INTERNET 2 - The Imminent Privatization of the World Wide Web / Censorship

[Brocke]

[Nailer]

FCC set to back Internet traffic rules
Decision would allow Internet providers to restrict network traffic


WASHINGTON — U.S. communications regulators were poised to adopt Internet traffic rules on Tuesday that would allow providers to ration access to their networks.

Federal Communications Commission members Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn issued statements on Monday saying they would support the proposal laid out by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski early this month despite some misgivings.

The rules would ban high-speed Internet providers like Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications from blocking lawful traffic, while recognizing the need to manage network congestion and perhaps charge based on Internet usage.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, which is in negotiations to be acquired by Comcast.)

The rules, to be somewhat looser for wireless Internet, could help cable companies in competition with plans by Microsoft Corp, Google Inc and Amazon.com to deliver competing video content over the same Internet lines the cable companies run to customers' homes.

Charging consumers more for data-intensive tasks like downloading videos could tip the economics of Internet-delivered television back toward cable. The FCC said it would monitor usage-based pricing for abuses.

"Without regulation, rates could go up and up and up and emerging providers like Netflix and Hulu could have problems attracting users," said Daniel Ernst, an analyst at Hudson Square Research.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40756299/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets

[Damascus]

Isn't that the exact opposite of what they said they were doing? They were supposed to stop the providers from discriminating and jacking up the prices. Why did they let it get to a few huge monopolies in the first place? Because people are easier to control that way. Problem reaction solution.

[Brocke]

Hackers crack open mobile network



Mobile calls and texts made on any GSM network can be eavesdropped upon using four cheap phones and open source software, say security researchers.

Karsten Nohl and Sylvain Munaut demonstrated their eavesdropping toolkit at the Chaos Computer Club Congress (CCC) in Berlin.

The work builds on earlier research that has found holes in many parts of the most widely used mobile technology.

The pair spent a year putting together the parts of the eavesdropping toolkit.

"Now there's a path from your telephone number to me finding you and listening to your calls," Mr Nohl told BBC News. "The whole way."

He said many of the pieces in the eavesdropping toolkit already existed thanks to work by other security researchers but there was one part the pair had to create themselves.

"The one piece that completed the chain was the ability to record data off the air," he said.

read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12094227

[Brocke]

China “Outlaws” VoIP, Creates VoIP Reporting Hotline

by John Biggs on December 31, 2010
Tags: China, telecom



The State Ministry of Industry in China has “outlawed” VoIP calling, suggesting workers use good old China telecom for their important calls out into the Capitalist wilds. According to a report, the ministry suggested that 30 million current users are using “illegal VoIP operators” and they have been given a number to call to report use of VoIP in their neighborhoods.

Generally this looks more like a power play by China Telecom and the other carriers to maintain its user base than any real concern over legality. However, it’s fairly obvious that VoIP is harder to police than POTS but considering the official Chinese carriers offer VoIP of their own, it’s pretty hard to swallow the security angle.

Read more: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1934487/china-bans-voice-ip?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=China+locks+down+Voice+over+IP+

[Brocke]

So you still think the Internet is free.

http://yuxiyou.net/open/

[Brocke]

Vint Cerf 'jealous' of Australia's $36 billion broadband plan

    * By Fran Foo
    * From: The Australian
    * January 22, 2011

ONE of the internet's founding fathers says he's "jealous" of Australia's $36 billion broadband network.

Vint Cerf, who helped develop email and TCP/IP technology, told The Australian during a visit to Sydney yesterday he thought the NBN was a "stunning investment".

"I continue to feel a great deal of envy because in the US our broadband infrastructure is nothing like what Australia has planned," he said.

Now Google's chief web evangelist, Dr Cerf was, however, not so kind towards Prime Minister Julia Gillard's bid to censor the internet, saying it was not an "effective move".

The Federal Government wants to force every ISP to filter websites rated with a refused classification tag, in accordance with a secret government blacklist.

Dr Cerf's advice was to instead attack the source of a problem at the production end, instead of focusing on its distribution.

"This (policy) is an understandable desire to be protective of society, but technically I don't think it's a very effective move," Dr Cerf said.

"The argument that there's bad information out there and therefore we should somehow supress it - one counter argument is the antidote to bad information is more information ... I think (web 2.0 pioneer) Esther Dyson was the first person I heard that from.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/vint-cerf-jealous-of-australias-36-billion-broadband-plan/story-e6frfro0-1225992747397#ixzz1BnZtmDk9

[Brocke]

China restricts news, discussion of Egypt protests

    * By Dan Martin in Beijing
    * From: AFP
    * January 31, 2011 6:40PM

CHINESE censors are apparently blocking online discussion and sanitising news reports about the unrest in Egypt, in a sign of official unease that the uprising could fuel calls for reform at home.

Keyword searches on the protests today returned no results on microblogs and the reader comment function on news reports about Egypt was disabled on major portals as China's pervasive censorship apparatus swung into full gear.

News coverage of the demonstrations against the 30-year rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was limited to sparse accounts that largely glossed over the underlying political factors and calls for democracy. The coverage tended to emphasise the lawlessness in Cairo and the need to restore order - a message hammered home by the foreign ministry.

