Microsoft's new 'anti-phishing' tool available soon

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1852457,00.asp

By Gene J. Koprowski
Ziff-Davis Internet

Microsoft—seeking to help prevent ID theft—is among the growing list of software companies that are developing new tools that caution consumers when "phishing" attacks are under way on the Internet.

Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 7 browser, which is available now only in beta tests, features the new filtering technology. The company is planning to add the technology into a tool bar for older versions of Internet Explorer.

Microsoft, however, apparently did not develop the new feature itself.

"WholeSecurity provides the functionality for the phishing component that is part of IE 7," said Ann Taylor, a spokesperson for WholeSecurity Inc., the developer, based in Austin, Texas.

Net slowing spread of AIDS

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20050824-085024-7366r.htm

The Internet is helping staunch the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, experts tell UPI's The Web.

A report last week by the San Francisco-based Kaiser Family Foundation indicated that gays who are HIV-positive have been using online dating services to find new sex partners who are similarly afflicted.

"The dating practice, which is called 'sero-sorting,' involves men choosing sex partners based on their common HIV serostatus, which refers to the presence of antibodies to a particular infectious agent in the blood," according to the Kaiser report.

More 'e-mail' wiretapping prosecutions to come?

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1850388,00.asp

By Gene J. Koprowski
Ziff-Davis Internet

A federal appeals court ruling in Boston last week on e-mail wiretapping is reverberating throughout the Internet community—and legal world—with a consensus emerging that there may be prosecutions in the future for what today is considered normal business practice by ISPs.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals, voting 5-2, ruled that an e-mail service provider that supposedly read e-mail, intended for customers only, could indeed be tried on federal criminal charges.

Google poised to compete with Microsoft?

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1851086,00.asp

By Gene J. Koprowski
Ziff-Davis Internet

Google is poised to compete with Microsoft and produce an alternate computing platform for PC users, analysts contend.

Google Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., on Monday launched a beta version of the forthcoming upgrade of its desktop search tool, and on Wednesday the company is expected to unveil a "communications tool" that is said to be a step beyond the company's current search-related business focus.

The beta of Google Desktop 2 "is a new, easier way to get information—even without searching," said Marissa Mayer, director of product management for consumer products at Google.

Networking: Cheap health records software

The federal government and commercial-software developers are offering doctors and medical clinics low-cost -- and sometimes free -- electronic medical-records software, hoping to spur the expansion of networked physicians' offices around the United States, experts told UPI's Networking. By Gene Koprowski

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20050822-081101-6078r

New uses for Blackberrys, PDAs coming soon

By Gene J. Koprowski, Published 8/19/2005 11:50 AM
CHICAGO, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Phil Hammond carries a PalmOne Treo personal digital assistant with him almost all the time. "It's like carrying my office in my pocket -- I can get my e-mail, my contact list, my notes, even my combination to my locker at the Y," Hammond, marketing director for the Boston-based interior design firm of Margulies & Associates, told UPI's Wireless World.
"Before that, I had a Palm Pilot. That one was good, but this one is even more advanced. The only problem is that it is a little cumbersome -- my fingers are too big for the tiny keyboard."
According to a new survey by eAccess Solutions Inc., based in suburban Chicago, businesses like Hammond's firm are increasingly realizing a return on the investments they have made in PDAs. They first were enticed by wireless e-mail, and now, the survey says, they want to see what other applications can be pushed out to the PDA.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20050819-073056-8270r

The Web: Home sales rules changing

By Gene J. KoprowskiPublished 8/17/2005 12:10 PM
CHICAGO, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Is it going to be harder in the future for you to buy, or sell, residential real estate over the Internet? Some experts think so. In interviews with UPI's The Web column, real-estate agents and lawyers say new regulations are emerging, primarily at the state level, that are preventing online discount real-estate firms from selling properties with fees priced below the industry standard of 5 percent to 6 percent. What's more, cutting-edge online sellers may be restricted from offering rebates or other incentives -- e-coupons to HomeDepot.com, for instance -- to entice potential buyers.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20050816-014443-4471r

Is VOIP Wiretapping a Privacy Threat?

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1847764,00.asp

By Gene J. Koprowski
Ziff-Davis Internet
Has the Federal Communications Commission radically enhanced the powers of law enforcement with its new regulation to allow for Internet wiretapping, as some civil libertarians have been suggesting? Maybe.

