Don't forget to check out www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news. And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** International domain names get a bit closer and more European-friendly http://www.heise-online.co.uk/networks/International-domain-names-get-a-bit-closer-and-more-European-friendly--/news/112035 Small to medium UK businesses recognise the value of having a .uk domain name http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/releases/?contentId=5754 UK Domain name growth drops by half http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2230933/domain-name-growth-drops-half China winning cyber war, Congress warned http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/20/china-us-military-hacking IETF: Should We Ignore the Kaminsky Bug? http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/112008-ietf-dns-debate.html ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Internet Governance Forum- Internet for All [Internet Governance Forum] Representatives of government, the private sector, civil society, the Internet community, international organizations and the media will convene in Hyderabad, India, for the third meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, to be held from 3 to 6 December 2008. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=sa&id=1470 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** International domain names get a bit closer and more European-friendly In early 2009, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) plans to adopt the update for international domain names (IDN) discussed since the beginning of this year. This became evident in the talks at the developers' meeting in Minneapolis this week. One of the new entries on the list of characters allowed for domains that don't use the ASCII character set will be the German "eszet" or "scharfes S" character ("?"), which has been excluded from the IDN standards (RFC3490, RFC3492) until now. http://www.heise-online.co.uk/networks/International-domain-names-get-a-bit-closer-and-more-European-friendly--/news/112035 http://www.heise-online.co.uk/news/International-domain-names-get-a-bit-closer-and-more-European-friendly--/112035 IETF committee calls for a simple system for DNS security The Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the central committee of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF, a standards organisation), is calling for a simple system for signing the DNS root zone, and for the interest groups of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to be given a say in a number of operational questions. That would give the ICANN community an influence on, say, the continuous rollover of keys for signing the root zone. http://www.heise-online.co.uk/news/IETF-committee-calls-for-a-simple-system-for-DNS-security--/112025 ICANN Responsible for Domain Name Trademark Mess It is ICANN's responsibility to make sure domain names do not infringe on trademarks. To determine infringement, ICANN should rely in the short term on predictive models [PDF]. Thus, domain name and trademark owners must start putting pressure on ICANN to assume its trademark responsibility. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20081121_icann_domain_name_trademark_mess/ Yes ICANN claim my domain name! Companies can carry out online searches to see if someone has registered identical or confusingly similar domain names. For example, "namedroppers.com" and "amnesi.com" provide details of registrations. http://www.lawdit.co.uk/reading_room/room/view_article.asp?name=../articles/5029-TM-Yes-ICANN-claim-my-domain-name.htm ICANN Cairo 2008, We Didn?t Go But Please Accept This Classy Drawing As Though We Did We were sadly not able to attend the ICANN Cairo meeting. Our reportage occurred the new-fashioned way, by following live transcripts which proved as frustrating as it would have been had we attended so, it was sort of like we were there. The conference spanned 8 days and had 1,702 attendees from 144 different countries. The key issues go-round were the implementation of the new gTLD system as well as IDNs and the IDN fast track and the much needed focus on improving institutional confidence. http://www.namesmash.com/?p=167 Entering a new domain The biggest overhaul yet of the system of internet domain names is set to affect tens of thousands of established online brand names. http://business24-7.ae/articles/2008/11/pages/11222008_0a9e4fd5965a44e98bdcf1e0050dd0ab.aspx Black, greylists wrong approach to net filtering: Analyst ... With ICANN?s proposal to add thousands of new top level domains (TLDs), NetChoice executive director, Steve Delbianco, said it would create a monster headache for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), charged with maintaining the ?illegal? blacklist and so-called ?inappropriate? greylists of content to be blocked. http://computerworld.com.au/article/268375/ Entering a new domain The biggest overhaul yet of the system of internet domain names is set to affect tens of thousands of established online brand names. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081122050756/ Abusive domain name tasting drastically reduced ICANN reported on November 13th that Add/Delete Grace Period (AGP) deletes are down by 84%. The bulk of AGP deletes have historically been associated with the practice of domain name tasting. http://www.internetcommerce.org/Abusive_domain_name_tasting_drastically_reduced ResellerClub to Take Over EstDomains-Sponsored Domain Names Following their decision to terminate the registrar accreditation agreement for EstDomains, ICANN was looking for registrars interested in receiving a bulk transfer of all the domains maintained by the Estonian company. It looks like that registrar will be Directi-owned ResellerClub, which already started sending notification e-mails regarding the upcoming change to EstDomains customers. http://news.softpedia.com/news/ResellerClub-to-Take-Over-EstDomains-Sponsored-Domain-Names-98468.shtml Top 10 worst chief executives ... 