Major Chinese newspapers today ran no photographs from Egypt, while the main midday news omitted footage of street protests, instead showing Mr Mubarak meeting top officials.

"I would imagine the government put out some sort of order for all outlets to use only copy from (state-run news agency) Xinhua. That's the standard procedure," said Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of the Beijing-based China media website danwei.org, which also is blocked by censors.

"That way they can sterilise the depiction of the situation or portray it as something negative or a product of Western influence."

China maintains a tight grip on its online and traditional media, actively blocking content seen as a potential challenge to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/china-restricts-news-discussion-of-egypt-protests/story-e6frfku0-1225997631232#ixzz1CbznwscN

[Brocke]

Experts warning of new 'supertrojan' computer virus

    * By Loren Grush, FOXNews.com
    * From: NewsCore
    * February 05, 2011 7:29AM

SECURITY experts are warning that a new "supertrojan" virus is lurking in the cyber shadows, and it may be difficult for conventional security solutions to detect, FOXNews.com reported Friday.

The two most forbidding pieces of spyware on the net, SpyEye and ZeuSTwo, are believed to be teaming up to form a hybrid being hailed as SpyZeuS - and security analysts have said companies and users should be on their guard.

The security industry had suspected since October that the hackers behind ZeuS, which has been used to hack the websites of Bank of America and NASA, were abandoning their creation and sending the leftover codes to the creators of SpyEye. And now traces of the updated Trojan are popping up, as authors have been shipping out beta releases of SpyZeus almost daily.

And for the average consumer, there are simple detection techniques that can help those hoping to fend off cyber criminals.

"Just be aware," Alex Cox, principal research analyst at security firm NetWitness said. "There should always be a red flag when you're using a computer at home and you are asked for something that your login doesn't normally ask you for. That should give you a heads up that something's awry."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/experts-warning-of-new-supertrojan-computer-virus/story-e6frg90f-1226000572252

[Brocke]

Libyan revolutionaries used dating website to dodge Gaddafi's secret police

    * From: NewsCore
    * February 25, 2011 2:25PM

LIBYA'S revolutionaries posed as star-struck lovers on a dating site to organize their revolt against Col. Moamar Ghadafi, ABC News reported Thursday.

Former business and opposition leader Omar Shibliy Mahmoudi said he used Muslim dating site Mawada to rally people together while staying out of the gaze of the Libyan secret police, which monitors Twitter and Facebook.

Mahmoudi - leader of the Ekhtalef, or "Difference," movement - acted as if he was looking for a wife under the profile name "Where is Miriam?" and sent coded love letters to spur people to revolution.

Since men cannot talk to other men on the site, revolutionaries posed as women to make contact with Mahmoudi, taking on names such as "Sweet Butterfly," "Opener of the Mountain," "Girl of the Desert" and "Melody of Torture."

Supporters would use phrases such as "May your day be full of Jasmine," referring to the uprisings in the region which have been dubbed the "Jasmine Revolution."

The coded conversations were used to gauge support for the cause and direct people to social networking site Yahoo Messenger for more detailed conversations. The revolutionaries would then use the messaging service and text messages to organize their activities further, avoiding scrutiny from authorities.

Communications would continue through text messages and Yahoo Messenger, to avoid authorities becoming suspicious.

Mahmoudi said he attracted 171,323 "admirers" to a number of profiles on the dating site before Libya's internet crashed Saturday. He had aimed to attract 50,000 as a sufficient number to take to the streets in protest.

Gaddafi, 68, remains defiant as anti-government forces gain ground and many in the international community seek to bring an end to his regime. He has been accused of ordering the deaths of thousands of protesters and said he would not hesitate to use chemical and biological weapons against opponents.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/libyan-revolutionaries-used-dating-website-to-dodge-gaddafis-secret-police/story-e6frfkui-1226012043528#ixzz1EwJtlwPK

[Brocke]

Judge allows Sony to see IPs of those visiting PS3 jailbreak site
By David Kravets, wired.com | Last updated a day ago

A federal magistrate is granting Sony the right to acquire the internet IP addresses of anybody who has visited PlayStation 3 hacker George Hotz’s website from January of 2009 to the present.

Thursday’s decision by Magistrate Joseph Spero to allow Sony to subpoena Hotz’s Web provider (PDF) raises a host of web-privacy concerns.

Respected for his iPhone hacks and now the PlayStation 3 jailbreak, Hotz is accused of breaching the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other laws after he published an encryption key and software tools on his website that allow PlayStation owners to gain complete control of their consoles from the firmware on up.

Sony also won subpoenas (PDF) for data from YouTube and Google, as part of its lawsuit against the 21-year-old New Jersey hacker, as well as Twitter account data linked to Hotz, who goes by the handle GeoHot.

Bluehost maintains Hotz’s geohot.com site. The approved subpoena requires the company to turn over “documents reproducing all server logs, IP address logs, account information, account access records and application or registration forms” tied to Hotz’s hosting. The Bluehost subpoena also demands “any other identifying information corresponding to persons or computers who have accessed or downloaded files hosted using your service and associated” with the www.geohot.com website, including but not limited to the “geohot.com/jailbreak.zip file.”

