Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news.


And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.


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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Internet Governance Theme at Domain Pulse 2009
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=7050

.FR tender published
http://domainesinfo.fr/english/247/fr-tender-published.php

nz: Malicious servers up 80% in eight months
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/D1448BA13B824945CC257542002DC45D


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GOVERNANCE
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Internet Governance Theme at Domain Pulse 2009
Domain Pulse 2009, an annual meeting organised by the registries of Austria (nic.at), Switzerland (SWITCH) and Germany (DENIC) will this year be held in Dresden, Germany on February 12 and 13.
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=7050
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/15/internet-governance-theme-at-domain-pulse-2009/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/internet-governance-theme-at-domain-pulse-2009.html

SOTN: Private sector borrows IGP's ideas; govts apparently balk at splitting ICANN by Brenden Kuerbis
With civil society unfortunately not invited to participate in Wednesday's State of the Net panel on the "Future of ICANN and Internet Governance," it was heartening to see that IGP's work infiltrated the discussion anyway.
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2009/1/16/4059611.html

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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Interview: Nick Wood of Com Laude On New gTLDs Part 1
There is a lot of information floating around about the new gTLD roll-out and it can be arduous to weed through the mountains of actual facts and mass hysteria. We sat down with the infinitely credible Nick Wood of Com Laude to get a beat on what, through his experience with ICANN and in the domain space, he predicts will unfold. In Part 1 of this interview we discuss transparency, the true costs of getting started and rights protection.
http://www.namesmash.com/?p=206

ICANN releases stats on the DAG comment period
ICANN looks set to continue on its recent theme of communicating intensely on the new gTLD program. It has just released some figures on the comments received following the publication of the Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG).
http://domainesinfo.fr/english/245/icann-releases-stats-on-the-dag-comment-period.php

Six worst Internet routing attacks [Network World]
This list highlights the biggest security incidents involving the Internet's core routing protocol, the Border Gateway Protocol. Some of these incidents were attacks; others were accidental misconfigurations. But all of them disrupted traffic to Web sites or entire networks because of incorrect routing messages being propagated across the Internet through BGP. ... ICANN puts root server at risk: ICANN) screwed up in November 2007 when it renumbered the DNS root server "L" that it operates. ICANN failed to notice several unauthorized L root servers operating across the Internet until six months later. By May 2008, ICANN had all the bogus L root servers turned off.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=knowledge_center&articleId=9126206
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=51655
http://www.itworld.com/security/60941/six-worst-internet-routing-attacks
http://techworld.nl/idgns/5829/six-worst-internet-routing-attacks.html

Spam in 2009: The aftermath of McColo
... McColo wasn't the only bad news for the spam industry. Last spring the ICANN board put the brakes (the limits are not permanent at this point) on the abusive practice of domain tasting, which allowed registrars to float millions of domains, exchanging them daily for ones that yield better search engine placement and generate more advertising revenue. (The abuse was possible because ICANN allowed a five-day grace period in which a domain can be registered and then returned for a full refund.)
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com.au/news/28548-Spam-in-2-9-The-aftermath-of-McColo

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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Change of terms and conditions for .be domain names [news release]
DNS BE has just finalised a new version of the Terms & Conditions of domain name registrations under the .BE domain.
http://www.dns.be/en/home.php?n=428

dotCoop Launches the Global Award for Cooperative Excellence and Web Site [news release]
dotCoop, sponsor of the .coop domain, has launched www.globalawards.coop where co-ops from around the world can submit entries for the dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence. The deadline for entries for the inaugural awards is May 31, 2009. To encourage all eligible co-ops to participate, there is no entry fee for this award.
http://www.nic.coop//News/coopNews-129.aspx

.eu domain passes the 3 million mark [news release]
The third million .eu domain name was registered on 11 January by a German citizen. Two and a half years after its launch, this confirms the success of the .eu top-level internet domain. It is the fourth most popular internet domain among European country domains and the ninth worldwide. By promoting a distinctly European online identity .eu helps citizens and businesses to reap the full benefits of the single market. Multinational companies and SMEs, NGOs and think tanks as well as individual Europeans have all adopted .eu to mark their web presence.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/48

.eu passes the 3 million mark: Frequently Asked Questions
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/9

EU web address reaches 3m milestone
Three million websites now have the .eu domain name, the European Commission announced yesterday.
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/2009/01/eu-web-address-reaches-3m-milestone/63658.aspx

