Consumer advocates today asked the government to ban Internet customer "profiling," citing increasing privacy risks posed by consolidation in the marketing business.

In a statement, privacy groups warned that mergers--such as the $1 billion deal between online advertising network DoubleClick and offline market researcher Abacus Direct--increase the likelihood of corporate abuse of customer data. The proposed merger will bring together online profiles obtained from an estimated 850 million Internet advertisements per day and 2 billion consumer catalog transaction histories.

CNET.com - News - The Net - Truste reports on RealNetworks as FTC examines Net privacy. As the results of a closely watched investigation of RealNetworks' data-collection practices were made public today, privacy advocates and marketers met during a federal probe to debate the practice of discretely profiling Net users.

Technology News from Wired News - Real Damage Control -- Again.

RealNetworks has issued another software update that addresses a privacy concern, this time in its popular RealPlayer software.

The company posted a free beta of RealPlayer 7 on Monday, which it said no longer tracks personal user information.

I wonder if they will release an updated version of the older software?? After all not everyone has the minimum requirements for a G2 level player. There are lots of folks left with RealPlayer 5. What will happen to them???

Linux Today: InfoWorld: OpenBSD comes close to security nirvana with a system that is 'secure by default'. "WELL KNOWN FOR its "secure by default" posture, OpenBSD (www.openbsd.org), the Internet-based volunteer effort, recently announced the inclusion and support of Versions 1.3 and 1.5 of Secure Shell (SSH) client and server in OpenBSD Version 2.6, which is due to appear in early December. But including security-related products in the operating system is nothing new for OpenBSD. The product also includes integrated cryptography and virtual private networking technologies such as Blowfish, MD5, SHA-1, IPSec, and S/Key. Because of this it has been accepted as the de facto secure-operating system...."

Information Week - But The Computer Said .... After many years in the IT industry, I've finally gotten used to people blaming a computer for all sorts of things that have nothing to do with silicon chips. It's painful, but I've learned to accept that individuals are more comfortable attributing problems to inanimate objects than absorbing responsibility for their own ineptitude or that of their associates. Not my comment but i've felt that way often enough.

Slashdot | Your Rights Online | TRUSTe Decides Its Own Fate Today. TRUSTe, the steward of the most visible symbol on the internet, is making a tough decision today. Today, it reveals what it intends to do about its client Real Networks. At stake is whatever's left of its credibility.

New York Times - free registration required Hearings Offer View Into Private Banking. This week, Citibank's handling of private accounts, particularly those of foreign leaders, will be the subject of Senate hearings. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is examining the vulnerability of private banking to money laundering.

New York Times - free registration required Digital Commerce: Online Companies Squander Public´s Trust. The online credibility issue first made international news in early 1999, when Amazon.com was called to task for accepting money from publishers for its purportedly independent book reviews.

New York Times - free registration required E-Commerce Report: Web Publishers, Ad Agencies Square Off on Ownership of Customer Data.

In the Internet, where information is king, some of the most valuable information is data about user or customer behavior. Of this, one of the most closely followed measurements is so-called "click data," which focuses on who has clicked on an advertising banner or some other particular link. Web site publishers, advertising agencies and companies who buy those ads have relied heavily on that data to build their businesses, and until now they have been generous about sharing it freely with each other.

Now one of the Internet's biggest advertisers is raising the question of whether that data belongs to anyone but the advertisers, and the resulting debate could shape the future of the advertiser-publisher relationship.