Sony told Spero, a San Francisco magistrate, that it needed the information for at least two reasons.

One is to prove the “defendant’s distribution” of the hack. The other involves a jurisdictional argument over whether Sony must sue Hotz in his home state of New Jersey rather than in San Francisco, which Sony would prefer. Sony said the server logs would demonstrate that many of those who downloaded Hotz’s hack reside in Northern California — thus making San Francisco a proper venue for the case.

The DMCA prohibits the trafficking of so-called “circumvention devices” designed to crack copy-protection schemes. The law does not require Sony to prove that Hotz received payment for the hack, which was designed to allow PlayStation 3 owners the ability to run home-brewed software or alternative operating systems like Linux. It builds on a series of earlier jailbreaks that unlocked less protected levels of the PlayStation’s authentication process.

Jailbreaking a console is also a prerequisite to running pirated copies of games, which Sony emphasizes in its lawsuit.

read more: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/03/judge-allows-sony-to-see-ips-of-those-visiting-ps3-jailbreak-site.ars

[sab]

How about building these around each city?

http://www.wndw.net/

Download a pdf book on a wifi wide network.

[Brocke]

Beware of online filter bubbles

http://www.wimp.com/filterbubbles/

[SUPREMEMASTER]

Beware of online filter bubbles

http://www.wimp.com/filterbubbles/

I'm about 4 minutes into that video already and....holy s#!%!!!!!

EDIT: ok that's defintitely worth watching. I didn't know google was taking it that far..

[WarChest]

Beware of online filter bubbles

http://www.wimp.com/filterbubbles/

Wow, this is striking. 

What I choose to visit on the web determines the makeup of my web bubble.

I lean one way and the filters expose me to information to lean another.

Thats very clever.

I couldn't think of a better way to lead a bunch of mind dead zombies around by the nose.

Inform yourself. Don't be stuck in a web bubble.   

[Brocke]

Grubb's story: privacy, news and the strong arm of the law

Ben Grubb
May 18, 2011 - 4:12PM


The moment a journalist was arrested AUDIO: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/grubbs-story-privacy-news-and-the-strong-arm-of-the-law-20110518-1esn9.html

Fairfax journalist Ben Grubb recorded this audio as he was arrested by Queensland Police after writing a story about a Facebook security breach.

We've all seen it happen on TV a zillion times. But when a police officer recited to me those well-rehearsed words – 'you have the right to remain silent … ' – I felt sick in the stomach.

The conversation with the two officers had started off in a friendly enough manner. I was in a session at the AusCERT security conference on the Gold Coast when I received a call from Detective Superintendent Errol Coultis.

I thought he was from the Queensland Police media unit to begin with, but it soon became clear he was an officer who wanted to question me over a story I had written regarding a security expert's demonstration of vulnerabilities on social media sites such as Facebook.

The expert, Christian Heinrich, had delivered a slideshow presentation on Sunday to about 20 people showing how he had been able to gain access to the Facebook photos of the wife of a rival security expert, without a username or password. I hadn't been able to attend the presentation, but he went through it personally with me straight afterwards.

I thought it made a great story – a flaw in the system that meant not everything you uploaded to social networks was secure, even if placed behind a privacy-protected profile – and the yarn was published on Fairfax's news sites yesterday.

Hours later, Coultis's phone call came completely out of the blue. I walked out of the session and met him and his female offsider about 4.15pm, and, at my request, we went into a meeting room to discuss the matter in private.

They told me they were recording the conversation. I had my wits about me enough to ask if I could also record the conversation; Coultis agreed and so I pressed record on my iPhone.

For about half an hour I stood in this room – its only adornment dozens of green chairs stacked against one wall – and co-operated with what Coultis and his colleague described simply as "questioning" over the incident. I was reassured when he said he had no intention of arresting me and I agreed to help with his inquiries. Neither of them wore police uniforms – their casual clothes, including Coultis's AusCERT-branded T-shirt, comforted me further.

The officers were polite and there was even an amusing interlude when the female officer's iPhone rang, disrupting her recording of our conversations, and I gave Coultis some advice about how to set the iPhone to  avoid further interruptions.

They seemed to treat me like a technical expert, and sought my explanation of what Heinrich had done. I felt like they were trying to get me to admit that his actions were illegal. I told them it was not my job to decide that – after all, I was only reporting on the matter. It's their job to decide whether what he demonstrated was against the law.

About half an hour into the questioning, Coultis left the room to liaise briefly with other officers. When he returned, he said: "What we're going to have to do, I'm afraid, Ben, is we're going to be taking possession of your iPad."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/grubbs-story-privacy-news-and-the-strong-arm-of-the-law-20110518-1esn9.html#ixzz1MjTseYGR

[Brocke]

US Cyberspace Bill Walks a Fine Line

By Joshua Philipp
Epoch Times Staff Created: May 25, 2011

As the government moves to secure the nation’s networks from cyber-attacks, striking a balance between security and digital rights is again the topic of concern. Although the White House proposal has received less backfire than several similar bills, concerns have struck a common chord.

