The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has shut down no fewer than 800 scam web sites and arrested members of 18 syndicates behind the fraudulent scheme in a renewed bid to clap down on internet fraudsters through an initiative tagged project eagle claw
Profits at online auction giant eBay have fallen by 29% as it continued to struggle amid the weak economy. It made $350m in the third quarter from $492m in the same period a year earlier as customers showed reluctance to spend. But the firm’s overall sales rose 6% to $2.4bn as more people used its PayPal division to pay for things online
The Kindle International’s 3G connection may be free, but it comes with some serious restrictions. Upon trying to subscribe to various magazines and newspapers PC Pro were greeted with the news that Newspapers and magazines delivered outside the US will not include photos and other images
. This even applies to the UK-based newspapers Amazon has signed a deal with, including The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail The and Independent. And that’s not the Kindle International’s only limitation. Amazon has also disabled its inbuilt web browser, returning the message that Due to local restrictions, web browsing is not available for all countries, when you try to access it
Twitter, the microblogging company which lets users express their thoughts in text message-length bursts, has proven itself the most desirable property on the internet by announcing deals with both Microsoft and Google
It’s the technology that brought us high-speed wireless and and now, one of Australia’s most significant scientific breakthroughs is set to fund future discoveries. A team of CSIRO researchers has been the toast of the industry after finding the key to fast wireless networks and making $205 million in the process. The technology has put the CSIRO well in the black for the first time in five years and now the peak science body wants to put back. It has injected $150 million from the proceeds of its wi-fi technology to the once-defunct science and industry endowment fund, originally established by parliament in 1926
Oracle is seeing fierce opposition from the European Union against its proposed Sun Microsystems acquisition. Technology and consumer groups alike are pushing the European Commission to block the deal for one reason: MySQL. Sun owns MySQL, and opponents are concerned that Oracle’s ownership of the open-source database will stifle competition
European astronomers announced they had found 32 new planets orbiting stars outside our solar system and said they believe their find means that 40 per cent or more of sun-like stars have such planets. The planets range in size from about five times the size of Earth to about five times the size of Jupiter, they said. More have been discovered, too, they said, promising more announcements later this year
In the 10 years since researchers at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, first reported producing the superheavy element 114, some tens of other sightings of the element (as well as elements 115, 116, and 118) have been documented — but all by the same group. Now a team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, led by Heino Nitsche and Ken Gregorich, has confirmed the results
Amiga and Hyperion Entertainment announced a settlement over ownership and licensing over AmigaOS 4.0 and future versions. Since the bankruptcy of Commodore, Amiga’s history has been littered with lawsuits that have affected the development of Amiga hardware and software. Having a lawsuit-free OS probably will help a great deal to the continuity and recovery of the Amiga heritage. Hyperion also provides AmigaOS SDKs for developers — via Slashdot
A prediction two years ago by IT security solutions firm Kaspersky Lab on the possible use of YouTube as a medium for disseminating spam has finally been fulfilled. Kaspersky Lab reported it has detected the mass mailing of unsolicited messages that include links to video advertisements on the popular video hosting site. However, this is the first time the company’s specialists have detected a mass mailing specifically intended to make users view an advertising video
The fake antivirus phenomenon has taken an unpleasant turn with the discovery of a Windows program that not only cons users into buying an unnecessary license but appears to lock files and applications on the victim’s PC. According to security company Panda Security, rogueware program Total Security 2009 starts out in conventional fashion with the ‘discovery’ of a non-existent malware infection for which it demands an unusually ambitious $79.95, and even has the cheek to ask a further $19.95 for premium
technical support
Mozilla developers have blocked a Firefox plugin that was quietly pushed out by Microsoft, saying that it presents a security risk. Microsoft shipped the Firefox add-on as part of a .Net software update last February, causing outrage among some Firefox users, who complained that the software was sneaked onto their systems without their knowledge or approval and was extremely difficult to remove
Germany’s new Government coalition has spoken out against legislation that will allow alleged pirated to be disconnected from the Internet. The two parties, CDU and FDP, agree that such a law is not going to solve the piracy problem
. In the coalition agreement that’s currently drafted both parties have agreed not to allow Internet disconnections for alleged copyright infringement offences. The decision is huge blow to the lobbyists of the movie and music industries, but not really unexpected
The results of a new poll reveal the extent of opposition to Lord Mandelson’s proposals for tough sanctions against alleged file-sharers. The survey, commissioned by the Open Rights Group, shows that not only is the public in favour of due process, but a third would be much less likely to vote for political parties supporting these proposals
Stem cells so far have been used to mend tissues ranging from damaged hearts to collapsed tracheas. Now the multifaceted cells have proved successful at regrowing bone in humans. In the first procedure of its kind, doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center replaced a 14-year-old boy’s missing cheekbones — in part by repurposing stem cells from his own body. The technique, should it be approved for widespread use, could benefit some seven million people in the US who need more bone–everyone from cancer patients to injured war veterans
New Canadian anti-spam and anti-spyware legislation is scheduled for a key vote on Monday. Michael Geist reports that the copyright lobby has been pushing to remove parts of the bill that would take away exceptions which currently allow spyware to be installed without authorisation. The copyright lobby is deeply concerned that this change will block attempts to track possible infringement through electronic means.
There have also been proposals to extend the exemptions granted to telecom providers to include the installation of programs without the user’s express consent, which Geist says will ‘leave the door open to private, surreptitious surveillance — via Slashdot
Laser-controlled flies may be the latest addition to the neuroscientist’s tool kit, thanks to a new technique. Researchers have devised a way to write memories onto the brains of flies, revealing which brain cells are involved in making bad memories
Stanford University researchers used nanotechnology and magnetics to create a biosensor that they said should be able to detect cancer in its early stages, making a cure more likely. The sensor, which sits on a microchip, is 1,000 times more sensitive than cancer detectors used clinically today, according to scientists at Stanford. The researchers announced this week that the sensors have been effective in finding early-stage tumours in mice, giving them hope that it can be equally successful in detecting elusive cancers in humans
Google is launching a new online service for booksellers next year called Google Editions, which will let readers buy books and read them on gadgets ranging from cell phones to possibly e-book devices. It’s the first foray into charging for books for the Mountain View, California-based company, which began its Google Books program in 2004, and will put it in competition with Amazon’s Kindle reader
Geoff McCormack, a student at Deakin University, had a fascinating idea for a final project — to send a balloon up 30,000 metres into the stratosphere with a digital camera attached. The university was supportive, and the project took shape. Although there were some serious hitches along the way, the project was successful, and he managed to retrieve the balloon — with the pictures. What’s really amazing is that the total cost was so low; the most expensive part was buying the helium gas for approximately AU$250 — via Slashdot
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