p2pnet World Headlines – June 15, 2009
Court Orders P2P News Site To Dishonor Convicted Pirates TorrentFreak
Following a request from the entertainment industries, a French court has ordered the P2P news site Numerama to cover the cases of 27 convicted file-sharers. For their efforts the site receives 10,000 euros which they promise to spend wisely by supporting a pro file-sharing cause.
Anti-piracy music deal for Virgin BBC
Virgin and Universal have signed a deal that will give the ISP’s customers access to “unlimited” music. For a monthly fee… Virgin said it had vowed to try a range of anti-piracy measures as part of the deal. The last resort would be a temporary suspension of a customer’s internet connection if that person consistently ignored warnings about their activity… The Virgin/Universal deal was announced the day before the UK government releases the final version of the Digital Britain report put together by Lord Carter.
USTR Revives Focus On ACTA; Talks Set For July IP-watch
The Office of the United States Trade Representative on Friday said it had reviewed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) under negotiation and has decided to move ahead on the treaty. Negotiating countries will meet in Morocco in July, and the targeted completion is still 2010. [Comment: Canada is included: refer to http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4053/196/ and http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/fo/press-release-communique.aspx]
Canadian ISPs need you to tell the regulator to force Bell to stop screwing them — and the Canadian public BoingBoing
Robbo sez, “Rocky Gaudrault, CEO of TekSavvy [ed: fantastic, indie Canadian ISP that does not practice throttling, unlike the major semi-monopoly, Bell Canada], sent this email to customers today. Seems important for people in Canada even if they aren’t TekSavvy customers:”…
International Phone Hacking Ring Busted; Stole $55 Million Worth of Calls Wired
Authorities in several countries have helped bust an international phone hacking ring that cracked into thousands of corporate phone networks in the U.S. and elsewhere in order to route calls through the networks at the expense of the hacked companies. Three foreign nationals were indicted in the U.S., according to a document unsealed on Friday, for allegedly hacking into the phone systems, while five Pakistani nationals were arrested in Italy for allegedly financing the scheme and selling access to the hacked networks to other call centers and using the hacked networks to route their own customer calls.
Usher helps develop app for artists to share, sell their work online IT Business
Montreal-based musician David Usher is spearheading the development of a new social media application specifically tailored to help artists manage online communities and share or sell their work online. Emblazoned on the right-hand column of DavidUsher.com sits an embedded Adobe AIR client. A stream of short messages next to user pictures is similar to Twitter, but there’s more here. Users can begin threaded discussions around any given message, or click on a tab and start streaming Usher’s tracks, free of charge. Most notably, the whole application is branded to be distinctly about the solo musician.
Private Tracker Account Theft On The Rise: The Danger of Shared Seedboxes FileShareFreak
Just about everyone starting out in the world of seedboxes usually begins on a shared seedbox. They’re much more affordable (when compared to a dedicated box), they come pre-configured with a BitTorrent GUI & client, and there’s usually no setup fee. Simply pay, login to the box, and start adding torrents. Recently, however; there’s been an increasing trend whereby users of shared seedboxes are having their private tracker accounts hijacked. We explain how & why this is happening – and what you can do to prevent it. On par with any Internet-based supplier, there are trustworthy reputable seedbox providers – and there are also unscrupulous scammers looking for a quick buck. The reality is, just about anyone can become a so-called “seedbox provider”. Nobody wants to lose money for unrendered services or be forced to launch PayPal disputes. But there’s also the danger of having your private tracker accounts stolen.
International telecom hacker group busted Computer World
A federal grand jury in New Jersey today indicted three people, and five people were arrested in Italy, all in connection with the hacking into the IT systems of thousands of companies around the world to gain free access to telephone services, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J…
Connecting Canada to the digital world The Star
The starting point for any action plan is leadership. Canada needs digital leaders, including a Chief Technology Officer and cabinet-level attention to the issue. On a substantive level, there is room for a greater governmental role, but it should avoid the temptation to pick winners or specific technologies. With that in mind, a Canadian digital action plan could focus on five main issues:…
Europe cool to Microsoft’s offer to sell browser-less Windows system New York Times
European regulators, wary of repeating an earlier mistake, signaled this week that Microsoft’s offer to sell a browser-less Windows system on the Continent did not go far enough. And the decision has left some antitrust lawyers in Brussels scratching their heads. “Microsoft is offering to sell Windows in Europe without their own browser — you would think this is what the commission wants,” said Alec Burnside, a competition lawyer at Linklaters in Brussels. “You would expect them to say ‘Thank you’ and close the case.” Microsoft made the offer Thursday to sell Windows in Europe without its own browser, the latest move in a case that was initiated in December 2007 based on a complaint by Opera, a Norwegian browser maker.
