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Friday, March 18, 2011

Domain '.xxx' approved for Web porn sites (AP) : Technet

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Domain '.xxx' approved for Web porn sites (AP) : Technet

Domain '.xxx' approved for Web porn sites (AP)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 05:21 PM PDT

– Fri Mar 18, 8:21 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – You've heard of ".com" and ".org." Joining them soon will be their bawdy cousin: ".xxx."

On Friday, the board of directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees the Internet's naming system, approved the creation of a red-light district online for pornographic websites. It follows a decade-long battle over such a name.

The uproar over the idea has brought together unlikely bedfellows.

Religious groups argue that giving adult websites their own corner of the Internet legitimizes the content.

Pornographers worry it will ghettoize their sites. Although it's meant to be voluntary, they fear governments could try to mandate the domain's use, so that pornographic content is more easily blocked.

Diane Duke, executive director of the adult entertainment industry's Free Speech Coalition, said in a statement that ICANN has "disregarded overwhelming outpouring of opposition from the adult entertainment industry — the supposed sponsorship community" and dismissed the "interests of free speech on the Internet."

Supporters have maintained that approving the domain is in keeping with the principle of openness that has fueled the Internet's growth.

While the idea of ".xxx" has provoked a philosophical debate, for the U.S. company that submitted the application for the domain, the issue is little more than a matter of dollars and cents.

ICM Registry and its CEO, Stuart Lawley, who has led the fight for ICANN's approval of ".xxx," stand to profit handsomely from the rollout of ".xxx" websites — because he will be in charge of collecting fees for the use of the new domains.

Lawley plans to charge registrars $60 per year for the domain names. He estimates that he could sell as many as 500,000 by the time he rolls them out this summer.

"This was always going to be a very lucrative arrangement," he said in an interview Friday.

Lawley's prices have been a critical issue for opponents to his plan, since domain names typically sell for a fraction of what Lawley plans to charge. They often sell for $10 or less.

ICANN had repeatedly rejected Lawley's application since 2000, under pressure from Christian groups and governments unhappy with the spread of online porn. Lawley has pitched the suffix as a way for parents to more easily block access to the content. He argues it will be easier for Web filtering software to block ".xxx" sites since they are clearly labeled as porn.

Make Any Content on the Web Embeddable With Embedly (Mashable)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 04:20 PM PDT

Jennifer Van Grove Jennifer Van Grove – Fri Mar 18, 7:20 pm ET

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Embedly

Quick Pitch: Embedly is a platform for converting URLs into embeddable content.

Genius Idea: Embedding all the media on the web.

When traversing the web, most site visitors will stay on a page 250% longer when there's embedded media, Sean Creeley tells me. This stat is based on findings from a Google AdWords test he ran last year.

Creeley is the founder of Y Combinator startup Embedly; Embedly's mission is to make it painstakingly easy for publishers and application developers to add that embedded media and better engage their web users.

"The idea is to engage the user where they are," says Creeley. "We really want to get the user where they live, instead of making them try to jump through hoops to view multimedia content."

Embedly can make a call to any web URL or RSS feed, grab the associated media -- photos, videos, audio and text -- and embed it on a third-party site. So, what the "New Twitter" can now do for TwitPic photos and YouTube videos in the stream, Embedly can do for nearly anything.

In fact, Embedly has created the consumer-facing Parrotfish -- available as a Safari, Firefox or Chrome plugin -- to bring the web's media from more than 165 providers into the Twitter.com experience. Twitter becomes infinitely richer via Parrotfish and gives all those URLs your friends share in their tweets instant context -- even Mashable articles become readable on Twitter.com.

Parrotfish is just proof of Embedly's behind-the-scenes technology -- something you likely encounter as you flit about the web but never notice it. On a daily basis, Embedly serves 5.5 million URLs to 1,100 sites.

Here's what that means: if you use Yammer, Tweetdeck, Bit.ly Bundles, Storify, Keepstream, Reddit and several other social web products, then you're using Embedly. Embedly powers the content embedding for all of these services so that URLs come alive as content you can see or hear on site. On Meetup, for instance, Embedly makes it possible for users to add and listen to SoundCloud tracks on site.

The Embedly customer can choose from a free plan with access to 250 providers or the pro plan that unlocks content associated with any URL or RSS feed. The paid service comes with daily, hourly and minute-by-minute breakdowns of the most popular URLs and domains, as well as Google Safe Browse security features to protect their site visitors against masked URL phishing tactics.

