Here’s an interesting question: if you are the victim of phishing, and are unaware that you have been phished, and as a result of that phishing, the phisher gets enough information to drain your bank account, who – other than the phisher – should be responsible for the loss which…

First there was spam offering you an online degree. Then the spammers were getting the third degree. Now you can learn how to spam and get credit for your college degree. Yes, the University of Calgary, that wacky institution of higher learning that brought us “Virus Writing 101” in 2003,…

The Register is reporting today that the Recording Industry Association of America has demonstrated that death should be no obstacle to a good lawsuit. Or a stupid one. According to the report, the RIAA has filed an infringement lawsuit against one Gertrude Walton of Beckley, West Virginia, for making hundreds…

Happy V Day to Windows users everywhere from Microsoft! However, despite the timing, the V doesn’t stand for “Valentines” as Microsoft introduces this bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed beauties to tackle thorny issues. Yes, that’s right! Twelve new security updates in one day, just for you! Happy Vulnerabilities Day! With…

Scott “I’m going straight” Richter wants you to know that he has a sense of humour, and so he sent Aunty this story from the Onion to share with you all: Immigrant Laborers Hired to Delete Spam SAN DIEGO—Executives at Gortman Consulting are hiring immigrant day laborers to delete their…

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its CAN-SPAM responsibilities, has published a list of domains in an effort to cut down on spam to cellular telephones. However, there seems to be some confusion as to what exactly the list is, and its intended purpose. According to the Las Vegas…

Who the h*ll would by something advertised in spam? That’s what Aunty wants to know. Do you know anybody who would buy something advertised in spam? Would you?? According to a recent survey, reported in CNN, 14% of people acknowledged that they actually read their spam. Now, how many people…

Not content just to install RFIDs into your car or insert RFIDs in your passport, the newest item which is the target of the RFID craze is human cadavers. Troubled by a rash of “now you see it, now you don’t” tricks with human body parts, and indeed entire cadavers,…

It’s that time of year – nearly spring, when a young man’s fancy turns to love, couples think about Valentine’s Day, and wage-earners think about..filing taxes. And as their special Valentines to you, Intuit, the makers of Quicken, would like to give you a sunset..but no, not a beautiful, picturesque…

From Across the Pond, courtesy of Chris Hunter over at Spamfo: UK police have arrested a 21 year old man from Blackpool who is suspected to be behind an email phishing scam. The phishing attempts were aimed at UK online bank Smile who are part of the co-operative bank. The National…

Some of you will remember that just before Christmas we wrote about the Ellsworth family, whose son was slain in combat in Iraq, and who were subsequently trying to get Yahoo to let them have access to their son’s email account. Yahoo had staunchly refused, citing their privacy policy. Well, it’s happened again, to another family, the Linn family of Midlothian, Virginia, who have found themselves pitted against Reno-based Internet service provider Mailbank.com.

For those of you not aware, there is a trial ongoing down under in Australia, pitting record labels, among others, against Sharman Networks, the current owners of Kazaa. The trial is about the usual beefs between the record companies and peer-to-peer networks, which we are not going to rehash here,…

Channel KOKH 25 out of Oklahoma City is reporting that somehow somebody managed to load computer surveillance software onto three computers at the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office. According to Oklahoma Sheriff John Whetsel, whomever installed the software gained access to some very sensitive information, including not only personnel files, but…

Two independent security firms have issued alerts over the next generation Bropia worm this week. Danish security company Secunia has issued what it calls a “medium” alert about the newly discovered version of Bropia, warning that it is spreading quickly through MSN Messenger. And Korean security firm Global Hauri has…

The District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) is poised to get a brand new anti-spam law of their very own. Many people don’t realize that Washington D.C., while a “district”, is not, in fact, a state. It is the capital city of the United States, and there have been movements to…