The ongoing problem is that a strong cyberstrategy would require imposing systems of monitoring and security standards that do not float well with digital rights and privacy. Some of the stronger government cybersecurity systems, including Einstein 3 and the CINDER program, could root out many key problems, but their nature of scanning information flowing through networks make them unlikely candidates for public systems.

Securing critical infrastructure remains a key concern in cybersecurity—areas essential to a functioning nation, that would be key targets in the case of a cyberconflict including the energy grid, financial sectors, and transportation networks. The problem is that the majority of critical infrastructures are privately owned, and reining them into a cybersecurity strategy raises questions of how much control government should have over private enterprise, let alone issues of privacy.

Thus, the latest cyberstrategy, introduced by the White House in the Cyberspace Policy Review, is focusing largely on companies and networks voluntarily implementing many of its standards.

The breadth of the bill is a key point of debate. A Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) analysis states problems could arise from the legislation extending the reach of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), that helps the federal government fight cybercrime, “in ways that give rise to some troubling issues.”

According to the analysis, the current proposal will broaden the CFAA, increasing penalties for cybercrime and expanding what qualifies as cybercrime.

It states users could face some serious issues, as “violating terms of service that they haven’t even read could land them in prison,” and if two individuals created false accounts on MySpace and Facebook “and used those fake accounts in a coordinated fashion, they could have been subject to racketeering charges under the Administration proposal.”

Among other issues, it could criminalize modifying devices, such as “jail breaking” an iPad to install different software and sharing the code for doing so. It also adds physical property, including a user’s home, to what is subject to civil forfeit if it was used in a crime.

read more: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/technology/us-cyberspace-bill-walks-a-fine-line-56805.html

[Brocke]

The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable

Adrian Chen — Making small talk with your pot dealer sucks. Buying cocaine can get you shot. What if you could buy and sell drugs online like books or light bulbs? Now you can: Welcome to Silk Road.

About three weeks ago, the U.S. Postal Service delivered an ordinary envelope to Mark's door. Inside was a tiny plastic bag containing 10 tabs of LSD. "If you had opened it, unless you were looking for it, you wouldn't have even noticed," Mark told us in a phone interview.

Mark, a software developer, had ordered the 100 micrograms of acid through a listing on the online marketplace Silk Road. He found a seller with lots of good feedback who seemed to know what they were talking about, added the acid to his digital shopping cart and hit "check out." He entered his address and paid the seller 50 Bitcoins—untraceable digital currency—worth around $150. Four days later the drugs, sent from Canada, arrived at his house.

"It kind of felt like I was in the future," Mark said.

Silk Road, a digital black market that sits just below most internet users' purview, does resemble something from a cyberpunk novel. Through a combination of anonymity technology and a sophisticated user-feedback system, Silk Road makes buying and selling illegal drugs as easy as buying used electronics—and seemingly as safe. It's Amazon—if Amazon sold mind-altering chemicals.

Here is just a small selection of the 340 items available for purchase on Silk Road by anyone, right now: a gram of Afghani hash; 1/8th ounce of "sour 13" weed; 14 grams of ecstasy; .1 grams tar heroin. A listing for "Avatar" LSD includes a picture of blotter paper with big blue faces from the James Cameron movie on it. The sellers are located all over the world, a large portion from the U.S. and Canada.

But even Silk Road has limits: You won't find any weapons-grade plutonium, for example. Its terms of service ban the sale of "anything who's purpose is to harm or defraud, such as stolen credit cards, assassinations, and weapons of mass destruction."

The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug ImaginableGetting to Silk Road is tricky. The URL seems made to be forgotten. But don't point your browser there yet. It's only accessible through the anonymizing network TOR, which requires a bit of technical skill to configure.

Once you're there, it's hard to believe that Silk Road isn't simply a scam. Such brazenness is usually displayed only by those fake "online pharmacies" that dupe the dumb and flaccid. There's no sly, Craigslist-style code names here. But while scammers do use the site, most of the listings are legit. Mark's acid worked as advertised. "It was quite enjoyable, to be honest," he said. We spoke to one Connecticut engineer who enjoyed sampling some "silver haze" pot purchased off Silk Road. "It was legit," he said. "It was better than anything I've seen."

read more: http://gizmodo.com/5807416/the-underground-website-where-you-can-buy-any-drug-imaginable


Why should people be allowed access to "Underground Websites" and "anonymizing networks" when such access tempts, possibly romanticizes and potentially encourages not only dangerous but illegal behavior?

...here's why.

"Risk management developed by the private sector produces a range of pre-emptive measures, such as defensive space architecture, smart products which could be immobilised if stolen, surveillance techniques and other things which individuals and companies could do to "design out" crime by manipulating the physical environment.

This is known as situational crime prevention and, in the words of one of its proponents, it creates a "fortress society" in which crime becomes harder to commit. And indeed, in a shopping centre or street dedicated to the war against crime and antisocial behaviour the innocent and guilty are treated the same – as potential miscreants. It is egalitarian in theory." ...and Totalitarian in practice

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jul/07/policing-risk

[Kilika]

and other things which individuals and companies could do to "design out" crime by manipulating the physical environment.