Dot EU now at 3 million
Sunday January 11, 2009 will go down as a landmark date for .EU: the day it passed the 3 million registered domain mark!
http://domainesinfo.fr/english/246/dot-eu-now-at-3-million.php

Three million .eu domains registered, Bulgaria at bottom of the list
About two and a half years after its launch, the three millionth .eu domain has been registered, but Bulgaria is at the bottom of the list of registrations, a media statement from eurid.eu, the .eu registrar office, said on January 14 2009.
http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/three-million-eu-domains-registered-bulgaria-at-bottom-of-the-list/id_34071/catid_68

 .eu domain names reach 3 million mark
EURid, the European registry for .eu, is pleased to report that more than three million .eu domain names have been registered.
http://www.netimperative.com/news/2009/january/.eu-domain-names-reach-3-million-mark

.FR tender published
French authorities have published the long-awaited (in France at least) tender for .FR. Incumbent registry AFNIC is widely expected to retain the position when the winner is announced, probably in April this year.
http://domainesinfo.fr/english/247/fr-tender-published.php

France opens tender for .fr domain name registry [sub req'd]
The current .fr registry manager, AFNIC, was handling around 1.25 million domain names as of mid-October 2008.
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=653505

www.nic.lv launched [news release]
New website and on-line management system published on 12 January 2009
http://www.nic.lv/resource/show/99

NASK amongst the leaders on the domain market [news release]
2008 was a breakthrough year for the Polish register of Internet domains. The end of December - with annual growth rate of 73.5% - witnessed the record-breaking level of 1 300 000 names registered in the .pl domain, which places Poland on the fifth place amongst the EU member states and tenth worldwide.
http://nask.pl/newsID/id/499

New director of RNIDS [news release]
At a meeting held on 13 January 2009, the Managing Board of the Serbian National Register of Internet Domain Names appointed a new director of RNIDS, Zoran Perovic, the recent Director of Wholesale and Multimedia in Telekom Srbija.
http://rnids.rs/en/node/67?lang=en

Get ready for .tel domain rush
In just under three weeks the new .tel top level domain will open for registrations. But Telnic, the registry operator for the new domain, says that all registrations will be treated as equal.
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Internet/6597.html

Telnic announces Accredited Technology Partner programme [news release]
Telnic Limited announced the opening of the Telnic Accredited Technology Partner programme for organizations looking to integrate their technology products and services with .tel. This free and optional programme is available to all organizations wishing to seamlessly integrate their offerings with the .tel service.
http://telnic.com/downloads/telnic_ACTPP.pdf

Telnic announces accredited technology partner programme [sub re'd]
... a shared testing process to make sure that the application works correctly with communications information stored within the domain name system, ...
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=653742

uk: Changes to the domain availability checker (DAC) [news release]
We intend to make some changes to the DAC, introducing two new DAC services. The first of these is the real time DAC, similar to the existing DAC service with the same access levels and some minor changes to the query data it returns. The second DAC service is a new domain tool, the time delay DAC.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=5889

Nominet notice of renewals process changes in February [news release]
As part of our ongoing development of the renewals process we would like to advise registrars that in February we will stop sending pro forma invoices to registrants.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=5950

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 - DNS SECURITY
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nz: Malicious servers up 80% in eight months
The number of malicious servers in the .nz domain has increased dramatically, according to honeypot experiments conducted at Victoria University.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/D1448BA13B824945CC257542002DC45D

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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The mounting address problem
There was time when every person had just one or two addresses associated with them?that of their home and, perhaps, place of work. The addresses specified in which building they lived or worked, on what street, the town it was located in and, for international purposes, the country. More recently, the growth in electronic networks has led to the number of such identifiers expanding. We are all now accustomed, for example, to having one or more email addresses. These don't specify necessarily to a person looking at or using the email address where that person is located, but those specifications are still required behind the scenes in order to route that email to the intended recipient.
http://www.it-analysis.com/technology/infrastructure/content.php?cid=11007

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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Network Solutions? WHOIS Tool Ranked No. 1
The Network Solutions WHOIS Tool receives top ranking in Google? gadgets for domain name information.
http://about.networksolutions.com/site/network-solutions-whois-tool-ranked-no-1/

Netcraft January 2009 Web Server Survey
In the January 2009 survey we received responses from 185,497,213 sites, reflecting an uncharacteristic monthly loss of 1.23 million sites.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2009/01/16/january_2009_web_server_survey.html

