John Lister

Here's another probing question from an Infopackets.com reader: "Dear Infopackets Team, Have I missed one of your informative reports? I don't seem to know how to play DVDs in Windows 8? Actually, I can't even find Windows Media Center anywhere, and ... without it I'm stuck! I like Windows 8 so far, but I'm going to feel very frustrated if it won't let me play DVDs on my laptop. Thanks for your help, Frank G." My response: Frank, you're right: Windows Media Center is entirely missing from the new Windows 8 operating system. Fortunately, you can still find a way to play DVDs. Microsoft chose to ... (view more)

The man who hacked into the email accounts of more than 50 Hollywood celebrities has now been sentenced to ten years behind bars. Christopher Chaney was arrested last year by the FBI after a lengthy investigation the agency dubbed "Operation ... Hackerazzi." Chaney was tried and found responsible for accessing and publishing explicit photographs of Scarlett Johansson, along with a number of other Hollywood stars. Johansson agreed to let officials publicize her name in order to draw attention to the case. Another actress and singer whose bare pictures were leaked by Chaney told the court the ... (view more)

Insiders say it now looks as though Google will not be punished for allegedly favoring its own web sites when compiling its search engine results pages. Rival firms are already complaining such an outcome would allow Google to retain an unfairly-won ... advantage over them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been looking into a series of allegations that Google abused its dominance of the Internet search market by unfairly favoring its own websites when compiling its search results. However, observers say the punishment the FTC could inflict on Google is unclear, even if the regulatory agency ... (view more)

A US Senate committee has approved the Location Privacy Protection Act. It's a bill that would ban the smartphone tools which allow people to track others without their knowledge. The act, introduced by Senator Al Franken, would force companies ... offering smartphone apps to get a phone user's permission before collecting or passing on data about their location. The new rules would also explicitly ban any application that tracked locations without the phone user's knowledge. (Source: govtrack.us ) According to Franken, such measures are necessary to prevent cases of people secretly installing a ... (view more)

Facebook has implemented changes designed to simplify users control over their privacy on the site. The move follows complaints about, and even a government investigation into, the site's treatment of its members' personal data. According to ... Facebook, the changes are intended to improve privacy three ways: giving information when most needed; showing how data will appear; and improving removal of data that is already online. (Source: fb.com ) Privacy Information Easy to Find Because of the changes, you need no longer hunt through settings pages to find the most relevant privacy options. A ... (view more)

Facebook has helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) track down the cybercriminals whose "botnet" is said to have caused losses worth more than $850 million. A total of 29 local FBI offices and departments worked on the case, along with a ... half dozen foreign police and crime agencies. Ten people have now been arrested in the United States, the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, New Zealand, and Peru. (Source: fbi.gov ) Those accused of participating in the botnet scheme allegedly helped spread a worm virus called 'Yahos.' This virus reportedly self-replicated ... (view more)

A group of hackers has gained access to an Australian medical center's electronic patient records. Until they receive a cash payout, the hackers say they won't relinquish control of the information. It's relatively common for hackers to access ... sensitive data and then threaten to expose it unless a victim pays up. There have been several cases where scammers have remotely installed viruses on computers, then threatened to wipe the hard drive of all its stored data unless they receive hefty payments. But this case, involving the Miami Family Medical Center (MFMC), is different. Rather than ... (view more)

Since its launch in late October, 2012, the Surface tablet computer has been available for purchase only through Microsoft stores and websites. However, that exclusivity seems to be over, and the Surface will soon begin appearing in third-party ... retail stores. A new report suggests the Surface will go on sale in Best Buy, Staples, and other major retail outlets as early as January 2013. That is the same time frame in which Microsoft will begin selling its Surface Pro tablet computer. (Source: cnet.com ) Surface Range Not Yet Complete Right now the only Surface available to consumers runs a ... (view more)

Verizon is developing a new product that would decide what TV advertisements to show particular viewers, based on their past viewing behavior. The new system could even select commercials by taking into account everything about you, right down to ... your mood. Although the company originally filed the patent application in May 2011, only recently has that application gone public. Other firms can now object if they believe the technology described isn't original. According to the application, one of the limits of television advertising is that it doesn't take into account what the viewer is doing ... (view more)

During the past twelve months, malicious software known as 'Eurograbber' was apparently used to steal $47 million in Europe alone. According to reports, the software took advantage of a popular security measure. The security researchers who ... discovered Eurograbber are now warning Internet users that the malware could easily spread from Europe to the rest of the world. (Source: checkpoint.com ) Eurograbber is a modified form of a previously known botnet called 'Zeus.' A botnet is a network of computers controlled by malicious software under the direction of a particular individual or gang of ... (view more)