That's exactly what they are doing, designing out the loopholes in society that allows people to do things the elite don't want the public to do. They want everybody to be good little productive subjects. So long as your pumping out the profits within their digital mark system.

So their main priority is to get people "jacked in" to the digital system, which uses the internet as the delivery system of all those bits of data. "for it is the number of a man". How interesting that computers operate on 1's and 0's, the very basic of numbers; binary.

And the way I see them designing out is by eventually requiring people to legally identify themselves any time they interact digitally in the world, particularly online. The ultimate identity currently is one's DNA, their very biological makeup. And that profile within the system is translated to numbers, the 1's and 0's, of a person's identity.

They have recently claimed they have a working portable DNA tester in trials I think that makes a reading in a few minutes. If that is the case, that will become the way they will ID people I think. Once they confirm who you are, then they can issue a state-approved ID that would be the accepted means of interacting online and with governments and business.

They don't have to mandate a new means of identity when they can simple get industry to make a given way the way it is done through marketing. They make things in trends or fads that promotes what they say is "fashionable" or "cool". It took no time at all for Twitter to be THE way people do things. They have been pushing WIFI like there's no tomorrow. And the latest "thing" is the swipe and go payment cards, which is tied in with the recent big push of debit cards or pre-paid credit cards.

And now it has moved onto cellphones, with the "smartphones" having the technology to act as a payment device, which a part of that is the new square barcodes that you can "scan" and get various information and services.

They design things out by offering certain things intentionally, effectively blocking out any other alternatives.

[Brocke]

Music and film industries split over pirates

Asher Moses
June 6, 2011 - 12:46PM

The music industry has backflipped on its long-held demands that repeat music pirates be disconnected from the internet as a new UN report declares such a policy would be a breach of human rights and international law.

But film studios, represented by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), are still backing the controversial measures, arguing protection of intellectual property is a human right. It has released research saying film piracy costs the Australian economy $1.37 billion a year.
Advertisement: Story continues below

The music and film industries have long pushed ISPs and governments in Australia and around the world to implement a "graduated response" or "three strikes" scheme that would see people accused of repeatedly infringing copyright subjected to penalties including warning notices and eventually, disconnection. This process would take place without any involvement from the courts.

The film studios sued Australian ISP iiNet in a test case designed to force ISPs to implement such a scheme but failed. However, the case is still subject to appeals. The government has so far resisted stepping in with legislation for a three strikes scheme, saying it would prefer the industry and the ISPs to negotiate a solution.

Those negotiations are ongoing but the UN report, which concludes that internet access is a human right, will most likely swing the advantage back in the direction of ISPs, said copyright law expert and senior lecturer at the University of Queensland, Kimberlee Weatherall.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/music-and-film-industries-split-over-pirates-20110606-1fo8q.html#ixzz1OXvV9gPa

[Brocke]

Web giants promote new IPv6 internet address system

7 June 2011 Last updated at 23:03 GMT

The biggest ever test of the internet's new address system is taking place.

Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Bing and Facebook are among the companies switching-on IPv6 versions of their websites for the one day trial.

The technology is gradually being introduced because the world is running out of older IPv4 addresses as more devices come online.

Companies and home users may need new networking equipment, however the transition is likely to take years.

World IPv6 day is partly a technical exercise by internet companies to see how the technology works, and partly an awareness-raising initiative.

For the small percentage of users already set up to access IPv6, they will be able to connect through the usual URLs - such as Google.com or Yahoo.com.

Behind the scenes, their browsers will be pointed to the new, much longer IP address.
New equipment

Groups involved in IPv6 day say that everyone will have to make the change eventually, but users should not worry at this stage if they are not switched over.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13685772


Ref.
Really big numbers

IPv4 was conceived in the early 1980s as a way of identifying individual connections to a computer network.

Its is typically made up of 32 bits, written as twelve digits, e.g. 123.456.789.123.

That gives a maximum of around 4.3bn addresses.

However, the rapid growth in PCs, smartphones and other internet connected devices means those addresses are close to being used up, with an estimated 80 million still to be allocated.

IPv6 is a 128bit system, written in hexadecimal (base 16 counting using numbers and letters), e.g. 21DA:00D3:0000:2F3B:02AA:00FF:FE28:9C5A.

The system gives a maximum of 340 undecillion possible addresses (1 undecillion = 10 followed by 35 zeros in the British numbering system).

The additional capacity, argue proponents of IPv6, will be needed to cater to the so-called "internet of things" where devices such as TVs, fridges and home heating systems are connected to the net.

"This is not a year 2000 thing. Planes are not going to start falling out of the sky," said Philip Sheldrake, a board member at non-profit group 6UK, which is helping to promote the system.

[Brocke]

Digital content faces rating scrutiny

Classification reforms usher in red tape for new media

By Natalie Apostolou • Get more from this author
Posted in Government, 30th June 2011 00:30 GMT

Apps could soon be subject to the same classification regulation as film and video games in Australia, if a new draft of reforms from the committee reviewing the National Classification Scheme is accepted.