GoDaddy.com outage takes sites offline
A distributed denial-of-service attack turned dark at least several thousand Web sites hosted by GoDaddy.com Wednesday morning. The outage was intermittent over several hours, according to Nick Fuller, GoDaddy.com communications manager.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10143010-2.html

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Six-Figure Sale of NudeTube.com Sheds the Competition in the Opening Week of the 2009 Domain Sales Season
2008 is in the books - now it is time to start seeing how 2009 will unfold for the domain aftermarket. The opening week of the New Year was a short one as the New Year's Day holiday kept people around the world away from work for at least one day - and in most cases multiple days - or even the entire week. With that scenario overall volume was understandably light but there were still some solid individual sales.
http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2009/01-13-09.htm

Christmas/New Year Sedo Holiday Sales
The Christmas/new year period saw a slowdown in sales for Sedo, but there were still a few six-figure sales with nudetube.com being top of the lists in the three-week period till January 5, selling for US$200,000. Other six-figure sales were basket.com and toners.com, selling for $167,500 and $124,555 respectively.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2009/01/15/nudetubecom-heads-sedo-christmasnew-year-holiday-sales/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/nudetube.com-heads-sedo-christmas-new-year-holiday-sales.html

Outliers: What Makes Domain Investors Successful?
In Malcolm Gladwell?s new book Outliers, he argues that successful people got to where they are through hard work and good fortune. Whether it?s their cultural background or just plain being in the right place at the right time, successful people don?t do it on their own.
http://domainnamewire.com/2009/01/16/outliers-what-makes-domain-investors-successful/

Oversee.net Reduces Staff
Oversee.net, a Los Angeles-based Internet company, announced Thursday that it has laid off 38 employees ? nearly a fifth of its workforce ? in anticipation of what it says will be a difficult economic environment this year.
http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=36558125.196362.1731743.1120061.9406963.165&aID2=133202

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RESEARCH PAPERS
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OECD Information Technology Outlook 2008
Information technology (IT) and broadband are major drivers of economic change, restructuring businesses, affecting skills and employment, and contributing to growth and consumer benefits. This volume describes recent market dynamics and trends in industries supplying IT goods and services and offers an overview of the globalisation of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the rise of ICT-enabled international sourcing.
http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&st1=932008041P1&LANG=EN

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INTERNET USE
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BlackBerry-using Barack Obama set to become first President 2.0
Barack Obama looks likely to win his battle to keep his beloved BlackBerry smartphone, when he goes inside the White House bubble.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5542182.ece

uk: TV waits to see a preview of its new world
This week, two major reports will set out the shape of broadcasting's future. James Robinson and Richard Wray of The Observer explore who the winners and losers will be in a radical overhaul of the industry
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/18/lord-carter-digital-britain-broadcasting

Internet generation leave parents behind
Children are spending increasing amounts of their lives in front of televisions, computers and games consoles, cramming in nearly six hours of screen time a day, according to research.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jan/19/internet-generation-parents

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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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Internet security task force downplays online threats to children; critics blast report
A report released Wednesday by a multi-organization task force whose formation was spearheaded by MySpace Inc. paints a surprisingly benign picture of the online security and privacy threats faced by children. But the report's conclusion ? that some of the common concerns about those threats may be overstated or misplaced ? is drawing sharp criticism from some quarters.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9126040
http://computerworld.com.au/article/273307/
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011509-study-blasted-for-downplaying-online.html
http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/273307/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/157910/.html

uk: Police trawl internet in hunt for missing girl, 15
Police are trawling internet traffic and social networking sites in the search for 15-year-old Laura Stainforth, who has been missing for four days with a middle-aged man who is known to befriend teenagers on the MSN Messenger and Facebook websites.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/19/laura-stainforth-missing-girl

Search for schoolgirl Laura Stainforth
Police search for schoolgirl Laura Stainforth, from Lincolnshire, who may be on the run with a 49-year-old she met online
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5542642.ece

Police search missing schoolgirl's computer for clues
Police have begun trawling schoolgirl Laura Stainforth's computer files for clues as to where she has run away with a 49-year-old man, who she met through an internet chatroom as concerns for her safety mount.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4283687/Missing-schoolgirl-Laura-Stainforth-police-trawl-computer-files-for-clues.html

uk: Missing girl 'met man in chatroom'
Police searching for a missing schoolgirl believe that she may have been taken out of the country by a middle-aged man she met on the internet.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/18/laura-stainforth-missing-schoolgirl