In the future, the Boston-based company hopes to help more publishers get their content off their site and assist with the "Youtube-ization of the Internet," says Creeley. "Every piece of content is going to be able to be shared and embedded elsewhere."

Look for the startup to push into the mobile frontier first. Embedly plans to release an iOS library and Android library, which will let customers add embedded content into the mobile experience. The company will start accepting signups for beta access next week.

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Student in anti-Asian rant says she'll leave UCLA (AP)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 08:59 PM PDT

– 13 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – A student who posted an Internet video of her tirade against the Asian population at the University of California, Los Angeles, says she's leaving school.

In a statement Friday night to the Daily Bruin campus newspaper, Alexandra Wallace says she has chosen to no longer attend classes at UCLA because of threats and harassment in the wake of the three-minute video.

Earlier Friday, university officials said they would not discipline Wallace because her video was an exercise of free speech, not hate speech, and it didn't violate the student code of conduct.

In the video, Wallace complained about Asian students talking on their phones too loudly in the library, among other gripes.

She took down the rant shortly after posting it Sunday, but it had already gone viral.

Huffington Post rebuffs union boycott call (AFP)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 06:24 PM PDT

– 2 hrs 48 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Huffington Post rebuffed a union boycott call over its practice of using unpaid bloggers, saying most of them are "thrilled to contribute" despite not being paid.

The Newspaper Guild, a union of US media workers with 26,000 members, urged contributors to The Huffington Post earlier this week to stop providing free content to the news and opinion website.

"Just as we would ask writers to stand fast and not cross a physical picket line, we ask that they honor this electronic picket line," the guild said in a statement.

"We feel it is unethical to expect trained and qualified professionals to contribute quality content for nothing," the guild said. "Working for free does not benefit workers and undermines quality journalism."

The guild urged founder, Arianna Huffington, who sold The Huffington Post to Web company AOL this month for $315 million, "to demonstrate her commitment to the working class she so ardently champions" by paying bloggers.

Mario Ruiz, a Huffington Post spokesman, said Friday that the site is "squarely behind the Newspaper Guild's mission of ensuring that media professionals receive fair compensation.

"It's why we employ a newsroom of 160 full-time editors and reporters, 17 of whom we've hired since last Monday," Ruiz said in a statement.

"However, we make a distinction between our newsroom staffers and our group bloggers -- most of whom are not professional writers but come from all walks of life," he said.

"The vast majority of our bloggers are thrilled to contribute," Ruiz continued. "And we're thrilled to have them."

"Bottom line: nearly all of our bloggers are happy with the arrangement, and happy to access the platform and the huge audience it brings, without having to build, pay for, edit, moderate or maintain that platform," Ruiz said.

"Indeed, we are inundated with requests from people who want to blog," he said. "The proof is in the pudding: people are looking to join the party, not go home early."

The Huffington Post has attracted a strong following -- nearly 25 million unique visitors a month -- to its lively mix of news, entertainment, opinion and blogs submitted by academics, entertainment figures and politicians.

BlackBerry Office 365 Is Win-Win for IT Admins (PC World)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 03:16 PM PDT

Tony Bradley Tony Bradley – Fri Mar 18, 6:16 pm ET

Research in Motion (RIM) officially announced plans for a free cloud-based BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) for customers using Microsoft's Office 365. The free BES from the cloud--hosted by RIM--will enable IT admins to monitor and maintain BlackBerry devices while letting RIM handle the tedium of the backend infrastructure.

There is a hosted BES service available now for customers of Exchange 2010 Online. But, that current service is hosted by Microsoft rather than RIM, and it costs $10 per month rather than the much more appealing price of free.

features and capabilities of BES Express. But, the service will enable IT admins to deploy and manage remote BlackBerry smartphones from the cloud, and it will also support RIM's BlackBerry Balance service which allows the organization to keep business and personal data separate on the device.

The best part--aside from the word "free"--is that the BlackBerry Office 365 service will be hosted by RIM. Obviously, no other organization knows how to manage a BES environment better than RIM itself. Using BlackBerry Office 365 means that customers will always have the latest updates, and most up to date software, running on a robust hardware infrastructure maintained by RIM. IT admins will be free to oversee the smartphone ecosystem of their organization without having to worry about those things.