10. Vladimir Tsastsin - Est.Domains: Shaun Nichols: It's not that Tsastsin did a bad job running his company, he did after all turn it into a rather successful registrar, albeit a notoriously shady one. The problem was that he also pretty much destroyed the company singlehandedly when he was convicted on several counts of fraud and money laundering. Though Tsastsin says he no longer holds the top position at the company and that he is appealing the conviction, ICANN decided that the case was serious enough to warrant pulling Est.Domains accreditation, effectively killing the company. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2231089/top-worst-chief-executives http://uk.news.yahoo.com/16/20081123/ttc-top-10-worst-chief-executives-6315470.html ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** Australian Community Inititiative Celebrates 100th Community Domain Registrations An initiative to encourage Australian localities to develop websites that represent their community has reached its 100th domain name registration with Talgarno, a town in the state of Victoria, reaching the milestone. http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/11/22/australian-community-inititiative-celebrates-100th-community-domain-registrations/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/australian-community-inititiative-celebrates-100th-community-domain-registrations.html .CN is the largest ccTLD with 13 million names .CN, the country code Top Level Domain of China now has 13 million names, making it the world leader ahead of .DE (12,3 million names). http://www.domainesinfo.fr/english/237/cn-is-the-largest-cctld-with-13-million-names.php Diacritics in domains.CZ refused again Czech Internet users have refused to introduce diacritics into the system of .CZ domains for the third time in a row. It ensues from a public opinion survey which was carried out for the CZ.NIC association, the administrator of the Czech domain register, by Markent. http://www.nic.cz/page/575/diacritics-in-domains.cz-refused-again/ fr: AFNIC discloses its strategic orientations At its meeting on November 14th, the AFNIC's Board of Directors has defined the main strategic orientations of the association for the years to come. http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/205/afnic-discloses-its-strategic-orientations.html AFNIC launches DNSwitness, a multi-purpose software for DNS measurements: Its first use will be to measure the IPv6 deployment As the depletion of IPv4 addresses has been announced for 2011, the IPv6 deployment in the following years is a pivotal matter and is one of the major stakes of the Internet today. Largely carried by Eric Besson, Secretary of State in charge of the Digital Economy, and his "Digital Economy Development Plan", the strategic stake it represents was identified long ago by AFNIC. http://www.afnic.fr/actu/nouvelles/207/afnic-launches-dnswitness-a-multi-purpose-software-for-dns-measurements.html IRNIC to Release 500 Second Level Domains Beginning Tuesday 16 December 2008 at 01:00 hours Tehran time, the list of 500 most recently released second level domain names will appear in our site.Further details will appear later. http://www.nic.ir/ Successful opening for .CO.NL [news release] The .CO.NL Grandfather phase opened successfully yesterday at 10:00 am GMT and the first day of registrations has shown some great interest in the new extension. The numerous official registrars that partner with the Operator have already submitted a high number of requests and the numbers will increase in the coming days. http://www.domainnews.com/en/general/successful-opening-for-.co.nl.html http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/11/23/successful-opening-for-conl/ Easy access to contact details via .tel domains New .tel domain names will allow businesses to store and manage their contact details in a directory accessible from any device connected to the internet. http://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/news/1723.asp Ask, and they will .tel LISTING phone numbers and e-mail addresses on the Internet has become almost second nature to local businesses and individual Net users but a soon-to- be-launched domain name promises to take it one step further by dramatically simplifying the process of trawling for contact information online. http://business.asiaone.com/Business/SME%2BCentral/Tete-A-Tech/Story/A1Story20081121-102369.html Dot Tel Domain Name Registration Coming DomainPeople, Inc., the eighth official domain name registrar accredited by ICANN, will begin accepting sunrise registration for a new top level domain name (TLD) on December 3, 2008. http://www.mediacastermagazine.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=92576&issue=11212008 .tel Thanks to TelNic team for enrolling me on their VIP.tel beta program. I have been offered a .tel domain name (actual a third level domain, which is cedricmanara.vip.tel) for a few weeks. http://domaine.blogspot.com/2008/11/thanks-to-telnic-team-for-enrolling-me.html Nominet chairman embroiled in governance row Nominet chairman Bob Gilbert sits on a committee to determine the salaries and bonuses of senior executives, but not his own. Critics say this contravenes the not-for-profit domain registry's corporate governance rules, but Nominet denies any such breach. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/21/nominet_remuneration_committee/ Small to medium UK businesses recognise the value of having a .uk domain name 81% of SMEs use a .uk domain name as their primary web address. Country code top level domains account for 40% of the entire domain name market. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/releases/?contentId=5754 UK Domain name growth drops by half Global growth in domain name registrations fell by half this year, according to new research from .uk registry Nominet, but companies were warned to maintain robust domain name strategies. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2230933/domain-name-growth-drops-half http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/news/2230971/domain-name-growth-drops-half http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2230933/domain-name-growth-drops-half UK Governance update Following recent conversations on our member?s mailing list, NomSteer, and wider feedback from our members and other stakeholders, we are now in a position to update you all on recent developments at Nominet. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=5753 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** China winning cyber war, Congress warned China is aggressively developing its power to wage cyber warfare and is now in a position to delay or disrupt the deployment of America's military forces around the world, potentially giving it the upper hand in any conflict, a panel of the US Congress has warned. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/20/china-us-military-hacking China Targets U.S. Computers For Espionage, Report Warns Chinese cyberattacks on civilian, government, and military networks are rising, a congressional advisory committee warned in a report released Thursday, and the United States needs to bolster its defenses and engage with allies and Chinese authorities to clarify the consequences of aggression in cyberspace. http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212101227 China 'using cyberwarfare to challenge US power' China is using cyberwarfare to challenge American power and distorting economic policy to exert political influence over other countries, according to a hostile congressional report. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3495181/China-using-cyberwarfare-to-challenge-US-power.html IETF: Should We Ignore the Kaminsky Bug? The Internet engineering community is grappling with what to do about a serious flaw in the DNS discovered this summer, and the ongoing debate brings to mind a famous quotation from Voltaire: "The perfect is the enemy of the good." http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/112008-ietf-dns-debate.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/154272/.html http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/268245/ http://www.itworld.com/security/58160/ietf-should-we-ignore-kaminsky-bug http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9121103 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Kentucky Hearing Postponed Again Further prolonging a definitive ruling, the Kentucky state Court of Appeals has issued a stay on a forfeiture hearing for 141 online domain names due to a petition led by Washington, DC-based Internet trade association Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association. http://www.thewhir.com/marketwatch/112008_Kentucky_Hearing_Postponed_Again.cfm Frank Schilling Loses His First UDRP Frank Schilling?s Name Administration has lost its first UDRP decision, spoiling a perfect record of success (according to searches at National Arbitration Forum and WIPO). http://domainnamewire.com/2008/11/20/frank-schilling-loses-his-first-udrp/ Frank Schilling Loses UDRP In one of the most ridiculous UDRP decisions that I have ever seen, Frank Schilling (owner of Name Administration) lost the domain ChilliBeans.com. http://www.domainbits.com/frank-schilling-loses-udrp/ Domain names and drunken pirates? Here is an example of where even a major organisation failed to claim a domain name it believed it had a right to. http://www.lawdit.co.uk/reading_room/room/view_article.asp?name=../articles/5028-TM-Domain-names-and-drunken-pirates.htm ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** Wherefore art thou, IPv6? IPv4 is less than 18 months away from hitting the wall, according to Vint Cerf, Google's chief internet evangelist and co-inventor of TCP/IP. Speaking to The Times in London last month, Cerf said that between the growing wave of mobile internet usage and the likely scramble by companies to secure whatever IPv4 addresses are left, the remaining 600 million IPv4 addresses will be used up by the end of 2009 or early 2010. http://www.telecomasia.net/article.php?type=article&id_article=11185 my: Internet Protocol Version 6 can support more users The Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) address system has the means to support a large user base and at the same time encourage more in the community to utilise the internet. http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=61038 ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Whois Masking Considered Harmful Whenever you register a domain name, your contact details are published in a publicly visible database called "Whois", where your contact details are instantly harvested by spambots and marketers who proceed to email and postal mail you marketing offers, deceptive "domain slamming" attempts, ads for dubious products, and perhaps even telemarketing calls. Nobody likes that, so over the years people started resorting to various tactics to protect themselves from the deluge of crap that inevitably comes with simply registering a domain name. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20081120_whois_masking_considered_harmful/ November ARIN Report Now Available The ARIN Report is a periodic publication that informs the ARIN community about recent and future activities. http://www.arin.net/announcements/20081119_report.html ARIN Announces Interim CEO General Dale Meyerrose is Interim CEO of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) as of 17 November 2008. Raymond A. Plzak announced his resignation as President and CEO of ARIN on 17 October, and he will continue to serve ARIN as President Emeritus and Board Advisor. http://www.arin.net/announcements/20081117.html ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** Domain market wants Aussie registrars Domain name marketplace Sedo has made a whirlwind visit to Australia to try to drum up some relationships with local domain name registrars. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=89505 2o.com was Fair Deal, Jury Still Out on .com.au Domains A couple people commented about the Aftermarket.com auction held this week in Australia, and they commented about how many of the sales were absolute steals. Two comments in particular I have seen on various forums and blogs are that the purchase of 2o.com at $8,500 was a steal, and that the .com.au domains sold at very low prices. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/11/21/2ocom-was-fair-deal-jury-still-out-on-comau-domains/ Three Sedo Sales Totaling Over $900,000 and a Quarter-Million Dollar Private Transaction Pace This Week's Aftermarket Action Sedo had a red hot hand this week, piling up ten entries on our new weekly Top 20 domain sales chart, including three of the top four and six of the first eight positions. Sedo's list was led by a trio of six-figure sales; #1 LowFare.com at $365,000, #2 Banners.com at $360,000 and #4 Pisos.net ("apartments" in Spanish) at ?150,000 ($187,500). The latter name also ranks as the second biggest .net sale this year, trailing only Porn.net, a domain that changed hands for $400,000 last February. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2008/domainsales11-18-08.htm Day four T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under Just as the first T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference ever held outside the U.S. was beginning its grand finale, a spectacular outing on a barrier island off Australia's Gold Coast last night, I got word from Rick Latona that he has licensed the rights to host his own T.R.A.F.F.I.C conference in Amsterdam June 2-5, 2009. Latona and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Co-Founder Howard Neu are both here for T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under and Neu confirmed that a joint venture deal had been completed with Latona to take T.R.A.F.F.I.C to Europe for the first time. http://dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/11-20-08.htm Day five T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under This is is my last post from Australia. I'll be leaving for the airport and the long trek back to the U.S. in an hour - leaving the land down under after a fabulous week at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under conference on the gorgeous Gold Coast. http://dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2008/dailyposts/11-21-08.htm T.R.A.F.F.I.C Down Under - Brisk Sales for Great Domains Aftermarket We are pleased to announce the preliminary results from the TRAFFIC Down Under Aftermarket.com auction held November 20, 2008 in Brisbane, Australia. The marvelous venue setting coupled with the thoughtful program made this a truly spectacular event. We would like to thank all of the participants that gave their time and energy supporting our efforts. http://blog.domaintools.com/2008/11/traffic-down-under-brisk-sales-for-great-domains/ After Late Start, Rick Rolls Through Full Auction List Technical difficulties continued to plague the auctions in Australia this evening (afternoon in Australia). Rick Latona?s auction experienced similar audio/video issues that Aftermarket.com experienced earlier in the day at their TRAFFIC Down Under auction. When the audio and video feed came in, it was quite clear Latona was agitated by the over 1 hour delay. He was heard saying before the event ?Let?s go. We?ve got business to do.? He managed to knock out the list of 69 names in around 1 hour and 15 minutes. http://www.domainnamenews.com/domain-auction/after-late-start-rick-rolls-through-full-auction-list/3316 Aftermarket.com Live Auction TRAFFIC Down Under Aftermarket.com's live auction for TRAFFIC down under is taking place today. http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2008/11/19/aftermarketcom-live-auction-traffic-down-unde/ A Tale of Two Auctions I thought yesterday?s Aftermarket.com auction went great. And I still thought that well after the auction was over. Why? Because I didn?t watch the second half. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/11/20/a-tale-of-two-auctions/ Fixed Price Domain Marketplace launched by Oversee.net Oversee.net has just launched a new fixed priced domain market place: DNEX.com. The site looks like a relauched version of their previous DomainCargo site where the company listed domains from their own portfolio. DNEX (Domain Name EXchange) currently lists over 3,000 COM, NET & ORG domains at prices ranging from $59 to $8,000 USD, payment is accepted via Paypal, check or wire transfer. It is expected that more domains will be added to the site. http://www.domainnamenews.com/domain-sales/fixed-price-domain-marketplace-launched-by-overseenet/3328 ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Email wastes an hour a day, UK study claims Workers waste an hour a day sending and receiving emails, a new report has revealed. A poll of UK employees found that most do not filter or organise their emails correctly, while many of the emails that are sent do not help workers to do their jobs. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/technologynews/3501938/Email-wastes-an-hour-a-day-study-claims.html Internet's bandwidth health still in trouble, report says Nemertes Research continued to throw cold water on the future of the Internet this week, releasing a study projecting that demand for bandwidth on the Web would exceed its capacity by 2012. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/112108-internet-bandwidth-trouble.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/11/21/Internets_bandwidth_health_still_in_trouble_1.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/154376/.html Britain's digital addiction: 727 hours surfing, 27 phoning and 972 texts In the heyday of rock music, no stadium gig was complete without a slow number that prompted the crowd to hold aloft their cigarette lighters to create hundreds of flickering points of light. Now the same effect is created by hundreds of people holding up their mobile phones as the audience takes photo after photo to prove they were there. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/20/digital-communications-phones Teens' Internet use is mostly a good thing, study finds The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has a message for parents worried about their children's use of the Internet: Chill out. A new study to be released today found that most teenagers steer clear of dangerous sites and use the Web only for research or to communicate with friends. It's just that, as usual, parents don't understand. