Commerce, Crime, Dave's Muse, Information, Music, Politics, Security, Software, Technical

UA Student Convicted for Downloading Music & Movies

Parvin Dhaliwal (18), a student at the University of Arizona (UA), is the first person in country to be convicted of a crime under state law for downloading music and movies. Dhaliwal pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit marks, or unauthorized copies of intellectual property, and was sentenced to a three-month deferred jail sentence, three years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $5,400 fine. Dhaliwal must also take a copyright class at UA and stop using file-sharing applications. What makes this conviction notable is that copyright protection is normally a federal matter.

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Todd Cochrane
3 Comments on UA Student Convicted for Downloading Music & Movies
Information, Security

.US Domain Names Lose Privacy

Many times I used the anonymous proxy service at godaddy.com to register domain names in order to keep my domains from being spammed, or sometimes to keep a customer’s private address off the internet. But now the U.S. Commerce Dept.…

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Todd Cochrane
Crime, Information, Security

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.

If you’ve ever dealt with PayMaxx online payroll service, you need to get a credit report on yourself ASAP! Here is the story from news.com. “Aaron Greenspan, a former PayMaxx customer, said he discovered the alleged problems in the company’s…

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Todd Cochrane
Commerce, Information, Security

Vancouver, BC: No Home Server For You!

The Telus Company in Canada has decided that anyone with a home broadband connection should not be allowed to run a home server. They feel that open FTP, IRC, and telnet ports are just too risky for their network. It’s…

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

Knoppix Linux: 30 Minutes to Being Free of Windows

I upgraded one of my network file servers, yesterday. I replaced a hard disk that was setting off occasional error notices, and, while while I was at it, I replaced the current operating system (Mandrake Community 10.1) with Knoppix 3.7. Knoppix is the Linux distribution that I use in class to demonstrate how simple Linux is to use, because Knoppix is a fully-functional operating system with common applications that can boot from a single CD. So, with the bootable CD, I can quickly convert any computer to Linux without the risk of deleting any existing files from the Windows operating system.

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

Microsoft Requires Oral Activation of Windows

Starting today, many users of new, unregistered copies of Microsoft Windows will have to make a phone call in order to activate the software's license. In a move to curb piracy of its flagship operating system, Microsoft has disabled the Internet activation alternative, now requiring these users to orally confirm their use of the product.

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Todd Cochrane