Other mobile platforms--namely iOS, Android, and Microsoft's own Windows Phone 7--can all be managed using Exchange Server and ActiveSync. BlackBerry devices, on the other hand, rely on the proprietary BES platform.

While RIM and Microsoft are competitors to an extent--both competing to be the mobile messaging and communications platform of choice for business customers--the two also have a vested interest in working together. Offering a free hosted BES service along with Office 365 will give IT admins the tools necessary to maintain and manage a diverse mobile environment including BlackBerry devices.

RIM's BlackBerry devices offer little value for most customers without being able to integrate smoothly with Exchange--Microsoft's messaging platform. As for Microsoft, it has to recognize that RIM's BlackBerry smartphones are a dominant force in mobile messaging, and make sure it is catering to that business audience. Microsoft also benefits by giving customers an additional reason to consider Office 365 over the rival Google Apps cloud-based productivity suite.

There is no set launch date at this point. RIM will conduct limited beta testing of the BlackBerry Office 365 service, with the intent of making it officially available later this year. It is expected that the service will launch in conjunction with the official launch of Office 365 by Microsoft. There is also no official date for that, but it is predicted to be sometime around June.

Flash 10.2 Arrives on Android, Brings Flash to Tablets (Mashable)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:45 PM PDT

Ben Parr Ben Parr – Fri Mar 18, 5:45 pm ET

Adobe has finally released Flash Player 10.2 for Android. Its release marks the availability of Flash for Android 3.0.1 Honeycomb, Google's OS for tablets.

While Flash 10.2 for Android boasts performance enhancements that improve the experience on mobile, the thrust of this update is to bring Flash to tablet devices like the Motorola Xoom. Adobe says it has been working closely with Google "to ensure tight integration and optimization between Flash Player 10.2 and new OS and browser capabilities."

The result, Adobe says, is an integrated and fully functional browsing experience. Adobe wanted to make sure a web page with Flash appeared on Android tablets the way it does on the desktop, in the way intended by the page designer.

While Flash 10.2 for Android 2.2 and 2.3 is a production general availability release, Flash 10.2 for Android 3.0 is a beta release. In the next few weeks, Adobe intends to release GA version of Flash 10.2 for Android Honeycomb that enables hardware acceleration and Stave Video support.

Support for Stage Video and hardware acceleration was added to Flash Player 10.2 for the desktop, which was released last month. Combined, these technologies should improve the playback of HD video video and embedded content on tablet devices.

Flash 10.2 for Android 2.2, 2.3 and 3.0.1 is available for download in the Android Marketplace.

Twitter Scam Betrays Users' Lack of Savvy (PC World)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 03:17 PM PDT

Keir Thomas Keir Thomas – Fri Mar 18, 6:17 pm ET

Security firm Sophos is warning that a new scam is spreading virally on Twitter, and that a significant number of people have already fallen for it.

The Online Timer scam claims to measure how long users have spent on the Twitter Website. It spreads via seemingly innocuous Twitter messages along the lines of "I have spent 30 days, 14 hours on Twitter. How much have you? Find out here," followed by a shortened link to a malicious Website.

Anybody who clicks the link is directed to a Website that requests to connect to the user's Twitter account in order to measure their usage. The first thing it actually does, however, is post the same message in the user's feed, this time with a different and seemingly random time measurement, but with the same link.

Oblivious to this happening, the user is rewarded with a pop-up window that claims to show how many views the user's account has had. Again, the number appears to be random. By way of the main payload, a pop-up window then appears offering an IQ test, which it's claimed the user must complete to defeat spam and "verify you are not a bot." Upon completion of the survey, users are requested to enter their cell phone number to receive further questions, although the small print says that users will be sent four text messages a week, at a cost of $2 each.

It's a clever scam that tiptoes effectively through the minefield of credulity. It's not hard to see why people would fall for it, although it's good to see that the savvy and urbane "Twitterites" perhaps aren't that much brighter than the grass-grazing Facebook multitude.

I've always had a quiet admiration for malware writers who manage to succeed. A good attack vector is a piece of pure wit, like a good joke; it manages to bypass our defenses and draw us in. Of course, if the malware is destructively malicious rather than just annoying, then my admiration is a little tempered.

The new Twitter malware follows a scam that works in a similar way, except offering a survey rather than a quiz. Another similar scam claimed to show who was stalking individuals. It's obvious that the same organization is behind each of the attacks.