Missing girl, 15, was ?groomed? for six months
A MISSING teenage girl, feared to be abroad with a man three times her age, was ?groomed? through an internet chatroom for almost six months, police revealed last night.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5537248.ece

au: Qld police praised for busting global child porn ring
Queensland police officers have been praised by the State Government after helping to break an international child pornography ring.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/17/2468237.htm

us: 'Girls' takes look at bullying
?The Secret Life of Girls? is an ?important play to see and discuss with your teen,? according to Aberdeen Community Theatre's Young People's Theatre.
http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090118/LIVING/901180316

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ONLINE TV & MUSIC
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Music world embracing unlimited downloads
After years of futile efforts to stop digital pirates from copying its music, the music business has started to copy the pirates.
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/18/technology/midem.4-410564.php

Internet piracy regulations planned for UK
Ministers intend to pass regulations on internet piracy requiring service providers to tell customers they suspect of illegally downloading films and music that they are breaking the law, says the draft report by Lord Carter.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/48141a1a-e35c-11dd-a5cf-0000779fd2ac.html

Online piracy: 95% of music downloads are illegal
The music industry is still losing out to internet pirates on a huge scale, with an estimated 95% of music available online being downloaded illegally.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jan/17/music-piracy

Digital music industry grows by 25% in 2008
The digital music industry grew by 25 per cent worldwide last year, with sales of $3.7 billion, despite the fact that 95 per cent of all downloads were illegal, according to a report by IFPI, the international record industry body.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article5527605.ece

Legal downloads swamped by piracy
Ninety-five per cent of music downloaded online is illegal, a report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7832396.stm

Music sales worldwide fall by 7 percent
Music sales worldwide fell by about 7 percent last year as another sizable jump in digital sales failed to make up for a deepening decline in the compact disc market, according to John Kennedy, chief executive of the industry's main international trade group.
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/15/technology/digital.4-408839.php

Global digital music sales up 25 percent
Legitimate digital music sales grew strongly in 2008 but were still dwarfed by the scale of illegal downloads, despite industry efforts to adapt to the Internet and offer more choice to customers.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE50F1LJ20090116

ISPs can profit from busting file sharers
Jerry Scroggin, the owner of a Louisiana Internet Service Provider, says he's skeptical of a service that proposes to pay ISPs to police their networks for pirated music and movies.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10144105-93.html

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Obama plans to keep his BlackBerry
President-elect Barack Obama told CNN today he had a plan to "hang onto" his beloved BlackBerry, but did not explain how he would overcome legal and security concerns..
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9126258
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011709-obama-plans-to-keep-his.html
http://computerworld.com.au/article/273491/

Mobile Internet To Grow Rapidly By 2010
There are more than one billion Internet users around the globe, but a new study from ReportLinker said that number could be dwarfed by the amount of mobile Web surfers in a few years.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212900847

New phone features 'baffle users'
The complexity of modern mobile phones is leaving users frustrated and angry, research suggests. Setting up a new handset is as challenging as changing bank accounts, said 61% of those interviewed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7833944.stm

Mobile carriers answer call for new services [Billboard]
Wireless carriers appear poised to deliver on what the mobile industry has long seen as its holy grail -- location-based services.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKTRE50G0CU20090117

China Mobile named the most valuable telecom brand
China Mobile was named the most valuable telecom brand, worth $30.8 billion, in a recent report.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-01/15/content_7402000.htm

Sweden pushes ahead with 4G network
The Swedish telecommunications operator TeliaSonera has signed contracts towards the launch of an 4G high-speed wireless network in 2010, saying it aims to be one of the first with an LTE network up and running.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39593279,00.htm

Australians can crank RFID up to four watts
After four years of testing, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has approved the use of four watt RFID devices. The authorization opens the door to devices which operate in the 920 and 926 MHz band, removing major barriers to adoption of the technology in Australia.
http://www.rfidnews.org/2009/01/16/australians-can-crank-rfid-up-to-four-watts

Passive RFID users granted four-watt reprieve
Ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID devices up to four watts have been approved for use by the Australian Communications and Media Authority following four years of successful tests.
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/94190,passive-rfid-users-granted-fourwatt-reprieve.aspx

