Microsoft has confirmed that it will add several new privacy features to its forthcoming Internet Explorer 8 browser that will allow users to cover their digital tracks while surfing the Web.
InPrivate Browsing will let users control whether IE 8 saves their browsing history, cookies, and other Internet data. InPrivate Blocking will inform users about sites that can track their browsing history, and will allow them to block such activity. InPrivate Subscriptions will let users choose which Web sites to subscribe to or block.
A fourth feature, Delete Browsing History, gives users control over their browsing history after visiting a Web site.
Many current Web browsers, including Explorer 7, leave a trail of digital breadcrumbs that can reveal a user's path across the Web. In the past, such information has been used by law enforcement officials investigating suspected criminal behavior, by employers keeping tabs on workers' browsing habits, and even by jealous spouses who suspect their partners of cheating or frequenting porn sites. IE 8's new feature could make it more difficult for interested parties to track such behavior.
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Internet users may hit usage caps
Several Internet service providers are moving to curb the growth of traffic on their networks, or at least make the subscribers who download the most pay more.
Cable companies have been at the forefront of imposing and talking about usage caps, because their lines are shared between households. In a sense, caps on Internet use are no stranger than the limited number of minutes a cell phone subscriber gets each month. Internet use varies hugely from person to person, and service providers argue that the people who use it the most should pay the most. But the industry hasn't worked out where to set the limits, or how much to charge users who exceed them.
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Cable companies have been at the forefront of imposing and talking about usage caps, because their lines are shared between households. In a sense, caps on Internet use are no stranger than the limited number of minutes a cell phone subscriber gets each month. Internet use varies hugely from person to person, and service providers argue that the people who use it the most should pay the most. But the industry hasn't worked out where to set the limits, or how much to charge users who exceed them.
Full Story
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Intel Takes a Step Forward to USB 3.0
Intel announced that a draft specification of the Extensible Host Controller Interface of USB 3.0.
The draft announcement was expected, and some form of additional demonstration at the Intel Developer Forum next week is likely. USB 3.0 products probably won't be expected until next year.
USB 3.0, also known as "SuperSpeed USB," is designed to dramatically increase the bandwidth of USB, lower power consumption, and maintain backwards compatibility with the current USB 2.0 specification. SuperSpeed USB are will provide a 10X boost in transfer rate from 480 Mbits/s in USB 2.0 to 4.8 Gbits/s in USB 3.0.
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The draft announcement was expected, and some form of additional demonstration at the Intel Developer Forum next week is likely. USB 3.0 products probably won't be expected until next year.
USB 3.0, also known as "SuperSpeed USB," is designed to dramatically increase the bandwidth of USB, lower power consumption, and maintain backwards compatibility with the current USB 2.0 specification. SuperSpeed USB are will provide a 10X boost in transfer rate from 480 Mbits/s in USB 2.0 to 4.8 Gbits/s in USB 3.0.
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
U.S. Broadband Speeds Continue To Lag
Rhode Island, the smallest state, has the fastest median download speed with 6.8 Mbps, while Alaska, the largest, has the slowest at 0.8 Mbps, says a CWA survey. While U.S. broadband providers continue to boost speeds for their subscribers, they still are falling behind the broadband deployment efforts of many other nations, according to survey of 230,000 U.S. Internet users.
Population density can be a factor in providing broadband. The median download speed in the U.S. is 2.35 Mbps. Densely populated Japan enjoys a 63.60 Mbps speed.
To improve broadband reception in rural and lower-income areas, the CWA and some government and public policy organizations have suggested that the Universal Service Fund be reformed to support build-out of broadband in undeserved communities.
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Population density can be a factor in providing broadband. The median download speed in the U.S. is 2.35 Mbps. Densely populated Japan enjoys a 63.60 Mbps speed.
To improve broadband reception in rural and lower-income areas, the CWA and some government and public policy organizations have suggested that the Universal Service Fund be reformed to support build-out of broadband in undeserved communities.
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Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Internet firms agree to code of conduct in China
Just days before the Olympic torch will reach Beijing, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft say they are close to an agreement on a code of conduct for doing business in China and other countries that censor the Internet. Senator Dick Durbin on Monday released separate letters from the companies, stating they have "reached agreement on the core components of the principles" of the code.
Those components, the letters say, include principles for promoting freedom of expression and privacy, implementation guidelines, and an accountability framework. The specifics of the code are now being reviewed by the individual organizations involved. Google said the companies are working toward "a set of clear and rigorous principles, such that restrictive governments would be unable to ignore or reject these best practices on freedom of expression and the protection of individual privacy."