Critics Claim FCC Ruling Creates 'Duopoly'

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1846713,00.asp

By Gene J. Koprowski
Ziff-Davis Internet
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin says that the agency's new rules on broadband Internet access create a "level playing field." But critics—including leading investment bankers and Internet technology vendors—are alleging that the FCC is actually creating a new, unfair playing field, where cable and traditional telecom companies are favored over ISPs.

RFID Vendors, Analysts Upbeat on Proposed Licensing Plan

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1847142,00.asp
By Gene J. Koprowski
Ziff-Davis Internet

Analysts and RFID industry executives sounded an upbeat note over a proposed patent licensing consortium announced on Tuesday. The plan seeks to bring some order to the rollouts of RFID (radio-frequency identification) implementations heading to market.

Networking: GM, GE embracing Java

By Gene J. KoprowskiAug. 15, 2005 at 5:07PM
United Press International
General Motors Corp. is embracing Java-based technologies -- hoping to drive down decisively the cost of integrating network applications used in manufacturing, purchasing, sales, marketing and even engineering, experts told UPI's Networking. The GM decision -- along with a deal disclosed during the first week in August by General Electric Co. -- signals the mainstream corporate acceptance of Java.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20050815-091003-6227r.htm

'Founder sales' flourishing for dot-coms

By Gene J. Koprowski
CHICAGO, IL, United States (UPI) -- During the late 1990s and into 2000, every Internet entrepreneur had the same dream: Start an online company and launch an Initial Public Offering on Wall Street a year or two later, becoming fabulously wealthy in the process.
Fast-forward five years and though the dream remains, parts have changed, experts told UPI`s The Web.

Venture-capital spending remains flat, expected to be $21 billion this year, the same as last year, according to a joint survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, and IPOs have not yet returned to their past peaks.

http://tech.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1040426.php/The_Web_Founder_sales_flourishing

Spychips embedded in license plates?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20050812-082018-4885r.htm

Toll authorities in the U.K. are mulling embedding spychips in license plates -- and American authorities may follow suit.

Trouble for new Microsoft operating system?

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20050808-074604-3688r

Published 8/8/2005 1:45 PM
CHICAGO, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Microsoft Corp. is releasing a beta version of Windows Vista, its latest operating system -- said to be impervious to most network hackers -- and the accompanying server software is anticipated later this year, experts told UPI's Networking.
According to Microsoft, one of Vista's primary features is its network access protection. Often, worms and viruses attack an internal corporate network via mobile PCs -- and handhelds -- that lack the latest security updates or virus signatures. With Vista, mobile computing users will be prevented from linking to a corporate network until they have installed all of the latest security software and met other "security criteria," the company said in a statement.

Enhanced 911 Delays Expected

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20050804-115123-8193r.htm

Not all mobile-phone users will be able to access emergency operators by next year -- if they get into a horrific car accident, or observe a violent crime in progress -- even though a government deadline requiring enhanced 9-1-1 is looming, experts told UPI's Wireless World.

Verizon Wireless, one of the nation's largest mobile-phone carriers, notified the Federal Communications Commission this week that it could not meet a Dec. 31 deadline to ensure 95 percent of its customers had E9-1-1 capable handsets. Rival Nextel also has requested an extension of the deadline from the FCC. Other carriers are expected to make similar disclosures shortly.

Networking: 'Smart highways' emerging

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20050731-082114-2864r

CHICAGO, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Commuters cruise down Interstate 95 from New York City to Washington, D.C., bumper to bumper, at a speed of 120 miles per hour -- about a two-hour trip at that speed. Do they worry about collisions? Not at all. They can even check the Dow Jones industrial average or browse new books on Amazon.com while they motor. By Gene Koprowski

British intelligence disables terrorist web sites

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20050803-060825-3448r.htm

The online communications channel between al-Qaida's shadowy leaders and its terrorist operatives has been severely disrupted in recent weeks -- since the July 7, 2005, jihadi attacks on London -- apparently by British intelligence.
Though the Internet is a recent and universal resource, legal and military experts told UPI's The Web there is ample precedent for a government, in time of war, to attempt to deny the enemy the ability to communicate.