The six-strike copyright system was leaked and talked about at length for many months, delayed once, and eventually launched back in February of this year. With it comes a series of warnings and eventual punishment on the behalf of many big-name ISPs for those caught pirating. Now sources have come forward to the folks over […]
The Copyright Alert System, more popularly known as the “six strikes” policy, hasn’t exactly received a warm welcome thanks to the disciplinary measures it calls for (like throttled connection speeds). According to Variety, Comcast is currently developing a new way of dealing with piracy that’s arguably less punitive than CAS. In the proposed system, users that have been flagged for illegal downloads via peer-to-peer file sharing services like BitTorrent would be provided with links to legal means of accessing the same content through Comcast’s own Xfinity service or third party providers like Amazon. Unlike CAS, this system doesn’t seem to focus on penalties so much as it would gently nudge subscribers towards legal options. While it’s not likely that the program is intended to replace CAS, it could potentially signal a shift away from an unpopular policy. Though little information is known about Comcast’s plans at this time, we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Variety
It was just over two years ago that the paragon of internet privacy, the Tor project, decided to build its own browser by forking Firefox. Wired reports that an exploit of that very same browser has been recently discovered that allowed a number of users’ Windows computers to be infected with malware. Once installed, the code delivered infected machines’ hostnames and MAC addresses to a remote web server in Reston, Virginia, a city located just outside Washington D.C. The browser exploit — a JavaScript vulnerability inherent to Firefox version 17, the version upon which the Tor browser was built — was enabled by a breach of Freedom Hosting servers. In this case, affected Freedom Hosting servers delivered web pages to users with the JavaScript exploit embedded in them.
There’s no direct evidence that the malware comes from the government, but the malware’s command and control IP address is registered to a governmental defense contractor. Plus, the data pulled from infected machines indicates it could be an example of the FBI’s computer and internet protocol address verifier (CIPAV) software first identified by Wired in 2007. CIPAV has been used by the FBI to help identify and catch terrorists, hackers and criminals since 2002, but the exact nature of the software has never been revealed. Regardless, the vulnerability in the browser has been identified and fixed, so users need only update to the newest version of the Tor browser to keep their web traffic away from prying eyes… for now, at least.
Update: To be clear, the Firefox exploit in question was fixed, along with the Tor browser well over a month ago, and any users who have updated since June 26th were not affected.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Wired
Source: Tor Project, Tor Blog
Some big (and surprising) news in the media industry today: The Washington Post has just confirmed that it and its affiliated publications have been acquired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for $250 million in cash. The paper notes that Amazon itself “will have no role in the purchase,” and that Bezos “will buy the news organization and become its sole owner when the sale is completed, probably within 60 days.” It also goes on to explain that the existing Washington Post Company, which owns a number of other businesses (including Slate), “will change to a new, still-undecided name and continue as a publicly traded company without The Post thereafter.”
In an interview with the paper, the Post Co.’s chief executive, Donald Graham, says that “The Post could have survived under the company’s ownership and been profitable for the foreseeable future. But we wanted to do more than survive,” adding, “I’m not saying this guarantees success but it gives us a much greater chance of success.” In a letter to Post employees, Bezos, who was apparently one of several suitors considered by the company, says that he “won’t be leading The Washington Post day-to-day,” but that “there will of course be change at The Post over the coming years,” and that “we will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment.”
Filed under: Internet
Via: @Romenesko (Twitter)
Source: The Washington Post (1), (2)
Microsoft has spent the past several months refining Bing results on the web and the desktop. Now, it’s Windows Phone 8’s turn. An upcoming Bing refresh for the platform will reduce the search filters to three — Web, Images and Videos — while providing more relevant information on the first result screen. The tool is also more likely to show usable results in the first place, with immediate answers available for subjects like flight schedules, movies and word definitions. Photo hunters get some additional love between infinite scrolling and auto-sized thumbnails. Just don’t expect the new Bing features right away. Microsoft is delivering the update to American devices over the course of the next few weeks, with international users to follow afterward.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Windows Phone Blog
We’ve known for some time that Kickstarter would finally be opening itself up to Canadian-based projects this summer, and we now know exactly when that will happen. Kickstarter has just announced that Canadians can get to work on their project pages starting today, although they won’t be able to launch their project to the public until September 9th. In the lead-up to that, Kickstarter will be hosting a handful of events in Toronto and Montreal to get folks acquainted with the crowdfunding service, and they’re inviting folks to request an event in their own city if they can’t make it to one of those. Those interested can find what they need to get started at the source link below.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Kickstarter
In holiday 2011, while fans of both the Call of Duty and Battlefield series were gearing up for virtual war, the publishers behind each megafranchise were gearing up for a different type of virtual war. With the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Activision’s in-game social network — dubbed “Call of Duty Elite” — went live. Just prior, alongside the launch of competing title Battlefield 3, EA introduced its “Battlelog” system. And thus began a parallel virtual war for fans’ loyalty, battled via user numbers and engagement metrics. It’s a pretty boring war, but its armaments are the games many of us know and love.
The first-person-shooter social network war continues to this day (in silence, of course), with EA recently stepping up its rhetoric surrounding this October’s entry, Battlefield 4. Since E3, where some new Battlelog features were shown for the first time during EA’s presser, the company’s released its first big Battlelog marketing video (seen below). But we wanted more details about what the first next-gen version of Battlelog will look like, and what EA’s DICE studio has been able to accomplish with new hardware.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds, Tablets, Internet, Software, HD
Google Chrome YouTube just added a simply little feature you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. YouTube tabs that are playing video now show a little play icon so you can tell which one of your bajillion tabs is making noise in the background. I’m so happy I could cry.
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Last week, Lovefilm snapped up some additional content of the cultured kind — Man v. Food withstanding — for adults to enjoy. The streaming service is kicking off this week by adding yet more films and TV shows for the kids. Subscribers will now find child-friendly material from NBCUniversal in the Lovefilm library, such as the shows Curious George, Barbie: Princess Charm School, Rastamouse and The Land Before Time (parents might remember the films). Given it’s the summer holidays, your offspring are probably out enjoying the weather, but having something fresh to put on the tellybox might help keep them quiet come that inevitable rainy day.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Amazon
The latest build of Canary, the bleeding-edge test-bed for Google Chrome, reveals that the company is working on touch-centric features for its desktop browser. By swiping left and right, for instance, users will be able to avoid the chore of hitting the back and forward page buttons — while pinch-to-zoom and on-screen keyboards are also available to try out. Now, of course, you just need some hardware to take advantage of the new features.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Via: The Verge
Source: Google Chrome Canary
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