In many ways, it's surprising it's taken so long for Twitter to be targeted like this. Because of the requirement to stick to 140 characters in each message, most people use URL shortening services. This leaves those clicking the link with absolutely no idea where they're going to end-up (and most of us have learned to have one eye on the status bar whenever we hover over any link).

Twitter is trying to combat this with its t.co service, which claims to be safer. This checks URLs against a list of known malicious sites, and the full URL appears in Tweeted messages. However, t.co is clumsy and confusing to use. To generate a link, you have to precede the original link in your browser bar with http://twitter.com/share?url= for example, and it currently doesn't provide metrics to end users (that is, a measure of how many people have clicked the link). Thus, many people stick with rival services bit.ly and goo.gl, the latter being offered by Google. It's possible to wrap bit.ly or goo.gl link in a t.co link but then the process of making a quick tweet becomes annoyingly protracted.

Additionally, Twitter relies on users to verify the authenticity of sites that want to "connect" to a user's account. As is becoming clear, users simply aren't scrupulous enough. Many simply don't care. On both Facebook and Twitter, users are encouraged to allow connections from trivial sites and applications as part of day-to-day use.

In short, users are a little too loose with what they link up with, but that helps the wheels of Twitter and Facebook keep rolling.

One would think the notification that a site wants to post on an individual's Twitter feed to be so important that it would be highlighted in red, and might be accompanied by the sound of sirens in case the individual is suddenly struck blind. Alas, that's not the case. The exact phrasing is this: "The application would like the ability to access and update your data on Twitter." It's not even made explicitly clear that the app might post messages.

At the present time it appears the scam no longer works; either the malicious Website is offline, or clicking through to allow permission for connection causes Twitter to explain that the required token is no longer valid.

However, should you find yourself hit with this malware or something similar, the first step is to remove the connection. You can do this by visiting Twitter.com, clicking on your username at the top right, and then clicking the Settings link.

On the page that appears, click the Connections tab and find the app in the list. Then click the Revoke Access button.

You can prune your Twitter feed of the malware messages by going to your list of Tweets (click Home and then the Your Tweets link), and hovering the mouse over the message until a Delete option appears. Run a full virus scan just in case--and while that's completing, it might be a good idea to tweet that you've been infected, but that everything is now cleaned up.

Keir Thomas has been making known his opinion about computing since the last century. His latest Kindle ebooks have just gone on sale . You can learn more about him at http://keirthomas.com . His Twitter feed is @keirthomas .

Why Amazon Should Sell a Tablet (PC World)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 03:07 PM PDT

Jeff Bertolucci Jeff Bertolucci – Fri Mar 18, 6:07 pm ET

When will Amazon introduce a full-fledged tablet, one built to compete with the Apple iPads and Motorola Xooms of the world? As the Internet's top retailer--and one with a highly successful track record in the e-reader/e-book space--Amazon is in an excellent position to expand beyond today's Kindle audience and compete for a larger share of a growing tablet market.

A new report suggests Amazon is well on its way to making this happen. Blogger Nick Bilton in Friday's New York Times writes that Amazon appears to be on a hiring spree for mobile developers with Android expertise. In fact, the company has posted five job openings for Android programmers in the past week.

Of course, this news alone doesn't mean that an Android-based tablet from Amazon is imminent. But viewed in context with recent Amazon rumors, it's a strong indication of the company's upcoming tablet intentions.

App Store for Android?

Earlier this week, an alleged Amazon app store appeared briefly online before being taken down. The store's prices on many Android apps were reportedly lower than those of the main Android Market. Assuming that Amazon is gearing up to launch its own Android app store, wouldn't a companion tablet make sense?

Of course, there are plenty of mobile devices that run Android today, and Amazon would have a ready market of customers even if it decides not to ship an iPad-like competitor. But with the success of the Kindle e-reader--Amazon claims to have sold "millions" of the devices--the online retailer is in a strong position to sell a house-branded Android slate.

Apple v. Amazon

Both Apple and Amazon have demonstrated how a vital online marketplace can spur sales of mobile hardware. Apple, of course, has the iTunes, iBooks, and the App Store to deliver content to millions of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. Amazon's Kindle ebook store has served the same role for its Kindle e-reader customers, and for those running the Kindle book-reading app on other devices.