Coming from a Liberal party-dominated committee, the recommendations carry more than a little irony, given that last week a former party staffer boasted of the party's non "nanny state" attitude to censorship.

The inquiry, the first major review of the National Classification Scheme since it was introduced over 15 years ago, has received 70 submissions from organizations and individuals.

Handing down its recommendations, the committee has recognized the outdated nature of the classification system but has called for a blanket approach to updating the regulations in light of the development of cross platform content across mobile, web and other devices.

“The committee recommends that, to the extent possible, the National Classification Scheme should apply equally to all content, regardless of the medium of delivery,” it states.

In the committee's view, the National Classification Scheme is” flawed”, and cannot be sustained in its current form. It also calls for an end to co-regulatory and self-regulatory systems branding them as “far from adequate, particularly given the increasing convergence of media.”

It also proposes increasing the powers of the Classification Review Board, making it the final arbiter across all media.

The committee also recommends that state-based classification powers be passed upwards to the national government.

The review committee comprises a Liberal-heavy team featuring four Liberal party senators, two Labor party senators and one senator from the Greens. The Committee is chaired by Liberals Senator Guy Barnett.

read more: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/30/digital_content_rated/

[Brocke]

Traffic light plan for online music search results

Page last updated at 05:15 GMT, Thursday, 21 July 2011 06:15 UK
Earphones

A music body wants online search results to steer fans to legal download sites.

The Performing Rights Society (PRS) For Music wants search engines to show which sites offer content illegally.

Links to sites that offer legal downloads would get green tags, while links to illegal download sites would be flagged in red.

The PRS says the new system is needed as some people don't know when they're illegally downloading.

"There is evidence out there that if you help people go in the right direction many of them will do," said Robert Ashcroft, boss of PRS For Music.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/14219733

[Brocke]

AntiSec claims to have hacked more than 70 police websites in response to arrests

August 6, 2011 |  1:33 pm


Screen shot 2011-08-06 at 12.51.55 PM

AntiSec, the hacker group made of members from Anonymous and LulzSec, said Saturday that it has hacked more than 70 law enforcement agency websites in the U.S. in retaliation of recent arrests of alleged AntiSec members in the U.S. and the U.K.

The group, which has previously lodged attacks against law enforcement in Arizona, also said it was able to access 10 gigabytes of emails, credit card details and other sensitive data from the agencies.

And in a move that will infuriate law enforcement further, AntiSec called this cyber attack "ShootingSheriffsSaturday."

"A week after we defaced and destroyed the websites of over 70 law enforcement agencies, we are releasing a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to embarass, discredit and incriminate police officers across the US," AntiSec said in a statement posted on the website PasteBin, which has become a favorite place for the hackers to post the information they've stolen.

More: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/08/antisec-responds-to-arrests-with-hack-of-more-than-70-police-websites-.html

[Brocke]

Protect IP Could Have Far-reaching Impact on Digital Freedom

By Jaya Gibson
Epoch Times Staff

A bill designed to help stop the decline of the U.S. entertainment industry by preventing sharing and streaming of video content online could have far reaching implications for major websites and the everyday Internet user. As all users of the Internet are aware, HTML links are the very basis of how we navigate our way across the Web. If a bill that is currently being scrutinized by the U.S. government comes into force, however, you may want to think twice about what you link to.

The Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP) focuses on websites that include or link to copyright infringing content. It would give the U.S. Department of Justice the power to seek a court order against an allegedly infringing website, and then "expeditiously" render the website invisible by demanding "information location tools," defined as a "directory, index, reference, pointer, or hypertext link,” according to the bill.

In simple terms this means if you searched for a site on Google that, for example, hosted a leaked government document, it would not show up in Google’s results. More specifically, this act would make hosting a link on a website to pirated copyrighted content illegal even if the content wasn’t actually hosted on that website.

The act will also give courts the right to order the website hosting the link to remove the link or be shutdown completely, without notification. This means that websites such as YouTube and even the search engine giants such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing could come under huge pressure to completely change the infrastructure of their search business and start censoring searches.

PROTECT IP is the revised successor to the failed COICA bill (2010) which was originally introduced by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and backed by a large swathe of U.S. entertainment industry bodies, not least of all by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). On the opposing side, Senator Ron Wyden was largely accountable for preventing a full vote on COICA in the Senate.

Read more: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/technology/protect-ip-could-have-far-reaching-impact-on-digital-freedom-60203.html

[Brocke]

US wins right to seize foreign country domain names

Rojadirecta returns to Spain empty-handed

05 Aug 2011 17:11 | by Matthew Finnegan in London | Filed in Internet USA

A judge has ruled against an appeal from the sports streaming site Rojadirecta, saying it won’t be getting its seized domain names back.

Following an appeal, Spanish Puerto 80 appears to have lost its fight with the Supreme Court having had its .com and .org addresses robbed back in January.

While others shied away from a barney with US lawmakers, the plucky Spanish firm decided to march over to the US to demand that it have its domain names back, with ruling to be made under the First Amendment.

