Newsweek takes a look (via TechDirt) at a future Internet controlled by corporations and governments through Digital Rights Management, secure chips and micropayments. It’s an interesting article, and makes me ponder some interesting supplementary questions: Are spammers, for example, the enemy of ordinary Internet folk, or virtual Robin Hoods eluding corporate control of the web? … Read more
You know if AccountancyAge are reporting it, there’s money involved. According to the bean-counters, organised crime is looking at how it can make money from spam and virus writing, which means attacks may become less common than now but more dangerous. Quoting Russian antivirus expert Eugene Kaspersky, the latest MiMail worms were the first in … Read more
A program I’ve found highly useful of late is Windows Startup Inspector. It does something Windows XP should do, but doesn’t: Allow you to decide what programs do and don’t start when Windows does. It sounds dumb until you realise that most programs these days — including a lot that should know better — automatically … Read more
If anyone has been hit by the recent wave of ‘brand-spoofing’ spam or viruses — particularly those that appear to be from a bank, or from Paypal or eBay — could they please drop me a line? I’m very interested in following up on some of these cases for a future column. Reach me here. … Read more
SurfControl, an anti-spam company, says that “brand spoofing spam” – where a spammer sends fraudulent email that pretends to be from a well-known and trusted company — is getting worse, after only a few months of its existence. The spammer, posing as a customer service or security official, directs the unsuspecting recipient of the … Read more