The impending Olympic games have increased questions about Internet censorship in China, especially after Chinese officials tried to block journalists there for the games from accessing certain sites, even after the Chinese government assured reporters they would have full freedom to search the Internet, unlike its citizens.
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Those components, the letters say, include principles for promoting freedom of expression and privacy, implementation guidelines, and an accountability framework. The specifics of the code are now being reviewed by the individual organizations involved. Google said the companies are working toward "a set of clear and rigorous principles, such that restrictive governments would be unable to ignore or reject these best practices on freedom of expression and the protection of individual privacy."
The impending Olympic games have increased questions about Internet censorship in China, especially after Chinese officials tried to block journalists there for the games from accessing certain sites, even after the Chinese government assured reporters they would have full freedom to search the Internet, unlike its citizens.
Full Story
Thursday, July 31, 2008
More Hacked Sites than Ever
According to the Websense State of Internet Security report covering the first half of 2008, compromised URLs continue to advance as the most popular means of online malware delivery.
During the first six months of 2008, over 75% of the sites Websense observed distributing malware were legitimate URLs that had been somehow subverted by attackers, a 50 percent increase over the last six months of 2007. Websense contends that a whopping 60 percent of the Web's most popular sites were either subverted or indirectly involved with some form of malicious activity over the past six months.
It does appear that the use of malware tool kits to launch online attacks has slowed, with Websense reporting that some 12 percent of the sites it saw infected with malicious code were created using Web malware exploitation kits, a decrease of 33 percent since December 2007. Websense researchers said the decrease may be related to attackers launching more customized threats to avoid traditional signature-based detection techniques.
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During the first six months of 2008, over 75% of the sites Websense observed distributing malware were legitimate URLs that had been somehow subverted by attackers, a 50 percent increase over the last six months of 2007. Websense contends that a whopping 60 percent of the Web's most popular sites were either subverted or indirectly involved with some form of malicious activity over the past six months.
It does appear that the use of malware tool kits to launch online attacks has slowed, with Websense reporting that some 12 percent of the sites it saw infected with malicious code were created using Web malware exploitation kits, a decrease of 33 percent since December 2007. Websense researchers said the decrease may be related to attackers launching more customized threats to avoid traditional signature-based detection techniques.
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Friday, July 25, 2008
Windows 7 on its way
Microsoft has said it would ship by January 2010, but top executives have also said from time to time that it would be done by the end of 2009.
Microsoft has released few details on the product, largely assuring customers that it would be making big architectural changes and that it will have a new multi touch user interface, an alternative to the computer mouse. This means that users will be able to control the next version of Microsoft Windows with touch controls.
Bill Gates framed the new feature as an evolution away from the mouse. The ability to use touch to give users fingertip control of their screens could help revolutionize how computer desktops and mobile phones are controlled and would be an alternative to existing mice, keyboard and pen based user controls.
New enhancements to DirectX will help applications harness the latest innovations in GPUs and LCD displays, including support for scalable, high performance, 2D and 3D graphics, text, and images.
Microsoft has released few details on the product, largely assuring customers that it would be making big architectural changes and that it will have a new multi touch user interface, an alternative to the computer mouse. This means that users will be able to control the next version of Microsoft Windows with touch controls.
Bill Gates framed the new feature as an evolution away from the mouse. The ability to use touch to give users fingertip control of their screens could help revolutionize how computer desktops and mobile phones are controlled and would be an alternative to existing mice, keyboard and pen based user controls.
New enhancements to DirectX will help applications harness the latest innovations in GPUs and LCD displays, including support for scalable, high performance, 2D and 3D graphics, text, and images.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Hackers unlock newest iPhone software
A group of hackers known has provided an update to its iPhone unlocking tool that works with Apple's new 2.0 software release.
Jailbreaking (making it possible to install un-sanctioned apps) and SIM unlocking is supported for the first generation iPhone, while iPod touches can also be jailbroken. While the iPhone 3G is also supported in the new release, at this time it is only to jailbreak the device. No SIM unlock is available, which means it must still be used on AT&T or whatever network Apple has partnered with.
Performing the jailbreak and unlock is an fairly easy task. Upon opening the application, the user selects what device model they are using, then tells the program where the locations of the three necessary files are.
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Jailbreaking (making it possible to install un-sanctioned apps) and SIM unlocking is supported for the first generation iPhone, while iPod touches can also be jailbroken. While the iPhone 3G is also supported in the new release, at this time it is only to jailbreak the device. No SIM unlock is available, which means it must still be used on AT&T or whatever network Apple has partnered with.
Performing the jailbreak and unlock is an fairly easy task. Upon opening the application, the user selects what device model they are using, then tells the program where the locations of the three necessary files are.
Full Story
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