bank accounts. Operation Phish Phry The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday revealed that it had charged ... (view more)

The latest case of malware infestation is once again targeting Facebook , this time masquerading as a virus removal kit designed to rid the computer world of a bogus "Fan Check" bug. Fan Check: Valid App, but 'Bug' is Bogus While the Fan Check "bug" ... does not really exist, Fan Check is in fact a valid Facebook application used on Facebook.com. The purpose of the Fan Check application is to rank friends based on how often they interact with your Facebook pages. (Source: facebook.com ). The new malware, however, is rather devious because it pretends to defend against a made-up virus, ... (view more)