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://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** People in a glass house throwing stones: EC ICANN Papers 3 & 4 by Milton Mueller http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2011/9/9/4895767.html Removing Principle of Confidentiality in ICANN's NomCom is a Bad Idea by Wolfgang Kleinw?chter http://www.circleid.com/posts/removing_principle_of_confidentiality_in_icanns_nomcom_is_a_bad_idea/ EC calls for greater government control over Internet and ICANN http://news.dot-nxt.com/newsletter/2011/09/08 auDA accepts Secondary Market Working Group's recommendations http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-05092011/ auDA moves to abolish resale restrictions http://www.coopermills.com.au/wordpress/index.php/2011/09/auda-moves-to-abolish-resale-restrictions/ 2010 Names Policy Panel recommendations accepted by auDA Board http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/09/05/2010-names-policy-panel-recommendations-accepted-by-auda-board/ au: CGNA Annual Forum http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/09/08/cgna-annual-forum/ Doppelganger Domains http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/09/Doppelganger.Domains.pdf E-mail typos result in 20GB of stolen data http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/09/09/email.typos.stolen.data.wired/index.html auDA kicks out Miranda Kerr cybersquatter http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/security/49680-auda-kicks-out-miranda-kerr-cybersquatter au: Bolton ready to wrestle ATO over tax bills http://www.smh.com.au/business/bolton-ready-to-wrestle-ato-over-tax-bills-20110908-1jztx.html http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/bolton-ready-to-wrestle-ato-over-tax-bills-20110908-1jztx.html http://www.businessday.com.au/business/bolton-company-faces-windup-over-tax-dispute-20110908-1jzy8.html http://www.watoday.com.au/business/bolton-ready-to-wrestle-ato-over-tax-bills-20110908-1jztx.html http://www.theage.com.au/business/bolton-company-faces-windup-over-tax-dispute-20110908-1jzy8.html au: Melbourne domain kingpin hit with cyber death threats http://www.scmagazine.com.au/News/271511,melbourne-domain-kingpin-hit-with-cyber-death-threats.aspx http://www.crn.com.au/News/271655,melbourne-domain-kingpin-hit-with-cyber-death-threats.aspx ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** An Inter-Nation-Al Internet: China's Contribution to Global Internet Governance? by David Kurt Herold Abstract: The first decade of the 21st century saw the Internet grow exponentially, and enter 'mainstream' culture, which brought the increased attention of the 'general public', the media, and government authorities. This meant a growth of awareness for the 'dark side' of the Internet, e.g. its use in the pursuit of criminal, or socially unacceptable activities, and a resultant drive by governments to create legal frameworks to tame the wilderness of Cyberspace. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1922725 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Names International Financial Executive as Interim CFO Yesterday French national Xavier Calvez began his new position as Interim Chief Financial Officer. Calvez comes to ICANN from the Technicolor Corporation, where he worked for the past nine years, serving most recently as the CFO of the company's Creative Services Division in Los Angeles. http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-09sep11-en.pdf IDN ccTLD Request From Kazakhstan Successfully Passes String Evaluation ICANN is pleased to announce the successful completion of String Evaluation on proposed IDN ccTLD string for Kazakhstan. http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-08sep11-en.htm People in a glass house throwing stones: EC ICANN Papers 3 & 4 by Milton Mueller In ICANN Papers 3 and 4, the European Commission goes after ICANN?s finances and corporate governance. The first thing one notices is that both papers are brief and superficial; it?s as if the EC has only just discovered a topic that has been intensely debated since 1998, namely ICANN?s institutional design. It seems not to have read a single serious paper about it. The poor results show why one should not make policy the way the EC has in this case: in isolation, in anger and without any public consultation. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2011/9/9/4895767.html Removing Principle of Confidentiality in ICANN's NomCom is a Bad Idea by Wolfgang Kleinw?chter In its informal background paper "Applying the Highest Standard of Corporate Governance" (August 2011) the European Commission proposes to revise the procedures of ICANNs Nominating Committee (NomCom). Instead of the confidential treatment of applicants the EU calls for an open publication of "a full list of candidates". Is this a good idea? I don?t think so. The rationale behind the EU proposal is "to improve confidence on the selection procedure" and "to avoid conflict of interests". But the proposed improvement is based on a wrong assumption... more? http://www.circleid.com/posts/removing_principle_of_confidentiality_in_icanns_nomcom_is_a_bad_idea/ EC calls for greater government control over Internet and ICANN De Graaf gives ICANN a helping handThis month we have exclusively published a series of six papers written by the European Commission. http://news.dot-nxt.com/newsletter/2011/09/08 ICANN public comments: a glacier moving in the wrong direction I am both happy and depressed to see a public comment period open at ICANN talking about making changes to ICANN?s public comment period process. http://kierenmccarthy.com/2011/09/06/icann-public-comments-a-glacier-moving-in-the-wrong-direction/ Pot-holed ICANN finally fills CFO role ICANN has finally named a new Chief Financial Officer, almost a year since the previous occupant announced