Commerce, Crime, Dave's Muse, Information, Security, Services, Software, Technical

Gmail Scam Used by Phishers to Gather Personal Data

Internet e-mail scammers are using the popularity and allure of Google's Gmail service to phish for personal data, including e-mail addresses and passwords. Gmail e-mail accounts are one of the most coveted holdings for hip and techie Internet users. A quick eBay search proves the popularity of invitations to join Google's upcoming e-mail service that offers 1GB of mail storage.

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Todd Cochrane
Commerce, Crime, Dave's Muse, Information, Security, Services, Software, Technical

FTC Offers Bounty to Name Spammers

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced, in a public report, that a system of monetary rewards would help improve the enforcement of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2002 (CAN-SPAM Act.) That Act, which became effective on January 1, 2004, required the FTC to conduct a study and provide a report to Congress on a CAN-SPAM "bounty system." While the fact that bounties may be offered to those who help authorities in nabbing spammers doesn't unusual, what is very much out of the ordinary is the projected bounty amounts necessary to make them effective.

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Todd Cochrane
Commerce, Crime, Dave's Muse, Information, Operating Systems, Security, Software, Technical

$87 Million in Pirated Software Seized

A multi-state ring of software pirates was apprehended by U.S. law enforcement authorities, resulting in a seizure of possibly $87 million worth of pirated software. The raid followed a two-year investigation of 11 people from California, Texas, and Washington. The 11 defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute counterfeit computer software and documentation with a retail value of well over $30 million. according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

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Todd Cochrane
Crime

Open WiFi connections still being hijacked to send Spam

Your doorbell rings you barely get to the door before the police are knocking your door in. They hand you a search warrant and seize all of your computer gear and haul you in for questioning. Imagine your horror when…

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Todd Cochrane
Commerce, Crime, Dave's Muse, Information, Operating Systems, Security, Software, Technical

Lost Hard Drive Contains 23,000 Social Security Numbers

Students, faculty, and staff at seven campuses of the California State University (CSU) system are at risk for identity theft after a hardware technician improperly disposed of a computer hard drive with unencrypted database tables that included Social Security numbers and other personal details. The CSU is required, under California law, to notify all affected parties.

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Todd Cochrane
Crime

Walmart Shopping cards Hacked

I think the wife has a few of these laying around from returns. I wonder if Walmart is going to be honoring them now with the report that the cards have been hacked and hackers are cashing out other peoples…

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Todd Cochrane