Flexing digital muscles

by Pekka on May 15th, 2009 in Industry and Security News.

The period between the mid-1940's and the early 1990's came to be called the Cold War, a time characterized by conflict between the Soviet Union and the Western world. That period was paved with an arms race, and military muscles were flexed to their rupture limit. The superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, threw themselves into a "tech-race" that took the rocketeers and humanoids to where no man had gone before - to space. The Cold War period also encompassed concepts such as the "proxy-wars" which account for the fact that the main combatants never came to face each other in direct battles. So what has changed since then?

Putting the Brakes on Street View

by Pekka on May 13th, 2009 in Industry and Security News.

As reported previously, Google Street View was launched in Sweden on April 21. Yesterday, BBC News reported that Greece has put "Hellenic-power-assisted brakes" on the Google camera fitted "surveillance" units while the privacy issues of the Google Street View service are debated.

Is your home zombie-free?

by Pekka on May 8th, 2009 in News about Lavasoft, Security Tips.

Various reports state that huge numbers of PCs throughout the world have been “zombified” during the last year. Still, the true number of hijacked computers is likely much higher than what's stated, making botnets a massive global security problem.

Duck - or smile - for the cameras!

by Pekka on April 22nd, 2009 in Industry and Security News.

Google Street View has now - starting Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - been launched in Sweden. Google's 360 degrees horizontal and 290 degrees vertical filming may catch you in action when you are taking your daily walk on the boulevard! Google Street View, a feature associated with Google Earth and Google Maps, was first launched in May 2007, when Google´s Chevy Cobalt units with roof-mounted cameras became part of the city images.

Pirates to prison with full sail!

by Pekka on April 17th, 2009 in Industry and Security News, Law Enforcement and Legal Action.

The men behind The Pirate Bay were today found guilty of aiding and abetting illegal downloads of copyrighted materials via their BitTorrent Tracker site. The accused were all sentenced to one year's imprisonment by the Stockholm District Court.

Privacy and Fundamental Freedoms Put to Vote

by Pekka on March 27th, 2009 in Industry and Security News, Researcher Comments.

 

Strasbourg is not only the capital principal city and the capital of the Alsace region in France - it’s also the seat of the European Parliament. Yesterday, March 26, it was the place where the privacy of Internet users and the fundamental freedoms on the Internet was subjected to voting.

The delicate balancing act of "clean feed"

by Pekka on March 23rd, 2009 in Definition File Updates.

The Australian government is currently running a mandatory content-filtering trial in order to block child pornography and other content that is considered "improper". The filtering or "clean feed" is based on the Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) blacklist which contains addresses to websites that are prohibited.

Cyber Thieves Don't Rely on Santa...

by Pekka on November 26th, 2008 in Researcher Comments, Security Tips.

...they snatch their "presents" from gullible computer users!

As the holidays are quickly approaching, many people around the world plan to do some serious shopping for Christmas presents. Unfortunately, this time of year also means a peak in cyber crime activity. In shopping malls - and other crowded places - thieves are lurking around, waiting to get their hands on people's well deserved earnings. One mistake, one lost moment, and your wallet may be gone forever.

Navigating the Sea of Fake Codecs

by Pekka on September 29th, 2008 in Security Tips.

The Internet has become a major scene for sharing all sorts of media files. These files may have been compressed using different codecs, some free and some commercial. What is a codec? A codec, in this case, is used to decode compressed data streams in order to make them viewable and audible in a proper player. Watching an AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) video and audio file with compressed data, or other compressed movie formats, may require a proper codec. The amount of codecs out there amounts to a level that makes it hard for common users to find and install the correct one required to play an eagerly awaited sequence of images. The situation gets even more complicated considering that unscrupulous individuals want to transform the common codec-eagerness into cash in, one way or another, by offering fake codecs. Read more below about false codec lures, codecs in general and possible ways to avoid getting scammed-

Peeking into packets may darken the Internet!

by Pekka on September 1st, 2008 in Law Enforcement and Legal Action.

As people move an increasing part of their lives into global and local networks, the development of privacy intrusion techniques and technologies faces exponential growth. The will to eavesdrop on other's private communication is reaching new heights. As this occurs, the concept of privacy is being obliterated. Privacy is under attack, giving birth to the current situation where consumer's private information is commonly considered to be an approved target. The constantly increasing demand to acquire personal and confidential information has boosted the supply of eavesdropping techniques and technology.

Google Forced to Bend User Privacy!

by Pekka on July 4th, 2008 in Industry and Security News, Law Enforcement and Legal Action.

A U.S. district judge has ordered Google, the Search Engine, to release information about users that use their YouTube service. The major entertainment corporation Viacom won the legal battle against Google, resulting in access for Viacom to information about YouTube users and their "tubing" behavior, i.e. which videos they watch on the YouTube site. The verdict will also give Viacom access to the login-names and IP-addresses of the YouTube users, even though Viacom says that they will not use the information to frame individuals.

Religion No Longer Sacred!

by Pekka on July 3rd, 2008 in Industry and Security News, Law Enforcement and Legal Action.

The FRA, Swedish National Defense Radio Establishment, that recently was approved to start their extended surveillance activity targeting wire-based Internet traffic and traffic in the mobile networks, may intercept personal e-mails between local Danish vicars and Danish people in their search for a cure of the souls. How is this possible, you ask? The e-mail of the Danish church is handled via servers placed in Sweden, and FRA is allowed to intercept communications as they pass the Swedish border, according to the newly adopted FRA law.

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