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teens20-2008nov20,0,3308893.story uk: Popularity of bartering websites soars The popularity of bartering websites has soared as consumers are looking to new methods of shopping to counter the effects of the credit crunch. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/3488701/Popularity-of-bartering-websites-soars.html Online time 'is good for teens' Surfing the internet, playing games and hanging out on social networks are important for teen development, a large study of online use has revealed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7740895.stm Horror as teenager commits suicide live online A 19-year-old man in Florida committed suicide live on the internet as hundreds of web surfers watched - taunting him and offering encouragement. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5203176.ece us: Report: Teen commits suicide on Justin.tv A 19-year-old man has committed suicide while broadcasting himself on Justin.tv, according to a report at NewTeeVee. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10104716-93.html Grieving parents denounce web suicide voyeurs The family of a troubled teenager, who filmed himself on a webcam committing suicide from a drugs overdose, yesterday condemned the broadcast of his death and the many viewers who egged him on. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5213569.ece Father appalled by virtual audience to son's death [AP] The father of a college student whose suicide was broadcast live over a webcam said Saturday he was appalled by the virtual audience that egged on his son and called for tougher regulation of Internet sites. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112200553.html ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** uk: Facebook message about night out 'betrays' man who phoned in sick for work A supermarket worker who phoned in sick but then went out and posted pictures on Facebook is facing disciplinary action. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/3488892/Facebook-betrays-man-who-phoned-in-sick-caught-after-he-tells-of-good-night-on-site.html Facebook's Land Grab in the Face of a Downturn The social-networking site is moving aggressively to sign up more users around the world while much of Silicon Valley hunkers down http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_48/b4110084423202.htm ca: Facebook 'Kick a Ginger' campaign prompts attacks on redheads The teenager behind a "Kick a Ginger" group on Facebook is being investigated by police after reports of attacks on redhead children. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/3498766/Facebook-Kick-a-Ginger-campaign-prompts-attacks-on-redheads.html ********************** SPAM ********************** Dodgy Domains Dumped by ISPs Few tears were shed when McColo Corp., a San Jose-based ISP that allegedly hosted companies known to be prolific purveyors of spam and other malware, was suddenly taken offline last week by its upstream service providers. http://www.pcworld.com/article/154024/.html Spammers look east after McColo shutdown One week after rogue ISP McColo was shut down spam levels have yet to return to normalcy. But security experts are under no illusions that this represents anything more than a temporary reprieve, which will probably come accompanied by a change in tactics by spammers. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/21/mccolo_shutdown_analysis/ ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Asia Pacific Region's IT divide still wide Asia Pacific countries still have disparities in internet access despite rapid growth of mobile phone subscriptions, according to a study by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap). http://www.bangkokpost.com/211108_Business/21Nov2008_biz53.php UN-backed conference aims to close gaping ?digital divide? in Asia-Pacific Overcoming the ?digital divide? between the poorest countries and developed economies in Asia and the Pacific is the focus of a two-day meeting organized by the United Nations regional office in Bangkok that kicked off today. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28984 UN appeals for funds to bridge ?digital divide? in the Asia-Pacific region The United Nations today called for support in bridging the persistent ?digital divide? in the Asia-Pacific region, where access to the Internet varies widely between rich and poor countries. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29033 Closing the UK's digital divisions With broadband available on a monthly basis for less than ?10 and laptops being given away free with some packages, there seems little reason for people not to be online. But 17 million people in the UK are not and the digital divide is increasingly cutting people off both socially and financially. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7736389.stm Closing the UK's digital divisions With broadband available on a monthly basis for less than ?10 and laptops being given away free with some packages, there seems little reason for people not to be online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7736389.stm ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** China winning cyber war, Congress warned China is aggressively developing its power to wage cyber warfare and is now in a position to delay or disrupt the deployment of America's military forces around the world, potentially giving it the upper hand in any conflict, a panel of the US Congress has warned. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/20/china-us-military-hacking China Targets U.S. Computers For Espionage, Report Warns Chinese cyberattacks on civilian, government, and military networks are rising, a congressional advisory committee warned in a report released Thursday, and the United States needs to bolster its defenses and engage with allies and Chinese authorities to clarify the consequences of aggression in cyberspace. http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212101227 China 'using cyberwarfare to challenge US power' China is using cyberwarfare to challenge American power and distorting economic policy to exert political influence over other countries, according to a hostile congressional report. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3495181/China-using-cyberwarfare-to-challenge-US-power.html IETF: Should We Ignore the Kaminsky Bug? The Internet engineering community is grappling with what to do about a serious flaw in the DNS discovered this summer, and the ongoing debate brings to mind a famous quotation from Voltaire: "The perfect is the enemy of the good." http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/112008-ietf-dns-debate.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/154272/.html http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/268245/ http://www.itworld.com/security/58160/ietf-should-we-ignore-kaminsky-bug http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9121103 Online fraudsters 'steal ?3.3bn' Hi-tech thieves who specialise in card fraud have a credit line in excess of $5bn (?3.35bn), research suggests. Symantec calculated the figure to quantify the scale of fraud it found during a year-long look at the internet's underground economy. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7742455.stm Cyberspace gumshoes are afoot in China The private eyes in China's most famous detective agency rarely sleep, are relentless in pursuing their prey and can put Interpol and Homeland Security to shame. Oh, and they work for free. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-scandal23-2008nov23,0,2503161.story Arguments in Case Involving Net and Suicide Federal prosecutors in court on Wednesday depicted a woman accused of creating a phony account on MySpace to taunt a 13-year-old girl as cravenly preying on the ?vulnerable? and ?boy crazy? teenager, who had a history of depression and suicidal thoughts. http://nytimes.com/2008/11/20/us/20myspace.html Woman Who Posed as Boy Testifies in Case That Ended in Suicide of 13-Year-Old Slumping forward miserably in the witness box, in barely audible tones, a young woman told a federal jury here on Thursday that she had posed as a teenage boy in a series of e-mail messages to a 13-year-old girl that ended in the girl?s expressing suicidal thoughts and hanging herself. http://nytimes.com/2008/11/21/us/21myspace.html First cyber-bullying trial hears how Megan Meier, 13, killed herself after online taunts The mother of a 13-year-old girl described how her daughter hanged herself with a belt after being taunted on her MySpace page by a boy whose identity was later revealed to have been invented by a neighbour. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5196441.ece MySpace Suicide Case Exposes Legal Gap The prosecution of Missouri mother Lori Drew under a law designed for hackers has experts debating its validity. The hoax, which led to the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier, focuses a spotlight on the terms of service agreements between social networking sites and their users. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/65232.html Cyberscams Befriend Social Networks Remember the associate of that deposed dictator who needed your help transferring a few million dollars from a Swiss bank account? Well, he's back. And he?or one of his ilk?may show up soon posing as your "friend" on Facebook. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2008/tc20081119_974324.htm Phishing, e-mail money laundering scams on the rise As the economy worsens and more people get laid off, online fraud and financial scams are rising, security experts say. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10104748-83.html us: Police investigate as teenager appears to kill himself on video website Police in Florida are investigating the death of an American teenager after he appeared to take an overdose and die while broadcasting on video website Justin.tv. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/21/internet-video-overdose-teenager US law firm argues that links to its website abuse its trade marks One of the world's biggest law firms is suing a small Chicago-based website for naming the firm and linking to two of its associates' biographies. A judge rejected an attempt to have the case thrown out last week. http://out-law.com/page-9609 ************************** PRIVACY ************************** UK 'Big Brother' database plan shelved The timetable for setting up a giant "Big Brother" database is slipping after the scheme was dropped from next month's Queen's Speech. The Independent has highlighted growing fury over government moves to collate details of every telephone call, email and internet visit. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/big-brother-database-plan-shelved-1028229.html New York Police Fight With U.S. On Surveillance An effort by the New York Police Department to get broader latitude to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects has run into sharp resistance from the Justice Department in a bitter struggle that has left the police commissioner and the attorney general accusing each other of putting the public at risk. http://nytimes.com/2008/11/20/washington/20terror.html ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** EU ministers reject ban on free downloading EU culture ministers yesterday (20 November) rejected French proposals to curb online piracy through compulsory measures against free downloading, instead agreeing to promote legal offers of music or films on the Internet. http://euractiv.com/en/infosociety/eu-ministers-reject-ban-free-downloading/article-177379 Internet industry backs iiNet in copyright fight The Australian Internet industry has supported iiNet in its defence against legal action filed by the leading US media giants and the Seven Network, which experts say could force providers to police peer-to-peer traffic if the Federal Court rules in favour of the plaintiffs. http://computerworld.com.au/article/268393/ http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/268393/ iiNet was asking for legal trouble: Exetel Exetel CEO John Linton said today that iiNet brought the federal court action upon itself by not forwarding Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) complaints to its customers. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/iiNet-was-asking-for-legal-trouble-Exetel/0,130061791,339293440,00.htm iiNet to fight entertainment industry iiNet's managing director Michael Malone yesterday vowed to fight the action filed against it in federal court by film and television giants, which alleged iiNet had failed to prevent customers from downloading pirated content. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/iiNet-to-fight-entertainment-industry/0,130061791,339293427,00.htm Studios sue Australian ISP over video piracy Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, backed by all the major networks, says iiNet has ignored requests to discipline its customers for infringing on film copyrights. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10103869-93.html Japan's Music Downloads Rise 30 Percent in Q3 [IDG] Japan's Internet music market saw healthy growth in the third quarter of this year but a collapse in the once-mighty ringtone market led to mixed results for the cell phone sector of the country's digital music industry, according to figures released on Friday. http://www.pcworld.com/article/154302/.html ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** China's Softening Resistance to Reporting Bad News [Reuters] China has begun to slowly allow its media to cover bad news, according to sources inside the country. It's better to get the official story out rather than try to quash rumors that spread quickly online, the Communist Party has apparently concluded. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/65255.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ Black, greylists wrong approach to net filtering: Analyst An information security expert claims the government has the wrong approach to Internet filtering, and should focus on protecting Australians from technical risks rather than content. http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/268375/ http://computerworld.com.au/article/268375/ http://techworld.com.au/article/268375/ http://www.cio.com.au/article/268375/ http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/268375/ NSW calls Conroy on Euro filter fudge An analysis of ISP filtering schemes in Europe has shown that none have adopted mandatory filtering ? a claim Senator Conroy has used to justify such a scheme in Australia. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/NSW-calls-Conroy-on-Euro-filter-fudge/0,130061733,339293439,00.htm NSW Parliamentary Research: Mandatory ISP filtering is not what it seems [news release] The NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service has issued an E-Brief on Internet Censorship and Mandatory Filtering. Its authors Tom Edwards and Gareth Griffith survey the local and international position and conclude that mandatory ISP level filtering is not a feature of many of the countries it reviewed. In place, rather, are voluntary ISP filtering schemes designed to prevent accidental access to a defined list of illegal sites containing child pornography. http://iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=687&Itemid=32 Too many holes in Rudd Government internet filter LET me begin by pointing out the link between male impotence and the ongoing development of Internet policy by the Rudd Government. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24690428-5001030,00.html uk: Industry and government work together to tackle internet terror [news release] State-of-the art filtering technology will allow parents, schools, businesses and web users to further restrict access to websites advocating or promoting terrorism. Following joint work between the internet industry and government, web users now have the opportunity to download software allowing them to restrict access to websites that may encourage the endorsement or participation in acts of terrorism. http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/industry-and-government Germany takes aim at online child pornography: minister [AFP] Germany's family minister Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to crack down on Internet child pornography by enlisting online service providers to block offensive sites, in an interview published Thursday. http://news.smh.com.au/technology/germany-takes-aim-at-online-child-pornography-minister-20081121-6cxw.html http://news.theage.com.au/technology/germany-takes-aim-at-online-child-pornography-minister-20081121-6cxw.html European Parliament?s strong support for new Safer Internet Programme The European Parliament cast an overwhelmingly positive vote (22/10/08) on the report drafted by MEP Roberta Angelilli which supports the launch of a new EU Safer Internet programme. The 5-year programme (2009?13), proposed by the European Commission last February, will have a budget of ? 55 million to combat illegal online content but also to tackle illegal and harmful conduct such as grooming and cyberbullying. http://saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1108/parliament.htm uk: Bullying takes centre stage Diversity will be celebrated and prejudice challenged in the fifth annual Anti-Bullying Week, launched today by Ed Balls, secretary of state for Children, Schools and Families at the Globe theatre in London. The theme this year is Being Different, Belonging Together. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/nov/13/anti-bullying-week us: NTIA Seeks Nominations to Serve on the Online Safety and Technology Working Group In the midst of the election season, Congress passed a plethora of Internet related laws. Most involved child protection. One involved webcaster protection. Wasting no time, the impact of the new laws is already being felt through federal agency implementation. On Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Department of Commerce released the following notice: http://www.circleid.com/posts/20081122_ntia_nominations_online_safetty/ ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** Internet drives Australian policy rethink by Lindsay Tanner The rise of internet enabled peer production as a social force necessitates a rethink about how policy and politics is done in Australia. http://blogs.theage.com.au/business/lindsaytanner/2008/11/24/internetdrives.html http://blogs.smh.com.au/business/lindsaytanner/2008/11/24/internetdrives.