plans to leave. http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/09/09/icann-fills-cfo-hole Pinay first Asian female in ICANN board The appointment of Filipina ICT pundit and entrepreneur Judith Duavit-Vazquez to the board of the powerful ICANN brings many new aspects to the Internet. http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=726165 ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** auDA accepts Secondary Market Working Group's recommendations auDA has accepted the recommendations of the Secondary Market Working Group regarding the operation of the .au secondary market, as follows: http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-05092011/ auDA moves to abolish resale restrictions .au Domain Administrator, auDA, today announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the Secondary Market Working Group, which included the highly controversial prohibition on the resale of newly registered domain names within 6 months of registration. http://www.coopermills.com.au/wordpress/index.php/2011/09/auda-moves-to-abolish-resale-restrictions/ 2010 Names Policy Panel recommendations accepted by auDA Board I am pleased to report that at its August meeting the auDA Board accepted the final report of the 2010 Names Policy Panel. The following recommendations were accepted: http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/09/05/2010-names-policy-panel-recommendations-accepted-by-auda-board/ au: CGNA Annual Forum Last week I attended the Committee for Geographical Names of Australasia?s (CGNA?s) Annual Forum in Adelaide. This was the 4th year in a row we have been invited to update the CGNA on the Community Geographic Domain Name (CGDN) initiative. http://blog.auda.org.au/2011/09/08/cgna-annual-forum/ DNS.be information campaign starts today Today 5 September, DNS.be starts the next stage of its information campaign. Last year?s campaign was targeted at the Belgian self-employed and small SMEs. Now, we are zooming in on a more specific section of this target audience: professions and intellectuals. Our aim is to convince them that having a presence online is extremely important for them too. http://dns.be/en//dnsbe_information_campaign_starts_today Nearly a quarter of dot-gov domains don't work, analysis finds An unofficial analysis of the roughly 1,800 top-level federal Web domains shows nearly a quarter of them are now unreachable. http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20110909_7174.php nl: SIDN and PwC launch National Internet Survey Today SIDN, the company behind .nl, launched the Dutch National Internet Survey in partnership with PwC. All this month, Dutch people and businesses are being asked to complete a questionnaire at denationaleinternetenquete.nl. https://www.sidn.nl/en/news/news/article/sidn-and-pwc-launch-national-internet-survey/ ru: The online resource ?Domains of Russia? was introduced at the Reg.ru and Masterhost press conference ... A new online resource ?Domains of Russia?, which was co-launched by Openstat, the CC and Technical Center of Internet, was introduced at the press conference. http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=1719 The CC unveils a unique statistical online resource ?Domains of Russia? On 5 September 2011, the Coordination Center for TLD RU, together with Technical Center of Internet and statistical service Openstat launches a unique project ? statistical online resource ?Domains of Russia?. The resource ?Domains of Russia? will present daily updated statistics, which will cover all aspects of the Russian segment of the Internet. http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=1720 Law Professor Steps Up to Task of Making .xxx Web Sites Safe If Fred H. Cate has his way, the safest places on the Internet may soon be pornography sites. Mr. Cate, a professor at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law, was recently appointed to the policy council of the International Foundation for Online Responsibility. The nonprofit organization is responsible for formulating policy to govern the .xxx domain name, a URL suffix for sex-related Web sites that makes its debut this month. http://chronicle.com/article/Law-Professor-Steps-Up-to-Task/128937/ Are You Ready for Internet XXXtortion? As if conservative family groups don?t have enough battles to fight on a daily basis, the company handling the buying and selling of the new Internet ?red-light district? domain extension, ?.xxx,? just handed these groups a near-impossible problem to solve. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/09/09/are-ready-for-internet-xxxtortion/ Adult industry?s TLD .XXX opens its doors Businesses inside and outside of the adult entertainment industry urged to wake up to .XXX Sunrise ICM Registry has today announced that .XXX, the new sTLD for the adult entertainment industry, is open for registration to brand and IP holders inside and outside of the sponsored community. The new namespace has been created to promote a responsible approach to adult content on the Internet and offer clear signposts to its location online. http://www.icmregistry.com/press/adult-industry?s-top-level-domain-xxx-opens-its-doors/ ********************** - NEW TLDS ********************** How many brands will lie in their gTLD applications? The Association of National Advertisers and related groups are currently telling ICANN and anyone who will listen that big brands don?t want new TLDs. http://domainincite.com/how-many-brands-will-lie-in-their-gtld-applications/ Whither DotAfrica amidst Confusion, Promiscuity and many Strange Bed-fellows Since DotConnectAfrica (DCA) proposed the DotAfrica Initiative and commenced an active global promotional campaign for it that resulted in winning key endorsements mostly notably from the African Union (AU) Commission in 2009; DCA, despite the initial successes recorded, has had to also contend