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SPAM
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Optus pays second highest penalty to date for alleged breaches of the Spam Act [news release]
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has issued two infringement notices to the value of $110,000 to Optus Networks Pty Ltd for allegedly sending electronic messages without accurate sender identification, in contravention of the Spam Act 2003.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311594

ACMA commences proceedings against Mobilegate and Winning Bid for sending unsolicited SMS spam [news release]
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court in Brisbane under the Spam Act 2003 against Mobilegate Limited, Winning Bid Pty Ltd, Jobspy Pty Ltd and individuals associated with these companies.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311593

Telcos called to task for calls
THE communications watchdog has scolded telecommunications companies for calling people who had listed themselves on the Do Not Call register to promote phone plans and other offers.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/telcos-called-to-task-for-calls-20090115-7i6q.html

au: Telcos the worst offenders for Do Not Call breaches
Telcos trying to promote new phone plans and other related services accounted for over half of all Do Not Call Register complaints in the last 12 months.
http://www.crn.com.au/News/94093,telcos-the-worst-offenders-for-do-not-call-breaches.aspx

Telcos are the worst for breaching do-not-call rules
The ACMA says that telecommunications companies are responsible for 55 percent of complaints from people who have listed their phone numbers on the do-not-call register in order to avoid unsolicited telemarketing calls.
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22692/127/

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Intel's Barrett Says Time Is Right to Close Digital Divide [IDG]
Craig Barrett spent decades using his business skills to make Intel the world's most powerful semiconductor company. He has now turned his attention to an even bigger challenge -- spreading computers and education throughout the developing world.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/157822/.html
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/273348/

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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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us: Intelligence Court Rules Wiretapping Power Legal
A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, issued a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a specific court order, even when Americans? private communications may be involved.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/16/washington/16fisa.html
http://iht.com/articles/2009/01/16/news/tap.php

uk: Postman lost ?130k to Nigerian scam
32-year-old lost ?100,000 on an internet scam involving Nigerian fraudsters and then lost a further ?30,000 as he attempted to get it back.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4249276/Postman-loses-130000-to-Nigerian-fraudsters-in-internet-scam.html

Tricky Windows Worm Wallops Millions
A sneaky computer worm that uses a virtual Swiss army knife of attack techniques has infected millions of Microsoft Windows PCs, and appears to be spreading at a fairly rapid pace, security experts warn.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/01/tricky_windows_worm_wallops_mi.html

Three million hit by Windows worm
A worm that spreads through low security networks, memory sticks, and PCs without the latest security updates is posing a growing threat to users. The malicious program, known as Conficker, Downadup, or Kido was first discovered in October 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7832652.stm

'Amazing' worm attack infects 9 million PCs
Calling the scope of the attack "amazing," security researchers at F-Secure Corp. today said that 6.5 million Windows PCs have been infected by the "Downadup" worm in the last four days, and that nearly 9 million have been compromised in just over two weeks.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9126205

COMBATING CYBER CRIME: Global Network Operates 24/7
Cyber crooks have become so organized and businesslike that they use online forums to advertise illegal wares, buy and sell computer viruses, and traffic in stolen identities?all for huge profits.
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan09/fordham_011409.html

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PRIVACY
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Internet privacy: UK government warns email providers over targeted online advertising
Online services which scan users' email to generate targeted advertising are being "closely scrutinised" by the Government over internet privacy concerns.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/4277433/Internet-privacy-Government-warns-email-providers-over-targeted-online-advertising.html

us: Advertisers collaborate on privacy principles for behavioural ads
Advertisers and agencies in the US have promised to create a code of practice to allay fears about increasingly intrusive forms of online advertising. Four major advertising trade associations said that they will work together on self-regulation.
http://out-law.com/page-9712

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CENSORSHIP
**********************
Germany to order ISPs to censor child porn
In a move to stop the spread of child pornography on the Internet, German officials will soon be asking ISPs to filter out Web sites they deem offensive, according to news magazine Der Spiegel.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10144413-93.html

Vietnamese Authorities Rein In the Country's Vigorous Blogosphere
Vietnam's government has issued several decrees in recent months to curtail blogging, as the number of Internet users soars in the communist country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/17/AR2009011702552.html

China porn clamp no 'flash in pan' [Reuters]
China has extended a crackdown on internet porn to include "vulgar" content in mobile phone games, online novels and radio programs, while promising the campaign will be no "flash in the pan", state media have said
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/16/2467734.htm

