NewsBits for January 3, 2005 ************************************************************ Man arrested in tsunami death e-mail hoax British police said on Sunday they had arrested a man after a hoaxer posing as a government official e-mailed relatives of people missing since the Asian tsunami, saying their loved ones had been confirmed dead. The hoaxer, claiming to be from the "Foreign Office Bureau" in Thailand, targeted people who had placed appeals for information about relatives and friends on the Web site of TV station Sky News. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5509601.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39183013,00.htm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/03/man_guilty_tsunami_hoax_emails/ - - - - - - - - - - Pen Argyl man gets up to 21 years in state prison A Pen Argyl man who e-mailed child pornography to an undercover detective and videotaped a nude 10-year-old girl will spend up to 21 years in state prison. Joseph Eisenhauer, 34, of 211 N. Lobb Ave., who had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse of children, cried softly Wednesday as he stood before Northampton County Judge Stephen G. Baratta. http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b5_3sexdec30,0,3282521.story http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-14/110440111496610.x\ml - - - - - - - - - - Bar-code switching scam nets $1.5 million Authorities said the scheme involved using a home computer to produce UPC bar codes for cheaper products and slipping them over the real codes on high-priced items. The suspects then allegedly sold the merchandise, or returned it for refunds or store gift cards that also were sold. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6771118/ - - - - - - - - - - California sets fines for spyware The makers of computer programs that secretly spy on what people do with their home PCs could face hefty fines in California. From 1 January, a new law is being introduced to protect computer users from software known as spyware. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4132143.stm - - - - - - - - - - Anti-Santy worm on the prowl An anti-Santy worm that uses search engines to spread among online bulletin boards has been spotted, a security company has reported. F-Secure said on Friday that it was aware of seven sites that had been defaced by the worm, which appears designed to combat the Santy worm. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5508607.html - - - - - - - - - - Deputies net 'cyber pervs' in chat rooms IN PLATTE COUNTY, the Sheriff's Office operates a cyber-crime unit that has the responsibility of using the Internet as a tool to bait and arrest pedophiliacs who would prey on local children. The Platte County Sheriff Office's Cyber Crime Initiative has apprehended 24 child sex enticement offenders from Clay, Platte and Buchanan counties, and from Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, Platte Detective Sgt. Tony Avery said. Six of the 24 offenders pleaded guilty in federal court, Avery said. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1452&dept_id=155076&newsid=13638437&PAG=4\ 61&rfi=9 - - - - - - - - - - Netting paedophiles The 'what do we do about online paedophiles?' debate has taken a new turn in the UK, with a controversial proposal by Donald Findlater, deputy director of child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and former director of the Wolvercote Clinic residential treatment centre for paedophiles. Findlater has proposed a child pornography amnesty, whereby individuals who possess indecent images of children hand in their computer hard-drives to the police, to be destroyed or wiped clean. They are spared prosecution in court, provided that they volunteer for counselling - but they are still placed on the sex offenders register. http://www.inquisition21.com/article53.html?e5505fac62a50304e194d602f4d6babd=3b9dd20a0d0442b4d34b9f7d16ab8840 - - - - - - - - - - For online bootleggers, it's all about sport In not-too-secret online forums, Wesley Snipes latest movie, Blade: Trinity, is the subject of intense discussion and evaluation. But unlike typical movie fan sites, the chatter from visitors to Web sites like VCDQuality.com doesnt key on the vampire films plot, acting or bloody visual effects. Instead, computer users dish out praise or criticism on the caliber of video and sound achieved by online groups whose sole mission is to make available unauthorized copies of Hollywood films within a day or two of a movies debut, if not before. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6777813/ http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/01/03/online.underground.ap/index.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/ethics/2005-01-03-movie-piracy_x.htm - - - - - - - - - - New computerized passport raises safety concerns When traveling abroad these days, most Americans probably wouldn't want the contents of their passports to be secretly read by strangers. But when a new high-tech passport system goes into effect as early as next spring, that's exactly what critics say could happen. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/10556269.htm - - - - - - - - - - RFID to track SSA material Retirees are unlikely to see radio frequency identification tags on their Social Security checks anytime soon. But Social Security Administration officials will begin tracking orders for SSA forms and pamphlets early this year using RFID technology. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0103/web-ssarfid-01-03-05.asp - - - - - - - - - - Preparing for a doomsday attack The Internet has withstood major assaults to bring the system crashing down, but each new cyberattack raises the specter of a doomsday scenario. What if terrorists launched a physical attack in combination with a major cybersalvo aimed at bringing the Internet to its knees? Because of the increasing overlap between the various energy, electrical and communications grids, the potential risk is no longer theoretical. http://news.com.com/Preparing+for+a+doomsday+attack/2008-7348_3-5503100.html - - - - - - - - - - What's that you say? Language researchers cant quite say yet Accurate machine capture of content from spoken and text language is proceeding slowly under the National Institute of Standards and Technologys four-year-old Automatic Content Extraction program. The improvements will never end, NISTs Speech Group noted wryly in a September 2004 update of its ACE test scripts for language researchers. NIST coordinates the evaluation of precommercial technologies and tabulates the scores, Speech Group analyst Mark Przybocki said today. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/31440-1.html *********************************************************** Search the NewsBits.net Archive at: http://www.newsbits.net/search.html *********************************************************** The source material may be copyrighted and all rights are retained by the original author/publisher. The information is provided to you for non-profit research and educational purposes. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however copies may not be sold, and NewsBits (www.newsbits.net) should be cited as the source of the information. Copyright 2000-2005, NewsBits.net, Campbell, CA.