service

A denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may ... vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person or people to prevent an Internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely. Perpetrators of DoS attacks typically target sites or services hosted on high-profile web servers such as banks, credit card payment gateways, and even root name ... (view more)

Technical difficulties ruined one of the busiest days of the year for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) company Skype. The video long-distance chat service experienced significant outages throughout the period December 23-25. Skype may be the ... cheapest way to see and chat with friends and family from around the world using a PC or laptop. The software is free to download, and costs nothing to use if two users of the program connect over their computers. The only charges apply where someone decides to dial into someone's phone with their laptop, but even in that case rates are incredibly low ... (view more)

The iPhone may be a runaway favorite within the burgeoning smartphone market, but that doesn't mean its exclusive provider, AT ... (view more)

Microsoft is reportedly planning to become a "virtual cable TV operator" through a broadband service. It's seen by many as an attempt to challenge Google TV. The plan, which wouldn't take effect for at least a year, would be to team up with cable TV ... networks towards offering channels directly to users via the Xbox 360 games console, with the content delivered through a broadband connection. The service would work along the same lines as traditional cable TV, with a basic tier-based package and then a premium fee for some individual channels. There will also be interactive, options such as the ... (view more)

Two weeks ago it looked like the file-sharing peer-to-peer (p2p) favorite LimeWire had been quashed for good . Not surprisingly, however, a new "Pirate Edition" of the software has arisen from the ashes and released to the public, and it's likely to ... once again arouse the attention of the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA). RIAA Fights Multi-Year, Multi-Million Court Battle Back in late October it appeared that the RIAA, a copyright protection agency, had been successful in closing down LimeWire for the near and distant future. After a four-year, multi-million dollar legal ... (view more)

The one-time king of file-sharing services, LimeWire, is officially kaput. The service, which offered thousands of music downloads for free, was at the heart of a bitter and intense four-year-long debate over copyright infringement with the Record ... Industry Association of America (RIAA). Single Mom Sued for $2 Million for Illegal File-Sharing The RIAA is a copyright-protection body well-known for its many attempts to shut down file-sharing sites and file sharers, the most famous case being that of Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the single mom who was at one time fined $2 million for illegally ... (view more)

Wal-Mart will soon compete with the major cellphone networks by selling its own calling plan. The world's largest retailer will offer exceptionally low rates on voice calls and texts, though its data charges may be too expensive for many users. The ... chain will be acting as a virtual operator, meaning it licenses bandwidth from a mobile network (T-Mobile in this case), and resells it to customers. Its plan, dubbed "Family Mobile", costs $45 a month for one line and $25 a month for each additional line, with unlimited US calls and texts. That's substantially lower than what major networks ... (view more)

As part of the latest iTunes version 10, Apple has recently launched a new social website feature called "Apple Ping," which keeps their 160 million music lovers connected with their friends, family and favorite song artists. Apple Ping Hijacked by ... Online Fraudsters Not surprisingly to some, however, the Apple Ping service was hijacked by hackers within hours after its debut, souring what was to be a promising reception from music, social engineering and Apple enthusiasts. To online criminals, the timing and forum for which to scam unsuspecting users could not have been better: ... (view more)

A former presidential advisor has called for the US government to reclassify the legal status of the Internet. It follows concerns that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may not have the statutory authority to enforce "net neutrality" ... principles or to go ahead with proposed plans to expand Internet access. The FCC has historically sought to uphold the idea of net neutrality. This is the principle that, with the exception of illegal material, all Internet traffic should be treated equally by carriers. This would mean, for example, that an Internet service provider couldn't charge ... (view more)

Google has announced it will ask all users to reconfirm their preferred privacy settings on its social networking site 'Buzz'. It follows a controversial launch in which many believed, correctly or otherwise, that their privacy had been compromised. ... Buzz is Google's rival to Facebook and Twitter. It's integrated into Gmail and allows users to follow and reply to posts made by people they decide to follow on the service. The service also allows users to share information from other Google-owned services such as Google Reader (an RSS newsreader) and picture-sharing site Picasa. It was clearly ... (view more)