With the launch of an Android app store, Amazon would be well-positioned to compete with Apple's iPad. In addition to offering Android apps and Kindle e-books, Amazon already has established music-download and video-streaming services. Amazon tablet users would have a wealth of content available from their hardware provider, a business model akin to the Apple ecosystem. (But unlike Apple iPad users, Amazon tablet customers could easily buy content elsewhere too.)

Today's Kindle is best suited for book-reading. It fulfills a niche that's distinct from that of the iPad and similar tablets, as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently made clear. And with the Kindle's price rumored to plummet this year, a door is opening for an Amazon-branded iPad competitor with strong hooks into Amazon's collection of online content.

Amazon will unveil an Android-based slate. The only question is when.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com.

Kevin Rose Resigns from Digg [CONFIRMED] (Mashable)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 11:27 AM PDT

Christina Warren Christina Warren – Fri Mar 18, 2:27 pm ET

Digg founder Kevin Rose has resigned from his role in the company, according to a report published on Friday by TechCrunch.

UPDATE: Rose has confirmed this news in a tweet, which reads in part, "I'll continue advising Digg [and serve] on the board of directors and taping Diggnation (as I have been since [Matt Williams] joined)."

Rose founded Digg in December of 2004, and quickly saw the social news site become one of the hottest in the then burgeoning Web 2.0 space. Over the years, however, Digg's prominence has declined, and Rose has spent less time with the company and more time on other projects, like the newsletter/podcast "Foundation."

TechCrunch says that Rose is close to completing funding for a new startup.

Rumors of Rose's departure from Digg have swirled around the echo chamber for months. In light of the various challenges faced by the company -- including layoffs, management changes and plummeting traffic -- we aren't especially surprised to see Rose moving on.

Almost immediately after the launch of "New Digg" in August, users responded by revolting and leaving the service en masse. Competitors like Reddit and StumbleUpon have benefited from the user exodus, and though Digg has tried to realign its vision, it hasn't had much success in winning back users.

We've reached out to Digg for comment and will update if we learn more.

Google Translate receives timely Japanese language update (Appolicious)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 01:49 PM PDT

AT&T Tethering Police Crack Down on iPhone Users (NewsFactor)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:27 PM PDT

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Fri Mar 18, 5:27 pm ET

Are you one of those iPhone users who sits in a Wi-Fi-less diner and tethers an phone to a laptop to get on the Internet? If so, the AT&T tethering police may come knocking at your virtual door -- if they haven't already.

AT&T has launched an official crackdown on smartphone users who have been tethering to their laptops illegally, using up precious bandwidth that generates revenue from paying customers. AT&T sells tethering plans and the company expects smartphone users to pay if they want to connect mobile devices.

AT&T's E-Bust

AT&T first sent text messages to customers illegally tethering. One of the messages reads, "AT&T Free Msg: Did you know tethering your Smartphone to a computer requires a tethering plan? Pls call 888-860-6789 for details or visit att.com/dataplans."

Those simple text messages were followed by e-mails with a more serious tone. The bottom line is this: If AT&T customers don't stop illegal tethering, AT&T is going to stop it for them. The wireless carrier will start auto-charging customers, beginning March 27.

"Many AT&T customers use their smartphones as a broadband connection for other devices, like laptops, netbooks or other smartphones -- a practice commonly known as tethering. Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T's mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information," reads AT&T's e-mail.

"Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan ... if we don't hear from you, we'll plan to automatically enroll you into DataPro 4GB after March 27, 2011. The new plan -- whether you sign up on your own or we automatically enroll you -- will replace your current smartphone data plan, including if you are on an unlimited data plan."

How Does AT&T Know?

Whether you've been busted or you just want to sign up for a tethering plan, you'll pay $20 a month on top of your monthly smartphone data plan. That means tethering on top of your normal mobile broadband usage will ultimately cost you either $35 a month or $55 a month.

For that rate, you'll be able to tap into the smartphone's 3G capabilities to power your laptop for 4GB of data. The DataPro 4GB Tethering Plan AT&T is automatically assigning to noncompliant, trespassing customers runs $45 a month and includes the standard data plan.

The AT&T crackdown could cut down on Apple iPhone jailbreaks, since jailbreaking the phone is usually driven by the desire for illegal tethering. iPhone users were turning to an app Cydia developed called MyWi, which allows the illegal tethering. At $19.99, MyWi is a bargain compared to the additional monthly fees. It's not clear how AT&T has determined which customers have been illegally tethering, but there are no reports so far of customers receiving the warning message erroneously.