with numerous detractors and opponents, who, in their adversarial posturing, constitute a motley crew of strange bed-fellows that DCA now has to confront ? unfortunately! http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/35789 MELBOURNE IT and AFNIC Seminar on 22 September 2011 With a view to the forthcoming submission of applications for the new gTLDs to ICANN from 12 January onwards, Melbourne IT and AFNIC are organising a seminar on 22 September entitled "Preparing for the new gTLDs". http://www.afnic.fr/en/about-afnic/news/general-news/4943/show/melbourne-it-and-afnic-seminar-on-22-september-2011-5.html The Public Interest Registry To Present .NGO Domain Extension Plans At CIVICUS World Assembly At CIVICUS World Assembly in Montreal this week, Canada, Brian Cute, CEO of The Public Interest Registry (PIR), the organization that manages the .ORG domain name, will present PIR?s proposal to apply for the new TLD, .NGO. http://pir.org/pr/2011/civicus New dotYou.biz Website Helps Determine the Best Approach to Securing new Top-Level Domains dotYou.biz is a community website that features educational articles and information from a variety of experts who will provide case studies, industry news & trends, application deadlines, marketing opportunities, and other essential information needed to help organizations make informed decisions about securing new TLD. http://www.neustar.biz/about-neustar/press-room/neustar-announcements/2011/New-dotYou.biz-Website-Helps-Determine-the-Best-Approach-to-Securing-new-Top-Level-Domains Another TLD Frontrunner Joins Game with .Hawaii, .Fish, and More I?ve written numerous times about people applying for trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office for new TLDs. http://domainnamewire.com/2011/09/10/another-tld-frontrunner-joins-game-with-hawaii-fish-and-more/ ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Doppelganger Domains Summary: Domain typo-squatting is commonly used to spread malware to users whom accidentally misspell a legitimate domain in their web browser. A new type of domain typo-squatting takes advantage of an omission instead of a misspelling. A Doppelganger Domain is a domain spelled identical to a legitimate fully qualified domain name (FQDN) but missing the dot between host/subdomain and domain, to be used for malicious purposes. Doppelganger Domains have a potent impact via email as attackers could gather information such as trade secrets, user names and passwords, and other employee information. http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/09/Doppelganger.Domains.pdf E-mail typos result in 20GB of stolen data Two researchers who set up doppelganger domains to mimic legitimate domains belonging to Fortune 500 companies say they managed to vacuum up 20 gigabytes of misaddressed e-mail over six months. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/09/09/email.typos.stolen.data.wired/index.html http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/09/researchers-typosquatting-snarfed-20gb-worth-of-fortune-500-e-mails.ars How 'doppelganger domains' steal data from e-mail Mistyping an e-mail address could result in something a lot more serious than a bounce-back. It could send your information to a phony domain set up just for the purpose of taking advantage of typos, according to a new research paper. http://gcn.com/articles/2011/09/09/doppelganger-domains-steal-email-info.aspx Typo-squatting domains can harvest corporate emails Typo-squatting domains might easily be used to intercept misdirected corporate emails, according to new research. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/09/typo_squatting_email_harvesting_risk/ Doppelganger Domains. Oh, My. A new research report about typosquatting is making waves on mainstream web sites today. The report covers what researchers at ?Information Security Think Tank? Godai Group call Doppelganger Domains. I?ve never heard the term doppelganger applied to domain names before, but the group uses the term to label domain names that are missing a dot. http://domainnamewire.com/2011/09/09/doppelganger-domains-typosquatting/ TLD Domain Abuse: Threat Report - First Half 2011 by Gunter Ollmann When it comes to building a robust globe-spanning network of crimeware and making the victims dance to a tune of the cyber-criminals' choosing, you're guaranteed to find domain name abuse at the heart of the operation. DNS provides the critical flexibility and underlying scalability of modern command-and-control (C&C) infrastructure. Cyber-criminals that master DNS (and manage to maintain the stream of new domain registrations that keep it fed) tend to find themselves in command of the largest and most profitable crimeware networks. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20110907_tld_domain_abuse_threat_report_first_half_2011/ "Do not complicate routing security with Voodoo Economics" by Brenden Kuerbis That was the eye-catching subject line in a recent note from Randy Bush to the North American Network Operators Group (NANOG) about secure Border Gateway Protocol (S-BGP). His note critiqued a paper, Let the Market Drive Deployment: A Strategy for Transitioning to BGP Security, which was presented recently at SIGCOMM and NANOG meetings. The paper argued that under certain conditions, the transition to secure Internet routing could be driven by ISPs' incentive to increase their revenue-generating traffic. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2011/9/7/4894404.html Cyber 9/11': Serious Risk Or Inflated Threat? Ten years after the Sept. 11 attacks, many lawmakers and intelligence officials say they fear the next such attack could be triggered with the click of a mouse. They warn of a potential "cyber 9/11" caused by terrorists hijacking the nation's critical infrastructure, plunging cities into sustained blackouts, halting trains and planes or wiping out banks' financial data. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/cyber-911-risk-or-inflated-threat_n_934272.html Cyber-attack in Europe highlights Internet risks The assault, apparently launched from Iran, focused on the digital security systems used to authenticate websites for banking, email and e-commerce around the world. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cyber-attack-20110910,0,5076260.story ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** auDA kicks out Miranda Kerr cybersquatter Would be Australian Internet entrepreneurs who think they can trade off the names of the rich and famous can think again, according to the administrator of the .au domain namespace. http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/security/49680-auda-kicks-out-miranda-kerr-cybersquatter ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** The Invisible Hand vs. the Public Interest in IPv4 Address Distribution by McTim In the efforts to promote the public interest over that of monied interests in Internet Governance few issues are clear cut. One issue that has recently been discussed is that of requiring a "needs assessment" when transferring IP addresss blocks from one organisation to another (in the same or different RIR regions) or indeed when requesting IP resources from your friendly RIR. http://www.circleid.com/posts/the_invisible_hand_vs_the_public_interest_in_ipv4_address_distribution/ ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** au: Bolton ready to wrestle ATO over tax bills Nicholas Bolton reaped $4.5 million by threatening to wind up BrisConnections. Now the Taxation Office is threatening to wind up one of his companies over unpaid tax bills totalling $654,000. Mr Bolton's investment vehicle Australian Style Investments is heading back to court to fight the order with a hearing scheduled for late October. ... Another of Mr Bolton's company's, Australian Style Services, was liquidated in early 2010 facing debts of more than $600,000 including unpaid tax and super. Another company owned by Mr Bolton, Bottle Domains, lost its licence to register domain names following a security breach. Parent company Australian Style Group is still operating. http://www.smh.com.au/business/bolton-ready-to-wrestle-ato-over-tax-bills-20110908-1jztx.html http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/bolton-ready-to-wrestle-ato-over-tax-bills-20110908-1jztx.html http://www.businessday.com.au/business/bolton-company-faces-windup-over-tax-dispute-20110908-1jzy8.html http://www.watoday.com.au/business/bolton-ready-to-wrestle-ato-over-tax-bills-20110908-1jztx.html http://www.theage.com.au/business/bolton-company-faces-windup-over-tax-dispute-20110908-1jzy8.html au: Melbourne domain kingpin hit with cyber death threats A Melbourne web domain kingpin has received death threats after he blew the lid on emerging fraud campaigns. http://www.scmagazine.com.au/News/271511,melbourne-domain-kingpin-hit-with-cyber-death-threats.aspx http://www.crn.com.au/News/271655,melbourne-domain-kingpin-hit-with-cyber-death-threats.aspx Go Daddy?s 60-day domain lockdown loophole Perhaps the most common complaint of the many leveled at Go Daddy over the years is that it refuses to allow customers to transfer domains to another registrar for 60 days after an ownership change. http://domainincite.com/go-daddys-60-day-domain-lockdown-loophole/ Registrar Renewal Notices: Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don?t: Guy complains about receiving renewal notices after his domain expires. I just read a post on ZDNet by Scott Raymond that lambasted GoDaddy.com for a number of its practices. http://domainnamewire.com/2011/09/08/registrar-renewal-notices-damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-dont/ Monte Cahn Updates Lawsuit Against Oversee.net with New Details Monte Cahn has filed an amended complaint against Oversee.net after a judge tossed out many of his original claims against his former employer. http://domainnamewire.com/2011/09/08/monte-cahn-updates-lawsuit-against-oversee-net-with-new-details/ VeriSign Plunges After CFO Robins?s Departure Damps Takeover Speculation VeriSign Inc. tumbled the most in six years after the company announced the departure of Chief Financial Officer Brian Robins, squelching speculation that it was poised to be acquired. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/verisign-shares-tumble-after-cfo-departure-curbs-takeover-speculation.html http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-09/verisign-drops-after-cfo-departure-curbs-takeout-speculation.html Verisign CFO Leaving Company to Pursue New Opportunities VeriSign, Inc. today announced that Brian Robins has resigned to pursue new opportunities outside of Verisign. His resignation as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Verisign was effective Sept. 7, 2011. His last day as an employee with the company will be Sept. 30, 2011. http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/news-events/press-room/articles/index.xhtml?artLink=aHR0cHM6Ly9wcmVzcy52ZXJpc2lnbi5jb20vZWFzeWlyL2N1c3RvbXJlbC5kbz9lYXN5aXJpZD1BRkMwRkYwREI1QzU2MEQzJnZlcnNpb249bGl2ZSZwcmlkPTc5NjQ4MiZyZWxlYXNlanNwPWN1c3RvbV85Nw== Microsoft online services hit by major failure Millions of Microsoft users were left unable to access some online services overnight because of a major service failure. ... Microsoft was still analysing the cause of the problem on Friday morning, but said it appeared to be related to the internet's DNS address system. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14851455 Millions of Hotmail users cut off by Microsoft 'cloud' failure Millions of users of Hotmail and other Microsoft services worldwide were unable to access their online accounts this morning after the firm's "cloud" suffered a major technical failure. ... Microsoft said the cause appeared to be related to the Domain Name System, the computer network that ensures that web addresses are connected to websites. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8752156/Millions-of-Hotmail-users-cut-off-by-Microsoft-cloud-failure.html Comments On CoCCA?s Proposals CoCCA have published a set of proposals under the title of ?Best Practice Recommendations for Minimising Harm ( and increasing trust ) in small ccTLDs?. While the spirit of the proposals is admirable I find the proposals themselves to be more than a little disturbing from both a registrant and registrar viewpoint. http://www.internetnews.me/2011/09/10/comments-on-coccas-proposals/ GoDaddy?s 60 Day Lock Finally Explained GoDaddy?s 60 day lock is something that tends to provoke emotive responses. Up until now, however, the company has never provided a clear public explanation of why and how it is implemented. Finally this has happened, with GoDaddy?s Christine Jones providing a very clear explanation over on her personal blog. http://www.internetnews.me/2011/09/10/godaddys-60-day-lock-finally-explained/ Internet Society 2010 Annual Report Looking back on the past year, I truly believe we have a lot to be proud of. In 2010, we worked together to make sure the Internet continued to evolve as a platform that empowers people to share ideas and to connect with others in new and different ways. The Internet Society helped make sure that the tenets at the core of the Internet?s success remain central to the technologies and policies that are shaping its growth. Through our collective efforts, we helped strengthen the multistakeholder approach that is necessary for the Internet to continue to thrive. http://www.isoc.org/isoc/reports/ar2010/ Netcraft September 2011 Web Server Survey In the September 2011 survey we received responses from 485,173,671 sites, a growth of nearly 4.8% (just over 22M hostnames) compared to last month. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2011/09/06/september-2011-web-server-survey.html Tomohiro Fujisaki Elected to NRO NC APNIC is pleased to announce that Tomohiro Fujisaki has been elected as a representative to the Number Resource Organization Number Council for the APNIC region for a two-year term from 1 January2012 to 31 December 2013. http://www.nro.net/news/tomohiro-fujisaki-elected-to-nro-nc ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** The World's Most Valuable Domain Names Trying to honestly figure out what the most valuable domain names are is quite a challenge. At the height of the dot com craze domain names for websites were selling not only at an unbelievable rate, but they were selling for unbelievable prices. In some cases the prices reported by the buyer and seller conflicted as not all sales were formally reported publicly. In other cases the sales were reported without mention of what the price tag was. In essence that leaves plenty of room for speculation, but with the information available to anyone willing to investigate a little bit there are some domain names we can see have sold for incredible sums of money. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8388905/the_worlds_most_valuable_domain_names.html How Category Defining Domain Names Are Helping Jesse Stein Turn Triton Web Properties Into an E-Commerce Powerhouse Over the last five years serial entrepreneur Jesse Stein and the Coral Gables, Florida based company that he founded, Triton Web Properties, has been quietly assembling a portfolio of top-notch category defining domain names with one goal in mind - to use each of their acquisitions as the foundation to build a globally recognized, profitable e-commerce business upon. http://dnjournal.com/cover/2011/august.htm Pair of Six-Figure Sales Including a Popular One-Word Term and a Two-Letter .Com Lead This Week's Domain Sales Chart Six-figure sales were missing in action last week but players in the high end of the market returned this week to close two transactions that broke the $100,000 mark. Favorites.com led the way at $165,000 after being sold by Michael Mann's DomainMarket.com. Sedo also crossed the 100K barrier with ZY.com at $105,999. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2011/20110831.htm New Parking Statistics, Tools and Other Improvements! Take a deeper look into our revamped Domain Parking section Having taken into account a large number of customer requests and suggestions that you have made on how to improve our site, we are pleased to announce a complete revamp of the ?Domain Parking? section of your Sedo account. https://sedo.com/links/showlinks.php3?tracked=&partnerid=&language=us&Id=2903 ********************** REPORTS & RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Determining Infringing Content on BitTorrent Networks: Enhancing Sampling and Detecting Fake Files Executive Summary: At the ICSL, we have developed a methodology for systematically estimating the true extent of illegal file sharing on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Previous studies have found that the overwhelming majority of BitTorrent usage was for sharing copyright infringing content. We have identified a clear power law relationship between torrents and downloads, meaning that a small number of very popular torrents account for a larger proportion of overall downloads. We also validated the results by cross?checking the relative proportions of categorised downloads (movies, music, software etc.) against keyword terms entered onto a popular torrent search engine site. http://www.icsl.com.au/files/Report_August2011_final.pdf ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Twitter says it has 100 million active users The micro-blogging site Twitter has said active users have passed the 100 million mark, but it has no plans to become a public company. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14848383 Twitter reveals it has 100m active users Twitter has celebrated reaching 100 million global active users with a flurry of fresh statistics, from which we learn that the service averages 230m tweets a day and that half the active user base accesses Twitter daily. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/pda/2011/sep/08/twitter-active-users Twitter Reaches 100 Million Active Users When Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, sent the very first tweet five years ago, he most likely didn?t expect that the site would soon be home to tens of millions of people doing the exact same thing. On Thursday, Twitter said that it now has 100 million active users. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/twitter-reaches-100-million-active-users/ Twitter becomes latest tool for hedge fund managers The millions of tweets posted on Twitter are being analysed by hedge fund managers to predict share price patterns. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/8755587/Twitter-becomes-latest-tool-for-hedge-fund-managers.html Internet undermines jury system The inappropriate use of social media is compromising the integrity of jury trials, according to a leading barrister. http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/blogs/top_stories/archive/2011/09/07/internet-undermines-jury-system.aspx Social media looks to fill investigative reporting gap YouTube is considering launching a service dedicated to investigative journalism in response to the decline of in-depth reporting at traditional news outlets. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-09/youtube-investigative-reporting/2878414 ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Jelly batteries: Safer, cheaper, smaller, more powerful A new polymer jelly could be the next big step forward for lithium batteries. The jelly replaces the volatile and hazardous liquid electrolyte currently used in most lithium batteries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14852073 Supercomputer predicts revolution Feeding a supercomputer with news stories could help predict major world events, according to US research. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14841018 ********************************* CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY ********************************* Opinion: There's no shame in teenage sextual relations Two teenage "sexters" were recently reported to have been charged and prosecuted with child pornography offences and placed on the sex offender register in Victoria, branding them criminals and ruining their career prospects. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/theres-no-shame-in-teenage-sextual-relations-20110909-1k1nb.html ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** Research finds risk in illegal downloads Research at the University of Ballarat has found people illegally downloading files like movies and music risk receiving malicious code. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-09/research-finds-risk-in-illegal-downloads/2878140 No cure for piracy since the day the music started dying When it comes to digital piracy, the music industry has been the media industry's canary in the coalmine. The first sector to be severely affected by illegal online downloading, years on it still struggles to find a cure. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/no-cure-for-piracy-since-the-day-the-music-started-dying/story-e6frg996-1226134295512 Piracy drowning out voice of new talent The debate about online piracy is often a misinformed mudslinging match where the music industry is portrayed as greedy corporations that refuse to move with the times. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/piracy-drowning-out-voice-of-new-talent/story-e6frg99o-1226134255604 Piracy threatens thousands of jobs but society still in denial, says study Australians are in denial about the impact of piracy on the creative industries, placing tens of thousands of jobs at risk, says research that forms the centre of a major public awareness campaign launched today. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/piracy-threatens-thousands-of-jobs-but-society-still-in-denial-says-study/story-e6frg996-1226134296474 Pirates use drive-ins not for the visuals but for the FM frequency soundtracks Drive-in cinemas are being denied new-release films as pirates target them to copy the movies. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/pirates-use-drive-ins-not-for-the-visuals-but-for-the-fm-frequency-soundtracks/story-e6frg996-1226134301704 Newspapers must learn the piracy lessons faced by music The newspaper industry must learn the lessons of the music industry if it is to survive the next wave of digitalisation and avoid being pirated out of existence, one of Australia's most senior music industry executives has warned. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/newspapers-must-learn-the-piracy-lessons-faced-by-music/story-e6frg996-1226134297068 ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Australia's white hot smartphone revolution Australia went from lagging to leading the worldwide smartphone revolution in just one year, a major study by Google has revealed. But about four out of five Australian websites are not optimised for smartphones. http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/australias-white-hot-smartphone-revolution-20110908-1jz3k.html http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/australias-white-hot-smartphone-revolution-20110908-1jz3k.html Smartphones at the dinner table? Smartphone trendspotting down under Here?s a question for all of you smartphone owners out there: If someone asked you whether you?d rather give up your phone or your TV, what would you say? http://google-au.blogspot.com/2011/09/smartphones-at-dinner-table-smartphone.html Smartphones take lead in European mobile phone market The era of the simple "feature phone" that cannot connect to the internet is over in western Europe. Smartphone shipments exceeded those of "feature phones" for the first time in the region over the most recent three months and accounted for 52% of the 42m units sold. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/08/smartphones-take-lead-in-mobile-phone-market Google ponders 'privileged' access to Android Court papers have thrown light on how Google gives some firms early access to Android technology. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14836102 Apple Wins German Ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab Apple scored another victory in its patent battle against Samsung today when a German court upheld the preliminary injunction banning sales of the company?s Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer in the country. http://allthingsd.com/20110909/apple-wins-german-ban-on-samsung-galaxy-tab/ German court upholds Apple design claim A German court has upheld a ban on the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab, saying it did infringe Apple designs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14852392 Legal war over tablet computers opens Samsung's Windows options [Wall Street Journal] Samsung Electronics is preparing to expand its tablet-computer line-up by using a new version of Microsoft's Windows software as the South Korean company's products built around Google's Android operating system come under legal attack from Apple. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/world/apples-legal-war-opens-samsungs-windows-options/story-e6frg90o-1226132893165 ********************** ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL ********************** us: "It was a dumb idea": newspaper chain fires copyright troll Righthaven The new chief executive of MediaNews Group, publisher of the Denver Post and 50 other newspapers, said it was ?a dumb idea? for the nation?s second-largest newspaper chain to sign up with copyright troll Righthaven. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/09/it-was-a-dumb-idea-newspaper-chain-fires-copyright-troll-righthaven.ars nz: Cyber crime cost $625m in past year Cyber crime cost New Zealanders a total of $625.5 million in the past year, according to the lastest CyberCrime report http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/cyber-crime-cost-625m-past-year-aw-100192 Norton Study Calculates Cost of Global Cybercrime: $114 Billion Annually: One of World?s Largest Cybercrime Studies Reveals More Than One Million Victims a Day [news release] For the first time a Norton study calculates the cost of global cybercrime: $114 billion annually1. Based on the value victims surveyed placed on time lost due to their cybercrime experiences, an additional $274 billion was lost2. With 431 million adult victims globally in the past year and at an annual price of $388 billion globally based on financial losses and time lost, cybercrime costs the world significantly more than the global black market in marijuana, cocaine and heroin combined ($288 billion).3 http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20110907_02 ********************** SECURITY ********************** Cyber 9/11': Serious Risk Or Inflated Threat? Ten years after the Sept. 11 attacks, many lawmakers and intelligence officials say they fear the next such attack could be triggered with the click of a mouse. They warn of a potential "cyber 9/11" caused by terrorists hijacking the nation's critical infrastructure, plunging cities into sustained blackouts, halting trains and planes or wiping out banks' financial data. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/cyber-911-risk-or-inflated-threat_n_934272.html Cyber-attack in Europe highlights Internet risks The assault, apparently launched from Iran, focused on the digital security systems used to authenticate websites for banking, email and e-commerce around the world. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cyber-attack-20110910,0,5076260.story Hacker shows up Aussie education sites Australian education websites are among those included on a list of sites vulnerable to cross-site scripting attacks. http://www.zdnet.com.au/hacker-shows-up-aussie-education-sites-339321970.htm ********************** PRIVACY ********************** Consumer Advocates Urge U.S. and Europe To Reject Privacy Self Regulation Consumer advocates are calling on European and U.S. regulators to reject the online advertising industry's new self-regulatory program, saying the effort does not protect privacy well enough. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2011/09/us-eu-consumer-advocates-urge.php Facebook Agrees to Voluntary Privacy Code German data protection advocates often take aim at Facebook, most recently in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, which aims to ban the site's "Like" button. But tensions may be easing. On Thursday, the country's interior minister managed to coax Facebook into sharing in the creation of a voluntary privacy code. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,785190,00.html Facebook's Self-Regulation in Germany a Bow to Stricter Culture Facebook's willingness to agree to a voluntary code of conduct in Germany to protect users' data shows it is mindful of how the culture there contrasts with that in the U.S. http://www.pcworld.com/article/239822/facebooks_selfregulation_in_germany_a_bow_to_stricter_culture.html http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/400446/facebook_bows_stricter_german_culture/ ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Dictatorship 101: killing the internet plays into the hands of revolutionaries by Lawrence J. Saha, Professor, Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University In the euphoria following the downfall of the Mubarak regime in Egypt, Wael Ghonim, the so-called ?hero? of the revolution proclaimed: http://theconversation.edu.au/dictatorship-101-killing-the-internet-plays-into-the-hands-of-revolutionaries-3254 In Malaysia, Freedom of the (Virtual) Press When thousands of protesters calling for electoral reform took to the streets here July 9, Malaysiakini, one of Malaysia?s most popular news Web sites, received 5.2 million hits, making the day one of the site?s busiest since it was established in 1999. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/world/asia/09iht-malaysia09.html In South Korea, the Only Thing Worse Than Online Censorship is Secret Online Censorship In South Korea, even the censors are being censored. Professor K.S. Park, who sits on South Korea?s nine-member Internet content regulatory board, has found his own blog under threat of censorship when he used it as platform to speak out for transparency and free expression. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/08/south-korea-only-thing-worse-online-censorship ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** us: Senator Introduces Online Security Bill Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, introduced a new bill Thursday that aims to protect citizens? personal information from online data breaches. The bill would also punish companies that are careless with customers? information. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/senator-introduces-new-online-privacy-bill/ eu: Commission eyes EU regulation of online gambling Policymakers and operators alike are broadly in favour of introducing EU-wide legislation to govern the online gambling market. But common rules should not prevent member states from regulating online gambling as tightly as they want, participants in a European Economic and Social Committee conference heard yesterday. http://www.euractiv.com/consumers/commission-eyes-eu-regulation-online-gambling-news-507351 ********************************* MISCELLANEOUS ********************************* Google discloses carbon footprint for the first time Google's carbon footprint is on a par with the United Nations, the internet giant revealed on Thursday as it published its energy usage for the first time. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/08/google-carbon-footprint Google Details, and Defends, Its Use of Electricity Google disclosed Thursday that it continuously uses enough electricity to power 200,000 homes, but it says that in doing so, it also makes the planet greener. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/technology/google-details-electricity-output-of-its-data-centers.html Google reveals carbon footprint Google has opened the kimono and shed light on its global energy consumption that's a notch above Malawi. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/google-reveals-carbon-footprint/story-e6frgakx-1226132878155 ICT industry backs greenhouse gas emissions methodology The first ITU Green Standards Week closed today with a call on international bodies, NGOs, standards bodies, governments, regulators, industry and academia to collaborate more closely on the application and development of information and communication technologies (ICT) standards to help combat climate change. Particular emphasis was placed on a globalized methodology to assess the environmental impact of ICTs, reducing e-waste, and the use of submarine cables for climate monitoring and disaster warning. http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2011/30.aspx AOL and Yahoo reported to be in merger talks AOL and Yahoo, fallen giants of the first age of the internet, are reportedly discussing a merger. The news comes after Yahoo axed chief executive Carol Bartz earlier this week. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/09/aol-yahoo-reported-merger-talks More trouble for Yahoo! The internet company boots out its boss. But it will struggle to reboot its business When Carol Bartz took the wheel at Yahoo! in January 2009 one of her first acts was to tell employees that she would ?drop-kick to fucking Mars? anyone who was caught leaking company secrets. Now it is Ms Bartz who has been drop-kicked out of the company. On September 6th news leaked via AllThingsD, a technology-news website, that she had been ousted in a surprise coup by Yahoo!?s board. Official confirmation swiftly followed, with the news that Tim Morse, the firm?s chief financial officer, would take over as interim chief executive, supported by a leadership committee of senior managers. In ditching one of Silicon Valley?s most colourful characters, whose potty-mouthed epithets have become something of a personal trademark, Yahoo! has signalled the depth of its problems. Fixing them will not be easy. http://www.economist.com/node/21528650 ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** au: Communications watchdog ACMA orders telcos to improve customer service [AAP] The communications authority has told telecommunications providers to lift their game over call plans and when dealing with customer complaints. http://www.news.com.au/business/communications-watchdog-acma-orders-telcos-to-lift-customer-service/story-e6frfm1i-1226132970437 Reconnecting the Customer final report released [news release] The Australian Communications and Media Authority today published the final report of its public inquiry into the customer service and complaints-handling practices of Australian telecommunications providers. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_410157 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2011 ------ David Goldstein email: david§goldsteinreport.com web: http://goldsteinreport.com/ http://davidgoldstein.tel/ phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - office/home "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim FlanneryReceived on Sun Sep 11 2011 - 22:52:56 UTC
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