The Internet Patrol

Remember Terri Iligan, the woman who sold her name on eBay, agreeing to legally change it to anything which the highest bidder requested? Not to be outdone, Kari Smith has sold her forehead on eBay – well, leased, really – for the tattooing pleasure of the highest bidder which, not…

California Senator Debra Bowen, known for her tough stance against spam, is now taking a shot (no pun intended) at what she sees as another Internet scourge: real-time remote Internet hunting of live game. While some consider the Senator’s stand on the remote “sport” to be emotional and anti-gun, Internet…

The body of Grokster was barely cold in the grave, when this press release came across Aunty’s desk: WASHINGTON – As part of its continued efforts to promote legal online services, educate fans about the right and wrong way to enjoy digital music, and enforce its rights through the legal…

[Says Wells Fargo “We see today’s decision as a set back for consumers’ struggles to protect their desktop (sic) from deceptive, confusing and intrusive forms of advertising. This form of advertising can create confusion for impacted customers who visit financial sites and believe the offers they are receiving are from…

Following this year’s rash of personal data security breaches, starting with the ChoicePoint and Lexis-Nexis leaks, and culiminating with the CardSystems hack and exposure of the credit card information of more than 40million customers, Democratic Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy has teamed up with Republican Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter to introduce…

The newest version of the W32 Kedebe-F worm is playing on the natural curiousity and rubber-necking of the email-reading public, or as it’s known in the trade, “social engineering”. Masquerading as a variety of news headline stories, Kedebe-F has been seen breaking the news of the arrest of the My…

The conspiracy theorists are out in force, this time accusing Microsoft’s MSN of intentionally disabling the right click function in FireFox, while not doing the same for Internet Explorer (IE). Now,mind you, just because Microsoft engenders its share of conspiracy theorists doesn’t mean that they aren’t out to get you….

A report released this week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that when it comes to Internet searching, and turning up adult content, MSN is better at blocking such results than either Google or Yahoo. Whether this is a bug or a feature is left as an exercise…

Is the T-Mobile Sidekick About to Become the MCI Sidekick? This news release just came across Aunty’s desk, and inquiring minds want to know!: ASHBURN, Va., June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — MCI, Inc. today announced a four-year agreement with Danger, Inc., provider of the hiptop(R) mobile Internet platform, the software and…

I scream, you scream, we all scream for free ice cream! At Starbucks, today! Ok, yes, Aunty realizes that this has little to do with Internet nasties, but you all know that your Aunty is a fiend for Starbucks. In fact, you can buy Aunty a latte here, or even…

The Internet world is abuzz with talk about today’s Supreme Court decision in the Grokster case, as it was with the Napster case before it. “Studios Win Big in Grokster Case,” reads one headline; “Hollywood Wins Internet Piracy Battle,” says another. “Court Sides with Entertainment Biz in Grokster Case,” reads…

As Aunty reported last week, the personal data of 40 million consumers was compromised when CardSystems Solutions had their computer system hacked. CardSystems provides back-end processing for MasterCard and Visa transactions. Now a lawsuit has been filed in San Francisco against CardSystems, requesting that they be required to notify all…

If California State Senator Joe Simitian gets his way, California will come to the fore of states passing laws which restrict the uses of the controversial RFID chips. South Dakota is presently considering a law which prohibits implanting an RFID chip in a human, and Rhode Island is currently reviewing…

The Scary New World of Identity Theft: a Newsweek article gives readers the nitty gritty about why identity theft is so rampant, and so easy.

Are you one of the people mentioned in this release who are now avoiding Internet banking due to fears of identity theft? DALLAS, June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Entrust, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENTU) today released the findings of its second Internet Security Survey. Conducted by an independent research firm, Infosurv, the survey…