US student quits over 'appalling' Japan rant (AFP)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 07:25 PM PDT

– 1 hr 47 mins ago

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A US student whose "appalling" anti-Asian and anti-Japanese rant went viral on YouTube announced she was quitting college, after receiving death threats.

The University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) undergraduate said the video had led to "the harassment of my family ... death threats and being ostracized from an entire community.

"Accordingly, for personal safety reasons, I have chosen to no longer attend classes at UCLA," added the student, in her third year studying political science, in a letter to campus newspaper The Daily Bruin.

In the YouTube clip she lashed out at the "hordes of Asian people" at UCLA. Speaking in a fake Asian language -- "Ohhhh. Ching chong ling long ting tong" -- she chastised them notably for talking on their cellphones in the library.

"In America, we do not talk on our cell phones in the library," she said in the three-minute clip, adding: "If you're gonna come to UCLA, then use American manners."

She continued: "I swear they're going through their whole families, just checking on everybody from the tsunami thing. I mean, I know, that sounds horrible. I feel sorry for all the people affected by the tsunami.

"But if you're going to go call your address book, like you might as well go outside, because, if something is wrong, you might really freak out and you're in the libary, and everybody's quiet.

UCLA chancellor Gene Block condemned the comments earlier in the week as "appalling" and said the video did not represent the views of the university community.

In her letter to the Daily Bruin Friday, the student said she was "trying to produce a humorous YouTube video," but instead "offended the UCLA community and the entire Asian culture."

"I am truly sorry for the hurtful words I said and the pain it caused to anyone who watched the video," she wrote.

"Especially in the wake of the ongoing disaster in Japan, I would do anything to take back my insensitive words. I could write apology letters all day and night, but I know they wouldn't erase the video from your memory."

Remains of the Day: So happy to tether (Macworld)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 04:30 PM PDT

Lex Friedman, Dan Moren Lex Friedman, Dan Moren – Fri Mar 18, 7:30 pm ET

It's the day after Thursday, and tomorrow is Saturday. You know what that means: it's either time to watch ridiculous YouTube viral sensations, or read your remainders for Friday, March 18 2011.

AT&T aggressively moving against unauthorized tethering (TUAW)

Cheaters never win! Well, okay, if you were a cheater who violated AT&T's policies by tethering your iPhone's Internet connection—whether via jailbreaking or one of several short-lived, rogue apps—you did win, for a while. But the party's over, freeloaders! On Friday, AT&T sent out notices informing renegade tetherers that they have just two options: pony up for a $45 tethering plan, or cease and desist the Internet sharing all together. (It's kind of a heads-we-win, tails-you-lose choice.) The solution for cheapskates like me, of course, is simple: never leave your home and its glorious Wi-Fi network.

Whoa! Your New iPad Will Stick To Your Fridge (Gizmodo)

You need just three ingredients: an iPad 2, a Smart Cover, and complete recklessness with your expensive gadgets. Mix, stick to refrigerator, and wonder what the heck the point is of affixing your iPad to the machine that keeps your milk cold.

How the iPhone, NFC and Mac App Store Will Enable Remote Computing [Exclusive] (Cult of Mac)

Cult of Mac claims that Apple is testing a way that your iPhone could use Near Field Communication (NFC) to turn anyone's Mac into a mirror of your own. By authenticating you (via your iPhone), the Mac could show apps you've purchased from the Mac App Store, and potentially clone your home machine's settings, too, while you're there. Me, I'll only be impressed if my "I [heart] Woz" wallpaper gets carried over, too.

Apple Under Fire For Approving 'Gay Cure' iPhone App From Exodus International (The Huffington Post)

Poor, poor App Store. We complain when Apple rejects apps (like, sniff, mine)—and we complain when the company approves apps, too. Exodus International, an iPhone app released in February, "is committed to encouraging, educating and equipping the Body of Christ to address the issue of homosexuality with grace and truth." Translation: the app, like the ministry, aims to cure gayness. Truth Wins Out, a non-profit that fights anti-gay religious extremism, takes issue with that goal, and has launched an online petition calling on Apple to remove the app from the App Store. Personally, I'm still waiting for Apple to approve an app that'll get rid of my seasonal allergies.