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Google mulls pre-installing Chrome browser on computers Google is considering pre-installing its Chrome browser on personal computers in the search giant?s latest challenge to the dominance of Microsoft?s Internet Explorer. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5201289.ece InternetNZ president joins IDC InternetNZ president Peter Macaulay is joining IDC New Zealand to manage and refresh its ICT end-user practice. http://www.itbrief.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3093&Itemid=808 ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** Shift Seen in Telecom Regulation: New Leadership in Congress Brings More Activist Slant to Industry Oversight The telecommunications industry is bracing for a new era of increased regulation. New congressional leaders as well as policy makers in the Obama administration are expected to press for fresh limits on media consolidation and require phone and cable firms to open their networks to Internet competitors, lobbyists and industry officials say. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122722880092146357.html Telstra undecided on NBN bid WITH the deadline for the national broadband network tender five days away, Telstra has yet to decide whether or not it will submit a bid. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24685407-15306,00.html Backlash for Rudd if Telstra pulls out THE Rudd Government faces a voter backlash if Telstra pulls out of the bidding process for the national broadband network, says Labor's key pollster. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24696525-15306,00.html nz: Opinion: New minister will find gigabits of capable help Listen. Don?t reinvent the wheel. Take input quickly from credible people everywhere you can find them. Apply a huge dose of imagination, common sense and ingenuity. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/netw/214AA16045C44886CC257504000C76BF BT to kill 100Mbps fibre broadband? BT is considering shelving its ?1.5bn (US$2.2 billion) high-speed fibre optic broadband network. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=107319 http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/268022/ Commission approves ?45 million state aid to increase broadband availability in rural Germany The European Commission has endorsed under the EC Treaty state aid rules additional ?45 million aid to foster the availability of widespread and affordable broadband services in the three German L?nder of Sachsen, Niedersachsen and Bayern. http://www.broadband-europe.eu/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemID=410 ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** The battle for the smart-phone's soul Brace yourself for disappointment: there may not be a flashy new mobile phone waiting for you under the Christmas tree. On November 14th Nokia, the world?s largest maker of such devices, announced that it expects the industry to sell no more than 330m of them in the fourth quarter?about 6m fewer than in the same period last year and 20m fewer than it predicted just a few months ago. Worse, Nokia expects sales in 2009 to drop below this year?s level. This would make it only the second year ever in which the global handset market has contracted. http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12650273 Mobile group to lead expansion of 3G beyond phones [IDG] The GSM Association and several partners, including Vodafone and Huawei Technologies, plan to promote the use of 3G (third-generation) technology in cameras, cars and other devices that could link to mobile phones. http://computerworld.com.au/article/268222/ http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/112008-mobile-group-to-lead-expansion.html http://pcworld.idg.com.au/article/268222/ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/154227/.html Folding Screen for Mobile Phones Unveiled [IDG] A Taiwanese research institute on Friday revealed a folding display on a smartphone that allowed its screen to double in size to 5-inches. http://www.pcworld.com/article/154307/.html Verizon apologises for Obama security breach Verizon, one of the biggest telephone companies in the US, early today apologised to President-elect Barack Obama over a security breach involving his phone bill records. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/21/obama-cell-phone ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** au: Man remanded over alleged net grooming A Sydney man accused of grooming a girl for sex over the internet has been remanded in custody. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/21/2426366.htm Pair accused of having sex with girl under 13 A PERTH man charged with more than 150 counts of distributing child pornography and having sex with an underage girl, has been granted bail in Perth. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21498,24684857-2761,00.html Man arrested in Parramatta over underaged internet sex suspicions Child Protection and Sex Crime Squad detectives today swooped on a man in Parramatta believed to be grooming a young girl for sex over the internet. http://www.streetcorner.com.au/news/showPost.cfm?bid=8871 au: Priest jailed for child porn [AAP] A PRESBYTERIAN minister has been jailed after he was caught in possession of 170,000 indecent images in one of the biggest child porn stings in Queensland history. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,24685298-3102,00.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2008 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Start your day with Yahoo!7 and win a Sony Bravia TV. Enter now http://au.docs.yahoo.com/homepageset/?p1=other&p2=au&p3=taglineReceived on Sun Nov 23 2008 - 21:19:10 UTC
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