Telstra on rack over separation Australian IT
Telstra’s challenge to retain control of both its wholesale and retail arms became even harder yesterday after almost every player in the telecoms sector hounded the government for some form of separation for the industry giant. Telstra’s case to remain in its current state and to protect its stranglehold on profits in Australia’s telecoms sector was laid bare when the government published more than 120 submissions to its National Broadband Network: Regulatory Reform for 21st Century Broadband discussion paper… The ACCC said in its submission that imposing a tougher structural separation regime on Telstra was the only way to guarantee an equal playing field during migration to the NBN. “The ACCC is of the view that structural separation of Telstra is the only framework that will ensure equivalence in access during the transition to the NBN and is the only form of separation consistent with the type of wholesale-retail market structure the Government envisages for the NBN environment of the future,” the ACCC said in its submission. The Seven Network, Vodafone, iiNet, Macquarie Telecom, Optus and AAPT all echod the ACCC’s sentiment and argued that the current regulatory regime was too easily gamed by Telstra.
Austria could spin off Telekom Austria’s network Reuters
Austria may spin off Telekom Austria’s (TELA.VI) fixed-line network infrastructure to take the company’s legacy civil servants off its payroll, a leading policymaker said over the weekend… Such a deal could also solve some regulatory issues and ease investment into new broadband networks because the spin-off would offer access to Telekom Austria as well as its competitors on an equal basis, Matznetter said.
Fast NBN sparks fresh web fears Australian IT
Australia’s upgrade to a $43 billion broadband network has prompted some top web publishers to call for new federal intervention to ensure unrestricted access to their content. Ninemsn, the nation’s most popular portal by viewers, says in a submission on regulation of the National Broadband Network that the Rudd government should legislate to ensure “net neutrality” principles are enforced. That would prevent internet service providers from charging more to download movies or data-rich content and stop Telstra allowing unmetered access to videos on its BigPond site. “The principle of net neutrality preserves the ability of internet users to connect to any content, service or application on the internet by ensuring ISPs treat all traffic on their networks impartially, equally and without regard to the type of content, its destination or source,” Ninemsn says in its submission.
British cops deliver Catch 22 to photographers: you’re not allowed to know which areas you’re not allowed to photograph BoingBoing
In Britain, cops have the power to search you if you take a picture of a “sensitive” area, but they won’t tell you which areas are “sensitive,” because they’re so “sensitive.” The British Journal of Photography is trying to use the UK Freedom of Information Act to find out which places in Britain have such precious photons that people who collect them without authorization can have their civil rights violated, but so far they’ve been unsuccessful.
UK.gov to create central cybersecurity agency The Register
…according to The Guardian. Officials aim to centralise national cybersecurity strategy under a new high profile umbrella agency. Currently, the Ministry of Defence, Home Office, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ share responsibility for protecting critical UK online communications, and work mostly in the shadows. The proposal will be the centrepiece of the government’s updated National Security Strategy, it’s reported.
IP Address Alone Insufficient To Identify Pirate, Court Rules TorrentFreak
Anti-piracy groups and lawyers across Europe are unmovable – they say that since they logged a copyright infringement from a particular IP address, the bill payer is responsible. Now a court in Rome has decided that on the contrary, an IP address does not identify an infringer, only a particular connection.
Web Piracy Law Back On NZ Agenda BillBoard
The first draft of New Zealand’s revised copyright legislation will be ready for analysis next month. In March, the government ordered a rewrite of a contentious new clause in the Copyright Act, which would have required Internet service providers to terminate the accounts of repeat offenders under a “three-strikes” system. The original Section 92A was scrapped following fierce opposition from telecommunication groups and consumer advocates.
Orthodox Jews launch “kosher” search engine Reuters
Religiously devout Jews barred by rabbis from surfing the Internet may now “Koogle” it on a new “kosher” search engine, the site manager said on Sunday… The site, at www.koogle.co.il, omits religiously objectionable material, such as most photographs of women which Orthodox rabbis view as immodest, Altman said.
Spider email prankster David Thorne returns NEWS.com.au
Aussie email prankster in headlines again. INFAMOUS email prankster David Thorne is back in the headlines with new material taking the mickey out of landlords and gyms.
MPs call for expanded privacy law Edmonton Sun
A Commons committee says the federal privacy law should be expanded to cover new technology such as live surveillance-camera feeds and DNA swabs collected from suspects. Currently the Privacy Act covers only information collected by the government in recorded form, such as papers, tapes and computer files.
Marc – p2pnet
June, 2009
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