China makes arrests in Internet porn campaign
Chinese police have arrested 28 suspects in an expanding crackdown on Internet pornography that authorities vowed will be no "flash in the pan", official media said on Friday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idINIndia-37481220090116
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE50F1MY20090116

Online gamers in China must soon register with real names
The Chinese Government will soon begin a mandatory program which will see all online video game players registering their real information for anti-addiction monitoring purposes.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090116-online-gamers-in-china-must-soon-register-with-real-names.html

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Missing White House E-Mails Traced, Justice Aide Says
A Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge yesterday that the Bush administration will meet its legal requirement to transfer e-mails to the National Archives after spending more than $10 million to locate 14 million e-mails reported missing four years ago from White House computer files.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/14/AR2009011401957.html

nz: Tech industry makes late bid to stop copyright law [NZPA]
The New Zealand Computer Society says a new law taking effect next month could see internet service providers (ISPs) having to cut off families and businesses, if a third party accuses them of copyright breaches.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4819682a27483.html

nz: Copyright law an 'opportunity', not a problem
Provisions in new copyright laws requiring internet service providers to cut service to people accused of breaching copyright are "an opportunity for ISPs and rights holders to work together" to address online piracy, a coalition of organisations calling itself New Zealand Creative Industries (NZCI) says.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/257775653538F293CC257540000F222E

EU accuses Microsoft of harming browser competition
The European Commission accused Microsoft Corp on Friday of stymieing competition by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with Windows systems, firing the latest salvo in an expensive, years-long battle with the software titan.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE50F6LW20090117

Europe takes on Microsoft again
The European Commission has taken another shot at software giant Microsoft, by saying that the US technology company could be breaking the law by packaging its Internet Explorer web browser with Windows.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/16/microsoft-microsoft

Microsoft is accused by EU again
The European Commission has accused Microsoft of harming competition by bundling its Explorer web browser with its Windows operating system.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7834792.stm

us: Tech Industries Set for Spending Aid
The economic-stimulus proposal contains a potential bonanza for technology companies, as well as $650 million to salvage the government's troubled effort to ease the transition to digital-television broadcasts.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123204944545386743.html

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Microsoft and Yahoo Executives Meet
Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft?s chief executive, met in New York earlier this week with Roy J. Bostock, Yahoo?s chairman, according to a person briefed on the meeting.
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/17/technology/companies/17yahoo.html

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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FCC: How will changing of the guard impact big telecom issues?
Now that Julius Genachowski has been selected by President-elect Barack Obama to chair the Federal Communications Commission, he can expect to be a very busy man over the next four years.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011509-fcc.html

It's Just Not Julius -- There's An All New Telecom Team
Much of the buzz around Washington in telecom circles has been about the selection of Julius Genachowski as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But he's only one of the all-new lineup.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-brodsky/change-and-opportunity-aw_b_158153.html

au: Telcos bugging customers: survey
Don't call me, I'll call you. That oft used line is not getting through to phone companies, who are responsible for most nuisance phone calls to private numbers in Australia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority says.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/01/15/1231608934067.html
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2009/01/15/1231608941590.html
http://www.watoday.com.au/national/phone-firms-told-to-stop-being-pests-20090116-7ih3.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/15/1231608886259.html
http://www.watoday.com.au/national/phone-firms-told-to-stop-being-pests-20090116-7ih3.html

Telecommunications companies responsible for more than half of Do Not Call Register complaints [news release]
Telecommunications companies will need to significantly improve their performance when it comes to contacting people on the Do Not Call Register, with 55 per cent of complaints received by the Australian Communications and Media Authority stemming from unwanted calls promoting phone plans and other related services.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311596

Telecommunications groups top Do Not Call complaints
As many as 55% of complaints received by the Australian Communications and Media Authority are related to telecommunications companies making unwanted phone calls.
http://www.smartcompany.com.au/Free-Articles/The-Briefing/20090116-Telecommunications-groups-top-Do-Not-Call-complaints-.html

ca: Do-Not-Call List Criticism Mounts as Unwanted Calls Continue
Criticism over the do-not-call list has begun to mount as Canadians grow increasingly frustrated with a system that was designed to fail from the beginning.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3616/125/



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(c) David Goldstein 2009


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David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
COOGEE NSW 2034
AUSTRALIA
email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au
phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)


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