Product Remainders:

LogMeIn Ignition 2.0.264 - The new version of the $30 universal app for iOS devices adds the ability to save PC and Mac files directly on your iOS device for offline viewing, view files/folders with File Manager, create a local folder and filing system with the app itself, and more.

Carbonite Access 2.0.1 - The free iOS app for users of Carbonite's online backup system adds an iPad-specific layout and thumbnails for pictures, sports improved navigation, and now lets you play music from within the app.

Microsoft, Feds Take Down Major Spam Network (NewsFactor)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:27 PM PDT

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Fri Mar 18, 5:27 pm ET

A major spam network has been taken down by federal agents and Microsoft. Raids were launched Wednesday across the U.S. against the Rustock botnet, which used computers hijacked with malicious software to send out billions of e-mails.

The raids are related to Microsoft's civil lawsuit, filed in Seattle federal court last month, against the unnamed operators of the botnet. The company said the spam network impacts its products and reputation, such as adversely affecting users of Windows and Office, adding traffic loads to Hotmail, and exploiting vulnerabilities in Windows. Microsoft also said spammers using Rustock are violating its trademarks with e-mails that purport to be Microsoft lotteries. On Thursday, the lawsuit was unsealed at Microsoft's request.

Rustock Ceased

The raids involved U.S. marshals joining employees from the software giant's digital-crimes unit, who went into hosting services in Kansas City, Mo.; Columbus, Ohio; Scranton, Pa.; Denver; Dallas; Chicago and Seattle.

The raiders brought a copy of the federal order allowing Microsoft to seize computers thought to have been taken over by the spam network, and that were relaying instructions to a million or more computers in the U.S. and elsewhere. Hard drives and computers were seized in the raids at the hosting providers. Much of the equipment had been leased by companies in other countries, according to Microsoft.

The intent was to remove the central command for the spam network, which is reportedly the largest in the world, and it may have worked -- at least temporarily. On its company blog, security firm Symantec reported Thursday that the Rustock botnet may have stopped spamming.

Symantec Malware data analyst Mat Nisbet wrote that, on Wednesday, "the botnet known as Rustock ceased sending spam." He added that, over the last year or so, Rustock has been "the dominant source of spam in the world," accounting for as much as 47.5 percent of all spam by the end of last year.

'Much More Complicated'

Nisbet wrote that other botnets are increasing their output and could make up the difference even if Rustock doesn't reemerge. But, he noted, as of Friday "there was a noticeable drop in mail volume since Rustock has dropped offline."

A year ago, Microsoft successfully took down the botnet Waledac. On Microsoft's TechNet blog, Senior Attorney Richard Boscovich of the company's digital-crimes unit wrote that the knowledge from that action led to successfully taking down Rustock, which he described as "larger, more notorious and complex."

He noted that Rustock's infrastructure was "much more complicated" that Waledac's, and taking affected servers from the hosting providers was needed to make sure the botnet "could not be quickly shifted to new infrastructure." Boscovich added that Microsoft is working with ISPs and community emergency response teams worldwide to help "affected computer owners clean Rustock malware off their computers."

SEC sues IBM over alleged bribes (AP)

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 03:08 PM PDT

– Fri Mar 18, 6:08 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – IBM Corp. has agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations that it bribed South Korean and Chinese government officials for more than a decade to win contracts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission accused the technology company of making roughly half that amount in profit from the behavior.

Managers at an IBM subsidiary and joint venture allegedly paid $207,000 in bribes to South Korean officials from 1998 to 2003. From 2004 until 2009, more than 100 IBM employees in China provided improper overseas trips, entertainment and other gifts for officials, the SEC alleged.

The SEC said lack of internal controls allowed IBM managers to use local business partners and travel agencies as conduits for bribes in those countries.

"IBM insists on the highest ethical standards in the conduct of its business and requires all employees to follow its policies and procedures for conducting business," the company based in Armonk, N.Y., said in a statement.

The SEC's lawsuit said that during the period in question, IBM had corporate policies in place prohibiting bribery but didn't keep accurate records of its payments in South Korea and China. The allegedly improper payments were recorded as legitimate business expenses, according to the SEC.

IBM's stock rose $1.71, or 1.1 percent, to close Friday at $155.89 amid a broad-based rally on Wall Street.
at 9:39 PM

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