Bill Lindner

Ed Vaizey, Britain's Communications Minister, believes that people should be able to demand that inaccurate data is deleted from the Internet. Speaking to the House of Commons, Vaizey said that a mediation service would help make it easier to remove ... misleading information. As an example, Vaizey cited the case of a women's refuge that appeared on Google Street View: pleas from the refuge to have its location removed -- in order to protect the identities of the women living there -- proved futile, and frustrations arose from not having a more straightforward process for getting the information ... (view more)

World's largest chip maker Intel Corporation has reportedly unveiled what it believes is the chipset of the future. Code-named "Sandy Bridge," the new chipset integrates the central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) onto a ... single silicon chip and is designed to cut the time it takes to process images. Intel recently cut its sales forecasts due to weaker than expected PC demand, but hopes that the new technology will wow both PC vendors and consumers. Chipset Integration Removes Bottleneck Paul Otellini, Intel's chief executive believes that Sandy Bridge is a ... (view more)

Computer users aren't the only ones who need to worry about their privacy and security. A new report from San Francisco-based Lookout Inc., a mobile phone security firm, reveals that smart phone applications may be closely monitoring users and ... relaying that information to others. (Source: yahoo.com ) Personal Data Secretly Transmitted to Third Parties Nearly 300,000 free applications for Apple's iPhone and phones built around Google's Android software were scanned by Lookout, Inc. Results of those scans found that many of those apps were secretly pulling sensitive data off user phones and ... (view more)

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has a new domestic surveillance project in the works called 'Perfect Citizen.' It's reportedly built to monitor and protect national infrastructures such as power grids and transport systems. Citing unnamed ... industry and government sources, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the NSA awarded Raytheon a "black" (classified) $100 million dollar contract aimed at installing secret monitoring equipment within U.S. networks of alleged national importance. Perfect Citizen Could Be Big Brother According to The Register, the Wall Street Journal quoted an ... (view more)

The Windows XP operating system (OS) is still the first choice for 74 per cent of businesses, according to Microsoft. Because of that popularity, the Redmond-based firm has decided to extend Windows XP downgrade rights to 2020. (Source: techrepublic ... ) Microsoft announced that people running higher-end versions of Windows 7 will be able to 'downgrade' to Windows XP for up to 10 years. Based on past history, however, Microsoft typically terminates downgrade rights shortly after rolling out a new operating system. Downgrade Rights Available Throughout Win7's Lifecycle This is the second time ... (view more)

A recently leaked document (PDF) by La Quadrature du Net reveals that European Union (EU) negotiators want criminal sanctions introduced into the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Chapter 2 of the proposed ACTA treaty states ... that "each party shall provide for effective proportionate and dissuasive penalties" which would include "imprisonment and monetary fines" for those caught in illicit activities such as music file-sharing. (Source: laquadrature.net ) ACTA Treaty: Can Seize, Destroy Your PC, Electronics According to the document, anyone believed to have " ... (view more)

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is holding 'closed-door meetings' with industry insiders to broker a deal on Net Neutrality -- controlling the Internet over the people that use it. ... Included in the meeting were a small group of industry lobbyists from AT ... (view more)

Just in time for the launch of a new iPhone model, AT&T Inc. is reportedly reigning in data usage by its customers using smart phones and iPads. A recent AT&T press release introduced new wireless plans, which says will make it much "more ... affordable" to enjoy the benefits of mobile Internet. AT&T customers will now be able to pick a plan that best meets their needs: a $15/month entry level plan or a $25/month plan that allows 10 times more data. Current customers will not be required to switch to the new plans, but can choose to do so without a contract extension. ( ... (view more)

Research conducted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) suggests that more than 8 in 10 of web browsers have unique signatures, creating identifiable "fingerprints" that can be used to track almost any user that browses the Internet. The ... results ( PDF ) were found after an experiment was conducted by the EFF with volunteers who visited panopticlick.eff.org. Each participant who visited that site had the configuration and version information of their operating systems, browser, and browser plug-ins anonymously logged. (Source: eff.org ) The information gathered by the website ... (view more)

A ten week investigation into the Lower Merion School District's (LMSD) use of webcams to spy on students with school-issued laptops has found that the school did nothing wrong -- aside from taking 58,000 images without consent . The 72-page report ... (PDF) exonerates most higher-level school officials, concluding that there is no evidence indicating that anyone above the IT level "knew how TheftTrack worked or understood that it could collect large quantities of webcam photographs or screenshots." (Source: techdirt.com ) The report also confirms that 58,000 images were captured. Report ... (view more)