It said that it hadn't committed any copyright crime, having only provided a forum where people could post what they liked.  Nevertheless, it was deemed necessary for Puerto 80 to haul itself over to Yankee-land in order to demand its belongings back.

But it was bad news for Puerto 80, which was told by a judge that it would not be getting its hands on the domain names any time soon.

According to TorrentFreak, United States District Court Judge Paul Crotty told Puerto 80 that it could forget about getting Rojadirecta’s domains back, saying that the domain seizure did not violate the first amendment.

He argued that, while it was claimed that the US government suppressed content in the forums, any fool could see that these were linking to illegal sites and that “any argument to the contrary is disingenuous.”

He also said that the site would not be affected by having major domain names taken away, as it could inform its users on its other websites. He argued that Rojadirecta actually “has a large internet presence and can simply distribute information about the seizure and its new domain names to its customers”.

Read more: http://www.techeye.net/internet/us-wins-right-to-seize-foreign-country-domain-names#ixzz1UrTrrLR1

[Brocke]

Aussie firms: You have 45 days to pay $400 million or face X-rated hell

    By Claire Connelly
    news.com.au
    September 13, 2011 1:02PM

 - Firms have less than 45 days to sign up
 - "It's a pretty brilliant money-making venture"


AUSTRALIAN businesses must pay more than $400 million to a US company to block porn sites from hijacking their brands on the new .xxx domain.

And they have less than 45 days to do it.

Australian Sex Party Convenor Fiona Patten slammed the .xxx “red light district” as corporate extortion, opposed by both the adult industry and governments worldwide.

“Effectively the ICM Registry is selling off other people’s trademarks,” she said.

“It’s a pretty brilliant money-making venture.”

Triple-X domain names officially went on sale last week for US$199 ($191).

The scheme means unscrupulous buyers can cash in on the reputation of Aussie businesses by snapping up a domain in their name – for example, harveynorman.xxx.

Ms Patten, describing the registry’s control as “quite frightening”, said a private company for the first time could decide the content on an organisation’s website.

Australia has more than two million actively trading businesses, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Non-adult businesses have up until October 28 to apply to prevent their trademark from being registered.

The ICM Registry told news.com.au it worked closely with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to make .xxx domains a reality.

“Whilst, we agree the non adult industry brand holders probably wish the .xxx did not exist, they have been largely very impressed by the measures we have taken to deter and prevent any ‘cyber squatting’”, said Stuart Lawley, chief executive of the ICM Registry.

“Unlike every other new Top Level Domain, (our system) does not include any annual fee after the initial processing fee.”

Toys R Us is one big name business which will fork out the cash to protect their brand.

“We are very aware of this issue and are applying for this application with regards to all of our websites,” a spokesperson said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/aussie-firms-you-have-45-days-to-pay-400-million-or-face-x-rated-hell/story-e6frfrnr-1226135711427#ixzz1Xp83gbKC

[Brocke]

21,000 domains transfer out of Go Daddy in 1 day

by Natalie Weinstein December 24, 2011 3:25 PM PST

Domain registrar Go Daddy lost over 21,000 domains yesterday. It could be a coincidence--or it could be the result of the company's p.r. debacle over its support for the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Yesterday, Go Daddy actually reversed course and dropped its support for the controversial legislation. "Go Daddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it," Go Daddy CEO Warren Adelman announced in a statement.

SOPA, introduced in Congress this fall, would make it easier for the Justice Department to shut down sites allegedly dedicated to piracy.

An anti-Go Daddy thread on social site Reddit led to the creation of Godaddyboycott.org, a site set up to let people amass their disapproval with the company's support of SOPA.

While 21,054 domains transferred out Friday of Domaincontrol.com--which is managed by Go Daddy--it is only fair to note that 20,034 transferred in the same day, according to domain tracker Dailychanges.com

According to techie site TheNextWeb.com, though, the transfers-out have been building over the course of the week, with 8,800 reported on Monday and 14,500 on Wednesday.

Go Daddy did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57348183-93/21000-domains-transfer-out-of-go-daddy-in-1-day/

[Brocke]

The Real Reason Why MegaUpload Was Shut Down!!!
   


Last Thursday the US Justice Department came down hard on Megaupload and its mega founder, Kim Dotcom. In the days since, there has been a shake-up of sorts in the digital storage realm. Several smaller sites have drastically changed their business models. Others, like MediaFire, reached out to me after I published this post attempting to distance themselves from Megaupload.

However, yesterday, a new theory surfaced that indicates Megaupload’s demise had less to do with piracy than previously thought. This theory stems from a 2011 article detailing Megaupload’s upcoming Megabox music store and DIY artist distribution service that would have completely disrupted the music industry.

TorrentFreak first reported about the service in early December 2011. Megabox was just in beta at that time with listed partners of 7digital, Gracenote, Rovi, and Amazon. Megaupload was in a heated marketing battle with the RIAA and MPAA who featured Kim Dotcom in an anti-piracy movie (5:10 mark). The site had just sued Universal Music Group for wrongly blocking Megaupload’s recent star-studded YouTube campaign. Things were getting vicious in December but the quiet launch of Megabox might have been the straw that broke the millionaire’s back.

