p2pnet news roundup: October 24, 2008
Teen Is Said to Have Faked Story About Apple’s Jobs – Bloomberg News
An 18-year-old posted the fake Internet report that Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack, and investigators haven’t found evidence the teenager tried to profit from driving down the stock, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the teen’s motives after the article on CNN’s iReport.com sent Apple shares down as much as 5.4 percent on Oct. 3, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the probe isn’t public. While the investigation is continuing, the agency hasn’t unearthed any trading records that show he benefited from the drop, one of them said.
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Draft rules issued for new Net suffixes – Associated Press
The Internet’s key oversight agency issued preliminary guidelines Wednesday for the introduction of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of alternatives to “.com” in the first sweeping changes to the network’s 25-year-old address system. But individuals should forget about claiming a personal domain name suffix for themselves or their families. The application fee, scheduled to be disclosed Friday, is expected to approach $200,000 (U.S.) – partially refundable only in limited circumstances – to help cover the potential $20-million cost of crafting the guidelines and reviewing applications.
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U. of Pennsylvania Student Gets 3 Months in Jail in Botnet Case – Wired Campus
A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced a University of Pennsylvania student who directed large-scale botnet attacks to three months in jail and nine months of confinement in a halfway house and at home, according to a report on The New York Times’ Web site. The student, Ryan Goldstein, will be on probation for five years. He also will be required to pay the government a $30,000 fine and to pay the university $6,100 in restitution because one of its servers crashed while Mr. Goldstein was using it to conduct an attack using a 50,000-machine botnet. A botnet is a network of computers that have been made into digital zombies controlled by a hacker or hackers.\
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Presidential candidates vow more attention to tech issues – Mercury News
No matter who wins the White House, Silicon Valley is looking forward to a president who understands the value of technology and innovation — far better, some would say, than at any time in recent years. Though the campaign has been dominated by other matters, from personal attacks to the overall economy, both John McCain and Barack Obama have vowed to address numerous issues of concern to the tech industry. They even agree on some points, such as granting more H-1B visas to skilled foreign workers. But their approaches are guided by distinctly different philosophies: From spurring new research to sorting out “net neutrality,” McCain tends to favor private-sector solutions, while Obama believes government can be an active partner in setting the nation’s tech agenda.
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Google Deal Blocked in Russia – Wall Street Journal
Russia’s antitrust authorities have blocked Google Inc.’s $140 million acquisition of online advertising firm ZAO Begun from Rambler Media Ltd., the companies said. The reasons behind the decision, delivered by the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service, weren’t immediately clear. A brief statement by the agency referred to a regulation designed to preserve competition in the market.
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SKorea jails man for Internet lies during beef protests – Agence France-Presse
A South Korean court has jailed a man who spread false Internet rumours that police raped a demonstrator during protests against US beef imports, officials said Thursday. In the latest legal action against Internet rumour mongers during the protests, court officials said the man was sentenced to 10 months in prison plus two years’ probation and ordered to perform 160 hours of community service. The court said the man used a fake identity to join a website and posted two articles alleging police had raped one participant in the protests, which rocked the country a few months ago. “He was fully aware that his post was untrue, but he even went so far as to fabricate pictures to support the false argument, posing a great danger to society,” the court said in its judgement.
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AOL sued over ads in e-mail – CNET News
By now, most of us are used to the ads we see in our Web-based e-mail . But if you are paying for the e-mail service, those ads might be extra annoying. At least one California man thinks so, enough to sue AOL. Frank Cecchini claims in his lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, that he shouldn’t have to see any of the “intrusive and misleading” ads that appear as text in the e-mails because he pays $25.90 a month for his service, according to a MediaPost article. An AOL spokeswoman said the company does not comment on pending litigation. However, she said AOL subscribers can opt out of receiving the ads and the company tells anyone who complains about the ads exactly how to do it.
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