Dotcom described Megabox as Megaupload’s iTunes competitor, which would even eventually offer free premium movies via Megamovie, a site set to launch in 2012. This service would take Megaupload from being just a digital locker site to a full-fledged player in the digital content game.

The kicker was Megabox would cater to unsigned artists and allow anyone to sell their creations while allowing the artist to retain 90% of the earnings. Or, artists could even giveaway their songs and would be paid through a service called Megakey. “Yes that’s right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works,” Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak in December. Megabox was planning on bypassing the labels, RIAA, and the entire music establishment.

Megaupload was likely large enough to actually find success. Other services have tried what Megabox was set to do, but Megaupload was massive. Prior to its closure last week, the site was estimated to be the 13th most visited site on the Internet, accounting for 4% of all worldwide Internet traffic. It boasted 180 million registered users with over 50 million visiting the site daily. Megaupload was already a seemingly trusted service for artists to distribute their work. Megabox would have a monetized that popularity by passing on the bulk of the earnings back to the artists.

“You can expect several Megabox announcements next year including exclusive deals with artists who are eager to depart from outdated business models,” said Dotcom late last year. But that’s probably not going to happen. Kim Dotcom and several other Megaupload executives are now awaiting trial on various charges including racketeering, money laundering, and various counts of piracy. It seems they flew too close to the sun. High on success and a half a world away in New Zealand and Hong Kong, they attempted to take on the music industry head-on. Now they’re in jail.

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-swizz-beatz-120120/

[Brocke]

Cyberlocker Ecosystem Shocked As Big Players Take Drastic Action

    enigmax
    January 23, 2012

In the wake of last week’s Megaupload shutdown, some of the biggest names in the market are taking drastic action. During the last 48 hours many sites have completely withdrawn their systems for paying uploaders when their files are shared with others, but one of the most dramatic moves came first from Filesonic and today Fileserve. Both services now forbid people from downloading any files they didn’t upload themselves.

While the shutdown last week of Megaupload and the arrest of its founder and management team was certainly dramatic, a situation of perhaps even greater gravity is beginning to emerge.

Over the past 48 to 72 hours, the operators of many prominent cyberlocker services have been taking unprecedented actions that can not simply be explained away by mere coincidence. The details in the Megaupload indictment clearly have some players in the file-hosting world spooked.

One of the key allegations is that between 2005 and mid 2011, Megaupload ran a program that rewarded users for uploading infringing material. A cited internal email allegedly shows staff members discussing cash payments going to people uploading “full popular DVD rips” and “software with keygenerators (Warez)”.

http://torrentfreak.com/cyberlocker-ecosystem-shocked-as-big-players-take-drastic-action-120123/

[Brocke]

Push for new TV rules to stop online smut

    By Matt Johnston
    Herald Sun
    March 02, 2012 1:21PM

ADULTS-only content on your computer screen or mobile should be classified under the same rules that govern TV and films, a major review recommends.

The Australian Law Reform Commission also says a new level of restriction, called "prohibited", should be introduced for hardcore material.

And there should be more rules to ensure content providers have adequate restrictions to adult material.

The commission's report says a new regulator should be established to help set up and oversee the new system.

It promotes a "platform-neutral" set of rules, and a national set of uniform laws that apply to all states and territories.

The proposed changes would mean that films, publications, computer games, online, mobile and TV content fall under the same rules for classification.

"The report recommends platform-neutral laws for what media content must be classified, platform-neutral laws for what media content must be restricted to adults, and platform-neutral laws for what media content is prohibited," the report says.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/push-for-new-tv-rules-to-stop-online-smut/story-e6frfro0-1226286835183#ixzz1o5qJOUwH

[Brocke]

Pakistan's quiet erosion of internet freedom

By Haroon Rashid BBC News, Islamabad
24 March 2012 Last updated at 01:19 GMT

Critics say that internet restrictions have been introduced without consultation and with no debate in parliament

In a small internet cafe in the bustling commercial area of the Pakistani city of Lahore, Nazakat Khan, 22, is surfing the net.

He says he uses the internet to find job opportunities and is vehemently opposed to official attempts to control what sites he is able to access.

"This is not good actually. If anyone wants to enjoy [the internet] let him do that," he asserts.

"If you block everything how would we connect with the world? Let people think openly. If they want sex let them have it.

In the same cafe another user, Sarfraz Khan, said "we are a conservative Muslim country. We can't let them destroy our youth with weird ideas on the Internet".

But for the most part the government's "unilateral" decision to put up a huge website filtering and blocking system has drawn criticism from civil society and the media.

While few would publicly question any clampdown on pornography, many people fear that it is the thin end of the wedge”

The new system - if put in place - could block as many as 50 million sites at any single time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17476763

[Femacamper]

The free Internet as we know it is going into a crooked state of crumbling decay. It's only a matter of time where it will become almost recognizable.

[Brocke]

What FACEBOOK and GOOGLE are Hiding from world

http://youtu.be/bOE1HFEL8XA